the guest blog entry you've all been waiting for

My brother Chip recently visited me for a week, and I asked him to write a guest entry about his experience in Morocco. As usual he exceeded brotherly expectations, though I'm not sure I deserve all of what he says (despite what he says the week had its usual share of cooking snafus - I'm still working out some issues with my fire-in-a-metal-box oven). Without further ado, however, I present his missive from the land of the Tar Heels...


I have fun with my big sis. We watch Christopher Guest movies, “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," an occasional non-Christopher Guest movie, and most recently, “The West Wing.” So we cracked our favorite lines and jokes from the above shows and flicks, but I also took two invaluable things from my visit to Morocco that I hadn’t quite grasped yet- the first is learning how to cook, and the second is how AWESOME my sister is.

First of all, cooking was great for me to learn on several levels. For one, Anny is really good at it, so instead of learning how to cook rice like my triumphant college buddies, she taught me how to make a tasty tagine, among other plates you’d otherwise only see on SNL’s “The Delicious Dish- on National Public Radio” (if you don’t know what that is, shame on you.) Secondly, as Anny and I noted, my knowing how to cook a dinner for two is going to be the icing on the cake (enjoy that one) on a pivotal date down the road- how many college guys prepare a tagine for a date? And lastly, seeing that I’m living on my own for most of this summer and probably from time to time throughout college, having meal options beyond cereal and Mac and Cheese is a luxury I will enjoy thoroughly. A big thanks to Anny, for “expanding my food dollar” (quote from Elaine in “Airplane” as she’s visiting the Mulambos) and teaching me a tool that’s sure to impress a girl that’s decent enough to go on a date with me.

As for the second thing, I have always admired Anny for her strong will, her drive, but also for the simple reason of being my big sis. However, watching Anny around locals in her village- whether she was teaching English to teenagers, working with the local weavers, or standing alone in a craaaaazy souq (having a 6-foot tall brother stick out like a sore thumb made her blend quite nicely)- I realized that there are few people that have seemingly no limits to their potential, and my sister is one of them.. At some point we briefly talked about the difference between a person being brave versus having courage- we concluded that the former involves engaging in a situation without knowing the risks, and in the latter, the risks are known, but the person dives in anyway. Anny has shown both qualities since settling in Morocco. I told her last fall when she was still adjusting to the new lifestyle that she is as good of a role model for a younger brother to follow as a college guy could ask for. And although I meant what I said at the time, it wasn’t until I was with her in Morocco and saw first-hand what kind of commitment she has made that I fully appreciated the example she sets in front of me.

All in all, it was a week to remember, and I hope to go back before Anny’s time is up in Morocco. Thank you so much Anny!

-Chipper