Just finished up another great workshop with the weavers - this time a two day introduction to some new weaving techniques and design motifs, plus some quality control and general advice, courtesy of a wonderful weaving association near Tazenakht.
Yesterday I stepped outside just after sunset and saw the grey-blue High Atlas mountains silhouetted against a dusty orange sky and it really hit me how soon my time here is going to be over...a really incredible feeling of nostalgia and appreciation that I have to admit is much heightened, and maybe totally owing to, the fact that I'm leaving in just five short months.
As impatient as I am to leave in some ways, the swift passage of time these days helps make good moments even sweeter: yesterday I refilled my big butagaz tank and before I'd even paid, two nearby teenage boys loaded it onto a bicycle and wheeled it home for me. Today I hiked into souq to catch a taxi into town - there are always more passengers than places in these taxis and the result is a mad scramble to pile into a car, with shouts and elbows and bodyblocking all around. But without my even asking, two different men "blocked" for me and made sure I got a seat so I didn't have to throw myself into the fray. Despite the frustrations I've met with here, and the things that still confuse or anger or trouble me, I'm constantly reminded that I've become part of a community that accepts and takes care of me, despite vast differences...which is an incredibly powerful and reassuring thing in this world.
Favorite images of the week: an old fashioned Singer style foot pedal operated sewing machine that says "MADE IN THE USSR;" two men riding their donkeys home from souq with large fleecy sheep poking their heads out of the large woven saddlebags.
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