CCAS

Hello Everyone,

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone's introductions thus far. I would also like to add that I am very excited about this trip. I am very much interested in the spiritual side of Islam; therefore, I found the prospect of attending an authentic Sufi dhikir to be very intriguing. Though I generally tell people this is my first trip to Morocco, it really is not. When I was very young, my father was in the Navy and our family lived in Sicily for three years. On the way back to the States, we stopped in "French Morocco" ( as it was called then) for about a week. Though I was no more than three and 1/2 years old, I remember the experience quite vividly. I distinctly remember looking out of our ground level hotel window and watching a Muslim lady dressed in traditional clothes (her face was also covered) walking down the street. I was completely mesmorized! I wanted to say something, but the only thing my young mind could come up with was, "Hi, Boogeyman lady!" Then I waved to her. To my surprise, she waved back. This is one of the stories my father tells over and over at family gatherings.

I am originally from the Jersey Shore. I was born on the famous Lakehurst Naval Air Base. When I graduated from high school in the late 70's, I left to attend Georgetown. It seems that I got a bit restless and put my formal education on hold. I began to work with grassroots organizations and somehow ended up teaching at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Fairfax for 13 years. Another one of our Moroccan group members was my co-worker (Tammy Chincheck). It was while working there that I began to travel extensively. Students' parents, as well as teachers, would invite me to go home with them during vacations...and since I was single I did not say no! I was able to travel to Yemen, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Those were wonderful times.

Currently, I am the ESL dept. chair at Wakefield High School in Arlington, VA. I teach beginning and advanced Language Arts. The majority of our students are Spanish-speaking. However, lately we have been getting more and more Arabic speaking students...mainly Iraqi and Moroccan. Working with Spanish speaking students has prompted me to travel and study extensively throughout Mexico and Central America. I just got back on Wednesday from El Salvador and Honduras. I do speak fluent Spanish and decent Portuguese. I can get by with Gulf Arabic, but unfortunately, I hear it will not help me in Morocco.

Oh, I finally "found myself" and got an undergraduate degree in Spanish. I also have a Masters in ESL from George Mason. My husband is an administrator of a middle school for emotionally disturbed children in Fairfax County, VA.