Strem Talks

I am a woman in this modern world, and with that comes a lot of rage within my soul. In the past few years, there has been an outpouring of support and solidarity between women, with the #metoo movement, the calls to end victim blaming, and just general support that we NEED to be providing to one another. However, there have also been infuriating moments, like all of the ridiculously short sentences (or lack of ANY sentencing) for men who have been found guilty of assaulting women. There is a fire that is burning that we have been trained by society to keep to ourselves, because otherwise we are "hysterical women". We have a president in power of the United States, the land of the free and home of the brave, who has admitted to assaulting women and not caring at all about it. There are men and women who have spoken out in support of this monster, saying the same old horrifying, and frustrating statement of "boys will be boys" or "it's just locker room talk...

This morning was a very good morning. Despite the fact that one of my closest people at the school is leaving and moving back to South Africa, I witnessed something wonderful today. I went out this morning to walk across town, eat breakfast, have coffee and ice cream, and just generally take a million pictures with my friend and three of our mutual students. I explained that in the United States, this was not a thing. To be wandering around town with three minors, even if they are your students, is deemed inappropriate. I am still trying to get used to the difference in how everything works here. Anyways, we went out and as we were walking back, two of the students had written a letter to my friend explaining how much they would miss him and how much he meant to them. One of my students had a line in their letter that said, "Teachers never fully leave their students, because they stay with their students forever." This letter wasn't even to me, but I found myself fighting...

One of the things that I kept hearing while I was getting ready to leave the states was people being envious of me being able to go on this adventure and not think twice about it. It's true, too. I got the email about my job offer, jumped up and down for a  bit, and then within half an hour of receiving it, I sent my signed contract back with an email accepting the offer. I consulted no one. I didn't even have to think about it. I had made the decision as soon as I had my Skype interview that if I got this opportunity, I would drop everything and take it. I've been thinking about this a lot and while it's a fantastic opportunity and I'm so excited to be able to do this, here's what I think... When my contract wasn't renewed at the first school that I worked at, I was devestated. I had seen these kids grow up and had been lectured by these students that I wasn't allowed  to leave the school until they graduated. It was one of the worst days I had at that ...

My dad said something to me yesterday on the phone that resonated (it also must be noted that I love living in Africa because people, not only my father, now feel obligated to talk to me when the situation presents itself...yay Africa!). Anyways, I can't remember the context but my dad said something about "it's not convenient..." and I responded with, "Well, my life here isn't really built for convenience..." This had me thinking about my first week in Ifrane. Most of the people I talk to have made comments about this seeming like a lot of fun. I walk to the various market stalls almost daily and I'm able to pick up fresh produce, freshly baked bread, and freshly butchered meats. Although I don't speak the language(s), I'm able to navigate my way downtown and have brief interactions with the people around me (whether it be a smile and a nod, or Thursday when a very upset baby dropped his ball and I handed it back to him). To my friends back ...

Tomorrow will mark my first full week in Ifrane, Morocco. When I first went for this opportunity, I was excited but also very concerned about how I would react to being on my own on a completely new continent for at least a year. I have always been the kind of person who values being surrrounded by the people that she loves (and I love fast and hard, it's kind of my MO). So yesterday when I was chatting with a friend of mine online and he asked if I loved it already, I was surprised. "I'm not going to say I love it yet, I like it a lot though." So I decided to write about the things I really like about this place and how this week of adjustment has been going.  When I landed, I was exhausted. I sat down on my couch for a few minutes and cherished the silence (as I had been in an out of airports or cars or rest stops for 14+ hours). I looked at my four bags and decided to start to unpack. This was also a shock because I had joked the previous day with one of my closest...

I was never actually aware of this when I was a child, but when I was a bit older after my grandfather passed away, I heard stories of my grampa finding pennies and saying they were pennies from heaven. I thought it was a cute little story and didn't think much of it at the time. As I got older, it became a strangely relevant presence in my life, but we'll get back to that.  First, a little backstory. My grampa was a hilariously interesting man. He was gruff, but he was also one of the sweetest men I knew when it came to his grandkids. I've heard stories of him being a bit hard, but my generation of the Strem family never really saw that side.  By the time we came, he was older and moved to Florida with my grandma Emily, so when he did see all of us he was just happy to be around the chaos (and trust me, it was a lot of chaos).  The other thing about my grampa was his name. When I was around 21 years old, I went and got a sunflower tattoo as a memory of this great man, an...

So I landed in Casablanca around 11:00 on Friday morning. After winding my way through customs I went to find my luggage. Having four bags, I tried to find a luggage cart and much to my dismay, I could not find one. I find one piece of luggage and am standing there waiting for the second one.  A bit off topic, but I have to mention the biggest pet peeve of someone who has been in and out of airports all week: Why in the hell does everyone have to stand RIGHT NEXT TO THE BELT?  Why do you pull your luggage off and place it RIGHT NEXT TO THE BELT? Do people realize they are not the only ones desperately searching for their luggage? If everyone stood back and placed their luggage back behind them, everyone would be able to get to the belt and get their luggage, but NOOOOOOO we all have to come first. Stupid human nature.  Anyways, I eventually find an abandoned cart and pack it with my luggage, only to find out why the cart is abandoned: it is broken. "Well, it's better than...