It was full study ahead this week getting ready for the language proficiency interview (LPI). I studied a lot, but in the end, it came down to whether I learned the language or not. The LPI isn’t something you can cram for, it’s more of a “slow and steady wins the race” kind of thing.

The LPI itself was in the middle of the week, which was nice because it let us get it over with before our next big holiday – Thanksgiving! One of the Peace Corps Trainees (PCTs) in my community-based training (CBT) site is an amazing chef. We all pitched in for food and she volunteered to cook with the help of her host mom. We brought together friends and family for a true Thanksgiving meal, the first for the Moroccans with us. We had a full spread of chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and cornbread. It was all delicious and gave me the best reminder of home.

Before digging in, we went around the table and everyone said what they were thankful for. The speeches were beautiful and it seemed fitting that Thanksgiving came at the end of our training period. We were all appreciative of all it took to get to this point and incredibly grateful for the friends and family we had made over the last two-and-a-half months here. While I missed baking cookies, eating Grandma’s turkey doused in gravy, and watching all the American football games, I wouldn’t have traded this Thanksgiving in Morocco for anything.