Info for New Invitees

Still trying to get this all organized, hopefully it’ll be done soon…

When I was getting geared up to begin my Peace Corps adventure, I spent a lot of time asking current and former PCV’s for any advice or information they might be able to share about how to prepare for the experience.  Of course, everyone’s circumstances, final site, and experience are all different.  It can still be helpful to have at least some input on a few broad topics.  I’ll try to put anything I think might be useful for newbies here on this page.

Contents

• Packing (click for the details)
  • Clothing (gets its own page, kind of a long section)
  • Luggage
  • Laptops – PC vs. Mac, but You MUST Have One!
  • Electronics
  • Kitchen Stuff
  • What I couldn’t do without…
  • What I might have left home and still been happy…
  • What’s available in Morocco?
  • Don’t forget… Discounts!
• Keeping in Touch with Home
• Getting a Cell Phone in Morocco
• General Mindset – Last, but Not Least!

Keeping in Touch with Home

Get a Skype account!  Free calls from Skype to Skype, only 0.021USD (that’s 2.1 cents) a minute to call any phone number back in the States.  Skype can be used for audio calls and for video calls.  Think about getting a camera and mic to go along with your laptop.  You might be able to get an internet connection in your house eventually, or you could take your laptop to cyber cafes later.  Alternatively, just use cyber cafe computers to make calls–you’ll rarely see a cyber computer that doesn’t have Skype loaded and a camera available to borrow.

Skype calls to Morocco are about 33 cents a minute.  A bit pricey, but often better than the normal rates cell phone companies like to charge.

See: http://www.skype.com/

The rates for calling the States from a Moroccan cell phone are pretty high, for a PCV’s budget–Maroc Telecom charges 7.80DH per minute (right now that converts to about US$1.00).

Getting a Cell Phone in Morocco

Cell phones are expensive to use in Morocco.  Thankfully the two big cell phone companies, Maroc Telecom and Meditel, have special offers fairly frequently.  Even then, they’re expensive.  Unfortunately cell phones are almost completely necessary to a PCV’s life here.

Which provider you choose will ultimately depend on the reception available in your final site.  You won’t know that when you first get to Morocco, but you’ll probably want a phone in your first few days after arriving.  Most people go with Maroc Telecom first and then just eat the cost of switching providers later if they have to.  Maroc Telecom is the larger/more widespread of the two operators and offers more specials and discounts, from what I’ve seen.

I have Maroc Telecom, so that’s what I can speak for.  Their website is a bit hard to navigate, but it has lots of good info.  Check it out at www.iam.ma if you ever need it.  However, here are the basics on current (January 2010…) pricing:

A call from a Maroc Telecom cell phone to another Moroccan cell phone costs 4.80DH per minute.  That’s more than 50 cents!

A call from a Maroc Telecom cell phone to a Moroccan fixed line phone ranges from 3.60DH-4.20DH per minute.  About 50 cents a minute.

A call from a Maroc Telecom cell phone to an American phone (cell or fixed/land) costs 7.80DH per minute.  That’s around US$1.00.

A text message from a Maroc Telecom cell phone costs 0.96DH to send to a Moroccan cell phone.

A text message from a Maroc Telecom cell phone costs 3.60DH (about 50 cents) to send to an American cell phone.

The following information won’t be very useful to PCT’s–it’s really for new PCV’s just moving into their houses.

Phone calls from Moroccan land lines are cheaper than those made from Moroccan cell phones, no matter the type or location of the receiving phone.  If you try to get DSL (ADSL) through Maroc Telecom in your house, you’ll have to subscribe to a fixed/land line phone number as well.  This is kinda cool, though, since it can save you money (so long as you use the land line for calls more often than your cell phone).

Brief basics on Maroc Telecom fixed line pricing: calls to other fixed line phones cost between 0.50Dh-1.92DH per minute; calls to Moroccan cell phones range from 1.14DH-2.85DH per minute.  These costs depend on time of day, day of week, and service plan of the receiving phone number.

General Mindset

The most crucial keys to keeping your sanity and your happiness throughout your Peace Corps journey are:

1.  Be patient.

2.  Be flexible.

3.  Have no expectations.