Battle Royale.

Listening to: Sia – We Are Born (Nice new album, give it a whirl)
Tokyo Police Club – A Lesson in Crime EP (old classic in my book)

A fantastic thing happened roughly 234 years ago. A number of guys (over a period of time) signed a little piece of paper, declaring their independence, and giving the ol’ proverbial finger to Britain, and King George the whateverth. What ensued was what I will affectionately term a “Battle Royale,” which we proceeded to rock the Kasbah of Britain, sending them scurrying (thanks to GW and Co) back home (until 1812, where we defeated them again.)

From 1776 onward, we celebrate our independence on the 4th of July. All sorts of shenanigans ensue, fireworks (blowing off fingers), sparklers (burning oneself), and barbecues full of hot-dogs, hamburgers, tofu whatevers, and drinks of beers, sodas, and water. Oh to be American. I certainly am proud.

To be across the pond in a different country, I tend to take and look at holidays differently. I think about the traditions, the family and friends we share them with… and how I miss them immensely. To be honest, I get one of those sad feelings like the kid in the corner who can’t have fun at the birthday party because he just threw cake on the cute little girl next to him (that never happened… I don’t think???)

So with 200ish American PCVs in Morocco, I have people I can celebrate with at least. We certainly get together. For T-Giving I escorted a turkey through the process of slaughter (yes I slit it’s throat) and onto the table. Christmas/Holidays was a great feast and fun with friends. So the 4th of July rolls around (my 2nd in Morocco).

Let me tell you, I have had a number of epic 4th of July parties. Here are memories I recall briefly:
- Lots of Fireworks (as a little kid, the people down the street bought heaps of them.)
- Setting up a tent in Friend’s House (Sorry Doug’s Parents again)
- Roman Candles in both hands
- Firework burning face, getting close to eye

So 4th of July in Morocco…what did we do you ask???

Let me do my best to do it justice. Bear with me Lovely readers, I hope you enjoy the details.

I went to my friend Tyson’s site. He lives near a large lake in Morocco, in what is referred to as the “Wheat Belt.” Please don’t confuse this with America’s Great Plains. The hills are rolling yes, but they are full of rocks in addition to wheat (often I joke about the people there just growing rocks long term.)

There are very few trees around these parts. Most have been cut very long ago for firewood. The trees that do exist are planted Eucalyptus, and are protected from being cut. Not native of course, but as far as I know, not invasive. They might even be sterile.

A group of 4 of us total (including myself) met up at Tyson’s, and went camping in a nearby forested area (think a few trees, not forest forest). We had intentions to do the following:
- Swim in the lake, complete with inner-tube
- Build a fire
- Play frisbee
- Fishing!
- Have fun (always a goal)

The weather was perfect when we got there in mid-afternoon. Hot and dry, and sun shining. Great for swimming. We drop our stuff and head down to swim. Success! Next up, we had to set up camp and make food. So we split up via genders (which was hilarious) and the men got wood for the fire, and rocks to build a fire ring and a rock wall for the Buta-gas tank (it was windy.) The women got the food stuffs ready. We certainly had our chuckles about it, as maybe Morocco has trained us to do these things without saying.

About halfway through gathering rocks, I recalled something my friend Tyson had mentioned to me about there being scorpions. I asked him again, and he indeed confirmed. My careless rock gathering needed to stop, I did not feel like having to deal with a scorpion sting. About 5 rocks after the reaffirming, I pick up a rock, and voila!, underneath lying perfectly still is a scorpion.

To tell you about scoprions in Morocco, there are about 30 species. I have some around me, but due to my more urban setting and elevation/cold setting, I rarely see them, unless out camping. I have had one occasion seeing one in a friends house in the south of Morocco… on a wall… while we were getting ready for bed (unsettling eh?) So I digress lovely readers.

The scorpion is small I think, maybe 3 inches long. I pick up a stick (as boys do yeah) and I poke at it to evoke some sort of reaction. I am curious like a cat, and a zoologist by schooling. So I want to know what a scorpion is like to deal with. It moves kind of slowly, tries to sting the stick (maybe it succeeded, but failed really by stinging a stick!) It was close to camp, so in the end, the scorpion was not to be a bed partner, and we get rid of it.

Being a zoologist, and a wanna-be David Attenbourough, I get excited, and immediately look for more. About 5 rocks later, I find another crazy deal… this time a Camel Spider. It is massive, and I call the gang to check it. Unlike scorpion, it moves with incredible speed, it ugly, and kind of freaky. Eventually in looking around more I find one more scorpion… that day. In addition we also see what we term as Zebra Spiders. They are striped, and fast. Remind me of large wolf spiders.

We proceed to make food, drink some drinks, and hang out. Build a fire, and light branches full of dead leaves and stand with them like the Statue of Liberty. Our own fireworks if you will!!! It gets bed time and we sleep outside… it is super nice. It is summer so no rain right? Wrong. About 3am, it starts to thunder, and then rain. We pile into the tent (4 of us in a two person) for the 30 minutes of the rain. Afterwards, we resume slumber.

We awake to find a great day, and do more of the same. Swim, eat, fish (no catches though, bad spot… no seriously, it wasnt me, it was a bad spot!!)

We get everything back together, then wait for our ride. Naturally (this occurs often) he is tardy, and we have longer to wait. Then comes the decision for Battle Royale. I make the call.

Since my David Attenbourough curiosity has led me to search for more scorpions, I want to take it one step further. I want to find out what two scorpions will do when but in a small confined area, unable to get out. I start searching, and come up with a scorpion. I cannot find another, so I settle on a zebra spider.

I catch them in yogurt containers with sticks, and cover them with rocks, as to protect myself. I then place them in a tea-pot and watch the ensuing madness. Except… it wasn’t. We tried to provoke them. Scorpion eats crickets, so Zebra Spider is large. They both sit. I provoke them with a stick, Scorpion grabs leg of Zebra Spider. But scorpion’s pincer’s are not strong enough to cut the leg off of spider. Scorpion stings, but not sure if it landed.

In the end, it was kind of dull. I let them go, and they trample off into the land, finding new homes. It was a great observational experience. Battle Royale 1 was a success!

In the aftermath, I attempt to find the scorpion species we encountered. I succeeded. The Buthus malhommei was the species. It turns out, that those small inadequate pincers mean the venom is business. I found out that on a scale of 4, this scorpion is a 4/4. Highly venomous, and potentially lethal. Probably not to myself (I am young, and in good health,) but to young and older people. Sadly, Tyson reminded me that a boy in his village (at some point in time not while he was there) was stung and did not make it.

I am glad I did not know that before. Sleeping on open ground with scorpions running around is not my idea of fun.

BUT… as a whole, the camping was a success, and the 4th of July was celebrated in a way that made all of the fore-fathers laugh and smile!

I hope my lovely readers that you too were able to celebrate the 4th safely and in a great way! Cheers!

PS. Morocco was also the FIRST country to recognize the United States as a sovereign country. So our diplomatic relations go way way back to 1783 I believe.