Thursday, July 31, 2008

Back to D'Jourbel

Since my last post was all over the place, I'm going to try to synthesize my thoughts this time and write a bit more logically.  We returned to the training center on Monday and spent the past two days attending sessions on safety & security, general Mauritania information, and various Peace Corps philosophy/tools.  This morning, we're returning to our host families.  We've got about 3 more weeks of language class and technical training, then another series of center days before swear-in on August 28!  Then, BIG PARTY!  In the spirit of setting small goals for myself, this is the next big thing that I'm looking forward to.
I'm a little nervous about returning to my host family's house today.  I'm sure that I've forgotten a lot of Hassaniya, which they'll probably notice right away.  And life is totally different when you're living with a Mauritanian family than when living with 70 other Americans.  I'm always on cross-cultural high alert and trying desperately to coordinate my life with theirs.  It's like "little America" inside the center sometimes, and as non-integrated as that sounds, it can be a wonderful break.  I'm excited about improving my Hassaniya though and about getting back into my daily routine.
Speaking of daily routine, I've discovered two races here in RIM (Republique Islamique de la Mauritanie).  One is the Nouakchott marathon, which takes place sometime in the winter, and another is the Atar half-marathon, which is every spring.  I want desperately to participate in both of these!  Since running seems to be my main form of exercise, I also think that these will be great training goals.  I think that the marathon is open to anyone, but the Atar half-marathon is a Peace Corps-organized event, which will be a great opportunity to see the other trainees and catch up after months apart at our sites.  Our country director is really flexible in regards to our in-country travel; he understands what a hard country this is to live in and does a number of things to preserve his volunteers' sanity.  Everyone appreciates it.
Overall, things have been going pretty well.  I wanted to say that a few weeks ago, I realized that I was truly happy here for the first time.  It was during an early-morning hike that I went on with my classmates Becky and Sean.  We were hiking around in the fields outside of Rosso before breakfast and in the pinkish light of sunrise, and I felt so completely relaxed and content to be here.  It took me three weeks to be able to be that relaxed here, but I was very glad when I realized that in myself.
I'll try to get some more photos up soon when the internet connection is less crowded.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Photo #4 (insha'allah)

Thanks to this speedy internet cafe connection, I am finding it much easier to post photos now.  And since we have the weekend off (the first time in the past month!), I have plenty of time to catch up on these sorts of things.  I know that this photo requires some explanation:  this was taken from the backseat of one of the Peace Corps cars (lovingly called the "vomit comet") on our way from Kaedi to M'Bout.  Did I mention that it's the rainy season here?  Kaedi and M'Bout are located in the Gorgol region along the Senegal river, which means that they get a lot more rain than the rest of the country.  Although they are working on the road, it stills becomes flooded during the rainy season and impassible for cars -- trucks are fine.  We had been driving for about an hour and a half before we came to this "creek crossing."  Our driver stopped the car, got out, walked around, and then without even checking the depth of the water, drove us straight through to the other side (he did tell us to close the windows before!).  I have no idea how he decided which creeks were safe enough to cross and which weren't, but I have faith in his driving skills.  I can tell you that I'm not looking forward to finding my own ride from M'Bout to Kaedi in the future!
I'm hoping that this gives you a glimpse into the irony that is my village.  It's a good-sized town -- the last census says about 21,000 inhabitants -- but it's out in the middle of nowhere.  No paved roads for miles around.  But it has electricity and running water and a market and restaurants.  And impassible, rough dirt roads.  Which is why I'm posting this photo.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Photo #3

This is a photo of my language class that was taken during one of our tech sessions.  Along with our facilitator, Sy Samba, the five of us meet for about 6 hours a day / 6 days a week for Hassaniya lessons.  The boys are John (my future site mate) and Sean, and the girls are Becky, Charlotte, and me.  We're going to miss each other when we finally get posted to different regions across the country!  We're standing in a date grove outside on of the training villages.  It was an absolutely gorgeous place to spend the day, and surprisingly cool in the shade with a breeze.  It's date season here, so we had plenty to snack on.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Off to the Gorgol!

I've been checking my email for the past couple of days but haven't had a chance to post on my blog. It's been a busy week! A week ago, I moved back into the Rosso training center and said good-bye to my host family for the next 2 weeks. We had a few days of sessions and then on Monday, we received our site placements...dun dun dun! I'll be moving to the Gorgol region (southern Mauritania along the Senegal river) and starting a new Girls Mentoring Center in a small town there. I'll have one site mate, John, whose also a Girls Education volunteer, so we'll be able to work together. I'm really excited about my placement for a number of reasons: (1) we're starting a new program, so we can do whatever we want with it / don't have any expectations to live up to; (2) I have a site mate, so I won't be the only American in my village!; (3) we're in the south, which is a lot greener and more liberal than other regions in Mauritania; (4) our town of 21,000 is a great size -- not too big or too small. All in all, I'm stoked about starting my service and finishing training, but we still have about a month until swear-in.
On Tuesday, we left Rosso for the 6-hour trip to Kaedi, the Gorgol region's capital. The road was so rough! Half of our group took a "taxi-brousse" (taxi), which had to pass through Nouakchott, but we chose to take the Peace Corps land rover which took the rougher, but more direct route along the Boghe road. I was very happy to be traveling again and roaming around the Mauritanian countryside -- southern Mauritania is a lot more "African looking" than the dry and deserty north. When we got to Kaedi that evening, all the PCVs in the region were at one of the volunteer's house and they had cooked an absolutely delicious American meal for us! I think tears came to my eyes when I saw it! The next day, we met a bunch of officials in Kaedi and had a workshop with some of the community contacts (not mine unfortunately), and on Thursday, John, Becca (a PCV in a village near mine), and I went to visit my village for the first time! Also a very rough road. I'm sure I'll explain my village a little better in my future posts. We were only there for one night because we had to get back to Kaedi before the next big rain storm hit and the road became impassable.
Phew! In conclusion, a lot of things have been going on during the past week, but then again, I have a lot of down time and time spent chatting with the other volunteers in this region. I've also had to think about what I want my living situation to be like for the next two years: do I want to live with a family or on my own? I'm still undecided. But you'll be glad to know that our region has the best region dog in Mauritania! Her name is Kelbi and she's absolutely adorable.
And since this post is why too long, I'm going to cut it off here. Maa salaam!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Photo #2

This is from the first part of our training, while we were staying at the PC training center.  The staff set up a "khyma" or large tent for hanging out under.  Definitely the coolest place to be and the underside is beautifully decorated.

Photo #1!

Salaam aleykum!  I'm at the center today and trying to upload some photos for y'all (yes, I just said "y'all").  This photo was taken during the first weekend that I was with my host family.  This is my host sister's mulafa, which they dressed me up in and then took me to the market to "show me off."  Mauritanians love to dress up their toubabs!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Ca va mieux...

Woohoo!  I'm back on my own laptop, which means a QWERTY keyboard and punctuation.  Second woohoo!:  I survived my first bout of "toubab" (Pulaar for white person) disease this past weekend, and although my digestive tract hasn't recuperated 100%, I'm able to walk around town and sit up now, which is much better than last Friday.  Now that I'm in the clear, I feel like I've conquered some sort of Peace Corps rite of passage, but I was miserable for about 24 hours lying on my matela and reading and explaining to my host family why I didn't want to eat handfuls of oily couscous.
We're starting our last week of "Phase 1" now.  I'll be living with my family until next Friday and going to Hassaniya class like normal, then moving back into the training center for a few days before we find out our permanent site placements!  This is a very big deal around here since sites vary greatly in available resources and general atmosphere.  And then we'll all disperse to visit our permanent sites for a week before returning to Rosso and our host families for the second part of training.  I'm not sure if I've explained that clearly.  It took me awhile to wrap my mind around it in the first place.
In other good news, our goat Amineta had twins yesterday morning!  One boy and one girl, who we named Cortney and Sidi.  I'm going to take pictures this afternoon, in particular for my mom whose been asking about the goat every time we talk!  They are so soft!  I'm not sure my host family understands my fascination with the goats because they roam the streets here like pigeons in New York City, but baby animals are always cute in my opinion.
My facilitator also took our language class to the Senegalese border yesterday, which is probably the most scenic part of Rosso.  I definitely need to go back with my camera because there were wooden boats (beydouns) lined up and ready to ferry people across the river to Senegal.  So much movement and people in such bright colorful clothing in front of a background of reeds and a wide, brown river.  And you could see some green palm trees off in the distance!  Trees!  Senegal is quickly taking on a mythical aura.
Thanks for all the emails, everyone.  I'm going to attempt to answer some now that I have free internet at the center.  I love hearing from all of you.  It makes the distance from here to the USA not feel so far.  A la prochaine...

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Never thought Id say it but I love cloudy days...

First of all youll have to excuse my punctuation. Im at a internet cafe and not quite understanding this keyboard but I want to update my blog while I have the chance.
Secondly Kelsey Mommy Daddy Grandmom Grandma Aunt Erica and Tia Maria thank you so much for the emails. I am feeling much more comfortable here today and your messages made me smile. It become increasingly cloudy all day long so I think it may rain tonight which is actually good news since rain tends to cool everything off. If I could find the exclamation point Id insert it here.
A few of you asked about what I weaar running since were not supposed to show our legs or shoulders in public. When it comes to sports here the rules are more relaxed. I wear capri pants and a teeshirt and although we receive our fair share of strange looks I dont think its directly related to our running attire. I did see another runner this morning for the first time, perhaps he was inspired by Jackie and me. Also Rosso is a much moreliberal community than many others so its not necessary for me to cover my head during the day or while running. The more I talk to current volunteers the more I realize that Ill just have to figure out the dress code for my final site when I get there. Its good to be respectful but maintain a bit of your own culture at the same time.
I have about a week and a half of language class left before site visit when Ill be visiting my permanent village. My hassaniya is slowly improving and Im trying to use it more and more at home with my host family instead of French. My host family greatly appreciates my efforts. For example the other night we had aich for dinner which is a cold soup of ground millet milk and sugar. Absolutly disgusting. I choked down a few bites and then tried to casually slide the bowl back towards my host mom. Salma you hardly ate, she exclaimed. No no Im fine, I said. You dont like it, she asked. Maa nibqi aich, I replied. I didnt know what to say since I couldnt eat another bite but wanted to be polite. She started laughing, took me to buy a sandwich, and then proceeded to tell everyone she knows what I said about her soup. They always laugh when they hear. Thank you Hassaniya.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Mauritanian Fourth of July!

Salaam aleykum! I was feeling a little bit down this afternoon, so I decided to check my email at the "cyber" after class today hoping that some news from home would make me feel like myself again. Nothing too extreme: just coming to grips with the inescapability of the heat, humidity, bugs, sand, etc. My dad told me before I left that I should try to take things in small chunks, one day at a time or one month at a time, instead of worrying about how I will cope with the hard stuff for the next two years. Easier said than done, but I remind myself ever day of that.
On a more positive note, we were able to organize a small Fourth of July celebration yesterday at the training center. The Peace Corps picked up the village volunteers, and everyone met at the center in the afternoon for a brief taste of America: movies, English conversation, hamburgers (even if it was camel meat!), and ultimate frisbee. Since all trainees are now living with different host families and in different parts of town or surrounding villages, it's interesting to hear about their experiences. I think that more so than other countries in West Africa, Mauritania offers some very different experiences to PCVs (Peace Corps volunteers) depending on their final placement. Since we have Fridays off (the weekend is Friday and Saturday here), I also really enjoyed having something to do with my time.
For the upcoming week, I've got language class and technical sessions all week until Saturday. And of course, spending the majority of my allowance on ice cream!