No news is good news

I just got an email from my grandparents reminding me that I haven't updated my blog in awhile.  Believe me, I've been checking the internet every couple of days for new emails from my friends and family and for more info about the coup, but they're right, I haven't updated in awhile.  So, here I am.

Despite the political situation, things are pretty tranquil here "masha'allah" (God willing).  I've been trying to watch the news -- Al-Jazeera -- for the most part, but my Arabic's not that good (yet), so I've been getting most of my information by word of mouth and BBC News online.  In more pressing news, I found out yesterday that Peace Corps's experienced some budget cuts, which means fewer of the "sanity savers" that we were looking forward to:  paid Nouakchott days, higher living allowances to keep up with inflation, fewer trainees next year, etc.  We might be in the best position as trainees since we haven't grown accustomed to these yet.  Thanks to the coup and budget cuts, we're going to have a smaller swear-in this year, but like I said, I won't know the difference.

We started model GMC (Girls Mentoring Center) this week, and I got to teach my first lesson!  It's probably the part of training that most simulates what my job will be once I'm a volunteer.  I really enjoyed planning the lesson (John and I taught the girls English slang words:  bummer, yo! yo! yo!, what's up, sweet, etc), teaching (in French -- woohoo!), and getting to know the girls.  Teaching is really invigorating for me, and I'm really looking forward to that part of my job.  It makes me wonder if that's something I'd like to continue doing after the Peace Corps...

Last night, we had a small party with some other trainees and volunteers at my friend Charlotte's host family's house.  We called it a "pot luck" because everyone brought something to share, and we hung out on her roof under the stars, and eventually set up our mosquito nets there to sleep.  Unfortunately, we were rudely awaken around midnight by lightening and an approaching storm, so we ran downstairs (with our mosquito nets) and set up camp in her salon.  This isn't the first time that rain has woken me up in the middle of the night, and I still think it's worth starting out on the roof for the cooler temperatures and breeze that it provides.  All in all, it was an awesome party and sleepover, and I slept surprisingly well.  I took some pictures of the sunset from her roof a few weeks ago, which I'll have to share with everyone.

Okay, I'm about to run out of internet time.  Ma salaam!