As soon as life started to calm down from Christmas and New Years, it seemed like a month was gone and it was time for WAIST. I spent the couple of weeks before WAIST at site. My APCD (director of SED) came to visit and offered some helping words and some good ideas. Another volunteer, Janna, from Aleg also came to visit and go see the good people of Lekrae with me. I was thankful to have someone who is as knowledgeable in gardening as she was. She had many great ideas of where she could help their cooperatives. They were so thankful to have her there that they gifted us with a ton of fresh vegetables straight from their garden!
The week before WAIST, I wasn’t feeling so great and investigated in my medical handbook what it could be. I won’t describe the symptoms, but nothing too terrible. (You can google it and see for yourself) It seems my symptoms were typical of someone who has Giardia. While I was a little bummed about getting my first “real” sickness in Mauritania, I was glad I discovered it before WAIST so I could take the meds and be done before I left. I went to Aleg a couple of days before we were supposed to be in Rosso to drop off Razza with some region mates who would look after her. We all went to the old training center in Rosso by way of taxi to Nouakchott and bus to Rosso, arranged by the WAIST coordinators. It was a little weird being back at the training center as a volunteer. There was a schedule posted with events through the end of summer, which included Mid-Term Reconnect for all of the first year volunteers, the date of the arrival of the new trainees, the date of site announcement and site visit, and the day of swear in for the new volunteers. The realization started to sink in that I’ll be getting a new GEE site mate to replace Chelsey next year. It will be hard for someone to fill her shoes, but I’m always excited about meeting new people. We had our Safety and Security briefing in Rosso the day before our trip. The PC Mauritania team is known as the “Pirates”, which encompasses all pirate related themes. We received our shirts to indicate which team we were on. The observers, who don’t play on a team, are the “Poopdeck Seamen” and have navy blue shirts. The C-Team, which is my team, is the “Scallywags” and have yellow shirts. The B-Team is the “Buccaneers” and have green shirts. Our A-Team is the Pirates and they have black shirts. The afternoon was passed by practicing our awesome softball moves.
On Friday the 13th, we loaded up two busses early in the morning. It seemed like the longest part of the trip was getting from Rosso-Mauritania to Rosso-Senegal. We had to cross the river on a ferry (a total of about 50 yards. It’s ridiculous, but they refuse to build a bridge) and pass through customs on the Senegal side. The bus ride was rather pleasant. It wasn’t too hot and the seats were comfortable. As the day passed and the hours dragged on, the bus became more lively and rambunctious. We arrived in Dakar in the late afternoon. The busses dropped off people that would be staying in “Home stays” at the American Club, then took the rest of us to the hotel we’d be staying in. The hotel wasn’t five star, but it was comfortable. There were two bathrooms/showers on our hall, and each room had multiple beds in them. As soon as we checked in and took quick showers, I went downstairs with a few other volunteers to the restaurant right next door, called Ali Baba’s. I know it surprises you, but I ordered a pizza. It was so delicious. They use more cheese in Dakar than in Nouakchott. Not long after dinner, it was time for bed, as the next day would be the start of WAIST and sleep would be needed.
A little explanation of WAIST, for those who might be a little confused at this point. WAIST is the West African Invitational Softball Tournament. Mostly ex-pats from all over West Africa attend. While Peace Corps makes up a large percent of the people there, other teams compete as well. For example, there is a team from Nouakchott that consists of the families that own the two American restaurants there, and other Americans that live in Nouakchott. There was a team of high school students whose parents work in Embassy’s in Dakar. It’s meant to be a family-friendly weekend. I heard there were about 65 teams, but I only counted about 30. There are two divisions: the competitive league and the social league. All three teams of Peace Corps RIM are in the social league. A little bit of background about our teams: The Scallywags are traditionally the lowest, most non-competitive, non-talented team for PC RIM. We go to have a good time and ONLY that. Winning is not important. The Buccaneers take it a little more seriously. They want to have a good time, but they also want to win. Then there are the Pirates. The Pirates are our best team that people have to try out to make the team. They take their games very seriously and are in it for the trophy.
Most everyone in the hotel was up with the sun and out the door to get taxis to the American Club bright and early. We were all decked out in our pirate gear and ready to play ball. The American Club was amazing. I hadn’t felt so close to America since I’d left. Lush, green grass. A beautiful, clean pool. Thatch umbrellas covering the lounge chairs. A concession stand with real ballpark hamburgers. A bar. Three baseball fields. It was more than I could have imagined. The Scallywags, my team, were first up to play. We all started the day right with a bloody mary and headed to the field. So, our first game was against Peace Corps Gambia. Last year we tied them for last place. It was a rematch. We all went out on the field, goofed around, and had a blast. I think we won, but we weren’t really keeping track.
With three fields, there was constantly a game to watch. Almost always, one of our teams was playing. I didn’t really follow who was winning or losing. I know our Pirates were doing awesome, and that’s all that mattered. All of the volunteers for Peace Corps Mauritania were always at every game supporting our players. One of our volunteers carried around a boom box on her head and rocked out some tunes, so there was constantly a dance party. In between games, we’d relax by the pool, eating the amazingly-American food, sipping on beers, and getting to know other Peace Corps countries. We tended to bond well with Peace Corps Gambia. Throughout the course of WAIST, we ended up planning a big trip for them to come see us, and for us to go see them. It’s good to know people in other countries. For two days, the games continued and the good times were had. The first night I had a nice pizza dinner with Adam for Valentine’s Day. The second night, there was a party the Peace Corps volunteers at WAIST at this little club right on the ocean.
The third day of WAIST is perhaps the most important. It’s the tournament. The Buccaneers and Scallywags never expect to make it. However, the Pirates not only are expected to make it to the tournament, but are expected to win it. Last year was the first year that we’ve gone to WAIST that we didn’t win it. We lost in the last game to a team of Senegalese people from Dakar. This year, we cheered on every game of the day until the championship game. We were up against the same team we lost to last year. The championship game took place on a field about a five minute walk from the American Club. I liked this field because it looked out over the ocean, but more importantly because there were hot dogs and Lay’s potato chips. We all watched the game, not stopping the cheers for one second. Peace Corps Gambia, Mali, Guinea, and Senegal all had people come support us. We were neck and neck with the other team for a few innings, then ran away with the game. When it was officially over, we all stormed the field and celebrated. The trophy was coming back to Mauritania!
The party got started right after the game with PC RIM taking over the American Club. There was an attempt by the Pirates to do a team jump into the pool, but was quickly averted by the pool cleaners. It was a really clean pool. We enjoyed the success for the rest of the afternoon, then Adam and I left a little early to have our own celebration over another one of Mr. Ali Baba’s pizzas. They were SO GOOD! Eventually people filtered back to their home-stays and the hotel to clean up for the banquet. I won’t say much about the banquet. I haven’t mentioned how cool the weather was in Dakar, but the nights were down right chilly. In long pants and long sleeve shirts, one still needed more covering to keep from shivering. The banquet was outside and started at 7pm. We all sat uncomfortably at what would have been a beautiful setting. We waited for about 2 ½ hours before dinner was served. We scarfed down the food before it got cold. The announcement of the trophy winners was exciting. The Pirates received their enormous trophy. After the ceremonies, the music started and the dancing began. Except we were too cold and hungry (the food got cold fast) to have any fun, so left to go get more pizza.
We left the next morning to visit the beautiful St. Louis, as a resting stop on the way back to Mauritania. The ride to St. Louis was about 5 hours. We stayed two nights to rest before the great journey home. With a taxi to Rosso-Senegal, a boat across the river, a taxi that was off road for 100km between Rosso and Boghe, and a taxi from Boghe to Aleg, we made it to North Brakna in one day from St. Louis. A total of about 12 hours of travelling. We were worn out, but happy to see Razza. The next morning, we headed to Magta Lahjar. I never thought I’d be happy to be here and not travelling for a couple of months. It was unfortunate that on the way from Senegal to Mauritania, I seemed to have come down with a cold, that advanced into pneumonia once I got to Magta Lahjar. The symptoms haven’t been fun, but having the excuse to sit at home and do nothing for a few days has been a nice break.
In the upcoming days, I’ll be getting back out there to hang out with cooperatives and NGO’s in town. Next month, I’ll be in Nouakchott for two days getting Razza spayed and getting her the vaccinations she needs. In April, my big vacation arrives at the end of the month and I’ll be off to South Africa!! With the hot season just now starting, I will definitely be ready for that break. After South Africa, it’s June, which is one year since I arrived. I can hardly believe that it’s been almost a year since I found out my fate of living in Mauritania. It’s even harder to believe that I’ve kept a blog for an entire year! Thanks for keeping up with me and I’ll update if anything interesting happens before South Africa!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
January 2009: Senegal, Riots, Obama, Countdown To WAIST
The day before New Years Eve (New Years Eve Eve?), Adam and I, along with five other volunteers, set off to cross the river, into Senegal, Land of Opportunity. After stepping off the ferry into Rosso, Senegal, it felt as if a great weight had been lifted off of my shoulders! We ran to the garage to get a car to St. Louis with out one glance back to say a brief farewell to Mauritania. Sadly, the car we got, had no shocks, so the driver didn’t go over 30 kilometers per hour. However, the ride gave us an opportunity to admire how “African” Senegal is. The little villages we saw along the way reminded me of about a year ago when I was trying to picture what life in Africa would be like. We finally arrived in St. Louis, on the “mainland” part of town. We all took off by foot to the island. Adam and I went in search of our hotel. I feel weird calling it a hotel and see it more as a bed and breakfast establishment. The place was incredible. There were three levels. The first one was a little restaurant-bar area, in an open-air court yard. The next level was for the rooms. The hotel has 8 rooms. Ours was the nicest. The room was big, with a queen size bed and a table and chairs. We had a private toilet and a cute shower and sink area. The room was given a rustic look as decorations. It was cleaner and cozier than the hotels I’ve stayed in in America. You could tell that special attention was paid to each room to give it a unique feel. The sheets weren’t the generic white sheets that all hotels tend to have. Our room was on the corner, so on two walls, we had double doors opening to a walk around balcony. Our balcony looked out over the river and to the part of St. Louis with the beach. (We couldn’t see the beach from our room). Even if I had gone on vacation in America and stayed in a place like this, I’d have been blown away. But to be two volunteers who have been surviving in Mauritania, in the middle of the desert for six months, we had to pinch ourselves to make sure it was real. On the third floor of the building was a terrace looking out all over St. Louis. There were tables and chairs up there, if one wanted to have their meal on the terrace.
After cleaning Mauritania and the taxi ride off of us, we set out to explore and to find some PIZZA! The first café we came to had an assortment of food. Even though I wanted pizza, it was hard for me to turn down so many items on the menu. Adam and I split a pizza with “ham and egg” on it. The ham ended up being hot dog slices and the egg was fried up and in the middle of the pizza. As weird and crazy as it sounds, this was one of the best pizzas ever. So many flavors at once were a little hard to handle. Hot dogs being another food I’ve craved (not as much as pizza), that little extra kick just made my day. After the amazing pizza, the waitress asked if we wanted chocolate mousse. An exchanged look, shrug of the shoulders, and reasoning of “we’re on vacation!” settled it. Chocolate has never been so delicious. Even though through out our entire trip we had better food, no meal was as satisfying as this first one in St. Louis. With a beer to wash it all down, we were probably the two happiest people in West Africa as we set out to see the town.
St. Louis is what you would imagine if you took old style Europe, New Orleans, and West Africa, threw them all together, shook them around, and splattered it on the coast. The architecture was adorable and the feel of the town was comfortable. St. Louis is set up in three sections. There’s the mainland, which isn’t really touristy. Then there’s the island, which has that New Orleans feel. The island is sandwiched between the mainland and the beach mainland. I’m not sure if the mainland wraps around the island or if the beach area is a separate island. We spent our entire first day just exploring the island. We’d run into some fellow volunteers occasionally, but it was the perfect vacation to get away from Mauritania.
That night, Adam and I decided to have dinner at the hotel. As we were enjoying our seafood pasta and calamari, a group of Americans our age came in, seeming to know the place fairly well, and headed to the rooftop terrace to have a beer. When the waiter came back to the table I asked him who they were. He told us they were Peace Corps Senegal volunteers. After our meal, we decided to go up and greet them. We were given some nervous glances, which I can only assume is because of the reputation PC Mauritania has received by being raving lunatics at WAIST (the West African Invitational Softball Tournament….one month away!!) However, Adam and I were dressed in nice attire and are, perhaps, two of the most unintimidating people ever. We were invited to sit and chat, and almost immediately, I regretted my decision. Let’s just say I learned that vacation is a time to NOT talk about Mauritania.
Our second day in St. Louis started with hot cheese and ham croissants. Enough said. After breakfast, we got ready for the beach. Our lunch was a baguette, camembert cheese, and Roquefort cheese. And potato chips!! (Another amenity not found outside of Nouakchott in Mauritania). We sat on the beach all day with a group of volunteers. The water was violent and cold, but still an experience we had to take advantage of. It was a beautiful day on the beach. Adam and I went back to the hotel to clean up for dinner. Eli came over and we all enjoyed a glass of wine on the balcony while we watched the sunset. For dinner, we went to a place called “The Casino”, named so for the small casino hidden behind the upscale-ish restaurant. The waiters and waitresses wore white collar shirts and were professional. The food is all exceptional, apparently. To continue with our pattern, Adam and I ordered pizzas. These weren’t just any pizzas. They were brick oven cooked pizzas. They totally blew every other pizza we’d had out of the water. The pizzas were devoured in a matter of minutes. After our nice dinner, we set out to meet up with the other volunteers. Eventually, everyone had convened at “The Tavern”. We counted down until 2009 and had hugs and kisses all around. The Senegalese band played songs while people danced. I never thought that within two days, I would feel so far from Mauritania.
The next morning, we had our cheese and ham croissants and headed to the ocean again. Most of the day was spent taking it easy and relaxing. So far, 2009 was perfect. We had dinner that evening with Chris Paul and Anna, one of the married couples in PC RIM. Not only were they so generous to correspond with me long before I received my placement to Mauritania, and not only do we have mutual friends, but they’re automatically awesome because they’re from North Carolina. We all dined at a Vietnamese restaurant, which seemed more like Thai food, but nonetheless incredible. On our last morning, we had our usual breakfast, got packed, and headed back to Mauritania. That’s when 2009 started to go down hill. It took twice as long as usual to get to Rosso because the ferry was closed for lunch (until about 4:00). We got to Mauritania, and then had to wait forever to get through customs.
The next morning, we took off as soon as possible for Nouakchott. Early Term Reconnect/In-Service Training (ETR/IST) was starting the next day for all of the first year volunteers. This time, I stayed in the Atlas hotel with the SED and Health volunteers. We got checked into the hotel and grabbed a bite for lunch. We relaxed in the hotel until dinner time. For dinner, it was, of course, pizza. The only thing scheduled for the next day was shots from the PCMO whenever you could make it to the bureau, and a session at 2:00.
Adam and I went to the bureau to take care of shots and check out the bureau. At about 11:30, we decided to go to the restaurant a block away and grab burgers, take them back to the room, and watch a movie and eat lunch until the session at 2. A few days before we arrived, we’d heard that since Israel had attacked Gaza, there was an attempted bombing at the Israeli embassy in Nouakchott. Luckily, the Molotov cocktail didn’t detonate and no one was injured. Adam received a text our first day in Nouakchott from a PCV living in Nouakchott saying “There’s increased police presence. Keep a low profile”. Other than that, we had no clue how elevated the situation would become. After we had ordered our hamburgers and were waiting for them, we were talking with the worker at the restaurant. There were a lot of high school/college aged kids on the streets, which made since to me, since everyone is let out for lunch. They were just standing around socializing. It gave me no reason to think it was anything more than friends standing around talking. There was a police truck on the corner, but this wasn’t out of the ordinary, as we had seen police trucks all over town the day before. I mentioned the police to the restaurant worker and he was like “Yeah, people are made at Israel right now.” He went back to getting things ready for us, then said “You should stay here for a few minutes. I think people might get crazy”. I told him our hotel was real close, so he gave us our burgers and said, urgently “Go there NOW”. We weren’t sure why he was acting this way, but didn’t question it. In between the restaurant and the hotel, we stopped in a boutique to get Cokes. As we were waiting, we heard a commotion and looked out to see a large group of people running, in the direction of our hotel. The boutique owner looked at us with a concerned look, gave us our Cokes, and we started booking it to the hotel, right through the middle of the crowd. Immediately, we were noticed and people started shouting at us “F*** You Americans!” and screaming “Nasaraniye!”, which is Hassaniya for “white people” or “Christians”. Either way, people were not happy with us. We darted for the hotel, and got inside just in time to warn others not to leave. We went into our room on the third floor and out to the balcony just in time to see angry protestors throwing rocks at the police and the police shooting tear gas bombs at them. A couple of PCV’s in a taxi got caught right in between the protestors and police. When they finally arrived at our hotel, people were outside were pulling on their bags and yelling at them as they were trying to get into the building. For the next three hours, we watched the show from the roof of our hotel. The protests were making the rounds around town. People were lighting trash and tires on fire. We would see the black smoke of the fires rising, followed by the white smoke of tear gas. Numerous times throughout the afternoon, the protests would loop back to right in front of our hotel. Though a little nervous, I have to say that, while at a safe distance, it was a pretty cool to watch. The rest of the week of ETR/IST was relatively uneventful after that first day. Some kids would yell stuff at us. We had a few things thrown at us here and there, but no angry mobs to speak of. One day, there was a HUGE protest that went through town, but it was “government sanctioned”, which meant it was to be peaceful and the police would escort everyone. The crowd went by our hotel and we stood on the balcony watching them. There were thousands of people. A few people would see us, point, then give us the peace sign. A couple of big milestones over our break were the two celebrations of a) 6-months in Mauritania and b) 200 days in Africa. A quarter of our time in Africa is already over.
All good things must come to an end, including vacation (or being away from site). The car I was in from Nouakchott to Magta Lahjar kept breaking down, so it took us 8 hours instead of 4 hours to get to Magta. After ETR/IST, I’ve had more motivation to get some work done. Also, after speaking Hassaniya in Nouakchott to Moors who aren’t used to white people speaking Hassaniya and loved it, my confidence was much higher, and I’ve definitely noticed an improvement in my language. While in Nouakchott, almost all of the towns with Girls Mentoring Centers were given phones and a hook up for the internet, so I am happy to announce that I now have access to the internet in Magta Lahjar! It’s extremely slow and I’ll probably wait until I go to Aleg to update my blog and pictures, but at least I can keep in touch with people and stay connected with the world. Also, since I’ve been back in Magta, Mauritania has cut all ties with Israel, which isn’t necessarily a great thing, but hopefully this means the protests will end. We’re also eagerly awaiting the inauguration of our new President, Barak Obama, TODAY!!!
Now the countdown to WAIST begins. I found out last week that I’m playing on the “C” team. I’m definitely excited about going back to Senegal and to see everyone again so soon. Sorry for the delayed update and if you actually read all of this, thanks for getting through it all! It’s been an interesting month with some really great moments and some really stressful moments. I’m looking forward to the next adventures West Africa has in store!
After cleaning Mauritania and the taxi ride off of us, we set out to explore and to find some PIZZA! The first café we came to had an assortment of food. Even though I wanted pizza, it was hard for me to turn down so many items on the menu. Adam and I split a pizza with “ham and egg” on it. The ham ended up being hot dog slices and the egg was fried up and in the middle of the pizza. As weird and crazy as it sounds, this was one of the best pizzas ever. So many flavors at once were a little hard to handle. Hot dogs being another food I’ve craved (not as much as pizza), that little extra kick just made my day. After the amazing pizza, the waitress asked if we wanted chocolate mousse. An exchanged look, shrug of the shoulders, and reasoning of “we’re on vacation!” settled it. Chocolate has never been so delicious. Even though through out our entire trip we had better food, no meal was as satisfying as this first one in St. Louis. With a beer to wash it all down, we were probably the two happiest people in West Africa as we set out to see the town.
St. Louis is what you would imagine if you took old style Europe, New Orleans, and West Africa, threw them all together, shook them around, and splattered it on the coast. The architecture was adorable and the feel of the town was comfortable. St. Louis is set up in three sections. There’s the mainland, which isn’t really touristy. Then there’s the island, which has that New Orleans feel. The island is sandwiched between the mainland and the beach mainland. I’m not sure if the mainland wraps around the island or if the beach area is a separate island. We spent our entire first day just exploring the island. We’d run into some fellow volunteers occasionally, but it was the perfect vacation to get away from Mauritania.
That night, Adam and I decided to have dinner at the hotel. As we were enjoying our seafood pasta and calamari, a group of Americans our age came in, seeming to know the place fairly well, and headed to the rooftop terrace to have a beer. When the waiter came back to the table I asked him who they were. He told us they were Peace Corps Senegal volunteers. After our meal, we decided to go up and greet them. We were given some nervous glances, which I can only assume is because of the reputation PC Mauritania has received by being raving lunatics at WAIST (the West African Invitational Softball Tournament….one month away!!) However, Adam and I were dressed in nice attire and are, perhaps, two of the most unintimidating people ever. We were invited to sit and chat, and almost immediately, I regretted my decision. Let’s just say I learned that vacation is a time to NOT talk about Mauritania.
Our second day in St. Louis started with hot cheese and ham croissants. Enough said. After breakfast, we got ready for the beach. Our lunch was a baguette, camembert cheese, and Roquefort cheese. And potato chips!! (Another amenity not found outside of Nouakchott in Mauritania). We sat on the beach all day with a group of volunteers. The water was violent and cold, but still an experience we had to take advantage of. It was a beautiful day on the beach. Adam and I went back to the hotel to clean up for dinner. Eli came over and we all enjoyed a glass of wine on the balcony while we watched the sunset. For dinner, we went to a place called “The Casino”, named so for the small casino hidden behind the upscale-ish restaurant. The waiters and waitresses wore white collar shirts and were professional. The food is all exceptional, apparently. To continue with our pattern, Adam and I ordered pizzas. These weren’t just any pizzas. They were brick oven cooked pizzas. They totally blew every other pizza we’d had out of the water. The pizzas were devoured in a matter of minutes. After our nice dinner, we set out to meet up with the other volunteers. Eventually, everyone had convened at “The Tavern”. We counted down until 2009 and had hugs and kisses all around. The Senegalese band played songs while people danced. I never thought that within two days, I would feel so far from Mauritania.
The next morning, we had our cheese and ham croissants and headed to the ocean again. Most of the day was spent taking it easy and relaxing. So far, 2009 was perfect. We had dinner that evening with Chris Paul and Anna, one of the married couples in PC RIM. Not only were they so generous to correspond with me long before I received my placement to Mauritania, and not only do we have mutual friends, but they’re automatically awesome because they’re from North Carolina. We all dined at a Vietnamese restaurant, which seemed more like Thai food, but nonetheless incredible. On our last morning, we had our usual breakfast, got packed, and headed back to Mauritania. That’s when 2009 started to go down hill. It took twice as long as usual to get to Rosso because the ferry was closed for lunch (until about 4:00). We got to Mauritania, and then had to wait forever to get through customs.
The next morning, we took off as soon as possible for Nouakchott. Early Term Reconnect/In-Service Training (ETR/IST) was starting the next day for all of the first year volunteers. This time, I stayed in the Atlas hotel with the SED and Health volunteers. We got checked into the hotel and grabbed a bite for lunch. We relaxed in the hotel until dinner time. For dinner, it was, of course, pizza. The only thing scheduled for the next day was shots from the PCMO whenever you could make it to the bureau, and a session at 2:00.
Adam and I went to the bureau to take care of shots and check out the bureau. At about 11:30, we decided to go to the restaurant a block away and grab burgers, take them back to the room, and watch a movie and eat lunch until the session at 2. A few days before we arrived, we’d heard that since Israel had attacked Gaza, there was an attempted bombing at the Israeli embassy in Nouakchott. Luckily, the Molotov cocktail didn’t detonate and no one was injured. Adam received a text our first day in Nouakchott from a PCV living in Nouakchott saying “There’s increased police presence. Keep a low profile”. Other than that, we had no clue how elevated the situation would become. After we had ordered our hamburgers and were waiting for them, we were talking with the worker at the restaurant. There were a lot of high school/college aged kids on the streets, which made since to me, since everyone is let out for lunch. They were just standing around socializing. It gave me no reason to think it was anything more than friends standing around talking. There was a police truck on the corner, but this wasn’t out of the ordinary, as we had seen police trucks all over town the day before. I mentioned the police to the restaurant worker and he was like “Yeah, people are made at Israel right now.” He went back to getting things ready for us, then said “You should stay here for a few minutes. I think people might get crazy”. I told him our hotel was real close, so he gave us our burgers and said, urgently “Go there NOW”. We weren’t sure why he was acting this way, but didn’t question it. In between the restaurant and the hotel, we stopped in a boutique to get Cokes. As we were waiting, we heard a commotion and looked out to see a large group of people running, in the direction of our hotel. The boutique owner looked at us with a concerned look, gave us our Cokes, and we started booking it to the hotel, right through the middle of the crowd. Immediately, we were noticed and people started shouting at us “F*** You Americans!” and screaming “Nasaraniye!”, which is Hassaniya for “white people” or “Christians”. Either way, people were not happy with us. We darted for the hotel, and got inside just in time to warn others not to leave. We went into our room on the third floor and out to the balcony just in time to see angry protestors throwing rocks at the police and the police shooting tear gas bombs at them. A couple of PCV’s in a taxi got caught right in between the protestors and police. When they finally arrived at our hotel, people were outside were pulling on their bags and yelling at them as they were trying to get into the building. For the next three hours, we watched the show from the roof of our hotel. The protests were making the rounds around town. People were lighting trash and tires on fire. We would see the black smoke of the fires rising, followed by the white smoke of tear gas. Numerous times throughout the afternoon, the protests would loop back to right in front of our hotel. Though a little nervous, I have to say that, while at a safe distance, it was a pretty cool to watch. The rest of the week of ETR/IST was relatively uneventful after that first day. Some kids would yell stuff at us. We had a few things thrown at us here and there, but no angry mobs to speak of. One day, there was a HUGE protest that went through town, but it was “government sanctioned”, which meant it was to be peaceful and the police would escort everyone. The crowd went by our hotel and we stood on the balcony watching them. There were thousands of people. A few people would see us, point, then give us the peace sign. A couple of big milestones over our break were the two celebrations of a) 6-months in Mauritania and b) 200 days in Africa. A quarter of our time in Africa is already over.
All good things must come to an end, including vacation (or being away from site). The car I was in from Nouakchott to Magta Lahjar kept breaking down, so it took us 8 hours instead of 4 hours to get to Magta. After ETR/IST, I’ve had more motivation to get some work done. Also, after speaking Hassaniya in Nouakchott to Moors who aren’t used to white people speaking Hassaniya and loved it, my confidence was much higher, and I’ve definitely noticed an improvement in my language. While in Nouakchott, almost all of the towns with Girls Mentoring Centers were given phones and a hook up for the internet, so I am happy to announce that I now have access to the internet in Magta Lahjar! It’s extremely slow and I’ll probably wait until I go to Aleg to update my blog and pictures, but at least I can keep in touch with people and stay connected with the world. Also, since I’ve been back in Magta, Mauritania has cut all ties with Israel, which isn’t necessarily a great thing, but hopefully this means the protests will end. We’re also eagerly awaiting the inauguration of our new President, Barak Obama, TODAY!!!
Now the countdown to WAIST begins. I found out last week that I’m playing on the “C” team. I’m definitely excited about going back to Senegal and to see everyone again so soon. Sorry for the delayed update and if you actually read all of this, thanks for getting through it all! It’s been an interesting month with some really great moments and some really stressful moments. I’m looking forward to the next adventures West Africa has in store!
The End of a Good Year: December 2008
In the two months since my last post, more has happened than the previous five months in Mauritania. After Thanksgiving, I returned to Magta Lahjar the same day as my site mate. We were told immediately that the owner of the house, who lives in Nouakchott, was recently married, and therefore wanted to move back into his own house. For one month. We had about 12 hours to find a new place and move out. A friend had heard of our misfortune, and came to show us a house that was available to rent. It was about three houses down from the house we were getting kicked out of, and would only be a small amount more per month. We didn’t even look before we decided to stay. The next morning, we began to move all of our possessions via donkey cart. When we first opened the doors to our new house, we were stunned. The house was huge!! Two bedrooms. A kitchen room. A shower room. A salon (living room). A huge entry way. Then there were the perks of having a concrete (not tin) roof, which keeps the house cooler. The roof is also accessible by some stairs, so the perfect perch to watch the camels walking to the dunes every morning to graze. The yard is huge (for Razza) and the walls are fairly high, so creepers won’t be an issue. There are also huge metal doors and metal lattice on all of the windows. I definitely feel more secure here. We’ve decided to stay here. If someone else is interested in the house, they’ll double our rent. But until then, we have probably one of the best housing deals I’ve heard of in Mauritania!
So, I spent the three weeks leading up to Christmas enjoying my new house, listening to Christmas music with the slew of volunteers passing through Magta Lahjar, and trying to feel all warm and fuzzy. I had heard talk of how amazing Nouakchott would be from second year volunteers. A couple of days before, I went to Aleg to convene with all of the first years that would be taking a car to Nouakchott together. The ride to Nouakchott was quick and painless. Then we had our first Nouakchott taxi experience. The taxi driver told us he knew where both hotels we needed to go to were. After driving around for about an hour and asking every person on the street where the hotels were, we finally got to our hotel. The hotels we stay in are arranged by the Peace Corps. As it would be difficult to fit over 100 people in one hotel (hotels aren’t very large in Nouakchott), we were split between four hotels, and divided by regions we live in. I was in the “Welcome” with my fellow North Braknians. The room I was in one was one of the smallest ones in the hotel, but still exceeded my expectations! There was a queen size bed, a bathroom with a hot shower, a kitchen area, and a breakfast nook. Thus began my list of
“Things I Haven’t Done In Six Months”
• Take a hot shower
• Sleep on a bed
• Use toilet paper
• Use an elevator
• Be completely emerged in water (Bathtub! Ocean!)
• Looked in a mirror larger than a sheet of notebook paper
• Wear pants in public
• Wear shorts and a tank top in public (this didn’t happen until St. Louis)
• Have a beer at a bar
• Been served at a restaurant
• Walk down the street holding hands with a member of the opposite sex (Also St. Louis)
• Wear a bathing suit (St. Louis)
• See my drivers license
• Said the phrase “I recommend the stuffed crab. It’s absolutely delectable!”
• Hold American dollars
• Leave Mauritania
• EAT PIZZA!!!!!
• Wear a seatbelt
After getting showers and changing into American clothes (jeans, tee-shirt, no head wrap), I went to the Chinese restaurant with some other volunteers. After filling our stomachs and enjoying our freedoms, it was time for a little nap. That evening, our Peace Corps Country Director, Obie, was having a special celebration at his house for the volunteers. Before we headed to Obie’s for the Christmas Eve celebration, we went to the only bar in town, Schenker’s, built exclusively for non-Mauritanians. You have to give your ID at the door to prove you’re a foreigner. They do this because it’s illegal for Mauritanian’s to consume alcohol or enjoy the savory taste of pork, both of which are served at Schenker’s. It’s mostly enjoyed by the embassy workers who live in Nouakchott. After meeting up with some other volunteers, we all took off for Obie’s house. A few of the second year volunteers had been chosen to prepare the appetizer-like food. It was incredible how delicious everything was! It was a wonderful evening of seeing all of my friends who I hadn’t seen in four months. Being able to catch up with everyone was really wonderful.
Christmas morning was bittersweet. I was really happy to be in Nouakchott and be surrounded by these people who have grown so close to me in the last six months. But, of course, it was really hard thinking about what would be going on at home. Stockings and breakfast casserole at Mom and Barry’s. Recovering from eating too many homemade enchiladas and chile relleno Christmas Eve, opening stockings with Dad and Donna. Hanging out with my brothers all day. So to forget my sorrows, I decided to stuff myself with Pizza!!!! When that first bite of deliciously melted cheese and warm sauce on a crunchy crust hit my lips, I had to fight back the tears. Six months have I been craving this!! Now, the pizza tasted like what a frozen pizza would taste like. Nothing gourmet, but nonetheless, amazing. I spent the afternoon with Adam and our two dogs, Razza and Miles. That night, we headed back to Obie’s to spend Christmas with everyone.
The next day, we took our time getting packed and ready to leave. We had breakfast at Equinox, one of the two establishments in Nouakchott owned by Americans, and had eggs, coffee, orange juice, croissants, and toast and jam for breakfast. I miss breakfast restaurants! Mid-afternoon, a group of us all got a car and began our return journey to Rosso. Upon arrival, we were pretty far from the volunteers’ house we were staying in, but decided to walk. As we were stomping through piles of trash, I began to remember how disgusting Rosso is. After dropping our luggage at the house, we took off for the camel burger restaurant! While waiting for the food, I was close enough to my host family’s house to stop in and say hello. They were really happy to see me, but almost immediately, my host mom started telling me about how she lost her job, her sister just died, and they don’t have any money. Luckily I had to get back to the restaurant, so didn’t have to be put in the same awkward situation she consistently put me in during stage. The next few days were spent relaxing and counting down the minutes until we were in St. Louis.
So, I spent the three weeks leading up to Christmas enjoying my new house, listening to Christmas music with the slew of volunteers passing through Magta Lahjar, and trying to feel all warm and fuzzy. I had heard talk of how amazing Nouakchott would be from second year volunteers. A couple of days before, I went to Aleg to convene with all of the first years that would be taking a car to Nouakchott together. The ride to Nouakchott was quick and painless. Then we had our first Nouakchott taxi experience. The taxi driver told us he knew where both hotels we needed to go to were. After driving around for about an hour and asking every person on the street where the hotels were, we finally got to our hotel. The hotels we stay in are arranged by the Peace Corps. As it would be difficult to fit over 100 people in one hotel (hotels aren’t very large in Nouakchott), we were split between four hotels, and divided by regions we live in. I was in the “Welcome” with my fellow North Braknians. The room I was in one was one of the smallest ones in the hotel, but still exceeded my expectations! There was a queen size bed, a bathroom with a hot shower, a kitchen area, and a breakfast nook. Thus began my list of
“Things I Haven’t Done In Six Months”
• Take a hot shower
• Sleep on a bed
• Use toilet paper
• Use an elevator
• Be completely emerged in water (Bathtub! Ocean!)
• Looked in a mirror larger than a sheet of notebook paper
• Wear pants in public
• Wear shorts and a tank top in public (this didn’t happen until St. Louis)
• Have a beer at a bar
• Been served at a restaurant
• Walk down the street holding hands with a member of the opposite sex (Also St. Louis)
• Wear a bathing suit (St. Louis)
• See my drivers license
• Said the phrase “I recommend the stuffed crab. It’s absolutely delectable!”
• Hold American dollars
• Leave Mauritania
• EAT PIZZA!!!!!
• Wear a seatbelt
After getting showers and changing into American clothes (jeans, tee-shirt, no head wrap), I went to the Chinese restaurant with some other volunteers. After filling our stomachs and enjoying our freedoms, it was time for a little nap. That evening, our Peace Corps Country Director, Obie, was having a special celebration at his house for the volunteers. Before we headed to Obie’s for the Christmas Eve celebration, we went to the only bar in town, Schenker’s, built exclusively for non-Mauritanians. You have to give your ID at the door to prove you’re a foreigner. They do this because it’s illegal for Mauritanian’s to consume alcohol or enjoy the savory taste of pork, both of which are served at Schenker’s. It’s mostly enjoyed by the embassy workers who live in Nouakchott. After meeting up with some other volunteers, we all took off for Obie’s house. A few of the second year volunteers had been chosen to prepare the appetizer-like food. It was incredible how delicious everything was! It was a wonderful evening of seeing all of my friends who I hadn’t seen in four months. Being able to catch up with everyone was really wonderful.
Christmas morning was bittersweet. I was really happy to be in Nouakchott and be surrounded by these people who have grown so close to me in the last six months. But, of course, it was really hard thinking about what would be going on at home. Stockings and breakfast casserole at Mom and Barry’s. Recovering from eating too many homemade enchiladas and chile relleno Christmas Eve, opening stockings with Dad and Donna. Hanging out with my brothers all day. So to forget my sorrows, I decided to stuff myself with Pizza!!!! When that first bite of deliciously melted cheese and warm sauce on a crunchy crust hit my lips, I had to fight back the tears. Six months have I been craving this!! Now, the pizza tasted like what a frozen pizza would taste like. Nothing gourmet, but nonetheless, amazing. I spent the afternoon with Adam and our two dogs, Razza and Miles. That night, we headed back to Obie’s to spend Christmas with everyone.
The next day, we took our time getting packed and ready to leave. We had breakfast at Equinox, one of the two establishments in Nouakchott owned by Americans, and had eggs, coffee, orange juice, croissants, and toast and jam for breakfast. I miss breakfast restaurants! Mid-afternoon, a group of us all got a car and began our return journey to Rosso. Upon arrival, we were pretty far from the volunteers’ house we were staying in, but decided to walk. As we were stomping through piles of trash, I began to remember how disgusting Rosso is. After dropping our luggage at the house, we took off for the camel burger restaurant! While waiting for the food, I was close enough to my host family’s house to stop in and say hello. They were really happy to see me, but almost immediately, my host mom started telling me about how she lost her job, her sister just died, and they don’t have any money. Luckily I had to get back to the restaurant, so didn’t have to be put in the same awkward situation she consistently put me in during stage. The next few days were spent relaxing and counting down the minutes until we were in St. Louis.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Tis the Season
Cold Season
Though Mauritania has cooled off, it feels more like the warm end of spring than late fall. The nights are pretty chilly and require a large blanket or sleeping bag. The other day, I spent the day wrapped up in a sleeping bag for the majority of the day. The thermometer said 84 degrees. Does that mean I’m adjusting to living in the Sahara? If Mauritania felt like this year round, it would be much more enjoyable. Even though we still have a couple of months left of this weather, I’m already dreading the hot season that follows. Luckily I’ll be in South Africa for a couple of those weeks in May. It will be winter in the southern hemisphere, which will make re-entry to Mauritania a little more difficult, but the break will be worth it.
Work
I’ve finally starting to form a direction of where I want to go with my work. The difficult part about being a SED volunteer is the lack of structure. Many of us are just assigned a town and told to get to know the community. Once a community assessment has been done, we decide where we can help and get started. Of course nothing is black and white and sometimes ideas become impossible before they’re fully developed. My first project I’ve decided to work on is with a village 2 kilometers from Magta Lahjar. Another volunteer was posted to this town the same time as me, but recently “early terminated” her service. While she was here, I visited Lekrae a few times and had lunch (and tea and zrig) with the families out there. Every time I was out there, I really had the feeling of “these are the people I joined Peace Corps for”. They’re so genuine, constantly smiling, and more than willing to work with Peace Corps. They’re also some of the poorest people I’ve seen in Mauritania. The people of Lekrae have wanted to have an AgroForestry volunteer for years now. I’ve gone to their gardens with them and seen what they’re growing. Of course, if any of you know me, I have no green thumb what so ever. If I tried to actually help them with their garden, chances are I would do more harm than good. So, I’ve started to formulate a plan to put a SED twist on things. I recently spoke to the Assistant Peace Corps Director (APCD) for AgFo about what I can do to help. We’ve discussed me getting monetary assistance from a Peace Corps fund to provide more seeds to the garden cooperatives. After this, I can analyze how many more crops they will be growing. When I asked them what they need, they had a list that included seeds, pesticides, fencing, a new water well, and gardening supplies, such as hoses and wheel barrels. Hopefully I can help them see that the profit they make with the new crops can be saved so they can purchase other supplies. I think this is a good start to many other avenues I could take. I’ve recently talked to many AgFo volunteers who have offered to come spend a few days in Magta Lahjar/Lekrae and do some classes with the gardeners. I’d also like to work with the cooperative on a SED level and see how organized they are. Often, money issues can stem from lack of organization with in a cooperative. Hopefully this will be a good first step.
Holidays
Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas is quickly approaching. Thanksgiving made me miss home and my mom’s delicious food, but made me thankful for the wonderful fellow volunteers. For Christmas, I’ll be heading to Nouakchott, the capital, with the majority of the volunteers to attend a special Christmas celebration at the Peace Corps Directors house. It’s a very generous treat he provides every year. It gives us a chance to not be as homesick on Christmas day. After Christmas, I’ll be returning to Rosso to see some friends and my old host family. Rosso is the stop in between Nouakchott and St. Louis, Senegal, where volunteers traditionally go for New Years. Hopefully I’ll be staying at a bed and breakfast for a few days and enjoy the comforts that aren’t available in Mauritania. St. Louis is on the ocean, so we can go to the beach and wear bathing suits without worrying about offending the locals. After New Years, all of the first year volunteers will return to Nouakchott for 5 days for Early Term Reconnect/In-Service Training. So as you can see, things are about to get crazy, so I’ll spend the next couple of weeks getting ready for being gone for three weeks.
I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving and ate lots of turkey for me! I definitely missed seeing everyone and eating good food. The Panthers beat the Packers, so that’s good. If I don’t update before Christmas, may you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
Though Mauritania has cooled off, it feels more like the warm end of spring than late fall. The nights are pretty chilly and require a large blanket or sleeping bag. The other day, I spent the day wrapped up in a sleeping bag for the majority of the day. The thermometer said 84 degrees. Does that mean I’m adjusting to living in the Sahara? If Mauritania felt like this year round, it would be much more enjoyable. Even though we still have a couple of months left of this weather, I’m already dreading the hot season that follows. Luckily I’ll be in South Africa for a couple of those weeks in May. It will be winter in the southern hemisphere, which will make re-entry to Mauritania a little more difficult, but the break will be worth it.
Work
I’ve finally starting to form a direction of where I want to go with my work. The difficult part about being a SED volunteer is the lack of structure. Many of us are just assigned a town and told to get to know the community. Once a community assessment has been done, we decide where we can help and get started. Of course nothing is black and white and sometimes ideas become impossible before they’re fully developed. My first project I’ve decided to work on is with a village 2 kilometers from Magta Lahjar. Another volunteer was posted to this town the same time as me, but recently “early terminated” her service. While she was here, I visited Lekrae a few times and had lunch (and tea and zrig) with the families out there. Every time I was out there, I really had the feeling of “these are the people I joined Peace Corps for”. They’re so genuine, constantly smiling, and more than willing to work with Peace Corps. They’re also some of the poorest people I’ve seen in Mauritania. The people of Lekrae have wanted to have an AgroForestry volunteer for years now. I’ve gone to their gardens with them and seen what they’re growing. Of course, if any of you know me, I have no green thumb what so ever. If I tried to actually help them with their garden, chances are I would do more harm than good. So, I’ve started to formulate a plan to put a SED twist on things. I recently spoke to the Assistant Peace Corps Director (APCD) for AgFo about what I can do to help. We’ve discussed me getting monetary assistance from a Peace Corps fund to provide more seeds to the garden cooperatives. After this, I can analyze how many more crops they will be growing. When I asked them what they need, they had a list that included seeds, pesticides, fencing, a new water well, and gardening supplies, such as hoses and wheel barrels. Hopefully I can help them see that the profit they make with the new crops can be saved so they can purchase other supplies. I think this is a good start to many other avenues I could take. I’ve recently talked to many AgFo volunteers who have offered to come spend a few days in Magta Lahjar/Lekrae and do some classes with the gardeners. I’d also like to work with the cooperative on a SED level and see how organized they are. Often, money issues can stem from lack of organization with in a cooperative. Hopefully this will be a good first step.
Holidays
Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas is quickly approaching. Thanksgiving made me miss home and my mom’s delicious food, but made me thankful for the wonderful fellow volunteers. For Christmas, I’ll be heading to Nouakchott, the capital, with the majority of the volunteers to attend a special Christmas celebration at the Peace Corps Directors house. It’s a very generous treat he provides every year. It gives us a chance to not be as homesick on Christmas day. After Christmas, I’ll be returning to Rosso to see some friends and my old host family. Rosso is the stop in between Nouakchott and St. Louis, Senegal, where volunteers traditionally go for New Years. Hopefully I’ll be staying at a bed and breakfast for a few days and enjoy the comforts that aren’t available in Mauritania. St. Louis is on the ocean, so we can go to the beach and wear bathing suits without worrying about offending the locals. After New Years, all of the first year volunteers will return to Nouakchott for 5 days for Early Term Reconnect/In-Service Training. So as you can see, things are about to get crazy, so I’ll spend the next couple of weeks getting ready for being gone for three weeks.
I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving and ate lots of turkey for me! I definitely missed seeing everyone and eating good food. The Panthers beat the Packers, so that’s good. If I don’t update before Christmas, may you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Thunderbolt!!
The rainy season is coming to an end. But not without a bang. Literally. Last Saturday night/Sunday morning, just when we thought rainy season was over and cold (or rather cool) season had begun, the largest storm I've seen in Mauritania hit. For six hours during the night, it stormed. Pouring rain, heavy winds, thunder, lightning, etc. In the daylight, we saw that there was a lake around my house. I had to wade through water just to get to the bathroom or kitchen. Also, there are a couple of tiny holes in the roof, which haven't been an issue in past storms, but apparently can only take so much. We had to use a few buckets to keep our house from getting drenched on the inside. The next morning, I'm laying on my matela, longing for the sleep I couldn't get during the night (tin roofs are fun for the first hour of the storm), when my phone rang. Aubrey, my psudo-site-mate who was visiting Aleg, had just received a visitor. Some children had knocked on Janna's door (where Aubrey was staying) and ran off. When she opened the door, a small puppy was sitting there. She couldn't leave the poor thing, so brought it inside. She called me to see if my site mate or I would be interested in becoming the puppy's new family. I told her I'd think about it and call her back. Well, I thought about it, and anyone who knows me knows how much I absolutely adore animals. So I decided to take her. I had to wait 4 days until I returned to Aleg to meet her. Since the night before had been such a huge storm, I started thumbing through my Hassaniya-English "dictionary" (created by the Peace Corps, therefore not always reliable) and started searching storm words. Many Hassaniya words aren't the easiest to say, but then I came to the word for Thunderbolt. Razza. Pronounced Rozz-uh. So now I'm in Aleg and Razza is the most awesome little girl! At first, she slept a lot and was scared/shy/whatever, but is coming out of her shell and showing a bit of her personality. She's incredibly sweet but also independent. She'll be coming back to Magta Lahjar with me today to see her new home! It will be a challenge raising a puppy, but I definitely have time to devote to her and I think it will be good for both of us. She'll have a much happier life as an American raised dog than a Mauritanian raised dog. I won't elaborate on the treatment of animals here. I just look at it as a cultural difference.
So other than Razza, there was another animal incident recently. The night before coming to Aleg, Chelsey and I were sleeping outside, under our mosquito nets. At 3:30 in the morning, I hear what sounds like rain on the mat under our tents, so start to turn over, just as Chelsey screams and I see something scurry away. She jumps up and gets her flashlight out. She thinks its a camel spider or scorpion. It was huge. I thought it was a rat. And there's a cat chasing it. We follow it with the flashlight, which was too weak to see clearly what it was, until it goes into our house. The cat went in after it. A couple of seconds later, the cat comes running out and the thing is chasing it! The thing is runnng around our yard and we still can't figure it out. Then it gets really close to our tents (which we were very thankful to have at this point). Finally it's close enough to see and its...a ferret?? I didn't know ferrets existed in Mauritania, but you can check the picture out on my photo page. It went back in the house, so Chelsey and I chased it out and closed the doors and went back to bed. The next morning, the Peace Corps shuttle came to pick us up, so we were getting ready and the little sucker got into the house again! The PC shuttle driver, a Mauritanian, helped us chase it out of the house, but the ferret kept coming back in. It was an interesting morning to say the least. Chelsey ended up finding out that these guys live in the brousse and when it rains, they come into towns for food and dry land.
That day, we came to Aleg to vote. It was a nice surprise that the Peace Corps really went out of their way to get us ballots so we could vote. We didn't think we'd be able to. The next day, ANOTHER shuttle came with....PACKAGES!!! It was truely Christmas, with our entire region here, and most people getting packages. Also, Josh, my pseudo-site-mate, just came back from the US with goodies for everyone. We had a wonderful day!
As always, I am happy about the Panthers winning. Thanks to my mom for calling and telling me the scores! My cousins daughter, Raeanne, got to cheer at half-time at the game. I'm so excited for her!! I hope everyone is well and will enjoy the latest pictures I've posted of Sandstorms and my new house and puppy! Bye Bye!
So other than Razza, there was another animal incident recently. The night before coming to Aleg, Chelsey and I were sleeping outside, under our mosquito nets. At 3:30 in the morning, I hear what sounds like rain on the mat under our tents, so start to turn over, just as Chelsey screams and I see something scurry away. She jumps up and gets her flashlight out. She thinks its a camel spider or scorpion. It was huge. I thought it was a rat. And there's a cat chasing it. We follow it with the flashlight, which was too weak to see clearly what it was, until it goes into our house. The cat went in after it. A couple of seconds later, the cat comes running out and the thing is chasing it! The thing is runnng around our yard and we still can't figure it out. Then it gets really close to our tents (which we were very thankful to have at this point). Finally it's close enough to see and its...a ferret?? I didn't know ferrets existed in Mauritania, but you can check the picture out on my photo page. It went back in the house, so Chelsey and I chased it out and closed the doors and went back to bed. The next morning, the Peace Corps shuttle came to pick us up, so we were getting ready and the little sucker got into the house again! The PC shuttle driver, a Mauritanian, helped us chase it out of the house, but the ferret kept coming back in. It was an interesting morning to say the least. Chelsey ended up finding out that these guys live in the brousse and when it rains, they come into towns for food and dry land.
That day, we came to Aleg to vote. It was a nice surprise that the Peace Corps really went out of their way to get us ballots so we could vote. We didn't think we'd be able to. The next day, ANOTHER shuttle came with....PACKAGES!!! It was truely Christmas, with our entire region here, and most people getting packages. Also, Josh, my pseudo-site-mate, just came back from the US with goodies for everyone. We had a wonderful day!
As always, I am happy about the Panthers winning. Thanks to my mom for calling and telling me the scores! My cousins daughter, Raeanne, got to cheer at half-time at the game. I'm so excited for her!! I hope everyone is well and will enjoy the latest pictures I've posted of Sandstorms and my new house and puppy! Bye Bye!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Picture Site
Here is where I've posted my pictures from the first two months I was here, July and August. Next time I'm in Aleg, I'll try to post the pictures from the last two months, September and October. Enjoy!!
http://picasaweb.google.com/Liz.Laxague
http://picasaweb.google.com/Liz.Laxague
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Ramdan Euva! Work Begins...
On September 28, I had the joy of celebrating 100 days in Africa, as well as the end of my first month as a volunteer. While some days seem to drag on, time also seems to be moving quickly. I’ve been settling a bit in Magta Lahjar. I try to get out and talk to people and work on my Hassaniya. Another cause for celebration was the end of Ramadan on October 1st. There were parties everywhere! I spent most of the day at Lemneya’s house. Lemneya is a Mauritanian who has formed a close friendship with all of the volunteers who have come to Magta Lahjar. She is a very motivated and intelligent woman. She also speaks Hassaniya very slowly and clearly so that I can actually understand. So, my site mates and I went to her house to partake in tea, zrig, and lunch. The end of Ramadan is a chance for everyone to wear their new outfits and look their best. The little girls are all get henna on their hands and feet. After Lemneya’s, I went to a few other houses with my site mate, Chelsey, who has been here for a year. It was great getting to meet and talk with so many people. It was also nice that they were in good moods because they weren’t starving themselves.
After three days of celebration, life has started to get back to “normal”. I’m not quite sure what normal is, seeing as I’ve never really lived in Magta Lahjar while it isn’t Ramadan. A few days ago, I went to my counterpart’s house. Ashietou is the director of Nissa Banque, where I’m supposed to be doing work. I had lunch with her and told her I’d come by the bank the next morning. Nissa Banque is a bank that was started by NGO’s to provide loans to women’s cooperatives. Right now they’re having problems collecting the money that is owed back to them. Basically, a women’s cooperative will take out a loan for business purposes. Whether it be to buy dye to make mulaffas or to buy seeds to plant vegetables to sell in the market, they have two years to pay it back. As money is an issue in this country, Nissa Banque is having a hard time collecting that money. After spending a couple of days there, I’ve started to get some ideas as to how I’d like to help. I’m not sure what will work and what won’t, so I’ll write more about the projects after I’ve attempted them. I won’t really be starting projects until my Hassaniya is better. Even though Ashietou speaks French, no one else really does in Magta Lahjar.
Another area I really want to work in is with some women’s cooperatives in the area. When I get back from Aleg, Chelsey is going to take me around to meet some good ones. I think the main topic I’ll eventually be addressing is money management. It seems to be the biggest problem. Last year, they asked Chelsey to help them with it, but she’s a Girls Education and Empowerment (GEE) volunteer and wasn’t sure how to go about a money management class. I have more resources and had more training during stage on this topic.
I have many other ideas that I’m exploring, but as I said before, there’s only so much I can do until my Hassaniya is better. So, my job right now is to practice, practice, practice!! For those of you who are following my blog, sorry there are a few weeks between posts. I don’t have access to the internet in Magta Lahjar, so have to wait until I’m in Aleg to update. Thanks for all of the comments!! I love reading them!! I’m working on a photo gallery while I have access to the internet. I’ll post the link on here as soon as it’s ready. Bye Bye.
After three days of celebration, life has started to get back to “normal”. I’m not quite sure what normal is, seeing as I’ve never really lived in Magta Lahjar while it isn’t Ramadan. A few days ago, I went to my counterpart’s house. Ashietou is the director of Nissa Banque, where I’m supposed to be doing work. I had lunch with her and told her I’d come by the bank the next morning. Nissa Banque is a bank that was started by NGO’s to provide loans to women’s cooperatives. Right now they’re having problems collecting the money that is owed back to them. Basically, a women’s cooperative will take out a loan for business purposes. Whether it be to buy dye to make mulaffas or to buy seeds to plant vegetables to sell in the market, they have two years to pay it back. As money is an issue in this country, Nissa Banque is having a hard time collecting that money. After spending a couple of days there, I’ve started to get some ideas as to how I’d like to help. I’m not sure what will work and what won’t, so I’ll write more about the projects after I’ve attempted them. I won’t really be starting projects until my Hassaniya is better. Even though Ashietou speaks French, no one else really does in Magta Lahjar.
Another area I really want to work in is with some women’s cooperatives in the area. When I get back from Aleg, Chelsey is going to take me around to meet some good ones. I think the main topic I’ll eventually be addressing is money management. It seems to be the biggest problem. Last year, they asked Chelsey to help them with it, but she’s a Girls Education and Empowerment (GEE) volunteer and wasn’t sure how to go about a money management class. I have more resources and had more training during stage on this topic.
I have many other ideas that I’m exploring, but as I said before, there’s only so much I can do until my Hassaniya is better. So, my job right now is to practice, practice, practice!! For those of you who are following my blog, sorry there are a few weeks between posts. I don’t have access to the internet in Magta Lahjar, so have to wait until I’m in Aleg to update. Thanks for all of the comments!! I love reading them!! I’m working on a photo gallery while I have access to the internet. I’ll post the link on here as soon as it’s ready. Bye Bye.
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