Me, my life is going on. I have been a bit blue. The post-holiday doldrums; the nytimes op/ed; the terrorist attack(s), Kenya’s implosion all weigh heavily. I am also feeling fat. The mirrors and store fronts in Nouakchott and St Louis were not a help. Neither were the 25 beers and pizza everyday. I gotta tell you, living without mirrors is liberating. Now, after all of those mirrors, all I can do now is ruminate on how badly I need a haircut.
In many ways, the op/ed it is an accurate assessment of the Peace Corps. I have voiced a similar sentiment just recently. We can’t be too effective if development if after 40 years here, the population still doesn’t wash its hands nor eat vegetables in sufficient amounts. Mauritanians have created their own outreach programs, doing community assessments, with huge sums of money to invest in regional projects in a quest to keep folks from flocking to the capital. So they, themselves, are starting to do the work that we aspire to do. PC could use older, more experienced volunteers. However, if it wants to attract older, more qualified volunteers, it will need to evolve considerably, not that anyone with PC has asked for my opinion on this matter. But if they were to, I’d say, for starters, the pay is too low to live comfortably unless you have recently been accustomed to living by a students standards, a budget so tight that you have to weigh out the cost of a soda; the training and living conditions are physically grueling to these old bones; and the rules seem designed to keep a fraternity in line rather than those of a professional organization. In its defense, the staff is charged with keeping these kids safe inspite/despite (I never know when to use which) of themselves. Many of these kids would like to believe that they are grown up and autonomous, but if one, mashalla, went a-missing DC would erupt with unhappy parents. DC, in turn, would come down heavily on the Peace Corps staff and more rules would have to be enacted. I’m confident that Terry McGraw nor the board of directors of McGraw Hill would not have been remotely influenced if my mother had called complaining about my treatment or safety. I on course, can only speak for my experience in PC RIM, no doubt, PC Belize and/orTonga is different animal, the lucky bastards.
As for PC Kenya, they must be heartbroken. It's disheartening when one of the more stable countries in Africa goes to hell in just a few hours. Is there truly hope for any of them?
As for my work, the cultural fair is probably not a worthwhile endeavor, at least for now. The tourists have all but dried up because of the attacks in Aleg. The mood here is bleak. The tourists are a major source of income for many people and the flights are arriving virtually empty. The attack was unsettling for me personally, as I don’t want to be killed by terrorists. A stunning admission to be sure. Although I can’t say that I have changed anything I am doing because of it; honestly, I don’t know what I could change. But as the 100 of us set off from the capital last week to go back to our sites, I thought, holy shit, we are awfully vulnerable. The night before I was to depart, I ran into the US Ambassador at a restaurant, and he, in a very heartfelt manner, asked that I be very careful traveling. Makes me wonder what he knows that I don’t. There have been no threats to the Peace Corps, as such, but honestly, how can a nut distinguish us from a French tourist and frankly, would said nut care. I take comfort, and so should you, that Mauritanian’s pride themselves on their non-violence especially in light of what is going on in the rest of the African and Arab world, which this country straddles. So far, the worst offense I have encountered has been an offering of a relation of love. (see previous blog) Heck, they want to marry westerners not shoot them.
There was a rally today (Saturday) in Atar wanting the tourist back. One of the signs said “Mille Regrets Pour Vos Absence” or something like that. “A thousand regrets for your absence” Interestingly, some are blaming Sarkozy for the loss of tourism euros and not Al Qaeda. It makes one shake her head. There were other signs, maybe condemning the acts, but I couldn’t read them as they were in Arabic as were all of the speeches. None the less, there must have been 3-400 people in the Carrefour in support of this community and this economy. It was wonderful to see. I love freedom of speech in action. I got goosebumps as the marchers and cars descended upon the Carrefour making their voices and horns heard. I doubt that it made the news outlets but for those reading this, the headline would be ADRAR LOVES THE TOURISTS, PLEASE COME BACK AND EAT DATES, DRINK TEA, SLEEP UNDER OUR SAHARAN STARS.
On to a brighter note. I have a couple of other ideas for work that might fly, although that remains to be seen. I might have mentioned that I want to get CereAmine into the hands of feeding centers as I can not possibly create a general market for it with no money nor means for marketing. I went with my site mate and health volunteer Kristin to see Les Enfants du Desert which runs 7 feeding centers here in Atar. We are going back on Tuesday. Genevieve, a French woman, runs it with the help of a handful of volunteers who rotate out every couple of months. Kristin’s French is far, far, far superior to mine. Thankfully she’s good natured about doing the translating for me. I tried as best I could to explain the approach that we should take; she is a clever girl and handled the interaction with aplomb. I hope my sales skills come in handy on this one. By all appearances, it should be a slam dunk, but we have a lot yet to learn about Les Enfants du Desert’s funding and mission. CereAmine can be a holistic solution to some of the problems here, feed poor children a complete protein and create income for poor women who can make the stuff from ingredients found in the local market….I have the women to make it, thanks to the work of volunteers who have come before me, now I’d like to find them a source of revenue straight away—and feeding centers seem to be an logical answer. Hopefully the money will fall into place. I know ceramine is more expensive than rice, but she is buying something from Unicef. So we’ll see. If the cost of fabricating the stuff isn’t inline with the market it is certainly not the panacea that we all hope it to be.
As for Senegal. The food was great, the hotel was wonderful, the bars were a relief as was being anonymous in Nouakchott and Senegal. But it’s was difficult to see past the poverty. At first glance, Senegal seems like paradise but it didn’t take long to see the filth. I decided not to into the ocean after seeing what was on the beach just 2 kilometers up current, and trash was the least of the matter. I’ll spare you the details.
Anyway, I vacillate between actually wanting to accomplish something here and just biding my time making wine, gardening and playing twister. It takes so much effort to bridge the language and cultural gap each day that it is tempting just to make wine and play twister but I think my spirit would be better served if I could at least leave a little mark on this wretched place.
Cheers from here
Updates
I had a refrigerator delivered yesterday.
Atar elected an entire new batch of municipals officials while I was away. I am starting at square 1 with protocol.
The new mayor is installing sidewalks throughout the town.
The weekend changed from Sat and Sun to Fri and Sat.
Mail Tuesday has become Mail Inshallah
Sauces, the restaurant had a TV installed so I can see news everyday at lunch. Its European news, but I actually know what’s going on in our primaries. You will be glad to know when the news of the arrests of the evil men who shot the terrorists come across, the restaurant burst into applause.
I am 900 pages into War and Peace
We finally have DSL in Atar, therefore we should have it in our bureau very soon. I am currently using a loaner. It’s a sexy little usb interface that plugs right into your usb port. No hardwires, just antennas.
It’s a bit pricy, but I may opt for a version in my home….I can sit home during the hot months and eat popsicles and skype. Life is looking up.
As for my work, the cultural fair is probably not a worthwhile endeavor, at least for now. The tourists have all but dried up because of the attacks in Aleg. The mood here is bleak. The tourists are a major source of income for many people and the flights are arriving virtually empty. The attack was unsettling for me personally, as I don’t want to be killed by terrorists. A stunning admission to be sure. Although I can’t say that I have changed anything I am doing because of it; honestly, I don’t know what I could change. But as the 100 of us set off from the capital last week to go back to our sites, I thought, holy shit, we are awfully vulnerable. The night before I was to depart, I ran into the US Ambassador at a restaurant, and he, in a very heartfelt manner, asked that I be very careful traveling. Makes me wonder what he knows that I don’t. There have been no threats to the Peace Corps, as such, but honestly, how can a nut distinguish us from a French tourist and frankly, would said nut care. I take comfort, and so should you, that Mauritanian’s pride themselves on their non-violence especially in light of what is going on in the rest of the African and Arab world, which this country straddles. So far, the worst offense I have encountered has been an offering of a relation of love. (see previous blog) Heck, they want to marry westerners not shoot them.
There was a rally today (Saturday) in Atar wanting the tourist back. One of the signs said “Mille Regrets Pour Vos Absence” or something like that. “A thousand regrets for your absence” Interestingly, some are blaming Sarkozy for the loss of tourism euros and not Al Qaeda. It makes one shake her head. There were other signs, maybe condemning the acts, but I couldn’t read them as they were in Arabic as were all of the speeches. None the less, there must have been 3-400 people in the Carrefour in support of this community and this economy. It was wonderful to see. I love freedom of speech in action. I got goosebumps as the marchers and cars descended upon the Carrefour making their voices and horns heard. I doubt that it made the news outlets but for those reading this, the headline would be ADRAR LOVES THE TOURISTS, PLEASE COME BACK AND EAT DATES, DRINK TEA, SLEEP UNDER OUR SAHARAN STARS.
On to a brighter note. I have a couple of other ideas for work that might fly, although that remains to be seen. I might have mentioned that I want to get CereAmine into the hands of feeding centers as I can not possibly create a general market for it with no money nor means for marketing. I went with my site mate and health volunteer Kristin to see Les Enfants du Desert which runs 7 feeding centers here in Atar. We are going back on Tuesday. Genevieve, a French woman, runs it with the help of a handful of volunteers who rotate out every couple of months. Kristin’s French is far, far, far superior to mine. Thankfully she’s good natured about doing the translating for me. I tried as best I could to explain the approach that we should take; she is a clever girl and handled the interaction with aplomb. I hope my sales skills come in handy on this one. By all appearances, it should be a slam dunk, but we have a lot yet to learn about Les Enfants du Desert’s funding and mission. CereAmine can be a holistic solution to some of the problems here, feed poor children a complete protein and create income for poor women who can make the stuff from ingredients found in the local market….I have the women to make it, thanks to the work of volunteers who have come before me, now I’d like to find them a source of revenue straight away—and feeding centers seem to be an logical answer. Hopefully the money will fall into place. I know ceramine is more expensive than rice, but she is buying something from Unicef. So we’ll see. If the cost of fabricating the stuff isn’t inline with the market it is certainly not the panacea that we all hope it to be.
As for Senegal. The food was great, the hotel was wonderful, the bars were a relief as was being anonymous in Nouakchott and Senegal. But it’s was difficult to see past the poverty. At first glance, Senegal seems like paradise but it didn’t take long to see the filth. I decided not to into the ocean after seeing what was on the beach just 2 kilometers up current, and trash was the least of the matter. I’ll spare you the details.
Anyway, I vacillate between actually wanting to accomplish something here and just biding my time making wine, gardening and playing twister. It takes so much effort to bridge the language and cultural gap each day that it is tempting just to make wine and play twister but I think my spirit would be better served if I could at least leave a little mark on this wretched place.
Cheers from here
Updates
I had a refrigerator delivered yesterday.
Atar elected an entire new batch of municipals officials while I was away. I am starting at square 1 with protocol.
The new mayor is installing sidewalks throughout the town.
The weekend changed from Sat and Sun to Fri and Sat.
Mail Tuesday has become Mail Inshallah
Sauces, the restaurant had a TV installed so I can see news everyday at lunch. Its European news, but I actually know what’s going on in our primaries. You will be glad to know when the news of the arrests of the evil men who shot the terrorists come across, the restaurant burst into applause.
I am 900 pages into War and Peace
We finally have DSL in Atar, therefore we should have it in our bureau very soon. I am currently using a loaner. It’s a sexy little usb interface that plugs right into your usb port. No hardwires, just antennas.
It’s a bit pricy, but I may opt for a version in my home….I can sit home during the hot months and eat popsicles and skype. Life is looking up.
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