If I could only remember the opening from Iron Chef. Your secret ingredients for today are.............................
Canned Meats
Tuna in oil
Corned Beef
Sardines
Canned Fruit & Veg
Pineapple
Peaches
Mixed Fruit Cocktail
Pears
Garbanzo Beans
Lentils
Beets
Peas
Corn
Mixed Vegetables
Diced Tomatoes
Tomato Paste
Oil- vegetable
Tons of fruit juice
Fresh Produce
Mangos only summer
Apples reputation as mealy
Dates
Mandarins, almost in season
Watermelon
Oranges, going out of season
Limes- sometimes
Cucumber= just in season
Carrots
Eggplant
Bananas
Onion
Potato
Tomato
Okra
Beets
Squash tastes like acorn enormous that you buy in wedges
Cabbage- tiny green heads
Peppers red and green
Red hot pepper
Raisins
Dry Goods
Corn Flakes
Weetabix= whole grain cereal
Oatmeal Quaker quick oats
Beans- look like black eyed peas
Lentils if they are peachy colored otherwise we don't know what they are
Rice
Couscous
Pasta, spaghetti and macaroni
Flour
Maize
Millet
Whole Wheat can be ground
Peanut-raw
Powered Milk
White Bread
Yeast
Dried Fish
Dried Onion
Popped popcorn, so there must be kernels
Dairy
Canned Cream- texture of sour cream but not sour
Evaporated Milk sweetened
Whole Milk- cow
Eggs
Butter
Fruity yogurt
Goat and Camel milk
Yogurt smoothie drink in strawberry and pear/peach medley
Vache Qui Riz cheese
"Fresh" Meat
Camel
Goat
Sheep
Chicken
Fish that looks old
Garden hopefuls
Herbs, basil, parsley, chives, etc
Carrots
Beets
Cauliflower doubtful
Radishes
Tomatoes
Sweet Pumpkin
Jalapeno
Other
Mint- fresh
Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Sugar
Soy Sauce
Hot Pepper Sauce
A few Spice mixes still undetermined
Nestles Quick chocolate
Dijon Mustard ish
Ketchup
Mayonnaise with no refrig, need to use the jar 8oz pretty quickly, too expensive for a couple of tsp.
Crappy Vinegar
Nescafe
Tea
Nutella ish
Honey
Candy
Coke and all Fanta flavors
Caramels – stale
Mars Bars - stale
Twix
Snickers
Bounty
Lots of average cookies
One that is good and similar to a graham cracker
Jelly strawberry and date
We cook on a one burner propane tank, we can manage 2 burners at once…also in the process of buying an enormous toaster oven.
As you can see, there is a dizzing array to choose from.
Let the feasting begin
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Response to your comments
I love your comments. I have been at my wits end with the dial up, crappy, unreliable internet connection here and have reached electronic overload, so I haven’t responded to each and every comment or individual e-mail, but know I love reading them. I devour them and they bring a smile to my face. It makes me feel connected to home to have you all along on this journey. If a situation seems daunting or unpleasant, I redirect my thoughts to how I can author it for your reading pleasure, and the stress subsides. Feel free to post questions to me, it gives me an idea for something to write about. Again, remember this is a public forum, so any really juicy question you may want to send to me in an e-mail.
The Peace Corps has 3 goals.
1. To bring education or technical skills to the country.
2. To facilitate greater understanding of Americans by Mauritanians
3. To facilitate a greater understanding of Mauritanians to Americans
I look upon this blog as part of my job and a way of facilitating this cultural exchange.
So here are some reponses to your comments:
Roylin, I’d love to hear about what’s going on in lovely central California. Actually, I get very little news. Here, the newspapers are in Arabic and we don’t have satellite nor TV’s. My best bet is shortwave radio, but finding an English station is difficult. Feel free to pass any little tid bit along. You are also welcome to pop a particularly interesting news magazine or section in an envelope for me. Sadly I get most of my news from the sign on page on yahoo. Heck, I know surprisingly little about the horrible flooding across Africa. It’s dry as a bone in Atar.
As for items to send, I have no idea how to facilitate that information but just know that nothing will go to waste over here. Mauritania is severely lacking in consumer goods, at least if you live outside of the capital. Maybe post whatever you send in the comments for all to see. We did already receive a package with measure cups and spoons, god bless Michelle’s aunt, so we’re okay on those. If I get too many of something I’ll pass it on to another volunteer and if they don’t need it (highly unlikely) it could always be a gift for a hcn who takes us under his or her wing..
Our taste in DVD’s is wide but no to the kid movies. It’s easier for me to tell you what we have vs. what we want. We watch a lot of movies around here. Anything you like and would want to watch a couple of times would be great for us. I love classics, drama, romantic comedy, cultish stuff—I am not too fond of horror but the others are.
We have:
I Robot,
Little Miss Sunshine
Chicago,
Pulp Fiction,
Shriek 2,
28 Weeks Later,
Gangs of New York,
Fight Club
Jackass 2
Mr B
Borat
Kill Bill 1 and 2,
Old School,
Battlegalactica,
XXX with Vin Diesel,
Adams Family,
Adams Family values,
Adventures in Babysitting,
Battle of Algiers,
Baseketball,
Batman Begins,
Beetlejuice,
Big Trouble in Little China (worst movie ever),
BlackHawk Down
Blazing Saddles
Rocky 4
Bourne Identity,
Bourne Supremacy,
Bullworth,
Dogma,
Enemy at the Gates,
Frailty,
Harry Potter Goblin of Fire,
Heat,
King Kong- new one,
Chronicles of Narnia,
Lock Stock and 2 smoking barrels,
Long Kiss Goodnight- another worst movie ever,
Lost (Seasons 1 and Season 2 except Disk 1 (that sucks))
Mad Max Beyond
Thunderdome,
Thank you for not smoking
Far and Away
A Walk in the Clouds
Sense and Sensibility
Meet the Browns
Family Reunion
House of D
The Dark Crystal
Diary of a mad black woman
Matrix,
Naked Gun,
Office Space,
Over the Hedge,
Il Postino,
Red Dragon,
RepoMan,
Road to Perdition,
Shaun of the Dead,
Simple Plan,
Snatch,
Sports Night Seasons 1 and 2 (the only seasons),
Swingers
X men 3
Star wars 4
Indiana Jones TOD
Indiana Jones Arc
Indiana Jones Last Crusade (partially filmed in Mauritania)
12 Monkeys,
Transformers old and new version,
V for Vendetta,
Lucky Number Slevin,
Usual Suspects,
Volunteers,
Pans Labyrinth
Holly, Toubab – basically is white person which is synonymous with foreigner. They will also yell Nasranyia which means Christian. I rarely respond to either. My father insisted that people don’t mean any harm in yelling these names at me; I insisted that never in your wildest dreams would anyone in the US chase after you yelling AFRICAN or FOREIGNER as you walked down the street---every single, solitary day. I now have an appreciation for how the celebs must feel about the paparazzi. Some days it is all I can do to not chuck a rock at the kids screaming Donne moi cadeaux incessantly as they crowd around me and follow you down the next few blocks. But all they would do is pick it up and throw it back at me. Besides, what example would that set?
Advisory, when traveling in a developing country, DO NOT HAND OUT GIFTS TO THE CHILDREN. IT MAKES THEM ANNOYING AND IF THEY DON’T GET WHAT THEY WANT SOME BECOME AGGRESSIVE TOWARDS TOURISTS OR PEACE CORPS VOLS WHO STAND OUT BECAUSE WE LOOK LIKE TOURISTS BECAUSE WE ARE WHITE OR RATHER, NOT MOOR OR AFRICAN LOOKING. Asians get lumped in with us too. I have had more than one little kid throw a rock at me because I didn’t give him a gift. The little urchins. As if 2 years of my life is not gift enough to the people of Mauritania. If you must give something, take educational or art supplies to the local schools.
Karen,
We have plenty of sugar here. Single serving anything would be great as we don’t refrigeration, particularly salad dressing.
Mail is fickle. I received one package, a fairly big box, in 2 weeks, but most take up to 6 weeks. You can use padded envelopes, which are cheaper than boxes, but don’t forget about that fixed rate box for 37 bucks….especially if you are sending heavy jars of peanut butter.
Keep those cards and letters coming.
Cheers from here, Sharon
Wo-men Without Hats and What the Hell is Wrong With the Phones?
Holly asked me about head coverings and it turned into this posting. I am in Atar which is used to western tourists so no; I don’t cover my head very often. All other women (older, married, and respectable) here cover their heads 7/24. I do cover my head when I go to visit any officials out of respect. Why bite the hand that hands out the approvals for your projects? Also, the first few days of Ramadan, I’d start out with my head covered. I didn’t want some ill-humored (hungry and thirsty) local getting irritated at my uncovered self. But I’m over it. No head covering for me unless I’m on an official visit. It’s just too damn hot to have your head all wrapped up. Also, not being Muslim, I am not compelled to comply with that particular regulation. The rest of the Volunteers around me are covering their heads, at least during Ramadan. In the more conservative sites, the head covering issue is a hot, hot topic. I have heard that the PC can’t require head coverings of us (not sure if that’s true) but the locals, in the more conservative sites, can get really, really, really pushy about it. One must pick her battles. Head Scarves and pants seem to be my battle of choice. But being a bit older, I get more leeway. At least I think I do. Perhaps, in fact, I just take more leeway and let them be damned. Whichever.
On a positive note, some of the head coverings are very appealing. The clothing here is extremely colorful and your matching head scarf is like wearing a hat to church. The women will stop you on the street to compliment you on a particularly lovely ensemble. Possibly if I had more fashionable, matching head scarves, I’d wear them more often. But alas, no one told me to bring them and I don’t recall seeing it in the flurry of Peace Corps information I was sent. I have always admired a woman who could carry off a chic scarf. I only have a handful of bandanas that mostly don’t match my outfits. The 2 Mauritanian made headscarves that I do own (one always comes as part of a new outfit) only match that particular blue and chartreuse tie-dye outfit. As you can imagine, they match little else. Thus my decision not to wear a head covering is as much about fashion as politics. If only I could explain all of that in French.
If you are trying to call me, Mauritel, my cellular service, has been mostly down for the last week. It has always required a lot of persistence to call here from the US, but right now, it's just impossible. It seems there is something wrong with a satellite dish in Nouakchott, at least that is the latest reliable rumor that was supposedly reported on the news. An earlier reason floating around explained the situation was due to a strike on behalf of Mauritel because of the heavy tax levied on them by the government although that strikes me as more conspiracy theory than logic. I have no way of finding out the truth of the situation, and really, it doesn't much matter to me. No matter the reason, we have no cell service. Which in turn means no internet at the PC bureau here in Atar? So here I sit, composing this post offline at the bureau. My intention today was to upload the long awaited photos from my time here in Mauritania, but damn it, again today, there is no reseau (reception). Although I sure do miss all of your phone calls, the really difficult part of having no reseau is that texting goes down as well and that is how we, v's, communicate. It's either text or walk around this place trying to find each other and as you well know, it's quite hot here. It’s far too hot to be strolling around from place to place trying to locate each other.
beep ba beep ba beep beep beep “This just in” It is a work slowdown that is causing the problems. I finally asked PC Nouakchott for the skinny. Something about Mauritanian Mauritel workers allowed to strike for 2 days a week in protest of the Moroccan Mauritel workers making a higher wage. This combined with the overall bad connectivity has made communication impossible.
Here’s a cultural tidbit that should give you some insight into some challenges in living, working and I would think to their development here in the RIM is that the bank is unable to conduct business because of the cellular problem/strike. Its computers, at least in Atar, are connected through Mauritel. Without reseau, they can't check your account balance to give you money. Can you imagine the national bank shutdown because a cellular provider is having problems? You banky folks can explain better than I the problems to an economy with an unreliable banking system It brings to my simple mind the scene from “It’s a Wonderful Life” when Mary and Jimmy Stewart can’t go on their honeymoon because he uses their bankroll to stave off a run on his Savings and Loan. If you’ll remember, the bank had to sell out to old, mean Mr. Potter. That can’t be good. Banking is not something that has really caught on in Mauritania, and this week’s performance probably won’t help. Many Mauritanians just don’t use them. They are charged a fee to do so and they don’t receive any interest on their savings. Charging interest is not allowed in Islam. (I’ll let you do your own research on that topic) What would be the incentive to use a bank I ask? It seems to be more cost efficient to hide your money in your mattress than pay to save it in this current system. Have I mentioned there are no ATM’s in Mauritania? Credit cards are unavailable as well. I believe part of the problem is that the Mauritanian Ouguiya (uglies as I have heard them called) isn’t traded on the global market which I assume makes it hard to fix an exchange rate with other currencies and in turn, makes it difficult for credit card companies and banks to collect or assess transactions. Again, you banky types can provide a much better explanation than me.
So for now, much of the country is without communication. Mind you that there are 2 other cellular phone providers operating in Mauritania, Matel and the new Chingatel, but it seems that Mauritel has the mother lode of the business. We tried to find out the rates at our local Chingatel office, but they could tell us little than the price of a new phone. Our questions regarding the costs of making phone calls and texting either within their service and as importantly, outside their service are still unanswered. One issue with switching is that all of Peace Corps RIM uses Mauritel and to make a call to or from another provider costs a bloody fortune. I’ve heard that it costs as much to call between Matel and Mauritel as it does to call the US. To quote Kathy, just another little slice of wonderful.
I suppose that if I had grown up in these systems they would seem acceptable issues to work around or tolerate or just the way life is. But I didn’t so I find it all just one more piece of insanity here in the RIM.
Okay there is your Mauritania 101 lesson for today
On a positive note, some of the head coverings are very appealing. The clothing here is extremely colorful and your matching head scarf is like wearing a hat to church. The women will stop you on the street to compliment you on a particularly lovely ensemble. Possibly if I had more fashionable, matching head scarves, I’d wear them more often. But alas, no one told me to bring them and I don’t recall seeing it in the flurry of Peace Corps information I was sent. I have always admired a woman who could carry off a chic scarf. I only have a handful of bandanas that mostly don’t match my outfits. The 2 Mauritanian made headscarves that I do own (one always comes as part of a new outfit) only match that particular blue and chartreuse tie-dye outfit. As you can imagine, they match little else. Thus my decision not to wear a head covering is as much about fashion as politics. If only I could explain all of that in French.
If you are trying to call me, Mauritel, my cellular service, has been mostly down for the last week. It has always required a lot of persistence to call here from the US, but right now, it's just impossible. It seems there is something wrong with a satellite dish in Nouakchott, at least that is the latest reliable rumor that was supposedly reported on the news. An earlier reason floating around explained the situation was due to a strike on behalf of Mauritel because of the heavy tax levied on them by the government although that strikes me as more conspiracy theory than logic. I have no way of finding out the truth of the situation, and really, it doesn't much matter to me. No matter the reason, we have no cell service. Which in turn means no internet at the PC bureau here in Atar? So here I sit, composing this post offline at the bureau. My intention today was to upload the long awaited photos from my time here in Mauritania, but damn it, again today, there is no reseau (reception). Although I sure do miss all of your phone calls, the really difficult part of having no reseau is that texting goes down as well and that is how we, v's, communicate. It's either text or walk around this place trying to find each other and as you well know, it's quite hot here. It’s far too hot to be strolling around from place to place trying to locate each other.
beep ba beep ba beep beep beep “This just in” It is a work slowdown that is causing the problems. I finally asked PC Nouakchott for the skinny. Something about Mauritanian Mauritel workers allowed to strike for 2 days a week in protest of the Moroccan Mauritel workers making a higher wage. This combined with the overall bad connectivity has made communication impossible.
Here’s a cultural tidbit that should give you some insight into some challenges in living, working and I would think to their development here in the RIM is that the bank is unable to conduct business because of the cellular problem/strike. Its computers, at least in Atar, are connected through Mauritel. Without reseau, they can't check your account balance to give you money. Can you imagine the national bank shutdown because a cellular provider is having problems? You banky folks can explain better than I the problems to an economy with an unreliable banking system It brings to my simple mind the scene from “It’s a Wonderful Life” when Mary and Jimmy Stewart can’t go on their honeymoon because he uses their bankroll to stave off a run on his Savings and Loan. If you’ll remember, the bank had to sell out to old, mean Mr. Potter. That can’t be good. Banking is not something that has really caught on in Mauritania, and this week’s performance probably won’t help. Many Mauritanians just don’t use them. They are charged a fee to do so and they don’t receive any interest on their savings. Charging interest is not allowed in Islam. (I’ll let you do your own research on that topic) What would be the incentive to use a bank I ask? It seems to be more cost efficient to hide your money in your mattress than pay to save it in this current system. Have I mentioned there are no ATM’s in Mauritania? Credit cards are unavailable as well. I believe part of the problem is that the Mauritanian Ouguiya (uglies as I have heard them called) isn’t traded on the global market which I assume makes it hard to fix an exchange rate with other currencies and in turn, makes it difficult for credit card companies and banks to collect or assess transactions. Again, you banky types can provide a much better explanation than me.
So for now, much of the country is without communication. Mind you that there are 2 other cellular phone providers operating in Mauritania, Matel and the new Chingatel, but it seems that Mauritel has the mother lode of the business. We tried to find out the rates at our local Chingatel office, but they could tell us little than the price of a new phone. Our questions regarding the costs of making phone calls and texting either within their service and as importantly, outside their service are still unanswered. One issue with switching is that all of Peace Corps RIM uses Mauritel and to make a call to or from another provider costs a bloody fortune. I’ve heard that it costs as much to call between Matel and Mauritel as it does to call the US. To quote Kathy, just another little slice of wonderful.
I suppose that if I had grown up in these systems they would seem acceptable issues to work around or tolerate or just the way life is. But I didn’t so I find it all just one more piece of insanity here in the RIM.
Okay there is your Mauritania 101 lesson for today
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
You know it's hot when.........
Okay, so I walk in my room around mid-day and think, wow it's cool in here. I check the thermometer on my broken Brookstone Travel Alarm Clock (hint) and the temperature reads…….Take a guess. 96 degrees. And those 96 degrees feel like a blast of cool. I keep telling myself that when the weather breaks I will be able to get so much done. When is the weather going to break? The stock answer is 30 days. But 30 days from when? Hopefully Ramadan's end will coincide with the coming of autumn or at least a day that doesn’t get into the 100s. Inshallah.
Ramadan is tough to faire in the Sahara. They don’t eat nor drink during the daylight hours and as you can tell from above, it is still really hot right now. My favorite part of Ramadan is roughly 30 minutes before sundown which is about 6:45. Dusk has settled in. The streets are empty. The town is quiet. The stores are closed. It feels like the wee hours of the morning. Everyone has hurried home, finally in a great mood after a surly afternoon. Not so patiently waiting to hear the prayer call that signals sundown. During this time they are deciding what delicious morsel they will consume to break the fast. They’ve spent the last hour mentally running through the potential menu options. The taste is going to be exquisite. It’s just before the beginning of Let the Good Times Roll. Drumming, singing and eating all night long.
I have been a little productive during this time. I signed up for French classes at the French Alliance. Also, I will also be sharing the load of teaching English to adults along with the other volunteers here in Atar. The class seems very popular. We will rotate teaching Friday and Sunday 4 – 6 pm. I will probably have to take the Sunday shift as Friday will probably interfere with my French lesson. Both of these classes, like everything else, will commence after Ramadan.
I also checked in with my community counterpart. We plan on getting together when? After Ramadan.
What I like least about Ramadan? That would be my neighbor’s cell phone alarm that goes off before sunrise each day. I appreciate that they need to get up and get something in their stomachs before sunrise, but must I have to wake up with them. Honestly. I suppose that if I were fasting, I’d appreciate the reminder.
This leads me to another topic, sleeping. As I mentioned earlier, the African night sky is amazing However, sleeping in this country is one of the trickier aspects of my Peace Corps service. Back in training I explained to my brother that I went to bed very early each night to give my self the best chance of a full nights sleep. My French ability and ability to cope were/are a direct result of how much sleep I can/could achieve. This rarely happened. One never knew/knows what the night would hold. First I had to get past the livestock noise. You can’t imagine how loud those animals, particularly the donkeys, are. The first night at the Lycee I was sure that a pack of wild dogs had gotten a hold of one and was disemboweling the poor creature. I was not alone in that belief. Later I learn, it’s not being disemboweled, thank god, it was actually mating. Just wonderful. If it’s not the weird noises of the livestock that run loose in the streets, it’s the weddings that last all night long for 3 nights in a row, blaring rap, whose lyrics they can’t possibly understand or they’d never be blaring them throughout the neighborhood. You can’t imagine how lucky I feel that my excellent command of the English language allowed me to fully enjoy the lyrics. Or, one never knew when she’d be abruptly awaken and have to make a mad dash, mosquito net, matala and any other sleeping item in tow, to the indoors to avoid a rain storm. And the sandstorms that precede the rainstorms are worse. Once indoors, the room was usually in the 90s, then add the 5 degrees that sleeping in a mosquito net adds, renders sleeping impossible. If there wasn’t some other disruption, everyday there is the predawn announcement from the loud speakers at the mosques which populate every block. I swear we had a set in our yard. Before I left Boghe, I could distinguish one voice from another. One was far better and much more musical then others. After the predawn announcement, there was the 5:15 AM call to prayer on those same loudspeakers. Stuffing my head under the towel that I use for a pillow didn’t even muffle the noise. Up by 6:15 each day to go off to language class. It’s a wonder I passed the language proficiency test.
Now in Atar, I have no language class nor is it necessary to use a mosquito net, but that leads to another set of issues. Until 2 nights ago, I slept on my roof. There is much more of a breeze and fewer crawly bugs up there. Plus it feels just a bit safer then sleeping alone in the courtyard even though my courtyard has 10 foot walls around much of it and barbed wire on the lower section. As for the sandstorms, I just wrap head in the sheet as I dislike getting sand in my ears and power on. But my neighbors, whose roof is right next to mine separated by only a 2 foot wall and a 3 foot space between the buildings, returned home from brousse, a summer long holiday. Or at least I thought they did. On Saturday all of their doors and windows were opened and a boy and man were fiddling with the satellite dish on their roof. Because of this, I have slept the last couple of nights in my courtyard rather than my roof. I haven’t yet been schooled in the etiquette of neighborly roof sleeping and am a bit disenthralled with the idea. Bare in mind a woman needs to be covered head to toe in this country at all times and it’s 94 degrees when I head off to bed. I am not going to cover head to toe nor do I want to insult or entice my neighbors. The next best option is that I am sleeping alone in the courtyard, positioned out of sight of my neighbors behind the stairs, feeling a little exposed to any ne’er-do-well that wants to hop my very tall wall, until I make the acquaintance of my neighbors. Sweet dreams to me.
Saturday, night one, I prepare the place by spraying the surrounding area with bug spray. Without a mosquito net I have no protection from the pesky little bastards. Thankfully there are no mosquitoes and zero incidence of malaria up here. However, did I mention that there are scorpions here? Did I mention that the mosquito net adds 5 degrees to the already 93 degree night? Did I mention that one of the trainees that opted to return home did so after a roach got stuck in her ear while she was asleep? I’ll leave the details of it’s extraction to your imagination. Back to night one, I take my nighttime cold medicine for my head cold and off to dream land I go. Not to bad a night sleep thanks the cold medicine. But par usual, the predawn cell phone, the ridiculously early call to prayer and the flies that arrive at 6:14 each morning to buzz your head. I am not talking a few flies; this place is fly heaven or hell, depending on which side of the fly issue you fall. Flies and sandstorms are combated by what I call the Mauritanian Sleep Shroud. I witnessed this technique while observing the sleeping habits of the hcn (host country nationals). One tucks the tops of the sheet under her head and the bottom of the sheet under her feet. Bear in mind that any piece of skin that sticks out from under the sheet is a choicest landing strip for the flies. The hcn’s can sleep this way completely enclosed, but I like to have the sheet pulled taught between my head and my toes so that there is a slight opening for airflow. (Note that this technique will not work well in sandstorms as the vent lets in all of the sand) Otherwise it feels too stuffy and too hot. Mind you, it’s early fall in the Sahara and still rather hot to my still not quite acclimated self. This ritual shrouding and battle to keep skin unexposed yet keep airflow circulating takes place, like clockwork, at 6:14 am each day when the first buzz starts up in my ear. Since these creatures fly, it’s the same whether I am placed on the roof or in the courtyard.
Night 2, I don’t spray the area assuming that the poison from the previous night will still be active. I plan to mitigate the restlessness of shrouding exercise by placing my fan via extension cord, with me in the courtyard. For your edification, flies like neither wind nor dark. Okay, I am prepared. Out of night time cold medicine (huge hint), but otherwise, prepared to take my best shot at a restful night sleep. Well, the bug spray is not still in effect. I learn that shortly after going to bed because I get pinched on my toe by what I think was a beetle. As the beetle was the only critter crawling away when I scoured the area with my flashlight, it must have been the culprit. Not a bad pinch, but are there ever good pinches? Not wanting to get bug spray all over my bedding and put off by the smell and poison that it leaves; I decide to brave the crawly bugs sans chemical defense. Have I mentioned the scorpions? Did I mention the cockroach story? These two possibilities kept me quite alert all night long. Did I mention the drumming and partying that goes on all night during Ramadan? Oh how I longed for that nighttime cold medicine. On a brighter, more successful note, the fan was the perfect deterrent for the 6:14 am wake up call from the flies. Yes, they came but with the fan, the struggle to keep myself completely shrouded was far less important.
What is the lesson, clean, climate controlled, well nourished, caffeinated (Nescafe and powered milk do not count), well rested folks who sleep indoors, in a bed, off of the ground, away from the bugs, in screened rooms? I don’t know but I thought I’d point out a few things that I miss and just a few of the luxuries for which you should be grateful.
Updates:
Yesterday, 9/30, I finished book number 3 since arriving in Atar. A Widow for A Year by John Irving. The first 500 pages were great. The ending was a little disappointing.
I am contemplating sending you cheffy types the list of ingredients available here and have a contest to see who comes up with the best recipe. No prizes just the good feeling that I can have some variety in my menu. What do you think?
As for the microwave question...i am sure they are available in the capital but i just have a propane tank with a little burner screwed into the top and little temperature control.
Ramadan is tough to faire in the Sahara. They don’t eat nor drink during the daylight hours and as you can tell from above, it is still really hot right now. My favorite part of Ramadan is roughly 30 minutes before sundown which is about 6:45. Dusk has settled in. The streets are empty. The town is quiet. The stores are closed. It feels like the wee hours of the morning. Everyone has hurried home, finally in a great mood after a surly afternoon. Not so patiently waiting to hear the prayer call that signals sundown. During this time they are deciding what delicious morsel they will consume to break the fast. They’ve spent the last hour mentally running through the potential menu options. The taste is going to be exquisite. It’s just before the beginning of Let the Good Times Roll. Drumming, singing and eating all night long.
I have been a little productive during this time. I signed up for French classes at the French Alliance. Also, I will also be sharing the load of teaching English to adults along with the other volunteers here in Atar. The class seems very popular. We will rotate teaching Friday and Sunday 4 – 6 pm. I will probably have to take the Sunday shift as Friday will probably interfere with my French lesson. Both of these classes, like everything else, will commence after Ramadan.
I also checked in with my community counterpart. We plan on getting together when? After Ramadan.
What I like least about Ramadan? That would be my neighbor’s cell phone alarm that goes off before sunrise each day. I appreciate that they need to get up and get something in their stomachs before sunrise, but must I have to wake up with them. Honestly. I suppose that if I were fasting, I’d appreciate the reminder.
This leads me to another topic, sleeping. As I mentioned earlier, the African night sky is amazing However, sleeping in this country is one of the trickier aspects of my Peace Corps service. Back in training I explained to my brother that I went to bed very early each night to give my self the best chance of a full nights sleep. My French ability and ability to cope were/are a direct result of how much sleep I can/could achieve. This rarely happened. One never knew/knows what the night would hold. First I had to get past the livestock noise. You can’t imagine how loud those animals, particularly the donkeys, are. The first night at the Lycee I was sure that a pack of wild dogs had gotten a hold of one and was disemboweling the poor creature. I was not alone in that belief. Later I learn, it’s not being disemboweled, thank god, it was actually mating. Just wonderful. If it’s not the weird noises of the livestock that run loose in the streets, it’s the weddings that last all night long for 3 nights in a row, blaring rap, whose lyrics they can’t possibly understand or they’d never be blaring them throughout the neighborhood. You can’t imagine how lucky I feel that my excellent command of the English language allowed me to fully enjoy the lyrics. Or, one never knew when she’d be abruptly awaken and have to make a mad dash, mosquito net, matala and any other sleeping item in tow, to the indoors to avoid a rain storm. And the sandstorms that precede the rainstorms are worse. Once indoors, the room was usually in the 90s, then add the 5 degrees that sleeping in a mosquito net adds, renders sleeping impossible. If there wasn’t some other disruption, everyday there is the predawn announcement from the loud speakers at the mosques which populate every block. I swear we had a set in our yard. Before I left Boghe, I could distinguish one voice from another. One was far better and much more musical then others. After the predawn announcement, there was the 5:15 AM call to prayer on those same loudspeakers. Stuffing my head under the towel that I use for a pillow didn’t even muffle the noise. Up by 6:15 each day to go off to language class. It’s a wonder I passed the language proficiency test.
Now in Atar, I have no language class nor is it necessary to use a mosquito net, but that leads to another set of issues. Until 2 nights ago, I slept on my roof. There is much more of a breeze and fewer crawly bugs up there. Plus it feels just a bit safer then sleeping alone in the courtyard even though my courtyard has 10 foot walls around much of it and barbed wire on the lower section. As for the sandstorms, I just wrap head in the sheet as I dislike getting sand in my ears and power on. But my neighbors, whose roof is right next to mine separated by only a 2 foot wall and a 3 foot space between the buildings, returned home from brousse, a summer long holiday. Or at least I thought they did. On Saturday all of their doors and windows were opened and a boy and man were fiddling with the satellite dish on their roof. Because of this, I have slept the last couple of nights in my courtyard rather than my roof. I haven’t yet been schooled in the etiquette of neighborly roof sleeping and am a bit disenthralled with the idea. Bare in mind a woman needs to be covered head to toe in this country at all times and it’s 94 degrees when I head off to bed. I am not going to cover head to toe nor do I want to insult or entice my neighbors. The next best option is that I am sleeping alone in the courtyard, positioned out of sight of my neighbors behind the stairs, feeling a little exposed to any ne’er-do-well that wants to hop my very tall wall, until I make the acquaintance of my neighbors. Sweet dreams to me.
Saturday, night one, I prepare the place by spraying the surrounding area with bug spray. Without a mosquito net I have no protection from the pesky little bastards. Thankfully there are no mosquitoes and zero incidence of malaria up here. However, did I mention that there are scorpions here? Did I mention that the mosquito net adds 5 degrees to the already 93 degree night? Did I mention that one of the trainees that opted to return home did so after a roach got stuck in her ear while she was asleep? I’ll leave the details of it’s extraction to your imagination. Back to night one, I take my nighttime cold medicine for my head cold and off to dream land I go. Not to bad a night sleep thanks the cold medicine. But par usual, the predawn cell phone, the ridiculously early call to prayer and the flies that arrive at 6:14 each morning to buzz your head. I am not talking a few flies; this place is fly heaven or hell, depending on which side of the fly issue you fall. Flies and sandstorms are combated by what I call the Mauritanian Sleep Shroud. I witnessed this technique while observing the sleeping habits of the hcn (host country nationals). One tucks the tops of the sheet under her head and the bottom of the sheet under her feet. Bear in mind that any piece of skin that sticks out from under the sheet is a choicest landing strip for the flies. The hcn’s can sleep this way completely enclosed, but I like to have the sheet pulled taught between my head and my toes so that there is a slight opening for airflow. (Note that this technique will not work well in sandstorms as the vent lets in all of the sand) Otherwise it feels too stuffy and too hot. Mind you, it’s early fall in the Sahara and still rather hot to my still not quite acclimated self. This ritual shrouding and battle to keep skin unexposed yet keep airflow circulating takes place, like clockwork, at 6:14 am each day when the first buzz starts up in my ear. Since these creatures fly, it’s the same whether I am placed on the roof or in the courtyard.
Night 2, I don’t spray the area assuming that the poison from the previous night will still be active. I plan to mitigate the restlessness of shrouding exercise by placing my fan via extension cord, with me in the courtyard. For your edification, flies like neither wind nor dark. Okay, I am prepared. Out of night time cold medicine (huge hint), but otherwise, prepared to take my best shot at a restful night sleep. Well, the bug spray is not still in effect. I learn that shortly after going to bed because I get pinched on my toe by what I think was a beetle. As the beetle was the only critter crawling away when I scoured the area with my flashlight, it must have been the culprit. Not a bad pinch, but are there ever good pinches? Not wanting to get bug spray all over my bedding and put off by the smell and poison that it leaves; I decide to brave the crawly bugs sans chemical defense. Have I mentioned the scorpions? Did I mention the cockroach story? These two possibilities kept me quite alert all night long. Did I mention the drumming and partying that goes on all night during Ramadan? Oh how I longed for that nighttime cold medicine. On a brighter, more successful note, the fan was the perfect deterrent for the 6:14 am wake up call from the flies. Yes, they came but with the fan, the struggle to keep myself completely shrouded was far less important.
What is the lesson, clean, climate controlled, well nourished, caffeinated (Nescafe and powered milk do not count), well rested folks who sleep indoors, in a bed, off of the ground, away from the bugs, in screened rooms? I don’t know but I thought I’d point out a few things that I miss and just a few of the luxuries for which you should be grateful.
Updates:
Yesterday, 9/30, I finished book number 3 since arriving in Atar. A Widow for A Year by John Irving. The first 500 pages were great. The ending was a little disappointing.
I am contemplating sending you cheffy types the list of ingredients available here and have a contest to see who comes up with the best recipe. No prizes just the good feeling that I can have some variety in my menu. What do you think?
As for the microwave question...i am sure they are available in the capital but i just have a propane tank with a little burner screwed into the top and little temperature control.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Stage in Review
Greetings all, I want to try to piece together my life during the last 2 months of training also know as Stage, before I forget and the memories fade. So quickly the events and environs that were so strange when I first got off of the plane on June 29th with the 72 other trainees have become commonplace. Once astounded by the heaps and heaps of litter and dead animals, now I just step over, through, or around it without a second glance. A word like "revolting" was part of my early e-mails of Mauritania. Okay, it's still part of my description, but a much smaller part. If you come for a visit, brace yourself. Take heart, the place will grow on you. Possibly literally.
I have spent a lot of time working on the name for this blog. Namelessness has been the hold up. I considered In Search of My Roots as I am au natural of hair color for the first time in oh, about 25 years. Why Madame Toubab? Once upon a time I was walking to the market, and par usual, a gang of children were running to meet me and shake my hand, yelling toubab, toubab, madame, bonjour, ca va, ca va bien, bonjour, toubab, toubab, bonjour, cava. You get the picture. Anyway, this lovely little girl with enormous brown eyes who came up to about my knees came running to me calling Madame Toubab. Natually, I responded. How could I not. A title. That was the ticket. That was exactly what I needed and deserved. So from that day forward, I have been known in my Peace Corps circle as Madame Toubab and will answer to nothing else.
Most nights I sleep out under the enormous African sky. It’s a dramatic sky. When the occasional storm comes rolling in you can see if for hours. Then all of the sudden it is on top of you. The Lightening will light up the entire sky in the distance. The full moon is so bright that it wakes me up from a sound sleep as if someone is pointing a light right into my eyes. It reminds me of the scene from the movie MoonStruck. (Can you believe none of the v’s here have seen it) On a moonless night, it is pitch black. You can’t see your hand in front of your face. Eventually millions of stars will appear along with the Milky Way. When I am awaken by the first prayer call at 4:19 AM, there are a billion stars. It’s the sky of my youth camping in Southern Indiana, swinging on the swings, wishing on the stars, wondering what life will hold. Funny, I am still wishing on stars wondering what my life has in store for me. Who knew that all these many years later, I'd still not have that answer?
I’ve only been at my permanent site for 1.5 weeks but even now, Boghe, my training site, seems such a long time ago. Back then I was integrated, had a huge family full of handsome, gallant brothers to care for me, prominent community members that recognized me and greeted me on the street and I could shake hands with everyone, men and women. Ma shallah. I went to class everyday. I showed up at home each noon and evening for meals. I had to be home before dark. I couldn’t wonder off without telling someone where I was going. I spent all of my money on sodas and cookies for snacks. It was a simpler life.
The training in Mauritania is different from other PC countries. It is shorter, only 2 months, but it is community based meaning we live with a host family and take daily language lessons in groups of 2-5. We did spend the first week together at the Lycee, (a high school campus with it's classrooms turned into dorms) which after 5 days reminded me of a frat house the day after a party sans the stale beer smell. (Mauritania is a dry country and I don't just mean it's 2 deserts) Toilets overflowing. Luggage overflowing. Overwhelmingly hot. Not pleasant. Praise Allah it didn’t rain. I must commend the 50 women crammed into this dorm. We kept our sense of humor and compassion for one another. I, for one, was ready to leave and move into a family. Hell I was ready to move anywhere. The training was grueling both physically and emotionally. Try sitting Indian style on a hard floor for hours at a time. Damn it’s uncomfortable. At least now I don't squirm around as much as I used to trying to get into a comfortable position, which is an impossible task. We took 6 hours of language each day + the enormous amount of work for the projects that were required for training in our particular sector. Lounging on my chaise in San Diego petting the kitties, I could not have imagine just how tired, hungry, hot, dirty, cranky and overwhelmed I could get in just 2 short months. It is hot here. I mean really, really hot with no relief. For any of you that caught me in the last afternoon at the height of the heat, I was certainly the worse for wear, whining and whimpering. All made additionally uncomfortable because women have to wear all of these clothes. We live outdoors 7/24 in110 degree heat in long skirts. Add a slip if the skirts are too sheer. I can only think of expletives to describe it.
Actually, the first 3 weeks were the hardest trying settling into my new surrounds. Again, language is the key. I was lucky that I landed in a family, that if you had been magically plunked down in their courtyard, you’d have a hard time figuring out why the Peace Corps is in Mauritania. The father was from the Ivory Coast. He speaks French, English and Hassaniya as well as Bambara. My sister in law, a young lady of 21, is from Senegal. She has the most beautiful French accent. My youngest brother,18 , also speaks French beautifully as well as the language of chaos, a quote from Heather W, a fellow trainee. Meaning, he could understand my as well as the other trainees Frenglish and translate our needs and wants to his fellow citizens. It was utterly amazing. Dad came to Mauritania in 1967. He intended to stay for just awhile to earn money to move to France, but he met his wife and soon came the first of 9 sons. Thus in Southern Mauritania he stayed. He was an educator donc 6 of the 9 fils have passed the BAC and have or are attending the only University in Mauritania. This is an ASTOUNDING feat as only 10% of each graduating class passes the BAC. Sadly if you don’t pass the BAC, you can not attend University, and you have little opportunity but the military for work. We had 2 computers (no internet), a car, were building an addition to the house and we watch EuroNews each night. As I said, they were very progressive. We discussed politics, religion, mine as well as theirs (I was surprised by how much we agreed I’d love to give you more details, but not on a public blog), Steve Jobs, Bill Gates (and the competition between Apple and Microsoft), Warren Buffet, Barak Obama. I loved these discussions. They were a mixture of bad French, bad English and lots of patience while one of us would grab the dictionary to find the word we needed. All time being mindful of the dictionary so that the goats or sheep wouldn’t eat it. The other trainees were quite jealous of my interactions because I was able to not only practice my French and also have meaningful dialogue about issues of interest. My family is wonderful and I am so very lucky to have been placed in their home. We also exhausted what little I know of Rap. Is Beyonce white or black? Is Eminem white or black? Is Shakira America? Is that song in English? Apparently, America is a place where there are many ways to become rich, singing, acting, rapping or sports. Remind me to start applying to those professions when I get home.
One Friday I came home from class early and couldn’t help but notice that our yard was overrun with children. I asked Dad why. He replied Charity. We were feeding the neighborhood children. He then asked if Americans give to charity. An astounding question I thought as he had a Peace Corps VOLUNTEER sitting under his hangar. And I was the 4th trainee that had stayed at their house over the years. I am not sure that the word volunteer translates into this culture. I explained that yes Americans give both of their money and their TIME. He was aware that the US government gave a lot of money to aid but he wasn’t sure if the people did as well. Again, thru French and English, I explain that the US government has no money of it’s own to give. The American people pay taxes to support it and elect officials who will do our will. Inshallah. The money that our government donates to the world in aid is money directly from the American people. A government by the people, for the people, if you will. This concept seems so simple but folks, remember, Mauritania just this last Spring had their first free elections. Prior to that, speaking out against the government could prove fatal. That is why being in Mauritania right now, while they struggle with creating a democracy WITH accountability is so exciting. Inshallah They have their work cut out for them. From what I have been told there is still a lot of corruption and without connections and money, there is little opportunity here. That kind of atmosphere can breed much, much discontent. Keep your fingers and toes crossed for their progress.
I then spied a newly hatched chick that was the bright yellow color of Peeps. I had a quick flash of home and I tried to explain to Dad that Peeps were marshmallow candy that we give at Easter. Coming off of that charity conversation, he now thinks that we give little chicks to the poor at the Ascension. I didn’t have the heart to explain that indeed no, we give the poor nothing on Easter. We just eat bright yellow candy. Damn the nuance in language. I’ll save that for another day.
Another conversation with one of my brothers was about the internet. It will be a great catalyst for change in the youth of Mauritania according to him. Somehow we got on the subject of how in other parts of the world ie: Myanmar and China, the internet is regulated by their government. Those counties populations didn't have unbiased information and couldn't access Yahoo and Google. Stunned at that information, he quickly asked me if I had had problems with access to information via the cyber in Mauritania. I still am moved by the look of relief when I told him that no, I personally had not experienced any problems accessing websites while in Mauritania.
As progressive as my family is, nutrition and sanitation were lacking as was indoor plumbing. We laid in repose and dined with our livestock at arms length away or lapping out of our bowls if we weren't sufficiently attentive. It is impossible to describe my life here to you and as impossible to relay my life in the US to them. Par Example: they wanted to know if we all had great big hangars (permanent tents) in our yards as they do. I assume they believe that because America is the Promised Land, we must have magnificent hangars and undoubtedly, through American ingenuity, had made the hangers grander in ways they hadn’t thought possible. Alas, I tried to explain that we didn’t live in our yards. We lived inside our houses, in buildings with air conditioning when it was hot and heating when it was cool. Screens kept out the bugs. We also have furniture and thusly, did not sit on the floor, eat on the floor, sleep on the floor, cook on the floor. Oh how I long for a work surface that is not the floor.
I am in Small Enterprise Development (SED) 6 other SED volunteers and myself spent all of our days together either in language class or working on one of the many projects. We became a very close knit group. When no one else could understand our French, we always knew what the other one was trying to say. It was our own little language. This proved very helpful while working with our local business people on our Consulting Dossier. One of us always knew what the other was trying to express, and could usually find the correct verb. Creating a Consulting Dossier would normally be an easy task of sitting down for a few hours and discussing someone's business practices, I believe this is much of what I did with McGraw Hill. But alas, we spoke different languages which made this task monumentally difficult and challenging. Much use was made of the dictionary and something akin to charades. I applaud these folks for their enormous patience and the time they took to aid us in our training. All of their cooperation was a direct result of the work and integration that the prior SED volunteer had done at the last 2 years in this site. Aaron is beloved to them. He went home, back to the USA, on 9/15 and his enthusiasm for PC work and the people of Mauritania will be greatly missed.
But now, training is over. I left my family viklempt with a promise to call and visit soon. The now 66 were sworn in as new PC RIM (Republique Islamic Mauritanie) Volunteers on 9/6 and scattered all over this large country. I won't see most of them until Christmas in Nouakchott and then only occasionally during the next 2 years. That prospect makes me a little sad as they are quite dear to me. It is rare to get a group this large and have each and every one plugged in. No one is ever in the back rolling their eyes. Well almost never. We each gave up the comforts of home to try to make a difference to the world, to our spirits or both. I have moved to my permanent site which is Atar in the Adrar region of Mauritania. You can look it upon the web as it is the only tourist area of Mauritania. Yes, I am living in the Sahara. I now have a new group of new and veteran volunteers with whom I am becoming thick as thieves. As it was in Training, I am senior by many years but it's all working out. I occasionally offer up sage advice. Sometimes I actually believe that I sound like Doris. Who knew she was so smart?
For those of you interested in the age thing, at our closing party at our training site, I played the sound track from The Big Chill. Everyone enjoyed the tunes and after some discussion, I found out that some of the volunteers weren't even out of the womb when this movie was released. Enough said.
Also, does having to use reading glasses to read your ipod make you hip or old? Ruminate on that and get back to me.
Okay, this is enough for today. I have so many stories, thoughts, realizations and revelations from the last 2 months all of which I wish I could share with you. But alas. Lesley said it nicely when she pointed out to me that it is rare in your life when every single day provides you endless opportunities to learn something absolutely new. I try to keep that in the front of my brain with each new and exciting "opportunity". Tonight, I am going to try to buy popcorn in the market so that we can have it with our next two episodes of LOST. I see pre popped corn being sold in little baggies so the kernels must be somewhere. I believe the best verb to use is explode. Wish me luck.
Wow would I have packed differently knowing what I know now.
List of much appreciated supplies
Send Often
Deodorant, suave invisible solid, any scent
Q-tips
Disposable razors
Heel Razors
Excedrin or Tylenol PM
Alka Seltzer Cold Nighttime
Narrow brush picks by DenTek, they are blue and I found by the toothpaste in target. Come in 8 packs.
Emory Boards
All-in-one facial cleansers/moisturizers just add water.
(Olay makes a good one as does Mary Kay) plus the little towelettes can be reused.
Little Hotel soap, we always need some in our bags for sanitation
Ziplock storage bags and containers.
A big box of Kleenex-feel free to repack in ziplock
Small Spiral Notebook for my purse
Bumble and Bumble Shampoo
Books
DVD's (we have LOST 1,2 ; Season 4,5,6 of Seinfeld; All of Sportsnight)
Wine yeast : )
Sooner than later
Garden Seeds and plant food spikes (they are light weight)
Lettuces and spinach
Journal= Jane I have quite a few in that box I left for you
Just need once
Brush, detangler
Pocket French Verb book
Wikipedia off line
Purse sized Week at a Glance Agenda for 08
Twin Sheets
Sunglasses
Letter combo lock rather than numbers
Cutting Board (the big, lightweight, thin, roll up kind)
Pancake Turner
Can opener that works really well
Potato peeler that works really well
1 Cup Measuring cup and spoons
World map
Sturdy fold up hand fan for my purse
Wash clothes--cheap
Dish clothes--cheap
Undergarmets
Boxer shorts size L
Mens boxer briefs seem like they would be really comfortable. Size M. They are more fitted than regular boxer shorts but cooler than bike shorts (remember the hot temps and long skirts)
Wife beaters, size XL
Crocs, the bottom has a circle with a 5 and a circle with a 7 for the size. My wardrobe is primarily blue brown or green. Pick whatever you like
Nutritious snacks, nuts, dried fruit, beef jerky, protein bars,
Peanut butter
Hard candy
Parmesan Cheese (stinky socks)=needs no refrigeration and full of cheesy flavor (did I mention that there is no cheese in this country)
Deviled ham
Oatmeal packets= any flavor
Soup mixes = double check what I have to add besides water
Aluminum packets of salmon, tuna and or shrimp even Chicken
Bullion cubes/ chicken flavor and lower salt
Rennet - powered
Spice mixes = survival spice, garlic salt, celery salt
Marshmallows
Crackers
Any powered food mix that can be made with oil, butter, milk, tomato paste or water
Would love to haves
Replacement Brookstone travel clock with date and temperature reading in f and c-feather light if they still make it. I squished the current one and the alarm no longer works
Pirate gear
Badminton (I have a huge courtyard)
Volleyball
Blow up swimming pool
Apples to Apples card game
Twister = this might be on the way.
For the upcoming holiday
Thanksgiving side dishes = stuffing, pie crust mix with pan,
Brown sugar
Powdered sugar
Toffee (for making cookies)
Cinnamon, Nutmeg
Lightweight, cheap Christmas Decorations.
For the heavy stuff, remember USPS has a fixed rate box rate to Mauritania for $37 for what ever you can get stuffed in it. It's about 15 x 2.5 x 12 ish
Pack well. The boxes look like hell when they arrive.
Self closing containers are best.
I have spent a lot of time working on the name for this blog. Namelessness has been the hold up. I considered In Search of My Roots as I am au natural of hair color for the first time in oh, about 25 years. Why Madame Toubab? Once upon a time I was walking to the market, and par usual, a gang of children were running to meet me and shake my hand, yelling toubab, toubab, madame, bonjour, ca va, ca va bien, bonjour, toubab, toubab, bonjour, cava. You get the picture. Anyway, this lovely little girl with enormous brown eyes who came up to about my knees came running to me calling Madame Toubab. Natually, I responded. How could I not. A title. That was the ticket. That was exactly what I needed and deserved. So from that day forward, I have been known in my Peace Corps circle as Madame Toubab and will answer to nothing else.
Most nights I sleep out under the enormous African sky. It’s a dramatic sky. When the occasional storm comes rolling in you can see if for hours. Then all of the sudden it is on top of you. The Lightening will light up the entire sky in the distance. The full moon is so bright that it wakes me up from a sound sleep as if someone is pointing a light right into my eyes. It reminds me of the scene from the movie MoonStruck. (Can you believe none of the v’s here have seen it) On a moonless night, it is pitch black. You can’t see your hand in front of your face. Eventually millions of stars will appear along with the Milky Way. When I am awaken by the first prayer call at 4:19 AM, there are a billion stars. It’s the sky of my youth camping in Southern Indiana, swinging on the swings, wishing on the stars, wondering what life will hold. Funny, I am still wishing on stars wondering what my life has in store for me. Who knew that all these many years later, I'd still not have that answer?
I’ve only been at my permanent site for 1.5 weeks but even now, Boghe, my training site, seems such a long time ago. Back then I was integrated, had a huge family full of handsome, gallant brothers to care for me, prominent community members that recognized me and greeted me on the street and I could shake hands with everyone, men and women. Ma shallah. I went to class everyday. I showed up at home each noon and evening for meals. I had to be home before dark. I couldn’t wonder off without telling someone where I was going. I spent all of my money on sodas and cookies for snacks. It was a simpler life.
The training in Mauritania is different from other PC countries. It is shorter, only 2 months, but it is community based meaning we live with a host family and take daily language lessons in groups of 2-5. We did spend the first week together at the Lycee, (a high school campus with it's classrooms turned into dorms) which after 5 days reminded me of a frat house the day after a party sans the stale beer smell. (Mauritania is a dry country and I don't just mean it's 2 deserts) Toilets overflowing. Luggage overflowing. Overwhelmingly hot. Not pleasant. Praise Allah it didn’t rain. I must commend the 50 women crammed into this dorm. We kept our sense of humor and compassion for one another. I, for one, was ready to leave and move into a family. Hell I was ready to move anywhere. The training was grueling both physically and emotionally. Try sitting Indian style on a hard floor for hours at a time. Damn it’s uncomfortable. At least now I don't squirm around as much as I used to trying to get into a comfortable position, which is an impossible task. We took 6 hours of language each day + the enormous amount of work for the projects that were required for training in our particular sector. Lounging on my chaise in San Diego petting the kitties, I could not have imagine just how tired, hungry, hot, dirty, cranky and overwhelmed I could get in just 2 short months. It is hot here. I mean really, really hot with no relief. For any of you that caught me in the last afternoon at the height of the heat, I was certainly the worse for wear, whining and whimpering. All made additionally uncomfortable because women have to wear all of these clothes. We live outdoors 7/24 in110 degree heat in long skirts. Add a slip if the skirts are too sheer. I can only think of expletives to describe it.
Actually, the first 3 weeks were the hardest trying settling into my new surrounds. Again, language is the key. I was lucky that I landed in a family, that if you had been magically plunked down in their courtyard, you’d have a hard time figuring out why the Peace Corps is in Mauritania. The father was from the Ivory Coast. He speaks French, English and Hassaniya as well as Bambara. My sister in law, a young lady of 21, is from Senegal. She has the most beautiful French accent. My youngest brother,18 , also speaks French beautifully as well as the language of chaos, a quote from Heather W, a fellow trainee. Meaning, he could understand my as well as the other trainees Frenglish and translate our needs and wants to his fellow citizens. It was utterly amazing. Dad came to Mauritania in 1967. He intended to stay for just awhile to earn money to move to France, but he met his wife and soon came the first of 9 sons. Thus in Southern Mauritania he stayed. He was an educator donc 6 of the 9 fils have passed the BAC and have or are attending the only University in Mauritania. This is an ASTOUNDING feat as only 10% of each graduating class passes the BAC. Sadly if you don’t pass the BAC, you can not attend University, and you have little opportunity but the military for work. We had 2 computers (no internet), a car, were building an addition to the house and we watch EuroNews each night. As I said, they were very progressive. We discussed politics, religion, mine as well as theirs (I was surprised by how much we agreed I’d love to give you more details, but not on a public blog), Steve Jobs, Bill Gates (and the competition between Apple and Microsoft), Warren Buffet, Barak Obama. I loved these discussions. They were a mixture of bad French, bad English and lots of patience while one of us would grab the dictionary to find the word we needed. All time being mindful of the dictionary so that the goats or sheep wouldn’t eat it. The other trainees were quite jealous of my interactions because I was able to not only practice my French and also have meaningful dialogue about issues of interest. My family is wonderful and I am so very lucky to have been placed in their home. We also exhausted what little I know of Rap. Is Beyonce white or black? Is Eminem white or black? Is Shakira America? Is that song in English? Apparently, America is a place where there are many ways to become rich, singing, acting, rapping or sports. Remind me to start applying to those professions when I get home.
One Friday I came home from class early and couldn’t help but notice that our yard was overrun with children. I asked Dad why. He replied Charity. We were feeding the neighborhood children. He then asked if Americans give to charity. An astounding question I thought as he had a Peace Corps VOLUNTEER sitting under his hangar. And I was the 4th trainee that had stayed at their house over the years. I am not sure that the word volunteer translates into this culture. I explained that yes Americans give both of their money and their TIME. He was aware that the US government gave a lot of money to aid but he wasn’t sure if the people did as well. Again, thru French and English, I explain that the US government has no money of it’s own to give. The American people pay taxes to support it and elect officials who will do our will. Inshallah. The money that our government donates to the world in aid is money directly from the American people. A government by the people, for the people, if you will. This concept seems so simple but folks, remember, Mauritania just this last Spring had their first free elections. Prior to that, speaking out against the government could prove fatal. That is why being in Mauritania right now, while they struggle with creating a democracy WITH accountability is so exciting. Inshallah They have their work cut out for them. From what I have been told there is still a lot of corruption and without connections and money, there is little opportunity here. That kind of atmosphere can breed much, much discontent. Keep your fingers and toes crossed for their progress.
I then spied a newly hatched chick that was the bright yellow color of Peeps. I had a quick flash of home and I tried to explain to Dad that Peeps were marshmallow candy that we give at Easter. Coming off of that charity conversation, he now thinks that we give little chicks to the poor at the Ascension. I didn’t have the heart to explain that indeed no, we give the poor nothing on Easter. We just eat bright yellow candy. Damn the nuance in language. I’ll save that for another day.
Another conversation with one of my brothers was about the internet. It will be a great catalyst for change in the youth of Mauritania according to him. Somehow we got on the subject of how in other parts of the world ie: Myanmar and China, the internet is regulated by their government. Those counties populations didn't have unbiased information and couldn't access Yahoo and Google. Stunned at that information, he quickly asked me if I had had problems with access to information via the cyber in Mauritania. I still am moved by the look of relief when I told him that no, I personally had not experienced any problems accessing websites while in Mauritania.
As progressive as my family is, nutrition and sanitation were lacking as was indoor plumbing. We laid in repose and dined with our livestock at arms length away or lapping out of our bowls if we weren't sufficiently attentive. It is impossible to describe my life here to you and as impossible to relay my life in the US to them. Par Example: they wanted to know if we all had great big hangars (permanent tents) in our yards as they do. I assume they believe that because America is the Promised Land, we must have magnificent hangars and undoubtedly, through American ingenuity, had made the hangers grander in ways they hadn’t thought possible. Alas, I tried to explain that we didn’t live in our yards. We lived inside our houses, in buildings with air conditioning when it was hot and heating when it was cool. Screens kept out the bugs. We also have furniture and thusly, did not sit on the floor, eat on the floor, sleep on the floor, cook on the floor. Oh how I long for a work surface that is not the floor.
I am in Small Enterprise Development (SED) 6 other SED volunteers and myself spent all of our days together either in language class or working on one of the many projects. We became a very close knit group. When no one else could understand our French, we always knew what the other one was trying to say. It was our own little language. This proved very helpful while working with our local business people on our Consulting Dossier. One of us always knew what the other was trying to express, and could usually find the correct verb. Creating a Consulting Dossier would normally be an easy task of sitting down for a few hours and discussing someone's business practices, I believe this is much of what I did with McGraw Hill. But alas, we spoke different languages which made this task monumentally difficult and challenging. Much use was made of the dictionary and something akin to charades. I applaud these folks for their enormous patience and the time they took to aid us in our training. All of their cooperation was a direct result of the work and integration that the prior SED volunteer had done at the last 2 years in this site. Aaron is beloved to them. He went home, back to the USA, on 9/15 and his enthusiasm for PC work and the people of Mauritania will be greatly missed.
But now, training is over. I left my family viklempt with a promise to call and visit soon. The now 66 were sworn in as new PC RIM (Republique Islamic Mauritanie) Volunteers on 9/6 and scattered all over this large country. I won't see most of them until Christmas in Nouakchott and then only occasionally during the next 2 years. That prospect makes me a little sad as they are quite dear to me. It is rare to get a group this large and have each and every one plugged in. No one is ever in the back rolling their eyes. Well almost never. We each gave up the comforts of home to try to make a difference to the world, to our spirits or both. I have moved to my permanent site which is Atar in the Adrar region of Mauritania. You can look it upon the web as it is the only tourist area of Mauritania. Yes, I am living in the Sahara. I now have a new group of new and veteran volunteers with whom I am becoming thick as thieves. As it was in Training, I am senior by many years but it's all working out. I occasionally offer up sage advice. Sometimes I actually believe that I sound like Doris. Who knew she was so smart?
For those of you interested in the age thing, at our closing party at our training site, I played the sound track from The Big Chill. Everyone enjoyed the tunes and after some discussion, I found out that some of the volunteers weren't even out of the womb when this movie was released. Enough said.
Also, does having to use reading glasses to read your ipod make you hip or old? Ruminate on that and get back to me.
Okay, this is enough for today. I have so many stories, thoughts, realizations and revelations from the last 2 months all of which I wish I could share with you. But alas. Lesley said it nicely when she pointed out to me that it is rare in your life when every single day provides you endless opportunities to learn something absolutely new. I try to keep that in the front of my brain with each new and exciting "opportunity". Tonight, I am going to try to buy popcorn in the market so that we can have it with our next two episodes of LOST. I see pre popped corn being sold in little baggies so the kernels must be somewhere. I believe the best verb to use is explode. Wish me luck.
Wow would I have packed differently knowing what I know now.
List of much appreciated supplies
Send Often
Deodorant, suave invisible solid, any scent
Q-tips
Disposable razors
Heel Razors
Excedrin or Tylenol PM
Alka Seltzer Cold Nighttime
Narrow brush picks by DenTek, they are blue and I found by the toothpaste in target. Come in 8 packs.
Emory Boards
All-in-one facial cleansers/moisturizers just add water.
(Olay makes a good one as does Mary Kay) plus the little towelettes can be reused.
Little Hotel soap, we always need some in our bags for sanitation
Ziplock storage bags and containers.
A big box of Kleenex-feel free to repack in ziplock
Small Spiral Notebook for my purse
Bumble and Bumble Shampoo
Books
DVD's (we have LOST 1,2 ; Season 4,5,6 of Seinfeld; All of Sportsnight)
Wine yeast : )
Sooner than later
Garden Seeds and plant food spikes (they are light weight)
Lettuces and spinach
Journal= Jane I have quite a few in that box I left for you
Just need once
Brush, detangler
Pocket French Verb book
Wikipedia off line
Purse sized Week at a Glance Agenda for 08
Twin Sheets
Sunglasses
Letter combo lock rather than numbers
Cutting Board (the big, lightweight, thin, roll up kind)
Pancake Turner
Can opener that works really well
Potato peeler that works really well
1 Cup Measuring cup and spoons
World map
Sturdy fold up hand fan for my purse
Wash clothes--cheap
Dish clothes--cheap
Undergarmets
Boxer shorts size L
Mens boxer briefs seem like they would be really comfortable. Size M. They are more fitted than regular boxer shorts but cooler than bike shorts (remember the hot temps and long skirts)
Wife beaters, size XL
Crocs, the bottom has a circle with a 5 and a circle with a 7 for the size. My wardrobe is primarily blue brown or green. Pick whatever you like
Nutritious snacks, nuts, dried fruit, beef jerky, protein bars,
Peanut butter
Hard candy
Parmesan Cheese (stinky socks)=needs no refrigeration and full of cheesy flavor (did I mention that there is no cheese in this country)
Deviled ham
Oatmeal packets= any flavor
Soup mixes = double check what I have to add besides water
Aluminum packets of salmon, tuna and or shrimp even Chicken
Bullion cubes/ chicken flavor and lower salt
Rennet - powered
Spice mixes = survival spice, garlic salt, celery salt
Marshmallows
Crackers
Any powered food mix that can be made with oil, butter, milk, tomato paste or water
Would love to haves
Replacement Brookstone travel clock with date and temperature reading in f and c-feather light if they still make it. I squished the current one and the alarm no longer works
Pirate gear
Badminton (I have a huge courtyard)
Volleyball
Blow up swimming pool
Apples to Apples card game
Twister = this might be on the way.
For the upcoming holiday
Thanksgiving side dishes = stuffing, pie crust mix with pan,
Brown sugar
Powdered sugar
Toffee (for making cookies)
Cinnamon, Nutmeg
Lightweight, cheap Christmas Decorations.
For the heavy stuff, remember USPS has a fixed rate box rate to Mauritania for $37 for what ever you can get stuffed in it. It's about 15 x 2.5 x 12 ish
Pack well. The boxes look like hell when they arrive.
Self closing containers are best.
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