Jennifer Goes to Mauritania

Coming home

2006-06-30T20:42:10Z

Okay, so I haven't done the best job at updating my journal, but the two years have come to a close. Right now I'm in Nouakchott welcoming what will be the new stage group - there are 57 of them! I'll be home July 12; I can't wait to see everyone.

Peace Out,
Jenny

SIPA and things

2006-03-18T13:25:15Z

Most of you know by now that I'm working with a group from Columbia University's School of International Public Affairs while they research the education of girls in Mauritania. It's taking a lot of time and energy but has so far been a great project to be a part of. I'm working with a student on the section of Education Policy, and we've interviewed teacher trainers, curriculum developers, as well as directors of pedagogical practices (or something like that). I'm hoping that I will be able to put all this work on my resume and find an awesome job waiting tables in four months when I come home.

March Madness I think refers to basketball, but for me it's literally referring to the state of my mind.

Besides the project with SIPA, for which I'm missing two weeks of school, at the beginning of the month I attended a conference for the GMC mentors in Boghe. We were also going to try to have a Big Sister Little Sister exchange with Lexeiba, but we had to postpone it because of this project. My English club is going well: we just finished reading a rendition of Rumpelstiltskin out of what looks like a third grade level reading text book. After the first Act, a student asked me "Teacher, why did the miller tell the king that his daughter could spin straw into gold?" Great question my young learner, great question.

The SIPA folks were so kind as to bring us tons of "convenient" foods and magazines, at least one of which was dated IN THE FUTURE! I forgot how magazines did that. I'm used to reading magazines that are dated around October 2004. Convenient foods mean of course, mac and cheese, chocolates, beef jerkey, instant drink mixes.

What else is new? Yesteday I played Jenga Extreme with my host siblings and sadly realized that they are better at it than I am. Just finished reading Jim Morrison's biography and was thinking of becoming an alcoholic so I could write crazy poetry and maybe become famous, then fake my own death. Unfortunately this is a dry country and I'm not a very good drinker. Just before starting this book I had started Journey to the End of the Night, which coincidentally was also a favorite of Jim's. Yes, we're now on a first-name basis: I think we're connected cosmically because we both like this book by Celine, we've both been to Morocco and Paris, and we both like to wear beards.

Our bureau now has a modem so hopefully we won't be kicked offline due to the virus on my POS laptop. Unfortunately there isn't messenger downloaded yet: I'm trying to get it done but so far I've been connected for 30 minutes and am only 54% done. It's time for fish and rice. I think I may have to abort it till this evening.

The hot season is officially here. I think a whole bunch of people in Mali forgot to turn off their hairdryers. The wind is HOT. At least the nights are still relatively cool. I heard about all the tornadoes in MO and wish I'd been there to climb into the basement with all of you. I miss Spring. At least I'll be home just in time for the heat of the summer, which will help me reaclimate to the Western world I'm sure.

Was able to catch some TV in Nouakchott: heard of Milosevich's death (not doing much mourning for him) and watched an episode of Oprah which featured an interview with Samuel L. Jackson and strangely a lot of songs by Neil Diamond. I was a bit confused by those two being on the same show, but then again it's been a while since I watched Oprah.

I'm up to 66% but told Coumba I'd be home by now. What do I do?

Looks like I'm out of here. Stay cool,
Jen

Hi there folks

2006-03-03T12:40:09Z

Greetings from Mauritania,
The magnificent month of March has started off well. I’ve got so much on my plate that I’m wondering how in the world I can get it all eaten (unfortunately I mean figuratively, not literally. we’re still drinking our dinner and having oily mushy rice now and then). This weekend I’m going to Boghe for the annual GMC mentor’s conference. We’re taking Coumba, my host mom and favorite person in Mauritania, and Diop Amadou Saidou, the Math teacher who comes once a week to tutor the girls. We wanted to invite Fama, our informatrice, but she’s got more important things to do in Nouakchott. At any rate, even though we aren’t paying these people anything, they are kind enough, and care enough about the girls in their community, to give up a weekend and learn how to improve their work within the center.

Wednesday is March 8th, and if you’re wondering what significance that has, I’m disappointed in you! Just kidding: I didn’t know it either until I came here. March 8th is International Women’s Day. We always try to organize something for the Girls Center in order to encourage the girls to follow their dreams and succeed in life. This year, unfortunately, I won’t be able to participate, because I am starting a project with a group from Columbia University. The group is researching how the centers are affecting girls’ education in Mauritania. I’m working with a former teacher on researching the Education Policy within Mauritania. I’m setting up interviews with the Regional Department of Education, teacher trainer schools, local high schools and junior highs, and local teachers and students. In addition I have to give out 28 surveys before next week, although I’ve already delegated some of the responsibility to my very very kind region mates. I’m really excited to work with this group, but it’s really making the rest of my work harder to get done. Next week I’ll be in Nouakchott for the whole week, meaning I’ll miss school, our March 8th celebration, and we won’t be able to do our Big Sister / Little Sister exchange with a nearby village as we’d hoped. I like being busy but I hope I’m able to spend as much time on everything as is needed.

February went by so quickly: we went to Dakar and won WAIST, the softball tournament, again this year. It was my first time to come back through Senegal, instead of going the long way through Nouakchott and then coming south again. The trip ended up taking more than 24 hours though, if you count the five hours we waited at the garage for our car to fill up. I was so discouraged when I found out that we had spent more than double the normal price for our trip. Of course I’ve never been black in America, but I found myself thinking, in terms of racism, I’d so much rather be black in America than white in West Africa. Of course that made me think about economics and instead I think now I’d just rather be rich in America than rich in West Africa. I’m not rich compared to most of you even, but I’m still so much richer than most here. It’s still so frustrating to be judged based on the color of my skin or my language.

School is going well. This week we finished our section on present perfect, and I think I even got them to understand the difference between present perfect and simple past, though it was a major challenge. Tonight with my English club I’m going to try to teach them how to play Boggle, and maybe even Scattergories.

I miss you all and will see you soon!

P.S. Apparently now international mail can be opened AND READ by officials!!! Several letters written by PCVs in Mauritania have been read, and they are even starting to check our blogs and emails! What do you think about my and your right to privacy? Maybe online is not the best forum for discussing it, kay?
Love you all. Watch out for the CIA spies living in your neighborhood.

February

2006-02-08T12:11:08Z

hi there everyone.
just wanted to let you know that I’m still here. apparently what has happened is the guy who owns all 12 cybers in Mauritania didn’t pay up to the phone company and now they’ve cut the connection. plus, this week, Somelec, the electric company who swears they “would never cut Peace Corps electricity”, failed to come turn it back on. Actually, that’s not entirely true. They came, waited five minutes, then left. No matter how many times I tell them this is not a house and they must call before they come or no one will be there, they still manage to forget. Our electricity is back on, Alhumdulillah, and for now everyone in the Gorgol is using my POS computer until we can get the modem that’s been on order now since November. It will probably take me at least two hours to post this. My computer is old and crotchety and doesn’t like to work anymore. Kind of like my host dad but less amusing.

how is home? recently, despite the rotten “no email”, Mauritania has been pretty good. there has been some bad stuff going on recently, like riots because of some cartoons published in Belgium. I think it’s pretty sad that a cartoon basically saying “All Muslims are evil” will provoke the response of “All Christians are evil.” Can’t they see the irony? I don’t really know though; I didn’t see the cartoon, and probably neither did any of the rioters in Mauritania, but hey, at least some kids got to miss school. There weren’t any protests in Kaedi though. We were all too preoccupied by the African football matches (football here meaning REAL football, a.k.a. soccer. I have to admit that I’m turning into a fan). Yesterday people were literally crying over Senegal’s loss to Egypt in the semi-finals. I feel almost Mauritanian myself, and Mauritanians here in the South feel almost Senegalese, so how does that make me feel? Sad that our team lost, of course. Coumba and I are planning a trip to Egypt so we can “frappez” them and get revenge.

We had a wonderful Girls’ Center Reopening, sort of like an Open House. We invited parents and school administration, as well as some local NGOs to come see the center and it was fantastic. We actually got two more tutors out of it, so our center is actually becoming a great place for girls to learn.

Yesterday, I was feeling great and thought “hey, I’m not too busy. I’m going to schedule in some language study instead of crocheting in all of my free time.” I made up a calendar and everything on Outlook and it looked great. It sort of reminding me of my college days when we made Excel sheets and posted them on our dorm walls so we could always know where we were supposed to be. I scheduled in 8 hours a week of study, French and Pulaar, and sure it looked pretty jam packed but not more than I was working that first semester of grad school. This morning, I went to school and gave my class (present perfect still), then went the girls’ center to do my French. I had brought my grammar book and everything. First, the chair was almost broken, so I had to change it out. Then I had to start up the computer to change the hours that the admin. just changed that I mentioned above, then the lights were bad, so I had to open the door more, then I realized it really DOES smell bad where the table is (kind of like urine), so I had to go sit on the floor. I read about two pages, and because I want to be thorough and I hate starting in the middle, I was only on –er verbs, even though I really think I can conjugate –er verbs relatively well. I did learn two new words “fouiller”, to rummage through, and “tiroir”, drawer, and did some exercises. But of course, I can’t study while sitting on the floor, with no table, nothing to lean back against, and dust in my eyes and nose, and in the near complete darkness, and with two babies screaming in the next room, and with goats maa-ing outside, and then five center girls came in to say hello and I knew I had to get out of there. I really feel for my students now. I wouldn’t want to study with no “quiet study lounge” complete with round tables, outlets for computers, plants, couches, honor library, and everyone’s complete acceptance of the no-talking, zipping your bag, or making any sort of noise policy.

Even now there is a child screaming. I need a lounge damn it!

Aaron, I hope your mom was able to find you on my journal. Sorry for messing up your name. You are more than willing to call me Jennifer Lopez or even Stinky. But I’m going to have to draw the line there. If you call me Jenny Slinker, as in “one who slinks” you just might incur my wrath.

Seems like a lot more has been going on, but I’m sure it’s just general busy-ness on my part. The girls came to my house this weekend and we dyed fabric to cover our computers. Everyone at my house has moved back to sleeping outside; the heat is on its way for sure. This weekend there were several volunteers in and the Gorgol house had received a bunch of booze in a package, which was added to by other volunteers’ personal packages, but I skipped the booze party to watch some movie with Christian Slater and John Travolta and crochet the jacket for Jewel’s baby and hang out with my family. Lately they are all just nice to be around, and I’m wondering if there isn’t something wrong with me for wanting to be around them all the time. Next week I’m off to Dakar for the West African Invitational Softball Tournament, where I will be more than happy to eat hot dogs and probably drink a beer too. Until then, I’m desperately awaiting emails and handwritten letters from everyone.

Mom's trip - a really long entry

2006-01-19T11:10:04Z

Hi everyone,
Things are getting back to normal since Mom left yesterday morning at 3:30. We had a great time, and I was sad to see her go, but sort of glad to be able to sleep without her snoring. Sorry for giving your secret away Mom.

We met in Paris; I flew in to Orly and had to ask someone to help me get on the right train. He was from some Caribbean island and even gave me a Metro ticket. I got a little lost trying to find the hotel but when I did Mom was there and waiting with homemade Christmas cookies from my sister. They were soooo good. Everyone keeps asking what we did in Paris. Well, we did EVERYTHING. We did the Louvre, d'Orsay, the Pantheon (but only so MOm could use the bathroom since we had bought a three-day museum pass), the Latin Quarter (where I annoyed Mom by wanting to enter and stay an hour in every bookstore we passed), the Eiffel Tower (it snowed!), the Arc de Triomphe, Ste. Chappelle, even Versailles. It was a whirlwind trip. Mom was proud of herself for climbing the 280ish stairs to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, and amazed at how much food I can eat. I felt like Andrew when I wanted to lick all the plates. Before I left I had the chance to talk to Suzanne and her mom, who'd just been to Paris, and in her words "There is no bad food in Paris." How true.

From Paris we went to Marrakesh. Our taxi man was crazy on the drive to our riad. Weaving in and out of cars and donkeys and motor scooters. I don't really know why there were so many cars out that day. It was just before Tabaski so maybe everyone was getting their sheep fixin's. Maddie had directed me to the Riad Malika, and our room was great. It was a little damp and smelly, but there was a fire place and a bath tub and orange tree right outside our door. We saw the Palais el Badii and the Palais Bahi. They are both pretty for their architecture (or falling architecture as it may be), but we spent most of our time in the souks. Poor mom was turned off after a man hastily grabbed a tassle out of her hands when she said "no" she didn't want to buy it. They really do get angry at you for not wanting their crap. I spent my money fast (as always). I've found that this eliminates the need to keep looking, as well as makes the statement "sorry, I have no money" truthful and effective. I think we had a good time, but we didn't even eat any pastilla or street food. Breakfast and lunch or dinner was included at our hotel, so we didn't have much of a chance to branch out during our 3-day stay. We were there for Tabaski and yet had chicken with olives for dinner. I was super disappointed. I wish we'd had time to go to Essouaria or Ouzod, as those are the places really worth seeing.

From Marrakesh we made the giant step downward to Mauritania. On our layover in Casa, I ran in to Alicia with her Mom, which was a nice surprise. Thank goodness the airport gave us no problems. I hate that place. I step in there and immediately have a bad feeling. Maybe it's all the creepy men trying to help with my bags, or trying to take my passport as if they had some official business there. Maybe it's all the smoke, or the disorganized lines. At any rate, we got our bags eventually and got a taxi for 2000 um. For those of you in the states, that's a lot of money. We whipped by the bureau and got our vouchers for the Lauriat, where there awaited dirty sheets and mosquitos in our hotel room. Not the nicest place to introduce Mom to my home, but maybe closer to the norm.

The next day, we slept in till a little, dropped our bags at the bureau, then held our breath and crossed our fingers on the way to the garage. I was a little afraid to take taxi brousse, but in general the road to Kaedi isn't bad, and I thought our chances for a good ride weren't bad. WE were astounded by our awesome taxi ride. Ould Ahmed, our driver, spoke a little English and quickly made friends with my mom. I think he was actually flirting with her! He stopped for her to take pictures of camels, and gave us his opinion on the state of Mauritania. According to Ould, Mauritania isn't poor, but the rich people just don't put their money back into the country. In other countries, he says that rich people will build roads and buildings, and therefore help out the country. But here, Mauritanians are selfish and prefer to horde their money.

We made it to Kaedi in a flash - less than 6 hours anyway. Coumba and the whole crowd were waiting for us and came out to give hugs in the street and carry our bags.

SIDE NOTE:
i hate it when people are working quietly in the volunteer room and someone comes in and starts yelling on her cell phone and pacing the room. Give us a break please! If you need to talk on the phone, go outside! If you want to sigh loudly and scream in worse French than my own, leave the rest of us alone.

Okay, sorry, just blowing off some steam.

Kaedi: I don't know what Mom was expecting, but everywhere we went, she was amazed by how friendly my friends are. My family killed a sheep for her (thus appeasing my need for mutton), and we had invitations galore for meals at other houses. We were only there for 2 full days, so we didn't have time to do much. I hope I had prepared her enough for the trash and smelliness of Kaedi. We saw the lycee, the airport, the river, the cyber, and a good number of my friends. I'm so proud of her for roughing in, sleeping on my bamboo bed and using the latrine, taking bucket baths in what I think is the freezing cold morning. Great job Mom!

Here's the long long story of the lost phone. I'm not very good at telling stories, but this is a good one I think.

Our taxi trip back was not as lucky as the one to Kaedi. We bought our tickets (I'm pretty sure I got screwed), and ended up waiting about an hour for the car to fill up. "This is ridiculous", Mom says. I had to keep reminding her to be patient and to keep her expecations low. VERy low. (This is a big step for me. I wasn't impatient at all during the wait. A little nervous for mom, but not impatient. When my phone interviewer asked me what I thought would be my problems in the Peace Corps, I told her immediately: Patience. So, am I more patient now or have I just become so lazy that I don't care anymore? ) We left. Or should I say, we took off like a rocket. We cruised past the closed gas stations with our wobbly tires and never slowed down, even for the donkeys and goats in the middle of the road. I have to admit I was scared for my life during much of this drive. I have no idea how fast we were going (spedometer out of order) or if we even had enough gas to made it to Boghe (yep, so was the gas gauge) but we were cruising. I kept imagining us hitting a dog and flipping over. I had to pick some stuff up from Aaron Dunbar-Dinlap (is that right? I love your last name) so I texted him twice on the road. Malheuresment, Mauritel was not working (or was it you Aaron who just didn't check your messages?) and Aaron was not at the carrefour! We drove around a bit looking for gas, but when Aaron wasn't there after 10 minutes the driver was definitely getting impatient. He said "2 minutes, 2000 ougiyas". Thank goodness he was only joking. Aaron comes running up over the hill with his handful of letters, receipts, and GAD money, and all is well. You would have thought he'd just won the Tour de France, the way my mom gave him a cheer. "Yeeeeaaaaaayyy!!" She says while clapping. Goodness, I was embarassed. But he made it, and we took off once again.

No gas. Flying. Donkeys. Jerking steering wheel. Thank goodness our brakes worked.

We made it to Boutilimit by 7, taking a total of 3 hours to get there. Prayer, tea, bananas, gas (alhumdilillah) and we're off again. I honestly thought the dark would slow our driver down, but no such luck. We made it to Nouakchott before 9:30 (We had left around 4), making this my fastest taxi brousse drive to Nkt. I had made friends with Bah Cheikh, the veterinarian from near Aioun, and we decided to share a cab. The driver had dropped us all off at the Garage Toojanine, way outside of town. In a rush I grabbed my things and we flagged down a taxi. Mom was once again astonished that the driver could just drop us off on the side of the road and no one else thought twice about it. Inside the new taxi, I discovered I had no phone. "Maybe it's in the bag in the back," I thought. "I'll check later."

Flat tire. Change taxis. I check in the bag ; it's not there. I tell Bah Cheikh "I think I left my phone in the other taxi". Oh no!! He calls my number; it rings and rings (a good sign that it's not been turned off my a thief). Bah Cheikh has memorized the taxi number! The new taxi, who is not really a taxi but just a man with a car, drives back to the spot we were left off at, all the while calling my phone. We look on the ground, with no luck. We go inside the garage (just off the road a bit), but the car is not there. Men in the tissue boutique come out, asking what we are doing. They make fun of my hassaniya, and think I can't understand them. I follow these men around blindly as I think my mom is waiting in the taxi, when really she just couldn't get her door open and was a little delayed. We find her on the other side of the garage, ready to cry. Poor mom. I should have just given up the phone for lost. Our new non-taxi drives around the block, looking for the car, and avoiding the police who will fine him for acting like a taxi.

Hours later, we are nearing the Peace Corps bureau. The non-taxi man's phone rings. How can this be? IT'S ME!!! No, it's the driver saying he's found my phone. I'm ready to make plans to go get the phone, but the non-taxi man says give him the phone. He's yelling in Hassaniya. He tells me he has told the driver that he is the police and is trying to scare him. I'm afraid he's ruined my chances of getting the phone back. I talk to him once more and make plans to meet him tomorrow.

At the hotel (the Welcome: clean sheets), we sleep and sleep. I'm up all night with mom's snoring (the worst ever) and finally am able to get up at 7 to go meet the man at the garage. Toojanine is the farthest one away, I'm sure. I called Bah Cheikh to let him know it's found and he doesn't need to come help me (he had offered, what a nice guy), and head out to the garage. When I get there, the taxi men are all newly arrived, the tea lady is making tea and selling porridge, it's cold cold, I see Ould Ahmed (my mom's friendly taxi driver) and wish he could have driven us back too. I explain the story to the garage men. Everyone is super helpful, calling my number over and over again. It's now been turned off, a bad sign. The taxi number Bah Cheikh had memorized was incorrect. No one knows that taxi driver, and he didn't sign in or out. The samsar (garage guy) calls the samsar in Kaedi to find out who's taxi we'd ridden in. The numbers had been switched: it was 5007 AE 00, not 5070 AE 00. Everyone takes a great sigh : Ohhhhh, that driver is very "serious". He will bring your phone. No problem. I wait. He's not there. "ARe you sure you talked to the driver? It was probably someone else who was keeping your phone and playing a trick on you. If the driver said he'd be here at 8, he would have been here." It's now nearly 9. I'm cold, pissed off, and still phone less. I give my name and Rachel's phone number to a guy named Ahmed in case he should show up with the phone.

Mom and I ate at the Palmerie; it was great. She can't believe how much bread I can eat. Yummy.

I take the off chance and call my phone again. It rings. It's answered. It's Ahmed! He has already called a very confused Rachel and told her it's at the garage. I'm afraid it's a trick. I tell him to wait till tomorrow, since I've got only one day left with mom. I picked it up yesterday from Ahmed while my new friend, Bah Mamadou, another non-taxi man, waits for me in the car. There is no moral to this story but I would have been phone-less without the help of all those different non-taxi men, taxi men, boutique workers, and veterinarians. Instead, I only spent 2000 um on the first non-taxi man, and 2000 um more on the two trips to the garage, plus lost about 1000 um worth of credit from my phone, and about 4 or 5 hours time. Not too bad.

The rest of the time with mom was great. We went to the beach and saw tons of huge dead jellyfish. WE went to Marche Cingieme and looked at junk. We went to the women's co-op boutique and bought wallets. We shared half a chicken and had shakes at Savanah (Yes, i ate most of it). Mom snored while I watched American History X and the beginning of Flashdance while we waited til it was late enough to leave. AT the airport, my least favorite place in the world, we ran into Cheikh Gueye and Alayna (poor thing). I wanted to wait till Mom's plane left but I had the taxi waiting for me outside and thought she'd be okay with Cheikh Gueye there. Sure enough, I talked to jackie yesterday and she'd made it okay to Paris at least. I miss her already and still haven't done much of the work I'm supposed to complete while here in Nkc. Guess this has gone on long enough and I should get to work.

The next 6 months are going to go by fast I'm sure. Thanks to all of you who thought about me over the holidays. I'll be home soon.

Jen

Happy New Year!

2006-01-03T10:51:25Z

My oh my it's been a really long time since I've written on this. Is there anyone still out there reading my blog? well, just in case, here goes: My New Year 20006. (yes, there's an extra zero in there. my back space key doesn't work).

It all started with Christmas. Somebody was great enough to send me an enormous Hershey's chocolate kiss, hollow but with MORE little kisses inside, chocolate poptarts, four bags of M&Ms, two bags of sour skittles, and Star Wars Episode III. What he forgot to include in the package was Tums! The day before Christmas I chilled out at Rachel's empty house, shaved my legs (first time in 3 months), watched Star Wars, and ate every last drop of candy from that box. Okay, just kidding. I didn't eat that much, but I did eat a lot. So, on Christmas, YES I woke up and had a stomach ache the whole day. For a while I wasn't sure if it were the candy or the fried little fish with greasy orange pasta, and to be honest I'm still not too sure. I lay around all day on Christmas. All my friend called me, even those who had been partying at Obie's in Nouakchott, and I felt more than ever like I'd missed out on all the fun. I had been planning on making omelettes for my family and buying stuff in the market, but my stomach was so mad at me that I just couldn't even leave the compound. It stunk like donkey doo-doo.

I finished out the week, gave all my tests to my classes, got the landlord of the bureau to sign another contract, without even raising the rent, paid all the bills, and Thursday morning I woke up and thought, I can still go to St. Louis for New Years! Why not? I'm all done with my work, why sit around and watch Senegalese TV on New Year when I can go and have fun? So I called Bagga and got permission, went to my last class, then went to wait at the post office for the package mom sent me.

Cultural notes sidetrack:
In Mauritania, if you work for the government, your check gets sent to the post office. So, at the end of the month, dozens of men go to the post office and wait for One post office lady to look up their account in the computer (yes, there are computers there!) and count out their money. Sometimes, the men will go early and ask for their money, so the lady has time to look it up and count it, and all they have to do is come back later and pick it up. But most people don't do that. They just come in and stand at the line-less counter. Anyone else who comes in during this time is out of luck. The post office has morphed into a bank, and if you want stamps or that package you can see with your name on it right under the counter, you have to come back tomorrow.

Unless the lady is really nice. I explained to her that I was leaving just after lunch and needed something in the box for my trip. She was swamped with work, and I told her I was willing to wait until she was finished, even if it meant waiting till the end of the day, three hours later. So I sat right down next to the man who explained the above paragraph to me, graded some tests, but more just watched the drama. No lines! People who should have money waiting and maybe don't! People who come in later and get served immediately and others who wait hours! Anyway, not long after, she took a break and gave me my package, complete with the Paris 2006 guidebook I was waiting so desperately for. Wait, for which I was so desperately waiting, I mean.

I went home, started packing, but people kept calling me and distracting me, so it took a while. Four countries in two weeks is pretty hard to pack for, by the way. I was definitely in high spirits. I even sang while taking a bucket bath. While packing though, my back began hurting. It had been hurting almost all week because of how much I'd been lying around doing nothing (from being sick on Christmas), but this was different. It was definitely painful. But I didn't CARE! I was going to St. Louis! Paris! Marrakesh! Nouakchott!! Okay, I had to throw that last one in for kicks.

The trip was fine, only I was sitting next to the window, and therefore the curved edge of the seat that pushes you into the other person, in this case a youngish white moor who moved everytime I moved and wouldn't let me lean against him. I made it in not too late, and was instantly sick in the bathroom. The sickness was to continue the entire trip south to St. Louis. We stopped at least 8 times so I could hitch my skirt behind a tree. At the border we changed money at a good rate and actually passed a group that had been waiting for almost 2 hours. We got a cheap ride and flew to St. Louis, stopping now and then for my bowels. Once we arrived in the former capital of Mauritania and West Africa, I went straight to sleep in the sandy bed in the room full of 30 volunteers' bags. I slept with the baggage to the sounds of people exclaiming about the effects of the domed ceiling: "man, that's so weird", "wow, the accoustics are really weird" "your voice sounds weird if i stand right here". Okay, so we have a limited vocabulary.

There is a good side to my being sick in St. Louis. I brought almost twice as much money as I did last year and spent only about 75% as much, leaving more money to spend in Paris and Morocco. Maybe that's the only good thing. I was better on New Year's eve. Better enough anyway to splurge on a bottle of Pinot Noir and not share it, dance the night away with all my great friends, and even end up being someone's first kiss at midnight. He's a different sort of character but a nice-enough guy. We left late, danced to the tail-end of an 80s set with some "weird French people" (I myself can't attest to them being weird; I was having too much fun), and ate shish-kabobs and bean sandwiches on the road. Why can't Mauritania have street food?

All in all I had a great New Years. My intestines are still angry with me, but I've left a nice little cup of something for the lab tech and he'll tell me what's wrong in hopefully only 2 hours, so someone can give me meds before I leave tomorrow morning at 3:30 AM. I leave tomorrow morning at 3:30 AM!!!! That's only 16 hours!

I hope everyone had as great a New Years as I did, minus of course the dysentery or whatever bug is living inside my body!

Love you all,
Jen

Back to school

2005-10-16T10:44:11Z

Hi again and sorry for the delay. I truly am lazy and impatient with the slow computers here in the cyber. This week Bagga is coming to Kaedi with our new bureau computer, so soon I should be back on Yahoo messenger.

School started with no bang last week. It was supposed to coincide almost exactly with Ramadan the week before, but of course that didn't happen. Thursday I had a huge crisis with my school director: I had asked for upper level classes this year (trying to get away from the discipline problems. I am not here to babysit, or so I keep telling myself.) and Bagga, my oh-so-worthy APCD had spoken with my school director multiple times and assured me it was all settled. But when I got to school on Thursday to pick up my schedule, I had all first and second years. This was even worse than I had thought. I thought at least he would give me my old classes, which would now be 3rd year. Or he could have given me just one single upper level class. But instead he gave me all first and second arabisant students. I was so angry and insulted that I had to leave the room to deal with my emotions. AFter speaking with Bagga, the director agreed to let me trade schedules with another teacher, only who in their right mind would agree to teach 12 hours of first and second year students? Nobody. He turned it into a fight between me and the other students. After speaking with Coumba, my wise host mother, I decided to back down. According to her, the upper level classes are worse discipline-wise anyway. So, I convinced the director to let me take on one class of 5th years; not trading but adding it to my schedule. I know you all think I'm just biding my time here being lazy, but actually I thought I was coming here to do something. So now I'll be teaching 15 hours this year, up 50% from last. I am thoroughly convinced that my one 5th year class will either be my best or my worst class. AFter having them after just one class, I'm leaning toward worst. They think it's freaking hilarious that they have a toubob teacher. I'm trying my hardest to be serious and stern in class. During my walk to school everyday I have to sort of chant "you hate school. you are not nice. do not smile". Coumba told me that if I want to have fun in class I will not get anywhere. I told her it's hard for me to be mean because I'm just too nice. Ha-ha. Teaching here is so different from the way I'm used to. Students don't respect anything besides physical or mental punishment.

What else is new? Not much. I've been hanging out in Kaedi now for an entire month. It seems like I've been here for a long time, but I guess when I first got here I was here for over 6 months straight. I'm kind of bored but now I have school to keep me busy. Andi, Cailin, and I are trying to put together a GMC handbook, filled with all the computer programs available, specifics on how to run and start up a center, and projects that have gone well in the past. I am also in the beginnings of a partnership with a school in Canada; we are working through People to People, International in their School and Classroom Program. As soon as Ramadan is over, (another 2 weeks) we will be exchanging letters and information about ourselves (incha allah).

Salif, the baby who always seemed to cry in the past, is really growing up. Mancha, his mom, has been in Dakar for several weeks, and he always cried around her (to get attention), so now that she isn't around he is almost pleasant. He is a little slow, but now he is starting to talk and will even run up to me like the other kids whenever I get home. He calls me Aminuts and I think it's cute, but please don't call me that too!

I feel like I'm writing some kind of report and that this doesn't really sound like me at all. I was supposed to have Pulaar class this morning but my instructor cancelled because he's not feeling well. I myself am starting to get a cold. The cool season is trying to get started, and with it comes dry wind that aggravates everyone's respiratory systems. Rachel had a cold for a while, and Coumba is still fighting it off. It doesn't help that it's Ramadan and nobody is drinking a lot of "clear liquids" as they should. I fasted for two whole days before I had to quit. I am such a quitter, I know, but I'm not Muslim and the heartburn was unbearable. Amel the MO is Nkt ordered me to quit fasting and to take a bottle of Gaviscon. I am much better and eat with the kids. So now for lunch I usually have bread and some sour milk, or sometimes one of the kids will cut up and cook an onion to eat with the bread. It's not very much but it at least tides me over. I try not to drink too much during the day, first because of the people fasting (I don't want to flaunt my drinking in front of them) and second because when it's time to break fast it's a lot better to be thirsty because there are all sorts of wonderful things to drink.

All of the new volunteers seem to be doing well. I see Rachel everyday when I come over to get ice for breaking fast, and I see Ann occassionally. I think they both work way too hard! Maybe that's me feeling guilty for not working hard enough. But alas, school is starting and hopefully I can get my butt in gear.

Anyone who may possibly be planning on coming to visit me: I encourage you to come of course. Kaedi is a beautiful river town with many attractive entertainment spots. It sports many delicious traditional restaurants, as well as fast food stands. The weather is cool and breezy. The townspeople are welcoming and friendly. Normally you would need to hire a guide to traverse the busy and exciting market, but with me around you can save your pocketbook. The rest of the country is easy to get to thanks to well-maintained roads and air-conditioned trains. Everything in-country is inexpensive but high quality. Please come!

I hereby retract every statement in the above paragraph, excepting the last sentence.

THanks to Mom and Al for sending me super-duper packages. I can't wait to make green bean casserole for thanksgiving while listening to all my great music. I appreciate it more than I can say.

I miss everyone back home and will see you soon!

Love, Jenny

The Very Peaceful and Unexciting Take-over of Mauritania.

2005-08-14T13:49:47Z

Hi all,
Okay, I know I promised an entry on my return to Mauritania, but it's going to be trumped by my first successful coup. I'll give you the short story.

The traveling was no problem. Got on each plane without hassle. Joe didn't even cry at the airport; he was too excited to go swimming at Baba Kathy's. I guess I should be glad that he wasn't sad, but at the same time, I'm sad that he doesn't seem to need me anymore.

I wasn't really sad myself until the plane was getting ready to land in Nouakchott. I really had to force myself to get off the plane! I immediately had to deal with the disorganization that is West Africa. The flight attendants hadn't given me one of the custom cards, and whereas everyone inside knew I MUST have one, no one could tell me where to get it. I finally got all my bags and headed off to my hotel, where I slept away the rest of the day.

The very next day I jumped into the Girls' Conference. We visited the TV and radio stations, the University, had a day with our host mom's at their workplace, another at the beach. It was good. Tiring, but good. By the end of the conference my three girls were calling me "Notre Mere" (Our Mother) and braiding my hair. They were perfect little angels and made me proud.

After the conference, I was lucky enough to have all three girls stay with relatives in Nouakchott, leaving me free to stay here myself instead of rushing back to Kaedi. Marc, Louis, and Will were throwing a party on the beach for their COS, and had invited tons of people. There were French, British, Senegalese, Spanish, and Peace Corps Volunteers. The DJ played a melange of West African, French hip-hop and American, and it was the best party I think I've ever been to. They had rented out a hyma on the beach near Hotel Sabah, and Adriana, Cailin and I went back and forth from the dance floor to the water. We'd dance our socks off, get hot, then cool down in the ocean. Around 3:30, we went to get some french fries, then Adriana blew us away by going back to the party. Cailin and I crashed. Proof that we're just not as Party Worthy as Adriana.

Then, alas, I went back to Kaedi. It was hot. I slept on the ground. I ate fish and rice. I did one session for Stage on the GMCs. I weedled my way into eating with the stagieres. We had beefsteak and fried eggplant (we never had that during MY stage. apparently the newbies "don't like fish". WHAT??). How long was I there? Maybe three days, but it felt like an eternity. Cailin and I left for Boghe, where Matt made some weird "Cuban" dish of spaghetti with eggs on top. It wasn't too bad. Then we high-tailed it to Nouakchott. We were lucky enough to get a free ride. I thought my dentist appointment was at 10, but turned out I had the colon in the wrong place and it was 1, so we made it in early. We hit a dog and drove on. I closed my eyes but still felt that horrible feeling as our wheels went over it. We also saw a horrible accident; someone else had hit a donkey. No one was hurt, thank god. The roads through Mauritania are treacherous. So often we come close to hitting every animal present in Mauritania: camels, donkeys, goats, sheep, dogs, even little children and people walking on the roadside. At least it was only a dog.

Nouakchott once more! No fun parties this time, though we did go out dancing one night at Salamander and then VIP. It was fun, but not nearly as fun as the beach party. Cailin and I bought our tickets for Morocco. Only 87,000 ougiya for 10 fun-filled days! We went to the airport with Adriana and a newbie Greg, both on their way home. We weren't allowed to sit on the benches outside the airport. The police explained to us that it was a "security" issue. We thought it utterly ridiculous that those benches should sit there empty, but decided not to press the issue. The two others left around 11, and Cailin and I tried to sleep on the curb until 2 AM. Finally we moved inside and slept on the chairs. Our plane left at 3:30 and we were off to Morocco!

We landed in Casablanca, bought our tickets to Fes, and ran to catch the train that was leaving. You read that right: TRAIN. You see, Morocco is a fully developed country, with Trains, Planes and Automobiles, and roads on which to drive the latter. We cat-napped on the 5-hour bus ride. It was even air-conditioned! About an hour out, men started coming to our little room asking where we were going, trying to convince us to buy their rugs or stay at a certain hotel or hire them as a guide. We told one that we were Peace Corps Volunteers in Mauritania. "Mauritania?" Yep, that's right. He then proceeded to tell us that the government had been overthrown. What? A coup? That can't be, we just left there less than 12 hours ago. We began to get a little worried, but thought perhaps it was just another attempt. AFterall, there have only been about 7 attempts in the last year.

Arriving in Fes, we were anxious to get a hotel room and find out what really happened. We shared a cab with some German tourists into the medina, then when the Hotel Cascade was full, we splurged on a double room at the Hotel Mauritania. We thought it was fitting, but it cost us each $10! Cailin had brought her short-wave (way to go PCV!!), and we scrambled for the BBC. Sure enough, Mauritania's government had been overthrown! Here's the email I read from Obie, our Country Director, my first day on vacation.
Hello All:

The following is the text of a Warden Message just released by the U.S.
Embassy. Please note that the Peace Corps office is currently open and
operating normally.

As a precaution, Volunteers in Nouakchott have been placed on standfast
and
all travel to Nouakchott is suspended until further notice.

Please also note that the situation is relatively calm in Nouakchott.
There
have been reports of some scattered gunfire. Volunteers in the regions
should continue with their activities as normal (if possible). As
always
please remain vigilant and aware of your environment. Avoid all large
gatherings and if you see anything out of the ordinary please report it
to
your APCD immediately.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to
contact
your APCD.

As a friendly reminder, many of your family members will most likely
hear
news of events in Mauritania as they wake up this morning. I urge you
all
to stick to the facts when communicating with family members and avoid
spreading unsubstantiated rumors or engaging in speculation. We will
keep
you informed of the actual news as it is confirmed.

Thanks very much for your cooperation.

Best Regards --- Obie

U.S. Embassy, Nouakchott
Warden Message - 03 August 2005, 11:00 a.m.

The U.S. Embassy in Nouakchott has observed unusual military movements
throughout the capital. There are reports of a coup attempt. The
Embassy
has reduced its staff to emergency personnel and has instructed all
other
personnel to remain at home. The Embassy advises all American citizens
to
take immediate precautions to assure their safety, including remaining
at
home.

Americans citizens are advised to be especially watchful during this
period
and report any usual activity to the Embassy. The U.S. Embassy
recommends
that you limit your movements outside your residence. There is likely
to be
an increased presence of security forces in these areas. Comply
promptly
with directions from the police and other Mauritanian security forces,
and
carry copies of your personal identity papers with you at all times.

Not very interesting I know. But for a simple midwesterner like myself, it was pretty scary. I especially like the part where Obie warns us to tell the truth to our families. As if everyone would be calling home and saying "My mud house was bombed! Looting is everywhere! Everyone has a gun and is firing it!" Less than four hours after we had left Mauritania the airport had been closed and gunshots HAD been fired. I guess it's a good thing we didn't sit on those benches afterall.

We couldn't get ahold of anyone in Mauritania, even after having bought a new SIM card. And for some reason we were having a hard time getting in contact with the United STates. The emergency number for Peace Corps Washington put us on hold. I called the one person I knew would be able to help without overreacting. Thanks Al for all your help. I knew I could count on you. It ended up to be very undramatic. Turned out Washington already knew we were in Morocco. We finally got ahold of Obie, who gave us the number for the Director of Peace Corps Morocco. Our first couple of days we spent contacted family, wondering if we were still going to have a job for the next year, worrying that we'd someone be forgotten and left to roam Morocco. Come to think of it, after our great trip, that wouldn't have been so bad afterall.

But now, as you've all probably heard, Mauritania is back to normal. The US and the AU have both recognized the military junta that will rule the country for two years until we can have democratic elections. Hopefully this will be a good thing for the country. I don't really know this new guy in charge f the military junta, but with all the money coming in from the oil, great things could be in store for this Beautiful(?) Country.

I love you and I'm glad that Mauritania is safe once more. It feels so anti-climatic after all the worrying and contacting important people, but I'm relatively glad to be able to return to my mudhouse and my concrete latrine, undamaged by any military junta.

Stay tuned for more indepth coverage of my life in motion. More on Morocco in the coming episodes.

Back to the Future

2005-08-01T11:53:04Z

Or something like it. As most of you know I recently finished a trip in the Promised Land of America. As usual, I neglected to write a post when I first arrived, and then again when I first returned to Mauritania. My only excuse is I have friends and family who are much more fun to hang out with than a computer, and if some of those friends live between the covers of a book, well, please forgive me.

America really was like going Back to the Future. Okay, so I didn't get to sing Johnny B Good, or drive a Dalarian, but for weeks before, I did feel like if I failed to return to the States, I would disappear into oblivion.

I happily made my plane in Nouakchott, although I nearly missed it because I forgot Joey's bottle of ocean and sand at Pizza Lina (I had the lasagna and gave the leftovers to my taxi driver). I sucked down all the airplane food they put in front of me. After eating fish and rice everyday, with the occasional lasagna from Pizza Lina of course, everything looked and tasted like heaven. I didn't dare ask for a TAB, but I drank tomato juice about 4 times between Mauritania and Atlanta. I had sores on my tongue from the acid, but it was more than worth it.

In France I was happy to practice my French, but I'm still not sure if the lady who told me how much the scarves were was answering sincerely or mocking me and my horrible accent. At least she didn't answer me in English like I heard them answering everyone else. I sympathized with both the checkout lady at the coffee stand and the little old man who didn't want to receive his change in Euros. I was surprised by the automatic flush in the bathroom - I swear, it should at least wait until you stand up! On one hand, it's awesome to have a contraption which sucks down all your bodily waste without even the touch of a button, but on the other hand, I think I'm big enough to decide when the waste should be sucked down! The bathroom really wasn't all that much cleaner than my open air latrine back in Kaedi, but it was more comfortable.

When I arrived in Atlanta, I knew immediately that I was back in the land of consumerism. Before I even made it to my new gate, two people solicited me to fill out credit card applications, with a free gift of course. I felt like I was back in college with the free T-shirts and teddy bears with 5.4 % interest.

Home was great, though at times I did feel like the baton I used to carry at track meets. I was passed off from friend to friend to family member for 3 1/2 weeks, but it was worth it. I ate so much food and gained 7 lbs, went swimming twice a week, saw my newest nephew as well as several really bad movies, drove my mom around in a dune buggy, bought and returned 4 pairs of shoes, went to Barnes and Noble 3 times. America really does have a lot to offer, if you have a lot to spend. Capitalism still looks ugly, but those shoes on sale at the mall are so cute. Gluttony is rampant, but damn, aren't these tacos yummy? buy buy buy, eat eat eat, do do do. this is what i did in America. Probably not too much different from what I did last year.

I'm on my way to Morocco in two days! I will hopefully before then right something about my return to Mauritania.

Missing you already.

On My Way

2005-06-20T09:13:31Z

Hello Everyone!
By now you all know that I am leaving the beautiful paradise of Mauritania for the hum-drum capitalistic materialism of the West. Only God knows why I would want to leave this land of goat meat, fish and rice, sand, and 58 degree weather (that's Celsius guys). I don't know if I should believe the 58 degrees, but I DO know that it's been really hot in Kaedi the past few weeks.

But what am I talking about? Yesterday I honestly DID return from a virtual paradise. I was talked into going to Tergit, an oasis near Atar in the middle of the mountains. It was beautiful. I don't think I can even put it into words. Imagine yourself surrounded by date palms, in a hidden valley with rocky mountains all around you. Imagine swimming in a natural swimming pool and hiking up a cliff to watch the sunset over the desert. Okay, so I only made it half way up the cliff, but it was beautiful nonetheless. It looked just like Indian Jones and the Last Crusade (which by the way, was actually filmed in Mauritania. Bet you didn't know that). If all of Mauritania were like Tergit, I probably wouldn't ever come home. I didn't have my camera because I'm out of memory, but this gives me an excuse to go back. And next time, I WILL make it up the mountain!

Besides Tergit, same old same old. School finished with no hookups, other than the 4 times I had to walk to the lycee in search of my bulletins. Bulletins are like report cards, and every teacher has to fill out the same card for each class. Plus, we're on the French system, which means we can't do simple averaging, but instead we have to multiply the average of the devoirs by three, add that to the first composition, plus the second composition times two, plus the third composition times three, all divided by nine. Mauritanian teacher seem to enjoy working in pairs, with one person calling out each number and the other typing it into a calculator. They also work in pairs when writing the numbers down. My problem was a teacher who had taken the bulletins to his house without telling anyone he was doing so, so we all were pissed off waiting around for the bulletins. Turns out they were at his house for 3 days before he finally brought them back to the lycee to work on them. It's like they all got together and said "How can we make this the slowest, most disorganized task ever?" But when I complained to surveillant and told him there are some simple changes we could make to make it better and faster and easier for everyone, he just threw up his hands and said "Yep, Mauritania is very disorganized. That's why we can't get ahead. We're so disorganized." He recognizes the problem but won't do anything to try to fix it.

The new volunteers are scheduled to arrive July 2, but of course I'll still be in the states. The excitement is overflowing. Peace Corps has been in my home town of Kaedi now for a couple of weeks, and already it seemed like prices were higher! I'm not planning on spending much time in Kaedi for the summer, but at some point I am going to meet those newbies. I want to see what I looked like when I first arrived. I can imagine them coming all full of good project ideas, hope, and a sense of adventure. Nobody has had a chance to become disspirited yet, and everyone imagines they are going to dig tons of wells, build zillions of latrines, teach every little kid English AND all about the wonders of capitalism. If you're considering Peace Corps while reading this, Go For It, but don't be too delusional.

Okay, so it's 9:10. I don't leave until 22:00. What am I going to do all day? Same thing I do when I'm in Kaedi, only this time in air-conditioning. That's right, I'm going to hang out and read. See you soon. Love you all,
Jenny

Selibaby

2005-05-30T18:07:20Z

Well hi everyone! So it's been quite awhile since I've written anything on here. I'm truly sorry about that. There for a bit it seemed I was really busy, with the end of school and the end of the GMC, and then, everything stopped all at once. I was lying under the hanger at home and I realized, Wow, I've got two weeks until my final test at school, and besides that, I have nothing to do. It took me only two days to realize further that there was absolutely no way I could sit for two weeks doing nothing, and my whole body began itching with the possibility of taking a 'minibreak' to Selibaby. Afterall, soon the rains will begin and Selibaby will be unreachable by car, and when else am I going to have nothing to do? Once I got the idea in my head, of course I ran with it.

So I went to the garage the next day and bought my ticket. We made it to MBout, about the halfway point, in good time: less than 3 hours. I had some things to drop off for Jae and Gus, our good PCV friends there, so I wasn't too disappointed when we stayed for about an hour. WE left, only to turn around after about 300 meters, because of a tire problem. Typical Mauritanian brousse taxi. We ended up staying two more hours in MBout. I was lucky Ayrin Zohner, a Rosso volunteer from my own home town of Kansas City, was in town as well. She had made a wonderful camel stew with mashed potatoes so I had more than the Cliff bars Mom was so nice to send me. Thanks Ayrin, and thanks MOM! We finally left around 11, drove about 3 hours through a wind storm, then pulled off to sleep on the road in a tiny village. The rest of the taxi was full of white moor men who kept making fun of me and my refusal to have deep conversation with them, but they were nice enough to give me the old bamboo bed. Well, it at least separated me from them, but I would have much preferred the ground! I slept not a wink, was freezing cold, and was almost blown away by another wind storm, but at least it didn't rain, and at least there are no more lions in Mauritania. We left before sunrise, and the rest of the trip took only 20 minutes. Why oh why couldn't we have just finished the trip? I really have no idea. Someone tried to explain it as a way to avoid "deranging" the rest of the town, but frankly I don't think Cailin would've minded if I texted her at 2 and said come pick me up at the garage. I know I wouldn't mind it if anyone did that to me ( though, if you ARE planning on coming to Kaedi, please let me know beforehand so I can be ready for your 2 AM text message. ANd, of course, I'm out of town till Saturday).

Selibaby has been great so far. There have been no further wind storms, I'm sleeping on a nice matela (which I haven't been able to do recently chez moi), eating camel biscuits and milk for breakfast, hanging out with Cailin and her family under their hangar. Until today the weather had been wonderful, quite cool. But today it feels like regular old hot season again. I'm hoping the wind doesn't decide to come back as well.

For those of you who've never visited Selibaby, it seems pretty much the same as Boghe and Kaedi, with a different mix of people and some pretty damn good fruit from Mali. I've been stuffing myself with bananas, as it's been too long since we've had them in Kaedi, and giant mangos which i'd love to eat any time any where. We were going to go see the concert of some Malian singer chic, waited up until 11 pm but she never made it to town. Who knows, she might still make it in tonight and we'll drag ourselves out of bed and put on some boubous.

We were going to try to take a trip over into Mali, until I realized that I don't have my passport, so now we're settling for the easier route to Senegal. I should be back to Kaedi before too long. Since I've mostly been sitting around reading (just like I'd do in Kaedi) I've realized that I really DO have lots of crap to do back home. I haven't yet bought gifts for friends and family back home (though now I have tons of ideas so get ready!) and I have to plan for the Girls' Conference taking place the very day I get back to Country after my trip home. Plus, I've decided I'm going to try my hardest to move across my compound into a different room for more privacy (it turned out to be Siree who was stealing my money. He got whipped good for it), and I want to build a hangar for myself and buy a bed. So now the same itch that brought me here is trying to bring me home again. I can't believe that once I DO make it back to Kaedi there will be only 2 more weeks till I make it HOME home.

You better believe I can't wait.

I love you all. Stay good and I'll see you soon.
INCHA ALLAH

Sweatin' to the Donkey Brays

2005-04-14T11:30:19Z

Hi everyone!

Wow, Kaedi is really hot! A couple of days ago, Janine checked the temperature at 10:30 and it was 111. Yes, that’s one hundred and eleven degrees Fahrenheit! At 10:30 in the morning! Today, however, is beautiful, probably only in the low 90s and it feels like winter again. It is cloudy and breezy and really makes me miss Missouri spring weather. I would love a thunder storm, but I probably won’t see rain until the end of June.

I had the strangest delicacy the other day after a particularly bad lunch. I think lunch must have been bad because my mom had, instead of buying fish for lunch, bought camel knee for dessert! For anyone who has had the chance to eat knee of camel, you know that there is not an ounce of meat, but the amount of deliciously tough cartilage and ligaments more than makes up for it. My family was especially satisfied by the chewing plastic, especially my little brother and student Amadou, who kept saying “Ah, le chameaul! L’animal du desert!” Ah, the camel, the animal of the desert! I had two bites and was more than satisfied. Apparently it’s supposed to “scratch” your stomach insides very well. At least I think that’s what my mom meant when she said it would “fait comme ça” to my tummy. “Fait comme ça” is the favorite expression at my house!

Besides eating camel knee and sweating, I also started school this week! Thank goodness, because Allah knows how much I hate just sitting around, joking with my family, cross stitching with the women while they sew, and reading. I would so much rather stand in front of 60 well-behaved 13-year-olds and teach them a language they’ll never use! Well, alright, so this morning was pretty fun. Since my birthday is Tuesday (hint hint) after reviewing the composition that I didn’t write but the students took anyway, I taught them “Happy Birthday”. All of them wanted to come celebrate with me at my house, but when I tried to explain that I didn’t think I could provide accommodations for 300 people, they seemed to understand. I wish I could always have only 20 students come to class. It’s so much easier to be nice!

Yes, Tuesday is my 27th birthday! It’s too late to send packages and have them arrive on time, but hey, better late than never! My address once again is B.P. 66 Kaedi, Mauritania, West Africa. Don’t forget Par Avion. And even though every package which will come now will pale in comparison to the package that my Aunt Pat and Cousin Noreen sent a month ago, don’t worry too much about what you send me. I appreciate expensive jewelry, but mail is not too reliable so please save it for when I come home in June and just send me the fresh flowers.

I’m sort of stalling now because my phone battery has bitten the dust. I bought a “new” one off the street and am waiting for it to charge before I go. I haven’t yet paid for it, but you would insist on charging it first as well if you could have seen the box it came in. I asked the lady if it was new, and she assured me, yes, it was new. Probably only 4 or 5 years old, she said. We’ll see. I wanted to make sure my battery could handle all the many phone calls I will be getting next week.

Haha. If you are thinking that I’m dwelling on my birthday, you are right. Most of you know how much I hate birthdays anyway, and that’s when my family takes me out to the Cheesecake Factory and buys me all kinds of nice gifts. Even if I hate growing older, I suppose I do love my birthday. I was so lucky to have been born in Spring. But here in Mauritania it is worse even than Missouri summer. At any rate, I’m traveling to M’Bout this weekend to celebrate all the April birthdays in the Gorgol as well as the Guidi Makka. Hopefully you folks way down in Selibaby will actually make it!

Until next time, picture me sweating my tail off in Kaedi. I love you!

They're Coming to America

2005-04-04T13:33:27Z

Okay, so that should read "I'm Coming to America" but hey, I'm a sucker for song lyrics.

Here's my itinerary for all those interested. I hope there aren't any weirdos who might be tracking me via my online journal. But hey, if there are any weirdos out there, feel free to come join me in Kaedi. I'm sure you'd love riding donkey carts as much as I do.

Flight: Air France flight 765 (Non-Stop)
Depart: Nouakchott, Mauritania (NKC) - Terminal Information
Unavailable
" Mon, Jun 20 at 11:05pm
Arrive: Paris de Gaulle, France (CDG) - AEROGARE 2 TERMINAL F
" Tue, Jun 21 at 6:05am
Seat: 27B (Airbus A340 Jet)
Meal: Meal Served
______________________________________________________
Flight: Air France flight 316 (Non-Stop)
Depart: Paris de Gaulle, France (CDG) - AEROGARE 2 TERMINAL C
" Tue, Jun 21 at 10:15am
Arrive: Atlanta, GA (ATL) - SOUTH TERMINAL
" Tue, Jun 21 at 1:50pm
Seat: Check in at Airport for Seat Assignment. (Airbus A340 Jet)
Meal: Meal Served / Meal Served
Flight: Air France flight 8582 operated by DELTA AIR LINES INC
(Non-Stop)
Depart: Atlanta, GA (ATL) - SOUTH TERMINAL
" Tue, Jun 21 at 4:32pm
Arrive: Kansas City, MO (MCI) - TERMINAL BUILDING B
" Tue, Jun 21 at 5:35pm
Seat: Check in at Airport for Seat Assignment. (Boeing 737-200 Jet)
Meal: No Meal Served
______________________________________________________
Flight: Air France flight 8583 operated by DELTA AIR LINES INC
(Non-Stop)
Depart: Kansas City, MO (MCI) - TERMINAL BUILDING B
" Sun, Jul 17 at 12:43pm
Arrive: Atlanta, GA (ATL) - SOUTH TERMINAL
" Sun, Jul 17 at 3:45pm
Seat: Check in at Airport for Seat Assignment. (Boeing 737-800 Jet)
Meal: No Meal Served
Flight: Air France flight 8997 operated by DELTA AIR LINES INC
(Non-Stop)
Depart: Atlanta, GA (ATL) - SOUTH TERMINAL
" Sun, Jul 17 at 5:15pm
Arrive: Paris de Gaulle, France (CDG) - AEROGARE 2 TERMINAL C
" Mon, Jul 18 at 7:45am
Seat: Check in at Airport for Seat Assignment. (Boeing 777 Jet)
Meal: No Meal Served
______________________________________________________
Flight: Air France flight 764 (Non-Stop)
Depart: Paris de Gaulle, France (CDG) - AEROGARE 2 TERMINAL F
" Mon, Jul 18 at 11:00am
Arrive: Nouakchott, Mauritania (NKC) - Terminal Information
Unavailable
" Mon, Jul 18 at 2:25pm
Seat: 27B (Airbus A340 Jet)
Meal: Meal Served

I'm coming home for quite some time so hopefully I'll be able to see most of you.

Until then!!!

P.s.
I'd like to send out a warm goodbye to my good friend Matt Briton. Matty, you were a riot. I hope you can do your best to grow up in America and get a good steady job. I guess Peace Corps just wasn't for you, but you always did have a weakness for the ladies. Merhebe Matt. Merhebe.
___________________________________________

Depuis longtemps...

2005-03-25T10:00:49Z

It's been a long time since I've written! I guess it's time for an update. I wish I could be as on top of things as all you others with online journals. I'm sorry I'm so lazy, and unwilling to put up with Mauritanian computers.

Last week I was pretty ill; just your run of the mill puking/diarrhea/stomach problems. I took a whole week off school, only to be bombarded by the school director on Thursday at my home! Next week is the composition (like a mid-term exam). Wednesday evening my counterpart Wane Moustapha called me and told me that I had to bring in my subjects that day or the next. I tried to explain to him that I was very sick and hadn't written my test yet. But instead, he called me Thursday morning and said I HAD to turn it in NOW! I was NOT going to walk across Kaedi in 100 degree weather, but my insistence was no match for the school director's. "It's not done" I told Wane. "We're coming. We're coming" he said. And sure enough, within 5 minutes Wane had shown up at my door while the school director waited in the street. I was wearing my old beatup moomoo, the one with the split all the way up to my butt. I think I must have looked pretty bad. I hadn't eaten in 5 days, nor showered in 2. Poor Wane! I felt bad for him having to watch me cry as I copied a quiz for the students' test. The kids at least are lucky. Or are they...

It turned out that the reason they needed my test so quickly is because on Tuesday, the Ministry of Ed. had called the school director and told him that they had decided to implement the universal test THIS year. So what they've done is collected all the tests from this department, then formed a commission to choose a test which will be given to all the students. For example, in my region, the schools participating are both Kaedi colleges, Lexeiba, and a few more villages I can't remember. All the English teachers submitted a test and only one test in its entirety will be given to all the students in the region. The commission met on Wednesday and chose the tests. They are secret EVEN TO THE PROFESSORS! The idea is to force teachers to teach the same material, and the reason they won't tell us what test it is is in order to prevent us from cheating for the students (although we will still be grading our own tests and could therefore augment the scores anyway). I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY'VE BEEN TEACHING IN LEXEIBA, OR ANY OTHER COLLEGE IN THE COUNTRY OF MAURITANIA!!! Sure, I have a syllabus. It has 12 tabs with competencies like "Introducing others" and "Present Continuous". I tried to discuss the problem with Wane, and everyone seems to agree that it is unfair to the students (i mean, they could be tested on vocabulary they've never seen), how we don't have text books ("We have text books!" says Wane. "We do?" I ask. "Yes, they're those little ones that are very bad that Bagga told you not to use" he answers. "OH, I see. Everything is clear now.") So I gave my review on Wednesday, but I have no idea what my own students are supposed to be tested on. "This is Mauritania" Wane told me with a chuckle. I'm coming to understand that things which seem so obviously wrong and backwards are simply normal for Mauritania, and there is really nothing anybody can do about it, but for an entire week I felt stunned. I honestly couldn't (can't) understand how anyone could see this as a good idea but apparently I'm just naive. It certainly makes my being here a lot more difficult.

I am feeling a lot better, by the way. Just in time to finish up my review and get ready to go to Rosso for more Model School. I hope those in charge aren't too angry at me for not having submitted any lessons to try out. I suppose my excuse is pretty good though.

For those of you at home, yes, I am still planning on making a trip there this summer, hopefully over 4th of July weekend. I hope everyone will be able to take off work and enjoy some of the holiday with me! I've already started making a list of things I'm going to eat when I get there. Since I've been sick even the best mafe has not tasted good. I don't know what's what's wrong with my taste buds, but when I get home I'm ready to gain 30 pounds!!

I love you all and hope you have a good easter. I had forgotten that Easter even existed. I guess it's sort of nice to avoid all the commercialism, but really, I'd love some Cadbury Cream Eggs and chocolate bunnies. We DO get an Easter break here, since we're technically on the French system, but Easter as it turns out is not a Muslim holiday. And anyway, they'd probably think we were crazy for hiding perfectly good eggs.

Enjoy the holiday!
Till then....

Happy Valentine's Day

2005-02-17T14:10:16Z

Okay, so it's a little late for Valentine's, but I still wanted to send warm fuzzy feelings to all of you out there who are still keeping tabs on me! I guess I'll never be good at posting on this journal, but I'm doing my best with the poor connection!
This week I'm in Nouakchott for first ETR (EArly Term Reconnect), then In-service Training with the Ed. sector, and finally a three-day long conference for Gender and Development. ETR was one full day of long meetings with the entire group. We've lost a grand total of four now; recently Mike was told that there was nothing they could do about the calcium deposit on his eye and so he's gone home to Iowa. The rest of us were made to sit through more sessions on cross-culturalism, funding, safety and security, basically the same stuff we did through staj, only we were in a nice conference room and it wasn't nearly as hot. For IST, the ed. group basically sat around and complained about all of our problems in school. I must confess that I did a lot of the complaining myself, and I"m sorry to all those other Ed. volunteers who had to listen to me bitch so much! Some people had some really great ideas, though, so thanks for your help.
The GAD conference! It feels a lot like my class with my 60 13-year-olds! THere are about 25 women, two from each Girls' Center, and they have a really hard time staying quiet and not talking over each other. Right now all of the women seem pretty enthusiastic and interested in getting the girl centers going and doing all kinds of fun projects, but I have very little confidence in them once we return.

I'm kind of disappointed, okay, really I'm pissed, that all of my Nouakchott days were spent from 8 to 5 in meetings and everyone else gets 7 days of going out to lunch and shopping in the Cinquieme market. Okay, so I've saved a lot of money by eating chebujen with the others, but I'm tired! I'm not used to working so hard, and it's definitely telling on my nerves. Tomorrow, finally, I'll be done with work and on my way to Dakar, where I will paricipate in the West African Invitational Softball Tournament. Okay, those of you who have known me for the past couple of years are probably wondering what I"m doing playing Softball, but I'm going to do my best!
On the same note, I forgot to tell you that for Valentine's Day, I participated in my first HAsh Run, with the Hash House Harriers. We ran about 5K; okay, I ran probably about 3K and walked the rest, but at least I finished, and I've been inspired to get myself into shape! After running we drank tons of beer at this guy Muno's house (he's german, and he knows how to throw a hash party).

Okay, looks like my lunch has been served so I better get. I'll talk with you all soon, inshalla.
Jenny

Happy New Year!

2005-01-11T21:56:02Z

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you brought in the New Year with all the metaphysical fireworks it deserved! As most of you know, I just got back from a longish vacation, one which I’m glad I took but I sort of wish wasn’t so incredibly long. It may seem a bit bizarre, but after two weeks away from the dump that I call my home, I was actually homesick for a little fish and rice and the ability to eat with my hands! I especially missed my personal mosquito net, as the tents we slept in on the beach in St. Louis were anything but mosquito proof. But, I’m getting ahead of myself and so will start from the beginning.

After a little headache from my director, I was okayed to give my “compositions” (read: midterms) a week in advance so I could “pass the fete” with the rest of the Nazaranies (those who celebrate Christmas, or, more precisely “Christians”, though it’s also the word for “infidels”) on the 25th of December. My compositions of course didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped, but I did get them finished with very little trouble from the Science teacher who likes to belittle me and ask for free things. (I had two professors acting as surveillance for me so I could give my tests in only two groups instead of five, one being the Science teacher. I made the rounds of the classes to make sure the tests had been distributed and that there were no questions. When I got to the class the Science teacher was supposed to be surveying, the tests HAD been distributed, kids were standing around with fist loads of them in fact, everyone talking and screaming like it was a regular play day, but no Science teacher was to be found. He eventually came in, said something about a student having passed the test out the window and running after him, and we seemed to get the class into order. I guess he felt it was important to run after the one kid so he wouldn’t be able to cheat, but in doing so left 60 others with ample opportunity to do so. People don’t always think first here.) In the 2 classes that I surveyed myself (120 students) I think I caught about 25 cheaters, but honestly, I think that one tenth isn’t that bad a percentage. I’m left to wonder about the others, for they most likely cheated without my knowing their systems. Here, cheating is expected, and almost encouraged. Friends want to help out friends, for one thing; for another, if you have the opportunity, you’re supposed to take it. My main problem was with cheat sheets, cleverly tucked into a cahier or placed on a lap. Having graded the tests though, most of those who cheated could probably have done better had they simply not bothered. I gave half credit (yes I’m a push over), and the test wasn’t that hard, but their cheat sheets were simply copies of the review day, and so all the answers were wrong anyway.

Enough of compos and on to the good stuff! So Thursday morning, Laura, Dara, Jae, and I set off with our packs and Nalgenes, looking conspicuously PeaceCorpsish, but not caring about our lack of assimilation, for we were on our way to the grand capital of Nouakchott, where you can eat Chinese food, pizza, hamburgers, and ice cream (preferably not all at once), sleep in a real bed with a real mattress, and take a HOT shower OR even soak in the tub. Oh yeah, and I mustn’t forget use toilet paper. I wasn’t actually trying to annoy my co-taxi riders, but I was overcome with the holiday spirit and filled the 7 hour drive with my own versions of first Christmas carols, then Vacation Bible School and Children’s Church songs. I don’t really know why they didn’t feel the urge to join in, except Jae, who did his best to keep up with me, even though he knew fewer words than I did. We bought out the 6 person Mercedes, so all four of us had our own seat, and at several points along the way I felt a tiny pang of sympathy for our White Moor driver, because I made it completely impossible for him to listen to his horrible Koranic wailing. The sympathy was each time quickly replaced by a grand feeling of revenge for all the times anyone was made to listen to that grating noise.

We made it to Nouakchott in 4 whole pieces, alhumdulillah, and quickly made our way to our respective hotels. I was lucky enough to stay in the Arc En Ciel, one of the nicest auberges used by Peace Corps. My former ideas of a nice, relaxing vacation was quickly turned into a mad rush to find out who was doing what, when, and where, and I ended up joining most volunteers for dinner at Pizza Linas, and then for dancing at VIP. I wore jeans and a sweatshirt! I felt almost like an American again.

The next day was Christmas Eve, and I spent most of it, as well as Christmas Day, at Obie’s, the Country Director. Obie lives in this magnificent house, complete with television and DVD player, three refrigerators, and a washer and dryer. For the most part I lazed in front of the TV, watching such high quality films as High Fidelity and this horrible 80s Winona Ryder dark comedy The Heathers. How did I ever miss that one growing up? On Christmas we had a Mexican feast and mimosas, as well as a white elephant gift exchange. At first I was disappointed that I picked a set of Mauritanian dice, but after seeing the other gifts, and then having my own gift stolen, I stole it back as soon as I could, leaving the socks and enormous pink underwear for someone else. It’s crazy how having something taken away makes you appreciate it all the more.

What else in Nouakchott? I did some mediocre work (wrote my quarterly report), and spent four hours online with Mom, Jason and Karissa, Jackie, Josiah, and Charlotte. By the way, thanks Mom for the webcam, and let me know when you’ll be available for another chat session.

I left for St. Louis with several other volunteers. We rented out a pickup truck, so we ended up with 6 in the extended cab (plus the driver) and I think 5 in the back. Thanks boys for being so brave. While we girls, and Todd, were warm, cozy, and a little squished, you in the back had to endure cold winds and the possibility of being dumped along the way. Will met us at the border in Rosso, where we waited for a good hour for our passports to go through. We then took the 10-minute ferry across the Senegal River, and this crazy Wolof lady made it clear that she greatly approved of Keith and Jared’s beards, but Jarad’s shaved face was “pas bon”. Pourquoi? No one knows.

On the other side of the river, things went less smoothly, and we waited more than 2 hours for our passports to go through. Apparently, upon reaching the other side, you’re supposed to run as quickly as you can in order to not bypass the policemen. But alas, we were not quick enough, and when the skinny yet forceful man demanded my passport, I didn’t hesitate. There’s just something about a little man in a green uniform that I find intimidating I guess.

Yes, on the ride down to St. Louis, I again attempted to entertain the bus-full of volunteers by singing, this time with the help of Keith and then Jarad. I don’t know why nobody else joined in. And I especially don’t understand how they could sleep through both my singing and the bumpy bus ride. Anyway, all I can say is God gave me my voice, and whether it’s good or not shouldn’t influence my decision to use it.

I’m going to cut short the description of St. Louis, partly because this entry has turned into a novelette, and partly because I spent most of the time doing the same thing: lazy on the beach or catching a taxi for food. St. Louis is beautiful; it reminds me of New Orleans with its French colonialist architecture. It is still Third World, no doubt, but the paved streets and French-owned boutiques with overpriced western clothing can make you forget that just over the bridge is a market not unlike that found in Kaedi, a smelling fish market and dock, and the ghetto, complete with children running everywhere, women washing clothes, and beat up old Peugots. The first thing I noticed, however, was that all the kids running around in St. Louis were wearing clothes. I saw only one naked child, and he was in the process of screaming his way through a bath. Perhaps it was the chill in the air, but there is still something different about Senegal.

Something else different about Senegal, or at least St. Louis, was their familiarity with tourists. It is impossible to spend more than 10 minutes in town without someone coming to offer you a “bon prix” on their crafts or “futball” jerseys. The necklaces and African masks are overwhelmingly tempting, but beware: they are used to tourists with money and they will work their hardest to squeeze out extra CFA from you!!! It was helpful being a “poor” volunteer; I literally didn’t have money to spend on souvenirs, and since I’ll most likely be returning next year, I spent most of my money on food. Mmmm, the Vietnamese restaurant was pricey but worth it. I ate there twice! By the end of the trip, I had exhausted my friends from whom I could buy CFA with my ougiyas and was so broke that I had to resort back to cheap street food, but even the omelet sandwiches tasted divine. Anything is better than fish and rice after you’ve had it for 6 months straight. But of course, I was more than ready to eat it again as soon as I arrived back in Kaedi. It’s sort of like a box of Cheerios, my favorite cereal. I’ll buy three boxes in a row but then by the end of the third I’m so glad to be done with them that I go for months without buying any kind of cereal in a yellow box. But then when I finally get them again, it tastes so good I can’t imagine life without them. Aw, I miss Cheerios.

Who would have guessed that Africa could be so freezing? The sun was setting and the ocean was ice cold, but Alicia and I didn’t let it bother us. Others told us we were crazy as we sauntered down the beach drenched with salt water after braving the waves, but I felt especially alive after the swim. I swam everyday after that, but nothing could have matched the feelings of that first one with Alicia. Everyone was beat from the drive and reluctant to try the waters, but Alicia and I couldn’t be contained. We didn’t even have colds the next day.

During our stay, we rented out one hotel room, but they set up two tents on the beach with matelas for sleeping. The blanket supply was a little sparse, and some ended up huddling under table cloths, but I was quick enough to snag a real blanket. Thank goodness for doxycycline; the mosquitoes were undeterred from the tents and must have actually found it quite nice in there, as it is especially easy to feast on the flesh of 40 dog-tired human beings. I ended up with a face and two feet full of bites, but I’ve gotten into the habit of taking my meds so I should have no problem with malaria, inshalla.

I know this doesn’t cover everything, but that would be impossible! I’ll let you know this: I packed four books for my long, lazy vacation. After all, I usually read about 2 books a week, and my main goal for my trip was relaxation. I didn’t even OPEN a book except for once, and I read only 15 pages before deciding to go jump in the water again. I wasn’t actually pulled from place to place by my traveling companions, but because there were so many of us, and because there was so much more to do than there ever is or will be in Kaedi, I was more than ready to come home to Kaedi, where even though I still had 300 exams to grade, I knew I’d be able to get some rest!

But, alas, the trip back was not as easy as the trip there! We stayed an extra day, only to wake up to the news that all the taxi drivers in Senegal were on strike. Everywhere we went, people told us there was no chance of getting a car in Senegal. However, we were once again conspicuous Peace Corps volunteers with our packs and our Nalgenes, and we decided we’d risk it. Andi had a mosquito net, and we all were ready to hitch until we couldn’t hitch anymore. It actually started sounding more and more exciting and adventurous the more we heard that there would be no cars. “We’ll just walk until someone picks us up. We’ll make it to some village and be invited in for dinner, or we can sleep on the road.” Doesn’t that sound bold? Daring? Hard core Peace Corps? But, of course, everyone knew we were willing to pay top dollar to make it back and we ended up paying three times the normal rate to ride to the border.

Jae made up for our lack of audacity by chatting up a French expat from Nouakchott. Andi, Alicia, and I ended up riding with Marc, Natasha, and their daughter Jasmine to Nouakchott, and we were witnesses to Jasmine’s first attempt to read! Marc teaches at the University but had the car of someone from the French Embassy, so the gendarmerie and police station stops went much more smoothly than his actual driving. It felt odd but necessary to wear a seat belt as we dodged potholes and camels at breakneck speed. Thank you Marc!!!

The rest of the trip went smoothly. We three girls were nearly silent with fatigue. I ended up traveling all the way to Kaedi, making the trip in only 17 hours. I had to share the front seat of a Mercedes with a man at one point, but he was a gentleman and bought me meshoui beforehand! I hate riding in the front seat, and try to avoid it all cost. Besides usually having to share it with someone, you get a front seat view of all the many donkeys, goats, and taxis that you are likely to hit, and every time the driver passes while going uphill, I imagine myself being thrown from the car as we plow into a camion. Of course, it’s not happened yet, and riding in the back seat is probably no safer than the front, but it SEEMS safer if you can’t see where you’re going.

I think Kaedi missed me as much as I missed it. Since I’ve been back, I’ve seen all three of my host families, and my students seemed overjoyed to see me yesterday. Many were less joyful after seeing their grades, but for the most part, I think they too are ready to get back into their routine. It’s more than frustrating to hear the professors say “there are no students so we won’t have school,” just after having heard a student say, “yes, I went to school today but there were no teachers”. It’s the same old story.

Okay, signing out for now. I love and miss you all. Please keep sending me letters! I appreciate them more than I can say.

Till next time,
Jenny

jeninafrica @ 2004-10-31T22:43:00

2004-10-31T22:39:49Z

Hello from Kaedi,
hmm, i think it's been a while since i last wrote an entry, and i'm extremely sorry about that for all those who still are keeping tabs on me. kaedi is still pretty hot, though it has started cooling down. rumor has it that soon we will have days when we don't even break a sweat. i don't think i quite believe it, but i'm still hopeful.

ramadan started two weeks ago, and besides the fact that i have no one to cook me lunch, things aren't really that different. i fasted for the first week, or rather, i didn't eat food during the day. whenever i told mauritanians that i was fasting from food but still drinking water they just laughed and said "you're not fasting. that's too easy." TOO EASY! i think it's just plain dangerous to go without water on a 110 degree day!
the best thing about fasting is breaking it. i go everyday to my host family's and we break fast with this dish called "nshu" - it's sort of like porridge with no grain, or really thick, gray mush. it's warm and bland and coats your stomach perfectly. it immediately makes you forget how hungry you were. we also have zrig, which is watered down powdered milk with sugar, bissap (tastes sort of like kool-aid), dates, and of course, tea. after about an hour, we then eat tajine, or meat and potatoes with bread. it's the same dish we eat four times a day during baptisms, and it tastes delicious. i went back twice for dinner at 10:00 - the first time we had my least favorite dish (meat and couscous) and the second time we had my favorite, fish and rice, but it was so dark and i ate so many bones that i didn't go back after that.
anyway, i still can't say i know exactly what it feels like to be starving, but i definitely can empathize more so than before. i've taken this last week off from fasting because i had a really bad cold (probably b/c i wasn't eating!) but i'm feeling much better and plan on finishing out ramadan.

this last weekend we had a halloween party at my house. i dressed up as a mermaid and i think everyone had a pretty good time, especially justin (or should i say "justine"?). will made some brownies and we watched some quality films. i have to say thanks to all those who helped clean out my salon. i was a little worried about picking up after everyone but i have to say i think the house is cleaner than before the party. thanks everyone.

alrighty, i know this is short but i've got to get. in case you're wondering, school is up and running (although there are some teachers who haven't come yet; i'm trying my hardest not to judge them as lazy but having a really hard time of it) and my classes are fine. sometime soon i will devote an entry to the wonders of teaching a classroom full of 60 13-year-olds.

i love you guys. please continue sending me letters. even though i haven't received any packages lately, i still like getting any kind of mail, and this includes even what you might consider the most boring, pointless information in the world.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!!!!!

School days

2004-10-05T20:06:26Z

hello all! sunday marked the first day of school here in mauritania. it was on the radio for weeks beforehand, and sure enough, when i showed up at the lycee, i was pleasantly surprised to see several teachers, as well as my school director! i had heard several rumors about the inefficiency of the beginning of the school year, so even see people at the school was a relief.

i waited for a few minutes with my counterpart, Wane Moustapha, before going in to see my director. i can't remember his name, but i will try to describe him to you. he is a white moor, which means he will not greet me directly and will absolutely never extend his hand for me to shake. he wears the typical dress of a white moor: a blue booboo with a white howli wrapped around his head, but what makes him look so bizarre are his enormous square glasses that look like they belong on the halloween prop shelf of the dollar store. it was very intimidating to meet someone so sure of his power over me, especially since he speaks very little french and i speak very little hassaniya. i would have loved to have been able to say something clever, but had no choice but to sit there smiling and nodding and doing my best to look the part of the weak woman awaiting the instructions of the wise man i'm sure he is.

but the numerous teachers at the school ended up being a false sign of the efficiency of mauritanian schools. the director told me that my name was not on the list of teachers for kaedi which is sent each year by the ministry of education. i may have mentioned this already, but teachers in maur. move around each year, supposedly in order to avoid corruption. the ministry of education tells each teacher where to go. since my name was not on the list, my director could not assign me a time schedule. regardless, it's now tuesday and classes have still not started, so i still have sometime to get the mistake corrected.

now, whether my name was left off of the list because of a mistake in the ministry or in the peace corps is hard to tell. i have called my apcd (assistant peace corps director), bagga, several times, each time leaving a message. i'm at my wit's end and don't know what i should do next. perhaps i will spend my two years reading on my front porch and coming to the cyber cafe as i did today. hopefully not.

i will be sure to keep you updated on the school situation! i hope everyone is doing well in good ole u.s.a.
a couple of days ago i went with my host dad Da(yes, a man actually came to my compound for two weeks!) and his three daughters, Fatice, Baydie, and Dacooma, down for a walk to the river. i had been to the river everyday on my morning walks, but never to this part. we walked just before sunset; it was incredibly hot, but the sun shining on the mosques and reflecting on the water was beautiful. it was hard to believe that just on the other side of that small strip of water was the country senegal. dacooma, who is only 13 years old, expressed my feelings exactly when she said "no! that can't be senegal! that's not how it looks on tv!" she was right - it looked the same as our own side of the river; whereas on tv we see their wealth and beauty, from this angle we could see nothing but trees and wilderness.
at any rate, the whole family, sauf moi and fatice, went bathing in the river. the girls had to wait until three other boys had finished their bath, then they shed their mulafas and waded in. i was surprised that they weren't camera shy without their mulafas, but since my family is black moor, it's not altogether strange. after their bath, Da called me "president mariem" and told me i could decide where we should go. fatise pointed her preference and i decided then and there that if i were president, fatise could be my cabinet. we walked for some ways along the river, and da told us about how different things are from when he was a kid. he told stories of before the independence of mauritania; it seemed like everything was better when he was little - fruit trees apparently grew everywhere! i felt like a member of the family, even when some kids followed us down a side street striking a drum and chanting "toobob." my sisters felt embarassed for me, and my dad just laughed and called me a celebrity.
by the time we got back to the compound, just a block or so from my house, i was completely parched and thought i knew how it must feel to die from thirst. of course, i'm exaggerating, but honestly, it was the best feeling of thirst and tiredness i've felt in the three months i've been here. i was sorry when my dad had to go back to nouadibou for work. although the women in my compound make me feel welcome, he added something to the everyday routine that was nice. possibly it was the fact that he spoke excellent french and even some english, or that he'd visited such places as alaska, spain, and even japan, and that he enjoyed talking about these visits. even more so i think it was just the ability to communicate about things other than eating or where to find the makaresh. we talked lightly about politics and about how 9/11 changed the entire world. i will definitely miss him during lunch.

i guess i've spent enough time at the cyber for now! i hope school and work in the US is going better than it is here!
until next time...

POSTED!

2004-09-18T12:28:40Z

greetings all from kaedi. yes, everyone has been posted to their sites, which includes me here in the same damn town i've been in since we got here. cat and janine, my two site mates, are off to mali and the great motherland, respectively, so i'm literally the only english speaker in town, well, except that cool boutiquier down the street who sells chicken and eggs and doesn't even say "how are you fine" when he tries to speak english.
so wow, it's been a super long time since i've written anything on here. i think i'll spare everyone the stories of swearing in, or rather refer you to my good friend adrianna's journal (you can find it under my "friends"). she has given a great recap of the festivities. i wore makeup and contacts and later even jeans. in case you were wondering, i didn't go out "clubbing" (felt it wouldn't be the wisest thing since i have to be respectable in this town) but i DID play my first ever game of spin the bottle. funny, i thought i was a grown up. haha.

affectation was a sad event for me. sunday everyone was stressed out b/c the wonderful peace corps said they couldn't transport everyone's stuff to their new cities, and i just sat around feeling left out because i couldn't be angry as well. we moved all my stuff the 10 blocks to my new house the night before. one by one the cars left - i fought back tears as cailin hugged me. it felt odd to be crying for people i'd known only 2 months. eventually the rest of the gorgol group and i went to the bank and did the whole protocol thing. then they dropped me off and drove away. i was alone. ALONE! it was bizarre and too stressful so of course i took a 5 hour nap. well, i did have a bit of cold (sorry fellow spinners) so i think i had some excuse.

the last couple of days i have felt more than lucky to have such a great host family. nagia had her baby, a girl, named Marieme, just like me. the baptism was super fun; they slaughtered a sheep and i cut onions and ate four lunches that day. i danced a little - it's hard to dance when they call everyone over to laugh at the white girl.
the day before the baptism tarn (another gorgolite) had come in to get some trees for a project he's doing. that night was one of the funnest i've had in kaedi. we read some drew carey and some shakespeare. sure they probably don't mixed but what else can you do? - i've never heard richard III read in such a terrible mix of deep south and scottish accent before. i wonder what dr. ellinghausen of umkc would've said. i think she would've laughed nearly as loud as i did. then we went to my host family's and ate my favorite meal of hako and tarn and my sister worked my dowry out to 10,000 ougiyas. i don't think i'll settle for anything less than 10,000 camels !

well, i'm off to the market to buy some buckets and a matela for my new bedroom. i hope everyone is doing well and knows that i love them.

maa salaam - peace out

change of address

2004-08-28T18:25:34Z

i forgot to mention, since i'll be living in kaedi i have a new address! i will still get anything that has already been sent to nouakchott, inshalla (god willing), but now you can send it directly to me!
my address is:
jennifer slinkard (yes, it's true, my name hasn't changed for real!)
B.P. 66
Kaedi, Mauritania
West Africa

i appreciate AND RESPOND TO! every letter that gets sent my way, so if you aren't happy with a mail box full of bills and credit card applications, write me a little note! i love you all.
jen

the wonders of electricity

2004-08-28T18:17:35Z

hello again from kaedi! okay, so hopefully i had you all sufficiently worried about me and my tail bone. in reality, the experience was more scary than dangerous, and i've learned a lesson that everyone can apply to their own lives, not just those who live in africa. but maybe you can also get a better idea of what homestay at the dardesh's is like.
9:00 p.m. we, as always, have been watching the news from senegal on our tiny black and white tv under the stars. my "house" is sort of hard to explain. it was made out of mud way back when there were enough trees around to made log roofs - perhaps 50 years ago. it's very sturdy, has two rooms and a sort of hall way with two doors and a low window. outside of one of those doors is a concrete slab where we watch tv and where i tie my mosquito net to the building and some sticks. it's a regular routine for me to put my mosquito net out as a way of saying "i'm ready to go to bed; will you please turn the tv off?" sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. tonight, it worked. the tv is on a small table and needs an extension cord to reach the "patio." my little sister carried in the tv, and i thought, hey, the LEAST i can do is carry in the extension cord. i picked it up and stooped over to fit through the midget sized door when i felt this strange sensation go through my arm. i heard a scream, but i didn't realize it was me screaming until after i'd dropped the cord and fallen on the rock i'd used to hammer the stick into the wall to tie my mosquito net to. everyone knows what it's like to be shocked. it's an entirely different experience to be electrocuted. my hand turned completely white and my right foot was completely numb all night, but i couldn't tell you if the latter was because of the electricity or the
"jolt" my rear end had taken.
after the connection between the open wires on the cord and the key i have tied to my wrist was broken, i was a little bit disoriented. jewelee thinks that the fact that my question "what's happening" was in french proves that i'm fluent, but i think it's more proof that i was delirious. i think all the women from nearby houses must have heard me scream; when i realized what was going on, there was a ring of women around me, all petting me and chanting "bismilla", the first word of the koran. my grandmother was taking it even further and chanting something i could not understand.
this happened last week, and my family is still asking about the tiny burn i have on the palm of my hand and laughing at how i have to sit on the left side only of my rear end and won't go near the television. i wish i could say my hair turned white and i can tell the future like john travolta in that movie. more than anything i feel like an idiot for picking up the cord before unplugging it, and lucky that i didn't actually get hurt.
don't you think it's bizarre that i had to come all the way to africa to learn about electrical safety?
next time i will try to write about nancy, cailin, alexis, and my attempt to have a "girls' day" in kaedi. ile liqa - until next time.

"welcome to the freak show" and "the wonders of electricity"

2004-08-22T20:53:49Z

hi all. thank you for the encouraging emails! i was just telling adriana how surprised i am by how awesome my friends are. it's a nice feeling knowing people are thinking of me! so here i go, straight into the story of yesterday.
two weeks ago we (trainees) heard that the president of mauritania had had all those involved with the scheduled coup arrested. yes- there was supposed to be a coup, but thank goodness the democratic president/dictator thwarted it. so, yesterday, the dayof the scheduled coup, all of mauritania, including the pres, was in my hometown of kaedi. adriana and i really felt like cybering, and we weren't going to let a silly thing like a rally keep us from it. plus,we were dying for frozen yogurt. so off we went. cyber was closed(of course) and we had our yogurt so we started off for the airport. it felt like a parade. anyone who's ever been in kearney during jesse james' days knows what i mean. people were everywhere, the only thing that was missing was, well, everything but the people! we were celebrities. of course we are always celebrities, but never on the scale as we were yesterday. Everyone wanted to touch the Toobabs. And if we looked at some little kid she'd go running and giggling with her friends. "donne-moi, madame!" "toobab!!! bonjour. comment-tu t'appelle?" i hear this everyday, but it's so different when the street is crowded. i know now how michael jackson felt when i saw him at the mall when i was five. (celebrity is pretty cool actually). we are thinking of opening a boutique in the market and charging 5UM to see and touch the toobabs. man, we could do so much with that money.

the kids here are annoying, but they aren't used to seeing people who are different, and rich. it's crazy-i thought it was a color thing, but even miriam, a black volunteer is pestered. these kids think that because we're american, we're rich and will give them money or clothes. nothing here seems to stem from a sense of having worked for and earned it. it's completely based on who you know or who you can steal from. i was feeling pretty down the other day after a session on corruption. it's everywhere and very disheartening to hear that someone will work hard with a volunteer to furnish a school then sell all the equipment over a weekend. what's worse is to hear their colleaques say "of course. i would do it too if i had the chance."

okay, i've gotten off subject and i'm going to miss dinner. next time i'll tell you how i was electrocuted and nearly broke my tailbone. sorry, but i gotta keep you guessing.

Site Visit

2004-08-13T21:09:43Z

Hello from Kaedi!
yes, i'm still here in kaedi for my site visit, which must mean, YES, kaedi IS my site. i am pretty happy with that - even though i did want to see someplace new, kaedi isn't all that bad. i'm going to live in the regional house, which means i should have guests often and water and electricity always. uncle billy - check the weather on kaedi, not nouakchott, we're supposedly the hottest city in mauritania, but right now is the rainy season so it hasn't been as hot as it could be.

so far my site mates are awesome. cat and janine live just down the road from me. today janine walked with me all over the market, and she didn't even get frustrated at all the stupid questions i asked! the most bizarre thing about my site visit so far: we watched two movies using a projector so it was almost just like a theatre, except no stadium seating and no popcorn. i never imagined watching charlie's angels here in mauritania!

i think the internet access here is getting better. i heard a rumor that the owner pays for all this space (i'm ignorant of how internet works) but that we only get about 10% of it because someone wants more money and holds it back.

for those of you interested, i've just realized that i can sign on to messenger from here. so hopefully we can chat sometime.

i know this is short but i've got to get going. i love all of you!

my first entry

2004-08-05T17:27:32Z

hi!
okay! i am trying something new. if this works then hopefully i won't have so much trouble getting e-mails out to everyone. hotmail has been, for lack of a better word, a bitch (sorry mom). i have moved to yahoo but i don't have anyone's email address saved there. i would appreciate it if everyone sent me an e-mail to jenniferslinkard@yahoo.com so i will have your address.

the rest of this will sound like the last e-mail i sent to a few of you, cause i have just pasted it in to get things started. i hope hope hope this will work out better. please know that i haven't forgotten about any of you and i miss you so much.

i have more than appreciate the letters and package i have received. once again, i was astounded by how great of friends i actually have. except for you jewelee - i did NOT appreciate hearing about dumplings! i eat so much fish and rice i think i'm starting to smell like a perch of some sort. anyway, mom thanks for the package. i literally sucked the tube of peanut butter dry. it was wonderful.

so i haven't been able to open my emails in weeks so i don't have any clue what's new back home. i am finishing up phase 2 of staj here and am sooooooo excited for this coming week. we find out on tuesday where our homes will be for the next two years. i have some clues - i know i'll be in a fairly large city in the south and will be able to speak french (well, hopefully my french is good enough) with my administration. i can't wait for training to be over with. i have a great family but still.

in case you want to know what it's like to be sick in mauritania i have a great story. my family is so great - everytime i puked along the side of the wall of our compound my mom came over to look at the color and quantity of my vomit. when there was a lot, she would say "zane" meaning "good, great" "it's good to throw up a lot of green stuff". someone else would bring me the makaresh (what you use for washing) and them would put sand over and sweep up my leftovers. i even got some warm sprite out of a little plastic baggy. it wasn't quite like getting sick at home but there were definitely some similarities.

here is some new stuff so pay attention! i was also sick last weekend during center days. no more puking this time but i did get to do a MIF kit. i'm sure nobody wants to know what it was like getting my poop in that little vial, but just so you don't worry, i came out clean.

i'm sorry that all i've been talking about is my sickness. really, i've been pretty healthy and feeling pretty good these days. i think my family thinks i can speak fluent hassaniya now. i swear, i come home one day and said maybe two sentences and now i can't get them to speak to me in french. it's crazy!

yeah! i just read my first email in like two weeks! i have paid another 60 cents for another hour of email time. it actually seems to be working. i hope i didn't just jinx myself.

so, my family: i live in a fairly large compound (about 5 or 6 buildings). we have electricity but sometimes i wish we didn't because the only thing it's good for is brazilian soap operas with bad dubbing. we have no running water and either get our water from a nearby well or a neighbor's faucet. i'm amazed everytime my 15 year old sister carries the bucked on her head. even if she spills some of it i think it's pretty impressive. there are only women there now and lots of kids. there were two men staying with us (i think they were the husbands of two of the women) but they've gone away with all the other men of kaedi. really, it's not weird here for a man to leave his family for work (one of the statutes when you get married though is that the man has to come home at least once a year. if he's gone for longer, the marriage is void. i guess it's a good deal if you don't really like your husband.) so there are a total of 8 or 9 kids and 6 or 7 women depending on whether you count an 18 year old a kid or an adult. some of the kids are there for the summer. it took me three weeks to figure out who belonged to whom so i'm not going to waste time now.

i guess for now that about does it. i'm going to try to make it back to yahoo now and get the news out about my new journal. sorry about all the hassel.

i love you and hopefully will talk to you soon. i'm supposed to be buying a cell phone this weekend but i can't be too sure cause i thought i was buying it last weekend as well. we'll see. i hope you all miss me as much as i miss you. i'm sorry i missed your birthdays (joe and blaine) and i hope you had great ones without me. please please please write me letters!!!

jenny