Wall-e

So, I just watched Wall-e, took a shower, put on SHORTS and a t-shirt. I literally feel like I am in a different world, or at least I did when I was watching the movie.

So here's some updates:
- I am currently at center, I will be here till Tuesday

- Between now and then would be a good time to call

- On Sunday I will learn where my permanent site will be!!!!!
- Tuesday I will go visit for a week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Then I will be back at center for a couple of days
- Then back to my training site to begin the second half of my training.

I appreciate everyone who has been commenting on the blog. If you read it, it would be cool to log a comment every once in a while or shoot me an email. Communication is largely one way, plus I would be interested to see who is reading. Thanks a bundle.

Also, if you write comments, I'll answer them (eventually):
- No, I have not seen tp since I left the states. Left hand = tp
- The robinet is attached to a pipe from Rosso and the trees we are planting are tap root trees that will be planted on the non-pipe side of the robinet. But thanks for the thought.
- The bottle in the latrine was gretsil, a brackish disinfectant.
- Luxury items: brooms with handles, twist ties, computers, cars, anything you sit on that is not the ground, beds
- Not luxury items: owning 3 different cell phones, nice clothes, rice
- I know there were more questions, but I forgot them and am not going to search for them, sorry. Ask again and I'll answer.

Top 10s

Top 10 things that I appreciate at a new level here:

- bucket showers (I have been trying to decide what time of day is the most enjoyable, and I have come to the conclusion that every single time of day is the most enjoyable)
- meals in which rice or couscous are not the main ingredient (few and far between for lunch and dinner)
- the evening, night, and morning when the temperature is below 100 degrees and very enjoyable
- whenever ANYTHING happens (I actually really enjoy how easily entertained I am)
- feeling like I understand Pulaar
- when it rains (we are in the 3 month long rainy season right now, aka the only time of year it rains at all)
- drinking water
- getting letters from home (mom and maggie I got yours thanks!)
- writing letters (as soon as I find a post office I will be mailing a batch home)
- drinking 9+ cups of tea every day

Top 10 things that I could really do without:

- the middle part of EVERY day when it is over 100 degrees
- realizing that the reason I feel like I understand Pulaar is not because I do but because I have forgotten that I don’t
- not being able to fetch my own water because it’s a “woman’s job” (I sneak some back from the garden in water cans!)
- the lack of chairs
- flys
- the fact that lunch is at 3pm and dinner is at 10:30. 7 hours between meals is just too long
- how dirty everything gets so fast from the sand
- sweating
- the absolute lack of hammocks (has something to do with the lack of trees, but come on!)
- the cruel and unusualness of not being able to wear shorts

Water

Ok, so you have, or will have seen the picture of our one robinet (water tap (even the water is hot when it comes out of the ground!)). That robinet supplies the water to our entire village. Normally there are women constantly sitting by it to fill up jugs (biduns) all day. The one exception is during the hottest part of the day. There is usually are large puddle around the robinet which makes it a travesty that there are any trees planted for share around it. (Something I am going to change before I leave my training site.)

However, right now you have to pay for water by the jug because the bill for May was 100 times the normal amount so they didn’t pay it. As far as I can tell, its going to stay that way for a while.

That’s the scene for the first (and only time) I got sick so far. Since you have to pay by the jug now my family has less water just sitting around and I had let my personal supply get too low. Enter a perfect storm of losing hydration and being unable to replenish it. After a day and a half of recovering from that, let’s just say that I’m not going to let that happen again.

Pictures from my CBT Site!

My room. The black bags are the beginnings of a tree nursery.

My family's cooking hut.
Where some of the family sleeps and where we eat lunch.


The concrete building where my room is, where the chief sleeps (left) and the goat hut in the background.


A typical Mauritanian pose, they like to show how serious they are. "If you are going to take a photo that will last for ever you should not be doing something goofy."

Drinking tea.

Aamadou (my brother (I am named after him, by him)) making tea, a very elaborate process.


The robinet, where the village gets all of its water.


The garden my fellow trainees have started.

Our classroom. From left to right, Michelle, Manna, and Sara Kate.


Our language teacher Ablaye. He is awesome: adviser to the largest political party, director of a school, de facto chief of his village, and our language teacher!


A UN Development Project water tower. Its broken and once I know how to ask why in Pulaar I will.


Aamadou milking (he wanted me to take a picture of this).


The store in our town.

Binta, she is the cutest, most flirtatious little girl I have ever met. She always makes me smile.


Our U.S. tax dollar bought toilet.


Rather, pit latrine.


Main street in my village.


UNHCR refugee tents in my village. (I'm an international institution junkie :)


My Mauritanian "father" Abalaye and my brother Sidi. Sidi is amazing, he is more responsible and works harder than most people I know of any age and he still plays around and has fun. In general, Mauritanian kids are 10 times tougher than American kids and work 100 times more. Frankly, when compared to how well behaved they are, I am embarrassed by how I acted and how most American kids act at comparative ages.


My brothers, left to right, Allsem, Samba, Sidi, Aamadou, Aamadou. Quite a crew huh?

Salad and Chicken

I just had salad and chicken for dinner tonight! That deserves its own blog post.

Communication

I wasn't going to start with this one, but since I checked my email first and when you read my posts this one will actually be last I will. So heres a few notes on communication:

- first thank you for every one who has been emailing me and posting comments on the blog, those are all greatly appreciated.
- related to that, I am sorry that I can't respond to them all, but I have limited access to the internet and therefore don't have time to respond to everyone
- if you feel like I have been ignoring your questions / comments, tell me so and I'll make a point of getting back to you
- I have a cell phone now, I don't want to post the number on my public blog so if you haven't already gotten an email from with with the number in it yet and you want it, email me and I'll reply
- I will not likely be making many calls out as my budget is limited, so again I am sorry but I am going to have to ask you all to be persistent about contacting me, your calls will be answered almost any time of day and GREATLY appreciated.
- Its a weird situation in that most of the time (99% of the time) the main means of communication is through letters. This is odd because every once in a while I will get a call or access to the internet which will reach you all about a month before the letters do. So, expect general updates online and more personal info in letters. Also, there are a lot of people to write so it may take a while, but if you write me I will definitely reply asap.
- NEWS! I miss news from the US. If you come across something worth sharing, like Obama taking a running mate or anything I would care about, please email me. I only get little snippets of news here.

Again, I love hearing from everyone and knowing that people are reading and enjoying the blog, I wish I could share more but I could write for weeks and not be able to share everything that has happened so far.

On a completely different note, I planted my first tree in Mauritania today and will be having a teacher give a lesson I altered tomorrow. Both of those things are needless to say VERY exciting because its the first "work" I have done for my "job" here even though I am still in training.

Happy 4th of July!

Hello world! To celebrate the 4th they brought us all back to the training center, so I have unexpected access to internet. There is so much to say, I don't know where to begin and I also want to socialize a bit with some people other than my 4 site mates so I am not going to write a book. Lets see, the vitals:

My host family is awesome. I am living with the village chief, I live in the concrete house but all the other buildings are made of sticks and grass. (I'll send pictures next time I am back at the center, probably on the 17th) There is a little boy, Alason, who takes care of me; feeds me, carries my stuff, etc. I have 7 hours of language training every day. Its going well but I still can't understand my family.

I saw my first sand storm and understand why they make such a big deal about the rain in Africa.

Mbeyeta mi ko Amadu Sow. (My name is Amadu Sow)

Sorry for such a short post, but this is really exciting to be around every one. Next time I'll bring my journal and share some of my entries.

Happy Independence Day (We are getting cheeseburgers! amazing)