I have a home!

So before I left my site for site visit I found this sweet place to live; it had two trees perfect of a hammock, a closed in courtyard perfect for a garden, a bathroom that was actually attached to the house, screens on the windows, and I was going to split the rent (it would have been $40 a month) with the guy who was currently living in half of the house but was never really there because he sells fish in Nouakchott. We had it all worked out, but then the landlord came over and tried to kick the guy (Sydu) out because he thought that I would pay more if I was living there by myself. After we talked him out of that, he said I would have to pay double because I was "rich." So I didn't end up living there.

BUT, I got a call from Sydu yesterday and he has apparently found a better place for the same price. If you look at Bababe on google earth or maps it is on the NE side (the side with planned streets). So I will basically have my own place which will allow me to spend as much or as little time with the families of my choosing as I want. Pretty excited about that. Also it apparently has a real shower, which is so far above my expectations I don't quite know how to feel about it.

What's next?

So I head back to my training site tomorrow. I am very excited to continue to learn Pulaar now that I can connect its usefulness to my work and life. However, while I really like my host family and training site, now that I know my real site, I sort of feel like I am going back not to live there for the next month but just to learn Pulaar. I suppose that could be a good thing and it will also change as I reengage in my families life. I will be back at center (aka internet access) on the 6th.
Then again on the 25th for a few days for swearing in and then I will finally officially be a volunteer and leave for my site on the 30th. I have to say, the end of training is coming up very fast and more than a little scary... Mostly because there is not a whole lot of time left in language classes, although I will be getting a tutor once I get to my site.

Gimme Gimme Gimme I Need I Need I Need....

Hey all,

So some people have been asking what would be good things to send, here are some examples of stuff that I could never get enough of:

twist ties
granola bars
news papers / magazines / clippings
pictures from home (emailed or printed)
random stories
letters
love
spices for cooking
tea! (I'm definitely getting a lot of it, but not in variety and the amount of sugar they put in it makes mountain dew seem weak. So different varieties other than plain green and plain black would be good.)

"expensive" items that would make great presents for people here:
maps of the world
maps of mauritania
wind up flashlights

Also the address I originally sent out will always work but I will have a better one when I get to my site, which I will forward then.

Two days in the life

So I thought I ought to give you all a picture of what my daily life is actually like here. I will do one day in my training site and one day at the center.

Training site:
- 6:30 wake up with out an "alarm" because the animals and prayer calls are loud enough
- go back to sleep for an hour even though my family gets up
- 7:30 get dressed and be fed tea and bread by my family
- 8:30 language classes start
- 10:30-11:00 break from class, grab some food, maybe nap/check the garden
- 1:00 language classes break for lunch
- nap, read, play guitar, study
- 2:30/3:00 lunch with my family followed by tea
- 4:00-6:00 language classes
- 6:00-8:00 work in the garden
- 8:00-? do what ever I can in the very last bit of day light
- 8:00-10:30 talk with my family a little but mostly listen to them jabber in a language that I don't understand while I look at the stars
- 10:30 dinner
- 11:00 refuse tea and go to bed
repeat

Days at center:
- same wake up time
- 8:00-10:00 first session
- 10:00-10:30 break/snacks
- 10:30-12 second session
- 12:00-3:00 break for lunch/socializing time/time to go to the market
- 1:30 lunch
- 3:00-4:30 third session
- 4:30-5:00 break (thats what time it is right now)
- 5:00-6:30 fourth and final session
- social time
- 9:00 dinner
- prime internet time
- 12:00 prime euchre time followed by sleeping out under the stars

So now you can know what I am doing at various times throughout the day.

My new home

Hello World,

I will add pictures in another post but here are some notes about my home for the next two years:

The town has about 10,000 people in it, which is significantly bigger than what I had expected to say the least. It is right on the main road which makes it easy to get to. The Senegal River is a few km away and a little difficult to get to. I will have running water, cell service, and electricity at night. Which is pretty cushy. I almost feel like I am not "roughing it enough" but I know that that line of thought is garbage and will enjoy the amenities that I do have. Also, if anything they will make it easier for me to actually do my job. Speaking of which, there are a couple of schools and a number of cooperatives that I will be able to work with so there is no question of not having anything to do. There is also a rocky hill, which I like to call "the mountain", overlooking the city which will make for a sweet spot to chill when the sun is not beating down. I don't have a house yet but I am looking at getting my own place or splitting a house with some one else and then I will pay a family to cook for me. Lets see what else... My counterpart seems pretty excited and in general people were very happy to have me there.

Which gets to a point that I have to address about my work that became more apparent to me while I was visiting my site: I am not here to change anyones life. Mauritania, while it may import 70 percent of its food and seem like a totally distant land, is in no real danger of falling off of the face of the earth and that goes for the people in it. Basically I am here to work on environmental education and to what I can when they have requests of me, I am not here to really change the way they live. This is for two reasons. One, the notion of backwards developing countries is just as wrong as the notion of native americans as savages. Two, their way of life is infinitely much better suited to the land and available resources than mine. That's not to say that there aren't things that could be done in a better way, that is true for every culture of the world, just that I won't be doing any "saving" while I am here. I fully knew that before coming here but that point was really driven home when I saw the conditions of my site. However, there will not be a shortage of work for me to do either, it just first and foremost has to be in respect of Mauritanian culture.

Religion Part 2

Wow, ok there was a lot there. I love the discussion we have going. First (mom and cara) Ellen is my trainer who told me to write that. I actually had forgotten that it was at the bottom of the post, but I love that it incited so much curiosity ;)

I need to start this post as I should have started the other one: I am a foreigner here and struggling to understand a new culture. As such I am likely to say things that may be flat out wrong or insulting to Mauritanians. This is not intended and is solely the result of my incomplete understanding of a culture that is different from mine. With that said:

I love that the discussion on religion has incited its own exchange. I am not going to respond to absolutely everything but I think that everyone had truth in their comments. Basically, if I was one-hundred percent open with my views on religion, there is a good chance I that I would estrange myself so much that work would become impossible. There was a volunteer with similar view points as mine who shared them with people that he knew well and they never talked to him again. BUT, that is not of course true for everyone. I realized that in my first post I may have made Mauritanians sound fanatical and I did not mean to. Religion is taken very seriously here but there are people who don't give it much priority in their lives, they would just never publicly admit it. Perhaps one best way to emphasize this is to point out again that I am a guest in the ISLAMIC Republic of Mauritania. The notions of separation of church and state don't apply here as they do in the U.S.

I am excited that I have not been able to explain this perfectly because that is proof that religion here is one thing that is distinctly different from American culture. I look forward to continuing this discussion.

100% Religion

So, I'm 20+ posts and a month in now and I have not mentioned religion yet. Given how much it is a part of life here, its sort of a miracle that it hasn't shown up in any of my posts. So here's an intro to a topic I am sure I will continue to explore in future posts:

For starters, Mauritania is officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (RIM). The country is virtually 100% Muslim. The only people who would not identify themselves as Muslim are foreigners. Also, being Muslim here is not like being "Christian" in the U.S. I know many people back home who identify as Christian, but in reality their identification is about as far as their commitment goes. Maybe they go to church, maybe they practice their own brand, or maybe they just identify with the religion because it makes life easier. Those sorts of commitments don't exist in Mauritanian/Muslim life. Maybe it does, but people would not share it with anyone if that were the case. Being Mauritanian means being Muslim, rather Islam comes before the country but you get the idea. Also, demonstrations of faith for Christians is usually a once a week thing. It happens 5 times a day during prayers here. In short, religion is a way of life here for everyone.

As such, the concept of religious diversity does not really exist. There is a recognition that Christians are also "people of the book" but beyond that religious diversity is unknown. This makes for interesting situations for people who identify as atheists, buddhist, pagan, and many other beliefs. The general rule of thumb is to identify as Christian when asked about your religion no matter what you believe. Also, they generally believe that all Christians are Catholic here. Sharing that you are an atheist has been known to end close relationships with Mauritanians permanently. This has been interesting for me as I have thus far chosen to lie and say that I am "Catholic." I have done this for two very practical reasons, one I don't have the language skills in French or Pulaar to explain my beliefs and even if I did, I am fairly certain they would strain relations with my Mauritanian friends and family. It makes my life easier but it is also a bit of a challenge because I have to lie every time I am asked about it. I feel that after a while this will be a bit of a drag. Also, I have not had any conversion attempts yet, but I am sure that I will. The up shot of these is that they mean that the person(s) care about you because they are trying to get you to convert so you don't go to hell, but they can still be trying.

In short, being Muslim is VERY much a part of daily life here for EVERYONE and that puts one in an interesting position; interesting as a witness to a totally different way of approaching religion and also because it can put me in tough situations.

I am sure I will have much more to say about this in later posts, but it is so much a part of life I wanted to introduce it now.

On a totally different note, SITE ANNOUNCEMENT IS TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH YEAH! very excited about that.

Ellen Rocks!