These are pictures from the Mauritanian Independence Day. I've become my village's official photographer so I had to take a lot, which did work out well. It was really cool to see how they celebrate their independence day - there were aspects that were similiar to our 4th of July, but it was definitely different.

It’s been about a month since I got dropped off in my village. Things have gone much better than I was expecting, to be honest. People really had me scared and expecting the worse, but I’ve had very few problems so far.
My village is completely beautiful. I have some pictures, but my camera battery died just before swear-in, so I don’t have any pictures of the village since I’ve been there. I’ll have some next time I get to a computer, which should be in about a month, inshallah. Anyway, it’s located on sand dunes, which are much lovelier than I ever thought they could be. There are lots of trees and also some mountains in the distance. Right now, there’s even a lake – seriously. It’s not much more than a really big puddle, but it’s big enough that I can go up to it and listen and hear the water lapping against the shore and it sounds like home. The village is 2 hours away from the road, so it’s pretty isolated, but what it lacks in amenities it makes up for in beauty. I think that when I’m not doing so well during my time here, just watching the sunset (or sunrise, since I wake up early enough to see that here) will go a long way in helping to make things better.
It’s currently Ramadan, which means that it’s the holiest time of the year and everyone’s fasting. This means no food or drink (or cigarettes or sex) from sunup to sundown. It’s really hot here, so I admire people here so much for being able to stick it through. I constantly down water and I know that I’m still dehydrated, so I don’t know how they manage to do it. At sunset, they break fast and drink big bowls of zrig, a sugary milk drink they make here, and eat dates, which are simply delicious. They also stay up really late, until about midnight or 1, eating, since they pretty much have to eat a full day’s worth of food from sundown until they go to sleep. I go to bed at 9:30, like a total baby – I don’t know how they manage to stay up so late! There’s no power, so after dinner I’m totally ready to go to sleep because I get annoyed with not being able to see or do anything. I guess I’ll adjust soon enough.
On the first night that my sitemate and I were there, 4 separate neighbors brought us big bowls of fresh milk – straight from the cow. In America, we might make cookies or something for new neighbors (if that, even), but being that there’s a lot less for people to offer here, they bring milk. We were completely blown away by the generosity, especially since 3 people brought us milk the next morning (and we hadn’t even been able to finish the milk from the previous night). This went on for a few days, and we kind of thought that it would stop, but it hasn’t yet. Every night, even if we’re already asleep, people come by and bring large bowls of warm, fresh milk to us. I feel really badly for my sitemate, because I can’t drink milk, so he has to drink a ton every day. I’m lactose intolerant, which I never imagined would be such an issue here. Seriously, though, it’s the number two thing people talk to me about (number one being why I’m single and don’t want a husband – clearly I’m nuts). Especially during the rainy season, when the cows have plenty of milk, people give you milk or zrig allll the time, and it’s nearly impossible to refuse just because you don’t want it. I made the decision to tell people that I can’t drink milk because it hurts my stomach (which whole milk does, especially in large quantities), and I never imagined it would be such an issue. People don’t understand that I don’t drink milk – it’s a totally foreign concept. They’ve finally accepted it, so I don’t have to explain it all the time, although it does come up when I meet anyone new. It’s really pretty amusing, but I feel really bad about it all the time!

3 days ina row, I don't know what to do with myself

So thanks to some wonderful events, I've been able to get on the internet for 3 days in a row now, which is amazing.  I seriously don't know what to do with myself on the internet so much, so I thought I'd take the time here to answer some questions that people have been asking like crazy. 

 

Q:  I don't understand - where are you now?  Where are you going to be?

A: Right now, well, not at the moment, but in general, I'm living with a host family in a small village in the south about a hour outside Kaedi, which is a regional capital city, and what I'm referring to when I say "city."  It's where I can get online, go to the market, get clothes made (since you buy fabric and take it to a tailor here), and things like that.  My village is really small and I can't really do anything there, so it's nice to come into the city.  I'll be living in my village until the end of August, at which point I'll come into Kaedi for swear-in and then I'll go to my permanent site.

 

Q: Why do you come into the city?

A: It's where the PC training center is, which is really just a school they've taken over for the summer.  I come in about once a week to have technical training sessions, which are when we learn how to do our jobs here.  I learn about health-related things like malnutrition, malaria, obesity, and things like that.  These are all the sectors that are here right now: health, agroforestry, education, small enterprise development, and evironmental education.  Each group gets its own training, and then we have some sessions together, like cultural sessions and medical sessions, when we learn how to take care of ourselves should (when, really) we get sick.

 

Q: Where are you going once you swear in?

A: I'll be heading to a large village/town (pop. about 4,000) about 5 hours north of here.  It's in the Brackna region, should you care to look.  It's a white moor village, which means that it's fairly conservative.  I went to visit it about 2 weeks ago, and the people are really nice.  There hasn't been a PCV there for about 15 years, and this year they're getting 2 of us, so they're really exited.

 

Q: Can I send you letters and/or packages?

A:   YES you can, thanks for asking!  Letters, not to mention packages, make me endlessly happy, and I WILL write back, I'm a good pen pal.  

My addres is

Aubrey Delaney, PCV

Corps de la Paix

BP 222

Nouakchott, Mauritania

West Africa

 

Letters have been arriving seemingly without any problems, so that's good.  Packages are a bit riskier, but I've been told (and seen it work) that putting religios symbols and words on the package will make it safer.  My mom has been drawing crosses on things she sends me, and they get to me.  She's also been writing the return address as a church located at her address, which if nothing else makes me laugh.  I don't know if any of this actually helps, but it's what people tell me, so I think it can't hurt.

The mail is sent into the PC office in the capital, and they bring it down in cars about once a week, but it depends sometimes.  Letters seem to take about a month to actually get into my hands, at least for now, and packages a bit longer.  Once I get to my permanent site, the mail will be brough to my regional capital, Aleg, once a month (I think) and then I'll be able to get in when I go in once a month, so it'll take longer for me to actually see it.  Also, since I'll only be able to send out mail once a month, some of you might get multiple letters at once.  Sorry!

Also, if you've noticed that your letters have American stamps on them, and an American return address, don't worry, I'm not fooling you - I am actually in Africa.  It's just more reliable to use American stamps and send the letters home with someone who's going to America and can put the letters in a box in the USA.  Sometimes they'll use diplomatic pouches, too, so that's pretty cool.

 

More to come later!  I have a short attention span for this thing.  And really, in general here.  








 

1 month in

I've been here for just over a month now, and things are going pretty well.  I'm living in a small village in the south and it's been a great experience.  There's not running water or electricity - or bread, for that matter - but that's been the easy part to get used to.  I don't have a lot of time, as usual, but I think that I will soon.  We find out on Tuesday where we'll be going for the next two years, and then we go visiting!  I'm really excited to find out and then go see it.  I'll probably be somewhere in the north, but I really don't have any idea.  For now, we're in Kaedi at the training center - Camp Africa.  They feed us good food and I love being here because there are lots of people and I can use the internet and charge my Ipod and other fancy things!  I've gotten some clothes made, so now I look sufficiently ridiculous, don't worry.  More to come later.

--

I'm in Nouakchott, having arrived safe and sound.  It's hot here, but not as hot as it will be later when we get to our training site in the south.  More later, much love.

packing list

People keep asking, so rather than saying, "I don't know, a bunch of stuff," here it is. This was not fun to gather.

Clothes:

5 long skirts

1 pair of jeans

1 pair of gauchos

5 t-shirts (inc. 2 polos)

1 long-sleeved shirt

1 button-down shirt

Flower skirt so I can feel like a girl sometimes

Leggings

Pink exercise pants

Fleece jacket

Warm socks (for sleeping)

2 bandanas

1 safari-looking hat so I look sufficiently dorky

3 sports bras

4 regular bras

Bunches of underwear

Long johns, sized for a large man, because that’s what I am

7 pair socks

Small purse

Jewelry

Shoes

Chacos

Tennis shoes

Flip-flops

Nice-ish closed-toed shoes

Toiletries:

Shampoo

Conditioner

Toothpaste

Face wash

Body pouf

2 bars soap

2 sticks deodorant

Razor refills

Soap holder

1 large bottle hand sanitizer, 3 small refillable bottles

Sunscreen

Bug repellent

Ponytail holders

Headwraps

Birth control pills

Tampons

Tylenol

Tylenol PM

Lotion

All-purpose soap

Pepto-bismol

Lip/face balm

Dental floss

Books:

GRE review book

Knitting for Dummies

Les Miserables

Volunteer Handbook

A Problem From Hell: American and the Age of Genocide

You Can’t Go Home Again

The Bible

War and Peace (when else am I going to read it?)

To Kill a Mockingbird

Amusements:

2 packs playing cards

Karaoke CD

Inflatable globe ball

Knitting needles and yarn

Harmonica & book so I can learn about it and play amazing music

Kitchen:

Small jar peanut butter

Old Bay

Cumin

Powdered drink mix

Spatula

Lifesaver mints

Pepper

Salt

Italian seasoning

Plastic container

Small nonstick pot

Gifts:

Old Bay

Candy (for family and current PCVs)

Doily made by my momma

Stickers

Water bottle holder

Crayons

Jump ropes

Electronics

Jump drive

Ipod

Ipod charger

Camera charger

Voltage adapter

Digital camera

Camera battery charger

Camera USB connecter cable thing

Misc.

Sheets (top and bottom)

Traveler’s towel

Small pillow

Binoculars

Battery-powered fan

Flashlight

40 gallon-sized Ziploc bags

50 quart-sized Ziploc bags

2 Swiss Army knives

Sharpies

AA batteries

Nalgene bottle with backpack attachment thing

Duct tape

Leatherman

Gallon-sized foldable water jug

+40 sleeping bag

Mosquito net tent

Pens

Envelopes

World map

West Africa map

5-subject notebook

Headlamp

3 disposable cameras

Stationary

Passport/money pouch

Cheap sunglasses

VODKA

Tape measure

Folders

Jump rope for me

Various seeds, inc. daisies

2 Masterlocks

Clothes:

5 long skirts

1 pair of jeans

1 pair of gauchos

5 t-shirts (inc. 2 polos)

1 long-sleeved shirt

1 button-down shirt

Flower skirt so I can feel like a girl sometimes

Leggings

Pink exercise pants

Fleece jacket

Warm socks (for sleeping)

2 bandanas

1 safari-looking hat so I look sufficiently dorky

3 sports bras

4 regular bras

Bunches of underwear

Long johns, sized for a large man, because that’s what I am

7 pair socks

Small purse

Jewelry

Shoes

Chacos

Tennis shoes

Flip-flops

Nice-ish closed-toed shoes

Toiletries:

Shampoo

Conditioner

Toothpaste

Face wash

Body pouf

2 bars soap

2 sticks deodorant

Razor refills

Soap holder

1 large bottle hand sanitizer, 3 small refillable bottles

Sunscreen

Bug repellent

Ponytail holders

Headwraps

Birth control pills

Tampons

Tylenol

Tylenol PM

Lotion

All-purpose soap

Pepto-bismol

Lip/face balm

Dental floss

Books:

GRE review book

Knitting for Dummies

Les Miserables

Volunteer Handbook

A Problem From Hell: American and the Age of Genocide

You Can’t Go Home Again

The Bible

War and Peace (when else am I going to read it?)

To Kill a Mockingbird

Amusements:

2 packs playing cards

Karaoke CD

Inflatable globe ball

Knitting needles and yarn

Harmonica & book so I can learn about it and play amazing music

Kitchen:

Small jar peanut butter

Old Bay

Cumin

Powdered drink mix

Spatula

Lifesaver mints

Pepper

Salt

Italian seasoning

Plastic container

Small nonstick pot

Gifts:

Old Bay

Candy (for family and current PCVs)

Doily made by my momma

Stickers

Water bottle holder

Crayons

Jump ropes

Electronics

Jump drive

Ipod

Ipod charger

Camera charger

Voltage adapter

Digital camera

Camera battery charger

Camera USB connecter cable thing

Misc.

Sheets (top and bottom)

Traveler’s towel

Small pillow

Binoculars

Battery-powered fan

Flashlight

40 gallon-sized Ziploc bags

50 quart-sized Ziploc bags

2 Swiss Army knives

Sharpies

AA batteries

Nalgene bottle with backpack attachment thing

Duct tape

Leatherman

Gallon-sized foldable water jug

+40 sleeping bag

Mosquito net tent

Pens

Envelopes

World map

West Africa map

5-subject notebook

Headlamp

3 disposable cameras

Stationary

Passport/money pouch

Cheap sunglasses

VODKA

Tape measure

Folders

Jump rope for me

Various seeds, inc. daisies

2 Masterlocks

anything but unpacking

Graduating is lame. Too bad I had to do it. I have an absurd amount of stuff to unpack/pack again for both my mom's move and my journey to Mauritania. Doing this, well, anything really, is better than doing that.
Lily and I went and tried on Chacos yesterday and it was good. I sent in my order form yesterday evening, so hopefully they'll be coming soon. There's so many things to buy - sleeping bag, long dresses, liquor so I don't go insane - the list goes on. Ahh!
The picture is from when we went to the Door at 8 in the morning before graduation because the Green Door is clearly the best bar ever and opens super-early for us. I miss it already!

Mauritania

I received a call on Thursday from the Peace Corps telling me that I wasn't going to Tanzania anymore due to some sort of staffing problems. Apparently half of my training class is being sent elsewhere, so it's definitely not just me. I received a new invitation to Mauritania doing Health Education, although in a different way than in TZ. I'm totally bummed, because I was completely psyched about Tanzania and seening zebras and giraffes and going to Zabzibar and stuff, but I'm sure that Mauritania has its own cool things. It's in the Sahara Desert, so it'll be cool to see that, and I guess I'll get used to living there for two years. I'll also get to learn French, and maybe (hopefully!) some Arabic, so that will definitely be fantastic. No Tanzania - c'est la vie. See? I'm learning already!