Friday, June 27, 2008

Movin' to the country

Taking advantage of this amazing wireless internet to update you one more time this week, because this is our last night at the training center! Tomorrow morning I will head to a homestay family, where I will live until the end of August when I complete training. My village doesn't even have a name; it's simply "PK7," for point kilomètre 7, i.e. the village at mile marker 7. Awesome. But I found out today that my language assignment is Pulaar, which means that my permanent site will definitely be in the south of the country. This is VERY exciting to me because the south has a milder climate and more liberal attitudes towards women!

Up until now, I have been with the 80 other Americans in my training class, but tomorrow is where it "gets real." If I'm fortunate, someone in my family may speak French, but otherwise, I will be completely immersed in Pulaar. Let's just say, gestures will be helpful! I've already had a hilarious time with that at the market. On Sunday (the Muslim work week runs Sunday through Thursday) I will begin my intensive language training 7 hours a day for the next 9 weeks. Peace Corps language trainers are raved about, so I am really excited to learn. It's gonna be wild!

I want to put any of your fears to rest by saying it is very clear to me that the Peace Corps has two priorities: my safety & my health. We have had a lot of training this week on how to be safe here, but really there is not much crime anyway. Also, I have received a slew of vaccinations (yellow fever, meningococcal, rabies, typhoid, Hepatitis A & B) and anti-malaria meds, and the medical office is on-call 24 hours a day. I also learned how to take my own blood smear by pricking my finger, which made me quite nervous, but that is really the hardest thing I've had to do in training!

I've enjoyed hanging out with my fellow trainees (called stagières) and getting to know everyone. We've gotten pretty successful at eating with our hands (try it with spaghetti -- that's a good laugh), and I even ate camel. I had no idea! I totally thought it was cow beef.

I drink A LOT of water every day, 4-5 liters. Consequently I am well familiar with the latrines here. They are not so bad. It's not honestly that hot outside, just sticky because we are in the south where it's humid (and I'm wearing a long skirt every day!). But the weather is beautiful & cool in the morning until about 10am, then the day is hot & sunny, and by about 5pm it is breezy & cooling off again. At night it is just perfect.

That being said, I cut my hair the first full day we were here. That was enough! I just see no point in having long flowing locks when they're tied back all the time anyway, so I took off about 10 inches. My friend Summer did a great job, and I am very pleased.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Bismillah! Nous sommes arrivés!

AFRICA! I really cannot believe it!!!!

Here we are at the BRAND NEW Peace Corps training center in Rosso, Mauritania. We are so spoiled that we actually have WIRELESS INTERNET! Can you believe it?! I will only be here until Friday, but still... pretty amazing.

So much to tell! Our few days in Atlanta were jam-packed but very useful. There are 77 of us in my training group, and everyone is genuinely really cool and friendly. My roommate Jackie & I scored free drinks from our waiter when we told him we were moving to Africa the next day:



The flight to Dakar, Senegal, was 9 hours. It went very smoothly, and I was beyond delighted to play the in-flight trivia game live against my fellow passengers! Also, one of the clues in the Delta crossword was a five-letter word for "Peace ____."

We arrived at 4:40am local time. Clearing customs, gathering baggage, and loading (REALLY loading!) our poor buses took two full hours, and then we were on the road. Five hours to get to the border, and then another two hours to be able to cross. Fortunately, our bus was sitting by a busy marketplace, which was quite entertaining to watch:



Finally, we rolled our bus onto the ferry, and over the river to Mauritania we WENT!



The PC training center is just over the border. The entire staff was lined up to meet us, and my eyes welled up with tears as I looked out the window & saw how happy they all were to meet us. We then, one by one, shook hands with every single staff member (probably 50 of them!). Greetings were thrown out at us in many languages, and I tossed back some Asalaam aleykums to the delight of some of the locals. =) I was one of the first through the welcome line and promptly strode into our meeting room -- only to be called after by a staff member in halted English: "Shoes! Please!" Yes, of course. On the ground in Africa for about one minute flat and already had committed a faux pas. You never wear shoes inside on the mats.

Since yesterday, we've gotten crash courses in cultural training. Highlights include how to eat with your hands -- a fun game! You roll up a little ball of the rice/couscous with a piece of vegetable or meat, and pop the whole thing in your mouth. Right hand only, please! Left hands are dirty -- they're your toilet paper. ;) This morning we practiced basic greetings in French, Hassaniya (Arabic), Pulaar, Soninké, and Wolof. LOVING it!

Slept outside last night in my mosquito net tent. It's awesome. Our neighbors' radio serenaded us 'til the wee morning hours with American pop music (I can rest in peace knowing that Rihanna & her umbrella have made it even here). And then the morning prayer calls began at 5:30am. Strangely beautiful. They are more "call"-like than I had realized, with men on bullhorns chanting and intoning, "Bismillaaaaaah," welcoming the new day in the name of God.

We will be at the center until Friday, when we go to our host families around Rosso. I will live with them until the end of August, when training ends. We are officially sworn in as volunteers, and then we all disperse to our permanent sites for the next two months.

Rest assured that I am safe, healthy, and very, very happy!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Africa Ain't No Thang

Bags are packed:

(Shout-out to Dave Cowell for my amazing Mauritania tote)

My checked bags are only a cumulative 59 pounds! I am a rock star.

Besides my fabulous friends & family, here is a short list of things I know I'll miss:

cold Vitamin Water
pashmina scarves
hot showers with good water pressure
a fluffy big bed
bubble tea
pub trivia nights
lying by the pool
The Economist
Kieran cat
piano
Journey, my wacky awesome church in Austin
Crocs
wireless internet on my laptop (and reading the news in bed)
fake caring about the Red Sox (Boston pride -- even in the face of last nite's meager performance in Philly, eek!)
reading old entries in my journal (I'm bringing a fresh one, can't afford to lose the current one)

I'm off to Atlanta in about an hour, where I will meet up with the approximately 75 volunteers going with me to Mauritania. We'll have a whirlwind couple of days getting immunizations & picking up our visas, and then we ship out Friday afternoon. Bring it on.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Now you're in Africa...

I'm so ready to go! I fly to Atlanta a week from today. Can't wait to update you all on my adventures...

For now, enjoy this wonderful song written by my dear friends Brandon, Dave, and Melody, on our last evening together in Austin.