Hi all! I'm here in the cyber between lunch and class, and I thought I'd try to actually give an update on my life here. I guess this is what I can think of that's new:

--I still try to eat as little meat as possible, but now when I walk down the street and see a goat (which is always) I think "I could eat you. I might even eat you tomorrow!" I don't know what it is, but I kind of like the idea that I can eat that guy if I want to. What power! So far I'm not so into the taste, but then again it is goat and camel...most people seem to love the camel thought.



--My family still refuses to speak to me in French. Well, not exactly. After the one day when they literally wouldn't speak to me in anything other than Hassaniya, they've started translating again, but only after the first few times they say something. I just kind of shrug, and then we all laugh and they explain it.



--The new craze at my house is dance parties. When there's something on the TV that's playing music, they get me to get up and dance. They're teaching me some Mauritanian dance moves. It's good times



--One week from today we find out our permanent site. That's so hard to believe! It'll be 1 month down, 26 to go :)



--My family is still great. They got me yet another mulafa, and when I came out wearing it yesterday they kept telling me how nice it looked. Even though it's basically a giant bed sheet, it makes them so happy that I don't even mind that much.



--We have baby chicks at my house now to go along with the goats, sheep and cats (the cats don't live there, but they come in and out). And speaking of animal stories...the other morning I went with my prof and one of the other people in my class to watch the camels and cows being slaughtered. Really, really interesting/horrifying/amazing to see. When we got there (around 6:45 AM) the camels were already dead, but we saw them kill a few cows. Then they skin them and take them apart bit by bit to bring to the market. They didn't scream or make any noise really, which I think is really good--I'd have a Silence of the Lambs moment if I had heard that ("are the camels still screaming, Emily?"). I'm really glad we went because a) it was pretty cool to see, I don't care how morbid that sounds and b) it's interesting to know how the meat actually gets to our big communal bowl.

--The food is...well, tedious. We eat the same thing all the time, and at this point I would kill for a salad and stir fry! Or some real cheese. Or anything that's not oily rice/pasta with goat/fish/camel. The other part of this problem is that my family wants me to get fat. They've told me so many, many times. Big women are hot here because it's a sign of wealth. My family tells me to eat constantly, even when I'm in the middle of a bite, and then makes a getting fat gesture which ends with blown out cheeks, arms up and waddling back and forth. I try to say I don't want to have to waddle, but they're not into that. You just have to be forceful, lick your hand (polite to do after a meal) and wash up as quickly as possible.

--I'm starting to miss things like grass and water to swim in, but also getting very used to my surroundings. Walking over trash and avoiding the donkey pulled carts is second nature now, as is greeting everyone when you walk in a room--I shake hands with all the women, and basically ask how they're doing in many different ways, falling back to "Ca va?" when my limited Hassaniya runs out. It's a nice custom when you think about it.

--Going back to food (which we talk about all the time pretty much), in class today our prof was talking about a place in the north where the basically just eat bread, sugar and meat with rice. I mentioned that they didn't seem to get enough vitamins, and he told me I was totally wrong, that they had meat, bread and milk so what more did they need? I suggested veggies, and he said they sometimes eat unripe watermelon seeds or potatoes...I was floored. The whole concept of "good for you" is totally different here. He finally just said "well they're alive, so it must be fine." I let it go rather than trying to explain malnutrition.

I guess this is enough for now. I'm trying to write about the most interesting things, but know that on a daily basis I'm happy and (mostly...kind of) healthy. Mauritania is such an underrated country. If anyone has the chance to get here, do! More to come soon! Keep in touch--I got my first mail the other day and I can't even say how exciting it was! And emails are wonderful too.

Don't worry, I'm fine!

Well after checking my email and seeing 2 worried emails from my mom, I thought I'd write a quick note saying I'm fine and everything is still going well! French is coming along, although my family seems to have decided to only speak to me in Hassaniya...so that makes things interesting! Still really liking it, although there are moments when you stop and think what am I doing here when I could be eating good food on a nice tropical beach?? But then you drink a fanta (fanta is a big part of our lives here), play with some toddlers (they're now getting the 2 year old at my house to run over and kiss me, and she loves that her hair is braided like mine), and just look around. It is really amzing to be here. My family loves to dress me up in mulafas and braid my hair (which PS hurts like no other!), I'm kind of their child/doll. I've started going running (well, kind of...we jog) with another PCT and when I come out in pants they always ask if i'm going to Faire du sport, and when I say yes they get really happy about it and also confused about why I run up the street and down it again. That's how people seem to feel about us in general--happy, excited and confused.

Sorry this is so jumbled--I'm about to get cut off and my family wants me home anyway. All my love!!!! And keep the comments and emails coming! Feel free to ask questions if you want me to post about something specific!

Wow, there is so much to write and I don't even know where to begin. Last Friday, after a few great days of Mauritania summer camp at the Peace Corps center, we left for our host families. I'm about a 15 minute walk from the center and the market. My family is great--there are tons of kids ranging from about 1 year old to 16, and i think some others who live in other towns. I'm still not sure whose kids are whose...there are several adults in the house, the mom's sister lives with us, but all the kids are just like everyone's kids. They're really nice to me, although they spend a lot of time talking about me in hassaniya (the local language i'll be learning after some more french). I hear blah blah blah Fatima (the name they gave me) hahaha! It's all good.

My best story so far happened the first day. I call it "how i accidentally converted to islam and then unconverted in one day":

About a few hours after I got to my house, I got mulafaed. I mulafa is basically a giant sheet of fabric that gets wrapped around the women. I wasn't surprised because a lot of the families do it to their toubabs (white people). THey had been making me repeat things in hassaniya all morning because they want me to speak it right away, so I just kind of went along with it. Mostly they would say something, I would repeat and then they'd explain: bread, peanut, come here, etc. But after they wrapped me in a mulafa they had me repeat something, and all of a sudden I hear "Allah" and I start thinking hmmm..... Then my mom sits me on a little bench and has me wash my hands. It was almost time for lunch so I was like yeah, OK, but then she told me to do it 3 times and then my face and feet. So I start thinking "oooooh shit" because this is what you do before praying. I told her I didn't understand but she just kept pouring water on me. Then she brought me over and told me to repeat again, and I kept repeating in French that I didn't understand, but my father was like "Fatima! Just repeat!" So I did. By the time I had realized what was going on, it was too late to go back. After praying we ate, and I took a nap. When I got up, Nana (my mom) brought me to the bench to wash my hands again, and I was like "No, I'm not supposed to." She didn't understand, and called over my father (who speaks better French). I explained to him that because we didn't grow up doing all the things that Islamic kids do, we don't know enough to have the right respect and we shouldn't pray. He liked that ("Ce bom Fatima, ce bom") and we moved on. They haven't made me do it since. Word spread fast among my fellow trainees, and I really made everyone's day.

Here's a sum up of the rest of my first week with my family:
-I ate goat. That's right, goat. It's chewy. I try to avoid it and eat around the meat and fish, but it's hard when you eat with your hands out of a communal bowl filled with rice, cous cous or pasta, meat or fish and sometimes veggies. They all push food at me, Fatima mange mange! They want to make me fat so Mauritanian men will like me. For breakfast we have what tastes like warm pancake mix. MMM. There are some good black eyed peas, though, and overall the food is Ok.
-The other thing they try to give me is milk. But we're talking the most intense whole milk ever. Also to make me fat. Yesterday we found a baby kitten on the way to my class and took him to school with us, so we give him my milk now. He's pretty gross and probably dying, but we like him. They let him stay at the school for now.
-We all sweat all the time here. Like all the time. You get used to it. Kind of.
-Kids follow me a lot on the street, and they love to shake your hand or talk to you a little. They ask for money sometimes, and we ignore them or say "what are you going ot give me??" They laugh at the toubabs a lot. It's all good.
-the most important thing here (other than filtering water...haven't been sick yet inshallah) is going with the flow. If you let things get to you, you will go crazy. People talk to/about you in languages you don't understand all the time, you're always covered in sweat and sand, there are bugs everywhere, trash covers all the streets...but if you just take things as they come, you enjoy yourself. You learn to love the little things, like being able to barter in the market, watching insane arab TV all day with your family, buying cold juice or ice cream, running into other PCTs on the street, remembering a few words your family teaches you.

There are so many things I want to say and to write, but my time is almost up. Hopefully I'll get pictures up soon! Also, if anyone wants to send letters or things, I will love you forever. Legit. Especially if it's candy. :) My address is:

Emily Nelson, PCT
Corps de le Paix
BP 222
Nouakchott, Mauritania

Please keep in touch, emails and comments are great. Phone calls are sweet too!

I'll end with I'm happy, healthy, sweaty, overwhelmed and looking forward to going home and taking a bucket bath! Mauritania is amazing.

All my love!!