Wednesday, July 29, 2009

A little more damage control

OK, just to clear everything up that you may have heard in the news/parent group/other random sources that seem to have just as crazy a rumor mill has PC RIM has:

1) Our program has not been evacuated. We're doing a test of the Emergency Action Plan (kind of like a big fire drill) that moved our Mid Term Reconnect (as well as a few days of In-Service Training) to the PC Senegal training center. It's cheaper than putting everyone up in Nouakchott for 10 days, plus Senegal has a few benefits that we lack here (cough cough beer cough).

2) We aren't being shut down. Well, probably not. There is a safety team coming to evaluate the country, but that was planned a long time ago and will be looking at Mali and Niger as well. Our country director and all the folks at the embassy thing we'll be fine, and don't see a reason to pull us (or any change in the security situation). So, while there is a very small chance that our program will close, the vastly more likely situation is that the security team will visit our sites and see that our actual situation here is far from what they've read on cnn.com.

Everything clear? I swear, it's like being in middle school all over again sometimes. Information gets so twisted and confused, but it's hard to know what to believe. Americans are so used to relying on news sources, but honestly, most of the news articles about what's been going on in Mauritania have been blown waaaaay out of proportion and are written by people who don't really understand this country and its history. So, just to re-cap, I'm fine, the program is fine, and Mauritania is...well, as fine as it ever was.

Now that we're all on the same page, I want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes! It's hard to believe I've already had 2 birthdays here in Mauritania. On the first, we found out where we would be placed permanently and backed up for site visit. Needless to say this year was a little less hectic. I had a wonderful day thanks to my fabulous sitemate Shelby and John (who, in about a month, will be my sitemate as well. That is, if he makes is through the region's hazing...mwahahaha), who cooked for me all day. It was great. Thanks guys! Our friends Serge and Virginie came over for dinner, and we had eggplant burgers, cheese popcorn and chocolate cake (sounds like a real meal right? I'm telling you, Shel and John are that good). Now that's what I call turning 24 in (Mauritanian) style.
Speaking of John's upcoming move to Selibaby (I assume this isn't news to anyone, but check out his blog if you want more details--it's linked on my page), I just want to point out that not only did the Guidimakha not lose anyone to the IS option, we actually gained a person. That's right, we're that awesome. Unstoppable. Watch out. Now if we could just get a real road...

In other news, we recently had elections for the first time since the coup last August (we've been through a lot in our 13 months here...just making us that much more badass than PC Senegal). Election day was very calm in Selibaby--it was actually calmer than it had been in a while, since one of the candidates parked all of his campaign trucks outside of Shelby's house and played really bad music all day...we were glad for them to leave. Anyway, Aziz (who staged the coup) won by a majority, which avoided a run-off election in early August. The opposition complained that Aziz stole the election, and there were rumors about paying for votes etc., but the results have been confirmed and recognized by a lot of the international community. Basically, since the former president formally stepped down to allow a democratic election, Aziz is now a democratically elected president. We're all hoping that means the aid money will be restored to Mauritania, and now that the US has recognized Aziz as president and lifted travel bans on members of the RIM government, it's expected that all the visa problems will be resolved. We still might not get a new training class until June, but it's a step in the right direction.

For now, I'm just happy to continue my vacation. On the 2nd, I fly to France to meet up with my family for a couple weeks of wonderful food and maybe being clean enough to feel like a real person again (no promises). I can't wait!! I'll be sure to post pictures when I get back (although the majority of my readers will have been there...so it won't be that exciting). John will be home at the same time to see his family and meet his niece, and when he gets back we'll both head to Selibaby, hopefully find him a house quickly, and settle back into life as usual. And I'll still have a month or so before I have to go back to school. Haha, I got more vacation than anyone! Oh come on, this is the only chance I get to brag about how easy my job is, no one would be jealous any other time so let me have my moment :)

That's all the news that's fit to post. I hope everyone is well and enjoying the end of July!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

A big loss, and some camels

So I'm sure by now you've all heard the big news. Our lives have been kind of turned upside down. It's been hard to deal with. Everyone's talking about it but no one really saw it coming, although I guess it isn't that surprising...but still, it's hard to believe the US soccer team lost to Brazil after being up 2-0 at the half. It will be tough, but I know we can get through this.

Anyway, it's been a crazy couple of weeks here in Peace Corps RIM. Other than the tragic soccer game, there was the minor detail of losing about 1/3 of our class. With the security issues that have been filling nervous parents with terror lately, our country director got permission from PC Washington to offer Interrupted Service. IS basically gives you the benefits of an RPCV without finishing the 2 years, and is generally offered (or sometimes required if a program closes) when there are safety issues in a country. For us, it was a choice, and I'm staying.

Before anyone starts thinking I've totally lost it, let me explain. Keep in mind that this is based on my personal experience, so if there are any parent stalkers out there (including my own!) who have heard other points of view, remember that each person's experience is very different. I do not personally believe that our security situation has changed. Of course there are always risks to living in an underdeveloped country, but there are also risks to living in any major city in the US. Yes, there was an American who got killed in Nouakchott, but the life he led here was very different from ours and he made some very, very different choices that ultimately led to his unfortunate death (he had received several threats before, and continued his work as a Christian missionary in an Islamic Republic). Some people in the North have dealt with unfriendly people and anti-American sentiment, but I have never experienced anything like that. Selibaby (and much of the south in general) loves Peace Corps, and I have a strong network of people who keep me safe there. I feel welcome and useful in my community. I think that if you gave the IS option to all PCVs worldwide at the one year mark, you would have very similar numbers. Two years in a foreign country sounds great in theory, but there are a lot of challenges that go along with it, and some people don't want to be in it for the long haul. I completely respect their choice, but it's not one that appeals to me. So to summarize, don't worry, I'm fine, and I'll see you all in 2010.

Meanwhile, in spite of all of this craziness, we're all trying to continue our normal lives. As a teacher, "normal life" right now means trying to get in as much traveling and time out of site as possible because once the school year starts I'm pretty limited in that. I went up to Nouakchott on the 29th, and after a couple days there headed north with John, Brian and Kristy. We went to Atar, which was very beautiful and so, so different than the south! It has a lot more money, which is evident in every aspect of the city, and the style of buildings is also very different. The next day we went to Chinguetti to visit Carl, who took us all around the city. We walked through the old part of town, which is mostly crumbling ruins dating back to the 1100s (just outside of town there are other ruins buried in sand that date back to the 700s). Chinguetti was a stop along the trade route from Mali to Morocco, and is a really amazing place to visit.

After a day in Chinguetti, the four of us headed out on an overnight camel trek. It was really spectacular. Once you get a little ways out of the city, all you can see is dunes for miles and miles. It's intensely quiet and beautiful experience. Plus, camels are really funny! They remind me a lot of moose, just with big goofy feet and in sand. John's camel was the most ornery of the bunch, and kept making gurgling noises whenever she had to sit down or stand up (and sometimes at random during the trek). The others were pretty friendly. We got to a little oasis around noon (it gets too hot to trek all day), and we spent the afternoon lounging in the shade of date palms. Around 4, John, Brian and I thought it would be cool enough to go sandboarding out on the dunes, but didn't take into account the temperature of the sand (scorching), so we ended up going down a few times and then waiting until almost sunset. Sandboarding is pretty sweet, although the whole carrying the board back up a steep dune part is a pain. Luckily a few kids came to help with that--come on, who can resist a group of toubabs trying to ride a snowboard down a dune?? That's worth carrying a board up a big hill! We spent the night just outside the oasis, lying under the stars. One of our guides made us bread (with just flour and water) that he cooked in hot coals; basically, he shaped a round loaf, got a fire going, then spread the coals out and buried the bread right in them. It was pretty good, and really cool to see it done. We left around 6 the next morning to head back to Chinguetti, and although we were hot, tired and I was down a shoe (a dune ate my flip flop, it got pulled off when I was walking down hill and after searching for about 15 minutes we gave up--it was just gone), we had a fantastic time. Plus, now I can cross "ride a camel" off my list of life goals!

We went back to Atar on the 4th, and after a couple days there headed down to Nouakchott. John and I got back to Kaedi yesterday, and will probably be here for a few days before heading to M'Bout and Selibaby. We both need to get our passports so we'll be ready for our trips in early August--as much as I love it here and am looking forward to heading back to my host family and my little house, I can't wait to see my wonderful family in France in a few weeks! Plus the wine and cheese don't hurt : )

OK, I hope this post finds everyone happy and healthy. Below are links to the pictures from my various travels, so enjoy!

Camel Trek