First post from Mali

So now I have been in Mali for about 4 days. I arrived here Thursday morning and started learning Bambara Thursday afternoon, so needless to say it has been overwhelming the past few days. Mali is nice though-it is very green here right now and definitely more liberal than Mauritania. The trainees here are cool too, although comments like "I am going to have to sleep for a whole month on a cot until my bed is ready!" and "They are out of crepes!" makes it hard to respect them 100%. Haha. Overall, however, I think Mali will be a good place to spend a year.

Last post before Mali

Dakar has emptied out; most volunteers from Mauritania have either gone home or to their new countries by now. One of my former sitemates left for Guinea this afternoon. I am leaving early tomorrow morning, which leaves just enough time to watch Dolly Parton: Revealed tonight on CNN (I am the last person left in my hotel).

Please note the clever name change to this blog. The link, however, has not changed.

News

Now I am going to Mali on Thursday. Meanwhile, here is some depressing news from the region:

Al-Qaeda in Africa:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125030117348933737.html

This one is about Peace Corps:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8205532.stm

Episode IV: A New Hope

Just an update-I am transferring to Mali for my second year. I will be living in a small village outside of Kita, which is in the southwestern part of the country. I am leaving Wednesday for Bamako. I will let you know more as I know more!

The end

Two weeks ago all of the volunteers in Mauritania were consolidated to Senegal, and after a long wait we were finally informed yesterday that the program in Mauritania has been suspended. This means that Peace Corps in Mauritania is on hold until further notice-none of us will be allowed to return and we are now waiting in Dakar to go home or receive new assignments.

This may come as a surprise to many of you, but it has been a long time coming. Mauritania has been experiencing random terrorist activity for a couple of years now, and it has intensified in the last year. Earlier this summer, an American teacher in the capital was murdered during a failed kidnapping attempt, and just last week a suicide bomber blew himself up in front of the French embassy. In both cases, al Qaeda claimed responsibility. A security team came in from Washington to do an evaluation, and deemed Mauritania unsafe for service. Thus, we find ourselves here, considering the next step.

The most difficult part of all of this is that in our everyday lives in Mauritania, there was no danger. Waking up to the sound of my host sister snoring, going to the elementary school to have tea with teachers, buying tomatos from the market, there was no sign that the country was changing or that our situation as foreign volunteers was in any way compromised. The danger is a fringe element that targets foreigners. We left Mauritania two weeks ago not knowing whether we would return, and there are so many goodbyes that were left unsaid. The people I knew and loved, who lived their lives with so much sincerity and kindness, are now people I will never see again.

I am not sure about my next step at this point: I am going to try to transfer to another program in West Africa. I will keep you all posted!

Eco-Health Camp Kankossa

Earlier this month was Eco-Health Camp, an annual project that Peace Corps does for girls in Mauritania. Volunteers from around the country each bring two girls to the camp, which this year was at my site, to learn about health and environmental issues like malaria, AIDS and STD's, hygiene, deforestation, and water conservation. For most of the girls, it was the farthest that they had ever traveled from home. The camp was a huge success-it girwas so fun to see groups interacting who usually wouldn't and girls doing things that they normally don't get to do, like games, sports, and silly songs.There were three different ethnic groups represented, so we did lessons in 3 languages during the day and then did group activities during breaks and in the evening. This picture is from the final activity on the last day of the camp.

Relay races
We tried out duck duck goose on a whim during the evening sports, and it was a hit!


Working on the camp poster
We planted a tree.
Long jump during the camp Olympics
The winning long jumper!

A trip up north

School ended officially on May 28th, so that very evening I took off for the north to visit my friend Aly. Northern Mauritania is the more "touristy" part of the country-people like to do camel treks in the Sahara and visit the ruins of the ancient caravan towns. As for me, I went to Atar to partake of the tourist amenities such as ice cream, Orangina, and chicken. During my stay, we also found time to do a camping trip at an oasis about 12 km outside of Atar. This village was the starting point of our hike.
Shortly after we arrived at the pool. We planned the hike in poorly; we began at 10:30 in the morning and arrived at 2 in the afternoon, which is the hottest part of the day. In this picture we are happy and relieved because a) there is water and b) the 125 degree heat has not killed us.
Where we swam. We also discovered freshwater jellyfish!A hanging garden.
The canyon we hiked in through.