getting used to living en brusse

So I think i said last time that we were going to be visiting the local malnutrition and vaccination center. It was really cool! I have been so frustrated trying to learn this language and getting adjusted to different maladies, and it was refreshing to be reminded why I am here. There were 100 families that showed up with their multiple children to get their baby's weighed and arms measured. It was hot and it was a tiny little center with families waiting all around the building. There are no concept of lines so people just passed their kids up to the front of the room and shoved crying babies in my face for an arm measurement. The kids that were in the red are considered malnourished and are entered into the nutrition education program. All the children also got fed oatmeal so not only was the room hot from 100 bodies, but also from the stove. It was chaotic but very fulfilling. After the CREN we went to the market. I figured I would buy my country family something from the city, so I bought them some mint for their tea. When I gave it to them they all started laughing and my sister showed me to their garden that I did not know existed and the only thing in it was mint. I guess it is the thought that counts. 

That night we went to the wedding. We didn't even go until 11pm. All the women put on fair and lovely (skin whitening cream), orange makeup around their eyes, and dark lipstick which makes them look like they are dead, its really scary. The wedding was under a tent, and there was a pen in the middle of the room that looked like a boxing match. It was really used for dance-offs and when a couple made it to the pen to dance everyone on the sides would scream and clap. Our language teacher went with us and was our hero. If a guy came over to talk to us he would literally grab them by their arm and throw them away with a stern warning and a slap on the head. It is now official that everyone in the 3 neighboring towns know that the whiteys are here.

The next day we went back to Rosso for a 4th of July celebration at the Peace Corps camp. We watched Talledega Nights on a projector and had hamburgers made for us from the local butcher. It had a thin layer of camel meat, thick layer of french fries, peppers, eggs over easy, lettuce, and yes ketchup all on a bun. I was so full; but it was so satisfying! That night Peace Corps dropped us off back in Boumbry right as it was getting dark; but we could still see the storm coming in. My sitemate, Chelsea is afraid of storms at night so I took her bags and she was going to sleep in my room after she had dinner. I made my way to my room and the door was cemented shut, which was their way of fixing my lock. Therefore all three of us had to run through a sandstorm in the dark across the garbage heap to Tanya's room. We ate cold oatmeal in one of our tents and then had to all sleep in half of the room because the other half was leaking from the rain. The next day I took a rock and chipped away the cement until I could get into my room. We had to do laundry because all of my clothes smelled like stale rain water. The cutest little girl ever was not satisfied with the way we were doing laundry and came over to help us. She is only 5 and much more of an expert than us. In return we taught her and Brett Favre how to play "where the wild things are" UNO.  Yes I said Brett Favre; I couldn't believe it either but when I first got to Boumbry he was the first kid I saw. He always wears his old ratty beat up Packers jersey. You can barely make out the 4 on the back but he thinks he is so cool. I cannot believe that I am in the middle of nowhere Africa and Brett and his Packers have found their way to annoy me! The kid is cute though, he, like the rest of the kids, are obsessed with "Go Shorty, It's your birthday..." so whenever they see us they want us to sing the song to them even though we only know that line.

Julie you will appreciate this: the sand dune at my flop! We have been getting up early to explore the dunes and goat graveyards and introduce a little movement into our lives. I went to do a flip off the dune and my flip flop stayed in the sand and was sucked in! That day we went to visit some of the other trainees in a town 20K away. We took a taksi brusse which is just a taxi that drives up and down one of the two paved roads in Mauritania. You just stand on the side of the road and wait for one to pull over and it doesn't matter how full the car already is, everyone piles in. We were 8 deep in a tiny car, thank god we did not have our bags because I don't know yet how we will maneuver that. Even the roof of the car is piled high (about 3xs as tall as the car itself) with hay and bags and food and goats (litterally live goats)). It was an experience. MBallal was fun. We played soccer and ate dates in the palm tree garden. It was so pretty!

Tanya, Hooda is her Mauritanian name (which we are pretty sure is the name of her family's former goat) went to the capital Nouakchott the other day to meet her representative in congress. She said there is an ex-pat bar that you have to show an American ID to get into because they sell alcohol, but the main cool thing is that there is a POOL in it!!! She also went to an air conditioned pizza hut and had a calzone! We are going to Nouakchott for a Peace Corps Christmas Party and I can't wait! So Sam, Ryan, and Kev if you come visit you will get to meet all 150 volunteers and stay in our directors mansion. Word is he owns a pet tortoise too!

We also went to a soccer game in Boumbry which was, interesting. We walked up and the music literally screeched to a halt as the entire field stopped playing and stared at us with the rest of the sidelines. We did a quick wave and sat down to watch the chaos that is Mauritanian soccer. There are about 20 people to a team on the field at one time and there were maybe 4 people with shoes, another handful with one shoe, and the rest barefoot. They are pretty impressive though. One of the women that sat next to me (and by woman I mean she is a few years younger than me married to a man in his 30s and has 2 kids) asked if I was married. I said no and she looked very confused. Then she asked me something else that I did not understand and she grabbed my breast. I was so confused, but I guess that is the symbol for "have children?" it was embarrassing for me but no one seemed to mind.

I am starting to understand the language a little better; and yes I am starting to click as a response to questions. I am, however, fluent in charades! It doesn't help to learn the language when the goat eats my homework on a daily basis. Chelsea stressed at every meal how much she liked the vegetables and every day she got more and more. I wanted to stress how much I like the fish. And for those of you who know me, in the states I do not like fish, which goes to show how much I dislike goat organs. So we had fish for lunch and I went on and on about how good it was. As a result, the next night for dinner they prepared me my own special dish. They handed me bread and literally opened a can of sardines and dumped it into a bowl. YUCK. It was raw and still had eyes and smelled awful! My water bottle tasted so badly of sardines, I had to soak it in bleach, and I threw my toothbrush away. Figures. I guess I will stick to stressing how much I like carrots. 

We had our first daytime storm, which was awesome! It was my favorite day so far. The sky was so dark, and low to the ground; which we thought was just storm clouds. However, when it got closer we realized, with sand in our teeth, that it was a wall of sand followed by a powerful rain. There is something calming and reassuring about a storm in all its wrath. Maybe it is thinking about the places that the storm has been and where it is going that connects us and makes the world seem a bit smaller. It was thrilling to watch it come in. I got some cool pictures and will hopefully get them put up saturday night or sunday when I am back in Rosso for our official site assignments.... woo hoo!

Nights are getting less scary. I realized that most of the time when I freak out in the darkness I am doing it to myself. Not only by imagining scary things in my head, but literally like when I am brushing my teeth and the beads on my wrist are clinking and I jump and scream thinking it is some weird sound made by some gigantic Mauritanian insect only to realize it gets louder when I jump up and down. Try explaining that one to my host family in Hassaniyan. I just say "aane mejnuna"- I am crazy. I am getting used to the bugs though. I have a system now. If something is crawling on me I give it a light shake and if it leaves for a second it is a fly. If it continues to crawl, then it warrants a little more attention. 

It gets pretty chilly at night, and this is the hot season. Actually, it may still be 80 degrees but it feels cool! Sam if you are bored and want to make me a knit hat I would love you forever!!! To add to the list my mom already made for things you can send me (don't feel obligated, just some people have asked), I also will have a lot of down time so send books for me to read! I really want to read "No God but God" if anyone has that. I guess it is a good account of the Islamic religion and I figured while I was here in the Islamic Republic I might as well try to really understand it. It is incredible how devoted people in most third world countries are to their religion. They must spend 1/3 of their day praying or preparing to pray. I do not know the last time in my life that I devoted myself to something that I knew with such certainty in my heart to be true.