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September 20, 2004
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September 20th (or so, time does weird things here)
Everyone, (actually a selected few if you think about it) After 3 months, 20 pounds, 3 unidentified skin infections, one pair of broken sunglasses, 2 rounds of antibiotics, one med-evac to Nouakchott, 281 photos, three - 10 hour land cruiser rides, uncountable misunderstandings (surely more to follow), four and half weeks of intensive Hassiniya Arabic classes, 4 weeks of not so intensive French classes, one dragged child, one presentation, 42 new friends, one fried electrical adapter, 3 oh so delicious beers, one blown flipflop, 12 larium pills, 8 blister beetle “bites”, 3 days of language cram sessions and one swearing in ceremony (over the phone). I am finally an official United States Peace Corps Volunteer. I have been posted to the village of Kobanni. It is located (break out your map you’ll need it) about 100km south of Ayoun el Atrous near the Malian border. For those without a map I’ll try to put it in perspective; technically I’m closer to Timbuktu than the capital Nouakchott. Yep, officially me and my site mate (a decent fellow from the o’soo famous Maimi University of Ohio) are the farthest volunteers from the Peace Corps office. Kobanni is a rather large “small village” without electricity but they do have running water and cell phones. And I have to say, this is not were I figured I would be most useful to the country of Mauritania but I see several advantages to this unexpected development. The town itself quite pretty considering the rest of the country, there is a small forest (rare indeed), a seasonal lake with some well shaded gardens and the surrounding countryside is straight out of the Lion King (though without the animals, there’re all dead). My host father is absolutely amazing. He’s the local imam (Muslim prayer leader) knows French, teaches Arabic to the local kids and most importantly is incredibly patient with my broken Hassiniya. Also, the size of village will insure I have ample time and opportunity to improve those language skills. But, the most notable advantage is the brand new paved road stretching from Kobanni into the heart of Mali, making traveling to rest West Africa (ie the greener parts) much easier. So if any of you happen to be on this particular side of Africa, give me a ring. Yeah, over all I’m fairly happy with my site. Kyle “proud renter of a piece of Mauritanian sand” Marker |