[All the pretty things]
An inside joke –
Q: What will a Mauritanian do if you give them something pretty?
A: Probably burn it.
I’m not being judgmental...really, truly. All right, fine, maybe I am. I just find it really hard sometimes, I mean really hard, to help myself. The joke is actually pretty funny, if you’re in the right mood – i.e. after you’ve had a really bad day and you just want to scream. It’s also especially funny, in some twisted way I suppose, when on those particularly bad days you hear yet another story of Mauritanians destroying something functional built or organized by another volunteer or foreign NGO.
[Latrines]
Going to the bathroom consists of finding the local hole in the ground, i.e. latrine, and doing your business. The latrines are often small rooms with doors, thus allowing for privacy, and usually no roofs, thus allowing the midday sun to sanitize the place with its burning heat. There is no toilette paper, so people resort to washing themselves – using the left hand only – with water carried in large plastic kettles. Soap is always essential. In the countryside however, it’s often difficult to find a latrine. In such cases, you usually walk out into the middle of nowhere, find a spot where you feel comfortable and do your thing. Soap is also limited in these places, and so one has to be creative when trying to sanitize one’s hand afterwards.
On a side note, I hear the squatting pose is good for the leg muscles...
[Laundry]
Laundry is done by hand. The whole process – including soaking, scrubbing, rinsing and hanging – takes f o r e v e r. And while it is a good stress reliever at times, oh Lordy, Lordy! – How I miss washing machines! Plus, I can never get my clothes entirely clean. Come to think of it, I should just pay a local child to wash my clothes for me. I hear African labor is relatively cheap nowadays. And not only will the kid do a better job than me, but I’ll also be helping the local economy! As I see it, all pros and no cons...
[Prayer Calls]
Prayer calls happen five times a day, starting at the godforsaken hour of five o’clock in the morning. Sometimes I manage to sleep through it. Other times, the loud and raspy, and usually unpleasant, male voice blaring on the blow horn startles me awake. It’s not always so unpleasant though. Sometimes, especially in the afternoons, the prayer calls are filled with such a feeling of humbled joy that it makes me pause and appreciate all that is around me.
[The night sky]
The night sky in Mauritania is almost always amazing. It’s hard not to stare up into the stars and the darkness that surrounds them and not get lost in thoughts of hopes and dreams and questions about everything big and small. The few city lights that exist in Kiffa never dull the moon’s brightness, and one of the most enjoyable times for me is walking back home late at night with my moonlit shadow leading my way.
[Music]
Hassaniya music is not very nice to Western ears. At first, it sounds like it might be a torture device used by top secret agents to elicit important information from distrustful individuals leading to the eventual capture of some notorious evil-doer. It often consists of a high-pitched and tangy sounding guitar, accompanied by a rhythms section with a peculiar fascination with syncopation – sometimes even the syncopated beats are syncopated {Don’t ask me how; I just know it happens.} – and a shrill sounding singer with a preference for atonal melodies.
After some time, though, the music does grow on you...to some small yet noticeable degree.
[Walking]
RIM volunteers tend to walk everywhere, as we tend to lack the money to afford transportation. I don’t mean to complain, as I tend to enjoy walking. The whole process is very satisfying, with a beginning, middle and some final destination achieved. It’s not usual for volunteers in Kiffa to walk up to an hour in each direction to accomplish some random task. The only annoying bit is the midday heat, which usually takes a serious toll on the body and sometimes the mind. Otherwise, there is no other better way to travel, except by cars and motorcycles, of course, but Peace Corps won’t allow us to drive those...so walking it is!
Coming up next week: An in-depth interview with Dr. R. N. on his recent self-help phenomenon “How to Drink a Gin and Tonic Before You Apologize”.
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