Il Hamdoulillah

Sign indicating you're entering Guerou
With Ambassador Boulware and Mark during Swear in Ceremony

Il Hamdoulillah

Starting new life is always a rough test for the human spirit. It takes a great amount of energy, courage and patience to grasp the alien environment that surrounds us and, most of the times, overwhelms us. However, starting a new life and adapting to a totally different country, society, culture, language, and environment; now that’s a heck of a challenge.

During the nine hour drive from Rosso to the region of Assaba, I noticed a huge change in the panorama since my last visit 4 weeks ago during Site Visit. What used to be a dry and sandy landscape turned into beautiful green and vivid scenery that bear a resemblance to the oasis’s so often described throughout the Bible. We also stopped in a different town to eat Mishui -roasted lamb and my favorite Mauritanian meal- where it tasted way better than the one in Aleg. What did not change however, was feeling the same adrenaline running through my entire body when I saw the sign announcing that we just reached Guerou, my home for the next two years Inshallah.

So far, my assignments for the first month is to introduce myself to the community, establish several constructive relationships and let the people know why in the world is an American, called Pablo, doing in Guerrou. My site mate and only PCV in Guerrou, Andrea, (which I will always praise for the great job she has done here) will be leaving on a really well deserved vacation for a couple of weeks, so basically I’m going to be on my own during this time. The daunting part is that the month in which I just arrived concurs with Ramadan, one of the most important festivities for the Muslim Ummah. Ramadan is a month where ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance into the future, ask for help in refraining from everyday evils and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deed. Muslims do not eat or drink anything from dawn until sunset. What I’ve heard from other PCVs and also noticed is that during Ramadan people are usually in a devoted religious mood and simultaneously very exhausted due to the lack of food and fluids that they usually intake. Don t get me wrong, this could be an awesome opportunity to experience and learn from the Mauritanian culture and Islam- after all, that’s the Peace Corps premise and one of the main reasons why I decided to come to Mauritania. However, if I was the one fasting in this hot weather -like I did for one day- let say I would not be in a mood to be socializing with people, especially with a nasrani like me.

So having the current situation in mind, I decided to take a walk through the city and try to make some friends. As I was expecting, the first people I met all asked me the same questions over and over again: Are you fasting? Are you Muslim? And although I tried to avoid responding to such inquiries, their persistence made me give them away a “No” for an answer. Most of them just laughed and continued the chatter while two of them immediately lost interest in me and even refused to shake my hand. However, before I started to feel discouraged a vibrant “Salam wualey kum” just caught my attention. A tall, aged black African with a big smile greeted me and kindly invited me to break fast with him. So I spent the next four hours with Mamadouh, the driver for the city’s Hakem, and met his wonderful family, talked about how is life in Mauritania and USA, described our jobs and, of course, practiced my feeble Hassaniya.

My dad usually says that it doesn’t matter how old you are or how much things you have lived, there is always a first time for everything. Well once again, he is right. That was definitely a great evening full of new experiences. I recruited my first two girls for the GMC (or at least that’s what both Mamadouh’s daughters said), I experienced my first big sand storm which blinded me for a moment, and, most importantly, I broke fast during my first Ramadan in an Islamic country. That was a delightful moment; a moment where a Christian and Muslim shared the same bread, tea, Zrig (Mauritanian drink that is a mix of water, milk and sugar), dates, but more significantly, we joyfully shared our ideas, thoughts and dreams. Il Hamdoulillah – The glory be to God. .

Rollercoaster Experience

My buddy Zach and me after Swear in Ceremony
With Hailey during the swear in party wearing our sick clothes.

The days when I used to go to the madrassa for my Hassaniya language class in Mbalal; playing soccer in the sandy field with my Mauritanian friends; the GEE tech sessions at Rosso; eating camel burgers in the Mauritanian” McDonalds” with my friends; but even most importantly, the days when I was called a Peace Corps Trainee are finally over. The truth is that so much has happened in my life during the last week of Stage that it feels like if I’m riding a rollercoaster without an end.

So just for a fast recap, after leaving Mbalal I headed back to the Peace Corps Center back at Rosso to prepare myself to swear in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. To achieve this, I had three days to take a language proficiency test in Hassaniya, elaborate an essay on my cultural exchange during Pre Service Training and another one on the GEE Tech sessions that we had during the last month. If I failed to realize one of these duties, my Swear In process would be delayed for another two weeks or so. However with the help of God and some studying time, everything went pretty smoothly and without a hassle.

So after finishing this series of formalities, I had basically two days to rest and enjoy all my friends for the last time in the next 4 months, I had to get ready for swear in ceremony and party, and last but not least, prepare myself for my next assignment: being a Girls Empowerment and Education Agent in the city of Guerou.

The Swear In Ceremony was tremendous. Although it was kind of a low key ceremony due to some Peace Corps budget restraints, we had the honor to count with the Ambassador of the US to Mauritania Mr. Mark Boulware and his wife Ms. Boulware; the PC Director in Mauritania: Obie Shaw and other important PC officials such as Damien and David Salomon; and a great number of current PCV which were so helpful and supportive during the past two months. During the ceremony, all the trainees sat down and listened to an encouraging dialogue from Obie, three speeches in local languages by some trainees and, at the end, the Ambassador formalized our status as Peace Corps Volunteers making us swear-as in a presidential inaugural ceremony- to fulfill the objectives and mission of the Peace Corps.!! WHAT GREAT MOMENT WAS THAT!! I felt like all this happiness, joy and energy rushing through my veins waiting to get liberated; and it was a great timing for that desire, because up next was the Swear in Party.

So once the night arrived and we finally finished cooking all the food for the party (by the way Mexican Style food) we all headed to the Hotel Chemama in the PC trucks and joined all the current Peace Corps Volunteers to have this big party “the American style”: dancing to hip hop music, drinking smuggled alcohol from Senegal, people dressed up in silly outfits (including me as you can see in the picture) and all the rest of the things that can happen in a place filled with 100 Americans in a foreign country. It was a blast for us and a nightmare for our security officers – who had to take care of the needed, if you get what I’m saying- and the Mauritanians that lived near the hotel. I know that describing the party and looking at all the pictures may make us think that we are the classic dumb Americans that like to party without limits the “spring break” style and not the ideal and humble Peace Corps Volunteer that’s not interested in such juvenile recreations. This could maybe be true, but believe me and in at our defense, after two months of learning a new language, living in a conservative country and struggling with an extreme weather, environment and, for some people, sickness, I think we needed a really good break and the swear in party gave us exactly that.

So after all this, it was time for me to get ready to leave for my final site: Guerrou. Although I have only been in Mauritania with the PC people for two months, I really felt a sad saying good bye to every person. It was during the time of hugs and kisses and waving good bye when I felt that the exciting, challenging and transformative part of our PC experience was finally going to start. Of course, the past two months where challenging and difficult but we always had the option of going back to the Center and interacting with people of our same culture if we felt bad or lonely. But this next phase is not going to be like that anymore, and that is good. Going to your new site, meeting new people, integrating into the community and making them accepting you because of who you are, working in your sector and learning the culture and language without the help of PC facilitator is what Peace Corps is all about.

So all this happened in less than a week and I can already feel that I’m not the same person that I was 5 days ago. The first part of my Peace Corps service is finally over and I would say that it ended “con broche de oro”. Now, it’s time to start another episode full of challenges and emotions in Guerou. Thinking about it and retaking what I wrote at the end of the first paragraph, this is really a Roller Coaster that I’m riding in; and the name of the ride is called “The Peace Corps experience”.

Decir Adios

Hay cosas a las cuales nunca me he acostumbrado a hacer, incluso si me encuentro haciéndolas constantemente. Una de esas es el de decir adiós. Siempre que me encuentro en un aeropuerto, estación de camiones o incluso parada de taxis; me gusta ver las diferentes formas en que la gente expresa sus sentimientos al decir adiós o al recibir a un ser querido. A pesar de que cada quien tiene su a manera peculiar de comportarse durante esta situación, la gente que mas capta mi atención son aquellas que tienen una gran facilidad para dejar ir a personas importantes en su vida. Para ellos el decir “adiós” es algo tan normal en la vida, y claro que lo es; pero en mi caso, el despedirse de esa manera es algo que me costaría mucho hacer.

Mi vida ha sido la de vivir en un constante cambio. El mudarme continuamente desde que era pequeño, el decir “adiós”, lidiar con entornos nuevos y empezar una nueva vida debería ser algo al que debería estar totalmente acostumbrado. Al recordar la vez que me despedí de mi familia en Alaska o de mis seres queridos en México, produce en mí todavía un sentimiento de tristeza. Sé que este todo este constante cambio trae consigo cosas de las cuales podemos beneficiarnos como el madurar como persona, el aprender a adaptarse a diferentes entornos, conocer nuevas personas, lugares y culturas y, en mi caso, tratar de fortalecer mi relación con Dios. Pero la realidad es que el estar en constante cambio es duro; necesario pero duro.

La razón por la que estoy hablando sobre este tema es porque este domingo me toco despedirme de mi familia y amigos en Mbalal. Para ser sincero, nunca creí que iba a desarrollar una gran relación con varias personas de Mauritania durante los primeros dos meses de mi servicio. Al ver el gran grupo de personas que nos despidió con regalos y abrazos, me hizo sentir una vez más el sentimiento del que he estado escribiendo. Mi estancia en Mbalal fue toda una gran experiencia para mí. Es increíble lo que aprendí en un pueblo donde no hay electricidad o agua potable. Aprendes a valorar y respetar la cosa más importante que tenemos en la tierra: tu prójimo.- sea americano o de Mauritania; cristiano o musulmán, blanco .

Ahora me encuentro en el centro preparándome para “jurar” como un Official Peace Corps Volunteer el jueves ante el embajador de USA en Mauritania y otros oficiales. Sin embargo de la misma manera, me encuentro una vez más preparándome para decir adiós a mis compañeros de Peace Corps y empezar una nueva aventura en Guerrou que durara poco menos de dos años. Una vez más, es hora de prepararse para el cambio y nuevas experiencias. Que me espera alla? No lo sé completamente. Lo que si se es que con la ayuda de Dios, el apoyo de mis seres queridos y mis experiencias pasadas; creo que estoy listo para este nuevo reto. Inshallah

Pictures of my last week in Mbalal

GEE Volunteers and the Girls in Rosso
Look at the Shirt lol
My Sister Mineya helping me with laundry
My brothers Mineya and Habib

The Girls that Elise and I worked with during our GMC model

This post is to let you guys know that despite the recent Coup d'etat in Mauritania and the Report that Al Qaeda's North Africa wing has called for Jihad in Mauritania to establish Islamic rule after a military junta ousted the country's elected president; I'm doing fine. Things have been going on normally in my site, so don't worry (for those of you who where worried lol). Of course if something bigger comes up, then the PC will chose any required action plan. So well I go to go Ill have more details for you next week

A day with Moctar Ould Da

Two Mauritanian facilitators and Friends
My room back at Mbalal. My matela, mosquito net, suitcase and water filter

GEE Group at Mbalal. The person laying down is Rajel my facilitator
This is how you eat at Mauritania

So far, all the things that I’ve posted on my blog have been random thoughts about my experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mauritania. The Mauritanian culture, my goals, the GEE program, language lessons and site visit have been themes that have dominated most of my blog. I have not, however, written about how does a normal day in my life look like. What is my schedule? What do I do? Where do I live? At what time and what do I eat? Do I do some sports?. So therefore, the purpose of this post is to answer these simple and basic questions. Hope you like it.

Like all you know, I’m in the first phase of the Peace Corps process called Stage. The purpose of this phase is to introduce the local culture and language to the trainees so they can prepare themselves for the next two years of their service. So right now, I find myself in a small, but beautiful town called Mbalal, where there is no electricity or running water. I’m with three other PC trainees (Amanda Dillon, Amanda Butcher and Eric Bell) and my language facilitator called Rajel, who also teaches philosophy in a High School in a city called Kaedi. I live with a big and awesome family where Im having a great time. I have 6 brothers and 7 sisters. So Im pretty busy all day.

So after giving you this petit intro, I will describe a normal day in the life of Pablo Solorio or in my Mauritanian name Moktar Ould Da at Mbalal.

I wake up at 7:00 am everyday and take my breakfast which is usually peanuts, bread and porridge (ATOLE). After that, I leave to my school or Madrassa where my language class starts at 8:00am and ends at 12:30pm. During class we discuss Mauritanian culture, of course learn language and joke a lot. After that I usually go back to my family’s Khaima (like tent) and practice my super Hassaniya skills with them. At 2:00 pm I usually eat Marrow wu Il Hutt, or Rice and Fish from a communal bowl where everyone eats at the same time with their right hand (using your left is a offense because usually that’s the hand you use to wipe your you know what with lol). After that I rest a little and read some books and wait to back to language classes at 4:00pm.

After class is over at 7:00pm, the other trainees and I usually go for a walk to the date garden and the soccer field where we see the locals play soccer. Once we head back to our houses, I take my usual bucket bath and take dinner with my family, which usually it is spaghetti with meat. After that I go back to my room and get my well deserved naptime. OH I FORGOT. Tea is the national drink in Mauritania, Drinking tea with a family shows that you respect their culture and is a sign of friendship. I brought this up because Im easily drinkinf 10 cups of tea daily. Sounds crazy but its true.

Any questions on my blog, please feel free to ask. Masselem

First Review

Its been a month and a half since I arrived to Mauritania. Its been a month and a half of experimenting new feelings, sensations; getting to know new places, people, cultures and languages. The result of all this melange of things has made me establish new goals in my life and, of course, new fears.

My language lessons are going pretty awesome, family is good, Mauritania is super hot and well Today we just received news thats there has been a Coup d'etat in Mauritania. So far nothing big to worry about, regarding my security.

I'm a person that likes to evaluate constantly the things going on in my life. Why do I like do this? Well I think I learned this from my parents. I know that this approach makes life seem like if its a race, where the only outcome is to win or loose, to succeed or to fail ; and certainly life is not like this. But in the future, when I look back at my life and think about what did I accomplish during my life, I would like to say what the apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7-8 "I have fought the good fight. I have completed the race. I have kept the faith.The victor's crown of righteousness is now waiting for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on the day that he comes, and not only to me but also to all who eagerly wait for his appearing. And so far, this month and a half has been a great blessing.
PD; I KNOW THIS BLOG DOES NOT MAKE A LOT OF SENSE, BUT IM RUNNING AOUT OF TIME HERE AT ROSSO.