My friend the butcher

I actually remember Moutar the butcher's name, which is rare in itself, but mainly because of its similarity to the word "mustard" in French.

For Thanksgiving I bought a couple of kilos of goat meat from Moutar. Every day since (count 'em, that's a lotta days) he asks if today is a "fete Amerique" and if I want to buy some meat.

I stopped by his house recently and almost walked into a camel head (stripped of its skin except for right around the mouth) that he was storing for purchase. The camel head was about the size of my thigh- merely hinting at the size of the mammal it had been earlier that day.

He says for my next fete he'll butcher another one just for me. I'm thinking about celebrating Mother's Day by chowing down on a couple pounds of camel...

Latrine Project Underway

It is now possible to donate to my current project of latrine construction. If you are interested in supporting the village in this endeavor, please go to this website and click on Mauritania:

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.volproj

Even a few dollar donation would make a dent in the request.

Thanks for considering contributing, and for taking the time to read my blog!

Tribute to Habs(a Ba)

Helena, or Habsa Ba (her name in Bababe) is moving on to bigger and better things. Early termination of service is when people decide the clear and sunny skies of California, or other places in the US, are better than the dusty winds and 130 degree heat of Mauritania. In other words, the people that ET are probably a bit more sane than the rest of us. Hence, Habs is ETing.

Why I will miss Habs:

1. she actually knows something about health, so she keeps me informed
2. i like having pulaar contests with her- despite the fact that she always wins...actually, i will miss competing with her, but am glad that my pulaar is going to be waaay better than hers in 17 months
3. i will miss reminiscing about the strife of Bababe and all the ways we kept each other sane
4. i will miss watching her hair change from long and flowy, to mohawk, to crazy shaved-ness.
5. lastly, i will miss her amazing mix of being chill and a get 'er done-ness.

(love ya, habs. take care over there- and send us lots of packages.)

Did I mention it's hot here?

I have been stranded for several days now, waiting for my luggage to leave New York. Yes, my bags experienced a "transfer error" in between Boston and NY, while I was busy traversing numerous countries. Oh well. I have been able, with this extra time, to learn how to make mango salsa and stare mesmerized at the Boghe regional capital house's thermometer.

This handy Weather Channel temperature taker is digital and with several cool characteristics. A humidity meter (today is around 30% although I don't know if that's high at all America- standards. I mean, I thought the Sahara was a dry heat?) and a smiley face/frowny face option. This face displays to the viewer if it is a nice day or a bad day, weather-wise. Mauritania will never, ever have the smiley face. Even on the coolest day in the winter. Every day it is that same unhappy face.

The temperature itself is a trip. The question of the day around here is- "Guess how hot it is now!" If it feels like 70 to me, that means I should guess about 80. If I would describe it as "warm," this generally equals low 90s. A shrugging "hot" is high 90s, but when it gets into the hundreds I am just baffled. I never guess above a 98, because it simply doesn't feel that hot. Yesterday, when it was 115 degrees, I was not even sweating.

I guess my body has acclimated to desert life, despite my brief fling with snow, rain and other amazing weather experiences in the States. However, with all this being said, it is at least 10 degrees hotter in the sun, and any sort of physical activity out in it, during the day, is asking for an overheated experience.