Mail, Email and Telephone.

Many of you have asked (and I'm glad you have) about what the best ways to communicate with me will be while I'm away. My Peace Corps Mauritania Welcome Book explains it pretty well so I thought I'd share...here you go....

Mail
Few countries in the world offer the level of mail service we consider normal in the United States. If you come here expecting U.S. standards, you will be in for a lot of frustration. Mail takes a minimum of two weeks to arrive in Mauritania. Some mail may simply not arrive, and some letters may arrive pre-opened or with clipped edges because someone has tried to see if any money was inside (this is rare, but it does happen). Although we do not want to sound too discouraging, communication can become a very sensitive issue when one is thousands of miles from family and friends. We think it is best to forewarn you about the reality of mail service in this part of the world. Advise your family and friends to number their letters and to write “West Africa,” “Airmail,” and “Par Avion”on the envelopes. Despite the potential delays, we strongly encourage you to write to your family regularly (perhaps weekly or biweekly) and to number your letters. Family members typically become worried when they do not hear from you, so advise them that mail is sporadic and that they should not worry if they do not receive your letters regularly. Sending letters and packages by airmail is always quicker and more reliable than surface mail (usually sent by boat), which has been known to show up years later!

Telephones
While local telephone service is becoming more widely available inside Mauritania, it is still a bit unreliable. Generally, longdistance service to Europe and North America is good but expensive. You, your family, and friends should be prepared to rely mostly on letters and e-mail for communication. More and more professional Mauritanians are using cellular phones, especially in the capital and larger towns, and they all subscribe to one of the two cellular companies in the country. It is highly unlikely that a cellular plan bought in the United States will cover Mauritania and the surrounding region, with or without roaming charges. Therefore, we strongly discourage you from bringing your phone along. You may want to purchase a cellphone once you are in-country. One advantage you have here is that it costs you nothing to receive a call on your cellphone (local or international).

Computer, Internet, and E-mail Access
E-mail is available in Nouakchott and in all regional capitals. Because you will probably have limited access (Volunteers average a visit to the capital once every month), one option is
to arrange for Volunteer friends posted in sites with Internet access to print out and send you your e-mail. Most Volunteers set up a Yahoo, gMail, or Hotmail account before leaving home, giving the e-mail address to friends and family. There is access to the Internet in Mauritania through commercial outlets in Nouakchott and most regional capitals. Some governmental organizations in the regional capitals may also have Internet access and usually are willing to let Volunteers check their e-mail. DSL Internet service is currently available in two of Peace Corps/Mauritania’s 10 regional satellite offices. It is expected that high-speed Internet service will continue to expand to the regional capitals.

PS. Please write me! I promise to write you back! When I was on Semester at Sea one of the things that made me the happiest was receiving mail from home. My mom's third-grade class sent me 24 homemade Valentines cards while I was onboard ship and I cried I was so happy when I got them. You'd be surprised at how much letters or cards mean when you can't come home.

A Letter from "W" and Answers to Some of Your Questions

So this is funny...there must not be many Republicans who choose to go into the Peace Corps - here's why I believe this. My invitation packet was filled with too many forms to count, handbooks (my favorite is one called "A Few MINOR Adjustments"....minor?), and instructions for the next 4 months. Also included in the packet was a nice little letter on stationary that included the words "The White House" and a good old personal electronic signature from former President George W. Bush. I didn't think much about it, just chalking it up to the hectic times that abound during a transition of power in governments and not enough time to take care of small items such as switching out these letters so they are from President Obama, but then I noticed the date of the letter.....July 18, 2001. It almost felt like there hadn't been a Republican to serve as a volunteer since 2001 and when I got invited they had to search to the bottom of their files to pull this out and send it to me to make me feel officially congratulated. Probably not funny to most of you....but I got a little chuckle out of it. So thanks George for the encouragement, your letter from 2001 was inspiring then and still is today.

Many of you have asked some very similar questions about the Peace Corps so here's my first attempt to answer some of them.

1. When will you get to Mauritania? I have orientation somewhere in the US, yet to be determined on June 14-15. During this orientation I will meet up with all of the other volunteers going to Mauritania, get my shots and malaria pills, fill out more forms and then fly to Mauritania on June 16th. From June 16-August 20 I will be training with everyone in the city of Rosso, located near the Senegal border to the South. After training I will be placed somewhere else, won't know that until I'm actually over there.

2. What will you be doing as a volunteer? My primary job will be to teach English to secondary level students (middle and highschool) and help strengthen links between the schools and parental involvement through extracurricular activities. During the school breaks I will be responsible for creating my own "secondary" project based on the needs of the community where I'm placed. Some examples are girl mentoring programs, english clubs, library development, etc.

3. What will you wear? Well, given that this is a Muslim country "conservative" is the key word here. My packing list provided me with suggestions and it included ankle-length skirts (I have no idea where those are sold), no tank tops (my shoulders must be covered) and then some general normal clothing. Having clothes made over there is very inexpensive so I probably won't take that many clothes and just have things made over there.

4. Where will you live? I will live with a host family most likely as it's highly encouraged for female volunteers. As to what amenities I will have, I just don't know at this point. I could be placed in a larger city where I would have electricity and running water, or I could be in a very rural village where neither of those luxuries exist. I might have a toilet or I might just have a hole in the ground. It's a crapshoot.

5. Will you have internet? This has been the #1 question. I will. How often I don't know. From what I can gather after following several blogs of PCV currently overseas, it looks like I will be able to update the blog and check email about once a month. It could be better or it could be worse, I just won't know until I get over there.

"Congratulations! You've been invited to serve...."

INVITED!! Well it finally happened….I’ve been invited to serve in the Peace Corps! After 8 months of filling out endless amounts of forms, having seven viles of blood drawn, a few shots, and countless hours of waiting, I received a packet in the mail on Saturday, February 7, 2009 that will forever change my life.

I actually knew the Peace Corps had mailed the invitation packet on February 2nd, which caused me to speed home every night after work to check the mailbox. On Saturday the invitation finally arrived and I swear I would have kissed the mailman if he’d been around. I jumped in my car to head straight to Harrodsburg to share the news with my family and as soon as I ripped open the packet I saw the words…. “Congratulations! You have been invited to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mauritania.” “Where the hell is that” was my first reaction (and many of yours)…..second reaction was to call home.

My brother answered the phone and upon sharing the news he immediately found our family atlas and searched for this unknown country I was about to move to for 27 months. He went on to open our encyclopedia from 10 years ago only to find 1 page dedicated to Mauritania. Within 2 minutes he had determined that over half the land in Mauritania is actually the Sahara desert and it is bordered by Morocco and Algeria to the North, Senegal to the South, Mali to the East and the Atlantic Ocean to the West. Honestly I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry so I’m pretty sure I did both on the drive home.

Over the next four months I’ll be sharing more details as I prepare to leave Kentucky for a few short years. If you’re interested in keeping up with me as I make this journey across the pond bookmark this blog and come along with me.

My hope is that this blog will be an opportunity to share my candid experiences, frustrations, joys, ups, downs, twists and turns as I figure out how to pack 2 years worth of clothes, toiletries, necessities, and food in 2 suitcases and then figure out how to make a home in a country thousands of miles away from my family and friends. For now I’m headed to Barnes & Noble to buy some French and Arabic conversation books…..boy I wish I would have listened more in Ms. Dean’s class.

Quick Facts

· Program/Assignment: English teacher to secondary level students
· Dates of Service: June 14, 2009 – August 19, 2011
· Training: June 16-August 20, 2009 in Rosso, Mauritania
· Official country name is The Islamic Republic of Mauritania
· Capital is Nouakchott
· 27th largest country in the world
· Independent from France in 1960
· Climate is mostly hot, dry and dusty
· Population is about 3.3 million people
· 100% Muslim, mostly Sunnis
· Diamonds and gold are a natural resource (Hat tip to Mills for this one!)
· Arabic and French are the official and national languages
· Same time zone as London – 5 hours ahead of Kentucky time (Thanks Kenny!)
· Potential health risks…well there are several (Thank you Chris Bostick)

Stay tuned….more to come!

(PS: for those of you who are just finding out through this blog, I apologize. I wish I could have told everyone face to face, but it just hasn't been possible and I really didn't want to share until I knew I had been invited. Hope you'll forgive me!)