To Mauritania and Beyond

New Website!

2010-07-08T17:14:00.000-05:00

I just designed a personal webpage! Please check it out and feel free to send me some feedback.

www.wix.com/marmelinds/lindsaymarmer

I'll still blog but this webpage is more of a "career-based page." I have a few interesting stories about some experiences with APEX Community Center, where I just started to volunteer, that will be coming soon... stay tuned!

My friend with HIV

2010-03-20T17:55:00.009-05:00

Right before I left the Peace Corps, one of my closest Mauritanian friends decided to come clean to me. She'd been keeping a secret from me and her family for the last six months. She'd been diagnosed with HIV. She confided in me in a back bedroom of her husband's parents' house, while her two year old daughter played with the babysitter outside and her niece prepared lunch for us. My friend and I lay on floor together, between the mud walls, and cried and sweat until we couldn't tell the difference between the beads of salt water on our faces. We hushed our words, stifled our tears and wiped our sweat whenever her mother-in-law or anyone else would come into the room. No one else but her husband and I knew.

She told me her husband was sero-negative and she hadn't had her two year old daughter tested yet. I understood what she and I couldn't say- she didn't have the heart. She told me she'd contracted it from unsafe health care practices. She's only a pharmacist, not a nurse, but with the shortage of health care workers and the high cost of care, she'd been tending to her poor neighbor who she suspected had AIDS. She'd told me she thinks she got it from washing out the woman's sores. She holds her finger up to me and says, the infected blood must have seeped into a hangnail, that she never wore gloves. Well, this is what she told me anyhow.

However she may have encountered the virus, she'd contracted the deadly curse anyway. The kind and generous woman who'd befriended me from day one, who never used me for money, who taught me about the culture, and generously shared her meals and family love with me was handed a fate she certainly didn't deserve.

She called me yesterday to tell me she'd had another baby. She'd gone to the capital city to deliver; I think she told me through the static and delay that she'd had a Cesarean section. I asked if she would nurse and she said she would, for six months, because the water in Mauritania is too poor of quality to risk giving formula to her infant. She hasn't been taking any ARVs. She told me that she won't know if the baby is seropositive for another six months. Because of her situation, the baby still has about a one in three chance of contracting HIV as well.

Since I left, I've felt an unbearable guilt for leaving her. I haven't been good about keeping in bonded through the language barriers before. As a future MPH with a focus in international health, I'll most likely work on prevention of disease transmission for thousands of strangers in Africa during the course of my career but I can't prevent one of the ones I love the most in Mauritania from getting HIV. It's too late for her and maybe her baby, too.

So, when her credit ran out and our call ended, I lost it. I couldn't tell her how much I love her, I was at a loss for words in English, let alone the ability to find something encouraging to say in French. But when I think about her almost every day, I hope she feels and knows how much I care about her. I hope she knows from our conversations in the past that I'm dedicated to getting her and women like her the adequate care they deserve for a deadly disease that they don't deserve.

Playing Chess with My Career

2010-03-18T23:30:00.007-05:00

After several of my internship possibilities fell through, I've been in a rut as to what to do. Do I stay in wonderful, fun New Orleans? Do I try to go overseas again? Do I go somewhere else domestically? To help me answer these questions, I met with a professor the other day. When she asked what I wanted, the answers just flowed. She helped me to plan my coursework so that I can leave New Orleans at the end of August and return to Maryland. I'll have to take a few more online classes, do my practicum and final public health analysis, and graduate with my MPH in December. Yet again, just like my decision to join the Peace Corps, it's one of those life changing descisions that flushes warmth into to my core, leaving the hair on my skin to stand straight up which makes me believe even more strongly that this is the right move. At the same time it awakens me to the challenges that lie ahead- that terrifying quest for employment. So, for about the last two weeks, I've been overwhelmed by an oxymoronic sense of bittersweet fear, calm, and elation.

Its calming because I know I'll be home for a beautiful MD fall again and home to stay. I'll be closer to loved ones and that trail in the woods behind my neighborhood that brings me peace. Moreover, I'll be that much closer to the wide world of opportunity, culture, and diversity that is DC to me. I can finally start to build a nest, get a cat and a car and maybe even a garden sooner rather than later. It's calming to know that I'll finally be settling into a career, hopefully (I still thought inshallah).

However, this decision also brings a piece of trepidation. One that has crept up like the aligators in the bayou since I realized that I'm leaving this swampland. I... LOVE... New Orleans. It is a wonderful experience that will be a part of me forever. The pride here, especially when the Saints took it all the way, moves me to tears sometimes... It's a beautiful city that values the importance of keeping fun in your life and has managed to survive the worst of the worst in America. Not only that, but I have met some of the most awesome people ever here. Intelligent, selfless and dedicated to advocating for those most in need, my future colleagues at Tulane inspire me everyday to be better. The panic comes from having to leave this.

The fear is also about finding a job. I know I am competent and an excellent catch for an employer, but its a tough world out there right now. I'm starting now to play what feels like a game of chess with my career, carefully plotting my moves to get to that queen. I've been researching and making lists of organizations, contacts, ideal job positions. It's a bit intimidating, I'm not gonna lie. So, please, if you are reading this, keep me in mind if you hear of any opportunities that might be a good fit! I'm looking for an internship for the fall that could lead into a real job when it's over.

2009-07-17T14:37:00.004-05:00

Sometimes, I just can’t believe I went on this journey. This “life-changing experience” of spending two years in Mauritania, West Africa doesn’t feel like a natural change as was growing into adulthood. It’s more like waking up from a deep slumber, from a long, eerie dream, to find that my whole life as I once knew it has changed. Rip Van Winkle, Peace Corps style.

I’ve aged immensely; my body shows signs of the beating it took while living in a place with seemingly unbearable accommodations. Some loved ones and past relationships have died; friends now have spouses, kids, masters’ degrees and real jobs. Yet, here I am, a stranger to my own hometown, with no possessions and far from “settling down.” All that I have to talk about with those who are still around is this past life, this crazy dream.

With access to internet, I could catch glimpses of home while I was in dreamland. It’s just that this contact was distant and surreal, a flashing bedroom clock that manifests itself in a dream, appearing as the moonlight poking through the trees while you run through the woods with the monsters of poverty at your back; the inflected voices of emails chirp like the bats of the subconscious.

As I wake up in a panic in the United States, it has taken me a minute to make sense of it all, to figure out what things like “tweeting on an iphone” mean or what I missed while sleeping through the inauguration parties of the first African-American president.

I find myself back in this world that is both familiar and strange and that I, too, am grateful for that American passport. It’s easier to appreciate what I’ve deprived of, for example good food and a comfortable bed. It’s easier, still, to find joy in the often overlooked minutiae of life, like freedom of religion, gender-equality, enforced laws against slavery, and the right to a fair election.

It’s not that I was given rose-colored glasses, as my friend Becca said, upon leaving Peace Corps, but that America is a rosy place, compared to that eerie dream that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to recount in its entirety. I will say, however, that I can smile patiently while waiting in line in the air-conditioned convenience store, knowing that my turn is just as equal as the person in front of or behind me.

Returning Reflections

2009-07-12T12:07:00.004-05:00

Back in the states, finally. I've cleaned up and feel better, healthier. The place where I grew up returns to me the comforts that I so longed for while I was away. It's been an happy transition, though not without it's rough spots of doubt, pain, and feeling extremely out of place! It's taken a few months to be able to say this, but I can look back now and feel proud of my projects, content in the friendships I made, and grateful for the constant support of friends and family back home.

Four thousand kids and school staff now have access to running water in their schools, alhumdililah, and will stay hydrated during school hours. Trees have been planted, kids and teenage girls maybe know a little bit more about basic sexual reproductive health that isn't taught in schools. A few high school students know a little more English and maybe some others in the community are a little more confident in doing what they need to do to prevent the spread of AIDS. Hopefully, a couple more teachers now see the importance of teaching health and are using tools to help kids learn and pay attention better. Maybe even a couple of people will actually stave off malaria with Neem Cream this rainy season. What I really hope for is that those personal bonds formed overseas will be long-lasting, something to support the bridge that links the benefits that I gained from the experience to what I hope I left behind.

The experience has taught me so much. I'm immensely grateful for being born into a land of opportunity. I truly appreciate what this country has to offer, from grass on a front lawn to the convience of a grocery store, to the ability to contribute my opinion to the election of a president and the passing of a law, to the freedom to practice whatever religion I choose, without judgment by my neighbor or restrictions of the law. I'm happy that my gender and race are not seen as something to be taken advantage of, that I won't be ignored because of the anatomy of my body or sought out for money because of the color of my skin.

Aside from that, the experience has really taught me how much of the world suffers from the lack of what we take for granted here in America: strong govermental support for infastructure and education. I am choosing to take the steps to continue to help improve the quality of life for those who are unfairly punished for their place of birth. I'm leaving home once again to pursue my Master's in Public Health in International Health and Development, at Tulane University in New Orleans in August. Although I'm happy to be back in America, I'll never leave Africa. It's with me where ever I go, from here on out.

Thanks!!

2008-06-11T06:49:00.003-05:00

Hello!!

Thanks to everyone that gave me a hand with the project!! It has been completely funded, thanks to you! The money will come in soon, I think. Unfortunately, because it is summer break now, all of the school directors have left for vacation or their home towns. They will return for the next school year, around mid-end September. At that point, I can begin project implemention. This actually works out better than trying to do it during the summer, for many reasons. First, if the kids are in school watching the construction of the robinets, then they might be more interested in the lesson plans involving water. Second, I'll avoid the rainy season by starting in the fall. Third, the directors are really good about organizing events for their schools and have all the contact info. In addition, I'll be travelling a lot this summer (including a trip home, YAY!!!). So, logistically, it makes sense to wait. Either way, I am still so eager to get this project finished....

I'm in Nouakchott right now, getting some work done. In ten days, the new group of PCVs come in to Mauritania. All of the Regional Coordinators (the position I have acquired recently) get to go to Rosso, the new training site, to help welcome the newbies into country. I'll have to try very hard not to scare them away!! Just kidding... sort of... I'm really looking forward to it, nonetheless. Two weeks after that, my friend Tiffany and I are planning to do a six day Health Camp, split between Kaedi and Boghe (her site, two hours west of mine). Then less than two weeks after that finishes, I come home! When I come back, I have a conference in Nouakchott, then another trip to Rosso to help teach the newbies and.. BAM... the summer is over!!! I'm thinking it will fly by... Inshallah...

Anyway, thanks again to all that helped. Please feel free to let me know if you want more details! Hope all of you are well!

Still need help

2008-05-21T04:26:00.004-05:00

Hey guys,

I hope this update finds you all well! It's getting to the brutal part of the hot season here. I can't even express, in any nice way, how hot it is...

Currently, I'm still looking for help with the project. I have raised about $850, which is so great! I sincerely thank all of you that have helped so far. (I would thank you individually but I won't know who has donated until after all of the money has been raised.) Even though I have had an oustanding contribution so far, I am still in need of $1757.

So, please, if you know of any other organizations, family members, or friends that would be willing to help, please forward them this message. Right now, it is over 110 degrees daily, in the shade, and sometimes over 130 during the day. These kids could really use some easier access to water and would really appreciate your help. The direct link to my project's website is:

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=682-097

I really appreciate any help you can give. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!

Thanks again!
Lindsay Marmer, PCV
Corps de la Paix
BP 66
Kaedi, Mauritania
West Africa
011-222-207-9553
lindsaymarmer.blogspot.com
lindsay.marmer@gmail.com

Dear Friends and Family, Assalam Aleykum, Peace Be Upon You

2008-04-15T06:59:00.000-05:00

Imagine this: You are going to a work-related conference in the middle of the summer in Arizona. You arrive to find the air conditioning is broken and the water fountains are not working. The presenting organization is not providing water or food during the seminar and you've forgotten your Nalgene bottle.

Would you stay?

If you would, how much do you think you could you learn in a day?

This the experience of the children of Mauritania every day. They are expected to sit in the classroom, often on the floor without desks, while day time temperatures reach 120˚ during the hot season (which is right now), and without the option to drink water if they are thirsty or to wash their hands, if needed, for 6 hours a day. It is reasons like this that makes dehydration the leading cause of death in developing countries. In addition, how is it feasible that the children are expected to really absorb the information they are being taught and thus become productive members of their society?

I am writing this letter, with hopes that all of you are well, to solicit help for a project on which I am currently working in Kaedi, Mauritania. I apologize for the solicitation; however, the help that you could provide could immediately benefit over three thousand children in the city of Kaedi. This is a two-part project involving eight local elementary schools. There are a total of fourteen elementary schools in Kaedi, and eight of them do not have access to water within the school grounds. My project involves aiding in the funding of installation of running water in each school, in addition to personally instructing teachers how to incorporate corresponding health education into their daily lesson plans.

The community has asked the government for financial assistance with their schools for years; however, the government is unable to help due to the lack of infrastructure and income that unfortunately accompany most developing countries. When I offered to help raise money for their schools, the community actively showed interest by volunteering to contribute. The PTA associations have agreed to carry out the physical labor involved in the installation of the water lines, the Regional Director of the Education Department has offered to donate canaries (clay pots to in which to store water and keep it cool), and the Mayor has agreed to help finance the monthly water bills.

I, along with the community of Kaedi, am asking for your help with this project. Your help, even the smallest amount, will help to ameliorate the health and learning environment for thousands of children this year, and thousands more in the years to come. You can learn more about this project and/or contribute, if you are interested, by going to the peacecorps.gov website and clicking on the Donate Now button, and then follow the link to Donate to Volunteer Projects, or you can click on:
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.donatenow&
You will be prompted to enter information where you can narrow down the project database and find my project, which will be listed in the next few days as I have recently submitted the application.

Every little bit helps. Also, please feel free to forward this to anyone you feel might be interested in contributing. Your aid would be appreciated more than words can express. I deeply thank you for taking the time to read this.

Sincerely yours,

Lindsay Marmer, PCV
Corps de la Paix
BP 66
Kaedi, Mauritania
West Africa
011-222-207-9553
lindsaymarmer.blogspot.com

Meet Greyden

2008-04-09T04:17:00.008-05:00

My sister Jen just had her first baby boy yesterday, April 8, 2008. Meet my new and first nephew Greyden Maxwell Carlo!
9 lbs, 11 oz; 21" long; 12:32pm

Congratulations Jennie and Donnie

PS- My application was submitted yesterday and should be posted online any day now, Inshallah....

It's worth it.

2008-03-30T12:22:00.006-05:00

*Sigh*

Everything is getting easier here. I feel like I'm finally adapting- to the language, the culture, the food, the clothes... I have met some really great people, made some great friends. And I finally feel like I can make a difference here and really, really help a lot of people. After a few successful meetings with important members of the community, I have received a lot of local support with a project to install robinets (water faucets) in the 8 of 14 elementary schools in Kaedi that are without access to water. When it is 120 degrees here and you can't tell the difference between sweat dripping down your legs or a fly in your skirt, it seems absolutely absurd that these kids sit in a classroom all day without any water, just absurd! The conditions are already so hard for the kids here that all I have found that I want to do is to help them in whatever way I can. After I finish the application for financing of materials, I'll begin teaching the teachers how to integrate health and hygiene into their lessons as well. I am really happy about this project. I have found that the community is also so enthusiastic about this is that they have volunteered to dig the water lines and install the robinets themselves. The mayor's office even, shockingly, agreed to handle the monthly water bills as long as the robinets are installed with a good security system so they won't be abused by kids and the school neighbors. It is just glaringly apparent that the community is genuinely interested and it is great!

So, If anyone else shares this enthusiasm of wanting to help advance the society of Mauritania by improving the education of young children in Africa through keeping them healthy by staying hydrated and clean, thereby more adept to a succeed in school and become better citizens of Mauritania, there is a way you can. My project will be financed through an organization called Peace Corps Partnership, where projects are completely supported by donations. My project will be posted, hopefully by mid-April, and there is a link that will let you donate on the peacecorps.gov website. Just follow the links to "donate to volunteer projects" and type in Mauritania where it lets you enter a country. You will see my project when it is posted, Inshallah!

Don't feel pressure, this is only if you are interested in helping thirsty kids in Africa! I'll keep you updated on the status! I hope everyone is well and in good health.

Love,
Linds

Worth reading?

2008-02-24T11:45:00.008-05:00

Well, looks like another two months have passed and I've been a horrible blogger. I guess I was waiting for a good story. If you can get by the first few paragraphs of updates there is a pretty funny story at the end.

I've now been in the Peace Corps for 8 months, going on one whole year. Christmas and New Years were fun but not as great as WAIST, West African Invitational Softball Tournament. The holidays weren't as hard as I expected them to be, being away from home and all. I was surrounded by 100 other RIM PCVs. We partied hard in NKT and St. Louis, Senegal. St. Louis is probably the most beautiful city I have ever seen. It holds true to the flavor of West Africa with local music, arts, fishing ports, and brightly colored colonial style architechture, yet it is developped enough to accomodate a bit of tourism with a fews comfortable hostile and a few nice restaurants and bars. The beach is breath taking- white sand and clear, deep blue water... *sigh*

I was, however, after two weeks of partying hard, ready to come back to the RIM and pass time until WAIST. During the six weeks in between vacations, I spent my time enjoying the painfully fleeting but ever-so-delicious could season of 70-80's during the day. I slept inside, slept in late, took naps, soaking up every minute of it as ten months out of the year those things are not possible. My friend Rachel and I began two projects. The first, I'm proud to say, got off to a good start. We created a tree nursery at my house and have about 60-70 Neem seedlings. In June, Inshallah, we will be planting them around the Gorgol and Braknah regions, hopefully adding a few more trees from some other nursuries, while conducting sensibilizations on the environmental benefits and mosquito-repellant properties of the Neem Tree. Our second project will take place on March 15 (another Inshallah). We are hosting an all day "Nutrition Camp" with adolescent girls from three different villages. It doesn't sound like much but those projects take a lot of arduous planning! I'm still teaching once a week at the GMC and going to the dispensaire regularly, helping out with vaccinations when I can. And since Jan/Feb were slow months, I got to spend some time in my friends' villages "en brousse," realizing, again, how lucky I am to be placed here in Kaedi.

So this brings me to WAIST in Dakar, Sengal. After an inspiring talk from the Doctor of 9 West African Peace Corps countries about being from the RIM, "the toughest post in the Peace Corps" and being, "foot soldiers in the Peace Army on the front line," we traveled by two huge buses for 16 hours from Nouakchott to Dakar. The RIM Pirates played softball for three days straight. I played on the "social" aka non-competitive, drunken, pantless team and got a few good plays in. We lost three games and tied one but our competitive team really rocked, coming in second place. We didn't bring home the trophy this year like the past several years but we played really well and had a ton of fun. (If you want to see pictures, you will have to email me because the are not entirely blog-appropriate.)

We left Dakar the day after the tournament to spend two relaxing nights back in beautiful St. Louis, completeing our one week drinking binge. I left Thursday morning in a group of 7, waking up a 6:15am after 4 hours of sleep, to get the garage by 8am, when it all went downhill. The goal was to travel through Senegal and make it to the Senegal River across from Kaedi by sunset. Since we were low on cash, we opted for the cheaper of the two evils, the prison vs. the expensive station wagon. The driver of the van said it would take 5 hours and that we would leave "joni," which in Pulaar means anywhere from now to soon to somewhere in the near future. We realized we had probably made a huge mistake by the time we finally got moving at 10:30AM, going 40 KM per hour with 300K to go. After stopping every thirty minutes to let someone off or pick someone up, at 5:30 pm we were still hours away from Kaedi and had give nup hope of making it before dark. Deciding not to risk having to sleep on the side of the river, we chose to get off the bus early to cross the river near our friend Laurie's village. We made it there by 6:30pm, tired, hungry, and going through some serious alcohol withdrawal. The nasty villagers, pointing out the color of our skin, practically raped us for the price of the horse cart going the 2k to the river.

Stressed and just hoping to make it across, we took the cart. But when we got to the river and they tried to overcharge us again, we just about lost it on them. We were almost out of money and the sun was setting, but we settled on a price only 5 times more expensive than normal. The nasty villagers followed us across the river and tried to scam again for the next 7k ride to the second part of the river, and last part of our travels for the day. They continued to harass us for more money, bringing a few of us almost to tears. There wasn't even another cart there waiting so we decided to try to walk. It was dark by that time, we had no flashlight, no food, no water, and no idea where we were going on this island rumored to be the home of wild boars. But we had the light of the full moon and 7 uncrushable PC RIM spirits. Mercifully, not too long into the seemingly fateful hike, we stumbled upon a little village that offered us a place to rest, some fresh murky river water to drink, and two horse carts to get us the rest of the way. As if I wasn't in need of some comic relief, I got behind the horse with some really bad gas and we joked in the local language about the horse eating beans (a popular joke here, one I can actually say in Pulaar). If that wasn't enough, when we arrived at the river, we found the little canoe we were about to take with the owner bailing buckets of water. We climbed in the second unsteady canoe for the evening, balanced ourselves on the edges, and bailed water out as we safely crossed to finally step foot on Mauritanian soil. We got some food, washed our hands for the first time all day, and passed out on the concrete floor of Laurie's house, just thankful that she had enough mosquito nets for us to share. I finally made it home the next morning around 10AM, having to wash myself twice before the water wasn't running black anymore.

Back in Mauritania the heat is on again and it is time to get our of the game of softball and back into the spirit of volunteerism...

Onion Magic

2007-12-27T07:11:00.000-05:00

Two days before I left for Nouakchott, the holiday Tabaski began. Like the celebration of the end of Ramadan, every family slaughters a sheep. I was helping my host mom with the cooking and cutting onions and my eyes were watering. She told me my eyes were scared of the onions and promptly stuck an onion peel on my head to stop my eyes from watering, saying it was magic. But, it didn't stay, so she secured it to my head with a shirt/ head wrap (I wasn't covering my head that day). I might just believe in magic now because it worked like a charm! ;)

Anyway, vacation is wonderful! I almost feel like I am in the Western World, almost... I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!

A quick tidbit...

2007-12-06T06:05:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all!

FYI- our PC bureau computer died so I am stuck having to trek out to this slow-as-hell internet café, which is often more effort than it is worth. However, my friend Nick just called to tell me that he saw a picture with me in it on the Wikipedia website for Peace Corps and I had to come down and check it out and share it! Haha!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_corps

I have a new blog to post but forgot to bring my journal with me so I could type it up; I promise it will be up soon, along with some more pictures. We should have a new computer by next week, Inshallah. For now, life is good; it's a deliciously chilly right now as our two months of winter have finally set in! I'm anxiously awaiting my trip to Nouakchott for Christmas and Senegal for New Years. I will be in touch soon!

Happy Holidays!

Update

2007-10-18T13:35:00.000-05:00

I promised to write on my blog every month and all of a sudden it has been two since my last entry. I haven't written in my journal as much, either. My time here is starting to blur. Time seems to be passing more quickly. Things aren't as shocking anymore so I haven't found the desire to post a blog, I'm just living my life here day by day. I still have many "Africa Moments," like when I'm traveling on a sand/dirt road passing people bathing in rivers, little mud hut and thatch roof villages, and camels crossing the road. Sometimes when I'm in the city I forget that I'm just a toubab (white person) because it has just become my life. But I feel very lucky to be here in the city of Kaedi, I don't know what I would have done if I was out in a little village by myself. Survived, I guess, just like I am here. I'm adapting more and more each day, to my daily servings of rice and oil, to the amount of walking I do, sweeping sand, covering up from head to toe, to the cultural differences, the bathroom situation, and even the ridiculous amount of trash and dead animals I see on a daily basis. Really though, it's not as bad as it sounds... I'm quite happy here.

I feel comfortable enough with my French and I've started taking classes in the local language, Pulaar. Language has been quite challenging so far. Not everyone speaks French. In fact, most people speak local languages most of the time so it has taken extra effort to learn what I need about the city. I'm finding it a lot easier to work with men, something that really surprises me. It might be because most men, unfortunately, are more educated and speak more French than the women. Because most women my age are married, have a few kids already, and stay in the house most of the time, I have found it easier to make friends with guys. However, I'm always on edge with guys here. They fall in love easy, from what I hear and have experienced a little already. Recently, I've made a few female friends at my dispensaire (health clinic) and I'm very excited to strengthen these bonds and make a few more, Inshallah. But, my family here and the other toubabs are my biggest support. Also, there are a few really nice Portuguese guys we hang out with on a regular basis- Eduardo and Pedro. They are engineers here to work on a road from Kaedi to another city in the south, Selibaby. They have a nice little pad with a TV and DVD so we watch movies together about once a week. The spoil us with many imported goods, too. It's like being in a bubble for a little while floating away from Mauritania. It's a nice break with great company.

Most of the time, I'm running around keeping myself busy, just like I did in America. I'm helping organize an AIDS convention next week. I just finished up a unit on FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) with the girls at the GMC (girls mentoring center), which ended today with a field trip for the girls to a nearby village for a joint lesson with the girls out there. I'm teaching health now two times a week with these girls. I've been at the health clinic, trying to learn the ropes and figure out what I can do there. Also, I've been corresponding with a few ONGs (non-governmental officials) who are active in the health field, like the CereAmine project. I've made connections at our neighborhood elementarty school and will start doing integrated lesson plans in the sixth grade science class. There is also something similar to a YMCA, called the Maison de Jeune, who I'm also hoping to work with. See, lots of possibilities here in Kaedi, huh? I could be stuck in a village of 500 people where the only thing that concerns them is having a central latrine (Sorry, Laura. I know you love your village!). However, nothing has materialized into project ideas, which is completely ok right now. I should be taking the first few months to develop my language skills and to learn the needs and wants of the city anyway. I'm just getting a little impatient. I want to save the world already!

And then, the other day, I had quite an eerie experience. I had my fortune read by a women who reads these special shells like we read Tarot cards. She told me I analyze things a lot, that I think a lot about someone in another city a lot, that many men here love me and want to marry me, and that I will find work soon. She said someone will call and I should go to them and they will ask me to travel, educating lots of people and they will ask me to present to them my proposal in the form of a packet of paper. So the whole first part seems vague but somewhat applicable, right? Duh, of course many men want to marry me ;-). But it got eerie when, the next day, the regional director for the Maison de Jeune invited me to go on a mission with him in the month of March, doing sensibilizations on Neem Cream and Malaria. He asked me to submit my proposal to him within two days, that he wanted a packet of paper. I guess I wouldn't have been as freaked out if he hadn't used almost the exact same words as the woman told me! And it just so happens I was looking to do something just like that!

Coincidence? Maybe. Sign? Maybe. Thoughts? Oh, and if you have questions for me, I'd love to hear them- give me an idea for something to write about. So, send me a message sometime, I'd love to hear how you are doing, too. And thanks to those who do keep in touch!

X's and O's
-Linds

CereAmine

2007-09-18T12:53:00.000-05:00

I just found a video of a project I'm hoping to continue here. It actually takes place in Kaedi, so you'll get to see the city where I live! I actually know a lot of the volunteers and some of the Mauritanians in the video, too! The project is CereAmine, a nutritional flour substitute, that is a totally feasible solution for the malnutrition here. The volunteers here in Kaedi helped market the product, found a boutique owner to sell it, and set up an exchange program between a woman's cooperative "Promo Sante", the boutique owner, and a Maternal/Child Health center, the AMPF. I'm assigned to another health center, so I hope to bring this product there, encourage the nurses to use/sell it at their feeding centers, and create and increase production of the CereAmine among other cooperatives. Even if you aren't interested in the little short film, you'll see much more of Mauritania than my pictures have been able to capture!!

Sweeping Sand

2007-09-12T07:09:00.000-05:00

There are those moments here when I've literally have to stop whatever it is that I'm doing because I realize, wow, I'm really living in Africa. When it hits me, it's this fleeting rush of weakness in my muscles saying that I'm in a place so far removed from everything I once new, yet mystifying and exotic in it's range from misery to beauty. It's everything from walking through putrid smelling streets of trash and rotting animal carcasses, to bargaining in a crowded market for a banana, to sweeping the sand in my room and my front yard. It was that time when I walked into the breath-takingly beautiful Health Center, where I'm assigned to work for the next two years, lined with pink and purple desert flowers and tropical trees but packed with a line of women outside, covered from head to toe in Moulafas or Boubous, in 100 degree weather, unknowing as to why their babies have chronic diarrhea, eat sand, and have swollen bellies and stick-thin arms. It's each high- of a warm welcome of jack-o-lantern-like smile and an unbelievably hospitable culture- to each low when I'm personally unable to communicate or the witnessing of the community's lack of basic education we as Americans have taken for granted- that whips me through a rollercoaster each hour. It makes it hard to write a blog because I can never decide what to write on! One second I think of something great and inspiring to write about. But if I don't get it down right away, some random donkey cart drivin' bandit will come and drive off with my good mood. Overall, I'm really happy I am here. Anyway, so much has happened in the last two weeks! Here's a basic update on what's going on:

Stage is over; leaving Bababe was so bittersweet. I will miss my family there but there is so much to look forward to here. I really became great friends with my sister Hindou and I'm gonna miss her tons but it looks like my new family is amazing, too. Stage was like being a fifth grader trying to learn at a college level. I had no control over food, got a minimal allowance, couldn't have an adult conversation with other adults, had to be home before dark, and couldn't leave the town without a chaperone. Adding to that, I had to spend every hour possible learning French and a new culture. But some great things did come out of stage. I'm slowly feeling comfortable with communicating; I've been able to teach a class on Malaria and work with an elementary school teacher how to integrate a lesson basic nutrition into a standard 5th grade lesson plan. Me and the other health PCVs in Bababe were also even able to get a few boutiquiares (little shop owners) to make and sell the Neem Cream.

But now that I'm settled in Kaedi, have a place I can call home for two years, unpacked all of my bags, and have a little French under my skirt, I feel almost adultish again. I am starting to create work contacts here and my own work schedule. (I am technically not supposed to start working on a project for a few months but I consider work as networking and chatting... hehe...) Yeah, and so I did I say how awesome my new family was? The first day I was here they cleared out a place in the yard for my garden (i.e. got the trash out of the sand), helped me buy wood in the market and then they built me a bed- all before lunch! At this home, I have a well, electricity, and I rent out two private rooms. I bought some kitchenware and a little gas stove (that almost blew my hand off this morning) where I can cook oatmeal and drink coffee whenever I get up... well that's usually before the sun comes up anyway... Now I just don't have to wait for the family to eat breakfast. And, if you know me, you know how important that is for me!!! Also, I can go over to fellow PCV Nick's-soon-to-be-old and Sam's new house to cook a meal if I want. Last night, the five Kaedi volunteers all got together and made Chicken Alfredo! Here in Kaedi, too, I can buy fruits and veggies everyday. Basically, I'm really happy to be here in Kaedi. My new family has welcomed me in, as have many coworkers and people in the city. There is a huge market and I feel like I'll be able to survive, even without the oh-so-appreciated care packages (thanks Lis, Mom, Dad!!! and PS anything you send, if want to only, will not go unused!). Overall though, it is really amazing what your body can adjust to. I'll leave it at that...

The next challenge: Ramadan! It started today. For the next month, everyone fasts from sun up to sun down each day. I'm really nervous for their health. Not drinking or eating and still working in this heat can't be too good. I'm on my way home to go make Oral Rehydration Fluids for my family!! Eh Sante!!! (That's our cheer for our class of health PCVs, yeah we're dorks...)

Check out my pics, I just added some more... http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsay.marmer

Inspiration

2007-08-17T04:04:00.000-05:00

There are times now when the stagnant state of poverty and lack of education becomes so apparent and options for improvement seem so unobtainable. I start to get homesick and feel hopeless and useless... But then something like this happens:

Malaria is one of the number one causes of death and sickness here in the South RIM. Therefore, as a health worker, it is one of my priorities for a topic of education. In training, we were taught how to make this mosquito repellent which can be made from all local resources. Part of our homework was (in French) to discuss Malaria and make this cream with the family. Well, as their religion and culture go, life is in god's hands so their opionion of health care is often very lax. They postpone going to the doctor for that reason, in addition to the poverty or lack of access all together, and often preventable diseases turn fatale. As is the case for Malaria. Mosquito nets are available but often go unused. So, as you might imagine, my attempt to make the cream with them induced a very sub-excited response. I tried in French to motivate them and they all but ignored me. So, I continued to make the cream on my own, cooking on this little charcoal stove without pot holders in midday heat, and they watched and laughed as I attempted feabley to fan the coals. I had asked my little brother to get me one of the ingredients, lemon leaves. He disappeared for the entire day and I was pretty sure he forgot about me. When I asked the family, they didn't seem to care much either, let alone know where he was, not to mention their lack of interest in the cream. I was in shock. If they know how dangerous this disease is, why don't they seem to care? Why don't they feed the kids balanced meals when they know the importance of nutrients and there are resources available? How do you let your kids run around without shoes in rotten battery, razor, dead animal and car carcass filled trash? WHY DON'T THEY WASH THEIR HANDS?! So... I left the half-finished cream under the tent and stepped outside the tent when I felt the tears coming. I'm sitting in our boutique (corner shop) when I see Alpha, my brother, running up to me with his shirt filled with lemon leaves, excited that we could finish the cream. I dry my eyes, made a joke about the tears, go back with him, and smile as I watch the whole family turn when they smell the sweet frangrance of lemon leaves cooking. They watch as I finish the cream and all take turns smelling and smiling and putting on the cream. It's those moments that make this worthwhile and give me hope....

Another story- I rewrote the hand-clapping game of Mrs. Mary Mack in French and changed the words of the song to a story about basic sanitation. I taught it to one girl, who got other girls involved and now the girls and boys of the family and a few neighbors know the song and often ask to play the game with me. Maybe the message of the song will spread, too. Soon enough I'll get to start a real project- it'll be hotter than the heat here, Inshallah! A few more weeks until swearing in as a PCV!!!

www.picasaweb.google.com/lindsay.marmer

News!

2007-07-31T08:05:00.002-05:00

Hey! I just found out that I'm going to stay in Kaedi for the next two years!! My new address is:

Lindsay Marmer, PCV
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 66
Kaedi, Mauritania
West Africa

* I hear if you address me as "Sister" and yourself as "Father or Sister" Mauritania post offices won't mess with the packages or letters. Please write! I love mail!! Thank you to those that have!!

So, Kaedi is a Regional Capitol here in the South, where I thought I would be for the first three months. I'll be here with 6-7 other volunteers and have electricity, running water, and the internet. I'm going to live with another family, for integration purposes, it's really great. I can't wait! Anyway, I'm staying here to explore for the next week then I head back to Bababe for three more weeks of training until I swear in as a VOLUNTEER on September 6th!!! There are so many opportunities here to work in whatever area I choose so I'm really happy to be placed here. Also, I've heard it's one of the best sites.... :)

I'll put up another blog this week with some fun stories of training in Bababe. Overall, life is good, I can't wait to swear-in and make this real! Thank you for those who have sent letters and emails. I miss you!

-Linds

PS- I have gone 35 days without alcohol!!! It's not so bad... I swear! At least I get coffe every morning :)

Yay for Bababe!

2007-07-13T14:20:00.000-05:00

Hey all!! So.... I thought I would spend the first three months in Kaedi but it turns out that they split us up into surrounding villages. I'm staying in Bababe, a town with no electricity but lots of fun. First, there was a "miscommunication" and I was placed with a Moor family, where the father didn't speak to me and I ate a separate meal with the women- by women I mean the two wives. They found out about the booboo and now, I am with this wonderful Pulaar family that has six kids from 6 months to 14 years old. The family is awesome and they treat me so well. We all sleep outside together, I get to sleep next to my 14 yr old sister and I often wake up with our legs or arms intertwined (in the friendly way- don't get the wrong idea guys!). Her name is Mariam, which is also the name my family gave me. I am Mariam Tchiam here. And, my host mom seriously rocks.

The family helps me with the languages, too. We all eat out of this huge bowl together. The food is pretty decent with this family. I manage to get at least one vegetable a day.... Also, the dinners are really late, I don't eat dinner until 10pm most nights.

It's freaking hot here, I've gotten used to the sweat... sort of..... The town Bababe is supposed to be a nice town, minimal trash, some trees, a little market. It's still dirty, but not as bad as here in Kaedi, where I am spending the night tonight.

Anyway, here are some cool stories:

A cow ate my French homework the other day while we were eating dinner in the front yard *sand. Its a good thing that we were only eating a few feet away from the cow and were able to stop it in time. Cows and goats and chickens roam the streets and yards freely here. Its still cracks me up to hear the farm animal noises!!

I asked my sister how much henna was so I could paint my nails with it like they do. She had a friend that came over and did this completely elaborate marriage design on both my hands and feet. That's one example of the amazing Mauritanian hospitality.

I watched a goat get slaughtered the other day. I had second thoughts before eating the intestines that were thrown in front of me that night... And then I ate them anyway.

I haven't gotten sick yet; my stomach is holding up somehow. It's amazing because my family doesn't have soap in the "bathroom," which is coincidentally the same room as the "shower." I often take care of business with the cockroaches and frogs. The makaresh thing really isn't so bad. I usually take my own soap in with me. Its like bathing yourself everytime you use the bathroom!!!

I've lived through two sandstorms, one at night. The one at night was intense. All of a sudden the wind picked up, and I here, "Mariam, Mariam!" I wake up and and hit my sister (which is how they wake kids up here) and yell, "Mariam, Mariam!" We scramble inside, dragging matts and matress pads, and run around the house shutting windows. Instead of going to our respective rooms, mine or my parents, we all cram into the living room, and listen to what sounded like the end of the freaking world hurricane, while my dad ran around looking for leaks in the tin roof. An hour later, the rain died, and I fell back to sleep. Sometime in the night after that, I woke up with a frog on my arm and, for some reason, that didn't bother me at all....

My only complaints are that it is really hot and the food really lacks variety and nutritional value. The good news is after I swear in and move to my site, which I will find out where exactly that will be August 1st, I can prepare my own food. They do sell fruits and veggies here, they are just a bit pricy. But from these complaints that I have, I've developed some ideas for health projects and will go into those in another blog.

Anyway, Most of the other PCT (trainees) are really great and I've made a few good friends. My cell phone does work, you just have to try a few times if it doesn't go through at first. Plus I hear it is better if you call later in the day, like around 6pm. 011 222 754 81 96 if you want to call and pay and arm and a leg. I can call the states but it is one day's allowance for each call.

Thanks for the email circulations, Ang and Mom. I really appreciate it!!! I miss my friends and family back home and thank you for support and updates. Keep me posted- write letters and emails. I miss US gossip! Love you all!!!

2007-06-05T21:27:00.000-05:00

This is Mauritania.

And this is a sandstorm in Kaedi, where I will be for the first three months. This is supposed to be the "fertile" area along the Senegal River Valley.

Address- FYI

2007-05-17T11:06:00.000-05:00

If anyone wants to write, here is my address:

Lindsay Marmer, PCT
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 222
Nouakchott, Mauritania
West Africa

It takes anywhere from two weeks to a month, but I'd love to get some snail mail!

You'll probably have to take the letter to the post office because it needs an "airmail" sticker. Postage will vary but right now it costs 90 cents per letter. Any and all forms of communication will be greatly appreciated!!

Life is Calling

2007-05-17T09:02:00.000-05:00

In order to maintain motivation to live in one of the most desolate places in the world for two years, I have to remember my reasons for applying for the Peace Corps...

Last August, I was sitting around with some coworkers on an uneventful Saturday at Bel Pre, a TSI site where I worked on-call. We were having a conversation about how her boyfriend had joined the Peace Corps and how hard it was for her now that they were breaking up. She couldn't understand why he joined or even why he joined without telling her as they had been together for five years.

Of course I had empathy for her, she was devastated. But for the rest of afternoon, I couldn't help but think, "The Peace Corps, I wanted to do this in college. I've always wanted to do this. I can't believe I've forgotten about this opportunity for so long. " As soon she left for the day, I went to the website. It said, in bold letters, "Life is calling." I thought, "Hell yeah it is," and cried all the way home that night as I realized that this was certainly to become, "The toughest job [I'll] ever love." I knew, without much thought or further information, that this was the time to step onto the path that has been waiting for me for so long.

The next day was filled with goosebumps, a lump in my throat, watery eyes, short piercing breaths followed by deep sighs, and a sense of purpose realized. This was my opportunity to fulfill my dreams of speaking French, traveling, cultural immersion, living simply, providing health education, and, most of all, helping those in need through; this fulfills all of my dreams in one job. This is the gateway to a more rewarding career, financially beneficial in the long run. I wasn't ready three years ago when my friend Matt applied. Now, I have nothing to lose and everything to gain; now, the time was right.

That Tuesday, I called the local recruiting office for more information. After about 15 minutes, I began to complete the application. I had all 25 pages of that extremely comprehensive application complete within the next week and a half. Two weeks after that, I was interviewed and nominated to serve in West Africa, desitined to leave in late June. Now it's May, nine months later, and finally almost time to start living this dream...