I just finished two books on Africa that were really interesting. The first, The Sword and the Cross: Two Men and an Empire of Sand by Fergus Fleming, is a history of the creation of the French colonies in Africa told through the biography of Charles de Foucald and Henri Laperrine. What is most striking about this story is how haphazard the entire thing was. There was almost no control and little support in Paris for the expanding French empire in Africa. The majority of French citizens wanted nothing to do with the vast Saharan desert and the politicians knew they could not afford to control such a huge and desolate wasteland.
Ultimately, the campaigns that created French Saharan Africa were the work of military men too far from Paris to control. Almost every single one of these men had a few strings loose and most were frightening meglomaniacs--think Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now.
The second book is Sahara Unveiled by William Langewiesche. It recounts the author's overland trip from Algiers to Dakar, mostly via taxi, truck, and bus. It presents a very even handed portrait of good and awful parts of touring northern Africa. Oddly enough, in a book that is basically a list of worst vacation horror stories ever, including a unforeseen episode of gun running into Libya and an attempt on the author's life in the Algerian desert, the brief chapter on Mauritania struck me as the most negative in the entire book. Mr. Langewiesche didn't like anything about Mauritania and felt nothing but pity for the Peace Corps volunteer he stayed with here.
He visited in 1990, just after the les eventements de '89 (a euphemism for racial conflict culminating in attempted genocide) so it was still a pretty tense place. But the book made me think that I'm either one tough as nails soldier of fortune (which is certainly not the case) or this place has improved a lot in the last two decades. In fact, I would like to extend an open invitation to Mr. Langewiesche to return to Nouakchott where he can sleep on my floor, eat a hamburger with an egg on top, and enjoy the more harmonious race relations.
vendredi 13 juin 2008
Taxi
Most of the time I'm pretty comfortable here in Nouakchott. I know where to find the things I want, I know how much they should cost, and if not, I'm more confident in my French, so I can usually work it out. I shut my windows in the morning to keep the apartment cool in the day and open them up at night. I know which restaurants have A/C when the afternoon is unbearable. I can turn down three glasses of tea, gracefully leave a friend's house when I'm ready, and turn down an invitation if I don't want to go. But there are still things I sometimes dread. That includes taking a taxi. It's not just the terrible driving; it's being locked in a car with curious strangers and dealing with the same questions again and again.
1.How can I get a VISA to America? I tried to get a VISA to America. I need to go to America! (Response: Yes, it's very hard right now. I have nothing to do with it. I wish it was easier.)
2.Bush bad! (Response: He is not very popular. He won't be president much longer.) I've heard this less and less lately. Now the conversation usually starts with Obama, who is a superstar. No one knows the name of the other guy.
3.Who will win? / Who will you vote for? / Obama! (Response: I don't know, he could win. He's very popular. We're from the same city!)
4.You don't speak Hassiniya/Pulaar/Wolof/Soninké? (Response: No. I'd like to learn. Languages are very difficult for me.)
5. Are you married? You should be married! (Response: No, not yet. That's what my mom says.)
6.You need to find an African wife! (Response: Awkward laugh.)
7.You don't have anything smaller? (Response: No, I told you I would need change.) Now we drive around asking people for change.
8.Give me your phone number! (Response: ummmm. uhhh.)
1.How can I get a VISA to America? I tried to get a VISA to America. I need to go to America! (Response: Yes, it's very hard right now. I have nothing to do with it. I wish it was easier.)
2.Bush bad! (Response: He is not very popular. He won't be president much longer.) I've heard this less and less lately. Now the conversation usually starts with Obama, who is a superstar. No one knows the name of the other guy.
3.Who will win? / Who will you vote for? / Obama! (Response: I don't know, he could win. He's very popular. We're from the same city!)
4.You don't speak Hassiniya/Pulaar/Wolof/Soninké? (Response: No. I'd like to learn. Languages are very difficult for me.)
5. Are you married? You should be married! (Response: No, not yet. That's what my mom says.)
6.You need to find an African wife! (Response: Awkward laugh.)
7.You don't have anything smaller? (Response: No, I told you I would need change.) Now we drive around asking people for change.
8.Give me your phone number! (Response: ummmm. uhhh.)
What else have I been doing?
Everyone says that your time in Peace Corps is what you make of it. There is minimal supervision, you may or may not be placed with a counterpart, and even if you are, it's up to you how much time you dedicate to them, you're allowed to work with almost anyone you like and you are encouraged to create your own projects based on the needs you find in your site. My experience so far has been all over the map, with intensely busy periods followed by breaks of almost no work.
I've been teaching only two or three days a week since arriving in Nouakchott. During the first few months, I spent a lot of time preparing for each class, but that is much less demanding now. I also spent that time working with the United Nations on projects that have the very French goal of sensibilisation. The first of these was the Caravan for the Millennium Development Goals. This involved visiting a number of the poorest quartiers and tent cities surrounding Nouakchott and performing sketches about sanitation, health, poverty, and other life issues. I was really just along for the ride, but it was interesting and a great way to meet people and see the city when I first got here.
The second UN project involved a story writing and drawing contest held at a number of schools throughout the country. I was able to contribute more to this effort and in the end I helped do the layout for a small book about water issues in Mauritania. After this, my contact at the UN returned to Spain and I haven't had a chance to work with them since.
I usually spend a few hours a week helping a small building maintenance and security company improve their computer accounting and invoicing procedures or help the owner draft bid proposals in English. The stated goal of the SED/ICT program in Mauritania is to help those working in the informal sector. I'm not sure this company, or most of the others I've partnered with, fit neatly into that category. But I don't see much need for computers, much less computer support, in truly informal enterprises here either. From my work in the States, I can appreciate how hard it is to turn a small business into a profitable, longterm enterprise, so I'm happy to work with these companies.
Other work includes computer support at the Islamic Law university, teaching computer maintenance to two employees at a private English language school, and, of course, teaching gym class twice a week at a kindergarten.
In May I was placed at a government ministry to help them revamp their website and improve their (nonexistent) office network. About a two weeks after starting, all the ministers were laid off. I was told I'd have to wait until the new minister had approved having a Peace Corps volunteer working in the office before I could come back. That was about a month ago and I'm not sure what's going to happen there. They wanted me in the office nearly 20 hours a week. It might be nice to have something of a regular schedule, but this would made it more difficult to pursue all the various other things I'm involved in, like reading lots of books.
Finally, a lot of time is spent grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, and washing laundry by hand. I have language lessons a few times a week. Then there's music and movies at the French Cultural Center, books to read, friends to see, interminably long lunches, three glasses of tea to drink, half hearted attempts to exercise before it's too hot, so that, even with all the free time, I still go to sleep exhausted.
I've been teaching only two or three days a week since arriving in Nouakchott. During the first few months, I spent a lot of time preparing for each class, but that is much less demanding now. I also spent that time working with the United Nations on projects that have the very French goal of sensibilisation. The first of these was the Caravan for the Millennium Development Goals. This involved visiting a number of the poorest quartiers and tent cities surrounding Nouakchott and performing sketches about sanitation, health, poverty, and other life issues. I was really just along for the ride, but it was interesting and a great way to meet people and see the city when I first got here.
The second UN project involved a story writing and drawing contest held at a number of schools throughout the country. I was able to contribute more to this effort and in the end I helped do the layout for a small book about water issues in Mauritania. After this, my contact at the UN returned to Spain and I haven't had a chance to work with them since.
I usually spend a few hours a week helping a small building maintenance and security company improve their computer accounting and invoicing procedures or help the owner draft bid proposals in English. The stated goal of the SED/ICT program in Mauritania is to help those working in the informal sector. I'm not sure this company, or most of the others I've partnered with, fit neatly into that category. But I don't see much need for computers, much less computer support, in truly informal enterprises here either. From my work in the States, I can appreciate how hard it is to turn a small business into a profitable, longterm enterprise, so I'm happy to work with these companies.
Other work includes computer support at the Islamic Law university, teaching computer maintenance to two employees at a private English language school, and, of course, teaching gym class twice a week at a kindergarten.
In May I was placed at a government ministry to help them revamp their website and improve their (nonexistent) office network. About a two weeks after starting, all the ministers were laid off. I was told I'd have to wait until the new minister had approved having a Peace Corps volunteer working in the office before I could come back. That was about a month ago and I'm not sure what's going to happen there. They wanted me in the office nearly 20 hours a week. It might be nice to have something of a regular schedule, but this would made it more difficult to pursue all the various other things I'm involved in, like reading lots of books.
Finally, a lot of time is spent grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, and washing laundry by hand. I have language lessons a few times a week. Then there's music and movies at the French Cultural Center, books to read, friends to see, interminably long lunches, three glasses of tea to drink, half hearted attempts to exercise before it's too hot, so that, even with all the free time, I still go to sleep exhausted.
What have I been doing?
Soon after arriving in Nouakchott I began teaching computer classes at a small cybercafe in a neighborhood called Socajim PS. I teach two classes, the first is a bureautique course that covers Windows, Word, Excel, email, and the Internet. In the first half of the course, the students mostly copy completed documents and spreadsheets to learn how to use the features of Microsoft Office programs. I try to get through this as quickly as possible because my goal has been to create more interesting assignments than simply copying someone else's work. I want the students to understand how to use these programs to do their own work in the future, which means starting with a blank page and figuring out how to fill it ones self. My other goal is to teach the students how to do research using the Internet. There are barely any libraries or other sources for written material here so the Internet opens up an huge amount of information to the students.
In the second half of the course I give assignments that include creating a CV in Word, using Wikipedia to research various locales and presenting that information in an Excel spreadsheet, using Google to find the answers to a number of obscure questions, and creating invoices and a cost/benefit analysis in Excel based on the work of imaginary businesses.
The second course I have been teaching is on computer maintenance. I really enjoy this because all the students have been so excited by it. It's very hands on--in the first week we take all the computers apart and put them back together and try moving components around between them. This is something none of them have ever done, even if they have their own computer. This first class always begins with the students nervously huddled around the computers while I urge them to began surgery. After 30 minutes the entrails are spread across the floor and I'm desperately reminding them to work slowly and be gentle.
By the end of the course the students have reinstalled Windows multiple times, worked with a number of Windows maintenance tools, edited the registry, deleted computer viruses, learned some basic networking and, most importantly, used the Internet to search for solutions. This course probably covers too much material and gets too advanced, but I'm hoping to peak their interest in working with computers and give them the confidence to try solving computer problems. These skills, as well as those of the bureautique course, are best learned through repetition in real life situations.
In the second half of the course I give assignments that include creating a CV in Word, using Wikipedia to research various locales and presenting that information in an Excel spreadsheet, using Google to find the answers to a number of obscure questions, and creating invoices and a cost/benefit analysis in Excel based on the work of imaginary businesses.
The second course I have been teaching is on computer maintenance. I really enjoy this because all the students have been so excited by it. It's very hands on--in the first week we take all the computers apart and put them back together and try moving components around between them. This is something none of them have ever done, even if they have their own computer. This first class always begins with the students nervously huddled around the computers while I urge them to began surgery. After 30 minutes the entrails are spread across the floor and I'm desperately reminding them to work slowly and be gentle.
By the end of the course the students have reinstalled Windows multiple times, worked with a number of Windows maintenance tools, edited the registry, deleted computer viruses, learned some basic networking and, most importantly, used the Internet to search for solutions. This course probably covers too much material and gets too advanced, but I'm hoping to peak their interest in working with computers and give them the confidence to try solving computer problems. These skills, as well as those of the bureautique course, are best learned through repetition in real life situations.
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