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.