Axel-Rod Gym

Just recently we found a little gym in Rosso (my regional capital). Myself, Brandon, and Nick have taken to calling the gym Axel-Rod's gym. Primarily because the gym is made from old car parts. There is a bench press, where the bar is literally a driveshaft and two tires or either side. They have also filled a large container with sand, tied it to a rope and pulley system to work your arms. The dumbbells are coffee cans filled with cement and a bar running between. All of the things are amazing ingenious and pretty effective!

We even have a personal trainer named Amadou to help us out. He literally might be the most muscular Mauritanian I have ever seen. He also wears glasses and is kind of nerdy, so we have taken to calling him Steve Urkle on steroids. But in all he is a really nice guy and really likes helping us out. Although he can be a bit of a know it all....The gym itself is housed in a family's courtyard. Which means, that there are always a lot of people watching you. The wives, grandparents, children, and visitors sort of serve as a cheering section for us, clapping and wooting whenever we have a good set.

I will try and get some pictures up soon. Its going to be a little bit more difficult since my computer was recently knocked off a table and is not broken. So I am working on our bureau computers which can be a teenzy bit slow. But no worries, things will go on :-)

The Wild Animals of Ganni

Today, I figured I would provide everyone with a little information about all of the different animals that live in or near Ganni. When talking with the other volunteers around Mauritania, it seems like my village has the widest variety of wildlife around. Still not a lot compared to other African countries, but interesting all the same.

So lets begin…


Monkeys: Ganni has a many troops of small monkeys that live around the village. (a few people keep them as pets too). For my cooperative, monkeys are probably the most annoying and successful pests in their field. It’s amazing how smart these animals really are. They will literally plan attacks to steal our tomatoes and watermelons. The monkeys will send out a scout, who will watch all of our positions in the field and then, when everyone is far enough way, he will call his buddies and literally like 10-20 monkeys will come running over this ridge and raid our field. They will grab anything they can and bolt before any of us can even reach them. Some of them will even climb up trees and eat the stuff in front of you out of spite. These animals are really ridiculous.



Warthogs: There is also a large amount of African Warthogs living around the village. People do not keep these as animals as pets. They are way too dirty, and plus there is a social stigma against them because of the laws of Islam. The males can weigh up to like 300 pounds, pretty fricken big haha. They are also pests in the fields, but prefer to eat the squash. However, they are a little dumb, so they’re easier to keep out. I have gone hunting for them with my friend Aliune. We were able to shoot and kill a large male. The other volunteers and I were actually going to eat it for this past Thanksgiving. However, the meat ended up going bad before we were able to. I was rather bummed about the whole prospect. My cooperative was just happy to have one less pest around their field.


Desert Monitors: Mostly near the river, you can find a good deal of desert monitors. There are big lizards (up to 5-6 feet in length) that live in the areas around Ganni. They are a little shyer, so I don’t see them as often as the warthogs and monkeys. However, whenever I do see one, they always give me a little jolt because you don’t see them until the start running away from you. Sometimes, they wait until your pretty close to them. When I first got to Ganni, people used to tell me that they have seen crocodiles in the water, but they were actually just seeing the larger desert monitors swimming. Still a pretty impressive site all the same.


Marmots: The marmots are small little ground rodents that act as the squirrels in my village. They almost look like a cross between an American squirrel and an African meerkat. I’ll see these little guys always running around outside my house in village. They pretty much just behave like regular squirrels. However, I have not seen one climb a tree. They have these little holes they live in on the ground. They’re cute animals though.

Otters: I have only seen these animals twice since I’ve been here. I’m honestly not even sure if that’s exactly what they are. But, that’s what they look like to me, long brown mammals that swim in the river. Obviously not a lot of these animals around, and they are very very shy.


Eagles: There is also a good deal of eagles around Ganni. Two people keep injured ones as pets. They are pretty impressive looking birds of prey. The species in Ganni actually looks similar to a bald eagle. They stand about two and a half feet tall with giant talons. My friends always warn me to stay away from the ones that are kept as pets. Apparently they are rather temperamental. It took me forever to figure out that this weird noise/call I heard in Ganni was actually the eagles. Their call almost sounds like a really weird human laugh. Its really really hard to explain exactly. I’ll try and get a recording one day.

So that’s pretty much it for the wildlife in and around Ganni; with the exception of course of the flies and mosquitoes. But I hate them and they don’t deserve to be in my blog entry lol. Next time I’ll write about the domestic animals of Mauritania! Oh joy, oh rapture! I bet you will be sitting on the edge of your seat until then. So for now “si jamm” go with peace. (Your response to “si jamm” in Wolof would be “jamm ak jamm” peace with peace)

The Hardest Part

You know, thinking about my Peace Corps service thus far. I have come to realize the hardest part about serving. Its not the ridiculously hot weather, the inability to communicate, the homesickness, the pestering children, the insane amount of flies and mosquitoes, or even overstuffed taxis.

Its not being able to be there for your family and friends back home when they need you. That for me, is the hardest part about my service.....

New Layout

Gotta keep it fresh.... Thus, I decided to change my blog layout. I think its a little more visually appealing like this. What do ya think?

My Friends (Part 1): Mbaay Fall

So I think every couple of weeks I'm going to write a small blurb about good Mauritanian friends of mine, who I have met along the way here.

I figured I would start this new section out by talking about my official "Community Contact" as declared by the Peace Corps.

His name is Mbaay Fall and he lives in my village Ganni with me. Honestly he is probably one of my favorite people I have met here. A lot of times with the Peace Corps, the volunteers don't really get along too well with their assigned community contacts. Usually it boils down to cultural differences or the fact the contact is just too busy to help. Or in the case of my one friend Chelsy, kind of a creeper.

But, A community contact is a person the PC finds in your village to help you find work there and integrate into the community. Most of the time, the contacts have worked with Peace Corp Volunteers in the past and has a pretty good idea how things are run. For myself, Mbaay Fall has been absolutely great. Even though he is rather intimidating when you first meet him. He is probably one of the largest Mauritanians I have met with this really deep booming voice. However, the guy really does have a heart of gold. He lives with his wife Colette and 6 daughters!! I also have to say, that his daughters are quite possibly the best behaved and most helpful children in this country. Most of the kids are little jerks!! lol But his daughters are fantasticly nice.

In Ganni itself, Mbaay is a teacher at the elementary school there. He teaches mainly French to the students and some history too. He is also the President of the cooperative I work with G.D.D. . Which may be one of the most well organized farming co-ops in Mauritania. I have also been told that is the main contact in the community for health. Needless to say he is a man of many talents.

Plus, he has really gone so far out of his way to make sure that I am looked out for in village. So thank you Mbaay for being such a great friend to me.

(He's the person on the left in the photo)

Centre Satara (The Diabled Women's Co-Op)

This past year, my friend Rachel Chapin has been working with a disabled women's sewing co-op based here in Rosso. The co-op actually situated behind the CREN, which is a center to help women with the health of their babies. Both the CREN and sewing co-op are operated by a great bunch of Catholic nuns living here too. They really are the nicest ladies in the world.

About the Co-op:
It is currently a group of 4-6 women who all have physical disabilities in some shape, way, or form. The co-op was created back in 1995 as a way to help these women earn a living. It has been going on pretty strong since then (with the help and care of nuns). Also, one nice cultural note about Mauritania (at least from what I have witnessed), is that the culture here does not really outcast people with disabilities. So most of the women in the co-op are in good spirits too. Which really helps us in motivating them.

In the past the women would mainly focus on clothes, table cloths, and woven key-chains. However, the sales were not always the best. Subsequently, in the past few years the women began to shift their focus a little bit to creating purses and bags. These have proven to be a really big hit with Peace Corp volunteers and French tourists. Thus, the women have recently become interested in exporting their goods to the US.

The Project:
Rachel was already sort of the liaison between the co-op and the Peace Corps. She would sell a lot of their products at our various events. Then this past Christmas, I also had the privilege to help sell some purses for them at our shindig up in Nouakchott. Again, the purses were a big hit. Also, in the past month, the women have also started making laptop computer bags, with foam lining and everything. They used mine and Rachel's Timbuktu messenger bags as their model. They can pretty much copy anything that is shown to them. Pretty amazing.....

So right now myself, Rachel, and Justin Piper (Another Volunteer in Rosso) are putting together a project to help the ladies send their good to the states to begin selling. We are currently working with a contact in the States named Patricia Covert, who is helping us find organizations to assist with the importation.

It is still in the very beginning phases of the project, but I am still very excited. The women are also really excited for the opportunity.

So I will keep everyone posted on the progress. Also, I will try to publish some pictures of the different things they make. They are really beautiful. And believe it or not, they make all of these products on hand crank old fashion sewing machines. Truly impressive....

Back in the Saddle

Hellllloooooooooooooooo USA!!!

My blog is back up and running. I apologize about the long delays, I was just totally stumped about things to write about. Maybe it was because I was sort of stuck in a rut doing the same things. (Thanks to everyone who helped out with ideas) However, things have been pretty crazy these past two months. 1) because I had a little vacation to Morocco which was amazing! The pictures are up on facebook. And 2) because this past week I have started some really exciting projects.

So I just wanted to give you his quick update. Another entry will immediately follow this one with some cool info about the projects.

Cheers,

Eric