One Day as a Trainee

Since Katie has filled everyone in on what is going on, I thought I might take a different approach with this post. So, without further ado, a day in the life of a Peace Corps Trainee*:

Usually, you wake up between 5:30 and 6:00 whether you want to or not. Alarm clocks: donkeys, birds, the call to worship or the family stirring throughout the house (which is comprised of cinder-block construction, 2-3 rooms, a courtyard and lots of mats/pillows to sit on) wake you up very efficiently.
The next part, hygiene, can vary. Is the water working? Do I want to take a shower now or later or both? I'm still tired, I'll just throw on my same clothes as yesterday and head to class. As an education volunteer, most mornings consist of model school - the Peace Corps finds students who want a head start on the school year and subject them to the first lessons written by foreign teachers. And don't worry about morning exercise; you get a 30 minute walk to and from school everyday! A typical English lesson focuses on vocabulary, reading comprehension, conversational use or a grammar point. It can be one or two hours long. The rooms are filled with rows of benches and a blackboard to write on. You, chalk and a bunch of students snapping their fingers and yelling "teacher!" (I'm sure this will get old later, but they are so anxious to participate, and I kind of lucked out because my class was small and had some great students, cinqieme class rocks!).
After model school (11ish), you head to the PC center and evaluate the lessons with volunteers and Mauritanian teachers. You also get a pause (break) with some truly excellent sandwiches. Next, you plan tomorrow's lesson and head home - the hottest walk ever! Once home with your host family (13ish) you can sit and sweat or shower and then sit and sweat. Lunch comes next, usually chebugin (rice, veggies, fish). After lunch, you could practice your language skills (I stress could since it is usually to hot to do much of anything). At 15:45 you head to language class (still hot) for two and half hours.
After language class it is up in the air. You could head to a boutique and get a cool drink, visit a friend, work on a group project or just head home. Occasionally, you will have a party, wedding or baptism (baptime in French, and it's just a big party for a new baby - dinner, music, dancing) to attend. Cool air comes with nightfall and dinner next, between 20:30 and 21:30. If there is no party or visitors, your family will often place a mat outside under the stars and you just sort of hang out. Eventually - due to mosquitos or a hard ground - you get in your mosquito tent and fall asleep trying not to sweat yourself awake.

That's about it. I hope this is an insight and doesn't come off as overly pessimistic. It is interesting, challenging and multiple things occur everyday that are just...different. I saw a goat head-butt a cat. Another trainee witnessed a human birth in her home. Many people flip out over storms and eclipses. There was a coup! Internet is acting up again, so I'm posting while I still can. Talk to you from Nouadhibou (NDB) -Mike

*I can't speak for every trainee or even every sector, so I'm drawing mainly from my own experiences (and some stories that just have to be mentioned)