tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33540298020131385392024-03-20T10:19:13.391+00:00ad astra per asperaMike and Katie are Peace Corps Volunteers in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. They will be serving overseas from 2008 until 2010. The comments and opinions expressed on this website are the views of Katie and Mike only. They do not reflect any position of the United States Government, Peace Corps or the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339694463735465372noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-46937518965274737252010-07-06T21:10:00.001+01:002010-07-06T21:12:05.556+01:00Midwives abroadHello everyone!This post is to let you know about two U.S. organizations working with midwives in Senegal & Mali (the two countries that are directly south and east of Mauritania). These groups are working to educate and assist midwives and birth attendants working in these two countries. I'm providing links to their websites so you can look at photos and get more information if you would Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339694463735465372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-82271395707127586972009-09-09T17:25:00.007+00:002009-09-10T01:53:07.382+00:00WMY COS PC RIM, FUBAR...PROM 9Q: How many modes of transport can you find in this picture?**On our last night in Mauritania - maybe for good, at the very least, for a long time - I can't help but notice a strange coincidence. We are spending our last night in NDB in the same place (the very same room in fact) as our first night. It's very odd to think of all the circumstances that had to occur to make that happen. I won'tMikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04033148656407433444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-35740079799974229192009-08-25T16:36:00.002+00:002009-08-25T16:53:08.925+00:00Yep. I'm pretty sure this picture sums up what many PC RIM Volunteers are feeling and have been feeling for the past month. (Thanks Steve. These pictures made me laugh louder than anything these past 15 months)So, if you haven't heard, PC RIM has been shut down for security reasons. All volunteers have the option of waiting out the indefinite suspension of the program, re-enrolling in anotherMikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04033148656407433444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-62797474081178562932009-07-19T11:25:00.005+01:002009-07-19T15:16:36.385+01:00Everyday it seems, is something new. In the past month alone, it is as if some current event strikes suddenly (or protracted like the elections/campaign) on a daily basis, which is in sharp contrast to my increasingly sedentary work schedule. Let's start there. Work. One month ago to the day, I was enjoying the end of an exhausting 3-day English camp here in Nouadhibou. I decided to Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04033148656407433444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-14227458049828293502009-07-18T08:26:00.003+01:002009-07-18T16:35:48.611+01:00WaitingAn excerpt from my journal this morning:It is election day. I awoke early without any real hope of returning to sleep. My eyes were still tired but my thoughts alive with anticipation. It is dark and calm outside. The morning prayer call not yet having broken the stillness. I flip on a light and cringe at the assault to my senses. My action alerts a fly to my presence which buzzes angrily in my Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339694463735465372noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-53113712641521067712009-07-08T13:38:00.002+01:002009-07-08T13:50:25.846+01:00News & UpdatesJust a quick post to let everyone know about some current issues in Mauritania:1. Our computer is currently on the fritz and we need our Windows Vista reinstallation CD to fix the problem. Only issue there is that the CD is somewhere in the basement of Mike's parents' house in Kansas City...darn. How does this impact you? Probably not a lot except that we might not be able to respond to emails asKatiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339694463735465372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-12402062409960406142009-06-27T12:28:00.014+01:002009-06-29T19:20:53.998+01:00PROM 8: OuguiyaOkay, okay, okay. Not exactly a product. But ouguiya (oo-ghee-uh), the local currency, are the means to the PROMs. So as an ode to the old monetary system of bartering, trade, and commodity-backed currency (yes, Katie makes me listen to the same podcasts) - which is very much alive here in the RIM- I give you PROM 8: Ouguiya (UM for short, unit Mauritanian I think?) ~ 260UM = $1.00(insert Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04033148656407433444noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-9554337549661357142009-06-11T13:01:00.003+01:002009-06-11T13:44:38.170+01:00Money MattersWell, like most Americans, I am currently very interested in learning more about economics and LOVE LOVE LOVE the "Planet Money" podcast by NPR. However, I also recently came across a great article (from Money Magazine) that profiles three American families of different religious faiths and the role their religion plays in financial decision-making. Particularly interesting to me, given my Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339694463735465372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-34103285255661420232009-06-06T03:04:00.007+01:002009-06-06T04:32:10.255+01:00A New Beginning"Obama...Egypt...Zayne!" said our taxi driver with a big toothy grin the day after Obama's speech on American-Muslim relations in Cairo, Egypt.("Zayne" is the Hassaniya word for "good")Yes, I agree. And yet, there is still a long way to go. Al Jazeera reports that a recent survey showed only 20% of Americans have a positive view of the Muslim world, with 46% holding a negative view.Many Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339694463735465372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-38724813315762979832009-06-03T13:06:00.004+01:002009-06-03T13:58:11.075+01:00Stop SIDA TabacHello everyone! Sorry for my long absence from blogging. I guess that is a good sign that I have been keeping busy, right? Well, here is a little update on the work I've been doing. My main projects so far have been visits to the prenatal clinic, classes at the girls mentoring center, and health sensibilisations in the community on a variety of topics. In addition to this I have recently begun Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339694463735465372noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-7747939773000850862009-05-23T14:13:00.005+00:002009-06-04T09:41:56.366+01:00School's out for summa...school's out 4-ev-a......school is out, I think. Officially, the last tests weren't even supposed to start until the end of next week. But in true Mauritanian fashion, my administrators decided to bump up the exam dates and give an economical one day notice of the change. The last test was 2 days ago. Luckily, I have managed to finish the syllabus for most of my classes. Most. I will continue two of my Monday Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04033148656407433444noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-51498131734613003202009-05-03T20:15:00.010+00:002009-05-05T13:03:39.185+00:00Adrar Vacation...part deuxI know this post is long over due, but we've had problems with electricity lately. Broken machines, cut wires, the donkeys got tired in their giant wheel generators, I'm not really sure. When asking any of several Mauritanian friends, the response is a very ambiguous: the machine is broken. I can never tell if these broad answers are to cover one's ignorance of a subject or to get his point Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04033148656407433444noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-33036545678209633882009-04-16T11:13:00.003+00:002009-04-16T11:43:29.874+00:00Adrar Vacation...part oneMauritanians take a spring break from school at the end of their second trimester. This year the break fell on the week of March 29th. Interestingly, many Mauritanians call this break "les vacances de Pâques," which means "Easter vacation." This is probably a remenant of French colonialism since Mauritanians more or less adopted the French school system. However, our Mauritanian friends didn't Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339694463735465372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-10503450741968991112009-03-24T12:06:00.006+00:002009-03-25T23:42:38.283+00:00Froc and rollTaking advice from my sister, I'm introducing this PROM with a 'guess what it is' idea I'm sure she stole from World magazine. As a child, she got that cool subscription while I was stuck with Highlights. Yeah, thanks mom and dad. I'm only 1 year behind Gina; not a perpetual 4 year old! Those pictures where you had to find the missing objects, hmm...I'm pretty sure that guy's head is missing.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04033148656407433444noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-34486738438131174982009-03-23T20:50:00.001+00:002009-03-23T20:52:14.966+00:00So what's a sensibilisation anyway?Sensibiliser in French means "to sensitize." Sensibilisation is therefore the word Peace Corps Mauritania uses to describe the frequent educational activities performed by many of its volunteers in the health sector.So as many of you know (and tease me about endlessly), I like to research. I just get this weird urge to find out as much information as humanly possible when I'm first starting a Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339694463735465372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-90602464337591452082009-03-13T20:02:00.005+00:002009-03-23T15:54:08.660+00:00The English Club of Nouadhibou (E.C.NDB)English Education volunteers in the RIM (and elsewhere, I'm sure) are expected to produce secondary projects in addition to their hours of teaching at a public school. One such activity that has been popular and successful in the past is an English Club. Basically, an English Club is an extra-curricular class for the more advanced/motivated students. So, after administering the first exam of Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04033148656407433444noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-67744900065809218612009-02-20T06:36:00.003+00:002009-02-20T06:57:34.714+00:00WAIST 2009Mike and I spent the past week visiting Dakar, Senegal for the West African Invitational Softball Tournament (WAIST). Neither Mike or I actually played softball this year, but we had a great time cheering on our teams from Peace Corps Mauritania and relaxing in this beautiful city.Peace Corps Mauritania took three teams to the tournament this year. There are apparently two divisions: competitive Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339694463735465372noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-18127850262355112622009-02-04T11:52:00.005+00:002009-02-22T11:27:20.591+00:00Pardon, avez-vous tugaduga?PROM #5: Tuga-duga, gerti maffe, PEANUT BUTTER!(small sack ~6oz. = 100um, 40 cents)Okay, apologies first. I know I missed January. But my mom had the great idea of making Katie's post on the new mail box the missing PROM. So PROM #4 - RIM P.O. Box (6,000 um for the year/key). There...I know it's a cop-out, but tuff.Second, thanks Carl! Our friend from Chinguetti gave us the following recipe for Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04033148656407433444noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-29950301398288683762009-01-15T15:39:00.004+00:002009-01-15T16:36:39.290+00:00New Mailing Address!!We have a new mailing address in Nouadhibou!Katie & Mike YunghansB.P. 1771Nouadhibou, MauritaniaWest AfricaPar AvionNote: In Mauritania, the numbers one and seven, when handwritten, are often confused with each other. To avoid this problem, draw a dash through the vertical line of the seven (see the picture for an example).Don't worry if you've sent anything to the old address recently thoughKatiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339694463735465372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-82142963950314061302008-12-31T10:21:00.004+00:002008-12-31T13:32:57.177+00:00Ou est le gaz?Whew, just under the wire with this one: PROM #3 - gas, le gaz, l'essence, the fossil fuel of choice for kitchens throughout Mauritania. (refill one large tank: 2000 UM/$8-9) Let me preface this story with a little geneology. We Yunghans' sometimes tend to exaggerate. It's a funny little hereditary quirk of the family line. My whole family knows it, my friends know it. My second secret wife and Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04033148656407433444noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-50942963175040612492008-12-07T09:18:00.002+00:002008-12-07T10:19:44.360+00:00Two WorldsPeace Corps Volunteers often find themselves torn between two worlds. Recently, Mike and I have experienced this on a number of different fronts. Economically, we are stuck somewhere between the first world and the third. We are not as rich as many Mauritanians think we are nor as poor as many Americans think we are. Culturally, we are living in a place where almost 100% of the population followsKatiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339694463735465372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-61452264336193935082008-11-30T11:57:00.002+00:002008-11-30T12:17:03.643+00:00Procrastination, it followed me here...So, I should really be planning my English lessons for this week but I am on the computer instead. Everything's good here in Nouadhibou. Thanksgiving was great. We had 2 big meals: one on Thursday afternoon with a couple friends from Mauritania and one on Friday evening with the other local PC vols. Lots of chicken, bread, stuffing, potatos, veggies and Katie's apple pie was incredible. Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04033148656407433444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-76293925334963009692008-11-23T13:50:00.003+00:002008-11-23T14:57:08.045+00:00Laundry DayToday Mike and I did laundry, and I think we'd waited a bit too long because we'll probably have to do more again on Tuesday since we didn't completely finish. We usually try to do laundry about twice a week. However, this past week I've been feeling a bit under the weather due to a head cold, and so we procrastinated until today.Doing laundry in Mauritania is a bit different than in the United Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339694463735465372noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-76655658560802695302008-11-18T13:56:00.008+00:002008-11-19T13:10:02.496+00:00BBBBBBBUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!So, when my sister and I were very young (probably around 15 or 16) we would scream 'bug' at the top of our lungs anytime we saw so much as a piece of lint resembling a bug. This was particularly embarrassing (and funny in hindsight) for my parents at, oh, I don't know...church. This memory is the impetus behind my choice for PROM #2: Pif-Paf Powder, the alliterative giant of Arabic pest control Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04033148656407433444noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3354029802013138539.post-29965352414069540572008-11-15T00:09:00.002+00:002008-11-15T00:15:30.349+00:00Comment on fais "hakko"As the title states, this slideshow will demonstrate how to make the traditional Pulaar dish of Hakko, which is a meal of couscous and bean sauce served frequently in the villages of southern Mauritania.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339694463735465372noreply@blogger.com4