In the Brusse

To get to my CBT site you travel approximately 10 km on the “paved” road towards Nouackchott and then suddenly veer off to the left just beyond a sand dune onto a “road” marked with tire tracks - no road signs and no true roadway entrance, just other tire tracks. Continue around some sand dunes and along the stream (passing a few camels and cows) until you see a village with some sandstone houses. Veer slightly to the left at this village and keep driving approximately 1 km into Tekess. Tekess is a small Pulaar village made up entirely of grass huts. I was told not to take my camera initially due to a lack of security but I will try to take and upload some pictures during the next week because I do not think I can begin to describe my new home sufficiently. To everyone who I jokingly told I would be living in a dung hut, I am afraid this is not too far from the truth.
My personal room is one of the grass huts approximately 14’ l x 7’ w x 6’ h with an Indian plastic mat covering the sand floor. Huts housing Peace Corps volunteers have a sheet metal door for privacy and security but otherwise we are living similar to the locals, except my hut is the same size as one housing an entire family next door. My host family consists of ma mere, (and namesake) Binta Sow, mon pere, Muntaga Sow and three younger siblings, the youngest being 14 months, and a variety of other family members. I have not figured out the entire family dynamics but needless to say I hang out with a bunch of other women on a daily basis in an attempt to fit in. Otherwise, the entire village consists of approximately 30 grass huts each inhabited by extended family members of the Sow/Ba family and a large number of long horned cows, sheep, goats and chickens.
More importantly, “la douche” is a 5’ square cement structure without a ceiling and with a door that remains closed occasionally and also houses the pit latrine. If you thought the bathroom facilities in Rosso were limited than my new latrine will be a shock. My daily trip to “la douche” for a bucket bath is one of the highlights of my day (because the water is cool in the extreme heat) although during my first two experiences I lost both my washcloth and bar of soap down the hole. Another volunteer lost a travel sized bottle of shampoo but we have both finally learned to bathe in a corner of the shower to avoid losing more items down the hole.
The majority of men in the village work outside of Tekess, either in Rosso or other bigger cities in Mauritania or Senegal; therefore, I do not see boys (except the young and old) on a regular basis and needless to say I am still figuring out the dynamics of the entire village.
Language lessons began on Sunday (two days after I arrived in the village) and so far all I can really say are greetings and a few random words. I am beginning to comprehend sentence formation and verb use/conjugation so hopefully by the end of next week I will be able to hold a conversation with some members of my village. Otherwise, the village contains several members that are able to communicate in French and minimal English so I find that at points I am able to discuss beyond salutations, although my French is still minimal (although it is improving). I find that I am currently trying to communicate in a combination of French, English and Pulaar which is frustrating but doable. Our language facilitator speaks minimal English so I am trying hard to speak French. Overall, our entire language training is over 170 hours in 24 days so we currently have language classes for 6-7 hours at least 3 times a week but the Peace Corps is known for their language training so I am optimistic that by the end of 3 months I will be able to at least communicate needs and have conversations before I move to my permanent site.
The food is better than expected and I am eating well although my family thinks I do not eat enough. They keep telling me to eat while throwing choice pieces of meat and vegetables into my area of the communal plate. They keep miming that I need to be fattened up, likely in order to be desirable and married. In my village girls are married between the ages of 10-13 and have their first child by age 14…Thus, I am way past my prime in the eyes of my family and village friends. Breakfast consists of bread (a small loaf) and a hot powdered milk drink and lunch is the traditional meal of rice, fish and vegetables (cooked slightly different everyday). Dinner is eaten around 2230 and is often a meat and carbohydrate (couscous, rice, etc.) in addition to a variety of vegetables.
In comparison to some of my fellow Peace Corps trainees throughout the Rosso area, it seems I should be pleased with my location although some PCTs are living in luxury in multiple level houses with electricity, flushing toilets, true showers and in some cases refrigerators and play station, etc. Nonetheless, I am proud to say that I am one of the few actually living in a house made of grass. My family is great although the daily struggles continue as I learn to live in a very different society without an outlet to vent my frustrations and needs and a limited vocabulary to discuss my thoughts and feelings. Additionally, the constant desire by my host family to teach me vocabulary has started getting old (they point to objects and find it hilarious as I try to pronounce them correctly) and it seems the other female volunteer, “Rugi Ba,” in my village and I are currently in competition by our families so many times throughout the day I hear…Rugi did this. When I asked to do laundry she was forced to do laundry, since she can already name the parts of a face, I am being forced to learn the words of the face. In other words, our families are competing for the best Tubab (white person). Now, the competition begins…