2004-08-17 - 7:12 p.m.

Well I am back from Atar. The trip was event full to say the least. Because there was not enough vehicles to transport all of the volunteers to their affectation sites, and because our sites in the Adrar region were the furthest, and because none of the PC drivers wanted to drive that far we had to take taxi brouse. These are taxis tat drive long distances in Mauritana. They are generally very low quality (i.e. you will be extremely lucky if you break down only once). The vehicle was a station wagon style Peugeot. We were stuffed three in the back, four in the middle and three in front for 6 hours. We stopped in Nouakchott for lunch which was wonderful. It is so funny because the first time I was there it seemed like a disgusting hell hole, now it is like a paradise. They have cold beverages on every street corner. And restaurants to your hearts delight. We ate at a Chinese restaurant, and I actually drank 2 beers. They are legal to sell to people who are not Mauritanians, but they only sell them in Nouakchott. We left around 1, but were stopped at a police top outside of town. The police stops are set up around every town of greater than 1000 people (not one in M’Beidia, but there is one at the neighbouring town). When they stop you they ask to see every one’s passports, but all of the PC trainees and volunteers have to keep their passports at the bureau in Nouakchott so they can control when we leave the country. We are given PC id’s which are supposed to get us by. Anyway, at these stops when we are travelling we show the officers a peace of paper from the government that has authorized our transport. Generally the officer will scrutinize the paper for a few minutes then let us go with reluctance (they are looking for any hole so that they can try to make us bribe them). Outside of Nouakchott the officers found a hole. The car we were in was not authorized to travel all the way from Kaedi to Atar. We argued and made phone calls, and finally after an hour and a half we were cleared to leave. However, by that point the volunteers in our group said that it was too late to leave and that we should spend the night in Nouakchott. After another half hour of argument we decided to turn back. I ate pizza that night and drank 2 more beers and even got some brousse wine (you take fruit juice, add yeast and wait a few weeks).

It was all very delicious. The next morning we got up at 4 am and piled into two more taxi’s for the ride up. We arrived somewhere around 1. To not drag this entry out, I will say that Atar is beautiful. I am having problems dealing with such a big city. I had expected to be at a small site with no electricity. The people are friendly in the small towns (true around the world). However, the amenities I have in Atar will be nice. The girls center there has a laptop that we keep at the regional house. This laptop can ply DVDs. So if you are looking for a present to send over, burn a DVD and put it in a padded envelope Don’t send regular DVDs. That is too much money if the package is lost or stolen. I can also always use Gatorade or seed packets.

Anyway, I have a few prospects for houses when I get there for good. I met with the principal of the school I will be working with and met the teacher that will be my counterpart while I’m working there. I even got a chance to set out a running route I used everyday during my stay.

The trip back was ridiculous. We left at 5 in the morning and got to Kaedi at midnight. One of the cars broke down 2 hours out of Atar, so we had to wait for one of the cars to go back and get another. I’m here though, safe and sound.

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