18.04.06 - 17:48

In another effort to keep from actually writing anything new as an entry, here's a bit of an e mail I wrote to another PCV who is thinking about staying a third year in Nouakchott:

Am I glad I stayed a third year? Yes. But it's a qualified yes; I stayed because I had some really concrete goals, and very different expectations than the ones I had for my first two years of service. There are a couple of misconceptions people seem to have: 1, that Nouakchott is easier than a site out in the brousse; 2a, that doing a third year has more to do with NOT going back to the States than it does with staying in Mauritania OR 2b, that you must insanely love Mauritania in order to stay. So, taking those in order:

It is hard to have a fully integrated experience in Nouakchott; if you want it, you really have to work at it. My reasons for staying a third year were work related, and I am having an amazing work experience here. Hence, I haven't put as much effort into community contacts as I did for my first two years, and this has made my year in Nouakchott more solitary and disconnected in certain ways. I think in English more than French, since I almost spend more time with fellow PCVs than I do with Mauritanians. I'm fine with that; like I said, I'm really just here to work. But it's something to think about.

As for why to do a third year, I think it's best to have well thought-out goals. It gets hard right arund the time that everyone else in your class is leaving and going off to do wonderful things, and you're stuck in dusty old Nouakchott. It really helps to have some set answers, so that as I'm beating my head against with wall for the zillionth time, thinking "why am I still here in this frustrating place?" I can answer right away. "To get work experience. To learn about AIDS and related issues. To follow up on projects from my first two years. To be sure that working internationally is something I really want to pursue." Because if you talk to me at all about Mauritania, you'll realize that I actually do not like this country very much at all. I have some great friends, I've learned a lot, I've broadened my landscape, the culture has been fascinating... to a point..., and I'll certainly try to come back to visit... But I mean, come on. Would you want to spend the rest of your life here?

My reading public may sense a certain willingness to move on, on my part. It would be fair to say that I'm looking forward to my close of service date in September.

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