Sun, Sand, But where's the ocean?

4/5/07

Sun, Sand, But where's the ocean?

So I'm back. I know I haven't written in awhile. Being at site for a few weeks and only came into atar last week. I'm in Atar for spring break since there is nothing to do at my site. Some of the students have left since many of them are not from Aoujeft, they just live there during the school year. So their isn't much to do during the break so I thought that I would go to Atar. Latley it has become very hot, we are starting the hot season.
Now I usually like heat. I went to college in Arizona as well as going to summer school for two summers and back home it gets hot in the summer so you would think that I could deal with the heat. I normally like it but I like it when I have a cool place to go to escape the heat. Here I have no such escape from the heat. By eight or nine o'clock in the morning it is hot and it gets worse as the day progress. I often stand outside in my yard and look at all the sand and think why is their no ocean. It is quite disappointing to see all this sand and not have an ocean by it.
I should probably describe for people what my house looks like. My house has three rooms that all open up to the outside with the wall around my yard which is filled with sand. I am only renting on e of the rooms out of the house since it was to expensive to rent the whole thing. My room is small with three windows, none of which are airtight and the same is true of my door. I sleep on a think matela or mattress on the floor. I have mats over the floor which is cement. My suitcases are my closets and I have no other furniture. I use boxes and buckets to store extra things. I cook on my one small gas burner and my lights are candles and lanterns plus flashlights. I wash my clothes in buckets and let me tell you I am horrible at washing clothes by hand. Very hard and very hot work to do. Most days I go teach then either go to my counterparts for lunch or go home, then for the afternoon try to stay cool and out of the sun. Then around five or so usually I go for a walk around the village though at that time it is still hot. At night it doesn’t cool down that much unfortunately and sometimes it has being hard to sleep. I also have small black beetles all over my yard. They are harmless but annoying because when I'm sleeping they come in and start walking around, and I have to sweep them out.
Like I've mentioned before nothing in my house, doors or windows are airtight and since my house is sitting in the middle of a sand dunes, it gets a lot of sand in it. Expecailly when it decides to blow 30 miles and hour all day, which in turn blows the sand all in. I have to continually sweep out my room and the sand gets in everything. When I went came back from Christmas in Nouakchott, I had about three inches of sand covering everything in my house. It was the hottest time of day and I had to take out everything in my house and sweep it all out. Not fun. This would be so much better if I had a ocean.
Well that is about all for now. I will be back in atar in about a month so I will write more them. I am also going to include a list of food and other items if any very kind people want to send care packages. All packages can be sent to
Jolene Foucault PCV
Corps de la Paix
BP 222
Nouakchott, Mauritania
West Africa

Also please write air mail and par avion on the packages. Thank you.

Food(diet is very bland in village)
Spices and sauce packets( spaghetti sauces, gravy sauces, nothing please that I have to use butter for since I can't buy it at my site. Milk and water are preferred. Other kinds of soups and broths)
Candy, jolly ranchers, life savers, chocolate, tootsie rolls, things along that nature. If you do send chocolate which is always appreciated you may want to put it in a separate bag away from other food items as it may melt. Gummy bears, etc. junk food mainly, which I don't have a lot of in the village.
Ramon noodles any flavor, makes a good lunch. Also other kind of packaged noodle side dishes.
Jerky, don't eat much meat in the village.
Trail mix, granola bars
I've seen these backpackers meals that my dad sent me. They are for camping and what not but they work in my case. I know that you can buy them at REI stores and they are really good and easy to make though don't know how expensive they are. I've also head about they have backpackers desserts as well.
Cookies, oreos, etc.
Crystal light, Gatorade and other powdered drink mixes. I love water but after awhile you need something more and there is pop at my site but it usually warm which isn't to great.
Dried fruit of any kind is good.
Instant pudding that you add milk to.
Word searches books.

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