About two weeks ago, the Peace Corps informed all of the volunteers slated to leave for Mauritania in June that the program was going to be canceled, not merely delayed. Additionally, all of the volunteers currently in Mauritania were being given the option to leave. I don't know if this was a result of the Mauritanian government's intransigence, or because Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb recently killed an American for trying to convert Muslims to Christianity, or perhaps a combination of the two, but whatever the reason, it's no longer happening. I was inconsolable for about a week. Even though Mauritania seemed like a truly inhospitable place (climate-wise, that is), I had steeled myself up for going there and I was actually genuinely excited to live in the Sahara for two years. It was not meant to be.
The Peace Corps worked overtime to reassign us, however, and last Wednesday I received my new assignment in Cameroon! Training for this assignment begins September 19th in Cameroon. After much hand-wringing and concern for my future, I have decided to accept the assignment. The work that I will be doing in Cameroon is fairly similiar to what I was going to be doing in Mauritania - agroforestry extension - although the different climate will necessitate different practices and species of plants. If you want to know everything that I know about my position, click here to read my invitation in its entirety.
The more I think about it, I realize that I should be way more excited to go to Cameroon than Mauritania. Cameroon has rainforests, gorillas, amazing birdwatching, much better sounding food, beer, much better music, a bearable climate (like Alabama in the summer, only year round, as opposed to 120 degree summer highs in Mauritania), good communication networks etc... but for some reason I'm finding it harder to get as excited about going. I guess it's probably just because I had over five months to get very excited about going to Mauritania. I definitely remember thinking when I got my Mauritania assignment, "I signed up to do agriculture, and they're sending me to the desert?!?" Anyway, I'll keep you guys posted as I know more.
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Hey there, I was in your RIM group as well and I know what you mean about not being super excited. I was one of the earlier invitees and had over 7 months to get used to the idea of living in the sahara. I'm also off to a country with much better resources (Senegal). Good luck with your service, I'm sure well bump into each other in the next few years!
ReplyDeleteHey there! I look forward to meeting you :) I too am going to be an agroforestry volunteer in Cameroon beginning this September. I was googling blogs and stumbled upon your site. I'm hoping to get to know fellow trainees. Give me a shout some time. Liz Anderson thinknow08@gmail.com my blog is http://esayward85.wordpress.com/
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