Dan says:
Sometimes I get so caught up in Rosso that I start to think Rosso is Mauritania. What I’m trying to say is, sometimes I think the rest of Mauritania is just like Rosso. That, of course, is completely false. Rosso is the San Diego/Tijuana of West Africa. Unlike the rest of Arab Mauritania, the population here is predominantly black (Pulaar, Wolof). No matter what happens in Rosso, authority always comes from an Arab guy in Nouakchott. Therefore, somethings that may make sense in Rosso does not make sense in the rest of the country. Strange land. This makes getting projects done much more difficult because one would have to please the interests of all races.
The U.S. Embassy sent us a bunch of ready-to-eat meals. The same kind the Army gets, except these are two years old. I think the reasoning is they are not good for the embassy officials but are eatable for Peace Corps folks. Hmm…makes sense. I was cooking for my family last night, “Hey! Wanna eat something? Look, it is Cheese Alfredo. You don’t even need to heat it up, you just add water to this plastic bag….” They were amazed.
