Please don't be scared to death by my stories. My Peace Corps experience was unique, and tough, for several reasons. Traditionally, Mauritania has had one of the highest dropout rates in all Peace Corps countries around the world. It is hot, there is no booze (used liberally in other PC countries) available to dull the pain, and the Muslim (especially the Moor) society can be closed to outsiders. I was the first volunteer in my village, which was both good and bad. It was bad especially in the beginning, because the villagers had no idea what it was like to have a volunteer. They didn't know how to treat me, and from their experiences with whites (tubobs) in the past, I was seen only as a way to get material things. It was very tough for me. In the end, I am glad that I was the first volunteer because the impression I gave them of Americans was the image that I believed in: that I was there to work in partnership with them, not as a bearer of material things. The few villagers I grew to know well got to see me as a human being, no longer as some idealized vision of a bringer of material goods. I knew that I had been accepted into my family when they stopped bringing out the soap to wash with before meals.
I am extremely thankful for the ties that I have now to a poor African/Mauritanian/Muslim/Wolof/Honest/Loving family. It adds a new dimension to my world that I never had before, nor could I have had if I hadn't joined the Peace Corps and struggled through to the end of my service.
I made mistakes as a volunteer, as did most of the volunteers I know. We had never been PCVs before, and my work certainly fared no worse than other western interventions into developing countries. I think if I were to return to Peace Corps, I would keep trying new things, keep making mistakes, and keep learning from them. Your role as a PCV encompasses many things outside the stated mission of your assignment. In essence, the experience you will have is up to you. Yours will be a unique experience, molded by your personality, interests, the country and village culture and history, and luck.
I do wish that I had had better support as a volunteer. I firmly disagree with my PC direction's Theory X treatment of volunteers: that we were lazy workers who needed to be constantly forced to work. More of these thoughts are found in my Final Report.
New volunteers (less than one year!) should be extremely careful about giving anything away. I cannot stress this enough. When I had first moved into my village, I had two bags of balloons that I gave away. At first, it was a lot of fun-kids and parents alike both came by to get balloons. Eventually, more and more people came by and I found I had given out almost 200 balloons. More people came by, and I told them I had run out of balloons. I heard, "What??!! You didn't give me one? Why won't you give me one? Where is mine? Mine broke and I demand you give me another one!!!" What was most shocking to me was that the people that were the most upset were some of the elders of the village. I had been in my village less than two weeks and already I was upsetting everyone.
In conclusion, I wish you the best of luck. (If you go to Mauritania, you'll need it!) Your experience there will profoundly change your life, much like adolescence. Please write to me and let me know if my web site has helped you in any way, if you think I am crazy, or if there is anything I can do for you.
Ci jamm,
Cheikh Diagne (aka Trey Carr)
June 10, 1999
treycarr@hotmail.com
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