My third day in Paris was to be my Monet & impressionism day. (I LOVE impressionism art works.) I wanted to spend my morning at the Musee d’Orsay and my afternoon in Giverny where Monet’s House and Garden were; but I was very unlucky. First, I discovered that Musee d’Orsay was closed on Mondays. Second, [...]
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Sunday, July 31, 2011 The Louvre I started the day bright and early in order to visit the Louvre and Versaille. Both sights are closed on Mondays, and my travel guide book suggested to visit the Louvre early because there would be less tourists. The travel guide book was correct. I think that I was [...]
Paris is now one of my favorite cities. I didn’t get to do everything that I wanted, so I will be going back to Paris in the future. I love everything about the city – the sights, the food, the environment, the metro (even if it smells, it’s still very efficient), etc… Maybe I should [...]
Travel dates: 22 July 2011 – 24 July 2011 I realized when I checked in at the hostel in Munich that I had reserved all my rooms in Munich & Vienna for the incorrect dates. It was fortunate that the hostel in Munich had availability. The hotel in Vienna, however, was a lost cause. I [...]
Travel dates: 22 July 2011 – 24 July 2011 I <3 castles so I really, really wanted to go to Prague but it didn’t work out. I didn’t have enough time to travel by train, it cost half of a plane ticket to take an overnight train with my rail pass, and plane tickets jumped [...]
Rome is fascinating – especially for the history-lover. There are so many historic sites to see. I spent two days there, and was only able to see the well-known tourist sites, such as the Colosseum and the Vatican City. I wanted to do some exploring of non-tourist sites, but didn’t have enough time. My journey [...]
I had originally planned to go to Vienna during my second weekend in Geneva, but my roommate, Ashley, convinced me otherwise. Vienna is a 10 hour train ride from Geneva, so I would have been very tired by the time I got back. We went to Verona instead since she wanted to see Juliet’s house. [...]
I’m leaving for Europe this Saturday, so stay tune for my new adventures. I’m hoping to revive this blog this summer; it has been about 2 years (minus the one or two random blog entries).
General Vang Pao was a controversial figure, particularly among the older and younger Hmong generations. There is no question that he was a leader and father figure to many Hmong people. There is also no question that he was a force of unity for the Hmong community. Since I did not experience the Vietnam War/Secret [...]
I find it rather funny that for our COS evaluation we are given an opportunity to meet with a psychiatrist/psychologist to discuss re-adjustment issues. However, during our service we were barely provided resources to deal with our adjustment. While I understand that there is a re-adjustment phase, I feel that it is even more important [...]
I found out today that the volunteers who decided to take interrupted service (IS) are finally being evacuated. A couple of weeks (maybe even less) after I decided to take IS, the PCVs were put into “consolidation” and sent to Senegal; they have been there since. I’m REALLY relieved that I took IS. I would’ve [...]
I have been rather busy (using the computer/internet) since I decided to take Interrupted Service a few weeks ago. I had to do my Closing of Service (COS) which was rather painful. The COS process entailed filling out a bunch of form and writing my Description of Service (DOS). I’m amazed by the amount of [...]
** The important parts are in bold and my comments are italicized.
Making up in Mauritania
There is no short cut to democracy in Mauritania and no place for cosmetic reform, notes Gamal Nkrumah
Is it too soon for Mauritania’s civilian leaders and the generals who hold sway in the sprawling desert country to kiss and make up? [...]
I’m taking Interrupted Service! I made the decision last week but have not had time to post it on the blog. It was a tough decision to make but I am comfortable with the decision. As much as I love my work and would prefer to continue doing it, the harassment and political/security uncertainties were [...]
OMG. I do not know what to do. Our Country Director just sent out an email offering us an Interrupted Service leave; this means that I can finish my service a year early and still receive all the benefits. I guess that a lot of people (particularly parents) are concerned about the safety of PCVs [...]
I’m back in the states! Well, I’ve been back for a little over a week now but I’ve been sick so I haven’t been motivated to blog.
Anyways, you may have already heard that Mauritania is not giving out visas – actually, have not been giving out visas for the past month or so. Rumor has [...]
A part of my PCPP project included a training for selected individuals at the college who would later train the rest of their colleagues. The college director was suppose to select teachers/administrators to be trained. In order to prepare for the training, I created a needs assessment form for the participants. I assumed that the [...]
Last Tuesday we celebrated the first Teacher Appreciation Day in Mauritania. Mark and I thought it would be a great idea to introduce the idea to remind students that becoming a teacher is a choice. Thus, they should appreciate their teachers for all their hard work. Furthermore, we wanted to recognize all the work that [...]
There was a horse race and a camel race held just outside of Atar a few weeks ago. We did not go to the horse race but we did go to the camel race. It was pretty cool. Even though I see camels from time to time, I still think they’re really cool. =) In [...]
Just a quick update. I spoke to B last Thursday, and she said that she did not have time. She said that she would talk to the CF. However, today, when the CF came back we met with B; B said that she would be able to do it. Anyways, I think this is what [...]
In the past weeks, I’ve been thinking about ways to make the GMC sustainable. As I mentioned in my previous post, the funding for the GMC is done and we do not know whether we are going to get anymore. We’re hoping that there will be more funding (inshallah). But regardless of whether or not [...]
Thank you to everyone who donated or passed on the information! Now that the project is funded I can start it once I receive the money. I really appreciate all the support especially since most people are going through a difficult time right now. I will keep you all updated on the progress.
[...]
I can’t believe that I forgot this book was coming out this week! I first heard about this book at the MAASU SC - KU last year; Parry Shen was the keynote speaker.
Secret Identities is a graphic novel anthology of Asian American superhero stories. There are several stories that are based on historical events, [...]
I just wanted to share two videos about women and girls empowerment that came out recently. The first one is A Powerful Noise which came out a few days before International Women’s Day. The second one is Where the Water Meets the Sky which I just discovered today. I have not seen either movies, but [...]
Just a quick update and reminder about my PCPP project. As of today, I only need $700 more for the project. So if you haven’t donated, please do so here. If I get it down to $500 I can start on the project; which I really need to do because the school year ends next [...]
I finally watched Gran Torino about a month ago (it just took me a while to write this post). I was against watching it, because the idea of a White man saving a Hmong family from Hmong gangs did not sound that interesting to me. I’m rather sick of movies where people of color need [...]
I received a concerning and very disappointing email today from our Gender and Development Coordinator. It turns out that we no longer have any Gender and Development Fund. Our APCD told us at the beginning that the money was going to run out, but I didn’t realize it would run out right now; I thought [...]
We had 2 day’s notice to prepare for the Wali (governor) and other local officials’ visit on Sunday. The visit was a part of several visits to different organizations, etc… for International Women’s Day. It was a great opportunity for the GMC since the officials hardly ever come to the center. I had the two [...]
On Friday, March 6th we had an English discussion (which eventually became an Arabic/English discussion) on women and International Women’s Day with the lycée girls and several girls from the collège English club. We had the two lycée girls who won the English competition present their essays. The essays were about the importance/role of women [...]
Most of the volunteers in Mauritania (a little over 100) headed down to Dakar on February 13th to attend WAIST - an annual softball tournament. We had three teams representing PCRIM - Pirates (team A - the serious team), Buccaneers (team B), and Scallywags (team C). Then we had our supporters - the Poopdeck Seamen, [...]
If you haven’t had the chance to donate to my Peace Corps Partnership Project, you still can. As of today, I still need $1757. I would love to get this project done ASAP; so I need your help. Donations are tax-deductible. =) Feel free to share this project with other people who you think might [...]
I need your help! I’m trying to raise $2307.70 to purchase 3 computers for the Young Girls Middle School of Atar. It’s ambitious, but I’m trying to raise that amount by the end of this month. I just want the school to have the computers by next month. Please help me out by making a [...]
Baba’s Office
I felt really inspired after visiting Baba’s office. Baba works at the DREN (regional representative for the Ministry of Education) and teaches art to elementary school students. While his artworks may not be amazing according to our standards, it’s quite impressive given what he has to work with. There are barely any art supplies; [...]
The following excerpt is from one of the Christian books that we got from Books for Africa. I almost died laughing when I first read it; so I had to share it with you all. Anyways, this is obviously one of the books that we’re not going to give to the schools here.
“Darwin’s idea of [...]
Brandon and I work at the GMC together. We have spent a lot of time together since the very beginning. We were in the same group during staging in Atlanta, had language class together, and now we work together.
His parents wanted to see him “in-action” so I took a bunch of pictures. I also took [...]
I’m starting a weekly or twice a week (actually whenever I feel like it) post on the poorly-made items that are sent to Mauritania. I honestly do not understand why they are even produced.
We got our sewing machines a few weeks ago but I didn’t have the chance to open the boxes until a few [...]
We had an open house at the GMC on January 17th. It was kind of hard to explain the concept of an open house because there isn’t really a term for it – in French or Arabic. An open house translates into la grande fête or big celebration/festival in French. So you can imagine how [...]
This update is long overdue. Sorry! Enjoy!
Nouakchott
I spent Christmas in Nouakchott. It was pretty much amazing. The Peace Corps gave us two free days for Christmas because we (the first years) didn’t have any Nouakchott Nights (we get 5 each quarter) since ETR/IST were this quarter. Anyways, it felt heavenly being able to sleep in [...]
I’m disappointed to have missed the inauguration ceremony. Unfortunately, I don’t have a television (and cable) so I couldn’t watch it. But I also had to teach computer during it so that was that. I attempted to watch it online afterwards, but it was too slow. However, I downloaded it but only half of it [...]
There have been several demonstrations against Israel in Nouakchott and elsewhere in Mauritania since Israel started the attacks in the Gaza strip. Most of them have been pretty peaceful; the only ones that have been a little out of control were in Nouakchott. Below are pictures that I took from the roof of the Peace [...]
Last week, I helped Mark count and sort English books donated by Books for Africa. Some of the books were quite interesting. It turned out that Books for Africa is located in Minnesota, so there were several books about Minnesota and American Indians. I was tempted to just read the books – particularly the Nancy [...]
Rumor has it that the gas company (that supplies most of the gas for cooking, etc…) left Mauritania a month or so ago. We were told by other volunteers (from Nouakchott, when they were up here for Thanksgiving) that the gas company refused to comply with the junta’s demand to lower the price of gas [...]
If I were to ET (early termination) it would be because of the following reasons:
1. the endless “chinoise and japonaise” questions/comments. I’m rather sick of people asking me whether I’m Chinese or Japanese and then dwelling on the fact that I have Asian features and couldn’t possibly be “American”. It has not bothered me for [...]
Just a picture with the middle school girls and flat stanley in the GMC.
Brandon and I were invited to observe an English class at the college the other day. While we had wanted to do this, we were invited because our Associate Peace Corps Director (APCD) kind of got us looped into doing it (more details to come in the next blog). What we saw was pretty depressing [...]
There’s a girl who lives near me who always try to greet me in English. But she usually speaks so fast that I can’t even respond before she responds thinking that I asked her how she’s doing. I think she probably has the greeting memorized. It’s so funny. My encounters with her usually leave me [...]
My parents wanted to see more pictures of Atar/Mauritania; so here they are:
pictures of my house
Pictures of Atar (I’ll take more in the future; I promise.)
other scenery pictures
Brandon and I have been to the collège and lycée one too many times in the past weeks. It always surprises me that whenever we go there are always students outside of the gates – sitting around, waiting for their next class. They’re not allowed in the courtyard; at the lycée the door is locked [...]
PCVs, myself included, LOVE receiving mail – especially packages. We go to the post office at least 3 times a week to check for new mail. The post office worker there is probably tired of hearing us ask if there are new packages every time we go. But if wasn’t for us the post office [...]
Ramadan wasn’t as bad as I anticipated. We were told during stage that Ramadan is the hardest month because there’s just nothing to do. I guess it helped living in the regional capital and being around other volunteers all the time. Anyways, there are more people in Atar now that Ramadan is over. School started [...]
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