Hello Glasgow!

Hello to everyone in Glasgow!!Dad informed me the other day that my blog is on the EPB website. I will try to put a little more effort and creativity into this blog. Send me an email with g-town updates, chaunceyboggs@gmail.com. Or if you would like to send me a letter my address is:

Chauncey Boggs, PCV
Corps de la Paix
B.P 222
Nouakchott, Maurtiania
West Africa

I started teaching English at the High School a month ago and it has been a challenge. I only teach nine hours a week, but right now that's enough. I am still adjusting to my new life and enjoying the slow pace for the moment. After Christmas I plan on starting an English club...we shall see. My students are...well, difficult. I have four different classes that meet every week for two hours. Each class has at least 40+ students and a couple wooden benches that are falling apart. That is not the difficult part of teaching but more so the lack of respect from the students. They are always talking, singing, walking out of class, drawing, fighting, offering marriage proposals to the teacher,(I'm serious) playing ridiculous music on their cell phones- you name it...anything except paying attention. The Islamic religion prohibits men and women from touching so the boys sit on one side of class and the girls on the other and the girls are, of course, always chatting. I am the only female teacher at my school which didn't really surprise me because usually by the age of 14 girls are married and expecting children. People in my village find it hard to believe that an "old woman" such as myself isn't married-yes, they call me an old woman at 22. Ha! I just laugh and tell them that work/traveling is more important for some people. What else can I say? They think I'm crazy, but I really don't care. If I inspire one child during my two years- it's worth the daily diarrhea. On that note I would like to say that I am healthy again! I haven't been sick in weeks. :) Don't worry Nana.
Other than school life is getting easier in Ould Yenje- easier meaning I am feeling more and more at home. Thank you for all the wonderfully put together care packages- the food is so appreciated, especially for Thanksgiving :) For Christmas all the volunteers are heading to the capital, Nouakchott and then to Senegal for New Years. I'm more than ready to see everyone!
The pictures above were taken last month. The one with the Mauritanian flag was taken at my school- can you see the bell in the front? You hit the barrel with a rock & that is suppose to be the sound of class beginning, but here it is the bell for tea and then class. The bowl of rice, potatoes and something green is my lunch--well, followed by a couple power bars :)
Miss you all so much and think of you daily. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The cold season is here..a freezing 70degrees in the morning has me wearing my fleece to school!
oh, and about the kid picking his nose-- it is culturally acceptable to pick your nose in public. Where am I? Seriously.

I am in Selibaby at the moment- uploading a couple pictures and eating chicken and French fries. Tomorrow I leave for my site and I'm really getting nervous. Finally, I can begin my peace corps service which is overwhelming because for the past couple months we have been told when to eat, drink and breath. Now we are thrown into service and on our own schedules. I'm ready for the freedom, seriously. Maurtiania is divided up into regions, like states in the US, and there are a total of nine people with me in the Guidimakha. The new volunteers have decided to reconnect every couple weeks here in Selibaby. It's comforting and will give me something to look forward to. Tomorrow I have to buy a new phone because I don't have service with my current plan. I will buy a new phone and in two weeks I will send out a massive email. I'm sure I will come back from site with a couple stories..
Did you ever think you would see my lime green walls again? I didn't either until I stumbled upon this fabric in the market. You can probably see me from at least two miles away, on a clear day of course. After a storm our compound was flooded and my little brother thought that it was hilarious that I couldn't get to my room, so I let him take a couple pictures.
I miss you all, you have no idea. I will keep adding items to my Wish List on the previous post. Keep an eye out and start sending me pirate stuff- we have a west African softball tournament coming up and we are the pirates.

I survived 15 days in my village!! I have been living in the market, introducing myself, and learning my way around the village. School should start sometime...no one can give me an exact date, but current volunteers say that things won't "really" begin until November. I'm glad that there is a PC library in Selibaby because I have been doing a little bit of reading. What do the people of Mauritania do during their free time? How do they "pass the day?" Well, the men spend their time working their social game/working outside of the compounds while the women sit around drinking cups of tea (Tea= green tea, mint and an excess of sugar. If someone asks you to come and drink tea with them be aware that will you spend several hours with that person because tea consists of three small cups and takes forever to prepare) and ordering the younger children around. What do I do during my free time? How do I "pass the day?" The pictures above tell all. Rock climbing during the hottest part of the day in Selibaby with Morgan, playing with the children and getting their germs, staying sick, playing in the rain...and sometimes talking on my phone to people in the states. I don't have to get a new phone because my village now has cell phone service with my phone plan, but we don't have running water or a house. Awesome.
Miss you all. I'm going back into the bushes for a couple more weeks and will try to upload more pictures again. I haven't received any mail because our shuttle didn't come through Selibaby this month. Keep your fingers crossed for next month! :) I miss you all. Hope that all is well. Mmuah.

hmmm....goodies.

After teaching at the high school I started heading back to my house when my supervisor stopped and directed me to the mailroom. I was pumped because I thought that someone had sent me a letter, yay! Instead of the two letters I was also handed four ginormous packages!!! Not that I am complaining at all, but how was I to carry all this in the 120deg weather? I was determined to take everything back with me to my house at once, but failed miserably. A couple of my students saw me struggling and I bribed them with food if they would help me get back to my house. Do you think they turned down that offer? yeah right. There I was with my three students walking down the sandy streets carrying my packages of cliff bars and drink mixes-- on my head. Remember, in africa you always carry whatever you have on your head. I wish I could have taken a picture of us, but instead I have a picture of me holding my locks and other random shots. I would just like to extend a thank you to everyone who helped put those packages together-(Joshy, Karen, Andrea, Dad, Debbie, Gma, Jana, The Browns, Nana&Gramps, Alana&Bubby,Cindy Warr and the Macaluso crew!!) Everyone has been more than generous. Hopefully you guys had fun picking out the goodies too :) I shared some of my food with my family and they had zero appreciation for any of the goods. - I tried to make them eat pizza goldfish just like they try to make me eat their food and they almost gagged. I couldn't contain my laughter!!
Life is grand. In a couple weeks I will be heading to Wul Yenje to live with Taco for the next two years-wow, after I typed that my heart just skipped a couple beats. Im excited. My address will stay the same...keep the mail (packages) coming.
Miss you all.
Package Ideas for those who have been asking:
Any type of Grammar ideas/paper back books
Newspaper articles- What is really going on in the world??
Pictures!! I want to decorate my new room.
If you send me a disposable camera and a padded envelope I will take some pictures and mail that back to you in the envelope. :) Just an idea?
Spices, when I attempt to cook.

Parmesan cheese!! Why is there no cheese in this country?
Hot Sauce/ All food is welcome- esp mixes that only include Water, Oil and eggs.
Christmas hats/decorations/ Tuna
Jolly Ranchers/Mints
Plastic Bags (Large and Small)
A couple new toothbrushes/flossy floss/Lotion/Mouth Wash
Arbonne Face Wash will be a must soon...
Anything and everything is appreciated

I will post more later. Love you all and miss you more.
PS- Lizards are everywhere here. This is the guy that always tries to get into my hut!!!
PPS- Julie Brown, I love all power bars esp the ones with peanut butter. Thanks chica.

Yeah, I know. It's beautiful. The picture of the little boy is my brother and the quickly approaching sandstorm. Last night we had another sandstorm encounter at 430am-- I almost lost my mosquito net in the wind and rain, but managed to throw everything into my hut. (The hut posted above is where I will be spending my weekends once I am at Wul Yenje. That is my room. How precious!!!) This is one of the small obstacles I face on a daily basis, it's fun. Enjoy your AC and remember that yesterday it was 126deg in Kaedi. Love you.

Alright. Finally, the pictures that you all have been waiting for!! The picture above is my sweaty self, obviously, and henna that has exploded on my hand. This is what we like to call integration here in Kaedi. This intricate, free handed process took three sweaty hours and lasted on both of my hands for over two weeks. It's typical for woman to get henna before weddings or social gatherings. I didn't go to a wedding or anything, the occasion was simply me being in Africa. A friend of the family came into town and dolled up my hand. The picture on the left is the reason why I have been sick-- I cannot leave the kids alone!! Look at them, they are precious! I think that I harass them more than they do the other volunteers. This picture was taken at Daouda Nasty's house, a future education volunteer. The little boy on the right goes by the name Mama Jelly...and you pronounce it exactly how it sounds!! LOVE IT!! I also rocked out that sweet mohawk for a while, but then quickly shaved it off after 2.5 seconds.
I think that I have everyone's home addresses, but please be sure to write your return address on your letters--you all know how organized I am. I also wanted to explain why I have changed my name, it wasn't by choice, believe me I love my name and will always go by chauncey in the states. My Mauritanian family named me after the sister in the family-- please don't freak out and think that I have gone competly insane. All the volunteers have changed their names, no worries.
I also found out that I have next July, August and Sept off! If anyone would like to start planning a trip to Mauritania, please let me know. Christmas break starts in the middle of December and lasts until the beginning of Jan. I know it is early, but those plane tickets get a little ify. Maybe if you are nice Andrea might hook you up...he has been known to be a nice guy.
I hope to hear from you all soon. Life is great. Miss you. mmuuahh.
ps- I killed a scorpion last night.

My life in Wul Yenje with my sister Taco

Im not going to be able to blog as often as I had hoped due to no electricity in my site, but my regional capital is about three hours away where I can one day promise to post pictures of my beautiful bald head. I have been out of Kaedi for the past week, touring my new home. I guess from the title you have guessed that I'm heading to the rural village of Wul Yenje with about 4000 people and one fridg. We were at my site for three days and during that time we (my father Samba and a current Peace Corps Volunteer) toured the city which took all of one hour and hung out by the lake. Hopefully during my two year hiatus I will be able to build a raft and not catch any funky water diseases, sigh. On the second day we ventured off into nature toward a Pular village 45min away sipping tea and literally passing the day. The father, Kane, is a friend of my fathers and has inivited me to spend the weekends at their...hut. They have even given me my own room or I should really say hut. It's a sweet deal and it will be nice to change up the scene. Peace Corps will pay for you to have a language tutor in your village- hopefully Kane is going to help me with my French and Hassaniya.
The question everyone is asking "Have you recevied your package(s) yet?"
They are waiting to give us the rest of the them in September- I don't know why, but this is what I have been told. Julie Brown, Im sending a huge thanks your way because the peanuts and powerbars are saving my life right now-There is a small tax on all packages and I think they are waiting until we have our bank accounts set up before they start handing out boxes. It makes no sense to me- but this is the Peace Corps and you just roll with the flow because we have no control.
We had a girl ET (early terminate) yesterday. Right now we are down to 67 people. I think the cockroach that got stuck in her ear was the straw that broke the camels back for her. The PCMO had to dig him out- she said it was more excruciating then being stung by a jellyfish. Can you even imagine- damn. If anyone wants to send earplugs that might be cool.
Overall I am happy. I have my moments..well, several moments when I am frustrated/upset but it quickly passes because there is this beautiful support group surrounding me. Thank you all for your emails and pictures- you have no idea how much they contribute to my sanity. There is also a tailor here in the city that contributes to my sanity as well- I go to the market and buy fabric and then Jibby calls me when my outfits are ready. Just like in the states when you are having a bad day and you need an outfit to lift you up--its exactly the same, well almost. Instead of paying 50 bucks for a shirt you can pay 10 for an entire outfit and a head scarf.
I miss you guys. Come to africa and we will have Jibby make us crazy african clothing.
Love always,
Ami Camera

The Camel Rider

Sorry I have not written in such a long time, but as you already know the internet is incredibly ridiculous here. I am going to try and add more pictures to Flikr, so keep a look out.
Right now gmail is not working. If you have sent me an email in the past week don't plan on a reply any time soon. Life is great---super hot and sandy but I love it. I am learning Hassaniya, instead of French!!Once I am at my site I will learn how to write too! Wouldn't that be bomb?! Since it is a dialect there is no "true" way of writing the language, therefore our teacher is constantly changing the spelling making it a little difficult.
The food has been terrible- worse than I had imagined. (Care packages would be a plus in my life) I have to make my family wash their hands...seriously, they have no concept of hygiene. I usually skip out on meals at the house and head to the market for a goat hoggie. Just think of it as a mini subway. Yeah, Im not even joking.
I miss everyone dearly, but I really miss leaving sondra 10min phone calls. *you should feel special I included you in the blog. Now you HAVE to come and visit. hehe. mmuuah.

Super glad I brought the following items, for those stalking blog sites who are in the PC process
1* Head Lamp. Couldnt survive without it
2* Crystal Light packages. Seriously, a bottle of flavored H2O makes my day
3* A pillow
4* Bandanas
5* Shimmer lotion and nail polish for my gloomy days
6* Limp Balm
7* Oh yeah, and my pimp Tropic Screen mosquito net/ living quarters

I wish you all could see the stars at night.They are beautiful--but don't worry I will kiss them all for you!!! Call me anytime my number is 0 11 222 755 7158. If you call from Skype it is 30 cents a minute. Love you all!! Big kiss from Kaedi!!!

hottness

I'M HERE!! I have been in africa for about five hours now..and life is sandy and hott!! I still cannot believe that I am actually here, but I am quickly reminded as a donkey cart full of fruits passes. You guys are going to love the pictures that I am taking. PS- My new camera is wonderfuL! Thanks for the bday present fam.
I haven't slept since Saturdaay night and I have already had six shots- but I cannot stop smiling.
Everyone here is incredibly inteligent and compassionate about life and that it just makes being around them comforting. For once I don't have to explain why I want to join the peace corps or explain anything for that matter because we are all completly insane together! :) We have a great group.
The first night me and Tiffany busted out in song to MOULIN ROUGE!! We are pretty much soulmates!
I miss you guys! Send me emails and snail mail too.
Im buying a phone soon- I will post my number.
Take care! BISOUS BESITOS KISSES

Will I ever stop changing my Blog title? Probably not.

"We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey" Kenji Miyazaw. Perhaps this is a favorite of mine because these words hit close to home. I should have inserted a question mark instead of a period after the previous sentence, but then realized that this quote hits close to home for everyone- no question mark needed. Okay so I'm a little sentimental tonight, give me a break. I was hanging out with my close friends and it finally hit me how hard it is moving forward. The support and camaraderie among my friends is so unbelievably uplifting and comforting- it's going to be terribly difficult being away! Although you all think I'm crazy for joining Peace Corps and that I've perhaps floated off to the deep end- there will always remain that same wall of support surrounding me. Thank you. Who knows what's going to happen these next couple years while I'm away, but I will stay in touch as often as I can. Thank you for these last pampered months at home. I miss y'all already!! (In my best Joey Huff accent)

Three weeks to go!!

Yesterday I booked my staging ticket to Philly from Nashville and I also started packing- yikes! These three weeks are going to be exhausting as I begin packing and finish up my Goodbye Tour in Kentucky. Last weekend my tour began in Mansfield, Ohio and ended with the Strawberry Festival in Troy. Thanks for the dessert gma. Below I have posted my address for my first three months during training. The Peace Corps advises those who send snail mail to number each of the letters and to also write "West Africa,” “Airmail,” and “Par Avion” on the envelopes. Mail takes a minimum of two weeks to arrive and some mail may never arrive. I will do my best to stay in touch- remember that no news is always good news :) Try to remember that dad...love you.

Chauncey Elysse Boggs, PCT
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 222
Nouakchott, Mauritania
West Africa

Here we go..

I'm not much of a 'blogger' but in fear of my little Nana searching the Sahara for her granddaughter leaves me with no choice. I'm leaving for Mauritania, Africa on June 26th with the Peace Corps and I am ecstatic. I have a little time to munch on tuna and somehow wrap up my life for a couple years. yippee. I'm ready for the Sahara!!!