We Did'nt Start The Fire

Wow what a whirlwind experience! We left Mauritania and we are in The Gambia (notice the, "The", that's right not just any Gambia but The Gambia).

Kristy and I are going to have very similar jobs but with new focuses, the descriptions and opportunities are still not concrete but we hope that they are fantastic as they sound. No details until I can work them out.

We are going to live in a villi age called Essau and we are currently learning to speak Mandinka, not a skill that will get us much in the world but more languages means a higher awesome factor. We will probably be able to speak English for work purposes so that is a lot of stress off of our daily routine and the French (we scored Advanced-Low on our final test- WOW)has already come in handy and will again in the future.

This country is gorgeous, if you were holding out to visit us you hit the jackpot, this place is gorgeous 9 months of the year, it rains a lot the other 3.

The interweb is not as fast or reliable here so that means this as a contact medium is not going to be as frequent, sorry.

We have new phone numbers mine is 011.220.700.2098

We have a new address it is:

Brian Sisco and Kristy Smily PCV's
PO Box 582
Banjul, The Gambia
West Africa
Par Avion / Air Mail

That is all I have for now, more as we know it.

Changes

Today, is our last day of PC-RIM.

We are accepting this as we have no say in the issue, we will say goodbye to volunteers we know to be more than friends, our family who lived much as we do and will be connected to us for the rest of our lives. Some are going to Rwanda, Mali, Morocco, Senegal, Jordan, and or course The Gambia.

I want to thank the people who have been supportive of Kristy and I through our time in RIM and we hope you will still support us if we are able to transfer our service to The Gambia. Nothing is certain yet, we could still be home next month or next week, but we have hope.

You will know more as we do. Please, continue to keep us in your hearts and minds as we move from one phase to another we need the support.

Africa

Tears flowed freely as were told that PC RIM will be suspended.

We left home without saying goodbye to many of our friends and colleagues, many of our personal belongings were left behind because were were only leaving for 10 days, it is amazing how much can change in such a small amount of time.

The future is so unclear right now and we can not foresee what shall come of our situation. We are sorriest for the people whom we made promises of prolonged projects that shall go unfinished.

There are options that shall be discussed over the next few days, we are not sure if we will be home in a week, a month, or a year as planned. I am sorry for the lack of real news but it is what we have, more will come as we have it.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

An event happened in Mauritania, we are fine, we were not even in Mauritania. Don't worry, if you want to read about it there are links on the side of the blog or you can follow this link http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSL8672694._CH_.2400

If you want to talk to me directly my number Senegalese number is 011221776223651 if this doesn't work we have had a lot of rain, email me. Rain knocks out the interweb from time to time but I will get your messages.

Runnin' Down A Dream

Jealousy has ever really been something that I fall prey to, I cannot say that at this moment. I am jealous of PC Senegal, they have amazing facilities and the large cities are places I would pay to go to as a tourist. They will just have to face retribution during WAIST next year.

We are in Theis, Senegal and we feel as if we are really in Africa right now. This place is tropical and lush. This unfortunately means I itch a lot right now, there is a healthy population of mosquitoes because I am feeding every second that I am here. I have not been taking pictures because of training sessions that have occupied much of my time, but there will be time, yes there shall.

Projects and things are on hold right now because we aren't there to do them, so work isn't actually happening right now. I think there will be some opportunities to help out here, and maybe some international collaboration.

I have the unfortunate duty to remind you that we are safe. Safe. Safe. Safe. I say this and say this often. Our community in Mauritania really likes us, and they do what they can to ensure this. We are currently away from our country while someone who has never experienced our home looks into it to ensure we are safe. This is compounded by people going around Kristy and I when we state in plain English we are safe. We are fricken' old too, 30+ even, and will continue to make our own decisions as is the right of old farts like us. We know our home and our community. I worry about you, there is a written record of violent crimes that goes to every door in America (newspapers - they are filled with bad news), and more bad guys in your small towns then in whole of our country. If you are worried CALL ME, please, or call to say hi, I'd like that more. Calling Peace Corps first compounds our difficulties and gets me a visit to the hot seat.

Quicksand

Just a quick update.

Aziz was the leader of Mauritania before, during, and after the election, big surprise! No election craziness here, as always the political climate in Kaedi is boring and apathetic.

My picassa album was updated. The newest addition is dubbed Camel Trek. Feel free to ooh and aaah at your leisure.

Blowin' In The Wind

Today is election day and Kristy and I are laying low, Peace Corps has an apolitical stance and that is much easier on a day like today inside watching the dvd's that our loved ones have recently mailed to us :) This time gives me the opportunity to think and therefore a desire to vent, if you do not wish to read my rant stop now.

Recently, one of our friends from the Gorgol region of Mauritania COS'd (Close Of Service) and when she returned home her local newspaper wrote and article (this article) about her accomplishments and published it on the interweb. The things that she was able to accomplish were phenomenal, she lived in a small village that had a school where only two of the rooms were usable. She raised money and turned that 2 room school into a 6 room school, and this was merely a highlight of her 2 years of service.

There, of course, was a comments section as there are in many online forms of media, just like there is here. I was appalled to read some of the things that were written there. The comments were written by isolationists who saw that she helped Africans, not Americans, and those were the nice ones. In order to not pick fights on the interweb (because, oh my how I loathe that) I shall address one of the little examined benefits of Americans being in the Peace Corps. Other than the obvious: volunteers habitually volunteer for the rest of their lives regardless of where they live. We are all people and helping people regardless of lines on a map, skin color, and religion is a good thing.

I know that the idea of terrorism is something that makes grandmothers shake in their boots and young adults who know everything roll their eyes. However, if there ever was a place that people could be swayed from a pro America point of view to an Islamic extremist point of view, it is here. On a regular basis I see people with Osama on their t-shirts, no joke. Here, as one of the few faces of America that people will ever see, we are America, unless you would leave that to Jack Bower. In Mauritania, when Kristy plants trees, Matt teaches computer lessons, Alex helps the community build a school, Justin builds a fence to protect crops, and the hundreds of PCV's who have come here, it is America helping, not some bleeding heart liberal. When an extremist asks if a village will support them or a young man will become a soldier for them they will remember that we are not their enemy and that we are people the same as them. I know that there is no way that we can achieve peace and understanding for everyone but PCV's are fighting for America the same as any soldier, with a different strategy.