Bustling streets

In Mauritania life happens on the street. The wide sandy roads of the capital city are teaming with life — donkey, cars, kids, goats… people are about their business.

Most mornings, mom and I walked down the road to buy bottled water for the day. A couple houses down from where we stayed a few guys had a laundry washing business. They’d scrubbing linens, sloshing water out of the tubs on to the street, and then hanging the clothes up to dry on lines stretching from two trees along the street. Across from them was a water vendor. These folks had running water! Neighbors lined up to fill their yellow containers, and donkey carts waited to have their barrels filled.

The openness with which people lived their daily life made an impression on me. It allowed me to see how people live here in the capital city of Mauritania.

Welcome to Mauritania! One of the first things I noticed after arriving in the capital city Nouakchott was the Arabic taxi signs. “Funny,” I thought. “I know what that says. Some things here are familiar!”

Throughout my trip I look for these similarities, for things I could relate to, and I noticed that things weren’t as different as I had expected. Sure, plenty of cultural elements were different, and these things made Mauritania unique. But at some basic level, perhaps, people go about their day to day in similar ways.

Need to get from here to there? Your options are taxi, donkey cart, mini bus...

Thirsty? Get water in yellow plastic containers...

...or in find it stored in an old gas barrel.

Drying your laundry? Careful, the goats might eat it.

Need new tires? You know where to go.

Getting your car fixed? Find the guys working on the side of the road...great advertising.

Taking care of a little one? Well, if you can afford them, buy these diapers! (Never mind that your kid probably doesn't look like this.)

Need to talk to somebody? Find your nearest telephone center! (Or buy credit for your prepaid cellphone...)

Kids enduring life on the street. Just found this video by AFP.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqqPbhTLWiM

So much to share from my trip to Africa! Here is the first round of highlights from my trip to Nouakchott, Mauritania. Enjoy!

Magda in Pular dress

Welcome to our street

Always a warm welcome at home!

Spread the love... (so easy to do with kids like these!)

Driving

Getting a wound treated

Visiting with a friend

Greetings from Mauritania!

I arrived safely at Frankfurt this morning and got to spend the day with my aunts, my cousin Lisa before flying out to Mauritania tomorrow. This is going to be an amazing trip, I can already tell. I don’t think I’ll be able to post anything from Africa but here are few shots from today.

I’m staying the night in Landenhausen, where my mother’s side of the family has lived for generations and still has a house built by my great-grandfather. It’s idyllic, let me tell you. Everything from the garden out back, to the kitchen, to the surrounding countryside. So beautiful.

Here are some fun shots from the day. Tomorrow I head to Africa…and the shower I just took might be the last one I get for a few days.