The Color Orange

Ah, all alone in Kaedi. I’m dog sitting while my regionmates are in Dakar for WAIST (West African Invitational Softball Tournament). I’m working on FAFSA, grad school stuff, and Peace Corps stuff. I took a mini vacation last week to Selibaby in the Guidimaka region. Above is a pic of me teaching girls at the Selibaby GMC, “Dites-moi,” a fun little song from the musical South Pacific that I can sing in five languages. Always willing to add more if anyone wants to volunteer!

I had fun and hope the girls did, too. They especially liked receiving posters the GMC girls in M’Bagne made for them. A number of them were visibly moved, which made me think about, I don’t know, how narrow their worlds are, that a poster done by girls less than a day’s drive away could mean so much. I’m writing this in Africa, but I’m so used to global communication that it doesn’t even register that most people reading this are thousands of miles away. It doesn’t have the same effect; makes me sad.

That leads me to a fun idea. I want anyone reading this to go out, buy a 90 cent stamp, slap it on a postcard from wherever you are, write a note, and send it to our regional address, but addressed to the Girls of the M’Bagne GMC. They can be in English or French (or Pulaar or Arabic if you got ‘em!). The address is:

Corps de la Paix
BP 66
Kaedi, Mauritania
West Africa

This could tie in to geography and world studies for the girls, in addition to being so much fun for them! Plus, it means a great deal to the girls, but is very cheap on the US (or wherever) side. See, just because I’m here, doesn’t mean I’m not looking out for my peeps!