Moving Stinks. It doesn’t matter where in the world you live, or how far the move. Moving is really tough.

Just prior to our move to Nouakchott, I was able to sneak home for a bit and help with the final details of our move. Once there I had the common moving realization that we have way too much stuff. Even after the pack-out, we were basically trying to cram 1000lbs worth of stuff into a 300lb weight allowance (spoiler alert: I paid $300 in excess baggage fee’s just to get us to DC). It’s made more difficult when your spouse is a bit of a hoarder, and every item you want to purge comes up for debate about some sort of significance, and how it can be redirected to someone else. All this is fine, but not when you’re on less than 12 hours notice to get on the plane. Ultimately we got it done thanks to a lack of sleep and a lot of friendly help. Also, shout-out to my wife again. It’s never a perfect process, but what she was able to manage while working fulltime and taking care of our daughters while in orientation is amazing.

Aside from the stress of the move, heading back to El Paso briefly was a nice way to get in some more goodbyes to friends and family. I even was able to make some time to spend with my friends and our Geeks Who Drink trivia team. After over two years of Covid-19 without us playing a single trivia competition, we strolled in and took first place out of nearly 20 teams. It was the perfect ending to my time in El Paso with some of my favorite people in the world.

Thankfully, the rigamarole is behind us and we successfully made it to Nouakchott safely. Surprisingly, travelling for nearly 24 hours with a 6 month old was the easiest part of the move. Who would have known giving a baby non-stop access to a boob while on an airplane is the perfect way to pacify them? Our eldest daughter L is a seasoned international traveler at this point, and did great. Air France was also a welcome change from the experiences I always seem to have on our domestic air carriers. I feel like flight attendants in US carriers are always annoyed. They usually have a reason to be, but their faces show it, and to me it makes flights feel more tense. Opposite this, when I’m on European or Asian carriers, the mood always seems much more calm, and it’s a much more customer focused experience.

Flying into Nouakchott felt almost exactly like landing in El Paso. Desert landscape and a lot of wind. Once in Nouakchott, we were rushed through customs, got our bags, and were whisked away to our home. Our housing itself is absolutely palatial. Without a doubt the largest home we have ever lived in. Here is just a photo of our hallway. It has an echo. The ceiling is also really detailed. Africa has a reputation of providing some of the best and largest housing in the Foreign Service, and so far I would say the stereotype holds up.

I also found out shortly before our arrival that we would be getting here just before the start of Eid Al-Adha, a Muslim holiday that is essentially the “Festival of Sacrifice”, commemorating when God asked Abraham to kill his only son, and just as he was about to do so, God saw his devotion and allowed him slaughter an animal instead. What this practically means for me is that the embassy will be closed for the first two business days after I arrive (embassies often observe both local and American holidays), and I will get a couple of extra days to adjust to the time change and settle in.

So far my first impressions of the country are quite positive. The local population has been friendly, the embassy community has been outrageously nice, and I think I set my food expectations to the point that I was blown away when the local corner store had Nutella, so everything is perfect. I could probably write for another day, but I will leave it at that. Next week I’ll go into a lot more detail and photos from my first tours around Nouakchott, as well as my overall impressions of the city. My toe is finally in the water, and it’s time to do a cannonball. — Nick