It’s been a little over a week since we got to Nouakchott and it has been an eventful one. The first order of business was settling into our house, which has been going well. We still have some things to unpack, but it’s humming along. It probably won’t feel like “home” until we get our HHE with all our furniture and art, but we’ve made some cozy family spaces and are very grateful for the housing provided to us.

In addition to spending time settling in, we have had the opportunity to take a few tours of the city and have dinner with several of my coworkers. I can’t begin to tell you how warm the welcome has been to our family. Everyone is just so nice, and it feels like we have a nice social calendar amongst the community with lots of things to do. One of them was even so nice as to lend me their epic Land Rover Defender while on R&R. Check out this bad boy!

This thing is bad ass. No other way to put it. It feels like the perfect introduction to living in Africa to be given the keys to the most quintessentially African safari vehicle. That said, it was a little harrowing when given the keys to this humongous vehicle, which is naturally manual transmission, and driving home from work in peak Nouakchott traffic. It’s hard to describe driving in Nouakchott. It doesn’t feel as crazy or chaotic as Southeast Asia where any type of vehicle can be found on the road in a sort of order chaos. It’s more of an “anything goes” situation, but in slow motion. Traffic lights are suggestions, the center lane of a roundabout is also a great way to exit across traffic, cutting off people is the standard, lane lines might as well not even exist, and only main throughfares are paved. It’s a little nerve-racking, but the slow speed actually makes me prefer it, and the commute to the last few months I was driving in D.C.

Aside from learning how to drive again, we also were able to take in the beach and swimming pool, which are both great. The embassy pool is a true oasis for folks to unwind, and the beach here is gorgeous and sparsely populated, it feels like a blessing. Here are some photo’s from our time at both, and yes, that’s the embassy beach volleyball court.

Proximity to the ocean was one of the reasons I bid Nouakchott so highly, and it definitely is paying off. To be honest, it didn’t look so great when we first arrived. Trash was all over the place from the holiday weekend, and I was a little dejected. Thankfully, the nearby restaurant had staffers that cleaned it all up in very short order, and it looked phenomenal as you see here.

From a work perspective, it all feels very overwhelming but fun. The patient care is easy, but there’s a lot of administrative work that goes with running a health unit, and that is where I have a lot to learn. Thankfully, I have a wonderful nurse and admin assistant with me that have been here for over a decade, so I am well taken care of, and am very lucky to have these resources as I am just starting out. On top of that, the local, and American staff are as friendly as it gets, and have gone out of their way to make me feel incredibly welcomed.

It feels good to finally be running a long. There is still a lot to learn, and a lot of adventure to unfold, but so far the whole experience is exceeding my expectations. My family is settling in nicely as well, which is arguably the most important thing. Hopefully it stays that way and we have an enjoyable two years. –Nick