Where exactly do I live????

This is a question I've been asking myself since Thanksgiving. Sure, the obvious answer is MAURITANIA, but I'm starting to realize that although I technically live within Mauritanian borders, I do not actually live in Mauritania as most people think of it.
Mauritania is derived from the word "moor", which is the dominant ethnic group here. The country is largely White and Black Moor (after Black Moor ceased to be slaves, the adopted Moor culture as their own). However, in the Southern part of the country along the Senegal River, there are two entirely different ethnic groups, the Pulaars and the Soninkes. I live with the Pulaars in Southern Mauritania, about 20 miles from Senegal.
Mauritania, as it stands, is a colonial cartographer's dream. The Moors and the Pulaars, the two most dominant groups, have nothing in common except for the fact that they are Muslim. Moors speak Hassaniya, a dialect of Arabic, practice a strict brand of Islam, and until about 30 years ago, were Nomads living out of tents with herds of camels. Pulaars live all throughout West Africa. They speak Pulaar, or Fulani, practice a more relaxed branch of Islam, and are sedentary. Basically these two groups have nothing in common. When Mauritania got its independence from France, a logical natural boundary was the Senegal River. However, culturally, that was a really stupid move. They probably should have drawn the border line about 50 miles north of the river, since the essentially cut the Pulaar community down the middle. Most Pulaars on the river have fields, families, and/ or houses in Senegal. All they do is cross the river to get there (international boundaries don't mean too much here....)
I'm writing this long boring post for a reason, I promise. Since I live with the Pulaars in Mauritania, I essentially live with a small minority population. Many of them live in Mauritania, but do not consider themselves to be really Mauritanian. Considering that racism is terrible here and they are often discriminated against by the Moors, I don't blame them. (To be fair, the Pulaars aren't so nice when talking about Moors either). In 1989, the Mauritanian government went on a Black Rampage, expelling huge amounts of Pulaars to Senegal and shooting many that didn't get out. My host Dad lost his father in all the violence. A lot of people won't talk about it, but I get the feeling that "genocide" probably applies. Even now, things aren't so friendly between the two communities. In class one day, a White Moor girl smacked a Pulaar girl because she took her seat. After she hit her, she said "look, now you made my hand dirty". I also had a kid in class one day tell me that he hated Akon (who's huge here) because he is black. Yep, it's pretty bad.
So, the moral of my story is this: I cannot respond to a question about what Mauritania is like, because I really don't know. I don't live there. I don't live in the SAHARA DESERT. There are trees and grass (albeit dead grass right now). I live in a house, not a khaima, and I do not speak a word of Arabic or Hassaniya, nor can I read it. I almost never cover my head, go running everyday in pants, and I'm allowed to touch and flirt with men (THANK GOD for that). And, when Dave came to Lexeiba for a few days, no one thought it was weird or told me to marry him. Living with Pulaars is an experience all in itself.