Dirt is to Sikasso as...Sand is to Gao!

I have had such a long week! I’m trying to remember what all happened!
Last week, I thought I was getting strep throat, so I wasn’t sure if I would be able to go to Gao. It was so weird because only half of my throat was swollen and painful. Go figure. I ended up getting medicine, and away I went to Bamako! I was really tired when I got in, but I did take my first hot shower (since July)! I don’t know how long I was in there! It was wonderful! I then got a pizza, also wonderful! It was so expensive (but so is all of Bamako), but I thought totally worth it. I slept until…5 am and took another shower. Pretty rare, but so is hot water showers! At 5:30, they got a taxi driver to come. I handed him a map and pointed to where I needed to go. Unfortunately, he didn’t know how to read. I really can’t imagine life without reading! We were supposed to be there at 6 am sharp. I don’t know why but I was stressing. When we pulled up at 6:15, everybody was hanging out. We didn’t leave until 9:45 am! Oh, Mali! The ride was uneventful but really long. I’m not going to lie. I was so annoyed at how many times we stopped! I think they don’t know what killing 2 birds with 1 stone means. We stopped to pray, to pee, to buy snacks, etc. etc. We got to Gao at 7:45 am! I was dog tired! I stayed with another volunteer. It is incredible that his house is like a bureau, so whenever somebody comes in, they stay with him. I would go crazy! He doesn’t cook, but there were a pile of dirty dishes. Don’t get me wrong. I love having guests. But not 24/7. After sleeping a little, I had lunch with Sara. Sara made this incredible pasta with tomatoes and tuna. Delicious! I then went around with Meg. It was very nice of her to show me around. I saw the market. It is so much more organized than Sikasso! We had salad and beans for dinner, and then played Apples to Apples. Apples to Apples is such a fun game!
Sunset in Gao





Tomeschec (misspelled, I know) homes in Gao

Then the next day (Saturday), I went to the festival. I definitely should have called to see what was going to be on the agenda before my 30 hour trip! I did get to see camels and horses. There was a “parade” (but in Malian parades, they stand in a formation…that’s it) and a lot of introductions. When the festival was over, I went back to James’ place to get a bike. Every 50 feet or so I would come close to crashing down! If you want a real workout, try biking in the sand! I then had lunch at Sarah’s house (she is the Gao tourism volunteer), and then saw Kelly’s house.

Kelly and me

Kelly is in my stage, so it was fun to see where she lives. All the Gao volunteers have little fridges, and it makes me want one real bad! I have been a good girl this year….maybe Santa will bring me one! Cold drinks are absolutely amazing!!!! I then had a lovely dinner with Meg. It was so much fun! I unfortunately couldn’t stay awake for ‘smores, but sleep was more important to me than staying awake.

Sarah and me: Tourism Volunteers

On Sunday, I went back in…A PC CAR! I didn’t know that a car was going up to Gao…grrrrr….I have to let it go. I saw cows, camels, goats, sheep, and lizards crossing the road during the ride, but no chickens. (sorry couldn’t resist). I can’t read in the car and I didn’t bring my ipod, so I looked out the window the whole time, and occasionally dozed off. I rode with another volunteer named Brie. She is actually the volunteer before me in Droit II, so it was fun to talk about our family! We spent the night in…some town I can’t remember the name of. But, we hung out at the bureau. Our bureau in Sikasso is a one room hole in the wall, but we don’t have mice! I didn’t know this about me until I went there; I am a squealer when I see mice. They had like 6 mice running around the place!
This brings me to yesterday (Monday?). We drove from the town to Bamako. We stopped in another town (I’m terrible) and had lunch with 3 other volunteers. It was fun catching up! When we got to Bamako, I asked to be dropped off at the bus station. Bamako is expensive, and since I’m going back for Christmas, I decided it would be best if I went on home. I got there at 4:15 pm, but didn’t get on the bus until 6:30. I did talk to my daddy, so that was nice. I unfortunately picked (excuse me, led to) a terrible bus line because I didn’t get home until 5 am this morning! I heard the rooster’s crow before I went to sleep! It typically takes between 6-7 hours…but the bus was having multiple issues. I won’t be taking that bus line again.
What a week!

Group shot of the Camels

I'm out of time at the cyber cafe, but i'll try to include some of Trinh's birthday pictures on the next one.