Ups and Downs…Always

May 24 I was going to go on a bike trip with Trinh to the local tea plantation, but I wasn’t feeling well. I had a cold, and thought that biking 25 K to the plantation and 25 K back sounded like a terrible idea.

Last Tuesday, Trinh and I had dinner with the Ambassador and PR. It was so chill! He was so nice and so down to earth! I learned a lot about the foreign service. For example, some positions are appointed and other are career positions. The food was okay (so expensive!), but the care package was fantastic! Inside the care package….DORRITOS! It was fantastic!

Last Wednesday, I went to the bus stop with a coworker. We finished gathering the information about different departure times and locations. I wasn’t feeling great (I think it was the salad, but who really knows?)

On Thursday, Emily arrived! I still was feeling bad, but it was great catching up! That evening, we made macaroni (also in the care package, expired but it didn’t even matter!), and made brownies. Delicious!

Friday was Emily’s birthday! We had rice and sauce for lunch. I shared the dorritos, but unfortunately couldn’t pass the bag when it was my turn. Big mistake. That evening, I couldn’t eat dinner, and eventually, got sick off of the dorritos. I was so angry! I mean, when is the next time I am going to be able to snack on dorritos?! I was going to show Em the tourist sites of Sikasso, but I just wasn’t up to it.

Saturday morning, OMATHO and PC had a meeting. I just love Saturday morning meetings! Of course, it was suppose to be at 9:15ish, but my meeting got started at 10 am. Malians are very repetitive. So, I had to hear how bad my French was about 20 times. And, I actually understood it each and every time! But, what really frustrated me was when my supervisor chuckled at me because I was asking questions. He said to me, “You don’t understand.” But the thing is, I did! I just wanted further information! I am aware I need to grow thicker skin because I cried in front of 5 Malian men (Hello, faux pas!) Now granted, I was sick, tired, and frustrated. But, if they had a class of controlling emotions, I would be the first to sign up! We went to Waroni afterwards (Trinh came! She is such a life saver!). And, I got some questions answered. Waroni needs a motivator, and I believe OMATHO is in denial. Again, this is my opinion only. I’m just really frustrated right now. And, it’s only normal for me to question the sex card; would things be different if I were a guy? Would I get more respect? (I wonder if I would cry in public as a guy?) So many questions which have no answers.

I basically hung out Sunday (Em left.). I still was sick, so I didn’t even want to leave my apartment. I was being “Johnny Raincloud” (reference to that terrible Disney movie with Nicolas Cage). But, my aunt Donna called and I got to vent! I felt so much better (mentally) and even got out of the bed to shower! And, the song “Carolina Girls” always puts me in a good mood. So, I went to sleep happier than I had been the whole day.

On Monday, I decided that I should start taking medicine. I got my results back. I really thought I had amebas, but everything was negative. I gave my body plenty of time to fight whatever I had, but it was unsuccessful. So, with the intervention of medicine, I am feeling much better now.

Ups and downs: the story of life.