More Pictures

WEDNESDAY: OUR FAREWELL PARTY
My family and me at the farewell party! (minus my dad and Habib)
My brother Ishmael dancing with a little girl

Our group plus Oscar, a LCF for another group: me, John, Holly, Westin

THURSDAY: OUR HIKE
A woman washing clothes during our hike

And, we're still walking...

Such a beautiful day!

Holly, me, Chelsea at the top

TIA

2 people bringing sticks down, they were definitely point to the sky

And, they were right...it was so windy

Update!

We went to a Malian party 2 Saturdays ago. We arrived at 9 pm, and everybody was just hanging out. No dancing. So, Holly and I decided to bust a move. At 11:30, they brought out snacks, popcorn and candy. Then, the guest of honor had the "first" dance. Apparently, you don't dance until the guest of honor has the first dance. Oops.

I left at midnight (which is SO late for me!!) Apparently, they served chicken at 1:30 am (which is really expensive if you think about it...cows feed so many more people), and people left at 2 am. Oh, a side note. PC was telling us how conservative Malians are, long shirts, baggy shirts...not when they are going out at night. I saw sheer, tight, and even some legs!
On Sunday, I didn't go to the pool with the other PCT because my mom invited a woman over who was selling fabric. It turns out that it was my oldest brother Habib's older sister who was selling the fabric. Oh, the joys of communication! Anyway, got some fabric. I took it to the shop Sunday night. It was pouring! I wanted it ready by Wednesday for the big party. The roads turn into rivers when it rains. My sister Bentu (sp I know) and the housekeeper/maid (who's 12ish 13ish) and I took a picture under the umbrella. I also love this other picture. Some kids came out to see what the Tubab was doing in the rain.

Last Monday, we had a SED project. It was very Apprentice like. We had to take out a loan, and the goal was essentially to make a profit (some things are universal). We brainstormed, and finally decided on bakeless cookies. We talked about it during our debrief, but we really needed to go to the store to see how much things cost before submitting how much of a loan we were taking out. We didn't know how much things cost (and frankly, we didn't really think it through), so we figured to take out the biggest possible loan. We submitted our loan amount on Monday. We went shopping on Tuesday. We realized that we needed to make 100 cookies just to break even! Another thing we encountered that, in retrospect is so obvious, we needed to charge 50 CFA to make 8 CFA on each cookie. We were planning on selling for 25 CFA but we would be losing money. We couldn't get all the ingredients in our town, so we had to go to Bamako. We rode on the green bus type thing. One lady got on and she smelled, if you can believe it, just as bad (and maybe worse) than Jamie when he got off the AT. The first chance I got, I moved. Even the Malians near her where covering their faces!! The kid (whom she was breast feeding...I've seen more breast in my 2 months in Mali than I've seen my entire life), had like 10 (no joke) flies on him. Oh, the stench! After I moved, I found it hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing. I think one reason was I wasn't beside her any more, and John was kinda turning green. I'm surprised that nobody threw up. Seriously.
Anyway, we made cookies Tuesday night. It was so much fun! They weren't aesthetically pleasing, but sure tasted delicious!
On Wednesday, we attempted to sell them. The Malians were extremely confused seeing Tubabus selling cookies? The highlight of several other PCT's day is when I ran up the green busy trying to sell them...Apparently, my Bamara is even worse than my French and nobody understood me! Anyway, we sold them all (aka we all bought a bunch and sold a few). And, we made a profit...about 600 CFA (which is a little more than a dollar). Wednesday night was our farewell party. Lots of kids showed up. Dancing and awards were given out the the family. It was a good time. My mom said I was "perfect". Crazy huh?

Thursday was test day. I didn't do great. Oh, well. I went to the Internet cafe that afternoon and gchatted with my mom and dad. After that, Holly, John, Westin, Chelsea, Greg, and I went hiking to see the sunset. I learned from my experience to always take water (lesson learned: Yosemite 2007). I still didn't take enough. It was so crazy going from an Internet cafe to the busch. John took a picture of me leaping over the water that some people were washing their clothes in. It was absolutely beautiful!! We went to the top and got a group shot. I need to figure out the time feature on my camera. Hopefully, I'll get that shot soon. Anyway, we were walking down and a lady carrying sticks on her head kept pointing to the sky. We knew it was going to rain, but we had no idea how windy it would be! Pretty crazy!!!

On Friday, I studied...French. A lot of people in my group went out to Bamako, but I was flat broke. I can't imagine spending so much money, but it's possible. I wouldn't put it past me.

Saturday, I got tutored some more. Oh, boy. My Droit II group went out. I hung out at home. My mom took me to the bakery. It was so hot!! My mom bought the really good bread. We then went to her friends house. My mom knows I love kids (for the most part) and they put the child on my back! I was so paranoid!!! But, these women have kids on their back and are working in the fields. Incredible really. And, sometimes they have a kid on their back, a bucket on their head, and have their hands free.

On Sunday, we went back to Tabinso. I took the French exam...again. I did better, but not up to par. Oh, well. I listened to music, and the girls and I around our huts had a dance party. Fun times.

Today was...long. SED had a debrief about our projects. Some people sold popcorn, another group onion rings, and another group donuts. Everybody made a profit, but we all learned some valuable lessons. I took the darn test. I am still one step below where I need to be. So, I had another 2 hours of tutoring. All week, I am missing meetings to get tutored. I am optimistic, and I do enjoy getting one on one time.

I still need to work on layouts and pictures and such. In 2 years, I should get it down. The Internet is being stupid. Will try to post more pictures tomorrow.

Real Quick

I'm back at Tabinso. I have so much to write, but so much to do! I didn't pass the language test...so I have to retake it tomorrow. And, I have 8 forms to fill out. So, after I pass my exam tomorrow, I will try to post pictures and stories.
Oh, I don't know if this is "blog material" but somebody in our staige has a boil on her bottom....so if you are sad it's Monday tomorrow, life could be worse...

Inspired

So, I was looking at Jared's blog this morning. I am inspired to take more pictures and spruce up my blog...Coming soon!

ps...

PS My hand looks better. I think it was bed bugs. There was a song Libby (my childhood bf's mom) use to sing, that went something like this, "if you have bed bugs, Take your shoe, and Beat them 'til their black and blue" If I only knew that they would actually bite me 15 years later in Africa...

Oh Mali!

I noticed my last several blogs relate to my health. Yesterday, I got sick (but I really think it was carsickness, which still isn't fun but it sure isn't an infection.) I'm feeling pretty good today. I got my roommate sick last week. I only spent one night in the health place, and I should have stayed more. I feel so bad for her because she has fever blisters in her nose! Yeah, I didn't know it was possible either!! I was trying to cheer her up and said well thank goodness their not on your butt. She made a really good point. I use my nose more than my butt. Oh well for cheerful thoughts.
I haven't journaled in a while (over a week because I was sick), so I really can't remember anything. We did take some pretty cool field trips. We took a field trip to some water falls. It was gorgeous! I really wanted to go swimming because it would have been so refreshing but I didn't want to get some kind of animal that can get in you via water (?) You can tell I'm so interested in biology...(jk)
We took another field trip to a microfinance institution. It was really interesting. I don't think they were fulfilling their mission statement and all the goals, but they were doing a good job. We also went to 2 boutiques. My brother owns a boutique, and we were planning on interviewing him, but he's sick. I really take our health care system for grant in the States. But, I take paved roads for grant. And hot water. And ovens. And like 500 other things you just don't think about until you are completely out of your element. Anyway, sorry about the tangent. My brother, Hapib, may have malaria. How much would that stink? We went to another boutique and the woman didn't really seemed interested. At the other shop, we would ask the questions in French, but it was so bad that our professor had to translate our French to French. A little annoying.
One last thing. Last night, Jigiya came to dance. Jigiya is an organization made up of disabled individuals. They truly get no support here. Jigiya connected with an organization in NY, and they send money (a very small amount) monthly and they opened an account and are able to give out grants. It's quite impressive how far they strength the money. It was extremely emotional for me. Just looking around, watching them dance their hearts out and sing...Such passion!!!! If everybody could live their lives with an ounce of their passion....
I haven't really thought deeply since coming to Mali until yesterday. I have been constantly overwhelmed with new faces, languages, and cultures. But, I really got thinking yesterday. Their is so much I want to do in Mali!!! I really want to start a program for adult literacy (both men and women), maybe get a library going, and I want to talk to high schoolers about HIV/AIDS and safe sex. And, after last night, I want to work with disabled individuals. And, let's not forget my job of working with ecotourism. SO much to do!!! I was overwhelmed last night (not a new feeling). How can I prioritize when they are all so important? And jeez, I'm just an Auburn girl from SC. Then I thought of this quote:

"Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can."
John Wesley

It might seem crazy that sometimes I think in quotes...I don't know. I've always enjoyed quotes that capture my feelings or thoughts. Anyway, it was good for my spirit and I feel energized and refreshed. If I could only get French under my belt...then Bamara...always something, isn't it?
I know I'm a simple person with a simple blog but it was good to get this off my chest.
I added Brooke's blog. His blog is terrific, and he has more information about Jigiya.
I'm going back to homestay tomorrow. It's my last week. I love my family and will miss them, but am excited about spreading my wings in Sikasso region.

Okay days

Well, I'm not feeling 100%. My fever ended up being a symptom of a chest infection. I am on antibiotics, but I have so many infected mosquito bites, there's not enough antibiotic to go around.
I got sick again today. I don't know if I'm car sick, or if I'm developing something else. It really was no fun. We took a pretty lengthy car ride to attend a memorial service for Matt Costa. It was so emotional for me. At the end, I gave Matt's sister a huge hug. It was definitely worth the car ride. Matt's mom did something really cool. He loved soccer and she helped raise money to get soccer fields built with a nice plaque. They also brought a bunch of soccer balls, basketballs, and volleyballs to distribute.
Here's the press release for the deaths of Matt and Justin. Life truly is precious. I'm getting emotional writing this. Carpe Diem!

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.media.press.view&news_id=1148

I will write more tomorrow (hopefully).