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.