quick update

Happy happy Easter.

Im in gao, land of fans, internet and kiddie pools for a couple days before I head back to site for one last stretch before another trip down to Bamako for another week long training. Im actually kind of anxious not to leave site because I’ve got so much going on in terms of projects and I don’t want to delay it more than it already delays itself. A lot of volunteers are headed home after this IST and while I’m jealous and think it would be really fun to go home, I think the idea scares me as well. The thought of getting off the plane in the United States, when even the streets of Bamako are too much for me to handle right, makes me wonder about what the adjustment back into my old life would be like. And then having to leave the hot showers, starbucks, cool summer breezes would take another detox. I’m not saying that I wont come home. But I don’t think I’ve come to the place yet where I could go and come back in a healthy way. Besides the heat here is doing wonders for my complexion.

The tree nursery project is funded and underway. We have baby moringa, neem, and guava all coming up now as well as mango, citrus lemon and baobab planted. The idea is to get a tree nursery going, teach a bunch of people over several formations in june and july info on trees in general, their importance and benefits and a bunch of techniques in agroforestry and grafting. Then some of the participants will take over the management of the nursery and be able to maintain it as a business so there’s always baby trees ready to be bought and planted. The participants as part of their training also have to do several tree plantings each around town in public places, or homes while sharing some of the new knowledge they’ve gained from the formation.

The work for the community center is slowly but surely moving along well too. We decided to start out with making the repairs needed on the current structure, getting some electrical wiring set up and building one new big room to house the library and the buvette for now. That way the room will make some money in selling cold drinks and snacks that can then be turned around to make more improvements, while also providing a service and benefit to the community with books and computers to use. Then farther down the line if that all turns out well we can continue to make other improvements. I’m hoping to get books and other supplies for the library donated as gifts in kind so if anyone knows a way to find french and english books or wants to donate some please let me know.

I’m also continuing my work on ecotourism with the elephants. I’m holding a big meeting coming up next week with all parties concerned to try to hash out goals, objectives on how best to manage the potential they have and the economic benefits without negatively affecting the environment or the community. One elephant tried to come into town yesterday. My host mom said that he’s checking the place out for his friends and then will come back with them. Hopefully before I go to bamako!

My cousin had a baby boy a week ago, and he’s happy and healthy although very very tiny- maybe a little premature. They always have the baptism here seven days after the birth so he’ll officially be named tomorrow. The woman and the baby are also not supposed to be outside or show themselves for the first week so Roqqi has been staying inside a mosquito net/hanging sheet, resting and getting to know her new born. Her husband is in Cote d’ivoire working, which is not too uncommon. It seems like a lot of Malians work in “abidja” but Im unsure as to what the migrant work is or how of if its regulated at all.

I apologize again for my neglect in posting, I try to find interesting stuff to talk about—im not even sure how many people even bother to check anymore! Ill post pictures soon when I get down to Bamako and actually have a strong enough connection. If anyone from Georgetown is reading this, Im so jealous of you all soon to be lounging on the lawn with the cherry blossoms. Have fun in the upcoming weeks.
Some picture to come in the near future.

lee and al come to town

As i rack my brain every time I'm near Internet to try to think of something interesting to write about, I always feel like I have nothing new to share with anyone who's reading. When my parents and little brother visited for two weeks, I got to see Mali through fresh eyes again and I felt it was really beneficial to my commitment to working here and my inspiration.

Lee Al and Evan arrived in Burkina Faso on the 14 and had lots of valentines goodies for me. Their first experience of an African city was slightly muted because they were in the center of town but they still faced the constant and persistent barrage of vendors, selling sunglasses, phone cards and magazines. They also had their first test of patience in waiting for food at a restaurant near by. Waiting for things and the slow pace of life here is a standard every day fact of life for me but they hadn't adjusted from the American frame of mind yet. My counterpart in Gossi often jokes around with people working with us, that "time is money" to remind them that they need to get to the meeting less than an hour late but its true that in the US, a meeting is supposed to start when its scheduled to start and its your responsibility to get there. Here everything is "inshalla" or godwilling, so you get there when you get there and you leave when you want. Its just a more relaxed way of taking things and realizing that money, meetings whatever isn't everything. If it takes you extra time to greet everyone you know on your way, then so be it. Its more important to check in with your friends and family than to "be on time" for a meeting we've got all day for.

We left for Mali after two days in burkina and after the five different border control stops (3 on the burkina side, 2 on the Malian)they got their first taste of Mali as we drove through Dogon country. I'd seen it for the first time a few days before on my way to pick them up and I would gladly go through again and again. Its reminds me alot of Arizona and New Mexico and then other parts remind me of what I think the badlands of South Dakota would look like. Pictures to come... (I left my camera cord at site!)

We stayed overnight in Douentza which I think is hands down the most beautiful part of Mali (the northern part of the cliffs that also pass through southern dogon country)Evan was taking lots of pictures from the car trying to capture the immensity of these cliffs which just rise out of nowhere to huge heights. Id been told on the bus on my journey down that there was a village on top of one of the cliffs, that they access by climbing up a steep ravine, so we spent some time trying to look for little people scaling cliffs.

Gossi was so incredibly welcoming to my family and i was so proud of my village and both my families. We were there only two days and everyone wanted to stay longer. the funniest part of the trip was the boat trip on Gossi's lake. We were supposed to be going "birdwatching", a gift from me to al for xmas, but unfortunately something was lost in translation. As we get farther and farther from land, i discover that the boat driver can't speak French or tammasheq so we're literally up a creek without a paddle. I made a complete idiot out of myself flapping my arms to try to indicate that we wanted to see brids. by the end of the trip we will have seen three, two of which were next to the place where we'd initially launched the boat. The wind picked up from the direction we'd come from after about twenty minutes on the lake, making it virtually impossible to backtrack. We had to go over to the other side of this huge mare with waves pouring into this small wooden boat powered by a man with a stick and two bailers ( dad with my water bottle and the other boat guy, who only knew two more words in french than the first guy, neither of which were oiseau or retourner). Apart from the disappointment in not being able to come through on the Xmas present, we were soaked and freezing but laughing hysterically. definitely the highlight of the trip. We also saw the elephants and rode a camel. I thought i might buy one ( a camel that is) after, but the logistics would be a pain.

We headed out to Dogon country and had a great time hiking there, although ev and mom did get sick so we got to do less than we'd planned. We got harrassed a fair amount by the vendors again, selling Dogon and other crafts, which is an unfortunate turnoff to the area, but the natural beauty of the region and its people makes up for it. I want to write more about this but I'm running out of time here n bko so i'll fill in more on their trip with pictures when i get my camera cord.