Today, I was called gaunt

Site week is, regrettably, over. I've greatly enjoyed my time in Bamako (though it's a really expensive city--not by US standards, but by Peace Corps budget/Mali standards). I have to haggle hard with taxis, which I've gotten better at... but still, it's a chore. Often, I have to turn away sometimes up to 3 or 4 taxis before I can get one to lower the price to the "appropriate" price (which is still a little pricey).

Food is so much better in Bamako, but with that said, I'm regrettably still a bit sick (hoping to be on the mend soon), so I haven't been able to enjoy food as much as I'd like. Also, in that same vein, I've apparently dropped in weight to 150-155 lbs. Which means I've lost 20 lbs since coming to Mali. That's just crazy (it's only been a month, people). Maybe tomorrow I'll learn if I have either amoebas or giardia. Maybe.

I finally received word that my laptop is now being looked at. Hopefully, I should know something in the relative near future regarding that (and then have it here, soonish after that).

So, there's a good chance that I won't be back on the net for ~3 weeks (19-20 days). That's how long my next (and last) homestay will be. It'll be long, but I will, apparently, be making the occassional visit back to Bamako for training--so it shouldn't be too bad. But after that stretch of time, I'll have a week at Tubani-So, then I'll move to Bamako, where I'll be for the remaining 2 years. So the point of this paragraph is this: don't freak out if you don't hear from me for a few weeks. I'm fine. I just don't have internet access.

Anywho, I'm sure I have more I could say, but I can't currently think of it, and there are others wishing to use the computers.

PS, as a note on how I'm adjusting to things here, last night actually felt chilly, and this morning I felt genuinely cold. Cold, in West Africa (when it was probably in the 70s or low 80s). The other PCTs had similar comments.