I've actually been in country for 3 months now. So strange. So very strange.
But, with that said, things are still going swell. Figured it was time I made a regular update, too so everyone knows I'm still alive =D
Anywho, it's the quiet time right now. Meaning, I have no official work to be doing until December. But there's plenty to do. I've been getting to know my neighborhood a little bit. Perhaps not as much as I should, shame on me, but I do get out and the guys that run the boutique near my house are always glad to see me and love trying to talk to me (I say trying to talk because, while we can converse in French, we keep trying to talk in Bambara, which I don't know). This causes laughter. Not the cruel kind of laughter that might ensue in the US. No. Malians aren't mean like that. They laugh at everything. Culturally, they have a thing called "Joking Cousins." It's really interesting. I'll try to remember to go into more detail about that later, but I will say it's extremely important to Malian culture.
In somewhat exciting news, I now have my Peace Corps mountain bike! And it's only a month late! That's pretty much amazing! They were held up in customs, which really doesn't make any sense what-so-ever, but you know, whatever. The important thing is I have a bike so I can more easily go more places without having to spend money on a taxi or a bush taxi (which is a green van that looks like it'll fall apart before you actually step inside. They're slow, because they're constantly stopping to fit more people in--they can hold up to 20, I believe--and the door stays open so as to more easily yell at people to try and convince them to get in. If you're by yourself, they're much cheaper than taxis. Just don't expect to have personal space nor expect to arrive at your destination in a reasonable amount of time. Also, they follow set travel paths and will tell you that they're going a specific way to get you on, even if they're not).
My house has started to become Peace Corps Hotel Bamako. This week, we've had 3 volunteers stay over. Last week, I think we had one or two. This, of course is to be expected, since volunteers regularly come into Bamako, and I live in Bamako.
So, it's the holiday season. Otherwise known as autumn. My favorite US season, which I won't really be able to enjoy from here. Which means, if I'm speaking honestly, this will likely be one of the more difficult periods to cope with being in the Peace Corps--knowing that it's the holiday seasonal period. We do, however, have a couple of decorations up for Halloween. It's not much, but it's something. I think we're planning on trying to have a couple of volunteers over for Halloween as well, where we'll try to bake some fall-ish food (One of my roommates received the ingredients to make pumpkin pie, which is very exciting--we don't get pumpkins here, so canned pumpkin is helpful) and watch some Halloween movies. There's a bigger volunteer get together for Halloween in the Gao region that's planning on lasting through the election (apparently, they have a place that get's one of the US news channels, CNN I think, and plan on watching the election as a part of the get together), but new PCVs can't travel out of region for the first 3 months of their actual service (and as of this weekend, I'll have been an actual volunteer for 1 month, the first 2 months were training).
Speaking of fun things, though. In about a week (give or take), I believe I'm planning on going to Sibi (about an hour outside of Bamako, I think), where I'll be able to do some actual rock climbing! That, I'm looking forward to. Sadly, I don't actually own any rock climbing gear, though I've heard that we can rent gear in Sibi. The gear is something I'm going to want to get eventually, as I have plans and grand ideas that include climbing somewhat often. There are also a couple of World Cup qualifiers for the Malian national team here in Bamako this weekend. I'm really hoping to make it to at least one of those.
We also now have a cat. Phoebe. Cats are good to have here because they kill a lot of the other bugs and lizards and well, rodents. I don't think she's doing her job all that well, which is disappointing. We apparently feed her real food too much. While I'm on the topic of cats and animals, here's a cultural difference between Malians and Western cultures. They don't understand how we can consider animals to be a part of the family. Cats and dogs, while liked by kids and often serve some sort of purpose, are not liked by adults. Apparently, there's a non-profit here in Mali that's dedicated to getting Malians to not abuse animals. This, while a noble goal that I generally support (as I like animals), seems slightly out of place in the 3rd poorest nation in the world where families can't even afford to eat.
Unrelated to Mali. A flash fiction story that was supposed to be published a while back is finally getting published. It should be out before Christmas. I'll receive the smallest sum of money from the proceeds of the book's profits (10% divided between all the contributors, which will make it an exceedingly small percentage for me--I think there are between 50 & 60 contributors to the book, if my memory's serving me well today). But still, it's a publishing credit.
In other things, I finally downloaded and installed Skype, which means I'm finally able to chat with people (with video!) online. I'm just using the free version, so I can only make computer to computer calls. Anyway, if you have Skype, feel free to add me. My Skype name is alecthewriter. I've also added a few pictures on Flickr, so you should check those out.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24884316@N
Well, that should be it for now. I know there was something else I wanted to say, but I can't think of it right now. I hope all is well with everyone.
Oh! PS, check out this blog. It's a translation of a newspaper article about a certain politician. I think you'll like it.
http://leishacamden.blogspot.com/2008/1
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