the third goal

Things Falling Apart

2010-06-14T17:14:00.003Z

COS conference was last week. It was my last chance to see everyone from my group (the HBOs/the 2008-2010 Peace Corps Mali volunteers, your pick). It was a great time where we were all able to enjoy air conditioning, a fancy swimming pool, lots of food, and long conferences. In all, I'd say that the conference went quite well. Some of my fellow volunteers have already left, which seems somewhat strange. One left on the last day of the conference. Two left that Saturday. One is leaving tonight. Two more are leaving tomorrow night.

As for me, I'll depart Mali on July 10th and make my way to the UK to vacation with my brother before starting law school. July 10, it still hasn't quite sunk in. But it's getting there. At this point, I have less than a month before I leave. It doesn't quite seem real.

For hashes, we recently had a going away hash for a whole lot of expatriots. Many of them, I consider good friends. It was a great run with a lot of people and some amazing food (lasagna!!!). I, myself, have one more hash to run (assuming I'm able to run. See below). Hopefully, it'll be a good one.

Hash 1: Overlooking the river

Hash 2: During the "down downs" at the end

The world cup has also begun (as I'm assuming most of you who read my blog are aware). I've been traveling between bars/restaurants and friends houses in order to watch the game. The most important of the games that I've seen so far was obviously the England vs. USA game. For the game, I found myself in a former (as of last year) Peace Corps volunteer's house watching the game on his TV with a bunch of friends. The game was pretty epic. But just after the US scored a tying goal in the 40th minute, the power on our floor went out. We fixed it. It went out again. This time, I found myself standing on a vertical cinder block in order to reach the fuse box and flip the power back on. Just as I was pushing the button, the cinder block completely crumbled underneath me causing me to crash painfully on the ground below. This crash and onset of pain brought about some foot and leg injuries. Overall, I'll be okay (and I was, in fact, able to get the power restored). But I think the lesson learned here is don't trust cinder blocks here in Mali. Especially if they're vertical and you have to stand on them.

Soccer: Watching the games

Another bit of tragedy ocurred this weekend a well. I was working on my laptop the other morning, and as I worked, our cleaning guy came in to get copies of some photos from me. As he handed the flash drive to me, my cup of juice (which was sitting directly next to my laptop) completely spilt over my laptop! I tried to react quickly, but it was sadly not fast enough. My laptop shut down and now refuses to turn on. I'm assuming something short-circuited, which is disheartening, but I also believe that the hard drive is likely fine, which is less disheartening. I'm just glad that this happened now, at the end and not midway through my service (plus, I had always assumed that the laptop would not be sufficient for use after finishing my service). The next question on that front will be what should I get next? I really want a macbook pro, but I don't know if I can justify the cost just yet (but maybe). Regardless, I'll at least need a computer that can run windows for law school (also possible on a mac--using programs like bootcamp).

So, this week, I was originally going to travel a little; but as I'm somewhat sequestered, I've decided to get a jump on all my COS paperwork--by taking care of my medical work this week (hopefully, I'll finish that up on Wednesday). I've also begun to return all the things that I need to return. There's a huge checklist of things.

Run for Water

2010-06-03T22:09:00.007Z

In April, there was an international event that was coordinated by Live Earth called: Run for Water. I volunteered to organize the run here in Bamako.

The purpose? To raise awareness of water crises and shortages throughout the developing world. Specifically, potable water issues.

In developing countries, the average distance that a woman has to walk in order to get water is 6k per day. That's 6k--carrying enough water for their whole family. Some of the projects that my fellow Peace Corps volunteers work on include building/repairing wells, pumps and soak pits. Unfortunately, these are the types of projects that require a lot of money. The parts and the cement are definitely not cheap (One of my friends' pump repair projects has an estimated cost of 500,000 just to fix two pumps in the village). Because most of this water isn't potable (it's just coming from wells that are full of bacteria and other problems), it also means that people are often sick (and it can also lead to death). This is particularly true of children, who haven't built up resistances to the many bacteria. In Mali, 113 out of every 1000 infants die before their first birthday (because of diarrhea and diseases like cholera--all due to water).¹

There are, of course, ways to get the funding. One of them, is getting people and businesses from back home to donate money. Peace Corps actually has a page specifically for this. You can look up projects and donate money (which is 100% tax deductible). It's on the peacecorps.gov website.

Overall, it was only a moderately successful event. I had hoped to raise money for one of the pump repair projects, but sadly, that didn't happen (we only managed to raise approximately $40USD, which is still better than nothing at all). As a positive, however, we had about 45 people show up to the event, where we could talk about water issues that were relevant to Mali.

Run for Water 1: People getting in
a circle for warm-ups before the run.

Run for Water 2: Post run--with one of the
runners wearing the shirt I designed for the event.

1. http://www.usaid.gov/stories/mali/ss_mali_waterpump.html

On Turning 32

2010-06-01T21:49:00.005Z

So, I turned 32 while in Mali. Which is just a little over the average age of a Peace Corps volunteer. Without looking up the information, I feel as if I remember hearing the average age for a PCV was 24/25. I can say, however, that I've really learned that the difference between 32 and 24 is pretty much non-existent. Had someone told me that a few years ago, I probably wouldn't have believed it...

The fact that this birthday was in Africa didn't really negatively impact my birthday celebrations. In fact, I somewhat wonder if it enhanced the birthday. First of all, I have a St. Patrick's Day birthday, which means I'm used to actually going out and celebrating my birthday. Second, because I'm in Mali, I absolutely knew that I wouldn't have access to simple US customs like green beer.

What I could do, however, is what I'm quite good at. Entertain (then dance. because, let's be honest, I'm a huge fan of dancing).

I had a few friends over at my house to start the birthday festivities with an Irish lunch prepared by me.

B-Day Lunch 1: My Sous-Chefs

B-Day Lunch 2: My Sous-Chefs, part 2

The Lunch Menu:

Vegetarian Shepherds Pie
--A classic Irish dish topped with mashed potatoes. Like regular shepherds pie, except using beans and additional veggies to substitute for meat (it was vegetarian because I had been stupid and given up meat for Lent).

B-Day Lunch 3: The Shepherds Pie

Champ
--It's a classic Irish recipe: green onion mash potatoes

Boxty
--Again, super Irish. Grate raw potatoes, mix with mashed potatoes (not the same ones I used for champ) and other ingredients, turn into a dough and cook.

B-Day Lunch 4: Boxty and champ on the stove

After we were all completely stuffed, it was time to go for drinks!

The Party 1: At the 1st bar before going to the Marine House

The original plan was to do a pub crawl through Bamako. And honestly, we would have done exactly that, except that we learned there was a St. Patrick's Day party at the Marine House, so we altered our plans and made our way to the Marine House!

The Party 2: Marine House, with my friend,
Shelby and the ever important mosquito repellent!

The Party 3: Marine House, several of my PCV friends just outside

All things considered, the Marine House was a lot of fun. There was a lot of food I really wanted to eat, but couldn't (they had buffalo wings!!!!!!! which is the main reason I say I was stupid to give up meat for Lent), there was Guinness. And, of course, there were a lot of people!

After the Marine House, we made our way to Appaloosa, a karaoke bar in Bamako, where we were able to belt out our worst renditions of several songs.

The Party 4: Appaloosa, where the magical karaoke happened

Overall, it was a great birthday. I was surrounded by a lot of really good friends. I ate some amazing food. And I quite honestly had a whole lot of fun.

So, WAIST (finally)

2010-05-25T00:19:00.003Z

WAIST (West African Invitational Softball Tournament) was a smashing good time. We travelled by bus for the 30+ hour drive there, which was definitely taxing. Luckily, I was surrounded by friends, and we were able to keep ourselves amused (when we weren’t sleeping).

Bus: Ready to Go

After the long, long bus ride, we found ourselves transported into a magical land of beaches, sidewalks, and cooler temperatures (also known as Dakar, Senegal). Destination #1: The American Club of Dakar, where there was a swimming pool, cold beer and….. HOT DOGS.

American Club

Maybe it was partly due to my own experiences here in Mali, but my first impression of Dakar was that it was, well, developed. I didn’t feel like I was in a developing country while there. The streets were well maintained, the food was great, and the sewers were actually covered (go figure). If anything, I’d say that Dakar felt like an internationally integrated big city. Granted, my experience was most certainly colored by the fact that I was surrounded by Peace Corps and expats the whole time I was in Dakar.

I will say that there were definite signs that Dakar is still a developing nation. The street vendors, the open air markets, the constant having to haggle on every single price of every single thing you need to buy... They all served to remind me of where I was.

The softball games were fun. Mali had a total of 3 softball teams: Team A (The Cowboys), Team B (The Wranglers), and Team C (The Buckaroos). The A Team was the most competitive, and they showed it (they only lost 1 game). B Team (my team), was the intermediate team. We put on a good show, but that turned out to not be quite enough. C Team, on the other hand, well, let’s just say that they showed up for things other than softball, but still enjoyed their time on the field.

Softball 1: Tinti proving some of us know how to play the game

Softball 2: Group Pic

Of the other teams, There were several PC Senegal teams, a couple of PC Gambia teams, one mixed PC group called The Refugees (made up of Peace Corps volunteers who’d been evacuated from their respective countries), and several non PC expat teams (including some missionary teams, and even a couple of high school teams).

I met a lot of amazing people while I was in Senegal. The time went by way too fast (and, unfortunately, so did the money).

After my time in Dakar, it became absolutely necessary for me to take a vacation from my, well vacation (Dakar was great, but we were constantly on the move and involved in one thing or another), so several of us made the trek to Toubab Dialaw, which is something of a beach resort town about three hours south of Dakar. There, we simply rested and relaxed on the beach while eating amazingly delicious and freshly caught shrimp (it was also there that we decided it was perfectly okay to eat the entire shrimp—head, tail, legs and all).

Toubab Dialaw: At our favorite restaurant

Segou Music Festival

2010-03-13T20:11:00.004Z

Time is passing much too quickly for me these days. For one, I'm staying pretty busy. We're teaching, which always makes time go by faster, but more than that, I've actually managed to travel a little bit, too. It's certainly re-energized me.

Since my last post, I've traveled to Segou for the Segou Music Festival (also known as Festival Sur le Niger), and then to Senegal for WAIST (West African Invitational Softball Tournament). I'm going to save WAIST for another update. This update is going to focus on the Festival Sur le Niger. It's a multi-day music festival held on the river in, well.. Segou. While there, I was able to see many of my fellow PCVs that I hadn't seen in some time, which was pretty awesome. Plus, the music was great, and we managed to work our way to the front of the stage. It wasn't just music though. During the days, there were plenty of additional activities and events to see. Like pirogue races. The race that I watched resulted in all but 1 pirogue capsizing. One pirogue actually capsized just shy of winning (they had a long lead, too), which had to be crushing--though you'd never know it, because everyone remained happy and festive.

Music Festival 1: Pirogue Race If you look closely in this picture, you can see the heads of several malians bobbing in the water after their boat capsized (you can also see the empty boat resurfaced and floating behind the others). After each pirogue capsized, they'd send a retrieval boat out for the Malians.

Music Festival 2: Getting ready for a night of music!

I'm posing for a picture with some of my favorite Mali volunteers (all from my stage). Some of these people I hadn't seen in a VERY long time, so it was great to catch up!

Music Festival 3: Standing in the water and enjoying a great show!

After we managed to work our way to the front of the crowd (the crowds were huge, btw!).

Music Festival 4: Dancing in the Niger

We all danced in the water while enjoying the music (how could you not, especially when you're already in the water!!!). In all, the music was great (This year is celebrating Mali's 50th year of independence, so some of Mali's top bands performed at the festival), and I got to spend the days there with great company!

Happy 2010!

2010-01-06T17:56:00.003Z

Wow! I really can’t believe that we’re already into 2010. It's getting cold now. Especially at night--I sleep wearing long sleeves and under a blanket (for perspective, the nighttime temperature is supposed to be 63 tonight). I’ll have my COS (Close of Service) conference in a mere four months, which is completely crazy. I won’t be home at that point, that’s just the conference where we’ll go over what all needs to be done and how to deal with readjusting once we’re back, etc. We’ll also each learn our official COS dates at the conference.

So, Christmas was nice. Earlier in December, we had a small Christmas party at Tubani-So that included all of the newest stage of volunteers, which was good to have. On Christmas Eve, a bunch of the volunteers that were in Bamako went over to an expat’s house for food and hot, mulled wine. Then, Christmas day, I made biscuits and gravy (from scratch, of course), eggs and heated up some bacon that was sent to me (thanks mom!) for everyone who was staying at my house (there were a lot of people). For dinner, we made mashed potatoes and gravy, cooked some green beans and carrots, and bought rotisserie chicken. Desert was my new specialty: peanut butter fudge (which is something that I’ve really enjoyed making recently) and a key lime pie that another houseguest made.

Tubani-So Christmas Party - with hot chocolate!

New Year’s Eve was very relaxed, which was good for me—I’d just graded nearly 700 exams the day before (I was only given one day to grade them all) and was ready to simply relax. There were a few parties that I knew of, but I opted to stay home instead. At midnight, I toasted the new year with some champagne while watching the fireworks from my roof

1 day to grade all of these!

New Year’s Day was the “Hangover Hash.” I was a little concerned at first. Apparently, last year’s was a 10k run. But it turned out okay, they kept it to a 5k with a lot of ups and downs. The dinner after the run was lasagna—which was absolutely amazing!!!

Hangover Hash

In law school news, I’ve received a few acceptances and denials. On the acceptance side, we can add Northeastern—which is in Boston (with a $8,500/year scholarship and a $3,000 nonprofit coop stipend), American University—in DC, and University of Iowa (with a full ride scholarship—totaling $117,906 for all three years). Obviously, the full ride at Iowa makes them my top choice at the moment (they’re also ranked 26th in the country), but I’m still waiting to hear from a few more top schools—some, I don’t expect to hear back from for another couple of months.

In all, life is good over here in Mali, and 2010 is already shaping up to be an excellent year (busy and with lots of work to do, but excellent all the same). I still really enjoy my time in Mali, and I’ve made a lot of great friends—Malians, expats and volunteers.

Thanksgiving isn't the only big feast/holiday this week

2009-11-24T17:02:00.005Z

Wow, it's hard to believe that it's already time for Thanksgiving. Like last year, I'll be going to the Ambassador's for the big fest. Lots of amazing food. Definitely looking forward to that! Then, on Saturday, there's Seliba/Tabaski (AKA the sheep festival, or the Festival of Sacrifice), which is a really big Muslim holiday. It celebrates Ibrahim's (Abraham) willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismael, to God (which God rewards his devotion by making a sheep appear at the last moment so Ibrahim can sacrifice that instead).

Lately, things have been going quite well for me. As you may remember from my last post (which was a few months ago...), I went back to the US in order to take the LSAT and have a nice little vacation.

The results of that trip worked out favorably for me. I scored a 163 on the LSAT (88^th percentile), and managed to stack on 15 lbs (which, I've already lost, btw). I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to see, but I did see a lot of people--which was nice. I did most certainly get to go to a Columbus Crew soccer game and an Ohio State football game while I was back.

With my brother at the OSU game

So far, I've applied to 14 different law schools around the US, and today, I received my first acceptance! Catholic with an offer of 14,000/year in scholarships. It's good to know so early that I'll at least be going somewhere!

Since returning to Mali, I've managed to do at least a little travel/climbing. I went to Hombori with an expat friend, where we spent full week camping, hiking and climbing. It was absolutely beautiful up there.

On the way to Hombori, just beyond Douentza

We saw a considerable amount of camels on the trip. Actually, we had to stop the car and wait at one point while camels crossed the road. We had really hoped to see some elephants while on the trip, but it didn't work out. Maybe next time!

Millet - the primary grain/food eaten in Mali

Millet is the grain that's used to make tö, which is the staple of most Malian meals.

Hiking at The Hand of Fatima

Standing on a rock. Obviously. We're pretty far up at this point, but there was a lot more up to go.

A little bit of easy climbing at The Hand of Fatima

This last picture was taken while we were still hiking around The Hand of Fatima. We didn't take our gear on the hike, because we didn't think we'd need it. Turns out, we had to do a fair amount of climbing during the hike after all! This particular climb wasn't hard, but it was pretty far up, too.

Bamako, itself, has remained pretty much the same. There are several more Bamako volunteers than there used to be, but that's kinda nice. It gives us all more chances to unwind a little--which can be important. It also allows us to collaborate on ideas and projects a little better.

Born Again

2009-09-07T14:40:00.002Z

Yesterday was the last hash that I'll have the opportunity to go to before my vacation in America. The hash was actually in Siby, and the rain completely drenched us all. For certain, it was a beautiful hash, and at the close, I finally received m hash name (thus, the subject heading). Professor Doolittle. It amuses me, and it's considerably less offensive than most people's names.

Siby Hash 1: Yes, we run the hash rain or shine

Siby Hash 2: Which way to go?

One standard of hash runs are false trails. Sometimes, you run for a while before you realize that you're on a false trail; then you have to turn around and go back to find the true path. Or, you do as those pictured above and wait for someone to yell that it's the right or wrong way.

Siby Hash 3: There were a lot of ups and downs

Siby Hash 4: Finally able to run again

Siby Hash 5: Pay no attention to the man with a gun

Siby's a rural area. So it's not uncommon for Malians to have rifles like the one pictured above. Just like it's not uncommon to find farmers in the states with rifles.

I also played flag football yesterday. As an activity, it had stopped occurring for a while due to the majority of people who played had left. But it's picked back up now, which means my Sundays are once again action packed. As has happened every time I've played flag football, I cut up a knee while sliding on the grass. Seriously, my body doesn't like the embassy grass.

I can't believe that it's down to less than two weeks before my trip to the US. I'm definitely looking forward to it. Especially the chance to take a hot shower. The weather's getting a little chilly here, and the cold water doesn't exactly feel all that great at the moment (unless it's directly after working out--otherwise, I get the distinct feeling that I'm going to suffer from hypothermia). So hot showers are high on my list of things to enjoy (along with cheese, bacon, bratwursts, fresh fish, sushi, lattes, Mexican food and a whole slew of other things).

My LSAT studies are staying intensive. As I've said before, I feel that's important--especially since many law schools give more than a 4:1 weight to your LSAT score over your GPA. Given my somewhat weak (3.08) undergraduate GPA, I certainly need to do as well as possible. I do, at least have some very solid soft factors (MA degree, lots of professional work experience, multiple foreign languages, Peace Corps, other volunteer experience, etc.) that can only help me.

I've also recently had to start dealing with a fact of life that the majority of other Peace Corps volunteers cope with for their entire service. No internet. Technically, I don't think my year contract is up yet, but the plug that powers the actual radio cable (yes, I received internet through a radio device located on my roof) burned out. I found a replacement in the grand marché, but the price was astronomical (12,500 CFA--or probably about $25). For a power cord!!!! Knowing that I only have a week or two left of internet anyway, I decided not to buy the cord at that time (that and I didn't have 12,500 CFA on me at the time--else I probably would have broken down and bought the piece). My guess is that we're going to continue to get internet in some fashion, as it's pretty much invaluable to me as a professor, but that's a decision to be made by the house. Not me alone.

Hellos and Goodbyes

2009-09-03T14:02:00.003Z

16 days until I return to the US for vacation/LSAT. Not that I'm counting or anything.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Koulikoro-ville (Koulikoro is also a region of Mali) with several other volunteers. We were having a regional get-together that included the new Koulikoro trainees. It was nice. Also nice, was getting out of Bamako for a moment. Koulikoro-ville is only about an hour and a half (more or less) by sotrama (a big, green van that they'll literally stuff 20+ people in the back of for transport. Seating consists of a wooden bench that runs along all 4 sides inside of the van behind the driver). What I saw of the town was nice. A lot smaller and much more relaxed than Bamako, but then, that's not difficult.

Koulikoro 1: Flat Tire

We had to wait for another bus to stop by for help, because we didn't have a jack.

Koulikoro 2: Waiting for the tire to be fixed

The bus/van pictured above had 21 people sitting in the back (20 volunteers and one Malian) and 3 or 4 sitting up front (including the driver).

Koulikoro 3: Dance Party

After the get-together, I came back and set my 4th hash (luckily, I'm not setting this weekend's--which will be a nice change of pace). We also hosted the on-after at my house, which seems to have gone well.

Road to Siby: Deciding Where to set the Hash

This picture was on the top of a pretty tall hill. Sam and John (pictured) were to of the Peace Corps Volunteers who helped to set that particular hash.

More than anything else, I've been saying goodbye to friends who've been finishing their service. This week, we threw a going away party for several COSers. Sam left Tuesday night after the party. Ben left last night. Holly leaves on Friday night.

Going Away Party 1: Theme: Redneck/Beach Bum

Going Away Party 2: Sam leaving for the airport

Unlike when you arrive as a trainee--all at once--leaving is more like a slow bleed. 1 or 2 this day. Another that day. For those who don't extend their service, there's roughly a 3 or 4 month period in which they could be leaving. They learned roughly when they'd be leaving during their COS conference (which was in May). Generally speaking, you should assume that you'll be here in Mali for 26 months--though some will be here for less and others a bit more.

My LSAT study has diminished as of late. That's not to say that my actual studying has become much less, but that my results are dropping. With just over 3 weeks before I write the exam, I really need to crack down and get my performance back up.

It's all downhill from here

2009-08-20T19:01:00.002Z

Last week, I reached the "official" half-way point of my service. Of course, I won't know my actual COS (close of service) date until around May or so of next year. Add in my month long vacation coming up soon, and the last half of my service should be fairly smooth. I hope.

The house is once again full. I have a 3rd year volunteer from Mauritania living here and one of the new trainees will live here after swearing in. In fact, Jeremy the Trainee has been here this week for site visit. He seems like good people, and he wants me to teach him martial arts--which will be good for me. I haven't been able to teach martial arts since being here.

So far, my experiences with the new stage (which has been admittedly limited at best) has gone well. They seem like good people, but they're also young. Jeremy's a bit older in his stage (still young though), while most of them are probably 22. I'll get to actually become at least somewhat familiar with the those of the Koulikoro region this weekend as we have an end of site week party in Koulikoro--which, will actually finally be my first time truly out of Bamako.

This weekend, I set my 4th hash (out of the last 5, no less). More than that, we'll be hosting the on-after at my house this time. That part has me a little nervous--as my house, while spacious, is quite spartan and lacking simple things like... chairs for everyone to sit in. We'll see how it goes.

The semester at FLASH has *technically* ended. Classes are done. I had hoped that I'd be able to be grading exams this week, but there's the rub in all of this. Exams haven't happened yet. Teachers went on strike just before the exams. I've turned in my test papers, so I've done all I can do to this point. I'd really like this setback taken care of before too long. Maybe.. with luck..

So many of my friends are leaving Mali now. I may have said this at some point before, but being in Bamako means that I've probably more made friends with the previous stages of volunteers than with my own. As a consequence, they're all COSing now. One friend leaves on Monday, two more leave in a week and a half.

A year and change

2009-07-21T22:27:00.004Z

The school year is actually almost over. August 1st is the last day of class. That's incredibly hard to believe. That won't, of course, be the end of my school work for the semester. The week after will be exams. Then, there's grading. I still haven't had time to finish grading the previous semester's exams, either (we started the 2nd semester the week after exams--so there was no down time to do things like... grade papers). Some of that semester's done, just not all. Then, after I miraculously finish all the other papers that I'll need to grade, we'll eventually retest the people who didn't pass the exam on the first go (for both semesters).

Hopefully, these retests happen at a point that's either before I leave for the US or after I return--not during my departure (though it really wouldn't matter too much since all tests are proctored and they'd have copies of my test papers to give out to the students anyway).

I've been here in Mali for over a year now. Soon, I'll reach the "official" halfway point. That'll be in August. At times, my service has gone incredibly fast. Other times, not so much. Right now, I think it's mostly somewhere in the middle.

This semester, in particular, has been tough. Teaching 6 days/week has proved to be a challenge. More so because I've been sick more than I'd care to share this semester, and I've developed the most awesome heat rash ever (looking up treatment for heat rash, it says to stay in an air conditioned environment and don't sweat. Right, like either of those options are available to me).

The new stage of trainees (they won't be volunteers until they're sworn in) arrived earlier this month. I haven't had the chance to meet any of them yet, but I imagine I will after I'm done with my classes (I'm going to try and get out to Tubaniso at least once during training to meet and talk with the new university ed volunteer they have). So far, I've heard good things about the new stage.

Hashes. I've actually helped to set the last two hashes (though I still don't yet have a hash name). One of them was a "live hash" meaning the hares (those who set the hash) had only about a 15 minute head start on the hounds (runners). 15 minutes may sound like a lot, but in that time, you've got to create a path, set false trails and somehow make sure the path gets to the destination spot (usually the start). Ours was about an 8k hash.

Magnambougou Hash: A couple of Malians who decided to join us in the hash.

The second hash was in a beautiful area that required the runners to more or less climb up a giant hill and then wind down following a cliff line. The toughest part was the beginning (the climb). That and as a hare, I get to run the 5k route twice nearly back to back (okay, we had an hour or two between). Once to set, once with the runners.

Moribabougou Hash 1: View of the ridge line.

Moribabougou Hash 2: While starting the hill near the beginning of the hash.

Didn't do anything special for the 4th of July. I chose to be responsible and teach instead (that is, of course, why I'm here. To teach).

I feel like I'm making significant progress

2009-06-19T07:40:00.004Z

I stay pretty busy most days. Especially now with my new teaching schedule. 6 days/week is apparently a lot. But I like it. I like being busy. I don't seem to notice time going by quite so much when I'm busy, either. Speaking of, I think my mind absolutely refuses to believe that it's 19 June. This time last year, I was preparing to leave DC and go back to Ohio to see friends and family for my last couple of weeks in the US. In less than a month, I will have been in Mali for a year.

One of the things I've been working hard to do is acquire books to use with my students (so if you're reading this and you have access to textbooks--especially high school or college literature and history textbooks, you should contact me). I've managed to get my old school system, Beavercreek City Schools, to agree to send me two boxes of books. That's a start. I think they're just sending me English textbooks, but I'm not 100% sure. I'll verify today.

I think it's safe to say that rainy season has returned. We've had rain (however brief) for the last couple of days. I'm kinda glad. When it rains a lot at night, it cools the temperature down into the low 80s, which makes it so very comfortable to sleep in. To be perfectly honest, the dry season wasn't completely devoid of rain as I'd been told it would be. There were a handful of times when we received light sprinkles.

Despite my heavy teaching schedule, I have continued to enjoy some free time. I continue to run in the hashes every other week (I'm actually going to be helping to set the course on this next hash)...

Badalabougou Hash: Proof that I actually run in these things

...and I went to the Mali vs. Ghana World Cup Qualifier match here in Bamako earlier this month. We lost... but it was still a good game.

Mali v Ghana 1: On the way to the game

Mali v Ghana 2: Gendarmes ready in case a riot breaks out

Mali v Ghana 3: Peace Corps Volunteers ready for a good game

Mali v Ghana 4: Mali taking a corner kick

Mali has a pretty amazing stadium that's really well taken care of. I was actually surprised how nice and modern this stadium is (there's another stadium in Bamako that's a bit older--this one, however, is quite new). I'm definitely going to have to make it out to a few Mali Eagles (the name of Mali's professional team) games.

Of course, I'm still studying for the LSAT, and that's going pretty well. Some days are better than others with that. The last practice test, however, I scored a 163, but would've scored a 168 had I finished all my sections on time. So speed is my biggest factor right now.

Speaking of law, I've not really ever talked about what areas of law I'd be interested in going into. When I was young and I thought about things like law school, I always just assumed I'd be interested in criminal law (and I am, let's not be mistaken there), but Peace Corps in particular, has really broadened my perspective on the world. I'd really like to go into international law. More specifically, I think I'm interested in areas such as human rights. When I think back on the types of things I've cared about (and a big reason as to why I joined Peace Corps in the first place), it just makes sense. Of course, that can change. And I don't want to get ahead of myself completely (I've not even taken the LSAT yet, let alone applied to or been accepted to any law schools).

In villa updates, I once again have roommates. Temporarily. It's nice to have other people around from time to time, but I swear, I'm going to rename this house "the in and out house." I had 2 roommates, then it was just me, then I had 1 temp roommate, then it was just me, now I have 2 more temp roommates, but soon(ish) it'll just be me yet again. I wonder if it will continue in a similar pattern for the rest of my service. If nothing else, it allows me to really peer into the lives of a couple of people at a time for a brief period. That's good for a writer.

As an aside, I just killed my first scorpion.

More near future plans: For the 4th of July, Peace Corps volunteers are planning a gathering pretty far from here. I'll have to cancel classes for that Friday and Saturday in order to go, but I think it'll be worth it (that'll give my students a time to catch up on their reading). Plus, it'll be my first real escape from Bamako since I've been here (to date, the farthest I've gone from Bamako since homestay was Siby, which, according to other PCVs, doesn't count as leaving Bamako).

If only I were Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man

2009-05-19T21:01:00.002Z

I think my situation is often different from the other teachers. I wasn't expected to have many students in my last class before finals, but Saturday's American Studies class had a fair amount of students. To be sure, they weren't as full as normal, but there was still a considerable amount of them (pictured below).

American Studies 1: Last day of class

American Studies 2: Last day of class

This week marks exams at University of Bamako. That means my days are entirely filled all week long (and a bit next week, too). When I'm not giving tests to my own students (more on that in a minute), I'm proctoring for other teachers' classes.

It also means I'm extremely exhausted. It's a good exhaustion, but it's still an exhaustion none-the-less. I really have no time for other things. Tonight, for example, I didn't get home from giving exams until after 7:45pm (with an 8am start).

Giving my exams has proven interesting. One problem is the simple fact there simply aren't enough of me. Simply put, they scheduled all the Conversation Year 2 exams at exactly the same time in entirely different rooms (and even different buildings on different sides of the river). Given that I taught 3 conversation classes this semester, it has caused a problem.

I've given the exam for one of the three. The others I've simply had to try and reschedule later this week and the beginning of next week. The one I gave began today at 3pm, but didn't finish until after 7:30pm. It was scheduled for 2 hours, but seeing that I had 70 students to try and have one on one conversations with, well... two hours just doesn't work for that. That's going to make the other two conversation class exams fun to look forward to.

I also received next semester's schedule this week. I'll be teaching 16 hours of American Studies. 12 hours of 2nd year and 4 hours of 3rd year. That I'm actually really looking forward to. I'll be teaching 6 days/week--meaning I only have Sunday off, but still.. it's a good schedule. It does mean that I'll have to retool what I was planning on doing for podcasts (I had just assumed that I'd be teaching at least some conversation classes), but that's okay. I think I'll examine a poem or short story each week that's period specific, break it down and emphasize vocabulary.

So, this is hot season.

2009-05-06T20:39:00.003Z

Crazy to think that, later this week, I'll have been in Mali for 10 whole months. Time is not moving slowly. It is, however, moving hotly. This is, after all, the peak of hot season and temperatures have been hovering around the 110 level for the past week or so.

I went to the Peace Corps bureau once this week to print some things out for my classes. I was only in the IRC for a moment, but the difference air conditioning makes is considerably noticeable. For those who may not be aware, I do not have air conditioning in my house, and because transportation can be spotty at best (and would never be air conditioned anyway), I ride my bicycle pretty much everywhere (or walk). My classrooms are also not air conditioned. That means I'm pretty much always covered in sweat. I have a micro-fiber towel that was given to me before I came to Mali, and I always keep it in my backpack now to "wipe down" before teaching. I also keep my "work shirt" in my bag as well--so that it's at least not covered in sweat when I begin teaching.

This week, there was a brief strike by the teachers. Said strike was yesterday and today, but classes resume as normal tomorrow.

I've had a temporary roommate for the last couple of weeks. One of the Madagascar volunteers. For those outside of the loop, there was a coup in Madagascar (which is an island on the way, far other side of Africa--near South Africa). As such, Peace Corps pulled out all of its volunteers from there. Most of them are back in the US now, but some took other volunteer positions in other countries. I believe we took in 5, which has given me a temporary roommate, though said roommate will be moving to the other side of Bamako to be closer to work--which will, yet again, make me the only volunteer in this giant villa.

As per my norm, I've been keeping exceptionally busy. The month of April, which is also known as Script Frenzy, is a month in which writers are supposed to write a 100 page script. Not being one to take such challenges lightly, I wrote two. That's right, two scripts. The first, I finished in 10 days (then took 5 days to edit and relax while also teaching and grading papers), so I decided that I really had no reason not to write a second. That puts my total number of screenplays written up to 4--effectively doubling my pre-Peace Corps number (in a month, no less). The first of the new screenplays, I actually submitted to a contest after being pressured by a good friend/former teacher. I won't hear anything about that until sometime in August.

Speaking of noise.. There's a lot of noise and cheers outside on the street right now. My assumption is that there were good results from a soccer game. I didn't realize there was a game tonight. My guess is that it was for the Mali national team (speaking of, I'm hoping to see the Mali v. Ghana game here in Bamako next month). That should be extremely exciting, a World Cup qualifier match!

More on the actual work thing though.

I've decided to start creating podcasts for my university students. It'll probably just be one episode per week focusing primarily on my conversation classes--offering additional study/listening opportunities. I think that's important. Technology is also important, and getting my students to use technology in a productive and useful way is always a good thing. As of right now, the podcasts will focus on three basic areas: vocab, grammar and culture. The lessons will likely be somewhere between 5-10 minutes each in length.

I still need to create an "opening theme/theme song" to lead in the podcast, and I've begun to play around with GarageBand on my mac, but I can't quite figure out exactly what sort of tune I'd really like to have.

In other news, the semester apparently ends this month. Midterms will start sometime around the 16th. What I don't know is if those midterms will include the freshmen. I hope not. I've only had 2 classes with my current class (and three classes with the group before that). I haven't even gotten to Columbus yet...

I also questions as to what will happen with the 2nd semester. While talking with colleagues the other day, they were saying that I'd have entirely different classes for the second semester--which makes sense, but there's still so much info in this truncated semester that I simply haven't even begun to approach with my students. That's at least part of the reason I've decided to start making podcasts

I was told that the second semester is supposed to last for June and July with exams sometime in August.

What would an update be if I didn't mention the LSAT at least once? I'm still studying regularly, but my most recent practice score wasn't nearly as good as I'd like (155). Basically, I'm considering anything under 160 as bad. My goal is to get up above 170 before I take the test in September. Speaking of, I've all but decided to take the test in the US instead of Ghana. I just need to clear it with some people first (and make sure that it doesn't conflict with my teaching schedule).

Seriously, it's 9:40pm, and I'm sweating like crazy under my shirt.

And then there was one

2009-03-29T21:36:00.005Z

There's been a lot that's happened since I last updated. First and foremost, I'm now the final PCV living in the villa. Jeff ETed this past Monday. It's strange. Living in this big house alone. Eventually, Peace Corps will move others in. It's just a matter of when. In the meantime, it's just me. But just to be clear for those who may be worried, I have no intentions of going anywhere. I still love my service and believe that I am, in fact, making at least some sort of a difference.

Other revelations. It seems that the school issues have finally been resolved! Not entirely certain how--seeing the huge list of obstacles that were in place, but I'll most certainly (and graciously) accept it. That also means that I'm finally able to teach my Freshmen American Studies class (well, I say Freshmen, but the actual term here is Deug 1). That class is going to be... interesting. Their English is not nearly as developed as the 2nd year students. That means I'll be teaching a lot of that class in French. Wish my students luck..

So all said, I've been teaching classes now 6 days per week--Monday through Saturday. This coming week will be the end of that (for a little while, at least) as my classes at the center come to an end. I'll most certainly graciously accept the breathing time.

There were also recently a group of students from Shenandoah University in Mali for Spring Break (what a way to spend Spring Break!). They came with an RPCV who did her service in Mali. I had the good fortune of showing them around the university and explaining some of the differences between the Malian and US university systems.

FLASH 1: This is FLASH, where I teach

FLASH 2: Explaining Mali University system to SU students

FLASH 3: Publicly posted grades

It hasn't been all work for me though. I've made sure to try to relax a little bit. On Sundays, I continue to play flag football with the expats, and I still run in the hashes every other Sunday. This last one was at Tubaniso (the Peace Corps training center). It was good to get back there for a moment, since I'm currently unable to do any of the ISTs that other Volunteers attend there.

Tubaniso Hash 1

Tubaniso Hash 2

Tubaniso Hash 3

I also recently went camping in Siby. We spent the night high up on the arch, which overlooks everything. It was terribly windy (and actually cold! Well, cold is, of course, relative), but extremely fun, too. The next day, we did a lot of climbing--something I always enjoy doing.

Siby Camping: Looking down at campsite

Siby Climbing: A somewhat tall climb

Otherwise, my "spare time" is spent at the bureau, occasionally with other volunteers, and constantly talking to Malians nearby. Though I find more and more of that time being eaten away by preparing lessons and grading quizzes (the latter being a task that the other teachers don't do due to the number of students that are in classes). I'm also trying to continue studying for the LSAT. Today's practice test score was 164--which would be good enough to get me into nearly any law school in the US. Nearly, obviously being the key word there (Harvard's 25th-75th percentile range for LSAT score averages among students is currently 170-175... not that I have ANY plans of trying to go there).

Tiffany's last weekend

2009-03-03T09:25:00.004Z

This should be starting our second week of not being on strike (again). I truly hope that's true. I enjoy teaching, and I know that my students seem to enjoy being in class. So, hopefully, there won't be another strike.

There are rumblings though. Students whisper that another strike is a certainty, which makes the possibility of it becoming a white year even more real. With much of my conversation classes, the focus has actually now turned to the strikes. They've been discussing what they believe needs to happen. It's very interesting to hear what they say should happen.

In very related news, Tiffany ETed. She started her paperwork on Thursday, and she flew out of Bamako last night. It's going to be really weird now that she's gone. She was the only other PCV working at the university. She finally decided that the constant strikes and uncertainty of teaching combined with having a fiancé back home was too much (in the nearly 8 months we've been in country, we've taught only 5 weeks). She has a couple of job interviews coming up in L.A., so I really do wish her the best.

During her last weekend in country, however, there was a lot of fun. First, we had a volleyball tournament on Saturday. Neither of our teams won, but it was still quite enjoyable. All together, there were somewhere around 14 teams. We had friends on at least 6 of the teams.

Volleyball 1

Volleyball 2: Peace Corps game prep

Volleyball 3: Tiffany digging for the play

And Sunday, we, of course played football at the embassy in the morning. Below, you can see me running with the ball and several people coming toward me.

Football: Me running with the ball

That night we went to an italian restaurant (where I had some amazing lasagna and tiramasu) that was far, far, far too expensive. Great food, but I doubt I'll eat there again anytime soon (the lasagna was on the less expensive side at 5500CFA, the tiramasu was 2500CFA--which combined is more than I like to spend on food in a week). Then, we went to the amusement park in Bamako (there were 6 of us total, Me, Tiff & Jeff along with some expat friends), where we enjoyed bumper cars, the boat that goes back and forth, and the ferris wheel. In all, it was a great night, and no one died--which is also always a plus.

Amusement Park 1: Bumper Cars!Amusement Park 2: The Boat!Amusement Park 3: The Ferris Wheel!Amusement Park 4: Getting on the Ferris Wheel!

Then, of course, last night, after I taught my class at the center, we all just sort of hung out at the house and waited for Peace Corps to come and pick up Tiffany. It was kinda weird watching this person who I've come to know as a really good friend leave. I've had roommates many times before, but this was different because Tiffany, Jeffrey and I were all PCVs. It was mostly just us for each other's company every day--sort of an "us against everything else" situation a lot of times, and now a part of that is gone.

It's strange...

2009-02-19T23:24:00.002Z

...Living in Bamako as an Education Peace Corps Volunteer. My life is certainly far different than any other volunteer's in country right now. That's not necessarily bad, it's simply fact.

I'm unable to travel, to take "vacations" as it were. I don't mind that. Not really. However, when we're on strike, it'd be nice to see other parts of Mali. But it's not possible.

Currently, we are, in fact, on strike. This time around, it's on the part of the students. There are too many students and not enough teachers. The ministry won't authorize the teachers to teach additional classes because there's simply not the money to do it. It's a hard fact, but it is, in fact, a fact.

It causes frustrations across the board. The teachers want to do more, but their hands are tied. The students want to learn, but they don't have teachers. So, the only thing that can happen, does. The students strike.

We successfully taught for 4 weeks. We've since not been teaching for 2 weeks due to strikes. There is another meeting on Monday to see if the strike will continue or not. Hopefully, it'll come to an end, but in all honesty, even I have to admit that I'm stretching for that hope.

Prior to the 4 weeks of classes we did have, there were strikes that had prevented the fall term to start. Yes, the fall semester for 2008 began in January 2009. This isn't an uncommon phenomenon for higher education in West Africa. There's a lack of funding. There's a lack of teachers. There's a lack of absolutely everything. Except students.

In Bamako, there are over 16,000 incoming freshmen this year. That's nearly 10,000 more than expected. It's also a number that's only going to get worse as the years go by. I read an article the other day that said that in 2005, there were 400,000 students enrolled in West African francophone universities. That number is expected to be over 2,000,000 by 2015. That's right. Ten years for such an increase in the student population. With that number in mind, it's important to keep in mind that U of Bamako does not expect to have a significant increase in teachers within that time (if any at all).

Long story short, it's a bad, bad situation for everyone involved. Beyond the impact at the university, I worry about the impact on my fellow Peace Corps university teacher, Tiffany. She has a fiancé back in the US, a Master's in education that she could be using to teach in places that could be currently needing her abilities and yet she's currently here doing absolutely nothing. I wouldn't blame her for leaving (if she decided to do so) in order to return to the US and be productive. How could I? At least there, she could feel fulfilled in some way by doing good in the world.

The latter issue rings further true as I hear the rumblings of what is possible for this year. It could become a "White Year." Meaning, the school year could be canceled all together. In order for a school year to be valid, the students must meet for at least 25 weeks. Otherwise, the year is forfeit and we wait for the next school year. We are currently coming very close to that deadline. Then what happens? It's the students who miss out more than anyone else. They're the ones who absolutely do not receive the education that they so desperately need to receive during that time. Teachers won't be paid. It's really a lose-lose situation for everyone. The ministry, while maintaining a little bit of additional funds, lose out on having their own citizens educated. It really only continues the cycle that's already in place. A cycle that we desperately need to move beyond.

In the meantime, my hands are entirely tied. I teach at a center one day/week, which gives me at least something to do while the strike persists, but I can really do nothing else. I cannot commit to other tasks because the school year could resume at any moment--preventing me from fulfilling those obligations. I cannot travel because, again, the school year could resume at a moment's notice. And we have to be ready to start teaching again at that moment.

With all of that said, I am still presently optimistic. I have to remain so. The term will begin again. I'll be able to once again teach the classes that I had grown to love teaching for the 4 weeks that I'd been able to teach. And the semester will continue to an end in which the students feel enriched and satisfied. It'll be difficult for us to get there, but I do still believe that we will, in fact, get there.

The Inauguration

2009-01-21T08:30:00.002Z

The other Volunteers were already there by the time Tiffany and I arrived at the American Club. Drawbacks of having to teach while the rest of your stage is at IST (In-Service Training). Because Tiffany and I both teach at the university, we're unable to attend the three weeks of IST that everyone else goes to. That also means that we miss out on gaining an extra 60,000 CFA (walking around money for Volunteers while they're at Tubani-So for IST. They also eat free food and have no other expenses during that time).

We did, however, arrive before any of the real stuff went on. Like with other "American" events I've attended while living here, it's very being on the outside looking in. Among the Americans at the club, there were cheers and applause. Tears and laughter. It seemed, perhaps, more emotional for the people here than I think it would have been in the US. The Malians, too, were jubilant. Obama inspires hope well beyond the borders of the United States.

Picture 1: Watching the inauguration

Picture 2: Post-ceremony cake!

We were able to enjoy food at the American Club. I managed to have a Fairly Tasty Hamburger™, then, as seen above, we all had cake. Yes, I'm well aware that two out of the three flag cakes are backward. I'm just kind of curious how it's only two. Regardless, the cake tasted really good.

I left a little early, around 7pm, in order to get home and finish my lesson planning for today. Regrettably, that ended up being for not--as I'm a little under the weather today. Diarrhea, or "Mr. D" as we affectionally refer to it in country (it's a common ailment to Volunteers), has prevented me from making it to my morning class. I'm guessing that it was the Fairly Tasty Hamburger that did me in.

Happy 6 Months!

2009-01-10T20:45:00.004Z

Have I really been here six months???? (to the day, actually). It's hard to believe, really. I remember the first month and a half or so went by REALLY slowly, and I honestly wondered if I'd be able to hold up. But now, it's the opposite effect, really. Time's sped by now.

Picture 1: Random celebration outside my house

The week between Christmas and New Year's Day was actually a fairly busy one. There were several celebrations being had by all my neighbors. Pictured above, we think that this may have been a naming ceremony, but we're not entirely sure. What we do know is that there was music, drums, people dancing and an overall enjoyment being had by people.

Picture 2: People warming up to play football

December 26th, we played football on the soccer fields. There were only two PCVs (if memory serves) present that day for football. The rest were all random other expats--including some teachers at the American School, various peoples working at NGOs, some military folk and a couple of others. It was a good time. Look for a video that'll probably be released later by someone that shows me and my friend Racey in a head-to-head collision during this game. It hurt. A little. But everyone's okay now.

Picture 3: New Year's Eve with Friends

New Year's Eve was spent with our pilot friends. Pictured above are Dave the pilot, Matt the American School teacher and George the pilot. George is South African. They're all good people, so I felt lucky to be around good people for the new year. We even managed to light some fireworks at midnight (as did everyone else, apparently, in the city of Bamako).

This coming week technically begins IST (In Service Training) that everyone from my stage is supposed to attend. I say technically because Tiffany and I are exempt because of the university. Speaking of, today, I finally received my schedule for what classes I'll be teaching. I'll be teaching 3 conversation classes, 2 British Studies classes (technically, it's just going to be 1 very long 4 hour class) and 1 American Studies class. It's not as heavy of a load as it sounds, and it still gives me room to do some side projects and continue studying to take the LSAT in June. So, while all my friends and compatriots are back at Tubani-So, I'll be bouncing between the University, the Teaching College (even teaching on Saturday), possibly the embassy and who knows where else on a very regular basis.

Speaking of LSAT--since many of you won't know about that--it's an idea that I've been toying with for a little while now. Technically, it's the reason I originally started studying English at University--for law. But I figure I should at least take the test. Recently, I've begun taking practice tests and I've been scoring 161. My family just sent me a couple of study guides, so I'm hoping to improve on this score a bit before finally taking the exam.

That's all I've got for now. Thanks for tuning in again. And wow, yeah, it's really been six months.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T09:29:00.006Z

Pictures from Thanksgiving at the Ambassador's.

Picture 1: Bamako PCVs Holly, Jeff & Tiffany

Picture 2: several PCVs

Picture 3: Our country director, Mike and a couple of my fellow PCVs.

It's really kinda hard to believe that it's Christmastime right now. When I think of Christmas, I typically think of cold weather--possibly snow--and being with my family. This year, I'm with friends that I've known for less than half a year and experiencing weather in the mid 90s. We've decorated our villa, and we've begun watching Christmas themed movies, but it all still feels just a little off. A little surreal. Just enough so that I have to sometimes ask myself, is it really Christmastime right now?

Christmas Decoration Picture 1: Living Room Window

Christmas Decoration Picture 2: Our Christmas Corner

Since my last update, I successfully finished the National Novel Writing Month--just barely, with a novel boasting just over 50,200 words. I changed the title in the end. While the working title, Man With No Country served its initial purpose, it didn't fit the final product. So, the end title became The Good Soldier. With a few serious rewrites, I think it could be a decent book. For now, it'll remain in draft form. In any case, here's a mock-up that I made for the cover:

More recently, I returned to the botanical gardens in Bamako for another adventure in rock climbing. This time, there was a group of four of us: 3 volunteers and 1 pilot (one of the many expats in Bamako). There were several climbs, and I found it even more fun this time than the last time.

Climbing Picture 1: Near the beginning of my 2nd climb for the day.

Climbing Picture 2: Well on my way up.

Climbing Picture 3: Just after reaching the top.

It always feels great to reach the top. Sometimes, it's more difficult than others. This specific route, for example, had me going over a couple of spots that didn't really have good holds--which made climbing interesting, but certainly still fun.

In news that may be more relevant to me as a volunteer, I've heard that the university may actually begin on January 5th. It'll be good to actually be teaching, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Somewhat related, I had been in talks with W.W. Norton & Co. (publishers of a series of anthologies and readers for literature) and I finally got them to agree to send me 3 copies of the 11th edition of the Norton Reader (smaller edition). It's not much, but I consider it a victory, no matter how small (those are books I can use to create and plan lessons--share with my students, and have to assign readings, etc.).

For now, I'm going to watch more Christmas movies and wrap the small presents I managed to get for my roommates. Tomorrow (Christmas Day), I have a full day planned. First, I'll have a "champagne breakfast & cricket" with a few expats--I don't actually know what's planned for that, but it sounded interesting enough. Then, we'll have Christmas lunch with the deputy ambassador.

Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays.

Interesting night

2008-11-28T00:44:00.003Z

First of all, I have to say that I had an absolutely amazing Thanksgiving. The Ambassador is extremely nice, and I was lucky enough to eat a lot of amazing food including: turkey (hard to find in this country, and certainly not cheap), mashed potatoes, green beans and corn, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and gravy. For dessert, I had pumpkin pie and coffee. Throughout the evening, I enjoyed the fine company of my fellow PCVs and some nice red wine (white wine was also available, but the red was so much better). That portion of the evening, I call decadent.

In other news, I'm around 44,000 words into my NaNoWriMo novel. I'm thinking/hoping to fully back on pace tomorrow/today (it's technically Friday, but really, it's still Thursday). The novel itself may or may not reach a conclusion by 50,000 words. We'll just have to see. What I can say, is that, just as I predicted earlier, the female character I added has taken a prominent role. She's just as important as the male, and I now alternate chapters between them--though their lives, for now, have gone separate ways.

Again, for those that are still well into the celebrating of Turkey Day in the US, I hope you're having a wonderful Thanksgiving. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T13:07:00.001Z

I would like to wish you all a happy and wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope you have the opportunity to spend the day with loved ones.

As for me, I'll be eating at the US Ambassador's house for Thanksgiving dinner tonight. Something tells me that I will probably need to be on my best behavior for said event.

The dry season has indeed begun, we haven't received a drop of water in nearly a month--nor will we for at least another 6 or 7 months. Currently, we're in a mini hot season before cold season sets in. The high temperature for the day is supposed to reach 99º. It's currently 95º.

As for when I'll begin at the university.. Tentatively, the next term is supposed to start December 22nd--so classes will likely start the beginning of January. Still don't know exactly which classes I'll be teaching, but it'll probably be first and second year students in American and/or British Studies, Conversation/Debate, and Writing. I probably won't teach all of those (seeing class sizes are upward to 150 students and lesson planning would be a bit difficult at best), but I will probably be teaching around 4 or 5 classes this semester.

I can't believe that I've already been in country for around 4 1/2 months. The time, so far, as actually gone by fairly quickly. I've been lucky enough to remain healthy lately. I exercise regularly at my house, and I have been working on another novel.

Again, the Malians that I've been fortunate enough to get to know are all wonderful people. I miss my host family that I had in Sanankoroba for training, and will need to visit them again in the near future. The people in my current neighborhood are all equally wonderful. We have interesting conversations while speaking "Frambara" (French & Bambara).

I've finally begun to get used to the cold showers I have to take here--now that it's getting colder at night, however, they're a little more difficult, and I feel I should consider myself lucky to even have a shower. Most of the other volunteers have to take bucket baths.

Since it's Thanksgiving, I thought I'd share a cultural phenomenon about Malians. It's called Joking Cousins, and it's very important to all Malians. In Mali, there are only so many last names--it dates back to when Mali used a caste system. Every family name has certain other family names that they joke with. The jokes would be considered mean or racist at times in the US, but it's the furthest thing from it here. For example, A Traore might see a Coulibaly and say "I bɛ siyɔ dun!" Which means that the Coulibaly is a bean eater--implying that he farts. They'll say this often. They'll also call people their slaves--again, this is not meant to actually upset anyone, they simply don't have the cultural sensitivity that we have to the term. Another common joke would go something like this: "You're a Coulibaly? My dog is a Coulibaly!" Thus calling the person an animal. This is met with much laughter and hand grabbing. Any joke is subject to being repeated countless times in a day, and no joke ever becomes old.

It's a very interesting thing, and it can be used to break even the biggest tension. Someone trying to rip you off in the market? Make fun of their family name and suddenly you're friends and you're receiving a good price on the product. That's simply the way it works. Malians, while living in the 3rd poorest nation in the world, have the richest of personal lives. They don't take anything too seriously, and they always try to enjoy themselves. I think we could all learn something from that.

Take care this Thanksgiving and remember to enjoy life.

Chocolate is truly amazing

2008-11-15T12:58:00.000Z

Seriously. I was never a big chocolate fan in the US. To be honest, I wasn't much of a sugary snack person in general. I loved and preferred the spicier, salty and more bitter alternatives. That's changed a bit here. Perhaps it has something to do with the difficulties I find in having a regularly balanced diet, or the constant and unforgiving heat that affects me here every day (as I write this, it is currently 95º with a high expected to be around 98º). By the way, we are in the beginning of the Cold Season. So, to summarize. Chocolate, especially Milk Chocolate, is absolutely amazing. I'm blessed enough to have a refrigerator (not the norm), which means I can also freeze my chocolate to make it even more heavenly.

I mention chocolate so much here because I recently received a care package from a friend, which included Hershey's chocolate bars (the mini kind).

So, I'm still writing away with NaNoWriMo, and as is like to happen, my story has taken a very different turn from what I originally intended. I think I mentioned a few things about the story when I first started. How Mike (that's the protagonist's name) was going to be a Peace Corps Volunteer and so on. Well, Mike decided to become a Marine instead. He had a rough time prior to joining the military, so I can understand his decision. It was the right one for him. But now, he's gone and got himself taken hostage (he was deployed in Iraq--as a side note, doing research on military bases and tactics while living in a 3rd world country made me significantly more worried about my own well being than what it would have had I done the same research, or even more exhausting research, in the US). This doesn't bode so well for our hero, and I have no idea where it's going to go (yay for the rush of NaNoWriMo). Luckily, if all else fails, the story is written in 3rd person and I've recently introduced a new character, Captain April Davees, a Marine pilot who's more than intriguing enough to carry on the story. Anywho, no matter what happens to Lieutenant Michael Randall, the Captain will be having an increasingly larger part of the story as it goes on. Currently, I'm a little less than 1 day behind on NaNoWriMo (a spot I've stayed consistently at for about the last week). I haven't started my writing for today, so my current word count is 22,561.

I know I haven't written a lot lately, but if it helps, I've thought about writing a lot.

I lost a day when the elections happened (that's when I got behind on my word count), because I was at an expat's house (have I mentioned this stuff already?). There were probably 20-30 people there. All of us drinking wine, beer, soda, whatever and eating pork (oh my God, the pork was so amazingly good--it's also something that most Malians won't eat because of religious reasons, which makes it hard to come by). The house would easily have been a multi-million dollar house here in the US. It was pretty amazing. Anywho, we stayed up all night and watched Obama's speech on a big screen projector outside. Which didn't happen until something like 4 or 5am my time. Like I said, it was late. I was tired. And I didn't exist the next day. Not even a little. BUT, we all had an amazing time watching the election. There were lots of tears and calls home to the US and Malians cheering. It was very interesting to see the excitement from the Malians as they watched the election. The cheers and even the nervousness along the way. If you ever doubt that we live in a global community, just watch a US election from a 3rd world nation. You will see very clearly that we are, in fact, intrinsically linked to the rest of the world. And Obama, whether you like him or not, most certainly represents hope to other countries. His election inspired a world of people over here, and I don't mean US expats. It was something special to watch, and it actually made me proud to be a US citizen.

I've also been watching Battlestar Galactica again (I love that show). I'm anxious for the final episodes to start, which I know won't be for a little while, but still. I'm anxious. Speaking TV, I've been mostly keeping up with a few shows. Four, to be exact: Heroes, Chuck, Smallville and Supernatural. Sometimes, it's hard to find the episodes because they don't last long on most video streaming websites (and living outside the US, I'm incapable of watching the official streams from the network sites--it's... frustrating). For example, I've not yet found this week's episode of Chuck. Hopefully, I'll find it this weekend. I actually tried writing NBC once several weeks ago, but their response only proved that they didn't even look at my question (it literally had nothing to do with what I asked). Anywho, of the shows I'm keeping up with, Smallville has been surprisingly good this season (probably the best season in a very long time) since they're finally having Clark start to assume the mantel of Superman (at least kind of).

Enough rambling, this is writing I could be doing for NaNoWriMo!!!

So...

2008-11-01T19:03:00.002Z

I had apparently decided to play the role of one of the undead for Halloween. Seriously. I was so incredibly sick for a couple of days. It started on Thursday. I had felt it growing throughout the day, but it had been mostly minor. Then, as we were preparing to watch Halloween II, I had to make a pit stop in the bathroom where I proceeded to violently sick anything that was in my stomach then into the toilet. This consisted of water and yogurt, because it's all I had on Thursday (due to my ever-growing nausea throughout the day). This marks the first time I've vomited since being in country (I think). It was pretty vicious. I can, however, happily state that I still watched Halloween II that night (followed by immediately rushing back to the toilet).

After taking anti-nausea/anti-vomiting medication, I finally recovered well enough to not sleep through the night (too many aches and pains). The next day, while exhausted, saw no need to vomit. It also saw only the tiniest of sandwiches due to a lack of appetite. Today's been better. Still not 100%, but I wouldn't expect me to be. I am, however, mostly better, which is good. The one bummer is that this sickness prevented me from doing anything neat for Halloween. There was a Halloween thing at the American School that I could have worked, and there was a party at one of the 3rd year Volunteer's home that I could have gone to. Which brings me to another point. The last time I was sick, Eric (the 3rd year) invited us to his place for dinner. Apparently, I only get sick if I'm expected to go over to his place. Note to self, never go to Eric's.

Well, it's National Novel Writing Month time again people. If you haven't yet begun your 50,000 word novel yet, you still have time--seeing that today is the 1st. I highly recommend it. Though, originally, I wasn't going to participate (seeing that I wrote a novel in 3 weeks like... a month or two ago and I have two other novel projects that I'm wanting to finish), I've since changed my mind. Actually, it was yesterday. Last night, really. I was listening to Flogging Molly, and suddenly, an idea came to mind out of nowhere. It both excited me and frustrated me (because, dammit, now I have to write). It will blend fiction and non-fiction. It's another Peace Corps themed novel. Based on someone similar to me living right now, during the final days leading up to the election. The character's past, motivations, etc. are all different. The title is currently "Man With No Country." Named after the Flogging Molly song I was listening to that inspired me. It's a writing style that I think I like--a true blurring of fact and fiction that the reader is really uncertain about what's real and what isn't. Anywho, I'm currently at 3343 words. I want to get a little more into tonight, but still... I'm over a day ahead right now (this won't last). I also have absolutely no idea where this story is going to go, and I'm okay with that, too.

For those in the Halloween mood (or who simply like horror-themed stories), here's a link to a zombie story that I wrote (which will probably end up being a part of a novel about zombies that I have on the back burner): Evolved.

Today, I faced fear

2008-10-18T22:31:00.002Z

Which is to say I went rock climbing here in Bamako. Not the silly kind of rock climbing you get in the city where there are clearly defined places to grab and place your feet. No. I didn't have those. Instead, I had, "I'm exhausted. My fingers, hands, arms, knees, and legs are all scratched/cut up. I'm way too high to go down, and I have no idea where to next reach to grab because I see no places to grab on the smooth rock ahead. This could be... tricky." But I lived (obviously), and I'm looking forward to doing it again. With that said, I do have to mention the fact that it actually physically hurts to type--because of the cuts and scratches (many of which are on my fingertips).

Recently, I wrote a zombie survival short story. There's a large chance that it'll make it into a larger, zombie survival novel that I've been kicking around. It's received decent reviews on Urbis so far. With that said, it's only received 2 reviews and it's a 1st draft so far. But I have high hopes. Horror is a genre I loved to write when I was much younger (high school and the 1st couple of years of undergrad), but then I moved away from it thinking I was more mature and sophisticated than that. It's good to write about it again (though I still greatly enjoy my literary fiction). If you have access to Urbis (it's free to join, by the way), you should check it out. I could, of course, always just post it on my writerly lj, but I never get comments there, and I can get random strangers to comment on Urbis, so I'm thinking it's my better route.

I'm also submitting The Sun's Surrender into a contest (where it'll actually be read by an agent). Cover letter and the 1st 25 pages. I need to submit it soon, but I'd also REALLY like to get input from others on any changes that may need to be made. Deadline's coming up soon on that.

My Halloween tradition was met tonight. I watched Halloween (the 1978 original), and it was good. In a couple of days, I hope to watch Halloween II--which is important because it completes the original Halloween story.

Tomorrow, there's a hash run. They have it broken into two separate things. There's an 8k run and a 6k walk. I've been working out a lot lately, but I also know that there's no way in hell that I'm fit enough to run 8k right now, so I'll take the 6k walk.

Yesterday, I discovered that the "supermarket" near me sells 1 liter box wine for 1.500 CFA (with a current exchange rate of roughly $1 USD = 478 CFA), which means that I can buy box wine for just over $3 USD. That is news I really shouldn't have discovered. Especially since it's Spanish wine (my own kryptonite). But, I also figure that the fact that I can count the amount of times I've drank alcohol on one hand since arriving in this country, I *should* be okay. Should being the appropriate word.

That's it for now. Soon(ish), I'll post more pictures online. Until then, I trust that all is well.

Cheers.

Three Months!

2008-10-10T23:26:00.001Z

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@N08/?saved=1

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/2008/10/not-that-it-matters.html

2008-09-18T18:42:00.000Z

Song: The Strokes - Hard to Explain

So, I've been sick. By sick, I mean I just spent the last 48 hours with a fever over 102.5. It was not fun. The highest it went was 103. Again, 48 hours. Actually, a couple of hours over 48, but who's counting. The point is, I'm alive and feeling much better now (and fever free, too!). Still a little wonky, but I'll take wonky. The biggest downfall of being extremely high feverish for over 2 days straight is that when the fever comes down, the crazy heat of where I live these days actually feels kinda chilly. That disturbs me just a little. The inability to really eat during that period also disturbs me (mostly today, when I finally had the strength to try a shower and I saw how gaunt I've truly become. Frightening, it is).

My mind has been a haze the last few days (for obvious reasons), so I don't actually remember what my last post was. I guess I could have looked. I guess I *can* look.

Song: U2 - One

Okay, after looking, I see that I have, in fact posted since arriving at my home. I remember that one now. More on that, it's a nice home. I like it here, and it's mostly put together now. I have to put up my mosquito net tonight though (I had been using my mosquito net tent, which doesn't really fit on my bed, but now I have the proper netting to use for this bed. Now then, where can I find a hammer).

It's a good neighborhood, too. The people are all extremely friendly. I talk to them in French and occasionally, use Bambara greetings--but that seems to make them think I know Bambara, which I don't. I know French. I only know basic greetings in Bambara. Eventually, I hope to also learn Bambara, I think it would allow me to integrate much more deeply into the community.

More on the neighborhood. There are a lot of Tubabs here. I'm a Tubab, my roommates are Tubabs. But every time I walk down the street I see one or two Tubabs (Tubab is not a volunteer. Tubab basically means foreigner. It's used, particularly, for white people--and was traditionally for the French). There's even a Tubab grocery store in walking distance to me. Very strange. It's weird to see other foreigners. They stick out, and I find myself saying to myself "you don't belong here" in a "you really stand out" kind of way. Unfortunately for me, these other Tubabs aren't poor, which makes it even more difficult for me to haggle and get fair prices at the market.

Song: INXS - Devil's Party

So, it rained really hard today. When I say really hard, I mean my roommates and I were feverishly (pun not really intended, but why not) working to stop our bedrooms from flooding. We each had buckets and were bailing out the water. It was actually kind of amusing. It also means that we're going to have to do something to ensure that our rooms don't flood if it ever rains like this when we're not home. Luckily, the rainy season is almost over (I say luckily now, because I haven't experienced the 7 month dry season yet where we won't receive a single drop of rain).

Song: Ben Lee - Light

In non PC news, I was finally able to watch the last few episodes of Doctor Who season 4. A lot of words come to mind. Amazing, Excitable, Heart Breaking, Awestruck. Those are just a few. It was good to see the true return of Rose. I absolutely cannot believe what happened to Donna. Poor girl. She had finally truly grown on me, too. I did like the inclusiveness of the finally--drawing in Torchwood and Sarah Jane. I truly wondered for a moment if they were going to kill SJ, as a matter of fact. I'm very interested in seeing how the next season turns out. Of course, we won't see that until 2010.

Oh, I did post new pictures this week on my flickr and facebook (pretty much the same pictures on each, I think). That's all I have for you for now.

Stay well, and for those of my friends in Ohio, I hope that you have power back on now (or get it back on soon!!). I'll talk to you all later.

Final Song: Ben Lee - We're All In This Together

Oh! A quick PS!

Just ONE Question
Source: www.one.org
Only two questions about global poverty have been asked in the history of modern presidential debates - a shockingly low figure. In 2008, voters need to know what Barack Obama and John McCain will do to end the most extreme suffering in our increasingly interconnected world.

Anyone who knows me, should know that the issue of global poverty is extremely important to me (obviously). I feel it's extremely important that our presidential candidates be asked at least one question on the topic (I'd really like more than one). Living here in the 3rd poorest nation in the world shows certain things that you just can't see on TV. There's more we can do to help. We can make a difference, but we also need a leader who's willing to make a difference (and know how that person intends to do it).

We're all in this together.

Wholesome, but a little nutty

2008-09-14T19:17:00.001Z

So, here I am. I really reals Peace Corps Volunteer. It's kinda crazy, but also kinda neat. The service was good. We went to the US Embassy, and it was the picture of efficiency--something I've not been used to in the last couple of months. The ceremony started at 10am and was over before 11am. I had to do that silly oath thing that's required of all government officials when they're sworn in (that same one that the president must take when taking office).

After the swear-in ceremony, we were driven to the America Club, which was quite posh. It had a great pool, a sand volley ball court, a basketball court, tennis courts and a ping pong table. I received just a bit of sun. Oh, it also had all you can eat hamburgers, hot dogs and various other goodies (the hot dogs, in particular, were amazing). Also, while at the America Club, my laptop was delivered to me. This excited me beyond all else (interesting that I received my laptop on the same day that I became an actual volunteer).

After that, we hung out at the hotels for a few hours before making our way to the night clubs. First on the agenda was Pirate's Club. This place was neat, and had some interesting music, lots of Tubabs (their word for foreigners, aka Americans, French people, etc.), too much alcohol, hookah, pool tables (btw, pool is free everywhere I've seen a pool table in this country). It was here, at this club, that we learned our stage name.

We're to be known as Honey Bunches of Oats, because in all we're wholesome, but a little nutty. That's fair.

After Pirate's Club, buses took volunteers to No Stress (another club), but I and a few others opted to stay behind. It was already around midnight, and I was enjoying the atmosphere at the Pirate's Club.

So after that, I enjoyed some late, late food at Adonis (a falafel sandwich) and walked back to the hotel with friends.

The next day was rough. And by rough, I mean hangovers with little sleep in a foreign country that sucks all the moisture out of you as it is because of how hot it is at all times are not exactly enjoyable. Luckily, I packed Excedrin, Migraine Strength, which can conquer any hangover.

I spent much of Saturday buying things for the apartment (specifically, my roomies and I bought a new fridge, a used stove and some mattresses), which used up a lot of time and a whole lot of money.

I opted to stay at Tubani-So Saturday night so that I could enjoy the company of my fellow volunteers one last night before making the trek to site (everyone else left for site this morning, it seemed only fair that I do the same--even if I didn't have to). Technically, I could still be at Tubani-So, enjoying free food, but I've decided to come to my house, which is where I am.

I've walked to the market twice today, to the store twice as well. I have internet, I have my laptop, I have a lot of things I still need to install on said laptop, but that's coming along, and I have my own really real home as a really real volunteer. I do not, however, yet have my bank card, so all the money that I'm supposed to live on for the next three months is, as of this moment, inaccessible to me. Hopefully, that will change this week. In the meantime, some supplies have been bought, including Nido (which is a brand of powdered milk that's very common here) and cereal.

I've also discovered a firefox addon that I'm testing out with this post. I'm posting using the program "Deepest Sender." So far, I like it. We'll see how I feel about it later. Most of my posts will likely continue to be through the normal means of actually going to livejournal--as I enjoy perusing lj.

I've also posted a heckuva lot of pictures over on facebook. If I have time in the near future, I'll try to post some on flickr for you non facebook people.

In other tech news, I also downloaded a mac program, Senuti, that enabled me to copy my iPod songs from my iPod to iTunes. This was a godsend, since I had wondered how I was going to get all those songs back--especially the ones that I'd simply bought off of iTunes.

a very quick update

2008-09-12T08:03:00.000Z

It's 8am, local time. In a little over 2 hours (or probably by the time you read this), I'll officially be a Peace Corps Volunteer. Then, we celebrate. I'll move into my villa either this weekend or at the beginning of the week. The general plan is: Swear-In Ceremony at the Embassy from 10-11, Lunch/Party at the American Club from 11-5, then a stop by the hotels and dinner and such later (including drinks at the Pirates Club and No Stress much, much later).

Also, I successfully finished the 1st draft of a novel in under 3 weeks. The first draft isn't anything great, but I wrote it in 3 weeks, it shouldn't be anything great. I'll say this much more about the story: it's entirely in 1st person except for the last chapter. I'm torn about whether I want to keep it that way or make the whole thing 3rd person to include more perspectives (the way it's written, it's literally impossible for the final chapter to be in 1st person).

I'll write more at some point. For now, I need to pack up and get ready for the Embassy.

Surprisingly, I'm still in Mali

2008-09-07T17:13:00.000Z

and I'm back in Tubani-So. Crazy to think that, in 5 days, I'll be sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer. Crazy to think I've been in this country for 2 months (only 24 to go!). Crazy to think that I've almost written a novel in just over 2 weeks (17 hand written pages to go until I reach my goal).

A note about my host family, and living with them. They've shown me what it is to truly be a good person. To accept others exactly how they are and to not expect people to be anything that they're not. They were indeed my family for the first 2 months here, and I will continue to visit them from time to time because they are truly good people.

The food, however, wore on me. I ate spaghetti in an oil sauce (almost everything is oil based here) nearly every night, ate potatoes/yams in a red, oil sauce nearly everday for lunch, and could probably count the amount of times I actually ate meat on my hands. So, the food, I will not miss. There were gems, however. One day, they gave me fish. I raved over how wonderful this was, which made them happy (but they didn't give it to me again, regardless). And there were a couple of times that they gave me cucumber salad (cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and bread). They gave the latter to me for my final meal, as well (along with prawn chips). Then, I ate "to" with them (pronounced like "toe" or "toh"), which is this thick creamy texture stuff that really has no taste and is a little thicker than refried beans. The strangest texture ever, and if you're one of those eaters that can get grossed out by certain types of textures, stay away from "to." They normally dip it in a sauce. The most common sauce is a green, leafy, slimy sauce that is really and truly disgusting (but it does have nutrients in it). So, I ate this with them last night for the first time ever. They were amused.

In news that shouldn't be all together unexpected, I've lost a little bit of weight since arriving here 2 months ago. More so than my last report. Currently, I'm somewhere between 143 & 148 (depending on the scale I use), where as I was between 170 & 175 when I arrived. I believe I was between 150 & 155 the last time I reported on this. I'm thinking (hoping) that I've probably lost about as much as I can lose, and should be leveling out now. Especially since I'll be moving to Bamako next week and will thus be able to cook for myself for a change.

My laptop is en route. My dad mailed it off this past Monday or Tuesday and said it should have arrived in Virginia Thursday or Friday (it's being sent via diplomatic pouch, which has a Virginia address). So, with any luck, I'll have it in another week or two. He also said that he bought me another 160 gig flash drive so I could make sure I have back ups of my files. My dad rules.

As mentioned earlier, I swear in as a PCV on Friday. It'll be at the Embassy, which is pretty nice--I've been there for meetings. What I don't know yet, however, is if I'll be able to take pictures (since it'll be at the embassy and all).

Anywho, that's all I've got for you right now. I was actually going to mention something more about swear in (perhaps the after swear-in celebration? I dunno), but it slipped my mind. Such is the way of things.

I'll try to upload more pictures sometime soonish.

and he's still alive (I know, right?)

2008-08-31T11:59:00.001Z

Homestay is almost over, which is crazy. I originally thought that these 20 days would drag on, but it’s actually gone by rather quickly so far. Of course, we’ve had a couple of respites during this long stretch where we’ve had to come to Bamako for various training sessions (and one visit to a hotel last Sunday where the whole purpose was to use the pool and eat lunch). That’s also what’s kind of going on today. I’m working on some material at the bureau for training sessions this week (I have to "teach" a couple of classes).

I’ve also begun writing a novel. Currently, I’m somewhere around 23,000 words into it and writing at breakneck speed. My current goal is to be either done with it or at least 50,000 words by swear-in (September 12th). Currently, I’m on pace (writing roughly 2500 words/day). Unfortunately, this is also all hand-written. So eventually, I’ll have to type it all up. I think writing this is one reason the time has been passing by so quickly. Essentially, it’s a mystery/suspense story based here in Mali. Perhaps after I finish it, I’ll share a few more details. For now, I’ll say that it’s been rather entertaining to write.

News about my macbook. Apparently, the hard drive was indeed frakked. My dad told me that he’s now replaced the hard drive, and I should be able to get the macbook relatively soonish. Last I heard, he reinstalled some of my software (adobe cs3 and neooffice), and was planning to mail it this coming week. So, I’ve unfortunately lost some pictures and whatnot, but at least I’ll have a laptop again. Much, if not all of my fiction and poetry is on a backup external somewhere. I’m sure some things will have been lost, but that’s okay. I can always write more.

We’ve had a couple of cooler nights and mornings recently. I actually had to pull out a long sleeve shirt this morning, which has me a little concerned about the cold season. Granted, the “cold season” isn’t really all that cold, but it will get chilly. It’s still interesting to see my host family members wear giant, winter coats when it’s in the 80s. Probably not this cold season, but next will see me freezing in such temperatures as well.

Anyway, all is still quite well. I recently received a package from my dad and stepmom, which was wonderful. I also received a package from my former coworkers at IRI, which was absolutely amazing. Those food items completely helped to re-energize me.

To be fully candid, it’s difficult to live here. We’re constantly fighting one illness or another. Getting things like amoebas, giardia, or simply your general run-of-the-mill bacterial infections. So far, I’ve been blessedly lucky. I think I’ve probably had a bacterial infection or two. It’s possible that I had giardia once, but the test came back negative. Regardless, we decided to err on the side of caution and I took medicine for giardia. But like I said, I’ve been relatively lucky (though I’ve lost a lot of weight) compared to some people. There’s one person in my group who’s been sick more than healthy since we arrived. And so far, I believe there have been somewhere between 3-5 people who have ETed (ET = early termination). As we all know, however, I’m stubborn, and I’m still glad to be here. I can deal with the occasional stomach ailment. The heat’s not as bad as it could be (or will be once the hot season comes around in March). And once I’m living in Bamako, I’ll be able to cook for myself, which means I can be sure to eat healthier than I do now (and not eat rice and pasta that are filled with small pebbles).

I’ve learned a lot about the educational system since I last updated as well. To be frank, it’s a rough scene. College is essentially free, and it seems pretty easy for people to skate by. Their entire class grade is based on the final, which is just a one page exam (the sample exam I saw had 20 short answer, 20 true/false and then a “what was your favorite lesson this semester?” question). In my ideal world, I’d be able to revamp this system so that I could force the students to do homework and have quizzes during the term--thus maybe enabling them to learn more and get more out of the class. I’ll see what I’m allowed to do and not… hopefully, my hands won’t be completely tied.

My French is starting to really improve as well. Sadly, I don’t get a lot of practice with my host family (who mostly speak Bambara--but I do get the occasional exchange with my host dad or my host sister). But classes still last all day and the Brazilian soap operas that are dubbed into French are becoming ever easier for me to comprehend.

So that’s life here in Mali. Like I said, so far, things are still going well. It’s hard, but they wouldn’t need Peace Corps Volunteers if it were easy. I’m still glad I’m here, and I’m still doing okay. I trust that all is well in the US. My next update will likely be in a week or so.

Oh, I've also added a couple of pictures to flickr, feel free to check them out here.

Today, I was called gaunt

2008-08-18T20:22:00.001Z

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.

Update from Mali! and Photos!

2008-08-14T18:49:00.000Z

Hello everyone! Life in West Africa is still going well. Site visit is almost over. Today, I actually got to visit the university where I'll be teaching (there's no library there. At all). It's a nice university though (and it overlooks the city)! Sadly, I don't yet have pictures of said university and views.

Also, very quickly. My housing arrangement has changed. Instead of living in the 2 bedroom apartment, I'll now be living in a 5 bedroom villa even closer to the university. I'll be living with at least one other Peace Corps Volunteer--perhaps two.

I've decided to start posting at least some pictures on flickr.

My Flickr Photostream

I wonder if my mac is fixed yet?

2008-08-11T20:18:00.000Z

Bamako still = theawesome.

I like it here. And I'm quite sure I'll be fine for two years here. Now, the three solid weeks that I'll have to endure back at homestay after this... that will be difficult.

Today, I found out my living arrangements. Meaning, they finally found an apartment for me. I'm going to live relatively close to the university (probably a 15 min. walk). The apartment is a 2 bedroom place with a bathroom (read: an actual toilet and shower). The kitchen is weird. It's an "outdoor" kitchen, which is to say I step outside and unlock another door to get to the kitchen--which is only about a 4x4 space. It's small. Apparently, this is fairly normal. Regardless, I'm excited. Hopefully, I have enough money to buy some sort of stove, fridge, bed, etc. (all of that must be bought by us). Most of it, I'll have to buy little by little--but we've gotta get the essentials first (which do I consider more important, bed or fridge?).

I just hope it's finished before it's time for me to move in.

That's right, it's not finished (the apartments are brand new). But it's mostly. I have faith that it'll all be done and such things soon enough.

In other news, I *may* have amoebas. I don't think I do, others think I might. Regardless, I'll probably make a stop by the PC Med office at some point this week (take advantage of free health care while I have it). Anywho, the short of it is that I've had a loss of appetite, which is quite unfortunate.. but I don't think I've felt "sick." Just weird.

The unfortunate part of not having an appetite came last night. After the hash run (for more info on hash runs, look up hash house harriers), which is also after spending time in a swimming pool and having a couple of beers (literally: 2), I tried to eat some absolutely amazing food prepared by the South Africans. They made quite possibly the greatest steak I've ever eaten in my life. They also had sausages imported from South Africa--add buns and mustard and they were also amazing. Still, with all that amazing food, I had to absolutely force myself to eat. It was so hard (when you feel full--even though you haven't eaten since breakfast, which you also felt full before eating--it's rather difficult to eat), but I managed to eat most of my plate (and all of the steak--there was no way I was letting that go).

The run itself was brutal. I am so completely out of shape, it's ridiculous. It felt like it was 10k, not five. I had to walk several portions of it on the second half. Oh, so brutal. And the heat was in full force (though that made the pool even better).

So, that's all I've got for you today.

Bamako

2008-08-09T20:25:00.000Z

So, I'm in Bamako now. It's big, busy, crazy. It's also expensive (relatively speaking). Which means, I'm nearly positive that I'm going to have to have a roommate once I'm actually living here. For site visit, however, I'll certainly be okay (expense wise).

Tomorrow, I plan on playing flag football at the US embassy in the morning. Later, I'll go on the 5k run that's being put on by the South Africans (followed by food and drink). And that will be my Sunday.

Bamako doesn't cool down in the cold season like it does in much of Mali. This is because it's a big city. And by big, I mean there aren't a lot of paved roads, but there are a lot of roads and a whole lot of people crammed together.

Taxi drivers frighten me. There's a chance that I'll have high blood pressure problems before I leave Mali. Case in point. On the taxi drive from the bureau to the PCV that I'm staying with, the taxi I was in hit a person on the road. Granted, it was more of a "clip" and the person was completely okay, but still. First time in a taxi here in Bamako, and they hit someone. That says something.

I also had a cheeseburger for lunch and am soon to have fried chicken for dinner. The cheeseburger had french fries on the burger and was quite delicious. I'll have to report later on the chicken as it hasn't arrived.

There are several things I won't be able to do in Bamako that other trainees get to do during site visit. Most notably, I won't be able to see where I'm actually living. That's one of those things I'd really like to know. Especially since leases are supposed to be signed and given to Peace Corps so that they can give us money for our homes (no lease = no money for home). So, that's a tricky situation for me, but I'll wait and weather it out.

Otherwise, all is currently well. I'm tired tonight because I had to wake up at 5:00am to get ready to come here at 6:30am (which, as I expected was just ridiculous since there was no rational reason for me to be in Bamako so early--it's a 10 minute drive from Tubani-So).

I did, however, get to enjoy a real cup of coffee after arriving in Bamako (instead of the Nescafe I have every single morning). And that was absolutely fantastic.

Really? It's been nearly a month?

2008-08-06T18:42:00.001Z

Well, since going to Philly, it's been a month. In a couple of days, I will have been in Mali for a month. As such, I thought I'd talk on a couple of topics relevant to me here as an outsider looking in, or as a Peace Corps Trainee.

Toilets.
I've alluded to this topic before, and now, I offer you the nitty-gritty
Here, we have what are called "Nyegans." A Nyegan is the common type of "toilet" located throughout Mali. It's a hole in the ground (usually with walls for privacy, but usually not with doors--which can be quite awkward at times, and usually without a ceiling) that you squat over. This seems to be good for leg strength, but to be honest, still somewhat awkward. Similar things exist in other countries (like throughout Asia). Another "toilet" difference is hygiene. Here, they don't use toilet paper. Instead, they have a plastic tea kettle thing filled with water that they call a "Salidaga." The salidaga is used in conjunction with the left hand. As a Peace Corps Trainee, I have access to toilet paper and still fear the day that I'll become exceptionally sick (as many have) and prematurely run out of toilet paper...

In Bamako, however, some actual toilets do exist. I don't yet know if I'll live in a house/apartment with one of these allusive, non-existent "toilets," but time will tell.

Mosquitoes.
Are bad and frequent. I have a series of mosquito bites on my right, inner wrist that resemble the first Stigmata strike. So far, I've resisted scratching, but that isn't exactly easy.

Animals as pets.
are not pets as we know them in the USA. In my family, the animals are treated rather well, but I also know that this is the exception and not the rule. Animals here are never, ever a part of the family. They are animals. If they're in your way, you get them out of your way.

Age and guests.
This is a big one, especially when it comes to seats. If I walk toward where other people are sitting in my concession, at least 3 people will quickly stand and offer me their seat. It is impolite to say no. Even if someone is a single day older, they are older. As such, you give up your seat to that person (or other such deed to show respect). This changes only with the rule of "guest." Guests are highly honored, expected to eat, and do not give up their seats.

Nakedness.
Naked babies are the norm. In fact, it's not uncommon to see children under 12 without clothes (or at least with parts that should not be exposed quite exposed). This is very awkward and hard to adjust to, but it's a fact of everyday life here, too (hopefully not in Bamako). Along with that, women do not usually wear tops after dark. In some concessions, this toplessness occurs much sooner (like my host mom walking around at lunch time today without a shirt on. She beckoned me over to talk to me. It was very weird.).

BUT, one should never, ever, ever show their knees (if they've reached adolescence). This is less true for men--if they're playing sports, but it's always true for women (again, Bamako is apparently different, but I don't know this first hand yet).

I could write more, but it's time for dinner, and dinner at Tubani-So is absolutely amazing (after eating bread, spaghetti and potatoes day in and day out anything becomes pretty much amazing). I'll post more either later tonight or perhaps tomorrow.

I still live

2008-07-29T06:51:00.001Z

Once again, I'm able to make a post, though this one will likely be brief.

I've been trying to upload pictures, sans success. This makes me miss my laptop all the more. But there have been pros to me not having my laptop here. Mainly, I've written a lot in my journal (which I likely wouldn't have been doing as much if I'd have had my laptop here).

It's actually rained a lot since I've been here (it's the rainy season). And rain is certainly a good thing. It drops the temperature by roughly 10 degrees.

My host family is nice, but at times, it can be awkward when my host sister flirts with me (apparently, this is not uncommon). Other than that, things are still going well. I do miss toilets though.

On Friday, I was able to observe a couple of classes at the Teaching School (essentially the school of education). I have my work cut out for me, but it'll be good.

These last too weeks at homestay have been taxing. Food is... interesting at times (I eat a lot of potatoes for lunch, and usually spaghetti for meat). I've not eaten a lot of protein though. Being back at Tubani-So has been quite exciting for my digestive system (as I've actually been able to injest protein).

In another week, I'll go to site visit for a week. That'll be when I actually get to spend time in Bamako, set up a bank and get familiar with FLASH (where I'll be teaching).

Speaking of teaching, I saw the library at the teaching scool and was greatly disappointed. My personal library is bigger. I'll just have to make do as well as possible.

The full extent of culture shock still hasn't hit me yet. There's a part of me that hasn't quite acknowledged where I am. Of course, when I take moments to pause and think about things like the fact that I add bleach to my water, it helps to remind me at least a little of where I am.

Then, there's the pass of time. I'm in a weird flux of time where I feel both surprised that it's already been 2 1/2 weeks and dismayed that it's only been 2 1/2 weeks (seriously, I feel like I've been here for a few months at least).

I'll try to post again the next time I'm in Tubani-So (in about a week). In the mean time, everyone stay safe and enjoy such things as air conditioning, food that isn't full of rocks, candy bars, protein, regular internet... and be jealous that you can't watch the French dubbed Brazilian soap operas that we get to watch here every night.

how long have I been here?

2008-07-14T16:50:00.000Z

Since my last post, I've:

* Received 6 or 7 shots in my arms.
* Played soccer at length twice.
* Pooped in a hole in the ground twice.
* Spent nearly 24 hours in travel time between Philly and here (including the layover in Paris, driving to NYC and waiting in the NYC airport for the flight).
* Eaten messy food with only my right, bare hand three times.
* Witnessed monsoon like thunderstorms in the middle of the night.
* Experienced the unforgiving heat of Mali the very next day.
* Been told of the horrors of malaria, and that we will all likely receive it at least once while in country.
* Been confirmed that I will be teaching English at a university in Bamako AND will be helping to develop lesson plans and teach other teachers how to, well.. teach.
* Greatly missed the simple taste of fresh milk.
* Made some truly amazing friends already.
* Been more and more impressed by how wonderful Malians truly are.
* Run out of water to take a shower twice.
* Eaten some truly amazing food.
* Suffered from insomnia due to the Malaria medication (a side effect).
* Had really crazy dreams in the few moments of sleep I've actually received due to the Malaria medication as well (another side effect).
* Sat outside in a circle with other Peace Corps Trainees late into the night listening to music and just making silly conversations.
* Learned that Mali is officially the 3rd or 4th poorest nation in the world.
* Sat in class after class on basic things to prepare us for homestay.
* Lost track of what day it is multiple times... the last couple of days.
* Enjoyed every moment of it all.

So, in the morning, I leave for Homestay. Or, as it's often referred to here, I leave Camp Mali and actually enter Mali. Tubani-So, where I'm currently located, is amazing. It's a huge amount of land owned by Peace Corps where they do a lot of training. But not all the training. Thus, Homestay. I'll spend the next 8 weeks living with a Malian family and taking language and cultural classes from 8am to 6 or 7 pm every day (which is what my schedule here at "Camp Mali" has been like as well). I'm definitely looking forward to that. I'll be learning primarily French, but in the last 4 weeks, they'll start working on teaching a little bit of Bambara as well (I've learned a little of that here, too)--but still mostly French, since I'll be teaching at University and living in the capital city.

I wish I had pictures to share. Eventually, I'll get to upload some pics and I'll definitely share. For now, however, you'll have to settle for this post. Also, it's likely that I won't have access to internet while in Homestay. I will, however, be returning to Tubani-So every 12 days or so for about a day or two and then going back to Homestay.

Speaking of Tubani-So, it means "Dove House" in Bambara--since Peace Corps is associated with doves (a sign of peace). Broken up, Tubani means dove and Su means house.

Aw ni su

I just wished you a peaceful night.

If you're a guy, the response is: Mbaa, I ni su.
If you're a girl, the response is: Nse, I ni su.

BTW, it's the 14th, which means I've only been in country 3 days (I think). It feels like it's been 2-3 weeks. Seriously. But not in a bad way. More of a "Really? Are you serious? That's all it's been?"

This is it

2008-07-09T13:53:00.000Z

Last post before leaving the US for 27 months. It's been a crazy time. But also fun. I've enjoyed all the friends I've made and all the friends I've managed to keep in touch with over the years.

I don't know how often I'll be able to send updates once I'm there, but I'll try to do my part. Speaking of how often I'll be able to update... something happened to my laptop on the way here, so I've sent it back to my parents. I'll just be using internet cafes, etc. But all is well (I think the hard drive just came loose or something--nothing serious.. I don't think).

I still have my camera, so expect lots of pictures to be taken.

Have fun! And remember to VOTE!!!

See you all in 2.5 years (or so)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-07-07T08:12:00.003Z

So, I'm at the Dayton International Airport. All things go for Philly so far.

To all the people that I was lucky enough to see and spend time with: thank you for the memories. I'll cherish our time together.

To those I didn't get to see: I'm so sorry it never worked out. Hopefully we'll see eachother at some point in the future.

Gotta run. Just called my boarding.