It’s been a while since I last wrote and so much has happened! First and for most, rainy season is in full swing and much to everyone’s relief, the rains while starting later this year, have proven to be significantly more frequent than the damaging lack of rain in 2009. My village is busy at work plowing, planting and weeding their fields of peanuts, rice, millet and corn. I even had the opportunity to push the plow behind the cows and while my rows aren’t exactly straight, I did it! My homologue’s garden is lush and green which I cannot begin to express how unbelievably beautiful the color green can be after 9 months of being encompassed in a world of brown. Bah, my homologue, and I are trying to spread the use of urine fertilizer in our village by using his garden as a guinea pig. Some interest has been peaked as people see the size and speed at which his garden veggies are growing (okra, hot peppers, corn, egg plant). Mom sent some veggies and Bah is fascinated with the American corn which is different from Malian corn therefore very excited to try it. We are also growing green beans, squash and zucchini, none of which he had heard of and thus also very curious what the final product will be (he is convinced that zucchini’s are actually cucumbers and will not rest until he proves me wrong…). I walked to the garden a few days ago and thought I saw Sali (Bah’s wife) working, but nearly fell over with laughter when I saw two newly constricted scarecrows standing in her place…too funny. He also took the tape from a cassette and tied it up throughout the garden so the wind blows and makes a loud noise to keep those pesky birds out. I never cease to be amazed by the ingenuity and lack of waste I find in this country.
The rain brings with it difficulties in travel as Bruce roads become nearly impassible during and after a rainstorm. The best, and most recent, example I can give happened just last Thursday on my way back from market in Djeli. I bike to and from Djeli with Bah’s best friend, Kardi because Bah takes his moto while we have to bike, and on Thursday we left too late from market and were forced to bike 10 kilometers in what can most accurately be called a monsoon. 10 k really isn’t too much to complain about but Bruce roads are mud during rainy season, and when it’s not mud, it’s underwater. I won’t get into the details because the memory is much too fresh and painful in my mind but it’s safe to assume the adventure was hilarious, exhausting, frustrating, hilarious, muddy, emotional, and then hilarious again. To peak your interest I can tell you this odyssey includes multiple bikes breaking, me falling off my bike, me falling while pushing my bike, me “swimming” (water was about waist high at one point) along with my bike, a brief donkey ride, meeting new friends and finally, given a chicken. I was soaked head to toe when I got home but didn’t really matter because I was covered too in mud from head to toe…the joys of rainy season continue to show themselves to me each day.
While saying goodbye to my friends in San is proving to be extremely emotional, I’m currently having some leverage in fighting the sadness with excitement because I’ve just met the 9 new volunteers to become SanKaw (people of San). We will lose 6 from the STAGE before mine and gain 9 making an even 12 for my last year of service (Holly, Brad and I are the only 3 from my STAGE in San) or at least until February when yet more volunteers come to Mali. As San house manager I have to lead a house meeting explaining the basics of the house, collect dues, answer questions, etc so this has been a crazy week. To make things even more stressful, I had two site buddies this past week. There is a volunteer being placed about 2 kilometers from me and another in my market town that I had to visit each for a day and take into San on Friday. I’d forgotten how completely helpless and totally clueless we were a year ago…we knew nothing! I’m exhausted and tired of being mother hen but it’s been a nice distraction as my two best friends in the STAGE before mine are COSing in the next few days. Good news is, I think we are getting a great group and I’m excited to see what this next year will bring. It will be completely different from last year now having two volunteers so nearby but I think it could prove to be a great tool in getting work done and collaborating for projects in addition to being a nice reprieve for my sanity.
I guess that’s enough for one email. Sorry again for the lack of correspondence, internet has been down in San for over a week now! I’ll be in and out of San saying my goodbyes to friends and then in san in early September for the new volunteers installation to site and finally and then headed to Bamako the week after to pick up a friend from the airport. It’s going to be a crazy few weeks coming up, and to think, August is already half over!
Miss you and love you
Cait
