Hey Everyone,
I just moved out of Sebanso yesterday and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. However, the next several weeks are going to be really busy and will help to distract me. I’m already a little intimidated at the thought of readjusting to life in America, but I’m excited to be home and back to some of the amenities I’ve gone without.
My last two weeks were as perfect as I could have asked for. Bah and I have been planning a goodbye party in my village that we had on Saturday night and it went off without a hitch. I invited some volunteers in my area and their homologues so I had four American friends that could come. My host family made an abundance of Zame (kind of like fried rice), woso (sweet potato fries), beans (I am a Coulibaly after all and we are the bean eaters), and we killed my goat. It was delicious and I nearly foundered. Afterwards we went to the common area where the chief of the village set up his TV to run off a generator and watch movies with the whole village. All the men made tea all night but the kids were enamored with the TV as it really was a rare occasion for them.
Sunday was my last church service and I bought some candy for the kids to give when they leave for Sunday school. It was a pretty uneventful evening which was nice to get back to the norm after the craziness of the day before. We were originally supposed to have my last animal raising cooperative meeting Sunday night, but much needed rain was in the horizon so we postponed it to Monday night which was again postponed to Tuesday, also due to the rain. It hadn’t rained since I got back so we were in desperate need of rain…and we weren’t disappointed. It rained all day Monday.
The week before I helped went with Bah and his family to weed the peanut fields. It was the first time I’ve ever been invited to work with them…Bah said he gave me my field to practice then when I proved competent he moved me to the “real” fields. I was quite proud of myself and villagers passing yelled out “Mali muso!!” which was really exciting in their recognition of my being a Malian woman.
Packing up my house turned into a several day event…I’d get sad and have to take a break. My last full day, Tuesday was mostly spent packing but the holy month of fasting, Ramadan, ended on Monday so Bah’s best friend Kardi had a small feast to celebrate on Tuesday afternoon. We only have a handful of Muslim families in my village (unlike the rest of the very Muslim country) but it’s nice to celebrate both Muslim and Christian holidays. The cooperative meeting finally took place Tuesday night and I said a few words to thank them for their hard work and prepared them for my replacement volunteer coming in December. I was proud of my composure up to this point but Wednesday was an entirely different story.
I got up early and took some pictures of my family that I can send to another volunteer to give to Bah once I get home. I had to finish packing and cleaning my hut, made much more complicated as I was constantly interrupted with people stopping by to say goodbye. Crying is culturally very inappropriate and I really tried my best not too, but the kids finally wore me down and then I was a mess the rest of the day. My host dad gave me beautiful Bogolon (mud died cloth) fabric and many others gave me peanuts or chickens, all of which are pretty standard gifts. Bah’s wife too woke up early and made me some bean cakes which I love and then cooked a chicken for lunch. After the final goodbye, I met a friend on the road who had a car and was on his way to San so he gave me ride which made logistics much easier than waiting for a bus to come by.
Everything seemed pretty daunting these past few weeks, it was my last everything. My last day at market, my last day in the fields, my last bike ride, etc, but when my actual last day finally came it was heartbreaking. It’s difficult knowing that I could never adequately tell my family how much they mean to me and knowing how long, if ever, it will be before I get to see them again. The kids were especially hard to say goodbye to. I can hug them without it being inappropriate which was nice. I know I followed all of Malian protocol in my goodbyes, but it was a little empty for me because it felt like a poor goodbye in American standards thus the kids were really important to me.
Now in San, I’m daunted at the task of packing. I acquired a lot of stuff over the two years and sorting through everyone is a multiple day event. I have to close my bank account today and want to make some muffins to give my San friends around town. Additionally I want to finish my paperwork before I get down to Bamako so I can make those last few days as stress free as I can manage. I leave a week from tomorrow and it doesn’t feel possible that I can get everything done before I go, but I suppose most everything I have to do is pretty routine and I’m just another volunteer to COS.
I hope everyone is well; I’ll try and get another update out just before I go, but I hope everyone has a good Labor Day weekend. Looking forward to seeing you all soon.
Love,
Cait
