Happy New Year!

Three months at site and…nothing to show for it. Unfortunately that’s how I’m feeling at the moment. Site has been a challenge, and I’m still struggling to find my place in the village. I’ve spent the past three months reading, cooking, and attempting to find anyone willing to help. I’ve been unsuccessful. At this point I’m unsure if my site will work out, but that definitely does not mean I’ll be coming home. If progress cannot be made in the near future, I’ll change sites and start all over again. In the mean time, I’m going to focus on and share some of the positive things that have happened over the past few months.

The family I live with in Yangasso continues to be fantastic. The kids are always helpful in picking up random Bambara phrases. Ama is no longer terrified of me, and loves delivering my lunch everyday. She’s also started trying to copy everything her older sisters do. If someone is sweeping the concession, she picks up a stick to “help.” If someone is pulling water from the well, she’ll grab the loose end of rope and wave it around. She makes you realize how alike kids are all over the world.

San kaw is fantastic, as always. They have been an incredible support system here, and are the reason I haven’t gone crazy. If it had not been for them, I probably would have left early. They keep me focused on the positive aspects of Mali and provide great relief when needed. We’ve also gained quite a reputation for our dance parties and amazing cooking.

The San family also made my first Christmas away from home very enjoyable and memorable. After coming back from a Thanksgiving celebration, Kali and I started to decorate for Christmas. We covered the stage house in tinsel, 4 mini trees, stockings, lights, etc., as well as a huge “Merry Christmas” sign we spent many hours on. All of San kaw came to the house for the holiday. We stuffed each other’s (and our own) stockings and did Secret Santas. My favorite stocking stuffers were the slingshots Kali and I bought for everyone, including ourselves. Christmas morning, everyone went to church besides Kali and me, while we baked delicious banana bread. We also got lots of fun new Malian clothes made. Overall, the holiday as good as I could have expected

Another huge plus of the moment...it's cold season! I've been absolutely freezing for the past several weeks. I have no idea how cold it actually is, but I've been wearing layers and bundling up in blankets every night. Last night we built a bonfire and cuddled around it wrapped up in wool blankets. Cold season also means the best produce. We've all been spoiled by carrots, green beans, onions, potatoes, eggplants, watermelons, papayas and cabbage. Have you ever fully appreciated cabbage before?

I came in to Bamako a few days before training here in Tubani So began. I was hoping to get my computer fixed (it apparently has a virus, which I can’t understand since I never have internet access) and talk to my APCD, but they IT guy and Seydou were never at the bureau. Instead I focused on the food. Salad bars, ice cream, brie, wine, chocolate chip pancakes…it was a fantastic week. Now I’m at the Peace Corps training site to get more technical and language training (though which language is yet to be decided). Hopefully I’ll be able to work out a few of the site issues I’ve been having as well. I'm also in the middle of planning my upcoming trip to Senegal for WAIST (the West African International Softball Tournament). It's a huge tournament of ex-pats and PCVs from all over West Africa on the beach near Dakar. No, I will not be playing but cheering on my PC Mali team.

I’m sorry I’ve been so bad about updating. I’m told we now have internet in San, so hopefully it will be more regular from here on out. For now, it’s really hard to write about what’s happened over the past several months. Things that used to seem so strange are now normal, so I forget to mention them. So…if you have any questions, let me know and I’ll try to write at least one more entry before I leave Tubani So. Thanks again for all of your support!