Malades in Mali

Check that title out!! Dang.  It involves alliteration AND it lets you know a little taste of what is to come in this post.  The ideal title.

Okay, so the last week has been rough.  I managed to catch malaria.  This was not fun.  Last Sunday I started feeling kind of yucky, and then I got a really persistent and terrible headache.  That lasted till Wednesday at which point I decided the pain was too much to handle in the heat and went to Bamako.  The doctor tested my blood and discovered that the prophylaxes I am taking apparently didn't work completely, and I had malaria parasites in my blood.  I got a pretty mild case.  My fever wasn't too high, but I did feel yucky.  I've been staying at the peace corps house in Bamako since late Wednesday night.  I've taken the required meds, and the blood test I took today came back negative so I will be heading back to site sometime in the near future.  I learned the following: Don't get malaria.

Other than that, things are relatively peachy.  I've enjoyed being able to stay in the air conditioning, but it comes at the price of being ill.  Site is the same, I'm starting to sort of make friends.  Though I still can't speak to them really.  Our conversations are usually roughly the following:

Friend: Do you have beans in America.
Me: Yes
Friend: Do you have motorcycles in America
Me: Yes, we have lots of big motorcycles.
Friend: Do you have corn in America.
Me: Yes, lots of corn.
Friend: Do you have onions in America.
Me: Yes.
Friend: Can we go to America together?
Me: Sure, in two years.  Do you have a lot of money?
Friend: How much is it to go?
Me: A lot.
Friend: Oh.
(Silence while we drink some tea followed by a few more questions followed by silence).

I think that's all I've got for now.  I'll be sure to write again soon.  I'll be coming back to Bamako around June 11th or so for In Service Training.  I'll be at the training center.

Waterfalls!!!

So, I just got back from a little place called Woroni where there are some gorgeous and wonderful waterfalls.  I had my first real ride in a long distance taxi, and it was splendid.  They are called Bashees, and on the way there we had 11 people in a station wagon designed to sit 7.  They had at some point removed the roof, and welded their own on so it could hold more weight on top.  On top the pile of gear was taller than the car itself.  It included, 2 chairs, 2 decent sized tables, and one motorcycle along with all our backpacks for the trip.  Four Malians sat across the front where there were only two bucket seats, so that was probably really uncomfortable.  We had 4 Americans across the first bench seat, and three in the back.  The seats were designed for two in front, 3 in middle, and 2 in back.  Luckily it was an ancient Peugot and had a "3 on the tree" set-up for shifting so the two men sitting in the middle up front did not get in the way of the driver...too much.  We had to stop a few times and put water into the radiator, I don't know how the water did not burst out when he opened the radiator cap...maybe there was just no water in it?  Anyways, it was a little over and hour drive, and then a splendid hike through some fields up to the falls.  There were three sets.  The first set is maybe 40 feet, and kind of spread out, the second is also maybe 40 feet but is one big stream, and the third is small, but really secluded and beautiful.  The second set has a nice pool for swimming in, and a ledge that is maybe 10 feet up to jump off of into the water.  We spent the night at the base of the first falls, and hiked out in the morning.  We had paid the driver to stay the night at the nearest village and pick us up at the trailhead in the morning, and he was right on time.  Coming back, we had less people in the car, but I got stuck in the very back and so was pretty cramped, and the smell of gasoline and exhaust got trapped back there a little worse.  And I believe the car was actually gasoline as opposed to diesel which is really uncommon here.  Also, the driver would turn the car off on any downhill to conserve gasoline which is a good idea, but I just thought worth mentioning.  I'll try to put pictures up... but no guarantees.  Okay, well I had a great weekend, and I'll try posting soon!

Another Report

My creativity with titles of blogs is really slipping... I'll have to work on that.  Today, I got a lovely set of letters from the second grade class I volunteered in, and it really made my day!! Life at site is going well, and very warm.  I feel like the heat is a fairly recurring theme in these posts, but it is hot! Yesterday, my thermometer read 110, and it was so humid that there was a high fog that prevented me from seeing across the little valley that I can normally easily see across.  My teaching continues to go well.  I should be getting the the textbooks I asked for tomorrow sometime, and am very excited about that.  I tend to try to spend time with the students who are further behind.  There is one older woman who I have been working with a lot.  At certain points the class has to copy words down onto their little chalkboards, and she tries but her heart really isn't in it.  She told me that all she really wants to be able to do is write her name.  So, I wrote her name out, and I make her copy it over and over again.  She throws all her effort into this, and it is actually sort of touching how badly she wants to be able do this.  She's getting it down pretty well, and I am really proud of her.  I also work with other students by writing letters or numbers on their boards and asking them what they are.  And then I'll do simple combinations like "f" and "a" and I try to get them to understand that the name of the letter and the sound that it makes are different, (at least with consonants).  The village really enjoys when I play guitar, and I am asked on a daily basis if I am going to play for them that day.  I don't everyday because some days I am too tired, and also I only know a limited number of songs, and I think they're going to catch on that I am only playing the same songs, and I don't want them getting bored with it.... Though I honestly doubt that's possible.  They love it too much.

My garden is coming along nicely.  I have three tiered beds dug, and am in the process of digging out the large rocks of the lowest bed.  I hoping we get a good rain before I plant because I want to see how well things drain so I can make adjustments to the design as needed.  Also, I still need a gate, but that shouldn't take too long to make.  I'll be venturing down to a little town called Woroni tomorrow to check out their waterfalls.  Apparently, they are splendid.

I had a pretty large ant colony living under the clay pot I keep my veggies in, and I went to war with them a few days ago.  I got bitten a lot, but I won in the end.  I had to break out "Rambo" which is probably the gnarliest insecticide ever made.  It makes RAID look like water.  It comes from Nigeria, and works really, really well.  I discovered I can make gravy (sort of) using flavored MSG, onions, and flour.  It is delicious, and goes very well with the endless supply of potatoes I have.  I think that's about all for now.  I'll probably have another update in a few weeks.