Update from the Sahel

It's hot, sunny, and deathly dry. Oh no! Where's my chapstick and water bottle? Looks like I must still be in the deserts of Mali.

After weeks of hell, my mom flew home out of Bamako on Tuesday morning, returning safely to America, where she can drink the water and not fear for her life. Since then, I have been hanging out at the training center (Tubaniso) where they are housing all of the Guinea refugee volunteers. The training center is a faux Malian village – with huts and latrines, but also running water, good food, and electricity. It’s very confusing – am I in Africa or am I in a simulation of an Africa village at some amusement park? Should I say good morning in English, French, Malinke, or Bambara? How do they get such fresh and delicious vegetables in the desert? I am so confused....

I have resigned to my fate - none of those questions matter. It's weird, but it will work.

Since arriving on Tuesday, we have also been doing a lot of nothing around here, although I have been going into Bamako from here to enjoy good restaurants and shopping. I can’t tell you how nice it is to not worry about anything right now. My mind is clear, and I think I am slowly starting to process all that has happened.

The most popular topic of conversation around these here parts has been "what are we going to do?" "Are we going back to Guinea?" I put my money on not going back ($25 dollars in fact, which ain't no chump change here). In order for us to go back, Peace Corps says they have to feel confident that they can take care of us and not worry about this happening again. But change in Guinea occurs slowly…. this is likely to happen again. "So, what if we don’t go back?" We can either accept the end of our Peace Corps experience with an “Interrupted Service” or we can transfer to a choice of countries for one more year or two (depending on the requirements of the country). “So, what are you thinking about doing?” has truly been the question of the week. There are many who are thinking about going back to the US. There are many that are excited to go somewhere else. I, myself, am not sure about that. Honestly, I am only sure about one thing – I want to go back to Siguiri.

But before we find out, there is a lot of waiting time. We have to see how things fall back into place in Conakry and across the country. I am going to try to make the most of my waiting time by traveling through Mali as much as PC will allow. Tomorrow, I am heading to Djenne for the weekend, where there is the largest mud brick structure in the world. I am so excited to see this country, and I am happy to be doing it without taking vacation time!

After this short trip, I am heading back to the training site for an In Service Training (IST), where we will try to stay on top of our work (whether we return to it or not). Hopefully once IST is done, I will be on the road again seeing the rest of Mali, all the while, waiting to hear that we are cleared to return home to Guinea.