This is a photo of the seasonal river that we had to cross recently in order to leave M'Bout for the girls conference. The day before, the rain had swelled this river dramatically forcing us to postpone our trip to Nouakchott until the next morning. You can see John wading across on his way back to help the truck.Monday, June 29, 2009
Photo #24
This is a photo of the seasonal river that we had to cross recently in order to leave M'Bout for the girls conference. The day before, the rain had swelled this river dramatically forcing us to postpone our trip to Nouakchott until the next morning. You can see John wading across on his way back to help the truck.
Photo #23
Me, Coleen, Teresa, and Julie Ann took this photo in Mali while we were hiking. We're looking out onto the dunes from the top of the escarpment.Photo #22
I took this photo from a rooftop terrace where we stopped for lunch one day while hiking in Mali. The blue barrel in the foreground is a smart, little shower that they set up: the owners put well water in the barrel and then you turn the spigot on when you want to bathe.Photo #21
This photo was taken in Dogon Country, Mali, where I spent six days hiking last month. I think we were hiking DOWN when I took this (thank goodness!), but I'm still pretty sweaty. Villages in Dogon lie below, above, and on this cliff, which is what we were hiking along. We all thought it was SO green, although it was still well into their dry season.Thursday, June 4, 2009
School's out for summer!
Bonjour tout le monde!
You all should be very proud since it's been less than a month since my last post. I'm starting to get the feeling that time passes differently for me now then it does for you all in the States. For example, I told my family that I would post the mock Peace Corps ad that Becca and I made on YouTube soon, and when I told them soon meant 3 weeks, they sounded really suprised. Three weeks doesn't seem long to me any more. Guess that's what happens when you've been living in Africa for a year!
Shortly after my last posting, we had our closing ceremony at the mentoring center in M'Bout, and then I went to Kaedi (where I made the awesome video!) and Nouakchott for some Peace Corps business. I left Nouakchott at the end of May and headed down south to St. Louis, Senegal for the International Jazz Festival there. We were allowed to audit our vacation days as long as we worked one three-hour shift selling Mauritanian artisan crafts at a booth at the festival. I spent about three days on the beach, worked for a total of six hours, ate, drank, and was merry. I took some photos of the stuff that we were selling so that you all can put in orders next year; it's pretty hard to find cool souvenir-type stuff in Mauritania, but the festival brings together stuff from around the country and there's a lot of neat stuff from all over West Africa.
On Monday, I travelled down to Dakar with Colleen where we met up with Matt and his brother. Together, the four of us spent one full day in Dakar picking up visas at the Malian embassy, buying bus tickets, jumping on a really cool trampoline by the water, and hanging out by the pool at the American Club. The American Club was kind of a whim: it's where the softball tournament is held every year, they have a pool, tennis courts, snack bar, and bar, and we had heard rumors that Americans can use it for free (true!).
Yesterday, we loaded onto a bus for a 26-hour ride from Dakar to Bamako. The bus left around 5AM Wednesday morning and we got in around 7AM this morning to Bamako. Now, I thought I was a well-seasoned bus traveller, but this was probably more uncomfortable than any bus I took in South America. Regular coach bus, but the air-conditioning didn't work. And no bathroom. And a three-hour long border crossing. I'll let you imagine the rest.
But, we're here in Bamako now and really excited to explore the city! Everything is so green! And there's hills! I've heard it referred to as Dakar with a more small-town feel. I'm bummed that we don't have much time to spend here because we're probably going to leave for Mopti (NE of the city by about 7-10 hours -- another bus ride) tomorrow. Tough decision, but we're in a bit of a time crunch due to the PCV soccer game next weekend, and we want to spend as much time hiking in Dogon country before then. I'm going to take lots and lots of pictures in Dogon, and hopefully post them sometime before I return to the States in August. (I know, I know, it's a long time for you guys, but I've got a busy summer schedule, ma sha'allah.)
I think that's about it for now. We're about to go hunt down the only TexMex restaurant in Bamako. Funny story though: We had heard about a Mexican restaurant in Dakar (There's only one in Nouakchott, so I don't get that kind of food very often.], and after a bit of wandering, we found it down a dark street. Not a whole lot to look at in the front, so we went inside. I was expecting some cheap kind of TexMex like you would find in the States. Nothing too fancy, since we all just had teeshirts and jeans on and hadn't showered since before our taxi ride from St. Louis. Walked into a swanky ex-pat restaurant where everyone's head turned to look at us come in and the hostess asked if we had a reservation. Reservation?! I've been eating with my hands for the past six months! All four of us had our minds so set on nachos and margaritas that we decided to look at the menu anyways -- phew! Pricey, but really good cheese quesadilla and mojito. And little scented towlettes to wash your hands. We laughed for so long at the table that I'm suprised they didn't throw us out. Hoping for a better experience this afternoon...
Keep in touch, everyone. Two months 'till I'm State-side!
You all should be very proud since it's been less than a month since my last post. I'm starting to get the feeling that time passes differently for me now then it does for you all in the States. For example, I told my family that I would post the mock Peace Corps ad that Becca and I made on YouTube soon, and when I told them soon meant 3 weeks, they sounded really suprised. Three weeks doesn't seem long to me any more. Guess that's what happens when you've been living in Africa for a year!
Shortly after my last posting, we had our closing ceremony at the mentoring center in M'Bout, and then I went to Kaedi (where I made the awesome video!) and Nouakchott for some Peace Corps business. I left Nouakchott at the end of May and headed down south to St. Louis, Senegal for the International Jazz Festival there. We were allowed to audit our vacation days as long as we worked one three-hour shift selling Mauritanian artisan crafts at a booth at the festival. I spent about three days on the beach, worked for a total of six hours, ate, drank, and was merry. I took some photos of the stuff that we were selling so that you all can put in orders next year; it's pretty hard to find cool souvenir-type stuff in Mauritania, but the festival brings together stuff from around the country and there's a lot of neat stuff from all over West Africa.
On Monday, I travelled down to Dakar with Colleen where we met up with Matt and his brother. Together, the four of us spent one full day in Dakar picking up visas at the Malian embassy, buying bus tickets, jumping on a really cool trampoline by the water, and hanging out by the pool at the American Club. The American Club was kind of a whim: it's where the softball tournament is held every year, they have a pool, tennis courts, snack bar, and bar, and we had heard rumors that Americans can use it for free (true!).
Yesterday, we loaded onto a bus for a 26-hour ride from Dakar to Bamako. The bus left around 5AM Wednesday morning and we got in around 7AM this morning to Bamako. Now, I thought I was a well-seasoned bus traveller, but this was probably more uncomfortable than any bus I took in South America. Regular coach bus, but the air-conditioning didn't work. And no bathroom. And a three-hour long border crossing. I'll let you imagine the rest.
But, we're here in Bamako now and really excited to explore the city! Everything is so green! And there's hills! I've heard it referred to as Dakar with a more small-town feel. I'm bummed that we don't have much time to spend here because we're probably going to leave for Mopti (NE of the city by about 7-10 hours -- another bus ride) tomorrow. Tough decision, but we're in a bit of a time crunch due to the PCV soccer game next weekend, and we want to spend as much time hiking in Dogon country before then. I'm going to take lots and lots of pictures in Dogon, and hopefully post them sometime before I return to the States in August. (I know, I know, it's a long time for you guys, but I've got a busy summer schedule, ma sha'allah.)
I think that's about it for now. We're about to go hunt down the only TexMex restaurant in Bamako. Funny story though: We had heard about a Mexican restaurant in Dakar (There's only one in Nouakchott, so I don't get that kind of food very often.], and after a bit of wandering, we found it down a dark street. Not a whole lot to look at in the front, so we went inside. I was expecting some cheap kind of TexMex like you would find in the States. Nothing too fancy, since we all just had teeshirts and jeans on and hadn't showered since before our taxi ride from St. Louis. Walked into a swanky ex-pat restaurant where everyone's head turned to look at us come in and the hostess asked if we had a reservation. Reservation?! I've been eating with my hands for the past six months! All four of us had our minds so set on nachos and margaritas that we decided to look at the menu anyways -- phew! Pricey, but really good cheese quesadilla and mojito. And little scented towlettes to wash your hands. We laughed for so long at the table that I'm suprised they didn't throw us out. Hoping for a better experience this afternoon...
Keep in touch, everyone. Two months 'till I'm State-side!
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