Tunisia

Just got back to Mali from a week in Tunisia. Venturing out of West Africa for the first time was an eye-opening experience. Tunisia is very developed: rail system, trash pickup, you buy a SIM card from a cell phone store rather than a guy on the street. Also more of a European influence, judging by the amount of espresso and skinny black jeans. Perhaps what was most shocking was the cold. It was like a Seattle winter but without central heating or a jacket. I put on the three hoodies I had packed and didn't take them off for four days. Fortunately, re-wearing clothes is something I have become a pro at after two and a half years in Peace Corps.

I met up with a friend who had just finished her service in Mali and had already spent a week in Tunisia doing the Star Wars stuff down south. We spent the next week doing a big loop of the north-Tunis, Tabarka, Ain Draham, El Kef, and Mahdia. Absolutely beautiful country. Enjoy!

The public rail system in downtown Tunis. No big deal.

Atop Byrsa Hill, looking into Tunis
Antonine Baths in Carthage
El Kef
The kasbah at El Kef, formerly used to defend Tunisia against Algeria (the dark clouds to the west).
Mahdia
Mahdia was the warmest place we went.
Caucasian+blond hair+glasses=sisters. At least that is what every Tunisian we met thought.

The last few months...

I promised to be better at updating this during my third year, and yet here we are. So what is new? I am doing a third year! This last year in Mali was good, and it felt like a shame to leave after just one year since I put so much work into learning Bambara and getting to know my village. I went back to Seattle in September to visit. It was my first time back in the US in over two years-weird, but wonderful to see people.

Since being back, my biggest project has been putting together a proposal to finish the primary school in my village. Out of the two school buildings, only one has windows, doors, desks, etc, so only three of the six classrooms are usable. The type of funding I am applying for allows people in the US to donate money, so check back in January and I will have all the information posted for this worthy project!

In November my old site-mate from Mauritania, who transferred to Rwanda and just finished her service there, came to visit. We went hiking in Dogon Country, a region in northern Mali. It was so good to see her and reminisce about that first, lost year.

Other than that, my time has just been occupied with village life, which is what most of these pictures are showing. I am growing tomatoes, basil, and garlic chives. Reading a lot. Going to the fields, drinking tea and hanging out. Observe:

I achieved a personal goal this past week-I got a baby named after me! In Muslim culture, a baby is not named until a week after its birth. In the meantime, anyone can suggest a name, although it is most often named after an older relative. Whenever a baby girl is born in my village, I jokingly suggest that it should be named after me. This time, they took that suggestion seriously, so during the week I went out and bought baby clothes, soap, and kola nuts to give as gifts at the baptism. This baby's official name, on its birth certificate, is Jessica Sira Coulibaly.

Harvesting millet

Dressed up and enjoying Tabaski, the biggest Muslim holiday. It is celebrated in particular style in Gumbanko with singing, dancing, and macaroni noodles for breakfast.

Tabaski

Tabaski

Kali (my counterpart), his son, and their family's new calf

Marta and I in Dogon

Things that make me laugh

I was reading The Economist in my village and everyone was really interested in this ad because there are actually chameleons in Mali.  I told people I had never seen one before besides in pictures, and my counterpart promised that if he came across one he would catch it and show it to me.
Here is what arrived a few days later.  We tied the other end of the string to the tree for a few hours.  The chameleon didn't change colors like I thought it would, but it did develop some darker brown stripes that weren't there before.  I pointed it out to kids passing by, and they consistently responded with "Don't worry. I will find a rock and kill it."
This girl comes by occasionally to chat, and one day while she was looking through my photos she asked if she could have one.  I told her she could choose one, and out of all the photos, which included village favorites like family parties, winter scenes, and pictures of me, she chose this one of my brother, circa 2008, when he was learning to drive.  Why? Because, in her words, "He is better looking than you." 

This was a slow day in my village.  I want to stress that the music was playing at the time, and was not added later.

A few more pictures from Ghana...
A boy on the coast displaying his handiwork

Busing through Burkina

Mole National Park, Ghana

Ghana

Some pictures from my 3 week trip to Ghana. More to come when I get around to uploading my own.Fort Patience in Apam, where we spent a night

Fort Victoria

This picture is awesome, and here is why: when Obama visited Ghana he came here, and our tour guide, Dennis, had also given him a tour! Some interesting facts that Dennis shared:

-Michelle Obama got tired on the way up the hill

-Barack Obama suggested that Dennis should repaint the fort white but not paint the cannons to maintain their authenticity

-They told Dennis they would email him photos but Dennis has yet to receive them

A hearty breakfast of chocolate outside of Cape Coast Castle

Kakum National Park: In 1995 a Canadian NGO built a series of suspension bridges in the tree canopy 25m-50m off the ground. Each bridge can support the weight of two elephants!

A beach southwest of Takoradi where we spent a couple of days-tricky to get to but well worth the trouble.

Obligatory jumping picture and obligatory sunburn

April

Kunba and a baby in her household

On April 22 we did a mural at the primary school to celebrate Earth Day. All the leaves on the trees are the childrens' handprints!
The biggest goofball of all my little host sisters

Kali admires our awesome Earth Day mural

The Kita uniform

Women in Mali often get matching outfits tailored for special events and holidays. Taking this as inspiration, all of the girls in my region had outfits made from matching fabric.

The Gambia

After WAIST a couple of us headed south to spend a few days in The Gambia. To refresh your memory, The Gambia is a tiny country completely surrounded by Senegal except for where it is bordered by the Pacific Ocean.
Omar is a man who runs a tiny restaurant in Banjul and loves Peace Corps volunteers. Some of the most delicious food I had on our trip.
Bijilo National Park, along the coast.
We each took a yearbook photo by the ocean.
The Gambia River divides the country into the North Bank and the South Bank. Here, we are crossing to the north side on the ferry to start our trip upcountry.
Further upcountry, we crossed the river back to the south side. The ferry we took held two cars and was pulled across the river by a steel cable (and our hands).

WAIST 2010

W.A.I.S.T (West African Invitational Softball Tournament) is a yearly softball tournament held over President's Day Weekend at the American Club in Dakar. Peace Corps volunteers in Senegal and the surrounding West African countries put together teams to compete. Last year, PC Mauritania won the championship, but since Mauritania and Guinea have both been evacuated since then, we banded together this year to form a refugee team. Some former Mauritanian volunteers
A PK-10 reunion

Some pictures from my family's visit

The village elders (and elders to be...)
Biking out to my village
Shopping for fabric in Kita
The giant statue in Dakar