Arrival:

I ni ce! Greetings from Mali! We had a very long journey here (27 hours from Philly to Bamako) but we made it! It’s not too hot and right now we are in the Peace Corps training compound. So while it’s officially Africa, we have certainly been sheltered for the past few days. It almost feels like everyone in Africa is American and speaks English.

Power and Internet have been intermittent, the food has been great and there have been limited mosquitoes. On the other hand flies are in abundance. Our squat pot (bathroom) is under the stars and, while there are showers (no heated water) there is not always water. When that happens, a bucket and a scoop are our showers for a bucket bath.

Tomorrow we are off to our home stay villages. We will be living with families where we will learn Bambara, the local language. While we will be in the same village, we will be eating and sleeping with different host families. And it’s at this point we enter the unknown…

We are certainly having a blast and it’s been great to meet everyone here. It’s amazing how you can meet 77 new people and like them all.

N bE taa kalanso la. (I am leaving to the classroom).