Back at PC Training Camp

We did it! We have officially completed our homestay training! No more sleeping in seperate beds! Hooray!

This morning we left our homestay site for the last time. We are back at PC Training Camp, where the 72 of us left here in Mali will have one more week of training before we become true volunteers. In one week we will set out to the site where we will live for 2 years. We are both sad, as we loved the people we were with at homestay and we loved our families. At site, it will only be the two of us. We will be 4 hours from the closest volunteer. I think the two of us will be playing a lot of Rummy 500 in the next two years. The score so far: Sam = 3, Mark = 2.

We wish there was a way to capture Mali, the people of Mali and the other trainees on a blog. Mali is beautiful this time of year as it is very green and lush. It feels really hot most days, but I think the humidity is at 99.9% and it's not really the temperature. Every 2 -3 days there is a crazy rain storm which brings cooler, bareable temperatures for a day before the humidity sets in again. The people of Mali are great. Very friendly, very warm people. They won't however do or help you with anything before a greeting. We got a great cross cultural lesson on that in the market the other day. My friend Susan politely asked for directions and the woman blatantly ignored her. So Susan greeted her, and then asked for the directions. The woman gave us the directions with a smile on her face!

The anatomy of a greeting: Part one - You and the day! (Hello) Part 2 - You are healthy? (How are you?) Part 3 - Your family members are healthy? (How is your family?). Most people end here, but if you are Mark you then inquire after the children, the mother, the father, the grandparents, etc. Most of the time you and the other person are inquiring after the other at the same moment and the questions are never really answered. It's just a polite formality, but now that we can do it, a fun one.

As for the other volunteers, most people are fun. I do have to say I was thought I was a realist my whole life, but I think even to apply to the Peace Corps you have to be an idealist of some sort! So imagine a room full of fun loving, idealists. Seriously, it is fun.

Tomorrow we have a language test and we have to score Intermediate-mid to officially become a volunteer. No worries, we will both score at least that high. We like to laugh over the fact that Bambarankan is going to be our secret language upon returning to the states!

One of these days we will post pictures. Everywhere we have been the internet has been too slow. Stay tuned, we really will post them, one of these days...