Call for Postcards

As we said, we have moved to Bamako. We are trying to decorate our place and would like your help. Please send us postcards to improve our postcard wall. It has only been added to by Mark's mom, twin brother and his wife and his older brother. It doesn't matter whether you think your location postcard worthy or not, just send us one from where you are or where you visit. They will all be exciting additions to our wall, be they from Jackson Hole, Wyoming or Mendon. Vermont. You could live in Belfast, Maine or Kingston, New Hampshire or Boston or anywhere else (including Mali!). All those places are places we are excited to visit when we return. So be good, like Brian Hannon when he went to Croatia and sent us a postcard. Don't be a Missy McEwen or a Bryce Walker, who did not send us a postcard from Jamaica!

Our soon to be brilliant (with all your help!) postcard wall.



Postcards get sent to:

The Hannons P.C.V.s

Corps de la Paix

B.P. 85

Bamako, Mali

West Africa

(Believe it or not, it is actually necessary to write out West Africa to avoid your postcard ending up in Malawi, Bali, Malta or any number of other places they have been known end up. As you may guess, Mali is pretty low on the recognition scale and therefore postmen often believe you to have been unsure of where you wanted to send your own mail so they try to help you out. Sometimes they just make the mistake themselves. Thanks mail service.)

Please, send these cards a.s.a.p. and often but that is all. We are big city kids now with access to all sorts of conveniences and don't need big packages. Thanks to anyone thinking about that but save your cash and buy us a drink when we visit!

4th of July

We headed to Manantali recently. There is an annual gathering of Peace Corps volunteers in this western town for the 4th of July. It was really nice to get away from Mali for a few days. By that we mean that the scene was quite American. There were people speaking english all around, listening to tunes and drinking beers just like back home. There was even a full roasting pig on a spit.
Sam and Kelly rode bikes up to the Manantali dam in the morning and had a look around while Mark stayed behind for some more traditional entertainment. It is a strikingly beautiful 73km long reservoir behind a surprisingly stout dam.

Not a lot of constructions here fit into that category.

It was billed as a bit of a redneck affair so Mark got right into it with the handlebar mustache/mullet combo (note: full pig on spit in background). A few people assumed that Sam must be horrified by this look until they found out that it was Sam who cut the mullet in the first place. After that they may have been more disturbed by her than him.
Everything went so well that Mark stayed a few extra days because his service had yet to start up. Sam headed back with the crew to go to work. Public transport was a slightly longer trip than the Peace Corps land cruiser that had brought her there but that is just west African travel. Mark hung out with the hippos and monkeys and the Manantali volunteers for two more days and was lucky enough to ride back in Peace Corps transport again. Score!

Moved

We have moved. No longer do we dwell on the edge of the desert. We now live in the capital city of Mali, Bamako. There are trees around our new house! Needless to say, this is a big change. While we will miss our families in Yelimane, we will not be missing the oppressive heat and frequent sandstorms. We recognize that Bamako will be hot and also has sandstorms but right now it is rainy season and those problems are a few weeks off. Hey, if you can't lie to yourself to whom can you lie?

Here's some pics of what we leave behind:




















For the benefit of our European friends:

















And for those of you out there in mummifying cat land who are wondering...