Finally made it to civilization today with the right hookups and gadgets, electricity is a go, and the internet is working – so here I go! The past few months have been exciting and spontaneous at times but slow and hot at others.
Me and the baby I named Amy after my dear friend Amy Levine
A made a swift escape to Paris for a 3-day cheese-eating binge with my PC friend Amanda. We took full advantage of the luxuries of Air France before arriving at the dazzling Plaza Athena Hotel near the Champs-Elysees. While there, we had a well thought-out plan to de-malianize ourselves by dressing up like fairies and hitting up a rave. To our disappointment, raves usually happen outside of the city so we settled on glow copters and a bottle of champagne under the Eiffel tower.
Sully pup !
Back in Farakala, a lot of exciting things were going on including the building of the literacy center and the 50th anniversary of Malian independence. Speaking of our beloved literacy center, I want to take a second to thank all of you that contributed to the building of Le Centre d’Alpha de Farakala. The villagers are beyond excited about the new addition to their community and literacy is becoming a bigger and bigger deal among them everyday. Today, we got approval to have an official opening during which the center be recognized by the government. In mid-November, we’re having elections in the commune to put our literacy center committee together. We’re now in the final stages of the construction of the main building and are getting ready to move onto the latrines and library/director’s office. (more pictures in the process of construction on another camera - will post soon)
Mayor, Mason, Women, workers, crew, Nelson and me first day of construction
Right before the roof was put up (I'm standing at the door of my concession taking this picture)
My friend Benafou and his buddy working on the roof
Malian independence day was about as exciting as a party gets around here. We had everything from bike races and karate throw downs to hoedowns (literally farmers dancing with their hoes) and hunters proudly shooting off their guns like madmen (closest we got to fireworks). I spent a good portion of the day eating widula, my new favorite Malian dish, with a new volunteer who just moved into the village next door. The day ended with a big soccer game (the students vs. the “uneducated”, no joke) and Senoufo balofon dancing.
One of the independence day bike racers finishing the race on foot (bike broke down)
Then it was off to Ghana for the Accra International Marathon and to spend some time in English-speaking West Africa. The marathon was a bit painful as we started over an hour late and ran right into the heat of the day but I made it to the finish line thinking about the relaxing time on the beach I had ahead of me. After recovering from the run I traveled with 7 of my friends to various places on the coast. We first stopped in Cape Coast where we visited the slave castle and got some amazing footage of Ghanaian fishermen at work (will share that at a later date). On our way to a remote turtle-friendly lodge in Western Ghana we stopped for a touristy trip in the trees with Kakum National Park’s Canopy Tours. Finally, ended our vacation eating fresh tuna and lobster cooked by the turtle-friendly villagers on the beach.
Pre-marathon pose
Post-race sippin on some coconuts
Abana (done)
