My village is called Niasso and is near San, in the Segou region. Yes, we are all getting schooled in Malian geography now. It is a fun 7 hour bus ride to get to my site. (on a big bus, not the goat bus)
The tally:
population of Niasso: ~1500 people
closest Fanta: 18k away
closest internet: 3 hours by bus (as far as I know)
cell phone reception: 100% while i'm laying in bed. yes!!
luckily the town of San, my Fanta source, also has a Peace Corps house with electricity and running water and a refrigerator!!! and beds if I need to sleep there. oh yeah, and an oven to make brownies!!! which the current PCVs in the San region did f0r us when we arrived. A few days later we made tacos, and I think I fell in love. god bless a full stomach-it hasn't happened very much lately. It rarely happens for Malians, though, so sometimes I feel bad complaining. But I do love brownies.
Check my new house! I don't get to move in for a month, though. The little stairs on the side are so I can climb up and sleep on the roof during hot season. It's totally made of mud and sticks (!!) I don't have electricity or running water, but the pump is right across the road from me! I carried my bathwater bucket from the pump on my head the other day, and it is definitely the most efficient way to carry water, just so you know. And I think, in the long run, I will only have to have several back and neck surgeries! (just kidding)
so...thanks soooo much for the letters and packages!! I'll be getting a new address soon and I'll post it up here. good things to send, in case you were wondering... food! mac & cheese, brownie mix, cheez its, skittles, trail mix, trashy magazines or whatever other general goodness you care to share. also, I have a cell phone, but I haven't used it that much yet. please call me, I'm lonely!!
I have about a month until swear-in, when I become a volunteer for real. eek! Time to learn Bambara!
3 comments:
I'm so glad that your place actually has electricity!! I can't wait for my kids to read this tomorrow...they're going to love it. I'm taking their pics tomorrow to send with their letters (I wasn't going to, but they all wanted you to be able to see them), and then I'm getting you a package out..and of course I'm packing cheez-its..you don't think that we would forget that, do you? Just please make sure that you don't lick off all the salt and let some poor hungry Malian eat your slobbery leftovers!! I will talk to you later..love ya! ~Erin
Hey, if I want to send you a package at the end of this week, should I send it to the first address that you gave me, or the new one that's up here? ~Erin
thanks the posting, my best friend is from Mali and we planning to go to bamako next year but after reading your post, iam kind of nerves going there eventhough my best friend assure me that everything will be fine, i want to spend at least 6 months and do a business there, any more comments will be appreciated, like crimes,people, and corruption cops, thanks again
Post a Comment