Moms Visits!

On February 22, my mom, Lu goodall, and Debbie Blackshear came to visit!! After planning this trip since around November, it was incredible to finally see them get off the airplane and emerge from Bamako’s little airport, and amazingly with all their bags in tow. It was such a great reunion. We went back to the sleeping camel hotel run by these British guys for pizza and beer and to catch up a little. We had a big 12 days ahead of us, full of Malian bush food and potential parasite infections so the time to eat and drink is always now. Ironically enough they had met some other Peace Corps volunteers on the flight and people from my Peace Corps office were even at the airport waiting to pick up other new kids. Small ex-pat world. We went to our room with a working ac unit; they opened some of their presents, which at this point consisted of goat skin body back packs for the husbands. The Malian love these back packs and they are used for everything from getting water from the well to cross desert expeditions- they chop off a goats head, skin it, sew up the holes, turn the skin inside out, braid the legs together, and then you have a nice back pack. The top is the neck hole. Trendy! Ps- my American friends Lu and Debbie, I am writing this from my hut while savoring one of my precious cans of meat ball spagettios.

The next morning we got up and had a nice brunch while we waited for out hired 4x4 to arrive and take us to the grocery store and then to site. He threw a minor hissy fit when he saw how much stuff we had but thankfully, due to many problems from him like missing gas money, he was fired. We had lots of coffee and final showers, final looks in the last mirror they would see for ten days, and then off we went. We arrived at my village in the early afternoon and had time to unpack, organize, and then do a walk around the village to alert the ladies that in the evening, there would be a meeting for the 10 ladies participating in the HEARTH child nutrition program. The meeting was really fun, and everyone actually came. This one lady even brought this super cute puppy that she knows I love. He came to most of the sessions as well; I figure it’s a good way to teach them about how to treat animals.
The next morning, after our first night sleeping out in the bush, I got up early to run some errands and then everyone else got up and we made coffee, sandwiches, and bought beans for the ladies to eat with their coffee when they got to my house. The first morning we had hearth at this communal place in village but that was no fun, not personal at all. So from then on we had it at my house. I think it would have been a good idea to rotate houses from participant to participant to encourage the woman to clean up and do everything like washing hands correctly on her own turf but it was so nice doing it in my own yard… I was really surprised after the first 2 days how well it was going. The women were showing up, paying attention, and using the time to relax, drink the coffee we made them each morning, and gossip. The added bonus of having my mom, Lu, and Debbie there definitely kept them coming back as well. Especially once my crazy old lady Fune started coming over and leading these hilarious dance sessions; that spectacle definitely kept them coming back. The mornings overall were really great- the project was a success and would not have been nearly as fun or successful if my mom, lu, and Debbie hadn’t been there to liven the mood! They even made them adorable little present packages when the program was over to give to each woman.

Quite possibly my favorite part of the day though was the Gatorade happy hours that would have sometimes twice a day. We would set up our chairs in the shade, fill my pitcher with water and add Gatorade mix, and then bring out these 4 little cute cups that my mom brought from a picnic set. Then we would sit around and tell stories about old boyfriends, they would give me advice on things and reassure me that I haven’t gone crazy out here, and talk about their kids lives too. Then in the evenings we would have gin and tonic or anything from the assortment of drinks that we brought; my is American liquor easy to drink compared to the stuff they make here.
No two days were the same though. We ate incredibly well, painted murals, painted hundreds of nails, played with puppies and babies, lu did the Malian woman sexy dance; had quite the vacation. Just like sex and city after all!

Then we went into Bamako in quite a rush to have lunch with my friends Anderson and Ryan, a cocktail cruise on Rebecca’s boat, an art show at the embassies house (cough cough mom jaja), and then dinner at a nice Indian place where none of us could come even close to finishing our plates. The next morning we had brunch with my friend pierce, then went to the artist market and then to the big Malian market where we scrutinized fabric and I butchered my Bambara real bad, due to the heat… ha then we went home, had a giant late lunch at the sleeping camel, showered, and went to dinner for them to meet Cary! At yet another pizza place. Man people must think all I do is eat pizza and drink beer. Then we took them to the airport… all a whirlwind but that’s the sign of a good vacation. Going back to site without them was terrible so I ran away to Anderson’s house for a week before I built up the courage to come back and face the bush life alone once again. 3 more months…. Nothing to worry about.