A Tearful Goodbye but a Happy Hello to the End of PST

As Pre-Service Training is coming to a close, the first milestone that we have successfully reached and completed today was leaving our homestay sites. I wrote previously about how amazing it is that we can make such strong emotional connections with people so foreign to us, and this notion was reaffirmed these past few days as I was preparing to leave B-Camp.
It is customary to give a gift to your host family upon your departure, so we decided collectively to each give 10 kilos of sugar and a package of tea to our respective families. When I brought out my gift after dinner, I gave a small speech thanking my family for everything they had done for me. They were so overwhelmed and grateful thanking me in turn for being an easy guest and for being a postiive rolemodel for the younger children. The next morning, after taking some pictures with my family, I finished packing and then waited for the bus to arrive. I knew that my departure was going to be emotional for me, as I am going to miss the young kids terribly, but I was not prepared for such a strong reaction from my two host mothers. As the bus pulled up, I grabbed my bags and gave the keys to my room to my first mother. As Malians don't hug, we shook hands and then she proceeded to cry while giving me blessings. I was so moved by her emotions that I couldn't help but begin tearing up myself. Then, as my second mother began crying as well, it became quite a scene of tears, blessings and 'Amens.' I was greeted in the street by a whole crowd of Malian friends and my fellow B-Camp trainees who, it was apparent, had had the same emotional separation from their own families.
I am so thankful to my family for everything they have done for me. They were so welcoming and helpful that they made what could have been a very difficult first few months a pleasure and a breeze. Malian hospitality is truly amazing. I am going to miss my new family a lot, and I am already excited to return for a visit in a few months time. By then, my language abilities will have significantly improved- Inch Allah (God Willing)- so it will be an even more enjoyable trip.
While leaving homestay was difficult, it is has only brought me closer to swearing in and becoming a real volunteer. As the training comes to a close, I am becoming more and more excited (but also nervous) about moving to site and fulfilling my purpose as a Peace Corps Volunteer! Yay!

Site Visit

Site Visit
I arrived at my site after a long day of travel. The first leg of the trip was a 3 hour bus ride from Bamako to Kita. We took a decrepit looking coach bus that was so packed that the only seat left for me was the death seat next to the bus driver. I was glad that there was a seat belt that could buckle, but it was rendered completely ineffective after I realized that I could not tighten it. Also, since there was no A/C on the bus they kept the door right next to me wide open the entire time. Luckily, there was a bus attendant (in the form of a teenage boy) standing in the door way, so if I were to fall, I might have had the possibility to be saved. The ride into Kita was picturesque-very green and lush with mountain ranges lining the road. After arriving in Kita around 11am, my homologue and I went to his wife's mothers house to rest and eat lunch until our Sotrama (van/taxi) left at 2pm. After piling into another overcrowded taxi where I sat on rice bags for my seat, I arrived in my homologues town from where I biked 7 km to my site!
My site is absolutely gorgeous! The village is something right out of a storybook. There are round thatched huts interspersed between amazing trees and gardens-again, absolutely gorgeous. I have my own two huts with a thatched awning in between for some shade. I have my own nyegen/shower area and the whole compound is enclosed with bamboo fencing. I also have the perfect little patch of land for a garden! Since my site is new, it wasn't fully complete, and I didn't have any furniture, so I stayed with a host family.
I had my first mini freakout (a "wow, what am I doing here all the way in Africa" moment) my first night at site. I was with a new family who I didn't know, and I was out in the boonies with no cell phone reception. All I could think was, if I am ever sick again (or I should say, when I get sick again) like I just was, or if I ever need to contact anyone for security reasons etc, what am I going to do??!! So, after a worrisome and restless night, because I broke out in blisters all over my leg (most likely from a bite from a blister beetle), I tried to greet the next day with some optimism and a better attitude. Thankfully, my mind was put to rest when the Peace Corps Regional Coordinator from Kita came to visit me that day to go over protocol (meeting the village chief and mayor etc.) He told me that my village is going to be getting cell service within the next two months (but on Malian time, who knows how long that will really take...) Also, in the mean time I can use a phone cabine in the village if needed.
Since it is farming season right now, the village was empty all day as everyone was in the fields, so my days at site were spent reading, studying, writing letters, and entertaining the younger kids. There was one young girl who would cry, scream, and run away whenever she would see me! Many times, parents use 'white people' as threats telling their children that if they do not behave, the Toubab will come and eat them.
After 2 nights at site, I went back to Kita to stay at the regional house and meet all of the other volunteers in the area. We had a wonderful meal (taco's!) and then hung out in the A/C watched some movies and played some trivia. After spending the night there, me and the 3 other male trainees traveled back to Bamako together (on another hot and sweaty coach bus, but this time I was luckily not in the death seat).
Right now I am about 2 weeks from swearing in and becoming a real volunteer! We had our mid-training language exam last week, and I scored high enough already that I don't have to take the final exam! So, for now all I am going to do is enjoy my time with the other volunteers before we are split up and sent to site!
Much Love and Peace!

Meeting my homologue

I must admit that I was quite nervous about meeting my homologue from my site. I was told that when he arrived yesterday evening, he was immediately asking to meet me. The anticipation of our meeting was so stressful! All of my doubts, fears, and nerves were on overdrive untils after dinner, when we were all informally introduced to our homologues. My homologue's name is Bourama Diakite, but he told me that everyone in the village calls him "vieux" which means old in French. He is however by no means old as he is only 42. I thought that our meeting would be very awkward, but I was pleasantly suprised that it was exactly the opposite. I left our conversation extremely excited and totally at ease!!
After our initial greetings in Malinke, our conversation switched into French which made communicating a breeze. My homologue told me that my village has been trying to get a volunteer since 2008, and that they are so excited and anxious for me to arrive! He was so kind as well, assuring me that if I ever have any problems or worries that he will help me in any way possible. Hearing all of this banished all of my anxities and made me really excited to meet my village and begin working. Plus, today, the homologues were in session all day learning about the Needs Assessment Tools that I will be using to evaluate my community as tomorrow we are going on a field trip to practice these tools. We had a small meeting to establish which homologues were going to facilitate these activities, and my homologue wanted to lead all of them!! Hopefully, he is a good indication of the motivation and work ethic of my village. Since my village really wants a volunteer that means they want to make improvements and implement change and are willing to collaborate with me to do so!! Exciting!
Anyways, Bourama, who happens to be about a foot taller than me, is a teacher of the first grade. The premiere cycle, which is the 1st-6th grade, is located in my village. The seconde cycle, 7th-9th grade, is 7km away, and the Lycee (high school), 10th-12th grade, is located in Kita. My village has requested a volunteer to help facilitate the improvement and promotion of girls education and youth development, so I will most likely be working with the premiere and seconde cycle. However, Bourama also told me that there is a CSSCOM (a maternity clinic) in the village, so hopefully I can start some secondary projects there.
I leave for site on Tuesday, so I will find out more when I get there. But for now, I am super motivated and inspired. I can't wait for the next phase of this journey!

Being sick and finding out my site!

So, I finally got sick...and bad too. I woke up last night to a wonderful case of Mr. D and a 103.6 fever! Most of my night and the rest of the day was spent running back and forth to the negen. I had no idea that my body could expectorate that much! This may be a little T.M.I but these are the realities of being sick in Africa. I called the doctor in the morning, and she said that it sounded like I have a intestinal bacterial infection. I most likely got the infection from something I ate. If I had to guess, it was from some cucumbers I ate 5 days ago. My family served me a huge bowl for dinner- and only that for dinner- so, I had no choice but to eat it and took the gamble because I had not seen or eaten fresh veggies since I have been here. If they are not treated properly, you can get a bacterial infection or even ameobas. I started the medication immediately after speaking with the doctor, so hopefully, I will feel better soon. The day was so miserable, that I have most definitely learned my lesson and will not be taking that gamble again anytime soon.
However, for some better news, we found out our sites today! I will be in the small village which has a population of only 600 people. While it is one of the smaller sites, I am only 25km to the west of Kita, the regional capital. Its about a 3 hour journey from Bamako by local transportation. This village has requested an education volunteer to improve community participation in their local education system, to improve young girls and youth development, and to improve the literacy of men and women in the community. (Exactly what I was hoping to do!) My homologue/Malian counterpart from the village arrives tomorrow, so after we have a day of meet and greet, we will depart and travel together to site. I will be there for approximately 5 days to get a feel of the community and local area after which I will return to Bamako alone on local transportation! These local mini-buses are crammed with people and goats/chickens with luggage/animals piled high on the top. And, there is no A.C. This should be interesting...
Love to All

Connections

While the human race is a complex and diverse species, our ability to reason, make connections and feel emotions is a special trait that we share and that is often taken for granted. After being thrust into a new country, culture, and way of living without the ability to converse or communicate I was afforded the opportunity to contemplate our inate ability to make these emotional connections. And, as a result, my appreciation for these person to person connections has vastly increased.
Being here, without the ability to communicate reverts one back to being and feeling like a toddler. You can't speak, you don't understand the cultural practices, and you are so unaccustomed to the new way of living that you can't even fend for yourself. However, the kind gestures of your host parents and the smiles of your host siblings reassure you that in time, all will be fine. Actions really do speak louder than words.
After returning from training at Tubaniso, I realized how much of a connection has already been established between me and my family. We fell back into our routine so quickly and easily, that it affirmed that my relationship with my family has been solidified. I was told that when I was gone the first night, my little sister Nantane, who I have a special bond with, cried because she thought that I had left and gone back to America. At that time, I had only been at homestay for approximately 2 and a half weeks, and to see how much of an impact I have already made is truly awe-inspiring. And, as my ability to communicate with my family improves, so does our bond, and this makes me dread my impending departure in about a month.
Peace Corps says that if you survive homestay, you will have a successful service. I have no worries about surviving at this moment, I only dread leaving. I am going to miss my homestay family, and I can only hope that my short presence has been and will have a positive impact in their lives.