N Ka So
10 September 2008
The initial excitement of discovering a new and different place has worn off for the most part. The lack of freedom regarding food choice and time management along with acquainting myself with various parasites caused the training period to get rather old toward the end. My host family and language teacher were a big help in acclimating to Malian culture. These first couple months flew by. In a matter of days we will be sworn in as official Peace Corps Volunteers at the Embassy and everyone is really exited about it!
Peace Corps did a great job of keeping us safe and well prepared even though they tossed us into the deep end for a week. We set out with a non-English speaking village representative whom we had just met to visit our respective sites. Peace Corps dropped us off at the transport station in downtown Bamako where we got onto a 30 year old coach bus. My window was missing so it was kind of like sitting through a tropical storm for a couple hours (rain included). My new friend and I got off in one piece and started our 8k hike through the 95-degree heat into the small village of Sakoro.
Sakoro is located right on the border of the Sahel and the Tropics about 20k north of Bougouni in the Sikasso region of southern Mali. Having only 1200 people Sakoro is a Malian anomaly as it contains one house with running water, air conditioning, satellite TV, and a fridge. Most villages that size are lucky to have a manual water pump and alternating current is wishful thinking. My house (n ka so) doesn’t have any of that. Just a wall wrapped around a few mud brick structures.
Fortunately, the transport situation spurred my return to Bamako a day early. We were able to hike up to a rock arch and cool off under a waterfall. This was the best way the most intense week of our training period could have ended. I have many ideas for my house and am really exited to move in. Everything about it is better than I had hoped for. I will get some lights powered by a car battery, paint the walls, add a window, tile the floors, build a kitchen with running water and learn how to cook in my charcoal-fired brick oven. The first few months will be spent settling in, making friends with my new neighbors, and learning the language. Starting actual work is a long way off as more language and technical training is yet to come.
