IST and Mud Wrestling

I’ve finally returned from Bamako and In Service Training. It was a really great time! Not only seeing friends and reconnecting and learning a lot of stuff, it was nice to get away from Mali and get back to Americaland – which is what we call our training center. I weighed myself at the medical office the first day I was in town and was pleasantly surprised to see that I lost 30 lbs. I didn’t think it was that much, but it was. However, after eating two full and hearty meals a day, I gained probably 7 of it back. Not to worry, hot season is rapidly approaching and I have a feeling I’ll lose another 20, at least.

Anyway, in addition to learning lots, my friends Josh and Cara thought it would be a good idea to build a mud wrestling pit. We needed an excuse to bond more and this certainly turned out to be a good one. I don’t even need to say how awesome it was because the pictures included will prove it.

Action shot of Greg taking Aaron down. The mud splatter on the crowd was awesome!

Me and Merv, my first competitor. Yeah, I took her down pretty quickly as she screamed, "Damn, you're strong!"

Me, pretty pleased with my work thus far. This is Kyle next to me who wrestled in college. Yeah, he was hardcore all day long.

Group shot with everyone super muddy. Merv and I apparently hadn't had enough because we started fighting again.

But here's a real group shot where we all managed to look "normal." Don't worry, the wrestling continued after this too. It's never over with us Beluschi's!

There's talk about a gravy wrestling tournament coming up using all the gravy packets that come in care packages. I never thought I'd say this, but I really hope I'm around for it.

My Thoughts of the Eve of the New Year

Well, it’s New Year’s Eve and even though this will get posted after that, I thought it was important to share my thoughts on how I’m feeling tonight. I’m 22 years old, and I’ve been in Africa doing volunteer work for 5 months now. In the past 8 months, I’ve graduated from a great University, taken two amazing vacations, had my wisdom teeth pulled out, and been invited to join the Peace Corps in Mali. Needless to say, I have a lot to be thankful for today. Pretty much everyday that I’m here I wonder if it’s the right thing to be doing. In my heart I know it is, but on the surface, things look so different. I could be in Washington D.C. or some other American city pursuing my Graduate Degree and partying every weekend and experiencing my 20’s “like they should be,” but instead I’m here. I’m jealous of all of my college friends doing the former – but let’s face it, I’ve never been one for doing things the easy way and I’m certainly not going to try to take the easy road in life.

That said, I have to wonder what sort of resolutions I can have on a night that I’m passing in rural Africa. I’ve already given up everything familiar to me by coming here, and it’s been a great experience so far, so I guess I can only look toward things to enhance my life while I’m here. Here’s a list, albeit short, of my 2007 New Year’s Resolutions:

-Study more Fulfulde and actually learn the language – this includes spending more time practicing with people instead of sitting in my room reading.
-Read 1 book every 2 weeks – at least.
-Think less about American “artificial” food.
-Explore Douentza and the Falaise more – do more hiking.