Yeah, so hi, it’s been awhile. I’ve been the opposite of busy and enthusiastic about life so that’s why there haven’t been any updates or news. What’s going on here? A whole lot of nothing, which sucks. I went down to Bamako for the new stage’s In-Service Training, which could have been really beneficial for them if it had been in the least bit organized. You know, it’s like each time there’s a training a group of volunteers tries to tell the bureau that last year’s training was malorganizé, and yet no one listens. And by that I mean the people who need to listen don’t. It’s annoying and discouraging. So, I’m done trying to reorganize Bamako and help out.
What else? I’m beginning to feel like a “normal” volunteer and I don’t like it. “Normal” can’t be bad, right? But in this context it is. With Hallmark I was running at 100 MPH and I was always busy and always stressed and didn’t have two minutes for myself. Oddly enough, that’s what I’m used to. Remember GW, anyone? So, now that the Hallmark project is over, I’m bored out of my mind. Yes, there are other things I can be doing with my time and I am, but it’s not the same. I’ve been working with the dairy co-op and we wrote up a project proposal to request money to do some cow insemination – yeah, I never thought “Sara Rosen” and “cow insemination” would come up in the same conversation either – but now that the proposal is submitted, we just have to wait. There’s nothing to do until we get the money. So, where does that leave me?
It means that now I should have time for all of those “activist” things that I really want to do that will really make me a better person and make me feel like my time here is worthwhile. Well, guess what? The boat’s already left on a lot of those. The problem, which will sound crazy, is that I only officially have eight months left until my two years are over. Eight months here is not a lot of time, considering the vacation I will take along with the fact that hot season – ie, no work season – is rapidly approaching. I wanted to be so forward thinking and have an environmental education camp for some high school students to educate them regarding the environmental degradation of Mali and alternative energy and cooking sources. Well, not to sound too defeatist, but even if I do that, I can’t imagine it making a difference. There were some organizations I wanted to start getting to know to pursue 3rd year options with, but I just don’t have the umph to go out there and do it. Isn’t that sad? The real thing behind my lack of enthusiasm to ‘get out there and go get ‘em’ is that Malians are driving me crazy right now. I’m having a real issue with Malian male perceived superiority and sexism. I mean, that only gets tiring after about 30 seconds.
So, in order to avoid all of this, what have I been doing? I go to PC Baba’s to hang out and see people everyday, but my time spent there has gotten shorter and shorter. I go and chat and eat lunch and watch CNN – if I’m lucky – and then I come back home to read, nap and just get away from Malians. I know it sounds really bad but there comes a time when everyone needs to just have personal time. My problem is that I’m not balancing personal time with Malian time, which needs to change.
So, what are my plans? Well, this weekend I’m heading down to Segou for the Festival sur le Niger which is a Malian music festival. There are some good people going, and Salif Keita is the headline – maybe we’ll hug and dance on stage again! – so that should be good. There are cultural things too and artisans which means I’ll of course come home with some beautiful artisanal goodies. After that there is another Dogon Festival in Douentza so I might head up there and visit my old host family and see how things are going. I’ve also promised my friends up in Gao that I’ll come up and visit. It’s just that the perspective of sitting on a bus to go to a really hot desert city isn’t too appealing. But, I’m going to have to do it sometime, so why not when cold season is still around. So, February has a little travel going on in it. Work wise, who knows. My main plans of cotton amelioration and working on that might not come to fruition which will piss me off. But I live in the north, not in the south, and there’s almost no cotton production up here. So, I need to get serious about this and see what I can realistically do. Also, there’s a woman who lives in Mopti who makes pottery and I’m interested in learning a little about that, and helping her with her business if I can, so I’m going to start that. In addition, my tailor is the one of the best in Mali but one of the least organized and he’s requested my help for better organization which I will definitely help him with. I’m hoping something cool comes my way or that I get magically inspired to do something awesome.
I’m afraid of being bored for the next eight months. Help!
