To start, my update is going to be in the form of an ADD person, random... I will be jumping around for 2 weeks, NOTHING is in chronicle order.
So to start, I am officially done with my homestay :) which is nice and not at the same time. I am really going to miss my family, they cooked for me and I didn't have to worry about anything with them. They too real good care of me. It is nice though too because I will not be constantly watched over and questioned with everything I do, which is just the Malian way of life. I am currently at my training facility which is relaxing, having electric and showers, but it will only last until next week Wednesday when I officially move to my site. I become an official Peace Corps Volunteer next Tuesday at the Presidential Palace of Mali. This is exciting because we are the first stage to ever have that happen. It is pretty cool to have my swear-in ceremony too! I am a legit volunteer.
So now what happened during my 2 weeks. The best part was last Sunday, all of us trainees went to the America Club in Bamako. It was awesome because we got to go, drink some beer and swim in a pool; basically we got to relax and be Americans, something we can't do with our Malian host families. Alcohol is frowned upon here because 95 percent of the population is Muslim. I had such an amazing time there and definitely didn't want to leave. It is very rare for me to have actual fun here, between all the classes and limitation on what we can do. Then last Saturday was awesome too, I was at my village and there was a crazy dance party. I got a shirt from the locals for the party which was cool for the party. The dance party started out lame because no one really dances at dance parties and Malian music kind of sucks. Although, later in the evening, the party was crazy. The music was amazing, and they had this professional dancer who was ultra creepy, dancing very Malian inappropriate (I say that because he was appropriate in America). Malian dance parties are funny though, the main way they dance is having 2 lines of people, girls on one side- boys on the other, then all they do is sway towards each other one pair at a time.
I finally got 2 Malian outfits made, one informal which is super big but very comfortable, the second outfit was formal and made for my swear-in ceremony. I think I will get more clothes made too, especially pants which are comfortable and considered dressy in all occasions (they are Pajamas in America). The clothes are all costumed made by a tailor, my out fit for shirt and pants cost about 10 dollars, fabric and labor.
I am not fully liking it here still but it is growing on me. I really appreciate the experience I am having and look forward to learning more. My language is difficult for me still but I am slowly learning it. I have my final test tomorrow to see if I need a tutor, which I do. I am up to 22 pounds lost also! I have to take this day by day, the culture is amazing here, but I am just having trouble adjusting to the heat (110+ everyday) and not understanding everything that is going on.
I will try to update again before I leave for site. I hope it isn't too long until I have access to the internet again. TTYL
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