Yesterday was a sad day for our group. Anne Marie, one of our classmates, had to go back to the United States because of a family emergency. We are really upset… since there are only six people in the group, losing one is a hard blow. I wish only the best for her and for her to have a smooth reentry.
After a somewhat exhausting week, we are finally done with classes! Monday we depart for the grand excursion, a trip around the country that lasts two weeks. I am very excited. Exams were a bit of a pain, but they were all take-home which was nice. I’m just relieved to be done. Today, for the last day of class, we had a musical performance by a group of griots. They performed songs for each of us individually, as is done at weddings and other events, and we each had to get up one by one and dance… humiliating as usual.
We did go on one interesting excursion this week to Save the Children. The organization’s tiny office is on the top floor of an apartment building in a newer quartier of Bamako. The director, an Irish American who has lived all over the world but started his travels in Mali when he was in the Peace Corps 20 years ago, had a lot to say about working for an NGO focused on development – so much to say that we were there for over two hours. He was great, though, and gave us a lot of helpful advice about living and working abroad.
Aside from that, the week was filled with homework, lectures, and feeling sticky and hot. The cold season is right around the corner, and I can’t wait.
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