Lou came and Louber left

This blog post is a small tribute to our friend Lou who came to Mali for 10 weeks and is headed home tomorrow. Lou it has been great getting to know you, we thank you for all the laughs and allowing Ashley and I to sleep on the floor of your apartment many times. Mali will miss you and so will we.

The next few photos are of our time with Lou...

Sunset boat trip on the Niger...
Bus trip from hell...
Lou protecting her face from the dust coming into the bus...and everything else that was flying into the windows...
This past weekend we had a chance to have our friends Lou and Sonya out to our village and afterwards we went to Bandiagara for an evening. This is us enjoying a drink at the Hotel Falaise.
We got a sweet room at the Hotel Cheval Blanc for the evening...
Lou marking her territory...
Cooking diner in our house in our village...the girls are preparing spanish rice...
Sonya, Susan, and Lori having a glass of wine with their pizza at the Hotel Cheval Blanc...

The next few photos are what has been going on in our life and in our village, which is harvest. It has been peanut harvest...and so we have been eating a lot of peanuts!!...
Ashley sitting amongst piles of peanut plants pulling the peanuts off...
Me and the Chief of the village pulling peanuts off the plant and getting ready to store them in the granary's...
Random cart of empty containers being wheeled by Ashley and I as we walk down the street in Bamako...
Guava are back in season...my friend Umar gave us this batch from his garden...

Dakar and Beyond...

So, as many of you know I (joe) have spent the last two months studying for the GMAT, the graduate business school entrance exam. I was scheduled to take the exam at the nearest testing facility which is in Dakar, Senegal (about 1000 miles from where I live in Mali) on October 7th, but when I arrived at the testing center I was told that the computer system had crashed and I could not take the test. Well luckily I was going to be in Dakar for eight days so I rescheduled the exam for the following Wednesday (at the Dakar testing facility this exam is only offered on Wednesdays). The day before my rescheduled appointment I called the testing center to confirm my appointment and was saddened to hear that due to a continuing computer problem they would not be offering me my rescheduled test.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR ME…

Is that I will not be able to apply for business school for the fall of 2010 due to the fact that I will not have another opportunity to take the GMAT in time for the application deadlines. I will “GOD willing” take the GMAT when I come back to the US this summer and apply for business school for the fall of 2011.

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In between the two failed attempts at taking the GMAT Ashley and I had a chance to spend the week in Dakar (actually La Samone, a small village about two hours south of Dakar) with Randy and Judy. If you know anything about Ashley you know she loves her family and to have her father fly to Africa to spend time with her puts a big smile on her face. After spending 15 months in the dusty regions of central Mali without running water or electricity, you can imagine that an ocean side resort was like stepping into heaven. Let me count the ways I feel blessed;
- Rooms equipped with air-conditioning that would give an Eskimo the chills,
- Upgraded to an ocean view room,
- “All inclusive” means I get to eat as much ice cream as I want,
- Even though the pool rules say “no swimming after 7pm” no one yells at me when I swim at 9pm,
- Pizza available at every lunch and dinner (that one is an Ashley favorite),
- My father-in-law likes me well enough to have come to Africa with a bag full of Laffy Taffy for me to eat,
- Judy helped me to understand that I am a “Blu” man for eternity (or infinity)....,

- that I got to put on spf 70 sunblock because the African sun is as hot as it sounds,

- and did I mention the all-you-can eat buffet.

I feel very blessed to have gotten to share such a wonderful time with such wonderful people.

Ashley and I noticed right away that Dakar has more the feel of a city than does Bamako. This shot is taken from the balcony of our room at the Hotel Farid where Ashley and I stayed the two days before Randy and Judy arrived (fyi - I did not think it was a very nice room for $75 USD).

As you drive into Dakar from the airport you get to see a spectacular view of the Mosque de la Devinite

N’ice cream is a must if you are ever in Dakar

Looking down the coast at our resort
Randy and Ashley looking pretty happy after a nice big breakfast

Ashley had one of the local artists put henna on both of her feet (it last for about two weeks)

Ashley getting ready for a little snoozer, she is exhausted from laying by the pool all day

let's just say that i am chill'axin

Randy got scared of the giraffes and so Ashley had to go stand by him

Giraffes are always cool
General rule: don't mess with birds taller than you are

Ash looking cool pool side

Can't beat the infinity pool

Judy, Randy, Ashley and I poolside for hor d'oeuvres

Love an African sunset

SPAMY to AFRICA

Where do I even start?

Amy (or Spamy as some call her), came to visit Joe and I for two weeks. We had a memorable time. It was exhausting, painful at times, uplifting, full of laughs and smiles and love. I am so blessed to have a family that cares for me and supports me in all I do. Ames, I love you! Thanks for coming. Not only do I miss you, but Mali misses you too!

Here is a glimpse into some of our adventures:

BIKE TRIP INTO DOGON COUNTRY:

Looking back on all of these pictures, I think I forgot how tiring Mali can be, Amy was a trooper and hung in there, it was about 100+ degrees out and we biked 25Kilometers to a "hotel" in the dogon cliffs.

Don't we look cool! Break #1 of the bike trip, we are descending from the cliff top.

We biked by 3 or 4 waterfalls that day, it is rainy season right now, so the falls were pouring down.

The road less traveled.

Once we got to our destination and were rested up, of course Amy and I did some shopping, and guess what she bought? A purse. Duh...she is a Martin.

Chill-axin at our "hotel" and admiring the beautiful scenery.

A part of being in Africa, is getting sick, unfortunately Amy encountered this, she was down and out for about 2 days. Poor Ames.

Back at'em, Amy was feeling better, but not good enough to bike the 25K out, so we rented her a Cow Cart. (This picture is for you Gpa Jack)

HOME SWEET HOME-VILLAGE LIFE:

After our bike trip, we spent 4 days in our village. Amy got to experience what we have been living for the last 15 months. She was there over the Muslim holiday Ramadan, so we got to cook with the ladies, dress up, hang out with the kids and just talk.

Playing Skip-bo, the sun had gone down and there is little to do with no electricity. So we played a lot of cards.

We had a few miserable hot nights, but Amy and I were able to laugh it off in our tent. Well, we tried to laugh it off.

All dressed up and literally no where to go, okay well the neighbors house. Yahoo!!!

Smalls, grew on Amy. (Check out her fab dress, girl looks good in everything.)

MOPTI-THE VENICE OF MALI:

...Or so they claim. After village life, we needed a refresher, a shopping trip and some pizza, so we headed to Mopti. It is a city that rests on the banks of the Niger river. It is a main tourist attraction and a must see.

Only the best for Amy, riding in style. (Our taxi into Mopti)

Lou, Amy's roommate in Austin, is in Mali for a few months, exploring the country and seeing if she wants to come back and work. So she was able to meet us in Mopti and add even more laughter to our trip.

Pre-shopping picture, Amy, I and Lou.

We took a sunset boat ride, we got to see a few small fishing villages on the river. It was so peaceful and relaxing.

ON A BUS:

Just when we thought our adventures were done, we hopped on Malian transport. It took us 8 hours to go, what should have taken us 3 hours. Never mind the fact that before the 8 hour bus ride we were waiting on the side of the road for 3 hours just to get on the thing. I don't even know if you can call it an adventure, maybe more like a "hot mess." I will let the pictures do the talking.

Good Ole' Diarra Transport. This picture was about 30 minutes into the bus ride when we decided to stop and load about 50 goats on the top of the bus and 5 crates of chickens. An hour and a half later, we were ready to continue the trip...

So nasty, the bus was so nasty! So after our hour and a half stop we take off with goats and chickens in tow and with just our luck it starts to rain....

usually rain is good, cause it cools the temperature down, but that day, it was hell....

lets just say the bus was missing a few windows and screws, so rain, "goat juice", and chicken filth started coming in through the non-existent windows and ceiling....

did I mention, that there was a hole in the bottom of the bus, so the engine fumes were coming in also...

oh, and this was the slowest moving bus I had ever been on, and we would stop every 10 minutes....

oh yeah, and we had to stop once because one of the goats fell off the side of the bus and was dangling by its horns, as we were moving...

once we finally reached our destination, we all had to wash our pee infested clothes, backpacks and selves, we were a "hot mess!"...

good thing Amy and Lou were there to laugh off the situation, it will be their material for jokes for years to come...

Here are the men loading up the goats, they first put them in rice bags and then hauled them to the top of the bus by their horns.

Goats on top of the bus

Shopping always pays off, Amy and Lou are sporting their new Turban Cloth, to help protect them from the "goat juice" coming in the window.

All good things must come to an end. I just wish it could have lasted a little longer. (not the bus ride, but Amy's visit)

THE END!!!!