Two bike trips and my work

A few days ago I had the opportunity to take a 80 km (about 50 miles) bike trip with my friend. It was nice to be out on a little adventure after spending almost 10 days in village by my lonesome. Ashley has been down in Bamako helping to train the new volunteers and so I have been spending time in village on my own. I would have to say that village on my own is not as fun as village life with Ashley. I did get a lot of reading/studying done and my language skills did seem to improve more than they would have if Ashley had been there since I was not able to speak English at all. The improvement of my language skills were noticeable because several villagers mentioned that "I could hear a lot of Donoso" which means I was getting better.

Looking over the village of Songo which is a Dogon village of about 3,000 people west of Bandiagara about 4 km off the road to Sevare.
The pelt of a monkey hanging from a granary.
The rattles
Songo is famous for a male circumcision ceremony that takes place every three years. It is one of the largest circumcision ceremony in the region and boys age 11-13 come from many villages nearby to take part. The paintings seen in the picture above represent different clans of the region and drawn every three years up in the cliffs above the village where the circumcision ceremony takes place.
Rattles that are made by the boys after the circumcision ceremony. ** My village has a circumcision ceremony for boys every two years and I was able to take part in some of the ceremony this year, and the boys in my village made rattles that where similar and for days after their circumcision they would sit near the road and sing songs to everyone who came by. Passerby where expected to then give money or food.
The view from the cliffs above Songo.

About two weeks ago I had the opportunity to travel with two new volunteers to there villages/sites. This is an important step in the life of a volunteer because this is the first time a volunteer will get to see the village he or she will be living in for the next two years. For a new volunteer this is awkward, thrilling and terrifying. You don't speak the language yet, it is your first time you are on your own in the country and it is the first real feeling of what your life will hold as a volunteer. So, I travel to two village with the new volunteers and just hung out with them and made sure that everything was going well.
A waterfall that has formed on the road between Djiguibambo and Kani Kombole.

After a heavy rain this waterfall formed...the view is from Kani Kombole.
On the road between Bankass and Bandiagara

I was also thinking the other day that I have placed no pictures up of the place I work. So I took a few photos the other day so you can see what the Center for Traditional Medicine in Bandiagara looks like. Ashley and I live about 5 km away from Bandiagara, so I bike into the Center about three or four times a week. This center was built with funding from the Italian government about 20 years ago. The Center produces seven traditional medicines that are certified by the Malian government and are sold at pharmacies through the country . It has very distinct architecture that is unique in that almost no timber was used in the construction, which is important in this region of West Africa where desertification (deforestation) is a problem due to environmental changes both man made and natural.
The main court yard of the Center for Traditional Medicine.
A view of the front.
Entrance to the Center...

Also, I have added this picture which was taken from the roof of our house a few day ago of a storm forming in the distance.

Also, a video I took of a storm rolling in from our front door...yes we are happy that the rain has come to water the earth. Rainy season has start slow and our village start