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!!!!

End of Ramadan

Our village just celebrated the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting in which Muslims abstain from eating, drinking and smoking from dawn until dusk. In our village the men go to the cliffs right outside our village and pray facing the east looking out over an expansive valley. Everyone in village dresses in their nicest outfits and spends the day walking around and greeting each others families. These are just a few pictures I was able to take throughout the day.
The men walking back to village after prayer.

One of the elders from village.
A man from our village with his two daughters.
On the right is one of the religious leaders in village. They have laid before them the Koran and a ceremonial sword.
Me, and the chief of the village (small man on the right) and another guy who just wanted to be in the picture.

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