adventures

Ahhhh yes it’s finally raining again! We just had a 2-3 day spell of unbearable heat, and we’ve been desperate for a downpour. And it’s happening at this very moment – I’m watching it out my window.

The heat brought with it several adventures. One, a couple days ago, was a late-night wedding dance party. Right outside my house, 30-40 neighbors were gathered around drummers and a woman singing into a microphone. They all sat on chairs around a circle, except those who were dancing in the center. Anyone could jump in whenever, and Caitlin, Ben, Cari and I definitely took part. I might not have – I might have been too shy, had the singer not come right up to me. She beckoned me out, and then I believe started singing a song about me. What?! I know heard a bunch of “Djeneba Coulibalys”. So bizarre. This D.P. lasted until almost midnight, at which point they brought out bowls and bowls of beans and started eating. I wasn’t hungry, but I was incredibly tired so I just went to bed.

The next day (yesterday), Ben and I went on a hike to end all hikes. We wanted to explore the area, so we started off heading towards two little hills at the edge of town. Before we got there, we encountered an unfamiliar stream running through a neighbourhood. Intrigued, we decided to start following it to see where it came from. We passed people doing laundry, lots of donkeys, and some landmarks like a bridge going halfway across the water. Ben called it a “bridge to nowhere”, which reminded me of the song Miles from Nowhere. Rachers put it on a mix for me (represent, yo) and I had it in my head for the rest of the day. Not a bad choice.

We stopped twice: to find food – we ate rice and sauce (what else) at a side-of-the-road stand in who knows where – and to play soccer with some boys who were following us. Groups of children trailing behind you are NOT rare here, and yesterday Ben and I decided to refer to any such group we came across as “the Experience.” Like, “Oh look, the Experience is coming,” or “Damn it, I’m tired of this Experience!” It’s fun to talk about them in English when they’re right next to you, because they don’t understand! Hah! Take that, Bambara!!

One such Experience:

Two and a half hours after our departure we found ourselves in Djaraconodi (or something), a town that seemed EXTREMELY rural compared to our beloved Sikoroni. Open spaces, farms, trees everywhere. We found an awesome rock structure and explored it for a while, climbing up some really cool inclines. (I’ve done a few spontaneous rock-climbing stints here – it’s so fun!) Eventually we got tired and decided to head back to Sikoroni. We were exhausted and sweaty by the time we got home and I took the most satisfying bucket bath ever.

In other news, I’m almost done watching season 2 of Lost. Miraculously, a previous volunteer left DVDs of both seasons 2 and 3 here! So it’s easy for me to get my American pop culture fix when I need it.

Have you voted yet today?

Love to everyone!