So Just What Will Mali Be Like?

Good question. The answer is... I have no idea.
Michele and I have argued over the answer to this inquiry many times already and we've only known about the assignment for a week. Some accounts we've read give Mali the big 'thumbs up' whereas others give it the 'big stinker'.

Here is where some of the reports differ: some say it's a dry heat and others say the heat mixed with an unbearable humidity sucks the life out of you. We looked up the current weather in Mali and it gave a 20% humidity factor. By contrast, yesterday here in Georgia, the humidity was at 90% (no lie!). It blew a big one, but it was still manageable (however, trying to sleep without AC in humid areas will be painful). The balance comes with the seasons: there are dry seasons and humid, wet seasons.

Some accounts talk of how the north end of the country is basically populated by a number of desert bandits and that this area is very unsafe to travel. Thankfully, the Peace Corps doesn't operate in these regions. Other accounts talk about how Malians are extremely social and some of the friendliest people you'll ever meet. If there are bandits, I really don't see them being a problem since the Niger River and most of the population are in the far south where the climate is a bit more bearable.

Here are some of the more pleasant points:
One account talked about a herd of elephant travelling through her region. Michele and I got excited about this until we continued to read. Apparently, the girl ran up to the group of elephants with some dogs and one elephant charged her. I think the girl was hurt and two dogs had to be put to sleep.

Now this may sound bad, but Michele and I agree that anyone dumb enough to run with some dogs up to a group of elephants probably shouldn't be in Africa. No matter how cute Disney makes an animal, if it lives in Africa it was designed to kill you. 'Hide and view the animal from a distance' I always say. I plan on watching a lot of the Discovery and Animal Planet channels before I leave because you never know when they'll come in handy. Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, has taught me that no matter the size of an animal, if you are in its strike range, it will attack you.


All accounts I've read agree on this one point: the mangos are plentiful. Fresh mangos year round! So as a little training exercise, I hunted and caught my very own mangos at the local Kroger grocery store yesterday and feasted upon one for breakfast this morning. Having absolutely no idea how to eat a mango, I consulted my good friend Mr. Internet. You do not eat the skin. That is an important point to remember.
The internet instructions told me to cut the mango in half and then in half again. This proved more difficult than it first seemed, because in the center of the mango is impervious to the knife. I ended up cutting the mango into 20-something slivers of all shapes and sizes. My technique is severely lacking, yet the mango was stil delicious -- like a very sweet orange. The flesh is fairly stringy and sticky, so by the time I was done, I was in desperate need of soap and floss. So much crap got between my teeth that I will need to bring pounds (no exageration) of floss with me to Mali.


Despite a few of the negative reports, I still cannot wait to make it to Africa. I can't help but be overwhelmed with excitement about this whole excursion. I'm looking forward to all the people I will meet and the aid I'll attempt to give through water sanitation. I'm also looking forward to really getting to see the stars again. The one thing I really don't like about living and working in the big city are the non-existant stars. Mali will bring them back to me. I plan on bringing some kind of pocket telescope and star chart with me --that is, assuming I'm brave enough to go outside in the night. Granted, Mali will take my AC, running water, and electricity from us, but hey, mankind survived thousands of years without modern luxuries, so maybe we can too. I mean, all of mankind started out in Africa and there definitely wasn't any AC back then...