The summary

It's been months since my last blog and there are many events that are worthy of their own entry with all the intricate details. Had I been a good little blogger I would have written them earlier on one of my hand full of times in the capital. I would have written about my nearly flawless first big training I planned in my village, or rather the training they planned themselves. I would have explained how my smaller training's in the surrounding villages have been, for better or for worse, completed. I could have described the unluckiness that took over my birthday, or my Cinco de Mayo celebration by the Niger river with mango salsa. And mango season! Who knew there were 10 different types of mangoes to be eaten with every type of food? I could have moaned about my failed attempts to plan a trip. Turns out it's hard to get a plane ticket with a company with only one plane and about to go bankrupt. Really I could have told one of dozens of anitodical stories that happen at least 5 times a week, a large spider, a sand storm, an untimely flat tire. Some of these have been shared with family, friends, other volunteers and even some Malians in my broken Bambara. But for now know that I am happy and healthy, apart from some heat rash, and am living in Africa. A fact I sometimes rediscover when Malians are completely unaware of the ocean and a continent that separates my home and culture from theirs and how it's not possible to just take a bus back. At the end of the day sometimes I feel useless and frustrated but I have to remind myself that I felt that sometimes in the US too, but here the good days are fantastic. The stars are brighter when you can't watch TV and soda taste better when you only drink it once a month, but running water would be nice.