Limbo, Spain, and Azawad: States I’m Experiencing (Remotely)

Greetings from the Bamako stage house! I have spent the last few weeks traveling (more on that later) and finally have 1) something worthy of an update and 2) internet, so here I am. For those of you familiar with Azawad, stop panicking, I didn’t go there. I just wanted to include it in my blog but lacked a witty hook for my title. That said:

THE STATE OF LIMBO: I’ve been in Limbo for the past month, since I officially requested a site change!!! For those of you who’ve followed my various challenges and experiences in village, this may not come as a surprise. For those of you new to Good Golly Miss Mali, the nutshell version is that my village was unwilling to raise money for the pump project they so adamantly desired, in addition to not speaking the language in which I was trained (Bambara).  So, a combination of poor planning on Peace Corps’ part (the language issue) and a lack of motivation from my community (no fundraising), I knew that I couldn’t face another year in Kandiadougou. It took me a long, long time to come to grips with the idea that it wasn’t my lack of effort or that it wasn’t something I was missing. It was just a bad fit with a village that didn’t really want to put in the kind of work that having a PCV requires.

It sucks. It really does, since I’ve been in village for nearly a year and I’m connected to the place and a few really great individuals. But I also came here for me—I need to feel fulfilled, I need to do the work that I came here to do.  And at the end of my time here in Peace Corps, I do not want to leave and feel like I didn’t get the same chance as everyone else to do the work a PCV is supposed to do. So, I asked for a site change. My APCD (Assistant Peace Corps Director), the guy in charge of all the Environment Volunteers, admitted that he had not come to see my village before I was placed there, AND then, having visited it, said he never should have put me there in the first place (!). It feels justified, but I have been wrestling with the various stages of grief, anger, sadness, and guilt that come with any kind of break up, especially when I only have a year of service left. But I do know that a new village will be just the ticket I need. My only regret is that I vacillated for so long. I do not want to leave the Peace Corps, so I am seeing this as an opportunity. [Please note that this is NOT a commentary on those who elect to Early Terminate—you have to do what’s best for you, regardless of how it looks to anybody else nosy enough to care.] And I know, that even when I’m deep in a day dream about a lazy Sunday morning with my parents, or in a cozy shared apartment with my boyfriend, that I’d regret not taking this second opportunity. I won’t lie, coming home was a very real option for me. But with the unfailing support of that fantastic boyfriend of mine and my family who knows me better than I know myself, I am back on track.

Developments on a new site are indeed happening, but nothing’s concrete yet. BECAUSE ALL THE HOUSES HERE ARE MADE OF MUD! Bahaahaha get it?

Of course, I will write when I relocate. My only requirement? Okay, well, I have two: they have to speak Bambara, and they must love dogs. Or at least just let me bring mine. We can work on the love part later. But Scout is a non-negotiable. Duh.

THE STATE OF SPAIN: Oh happy day--- I’m going there! And Italy, too! Yes, I know, it feels like I just got back from Rome with Matt, but I’m going again! I’ll be gone for an entire month of hot season from late April until late May. I’m meeting my best friend from high school and her aunt in Spain for about two weeks, then I’m hopping over to Florence to spend two weeks with my boyfriend, my whole family plus their respective significant others, my aunt and uncle, and a surprise special guest, Grandpa Oscar, who was just invited this week. I’m pretty damn excited. I’ve never gone this long without seeing my family. It’s going to be wonderful. I am one lucky girl.

THE STATE OF AZAWAD: Spoiler Alert: it doesn’t actually exist. It’s the proposed state of a separatist movement of the Tuaregs, a nomadic ethnic group that lives in the Sahara. They live in parts of Mauritania, Algeria, Niger, and Mali and have been advocating for a separate nation (to be based on Sharia law, FYI) for decades. Unfortunately for their opponents (the Malian government, for example), the Tuaregs just came back from Libya after being hired as pro-Qaddafi mercenaries. They’re still after their independence, AND, as it happens, flush with cash and arms, a sort of posthumous boon from their late leader. The point of this is just to say that if you hear about fighting in Mali, it is ALL in northern Mali, and very, very far away from anywhere that Peace Corps operates. In fact, we’re not allowed to go north of a certain line that itself is far away from the fighting. So, fret not. Miss Mali is safe and sound.

I’m sorry that this post is not that exciting, but not all updates can be gold. On that note, I would love to hear about what kinds of things you guys want to read! Anything goes! Besides, two thirds of my job is cultural exchange, so let me know!