Well here I am. Im in Mali. Wow. I always felt that at some point I would get a punch in the fact type feeling that really let me know that Im actually, really, truly, doing this. Well, that has yet to happen. Three days ago when I arrived and stepped off the plane into the humid heat of , the Capital, I got a tap, perhaps. I didnt get the full on knock me down punch; sure, the crazy debacle of forming one mob of a line for passport control and what followed, but nothing like what I was looking for or expecting. After the similarly ensuing mob/crazy get your bag experience which included putting it through an x-ray machine not even closely watched by its attendant, and fending off would-be bag helpers.
I am now at the training center, Tubaniso, on my fourth night. We finally started formal Bambara language classes today and Im struggling along. There are 75 PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees) in my Stage here in five sectors Small Enterprise Development, Agriculture, Natural Resource Management, Health Education, and Water Sanitation. We started our whole 27 month long journey of a life time on July 24th, in . Those 2 ½ days we spent at the Holiday Inn in the Historic District just steps from the Liberty Bell and Ben Franklins home we crammed as much Policy information as we could. We attempted the impossible of preparing ourselves for what to expect when we stepped of the plane and into our new lives. I befriended my roommate, Tyler, from and a few others bonding over our shared feelings: anxious, scared, excited, etc. Now Im sitting here in the Hanger, an open walled room used for sessions during the day only to become our mutual gathering spot for conversation, games, reading, shared computer/internet use, and just plain reflection of the fact that were actually here. In , in , doing the Peace Corps. There are the gradual things such as the giant beetle so big it could be named! according to Jen and the tarantula twice the size of a sliver dollar both found earlier today, but nothing that amounts to the big punch.
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