missed the formation at tubaniso, apparently it was a full house. heard otherwise. my ladies were pretty disappointed. lack of communication is frequent and frustrating, but I guess when in africa… not getting project money is also frustrating, especially with the approaching rains. both volunteers and administrators could go on and on about unprofessionalism and disappointment with each other, but the fact remains that PC could run faster, better, and be a more legitimate entity all around. haha government organizations… I’ve heard lots of ideas on how to fix us. someone should just fucking do it.
left kita with a machinist to repair the grinder in town. he seemed like a cool dude at first, but ended up being a fucking asshole. he knew his shit but wouldn’t shut up. throwing accusations around, inflating labor costs, hasslin women, bossin the kids around. he called my homologue a bad person and wouldn’t quit raggin on my village. chests started bumpin and fingers were waving. but my people knew what was up, we helped each other fend this fucker off and got a pretty good price on the whole deal. after pushing his traditional meds on elders and scaring people with his fortune telling we ran his fat ass out of town. something I’ve learned here is that if someone is good at what they do then they don’t advertise… people come to you. just like I came to him to fix the machine. he should’ve stuck to shutting his mouth and fixing the machine, since he was certainly good at that, instead of all that other bullshit that’s gonna get his rep bruised.
his bad vibes carried over to the next day with the death of the chief’s first wife. it’s a bummer because she was head of the women’s association so recently I’ve been collaborating with her frequently. her body came from kita that night and everyone freaked. wailing and flailing arms and writhing on the floor. then the jeli dude came and coached all the women to pound grain all night for the coming procession. these ladies were beating like mad with tears pouring out their eyes and snot running down their nose. the dude just kept yelling.
she’s the closest person I remember dying. a schoolmate passed in middle school but I don’t remember the funeral or anything, and her mom didn’t like me much. my great-grandfather passed when I was a freshman in college, but I only remember the smell of stink bait from catfishing on the mississippi and his wife’s rhubarb pie. and I didn’t go to the funeral.
seeing Numa’s sons cry was pretty emotional. grown men with big booming voices and broad shoulders. but the sorrow didn’t last and the procession was long. after the burial was three days of cooking and socializing, drinking tea and eating meat. they get over it quick here. guess you have to when it happens so much. all in all the whole thing was a blast, meeting extended families and running errands. after a couple of good weeks at site I was out for another break in manantali.
stopped in kita for a couple of nights. played my first games of beirut since being in country. climbed mt. kita under slight showers. then off to the river. again, you know how that goes. and again, highlights: hippoes getting a little too close, canoeing on the lake, rock jumping/island hopping, vice marathons, more pork and lovin under the tall manantali trees. paid for it though, got boils on my butt. long public transportation is hell and biking is even worse.
went through bamako before going back to site for a little work and play. walked downtown streets at night, as fun as any other downtown night-walking except maybe dirtier. I found a dried up fountain with crocodile statues surrounding the centerpiece. would've been a homeless hangout back in the states for sure. I brushed my teeth with nalgene water and smoked some cigs. listened to the call for prayer. hopped into a taxi for the US embassy and marine happy hour. those dudes love PC kids hah. back on the big green lawn and with the green bottle jameson. 1000 cfa/drink. a couple doubles and that shawarma tastes pretty damn good.
found a nice place to stay and woke up early to go to kita.
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