Saturday, February 18, 2012
Ok, so I know technically a week ends with Day 7 but I figured
I might as well wrap up the week-long journal with my last day in San.
This morning was the main reason for why the 3 of us had come into
San at the same time – Saturday morning brunch! We figured with most people out
of town it was a great time to get together and make a fabulous brunch. And
fabulous it was. Chrissy made homemade Challah (unbelievably delicious Jewish
bread) and made that into French Toast. Henry made homemade banana bread. And
I made strawberry-banana smoothies and provided the syrup, courtesy of my dad.
(Sadly no strawberries in Mali but we do have strawberry-flavored yogurt).
Oh. My. God. The Challah recipe makes 2 loaves and we were
debating whether or not to make both loaves into French Toast. We decided to do
just one at first, which made 3 slices for each of us, a task we figured would
be effortless. False. After 2 pieces each, plus our banana bread and smoothies,
we all immediately fell into a food coma and couldn’t move. We couldn’t even
finish our last pieces! I literally dragged a mattress into the living room and
collapsed on it and didn’t move. So. Good!
 |
| Challah french toast and Ameriki syrup. |
Unfortunately for him, Henry had to go back to site and needed
to catch a noon bus. Sucker. His food coma was cut tragically short so he could
get to the bus station on time. And unfortunately for me, I had too many
errands to finish up to be a vegetable for very long. My errands were cut short
when I went to the bank and the ATM wasn’t working (again) and my fabric shopping was eliminated. I did have to trek
out to the market to buy food for village, and I was NOT happy about it. I
hadn’t slept much the night before (catching up on Grey’s Anatomy) so I was
tired, full, and it was well over 100°. Whine.
Luckily I didn’t have too much money to spend, and market was
oddly dead, so I was in and out pretty quickly. The Veggie Lady for garlic, and
green peppers: check! Random ladies for cabbage, dried fish (for Moose), peanut
butter, cucumber, and beets: check! Potato Lady for potatoes: check! The Potato
Lady is quite a character. I know many of the San PCVs don’t really like her
because she’s a little too aggressive in her sales. But for some reason she
really likes me, so I always go back to her. And because I always go back to
her, she occasionally gives me gifts. Today I asked for 2 kilos of potatoes and
she gave me an extra kilo for free! Good thing Moose likes potatoes a lot,
because we have quite the collection now. I stopped off to say goodbye to Baco
and Abu and tell them I was heading back to village, and then home again to
finish up packing. Chrissy and I had talked about making Challah grilled cheese
for lunch, but we were both still so full that we couldn’t even think
about eating!
The carpenter told me to come at 4 to pick up my bookshelves.
I was a little worried that 4pm would be pushing getting home on a bashé a little too much – the bashés run at least till sundown, but I
needed to make sure I got home before the sun set and I also wasn’t sure if I’d
have trouble getting Moose on again. And I often sit at the bashé station for several hours before
one is ready to leave. But I really wanted those shelves! So Chrissy and I left
with all of my stuff and were at the carpenter’s a few minutes after 4. The
shelves looked great, except I quickly noticed that all three were evenly
spaced. I had specifically written down and described that I wanted a taller
bottom shelf for binders and manuals – taller books – and this was not what I wanted. I explained my
concerns, which the carpenter understood perfectly because he remembered
exactly the measurements I’d given him – he just hadn’t done it. Why, I don’t
know. He said if we waited 30 minutes he would fix it. Again, I was worried
about the time, but I really wanted
those shelves! So we waited.
The carpenter has a great little apprentice named Bura, maybe
12 years old, so we talked with him a bit. It took awhile, but by 5:00 the shelves
were done, and they were perfect! The carpenter even paid for a man to
take the shelves to the bashé station
in a push cart. Totally worth it. Even better, because a bashé was just getting ready to leave when we got there. And there
were no complaints that I had 2 bags, a dog, and a big set of bookshelves,
still wet with stain. I do know many of the men who work at the station, so
maybe that’s why they were so much more easy going this time, I don’t know. But
I was thankful for it! The bashé was
full but not overcrowded, and Moose, perfect dog that he is, was so good the
whole 40-minute ride home. He sat on my lap and shifted positions many times
but never barked, never bothered anybody else, never peed on my lap (just more
drool). He’s such a good dog! And of
course, everyone gets a kick out of the white girl holding the conspicuously
clean dog and doing weird things like talking to it and kissing its head. Man,
white people are weird.
The bashé dropped me
off in my village and Alima’s brother Yaya was waiting for me. He took my
shoulder bag (pretty heavy for such a little kid!), I took my backpack, purse,
and lifted the shelves on top of my head, and we let Moose run free beside us.
The shelves were surprisingly light but unfortunately my backpack – stuffed full
with my computer, potatoes, and vegetables – was not. I had to have both hands
on the shelves to steady them, which meant the backpack pulled painfully at my
shoulders. I had to stop by the well to rest for a minute, and by the time we
passed the butiki I was done. I left the shelves in the middle of the road and
continued on home to drop off my other bags. Yaya, my brother Sinali, and I went back for the shelves and carried them home together, and they are now
sitting proudly in the corner of my kitchen – I’m so excited to fill them up with all of my books!!
The rest of the day passed quickly. There wasn’t much daylight
left, so I sent Sinali on my bike to the pump for well and stopped over the
greet my host family. And of course to play with Batoma and Terimuso for a
little bit! Two of my 10 eggs had broken on the ride home, so I scrambled those
for Moose’s dinner and ate the pb&j Challah sandwich I’d made for myself before
leaving San. Exhausted, I dragged a mat outside and laid down on it, the kids
crowding around me. I dozed off several times amidst their talking, giggling,
and playing. Not to mention stroking my hair and pulling my toes. Sinali balled
up his shirt to make me a pillow. Eventually I woke up when the kid next to me,
who had also fallen asleep, shifted and smacked me in the face with his arm.
Time to go! Time for bed. :D
My attempt to sleep was interrupted by the donkeys. All at once,
every donkey in the neighborhood, on all sides of my house, started doing the
crazy donkey seizure-bray, all at the same time. It was as if Donkey Armaggedon
was happening. I was dɔɔni (a little) worried that the Donkeys were
taking over my village.
And that, my loyal readers, is a week (+ a day) in My Life!
A few weeks later after painting my bookshelves and getting a curtain made:
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