Monday, December 26, 2011

my peeps


Yes, we went out to dinner and staged all these photos. It was awesome. We are kinda obsessed with ourselves. 

How the Goodfellas do Christmas: french toast with nutella for brunch; Christmas movies (Grinch, It's a Wonderful Life); leftovers, popcorn; more movies (Reality Bites); showers; prep; out to Bamako; dinner at an Italian restaurant (we are the mafia after all), ice cream (so delish); back home; skype date with Mamma C; fini exchange; late night conversation; bedtime at 1am. 

Hope everyone had a wonderful day. Love you bunches!

Sunday, December 25, 2011

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!


MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM MALI!!!

I hope that everyone has an amazing day and Santa was good to you all. Love you and miss you bunches. Let's chat soon...ok?

Saturday, December 24, 2011

ONE

i really miss our tree and lights. 
On the last day before Christmas my sugar daddy gave to me...a really kind and fast year so that I can spend next Christmas with MY WHOLE FAMILY!!!! cheers to what's to come and a big thank you for everyone who has helped me get to this point. i love you all. HAPPY CHRISTMAS! 

Friday, December 23, 2011

two

r2m, charlottesville

On the second day before Christmas, my sugar daddy gave to me...two great girl gab sessions...i wanna laugh, gossip, and eat too much chocolate...fab.u.lous!

goodfella women

Thursday, December 22, 2011

three


On the third day before Christmas my sugar daddy gave to me... three weeks of Saturday morning market day in Charlottesville...oh how i miss you...

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

four

San Fran Baby!
On the fourth day of Christmas my sugar daddy gave to me...4 Boudin sandwiches...oh how i miss sandwiches and drinks with ice and a straw...yummmyyyy!!!! now i'm hungry...

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

ok, so i'm a little behind, catch up to day 5

on the ninth day before Christmas my sugar daddy gave to me...9 pairs of TOMS!!
on the eighth day before Christmas my sugar daddy gave to me...8 nights in PARIS!!! swoon...

on the seventh day before Christmas, my sugar daddy gave to me...7 vanilla lattes (so freaking delish!)

on the sixth day before Christmas my sugar daddy gave to me...6 hours in a coffee shop (eating muffins--which i so dreamed about the other night--and sipping on those 7 vanilla lattes)

on the fifth day before Christmas my sugar daddy gave to me...5 absolutely fantastic belly laughs, the ones that make you laugh until you cry and make funny faces! (hello FLY girls...can you believe that was spring 2010? almost TWO years ago?)

sorry i've been MIA on the countdown...got stuck in bamako, but now i'm back and be prepared for the awesome final days!!! 


Thursday, December 15, 2011

the beginning of the end (photos of 2011 part I)

boston, january

coffee for two, beverly MA

MFA boston, and me (oh how i miss that coat)

uva art building, sculpture hall, where duad became duad xo

perhaps one of my favorite moments of the year. LC, Ma, and I are having lunch and cher comes on the radio/CD they play. LC stops everything and belts out in song. it was one of those priceless moments..."if I could turn back time..."

it's been a hell of a year. a lot has changed. i feel like my siblings and I have grown up a lot. and while I'm sure I'll burden you later with a full couch session on lessons of  2011, i though i'd start a little photo gallery. some of the highlights. some of the best moments, pictures, places, and people of my 2011. i hope you enjoy them as they come.

now, may we all savor the end of 2011, make it good till the last drop...

ten

lots of snow, December 2010 
LC, frolicking in the snow
On the tenth day before Christmas, my sugar daddy gave to me…ten feet of snow! Ok, so maybe that’s too much, but I’ve never had a White Christmas. It’s snowed the day after Christmas, a couple of days before, but never on the day. It sounds like magic…


Wednesday, December 14, 2011

eleven



On the eleventh day of Christmas my sugar daddy (our term of endearment this year) gave to me...eleven anthropologie sweaters (to sit by the fire and read in, of course!)



and plus, aren't these sweaters wonderful? if only...

army, navy, peace corps

super cute and endearing, right? (Sarah and Matt) 
menfolk, looking obnoxiously Malian with their stern grimaces (Kevin and my Dad. Both Navy.) 
ahhh, menfolk smiling. (Bobby, my brother, and Matt)

So what do you get when a PCV, retired Navy Officer and Army newbie walk into a room? 

That would be a weekend at my house. 

It sounds bizarre, but yet, so true. My Dad is retired Navy (26 years) and today my cousin Matt graduates from boot camp. He's been in Georgia since August and yesterday was the first time he got to see family. My Mom was lucky enough to be there for all of this and I am promised updated pictures of him in uniform soon (just a heads up :). 

In the spring we'd all laugh at the fact that the family really has heavier roots in the Navy, and yet Matt chose the Army (so now I have to learn all about the Forts, I so need a map). He would start boot camp at about the same time I would be swearing in to Peace Corps. 

Matt is my age, ok, so he's older by like 32 days. We're just two kids. Two kids with big dreams. We want something from life, something big, something worth living for. We are searching for purpose, for meaning. And we are going out to look for it. 

I don't know what the next year will bring for him. There are a lot of guesses and probabilities, but right now, we are living in the here and now. 

Today he graduates. Congratulations Matt, we are so proud of you. 

totes adorbs. like for real for real. (Matt and Aunt Kim)
bad picture quality? yeah, but still, total keeper. 
Pictures from Matt and Sarah's wedding day, May 2010. (Sarah's the bomb, and going to make an awesome Army wife.)

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

twelve

Busch Garden, Christmasland (or whatever it is called!)


I love countdowns. Sometimes the anticipation for an event is even better and more exhilarating than the actual event. The nerves, the planning, the hype, it’s easy to get wrapped up in it all. And to be honest, most of the time, it’s all a lot of fun.

When I was in college my sister had just started high school. We are exactly four years apart as far as school is concerned. At 18 and 14 I thought I was missing some optimal bonding experiences by being away at school; I used to have dreams of us older and becoming friends, of shopping trips, and lunches out, and of me driving us to all our destinations. I wanted to be the cool older sister terribly.

As you already know, I love the holidays. LOVE THEM. So around Christmas time I get really giddy and jolly (yes, I am one of those people who hums along to the Christmas music playing in Target) and want to spread Christmas cheer to everyone.

Ok, so my first year of college I started this thing with my sister. I’m not really sure who started it first, probably me though, I love things like this. I called it (ever so originally) “The Twelve Days Before Mary Came Home.” Just like “The Twelve Days of Christmas” it was a countdown, but we came up with our own stuff. We usually call him our very rich lover/husband/boyfriend and make up the randomest of things: Prada bags, cookies, trips, rings, shoes. It was an opportunity to be silly, to banter back and forth, and to have fun on our terms.

The first year was probably the best. We did it the following three years, some years it was more haphazard than others, but a couple of days were celebrated with this little tradition.

This year I’m not going home, and so my dear LC, we are going to have to countdown to Christmas Day. Today marks day twelve.

On the twelfth day before Christmas my very rich significant other gave to me, 12 pounds of Godiva chocolate.

Let the games begin. ;)

Next year we will countdown to when I come home. It will be just like it was and we will all reconvene in California and squeeze into Mom and Dad’s apartment. Epic-ness ensues (373 days). 

For now, put your thinking cap on and let’s see how creative we can get!

P.S. LC and I did and do take shopping trips (we critique each other’s style choices and end up buying jewelry from Forever 21), eat lunch out (remember the mani/pedi/Chick-fil-A day? That was kind of wonderful) though it’s usually LC who does the driving. LOL

Thursday, December 8, 2011

love, it's always crazy and stupid


have you seen this movie? it's crazy, stupid, love, and it came out a while ago, but with me being in mali, it's taken a while for me to get to see it. well, i just finished it, and i have to say, i kinda dig it. it's cute and cheesy, but with an air of reality romantic comedies rarely get right. what i like is that as funny as it can be, it's funny because it's true. i found myself laughing at the parts that are real, the messiness, the confusion, the trials of puppy love, real love, and forever love. 

so as friday is coming around, and you're at the grocery store picking up those final things for dinner that you swear you are actually going to make and eat this time, and find yourself in front of redbox (if it's evens still there) i recommend this. it's light, it's funny, it's got ryan gosling without his shirt on for a bit, and emma stone wet. really. a win win ;)

happy thursday everyone. 

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

help...the circus is coming to town!

Alexander Calder Circus

For some reason when I was thinking of what to plan for my art class come January (this summer I only planned September through December to get me started) I thought of the circus. It seemed fun, this fairy tale world where anything could exist and people had magical powers. I encountered two problems: (1) what does this have to do with art? (2) do the kids even know about a circus? I've come to two conclusions (1) we are going to learn about color, shape, texture and art as spectacle through the circus. The kids are going to perform and decorate and get to further explore this wacky world of creativity. I thought the circus would be a good project to jump into after winter break and get the rest of the year going. (2) There is a version of the circus that come to Mali to perform in the Festival of the Desert, and even if the kid's don't really know, that's my job, to share experiences, ideas, and immerse them into ideas of art and the artistic experience. 

So, it's happening. My kids are going to create a circus. I hope. Cross you fingers. 

In order to create the world under the tent, I need your help! Art materials are hard to come by, and really hard to come by when your school is undergoing budget cuts, so I'm enlisting your help. In the time time of seasonal cheer, maybe you can find time while you're at Target getting those final stocking stuffers to wonder over to the craft aisle. PLEASE? 

Here are some of my ideas: glitter, sequins, feathers, felt, construction paper, crayola paints, brushes, masks, shiny paper, fabric, rick rack...anything you can think of! 
Also, if you know a great children's book about the circus and want to send it along (perhaps this one? hint hint) that would be fabulous as well!!

I would so appreciate it. I'll send you lots of photos!

Send anything to:
Mary Carter, PCV
BP 85
Bamako, Mali
West Africa

Don't forget to put "par avion" on the box!

Thanks so much. I couldn't do this without you all!
xoxoxoxo

Water for Elephants

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

the story of the christmas calendar

me, the calendar, and carter, my neighbor
To me, nothing is better than the Christmas season. Christmas isn’t specifically my favorite holiday (Easter is), but the days between Thanksgiving and New Year’s are so wonderful, no other word but jolly can describe them. The way the whole world decorates, the parking lot to Target has the bells or doves attached to light posts, Christmas tree lots pop up on every corner, Starbucks has those wonderful cups, and there is always that radio in every town that plays Christmas music 24/7 for the entire period. There’s the candy, the lights, the smells. The winter chill, the desire to wear green and red together. People really are happier. I’m convinced.

Being away from all of that this year is really hard. It just doesn’t seem like Christmas is coming. There are no carols, no red and green everywhere, no wool sweaters and flannel (I’m totally obsessed with flannel). I can’t see my breath in the morning or dread going to the mall on Saturdays. Traffic isn’t worse because everyone is out, and no one is standing in front of the grocery store ringing a bell (as annoying as you think that is, just wait until there is a year without it, you may miss it!).

This year, it will all be different.

This year will be my first Christmas away from home. Ever.

It’s not unusual for my family to drop down to four instead of five on Christmas. As a military brat there have been Christmas’ where my Dad has been away, on some ship, floating about the Mediterranean. Which brings me to my point (besides remembering all those wonderful tidbits about season). When my Dad was away for Christmas my Mom would send him a calendar. This would be a big December calendar that was once a white sheet. She’d cut it to size and create this wonderful anecdotal calendar. The days would be full of pictures, sayings, quotes, stickers, and drawings. My brother, sister and I would get our own day to do with it whatever we wanted. It was a way to have our memories sent to him, to have him be with us and provide a really big piece of decoration. I remember sitting on the floor of a spare room one year, the sheet in front of us, watching my mom draw the lines to create the weeks and days. I remember thinking it was so funny as she drew a thought bubble on the 27th and wrote, “Can I take the tree down yet?” (She was always wanting to take down the Christmas decorations within days of the holiday, and we always pushed her to keep it all up until AT LEAST New Years.) It was a tradition. It made Dad being gone not seem so scary because he was going to be a part of our Christmas no matter what.

Well, yesterday, I got my first calendar.

I nearly cried. If I wasn’t in front of my neighbors telling them the story of the calendar, I just might have. It’s beautiful. My Mom obviously spent a ton of time on it. It’s full of quotes, stickers, pictures, all the things I remember the calendar being. I looked at it for a long time, dissecting every inch of it, thinking of my Mom pouring over the type of the fonts, the pictures she was going to choose, the order it was all going to go in. She would say that I am the creative one, but this is truly a work of art and looks wonderful. I may be convinced to never take it down! Now I just have to think of a way to hang it (it’s actually kind of heavy) otherwise I’ll drape it over the couch or something. And then, in my pack rat ways, I will keep it forever.

Thank you Mom and family for the calendar. Thank you for thinking of me, for making sure I got it so soon, for loving me through this. Even though we may not be together for the holidays, I think of you all the time, and can’t wait until next year when we are together again and we can argue over football, how often A Christmas Story really needs to be played, the legitimacy of Lifetime Christmas movies, the lines at Wal-Mart, the calories in Stella Dore cookies, the amount of caffeine I can consume in vanilla lattes.

But for now, thanks. You are one in a million.

back at it

some of my kiddies--8th and 9th
christiane, one of 7th 
Mohammed, one of my 7th graders  
Batman! 
Well, I’m officially back to work, back to the routine, back to life in Kati. I’m flying solo, Kat is in Bamako on medical hold because she has malaria (and yes, she did take all her medicine) and suddenly the house is quiet and I am alone.

Luckily, the internet at my house has come back. I know I am very spoiled in that respect, but it’s a bonus I enjoy and one that keeps me sane with the ability to skype home, email friends, and keep up with everyone on Facebook. For the month of November it was out, and that did not make me a happy camper. Now that the magic is working, I’ve been able to talk to friends and family and fill them in on post-IST life and all the stories that come with it. Having internet also means that I have to get my butt in gear and work on planning and organizing the next trimester’s lesson plans for my art class. Thankfully the creative juices have been flowing and it looks like I have a pretty solid outline for the rest of the year, it will be the daily planning that will need to be worked on.

I’m back at school. Today will be my first day back in art class. It’s 9th grade and they are supposed to have abstraction projects to present to me, so that should be fun and from what Moussodije tells me, it should be diverse. We have people singing, dancing, and then those who drew. I’m excited to see what everyone has been doing, and to get back into the groove of being in front of the classroom.

It’s funny. Before IST I felt like I had finally gotten into a solid routine. I was doing well. I was also probably getting super excited about IST and so those happy feelings may be based on something other than work, but I still think I had worked really hard to get to a place of contentment. And I’m sure you got the impression from all my other blogs, but IST was a total high. It was awesome to be that happy that consistently, and coming down from my fantastic cloud nine is taking some time, and really, I’m just trying not to crash and burn. 

But I’m hanging on. Winter break is right around the corner (I think, I haven’t been told anything officially) and with that comes full immersion into the holiday season. Sure, I have a lot to do, and a lot I want to do in those two weeks off, but the break in structure will be different and creating my own schedule for a bit will be nice. Plus, the added bonus is that some of the Goodfellas will be here for Christmas. YIPPEE! They will probably save me from myself and it will be good to see them all so soon.

In the meantime, I just wait. I keep going. I am trying to enjoy the cooler mornings, the influx of candy I got yesterday, being back in my own bed and my own bathroom. I’m going to attack my to do list and be patient as people work on Malian time when I need them to be on New York time. I’m going to clean and organize, decorate and watch Love Actually too much. I’ll hang out with my neighbors, reconnect with my girls, and get back to a happy Kati place. I may even find time to read!

And then, before I know it, it will be 2012. School will kick up as we battle the full six months ahead of us. I’ll be planning my summer and figuring out what the rest of the year will look like.

Time will pass. Days will mesh into one another. I just have to remember to live it all, to enjoy all I can, and to remember that the struggles make the joys that much sweeter. And there is nothing chocolate can’t fix. 

P.S. The pictures are from our December 1st World AIDS Day assembly with the entire school which was a lot of fun and a good welcome back to school in general. 

Monday, December 5, 2011

Six months in

me one week in
Yesterday marked a pretty big milestone. Officially, I have been in country for six months. That’s half a year, (in military brat world, one deployment) one fourth of the time of my service. Before I left the States there was no Occupy Movement, no Republican primary, and school hadn’t let out for summer. I boarded a plane from San Diego, CA to Washington, DC May 31, 2011, and it’s been a wild ride ever since.

Some of the days have dragged on for so long I could hardly stand it. Sometimes the hours flew and it went from morning to night so fast I wondered where I had been (those were the good days and now usually the weekends!). But I hear that’s normal, many PCVs talk about how the days drag and yet somehow the weeks fly by and the months blend into one another so much that before you know it time is ticking. The object of the game is to hang on, don’t take much for granted, and do what you can with what you got.

I feel like I should have something profound to say about six months, something about how much I’ve grown and the friends I’ve made, about how I think about staying in Mali forever and can’t imagine leaving. And it’s true. I have grown. I am trying to put myself out there more when it comes to befriending other volunteers, I can hail a cab in Bamako in total Bambara; I can go to the market. I still say bread funny, but my guy knows what I want so no problem. I have a pretty structured job situation so I always have somewhere to be, and I’m formulating side projects constantly. And I’ve made friends. I have the Goodfellas who keep me sane, my totally and completely wonderful family who spend hours listening to me complain and boast (often in the same conversation) about my life here, stupendous friends who send me constant emails keeping me up to date with their lives and overall American pop culture. I have Susan, my adorable and totally annoying 2-year-old host sister. And, of course, my kids at school whom I adore.  I am truly blessed with American neighbors who spoil me rotten and I seriously don’t know what I would do without them.

Most days, it’s kinda amazing.

Whether or not I stay here forever is certainly up for grabs. Forever? Probably not. I tell everyone that when I’m at Tubes, when I’m with the Goodfellas, when it’s good, it’s so good I imagine a 3rd year, I imagine being in Mali in this happy moment for as long as humanly possible, if I could have bottled up the happiness I felt during IST and saved some of it for later I would because coming off that high into the reality of site and re-establishing my routine has been a jerky ride. But I have great hope for getting there, for getting back into the groove of things and going back to my contented peace of being at site that I did have before IST and my vacation. I’ll get there, maybe not today, but it will come.

Six months is a big deal. It’s where the work starts, where the service gets going with stronger momentum, it’s where my service will take shape and starts to emerge into its own. It will only get better.

Happy six months Goodfellas. Rock on.  

happy birthday grandma!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!

Thanks for reading my blog and sending me emails. I hope you have a wonderful day. Eat some cake for me!

Love you bunches...

Sunday, December 4, 2011

from the playlist

So, what do you do at night and there are ten girls around and they have cokes and candy? You open up you tube and start a dance party. When it's done mafia style, you end up listening to Rihanna on repeat and getting everyone involved. There was quite a playlist that accompanied IST, and this was certainly on the top of the list. Enjoy, and sorry if this song is overplayed in the states, youtube takes so long to load here, I enjoy all the music videos I can!

Some Top Picks


In case you don’t feel like reading the three-blog posts I wrote to fill you in on my activities while at IST, I’ve given you the cliff notes version. Or, if you want a wrap up, here are some nuggets of fun from two weeks with the mafia…

the bad girls club (BGC) plus Luka (obviously)

  • ·      Waking up at 5:30am to time a ½ marathon, which meant weirdly sitting in front of the main gate of Tubes in the pitch black watching Glee on Marcy’s little net book computer laughing really loudly.
  • ·      Stealing Monte’s hammock
  • ·      S’mores and a bonfire the first night back. (Thanks Mamma C!)
  • ·      Arguing with Luka about whether or not Lyle was the mafia. I was right, he was.
  • ·      Borrowing everyone’s clothes and making some very valuable permanent trades.
  • ·      Having my Mom send me enough decorations that I got to be head of the Thanksgiving decorating committee and it all totally turned out.
  • ·      Hot chocolate in the mornings.
  • ·      My near Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally moment at the table of Da Guidos.
  • ·      Saturday nights.
  • ·      Being cold in Mali for the first time.
  • ·      Having a mafia name. (“We are kinda obsessed with ourselves…”)
  • ·      Big Bed
  • ·      Fitting 15 people on Big Bed and singing along to “I believe I can fly” while watching Space Jam.
  •     The Finale Concert featuring Zach, Kat and Insides In
  •      BGC v. Boys Club (seriously, not even a contest, our name is cooler)
  •      Homestay visits  (BCamp rules)
  • ·      Boy. Drama. J

Goodfellas, if you want to add on, feel free, i've probably forgotten a ton! 

happy mashed potato day...mali style

props to Amy, Jamie, and Marcy who came up with and made the hand turkey mural wonderful. yeah, my decorating committee is cooler than your decorating committee 
from Mamma C...she's the bomb
Pam, Amy, Marcy
the tables! thanks to Monte and Kat for making my pipe dream of natural decorations come true! and thanks to colleen for the candles!
H2 forever: Taz, James, Me (I don't really like me in this photo, but whatever, and look, we are all wearing the same colors!) 
me and marcy. with a freaking cameo from Taz
HAPPY THANKSGIVING NEW STAGE! 
the table with the candles lit  
ain't it loverly? 
the women of Goodfellas...we are so the brains of this operation 
all hail the mafia

BCAMP! together again! 
socal...i don't really understand it, something to do with homestay, but don't they look like they're having a good time? (luka, monte, kat) 
Colleen and me! (again, weird photo of me, but such a fab picture of colleen I had to put it on. colleen is the 3rd year PCVL who now gets to deal with me, lucky her :)  
table shot! (seriously taz?) 
pam and marcy, lots of love 
big pie, big bed 
girls take over big bed. 
me and Luka's sunnies 
chilling after a hard day's work! nighty night!