today. (bi)

Kati hillside. The view walking down a hill from IEP to Ciwara School. It won't stay green for long, that's just a perk to rainy season. And you will often see abandoned buildings like this one, similar to urban neighborhoods in the States.

I feel like a lot of the blog’s writings have taken on quite the pie in the sky, this is what I’m feeling, therapy kind of mood. And, don’t get me wrong, they will continue in that vain because this has become my journal and therapy session all in one. But I thought I’d try to do a little something different and give you an idea of what I’ve been up to this month.

August is different in the education world because it is a vacation month. School wraps up June 30, teachers spend July finishing up grades and whatnot and then flee. Plus, this year Ramadan fell during August so no one was around, it seems to me if you’re fasting all day, you don’t really always have a go get ‘em attitude. In September people slowly start coming back to work, and in October school starts and like in the States, everyone begins their routine again.

Background: I work at IEP a NGO that focuses on education reform in Mali. I really am assigned to their school, Ciwara, which means hard worker in Bambara. In October I will be there everyday (that’s right, school is 6 days a week here!). For right now I work in the office of IEP.

A Good Day:

7AM: Peak out window...Rain? Roll over. Rained during the night leaving ocean sized mud puddles? Roll Over. Sunny, no sign of a puddle? Sigh heavily, recognize that a run will make me feel better and get out of bed.  (I’ve run a total of five times at site. Rain has contributed, as has my laziness at the not running part.)

7:30AM: Greeting family trying to explain that I’m going running and this giant black thing on my arm plays music.

8:00AM: Back from running. Laughing as my host aunt hysterically points to the sweat on my arm. OR If God has blessed us with rain, just rolling out of bed.

8-8:30AM: Turn on phone. Shower. Dress. Turn on computer. Choose earrings.

8:30-9AM: Breakfast (nutella on bread or peanut and crackers) in front of computer (watching a movie, reading the New York Times, checking Facebook photos)

9AM: clean up breakfast, brush teeth, pack backpack

9:15AM: head out to the office. Say all my good-bye and sometimes good morning too, greetings to the family.

I walk about 25 minutes, sometimes faster, sometimes longer if I stop to buy breakfast or cucumbers for dinner.

9:45AM-10AM: Arrive at office. Hope it’s open. Try to stop sweating while everyone who is in the office looks at the funny white person sweating so much while they are cool as a refrigerator in the 90-degree heat. Turn on air conditioning.

10AM: Start the day. Computer on. Emails up. Word is coming. Multiple tabs wait!

My main objectives lately have been to form an art program from what was done last year in grades seven through nine which is our middle school. I spend a lot of time researching art programs in the US and taking ideas to my class. I also am working on adding activities to the English curriculum for the same group (7-9). Today though, I changed things up and researched a bunch on special education because Ciwara has one of the few, if not the only, special education programs in the country running in the school.

So I email, and I research and I type lesson plans. Because I’m convinced I am hard at work, I occasionally slip onto Facebook and spend a little too much time there.

Sometimes, I have a meeting with Debbie or help her with some organizing. But she is a busy lady and can’t babysit me all the time, so I usually work independently and forward her any big progress I make.

12PM/noon: Start to get hungry and perhaps remembered to bring a snack.

12-2PM: More Computer time. More lesson planning. Dream about what my mom is doing in California.

2-2:30PM: Debbie and I leave to go to her house to have lunch. Holler. I’m usually hungry by then!

2:30-3:30PM: Lunch time. I eat. I sit and talk with Debbie and all the neighborhood kids and try to understand the Bambara.

3:30/4PM: Debbie and I head back to the office.

4-6PM: More working. By this time I am usually trying to wrap things up. Sometimes people in the States are online, like right now, and I get to have little Gchat conversations while I finish up and save all my tabs and get things finished for the night. (Seriously, what was the world before gchat and skype and Facebook?!)

6PM: Walking home. Some days this is my favorite part. I love going home. No matter where home is, returning can be the best part. I walk the same way in the morning and the evening. Sometimes in the evening I do a little grocery shopping or buy some street food. But, most of the time, I just wander and let my legs move from sitting all day and my mind wander.

6:30: Home. And ready to eat again. Time to cook!

6:30-7PM: Cooking. Usually this involves me cooking one of the three things I eat these days: beans, potatoes, mac and cheese, or cucumber and tomato sandwich. And calling my dear friend Marcy in Segou. We chat while food cooks.

7:30/8PM: I tend to eat in my room but then re-emerge to spend some time with my host family.

7:30-9: Host family time! We usually sit and watch French TV. Seriously.  

9PM: I seem to count down the minutes until 9 when I feel like I can socially justify going to bed.  Sometimes I am legitimately tired and I do crawl into bed before 9:30. Sometimes I’ve had a rough day, or bad day, or just a day, and I watch a movie, eat some more nutella and unwind. On a stellar day I have a skype date planned and escape to find a happy face smiling at me on the computer screen from America.

10-10:30PM: BED.

That’s really it people. That’s my day. It takes three languages and a lot of computer battery, but each day is somewhat represented here.

I hope this gives you a more concrete idea of what my day looks like. Of course that is for right now, soon it will end and school will begin and then you will have to be updated!