nostalgia

as i spend my last week here in bamako, i find myself already missing mali, feeling a bit of nostalgia for the places and people that have become my life over the past month and a half.

i will miss the tigadegena (peanut sauce), playing with the Coulibaly kids and the children at the local centre d'écoute, dancing with Sali and Mba, making faces at the drummers, Sekou calling me "zoza" (meaning rabbit in bambara), being the "second wife" in the trio that is Omilade, Michael and myself...also - people thinking i'm chinese and braying at me (hee haw) when what they are really trying to say is "ni hao"; riding on the moto; eating mangoes; greeting nearly everyone while walking around the quartier. i find it hard to figure out how to leave mali, not knowing when i will be back. but i certainly do have the sense that this has only been a beginning. the friendships i have made here couldn't possibly just end here...that would almost be unnatural, given the connections i feel to people here.

michelle and her dance company (plus some other people who came to dance/work/study in Mali) came here on the 6th, so we've all been hanging out and dancing and playing together since then. michelle's working on a project on malaria prevention and is planning on using the arts and education to increase dialogue and awareness about preventing malaria in Mali. malaria kills more than AIDS does in Mali, but it is AIDS that gets all the funding. waste management is a big issue - the large amount of sewage and standing water in bamako makes for a whole host of breeding grounds for the mosquitos who spread the disease. many people live near small creeks where trash piles up and mosquitos thrive. so, one aspect of the project is trying to work with people in the community to get children involved in making educational theater about their thoughts concerning malaria prevention. it is this that has taken up a lot of my time lately. that and spending time with the people here who have made this experience truly transformative. omilade left yesterday and i will truly miss that girl. she's the big sister i never had.

and the Coulibalys. oh my word. what a family.

"family" - the word has taken on a completely new meaning for me here in mali. i see now how powerful a support structure the family can be, and i realize that i have been neglecting line for quite some time now, either because i'm too busy or too detached to be the sister and daughter i'd like to be. fortunately, i'll be spending some time in california before heading back to school and will be able to chill with the family in a few days.