with this french keyboard, i am back to the hunt and peck typing method of earlier days. bear with me.

bamako (the capital of mali) is nuts. it is like no other capital city in the world. i say that as if i am all-knowing, which i certainly am not. i do however have a pretty good imagination, and i cannot fathom a comparable madness. i suppose that what confuses me most is the contradiction of the place. streets over packed with cars, buses, motos, and vendors with their wares spilling into every available space, music, loudspeakers, hawkers hawking, calls to prayer, chaos chaos chaos. mud brick buildings and red earthen streets, and the occasional western-style architecture. then come the moments of being still, greeting someone on the street or perhaps in the midst of errands. ça va? how are you? how is your family? how is your home? your health? yes, life is good. thanks to allah. soft handshakes and gentle smiles. but really, the most extraordinary part of bamako is the glamour. i have a hard enough time keeping my t-shirt clean through lunch. but these people, men and women alike, remain beautifully kept even while they toil in these dirty streets. i try my best, but know that it is not reasonable that i will keep up.

in bamako, i was able to track down kris hoffer, the peace corps volunteer coordinator for mali. over dinner at her home, we had a chance to talk about some of the ideas i have for youth creative writing collaboration. there is possibly a new education volunteer coming to the village where i want to work. hopefully, kris will give me the chance to meet her when she begins her training her in bamako toward the end of the month. i hope to get this new volunteer in my grasp. but we will see if she takes the post because it is not exactly what she had requested. at any rate, kris is a riot. i am glad to have made her aquaintance.

i took an overnight bus up here to sevare, the jumping off place for both dogon country and for niger river routes north. with the beginning of rainy season, the river is growing again and river transport should become more accesible. as yesterday was the 4th of july, i ended up at a pizza party with a group of peace corps volunteers. it is wonderful to hear about the various projects at work here, as well as to hear the excitement of my american brothers and sisters. but i also hear their voices drop and see their heads sink when they talk about the sadness and frustration they often feel. this work they do has such wonderful highs with feelings of real connection and respect, but then there are also times when bureacracy, corruption, and hurtful traditions tear at their hearts and they wonder what they hell they are doing here. it is a profound human experience to know such a spectrum of emotions all at one moment.

today, my goal is to find cristina nardone, a USAID worker whose work focuses on environmental tourism. i don't exactly know what that means, but i am going to find out. monday, i will head to bandiagara to find timothee dolo and moussa tembine, friends of anna taft. i am hoping that timothee will be able to hook me up with some teachers at the lyceé, the local high school. there, i will also be able to check on some of the projects that tandana foundation is working on.

seven years ago, i had the wonderful opportunity to visit this place. some things have changed. some things are the same. i am trying to move through here without expectation, but with an open heart. there is too much uncertainty right now for me to jump down from this fence i am on. i am still gathering information.