My social calendar has EXPLODED. I’ve traded in my recent nights of cooking dinner by myself, blasting Disney tunes and watching SATC dvds on repeat, to bright lights big city baby! Well, more like Some lights, Small city!
I was flown out to Bamako today to work on a pressing proposal with a team the next week or so. How fortunate I am. Locals take large busses that take between 10-14 hours to reach Bamako. Peace Corps volunteers take smaller busses that take between 10-12 hours. Normally, it takes 8-10 hours to complete the drive in an SUV. This time, it took only an hour. It was great to see my surroundings from a bird’s eye view.

The plane

The plane

My local airport

My local airport

The view of the town I live in

The view of Sevare

The view of Mopti - Crazy congested city on the Niger River but with a lot of heart and soul.

The view of Mopti - Crazy congested city on the Niger River but with a lot of heart and soul.

The cockpit door was open during the flight!

The cockpit door was open during the flight!

Within hours of landing, my social calender was filling up so quickly that I began turning down invitations.

This week is jam packed with exciting activities; Bamako feels so much bigger to me than it did when I first arrived over a month ago.

Last night, my friend and I enjoyed ice cream sundaes at the Broadway Cafe and ended the night salsa dancing at The Terrace club.


 This afternoon: Pedicures in the afternoon with a friend, beach volleyball tournament and HH at 6, dinner with friends at 9
Saturday: Pool date with friends. Another badmington party that night!
Sunday: HASH (taken from the Bamako HASH website: The Bamako Hash House is Mali’s international, non-competitive running and social club. Harriers and harriettes frequently describe it as “a drinking club with a running problem,” but the social element of hashing is of equal importance to the running. The Bamako Kennel gathers every other week for hash runs.

In a hash run, one or more hashers (the “hares”) lay out a running trail, which may include false trails, short cuts, and trail breaks. These features are designed to keep the pack together regardless of fitness levels or running speed. The pack (the “hounds”) follow the trail from check to check. From a check the pack will normally check out the surrounding terrain to attempt to find the continuation of the trail. A well-laid check will have the effect of allowing slower runners to catch up and rejoin the main pack while the faster runners try to find the trail again.
Sunday night: Dinner at an expats house

Thank goodness I packed my metallic silver snakeskin stilettos and my sneakers!