So, I made it home safely after a grueling 10 hour ride of which I spent 6 hours sick as a dog squeezed in between three colleagues with a very distraught meowing cat in the back.  Needless to say, it wasn’t fun for anyone.  Since then I’ve been busy with an all country, all staff meeting so I’ve been MIA since last Thursday….sorry!  We finally wrapped up our meetings today and I was looking forward to a lazy Sunday at one of the pools in town….that is, until my boss stopped me before I left our group dinner tonight and told me I had to return to Bamako tomorrow for a week of meetings on another project I am working on!  So, here I am updating my blog at midnight instead of packing, with a car picking me up promptly at 5:40 am to return to Bamako.

When I called my housekeeper over today to introduce her to my new cat and make sure she could take care of her in my absence, she proceeded to shriek and squeal like a banshee.  Nevertheless, she has agreed to change her litterbox daily and fill up her water and food.  It took Fanta a day to get used to the place (and a night of crying) but now it feels like she’s been here all along.  I’s also like to confirm that cats do chase their own tails.

So I’ve been whining some lately about working late hours and weekends and getting overwhelmed, but really, and especially in today’s economy, I do feel fortunate to be working, especially in my chosen field.  Moreover, more than half of my colleagues here are fasting for Ramadan so if it must be twice as hard for them.

You would think that after fasting all day long, when dusk hits, one would chow down so fast one might choke.  Contrary in Mali, Ramadan Fast is generally broken daily with a serving of fresh dates and cream, followed by a cup of tea/coffee and a glass of water. After that, prayers are said and one waits patiently for their hot meal to arrive, often an hour or two after breaking the first fast.  Talk about patience!