My first year as a volunteer in Mali is coming to a close. As I prepare for a trip back to the states and help out with the training of new volunteers I'm evaluating my service thus far and planning for the future. (See I haven't changed that much!)
While I wish I had gotten more tangible work accomplished in the past year, I recognize that it was about a lot more than project work. I've become conversational in Bambara/Khassonke, I've developed friendships across cultural barriers (harder than I anticipated), and hopefully I've taught my village about sanitation. And I got one soak pit completed! Yay! With more in the works! Yay! I'm starting to feel competent in my Malian life, and as I answer questions for the new volunteers I realize how much I've learned. If I can learn a fraction of what I've gained this year in the upcoming one, I will be ecstatic. With my still improving language skills and increased cultural confidence, I anticipate my second year to be more obviously productive. Drametou and I have a lot of stuff in the works for my return and the end of rainy season, so here's hoping I go and return safely, and that my house and nyegen are still standing when I do - there were some heavy rains this weekend resulting in a lot of destroyed huts. And the wall of my nyegen lost some of it's outer coating of cement my last day in village before this trip. So we'll see. I think the time is going to fly by pretty quickly since I plan to be busier in the upcoming months and I've saved all my vacation days for my second year. My months in village have been flying by since the very beginning, but the past few months my days and weeks have been rapidly disappearing as well. I am approaching old age - or at least my Malian friends keep telling me how I need to get married and have kids before it's too late. Being nearly 25 I should have produced a couple of offspring by now - terrifying! I have been thinking about my big 'life picture' recently, since my brother is getting married, I have several friends back home who have bought houses, and I will be living in a mud hut in the African bush for another year. Honestly, I still wouldn't trade this experience for anything. Technically I'm a home-owner, too, my house just happens to be made of mud and thatch instead of wood, steel, or concrete.
I have been contemplating my return from Mali and how that may work out. At present there are two options at the forefront: some time working stateside before entering grad school or the option to extend in Mali for a third year and put the previous option aside for an additional 12 months. The former is more likely since the latter would require me to find work rewarding enough to justify another year without cheese.