Settling

Picture of Mohammed

August 30, 2005

What a beautiful day. We woke up this morning to thunder and heavy rain which forced us to walk to work through mud and small rivers. The sky cleared in no time drying the earth and creating a rather pleasant day. It felt like summer time in Jersey.

We had PE at 11:30. We played Capture the Flag. We split the ten
kids into two teams of five, divided the yard in half and went at it. The kids seemed to have fun. We played three games, changing sides and teams as necessary. I enjoyed watching them play. It’s good to see kids play outdoors and truly enjoy themselves. They squabbled a little, but for the most part everybody had fun.

Last evening our neighbor Ann stopped by. She asked if she could pick up at Zachary at 9:30 for a walk. It was really nice. Folks here are very welcoming. Several people brought food over on our first day here; others have made it a point to invite us into social gatherings and games. Ann picked up Z-man this morning and gave Mohammed a break so that he could focus on some of his domestic duties (I must admit it’s rather nice to never have to worry about the dishes…he even irons our underwear). We saw Ann and Z walk past the school. He had suckered her into carrying him. I think it’s safe to say that Z is settling in nicely, although he did mention that he misses New York last night.

We have only been here eleven days, but it seems like so much longer than that in some ways. We met a couple of fellows at the club who offered to take us over to the escarpment next weekend. We shall pack a lunch and drive to a waterfall. One of the fellows, Wimpie (Voompie), says he swims there all the time. It is the place where the baboons live. I hope we will get to see them.

We are still awaiting our packages from NYC. They seem to be lost in transit. We are hoping they got delivered to the embassy, but we have no way of knowing for sure. We are stuck out here in the middle of nowhere. This forces us to rely on those that have no stake in the matter. We can only email and call the boss in Bamako and hope that the situation resolves itself. Some of the things we can live without or find here. Some of it, however we really need; I had packed up enough chess boards and chess pieces to start an after school program here. I will be depressed if they do not show.

Oh well, we shall celebrate the days as they come. In the end we cannot worry about the things we cannot control.