Sikasso

Right now, I'm hanging out at an internet café in Sikasso ville. I arrived here yesterday in the company of eight other volunteers. Tomorrow I'll be going to Koutiala with fellow volunteers Ben and Amanda, where we'll hang out for a day or to to buy stuff for our houses before being installed on Thursday. I'm looking forward to installation, since it means the beginning of my actual service and the end of being shepherded around by the PC. On the other hand, it might end up being a bit anti climatic, after the past week or so.

I've pretty much been hanging out with other PCVs since swear-in on Friday. Friday evening, we had a party at the Pirates club, which went on until the wee hours of the morning. It was really a lot of fun; I haven't really had a chance to let loose since I got to Mali, and spending the night dancing was just what I needed. The day after, we entertained ourselves by swimming in the hotel pool (we spent the night in Bamako in a hotel) and eating as much 'toubab' food as possible (lots of ice cream, chocolate, and burgers- my vegetarianism seems to have gone down the tube for now).

Yesterday morning we left for Sikasso around 6 am, arriving just around 2 in the afternoon. We met up with some of the resident volunteers, Trinh, Michelle, and Jack, and spent the evening walking around, eating, and watching a few movies. Sikasso is the second largest city in Mali, followed by Segou, and then Koutiala. Although I'm not sure how often I'll be coming here, since Segou and Koutiala are both significantly closer, it is nice to have gotten the lay of the land and to have met some more Sikasso volunteers.

Anyway, think that's all I'll write for now. Wish me luck with installation. I'll hopefully be able to update again in a few weeks.