365q:
Day 281/365
i leave now. it has been a year. this is the end of something so beautiful. and i will miss it so much. but here is to being happy that it happened. i am happy.
Hapathy
Zen Happiness for the Western World
The latest note from Eli:
These photos do not tell a story. They are completely random, but the internet has been so rare that I haven’t been able to put up anything lately.
things that have happened that are worth mentioning:
1) soiree was a success
2) goat market, killing and eating (also a success)
3) slumber party with all of the girls from the school (including logo, soda and ice cream)
4) the photovoice project being done
things thats will happen:
1) henna today
2) segou trip on my last two days
3) pizza in bamako
life is good, and i will be home soon.
pictures—because it is almost over and there is nothing more that i can say.
An update from Eli in Mali: The feet are dirty and the food looks yummy.
I just got back from staying with friends in Bamako, so I wasn’t able to post for a bit. Since I spent the weekend away I’ve been busy, but I’m back with the kids now, and they are putting on a music festival today.
The pictures above are of my favorite street food and my horribly dirty feet. It’s a pretty good representation of my life at the moment.
I’ll try to write again tomorrow, and put up some of the pictures that the kids have been taking (they are beautiful), but it has all been a bit hectic lately.
News from Eli (Bintou Berthe) in Mali:
The trip over was uneventful. I spent far too long in New York, and far too long in Casablanca, (but the latter got us a hotel room for the 15 hour layover)
My phone has decided that it will not function, but the Malian phone is working fine, so I have no worries.
The plan so far is to do a photo voice project with the kids (only grades 3-9 this year) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photovoice
we start that project tomorrow, and hope to create a small movie and book with it in the end. Our other plans are mostly to go to the capital and possibly to Segou once again. I’m not sure of the plausibility of all of our travel plans, but we’re going to try to get to as many things as possible in our short stay. At the very least, I have the chance to live in Kati once again, and work with the kids.
(oh…and the peace corps volunteer has a dog. I am in love)
I’m back to being Bintou Berthe.
Cati's latest post from Argentina: "so close to feeling close to the end"
Gosh, she is a great kid!
so, in reality, two months is a long time.
you can do a lot in sixty days. and meet a lot of new people, and learn a lot of new things, and read a lot of new books, play a lot of chess, but these last 60 days feel so unimportant. so short, and meaningless, so waiting.
with all of the other…
san juan argentina: so this is what life feels like
It has been a long journey — even for those of us who stayed home. Here’s Cati’s latest post from the Southern hemisphere:
wow. i have about 100 more days in argentina. that fact still catches me off guard. i would be lying if i told you that the months flew by, because that is not true. they were long, and sometimes a little hard, but now they are gone.
and i go home in about 100 days. and i will see all of your…
notes from cathlin in san juan argentina: say what?
cathlin is updating her tumblr? the truth might be yes.
i have been here for three months and three weeks. christmas is 9 days away, it is close to 100 degree outside. something does not add up.
i am now on summer vacation, and am gleefully doing nothing all say long. usually i wake up around…
Happy Birthday to Eli! She looks so happy:
I jumped out of a plane!!! (a very very small plane)
There were eight of us going, but only three of us could fit in the plane at one (it fit six, but we all flew with someone attached to us, so we had to fit them in as well) The man that jumped with me was named Jerry. He has do over 10,000 jumps; I felt pretty safe with him.
The trip:
45 minute drive out to the airfield
25 minute plane ride to get to height
35 seconds of free fall
5-6 minutes of flying through the air
I wasn’t even nervous. It doesn’t feel real when you are so high up that you can’t tell what it is you are looking at. It was amazingly beautiful, but completely surreal. When we first left the plane, Jerry did flips with me (no one else got to). Once we were just floating he let me take control. I got to spin us in circles. It was amazing. If I could have made it last longer I would probably would still be flying.
Lots of love,
-Eli (who is now 19 years old)
Eli and T worked with kids in the township to paint a mural. I am so proud!
We finally finished the mural with the kids!
The project was titled “My Future Nyanga” and we had the kids draw what they wanted to see in their future Nyanga.
T and I primed the wall and painted the title on before the kids arrived. I think having a white girl covered in paint wandering the streets of the township may have been too much for the locals. We got a few more stares than normal.
It was nice to be painting again. These are the kind of projects where I feel most at home.
Lots of Love,
-Eli
