Letter Home: January 26, 2008

Hi Friends and Family! In-service Training (IST) is finally over! It was an amazing break from my life in village.

Where do I begin? Ok, so let's backtrack-Christmas and New Year's in Bamako with friends (Peace Corps, South Africans, Malians, and a few Ex-pats). AMAZING! If you would like to know more, shoot me a line or two with a few questions.

TRAINING!
It started on Jan. 7th, 2008. It was packed full with technical training. We sat through Junior Achievement, SED panel/discussion, basic accounting, illiterate accounting, Shea formations, exporting (WATH), information about local NGOs, how to sessions, etc….

We also attended sessions that were supposed to be for everyone. We were seriously lacking motivation to attend any of these sessions. All and all, a lot was learned and project ideas are starting to take form.

NOW the best part of IST.

Ever heard of a Hash Run? Check it out at on the web… it is kinda a big deal around the world… haha! There is a 5kHash Run group in Bamako, Mali. A few volunteers and I accompany them on their bi-weekly festivities. During IST, the whole Breakfast Club crew found out and wanted to participate. However showing up with an additional 50 or so people just didn’t seem like a good idea. So, Lindsay and I decided to take matters into our hands. We volunteered to host the next scheduled 5k near our training site. I jumped through all the hoops (emails, phone calls, contacting the appropriate people, etc) while Lindsay put together a banging menu for the event.


We held a meeting and made signs. We announced instructions and deadlines at every meal during training. We traveled into Bamako to pick up ingredients. We had a pig slaughtered and then had to cut it up ourselves for the grill. The menu consisted of baked beans, cole-slaw, pasta salad, macaroni & cheese, key-lime pie, and coconut cake. Sunday morning (1.13.08) was spent preparing food and laying the hash course. Time was running short… THEN we found out we couldn’t host our run at the original destination. So we decided to have a “LIVE” Hash Run. We had our best runners leave 15 minutes before the race started and lay the course accordingly. We had over 50 volunteers show up at the event plus another 20-something people who normally run it.

It went great. There were no injuries. There were plenty of smiling faces and full bellies. We may even host another one during our next training! Or a half-marathon!

If you would like to see the photo album http://picasaweb.google.com/hollymlarsen/20080114PeaceCorps

So my first week was full of planning that extravaganza. The second week I had another bacterial infection… ugh!!! I didn’t have any energy to attend any language classes. ALSO I had sores on my feet from playing Flag Football in bad shoes on the American Embassy lawn. I ended up running the 5k without shoes because my feet are too big for the worn-out Nike shox!!! (I went to the market today and bought a pair of Nike’s for $24-sweet!)

After training we had a field trip for Small Enterprise Development (SED) volunteers. We visited two sites for those working with the government or NGOs (I work with an NGO)….

So that leads me to what my next few months will consist of…

· Before Next IST
· 2.1.08-2.10.08
a. Hold a meeting with women’s associations
b. Go to Bamako for my birthday
c. Site-assessment
d. Visit villages
e. Visit schools
· 2.11.08-2.20.08
a. Go To Senegal for West Africa International Softball Tournament (WAIST)
b. Return to Banamba
· 2.21.08-3.31.08
a. Start Projects: Shea production and exporting, Junior Achievement, Work with Boutique owners, start HIV/AIDS club
b. Might go to Burkina Faso for Shea Nut/Butter Conference
c. Might work with a learn-to-swim program in Bamako
· 4.1.08-4.6.08
a. Junior Achievement conference with Malians
· 4.7.08-4.12.08
a. Next IST @Tubaniso
b. After Next IST
· 4.13.08-4.18.08
a. Go to San, Mali for a leadership conference
b. Bring two Malians so that we can make a strategic plan for my volunteer service and the following two or three volunteers
· 4.19.08-until June
a. Return to site
b. Finish Junior Achievement
c. Continue to work with HIV/AIDS club
d. Plan and hold a Shea Formation in May
e. Might be working with a Learn-to-swim program
f. Plan my vacation to the states
· 6.8.08
a. Go to the States!
b. Road trip to visit a few potential Graduate schools
c. RYLA in Americus
d. 4th of July in the AME!!!
· 7.9.08
a. Return to Mali!

Side Note: broke the screen on my camera, attended a church service in English, overcame fear of being different, have many many ideas for future (vacation, graduate school, career, etc), look forward to my vacation in the States (June 2008)

Contact Info:

Holly Larsen
C.A.E.B.
Banamba, Mali
West Africa

AIM: ncae16