We had a little feast for my host family and me to enjoy on the Fourth of July. My host mom did a great job cooking it, as always... chicken, salad and fries on one big platter for all of us to share. They asked me how old the US is, so I did the math... we celebrated our 234th anniversary of independence this year. It's Mali's 50th this year, and there will be a big celebration this September.
A little lizard I found in my house one morning
Some of the sunsets have been spectacular during the rainy season
My host family is in Bamako for summer vacation, so I decided to visit my host dad in the mining town where he lives and works. He only gets one day off every two weeks, so he was nice to share his day off with me!
A friend of my host dad's, making tea
Enjoying the first round of tea. I'm wearing a sweatshirt because it was actually pretty cold that morning!
I took a bunch of photos around Kenieba one afternoon... this is the entrance to my concession. As you can see, it's laundry day
The other side of my concession... the plants have been growing really fast with all the rain.
Pretty much all open space in town has been turned into fields for growing crops... I used to cut across here as a shortcut to get to downtown Kenieba. For the next few months, I have to go the long way!
One of my neighbors
My house is the light colored one on the right. There is a little shop in the shack with the metal roof across the street.
Inside the shop, with lots of little things to buy. I buy bread here most mornings. Other things I buy from here are soap, tomato paste and spaghetti, bleach, D batteries, and cold drinks on really hot days.
Kids used to play soccer here, but it's all flooded and grown in now. Now the women come down to do laundry by the stream.
sitting, chatting, and drinking tea under the mango tree... pretty typical routine for young Malian men
afternoon round of tea
the moto repairmen down the street from my house
Sheep crossing
that little boy got more and more afraid the longer I was there... by the time I left, he was bawling!
growing peanuts and corn
more peanuts
at the water pump
The future international road that passes through Kenieba
One of the five primary schools in Kenieba
doing some laundry
staining some chairs
