i can't believe everything that's happened in one week. last week this
time i was biking back to my village thinking i was going to work in
the community garden and teach english classes once again.
i've never had my life change so dramatically in one week.
packing for an emergency evacuation must be what it's like when your
house is on fire. grab only the important things like photos,
paperwork, ID cards, etc. turn off the gas on the stove. don't take
anything that's too awkward to carry for long distances while walking
or riding your bike...good lord.
after an administrative version of hell on earth, a giant fire at our
training center which required us to become instant volunteer fire
fighters, a bus breaking down in the middle of bamako, and an insane
chartered plane ride with an Ethiopian airliner, we are in Ghana, only
to find ourselves back in an administrative version of hell on earth.
we are here for a transition conference. all the volunteers from
Mali, all 200 of us. some have been in country for 25 months, some
for 14, and then some, like me and my group, only 5 months. we are
here to close our service in Mali. it's hard to believe that after a
short 5 months, i am completing my close of service paperwork.
i have some options, the next 4 days will determine where i will go
next. some people who have been in the peace corps for a longer
period of time are just calling it and going home. most of the people
in my group are looking to transfer to other countries seeing as we
were just getting started with our service.
i am currently on a list hoping to be placed in either burkina faso,
cameroon, or senegal. it's strange because it's quite possible that a
week from today i will be in another country going through peace corps
training AGAIN. deja vu. we've gone 'round in a circle sweetie
dahling.
i have an interview later today that will determine if i qualify for a
transfer position.
if i could write a letter to the coup leader in mali, this is what it would say.
"dear captain amadou sanogo,
thank you for getting your shit together and relinquishing power the
exact day that we evacuated your country. thanks alot asshole.
sincerely, goundo suko"
although i'm not quite sure how i would say that in malinke.
we'll know more information by friday. we're all fine here, just
missing mali and feeling a little heartbroken. it was really hard
saying bye to all the friends we've made in our communities. eh,
allah. insert big sigh.
i'll send another message as soon as i get news. thanks so much for
checking in with me. it was so great to hear from you when we got to
the hotel. the internet service here is great, so i'll be in touch.
big love,
bevin
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Mali Evacuation
it makes me very sad to tell you that we are being emergency evacuated from mali. we received news this evening and are leaving in a few hours. the details are in the works, and apparently we are traveling to a neighboring country to take care of all things administrative and logistical.
i do have a little good news. i did have the chance to bike back to my village this morning and spend the day walking around talking with people and i sort of had the chance to say goodbye. the evacuation was not confirmed until after i left this afternoon, but i had a sneaking suspicion.
i'll let you all know where we end up and where in the world this peace corps adventure will take us next.
the peace corps application said, "peace corps, how far will you go?" well, i know the answer to that now. far. beyond the beyonds apparently. i feel like my life is an etch-a-sketch right now. and somebody just shook it up somethin' awful.
thanks for all your encouraging messages, good wishes, and prayers for safety. we are doing well, just sad to be leaving such a wonderful country knowing that the people have such a long road ahead. and to top it all off...it's just the beginning of hot season.
talk to you soon-ish,
bevin
i do have a little good news. i did have the chance to bike back to my village this morning and spend the day walking around talking with people and i sort of had the chance to say goodbye. the evacuation was not confirmed until after i left this afternoon, but i had a sneaking suspicion.
i'll let you all know where we end up and where in the world this peace corps adventure will take us next.
the peace corps application said, "peace corps, how far will you go?" well, i know the answer to that now. far. beyond the beyonds apparently. i feel like my life is an etch-a-sketch right now. and somebody just shook it up somethin' awful.
thanks for all your encouraging messages, good wishes, and prayers for safety. we are doing well, just sad to be leaving such a wonderful country knowing that the people have such a long road ahead. and to top it all off...it's just the beginning of hot season.
talk to you soon-ish,
bevin
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Photo Time
well, since i have so much time on my hands AND internet. i thought
i'd upload some photos from the past couple months in my village. the
link is included below. enjoy! picasa is so great. i actually had
time to add captions to the photos this time.
abrazos, bevin
https://picasaweb.google.com/
i'd upload some photos from the past couple months in my village. the
link is included below. enjoy! picasa is so great. i actually had
time to add captions to the photos this time.
abrazos, bevin
https://picasaweb.google.com/
Mali Ultimatum
Hello all!
I am reporting from our Peace Corps safe house and I'm happy to say, it's doing a great job of keeping us safe.
Sane however, is a whole other story. Imagine being on house arrest in an oven set at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Yeah, that's what it's like. We're finding interesting ways to entertain ourselves for sure. Like impromptu dance parties, dressing up in all the random clothes we've found from previous volunteers who have lived here, which proves to only worsen the hot factor, but hey, when you're bored. Um, arts and crafts, guitar sing alongs, re-arranging furniture, banangram championships, sit-ups, push-ups, lots of reading...
One of the other Peace Corps safe houses has even made a zombie apocalypse short film, to be released only God knows when and where. But the photos are hysterical. I'll keep you posted on that one.
The latest news here is not all that great because yesterday a group of leaders from the West African group ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) tried to land in Bamako in an effort to resolve the crisis, but they were forced to take a mid-air U-turn because a group of protesters flooded the runways preventing the plane from landing. The ECOWAS leaders were forced to land in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire where they could decide how to proceed. It was definitely not a positive sign that the military leader who took control of the country could not secure the airport for the arrival of these regional leaders, sooooooooo as a result, ECOWAS has given Mali an ultimatum. They have given the coup leaders 72 hours to step down or else sanctions will be imposed and borders will be closed, from the outside. In other words, "get yo shit together y'all," as my mama would say. :)
So, for the time being, we are on standby over the weekend, hoping the situation improves by Monday. I've attached some articles for those who would like details. Please know, we are doing well, just overwhelmed with the uncertainty of it all. I'll be in touch as soon as we receive more news.
Please keep Mali in your thoughts and prayers for a peaceful resolution to this crisis. The people here are incredible. They are dealing with enough as it is with all the poverty, poor access to healthcare, harsh environmental conditions, and gov't corruption that has led to the poor distribution of wealth. It makes me sick inside to think of this already struggling nation to fall into a complete economic freeze. That's the last thing on earth they need right now.
Miss you lots and love you even more.
Bevin
Associated Press Thursday March 29, 2012
http://www.google.com/
Al Jazeera Thursday March 29, 2012
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/
Associated Press Friday March 30, 2012
http://www.google.com/
I am reporting from our Peace Corps safe house and I'm happy to say, it's doing a great job of keeping us safe.
Sane however, is a whole other story. Imagine being on house arrest in an oven set at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Yeah, that's what it's like. We're finding interesting ways to entertain ourselves for sure. Like impromptu dance parties, dressing up in all the random clothes we've found from previous volunteers who have lived here, which proves to only worsen the hot factor, but hey, when you're bored. Um, arts and crafts, guitar sing alongs, re-arranging furniture, banangram championships, sit-ups, push-ups, lots of reading...
One of the other Peace Corps safe houses has even made a zombie apocalypse short film, to be released only God knows when and where. But the photos are hysterical. I'll keep you posted on that one.
The latest news here is not all that great because yesterday a group of leaders from the West African group ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) tried to land in Bamako in an effort to resolve the crisis, but they were forced to take a mid-air U-turn because a group of protesters flooded the runways preventing the plane from landing. The ECOWAS leaders were forced to land in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire where they could decide how to proceed. It was definitely not a positive sign that the military leader who took control of the country could not secure the airport for the arrival of these regional leaders, sooooooooo as a result, ECOWAS has given Mali an ultimatum. They have given the coup leaders 72 hours to step down or else sanctions will be imposed and borders will be closed, from the outside. In other words, "get yo shit together y'all," as my mama would say. :)
So, for the time being, we are on standby over the weekend, hoping the situation improves by Monday. I've attached some articles for those who would like details. Please know, we are doing well, just overwhelmed with the uncertainty of it all. I'll be in touch as soon as we receive more news.
Please keep Mali in your thoughts and prayers for a peaceful resolution to this crisis. The people here are incredible. They are dealing with enough as it is with all the poverty, poor access to healthcare, harsh environmental conditions, and gov't corruption that has led to the poor distribution of wealth. It makes me sick inside to think of this already struggling nation to fall into a complete economic freeze. That's the last thing on earth they need right now.
Miss you lots and love you even more.
Bevin
Associated Press Thursday March 29, 2012
http://www.google.com/
Al Jazeera Thursday March 29, 2012
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/
Associated Press Friday March 30, 2012
http://www.google.com/
Oh Mali
hey y'all,
how's it going? i saw a super cool chameleon in a mango tree yesterday morning. we had a staring contest. he lost every round with those shifty eyes. also, yesterday afternoon i transplanted some onions in my garden with my gardening friend gesa. oh village life is so lovely.
other minor news, two days ago, a mutinous group of malian soldiers overthrew the government of mali, removed the president from office and declared the malian constitution to be suspended until further notice. seriously.
this is all over the news in the states i'm sure. i just wanted to let y'all know. we are all safe and secure here. please don't worry! the peace corps is taking excellent care of us. we have an excellent emergency action plan in place, and at this point we are waiting to see if everything calms down over the weekend. we have our bags packed in case of an emergency evacuation, but we're all really hoping we can stay. mali's a wonderful place and it would be a shame if we had to leave.
supposedly, the military group is planning to hand back power to civilians on tuesday march 27th. we're all hoping and praying everything stays peaceful and we can all go back to normal life. as for now, please know, we are in good hands. here's a link to a new york times article that covers the situation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/
i appreciate all the sweet messages and prayers. y'all make a girl feel awfully special.
i'll keep you posted with more news as it becomes available.
as always, i miss everyone LIKE CRAZY.
lots of love from mali,
bevin
how's it going? i saw a super cool chameleon in a mango tree yesterday morning. we had a staring contest. he lost every round with those shifty eyes. also, yesterday afternoon i transplanted some onions in my garden with my gardening friend gesa. oh village life is so lovely.
other minor news, two days ago, a mutinous group of malian soldiers overthrew the government of mali, removed the president from office and declared the malian constitution to be suspended until further notice. seriously.
this is all over the news in the states i'm sure. i just wanted to let y'all know. we are all safe and secure here. please don't worry! the peace corps is taking excellent care of us. we have an excellent emergency action plan in place, and at this point we are waiting to see if everything calms down over the weekend. we have our bags packed in case of an emergency evacuation, but we're all really hoping we can stay. mali's a wonderful place and it would be a shame if we had to leave.
supposedly, the military group is planning to hand back power to civilians on tuesday march 27th. we're all hoping and praying everything stays peaceful and we can all go back to normal life. as for now, please know, we are in good hands. here's a link to a new york times article that covers the situation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/
i appreciate all the sweet messages and prayers. y'all make a girl feel awfully special.
i'll keep you posted with more news as it becomes available.
as always, i miss everyone LIKE CRAZY.
lots of love from mali,
bevin
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