March 26, 2011
Today the health volunteers from the other villages came to Muntugula and we built a soak pit…well we mostly watched and helped a little. We’re not accustomed to working in this African sun. A soak pit is a way of getting rid of wastewater by sending it underground to be filtered through the earth back into the groundwater system. Pretty much it’s a large hole filled with sand, gravel and rocks with a pipes leading into it from the nyegen water run-off, laundry run-off, dishwashing run-off, etc. The rocks and gravel will filter out organic matter which is decomposed by bacteria, and that and the dirt stay in the rock area and the water seeps back through the ground. The idea is to avoid standing water, which, besides smells like shit, avoids mosquitos, which then avoids malaria. These pits need to be dug up and redone every 5 years or so. I find it hard to believe that anyone will buy into the idea of building one of these for themselves to begin with no less then having to clean it every 5 years. Apparently they haven’t minded the standing water, smell and mosquitos before now. Why fix something if it isn’t broken.
But it was sure good seeing 20 other people from around town that we don’t usually get to see. Tomorrow we get to see everyone, all 61 of us that’s left. We are being picked up at 8am. Taken into Bamako to the museum for 2 hours then spending 4 hours at the American Club. They have a pool. I am so excited to have water, cool water, on me I can hardly stand it. We are having hamburgers and hot dogs, French fries and soda or beer for lunch. It’s going to be awesome. I just want to be in the pool. I wish it would get dark so I can go to sleep and wake up tomorrow and go!!!
March 27, 2011
Promptly, for a change, at 8am the car showed up to take us to the museum. We drove out to Bamako. The museum was ok considering where we are. They have a lot of wood sculptures and masks are very big here. They are used for all types of social ceremonies and religious celebrations/sacrifices. At 11 we boarded back up in the buses and cars and left for the “club”. It was air conditioned. I could have stayed there all day. We ate lunch…American food. Hamburgers and hot dogs. I had a hot dog, fries and a diet coke. OMG…it was cold and awesome. Then we spent 3 hours in the pool. I didn’t join in all the reindeer games but it was cool and refreshing and I enjoyed myself. We got back “home” around 6pm. My family was at a wedding all day but got home just before dark. My host sister and brother and I were sitting outside and it was getting a little breezy. All of a sudden my sister said, “fin~e” which means wind. Her and her brother got up and picked up some bowls and stuff around the yard and put them in the house. I stood up and went to the front gate just in time to see a wall of sand headed right for me. If you’ve ever seen the movie Hidalgo when Vigo Mortenson is on his horse with the sand storm coming up behind him. The horse is running as fast as it can to try and outrun the wall of sand…that’s what this looks like. OK…not quite that bad, but it’s still time to run. I closed my window, ran into my room and shut and locked the metal door behind me.
I’m standing in my room right now. No lights, window and door locked up. The wind is blowing so hard I swear my room is moving. I know it sounds like the roof is going to blow right off. It amazes me that it doesn’t. The beams look like leftover wood they had lying around and they don’t have hammers per say so lord know what tool they used to attach the tin to the wood. Not to code I’m sure. On a usual night I hear cement dropping from the ceiling when a bird lands or a little breeze comes by. Right now it sounds like someone throwing handfuls of sand and gravel in my room. Maybe it would be better if I sat on my bed under my mosquito net. At least nothing can hit me. I’ll read a little and wait for the winds to pass. Surely it can’t last that long.
An hour after although the wind is still gusting here and there it is much better now. I brave it and open my door. Everyone is outside already waiting to eat dinner. We eat and hang out. One thing I can say for the wind is it really gave some relief to the heat. It rained for about 2 minutes and then we sat and got sleepy. I went to bed around 10 exhausted from a day of swimming, eating and running from dirt. Hopefully my tiredness will far outweigh the heat that awaits me in my room.
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