A New Year, A New Adventure

Happy 2018 and, as is becoming a distressing recurring phrase, sorry for not writing for so long!

Last I wrote was September 2017. I was in Mali making new friends, raising my pup Jacques, and looking at my last six months at post. To kick off restarting blog posts, here are some highlights from September '17 until today. Enjoy!

September: Trip to Ghana for work and a little play!

October: Trip to Morocco with good friends!

November: Time well spent in Bamako, celebrating Thanksgiving and lots of walking and hiking with Jacques.

December: Work trip to Conakry, Guinea, plus taking pictures in my Bamako neighborhood.

January 2018: Enjoying the dry "cool" weather on some hiking trips in/around Bamako.

February: Several Bamako photo safaris and a road trip to Dakar!

March: Saying Goodbye (last photo safari and some random pictures)

April: Home leave, relaxing in Durham, NC, watching spring spring.

Changing Temps

The year is flying by as we hit the middle of September. Many of my closest friends here in Bamako have moved on to their next posts or trainings, and I've started making new friends with the newer arrivals. When in meetings, I sometimes look around realize I'm amongst those who have been at post the longest, which is a strange feeling.

The coming months promise to bring lots of excitement: a work trip to Accra, Ghana; a personal vacation trip to Morocco with good friends; a visit in Bamako by my parents; and possibly another work trip to Conakry. Soon after it will be the end of the year, which will bring my last few months at post.

My puppy, Jacques, is almost six months old, and having him has opened up several new friendships and avenues for activities with other dog owners or folks who like dogs. He's gotten so much bigger and his personality continues to develop and change. He's *mostly* potty trained now, though at friends' houses he still manages to leave surprises. As they say here: petit-a-petit, or dony-dony (slowly, slowly; little by little; step-by-step).

The temperatures are starting to cool as we near the end of rainy season. It's lovely to walk in the evenings and feel a cool breeze now and then. The days still bring 90+ degree weather and wind/rain storms are still sweeping through, but I can feel it: the seasons are changing.

--Z

Kicking off Year 2 in Bamako

It's official, I'm on the downswing of my time in Bamako! My tour here is two years and March was my halfway point. Although my exact departure date won't be solidified until much closer to March 2018, it feels good to be on the downward slope.

Things in Bamako haven't been so great. Perhaps you've seen the news, or maybe not: there was an attack on a "resort" area called Le Campement, or Kangaba, where several westerners and Malians were killed. Just another senseless attack, for terror's sake alone. I've been to Le Campement a couple of times and was looking forward to going again sometime soon.

It's funny, it's so easy to say (and think, and feel), "One can't live in fear, you just have to keep on doing what you're doing." It's not true. It is possible to live in fear. You just start to decide what you're willing to risk: go to the very popular-with-westerners restaurant? Hmm. The other resort-y place in town? Uhm. Grocery shopping at the market primarily frequented by westerners? Er. It's a terrible way to think, in trade-offs and hesitancy, but it's a real way to live.

The past month has been a tough one: we lost a member of our community, the attack at Le Campement, continuing security threats, plus all the usual work stressors and projects, and let's just toss on the State Departement hiring freeze and budget cuts, which are starting to have their effects. It's not an easy environment to live in, all around.

So how do we cope, here in Bamako? Primarily, by taking care of each other. The people here are incredible and I find myself depending on the goodness of my friends and colleagues more and more. I usually feel like I'm the one trying to provide lots of support, but here it's the reverse: I'm receiving it, all the time. From "I'm thinking of you, how's it going?" text messages to office walk-ins just to shoot the breeze, from get-togethers at friends' houses to sporadic phone calls to check in and say hi... the community here is real and it is strong.

Another way of coping is making flash decisions, and one month ago I did just that: after years of hemming and hawing, wishing it were the right time and place, I finally followed in my Grandma Nancy's footsteps and said "The time is now!" And I adopted a puppy the next day.

Jacques is just about three months old now and he's a handful: of cuteness, frustration, love and energy. He's a Malian mutt, a mix of Malian dog (technically called Azawakh) and an unknown father. There's no telling how big he'll get, but for now he's little and adorable. We're working on potty training, and crate training, and sit-lay down-come-hush training. Also on training ME, because it's a lot of work being a dog owner!

Without the support of friends here, I probably couldn't handle having Jacques on top of everything else. Luckily, the dog-loving community here is strong and very supportive, so I think we'll make it! Pictures to follow...

--Z

2017 Update

It's happened again - two months went by without my posting a thing. And there's much to tell! So from the beginning...

November 2016 saw me return to the U.S. for my first ever "R&R". This a type of leave that the Foreign Service grants where I use my regularly earned annual leave but the State Department pays for my airline ticket. Every post is different in terms of whether you earn an R&R or not. In Mali, we earn three for a two-year tour. I took three weeks of leave and used my ticket to fly to Durham, NC, where I visited my parents. During that time, I also zipped up to DC to get some doctor's appointments out of the way and to visit friends there; and down to Miami to visit my grandmother, aunt and cousin. The trip was exactly what I wanted it to be: relaxing, somewhat social, but not terribly busy. During my stay we celebrated my mom's birthday as well as Thanksgiving, for which my brother and sister-in-law drove in. Getting to see everyone was really fulfilling and reassuring for me, somehow.

After my R&R, I headed to Johannesburg, South Africa, for a leadership workshop, which was very useful and also gave me the opportunity to see familiar faces from training. It also eased me back into the work mindset. My class organized a trip to a nearby safari park and I got to see giraffes (those goofy, oddly graceful, lovable animals!) and hungry lions, as well as a wildebeest!

And finally, it was time to return to Bamako. Aside from one of my suitcases getting mysteriously separated from the other and going to Ethiopia, the trip home was pretty smooth (and the suitcase arrived three days later, intact). Just as I got back, many others went on holiday leave, so my last few weeks have been curiously calm. Still busy, of course, and still filled with a variety of tasks and challenges that keep things interesting, but minus the manic feeling I've gotten used to. A not-too-small part of me hopes that I can hold onto this calm!

In other news, I found out about my next assignment. In 2018, after going back to DC for consular training, I will be heading out to experience the thrills and chills and joys and challenges of...

Paris, France!

I'm incredibly excited, obviously! Paris will be 180 degrees from Bamako in just about every sense. About half the people I tell warn me about how difficult it will be, how unhappy most are there, how crazy the work schedule gets, etc. And I believe them to some extent: it's a large embassy and will probably not have much of the cohesion that I love so much here in Bamako. My section alone will have fourteen people in it and we will live in different places in the city. Consular work can be difficult and Paris is Paris, so there are tons of high-profile visits, which for a junior officer means lots of 'volunteering' to do things like babysit luggage. Also, Parisians are notoriously difficult to befriend.

However. If I cannot enjoy two years in Paris, it seems to me I'm doomed. My hope is that in the time up to summer 2018, I can do enough research and reaching out to find groups, hobbies, adventures, etc, to keep me occupied and meeting people. It seems to me that if I get lonely/bored, I can invite friends from all over to come see me. I will take a day trip to Marseilles, or Brussels, or Prague, or anywhere I want.

So that's my news! 

WAWA

It's a week before my six-month mark here at post. I don't know why but that seems important to note. 

Two weeks ago, little bugs started showing up in my master bathroom shower. I asked the Facilities Maintenance section of the embassy to come fix it. After one failed attempt, in which the facilities team came to my apartment and looked everywhere for bugs except in the master bathroom shower, they caulked and sprayed. The next morning there were bugs – termites, I then learned – streaming out of the holes in between bubbles of caulking.

I put in another work request and decided to use the guestroom shower. Turns out, there’s no hot water hooked up to that bathroom.

Work during the week was busy with last-minute emergencies, the arrival of a new boss and the process of getting him all settled in, and the discovery of really upsetting mistakes in long-term, highly visible projects. I stayed too late every night and didn’t get much done overall.

The facilities team then gave a repeat performance, in which they went to my apartment and checked everywhere for termites… except for the master bathroom shower. I held it together enough to ask the team, politely, to go back immediately. When I came home from work, the sight that greeted my eyes was one of a carpet of dead termites covering the floor of my shower. Also, several little dead bodies were caulked into the shower corners.

After washing the little buggers down the drain, so I could take a hot shower, I decided to check my e-mail. Turns out, the internet company turned off my internet. Though I paid for a full year of service (it’s usually monthly here), the company turns it off each month and it takes between a week and a month to get them to turn it back on.

On my way back from a friend’s house, a friend who had internet, I decided to go grocery shopping. I got lost, naturally, because there are many destinations that require knowing exactly where to drive between gaps in the road-side barriers in order to access them, and I missed the gap. Twice.

I gave up and ordered out. Put on a movie, settled back… and the power went out.

I realize that I’m privileged, in an amazing job, and that things are not at all bad. Compared to the majority of Mali’s population, I live in a palace, eat like a queen, and live a life of ease.

But this time, West Africa Wins Again.

A Hodge-podge of Photos

The "lettuce patch" just in front of my home. Green after a rain.

One of Bamako's bridges behind two commuters in different local-style hats.

The fruit-sellers on their way to work.

At the Grande Marchée, motorbikes are parked and watched by 

Making the special cloth for Eid. 

Kids in front of their family's cloths. 

Color amidst the dust and dirt. 

Vibrant, drying cloth. 

A rainbow of colors. 

American Club July 4th event

Embassy July 4th event, before the guests arrived. 

Navigating Bamako

Two Fridays ago I brought home the 1990s-era RAV4 I bought from someone who recently left post. It was my first time driving it, and for navigation I asked one of my apartment neighbors to ride with me. I made it home without incident, employing the aggressively careful hyper-vigilance necessary for dealing with the endlessly swerving motorbikess, stoplight-less roads, and lack of lanes or attempt to stay in lanes. I have to say, I'm so happy to have wheels, though my lack of sense of direction is - as always - limiting.

Unfortunately, the week leading up to that Friday was exhausting and I spent last weekend trying to sleep off the effects. Work continued at the same high-octane pace, but more intense, since I was handling the shop on my own while my boss is in DC for a conference. In other words, for my third and fourth weeks on the job, I was in charge of the entire GSO portfolio: housing, motor pool, shipping/customs, procurement, warehouse/supply, and travel. Going forward, the last three will be my primary focus.

The learning curve is incredibly steep, but I have to admit, as stressful as it is, I'm enjoying it too. I can honestly say that I've learned something new every day so far. My challenge now is to keep up... which is why I worked late so much two weeks ago, burning myself out until I had to spend the weekend recovering.

Luckily, towards the end of this past week, two different people advised me to be sure to take my time off and relax, reminding me that work would always be there when I came back. While this is true, it's still hard: I want to do well, and sometimes that necessitates staying late. However, I took their advice this weekend. Friday evening I went to the American Club and socialized; Saturday I joined a workout group for some crazy cross-fit-like routine, and then made some charosets and joined a Passover seder.

The Passover event was at one of my neighboring apartments and included several Malians and non-Jewish colleagues, plus a couple of Jewish ones. It was a lot of fun and we had some good conversation about discrimination and minorities. And of course, we ate well. I made a huge bowl of charosets and came home with enough matzoh to last me awhile. Nice to celebrate, though it made me a little homesick.


Today, I skyped with some A-100 colleagues in Croatia and China, had brunch at a neighborh's, then spent most of the day by or in the pool. We ordered out for dinner (pretty tasty Indian food) and lazed about. I FaceTimed with my family, which alleviated my homesickness a little. It was a lovely Sunday, overall.

Meanwhile, the heat - over one hundred degrees daily - is intense. At night it's been hovering at ninety degrees. Today it actually rained. We're not in rainy season yet, though. This was apparently what they call a mango rain, which sweetens and ripens the mangos (which are incredibly delicious already). Real rainy seasons hits in June or July.

Tomorrow, it's back to the grindstone at work, getting my boss caught up on what went on while she was away and continuing to learn how things operate.

It's the end of my first month in Mali. It feels both like I've been here forever, and like I've been here for just a few days. The security atmosphere is difficult, and work is draining, and there's so much in Bamako to explore and figure out, too. Overall, though, I can say I am glad I'm here and am enjoying the Foreign Service life so far.

--Z

Week Two Bamako Update

It's strange to think that I’ve been in Mali for just over two weeks now. It’s incredible how quickly things come to seem normal, or close to: the dirt and the moto-filled roads, the heat and the compound-life, the French and Bambara and every-day-ness of work.

Each day I go to the embassy and learn a hundred new things about my job, try to keep up with the frantic pace that is set merely by a routine day’s needs: problems with housing, official procurement needs of many different individuals, offices and organizations, planning for an upcoming event, tracking people’s shipments of personal goods or vehicles, reviewing and approving travel paperwork for everyone that is coming and going or planning to come or go; and of course, responding to status requests on all these things. 

I seem to meet new people every single day, both American and Malian. Practicing my French feels good, it's all coming back; practicing my abysmal Bambara is a little embarrassing, but hopefully I'll start to improve soon. The weekends are a fun mix of getting together with friends, maybe exploring a new restaurant or store, relaxing, or setting up house a bit more.

It’s the normal routine of having moved. I’ve done this four times in the last five years (albeit three times in DC alone), so it doesn’t feel strange or even too terrifically exciting this time, even though it's a new country rather than a new neighborhood.

Then again, there are the times things don’t feel normal at all: moving indoors from a screened in porch because of the fireworks-sound, pop-pop-pop, of distant gunfire, and the relief when a security officer comes by to tell us all is safe, that student elections were being celebrated with gunfire or fireworks, or both. The pause during a dinner party when an embassy radio has chatter on it, followed by a quick check of smartphones around the table to see if any new warnings or news stories about the city have popped up.

That doesn’t feel normal at all. And yet… I continue eating and chatting, enjoying everyone’s company while calming the unease in my chest. ; the ever-so-slight anxiety on the drive home; these are new to me, and difficult to adapt to.

It is a reality here that is hard to describe. I’m not frightened or anxious all the time, or even most of the time. One must live one’s life, after all. And the fear of a new place, and how to act, and where to go is not new to me. Truthfully though, that lurking sensation of unease is weird. 

I went out to eat at a restaurant with some friends last week, and to get in required getting wanded, going through a gate that was locked behind us, then let in via another locked gate to the compound which housed the restaurant. Odd, yes, but somehow also reassuring. As we left, standing just outside the two gates, a friend who has been here almost two years became suddenly anxious. She ushered us into the car and insisted we leave quickly, explaining that she felt uncomfortable standing in a group of obvious Westerners with no one else around. Too target-like.

It’s going to take awhile to adjust, and depending on what happens – if anything – I imagine my behavior will change. Some people show obvious signs of unease and fear; others seem to take it all in stride. I’m sure I’ll be one of the latter, at least for a while.

At the end of week two, it feels like I've been here a month at least. Not in a bad way, not at all! I just feel like I've adjusted rather quickly to being in an all new place with all new sensations. I can see now how easy it is to remain "in the bubble," as I've heard it described: spending time with embassy people, going to each other's homes or staying at my own, going out only to Western-style restaurants, and rarely getting out into the local culture, into the Bamako the Malians know and love. Staying in the bubble is easy and comforting and safe, or feels that way. 

I hope that I will adjust enough to explore the city and learn more about the culture. And I'm optimistic that I can and will! It may just take time and experience and learning a bit more about the pulse of things here. 

First Week Reflections

It hardly feels like it’s been a whole ten days, but here I am, working at the embassy and living in a foreign country. I marvel at typing that because it’s been in my sights for so long, and in my vaguely defined imagination for even longer, and now it doesn’t quite feel like I’m really living here. You know? Like, yes, I’m in a country that is completely foreign. The motos (motorbikes) are like a swarm of ants on the roads, many of which aren’t paved off the main thoroughfares. There’s a sense of adventure and danger in driving anywhere, even though I’m not doing the driving thus far; and yet, it’s become almost normal, too: the heat, the dust, the throngs of people.

It’s strange how quickly that happens. It’s not adaptation, exactly, but more of a quick acceptance based on the requirement to report for work and really dig in immediately. After a day of trying my best to remember everyone’s names (many Malians share common names, like Abdoulaye, Fatimata, or Idrissa) and drink from the firehose of on-the-job training.

Work is going well so far, I think. I’m in charge of the procurement section, the warehouse, and travel, which means that I have a good-sized group of locally employed staff. Talking with them is a great way to start learning about the language and culture of Mali. At my apartment compound, we have local guards, and I’ve been trying to learn bits and pieces of Bambara from them, which is fun. My French has returned, if not fully then at least to a conversational extent.

I’m not mobile yet, and so I depend on others who are doing things to pick me up. People are great sports about it, though, which is a relief. The embassy community is great: friendly and supportive. There’s a real mix of agencies, which is interesting: NIH, USAID, CDC, NGOs, and so on.

Thus far I’ve tagged along on trips to the zoo and botanical gardens, a little Westerner-owned bar called the Sleeping Camel which has low-key trivia now and then, and two restaurants. I’ve also been to several people’s homes, which are huge here. It’s a relief to come home to my two bedroom, two-and-a-half bath gigantic apartment!

I’ll definitely supply more impressions (and pictures) as time goes on, but overall I’d say the heat and dust, the friendliness of both Malians and Americans, and the Niger River are my top contenders. I’ve crossed the river several times by car, and each time it looks a little different, a little wild… and still, the buildings along its banks remind me of the huge city teeming with all kinds of people. Fascinating!