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. 

July Update

Having lived in Bamako now for a little over three months, I can say that things are getting easier. And harder. Funny how that works, isn't it?

My first supervisor was sent back to DC just one year into her third year tour, just about three weeks ago. Though I can't speak to the reasons, I can say it is a relief and a burden lifted. My first few months here were incredibly difficult, not just because of the hectic pace and incredibly steep learning curve, but because of a difficult boss. I didn't post much detail here, and still won't, but suffice to say that the pressure caused by the moral and interpersonal challenges she presented were pretty soul-crushing. The stress was really getting to me and I realized that I wasn't prepared for it. 

Now that she's gone, I see smiles on the faces of people in my office area, both locals and Americans, and where there were none before. Things seem a bit lighter overall, and people come to the GSO office to ask questions and say hello more than they did before. It's an incredible change to see. 

On the other hand, I'm now handling an entire GSO office where normally there are at least two people doing so. Instead of focusing on just three sections of the office, I must juggle all six. Thus far, it's been daunting: I have so much more to learn, where before it already felt like too much at once. The paperwork alone is overwhelming and the need to understand each sheet that I sign and stamp means my days are packed in just dealing with that. Never mind the 100+ e-mails I receive daily, the many procurement requests, housing issues, new projects, in-the-moment problem-solving needs, support requests from people inside the embassy and out... and the need to take care of myself. 

Throw in a recent decision to change our embassy status to adults-only, and you get a pressure cooker. Oh and hey, many key officers and leadership positions have recently been vacated, with replacements canceling their orders because they don't want to leave family behind. 

I'm learning so very much and am actually enjoying much of the GSO work. The sheer volume of it, though, and the pressure to learn, understand, apply and enforce the various laws, regulations, and guidelines, without a real chance to spend time reading them and ask questions... it's hard. I can't lie, the stress still gets to me and I'm still learning how to handle all of this. 

Luckily, though, the current team we have here is fantastic, supportive and positive and hard-charging. Hopefully we'll get help in the form of temporary assistance and soon, I'll learn to prioritize everything well, and get the most important things done well. 

Croatia Vacation

At the end of May, I set out on a week-long vacation which did much to restore my calm and sanity. My first two months in Bamako had been busy and far more exhausting and stressful than I was expecting, somehow. Looking back, I think I didn't give enough credence to the fact that not only is relocating stressful; relocating to a place like Mali, starting a new job, figuring out a new organization (embassy life), and developing a whole new support structure is also all very stressful. Put it all together and what happened for me was a whole lot of stress without much prep in terms of how to handle it all. One person here warned me that one needs to practice "extreme self-care" here to maintain equilibrium.

Luckily, a while ago I decided to take some leave, and a friend of mine from A-100 invited me to join a trip to Croatia she'd been helping organize with others from our class. J, as we'll call her, told me that all the arrangements were already made, and all I needed to do was buy tickets (which she researched for me!) and tag along. My management was on board with me taking some time off and so off I went.

My flight out of Bamako left on a Thursday night. Well, technically Friday morning - 12:45am. I flew to Istanbul, spent a long layover finding different places to sleep and eat in the airport, and then it was
on to Zagreb. I caught a cab from the airport to the first AirBnB, where J met me with hugs and lots of energy. We went out for a delicious dinner at a traditional Bosnian restaurant called Sofra, gorged on meat-stuffed zucchini, veal, and meat pie. And wine, of course! That night, P arrived, and we all started catching up on each other's lives and stories of the daily grind.

The next day, J, P and I were off to explore Zagreb. The first thing we came across was a parade, which seemed neat until we realized it was a pro-life rally. Where one finds fetus signs, however, there are usually counter-rallies, and we found some great crowds of Croatian young folks giving speeches and rallying calls around the rights of women. Eventually, we met up with a colleague who lives in Croatia, who led us to a fun sidewalk cafe for lunch. There, we met W and his family, as well as E, all just arrived in town.

This set the tone for the entire trip: reunions, discussions about work (mostly consular stories, since everyone but me is doing their consular tour right now), admiration of the surroundings, and just general catching up.

Below are some pictures from the vacation. All in all, I highly recommend Croatia as a vacation destination. It's beautiful, easy, relatively cheap, tasty... what else does one need? Oh, right - Game of Thrones settings!

The Zagreb group

Carved doors in Zagreb

Pretty windows in Zagreb

In front of the national theater

West of Zagreb

Julia & the Ruins

Eavan ponders the countryside

Gorgeous views

Breakfast in Slunj

Pathways

Sheep & Sheepherder

The Sarajevo group

Sarajevo locks

Ruined Olympic stadium walls in Sarajevo

Bizarre bathroom in the coolest bar

Views!

Enjoying the views

Sunset over Dubrovnik

Our swimming hole on a day trip from Dubrovnik

View from the walls of Dubrovnik 

Pretty roof tiles in Dubrovnik

View from Dubrovnik walls

Dubrovnik group

Dubrovnik

180th Reunion!

Our ridiculous pool at the 18th century villa AirB&B

Bamako by Photo

Doing the laundry.

Alligators are the symbol of Bamako, particularly in threes (there are two other gators around this fountain).

Masks in a little craft shop in the Rose Market. 

Clothes by a window.

The burned down Rose Market from above. 

Spice market.

Pigeons and chicks for sale. 

The market from above. 

Bamako roads. 

Train station. 

Train station gates. 

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!

Bamako "Firsts"

Arriving at post just two nights before a long weekend begins is just plain good strategy. Having gotten this good advice in time to plan, I managed to arrive one evening, go to work to start "checking in" and getting myself set up at the embassy, and then have a four-day weekend. Yahoo!

Three days into that long weekend, I'm just about over jet lag, although my stomach started fussing a bit today. My desire to eat is finally on schedule and my sleep is mostly pretty good (particularly now that a neighbor gave me some cheap-y black-out curtains to tide me over until Amazon delivers better ones).

Rather than a blow-by-blow of each day's activities, I thought I'd describe a few of my Bamako Firsts:

- First surprise in Mali: my alarm is what woke me my first morning, but as my eyes fluttered open and shut, I was surprised to hear lots of birds chirping away. I didn't see any birdlife until taking a walk around the embassy grounds later that day: tall white birds dotted the grass, and I have since heard that other beautiful types can be seen around the embassy regularly. There is no reason this should have surprised me, but I did not, somehow, picture Mali as a bird place. Au contraire!

- First daytime drive: seeing the Niger River while going over it is both impressive and not. It seems to change color depending on time of day, from slate gray to an almost fake-looking aquamarine tone. The parades of "motos" (motorbikes) that zip and cut and trail along is not quite Hanoi-level, but at peak morning/evening times, it comes close. I've yet to see entire families on a bike, but it is interesting seeing people in all types of wear, at all ages, riding or driving the motos. The colorful splashes of some men and women's local-wear is fun to see. Also, Bamako is far greener than I expected, with rainy season still to come.

- First Bambara lessons: this is the more widely spoken local language, though most people seem to speak French too (at least, among those I've met so far). Certainly at the embassy and at restaurants Westerners frequent, French is the common tongue. However, the embassy driver who took me from the airport to my apartment the first night told me that learning Bambara is the number one way to start learning about Mali and Malians. To that end, I practice with every guard I meet. At the moment, my vocabulary consists solely of "Good morning (In-nee so-go-ma)," "Good afternoon (in-nee kleh)", and "Good evening (in-nee soo)." I can also respond to these (n-say for women), though I'm not sure what that means.

- First grocery shopping trip: I went to Shop Rite, which has another name but is called this by everyone. It was impressive! Fairly Western style, with lots of Kirkland brand stuff presumably from Costco. Mostly Westerners but a few Malians were shopping there during my trip. The prices seemed comparable to the U.S. on many things (pistachios being completely outrageous, for example), and cheap for others. There's also a fresh fruit and vegetable stand just across the street from it, where I got two mangoes (delicious and not yet in full season!), three onions and an avocado for the equivalent of $3. Eggs are not refrigerated and the fresh fish section was "impressively without flies" according to someone shopping with me. I will not go hungry here.

- First lizard: While waiting in a car at a gas station, I saw something slither across the asphalt about thirty feet away. It was large enough to be seen, with a long and sinuous body and tail. I've heard about these lizards, which are found frequently in embassy housing (but not, so far, in the apartments).

En Route to Bamako

It's happened, at last: I've started my first overseas assignment with the Foreign Service! Hooray!

It was a somewhat tense beginning, as I heard about an attack in Mali while at the airport in DC. Then I arrived in Paris to hear about the Belgium attacks. I can't deny that nerves were kicking in.


However, I spent a nice twenty-four hour layover in Paris, checking in to a boutique hotel down by the Louvre gardens. Jet lag kicked my butt, so I didn't explore as much as expected, but it was lots of fun anyway. Cheese, sorbet, Notre Dame, good food, and French: what could be bad?!





For example, my one full dinner, at Ardoise. I staggered out of that restaurant!

Appetizer was a crab broth soup with homemade ravioli. 

Dinner was a beef roast with pureed potatoes.

Dessert was a roasted chestnut souffle. 

The morning of my flight to Bamako, I went cheese shopping. I found a shop within walking distance of my hotel and arrived before it opened. The wait was worthwhile, however, since my Bamako apartment kitchen is now well-stocked with French cheeses, a chorizo sausage, and a duck sausage (because, why not?!).

Ah, Paris!