Back in Mali

I returned from India Friday afternoon, and I have made a slow crawl up country, stopping at as many air-conditioned locals as I possibly could along the way. I’m easing back into village life. India was a treat, and I hope that I have the opportunity to return in the not-so-distant future. It really left a strong impression on me. It was such a potent mix of colors, scents and sounds – I found myself intoxicated by the combination of it all. There was so much beauty – it was exhausting taking it all in. I will not be able to do the country justice in my descriptions or my pictures (coming soon), but I’m including them nonetheless, because that is all I can offer you.

Some moments that really struck me: when, in a 1400 year old Buddhist cave temple, our tour guide cut through the silence with a haunting chant that filled the whole space with otherworldly sound; watching teenage girls at the beach boogie boarding in their full sarees; seeing a barely recognizable corpse float by our boat in the Ganges at Varanasi; and likewise, in the same city, seeing the riverside funeral pyres burning throughout the day; catching a glimpse at dawn of a colorful procession of ladies on their way to morning prayers; while on the overnight trains, being awoken at each stop by the chai sellers incessant cry; the silky smooth warmth of the Arabian Sea; the incomprehensible scale of the Taj Mahal as it slowly came into view; the taste of my first sweet lime soda.

I must admit, Mali looks a bit sun-bleached and lifeless after such a trip. Perhaps that is why my trip journey has been a slow one. But in a way it is good, because it is helping me to realize that my time here is drawing to an end, and I can start making plans for life after Peace Corps (for many PCVs that can be a difficult thing to imagine). So now the fun begins…what next?