Adjusting to Being Back in Mali

After a month of adjusting to being back in the "real world," I now have to adjust to being back in village. It's hard having to make the switch so suddenly, especially for my body. After having access to all the food I could ever want, I'm limited again, and when I sleep, I dream of food! I never had such vivid dreams about food before, and with such intensity. For example, the other night, I dreampt that I was in KFC World (which does not exist) and there was fried chicken every where. What torture!

Another thing that I've noticed is that I'm more sanitary. When I was away, I could feel clean all day, I really missed that feeling. It was so good to be able to rub my fingers together and not rub of dirt. I had gotten so used to having dusty hands and feet, that I got used to not washing them all the time. Now, I'm washing and using hand sanitizer about 10-times a day, including washing my face about 4-times a day.

Also, while I was with my sister, I hung out with mostly girls, whereas in Mali, I hang out with mostly guys and old women. Even after being away in "magical-France," a place that everyone would like to go, only men have asked me about my trip, what I did, what I ate, whether I got a new boyfriend.......sigh, girls just don't care about me.

Although, there is one girl who loves me, DAWA! Man, I wish I could've video-recorded her welcoming me back. As soon as I entered the compound, Dawa ran over to me, screaming, bright-eyes, jumping, smiling and laughing and I just wanted to die. She's so cute! I picked her up and twirled her around and for a long 10 minutes she wouldn't leave my side, haha. Best welcome EVER.

Well, "Hello, again, Mali." We have 6-months left with each other. On the agenda, we have planned: Career Day 2 (bigger and better), Girls Empowerment course, and Academic Olympics. Let's go!