Roosters

So very tired. Around 4:30am, the rooster Vieux gave me started cock-a-doodle-doing just about every five minutes. I'm pretty sure no one in the concession got any sleep. The rooster decided the best place to stand was right next to me, too.

Everything works out in Mali though... In the mid-morning, the rooster started fighting with the other rooster the Coulibaly's have so we decided to cook him up and eat him for lunch. HA!

Lunch was great.

After we ate, I lapsed into my coma-like state underneath the gwa and lost all track of the world. I didn't realize this as it was happening, but it started to get more hot and humid than normal... which would explain why I litterally could not stay conscious... anyway, that is a great sign for rain, and around 3:30pm a full on monsoon came through and soaked the earth for a good hour and a half. It was a great feeling to have the heat broken and it was great for Yangasso. This does not ensure a good rainy season, but it is a great sign.

During the storm, Awa and her kids hung out in the their house and I took photos of everyone. It was a great hour and a half. Aloo, the second youngest, put on a show for us. Everyone had smiles on their faces and laughs came easily. It was a great way to end my stay in Yangasso.

In the afternoon, I got my stuff together and headed down to the center of Yangasso to try and find transport out of Yangasso.

Leaving this time was much easier. I had wondered whether it would be as hard as the last time... getting left handed shakes and people not looking at me... but it was a very different experience. People were all happy to have seen me and wished me a safe journey home.

Everyone in Yangasso greets you all in the United States.

I headed up to San on a transport coming from the Dugoulo (sp?) market. The transport was slow but I didn't mind too much. I spent the ride thinking about my time in Peace Corps and this visit. There are so many memories to sort through and to make sense of. I was in such a different place when I was leaving Mali in 2005. I was sorting through all that I did and what I would have changed.