A cute story: my neighbors saw that I like to read. One of the younger girls came running up to me to give me a book in English. I thanked her and then sat down to read it....it is the instruction manual for a Nokia cell phone. I laughed but I still thought it was really sweet.

Emily and Natalie got kittens. Here are some photos.
Me and one kitten:Emily with her kitten:
Stephen with both kittens:
Me with both kittens:
There is a hyena in a cage along the river. I didnt believe it so I went to check it out. The hyena is HUGE!!!
This is a photo of a lizard sunbathing outside my bedroom window:

Bambara lesson for the week:
Yurikurun me o me ji la, a te se ka ke bama ye.
A log in the river will never be an aligator.
It is another Malian proverb.

I have gone out to dinner a couple of times since my last post.

One night 3 people from USAID, one of whom was an RPCV, came through Kayes and took a bunch of us out to dinner. It was at a nice hotel here in town that has a pool. The food was really good.

Then this past Saturday, I went to dinner with Natalie and Stephen (other PCVs in Kayes with me), an American woman with her husband and their 2 kids, a French couple, German lady, young woman from Switzerland, and 2 others that I am not sure where they wre from. Everyone lives in Kayes. It was a good dinner. By the time I got home, Pete called me. He is a PCV in Senegal and is friends with Dan, who was in Kalaya with me. Pete and 2 other PCVs were in Kayes for the night. I met them and we all hung out at the stage house drinking beers and watching THE OFFICE. Here is a photo of Amy (who is a PCV in the region), Mark, Pete, and Ben. It was a fun time.Bambara lesson for the week:
Dooni dooni kono nin b'a dege panni na.
It is a Malian proverb meaning, Little by little a small bird learns how to fly.

Apartment

my living roommy kitchen that is hardly ever used
my bed
my bathroom
another view of my bedroom
view from bedroom to living room
another view of living room
there is a whole other apartment with 2 roms but i never use it so i didnt take any photos of it

Swear In

me, rabayah, and peter at the ceremony
the whole stage after we have been sworn in as volunteers
everyone from keleyah, including our language tutors
all of the SEDdies aka business volunteers
all of us in kayes
me all dressed up in ly malian finest
getting ready to go out