Placement!

Avocados, shea nuts, and mangoes-- I'm set!

I'll be spending the next two years of my Malian existence in the Sikasso region of Mali where it is greener and wetter (and full of yummy yummy foods). Bamako will still be my closest regional capital and I'll be able to make it to the city pretty quickly whenever you come to visit :-) This is definitely where I wanted to be placed. My current homestay village, with which I am more than content, is actually very close as well, so if I ever get "homesick," I'll just hop on my bike for a nice ride.

My site is a "new" site-- "new" (and not new new) because another volunteer finished her two years of service with a few months in this village. As if I didn't already have enough reading material, this volunteer has prepared a lot of great information that I will definitely benefit from. My village is smaller than Waddington, but I can't wait to be immersed in a really personalized environment where I will more than likely really get to know everyone. Out of all of the Small Enterprise Development volunteers, my site is the smallest. Woo!

Some potential projects include work with shea nuts (for lotions, foods, etc), chicken raising (eggs...), and microfinance, among other things... and... that's all I know for now! That's it! I'll be sending more details when I find them out.

Tomorrow we head back to our homestay for a week before making our first trek to our actual site. Cannot wait.