Site visit

Site visit was amazing. As the tourist T-shirts that were repeatedly thrust into my hands to buy said: I have been to Timbuktu and back.
Timbuktu is....sandy. It was great to speak the language everyone spoke there, cause it is a pocket of a minority language, a remnant of the once grand Songhoy empire. Of course, there are a lot of Tuareg (nomadic tribe), who speak Tomachek. Men were cruising on their horses, turbans, swords, and blue robes. Women are more conservatively dressed, but still mostly Malian attire. The food is meat heavy with all the herding that goes on in the north. One lunch we ordered a sheep. It was slaughtered, smoked, and hacked up into a pile of meat seasoned with salt (so abundant) and served with this delicious warm flat bread. I really am looking forward to my site. The largest lake in West Africa besides Lake Chad is north, and we have two more lakes near by. In the desert. Some streets in the town just end so a wall can be built to keep the sand out. Doesn't work too well. I think my bike will be useless, so I hope to get a camel. I'm gonna save up. I love my guard at my house, he is a griot. I am sure I will have a wonderful time conversing with him. The architecture is great, with inner courtyards and rooftops. Much like ancient greek houses. The rooftop social scene is great, lots of tea drinking and conversation. I love my market too...so excited to try my culinary hand here with so many spices! Sadly not as much produce, but I will figure out how to get a balanced diet. We saw hippos crossing the Niger and beautiful sunsets over the river. Part of mid-Mali (Mopti region) looks like Southern California. More later....back in Bamako for more training!