One Small Step For Man One Giant Step For Mankind

No, I did not walk on the moon today, however after leaving my home one week ago (seems like much longer) I, and the rest of the girls here are starting to freak out a little bit! The language (Bambara) is really hard to learn, and our 14 hour days are starting to pay a toll on our bodies (especially in this HEAT.) So far, no one here has really acted like they are home sick, or worried about our next few moves, because apparently we have all been holding it in. After one girl today had a minor break down, we all realized that we were all in the same boat! We go to these sessions all day long, that explain the risks of living here in Mali, and what we are supposed to do if we encounter a problem! Though these sessions are extremely significant and vitally important to our well being, they begin to wear you down after a while. We start the day talking about the symptoms of Malaria, and the likelihood of us getting it here in Mali (I currently have 14 bites, while everyone else has 0-1...yep, i'm probably going to get it) and then we talk about what we would do in case of an Emergency Evacuation, ya know, if like we are in some serious danger due to political unrest and what not!~EEK* aaand then we talk about how lonely our sites are going to be sometimes, and lets not forget we are all taking the Malaria medicine that makes you CRAZY!!~one common side effect is depression! Therefore, with all of this said, a 27 month commitment to the country of Mali seems a bit daunting on the average 22 year old (especially with the most handsome fiance ever at home) Sooooo what do we do in hard times like this, We Look At The Bright Side! What is the bright side? Although we have only been here one week, we have already accomplished so much. First off, we got into an extremely difficult program to become a part of, we have    gotten into the country of Mali and survived a week, AND we have learned how to use the restroom in the nyegens (holes in the ground)...
Tomorrow when i leave for my Home Stay Village (which i will be in for the rest of training <rarely will i have internet, so call me cell>) I will be living with a family all by myself. I will not be able to talk with them, I will be extremely lonely, and I will be sick at time (because Hey, its Africa!) I will remember that I have to take this one step at a time, and although I feel like I have not achieved much yet, I am achieving something just by being here!!*