Final stretch in Douentza

I got back safely to Douentza on Saturday evening. Before leaving, I took my final trip to the bank and closed down my bank account. I got a last minute ride with the German woman who owns the Mankante, but then had to wait for over two hours. Needless to say, I was glad it was my last time.

I had lunch with Seydou at the Teranga, then went over to see where he lives in Sevare. The family he stays with has a very nice house—nicer than ours in Douentza. I told him he was probably better off there.

I didn’t have to wait long at the bus stop this time; a Sonef bus came maybe a half an hour after I got there. In the meantime, Seydou and I talked to this young medicine street vendor, who by talking to various tourists acquired an impressive amount of knowledge about the world. When I got back to Douentza, Steve picked me up and took me to Dave’s house, where Dave had made a sheep meat chili. It was delicious. We hung out for a little while before I went home and crashed.

Yesterday was election day here, and as a consequence of that, the market was nearly empty; everyone stayed in their villages to vote. I’m still waiting to hear about the election results for Tedie to see if M. le Maire is indeed M. le Maire once more. I did some work with Ramata and helped Steve out, then sat around in the evening with Josh as he made tea. All in all, not a bad day.

I helped Steve with a bit of work this morning, then Fatimata came over to hang out. She fixed up my Tamasheq garment better, and I’ve since been wearing it all day. I figured, why the hell not? I don’t have much longer in Africa, might as well go African. Except that I’m probably the only “Tamasheq” woman ever to wear jeans under the wrap and drive a motorcycle.

After lunch, I went to Ashley’s, where I helped her translate some French. I’m counting down my final two weeks here—one more market day, one more full Monday left. I’m thrilled. On Wednesday, we might go see some elephants, which would split up the week nicely. Then on Saturday, it’s off to install the solar panels. I’ve bought all of the materials now for that project and will use the rest of the money to buy notebooks and other school supplies. I’ll be sure to take lots of photos.