Last Stop, Bamako! Encore...

Mali was just TOO CLOSE, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit my favorite country again before heading home.  Thus it was that my grand voyage came FULL CIRCLE and I ended where I started.  I feel like the mystique is gone now and I had a deeper, perhaps more realistic, view of life in Bamako.  The pattern of my days there began with the Imam's call to prayer in the wee hours of morning, then goats braying and cocks calling, followed by women sweeping and the rays of hot sun bursting through the window.  I should mention that it was bloody *$*(#@ HOT there...on average, 40 degrees C, which is, well, more than 100 degrees F EVERY DAY!  (I actually acclimated and now the Colorado heat seems reasonable!)  I had high hopes of studying Bambara and looking into non-profits or NGO's, but OF COURSE got sucked back into DANCING...and I became the resident computer guru, helping all my friends open e-mail accounts, navigate SKYPE, and even learn how to create a "budget" with an excel spreadsheet.  (Yeah...budgets were quite the mystery to my african amies...basically, when there is money, they spend it...when there's not, they ask their uncle...  or brother...  or best friend!  "Savings accounts" are not what you would call popular!)  But, all in all, it was educational AND fun and I was glad I returned.  More pix coming soon...