Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

133 days and counting until I leave Mali and return to America. It is a strange feeling, to be both excited and terrified. Everything I own is in just a few boxes in my father's attic. Upon returning I will have to acquire a car, cell phone, computer, clothes, suits for job interviews, and probably a place to live. As I calculate the amount of money I will leave Africa with, I figure I have about 3 months before things get really tight. But after living in Mali for three years I will just be happy to live off the dollar menu and sit in air conditioning for a few months. But as always everything will work out and if there is one thing I have learned in Mali, it is patience and the ability to occupy vast amounts of time doing not much more than reading.
I am extremely happy to announce that the "Tongo Schoolhouse Project" has officially broken ground and the foundation is being laid as we speak. Last Tuesday the truck of materials and custom designed doors, windows, and roofing panels arrived from Bamako. We spent most of Wednesday counting every screw, paintbrush, and nail in the shipment to make sure we received everything we paid for. We returned to Segou to make copies of receipts for both Peace Corps and Build On and to have a celebratory dinner downtown. There is now a construction supervisor and two mason teams working in Tongo. We have handed the reigns over to Build On and can relax for a little while. So, Mary and I thought the most appropriate thing to do at this point is leave Mali and go sit on the beach for a week. Tomorrow we are going down to Bamako to pick up our passports and hop on a bus to Burkina-Fasso. We will then try to find a bus to Accra, Ghana and then make our way to Cape Coast. There is a beach resort there where you can sleep on the beach for a couple dollars a day. After 3 long years all our hard work and begging is finally paying off. I would like to thank everyone again who contributed to the project and hope that you will be pleased with the school when it is completed. It will be a school like no other in the entire country of Mali.