Today, August 7, is my second day back in Mali, after a 4 week visit home. I have not really had time to fully process the whole thing, but I can certainly say this: coming back was hard. Well, I suppose it is more that leaving home again was hard. I have only had a couple of days here, and they have only been in Bamako and in San, so I cannot really say how the transition will go.
As many people reassured me before I came home, nothing there has really changed. I suppose a few businesses had closed, and each of my friends had gone through a year’s worth of events. But everyone is still there, still healthy, still living their lives. I was lucky enough to have the chance to see a bunch of friends that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to, as well as the chance to spend time with my closest friends and family. The wedding was beautiful, and all of the event leading up to it were so much fun.
In leaving again, I know better what I am getting myself into. I know the language better than I did a year ago. I know my village, my work partners, my fellow volunteers, and I know that I only have a year to go. I know that according to other volunteers, the second year goes by much faster and can hold some of the best times of a volunteer’s service.
Knowing all of these things and more gets me excited to be back. But of course, it didn’t really make it any easier to leave or to say good bye. Because with the knowledge of language and culture that comes as a second year volunteer, I also know the sad and hard parts of being a single volunteer in a small village in the middle of West Africa. I don’t look forward to reliving some of the harder moments of being alone, or not being able to connect or having absolutely no control of 90% of my life.
I hope that in the time I have had here and in the time that I have had away, I have gotten stronger and will be better equipped to deal with the not so great days. I am certain that this year will bring change and excitement and new experience, just as the last year did.
Stepping off of the plane on Thursday night, I could smell the same smells that hit me a year ago. The rainy season scent will always remind me of our first months of Mali, the trainings, the time at Tubani So (our training facility), the excitement of new relationships and learning. The smell that comes in with rainy season brings memories of moving into my new home, of running through torrential downpours on my way to the bus, of traipsing through my first San market.
So here’s to one more year, one more cold season, one more hot - thank goodness! - and all that this next year will bring.
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