Ala ka Noeli diya kosobe!

(That’s a Bambara blessing for, “may God grant us a very joyous Christmas).
I’m rounding off my 6th full month in Mali and just spent a couple of days in Manantali with a group of PCVs to celebrate Christmas. Although we could hardly have had a White Christmas, we did have fun making hot chocolate, eating roasted pig and vegging out by the river. And now, Peace Corps has installed satellite internet in Manantali, which means I no longer have to travel for five hours to check my email. So  I’ll actually be able to respond to people every few weeks or so. Yay!
I  wanted to take an opportunity, albeit a bit late, to wish everyone at home a happy and safe New Year. I’ll be going back to my village before the New Year and staying there for awhile, since I was at training for much of December. I’m excited and a bit nervous for this new phase of my service, when I can actually hit the ground running with my ideas. I will keep everyone posted on what I’ve been up to! Please keep the emails and letters coming.
In the meantime, enjoy a few lovely scenes from a very picturesque Christmas day Manantali. We are well into the dry season now, which has made things decidedly less green but has brought out the contrast in the cliffs quite beautifully!