Solutions?

After spending a few days in Sikasso catching up on Glee and some movies (like The Rite, No Strings Attached, and my all-time favorite, Practical Magic), I am ready to head back to my site... thanks ENTIRELY to my AMAZING Peace Corps Regional Coordinator. When I texted him that I was coming in to Sikasso because of some problems at site, he drove down to see me from Bamako within 24 hours! (And, it's a solid five to six hour drive). He listened to me yell, swear, cry, and threaten to leave my village, and he offered me some really great solutions.

1. He called my homologue and told her exactly how I felt, because it is hard for me to express exactly how I feel in Bambara. He told her that she needed to be more active in my service in village, and that when I have a problem, she needs to basically suck it up and go with me to talk to the village chief or my Chef de Poste about issues, even if their sides of the village hate to work together. He reminded her that she is my lawyer, negotiator, and all-around care taker in the village, and that she needs to defend me more instead of taking the traditionally feminine role of letting the men handle everything...and being passive about not encouraging the entire village to work together. Clearly, that approach has not worked. She is supposed to tell the village and my Chef de Poste that they need to want to work with me on projects, or that they need to not be upset with me when I travel to other villages to accomplish things that I cannot do in my own village. He reminded her again and again that this is their last chance to make things right with me, and that it is a privilege, not a right, to have a PCV. Mama (my Regional Coordinator) was very upset about how I felt, and apologized over and over again. He also told me that he knows how hard I work and that it's not my fault - that made me feel good for the first time in a while. It's nice to have your work recognized.

2. My Chef de Poste called me yesterday to tell me that my hangar was fixed and that I can come back now. I thanked him for calling me and said that I would be back on Sunday as planned. I did not tell him that I talked to Mama because...

3. Mama will be coming to my village next week to check on how things are going. To be honest, I do not have high hopes because I do not want to be disappointed. I guess anything would be better than how things have been going, but it's still hard to want to be in my village when other Health volunteers are doing projects that their villages suggested, like building 300 soakpits or hosting a training for 20 midwives "en brousse." I don't know... I bought some pans so that I can bake with a "brousse oven" if I get stressed in village, so hopefully that will occupy more of my time. I've also planned a few technical exchanges to nearby villages for rainy season so that I don't get bored - I'll be making more ameliorated porridge and painting some world map murals. We will see.

4. Lastly, I bought some kola nuts (a peace offering kind of thing) to give to my homologue, my Chef de Poste, and my village chief. Mama suggested that I give them the nuts and tell them that I know it is bad to shame the village and cry, but that I cried because they made me mad and sad. He also said to tell them that I want to work with them and help them, but that I cannot help them unless they want to work with me and help me, too. I am headed back in a few hours, so we will see how it all goes.

In other news, I am excited to be heading to the San region next weekend for a MUCH needed break with my good friends from Homestay. I can't wait to see them, and I am also going to stop by my Homestay Language and Cultural Facilitator's house (hopefully) to catch up and eat some delicious food that he promised me. So, I am giving my village another chance, but this is it. I feel like if they don't get their shit together in a month (because they have had almost a year now since I've been there!), then I need to start re-evaluating my options and looking into a possible site change. We will see. Cross your fingers for me.