I have arrived to Bamako, Mali

Well, a little over one week ago, I arrived to Bamako, Mali. I remember the first thing I noticed when I woke up the first morning, was the smell of Africa smacking me in the face. There is a specific smell that is in the air in Africa. Like a musty, wet, dusty smell. I found my favorite place to go at my temporary home. I like to take the stairs to the top and look out at the views.

The second thing I noticed was all the different sounds of the city of Bamako. The children laughing and playing, the baby crying, people talking in Bombara and French, the sound of a hammer at work, cars and motor bikes driving by, the prayers and music coming from the mosque. It all blended in to make the harmony of Africa.

The third thing I noticed when I woke up was the sights. The sights of women wearing bright colored clothes, carrying bananas and fruit in big bowls upon their heads, bus and vans filled with people, motorbikes dangerously driving in between traffic, kids and adults trying to sell all sorts of things from tissues to phone cards.

It is rainy season, so it rains often. It rains for long periods of time and it rains hard. Today, I forgot I had clothes on the line and all of a sudden it started to pour so I had to run down and get the clothes off the line. Now, I have my clothes hanging up all over my house to dry.

I bought my first round of veggies for my road trip coming up. All together, the plate of veggies you see below cost me about 550 in Malian money CFA...that amounts to a little over $1.20 US Dollars.

I have just been getting comfortable here in Bamako and I am already packing up my belongings to go to Burkina Faso. I am thankful I was able to get outdoors and do some hiking and rock climbing before heading out of town. It really gave me the opportunity to see how green and beautiful Mali is during the rainy season.

Well, it's off to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso now. I am excited to see how God will use me there, who He will bring across my path and the adventures I will experience while I live there.