Hail!

Even though we should be nearing the end of rainy season, it seems like it's only now really been raining a lot in Djenne. This is going to make for an interesting year in the fields, as so many people in and around Djenne (and pretty much everywhere in Mali) are entirely dependent on their crops for food and money. They've been holding special prayers at the mosque to pray for rain, and they say that Inshallah (god willing) it will come. I'm hoping that this last bit of rainy season will be enough! One interesting thing did happen a few weeks ago. There was a huge storm that we had seen coming towards us practically all day. Finally in the evening it looked like it was going to reach us, but then the wind got so strong that we wondered if it would just blow over. Instead of passing us by, it hailed! It was strange because even though it cools down some in rainy season it didn't seem cool enough for golf ball sized hail! The kids all went wild, running out into the storm to collect the pieces and eat them. I didn't eat any (as most of them were a little muddy) but later a friend at the clinic told me I should have. She claims that if you are having trouble with your heart and the hail comes, it's a sign that things will change and you should eat the hail because it has medicine in it that can cure you. She also said it's good to eat it just in case since it doesn't come very often and you never know when the next time will be. If there is a next time while I'm still here, maybe I'll wash some off and make a cold drink, just in case!

In other news, the new kids had their swearing in ceremony and party and are now getting ready to head out to site to start working! I'm going to help them do some shopping for their houses when they come up to Mopti since a lot of them speak minority languages that you won't necessarily hear in the Mopti market. Also, the volunteers that have been around have a better idea of what the prices of things are supposed to be, so hopefully we can keep them from getting the toubab price on everything! Then it's back to Djenne for hopefully the start of the school year!