July 21st

6 days I am here already, and I don't feel I have accomplished or done much with my time.

Everyone says things are slower during Ramadan. I guess so. Perhaps I would have thought about it before and planned accordingly. Lesson learnt for the future when I go to a mainly Muslim country.

Have I mentioned how Bamako is like the empire of the rats?
Everywhere you look you see them. It is quite a incredible phenomenon, yet quite easily explainable: this is the first time I am on a developing world city and so not see a single cat or dog in the street. None. Absolutely none. Strange.

Now that I think of it, I will try and ask people when I have the chance as I am very intrigued.

But it was funny, last night when some of the nuns were walking in the patio, they had a little scare by a few rats passing by. Strange considering that this mission is like a rat HQ given how many of them they are all over. I myself have never ever seen so many big rats in a house before. Even if I tried to breed rats I would never get to that quantity. You hear them all day and night, fighting and screaming.

And so the head nun looked at me saying "I don't know what to do to get rid of them." My first thought was "get a gin and shoot them one by one, could actually be fun." But I figured it might not be the most appropriate thing to say to nuns. But now, I will tell them to just buy a cat. Why not?!

I spent most of the day at the cyber cafe, the connection was super slow today. Baye in Dakar was so funny. He was trying to convince me for hours to go back to Dakar for a week to get better and back in shape before heading back to Mali. Everyone in Dakar tried to do the same thing last night over the phone. Ah, I miss the gang!

Yesterday I finished a big book I started when I had fever and didnt want to read on my tablet. Today I am about to finish reading On the Road on my tablet. Final!y, I am getting tired of this book.

I went to get muy dinner where Dogon's sister sells already cooked dishes she has prepared. I got lots of pasta and beans. Hopefully it will help me gain weight a bit. That's my secret mission these days and until I get to Brazil. It's so easy for me to lose weight and yet the work of a life time to gain just a little bit. Ufff...

The whole day the sky was invisible, hidden behind a thick ugly grey layer of pure pollution. Welcome to Bamako! Yet another similarity with Dakha.

While I was reading outside after dinner, I met this nun who has been here for a few days but so I was sure was from Asia. So I finally asked her. It sao happens that she is from Alleppey in Kerala. I was so happy to meet her. Reminded me of our India days. So we chatted for a. It about Kerala and India. She was a bit surprised. She has been in Mali for 9 years now!!! As I was helping her and another Malian nun, I noticed they were speaking Italian to each other. It was because they are both from the same Italian congregation. I found it funny that an Indian nun from India ends up being helped by a French guy while packing with a Malian nun and speaking Italian. Another little trick of globalization.

Oh, I asked Dogon about the no cats and no dogs in the street. Seems to be because kids just kill them. Sometimes they even eat them. They are afraid of them. Strange culture. But I suppose it is smart in a weird way, less mouths to feed and less bug nests. Yet, that means more rats all around, and thus more dangerous bug nests as well. Hmmm...am not sure what to think of it just yet...

Funny late evening sitting on the outside wooden wobbly bench with Dogon and one of his older less educated brother. While Dogon was playing some kind of candy crush game on his cellphone, his older brother tried to start a conversation being smart and all. We ca!e to a point where for some reasons he told me in Mali there is a saying that says you never point your country with your left hand. When I asked him why, he gave me a example or so he said. "For example, no matter what country you are from, what is Tokyo like?" I told him it was nice, but a lot of buildings, concrete and cement. The asked me about Paris and I said I found it a bit nicer in some ways. And right away he said "well, that's why!". I kind of felt stupid, thinking I missed something. Lol. But no. Then I told him that in some other countries where people use their hands to eat, the left one is never used because it is the hand used for the toilet. He said right away " that's the same as what i was saying". Hmmm...OK. Anyhow, it was funny. Apparently there another saying in Mali that says that if you are not jealous in life then you were not supposed to be born. Hmmm...I saved the debate for another time...bed time.

OK, tonight I finally manage to sleep a bit though so far I am still coughing quite a lot and quite violently. :-(