What's Abdoulaye been up to? Two months in the US!

Don't worry - while I've been in class this past week, Abdoulaye has been out and about (and inside :) preparing for the blizzard.  Maybe his week can be summed up by television, cold, ice and pizza?  He might even take up ice fishing (not!)!  I realize a little more each day how lucky I am to be with someone so patient, curious, handsome, engaging and downright lovely.  Here's to two months in the US!

All fun and games until someone's eye gets poked out.

This one just makes me laugh.  Captain of the ice formation!

Abdoulaye's first snow!

When the temperatures dropped to below freezing earlier this week, I was hoping we'd at least have a little snow to show for it!  Sure enough, I crawled out of bed this morning and pulled back our blinds to swirling flurries and cars covered in white powder.  "Abdoulaye!" I squealed, "come look outside!"  He looked out the window and then we grabbed our coats so he could touch snow for the first time.  

"What do you think?" I asked.  "C'est magnifique" he said,"never as beautiful on t.v."  

here comes the sun

It's a gloomy Monday morning but I'm listening to Yuna's cover of Here Comes the Sun and I'm going to believe her.  With the news coming out of Mali - it's hard to imagine brighter days for a country that means so much to Abdoulaye and me (and so many others!!).  We're closely following the news and hoping swift military action is what is needed to stop the terror and praying it will get better soon.

I know it's going to be a great week despite the gloom outside because I woke up to a text this morning from USCIS letting me know Abdoulaye's green card application is in their hot little hands - let another immigration waiting game begin!  I feel much better about this waiting game since Abdoulaye is already here in the US to play it with me :)

After entering in all of our dates into the visajourney website (if you're looking for a site to help you along with the visa process - look no further!!), it spit out that Abdoulaye's employment authorization forms should be processed in mid-late March, which will allow him to work.  By then, he'll be 3/4 of the way done with his English classes at Language ETC and ready to take on the labor force!

My sister, Lindsay, and her boyfriend, Dan, came up this weekend for a friend's birthday and we reveled in the chance to hang out and visit around the apartment.  We're so blessed to have such treasures for family - looking forward to more visits already!!

I hope your week is off to a great start!  See more pictures from our DC gallivanting here :)

I am with you kid. Let's go.

what's not to love about this eastern market brunch shot?

On the train back from Charlottesville this past weekend, Abdoulaye turned to me and asked if I was ready to hear his first impressions of America.  I smiled and nodded - since arriving in the US on December 8th, I've asked Abdoulaye about every five minutes what he thinks of all that's going on around him - after two weeks, he had a little more to reflect on.

Since his arrival, Abdoulaye has visited four cities - Washington, DC, Roanoke, Charlottesville and Virginia Beach.  He's been more impressed with the landscape of Virginia than the buildings of the city though we haven't gone monument visiting yet (he did a bit on his own on the Mall).  He's found folks to be friendly - many smiling or nodding and mumbling a 'how you doin'?' even when they don't have time to stop and properly greet and has found many to be patient with his English (granted, he's spent most of his time around our family and friends who of course would be patient with him. :)  He finds the city clean and organized and he's puzzled by the homeless people he sees in this land of plenty.  Abdoulaye posits that many Americans are overweight because there are so many options for things to eat - how could you stop??  

Interestingly, he noted that he's so used to the disorder of West African capital cities that the order of DC has been a little disorienting.  While he misses everything from back home, he also feels at home here thanks to our network of loved ones and his ability to be in touch with folks at home and abroad via Skype and phone.  He's also thankful he can read so he can use his little black book to get around since there are so many streets to get lost on.

Walking to the grocery store I'll notice a string of crooked Christmas lights on a balcony or a woman walking her dog in a stroller - what do you think, Abdoulaye?  I'll eagerly ask him.  He smiles and half chuckles, it's good! he'll say.  When we see other people and they learn how short of a time he's been here they'll similarly ask for his impressions of the US and, like him, have this underlying tone of - isn't America incredible?  Aren't all of these things around you wonderful?

While Abdoulaye's adjustment and integration to the US is something I think about, I'm not worried about him adapting to life or people here because it's something he does so well.  I admire so much his ability to make people feel at ease and the way he devotes his attention to others in that special way that makes you feel so important.

I know we're just at the beginning of our American adventure and I'm excited to see where it takes us and all the other impressions and observations we'll share together.  I love this quote by Maya Angelou that sums up how I'm feeling these days: "Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: 'I am with you kid.  Let's go.'"

some of my favorite feet

eastern market meets west africa

Isn't this song just achingly beautiful?

Operation K-1 Fiancé Visa: Part One

This has sort of accidentally become our pose (see Morocco and Guinea).  Next on our list?  Virginia Beach, VA!

When I felt the plane begin to make its' descent toward Dakar, Senegal, I pulled out my cosmetics bag, a gift from Kate's wedding, and began to freshen up.  In the airplane bathroom, I traded in a floor length skirt for a knee-grazing strapless dress.  I put on a cardigan and belted it around my waist before slipping on a pair of high heels.  After picking up my suitcase and passing through immigration, I took a deep breath and rolled my luggage cart out of the airport's sliding doors.  Seven months of waiting to see Abdoulaye in person was about to be over.

Over a year ago, Abdoulaye and I got engaged in my boss's living room (and again on a hillside in Fes, Morocco).  After a stint in the US in the fall of 2011, when I began a low-residency Master of Arts degree in International Education, I returned to Mali in February with intentions of staying until December 2013.  The coup d'état in March changed those plans.  After a brief evacuation to Ghana, and a visit to Guinea to meet Abdoulaye's family, I returned to the US at the end of April and submitted the paperwork for a K-1 fiancé visa for Abdoulaye – a process that is estimated to take 6-9 months.  In June, I packed my bags again and moved to Washington, DC to begin work at the World Resources Institute – this time for what I hoped would be a more permanent move!  

Spring turned to summer and summer turned to fall before we heard from Immigration Services again.  Then, as I waited out Hurricane Sandy with my family in Virginia Beach, I received a text message indicating that our case was en route  to Senegal – the West African regional processing center for K-1 (and immigration) visas.  Abdoulaye was in Guinea assisting with preparations for the 40-day celebration following the death of his father.  We scheduled his interview for December 4th – almost seven months to the day after our case was processed by USCIS.  Life has a funny way of hiding blessings – Baba's passing meant Abdoulaye went to Guinea much earlier than previously planned and allowed him to spend much more time with his family than he had intended.  Had he already been in the US and his father passed away, it would have been much more difficult to do so.

With Abdoulaye (left) and his little brother, Youssouf (right).  Me in the middle!

As I stepped out of the airport, the cold morning air sent chills throughout my body.  The sun was just about to rise in Dakar and the sky was filled with soft blues and pinks, the low-light forcing me to strain a little bit to discern the faces in the crowd of people before me.  Thankful for the cart's handle to lean on, I tried to walk slowly in order to not trip on my heels and carefully scanned the sea of expectant faces in the pre-dawn light.  After rolling a few steps I heard Abdoulaye's voice before I saw him, “Jenny!” he called and I saw his lanky form behind the iron barriers – flanked by his younger brother, Youssouf and another friend from Guinea, Michel.  Seven months of waiting to see Abdoulaye in person was over!

Part II detailing our visit to the American embassy and our time in Dakar on the way!

Frankenstorm brings winds of change for Abdoulaye's K-1 visa!!!

This weekend I came down to Virginia Beach to celebrate my Memaw's 87th birthday and attend a dinner in my dad's honor (way to go you both!!).  Hurricane Sandy decided I shouldn't head back to DC until Wednesday (Amtrak trains canceled on Monday and not available until then!) and so I've been playing Clue and Trouble with my mom and cousin Elaine (in between writing papers for school :)

All of my activities came to a standstill when I received the following text message from USCIS regarding Abdoulaye's K-1 fiancé visa (I-129F):

Your case EACXXX is now updated.  Check "May Case Status" at www.uscis.gov...

This means his papers are getting ready to leave the Vermont processing center and head to Senegal. After jumping up and down and yelling so much that John turned up the volume on the television, I caught my breath and called Abdoulaye to share the news.  What next?  he asked.  Good question!  Now I'll see what I need to do and we'll start planning for Abdoulaye's interview in Senegal - hoping he'll be here in early December!!  OAA is officially back on the move!

Sunday night Skyping with cousin-in-law Matt and Mom

John loves Skyping with Abdoulaye!

Trying to be as cute as this one.

Almost here!

It's hard to believe that it's been close to 5 months since I left Guinea (and last saw Abdoulaye).  Time is really flying and I am optimistic we don't have too much longer to wait until he gets here (maybe mid-November??).  

Today I'm thankful for Skype, morning dances, pertinent talks (and a boss who will let me go to them!), cool weather, smoothies and catching up with friends on the phone.  I am also truly blessed to be living with Cassie who understands where I am coming from and what I am going through-thanks for being there for me little lady!

Abdoulaye taught me some Azonto dance moves this morning (see video below).  I took away pretend like you're scratching your arm and twist your foot.  Got it.  

Anything especially blessing you this morning?  I'd love to know!

thankful.

this picture is one of my favorites of us.

I twist my green bike around the corner and out the front door of my apartment.  It folds neatly into the elevator and I follow behind.  I pick it up over the stairs in the lobby and awkwardly roll out the front door.  As the heavy glass door closes behind me, I catch my breath for a second - the air feels cooler, is this fall?

The face of my watch catches the back of my pink garden/bike glove and I pull it down and over the fabric so I can better see it to time my ride.  Coasting down the street, the Washington National Cathedral lights up with morning sunshine ahead of me.  I try and hold on to this minute - September is almost here to be followed by October to be followed by November.  The days are passing and I find living in the present difficult when I am so anxiously awaiting Abdoulaye's arrival.

When people complain that the weekend is too short, I excitedly think that another week has passed.  When people say the time is flying, I quickly agree and bite my tongue to prevent myself from saying 'I wish it moved faster!'  When people lament the end of summer and the transition to fall, which means winter isn't far away, I smile inside thinking it means we're that much closer to when Abdoulaye will be here.

This long-distance thing is hard - though not impossible.  I love waking up and seeing an email or a text or a facebook message from the man pictured above.  I am thrilled to share the mundane details of my day with his eager ears on Skype and listen to how he has spent his day or what he has cooked for dinner.  I love listening to Abdoulaye's English, which gets better every time we talk.  I remind myself that other couples have it much harder and I need to keep my perspective straight.

There's a blessing or a saying for everything in West Africa.   One of my favorite Bambara blessings is k'an kelen kelen wuli - may we wake up one by one (because if we all woke up at once, that would mean something bad had happened!).  Abdoulaye recently shared another saying with me, one that I've taped next to my door and that I read each morning before pulling my bike out of the apartment building to roll through the streets of Washington, DC.  It's a saying in his native language, Susu; Lokhe bou xi mou na - there's no day that will not arrive.  

So here I am with my green bike propped next to a silent radiator, poorly hung curtains slouching like curtseying sacks of potatoes and a stack of school books sitting next to me waiting to be quoted for a paper due yesterday.  The time is passing, the seasons will soon change.  I am practicing patience as best I know how, and each day brings me a little closer to having Abdoulaye here.  While the chill is gone from the air by 9 a.m. and fall won't be here for another month, I still can't wait for Abdoulaye to get here.  I can hardly wait for that day to arrive.     

treasures.

From moving to DC with Cassie to checking out wedding venues in Virginia Beach (more on that later!) to meeting the Malian ambassador to the US and Cheick Hamala Diabate - life has been filled with some treasured moments.  I am getting used to my neighborhood and trying to find a safe, bike-friendly route to work and also seeking a balance between work, school and play.  Let's just say it's an evolving story :)  

Treasure at EQUIKIDS.

It's hard not having Abdoulaye here to share these moments but we are so blessed to have Skype and that we can talk everyday so I'll keep my complaining to a minimum!  OAA is still in full-swing, we're crossing our fingers for a November/December arrival.  

I love the horse in the picture above (and his name :) and I hope you'll love the video below, which captures some moments from my move from Virginia Beach, VA to Washington, DC.  

Moving to DC from Jennifer Davis on Vimeo.

Check out these videos about what is happening in Mali - hoping reports that she will become the next Somalia or Afghanistan won't prove to be true...

to be and to have

Image source.

On Sunday Mom and I watched To Be and To Have - a documentary on the single-teacher school system in France, which focuses on a class in Auvergne.  Before the coup d'etat in Mali changed a lot of people's life plans, I was hoping to stay in the country and conduct research under a Fulbright grant on the single-teacher school system recently implemented, and expanded, by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with a couple of USAID-education contracts.  Sometimes life has other plans in store.  

Nonetheless, this movie was a great afternoon wind-down - made me want to cry more than a few times though at how tender children (and adults!) can be.  It is in French with an option for English subtitles if you're into that kind of thing (and even if you aren't!).

I wonder what the title is asking us to think.  Etre et Avoir.  To be and to have.  If I could be anything and have anything - what would it be?  Is that what it's asking?  To be a teacher and to have an education?  To be French and to have a farm?  Lots of cutie patooties in this movie with really cute French accents :)

You can buy the movie on Amazon here or rent it from your local library like I did for $free.99. 

Do you have any good documentary recommendations?  I'm hoping to watch more this summer - especially ones in French to keep in practice for when Abdoulaye gets here and OAA is complete!

Mali, OAA, and Atlantic Shores

Lunch with the PEO gals at Atlantic Shores (Memaw to my right).  

Reading articles like this one and this one about Mali are painful (I also really don't like this one, which highlights the junta's targeting/fear of other West Africans in Mali).  I am hesitant to write about Mali for fear of contributing to her bad press image (although, I'm certainly not against reading posts that show Mali's democracy for what it really was - not much).   I know my blog could serve as more of an awareness-raising platform and I suppose that's what I'm trying to do right now.  Sigh.  I also prefer to read first-hand analyses (this one in English) of what is going on (and assume others would, too!).

While I haven't been writing about Mali, I have been talking a lot about her (just ask any of my family members, thanks for your patience, guys!).  It has been wonderful to have so many thoughtful friends, family members, and friends of the family listen, and talk with me, about my time in Mali and what is happening now.  Thank you.

In other news, I received a text message at 1:40am confirming the receipt of Abdoulaye's K-1 fiancé visa application.  I guess U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) never sleeps!  Step 1 1/2 of OAA done!  Now I'm just waiting for Form I-797 to come in the mail.  By the end of this process I'll be a regular K-1 fiancé visa expert - glad I'll only be doing it once, though!

While Visa Journey puts the current processing time in Vermont (where it was sent from Texas - VT processes visa applications from Virginia-based American fiancés in case you cared to know!) at about 5 months before the application is sent to its final destination in Senegal, I'm hoping they'll see how cute Abdoulaye is (I included pictures of us as proof of our relationship) and that he really needs to come to America sooner to contribute to our cute-i-tivity (thank you Kira for connecting me with the website!).  Fingers crossed!

Coming tomorrow - a video from our trip to Guinea.  Remember Morocco?  

Hungry Like the Wolf

A single-teacher-school class in Sangala, Mali

As I talk with friends and family about my next step and search the internet for new job and internship opportunities, I have found some awesome organizations with some pretty cool listings.  Now if only I can find find employment with one of them!  I thought I'd share a list here of some of my favorites so you can get an idea of what kind of work I am looking into (aside from the general Communications/International Education):

Peace Operations Training Institute
International Youth Foundation
IREX
EDC
The Walters Art Museum
Johns Hopkins University
CASA de Maryland

I'm still looking and applying - and hoping the perfect fit will come along soon!

In other news, Abdoulaye's K-1 fiancé visa application is officially submitted - please wish us luck as we begin Operation Abdoulaye to America (OAA)!!!

Market

P.S.  When we were in Ghana for our transition conference, a panel of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) working in Ghana came to speak about their experiences in working abroad/life after Peace Corps.  Here is a list of some of the places they worked:

West Africa Trade Hub
USAID Foreign Service
Global Mamas
Ghana WASH Cost Project
USAID Personal Service Contractor (PSC)
Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology
Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling

Welcome to Guinea

Nna and me, I nou cené!

I drag down my carry-on from the overhead compartment and roll my way to the nearly empty  customs line.  I hand my passport and customs card to the man behind the window and he opens my passport, flips through the thin, light-blue pages and lands upon my bright blue Guinean visa - recently issued in Bamako, Mali.  He looks down at the visa, looks up at me, picks up his stamp and as the stamp meets the paper says “Welcome to Guinea!”

I pull my suitcases off the luggage conveyor belt and groan my way through security and up an inclined, twisting ramp to get to the parking lot where Abdoulaye is waiting for me.  A family in front of me gets close to the end of the ramp and a woman from the other side breaks through security to hug her daughter.  The daughter's white husband and two children with skin the color of café-au-lait stand somewhat awkwardly to the side while the mom squeals and squeezes her daughter tighter to her.  As I approach, the mom remembers the other members of the family and releases her daughter to pull in her grandchildren.  As they disperse to their car and I spot Abdoulaye in the sea of faces, I wonder how long it has been since they have seen their grandmother?

As I slip by, as much as you can slip anywhere with two suitcases and sizable carry-ons, I see Abdoulaye standing with three, beaming friends.  We shove my luggage into the car and pile inside.    Abdoulaye hands me a bottle of water and I drink deeply as I look out the window.  Night is falling and street vendors are lighting candles in plastic variations of hurricane lamps and setting them in the middle of their tables.  The traffic is bad and cars honk all around us.  As we drive by, I try and recognize things from my trip to Guinea in 2009 though I am unsure what I am looking for.  People?  Food?  Places?  We only spent a day or two in Conakry but I am grasping for familiarity.  Abdoulaye says something and brings me back inside the car.  I realize I don't need to grasp for familiarity when I have him sitting next to me.

We turn right onto an unpaved, rocky road.  Oumar, one of Abdoulaye's closest friends, is sitting in the front seat with one of my suitcases weighing on his lap.  He points out his boutique where he sells sodas, soaps, and snacks and I say I am so sorry for how heavy my suitcase is.  He smiles and says, “Don't worry, you'll pay me back with English lessons!”

And then, we are there.  Abdoulaye opens the door and I scoot out of the car on his side.  His dad, Baba,'s compound is bordered by a row of shops along the road and inside surrounded by three single-family homes around his own house for his family.  Women stand in the courtyard, their heads slightly cocked and with smiles on their faces as they appraise me.  Little girls whose names I do not know run up to me and hug my legs.  Abdoulaye's mom, who he calls Nna, stands up on the porch and throws her arms open.  “I nou cené!” she shouts.  Welcome to Guinea.

A glimpse of Guinea

On our way to Room, an island off the coast of Conakry

12 days in Guinea with Abdoulaye (can't believe it's been three years since I went to Guinea and Sierra Leone with Cassie, Ashley, & Joe!).  Here's a glimpse of Guinea from this trip - more to come next week including some stories and a few more of my favorites from the trip.

I'm on my way back to Virginia Beach now via an Amtrak train and looking forward to seeing my family and collapsing into bed for some much needed rest.  Anyone have an leads on jobs in international education/communications/education advocacy in the DC/Virginia/Baltimore area?  I'm searching!

If you can't wait for more pictures to come up on the blog, click here to see our album of photos!

With Nna, Abdoulaye's mom, Aicha, Abdoulaye's sister and a friend of Aicha's

(l to r) Nna, me, Aicha, Baba, Massiré (other older sister), Abdoulaye

Baba is cute, n'est-ce pas?

Friends over for a bon voyage dinner party for me the night I left!  What treasures!

Conakry, Guinea - meeting the family!

Image source

Abdoulaye with his newest niece (only 5 days old and so as-yet unnamed)

With two sisters, Bangoura and Hadja, and brother Ibrahim (Bangoura's daughter Aminata) 

cooked mangoes!

sorry they're sideways...internet too slow to go back and try to re-upload but you get the idea! 

At the Foire au Palais du Peuple.  

I made it to Conakry, Guinea from Accra, Ghana on Sunday around 6 pm.  Abdoulaye was at the airport with friends to pick me up and take me home.  What a delight to see him!   I can only imagine how I'll feel when I'm at the airport to pick him up after we go through the fiancé visa process... 

Safe and Sound

This is how everyone felt after eating the banana olive oil cake Abdoulaye made (see center) his first cake!!

We're safe and sound and ready for our transition conference to begin.  Hoping Mali will pull through and get on track quickly.  It was hard to leave Mali (for a lot of reasons) but namely because most people in Mali don't see the 'bad' or the potential for it to come since life in Bamako clips along at a normal pace.  Maybe folks (read: expats) are being overly cautious, maybe not. In the meantime, I'm happy to be sharing a hotel room with my bestie Cassie and soaking up some AC.  I am also over the moon about a trip to Guinea next week to meet Abdoulaye's family.  Conakry, here I come!

A last minute dinner party to say bye for now.

Handy man fixing our fridge!!  

HoBOs strongly represented in this group.  Lucas, Karmen, me, Cassie, and Jake.  Woot!  We all came to Mali together in 2008 and 2012 finds us here all together again! (or found us, rather)

Do you see the heart shape?  San/Bamako/Mali love. 

With Yacouba Koné, my boss when I was an environment volunteer

Happy Easter!  Mom's Easter package arrived just in time - on Easter Sunday the day I left Mali :)

Education in Mali: Here's hoping

As I eagerly wait for twitter updates and Reuter's reports on the constantly shifting and perpetually confusing situations here in Mali, my thoughts become a blur about what is the root of the problem here and what is really going to be done about it.  

Amidst all the craziness that has been the last week and a half of life in Mali, there have been a few constants.  One, of course, is Abdoulaye.  He has kept me calm on days when I have felt crazy and I honestly do not know how many times we have gone over our own contingency plans should I leave Mali earlier than planned.  His patience amazes me and I am thankful for him everyday.  

Another constant is my most wonderfully beautiful group of friends.  From calls to texts to emails and long sessions where we try and talk out what is actually going on around us, it would be impossible to go through this without you.

The last constant is education.  Broad, general, all-encompassing.  For one, I work for an education project and work, at least being present in the office, has gone on (except for the first few days i.e. March 22nd/23rd).  Another kind of education is the formal one in which I am participating at a distance through SIT.  Papers and presentations continue to be due and meetings with other students continue to take place via Skype and emails.  Life cannot be on hold forever.  As I think of all the issues that Mali faces, and even the ones that I do, one thing is clear– the importance of a continued and an improved education.      

Two of my friends, Manzo and Bakary, are proficient English speakers.  Manzo works for World Vision in Koro (he was actually evacuated to Burkina Faso today...) and Bakary is an English and German student in Bamako who I met at Abdoulaye's computer center.  Manzo recently completed an application for the 2013 Fulbright Francophone/Lusophone Junior Staff Development Program (FLJSD).  He is hoping to pursue a Master's degree in international development in the U.S.  Here's a blurb on the FLJSD program from the US Embassy in Mali website:

"funds two years of higher education in the United States, leading to a Master’s degree.  It differs from the FJSD program (described above) in that it requires a TOEFL score of 480-540 and includes intensive English language training prior to the academic program.  For preliminary application purposes, candidates may submit ALIGU scores in lieu of TOEFL.* Upon completion of the English language training program, the candidates will then sit for the GRE  in the United States and must attain required scores."

Bakary was recently selected – one of four Malians! - to participate in a Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI) for Student Leaders forum focused on Social Entrepreneurship to take place this summer.  Get in touch with your local American embassy if you know a student you think would qualify for this scholarship (details found in link).  The process starts in the fall so you can get a head start now and find out more information.

The forum will explore the following topics:

This institute provides participants with an overview of how to employ business techniques and entrepreneurial skills to address social issues. The institute reviews the development, history, challenges and successes of social enterprises and community leaders in the United States and around the world. Students examine topics such as microfinance; organizational development and management; grant writing; innovation; emerging markets and risk analysis; strategic business planning; corporate social responsibility; and women and minorities in entrepreneurship.

I am hopeful that Mali will see the beginning of a resolution to all of the instability it currently faces – and soon.  I am also confident that the answers to Mali's problems, and subsequent - sustainable - solutions, will come from Malians who are implicated and invested in the decision-making process.  People like Manzo and Bakary are inspirations to me and show me the true value of education.  Come on, Mali!

PS - these videos really are great!  I was able to download them - can't wait to see/hear more.

26 birthday candles!

All gussied up and with somewhere to go!

From the looks of my blog one might think all I have been doing my first few weeks back in Mali is eating heart-shaped pita chips and pizza!  Luckily there has been a nice mix of settling into the new place (pictures to come), keeping up with school assignments, and melding back into the USAID/PHARE groove. 

For my 26th birthday Abdoulaye treated me to dinner at DaGuido's, one of Bamako's tastiest Italian restaurants (at least, this article says so) - my fourth birthday in Mali!  Here are posts from when I turned 23, 24, and 25.  It is fun looking back at my blog posts and seeing the changes I have undergone.  At this time last year I thought I was bound for the trans-siberian railway - now I am working on a Master of Arts in International Education and I am engaged!  Life changes so quickly!

26 was a little harder to swallow than 25 - I am technically in my late-twenties, right?  Oh well, pizza tastes good at any age and I am hoping my laugh lines are endearing :)

Goat cheese salad, pizza, mango juice, and some chocolate ice cream - I'm a happy girl!

Ousmane and Abdoulaye

Ousmane dropped Abdoulaye off after work and we got snazzied up before hitting the town.

Love this one

Do you have a favorite way to celebrate your birthday?  I didn't put butter on my nose this year like my mom always had us do - there's always 27!