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• I'll never stop wishing for teletransportation, that I could blink my eyes and return to FunuFuNi - and all the other places I love in the world - in an instant.
  
  
• We spent the entire trip in a village 60 km west of Segou - FunuFuNi - 8 hours via a bumpy van ride from the capital city of Mali, Bamako. This was the first time that the villagers of FunuFuNi had received Western visitors. Upon arrival, they greeted us with song and drew us into a circle of dance to celebrate our common mission: to build a schoolhouse for the children.
  
  
• The villagers bestowed upon us new names: For two weeks, I was known as 'Ina', which translates to 'mother'.
  
  
• I loved my little village abode: the adobe walls, the naturally wooden beamed ceilings. I could have lived without the scorpions and bats, but I did get used to them afterall. I never thought that settling down on a dirt floor at the end of a long day to read a book by flashlight could be so inviting.
  
  
• If the school where I teach in Chicago is closed down, I can always work in construction. I surprisingly enjoy it. When I'm at work as a teacher, I'm so occupied with communicating my thoughts to others and/or comprehending the thoughts of others - for once it was nice to lose myself in my thoughts on the job, to focus solely on, say, shoveling dirt or making bricks or mixing cement. It helped that the villagers and my students provided for many on-the-job laughs, much camaraderie and encouragement. My commitment to educating children felt very real as I took that first pick-axe swing and ceremoniously broke ground for the schoolhouse. I *think* you can tell by the picture exactly how elated I was - it was one of those unforgettable moments in life. (Note the villagers behind me, silently praying that I'll hold tight).
  
• I spent much time in Africa meditating on Needs vs. Wants. I need clean water, food for sustenance, a bucket of water for washing up...and well, that's about it. It's good to know that I really don't need much more than that. I'm still the same old me without all my things, only much lighter, physically and mentally.
  
  
  
• The babies and children of FunuFuNi are among the happiest I know: their smiles and laughter were simply contagious. They don't have the Winnie-the-Pooh lamp in their bedrooms (nor electricity), the Petit Bateau onesies, Converse gymshoes (they were shoeless, apart from the odd child with a pair of worn flip-flops), no Leapsters or Legos, no fridges filled with Popsicles, no Cheetos in the cupboard - none of the things that American children have but don't really need. They do have constant playmates, constant parent presence, and all the love in the world. Every member of the village is naturally obliged to look after everyone's children, and they do so with much loving care.
• The women work their tails off all day long - carrying buckets of water to the school worksite, pounding millet (the staple of Malian cuisine), tending to their community garden, drawing water from the well, milking goats, bathing babies, washing clothes, tending to the fire. They do it all without a grumble and usually with a cooing, crying or sleeping baby tied to their backs. There is much to learn from their strong and peaceful demeanour.
• I'd really like to have some goats. Wonder if my condo association would be okay with having them graze on my rooftop.
• I love the habit the Malians have of blessing one another, often and out loud, and the sweetness of the simply reply, Amina.
• Here at home, everyone sorrily looks at my henna-ed hand (a gift from the women of FunuFuNi) as if a. I went off the deep end and got a bizzarre tattoo and how do they tattoo fingernails? ~ or~ b. that is really a terrible case of frostbite. I find it beautiful and hope it takes awhile to fade.
• I missed my son tremendously. His strong sense of independence strikes me - I wonder where he gets it from ;) To squeeze him tightly upon my return to O'Hare warmed my whole heart. He's learned to play the drum and xylophone I brought back for him as souvenirs and won't stop asking me when I'm going to take him to Africa. I've promised him soon - Soon, Daniel, Soon! - while keeping my fingers crossed.
  
  
  
• There are few things in life as good as dancing around in a circle with new and old friends, as spending time with children (who consider you at first an alien that appeared from nowhere, that then are amazed that you do indeed smile and dance and act silly just as much as they do), as sharing a joke or having a conversation with someone despite the fact that you don't speak the same language, as seeing the teenagers from our Chicago group just blossom with smiles and confidence and a feeling of accomplishment, as taking a cool bucket bath at the end of a long day of work under the hot sun.
• And nothing better than laying on the grass and looking up at the wide expanse of starry sky, which reminds one that we're really on a giant ball of a rock floating around a limitless universe.

If you would like more information on Building with Books, the program that brought me to Africa, the program that encourages Chicago Public schools kids to take an active role in both their home and world community...if you too would like to build a school in Africa...or if you have any other questions about my trek to Mali, please contact me at amydelfinodesouza@gmail.com I for one am already plotting my return...I HAVE to get back to FunuFuNi....Our group, together with the villagers, managed to dig and set the foundation and build up the brick walls to about four feet; we also dug the latrines (perhaps the most difficult job of all). The villagers will complete construction in about 2 months under the guidance of a locally-based construction manager and mason employed by Building with Books. I feel an intense need to continue our mission to educate the village children by bringing over more supplies and assisting on-site with school and class set up, in preparation for the arrival of the academic year teacher from Bamako. I'd love to take a moment in time to teach the students some basic English and French. I also want to help out the village midwife, who desperately needs the most basic birthing supplies, to set up an adequate birthing room. I am hoping to secure supply and basic equipment donations, but I will have to creatively fundraise to fund my air travel to Mali. If anyone has any good ideas, please contact me.