Poor showing for the Craiger

All-

So 5 posts in two months is not the greatest showing. I mean, one would think that moving back to civilization would afford one more time to post. I guess it is one part actually having some work to do, and 5 parts laziness. I promise I will do better.

So a friend of mine told me about this website for downloading/sharing pictures. It is called Flicker, and I will have a site before you know it. I will let you know the URL very, very soon.

Besides the Christmas and camping thing, there have been some other developments as well:

I am happy to say that after 5 months, I finally am starting my fellowship research, you know, the reason why I decided to take a year off. In a subsequent post I will describe all of the trials and tribulations of my work time here thus far, but I am in a good mood this afternoon, and I don't want to dwell on the negatives to spoil that mood. Suffice it to say that I am doing lab-based work in an Immunology lab here. The work is interesting (looking at the immunology behind severe malaria among other things), but the pace at which it is going is beyond belief. if there is one thing I have learned by doing this fellowship, it is patience.

My family is coming in 1 week to visit me here in Mali. I have a great itinerary planned for them, which includes many of the main sites in Mali that I have yet to see myself (Timbuktu, Pays Dogon, etc.) They will be here for 12 days, and I hope they enjoy it.

I am rapidly approaching my 6 month anniversary in Mali (4 Feb). I can't believe how fast it has already gone. I am debating extending my stay here in Mali by a month, or leaving, and returning later in the Fall. My decision will depend on 2 factors: if the projects that I am planning have a chance in hell of being done in June/July and if I can leverage some money to return. We shall see.

So that is about it for now. I promise to post more often, not only describing my work and such, but also just life in general. I truly love my experience thus far in Mali, and I would not change a thing (except for that research/work part).

Cheers,

Craig