WE BE LEAVING TOMORROW

These last few days in the US have gone by in a blur. Saying goodbye to everyone has been a bit surreal. We're actually going! We're taking our first Malarone pill tomorrow morning! We have a 6:45 pm flight from JFK to Casablanca, where we'll have about 12 hours to explore the city before hopping our flight to Bamako. We'll get into Bamako at 1:00 am, GMT, where we'll meet our driver, Bou. It's nearing the end of the rainy season in Mali, and the weather forecast for when we arrive is, according to BBC Weather, rainy and hot. I believe that this is the archway outside the airport that will greet us when we arrive:

Bamako, which is farther south than Djenné and Timbuktu, is near the edge of the Sahel, and is therefore more humid and tropical. It is the largest city in Mali, with about 1.8 million inhabitants. We'll be staying there for a week or two, working on getting research permits, buying sim cards for our two cell phones, adjusting to the time difference, and improving our French/Bambara skills, which are sadly lacking. After that week or two, Bou will drive us to Djenné!

I feel as though we're about to jump off a very high, very awesome cliff. This is it. We packed up our stuff, had our final American dinner with our friends from the archaeology department, and watched an absurd movie about man-eating lions in Africa. We're ready to go.

Our next post will be written from Africa! Wish us luck :)