Mali to Mallorca

I'm back from a week vacation in Mallorca, Spain with my mom, John and Memaw. Mallorca offered peaceful walks along the Mediterranean, breakfasts at cafes, spectacular mountains and rolling countryside and, most importantly, a week with my sweet family!

Mallorca is a lovely island in the Mediterranean Sea and is the largest of the Balearic islands. With only 800,000 residents, Mallorca welcomes over 12 million tourists a year (!) four of which decided to come and enjoy it during the off season :) Cycle tourism is big in Mallorca which made me want to hop on a bike and join in. Mom and I tried to walk on the wild side and rented bikes but only lasted an hour before our good senses caught up with us and we went back to the hotel for lunch :)


The Sunday before I left I visited my Bambara teacher's house and his family gave me all these gifts (the pink outfit and jewelry) because they knew I would soon be traveling and wanted me to look good (I imagine) in transit because Malians always dress up when they go on trips. I was flabbergasted by their generosity. I went over for lunch and left looking like a Malian princess (If I can say so myself :) It's incredible the response I get when I wear a full Malian outfit too. Women smile at me and will initiate a conversation. Men are more respectful of me and will have a normal conversation with me instead of starting it out with a marriage proposal. I'm heading back to site now with sweet memories of a great trip with my mom, John and memaw and looking forward to future visitors and work in village.