Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Once again, I sit here covered in Malina dirt and grime. The dust from the day covers my body like a second skin and coats every strand of my hair. Today we visited Bancoumana, a village over an hour of dusty, bumpy roads from Bamako. The vast expanse of land surrounding the village stretches endlessly into the smoky gray sky of the horizon, dotted occasionally with trees, the only sources of color other than the red of the dirt road. In this arid environment, it is hard to find beauty in a landscape of sparse colors and scant water, but just as monsoon rains bring color, growth and prosperity, the people of Bancoumana color the area surrounding their village. The bright colors of their clothes, a mix of traditional buobuos and modern jeans and T-shirts, their quick wit and laughter, and their love of the land and their community, create an atmosphere with vibrant colors. Colors which mask the effects of persistent dirt, dust and heat, an unquenchable passion for life I can only hope to exude.