Dear Mom & Dad, Lonnie too!

How are you?  Things here are fine.  I visited my site this past week.  I really like it.  My house is made out of mud with a stick/mud roof.  I will inherit a bed, stove, water tank, chair, table & some other odds & ends from the current volunteer.  I will also inherit two dogs (possibly more if puppies arrive).  Their names are Sam & Pig.  They are sort of skinny & ugly, but incredibly sweet.  I live in a large concession with my family but my house, bathroom, & yard has a wall around it which provides me with privacy & personal space.  The volunteers before me have not allowed visitors at night from the village & the kids/villagers are very good about respecting this rule.  The food is primarily just millet & toe which is definitely not my favorite African food.  (Toe by the way is made from millet & usually has a Ocra sauce on top).  I plan on cooking my own food frequently until I grow to like Toe more or desire the company of my family during meals.  I am going to eat at least one meal a day with my family just to spend time with them & the villagers.  My last name has now been changed & my African name in my village of Kemeni is now Dusu Doa.  During site visit I met the mayor of my village, the doctor & matron I will be working with, & my family.  I have two Peace Corps Volunteers nearby my Site.  Zack & Stephen.  Zack is 12K away & Stephen is in my market town, which is 3K away.  When arrive I will be purchasing a bike, bed frame, bookshelf, & hopefully a djembe.  One of the boys in my family is a djembe player & I will most likely take lessons from him.  The women in my family are also wonderful African dancers so I am also looking forward to dancing with them frequently.  There are also other Peace Corps volunteers within an hour or so away, which I will probably see once or twice every two weeks.  In my Regional stage house, (at the city of Seagu) I have access to nice restaurants, swimming pools, CNN news, a large market, & email.  I will probably visit the stage house once every two or 3 weeks.  In my next email or two I will make sure to include the phone number of the stage house so that you can call me when I am there.  You can also post that # on the Internet along with my address.  My new address will be (you will think this is funny)
 Pattie Murray
 Peace Corps Volunteer
 Bla
 Mali  West Africa

So it should be easy to remember, & its definitely fun to tell people that I live near the town of BLA!  I will check mail once a week.  Other news. . .  I still remain fairly healthy (knock on wood) & I really like it here.  The news from the US has been scary though & makes me worry about all of you at home.  I try to listen to the BBC every day & we get Newsweek (although somewhat after the fact pretty regularly).  Oh, to answer your question, I did meet up with Ashley when I got to Philadelphia & she is definitely one of my better friends.  However she is quite a distance from me, so once I get to Site I might not see her much.  For Christmas, I am traveling to BoBo Land to visit my roommate Betty.  It is a Christian region so they have a huge fete & sing Christmas carols in the Bobo language.  My French has gotten much better & this week I start back in Bambara classes.  I actually had my first dream in French last night which means I definitely have it on the brain.  It is safe here and Malians have a great relationship with Americans.
Please write soon.  I really want mail.  I love and miss you all.

Love always,
Pattie Murray

Note:  Pattie sent a list of things that she needs.  Please call her parents at (434) 977-7046 for an update on what she still needs from the list, if you would like to send her something.