My family and I just spent a week in the small village of Jon Fa Kuru (in Western Mali).  It was a really good experience for us all - it had been some time since we had been in the rural environment.  Here are a couple of pictures of our trip.  First up is a scene of the village at dusk.

Here I spent the morning with my teacher collecting medicine.  We wandered from tree to tree out in the bush cutting bark and a few limbs.  

This would be the "bush" in western Mali.  Hot season is coming on, so much of the vegetation has been burned back.  

Here I am greeted by the mothers of my friend - they came into the compound shortly after I arrived, singing and clapping.  

In this picture we are making our way to Kita (a large town) via a fish truck.  I am riding in the back with the freight - a few Malians are also hitching a ride.