Never in my life have I been more aware of the moon. Living in a village were the closest electricity is located 45 km away I have learned to appreciate the moon for many reasons.
When I first came to site back in August I vividly recall looking up at the perfect round circle shinning bright and thinking that every month I would get to see this. In a way it has become one marker of the passing time. Since that night in August I have seen 9 other full moons and am looking ahead at the ones to come.
Another wonderful thing about the full moon is that once the sunsets there is still no need for a flashlight. Even when I read my book at night in my tent there is no need to crouch over my book lamp. Who knew the moon shinned so bright!
I have finally spotted the “man on the moon”. Ever since I first saw Apollo 13 when I was a young girl I have been pretending to be able to see this bogus thing. But now I have had so much time to stare up at the moon that now I can say I have actually seen it or it is possible I am just going crazy and have imagined it!!
It is not just the full moon I have come to appreciate but also the new moon. There is nothing more spectacular than a sky full of stars without a single disturbance. The half dome that surrounds me is one of the most breathtaking sites. I have never been very good with constellations but every night I am able to find the three starts that make up Orion’s belt. In the past year I have seen a ton of shooting starts, a few each week, and still I get excited as one races across the sky.
Now, in all honesty the reason I really love this absence of the moon is because this is the only time I can walk through village without being immediately noticed. Each night I take the five-minute walk from my house to my host family’s concession where I take my dinner. During the new moon I can turn off my flashlight and walk completely unnoticed as the only white person around; it is only when they get really close that they realize that I am the “Toubab.” But those few seconds that I go unnoticed are my favorite. I get this a few nights each month and I absolutely look forward to them.
While I am staring up at the sky each night I often think about how I spent my evenings while living in the states. I would return home from work, a meeting, or class and promptly order dinner while sitting down to some TiVo(ed) program, because God knows I didn’t have time for commercials. Here I am now spending every night sitting with my Malian friends—having only the stars to entertain me instead of reruns of Friends.
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