Dear Cornell - Admit Nicole*

This blog entry is an appeal to the Cornell Admissions Committee to accept Ms. Nicole Green:

First - a confession- my blog dedication and general Nicole-euphoria has been motivated in part by the fact that she unlocked Drissa and my i-phones (something that no one else in Bamako can do.)

Nicole is my bright and perky neighbor. She is an American exchange student here to do a semester at a Malian high school. A week ago, she celebrated her 16th birthday here in Bamako. Although, she is just learning French and Bambara - Nicole already speaks Chinese and Spanish. She plays many instruments. She has taken enough courses that she could graduate from high school early. Next year, She is hoping to study abroad in China for her "senior" year in high school.

This is my 5th trip to Mali and I still get overwhelmed. The language, the culture, sometimes I have days where it is all just too much. I want to curl up in my room with the AC watching English language movies eating kraft macaroni and cheese. I remember how crazy my first trip was. The poverty/the heat/the smells sort of slap you in the face and then you gradual adjust and start focusing on the kids smiles, the sweet tart taste of mangoes, the booming rhythms and silly lyrics of coupe decale....

Thinking of my slow, evolution, I am amazed by my new neighbor - Nicole. She is engaging Mali with a maturity and poise that I could never imagine at 16. She prefers hanging out with her host family than trying to learn french in the classroom. She has jumped in "free-fall" style. She is embracing everything and everyone. Everytime I tell another expat that she is here, they are blown away. Responses ranging from: "At 16?!" to "Why?" "Wow I was at another place at 16." But at 16 Nicole already seems to get it - to understand what Mali might offer. To be action-adventure enough to try a semester, the first time away from her family - in a foreign country, in a foreign language! But - she is still a 16 year-old - she likes vanilla milkshakes and plain peanut butter sandwiches.

Nicole hopes to major in Engineering with maybe a side of law. She visited google and loved it. After knowing Nicole for just a month, she seems like a perfect google employee. She is creative, she knows what she wants, she eschews formality for practicality and directness. When unlocking my phone, she worked for hours and hours, past vista blockages, and power shortages, trying different programs. She couldn't leave until she did it her way.

I wanted to honor her in my blog - cause I can't imagine many other 16 year-olds doing what she is doing. But, I hope she is not the last. I'd like to meet more quint-lingual, computer programmer- musicians.

Seriously Cornell, Nicole would be a great addition to the community. You will be lucky if she decides to join us in Ithaca.

*Nicole on her 16th birthday with host-sister Daly