September Musings

After the trainees officially became Peace Corps volunteers at the beginning of September, I helped the new Kayes region volunteers buy stuff for their houses. I helped them navigate the labyrinth of the Kayes market and bargained for mattresses, kitchen supplies and other big items. It really put things into perspective realizing that I was in the new volunteers’ shoes this time last year, with everything being so new and foreign. Now that I’m so used to bargaining for just about everything I buy, it’ll be hard to transition back to shopping in stores when I get back to the states!

The new Kenieba volunteer and I headed down with Peace Corps transport for installation. It was a relatively quick trip down the long dirt road in the Peace Corps car, but the road was basically all mud since it was the middle of rainy season. The new PCV has been off to a great start, bonding with her host family and meeting her neighbors and potential work partners. She’s also working really hard to learn the language spoken in Kenieba, a mix of Bambara and Malinké. Both she and I learned Bambara during pre-service training, but it’s hard to keep using Bambara since it’s not the language spoken here. The structure is the same as Malinké but most words are pronounced differently. People can understand us when we speak Bambara, but they will respond to us in Malinké or the hybrid Kenieba language. It’s definitely not the easiest way to learn a new language! I’ve picked up key phrases in the time I’ve lived in Kenieba and can have basic conversations, but usually I resort to communicating with the men and some literate women using French.

There have been some issues with the new volunteer’s house, mainly the bats who moved in and don’t want to leave. Nobody lived in the house since June, so the bats made themselves at home. And they really are a nuisance, flying around inside and making noise in the middle of the night. A carpenter spent all day on the roof, closing up all the holes and making lots of noise which we thought would get the bats out. After the carpenter’s attempts were unsuccessful, a boy came in and killed some of the remaining bats. But there were still a few stubborn bats that just wouldn’t leave. Though it’s taken a while to persuade him, the landlord agreed to install wooden paneling to create a lowered ceiling. Right now, there is no ceiling, just the metal roof. Once the paneling is installed the bats may still get in, but they won’t be nearly as annoying if there’s a wooden barrier between them and the PCV!

The end of Ramadan was in the middle of September, and there was a big feast and sense of relief after having fasted during every day for 28 days in a row. I noticed this year that people who had fasted, the healthy adults, were noticeably thinner and weaker by the end of Ramadan. I can’t imagine that it can be healthy to fast every day for a month, but it is an important part of the Muslim religion.

Not much happened workwise in September outside of the usual chatting with artisans and other entrepreneurs in town. When I was in Bamako I bought plastic containers for the women to sell their shea butter in. We worked together on pricing and selling strategies for the 45 containers of butter. We decided that I had been keeping track of how much the women were spending each time they made shea butter, things like soap to wash the basins, the fee to use the grinder that turns the nuts into a paste, and firewood to heat the shea butter. We came to a consensus on how much to charge, which gave them a good profit on each container sold. It is more than traditional shea butter is sold for in Kenieba, but we all agreed that since this butter is high-quality, the higher price would be justified.

Second Stint at Homestay

It has been a good two weeks at my homestay site, especially since I am amoeba-free! I am making pretty good progress at learning Bambara... I have the greetings down, and can have a basic conversation with someone. The language class continues to be taught at a really fast pace, and it has been a lot of work to keep up. But with more practice and forcing myself to use Bambara (and not French) whenever possible, I think that I will have a good knowledge of the language by the end of training.

There was a wedding in my family last weekend, which made for an eventful week. My host sister came from Bamako to stay with us and brought her little kids, who were a lot of fun to have around. They were really entertaining and a good distraction for everyone (away from staring at me all the time!).

My cousin married a woman in the same village, and each family had a big ceremony, so it was a big day in my village. A Malian wedding is a lengthy occasion, with multiple ceremonies and celebrations. The ceremony that I attended started at 9 AM, when the bride and groom left for the mayor's office to sign the legal papers and officially become married. I stayed under the tent and waited with Baba and others for them to come back. The kids were really entertaining and I took a ton of photos of them while we waited for the bride and groom to return. They got back at around 10, with a huge parade of motorcycles and cars escorting them. Then the couple went to greet the elders and get their picture taken, which was a chaotic scene. Not long after that, the couple went into the house and then left. My host brother told me they went to the bride's family's ceremony. It's interesting how impersonal the ceremony was, with the couple nowhere in sight, but it was a fun time. The music was great and fun to listen to. We ate some delicious fried rice, meat and goyo (a bitter vegetable) for lunch. After some more dancing and great music, I went back to my house at around 2 PM. The ceremony continued through the evening and into the early morning. My host brother told me that the women have their celebration during the day, and the men celebrate at night. Overall it was really fun to attend the ceremony, and I'm glad I could be a part of the family's big day!

My host family had a shirt made for me to wear, which fit pretty well considering they didn't take any measurements! I really like it and have worn it numerous times since. I haven't had time to have clothes made, but look forward to doing that when I get settled in at site. On the clothing note... at the wedding, I noticed that the women kept changing their outfits. I found out later that they wear a lot of outfits to show that they are wealthy and can afford all these clothes.

In other news... I taught Go Fish (Taa Jégéminé) to my host siblings and their friends, and they loved it! They would ask to play after dinner almost every night. It was also great practice for me to ask questions in Bambara, as well as listen to their conversations and pick up on the numbers.

I can't believe we are halfway through Pre-Service Training already! It's incredible to think that I have only been in Mali for a month. The training has certainly been hectic and stressing at times, but I know that this pace will really slow down when training ends in September.

That's it for now... all the trainees are back at Tubaniso for the week as we prepare for our site visits. I will post in a few days about my site assignment, where I will be working for the next two years.

Photos are up at http://picasaweb.google.com/wbudd3/Homestay2

Younoussa Samaké

That's my Malian name, Younoussa Samaké! It took a little getting used to, but I'm warming up to it. My clue to help me remember it was to say UNICEF, without the F.

I figured I would approach this blog post with some sort of structure... a day in the life.

I wake up at 6:15 AM, usually to the sound of pigeons landing walking on my metal roof. If not, there's a rooster or loud donkey not soon after. I usually set my alarm clock anyway, just in case. At around 6:30, my host sister will knock on my door to get my bucket so she can fill it up with water and bring it to the nyegen. She comes back a few minutes later and says "ji sigi na", the water is ready. Then I head to the nyeggin with my towel, soap and shampoo and take a nice warm bucket bath. It's not a bath in a bucket, by the way... more like pouring water over my head with a cup. It's more comfortable and relaxing than it sounds. Then I head back to my room to get dressed.

At around 7 AM, I have breakfast with my host brother, Baba. I leave a teabag out for him to make the tea, and buys some bread to eat in the morning. I usually eat 3/4 of a baguette with butter, tea, and some ceri, which is kind of like oatmeal. Both the tea and oatmeal have a ton of sugar in them... Malians love their sugar!

At 7:40 I get ready for class, and leave at around 7:50. It takes about 5 minutes to get to class, but I leave early because I need to greet practically everyone I encounter on the way there. A Malian greeting is not a simple Good morning! either... more like Good morning! How was your night? How is your family? your father? your mother? How were their nights?. Malians can go through the entire greeting in 10 seconds or so, but I'm still hesitating with each question/response, so it takes a bit longer.

At 8 AM we all assemble in the LCF's (language and culture facilitator) commission, say our morning greetings and socialize. By the way, a commission is like the footprint of a family's house... the rooms are all around it and pretty much all social activity takes place there. It's basically the equivalent of a family room/dining room/living room/playroom. There are photos of my commission on Picasa. We then have language class until around 10, a half-hour break, then language class until 12:30.

We have a two hour break for lunch. By this time it's usually pretty hot outside, and if I'm not breaking a sweat already, I definitely am now. Lunch is typically fish with a vegetable called goyo in an oily sauce of some sort, eaten with my hands, of course. Usually my host brother is not home for lunch, so lately I have been bringing out my radio and listening to Radio France International on FM to try to figure out what's going on in the world. I haven't had any luck picking up the BBC on shortwave and I found Voice of America once, but it was just a country music show and the broadcast was cut at the end of the show!

Language class continues at 2:30 until around 4, when we either have a break or move to one of the trainee's commissions, where we have a cross cultural session. We have covered topics like respect for elders (there is a lot of respect for elders, not only your relatives but strangers too. In queues at a bank, government office, etc. they get to go right up to the front of the line), social ceremonies, and ethnic groups. The time that the afternoon class varies, but we usually have an hour or two to just relax. I might walk around town with some of the other trainees, hang out at a friend's house, or just head home and get started on homework.

Dinnertime varies, but it's normally sometime between 7 and 8:30. I take another bucket bath before dinner, as the sun is going down, which feels great. Some dinner meals have been couscous, rice, beans, and spaghetti, sometimes with fatty meat or fish. For the most part, I've enjoyed eating the food, though I don't love eating with my hands.

After dinner, I may join my host siblings in a game of cards. They love to play a variation of Crazy Eights... my family plays with just a 32-card deck, which makes for some quick rounds. I brought Uno with me, which was easy to teach them since it's so much like their game. They liked it! Thanks for the idea Daina!

I usually get ready for bed around 10, and I am trying to fall asleep by 11. Unless it has rained during the day, which luckily this time of the year is more likely than not, it is hard to fall asleep. The window that's literally 1x1.5 feet, and the metal door that's closed at night for safety and security reasons, makes for a hot room. Most of the time though, I can fall asleep after fanning myself for a while.

...then it all starts again! We have language class six days a week, with Sunday off. Last Sunday there was a wedding in my village which was fun to observe. I added a bunch of photos from the wedding to Picasa.

I added a box on the right side of the page called Friends' Blogs. I figured you might want a different perspective on life as a PCT in Mali, so for those of you who are interested, check it out. I added Daina and Sarah's blogs there too. Daina is currently a PCT in Nicaragua, and Sarah is an entrepreneurship fellow in India. They are good friends of mine from Babson.

I have an interesting story or two to share, so I will try to post them before I head back to my homestay village on Wednesday. I hope everyone is doing well back home, or wherever you may be reading this blog from! Thanks for leaving comments; it is great to hear that you enjoy reading my posts.

Training and Homestay Preview

It has been a busy few days here at Tubani So, the Peace Corps training center. We have been busy learning about Malian culture and customs, and how to keep ourselves healthy and safe. We move out to our homestay villages tomorrow morning! I just found out my homestay assignment, in a pretty big town of about 30,000 people. There are 11 of us in the village, all with different host families. My host father's name is Yaya! I will be learning Bambara, the lingua franca in Mali; the majority of the population speaks Bambara, so it will be easy for me to travel around Mali when the time comes.

The Peace Corps has a unique approach to language training, and based on the past experiences of volunteers here, it works. I will be taking language classes six days a week in the village with a Language and Culture Facilitator (LCF) and only a few other trainees. We will not be taking written notes at all during the lesson; it will strictly be learning by sight, context, and lots of conversation. Then we will return to our homestays at night, where we will practice interacting with our host familys in Bambara and completing small assignments by asking them questions. It will be a complete immersion, from the time we wake up, to walking around our village, to attending class, to eating meals with our family. This community-based training will be a great way to learn a new language, in my opinion. If all goes well, I will be a Bambara speaker in just a few weeks!

During one of our cross-cultural sessions late this morning, some big intimidating clouds appeared above the trees. The class continued as usual for a few minutes, but when it was apparent that it was going to pour, some of the trainees ran back to their huts to grab their laundry off the clothesline. I stayed in the hangar (a thatched hut with screens as walls, about 30 x 30 feet) and watched the storm blow through. It was a huge rain storm with some big winds... we got pretty wet, but it cooled everything off and the rest of the day was very comfortable. It was interesting to see how the weather dictates life here in Mali; a passing rain storm can change the course of a day.

Malian families eat their meals around a large metal bowl with the meal inside, scoop up a bite in their right hands, and with fingers out, bring it up to their mouths, and slide it into their mouths. To prepare for our homestays, we practiced eating with our hands at lunch yesterday and today. It is forbidden to use your left hand when eating, or doing just about anything. This is because Malians use their left hand to wipe themselves after using the "nyeggi", or pit latrine. So it makes sense not to put their left hands in the food bowl!! As many of you know, I am left handed, and was worried when I first arrived that it would be difficult for me to eat. But it worked out fine... I used my right hand to pick up the food without thinking about it. So I should eat well at my homestay! The food has been great at Tubani So: lots of potatoes, vegetables, meat and yummy sauces. It will be interesting to see what I will eat at the homestay... probably less meat and more grains.

The blog will be dormant for the next two weeks while I am at the homestay village. I can't wait to be immersed in Bambara and Malian culture! Thanks for all the comments by the way, it is great to know that you are reading my blog and enjoying it.

PS A new Peace Corps director was just nominated by Obama today, Aaron Williams, a RPCV from the Dominican Republic. He seems like a great choice to lead the Peace Corps. It will be interesting to see the direction he takes this great organization. More information about him: http://tiny.cc/n2lv0

PPS Unfortunately no photos with this blog post... I brought my camera to take photos of eating with our hands, but left the film in my computer! I will definitely have some from my homestay village to share.