End of Homestay & Ramadan

My pre-service training is quickly coming to an end. In four days, I will be sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer! We packed up our things and said goodbye to our host families this morning. It was an emotional goodbye... they really enjoyed hosting me and I felt like I was a member of their family. I hope to visit them again during my service. We are back at Tubaniso for the week and have a packed schedule... we head out to our sites to begin our service next weekend!

There was a farewell ceremony with the community yesterday morning. Because it is Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, there was no music and entertainment like we had for the welcoming ceremony. Different representatives of the village gave speeches, and they were very poignant. They said things like: don't forget us... remember your time here... now that you have lived here, keep us in mind for future development projects... we would love to host Peace Corps volunteers again... we were worried that you wouldn't like eating our food or living like us, but we were really happy that you became members of our families... you are welcome back in our community anytime.

I meant to share this link before I left for homestay but didn't get a chance. The Big Picture is a fascinating blog from the Boston Globe, a photo essay on different news-related subjects. There was one about Ramadan around the world: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/08/ramadan_2009.html. It starts with a great description of Ramadan:

In Muslim nations and regions around the globe, this is the first week of the holy month of Ramadan, a time for followers to abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual activity during the day, breaking their fast each sunset, with traditional meals and sweets. During this time, Muslims are also encouraged to read the entire Quran, to give freely to those in need, and strengthen their ties to God through prayer. The goal of the fast is to teach humility, patience and sacrifice, and to ask forgiveness, practice self-restraint, and pray for guidance in the future. This year, Ramadan will continue until Saturday, September 19th.

We returned to homestay during the first week of Ramadan. My host family is participating, but they understood that I would not be fasting and my host mom had lunch ready for me every day. I felt guilty having her cook food for me when she couldn't eat all day! People who are sick, the elderly, kids and pregnant women do not fast either, so it wasn't so bad. My host family asked me if I wanted to fast. I told them that if I didn't have any food or water all day long, I would pass out! I also figured that if I fasted, all I would think about is how hungry and thirsty I was, and wouldn't be able to study any Bambara!

As soon as the sun set, my host family would eat some sweetened porridge to break their fast. Then my host brother went to the mosque to pray, except when it rained really hard and the ground was uneven. Since there are many more people praying during the holy month, they have to pray outside the mosque.

Ramadan ends during our first weekend at site. Families get together and put on a big feast to celebrate the end of the month of fasting. Definitely something to look forward to!

Photos are up from the last couple of weeks: http://picasaweb.google.com/wbudd3/Homestay3#

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

Amoebas

The Internet connection is not working too well today, so I'm going to make this a quick post.

My big story from homestay was that I came down with amoebas! Amoebic dysentery, to be specific. I had a bad case of diarrhea and nausea on Wednesday morning, and it got much worse on Wednesday afternoon, to the point where I couldn't sit in a chair without feeling like I was going to pass out. We called the Peace Corps medical officer, who sent a car to take me to the medical office in Bamako. I started taking Cipro and felt much better the next morning. When the test results came back positive for amoebas, I started taking Fasigyn. It is a powerful drug that kills the amoebas, but it also set me back a few days. My last dose was on Saturday night, and I am happy to say that I feel much better!

Amoebas caused me to miss two days of language classes, so I have been working on catching back up. In the long run, it'll be fine. As an optimist, I figure it's better I get amoebas early so hopefully it's out of my system for good! A lot of trainees have felt sick this week, so I hope I just got it and it's done.

We are headed back to our homestay villages tomorrow morning and will be there until August 10th. I find out my site assignment, the village where I will be working for the next two years, that night!

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.

First 12 Days at Homestay

Well, the last twelve days have been quite an experience. If you'd like to see the photos first, the link is at the bottom of the post.

My host family is really nice, and my host brother has been taking care of me. He speaks French pretty well, so I have been able to speak with him and a little bit with some of my other siblings. My mom is also really nice but only speaks Bambara... I can say things like "Good morning", "I'm full, thank you for the meal", and "Have a good day/night". My Bambara is improving every day... we have covered how to greet people, ask What is this?, numbers, days of the week, describing family, and how to bargain in the market. It is a really fast learning pace, but I am doing my best to keep up and keep speaking Bambara whenever possible.

I took a ton of photos of the village, including the welcoming ceremony, my house and family, and at a wedding that took place in my village. The kids are really cute (some are pretty annoying though, saying "Toubabou", or white person, nonstop!) and it's fun to practice our Bambara with them. The link to the album is: http://picasaweb.google.com/wbudd3/Homestay1.

I plan to post again in a day or two with more detail about what I have been up to.