Thanksgiving & Waterfalls

For Thanksgiving this year, I travelled to the Sikasso region in southern Mali, where the Sikasso PCVs organized a big American thanksgiving feast and party. It was a big gathering as more than 60 volunteers came. It was great to catch up with friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in a year. We ate lots of good food for Thanksgiving dinner, including turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and salad, and we enjoyed some pumpkin and apple pie for dessert.

We had a pool party and Mexican dinner on Friday, and then headed out to some waterfalls for a camping trip over the weekend. The waterfalls were really cool to see and we had a great time camping by them, eating tons of guacamole and hanging out around the campfire.

This is the transport we took out to the waterfalls, a beat-up Peugeot 504. It's called a sept-place in Senegal because seven people travel in it with a driver, but in Guinea and Mali they cram as many people into them as they can. I think we fit 12 people into the one I was in. It's definitely not a comfortable ride! This car has seen better days.

One of the many stops to fill up for gas or put some other unknown fluid into the makeshift engine.

The waterfalls.

Our campsite. Looks like an REI commercial!

Back from my Eurotrip

I’m back in Mali after a fantastic vacation in Europe, visiting Paris and Grenoble, France with by brother and spending 10 days in Switzerland with the rest of my family. It was the perfect mental medicine after 11 months in Mali… it was so nice to be in the developed world again, enjoying amenities I’ve grudgingly lived without (machine washer and dryer, dishwasher, refrigerator, no daily power outages, cell phone calls without a noticeable delay, a toilet!). Although it’s really hard to compare Europe and Mali, I found some of the differences to be really interesting:

• I couldn’t believe the cats and dogs I saw on the streets of Paris, not only how well trained and well treated they were, but how big and healthy they looked. Malians themselves aren’t getting a nutritious diet, so their animals certainly aren’t getting enough to eat. The cows in Switzerland are huge! No cows look like that here in Mali, literally skin and bones.
• After living through three straight months of 110°+ weather in Mali, I forgot what comfortable weather felt like. It was so nice to put on a light fleece when it was cool, and actually enjoy a nice day outside under the sun. Some people asked me why I wasn’t more tan… I definitely avoid the sun in Mali when it’s so hot outside!
• I had forgotten how long the days are this time of year in Europe. Since Mali isn’t far from the equator, the length of the day only varies by about an hour all year long. You get used to the sun setting by 7:30 every night. The first night I was in Paris, I went to the Louvre in the evening, figuring I would leave once it was dark outside… the sun didn’t set until 10:30 PM!
• Whenever I would greet someone like a cashier or shopkeeper in Paris, I would say “Bonjour!” and get a “Bonjour!” reply, like you would in any French-speaking country. But when I would ask “ça va?” I would get some funny looks. Some people didn’t know what to say, like they were actually shocked to hear that I wanted to know how they are! You can’t just say hello to someone in Mali, you ask how they are, how their family is, did they sleep well or how was their day, etc.
• I didn't notice this one until I got back to Mali... Africa Time. It took me a little while to get used to all the downtime again... in Mali, things run on West Africa International Time, aka WAIT.

It was a strange feeling getting off the plane in Bamako, returning to what most people would say is an exotic place, but a place that has become my home. I didn't hesitate to greet people in Bambara, search for a decent taxi from the chaotic arrivals area of the Bamako airport, and crack some superficial jokes with the taxi driver about eating beans that make you fart. Though it’s still really hot here, it’s good to be back. It was good to see my friends again and share some good Swiss chocolate with everyone.

Two days after I arrived back in Mali, I attended an engagement party in Bamako for a friend of mine, Laura (her blog is Oulesse-what?). I was honored to be a witness at the engagement ceremony. It was fun to attend a Malian party and know the people who were being celebrated, which is not usually the case for me. There was a great feast of lamb, fried rice, sweet potato and eggplant, and delicious marinated lamb kebabs. We also had chicken and fries for dinner. It was a delicious Malian meal and a great party that I won’t soon forget!

It is hard for me to realize that two weeks from now, I will have been in Mali for a full year. I’ve certainly had my share of highs and lows, achievements and frustrations. I was hoping the rains would be in full force when I returned, but it seems to be about the same as when I left… rain every few days to cool things off, but hot and humid on the days it doesn’t rain. The monsoon-like rains should be here in full force soon, which will be great to cool things off, but make it very difficult for me to leave Kenieba! I can’t wait for the landscape to become green again… it’s a spectacular sight that I definitely took for granted last year.

The new Peace Corps Trainees will arrive next week to begin their intensive cultural and language training, the same training I received last year. Some of the trainees may end up working in the Kayes region, maybe even down near Kenieba, so I am looking forward to meeting them when they come out for site visit in August. It’s also an exciting time for the second year volunteers as they are finishing their two year service and will be leaving, a few each week, over the next few months. As for me, it’s one year down, one to go!

Senegal Trip

Sorry for the long gap between blog posts... I have actually been busy, meeting with artisans, attending a regional training in Kayes, and working on a funding proposal, amongst other things. More on that later, but first, my awesome trip to Senegal in February:

Last month, a big group of Peace Corps Volunteers from Mali took a 24 hour bus trip to Dakar, Senegal, to participate in the West African Invitational Softball Tournament, or WAIST. There were a lot of teams participating, including US Embassy workers, missionaries, high school students, and even a Senegalese team. They were in the "competitive" league; the Peace Corps teams from Senegal, The Gambia and Mali participated in the "social" league. We had a really fun time playing our games. I actually played pretty well, got a hit each time I was up, but my fielding was sub-par. It was fun to play softball with other Americans and feel "at home" again, if only for a weekend!

Dakar is a beautiful city, set on a peninsula right on the Atlantic coast. After being in Mali for 7 months, I felt like I was in a European city. Dakar is so much different from Bamako, the capital of Mali. It is much more developed and there is a lot more investment going into the infrastructure. In Bamako you're often walking down a road with open sewers, domesticated animals (like goats and sheep) roaming the streets, and no sidewalks! The neighborhood where we stayed in Dakar was the exact opposite, and it was right on the ocean, a nice bonus!

We also ate really well in Dakar. Not only were the concessions during the games good (hot dogs and pulled pork sandwiches!), but the dinners were out of this world (at least my world in Mali): steak with Roquefort sauce, thai food and tapas. It was so much better than rice and sauce! Not to mention the ice cream from N'Ice Cream in downtown Dakar, some of the best I've ever had. The three scoops of Strawberry Tiramisu, Ferrerro Rocher, and Passion Fruit ice cream were AMAZING. I happily took on the challenge of eating all of this ice cream in one sitting!

After the weekend of softball and fine dining in Dakar, some of us headed down the coast to a little beach town called Toubab Dialaw. We stayed at a cool hotel right on a cliff overlooking the ocean. I was lucky enough to be in the first cab to arrive at the hotel, and got to stay in a fun little house that opened up right on to the ocean. Check out the photos:

It was so nice to spend a few days here, relaxing on the beach, reading some books, hanging out with friends and enjoying the great weather. One morning we walked up the beach to a fishing community and helped the men pull in their catch. They dropped a huge net about 1000 feet into the ocean. They were happy to get our help pulling it in; it was a lot of work! It was fun to see what we caught... lots of sea snakes, an octopus, and a bunch of little fish and jellyfish were in the net. We also ate well in Toubab Dialaw; there was a great little creperie down the beach, and we got some delicious snacks at a little grocery store, like gruyere cheese with sausage and bread, green olives, and BBQ Pringles.

After our stint on the beach, I split off from my friends who headed back to Mali, and continued to the Kedougou region of Senegal to visit a friend of mine from high school who is a Peace Corps Volunteer there. He's the same friend who came to visit me in Kenieba in January. It was a great visit; we spent a night in his thatched hut and hiked out to a 300 foot tall waterfall. He has a huge host family of 20 people, most of whom are little kids. There's rarely a dull moment around his house! It was neat to visit a Peace Corps Volunteer working in a rural village, too. It is such a different environment than the one I am working in, a town of 15,000 people with cell phone service, electricity, and running water. I'm living in a six room concrete house with a tin roof and wooden ceilings. My friend's house is literally a one room hut, about 8 feet in diameter. He has to fetch his water from a well a few minutes away from his house. There's no electricity at night, just solar panels to charge his cell phone battery, and lanterns and head lamps to use at night. He does have cell phone service, but there are not many places left in the world that are out of range!

I also got to spend a couple days at the Peace Corps house in Kedougou, the regional capital, before going back to Kenieba. I got to meet the volunteers there and check out some of their projects. My friend has a radio show on the community radio station once a week, so I got to sit in on the show and introduce myself on the air. They played some American music and a recording they had made of the Princess Bride in Pulaar, the local language there. They even invited the community to call in and talk to them on the air! It was pretty impressive, and well received by the community. I also got to talk to a volunteer about a shea nut and peanut sheller machine that he helped build. It is pretty inexpensive and very efficient, so I think I might try it out with some associations I am working with in Mali.

The trip back to Kenieba was pretty easy, since Kedougou is only 150 kilometers away, and most of the trip is on a brand new paved road! The trip that I usually take to get back to Kenieba, from Kayes, the regional capital, is 250 kilometers away on a dirt road. So this made for a much better and more relaxing trip back. All in all, it was a great vacation, a real escape from work and life here in Mali. I have a good feeling I will be back to Senegal again in the future!

Christmas Recap

Happy New Year everyone! 2009 has been an incredible year, from skiing in Utah to moving to Mali and completing six months of Peace Corps service here. Although it has been a challenging year moving to one of the poorest countries in the world, I am fortunate to be working here with the support of my friends and family back home. 2010 is shaping up to be another exciting year; I am looking forward to starting some good projects and continuing to do good work here.

December has been a whirlwind month, and I am very ready to get back home to Kenieba. I've been away for 38 days, most of it for Peace Corps training but also enjoying the holidays with friends. I am anxious to get back and see my host family and other Malian friends, and stop living out of a backpack again!

Unfortunately I have some sad news to share... I checked in with the guy who has been watching my house, and he told me that my cat died, apparently of natural causes. Though I was not a cat person before coming to Mali, I enjoyed having Kalo as a pet. I'm definitely considering getting another cat, if the opportunity arises. I'm sure my house will feel different without Kalo around.

On a more positive note, I really fun time celebrating Christmas with a bunch of friends up in Dogon Country. We stayed with a Peace Corps volunteer, and both she and her work counterpart did an awesome job hosting us. We had a great time exploring her village, enjoyed an awesome Christmas feast, and completed an incredible three day hike.

The terrain there is actually pretty similar to Kenieba, a long chain of cliffs that dominate the landscape. The Dogons live on top of these huge cliffs, literally on top of the rock. There is not much dirt or arable land, so their houses are made out of the rocks. They are really impressive; the photos explain it much better. It is definitely not as green as Kenieba, as you are not far from the Sahara desert up there!

One drawback was that the region is a big tourist attraction and we were there in the height of the tourist season. The kids were pretty obnoxious, asking for a gift, candy, a pen, or our empty water bottles all the time! I must have heard "Monsieur, bouteille" at least a few hundred times, to the point where I thought my name was Mr. Bottle! The average tourist loves to give gifts to the kids, so they expect some from any white person who is walking through their town. That is something I am glad to not have to deal with in Kenieba. We are way off the tourist track down there!

Luckily we saw Dogon Country beyond the average tourist's perspective. The first few nights we stayed on the roof of the Peace Corps volunteer's house. It was an incredible experience to sleep under a blanket of stars and wake up to a beautiful sunrise each morning. The three day hike was probably the best hike I have ever done. We descended the cliffs and traversed across the plain through various villages, and worked our way back up the cliffs on the last day. The pictures explain it best. Here's the picture link: http://picasaweb.google.com/wbudd3/Christmas2009#