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.

Arrival and First Day of Training

After a looong trip overseas, 65 brand new trainees and I arrived in Mali last night. It was a hectic scene in the arrivals hall, with a few hundred impatient passengers prying their bags off the tiny conveyer belt and pushing their ways through the crowd. The Peace Corps gave us pieces of yellow yarn to put on our bags before we left (a PC tradition since the 60's), and it was a huge help when only a few of us could get bags off of the belt. It took us a good hour to squeeze our way through the X-ray baggage screener (very strange), get out of the building and dodge the taxi hecklers to get to the Peace Corps SUVs.

We drove about 45 minutes on some nicely paved roads (aka no potholes) through Bamako to our training center, Tubani So. One of the current volunteers showed two trainees and me to our hut to drop our bags and give us a quick orientation on the basics, like using the latrines and washing our hands, which water has been treated, etc.. After a quick snack/meet and greet in the dining hall, we were all exhausted and went to bed. It was hot falling asleep, but there's a nice ceiling fan in the hut and I think the jet lag helped me fall asleep quickly. Tonight might be a different story. We took our first malaria pill this morning, Mefloquine, and its main side effect is some vivid dreams, so that's something to look forward to tonight!

The first day of training was today, and it was packed with events and training sessions. It's all relative though, because there was still a good amount of downtime throughout the day. One of the key takeaways from the morning session was to slow down. Even at the training center, with a full schedule, I can tell that the pace of life is much slower here, and will be a welcome change from the states. We also had a medical orientation (don't brush your teeth with dirty water, only eat fruits/vegetables that have not been peeled, etc.), and started our cross-cultural training.

Some other things to mention:

- It is definitely a warm climate here, with temps in the 80's, bright sunshine, and very humid air. I don't think I've stopped sweating, and have had a ton of treated water to make up for it. I'm hoping that in a few days my body will adjust to the new climate. There was a nice breeze that really helped cool things down a bit, so I'm hoping that's a daily thing.

- There is electricity and wireless internet at Tubani So (the Peace Corps training center), so it will be easy for me to post to the blog when we are here. We leave for our homestays on Wednesday and will come back to Tubani So periodically during the 9 weeks of training. I will be able to post to the blog from Tubani So, at least a few times a month until September!

PS I uploaded some photos to my Picasa Web Albums account... this seems to be the method that works, so I'll add more there with each blog post. The link is: http://tiny.cc/nnKhg

PPS Bono wrote a great column on Obama's trip to Africa, it's a good read: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/10/opinion/10bono.html

Some Background Information

Sometimes I still can't believe that I will be on a plane to Mali in three days. Sure, I've been to Africa before, but to serve in the Peace Corps and help make a positive difference in the lives of Malians for two years is like a dream come true.

Here is some background info on Mali (from a fellow trainee, Matt):

Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa. It’s about twice the size of Texas and is home to Timbuktu, a major center of civilization during the 15th and 16th centuries. It was colonized by the French in the late 1800’s, but became independent in 1960. However, because of colonial influence, the official language is still French, even though many native languages are still prevalent throughout most of the country.

Mali is home to roughly 12 million people and is considered to be one of the poorest countries in the world. About half the population is under the age of fifteen. Just over half the population has access to safe drinking water and less than half have adequate sanitation. AIDS is a concern, but not to the extent as in neighboring countries. The big health problems are respiratory infections, diarrhea, and malaria.

Geographically, Mali is spread across several climate regions. The northern part is in the Sahara Desert. The middle is in the Sahel, a semi-arid region. The southern part is a sub-tropical savanna, where most of the population lives. Temperatures in the capital, Bamako, average about 86º F, but can be as high as 110º F or as low as 65ºF. There are three main seasons: rainy (June-September), cool (October-February), and very hot (March-June).

...and what I'll be doing there:

I will be training near Bamako, the capital, for the first nine weeks. It is an intensive training session; I will be learning a new language and culture, living with a homestay family, and training to become a Peace Corps volunteer. At the end of training (September 10th), pending the results of a language exam, I will be sworn in as a Peace Corps volunteer and move to the village where I will be working for the next two years. I will be settling in to my new community during the first few weeks, meeting the people, and determining how to best serve this community.

Right now my job description is vague. I will most likely be living in a city, small town, or large village of at least 3,000 people. I will be assigned to work with a municipality, non-governmental organization (NGO), microfinance institution, or a village association in the community. The ultimate goal of a business volunteer in Mali is to reinforce the capacities of individuals and organizations to that they can better contribute to the economic needs of the community. I don't know much more than this right now; I will find out what my job will be and which counterpart agency I will be working with in August. Until then, I will be focused on learning a new language and adapting to Malian culture.

That's it for now; I'm looking forward to enjoying my last day at GLP tomorrow and boarding a plane to Philly on Wednesday morning. After a quick Peace Corps registration, orientation, vaccinations, and a cheesesteak for good measure, I will depart for Mali with 75 other Americans on Thursday night!

After the Party

T minus 10 days to my departure for Philadelphia, then for Mali. My family hosted a big going away party for me last night, which was a ton of fun. We had around 70 people at the beach house, a huge pig roast, and some front yard gaming before the night was over. Thanks to everyone to could come, it was great to see you all. It was an emotional night, saying goodbye to so many family members and good friends, but I'm really happy I got to see so many of you before I left.

I'm headed home tomorrow to pack up all my stuff, then back to the beach for one last week. I'm worried that I'm way over the 80 pound weight limit, so this will be an interesting packing job. My mom is an expert packer, so I'm not too worried and gracious to have her help.

This blog is a work in progress. I'm sure there will be another rainy day before I leave to work on making it look a little better. I look forward to updating the blog as often as I can while I'm abroad.

Again, thanks to everyone who could come to the party. I will miss you all!