So this post was supposed to be about Segou Music Festival (which was awesome!) and about my impromptu vacation to Spain (I decided 3 weeks beforehand that I would just go to Spain for awhile so I could eat pork and cheese and go to a beach- all the things I missed. Madrid and Valencia were really nice and I loved seeing my friend from college, Crystal.)... but it's not. Instead it is about the end of my Peace Corps journey.
The second day that I was in Madrid, Crystal and I were at the high school where she is an English teaching assitant in the teacher's lounge when one of the English teachers said "Did you hear about what's happening in Mali?" And I told her "Yea you mean the marches and the gunshots heard in Kati?" To which she replied "No, there was a coup d'etat. The President was attacked and the military is now in control." This was schocking information to me, and to be honest I didn't believe her. What would a Spanish woman know about Francophone country in Africa hundreds of miles away??? Crystal allowed me to check my Facebook and email on her iPhone, and that's when I found out that the teacher was right. There in fact had been a Coup d'Etat in Mali. The jist of what actually happened is that a man named Capt. Sanogo and a group of low ranking Army officers were tired of the way Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure, ATT, was handling the Tuareg Rebellion in the north of Mali (Tuaregs are fighting for an independent state in the north that they call Azwad). So to do something about this they ransacked the Presidential Palace in Bamako, declared that ATT was no longer in power and suspended the Constitution. Because of this ATT went into hiding, many ministers of government were arrested, a curfew was put in place, gunshots were heard all over Bamako, cars were stolen, the Senou International Airport was closed, land borders were closed and looting of houses and administrative buildings occurred.
Peace Corps Mali was immediately put on Standfast, where volunteers are to stay where they are and wait for further updates, and then put on Consolidation, where volunteers have to all meet up at the different emergency consolidation points all over the country. My volunteer friends were on consolidation for 8 days when the situation in Mali started to look better. There were no more gunshots heard, the Mutineers had re-opened the airport, no one had been killed, the Constitution was reinstated, and life was pretty much back to normal in the Capital. The majority of volunteers were taken off consolidation, and were even told they could go back to site. But then everything got worse. With the instability of the government in Bamako, the Tuaregs in the north were able to gain a lot of ground for their cause. Tuareg rebels were able to take control of 3 regional capitals in the north: Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu. There have since been reports of imposed Sharia Law, rape, and looting. Luckily there haven't been volunteers as far north as Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu for several years, so no volunteers were in immediate danger, but there were fears that the Tuareg rebels would make their way down to Mopti and Sevare where there are volunteers. Volunteers in the north were evacuated to Bamako, and then a day later all volunteers were brought to Bamako as a precautionary measure. That same day it was decided that Peace Corps Mali would have to evacuate to a neighboring country and Peace Corps Mali would be closed.
All of this happened while I was in Spain (I left for Spain on March 20th, the Coup happened on the 22nd, and I left Spain on the 29th), and then later in Morocco (I've been here since March 29th), where I flew to when I was told I wasn't allowed by Peace Corps to come back to Mali. Peace Corps has put me up in Rabat with a stipend and a hotel room for the past week. Rabat has been very nice, but honestly I've hated being by myself and I've hated the emotional roller coaster I've gone through with the news from Mali constantly changing. I did not enjoy Spain to the fullest because I could not stop worrying about my future in Mali. Morocco has been even more rough because I have been by myself. I hate being alone, and being sad and alone is even worse. When I found out that Peace Corps Mali was being evacuated I can honestly say it was the saddest moment of my entire life. I had grown to love that country and its people with all my heart. I may not have "liked" it there all the time but I truly "loved" being there. All that kept going through my mind was that I never got to say goodbye and I didn't get to finish my library (It was almost done!!! All that needed to happen was painting the building and installing all the furniture). I couldn't believe that I left Mali thinking I'd only be gone for a week but now I may never get to go back.
Mali has been my life for the past 2 years (well almost 2 years, we were just 3 months shy of our 2 year mark). I can't even attempt to explain how my Peace Corps experience has changed me, except to say that it has been the most remarkable experience of my entire life. I will cherish all my memories from my time in Mali and Mali will always hold a special place in my heart. Since I didn't get to in person, I want to use this blog post to say goodbye:
Goodbye Moussa, you have been the best counterpart I could have ever hoped for! I have never met someone as motivated as you. I don't think anything but acting for the good of your community was ever on your mind. Thank you for all that you and your family have given me. For everything from building me a new house when I complained that I needed privacy, to laughing at my dumb jokes, to being the only one who really understood my broken French, to fixing anything that was broken, and even to fetching me water when the tap outside of my house would go dry. I will miss you so much.
Goodbye Afu, you have been a great host mom! You were so scared to host me at your house in the beginning because you don't know French and didn't know how we would communicate, but we found our way! Thank you for always having food for me to eat and thank you for being one of the only people who made a daily effort to speak to me in Bambara and not Senoufo. Thank you for helping your daughter Mayi get comfortable being around me, and thank you for letting me in on some of the village gossip! You opened your house and kitchen up to a perfect stranger who you then made feel like family.
Goodbye Mousieur le Mayor (Pornon), Diakalia, and the rest of the Mayor's Office Staff. You guys were my hosts every Wednesday and I could always count on you for a laugh. You were also my providers of a tasty Rice! meal every week. In the last few months you let me charge my computer with the solar panel there, and you always joked that you would build me a bed so that I would have a place to nap whenever I came to the Mayor's Office. You also all invited me into your homes for many a meal. So I just wanted to say Thank You for everything, I don't know if I've ever met a nicer group of guys!
Goodbye Teachers of the Secondary School and my host dad Kafono. You all have been the most understanding of me being an American living in a foreign place out of all the people in village. I could come to you guys for political debates and to talk about current events. Even though we may have argued about teaching methods, I always cherished the time I spent with you. Thank you for being the people I could connect with on a deeper level.
And finally Goodbye Zanferebougou. I don't think I could have asked for a better village. I've seen pictures from other volunteers sites and even though this is incredibly biased, I truly believe that Zanferebougou is the fairest of them all! Zanferebougou is beautifully laid out with cartiers (neighborhoods in French) that actually make sense and follow a grid. Zanferebougou is lush and green with mango trees everywhere. Zanferebougou also has the nicest people I've evr met who were willing to drop everything to help me. I will always love Zanferebougou and I am proud to say that I got to be a member of that community for 2 years.
...
The next step for me is to meet up with my fellow PC Mali volunteers in a neighboring country (I am currently not allowed to publicly disclose this location, but I'm pretty excited to go there!) this Saturday where we will have a 1-2 week Transition Conference where we will basically tie up all the administrative strings before heading back to America. That being said I think I will be back in the States in about 3 weeks. I'm Coming Home!
Friday, April 6, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Let's try that again!
Since the one sentence stream of consciousnesses-esque blog was such a success I'm gonna go ahead and try it again:
While on a mission to find pork in Sikasso, Helen and I instead made friends with 2 Malian Christians, Theodore and Matthew, who gave us free beers and promised to have pig meat for purchase the next time we come.
I've been wearing my hair straightened with a flat iron and out of braids for the past two weeks because I wanted to see how long my hair has gotten; It's about two inches past my collar bone!
There is a very good chance I will get three more piercings done in village(3rd holes on both ears and then a cartiledge piercing)... okay more like a definite chance.
Every time I see a white person, or someone who is obviously a foreigner, I can't help but stare and think 'What the hell are you doing here???'
I finally turned in my Small Project Assistance Grant request for my Library (a request for $4000)!
I appreciate the fact that Sikasso has avocados year round, but I have to say they taste gross and are nothing like black Hass avocados in America.
The thought of city skylines in the US, skyscrapers in particular, surprisingly scares me...How can buildings be so tall!?! (Mali doesn't have a single skyscraper)
My mom's birthday is this month, on the 9th, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!
I am currently researching transatlantic cruises to take back to America as an alternative to flying and a way to see more of the world!
I'm super into marathoning TV shows right now; I just finished How to make it in America and I am currently watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (I'm on season 5).
Volunteers in my stage, Team America, are starting to pick their Close of Service dates which means I should know exactly when I'll be leaving Mali very soon!
Since living in Mali I have developed a love of cooking with green bell peppers and fresh cloves of garlic.
Malians, and unfortunately a lot of PCVs who have grown accustom to it, think it's totally cool to pick their noses in public and I'm talking the digging for gold type of nose picking... um GROSS!
My village and the villages around us are starting to prepare for their annual (for my village it's every 2 years) traditional all-village festival where everyone dresses up and dances to balofone music for hours!
The Diva Cup is one of the greatest inventions known to women and I recommend that every girl I know go out and buy one!
My host family made fun of me for paying $4 for a sweatshirt because they say it should have cost $2... seriously I heard them speaking in Senufo and constantly saying my name and "sweatshirt" and "$4!?" for like an hour.
For the past 2 weeks I have listened to 4 songs on repeat, and these 4 songs only: Sexy and I Know it by LMFAO, Rack City by Tyga, Dance (A$$) by Big Sean, and Rain Over Me by Pitbull... seriously, this is no joke.
The African Cup of Nations Soccer Tournament is currently going on in Gabon and Equitorial Guinea and Mali actually isn't doing all that bad.
There is quite a bit of terrorist activity going on in the North of Mali right now (near Timbuktu and in the Gao region) but to be honest I feel safer in my village than I ever did in suburban America.
As my Peace Corps service is coming to a close I have started a journal to document all the things I will miss about Mali as well as all the things I definitely won't miss.
I am trying to read as many "Classic" books as I can while in Mali... I'm currently reading 1984.
I leave for Segou in 10 days to spend 2 days at Melissa's site and then go to Festival sur le Niger which will most likely turn into a 5-day crazy Peace Corps party.
While on a mission to find pork in Sikasso, Helen and I instead made friends with 2 Malian Christians, Theodore and Matthew, who gave us free beers and promised to have pig meat for purchase the next time we come.
I've been wearing my hair straightened with a flat iron and out of braids for the past two weeks because I wanted to see how long my hair has gotten; It's about two inches past my collar bone!
There is a very good chance I will get three more piercings done in village(3rd holes on both ears and then a cartiledge piercing)... okay more like a definite chance.
Every time I see a white person, or someone who is obviously a foreigner, I can't help but stare and think 'What the hell are you doing here???'
I finally turned in my Small Project Assistance Grant request for my Library (a request for $4000)!
I appreciate the fact that Sikasso has avocados year round, but I have to say they taste gross and are nothing like black Hass avocados in America.
The thought of city skylines in the US, skyscrapers in particular, surprisingly scares me...How can buildings be so tall!?! (Mali doesn't have a single skyscraper)
My mom's birthday is this month, on the 9th, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!
I am currently researching transatlantic cruises to take back to America as an alternative to flying and a way to see more of the world!
I'm super into marathoning TV shows right now; I just finished How to make it in America and I am currently watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (I'm on season 5).
Volunteers in my stage, Team America, are starting to pick their Close of Service dates which means I should know exactly when I'll be leaving Mali very soon!
Since living in Mali I have developed a love of cooking with green bell peppers and fresh cloves of garlic.
Malians, and unfortunately a lot of PCVs who have grown accustom to it, think it's totally cool to pick their noses in public and I'm talking the digging for gold type of nose picking... um GROSS!
My village and the villages around us are starting to prepare for their annual (for my village it's every 2 years) traditional all-village festival where everyone dresses up and dances to balofone music for hours!
The Diva Cup is one of the greatest inventions known to women and I recommend that every girl I know go out and buy one!
My host family made fun of me for paying $4 for a sweatshirt because they say it should have cost $2... seriously I heard them speaking in Senufo and constantly saying my name and "sweatshirt" and "$4!?" for like an hour.
For the past 2 weeks I have listened to 4 songs on repeat, and these 4 songs only: Sexy and I Know it by LMFAO, Rack City by Tyga, Dance (A$$) by Big Sean, and Rain Over Me by Pitbull... seriously, this is no joke.
The African Cup of Nations Soccer Tournament is currently going on in Gabon and Equitorial Guinea and Mali actually isn't doing all that bad.
There is quite a bit of terrorist activity going on in the North of Mali right now (near Timbuktu and in the Gao region) but to be honest I feel safer in my village than I ever did in suburban America.
As my Peace Corps service is coming to a close I have started a journal to document all the things I will miss about Mali as well as all the things I definitely won't miss.
I am trying to read as many "Classic" books as I can while in Mali... I'm currently reading 1984.
I leave for Segou in 10 days to spend 2 days at Melissa's site and then go to Festival sur le Niger which will most likely turn into a 5-day crazy Peace Corps party.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
This is getting difficult
So it's probably pretty evident that I'm terrible at this whole blog writing thing. I haven't written anything in weeks going on months because it is so hard to motivate myself to sit down and write when I could be watching a movie instead! Writing a blog post in village means using precious computer battery life... This is why I'm writing this post in Bamako where there is constant access to electricity!! Choosing to open my computer to write isn't the only problem I have with writing a blog post, there's also the fact that I most often feel like I have nothing to write about, or at least nothing people other than me would find interesting (For example my version of a "big story" is that everytime I hear a rooster crow I think of the opening soundtrack to Network Africa on the BBC... now who wants to read about that? No one.). So this time around I'm gonna try something new. I'm going to write a post entirely of random one sentence stories... Maybe this will spice things up a bit?
My Handwashing Campaign, aka my first official project, was a complete success with 30 tippy taps erected all over my village and two murals depicting the importance of soap use.
I spent Christmas this year in Manantali with a small group of good friends, like last year, and it was so relaxing and just nice to get out of the normal swing of things.
New Year's Eve was spent in Bamako again, only this year was a lot more chill than last year with a small house party and no firecracker shenanigans.
My Library project has finally hit the ground running!
I've recently watched a ridiculous amount of movies, my favorites having been Repo Men, Contagion and Inside Man.
My heels constantly cracking is the biggest worry on my mind at present.
I've been adding one bracelet to my wrist for every month that I have spent in Mali, I'm up to 18 now!!
It shocks me how different my youngest brother Kevin looks in pictures, and to be honest I'm kinda nervous to go home and find a giant has replaced my sweet little shoulder-height baby brother.
In America I was super anal about my eyebrows looking good, in Mali I let them grow to be catepillars and only pluck them before seeing other Americans.
One of my best friends in country, Meredith, is back in Mali after having been Medivaced then Medically seperated and finally reinstated!
I loooovvve going to the market in Bamako to look through piles of old second hand clothes hoping to find that one cute top to wear out to one of Bamako's ridiculous clubs.
By just looking at my pictures on facebook it may seem that all I am doing in Mali is partying, but in actuality I party once a month if that.
I just had one of the best paninis I've ever had in my life, Mexican Steak Panini, and it was in Bamako, Mali.
The worst mosquito bites are the ones on your face, the soles of your feet and the palms of your hand.
I painted a gigantic American Flag in my bathroom at site one day just because I was bored.
My 2 year old host sister Mayi peed on this guy that no on really likes' foot and proceeded to laugh hysterically about it.
I gave my homologue a Florida Gator hat which he now wears almost everyday... The Gator Nation really is everywhere.
I am going through an odd obsession with processed meats like summer sausage, pepperoni and jerky.
My 8k bike ride out of my village to this day still kicks my butt and in my defense it's mostly uphill!!
To pass time at site I have been making beaded bracelets and surprisingly it is primarily the men that have asked me to make them one, but I say no way that they are just for women!
The newest stage in Mali was named the Madhatters, and they are all now at site beginning their 3 month lock down.
My village's Mayor's Office just got a computer which is powered by a solar panel which now means I can charge my computer at site!!!
It is currently cold season in Mali where I actually sleep with a blanket and I have to remind myself to cherish these moments because hot season is fast approaching.
I bought my ticket to Segou Music Festival (Festival sur le Niger), so that's the next big event coming up in my Peace Corps life.
...
That wasn't so bad.
My Handwashing Campaign, aka my first official project, was a complete success with 30 tippy taps erected all over my village and two murals depicting the importance of soap use.
I spent Christmas this year in Manantali with a small group of good friends, like last year, and it was so relaxing and just nice to get out of the normal swing of things.
New Year's Eve was spent in Bamako again, only this year was a lot more chill than last year with a small house party and no firecracker shenanigans.
My Library project has finally hit the ground running!
I've recently watched a ridiculous amount of movies, my favorites having been Repo Men, Contagion and Inside Man.
My heels constantly cracking is the biggest worry on my mind at present.
I've been adding one bracelet to my wrist for every month that I have spent in Mali, I'm up to 18 now!!
It shocks me how different my youngest brother Kevin looks in pictures, and to be honest I'm kinda nervous to go home and find a giant has replaced my sweet little shoulder-height baby brother.
In America I was super anal about my eyebrows looking good, in Mali I let them grow to be catepillars and only pluck them before seeing other Americans.
One of my best friends in country, Meredith, is back in Mali after having been Medivaced then Medically seperated and finally reinstated!
I loooovvve going to the market in Bamako to look through piles of old second hand clothes hoping to find that one cute top to wear out to one of Bamako's ridiculous clubs.
By just looking at my pictures on facebook it may seem that all I am doing in Mali is partying, but in actuality I party once a month if that.
I just had one of the best paninis I've ever had in my life, Mexican Steak Panini, and it was in Bamako, Mali.
The worst mosquito bites are the ones on your face, the soles of your feet and the palms of your hand.
I painted a gigantic American Flag in my bathroom at site one day just because I was bored.
My 2 year old host sister Mayi peed on this guy that no on really likes' foot and proceeded to laugh hysterically about it.
I gave my homologue a Florida Gator hat which he now wears almost everyday... The Gator Nation really is everywhere.
I am going through an odd obsession with processed meats like summer sausage, pepperoni and jerky.
My 8k bike ride out of my village to this day still kicks my butt and in my defense it's mostly uphill!!
To pass time at site I have been making beaded bracelets and surprisingly it is primarily the men that have asked me to make them one, but I say no way that they are just for women!
The newest stage in Mali was named the Madhatters, and they are all now at site beginning their 3 month lock down.
My village's Mayor's Office just got a computer which is powered by a solar panel which now means I can charge my computer at site!!!
It is currently cold season in Mali where I actually sleep with a blanket and I have to remind myself to cherish these moments because hot season is fast approaching.
I bought my ticket to Segou Music Festival (Festival sur le Niger), so that's the next big event coming up in my Peace Corps life.
...
That wasn't so bad.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Update
Written November 9, 2011
So I would love to say that the reason I haven't updated my blog in so long is that I have been really busy studying for the GRE which I am taking in Bamako on the 19th. This however is not the case. I'm lucky if I spend more than 2 hours a day studying. It's really hard to make yourself do something (i.e. study) when you've gotten use to doing a whole lot of nothing (i.e. sitting in my hammock reading romance novels...) Anyway here is what I have been up to:
So my Tippy Tap project has actually taken up a lot of my time. I have spent the past couple of weeks painting a bunch , 30, of old cooking oil jugs white and then drawing the Peace Corps symbol on them. These jugs are what hold the water that you control with a foot pedal attatched to the top of the jug with rope. Pressing down on the foot pedal makes water come out in a stream which you wash your hands with soap under. My homologue and I then took all of the jugs. rope and soap and set them up on their wooden frames in all of the public areas (the market, by the public latrines, at the schools, etc) in my village. In Bambara we call the tippy taps Tege ko yoro (hand washing place); everyone was super excited to test out their tege ko yoro! The Chief of the Village even filmed some children washing their hands with his cell phone! Along with the 30 tippy taps, I also painted two murals that depict hands being washed with soap and that say "Wash hands with soap!" in French with the help of 3 other PCVs. I really am glad that I was able to carry out this project and that my village actually appreciates the work done because washing hands with soap is probably one of the most important messages that Peace Corps Volunteers can get across and I think my villagers get that. In America we think of soap use as second nature, but here it really is something that Malians aren't use to. Little by little people are understanding that handwashing is good for their health because it prevents disease.
At the beginning of October I met up with Melissa and Meredith in Bamako so that we could act as tour guides around Mali for 3 volunteers on their COS (close of service) trip from Cape Verde. We met Jon and Elyse back in February at WAIST and then again when we vacationed in Cape Verde, and we met Brendan upon his arrival in Mali. Their first night in country we took them out for a night of dancing in Bamako and then the next day took a Peace Corps shuttle up to Sevare. We spent that night in Mopti and then spent the next day walking around Mopti's riverside market and then later taking a boat ride. We then made our way to Bandiagara where we started a 3 day Dogon Hike the next day. Each day we walked through 3 or so Dogon villages. This hike was really awesome because we got to see all of the ancient cliff dwellings and even got to hike up and down the cliff which was actually pretty scary for me. After the hike our next destination was Djenne to see the world famous mud mosque. I was actually pretty disappointed with Djenne because the city itself is super dirty with open sewers everywhere and you are constantly berated by incredibley annoying guides who won't take no for an answer. After Djenne we made our way back to Bamako where we said bye to the Cape Verde kids. Jon, Brendan, Elyse: I had so much fun with you guys and we really miss you!!
Seli Ba, a big Muslim holiday that I don't know the name for in English (it's Tabaski in French), was just a few days ago. For two days we ate a ridiculous amount of sheep in goat meat because practically every family slaughters an animal for the holiday. I actually got kind of sick because my body just isn't use to animal protein anymore because I can go several months having only eaten a morcel or two of beef or chicken. Everyone got super dressed up in their new Seli Ba clothes, but I didn't have an outfit made because my homologue is Christian and I felt it would be odd if I walked around in fancy clothes next to him in plain clothes. I spent both days of the holiday going around visiting people and having tea at their houses, and like I said earlier, eating lots of meat. The evening of the second day was the Balofone dance party. I love going to these just to watch people dance, but I never actually dance myself because I hate being the center of attention, well no more than I already am as the visibly lighter skinned foreigner amongst everyone. This dance party was particularly eventful because there was a drunk 20-something guy who kept tapping on the different instruments, jumping in the middle of random dance circles, and then in the end throwing punches at people and even pushing a woman with a baby in her arm! It was so crazy and actually kind of scary! Everyone started screaming while this dude was throwing punches and fighting with the crowd. I hid behind my giant of a homologue the whole time; I was not trying to get caught in the crossfire! I have no idea why this guy was even allowed to come to the party in the first place. I found out later that he had had 3 liters of wine to drink before the party! It always surprises me that people can get drunk like this with Mali being a predominantly Muslim country and all.
A little over a week ago I went to Bougouni for a Peace Corps Halloween Party. My friends, Melissa, Meredith and I had planned on going as the Three Little Pigs, but it turned out that Melissa and I were the Two Little Pigs because Meredith got medevacted out of Mali a couple weeks before Halloween. I think there were close to 50 volunteers that came down for the party. It was all really fun, and I always enjoy every chance I get to see volunteers from other regions. Unfortunately I passed out pretty early so I missed a lot of the party so Melissa got to claim the position of the Pig who built the brick house since she was the last one standing!
Up next for me: Well of course there is the GRE which I will continue to force myself to study for, but almost immediately after that is Thanksgiving. This year it is the Team America volunteers of the Sikasso region's turn to plan Thanksgiving. Helen and I took on the main planning roles, and it has really been a lot of work, but luckily we have lots of help from the other Sikasso volunteers! We had to find venues for Thanksgiving dinner itself and for a Mexican themed pool day the day after. We also had to find turkeys and ingredients for all of the side dishes, enough to feed at least 70 people, lodging for 3 nights for all of those people, and then clubs that we can go to at night. So I think we've done a pretty good job getting everything together, so here's to hoping it all comes together well and that all the Peace Corps Mali Volunteers who come truly enjoy Thanksgiving in Sikasso!
So I would love to say that the reason I haven't updated my blog in so long is that I have been really busy studying for the GRE which I am taking in Bamako on the 19th. This however is not the case. I'm lucky if I spend more than 2 hours a day studying. It's really hard to make yourself do something (i.e. study) when you've gotten use to doing a whole lot of nothing (i.e. sitting in my hammock reading romance novels...) Anyway here is what I have been up to:
So my Tippy Tap project has actually taken up a lot of my time. I have spent the past couple of weeks painting a bunch , 30, of old cooking oil jugs white and then drawing the Peace Corps symbol on them. These jugs are what hold the water that you control with a foot pedal attatched to the top of the jug with rope. Pressing down on the foot pedal makes water come out in a stream which you wash your hands with soap under. My homologue and I then took all of the jugs. rope and soap and set them up on their wooden frames in all of the public areas (the market, by the public latrines, at the schools, etc) in my village. In Bambara we call the tippy taps Tege ko yoro (hand washing place); everyone was super excited to test out their tege ko yoro! The Chief of the Village even filmed some children washing their hands with his cell phone! Along with the 30 tippy taps, I also painted two murals that depict hands being washed with soap and that say "Wash hands with soap!" in French with the help of 3 other PCVs. I really am glad that I was able to carry out this project and that my village actually appreciates the work done because washing hands with soap is probably one of the most important messages that Peace Corps Volunteers can get across and I think my villagers get that. In America we think of soap use as second nature, but here it really is something that Malians aren't use to. Little by little people are understanding that handwashing is good for their health because it prevents disease.
At the beginning of October I met up with Melissa and Meredith in Bamako so that we could act as tour guides around Mali for 3 volunteers on their COS (close of service) trip from Cape Verde. We met Jon and Elyse back in February at WAIST and then again when we vacationed in Cape Verde, and we met Brendan upon his arrival in Mali. Their first night in country we took them out for a night of dancing in Bamako and then the next day took a Peace Corps shuttle up to Sevare. We spent that night in Mopti and then spent the next day walking around Mopti's riverside market and then later taking a boat ride. We then made our way to Bandiagara where we started a 3 day Dogon Hike the next day. Each day we walked through 3 or so Dogon villages. This hike was really awesome because we got to see all of the ancient cliff dwellings and even got to hike up and down the cliff which was actually pretty scary for me. After the hike our next destination was Djenne to see the world famous mud mosque. I was actually pretty disappointed with Djenne because the city itself is super dirty with open sewers everywhere and you are constantly berated by incredibley annoying guides who won't take no for an answer. After Djenne we made our way back to Bamako where we said bye to the Cape Verde kids. Jon, Brendan, Elyse: I had so much fun with you guys and we really miss you!!
Seli Ba, a big Muslim holiday that I don't know the name for in English (it's Tabaski in French), was just a few days ago. For two days we ate a ridiculous amount of sheep in goat meat because practically every family slaughters an animal for the holiday. I actually got kind of sick because my body just isn't use to animal protein anymore because I can go several months having only eaten a morcel or two of beef or chicken. Everyone got super dressed up in their new Seli Ba clothes, but I didn't have an outfit made because my homologue is Christian and I felt it would be odd if I walked around in fancy clothes next to him in plain clothes. I spent both days of the holiday going around visiting people and having tea at their houses, and like I said earlier, eating lots of meat. The evening of the second day was the Balofone dance party. I love going to these just to watch people dance, but I never actually dance myself because I hate being the center of attention, well no more than I already am as the visibly lighter skinned foreigner amongst everyone. This dance party was particularly eventful because there was a drunk 20-something guy who kept tapping on the different instruments, jumping in the middle of random dance circles, and then in the end throwing punches at people and even pushing a woman with a baby in her arm! It was so crazy and actually kind of scary! Everyone started screaming while this dude was throwing punches and fighting with the crowd. I hid behind my giant of a homologue the whole time; I was not trying to get caught in the crossfire! I have no idea why this guy was even allowed to come to the party in the first place. I found out later that he had had 3 liters of wine to drink before the party! It always surprises me that people can get drunk like this with Mali being a predominantly Muslim country and all.
A little over a week ago I went to Bougouni for a Peace Corps Halloween Party. My friends, Melissa, Meredith and I had planned on going as the Three Little Pigs, but it turned out that Melissa and I were the Two Little Pigs because Meredith got medevacted out of Mali a couple weeks before Halloween. I think there were close to 50 volunteers that came down for the party. It was all really fun, and I always enjoy every chance I get to see volunteers from other regions. Unfortunately I passed out pretty early so I missed a lot of the party so Melissa got to claim the position of the Pig who built the brick house since she was the last one standing!
Up next for me: Well of course there is the GRE which I will continue to force myself to study for, but almost immediately after that is Thanksgiving. This year it is the Team America volunteers of the Sikasso region's turn to plan Thanksgiving. Helen and I took on the main planning roles, and it has really been a lot of work, but luckily we have lots of help from the other Sikasso volunteers! We had to find venues for Thanksgiving dinner itself and for a Mexican themed pool day the day after. We also had to find turkeys and ingredients for all of the side dishes, enough to feed at least 70 people, lodging for 3 nights for all of those people, and then clubs that we can go to at night. So I think we've done a pretty good job getting everything together, so here's to hoping it all comes together well and that all the Peace Corps Mali Volunteers who come truly enjoy Thanksgiving in Sikasso!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Pierced Nose!
Written September 12, 2011
If you couldn't tell already, I'm a big fan of the mini story blog post, so here we go again!
Language:
I don't know what exactly changed in village, but recently I have been able to communicate a hell of a lot better than I ever have, in Bambara that is. I'm not sure if it is that my Bambara has gotten better or if people just feel more comfortable talking to me now that they have known me for a year. My host mom, for example, will now have full conversations with me when before we just talked about food, "come eat", "I'm full" and so on. Before for communication beyond food topics she would say what she wanted to say in Senufo to her husband or my homologue and they would translate it into French for me. Now she sees no need for a middle man! My homologue also now tells people "A be se ka caman caman fo Bamanankan na!" which means "she can say a lot in Bambara!" when before he told people I could only say a little. It feels really good to have people compliment me with my language!
Nose Piercing:
I have wanted to get my nose pierced since probably middle school, if not before then! I was never able to because my Dad basically threatened to disown me if I ever did it! Well, so sorry Dad, I finally did it! I figure now that I'm officially on my own and independent (well except for the packages that my mom sends me that I really appreciate!!!) that I can do whatever I want, so I did. A lot of women in my village have their noses pierced so I figured it would be a cool thing to do integration wise as well as accomplishing something I've wanted to do for a long time, a sort of "killing two birds with one stone." Thankfully Helen, the volunteer closest to me, and I decided to get our noses pierced together because I'm not sure if I would've been brave enough to do it on my own. I asked the girl who normally braids my hair where she got her nose pierced and if she knew someone who could pierce mine. She told me that she pierced her own nose and that she has pierced a bunch of other girls noses too and that she would be more than happy to pierce mine! It was as easy as that! So Helen and I went by the girl's house one afternoon a couple of weeks ago and both sat down ready to just get it over with. The girl used gold stud earrings that were super pointy and sharp at the end and just pushed them through our noses. I heard the earring pierce through the cartilage, but besides that, it wasn't too bad! A couple of tears dripped down my face, but I couldn't have been happier! It looks so good! Helen's too! I've been cleaning it with anti-bacterial soap and Betadine, and so far no infection!
Cat:
If you've been keeping up with my blog, you'd know that I previously had a cat, but was only able to keep it for a few days out of extreme annoyance. Well... I did it again, I got another cat. This is gonna sound bad, but I have no desire to own a cat, I just really need one because I have a serious mice problem. There have been 2 mice terrorizing my house. Every single night they run all over crashing into things making it very hard for me to sleep. They also eat anything and everything! They ate half a pack of spaghetti, half a clove of garlic, 2 onions, chewed holes in 4 bell peppers, chewed through a basket, chewed through the top of a bottle of hot sauce, and they got into several of my pasta sides bags! It was getting ridiculous, so I needed a mouses worst nightmare. I got my cat yesterday, and so far so good. I didn't hear anything mouse-wise last night, so here's to hoping that continues! Oh and I haven't named the cat yet, I have to judge her personality first.
First SPA Update:
My SPA was approved!! I now have to wait for the 230 some odd dollars to be deposited in my account and then I can begin! My SPA was for 30 Tippy Taps to be placed all over my village and for 2 hand washing murals to be painted at both of the schools! I'm very excited to start this project and it seems like my villagers are too!
Host Sister:
My little host sister, who is a month away from her second birthday, finally likes me! When I first got to my village and met my host family my host sister would scream any time I appeared. It took probably 2 or 3 months for her to quit screaming but still not want to have anything to do with me. A few months ago she just began to let me pick her up, but now she actually comes up to me with her arms held up!! She sits in my lap and tries to touch my face while laughing, it's super cute! I'm so happy she finally likes me because I saw her take her first steps and say her first words so I've always felt this connection with her but haven't even been able to hold her. All is good now!
Hot Priest:
Blegh. I really don't like this guy. It had been several months since I last saw him (thank God!) but good ole Hot Priest decided to stop by for a visit a few days ago. I heard a moto drive up to my concession and I figured it was my homologue or someone else I like, but then that person kept knocking on my gate door, something my homologue or his family members never do, so I figured this might be someone I don't want to see. I was in the process of making popcorn on my gas stove so I was also annoyed that I would have to leave that and run to open the gate. As I opened the gate the only thought going through my mind was "You've got to be kidding me!" It was Hot Priest! He also brought his sister and her kid along with him so I felt obligated to be cordial. He saw that I had laundry hanging up and could tell that I was occupied with something in my house, but he still decided to sit down. I ran back inside to save my popcorn, which burned a little!, and then came back out to sit with him. he kept talking about how it had been so long since we'd seen each other, but I just kept looking at the ground and giving him one word responses, I was quite cold towards him. After about 5 minutes I think he got the picture and got up and said his good byes and then left. This visit wasn't nearly as annoying as past visits, but still! Besides the fact that Hot Priest is beyond annoying, I also hear that he is always talking to my homologue about me and Helen and how we don't come by the church. First of all, as Peace Corps volunteers we're not really supposed to associate ourselves with churches (we can go to services and so on and practice our religious freedoms) because we don't want our villages thinking we're missionaries, and second of all I'm not even Catholic! so I wouldn't be going to his Church anyway! My homologue thinks it's funny that I don't like Hot Priest, he doesn't like him much either, so he always tells me about Hot Priest bringing my name up just to see my reaction. Blegh.
If you couldn't tell already, I'm a big fan of the mini story blog post, so here we go again!
Language:
I don't know what exactly changed in village, but recently I have been able to communicate a hell of a lot better than I ever have, in Bambara that is. I'm not sure if it is that my Bambara has gotten better or if people just feel more comfortable talking to me now that they have known me for a year. My host mom, for example, will now have full conversations with me when before we just talked about food, "come eat", "I'm full" and so on. Before for communication beyond food topics she would say what she wanted to say in Senufo to her husband or my homologue and they would translate it into French for me. Now she sees no need for a middle man! My homologue also now tells people "A be se ka caman caman fo Bamanankan na!" which means "she can say a lot in Bambara!" when before he told people I could only say a little. It feels really good to have people compliment me with my language!
Nose Piercing:
I have wanted to get my nose pierced since probably middle school, if not before then! I was never able to because my Dad basically threatened to disown me if I ever did it! Well, so sorry Dad, I finally did it! I figure now that I'm officially on my own and independent (well except for the packages that my mom sends me that I really appreciate!!!) that I can do whatever I want, so I did. A lot of women in my village have their noses pierced so I figured it would be a cool thing to do integration wise as well as accomplishing something I've wanted to do for a long time, a sort of "killing two birds with one stone." Thankfully Helen, the volunteer closest to me, and I decided to get our noses pierced together because I'm not sure if I would've been brave enough to do it on my own. I asked the girl who normally braids my hair where she got her nose pierced and if she knew someone who could pierce mine. She told me that she pierced her own nose and that she has pierced a bunch of other girls noses too and that she would be more than happy to pierce mine! It was as easy as that! So Helen and I went by the girl's house one afternoon a couple of weeks ago and both sat down ready to just get it over with. The girl used gold stud earrings that were super pointy and sharp at the end and just pushed them through our noses. I heard the earring pierce through the cartilage, but besides that, it wasn't too bad! A couple of tears dripped down my face, but I couldn't have been happier! It looks so good! Helen's too! I've been cleaning it with anti-bacterial soap and Betadine, and so far no infection!
Cat:
If you've been keeping up with my blog, you'd know that I previously had a cat, but was only able to keep it for a few days out of extreme annoyance. Well... I did it again, I got another cat. This is gonna sound bad, but I have no desire to own a cat, I just really need one because I have a serious mice problem. There have been 2 mice terrorizing my house. Every single night they run all over crashing into things making it very hard for me to sleep. They also eat anything and everything! They ate half a pack of spaghetti, half a clove of garlic, 2 onions, chewed holes in 4 bell peppers, chewed through a basket, chewed through the top of a bottle of hot sauce, and they got into several of my pasta sides bags! It was getting ridiculous, so I needed a mouses worst nightmare. I got my cat yesterday, and so far so good. I didn't hear anything mouse-wise last night, so here's to hoping that continues! Oh and I haven't named the cat yet, I have to judge her personality first.
First SPA Update:
My SPA was approved!! I now have to wait for the 230 some odd dollars to be deposited in my account and then I can begin! My SPA was for 30 Tippy Taps to be placed all over my village and for 2 hand washing murals to be painted at both of the schools! I'm very excited to start this project and it seems like my villagers are too!
Host Sister:
My little host sister, who is a month away from her second birthday, finally likes me! When I first got to my village and met my host family my host sister would scream any time I appeared. It took probably 2 or 3 months for her to quit screaming but still not want to have anything to do with me. A few months ago she just began to let me pick her up, but now she actually comes up to me with her arms held up!! She sits in my lap and tries to touch my face while laughing, it's super cute! I'm so happy she finally likes me because I saw her take her first steps and say her first words so I've always felt this connection with her but haven't even been able to hold her. All is good now!
Hot Priest:
Blegh. I really don't like this guy. It had been several months since I last saw him (thank God!) but good ole Hot Priest decided to stop by for a visit a few days ago. I heard a moto drive up to my concession and I figured it was my homologue or someone else I like, but then that person kept knocking on my gate door, something my homologue or his family members never do, so I figured this might be someone I don't want to see. I was in the process of making popcorn on my gas stove so I was also annoyed that I would have to leave that and run to open the gate. As I opened the gate the only thought going through my mind was "You've got to be kidding me!" It was Hot Priest! He also brought his sister and her kid along with him so I felt obligated to be cordial. He saw that I had laundry hanging up and could tell that I was occupied with something in my house, but he still decided to sit down. I ran back inside to save my popcorn, which burned a little!, and then came back out to sit with him. he kept talking about how it had been so long since we'd seen each other, but I just kept looking at the ground and giving him one word responses, I was quite cold towards him. After about 5 minutes I think he got the picture and got up and said his good byes and then left. This visit wasn't nearly as annoying as past visits, but still! Besides the fact that Hot Priest is beyond annoying, I also hear that he is always talking to my homologue about me and Helen and how we don't come by the church. First of all, as Peace Corps volunteers we're not really supposed to associate ourselves with churches (we can go to services and so on and practice our religious freedoms) because we don't want our villages thinking we're missionaries, and second of all I'm not even Catholic! so I wouldn't be going to his Church anyway! My homologue thinks it's funny that I don't like Hot Priest, he doesn't like him much either, so he always tells me about Hot Priest bringing my name up just to see my reaction. Blegh.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Animist Funeral and a Mask that kills women!
Since my last blog post quite a bit has happened:
1. New Volunteers sworn in
2. Trip to Bandiagara/Mopti
3. Animist Funeral
4. The Mask comes out
5. My First SPA
1. It seems like we just had a bunch of new volunteers, the Kennedys, sworn in just yesterday but turns out that was all the way in April! The new-new volunteers were sworn in on August 5th at the US Embassy in Bamako. I felt as if I had already done the whole "Swear-in thing" so I slept through their ceremony, but of course there was no way I was gonna miss their Party! This time around the party was held at Espace Bouna in Bamako. Bouna is a super chill outdoor bar with a huge open dance floor. I really love partying at Bouna but a lot of volunteers think that it's starting to get overdone because majority of our volunteer parties are held there. I could care less though because I just want to dance and as long as there is a dance floor I am happy! Anyway, at the party the new stage was given the name Goodfellas, I'm not really sure why, and we all had a really good time dancing the night away together!
2. Literally the next morning after the swear-in party I got on the Peace Corps Shuttle to Sevare. Every month, and sometimes multiple times a month, Peace Corps cars (Land Cruisers) drive to every region to pick up and deliver stuff to and from all of the regional houses. One of our awesome volunteer priviledges is that we can sign up to be on these shuttles! This means that we don't have to take public transport, and if we're lucky enough to sign up for one of the 8 spots in the car then we get an airconditioned and much faster trip to whichever regional capital that shuttle is going to. So the morning after swear in I was lucky enough to get one of the spots on the shuttle going up north. This was pretty much an all day trip so I was really glad that I got to ride in the comfort of a Peace Corps car and not on a smelly, hot bus that is probably inches from falling apart. The reason for going up north was to go to a party in Bandiagara and then to also hang out in Mopti and Sevare for a few days. The party in Bandiagara was pretty fun, but the best part of the trip was going to Mopti! We got to hang out at these two really cool restaurants and take a boat ride on the river! Also in Mopti I had a guy come up to me and ask if I wanted to trade my watch for one of the necklaces he was selling. My watch was actually broken (the band that holds the strap had ripped off) and I was waiting to go back to Sikasso to just throw it away and put on a new watch my mom had sent me. I explained to the guy that it was broken but he didn't care about that, he only cared that it was water proof. He told me that he wanted to give the watch to his father who I guess was a fisherman and could benefit from a waterproof watch. Seeing as I was planning on throwing away the watch anyway, this was quite an opportunity! I ended up picking out this really cool camel's tooth necklace with brown accent beads. Cool huh?
3. I recently attended my second funeral in village. This one was different though because it was an animist funeral! Basically this entailed women being present at the funeral, lots of balafone playing, lots of dancing, and the body being present. Not only was the body present though, the body was being danced with!! This was seriously the craziest thing I've ever seen in my life!! The men at the funeral took turns rocking the body back and forth to the music, and as that was going on women were throwing candy in the air and kids were diving down to retrieve it. They paraded around village with the body stopping every once and a while to conduct parts of the animist ceremony. There was also a bunch of guns going off since the deceased had been a hunter. Everytime a gun was shot it would make a noise so loud that I would get scared and jump every single time, which everyone thought was hilarious. One woman came up to me during the parade and asked if I would come hold/dance with the body with her. I shouted out NOoooo! There was no way I was gonna touch let alone dance with a dead body! At one point in the parade/ceremony the music stopped and everyone stood around as an old man sat in front of the body and waved a knife around in the air. After about 30 seconds of this the old man got up and a group of men rushed up to grab the body and the dashed off with the body heading toward the grave. When I say dashed, I mean it! They were speedwalking, nearly running, to this grave that was about a mile away. I nearly had to run to catch up to them to see the body go into the ground! After attending this funeral I can say that this was seriously one of the coolest things I have ever seen but it definitely gave me the creeps and made it extremely hard to fall asleep that night!
4. That night of the funeral was also the first night that I had been in village at the same time that The Mask had come out. The Mask is a mask that a secret society of men from my village carry around at night every once in a while to the accompaniement of drums and singing as a sort of animist ritual. I'm not sure the purpose of the mask, but I've been told that women can not participate and are forbiden from seeing the mask. In fact the belief is that if a woman sees the mask she will die. All of the women in my village are deathly afraid of the mask, so when ever they hear the singing and drums they drop whatever they are doing to go inside and hide. Every other time that the mask had come out in my village I had for some reason or other been in Sikasso. Because this was my first time being present with the mask out my homologue decided to wait out side my door to make sure I stayed inside and I guess out of sight from the mask to protect me from dying. The whole time the mask was passing my house and I could hear the music I really wanted to take just a peek at the men and their mask. I decided not to though because even though I seriously doubt a mask could kill you, you never know...
5. So...I just filled out my very first SPA!! A SPA is small project funding from the Peace Corps. I originally wanted to fill out a SPA for my library, but at the moment there isn't enough money in the Peace Corps Mali budget to pay for it. My Library is going to require about $10,000 to build, and I will most likely have to wait for the next fiscal year to do this... oh well. In the meantime I decided to do a much smaller project instead. So the SPA funding that I asked for is to put up 30 hand washing stations, or "Tippy Taps", throughout my village and also to paint two handwashing murals. The reason I want to do this is because very few people in my village wash their hands with both soap and water, most just swish their hands around in a bucket of water before eating and often times it is the same water that one or more people have already used! I'm sure that this is the reason that so many people have diarrhea in my village and also the reason I'm sick all of the time (I've gotten Ameobas twice!!). I'm hoping that with Tippy Taps being visible and accessible all over the village, people will no longer not have a reason to wash their hands without soap! This project is pretty small so it shouldn't be too difficult to see through and it will be a good way to keep me busy while I wait until I am able to build my Library.
Besides all that, everything has been pretty chill in village. I have been doing a lot of work on my garden lately. I have a pretty legit crop of cilantro growing right now! I seriously can't wait to make some homemade salsa and guac with my cilantro!! I also have a papaya tree that is growing strong; it's almost my height now! I also have 5 okra plants shooting up, some wildflowers and 2 tomato plants! I've never gardened before in my life, so I'd say that things are going pretty well!
1. New Volunteers sworn in
2. Trip to Bandiagara/Mopti
3. Animist Funeral
4. The Mask comes out
5. My First SPA
1. It seems like we just had a bunch of new volunteers, the Kennedys, sworn in just yesterday but turns out that was all the way in April! The new-new volunteers were sworn in on August 5th at the US Embassy in Bamako. I felt as if I had already done the whole "Swear-in thing" so I slept through their ceremony, but of course there was no way I was gonna miss their Party! This time around the party was held at Espace Bouna in Bamako. Bouna is a super chill outdoor bar with a huge open dance floor. I really love partying at Bouna but a lot of volunteers think that it's starting to get overdone because majority of our volunteer parties are held there. I could care less though because I just want to dance and as long as there is a dance floor I am happy! Anyway, at the party the new stage was given the name Goodfellas, I'm not really sure why, and we all had a really good time dancing the night away together!
2. Literally the next morning after the swear-in party I got on the Peace Corps Shuttle to Sevare. Every month, and sometimes multiple times a month, Peace Corps cars (Land Cruisers) drive to every region to pick up and deliver stuff to and from all of the regional houses. One of our awesome volunteer priviledges is that we can sign up to be on these shuttles! This means that we don't have to take public transport, and if we're lucky enough to sign up for one of the 8 spots in the car then we get an airconditioned and much faster trip to whichever regional capital that shuttle is going to. So the morning after swear in I was lucky enough to get one of the spots on the shuttle going up north. This was pretty much an all day trip so I was really glad that I got to ride in the comfort of a Peace Corps car and not on a smelly, hot bus that is probably inches from falling apart. The reason for going up north was to go to a party in Bandiagara and then to also hang out in Mopti and Sevare for a few days. The party in Bandiagara was pretty fun, but the best part of the trip was going to Mopti! We got to hang out at these two really cool restaurants and take a boat ride on the river! Also in Mopti I had a guy come up to me and ask if I wanted to trade my watch for one of the necklaces he was selling. My watch was actually broken (the band that holds the strap had ripped off) and I was waiting to go back to Sikasso to just throw it away and put on a new watch my mom had sent me. I explained to the guy that it was broken but he didn't care about that, he only cared that it was water proof. He told me that he wanted to give the watch to his father who I guess was a fisherman and could benefit from a waterproof watch. Seeing as I was planning on throwing away the watch anyway, this was quite an opportunity! I ended up picking out this really cool camel's tooth necklace with brown accent beads. Cool huh?
3. I recently attended my second funeral in village. This one was different though because it was an animist funeral! Basically this entailed women being present at the funeral, lots of balafone playing, lots of dancing, and the body being present. Not only was the body present though, the body was being danced with!! This was seriously the craziest thing I've ever seen in my life!! The men at the funeral took turns rocking the body back and forth to the music, and as that was going on women were throwing candy in the air and kids were diving down to retrieve it. They paraded around village with the body stopping every once and a while to conduct parts of the animist ceremony. There was also a bunch of guns going off since the deceased had been a hunter. Everytime a gun was shot it would make a noise so loud that I would get scared and jump every single time, which everyone thought was hilarious. One woman came up to me during the parade and asked if I would come hold/dance with the body with her. I shouted out NOoooo! There was no way I was gonna touch let alone dance with a dead body! At one point in the parade/ceremony the music stopped and everyone stood around as an old man sat in front of the body and waved a knife around in the air. After about 30 seconds of this the old man got up and a group of men rushed up to grab the body and the dashed off with the body heading toward the grave. When I say dashed, I mean it! They were speedwalking, nearly running, to this grave that was about a mile away. I nearly had to run to catch up to them to see the body go into the ground! After attending this funeral I can say that this was seriously one of the coolest things I have ever seen but it definitely gave me the creeps and made it extremely hard to fall asleep that night!
4. That night of the funeral was also the first night that I had been in village at the same time that The Mask had come out. The Mask is a mask that a secret society of men from my village carry around at night every once in a while to the accompaniement of drums and singing as a sort of animist ritual. I'm not sure the purpose of the mask, but I've been told that women can not participate and are forbiden from seeing the mask. In fact the belief is that if a woman sees the mask she will die. All of the women in my village are deathly afraid of the mask, so when ever they hear the singing and drums they drop whatever they are doing to go inside and hide. Every other time that the mask had come out in my village I had for some reason or other been in Sikasso. Because this was my first time being present with the mask out my homologue decided to wait out side my door to make sure I stayed inside and I guess out of sight from the mask to protect me from dying. The whole time the mask was passing my house and I could hear the music I really wanted to take just a peek at the men and their mask. I decided not to though because even though I seriously doubt a mask could kill you, you never know...
5. So...I just filled out my very first SPA!! A SPA is small project funding from the Peace Corps. I originally wanted to fill out a SPA for my library, but at the moment there isn't enough money in the Peace Corps Mali budget to pay for it. My Library is going to require about $10,000 to build, and I will most likely have to wait for the next fiscal year to do this... oh well. In the meantime I decided to do a much smaller project instead. So the SPA funding that I asked for is to put up 30 hand washing stations, or "Tippy Taps", throughout my village and also to paint two handwashing murals. The reason I want to do this is because very few people in my village wash their hands with both soap and water, most just swish their hands around in a bucket of water before eating and often times it is the same water that one or more people have already used! I'm sure that this is the reason that so many people have diarrhea in my village and also the reason I'm sick all of the time (I've gotten Ameobas twice!!). I'm hoping that with Tippy Taps being visible and accessible all over the village, people will no longer not have a reason to wash their hands without soap! This project is pretty small so it shouldn't be too difficult to see through and it will be a good way to keep me busy while I wait until I am able to build my Library.
Besides all that, everything has been pretty chill in village. I have been doing a lot of work on my garden lately. I have a pretty legit crop of cilantro growing right now! I seriously can't wait to make some homemade salsa and guac with my cilantro!! I also have a papaya tree that is growing strong; it's almost my height now! I also have 5 okra plants shooting up, some wildflowers and 2 tomato plants! I've never gardened before in my life, so I'd say that things are going pretty well!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
My very sick Birthday
Written July 27, 2011
So I'm 23 now... This was my second birthday in country (July 18th) and I have to say it wasn't too bad. I did happen to be quite sick but overall it was a better birthday than last year where I spent the day getting my hair done all alone with none of my friends to celebrate with me. Three days before my birthday (the 15th) I woke up feeling like I was going to throw up. All I wanted to do was stay in bed, but I had to go to Sikasso that day because we were having a Site Visit party for the PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees) new to the Sikasso Region. I didn't actually throw up until halfway into my 8k bike ride out of village, and then from then on I pretty much couldn't stop throwing up. I never really stopped biking either, I just kept pedalling and whenever I felt a heave coming on I just stuck my head over my arm and let it all out. It was probably my most miserable bike ride ever. I managed to hold off throwing up again until after the bus ride to Sikasso where about 30 minutes after arriving I threw up all the water I had just tried to drink. From that point on I threw up on average about once an hour. The really unfortunate thing was that we were having a Mexican food night complete with guacamole, mango salsa, taco meat and velveeta for the new kids. The thought of missing out on that was completely unacceptable to me so of course I forced myself to eat a giant burrito. I'm sure you can guess what happened abouit 2 minutes after I shoved the last bite in my mouth... I stayed sick for the next 4 days (the 16th, the 17th, my birthday, and the 19th) but as those days passed I got progressively better- On my birthday I only threw up twice! Besides my sickness my birthday was actually really fun. Several of my friends in country left their sites to come down to Sikasso to celebrate with me. On the night of the 17th we made loaded nachos (salsa, guac, spicy cheese sauce, and taco meat) and then went out to a bar that had a dance floor. We danced and danced to an awesome playlist that myfriend had previously made and that the DJ let us play for most of the night. At midnight I kept hearing this little jingle go off and I thought it was someone else's phone because it wasn't my ringtone, but then it turned out that the sound was coming from my bag. I took my phone out and then noticed that it was a set notification that was making my phone sound. The message, "Happy BIrthday to me!", literally made me laugh out loud because I have no memory of ever entering that in my phone. Overall it was a great night and I especially enjoyed singing "Go girl it's your birthday!" along with Trey Songz to his song "Say Ahh." The next morning we woke up early to get ready to go to the Woroni Waterfalls. After a quick vom in the bathroom I was ready to go. Before heading to the falls we picked up schwarmas for lunch and then began the long drive (2 hours) to Woroni. I had yet to go to the waterfalls, so when I finally saw them I found them to be quite breathtaking, seriously one of the coolest things I've ever seen. After fully taking in the falls we all took out pagnes to spread out on the ground to take naps (we were all still very tired from the night before). I got about 2 hours of sleep in waterside before it started to rain. We had planned on staying at the falls all day, but the weather cut this trip quite short. Suprisingly we were all okay with this and were all ready to leave. We all just wanted to crash on a comfy matress. Once we returned to Sikasso and once we all took even longer naps, we cooked pancakes, bacon and eggs for dinner ( Thanks to my mom for sending all the essential items of this dinner!) and then red velvet cake for dessert!! It was DELICIOUS!! All in all this was a pretty decent birthday.
As for village life things have been going pretty well lately. My homologue and I are making progress on the library plans (we just completed our 2nd try at coming up with an acceptable and affordable building plan) as well as on my garden (we've planted mint, cilantro, basil, okra, tomatoes and bell peppers). When it comes to my homologue I feel genuinely blessed to have gotten him selected to help me in my village. My homologue is always willing and ready to do anything I need him to do, and he usually goes above and beyond my expectations. He is incredibley motivated to improve his village and to learn just about anything. He also has the most infectious laugh ( I call it a cartoon laugh because it seriously sounds fake and something that could only come from an animated animal).Besides his laugh, the thing I like best about my homologue are his story telling skills. He always has some story to tell me, whether it be about his childhood or something that happened in the fields, and it always comes complete with sound effects and hand gestures! There is almost never a story telling moment where he doesn't have me cracking up and where he isn't laughing himself! My homologue is a key factor in my enjoying my time in village.
Here are two random mini-stories:
1.The other day I went to see an English teacher who is back in my village for vacation and who has offered to tutor some of the 7th graders. I sat in on his tutoring session where he asked me to look over all of his writing and then proceeded to have one of the longest conversations I've ever had with a non-Peace Corps staff Malian. One of the things he told me was that he wants to practice his English with me so I told him that he can come over to my house any time to chat and to that he gave me a confused look and then explained that he had been warned to never go to my house. He told me that people in my village had told him that no one is to go to my house because an American lives there and they don't like when people bother them. I was shocked to hear this! I honestly have no idea where he heard this. I made sure to ask around and find out if other people had heard the same warning. No one confirmed what the English teacher said, so my homologue and I figure that he must've just imagined the whole thing out of some misconception he has about white people (he kept calling me white regardless of how many times I pointed to my skin to prove I'm not white).
2. Today has been a day of gifts. This morning my homologue and his son came over with a chicken for me. He said that his mother had given it to him to give to me. I was pretty confused by this because normally chickens are given to newcomers and strangers to the village, and since I've lived here for an entire year, I have no idea why I was presented with this gift. I didn't however question it and had no problem graciously accepting this large source of protein! My next gift of the day was money to go buy a soda in market from the Mayor. Again this was another unprecedented gift that I had no problem accepting. My final gift of the day was one of my few female friends in village asked me to go with her to the photo studio to have a picture taken with her baby. She originally wanted just me and her son in the picture, but then I convinced her and her older daughter to sit next to me and the baby. She is going to have a copy of this picture printed out for me. People really are incredible nice in my village and I feel so grateful that I am able to live with these people during my time in Mali.
So I'm 23 now... This was my second birthday in country (July 18th) and I have to say it wasn't too bad. I did happen to be quite sick but overall it was a better birthday than last year where I spent the day getting my hair done all alone with none of my friends to celebrate with me. Three days before my birthday (the 15th) I woke up feeling like I was going to throw up. All I wanted to do was stay in bed, but I had to go to Sikasso that day because we were having a Site Visit party for the PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees) new to the Sikasso Region. I didn't actually throw up until halfway into my 8k bike ride out of village, and then from then on I pretty much couldn't stop throwing up. I never really stopped biking either, I just kept pedalling and whenever I felt a heave coming on I just stuck my head over my arm and let it all out. It was probably my most miserable bike ride ever. I managed to hold off throwing up again until after the bus ride to Sikasso where about 30 minutes after arriving I threw up all the water I had just tried to drink. From that point on I threw up on average about once an hour. The really unfortunate thing was that we were having a Mexican food night complete with guacamole, mango salsa, taco meat and velveeta for the new kids. The thought of missing out on that was completely unacceptable to me so of course I forced myself to eat a giant burrito. I'm sure you can guess what happened abouit 2 minutes after I shoved the last bite in my mouth... I stayed sick for the next 4 days (the 16th, the 17th, my birthday, and the 19th) but as those days passed I got progressively better- On my birthday I only threw up twice! Besides my sickness my birthday was actually really fun. Several of my friends in country left their sites to come down to Sikasso to celebrate with me. On the night of the 17th we made loaded nachos (salsa, guac, spicy cheese sauce, and taco meat) and then went out to a bar that had a dance floor. We danced and danced to an awesome playlist that myfriend had previously made and that the DJ let us play for most of the night. At midnight I kept hearing this little jingle go off and I thought it was someone else's phone because it wasn't my ringtone, but then it turned out that the sound was coming from my bag. I took my phone out and then noticed that it was a set notification that was making my phone sound. The message, "Happy BIrthday to me!", literally made me laugh out loud because I have no memory of ever entering that in my phone. Overall it was a great night and I especially enjoyed singing "Go girl it's your birthday!" along with Trey Songz to his song "Say Ahh." The next morning we woke up early to get ready to go to the Woroni Waterfalls. After a quick vom in the bathroom I was ready to go. Before heading to the falls we picked up schwarmas for lunch and then began the long drive (2 hours) to Woroni. I had yet to go to the waterfalls, so when I finally saw them I found them to be quite breathtaking, seriously one of the coolest things I've ever seen. After fully taking in the falls we all took out pagnes to spread out on the ground to take naps (we were all still very tired from the night before). I got about 2 hours of sleep in waterside before it started to rain. We had planned on staying at the falls all day, but the weather cut this trip quite short. Suprisingly we were all okay with this and were all ready to leave. We all just wanted to crash on a comfy matress. Once we returned to Sikasso and once we all took even longer naps, we cooked pancakes, bacon and eggs for dinner ( Thanks to my mom for sending all the essential items of this dinner!) and then red velvet cake for dessert!! It was DELICIOUS!! All in all this was a pretty decent birthday.
As for village life things have been going pretty well lately. My homologue and I are making progress on the library plans (we just completed our 2nd try at coming up with an acceptable and affordable building plan) as well as on my garden (we've planted mint, cilantro, basil, okra, tomatoes and bell peppers). When it comes to my homologue I feel genuinely blessed to have gotten him selected to help me in my village. My homologue is always willing and ready to do anything I need him to do, and he usually goes above and beyond my expectations. He is incredibley motivated to improve his village and to learn just about anything. He also has the most infectious laugh ( I call it a cartoon laugh because it seriously sounds fake and something that could only come from an animated animal).Besides his laugh, the thing I like best about my homologue are his story telling skills. He always has some story to tell me, whether it be about his childhood or something that happened in the fields, and it always comes complete with sound effects and hand gestures! There is almost never a story telling moment where he doesn't have me cracking up and where he isn't laughing himself! My homologue is a key factor in my enjoying my time in village.
Here are two random mini-stories:
1.The other day I went to see an English teacher who is back in my village for vacation and who has offered to tutor some of the 7th graders. I sat in on his tutoring session where he asked me to look over all of his writing and then proceeded to have one of the longest conversations I've ever had with a non-Peace Corps staff Malian. One of the things he told me was that he wants to practice his English with me so I told him that he can come over to my house any time to chat and to that he gave me a confused look and then explained that he had been warned to never go to my house. He told me that people in my village had told him that no one is to go to my house because an American lives there and they don't like when people bother them. I was shocked to hear this! I honestly have no idea where he heard this. I made sure to ask around and find out if other people had heard the same warning. No one confirmed what the English teacher said, so my homologue and I figure that he must've just imagined the whole thing out of some misconception he has about white people (he kept calling me white regardless of how many times I pointed to my skin to prove I'm not white).
2. Today has been a day of gifts. This morning my homologue and his son came over with a chicken for me. He said that his mother had given it to him to give to me. I was pretty confused by this because normally chickens are given to newcomers and strangers to the village, and since I've lived here for an entire year, I have no idea why I was presented with this gift. I didn't however question it and had no problem graciously accepting this large source of protein! My next gift of the day was money to go buy a soda in market from the Mayor. Again this was another unprecedented gift that I had no problem accepting. My final gift of the day was one of my few female friends in village asked me to go with her to the photo studio to have a picture taken with her baby. She originally wanted just me and her son in the picture, but then I convinced her and her older daughter to sit next to me and the baby. She is going to have a copy of this picture printed out for me. People really are incredible nice in my village and I feel so grateful that I am able to live with these people during my time in Mali.
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