So much learning!

written July 6, 2010
(sorry if there are any grammatical errors, word wont work on my comp anymore so I had to use wordpad which doesn't have spell check)
So yesterday was super cool. We had a Diversity Pannel, I got to eat out of a communal bowl for the first time, I had my first Bambara session, we had a women's session and got go a demo of a Malian tea session.
The Diversity pannel was so cool because they had all different kinds of volunteers speak about their experiences in country. There was a man in his 60s, a married couple, an Indian girl, an African American and a Gay man. It was really interesting hearing all of their different perspectives. The older man talked about how it was hard for him to fit in with his fellow PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) because PCVs tend to be around the age of 25. The married couple spoke on how they were frustrated initially because they were placed at a site without anyone but eachother. The Indian girl said that she didn't experience anything out of the ordinary. The African American talked about how they sometimes confuse her for an African, and the Gay man talked about how he can't come out to Malians. One thing that I found very interesting is that in Bambara there is no real word for homosexual, instead the word they use is translated to mean 'not a man not a woman,' and the same word is used for hermaphrodites.
Eating out of a communal bowl was... interesting. Suprisingly this was the first time that I had ever done that, one would have expected me to be a pro already having a West African Dad and having lived in Nigeria. I definitely made a huge mess! I got rice all over my pants and all over the mat. I think the thing I disliked the most was that the rice was soooo hot and I had to touch it with my hands. It was also kind of difficult trying to decide if it was okay to take more of the meat in the middle, or if that would look too greedy.
My first Bambara lesson was really cool. I basically just learned greetings and how to say goodbye. I also learned how to count to 5 and how to say me/I, you, they, he/she, and we. I really just learned the basics. The language is completely different from anything that I've ever studied before though. This is how you say goodmorning: i ni sogoma. and the response to that for a girl would be n'se i ni sogoma. Next you would ask how are you: i ka kene, and the response to that is toro te. Anyway there's so basic stuff.
The women's session was also really cool and informative. We were basically taught how to deal with sensitive girl issues like periods and clothing. For example you never talk about menstration with males present. Also you should never wash or hang your underwear in public, women do that inside or at night. Women also wear this like belly chain bead thing called Baya beads, and to them theyre basically like a thong. Theyre supposed to be really sexy, and you wear them under your clothes and you're not supposed to let guys see them. They're supposed to be for your husband I guess, but basically women wear them to be sexy even under all of their conservative clothes. We also learned about what Volunteers call the icky finger. This happens when shaking hands; a guy uses his middle finger to rub the palm of your hand, and this is a sexual advance. If this happens to us we're supposed to immediately pull back our hand and give the dude a death glare (if you're not interested that is).
Our Malian tea session was also really cool (I know I'm saying really cool a lot). Tea is a really big thing here, and it's not the same as like British tea. Here a tea session will take hours and there are different cycles. There are usually 3 cycles, the first cycle is really bitter but still good, and then the next two cycles get less bitter and more sweet. They also add mint. I really liked it. The whole purpose of a tea session is to hang out and talk, that's why it takes hours. One of our main trainers was the one who was teaching us how to make it, and we got to hear him tell some really cool stories from his life. He talked about how he met his fiance on the bus, and how in even a really conservative Muslim country he still supported his sister's divorce (divorce here is super taboo). The thing I like the most about what I heard from him during the tea session was that he considers himself to be Muslim, but doesnt fast the whole ramadan, prays when he feels like it, drinks wine every once and a while because he likes it, and doesnt think polygamy is right. I kind of feel like that is how I am as a Christian. I don't go to Church all the time, and I pray when I feel like it, but I don't think this makes me less of a Christian or him less of a Muslim because God accepts us for who we are.
Anyway, on Thursday we leave for our Homestay sight, I'm both nervous and excited! Oh and I got my score for my French interview, I got intermediate-mid. I'm happy with that because I only got up to intermediate in college, and that was 2 years ago so the fact that I've maintained my level with no practice is pretty good.