List of Topics

written 8-5-10 (sorry if there's any spelling or grammar issues)
So I have a HUGE amount of info to blog about, so get ready.
Okay, so since my last blog a lot has happened. Seeing as it would take forever to describe everything, I will be giving you all a cliffnotes version of all that has happened in the last (almost) 2 weeks. I don't bring my computer to my homestay site, so in order to prep for my blog updates I fill a page from my notebook with a list of all the things I want to talk about. Here is said list, note that here it can be used as a table of context, if you will:
1.Wedding
2.Soiree
3.Malian men/wedding proposals
4.Sick PCTs
5.Field trips/ restaurants!
6.Museum/American Club
7.Sleeping (so hot, fan)
8.Food (likes and dislikes)
9.My Negen
10.Pokemon
11.Mice (Milk and Sugar)
12.Underwear
...(I told you I had a lot to write about)
1. Okay so I think I mentioned in my last blog that I was going to get to attend my host sister's wedding, and that I was super excited about that. Well... the wedding sucked. It was soooo boring. I spent the entire day sitting on a bench in the hot sun with my fellow tubabs (white people) while the bride spent the entire day inside her little room. I later found out that a common tradition in Mali is for the bride to stay inside all day because once her head has been washed she is not allowed to greet anyone except her husband. So while my host sister was in the room the whole day, all the wedding guests sat around and talked with eachother. There was some dancing to a random beat by some random dude who was playing this teeny drum. The dancing was only done by women and all they do is shuffle their feet and go around in a circle. I've heard that weddings are supposed to be super fun, but I definitely didn't experience any fun at all (maybe my host fam doesn't know how to throw a raging party). One cool thing about the wedding was that my host sister got a TON of gifts. She got all kinds of cloths, buckets, bowls, an armoire, and a bunch of other random stuff! Another cool thing was that everyone had on really cool clothes. I loved all of the bright and beautifully patterned fabrics!
2. A few days ago I got to go to my first Malian soiree (basically a block party at night with lots of dancing that they charge money for entry, and it is usually for a cause). This was super cool because I got special permission to stay at my friend's homestay village just to attend this party because nothing ever happens in my quiet little homestay village. Anyway, we got to the soiree, which was being held at a local restaurant, around 10:30 pm. This was super difficult for me because I'm so use to going to sleep at 8:30 now. My friends and I didnt have to pay to get in because the friend that I was staying with's brother either paid for us or was able to convince the guards to let us in for free. Once we got in we noticed that no one was there except for maybe like 10 people. The reason for this is because parties dont start until like 12:30 here, just like in the US! Once the party finally did get started I noticed a ton of differences between a Malian soiree and a US party. The first is that Malians dance like theyre having seizures. There was no rhythm at all to their dance moves. They were literally flailing their arms in random motion while jerking their bodies every which way. It was hilarious. My friends and I couldn't stop laughing! (I'm sure the Malians thought we danced weird too and I'm sure they were also laughing at us). Another difference is that they leave the lights on. I think this may be because this is a very conservative country and if the lights were to go out, then who knows what kind of hanky panky could occur! Another kind of weird thing is that dudes dance in groups together and girls dance in groups together. It seems that there is gender segregation in every facet of life here, even partying!
3. Malian men are not my favorite men in the world. It seems that almost every other day I get wedding proposals. One of my guy friends in my homestay village with me has several times pretended to be my husband to get the guys to leave me alone. He will be like "no she is my wife, you can't have her!" It can be pretty funny, but also really annoying. Groups of guys will yell at me to come over and talk with them whenever they see that I'm alone, and I always just tell them that maybe I'll come talk with them later... maybe. And then I never do.
4. It seems as if a ton of my fellow PCTs are getting sick! I have yet to get sick *knock on wood*, but others have had some pretty crazy ailments! One of my fellow education trainees got *Gasp* MALARIA! I also know of 2 trainees who have gotten Giardia (disgusting. This one has symptoms like explosive fouler than usual smelling diarrhea and burps that smell like sulfur). Another trainee cut her toe and it got badly infected and she hasn't been able to return to her homestay village in the past 2 weeks. A huge amount of people have had diarrhea and fevers, and I know of one girl who has a parasite. I reeeallllly hope I don't get sick!
5. As Education trainees we get to go on a lot of field trips to NGOs offices and random organizations in Bamako that we will be working with, unlike other sectors who basically just stay at their homestay villages and do language classes for the full 2 weeks. We've been able to visit the USAID office at the Embassy, as well as some other organizations that are aiding in improving literacy and numeracy in Mali. My favorite thing about our field trips is that we get to go to restaurants in Bamako for lunch, and Peace Corps pays! My favorite place so far is this place called Broadway Cafe. It's super nice inside and the food is sooooo good and the ice cream is even better! I got a cheeseburger and fries and then a scoop of both vannilla and strawberry.
6. This past Sunday was what they called a "fun day" for us PCTs. We got to meet up with our entire stage (all 80 of us) in Bamako, where we were split up into 2 groups with one group going to the American Club and the other going to The National Museum. My group went to the American Club first, and there I ordered a cheesburger and fries and then after eating just relaxed in their TV room on a comfy recliner and we watched the first half of The Breakup (a movie I'd already seen). We spent about 2 hours at the American Club and then switched with the other group to go to the Museum. I didn't like the museum at all, but that's just because I don't like art museums. The exhibits were of things like figurines, wood carvings and textiles. The museum was super tiny, but it took the full 2 hours to go through it because our tour guide gave us the most comprehensive descriptions of every last item. I was bored out of my mind, and very sleepy after just relaxing at the American Club.
7.Sleeping is an interesting thing for me here. I barely get any of it. I go to bed super early, so technically I should always be well rested, but it's really hard for me to fall asleep here. There are all kinds of random noises, but the worst thing is the heat. My room basically bakes all day because it has a tin roof, so when I lay down on my bed at night it feels like I'm inside an oven. I usually fall asleeop dripping with sweat. It's pretty gross. As for the noises, I've got the Mosque's 4:30 am call to prayer everyday, donkeys that sound like they're being murdered and roosters that crow like every single hour. Eventually I hope to get use to and be able to sleep through all the noise!
8. Food here is not my fav. I'm basically on a 95% carb diet. In the morning I eat a half loaf of bread with a cup of super sweet milky tea and a teeny hard boiled egg. For lunch I usually get rice with eith a peanut sauce or leaf sauce that has a little tiny chuck of fish in it, and then for dinner I usually get either spaghetti that has been tossed in oil and some seasoning or boiled potatoes/yams with nothing on them and that's it. I am so tired of carbs!!!! My favorite food here is when I get my boiled potatoes covered in a tomatoe and onion based sauce, delicious! This unfortunately has become a rareity. I most often get the spaghetti oil thing.
9. Ahhh the Negen. except not really, because it's more like take a deep breath of fresh are before you go into that nasty thing. At first it was pretty hard for me to crouch over a hole to use the bathroom, but as of now I've gotten pretty good at it, and even find it to be somewhat comfortable. My aim isn't what it should be, but I have 2 years to work on that ;). I hate that I have to do all my normal bathroom activities in the Negen. It's so gross to have to shower and brush your teeth and change and wash yopur face where you and everyone else poops. vom, or should I say foono which is Bambara for to vomit.
10. Pokemon for Gameboy Color is my savior. Many a day when I had nothing to do but sit and stare at the ground was joyfully spent playing pokemon. Unfortunately I just beat the game 2 days ago so there won't be much for me to do now, but I guess I can always start over or just continue to battle my pokemon or catch more pokemon. Everyone laughs at me whenever they see me pull out my gameboy and start to play pokemon, I guess it is somewhat childish of me, but whatevs, Pokemon rock!
11. So one thing that is really starting to get on my nerves is that my room has a serious mouse problem. The mice chew through and eat everything! Earlier this morning my host dad gave me a bag of shelled peanuts and when I returned in the afternoon to get them 3/4ths of the bag was gone!! The mice have also chewed through the bags of sugar that I keep in my room for my morning tea as well as my powdered milk. What sucks is that I have t throw away everything they chew through because rodents carry some pretty nasty diseases here that I have no desire to acquire.
12. So a big taboo here in Mali is letting other people see your underwear, and because of this I can't include underwear in the laundry that I give to your host mom everyweek. Instead I have to wash them in private and make sure no one knows that that is what I am doing. This is super awkward because I am always being watched and I'm sure they know what I've been up to when I come out of my room with a bucket full of soapy water. Oh well.
Wow that took forever! So on top of everything I just wrote, I aactually found out my site assignment today! I'm going to go to bed now, but tomorrow I'll write all anout my soon-to-be site and my homologue!