Life in Africa

Useful Hint for People Waning Their babies off Breastfeeding:
I learned that sometimes women put chili pepper on their nipple for the children that just don’t want to stop breastfeeding. They will begin to drink, and their mouth will burn. Wahla! They will no longer desire breast milk. Oh, the things you learn in Mali!

Where do I begin? Brusse life is SO different than city life! I knew that before going to Fata’s site (American name: Katy), but I think it is more so than I could have ever imagined. For instance, I sometimes get ants in my house. On days where I have the light on in the living room, and take my clean clothes outside, more flying bugs come in. Katy sometimes gets bats in her house. BATS! Now, when I see the ants, I am thankful that they are not gross perhaps rabbi infested bats. Her house is lovely, and I think I could live the Brusse life (no electricity, no running water, and cell phone service? Forget about it!) for 2 years. I just don’t know about the bats.
The reason we went to the village was a French group sponsored a bogolon training. We went at the end to see the end result. On Sunday night, they had a dance party. It was so much fun!!! I unfortunately did not take my camera, so I’ll try to capture it with my words. We all piled into a truck and a car to go to the dance party. I felt it was ridiculous to be riding in a car when it was an easy 10-15 minute walk, but that’s another issue/story. When we got there, somebody got us, as Katy calls them, Princess chairs. It was an outside party, but they got us these nice cushioned chairs that would easily belong in a dining room. We all took a sit, and eventually, joined the circle of dancing. There was a big circle and everybody’s’ (except the Americans) feet were all doing the same thing. There were a bunch of kids in the middle. At one point, 2 kids were beginning to push, I began yelling at them. My nature tongue is English, so they had no idea what I was saying, but I confident that I relayed the message that I was not happy. So, we were all dancing and moving in a circular motion. When people saw me, they laughed and clapped and spoke to me in Bambara. I like to think they were saying “You go girl!” but in reality, I have no idea what they were saying. I just smiled and laughed too. The music was awesome! There were drums, balaphones, and a guy singing. After a few songs, the kids were really rowdy. I saw some men pull tree branches down, and they began swinging at the kids. I don’t think anybody was hurt, but the kids moved much faster and immediately sat down. Then, people took turns dancing. It was like 2-5 in a group. These dancers were AMAZING! Their feet were moving SO fast! I kept on thinking, what if a professional dancer gave them a week of tap lessons? It was truly unbelievable how talented some of these Malians are. And, a lot of times they kicked off their shoes and danced on the ground aka dirt. There was this larger lady, and she took a few turns. It was great! It then began to rain, and most Malians don’t like the rain. So, everybody ran for cover. We ended up leaving.
The next day, they had an awards ceremony. It was great seeing everybody hold up their certificate with a huge grin on their face. After lunch, we headed back to the city.

I was talking to Trinh about needing to integrate more. She got this great idea that we would run daily at the stadium. Integration and exercise: kill 2 birds with one stone. So, on Tuesday afternoon, I show up. Not only am I the only white person there, I am the only woman. Talk about intimidation! Trinh came soon after and we began. The kids drive me crazy calling me Tubabu! Tubabu! (French person) and they call her Chin! (Chinese), even though she is Vietnamese American, and I’m not French. And, then they kept on asking for money. I got irritated at the end, which is exactly what they wanted to happen, so I unfortunately began to mimic them, which got an even bigger response. They got to me. I am trying really hard to ignore their Tubabu comments and demands for money. I figured if they realize that they won’t get a response, eventually they will quit. Let’s hope anyway.
On Thursday, the First Lady of Mali came. I was in the middle of my tutoring lesson, and I asked what was going on outside? My tutor told me the First Lady was in town. People lined the streets. I went outside on my veranda and actually saw the First Lady. She was wearing a vibrant green, smiling and waving. On Friday, I actually saw her speak. She came to Sikasso for her foundation. She gave away sooo much food and materials! I would have loved to have seen the numbers of how many tons of rice that was given away and such. At the beginning, the man who was talking was the “griot grande” the grand storyteller. It was phenomenal. He did the introduction in French, then Bambara, then Fulani, and then some language I can't remember the name of! There were a bunch of kids that were edging their way to the front. Eventually, a guard had to take off his belt and began hitting them. There was so much pushing and talking, I understand why they did that. I think that preventative measures would have been more efficient (i.e. a fence) but whatever.
It was so funny talking to Trinh (another PCV) about security. Laura Bush came to Mali in June 2007. Everybody had to walk through a metal detector and Secret Service was swarming the place. When seeing Lobo Troare (First Lady of Mali) speak, we just sat down. There were assigned seats for important people, so they would obviously make you move but other than that, it was fair game (or it appeared to be fair game. It’s amazing at how much that could perhaps be going on but I’m clueless because of my lack of language). Except for kids, and they had to move a lot. It was just interesting observing the difference in security measures.
On Sunday, I went to Marium’s house to make Zama. Marium is the secretary at Trinh’s work. Zama is one of my favorite Malian dishes. It’s rice (surprise!), but delicious! It is red rice with tomatoes, eggplant, miniature green pumpkins (don’t know the name but I don’t like it because it’s bitter), onions, fish, and potatoes. It was a lot of fun! And, I actually understood some of what was going on. Everybody got a kick out of me because first of all, I’m not a big cook in the states (or at least I have help from my lovely friends and packages) and secondly, I don’t really cut things in my hands. So, the 10 year old saw how hesitant I was cutting things in my hands, so she took the knife and onion from me did it in like 5 seconds. I feel good about preparing this dish at home, but I’m definitely going to use short cuts like a stove. Today, we sat outside and put the pot over wood and charcoal. 2 and ½ hours later, we were done!

I’m sure by now you’re wondering, geez how long was she on the computer? But, I decided that I would type my blogs at the bureau, so I could spend more time on other important things when paying for the internet (such as Auburn football, cnn.com, goupstate.com, writing emails, posting pictures, etc. etc.).

Upcoming Events:
October 31st: Halloween
November 2nd-4th: Festival in Sikasso
November 8th: Going to Bamako (another entry material; meeting with the previous volunteer about the Waterfall project)
November 23th: Thanksgiving
November 24th: Mexican Night (@ my place!!! Est. amount of guests: 70!!!)

Side note: Will try to format better when I get more time on the computer.

Watermelon....My new favorite fruit

Hilarious story of the Week:
I had tutoring all week!!!! 30 HOURS!!! Anyway, I ate with my homologue, Echin. He is like my mentor, boss, and friend all rolled into one. He's a terrific person!!! I am blessed to have him as my homologue. (I didn't want to cook all week 3x a day for my tutor...is that bad?) So, I think this past Tuesday (seriously this week has been a big blur) after dinner, we go to the bakery and get eggs for breakfast. While walking there, I saw a dead goat. It was on the ground about to be put in the car. I tried really hard not to look at it, but I did. Imagine my surprise when it made this horrendous SAVE ME noise! I was so startled I SCREAMED!!! There were a bunch of people outside (you guessed it...making tea). They couldn't stop laughing. I honestly believe if someone caught the incident on tape, it would have won something on AFHV (America's Funniest Home Videos). I walk past the same people every day, buying bread and eggs, that I still get people mimicking my scream even 4 days later....I don't know if I'll ever live it down...

I am so glad that this week is over!!! My tutor came Monday night. (I thought she was coming on Tuesday) so of course, my house is a wreck (typically when I say a wreck, I mean it looks like a tornado, but it was only wreckess looking). She went to dinner so I scrambled to get the apartment looking decent. I was really nice at the beginning of the week, but my patience grew thin. Her English is okay, not great. What really annoyed me was when she would spell a word, and get e, i , and a mixed up!! My notes of so many scribbles in them. Sigh. The tutor that PC sent had no idea what she was getting into!! I definitely needed someone with more experience. One good thing that I took away from this is I really need to study French for an hour a day, and practice speaking more. So, there was so goodness out of this situation. (Did I mention she stayed in my house, ate all her meals with me...basically 24/7!!! If (IF) I get married, this guy is going to have to be one heck of a guy....too much of one person=Katie gets easily annoyed, impatience, and 20 other negative adjectives.

Okay, my title. I love watermelons. I think instead of using "rainy season" and "hot season", I'm going to use fruits. It is watermelon season and I am so happy because of this! There are piles of delicious watermelons! And, for about2 USD, what a deal! Watermelons were okay in the states. But here? ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Another thing I like about watermelons, it is definitely a group fruit. Really, how many people can eat a grape? To thank Echin for feeding me all week, I have bought 3 watermelons this past week. It makes me soooo happy that so many people can enjoy them. His house is kinda like our house at Christmas time. So many people and you can't really link everybody. Yesterday, I just sat at his house and smiled....12 people were enjoying the watermelon.

Tomorrow, I am going to live Brusse. Brusse is anywhere that doesn't have electricity, running water, toilets, etc. and is in the middle of no where. There is a program for artisans and I'm just tagging along. I don't know the name of the town, but my next post, I'll put it. I have such a schedule...Internet on Sundays, post office on Mondays (I LOVE MONDAYS!), tutoring on Wednesdays, Lunch with Echin on Fridays, etc. I hope that I will have more places to go and more things to do, I won't have such a rigorous (not the right word but can't think of the right word and I only have 10 more minutes), maybe self-imposed rigid? So, my next blog will be October 29....I know changing it up. My coPCV is getting online, so it will be good to catch up with her. I will definitely take pictures of this city girl living the Brusse life!

A BIG week ahead of me!

Morning of Ramadan, view from my roof. Lovely!
Embarrassing Story of the Week:

There was a big meeting on Tuesday. I decided i would be good if I went to show that I'm interested and I care. I came in late (which is fine...WAIT), and there were a bunch of people sitting on the left side. I thought I would balance it out and sit on the right. I failed to notice that I was sitting on the side with all the elders. And, I didn't realize that I was sitting in the fancy, black executive chair (with all the elders), and I probably should have been on the crappy chair side. I knew I did something wrong by the looks I was getting. They were saying something, and the guy I worked with said "Corps de la Paix", and they let me slide. After 10 minutes into the meeting, I decided I would switch sides. I found out the next day, I sat in the mayor's seat...oops. (The mayor was later than me or I wouldn't have had the opportunity to sit in his seat!)

I think on Tuesday, I went around to all the hotels in Sikasso. Most of them are surprisingly nice! I already found the place where my parents are staying. It kinda reminds me of the Virgin Islands, it's near my apartment, and has a great view.

This past Friday was the end of Ramadan. I went through the market on Thursday night, and it was similar to last minute Christmas shopping. Craziness!!! Ramadan is like Christmas without music, decorations, Santa, church, etc.

I ate with my homologue Echin on Friday. We had 2 types of cous cous (but one wasn't called cous cous, it just looked like it), cow meat, lamb meat, vegetables, yogurt type thing, watermelon, papayas, AND bananas! I bet this is how Muslims feel during Christmas time. It was so cool walking around because all the kids got new outfits. Ramadan...it's a big deal. Some people go into debt 3 months of salary! It is acceptable if a wife doesn't get new clothes to leave her husband!

Lindsay came in from Bamako and we made banana bread in a brusse oven! I turned on the stove too high, so the ends were burnt and the center was cobbler like...I'm confident I will become a BB expert. (It's soooo good!:)

There is a film festival in Burkina Faso every two years, so February 2009, I'm going and am looking forward to it! I was planning on going to Egypt in May 2008, but I think it's going to cost 2 arms and a leg to get there...go figure...same continent! So, I'll try to hit it on my way out, after COS.

This week:

I have a tutor coming this week. Her name is Fati? Anyway, it will be great to have someone to practice my French with 24/7. She is staying at my house, and we get to eat at Echin's for lunch and dinner. (Not going to lie...pretty excited about that!) So, I hope that my French will improve drastically this week!

I go to the post office every Monday. I appreciate the other volunteers getting my mail, but I don't think they understand if they get my mail, I won't have anything on Monday! I love going to the post office! I guess I'll have to explain to everybody that it's one of the highlights of my week.

Right now:

People at the Internet cafe are telling me I'm beautiful, asking me if I'm married, etc. Oh, the people you meet!

Saturday night fun! The next time you want to complain about laundry, it could be worse...

Getting Settled In

I finally have all my furniture, which is nice because now I have no excuses not to get things put away.

My miscommunication story of the week (hopefully, this won't be a weekly thing as my French is "improving") I ordered some Bamboo shelves for my room, as well as another bed for the guest bedroom (WHAT?!? you say? I know...PC in the city!) I thought I said a bed for 2 people. When he delievered the shelves and the bed, I thought great! Then, they started pulling up another bed! What?!? Apparently, he thought I wanted 2 beds...Oops.

I had lunch with Laura. I think Wednesday? Anyway, she told me something intreresting she observed in village. This child was sick with a runny nose. His mother put her mouth over the kid's nose and sucked all the snot out! Then, she spit it out! I bet you can't say you see that every day!

On Thursday, I had a close call with death. It was bound to happen sooner or later. The paved roads here are small. And, there are no regulations (that I have noticed) with 18 wheelers. So, there are bikes, motos, cars, and 18 wheelers. 2 buses can't pass each other, so as you can imagine, somebody gets edged off the road. Just to give y'all a background. Anyway, I'm not good at turning left because I have to use my left hand (and because my left hand is way dominate, the bike becomes unsteady...) Back to the story. My apartment is on the left side when I return from work, so I raised my left hand to signal, "I'm turning!" There were a bunch of people outside (they work in the insurance building below me). A moto apparently didn't see my signal (or didn't care) and came honestly 3 inches from completely crashing into me!!! Everybody who was watching made a sound like they use to make when gymnasts didn't make it over the vault. I was suppose to shake my hand while turning. Hanging it out isn't good enough.

Okay, I only had time to post a few pictures. I am going to try a different cyber cafe next week because this one is sooo slow!!!!

The sign at my work

I wish I had an odometer on my bike (it's probably only a few miles, but after the African sun is beating down on me, it feels like a REALLY long ride...) Me after my bike ride to work (and yes, that is sweat dripping down my neck)

Banana trees! I sure would love some banana pudding about now

I finally got mail sent!! Hurray! It sure makes a difference when you have a post office in your town! So, if you mailed me a letter or box, check your mail boxes!! My hour is unfortunately over at the cyber cafe. Will write more next Sunday! Have a great week!!!