Shut the front door

Hey all. I know it has been quite a while since my last post. I don't enjoy blogging but I have heard from a few people that actually read it, and they want more. I guess it is a good thing that I don't blog too often because otherwise those people may not feel that way. So I want to break things down into a couple categories and write accordingly. This first category is going to be things I've accomplished in Mali up to now, followed by things I hope to accomplish in the future, and then finally just some comments/stories about the Malian Culture. So, here goes...

I have just recently passed the one year mark as an official Peace Corps volunteer in Mali. There are a few things I have accomplished in that time. (Some would argue not enough, but we won't get into that because I feel satisfied with my accomplishments thus far.) I feel like the most important thing I've done in my first year is getting proficient in speaking Bambara. Without doing that everything else becomes exponentially difficult. I am not implying that there aren't times when I have no idea what people are saying, because that wouldn't be true. But, I do feel I am understanding about 55%-60% of what people are saying. Which is pretty good considering I only studied Bambara for about two months. The rest of it I just picked up by living with all Bambara speakers. This proficiency in the language has also had a direct result on my cultural integration process. I feel so integrated in my village and community that it has become my home and the people, well "my people" so to speak. This has become the experience I was hoping it would be. I was in doubt during those initial two months, because I underestimated how difficult the cultural shock and transition would be. I didn't give up and the reward has been unquantifiable. So with the language skills and cultural adaptation combined I was able to have my first successful Water/Sanitation project. I started the project in the middle of last may in finished just before my trip back to the U.S. in July. The project was a success because the villagers were motivated and hard working. We were able to build 52 of the most basic latrines imaginable. Step 1: Dig a big hole. Step 2: Pour a concrete and re bar cover with a small hole for waste to pass through. Step 3: Cover the hole with the cement lid. Step 4: Build a mud wall for privacy. Step 5: USE IT. We also build soak pits next to the latrines to collect waste water from gathering on the surface. It was a huge success because it showed the villagers that I am serious about working and making Kafoujiela a better/cleaner/healthier place (and also because it will cut some of the people from openly defecating). The project was funded by USAID. I filled out a form requesting funds along with a project proposal. Once the funds were in place I purchased the materials and arranged for it to be transported by truck to my village. I didn't purchase enough re bar, and since the truck transport was so expensive I arranged for a guy and his donkey cart to bring it in for a fraction of the price. Once all the materials were in place I oversaw the day to day operations and made sure my workers were well fed and happy. It took about 4 weeks to complete the 52 latrines. The original plan was for 50, but two villagers offered us chickens if we would put one in their concession. Another smaller project I helped out with was walking around the village vaccinating 250 children for polio. It was an experience I will never forget. Most all of the kids know me (I tend to stand out) but there are still a few very young ones that are terrified of me. Thankfully it was just an oral vaccination in a liquid form and not a shot, but it was still painful for some. To have some weird white guy come over and force open your mouth and drop medicine in was more than some of the kids could handle. There was tons of screaming and crying. I learned pretty fast not to have the kids face you while you put the medicine in because a few of them would spit it right back in your face (that only happened twice before it didn't happen again). Anyway I count that project as a success and it was very rewarding and fun. The last project I want to talk about is more of a hobby. I have become the unofficial official wedding photographer and all around photographer of any party/event in Kafoujiela. They tell me its because my camera is so nice (not because I take good photos), but I think its because I charge them exactly what the photo shop charges me. I am not doing it for any profit, because I lose money doing it, but because to see how happy the pictures make them is profit enough.

I have some projects planned for the future but there is only a three month window to really do any construction stuff. Right now we are in the rainy season and there is no way to do any construction. Then when the rains stop all the men go out to the fields to work from sunrise to sunset. So the only three months I have when people are free and there is now rain is from April through June, which also happens to be HOT SEASON. There is a project that I am working on right now though, and that is getting the one pump in my village fixed. It's been broken since before I got here. I told my Wat/San committee the community would be responsible to pay and oversee the pump repair because if it breaks again they need to be able to fix it. So they said okay they are going to fix it. That was easy, I should've told them to fix it right when I moved there. But it hasn't been fixed yet so we'll see if they are telling the truth. The next big project I have planned for the three month window are wash areas and soak pits. Next to each well in my village is a place where the women wash clothes and dishes. All the water that runs off from that just sits in pools on the surface and becomes a breeding ground for flies, mosquitoes, and disease. We will attempt to build cement wash areas with drains to get the water underground. I will take before and after pictures so you all can see how bad it really is. Another side/personal project I am working on is trying to but my host family a moto. This will help them to get into the nearby city without the moto breaking down because the roads are so horrible. I'm getting sick of typing right now so I am going end this pretty soon.

I will have to save funny stories about Malian culture as well as a list of books I've read so far for the next post. I am working in a shared space right now and people are shouting and it is impossible to concentrate. Inconsiderate....

It's been awhile...

My last post was a long time ago, so I will give everyone a quick update. I've survived the Holiday season here in Mali and away from home without a scratch. Although I did acquire a rather large bruise from falling off a bridge, and my back is still hurting when I move it certain ways. I was in Bamako (Mali's capitol city) for a two week training session in early December. I was walking to a fine establishment (actually a bar we nicknamed the "Trash Pile") with fellow volunteers one dark night. I hadn't started drinking yet. We were walking up to a single lane bridge and cars were coming from both directions. We all moved to get off to the side of the road since there are no sidewalks. I was temporarily blinded by the headlights and ended up walking straight off the bridge falling 20 feet onto dirt, rocks, and cement. I got the wind knocked out of me and hurt my back pretty badly. X-rays came back negative. I've been nicknamed "bridge kid" and have an awesome story to tell when I get older and complain about back pain!
Some future plans include going to the Segou music festival in the beginning of Feb and then off to Senegal and Gambia each for a few days. There is a multi-country softball tournament going on in Senegal. Since we will be out that way we plan on visiting Gambia as well. When I'm not traveling I will be back at site near Sikasso. I want to begin working very soon. My language is coming along well and I am starting to feel at home in my village. Right now my counterpart, as well as many other people in the village, are out working in the fields maintaining their potato crops. I think work will be easier to get done once the potato harvest is over in March. Then the hot/dry season starts. I'm not looking forward to it. I will be looking forward to the rains coming back in late May or June, and for my mango tree to bloom!
I just wanted to share two quick stories about village life. The first is about my typical mornings at site. I have found a way to get a supply of eggs. So I eat an egg sandwich every morning. I saute garlic before I fry the eggs on top, then slide the eggs onto a fresh loaf of bread. It's really good. Then I sit on my front porch and eat. Lately there have been this momma chicken and her six little chicks that sneak into my concession via the drain hole in one of the walls. They come in to eats seeds or whatever else happens to be edible on my front yard. I like to look at the chicks and think about chicken nuggets or how delicious my egg sandwich is. Sometimes I will open up the gate and goats and sheep will come in and eat the weeds or whatever that grow in my yard. It is a great way to keep that stuff trimmed without doing any work. I also thinking about closing the door behind them and making lamb chops or a goat sandwich, but they are not my animals and someone is bound to get pissed off.
The second story has to do with a time I felt I was in bizzaro America. I went to the doctor's concession to have tea. (A concession is a family's walled in property. They usually have a few mud or concrete buildings in the concession. A kitchen house, sleeping quarters, and granary huts.) His family and a few friends were there. The kids were doing homework and watching t.v. while the wife and daughters were preparing the next day's meals. The doctor and his friends were drinking tea. It seemed like a typical thing that American families might do (just replace the tea with an alcoholic beverage). The difference was that we were sitting on benches and lawn chairs outside watching a black and white TV powered by a car battery and solar panel. The women were sitting on tiny stools washing food in tubs. The boy doing his homework was using a little chalkboard and a flashlight. Finally, the doctor and and his friends were brewing tea over hot coals. Not to mention the random goat or chicken walking by.
That's all for now. Peace.

Mali, why?

There are a couple of questions that I have about Mali, but I will give you a quick update about life in the Sikasso region. I was able to begin a well treatment schedule. My counterpart and I treat the wells twice a month and we've done it twice thus far. Right now I am paying for the bleach, but we are beginning to collect a small amount of money from each family in the village in order to cover the cost. Other than that life in village has been good. I have just spent the last 6 nights in a hotel room in the city with running water, Internet, AC, and electricity. It has been a fun time hanging out with all the other volunteers of the "Team America" stage in the Sikasso region. We have spent the last week having language classes, but there has also been plenty of time to enjoy each other's company. There are about 12 of us Americans here. I go back to village tomorrow. Now I want to comment on three things I find "different" in this country.

1. WHY DO MALIAN'S WEAR WINTER COATS AND HATS? IS IT 96* WHERE YOU'RE STANDING, BECAUSE IT IS WHERE I AM.
It is not uncommon to see many a Malian in a sweatshirt, down winter jacket, ear-muffs, sweater, winter hat, or slightly used sport jacket. It would be fine if they were cold, but most of them are sweating just as much as I do in shorts and a t-shirt, which by the way I never wear shorts outside of my fenced-in property (concession). It is normal for me to wear long pants and a short-sleeved collared shirt. Anyways, people of all ages and gender are wearing these typically winter garments in Africa of all places.

2. WHY DO SO MANY MALIAN GUYS WALK AROUND HOLDING HANDS?
There is no word in Bambara for gay or lesbian, because they reportedly don't exist in Mali. That being said, there is a copious amount of male hand holding going on in this country. Interlaced fingers, arms around the waist, or hooked arms are all the commonly used techniques. That's all I have to say about that.

3. WHY IS MY GARBAGE EVERYWHERE?
There is no proper waste removal system set up in Mali, so that creates a problem. Some Malians solve that problem by burning or burying their garbage. All the others just throw it on the ground or into the various designated garbage piles. I have a little garbage can in my house that I use for paper or plastic waste and I compost the food scraps by throwing them over the wall. I needed to figure out what to do with the full garbage bags, so I just placed them on the other side of my wall outside the house. During the next day I found that my garbage was torn apart and spread across a large area of land. My home stay experience taught me that it was not an animal that got into the garbage, rather it was many small children. I won't speak to what I saw being done with my garbage, but needless to say I haven't put any more garbage over the wall. I don't want to burn it and I don't feel like burying it, so I am just going to stack it in a pile behind the house. It will be interesting to see how much garbage I accumulate in two years.

ABANA~FIN

I am now an official PCV! I was sworn in on September 3rd @ the U.S. embassy in Bamako. It was one of the rainiest days I've seen. Everyone was dressed in their new Malian outfits, and when some people got wet the dye on their clothes began to run, so their skin turned all different colors. After the ceremony we were taken to the American Club where we had drinks, awesome food, and a few hours to lounge around in the pool. In the evening we got tranported to a hotel in Bamako. I went out with a few other volunteers to get some Asian food and it was really good. Then just about all 80 of us went to the club near the hotel for dancing and drinks, which was followed by a second club and more drinks. The night ended around 3:30.

Two days after swear in was installment day. I was lucky enough to get Peace Corps transport for me and all my stuff all the way to post. I spent a night in Sikasso and then the next morning I picked up the furniture I ordered and I was taken to my new home. I've gotten all my stuff moved in and I'm getting settled in nicely. It helped that when I got to Sikasso there was a package waiting for me at the post office sent by my parents. I waited to get to my house to open it and was delighted to find a couple boxes of Velveta Shells and Cheese, a bag of sourdough pretzel nuggets, four bags of gummy lifesavers and beef jerkey, and 5 bags of m&m's (3 peanut and 2 pretzel)! There was also a couple of magazines. Just a little taste of back home, and I really appreciate my parents for sending it. My neighbor Sharon also deserves a shout-out for the package she sent. She sent packages of spam, fish, trail mix, and peanut butter crackers!!

My job for the first three months is to integrate and further my language skills. I've been doing a good job on the first task, while my language skills seem to be at a standstill. A normal day basically goes like this: Wake up, eat bread, walk around and great my host dad, the chief of the village (dugu tiki), and some other folks. I go back to my house at about 10 a.m. and sit on the porch and read until it is time to make lunch (which is usually more bread with fish or spam until it runs out) then it is back to sitting/nappin on the porch until dinner (pasta and more bread). Then its bucket bath time, tea time, then bedtime. I did take a tour of all the wells in my village (26). I plan on starting a well-treating regiment on a monthly basis starting very soon.

In December I will be traveling back to Bamako for two weeks for In Service Training. After I return to post/site I plan to set up a WatSan committee staffed with people from the village. It will be their job to prioritize what the want to accomplish. My role is that of a project manager. I have to focus on sustainability. Ensuring that when I leave in two years there will still be people carrying on the task of water sanitation practices and improvements.

Since I have been in village there have been two major celebrations. One was the end of Ramadan blast that lasted for three days. There was tons of music and dancing, as well as tea drinking and animal slaughtering. I was gifted several animal products during this time. I reaceived huge chunks of beef, mystery sheep organ, and sheep intestine. They all came in black plastic bags with blood dripping out of the bottom of the bag. They also were drying cow hide in the sun which my house happened to be downwind from. Let me just say the smell was not as pleasant as one might imagine.

The other celebration was on the 22nd of Sept. Mali was celebrating its 50th year of independence from France. There was more crazy dancing and live music all night. I took some video and I need to post it sometime. The internet connection is so bad here that things that normally take ten minutes end up taking several hours. I have no patience for such things.

Until next time...PEACE

Being Left handed in a right handed country is hard

So I made it through the 16 day stint in Sinsina. We did have small reprieve with a visit to the museum and the American Club halfway through. When we got back to Tubaniso we found out where our sites will be for the next two years. We also were introduced to our Malian counterpart. Our counterparts live in the community we will be living in, and will be our closest ally in completing projects. So I will be living in a small village just outside of the city of Sikasso. Sikasso is a beautiful place with a lush and fertile landscape. My village rests along the side of a gently sloping hill. The new house I will be staying in is almost 3 times the size of the one I stay in at homestay. It has two large rooms, with ten foot ceilings. It is a cement house (which is much cooler than a mud house) with tin roofing, I also have a sweet covered cement porch that is very large. There is a mango tree out front too! My house also has a newly painted wall around it with a gate the provides for both privacy and security. My counterpart is really cool as well. He is 32 with a wife and 4 kids. He seems very motivated and I am looking forward to getting some things done...hopefully. I also met with the dugu tiki (chief), the mayor, the doctor, and some other local officials who made me feel very welcome. I also have a new host dad named Zanga. He has 5 wives and some 15 kids at least. He is a total ball buster, and is always giving me shit about not being able to speak fluent Bambara. The volunteer that was there before me did no wrong and she ate copious amounts of toh. Toh is the pounded millet mixed with boiled water, it has the consistency of jell-o but that is where the comparison ends. It is really gross in my opinion. But, I ate it 2-3 times a day while I was at site visit. The trick is to get it hot, drown it in the nasty sauce, and swallow it whole. I will be getting a Coleman stove in order to cook for myself once I move in. I will be able to ride my bike to the city of Sikasso a couple times a month. This means I will have access to Internet, electricity, and running water. I feel that my village is eager and willing to get some WatSan work done, so I am looking forward to getting started. There is a lot to be done, and a lot of potential as well. I can't wait to get some pictures up of my new house, my new village, and the surrounding area of Sikasso! It is an amazing place. Right now I am back at Tubaniso. We leave on Friday to go back to homestay for 7 days. Then we spend a few more days at Tubaniso and get sworn in as official Peace Corps Volunteers on September 3rd! I am looking forward to that, and for Pre-service training to come to an end. I just want to get settled in my house/village and not have to live out of a suitcase like I have been doing since I got here. I almost forgot to mention the bus ride from Bamako to Sikasso. It was my first experience taking public transportation in Mali, and it was a trip! The bus stopped every 35 minutes or so, either to pick people up or drop them off. But as soon as the bus stopped we would get swarmed with people selling all kinds of stuff. They sell cold water, soda, bread, eggs, meat, peanuts, millet (corn on the cob style), and all kinds of street food. They stick their products into the windows and climb onto the bus, all the while shouting what goods they have for sale. Then some snake oil salesman got on the bus and talked for a good hour about this medicine he had that cured everything from typhoid fever to menstrual cramps, and people were actually buying it! That's all I got for now. I will try to post again in a few weeks.

First Homestay Experience

Wow! That's all I can say after that 10 day stint in Sinsina. This is more difficult than I ever imagined. Adjusting to this new lifestyle seems impossible at times. We turned off the paved road and headed down a gravel road with massive puddles (small lakes). All our luggage was tied to the roof and we were all praying it would stay there. After waiting for the herd of cows to cross the road we pulled up to a small town made of mud. The car got swarmed with hundred of children, and we came to a stop. I was sitting next to the door in the back seat and I was a little frightened to open it. Once I stepped out the children moved in closer and held there hands out to touch my hand. Then the eight of us volunteers were directed into this small house with goat skins on the floor. We removed our shoes before entering and sat down on one side of the room. Then the elders entered the room and sat down facing us. They began speaking in Bambara, one by one. Our LCF's translated for us and we offered them a bag of kolo nuts, which are like currency in Mali. After that they directed us outside, where the whole village was gathered for the welcoming party. We sat under a tent in folding chairs, and the hundreds of children stood in front of us and stared. To say it was a bit awkward is an understatement. The band began playing (xylophone, drums, and some guy screaming inaudible words into a microphone) and they asked us to get up and dance. So we got up and stood in front of the band. The villagers began to gather around. None of us knew what kind of dance this music required so we just stood there. Then these really old women came out from the crowd and showed us some moves. We struggled through a couple of songs before it was over (or so I thought). The other seven volunteers returned to their seats, and as I attempted to do the same I was stopped by an old man in a funny hat with a horsetail in his hand. He was the Donsoke, or hunter of the village. He is quite the character. The band fired up again and the hunter removed his hat and placed it on my head. The hat looked very old and had some funky stains on the inside. It was a tight fit on my big old noggin, but the hunter made sure to get it on there the whole way. He then handed me the horsetail and we proceeded to dance. Then some old lady's came out of the crowd and draped some fabric over my shoulders and tied a piece around my waste. I wish I had some pictures or brought my flip video, but I will never forget it. (I am a little distracted while typing this blog because we are watching the Big Lebowski on a projector screen)

After the dance, we got our bags off the roof of the vehicle. This was the first time I met my homestay brother Bakari. He helped with my bags and I was led to my home. I opened the door and entered the room. Its 10x10 and as hot as a pizza oven, unfortunately there was no pizza inside. The door and the tiny window are on the same wall so there is no breeze whatsoever. There is a metal roof also that just radiates heat all night (the rain sounds cool on it though). It was awkward meeting my family because of the language barrier. I was able to get their names and get my mosquito net up and my water filter together. Then I met back up with the other volunteers and we toured the village. There are donkeys, chickens, goats, and roosters everywhere. The roosters start crowing at 5 a.m. and don't stop all day the donkeys are the same. It's very loud and very annoying, not to mention the shit everywhere (including human). My homestay dad only has one wife and four kids. He sells sandals for a living. The whole village farms on Sundays. They have rice fields, mango, and banana groves.

We have language class six days a week for seven hours a day. My brain is mush by the end of the day. My mom does all the cooking and takes care of the kids and a million other things. When it is time to eat, me and dad eat first. We wash our hands and sit the bowl of food on the ground between us. He digs in first and then I follow. We mainly eat macaroni, rice with peanut sauce, and nasty river fish. It is a very difficult life and I would be lying if I said I didn't think about quitting several times a day. There are some good things though. My homestay family is very kind and cares about me. It is also a very beautiful place outside of town. We got our bikes delivered on the third day of home stay and it was a lifesaver, Our ticket out of town. Every morning at 6:30 me and my buddy Grahm go for a bike ride and watch the sunrise. After class a lot of us ride our bikes 20 minutes to Seninkoroba. There is a restaurant/bar there that serves cold pop and beer! We can also eat fries there, at a table and with a fork. It's all about the simple things in life now. Also at night the stars are very beautiful, and there is often massive thunderstorms that roll in and the lightning is amazing. I have to take bucket baths in the open nyagen. Its awesome at night being able to bath under the stars or watching the sun set. I also have to fetch my water from the pump and filter it and then add bleach.

I'm toughing it out. I will be going back on Weds for another 18 days in Sinsina. I will bring my camera and take photos. I don't have electricity or Internet access so I will post photos when I get back. I am still having trouble uploading photos to my blog, so check them out on facebook.

First days in Mali

Today is the end of day 3 here in Mali and things are going great so far! I think that as long as I can keep myself healthy I can keep myself happy. Sound mind=sound body. I leave the compound here in Tubaniso for homestay tomorrow, and I am really looking forward to it. Me and the other 80 volunteers from the U.S. have been staying on our training ground and have been somewhat isolated from the rest of Mali. I will be leaving to stay with a host family for the next two weeks. There the only language spoken is Bambara. The only Bambara I have learned is Hello, I'm fine, How are you, whats your name, my name is..., I'm from..., and Goodbye. While in my village I will be spending 8 hours a day in language training, the rest of the time I will be making a fool of myself trying to communicate with the other villagers!

We were able to celebrate the 4th of July in American fashion, minus the fireworks. We were invited to the American Club which is the recreation portion of the American Embassy here in Bamako, Mali. There was a swimming pool, we got to eat hamburgers, play frisbee, and drink cold beer!

I have been learning a lot about Malian culture and I have been meeting a bunch of really cool people. I sleep in a hut with two other volunteers, and it is very hot at night. There are pit toilets here that you squat over to use. The funny thing is that the shower is in the same 3 by 3 foot room! If you drop anything in the hole accidentally, say bye-bye! It takes 30 years to fill up the pit with human waste and I don't want to know how long the pit has been collecting up to this point! There is toilet paper for us Americans, but today is the first day I tried the Salidaga. It is a little tea pot you fill with water and pour down the small of your back, using your left hand to wipe. After saying that, it is necessary to say that the left hand is not used for much else in Malian culture. It is surprisingly a cleaner feeling than toilet paper! We also learned to eat on the floor out of a common bowl. We eat with our hands (NEVER THE LEFT ONE). Everyone licks their hands and the hands go right back into the bowl. I am really happy to be learning another culture, but it does take some getting used to. The food so far has been really enjoyable!

That is all for now. I will try to post when I get back from homestay July 18th.