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.
