Kamona My New Homa

I have a house!  Technically I am now moved into my first house.  I am still arranging things, but I have a gas stove, a full sized bed, my wonderful Nicaraguan hammock, and food!  

I lasted 10 days in my new community and am happy to announce that I LOVE where I will be living.  The community seems fairly active and there are a lot of projects I can possibly work on.  I have already started thinking of what I want to plant in my garden plot (the women here have a huge fenced in garden space...I get prime location next to the well).  This next week I will try and yaala yaala around the community more, to chat with people and let them get to know me a little.  There is also work in the fields to do.  Corn is just coming out, and soon the cotton fields will be needing tended to.  Pretty fun.  

Last sunday I went to my first Malian Christian church service.  It was great!  I didn't understand a word anyone was saying, but somehow I managed to figure out that the new people in attendance had to stand up and say there names-of course everyone stared at the Toubab (me).  The coolest part of that experience was the music.  They played the drums and were singing, clapping, and swaying so happily!  Like, the real african drums that you would think would be here in Africa!  My church has them!  

To stay on the topic of religion, Ramadan is over this tuesday.  There will be a big party tues. night.  I am all over it!  Not a typical party I am used to.  I am sure there will be dancing, def. no alcohol involved though.  Men and women kept separate...but I usually am the exception.  More cultural experiences!  Pretty cool.

Lastly, these past few weeks have been really up and down.  Things back in the US are fine now, grandma is out of the hospital and happily walking again.  On my bus ride into the city yesterday I had my realization that yes, I am living in Africa.  I am living in AFRICA!!!!  I can do this!  It's pretty intense.  I have an amazing opportunity, great people to work with, and some real potential to positively help some people and their families.  

Oh, one side note- for those of you who know me well....I am eating EGGS!  I decided it's time that I just like them.  There are many benefits to eating them.  So, I've been making scrambled eggs with fresh onions, peppers, and tomatoes!  So good!  I think the fresh veggies makes them though! 

Pictures that are posted, you'll have to guess which is which because it is a miracle I can even post them: A big, beautiful Baobob tree.  We have many of them throughout the Segou region.  There is also a picture of me on my hammock at my new pad.  There is also a picture of me in front of our broken down Bashee.  I was on my way to my friends village and the 'mobili' broke down.  After about 10 min, and a push start we were on our way again.  Oh yeah, and about 20 people were crammed into that thing!  There is also a picture of me with Shea nuts.  They were some beautiful nuts!

Going Home (Malian Home)

This picture is of the Niger River, taken here in Segou.  Sunsets are the most beautiful here. 

This morning I am finally leaving to settle into my new home.  I am nervous, excited, anxious, and don't want to leave all at the same time.  My new house is cute- 2 rooms, I have my own nygene attached to the back, and I have a nice gwa (hangar) in front of my house that I will hang up my hammock and read endlessly there!  Over the next 10 days or so I will be doing a lot of cleaning, organizing and making my new house a home.  I will also get to walk around my new community meeting new people, and attempting to not have little kids scared to death of me....it happens.  I have literally scared kids so much because I am white that they peed of fright on the spot-no diapers on.  Nice.  

So, wish me luck!  I am still waiting on hospital news from back home, so day by day I am taking things here.  I'll be back in 10 days-more or less, not quite sure.    

My New Name

I have a new name.  It is Khadijah (or Kaja for short) Malle.  No more BaUmu Kante.  I decided to change it because I just didn’t feel like the BaUmu fit me.  I really liked Kante as my last name, but my entire village that I will be living in is pretty much Malle’s.  As a side note…last names are super important here in Mali.  There is this whole thing called ‘joking cousins’.  I think it’s a really cool concept here.  This joking cousinship goes back centuries.  The whole idea is that certain ethnic groups can joke with each other- ex: the Coulibaly’s joke with the Kante’s.  I can say “Coulibaly be sho dun” "Coulibaly eats beans" (meaning they fart).  It’s really funny because it is a way to get people to laugh at the white person making jokes…in Bambara.  Coulibaly can say “I be n ka jon” “you are my slave.”  I am told the Coulibalys at one time were big landowners and the Kante’s were blacksmiths…so the Kante’s worked for them.  This was also told to me by my teacher who happened to be a Coulibaly!

In my language village, everyone was a Coulibaly- even the 4 vols I was with.  I was the lone Kante.  I got made fun of all the time, people telling me that I was a bean eater, and that Kante is ‘a mein’ (sp).  Meaning Kante “is bad”.  These jokes are always said with a smile.   Now, those guys get made fun of all the time by people because Coulibaly just gets ragged on by everyone!  Payback guys!

Your last name can be very useful here.  When bargaining at market, if you are getting a really high price for something, you can mention your last name and you may get a big discount.  If someone has the unfortunate luck of getting into a fight, I am told they may break out the last names and if they are joking cousins, they will stop the argument.  Really.  This is one that I will have to see to believe.  However, I do believe in the strength of the joking cousin philosophy. 

Now that I am a Malle, I have to learn who my joking cousins are.  I can no longer tell a Coulibaly that they eat beans because we are not joking cousins, and rule is you have to stay within your joking family.  Malle is a Malinke name-I think.  That is another ethnic group of Mali.  Coulibaly and Kante are Bambara.

Another interesting fact about my name is that it is Muslim.  Khadijah was Muhammads (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) first wife.  She was also the first person to convert to Islam.  Anyway, my village has a good number of Christians.  They asked me what religion am I?  I told them Christian.  I don’t know if anyone will mention the fact that my name is not Christian, and I am not a Muslim.  We shall see.  It will be a great conversation topic.  Also, I figure may help in the future when working with the community. I chose my name.  I really like it...I'm stuck with it for the next 2 years, so I better.  

Posted is a picture from our swear in ceremony.  It is myself and the bean eaters (Coulibaly's) of Tamala.

 

So there you have some Malian culture.  Hope you liked it!  Feel free to leave comments on my blogs.  That way I know people are actually reading this thingJ

It's Official!

As of yesterday morning, at the US Embassy here in Mali, it was made official that I am a United Stated Peace Corps Volunteer.  I will join the 3000 people that have served here in Mali since the 1970's.  It is actually a good feeling to be official.  We had a really nice ceremony at the embassy, then we went on to the pool at the American club.  Highlights of this event were: eating hot dogs and hamburgers,  hanging in the pool, just having the feeling that I was in the US.  

Reflecting back on the last 2 months, I realize I'm really lucky.  I have met some incredibly cool, genuine people.  I have an amazing opportunity, and although it is not always easy, comfortable, or fun, I know that I will be making a difference.  Even if it is just in my small village.  

Tomorrow I am off to Segou for the next few days.  There I will be able to meet some local officials, upload some pictures, and buy some things for my house.  I need a washboard for doing laundry, and big bucket/trash can to store clean water in, and some other odds and ends.  Today I did a little grocery shopping in Bamako.  I was able to buy 2 ceramic mugs and bowls, 4 forks, and 4 spoons.  So, when you come visit me you won't have to eat with your hands-as the locals do (you are more than welcome to try though!).  Soon I will be in my new house.  I will have painting and cleaning to do.  I think I'm going to paint the inside a nice bright color.  Any suggestions?  Adventures ahead!  

Last Week of Training

My last week of training.  It’s been a real up and down week so far.  I am done with home stay.  I passed my language test!  Went on a fun field trip into Bamako and learned about Shea nut buyers, and how I can help women of my village make some money. I also got some bad news from home, grandma isn’t doing so well.  I am told it is nothing too serious, and she’ll be home soon, but please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.   I was debating on whether or not to post that, however all of you know me, and know how important my grandma is to me.  It is really hard to be here, knowing that grandma is in the hospital.  I guess there is never a good time for bad things to happen; people getting sick or injured.  Right now just really sucks though.  I am about to swear in as a PCV.  I have been through 2 months of language and culture training, as well as a total change in lifestyle.  C’est la vie.

Other than that depressing news, things are going well.  A lot of the people are getting things sent from back home, and it’s nice that everyone is good about sharing.  I managed to get 2 Cliff Bars and an Easy Mac from my friend Jen.  Speaking of friends, I’ve met some really cool people here.  Jen is actually a fellow Upstater!  Oddly enough we didn’t realize we were both from Albany until about 1 month into training.  I’m a little frazzled right now, so I’ll stop this torture of a blog.  The next few days may be busy, with finishing up training and all. I also have a ton of laundry to do.  Since it will all be done by (my) hand, it will take a good 2hrs. 

 

Ps- Sorry about the ‘family picture’ missing.  I thought I uploaded it properly, but it was brought to my attn. that it is not up.  I will try again, but I seem to not have any luck getting pics up on blogspot here at the training center.  Again, if you are a member of Facebook, I have a ton of pictures up there.

My Homestay Family

This is the picture of my homestay family.  They were great.  Not all the kids were there for the picture.  Chiaka is the tallest-he's the dad.  The two older women are Kaja and Umu, wife #1 and #2.  The rest are the kids.  I will really miss them! 

On another note, I got a nice package of Whole Foods Oatmeal from my dad last week!  It was great.  I shared one of them with my friend, Syndey.  She was equally greatful!  Keep the packages coming!  It's great for moral here!  

Some Malian History

I have been meaning to write this since I found out I was coming here.  I am just now getting the opportunity to do so.  Since I will be spending the next 2 years in Mali, I feel it is my duty to educate my readers a little bit about this wonderful country.  So, in a few short paragraphs I will tell you about my new country of residence.  The following information was found from a trusted source.

Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa.  To the north of us is Algeria, to the east of us is Niger.  Burkina Faso, Cote D’Ivoire, and Guinea are all south of Mali.  Senegal and Mauritania border the west.  Mali is twice the size of Texas (fun fact!), however 65% of this land is Sahara Desert.  The majority of the population lives below the Sahara in the southern part of the country-mostly below the Niger River. 

There are basically 3 seasons here: rainy, cool, and dry/hot.  Right now we are in the rainy season (June-Oct).  It’s great because it’s not super hot, although the humidity can be brutal sometimes.  Soon it will be ending and a brief cool season (Nov-Feb) comes right before we are hit hard with the heat.  That season lasts from March to May…don’t plan on visiting during these months!   They say it can get up to 115degrees, no A/C of course. 

Facts: Mali’s pop. is approx. 12 million people, with around 1 million people living in the capital, Bamako.  Life expectancy is 49years old.  Mali is a Muslim country; Sunni being the dominate sect.  Mali was a French colony until 1960, when it won its independence. They have presidential elections every 5 years with a 2 term limit.  Right now the President is Amadou Toumani Toure or ‘ATT’.  Mali is currently ranked the 3^rd poorest country in the WORLD, according to the 2006 Human Dev. Report (Sierra Leon and Niger are ranked 1^st and 2^nd respectively).

 

So, there you have it.  You all know a little bit about Mali.  On a personal note, I really like it here.  Of course everyday isn’t great, but is it anywhere?  It’s a different world out here, but what I find really important is that the people I am surrounded by are really great.