The weather is changing again. The mango-rains have begun and hot-season is at its last bout. I missed about 1/4 of the hot-season while I vacationed in Italy. I had a great time! I ate excellent food, used a flushing-toilet everyday, ate ice cream everyday, saw all types of people of different colors, didn't see any trash piles or dirt, I felt clean for long periods of the day. It was like being back in America.
One thing that I noticed in the beginning of my journey is my expectations of men were different. As I was standing in lines at the Bamako airport, I felt that I had to be on my guard with men trying to cut me, because I'm a woman. I guess it was my awareness, that men in this country believe they are superior to women, that caught me off-gaurd.
But, as I left the African-continent and entered Europe, that feeling quickly faded as men offered me seats on buses and trains and offered me their spots in line. Not that this doesn't happen to me in Mali, but it's quite rare for a Malian-man, who's not trying to hit-on you, to behave in this way.
Where does chivalry come from? Why did it not affect Malian men? Why don't the women demand it?
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