For lunch today, I had rice with fish sauce. Ugh. I saw the stupid chickens running around the concession. So, I told my dad that in America, people eat a lot of chicken. They laughed, as they always do whenever I say anything, but I was determined to get some chicken! The dugutigi (dad) then proceeded to point at a chicken and motioned that he was going to kill it for me tommorrow! Mission accomplished.
Tonight, I watched the planes go by and I wondered where they were going and if they knew that they were flying over Mali? Over this past month, I have seen a lot, but not everything and somethings I hope I never see, like snakes! As we make our trips to Bamako, I look at the world outside my window and I see so much lacking in infrastructure, in efficiency and tonight I felt hopelessness for Mali's economical state. I've learned that so much is imported in and geographically, Mali is landlocked and this makes it difficult and expensive to transport things in and out of country. And I see the abundance of donkey carts and lack of semitrucks and wonder, if things will ever change, especially in a nation with the highest illiteracy rate. Everything moves so slowly here, food production, the most popularly held occupation in Mali, is so inefficient. I think part of it is that the people don't know any other way to do things (back to the lack of literate people). I never realized how many things we do by machine. Machines are awesome! But I appreciate the way Malians do things and if they want to continue to remain the same, then I am most definitely willing to help them in whatever capacity I can, once I learn more Bambara.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
08/1/10
Today marks month 1 of being in the PC and the longest I've been away from home! To celebrate, coincidently, all 80 volunteers went to Bamako for a day at the museum and the American club for lunch and fun. Today I felt pretty nostalgic, not homesick, but I was missing familiar faces.
07/30/10
I spent this evening talking with my brother and sister to find out why they are not married. Most young people in Mali are married, so I was curious to know their reasons. I found out that my sister, who is 23, is engaged and is waiting until she is done with university. My brother is 17, and he said that he wants to go to university, so he doesn't want to marry until he's done with school as well. I then proceeded to ask them how many children they want. My sister said, four (go 'head girl!) the average here is like 9, I believe. My brother said he wanted nine! Oh boys, they just don't understand what women go through. Heck, I don't even know yet. I wanted to keep questioning my sister on why she only wanted four, but I don't have the language yet, darn it. I'm sure she would've said something like, "I only want four because that's probably all I could handle with my JOB."
07/29/10
This afternoon was very interesting. First, a begger boy came by the concession today. He was singing songs for money. I saw one of my host mom’s grab some money from her pocket and started fixing the boy a bowl to eat. It was awesome to see this act of kindness and warm-heartedness, because from what I’ve seen, Malian’s are not very heartwarming. Basically, it seems like once you learn to walk, you are on your own! There have been many times where I have seen children crying at my concession and not once have I seen an adult come to their rescue, unless they are a baby. A lot of the parenting is done by the older kids, which is also evident in America. However, I have seen some affection, it’s just different. For example, friends hold hands while walking down the street, even the young men. I’m still quite surprised when I see this. Another interesting occurrence today was that an ice cream man came through the village on a moto. He even had music! Instantly, I had my little sisters at my side asking me to buy them an ice cream. I suddenly felt like I was at home, buying something for my little sister or cousins. I asked them how much it costs, and they told me “mugan.” I am still adjusting to the monetary system, so I was a little slow and thought it was 100CFA for each. I ran to my room to get some money and we walked to the vendor. I asked for three and he said “mugan.” Holy crap, that’s only like 20 cents American for three ice creams! Oh Africa.
This afternoon was very interesting. First, a begger boy came by the concession today. He was singing songs for money. I saw one of my host mom’s grab some money from her pocket and started fixing the boy a bowl to eat. It was awesome to see this act of kindness and warm-heartedness, because from what I’ve seen, Malian’s are not very heartwarming. Basically, it seems like once you learn to walk, you are on your own! There have been many times where I have seen children crying at my concession and not once have I seen an adult come to their rescue, unless they are a baby. A lot of the parenting is done by the older kids, which is also evident in America. However, I have seen some affection, it’s just different. For example, friends hold hands while walking down the street, even the young men. I’m still quite surprised when I see this. Another interesting occurrence today was that an ice cream man came through the village on a moto. He even had music! Instantly, I had my little sisters at my side asking me to buy them an ice cream. I suddenly felt like I was at home, buying something for my little sister or cousins. I asked them how much it costs, and they told me “mugan.” I am still adjusting to the monetary system, so I was a little slow and thought it was 100CFA for each. I ran to my room to get some money and we walked to the vendor. I asked for three and he said “mugan.” Holy crap, that’s only like 20 cents American for three ice creams! Oh Africa.
07/28/10
07/28/10
Today was another field trip day to Bamako! We went to the US Embassy to learn about the work that USAID does in education in Mali. It was almost like being back in America! The embassy has grass and palm trees, air conditioning, cold water, brownies, coffee, marble walls and carpet! Omg, carpet! I don’t remember the last time I stepped on soft ground, haha! It was great! I’m not even going to try to remember what we learned, because I was enjoying my brownie too much to even pay attention. Then, we visited PRADDE-PC, another organization that is working towards training more teachers with effective tools to teach grades 1-6. After that session, we headed to lunch of tubab food! I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and a salad. It was soooo good. Then, I made room for dessert and ordered a scoop of strawberry ice cream, ahhhhhh. It was the most I’ve eaten in weeks! After lunch, we made another visit to PHARE, the national office of education. They gave the most interesting presentation I’ve heard so far and I’d really like to work with them, because they not only look at the logistics of education, but they venture into the social issues as well, and that is me! I want to analyze the issues behind Mali’s education system and help implement strategies to improve the system. Unfortunately, we don’t specifically get to choose who we’d like to work with. Only once we get placed, will we have any say in that regard. Anyway, after that session, we headed home. Dinner was promptly at 8:00. I still haven’t figured out how they tell time here when no one wears a watch. I suspect they count the number of times they hear the call to pray from the mosque and looks at the sun. At dinner, I noticed that my sister, Ma, was wearing a shirt that said “Every Day is Hell.” I chuckled to myself because of the irony of this sour-faced girl wearing this shirt! She can’t even read English, let alone Bamabara. Sadly, this shirt speaks some truth to her life. I mean, it’s written all over her face although. I don’t know if she thinks of another life, where she’s not 17 years old, married with kids, cooks, cleans, works in the fields and does laundry all day. I doubt she ever goes to the city. That life would be hell to me too.
Today was another field trip day to Bamako! We went to the US Embassy to learn about the work that USAID does in education in Mali. It was almost like being back in America! The embassy has grass and palm trees, air conditioning, cold water, brownies, coffee, marble walls and carpet! Omg, carpet! I don’t remember the last time I stepped on soft ground, haha! It was great! I’m not even going to try to remember what we learned, because I was enjoying my brownie too much to even pay attention. Then, we visited PRADDE-PC, another organization that is working towards training more teachers with effective tools to teach grades 1-6. After that session, we headed to lunch of tubab food! I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and a salad. It was soooo good. Then, I made room for dessert and ordered a scoop of strawberry ice cream, ahhhhhh. It was the most I’ve eaten in weeks! After lunch, we made another visit to PHARE, the national office of education. They gave the most interesting presentation I’ve heard so far and I’d really like to work with them, because they not only look at the logistics of education, but they venture into the social issues as well, and that is me! I want to analyze the issues behind Mali’s education system and help implement strategies to improve the system. Unfortunately, we don’t specifically get to choose who we’d like to work with. Only once we get placed, will we have any say in that regard. Anyway, after that session, we headed home. Dinner was promptly at 8:00. I still haven’t figured out how they tell time here when no one wears a watch. I suspect they count the number of times they hear the call to pray from the mosque and looks at the sun. At dinner, I noticed that my sister, Ma, was wearing a shirt that said “Every Day is Hell.” I chuckled to myself because of the irony of this sour-faced girl wearing this shirt! She can’t even read English, let alone Bamabara. Sadly, this shirt speaks some truth to her life. I mean, it’s written all over her face although. I don’t know if she thinks of another life, where she’s not 17 years old, married with kids, cooks, cleans, works in the fields and does laundry all day. I doubt she ever goes to the city. That life would be hell to me too.
07/26/10
7/26/10
Today is Sunday, free day and my first full day back in village. I was so tired this morning that I slept in until 7:30am haha! Even the donkeys must’ve got the message that “Jade is tired” because I didn’t hear a single bray. Once I got showered and dressed, I got breakfast of bread and eggs. Gosh, I hope this continues! I need my protein amongst all this starch. After breakfast, I met up with my group and we headed to the market. It was great to see so many people hustling and bustling and of course there were many greetings to make to alllll the strangers that I know. I couldn’t let this slow me down too much because I was on a mission to bargain using my new language skills. I also had to be street smart and keep my eye out for pick-pocketers in the crowded market. I quickly resolved to disperse my money on my body and I kept it moving. I came across my first vendor selling material for clothing; I approached her and asked how much. She replied “keme segi” 4,000CFA, that’s outrageous! I tried walking away to see if she would lower her price. She didn’t budge, so I said “keme naani” 2,000 CFA. This wasn’t working out for me, so I walked to the next vendor selling material. I asked her how much for one meter of cloth, she replied “keme bi duru” 750CFA. That’s what’s up! In American dollars, that’s only like $2, so I proceeded to buy 3 meters. I was very happy with my purchase and I blessed her. Other things that I saw at the market were pieces of jewelry, purses, t-shirts, shoes, dried fish, fruits, veggies, meat, brains, spices all that good stuff. After seeing that meat at the market, I decided that now would be a good time to stay away from meat prepared in village.
Today is Sunday, free day and my first full day back in village. I was so tired this morning that I slept in until 7:30am haha! Even the donkeys must’ve got the message that “Jade is tired” because I didn’t hear a single bray. Once I got showered and dressed, I got breakfast of bread and eggs. Gosh, I hope this continues! I need my protein amongst all this starch. After breakfast, I met up with my group and we headed to the market. It was great to see so many people hustling and bustling and of course there were many greetings to make to alllll the strangers that I know. I couldn’t let this slow me down too much because I was on a mission to bargain using my new language skills. I also had to be street smart and keep my eye out for pick-pocketers in the crowded market. I quickly resolved to disperse my money on my body and I kept it moving. I came across my first vendor selling material for clothing; I approached her and asked how much. She replied “keme segi” 4,000CFA, that’s outrageous! I tried walking away to see if she would lower her price. She didn’t budge, so I said “keme naani” 2,000 CFA. This wasn’t working out for me, so I walked to the next vendor selling material. I asked her how much for one meter of cloth, she replied “keme bi duru” 750CFA. That’s what’s up! In American dollars, that’s only like $2, so I proceeded to buy 3 meters. I was very happy with my purchase and I blessed her. Other things that I saw at the market were pieces of jewelry, purses, t-shirts, shoes, dried fish, fruits, veggies, meat, brains, spices all that good stuff. After seeing that meat at the market, I decided that now would be a good time to stay away from meat prepared in village.
7/25/10
7/25/10
Today marks the beginning of the second phase of homestay. I had been regretting coming back ever since I left! But, now that I’m back, I’m feeling a lot better. I know people a little better, I’m even happy to be back in my small, hot room. I could go without the negen, animals and lack of sanitation though. Overall, it’s good to be back in the village. Despite everything that I can complain about, the village itself is quite beautiful. I can see hills and sky for miles and I don’t think I’ll ever tire of seeing the richness of this land. In two weeks, I will know where I’ll be living for the next two years! I hope I end up in a village like Sunduguba. The people are nice and it’s relatively clean and about 20 km outside of Bamako. This seems ideal for me: living in a village, but not too far from the city. Let’s hope I get what I want!
Today marks the beginning of the second phase of homestay. I had been regretting coming back ever since I left! But, now that I’m back, I’m feeling a lot better. I know people a little better, I’m even happy to be back in my small, hot room. I could go without the negen, animals and lack of sanitation though. Overall, it’s good to be back in the village. Despite everything that I can complain about, the village itself is quite beautiful. I can see hills and sky for miles and I don’t think I’ll ever tire of seeing the richness of this land. In two weeks, I will know where I’ll be living for the next two years! I hope I end up in a village like Sunduguba. The people are nice and it’s relatively clean and about 20 km outside of Bamako. This seems ideal for me: living in a village, but not too far from the city. Let’s hope I get what I want!
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