8/27-28

8/27/10
Today was my language exam and I passed! That means, I can go to site on schedule instead of spending another week in hell at Tubaniso! I am so happy, because two weeks ago, my language was floundering, but God! I totally said a mercy prayer before-hand, and my conversation wasn’t perfect, but my examiner could sell I knew a little something, something. I forgot, last night one of my older brothers got married and I found out that he is divorced, which is looked poorly upon in Mali. Anyway, the wedding wasn’t anywhere near the status of an American wedding, but I learned later that because of Ramadan, they could not really celebrate it. But, a goat was killed in my brother’s honor. The bride wasn’t even there until later and there were no fancy clothes or vow exchanges. It was like any other night, but more people were over and they watched a French movie. I was really disappointed, because I wanted a party, but I ate well yesterday. I had eggs and bread for breakfast, macaroni for lunch, moni for snack and cou and goat for dinner. And today there was more goat and I had it with the most delicious spaghetti I’ve ever had or maybe I’ve just been deprived of good food for so long. All three meals scored in the 7-8 range. Why couldn’t they have cooked this well before?

8/28/10
Today I left homestay and I was a little sad. My mom shook my hand with her left hand, which is usually a bad thing, but this time it meant I have to come back, so that she can correct her wrong  Really, really sweet gesture. I might actually make the effort to visit them in the future.

8/24-25

Awww, so as time is winding down, me and my family are getting closer, which was pretty inevitable. I've come to really like (most) of my sisters. And now, they want to come over and chat with me, although I still can't understand half of what they're saying. It's still fun to listen to them and watch their expressions. They say most communication is nonverbal, but I still want to understand the details!

Today, I spoke a lot of Bambara, ate lots of moni (my new favorite snack! It taste like applesauce, but it's not made of apples, it's made of millet) and I got my first Malian outfit made! It's a shirt and a pagne. I'm gonna wear it for swear in.

8/23/10

Today, I made American style corn and my family loved it! I didn't even have butter, but it's way better thant coal-burnt Malian corn. I forgot that yesterdayy, some of my family came back from out of town and the baby of the group, Awa, was so happy to see me! She kept saying "Djeneba, Djeneba, Djeneba!" So, I said "Awa, Awa, Awa!" and she loved it. Another thing that happened yesterday is a cockroach got inside my room, which isn't terribly hard to do given I have a pretty sizeable gap between my door and the wall. I completely freaked out! Maybe it was beacuse of the mefloquin, but I tripped, completely. I couldn't even get ready for bed, I was so scared, I just jumped in my bed and tucked in my mosquito net and prayed that I woulnd't I have to get up and pee until the sun came up. This morning, I got up, still a little freaked but I went to take my shower and got ready. When I got back, I looked up and saw a cockroach on my wall! I was so disgusted that I vowed to kill it later today, because I was going to buy some bug spray. I got the spray, but I couldn't do it! I had to ask my sisters to help me fumugate. Everyone got a kick out of the silly American who hates cockroaches.

8/19-22

Tonight, I was invited to a dance party by my new sister. They got a big laugh!

The animals/livestock seem to know where they live and who their humans are. They literally walk themselves home. Today I saw a goat walk into our compound, grunted and walked back out! It was pretty funny, annnnd my family does not have any goats, so it was definitely in the wrong house.

So, I'm actually starting to like my family. So, much infact, that I said that I would make them American corn on the cob. I've started buying my parting gifts for them as well. Tea and sugar for the dugutigi, lollipops for the kids.

8/17/10

Today is Jasmine's birthday! She's 22 and I wish I was there to celebrate with her! However, I've been up since 6:30 am and I've been in session all day. I was not having a good day and I was not looking forward to going back to homestay, and from talkign with other volunteers, I'm not the only one. The past couple of days have been exhausting back at Tubaniso. Everyone is high off of the excitement of being at site and now we're dreading going back to homestay. There's no point in going back!

I'm back in homestay, and now that I'm back, I feel a little better. It's nice to see their faces again. I gave them cookies and they helped me with my bags and we chatted a bit. I took a shower and now it's raining. I'm so glad it's raining because it's been so hot.

8/13/10

Today was a very rainy day, so nothing was going on. I woke up, took my bath, ate a breakfast of bread and some type of eggs that wasn't chicken eggs. It was better than chicken eggs, muuuch better. Then, I went to my room, read and took a nap. Then, I went to eat lunch and I played UNO with my little brothers. Then, I retired to my room again and I played guitar and read some more. As the rain stopped, I went to talk with my sisters and study Bambara. My sister asked me why I don't want to be called a Tubab and I told her it's because I did not colonize her country. I think now she understands. My other sister/host mom proceeded to ask me if I'm married. Here we go again! I said no, and Adama proceeded to tell me that her brother is a doctor and he's not married. Soooo, now I'm engaged to her brother and my new nickname is doktoromuso. Ha!

8/12/10

It's been a few days since I last wrote, but it's only because I've been so busy! My mind is on 24/7, switching back between English, French and Bambara. Actually, most of the time, my brain is in French mode. It's really tiring and can be frustrating, but everyone is having a lot of patience with me and they all cheer when I speak Bambara or understand what they're saying. I even get an occasional high-five, handshake thingy. This family treats me really well. I actually enjoy being in their company and they enjoy mine. I have the cutest little sibblings and handsome young brothers who draw my water for me every morning and evening. I also have a sister who should be on Mali's Next Top Model, if they had that. The people, in general, are very beautiful and their skin is flawless. Speaking of beautiful people, I have an uncle who is a pharmacist and we have really interesting conversations about the state of health care in Mali. I've picked his brain on why people don't wash their hands with soap, why people don't use tissue and why people eat with their hands. I've been having a great time. I've even made friends with a girl who sells woso (sweet potato fries) and pate (fried bread) and I get free snacks sometimes, but I pay her anyway and share with the little kids. Yesterday, I came to sit with my sister and she was holding her baby and as I walked up she started shouting "Tubabo." I was somewhat surprised to hear her call me that and I said "no, I'm not a Tubab. I'm an American." But she said "No, your skin is light," which is only partially true, b/c my skin is three-toned right now, haha! I began to explain to her that I'm African-American and many African-Americans have mixed heritage blah blah blah and I'm not French. And she accepted that explanation.