Holiday Hike in Dogon Country

The landscape was breathtakingly beautifully. Mainly because we were all out of breath by the time we reached the peak of each cliff due to our guides incredible long legs and ability to climb at an alarming rate in flip-flops that were two sizes too small. I began my hoilday season by spending a few nights in Bamako to get checked out by the medical staff and relax, unfortunately because I stayed in Bamako immediately after Peace Corps training I did not get the free transport to Sevare, to make my travels a little easier. On my own I managed fine though and got out of Bamako in time to meet up with volunteers in Sevare the night before we were to travel to Bandiagara to get ready for our Holiday Hike. On the 24th we began our journey with our guide Mamadou.

Group 1 Day 1

Climbing rocks to get a bird's eye view of the village

Morning of day 1 we hiked about 11 km and breaked for lunch and a nap in a small village. After the heat of the day wore off we explored parts of the town and meandered our way across a mountain to make it to the village we were to stay for the night. That night we met the dugutigi (village chief) and as a gift gave him kola nuts and tea. After dinner he organized an impromptu dance performance which was very entertaining, but we were all extremely tired. They prepared the dance floor by watering the ground, to prevent the dust from rising everywhere from their quick dance movements. They move their feet in very quick movements and slightly bend down swaying their arms moving to the beat of the drums. The men and women dance in slightly different styles. I wish it wasn't so dark otherwise I would have recorded some of the dances. We saw the moon rise and slept on the roof of some huts under some mosquito nets they provided and a mattress. It was a little cold the first night, but not as cold as the next. Day 1= 14km

Animism~Christianity~Islam
Each rock represents a religious practice in the village

The next morning we were served pate (malian fried dough) and bread with jam and the choice of tea or instant coffee. Then we set out around 8 am for a 10 km hike to our lunch destination in Tele. Our guide said it was going to be a flat hike today. It was flat, but very sandy. I think we enjoyed the up and down more than walking in sand for 4 hours. The village Tele was awesome after an amazing grilled chicken lunch and nap we hiked up into the cliff dwellings. Our guide told us Dogon people settled there 4 centuries before Christ.

It was incredible to climb through the remains of a village resting on the side of a cliff. They were very ingenious architects, I tried to imagine an ordinary day living in the mountain climbing across or around houses to see a friend, or playing a game of hide-and-seek in all the small spaces between the mountain and mud buildings. We then left that site to walk another 4 km in sand to reach a fellow PCVs village to enjoy a shower and christmas dinner with a big group of volunteers. The village knew we were coming ahead of time so they put together a play to present after our dinner. This night we were given only mattresses on the roof and it was really really cold. Another volunteer and I kept waking in the middle of the night asking eachother if they were still freezing wondering why they didn't give us more blankets. So we shared a mattress and sandwiched ourselves between the other mattress, still cold, but could sleep more than 20 minutes at a time.

The next day we had an even bigger breakfast than the day before, because the volunteer at the site made special requests. We got to choose from rice cereal, moni (mali millet porridge), bread & jam, and tea or coffee. We only had 6 km left before the end of our tour through Dogon and our last village stop was Djiguibombo. I was very happy with my decision to go to on the hike for Christmas. I did not have time to travel to Djenne or Mopti, but there is always next year.

2011 is days away. I have yet to think of a New Years resolution, so I will brainstorm ideas. What is your New Year's resolution?
I went into town this morning to go to the bank and post office. I finally got to send out postcards I've been carrying with me for two weeks. I also received a package from a good friend (Thank you a bunch Nancy). I am going back to site tomorrow, excited to celebrate the New Year with my new home in village. Although I miss home very much and listened to the voice messages of the Christmas calls I received from family while waiting in the bank. I totally cried, because I love my family and want to squeeze them like a tube of toothpaste. Happy New Year!!!

Tubaniso~ House of the Doves

I am back at the Peace Corps training site near Mali's capitol Bamako. We have two weeks of scheduled sessions for technical training, project ideas, and PACA practice (Participatory Analysis for Community Action). Also our work counterparts from our respective villages have joined us to attend PACA sessions as well.

Week 1

Week 2

So far the session on tree grafting has been the most helpful and engaging. I am really excited to graft some trees, particularly Mango and Shea. A grafted Mango tree can produce fruit in as little as 5 years whereas an ungrafted tree would produce fruit after about 25 years. I took pictures throughout the presentation. Our presenter was a Malian man that spoke Bambara. He put together a grafting kit and takes it with him wherever he goes.

Our presenter with his Graft Kit Bag

He said we should keep a grafting bag with us as well, because you never know when you might need your tools to collect branches. He was very entertaining and you could tell he was excited about his presentation.

completed graft of Baobob Tree

At T-So (Tubaniso) we are conveniently close to the big city Bamako. I have had the pleasure of going into town for dinner three times already. Pizza, banana split, falafel, wine, hummus, cheese, espresso, etc. the big city of Bamako has it all. I went to the Fourmi (a large supermarket) and was overwhelmed with the selection of shampoo & conditioners I could pick from. The Fourmi even sold dog food, I was convinced when I saw that aisle I could find anything there. I browsed a bit, but decided just to buy shampoo, postcards, a chocolate bar, and soap. I am trying to save money for traveling in Mali. While at T-So if we're not in a session, people are hanging out watching movies, tv shows, reading, playing card/board games, and playing volleyball, soccer, and basketball. If we had a bat and a ball I'm sure we would be training for W.A.I.S.T. the softball tournament held in Senegal. The sessions have been pretty long and after more than a week here most of us probably would rather be at site, but soon after our IST is christmas so many of us will be traveling to different places in Mali to celebrate together and listen to christmas tunes.

The Adoration of Trees

I pass the Sankio village sign and it is yellow, but I remember him saying to turn left at the yellow sign past the Sankio sign. I continue, hoping I will eventually come to that sign. I have already biked over 12km in the early afternoon sun. As I ride, I pass women returning from the bushes carrying loads of firewood atop their heads, children herding cows near a pond, large diesels on the road to Burkina, and mounds of cotton on the side of the road that I wish was snow. I come to the yellow sign and as I turn my tutor is right there behind me on his moto, I break for water before taking the small dirt/sand path that leads into the village I came to visit.
In December this village has a two day ceremony, the first day involves the killing of many chickens. The animists and muslims that still practice some traditonal fetishes take two chickens into the bush (kungola) to be sacrificed. They say their wishes/prayers and hand their chicken to a man that slits the throat, draws blood on the tree, and tosses the chicken on the ground. People then watch to see how the chicken dies and when it stops the position will tell the person whether or not their prayers/wishes will be answered.

"next chicken"

I could only go so far, I was warned to stay back. Because, I am not a married woman nor have any children I must stay back and not get close to the area where the men killed the chickens. Also after the fact I was there, my tutor said feel free to take many pictures, you are safe the dugutigi (village chief) is here, there is no problem.... (hmm k why would I not be safe?) "This is traditional things if you came alone they will kill you". Interesting I feel so much more relaxed now, I think I'll take more pictures of this interesting ceremony. Afterwards we returned from the bushes into the village to visit people and relax under the shade of a hangar while two men played the drums and sang. I was then convinced that I had to return the next day, because there will be much more drums and a balafone. The dugutigi said to be in village at 8 am so I wouldn't miss any of the drumming and also I would get there before the drumming got too sloppy due to the consumption of millet beer. After another quick tour of another part of the village I was on my way back home, I made it just before dark.

Another area in the bush, tutor and dugutigi, I was told to stay back

Friday morning. I arrived in the village half past eight. We waited drank tea, I nearly fell asleep a few times. They offered me a recliner, I declined. Crazy people came, a women shoved a tire at the crazy man's head shooing him out of the concession so he wouldn't bother me. The dugutigi was postponed due to an unfortunate event in the village, a man's cows destroyed another man's crops. Just after 11 am he arrived and we sat a little while to chat. In the distance I could hear the drummer's approaching....

Drum line approaches

They approached and I listened and watched as we sat. I was surprised that the crowd was mainly just a bunch of old people, but I guess they are the ones keeping this tradition alive. The men played the drums and people passed around a variety of miscellaneous recycled containers holding millet beer and serving them in gourd bowls. I was offered to drink but declined for fear of catching a water-borne illness. I am not entirely sure how they make the drink or if the containers they use have been sterilized (unlikely). One day though I'd like to make a batch of millet beer. I'll shadow an animist or christian in village someday to figure it out. The rest of the day we spent walking around the town, followed the drummers as they paraded through another area of the village. Greeting people as we went.

Mali cotton

I got to meet a man making cotton cloth it was totally awesome to see the cotton stretched across the concession to his work station. I followed my tutor to his host family's concession for lunch and then was back on the road for home to share pictures with my host family. I think it is important to have a host family in as many villages of Mali as possible so no matter where you go you'll have a place to rest.

"I ni baara"

The City of Sikasso

I just returned from the Thanksgiving festivities hosted by volunteers in Sikasso. The town is big and I didn't explore as much as I would have liked, but made some good discoveries along the way. The market there is big even not on an official Market day. I spent one morning just walking around lolligallying in the market.  There is an underground and above ground market area. I was looking for some sandals and anything else that caught my fancy. I came across a shop selling soccer jerseys and went in, there were some nice Mali shirts with the country printed on the fabric and a wall of men's shoes, gucci, LV, nike, vans, etc. I found some sweet shorts that are really long and go past the knee, perfect for walking around in Mali, a little bargaining and sold.
I came across a guy selling monkey skulls among many other interesting items, such as bracelets, necklaces, masks, knives, bogolan-fini cloth, leather bags, etc. I really wanted a necklace, but I know he was overcharging me and he wouldn't accept my reasonable offer so I left. I didn't have much money with me and I wanted to be sure I had enough to buy the sandals I came there for. Finally I found a sandal man worth talking to, he sold his sandals in a wheel barrow and all of them were just a keme (500 cfa ~ 1 dollar). So with the help of the sandal man I chose a style and he dug through the pile to find my size. I think I went to the market a little early, because later that day many more vendors arrived with a larger selection of sandals, etc. Next time.
I stayed at the Hotel Ikhlass its about 30 minutes across town from the Peace Corps Bureau and Market. It was a nice hotel. I shared a room with 4 other girls. It had wireless internet, a shower with warm water, a tv, and a toilet.

 

Hotel Ikhlass Entrance

Walking towards the Bureau from the hotel you come across a Restaurant Al Baraka. They have a menu and most of the time what is listed on the menu they will be able to serve you. If you go in a large group expect a long wait. I have had the Shwarma, meat sandwich wrap, and the Hamburger. Both good choices. Down the road from the retaurant is another place that serves soft-serve Ice Cream. 



Placemat at the Al Baraka

All in all it was a good trip into town to see Sikasso and enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with other Americans. On Friday Hotel Maissa another hotel down the road and around the corner from the Ikhlass had a pool and was rented out for the afternoon. Very nice to relax in the water. Also there were donkey races before our meal. The best part though was getting woken up at 5:20 am to receive a Happy Thanksgiving call from my family in the states, everything served as a good distraction for my first thanksgiving away from family & friends. Love and miss you all. I'll be returning to my village today only to be back at an in-service training in a weeks time.

A wise man once said...

"Mogo be nunuma ni ka soro k'i taama, mogo te taama ni ka soro k'a nunuma. Jin ko bee ye doni doni ye."

"People crawl before they walk, they cannot walk before they crawl. All things in the world happen slowly."

Amiina to that! Five months in Mali and the language is progressing slowly slowly, but I am understanding more and more each day. I'm not afraid to make errors when I speak so I pretty much talk freely and hope they get the just of what I was trying to say. Kind of like the way I speak English if you know me well. I can understand better than I can speak just because it takes some effort to attempt to form a grammatically correct sentence, plus I don't want to accidently say something ridiculous by mixing up vocabulary words.
This morning was very pleasant I woke up early for a jog/walk and this time I took my ipod. It was really beautiful watching the sunrise. I found the perfect rode with few travelers and it is at a slight elevation so I can see the horizon and parts of my town. I was enjoying my tunes and then Suavemente by Elvis Crespo came on and I couldn't help but dance all along the trail. I got caught offguard when a man came up from behind me on his bike, I was a little embarrassed but carried on with my dancing.


The road of my morning travels

I was going to do laundry today. but the fam was so I decided to wait till after Tabaski. Instead I went to the corn/rice machine to get some work done. Had tige dege na for lunch, took a nap next to mom, and had tea when I woke up. I promised to make no-bake cookies for the seliba tomorrow so in the wulafe (late afternoon) I went to the butigi (boutique) down the road to buy some oatmeal and chocolate powder drink mix. Then I decided to wash my bike and oil the parts, which took longer than I had anticipated.
After bathing I watched my host mom's niece cut apart a guinea fowl while I cut potatoes and then onions, garlic, and a bell pepper. "Sita be kasi". Yes Sita does cry everytime she cuts onions. I didn't understand what we were going to have for dinner. because they were also cooking plaintains and they mixed them in with the fried potatoes. It turned out well though, I asked what the dish was called and she said 'frite ni loco", fries and plaintains. Ayiwa. O.K. I can remember that; on top of the fries and plaintains was the guinea fowl cooked with the onions, garlic, and bell pepper. When I came home on Monday there was a new goat, but I guess he'll be gone by tomorrow night. My brother said he is going to kill it tomorrow and we are all going to eat! Except for her, pointing to his cousin. He teases everyone in the family a lot. So sometimes I say he is crazy. Tomorrow evening I am also going to make oatmeal a.k.a. "Ameriki moni/ceri". I made it once before in the morning, but my host mom wasn't back from town then. Well its that time again.
Ala k'an kelen kelen wuli. ~ May we get up one by one.

"Sita na na! Sita na na!" ~ Sita is back! Sita is back!"

Indeed I am back in town. A little bit of a struggle to get here. I figured instead of biking to where the mobilis load I would ride my bike in the direction of my town and wait for the vans or buses to come by and hail them like a taxi. Unfortunately, I waited for an hour with no luck, no vans or buses where going to my town. So after another ten minutes I reloaded my bag on my bike and headed to the place I was the day before. The instant I said where I wanted to go to they grabbed my bike and bag and tossed it a top the van. Note to self in the future choose a better van it was smaller than the usual ones. I got my ticket and sat.. and sat... waiting... they don't usually leave until the van is completely full. Completely full. My head was an inch from the ceiling and we were off to the gas station : (. Ok and then we were off to my town. The jerk of a driver didn't stop when I asked him to so we rode through town on the busiest, most crowded of market days, because Tabaski is Wednesday. So I had to meander through crowds of people, motos, buses, donkeys, goats, etc. etc.
I arrived home to a warm welcome. I handed the pineapple I bought the day before to Shaka to give to my host mom. Gave quick greetings and threw my bags into my house. Phew! I made it home. They had a warm bowl of rice with sauce served for me when I arrived, I ate with them. Shared some of the events that occured over the weekend. Showed them a sweet video of Malian children dancing, showed my scrapes from my fall in the sand, and drank a bit of tea before fetching water from the well to take my b-bath. I usually always go to market day, but today I didn't have the energy or the time, because my tutor was coming at 2 p.m.
I talked a bit in Bambara of how I despised the mobili tigis that lied to me and didn't stop the bus when asked. Then we went on to read a text in Bambara to translate into English. Today's text was "Makoro Kuman" ~ "Old People's Talk". It was about in the past people would always tell the truth, but nowadays people tell lies to get the things they want. Things have changed from the past, our children no longer follow us. What should we do? ~ An be mun ke? Should we make them our enemies? ~ An ku ke an juguw ye wa? No that is not what I think we should do. Through time the world will give them advice. The old people said, If you are hot in your house~ Ni funteni b'ila i ka so kono, ~ You can make a hole for wind to come through~ i be seka fuyin bo da bo sola, ~ but if you are hot in another person's house ~ n'ka ni funteni yi mine waliso kono, ~ you can leave and sit under the shade of a tree ~ i be bo ki da yiri suma koro.

"Du konona ka di ni bee bi joyoro fa." ~ "The family house is good if everyone takes care of their obligations."
We then moved onto sentence building and passe compose etc. It was a good lesson. I'm thankful I have a very capable tutor.
Later on after the lesson I begin the tedious task of unpacking and cleaning house. While I was gone the ants on steriods ate holes through a plastic bag of sugar, and were having a field day. I find out soon after there is a whole in my house where they enter by the dozens. I move everything off the shelves sweep my entire house, including behind my pantry/clothes shelf. Its already dark and thankfully the electricity is now on so its easier to sweep. I'm done sweeping up all the dead ants and sugar and I sit outside bringing some dates (tamaro) for the fam to eat before dinner (to served with beobab leaf sauce and a piece of fish). I then return into my house for water and i'm shocked to see the ants returned running around my shelf, which i just thoroughly cleaned. Now I'm being called outside to grab my piece of papaya, but I'm stomping and sweeping all the ants and call out "menemene caman beyi n ka so kono" "there are many many ants in my house". They come to investigate and call someone to assist with the situation. In about 5 minutes a cekoroba (old man) is in my house; I untie a bag of 3 kilos of cement I bought the week before and he patches up the ant entrance. We sweep out the remaining ants and return to sit outside to watch a soap opera. Bed time I use the neygen, brush my teeth, put away my clothes, write this blog, turn off the computer, wash my face, and lie in bed. Its cold season, but its hot inside....

N binna negesola.

I fell on my bike. I knew it would eventually happen, just because I remeber talking to myself on a ride to a nearby village. "Woah! Damn this sand is dangerous." I probably have had close to four close encounters before actually eating dust. Don't worry mom I was wearing my helmet, thanks to the strict Peace Corps policies. Also I guess I'm glad I fell on sand rather than hard ground or donkey poop. I have several large bruises on my legs, scrapes across my right leg and right elbow. A little after soreness, but nothing major more likely due from sleeping outside on the ground for a night. Tonight I will sleep well another PCV let me use her tylenol pm so I should be sleeping like a baby in no time.
To catch up on things most recently at site I made Dege a traditonal Mali porridge served usually for naming ceremonies (denkundi). I also made Wujula, a meal from the northern region of Mali. I was very excited to learn how to make this meal, just because its so cool how they make bread without an oven. Its steamed!

Preparing Dege using my filtered water because it is something not served hot, like most other things are in Mali.

Bread rolls soon they will rise and we shall steam them!

Jose I also cry when I cut onions and everyone makes fun of me. Not all American women cry when they cut onions, o.k.

Sorry no pictures of the completed meal, only due to it was sufe and there was not a sufficient amount of light to take a decent picture. But it came out very well. Onions, green peppers, garlic, a lil mustard and seasonings, cooked with meat and oil, add some water bring to a boil, eat with steamed bread and you've got yourself some Wujula.
On another note, my host mother has returned home from her month stay in Bamako, hooray. Soon my village will kill a lot of goats and eat a lot of meat. I spent about an hour or more the other day cracking peanuts to make something for Tabaski, of course asking what they are going to do with the nuts flew right over my head so I'll just have to wait and see only about four more days.
I would be in my village now had the mobili men not lied to me, I could easily have taken a bus from the gare. I arrive at the van area to find a ride to my town, ask when they are leaving they say sooni, meaning soon. Of course I know already Mali time is very different from an American's perception of time. So I ask again how soon do you think and he says soon like now. So I negotiate a price hand over my bike and bag and they get tossed up onto the roof. I stand and lean against the van with other passengers waiting and make some small talk. The guy who sold me the ticket comes up and tells me there is a place to sit across the street while I wait. I say no I don't need to sit and we're leaving soon anyway. Not! I arrived around 3:45 and now its 4:15 p.m. I've been asking continuosly when they will leave and he says sisan sisan, right now right now. Really because thats what you said ten minutes ago. The sun is setting earlier here and its not safe to travel at night. I began to worry that we'll leave past five and I will get in my village when its already dark, with no flashlight so i'll have to walk my bike and bags to my house. I tell them if we don't leave in 10 minutes I need my money back so I can find another ride or stay an extra night and leave in the morning. They keep brushing me aside and say they are leaving very soon or now. I get frustrated, so I call another PCV and she gets me on the phone with her tutor that works with PC he saves the day tells the driver if he doesn't leave in five minutes then he needs to give me my things and money back or I will call the police. I wait close to ten minutes and just as I am about to ask for my things on the roof of the van again he comes up to me asks for my "ticket' and gives me my money back. I say thank you and go grab my bag and bike that is handed to me from the man on the van getting ready to lay goats across the top in a tetris type fashion. I load my gear onto my bike and head back to the PC house before sunset. Tomorrow will be the mother of all markets in my town due to the fete coming up, so hopefully I'll be able to sail out of town early tomorrow morning before there is a lot of traffic. Well the Tpm is kicking in i've got to get to bed. K'an ben sooni.

N nison diyarra kosebe!

I am very happy. I am in my banking town and have returned from the post office and market. The care package was amazing. I couldn't ask for more. I feel like i'm set for two years it was so big. The post man helped me tie it to the back of my bike. I returned later to give him some chocolate and granola bars. Also I received a beautifully written letter from my darling sister. Thank you Family! You made my month! Now I'm going to go shower in the sun and after paint my nails while I watch a movie. A little Vacay before I return to site and get some work done before In-Service Training in December. Update about site will come later today. Love to all!

"Sita! Sita! Jacumen beyi Ameriki?"

"Awo Shaka, jacumen beyi Ameriki ani jacumen bilebileba beyi fana"

A five-year old boy, Shaka, is very curious as to what exactly is in America. Most recently he asked me if there are cats in America. I told him yes and that there are also big cats. We could spend the whole afternoon talking about what exactly is in America, unfortunately most things that are only found in America are not so easy to explain in Bambara (local language). Even if I translate words using French, no one understands I guess you have to see it to believe it. Sooo, I planted strawberries! They sell strawberry jam in the big cities at nice boutiques. I bought some, but it quickly spoiled before I could share with my family what a strawberry tastes like. Hopefully my seeds will sprout and i'll be eating strawberries in December or January. I've also planted basil, which has already began to sprout. Anyway they are also pretty amazed at what is not in America. The staple food millet in Mali, used to make the Mali dish "to" is something you will not find. Pretty shocking.

You guessed it. In the photo above he is asking if there are machines in America.

Most recently while at site I went to a party celebrating a woman's wedding engagement. Lots of music and dancing. I didn't take any photos of the festivities, because I didn't want to draw more attention to myself or make people feel awkward. I saw a lot of familiar faces of women that I have met in the village on walks or through acquaintances. Some women praised my family name and said wonderful things about my family name and asked for money. I told them I shouldn't have to pay them, because they don't know my family or where my grandfather is from. I told them my last name was really Ramirez and not Sanou, and she couldn't even pronounce it though she tried. A tutor told me it is common for a griot/jeliba to attend social events, their job is to know the history of your family and what is great about your name. Technically if they can't tell you about your family it is rude for them to ask for money. Their was a local band providing the musical entertainment two men on the drums and two women singing. They usually dedicate a song to someone and they have to get up and dance. I saw someone asking somebody what my name was and knew then that I would have to get up soon and dance although I already joined in on several other dances. When it was my song my host sister came and grabbed me to start dancing. It was awkward, because I was the first one out on the dance area, but soon enough I was joined by many women. They put there shawls around me and grabbed my hand raising it high in the air. We danced in a circle going around like a conga line, this is how the majority of all the dances are until the very end of most songs the beat picks up and people began to break away from the circle and really move their feet. The crowd quickly disperses and usually only 4 remain from the 30+ people dancing for this fast-paced part of the song. I did get a photo taken while the photographer they hired was taking pictures.

Should of fixed my musoro (head wrap) before the picture, but oh well it came out nice. Upper left corner speaker system for the party, lower left corner rope and rubber bag for fetching water from the well. After I left the party we went to a friend's house, because it was the day of her child's denkundi (naming ceremony). Seven days after the child is born, Islamic religious leaders join together with the men early in the morning to read the Koran and name the baby. The women serve bread, coffee, and sometimes a traditonal type of porridge. The man hands out candy or biscuits to friends. They also shave the baby's head. The child's name is Omar. I went later in the evening to give soap and a cloth used to wrap the baby on the mother's back. This all happened on Thursday and now it is Saturday evening and I am in my banking town, to receive/send letters and enjoy the company of other Americans before I get on the early morning brusse mobile back to site. Until next time. "Ala ka hamina kow nogoya" May God give you what you need. Love Sita



The Traditonal Things~ Bamana kow

I'm trying my best to stay productive at site, planning things in advance. I took a long walk to a village to greet the dugutigi (village chief) and his family. Unfortunately when I got there the only people there was a child and a muso koroba (old woman) that was extremely difficult to understand. Possibly she was speaking Malinke, because it definitely was not Bambara. A man came soon after I arrived and told me everyone was gone in the fields picking cotton. I told him I just came to say hello, and then left to make it back in time for lunch. The walk was very pleasant, I passed fields of cotton, millet, and a bunch of shea and mango trees.

 Every Monday I make a different Malian dish with the ingredients I buy from the market. Most recently I made Na ji with white rice. All the recipes are very similar to one another, I think I'll have to cook with different families to expand my knowledge of Malian cuisine. But I now know how to wash rice to get out all the stones and sand.

 Above pictures I took of the cooking process on two different Mondays. One dish called Zame and the other Na ji. I'm working on keeping track of the recipes, but there is always something added to a dish that has some weird name that I can't figure out what it is, for instance Sumaya or samaya mugu. mugu I understand means powder, but sumaya/samaya means malaria or cold and neither of those make sense or give me any hint to what kind of powder it is. I'll ask my tutor next time I have a lesson.

Last language lesson my tutor warned me of the dangers of sorcery in Mali. "You see that chicken there, a man can make himself look just like it, he can" Farati Baala/You must pay attention to yourself. Also there is a traditional practice called 'lo' in which strong young men in the Boron ethnic group cover there bodies with a costume and wear a mask so they cannot be seen. In their district the men carry sticks and dance, unfortunately I will likely never see this ceremony, because these men also carry sticks to beat people with if they can. My tutor said they will chase you so you must run very fast, if you are hit it is very bad and your luck will never change. He also warned me of other traditional things such as sorcery and how some people are very skilled. "Some wives will change themselves into birds, dogs, and animals... they do this during the night..... it is very dangerous, they will kill you if they can". I'll do my best to not offend anyone and keep well away from the area of 'lo' when this ceremony takes place. I know where the tree and house of lo are in my village so I just have to avoid that area when it takes place two times out of the year.
Also the seliba (big feast) is coming soon. Not just one but two the Mali feast and Thanksgiving! I plan on traveling to Sikasso to celebrate with other Peace Corps volunteers. Well I'm heading to the post office soon, try to make another update before going back to site tomorrow.

"Boli ni bobara sine te bin"

Translation: "You cannot run and scratch your butt at the same time."
     Well ain't that the truth. I don't know why I put that in the title, but I found it a hilarious proverb. I am heading back to village today. It has been a nice break and the language training was helpful. Although I was surrounded by Americans for the majority of my time here, so we've been speaking a lot of English. Hopefully it doesn't cause a shock to my system when I get back out there in my village and all I can speak is my broken Bambara. I'll be arriving the day before our Market day, so hopefully the traffic will not be bad or crowded. I'll probably plan on staying at site until the end of October and then I'll make a trip into town to go to the bank and post office. I tried to send out letters yesterday, but the office was closed. I am going to leave in a little bit to see if its open to send out a few letters.
When I return to site I am going to visit a few towns and their shea machine facilities. I'll also probably try to plan a trip to visit a PCV couple's site. Maybe start a compost bin and plant some of the veggie seeds my loving parents sent from home. While also walking, jogging, or biking around town everyday and visiting people I have befriended. I also have my language lessons every Friday, Saturday, and Monday morning. But I don't know if my schedule will change, just because school has started and my tutor teaches English along with music and drawing at the local school. I'll probably sit in on one of his language lessons for a few days if I can. Although I hear that they squeeze about 100 students into one medium sized classroom.
My birthday is also in about 5 days so I am thinking of ways to celebrate. I'll probably treat myself to some Mango juice I found at a store in my town. And when I get back to my banking town I'll splurge and buy ingredients to make myself an apple pie. Love and God Bless, talk to you at the beginning of November.

"Well we want to tickle all the taste buds." James Allen, PCV

Today is Market Day. Once a week in any town in Mali there is a market day. A huge array of items from different areas are brought into town via large trucks and diesels with people sitting on top of the merchandise. It looks incredibly dangerous and rightfully so it is, considering not all the roads are in great shape. I love browsing, its something I even loved doing in the states so I get lost in the market. People also love calling me over to their stand to try and get me to buy something. If you take a glance at something at their stand or shop, they ask what it is your looking for; my common response "foyi, n b'a fe ka laje doron" "Nothing, I would just like to look." This week I bought a sweet Brasil soccer jersey and shorts and today I'm going to look for some sandals.
Well this week we have been tickling the taste buds. Myself and the five other volunteers in our banking town have split up each night to prepare a meal for everyone. Sunday night, taco salad; Monday night, Fried eggplant sandwiches; Tuesday night, Spanish tortilla and Bruschetta with Hobo Sangria; Wednesday night, Tomato soup with Garlic Bread and no-bake cookies for desert. My cook partner and I were in charge of Sunday and Wednesday night and both were a success. I have never heard of no-bake cookies before, and they were incredibly easy to make and were also very delicious.
No-Bake Cookie Recipe:
> 10 min prep time, Let the cookies set for at least 45 minutes
Ingredients: 1 3/4 cup of sugar, 1 packet of sucre vanille (substitute for 1 tsp of vanilla extract, not sold in Mali), 3 tbs of Choco Punch (substitute for 3 tbs of cocoa powder), 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon, 3 cups of quick cook oats, 2 tbs of nutella, and 2 tbs of peanut butter, 1/2 cup of milk, and 1/2 cup of butter
First mix the sugar, sucre vanille, choco punch, cinnamon, butter and milk together in a medium saucepan and boil for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from flame or charcoal stove and add 3 cups of quick oats, peanut butter, and nutella. Mix together well and spread mixture onto a cake pan. After about 40 minutes, cut and serve.
"They're like fudge cookies"

The market was good, I did not spend to much time shopping just because it was so hot. I bought a coconut, apples, bananas, and at the store I bought some strawberry and rasberry yogurt so I had a fruitful delicious lunch. Claire, Elyse, and I also found a store/bar across from the catholic mission that sells boxed wine! Ok it looks nothing like Franzia, but we'll see  how it tastes tonight with our meal. I also found a masking cream at the pharmacy next door so I am going to give myself a facial later this afternoon. It has also been great to be here in my banking town for an extended period. I am much more familiar with the area and have found several decent restaurants. I also have made friends with several people. Just the other day as I was walking to the market to buy some ingredients for the no bake cookies a man on a moto that I met last time I was in town offered me a ride. Of course, I declined. Peace Corps doesn't allow volunteers to ride motorcycles or ride on the back of them. Fair enough considering traffic is absolutely crazy, lanes not clearly marked, very few wear helmets, the roads are bad and so on, but some of the motos here are pretty sweet. I miss riding my motorcycle in the states. I feel I won't remember how to ride it after two years. Well class is going to start in about an hour so I'm going to watch a little bit of It's Complicated before. K'an ben. See you.

Tonso Ni Ala ka Teriya Ko

The Friendship Ended Between Tonso the Bat and God

Tonso and God are friends. Tonso ni Ala ye teriw ye. They were very good friends. U tun ka di kosebe. While they were friends, God's people got sick. K'u to nogon fe teriyala, Ala ka mogow banana. God told this to Tonso. Ala ye o fo Tonso ye. God told Tonso that a ripe shea fruit though it was dry season, would be able to heal the people. Ala y'a fo Tonso ye ko: tileman fe shemo, o de be se k'ale ka banaw keneya. The ripe fruit can heal sick families. O be se k'ale somogo ka banaw keneya. Tonso travelled all over the world, to look for the ripe fruit to give to God. Tonso yaalala dine yoro bee, ka shemow nini ka n'u di Ala ma. God gave the fruit to his people, and they became well. Ala y'o di a ka mogow ma, olu keneyara. After the people were healed, God and Tonso were still good friends. Olu keneyalen ko, u tora nogon fe teriya la. Soon Tonso's mother also became sick. Sooni Tonso fana ba banana. Tonso told God: My mother is sick, It is said that if the rain comes during the dry season, my mother will get better, the fortune teller forsees. Tonso y'a fo Ala ye ko: ale ba man kene, ko a dun fora ko ni tileman fe sanji ma na ko ale ba te keneya, ko lajelikela ko ten. Tonso's mother said to find a way to make the rain come (she knew of his friendship with God). Ale ba ko: a ka cogo nini sanji ka na. So Tonso went to God and asked for rain so that his mother could get better. O la, ale taara Ala fe , ko Ala ka sanji di walisa ale ba ka keneya. The sky blackened in the afternoon. San  finna, wulafe. The wind came and passed. The clouds darkened at high noon (the next day). Sanji finna tilegan fe. Again only wind came, but it passed without rain. O fana kera fiyen ye, o temena. Rain did not come, Tonso's mother died. Sanji ma soro minke, Tonso ba sara. After her death, Tonso was angry. O salen ka don, Tonso dimina. He said God betrayed him. A ko: Ala ye ale janfa. God betrayed him, there friendship did not work anymore. Ala ye ale janfa, ale ni Ala ka teriya te ne tun. Even if Tonso hangs in a tree he hangs his head down. Hali ni ale be sigi yiri kan, a be sigi k'i kun suli. He does not want to see God. A t'a fe ka Ala ye. He hangs so that his head points to the ground. A b'i sigi ka kun suli duguma. He also chooses to eat at night, so that he cannot see God. N'a b'a fe ka dumunike fana, a be dumunike su fe, walisa ale kana Ala ye. This is how God and Tonso (the bat) friendship became broken. Tonso ni Ala ka teriya tinenna nin cogo de la.

Author Unknown. Mali ziri. Malian Story.

Why bats hang upside down and hunt at night.

I have (crossing fingers) reliable internet until Saturday, so I may overload on blog posts while I have this luxury. Email. Write. Reply. I am online.

Today I received my second package from my parents and it was Awesome! I felt like a kid on christmas day. The post office was closed the first day I came to town and I was worried I would not be able to send or receive anything until late November. I took an actual shower first, not a bucket bath. So I could sit and enjoy meticulously opening the package and examining all of its contents. Thank you MOM & DAD again so much and Nina Sandra for the card and gifts. All the little snacks are going to make many days extra special. I also cannot wait to finish making flash cards, because the ones I made with the paper here are falling apart.

"Mogo te here soro ni ma nani."



Oiling the bread pans

"We can't have happiness without difficulty."

What to say and where do I begin???

I have been at site for nearly a full month now. My language skills have not changed much, but that is also partly due to my poor study habits. I just cannot seem to study in my concession with people there it is too distracting. I also don't like to study in my room, because A) it is usually hot and B) I don't want to be rude or antisocial. Plus side is I have started language classes with my local tutor and now I am in my banking town for Language In-service Training, so we'll be able to review and hopefully set goals or work out lesson plans we can share with our local tutors. Thankfully my tutor can speak a decent amount of English that we understand each other. He is also very proficient and seems very excited to work with me and is very open to what I am interested in learning. I am grateful because the first session we had I was very frustrated; he reviewed the Bambara alphabet and was going over basics that I had already learned from the 9 weeks of training we had at our home-stay villages. After that first session things improved greatly I told him I was interested in the Malian bread-making process. So he got in touch with a local bread-maker and we were invited to see the entire process from start to finish. It was awesome. They were a truly wonderful family, I had tea and ate a little bit of lunch with them; while we waited for the fire to grow big in the little mud house. The bread was delicious, I ate it warm and bought some to take to my host family. Though they gave me more bread than I paid for, very hospitable. They told me I must come back later in the week to see how they make their sweet bread.



Preparing to bake

I came back on Mali's 50th anniversay CINQUANTANAIRE! After attending a celebration at a large field near the prefet's house and eating a Malian meal with my homologue. I made banana bread though it came out more like a skinny banana pancake. There are no muffin pans or bread pans, just metal roofing they cut into smaller pieces and lay the bread across the shallow divots. But all in all they loved it. I promised them a real loaf of banana bread when I get back from Koutiala since there is an oven here and a bread pan at the Peace Corps stage house. Unfortunately I am here now and there is no internet, hence I am at an Internet Cafe, I don't have any more phone credit, I will buy some soon, the post office is closed so I can't receive any mail or send any of the letters I wrote and finally to top it all off the gas tank for the stove/oven is out and there is nowhere in town at the moment that is selling gas to replace the empty tank. Hopefully all that changes before I leave back to site on Saturday.

When I get back to site I am going to travel by bike to another neighboring town where there is a shea machine. I've been to one town about 20 minutes by bike. It was fun following behind my homologue and friend on their moto with my host mom behind me on her moto. I pedaled as fast as I could to keep up. I passed over a small creek that filled up from the heavy rains the two days before, women walking on the path carry loads on top of their heads, kids on a donkey cart, men in the field working, large mango and shea trees left and right with large fields of corn, sorghum, and cotton. It was a beautiful ride and I can't wait for the opportunity to go to the town again. I think I'll probably be traveling out of my town a lot by bike, and hopefully working on 2-3 gardens in my village. One small one in my concession with my host family, currently they have no compost pile and throw all their kitchen scraps and corn husks and peanut hulls out on the side of the road on top of trash piles. My homologue is interested in building a garden in her concession and she has plenty of space with a well nearby and chickens and goats. And lastly the women's association has a garden and they are going to lend me some space, but as of now due to the rainy season there garden is in a flood zone so they don't work on it until well I don't really know when.

Voila!

Time for sleep it is only 10:10, but already I'm in the habit of sleeping early and waking early. However, according to Malians 6 a.m. is not early. And I am reminded by that fact, because every morning when I greet my host mother and give blessings, she says "I sunogora kosebe?" "Did you sleep a lot?" To satisfy them I say yes, but I'd like to say no, just because I wake up occassionally in the middle of the night due to a rainstorm, a large truck honking its horn down the main road directly outside my window, the crickets, the prayer call from the mosque every morning between 4:30 and 5 am or I can't get to sleep, because people are hanging out talking or kids running around outside until midnight.

Helping Hands

Sini sogoma N be na taa n ka dugu la

Tomorrow is the day I get installed at my site. As of now I am still in my banking town hanging out with the PCVs living in the same concession as the stage house. Yesterday we made tacos for dinner and banana bread for dessert. That was my third time making banana bread in Mali and I think we found a recipe keeper. For 1 loaf of B Bread: 2 cups flour, 3/4 cups sugar, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt, 1 packet vanille sucre; mix dry indgredients. Smash bananas (5) depending on size add 1/2 cup butter and two eggs to the dry ingredients. Mix all together. Prep breadpan. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake 45-55 min. Wala! Bon appetit! I told my host family I was going to bring them a Tabasco bilebileba (large) from Bamako, but I did not have the money at the time to get it when I was in Bamako. So instead I plan on bringing them a loaf of banana bread. Maybe sometime in the next  two years I can convince my host family to build a mud oven.

Mudcloth  (Bogolan) to decorate my kitchen

Currently I am waiting for my backpack to arrive, because it has all my keys to all of my luggage. So unfortunately I have no more clothes to wear, except the ones I wore to get here. Since I've been here I've placed an order for a twin bed frame to be made, I think I'll pick it up tomorrow morning along with a mattress. I also bought a hammer, paint, paint brush, a table, rope, ketchup, liquid soap, strawberry jam, a broom, dried mangos, toilet paper, and I think that is all. I'll need to get more things to make my house a  home, but I hope to find the rest at site. Market day is Thursday I believe so I'm excited to see what's available. I'll be at site until October, because I'm returning to my banking town for an on-going language training session. I hope to set-up a 3 or 4 day language training schedule with my tutor at site. Hopefully by December my language skills will be awesome! I am getting a lot of practice in the Market now, just by buying things I need. This morning I went to the bank with another PCV and it took FOREVER. We probably arrived around 9:30am grabbed our numbers from the ticket dispenser. Mine was 975 and the display read 836. 'Ok we got some time to kill". We walked around for about an hour, did a little shopping and yalayala. Came back and the numbers hardly changed, we even had time to walk across town hang out at her work for 20 min. headed back and waited for another 30 minutes. Now I know when you need to go to the bank you'll be there for a long time or i'll get there before it opens.
The end of Ramadan feast is coming quickly I think it is taking place this Thursday or Friday around sunset. I think next year I will try to fast with my family, from dawn to dusk, but now it would be too hard for me to attempt while learning the language and the overall adjustment.
I plan on compiling a list of things that I brought to Mali, and what I found useful and what I should have brought in case by chance a future Mali PC applicant comes across my blog. Good luck to you and to family and friends God Bless and chat with you soon.
"Ala kan kelen kelen wuli"

Early Terminations not yet...

Our 'stage' name is "Team America" we stand together strong, ready to embark on our next adventure post-trainee status. We were once 80 trainees traveling from America now we are 80 recently swore-in volunteers traveling to different sites in Mali. I apologize for beginning this blog at such a late date from my start of the Peace Corps program, but time has been traveling fast and I did not have a chance to create a blog until now. Mostly due to the fact I could not come up with an appropriate title, but I figure it can be changed again at a later date.
The title of my blog now is "Barisa, N be se ka!" which translates in English to "Because, I can!" I am currently learning Bambara, the language spoken by roughly 80% of the population in Mali. Once I learned how to say "because" I used it and abused it. I also noticed I say "I can" a lot in Bambara, but I guess people are surprised to see that I can fetch water from a well, or I can sweep my room, wash my clothes in a tub, etc. I must admit it is wonderful being a guest in a Malian's home, but basic tasks I am so used to accomplishing on my own such as washing clothes is something I enjoy doing even though now (without washer&dryer) a lot of time and energy is involved in the task.
Tomorrow or the day after I will be "installed" at my site, the place I will be living and working for the next two years in Mali. I cannot post the name of my town, but I will tell you that I am in the Sikasso region. It is very beautiful. Currently we are in the rainy season, so the temperature does not seem to exceed 90 F. After rainy season comes cold season, which I am very much looking forward too and then hot season. Fortunately, because I am in Sikasso I have an abundant access to fruits and veggies grown through out the region. I also plan on building a garden and attempt to grow strawberries in my concession. I'll be living in a shared concession with my 'Dja Tigi'/'Host Family'. I have two decently sized rooms, high ceilings, and thankfully cross-ventilation with the two windows, a luxury I did not have while at homestay. My room was like a sauna, but was perfect for the fact that it helped me integrate. I was in my room very little and when I was I melted. The language has been a lot of fun, but the structure or schedule during training was demanding. During our less than 2 months training at homestay we had language classes Mon-Sat. for approx. 8 hrs a day. Occasionally our language training would be cut short by environmental tech or cross-culture sessions. But, thankfully Sunday was our fun day. The picture at the top is a view from the mountain we climbed on one of our Sundays off. Now that training is over I can say I did it. It is official I am a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in Mali for the next two years. I am Intermediate Mid (INTM) in language, I can survive! "Sisan, N be fe ka taa negen na. K'an ben kalo kelen. Ala kan su here caya."