My second and perhaps last Tabaski in Mali

Sunday, November 6, 2011, get up and get ready for prayer. On Sundays I attend mass at the Catholic church, but since this would be my last Tabaski in Mali I decided to skip mass and go to the Mosque with my host-mom. The 'under construction for a long time Mosque' so we gathered outside in rows, the lot directly next to the grand Mosque.

The men were seated in the front and women towards the back. There was a large gap between each row that was frequented by 'garibous' Malian boys begging, and twins wearing matching outfits accompanied by their mother. It is very common practice to give money or gifts to twins. One Malian's reasoning was that it is bad luck if you don't, another one was because they just look so adorable you feel like giving them something. As time passed it was getting hotter and hotter. It seemed shorter than my previous times attending Mosque, but I believe it was on account of the sun being hot.
I sat on the left-side of my host-mom and the right side of her friend. As we were dismissed many people came around to give greetings and blessings for a great year and a long life. A next door neighbor came and grabbed our prayer rugs to carry back for us as we walked back to the house to prepare for our feast.
The slaughter of the sheep. Sorry for the following picture.

about to place the head and feet onto the fire



All dressed in their best



new hair-do



Tying baby onto back to visit her "god-mother"
Stephanie and Jessica don't be surprised if you catch me baby-sitting with your baby tied on my back



Amineta and Amineta a.k.a Ta
When babies are born, they are given their name on the seventh day announced at a naming ceremony
It is a source of pride to have a child named after you, for all time it is your namesake (i togo ma)

Well the day was good and the feast was great. A lot of sheep meat served with sauce and couscous and for dinner more sheep meat. For the last fete I made a huge batch of banana treats, but this time I just gave 5000FCFA (about $10) to show my appreciation for everything my host mother has done for me. Welcoming me into her family as one of her own and being such an incredible support for work and living in Mali. I am so thankful to her and everyone that has made these last 16 months in Mali the most unforgettable and exciting times of my life. As she said to me the day we met "You have left your home, to come home" Amen!

Funny, You Know video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4swOWhsaQg

Env-PCVT

I am back at the Peace Corps training center. After 16 months of living and working in Mali, I am joining several colleauges to be a 'Peace Corps Volunteer Trainer' for the Pre-Service Training group entering Mali the end of this month. The "new kids", a total of 41, now have less than 7 days on American soil. Get ready! In Bamako, as a future trainer we attended meetings to discuss the objectives of the training program and to plan the Calendar of Training Events (C.O.T.E.). Most recently we had a workshop titled the Training of Trainers (ToT). All training staff were present and we had sessions reviewing learning techniques and theories, towards the end of the week each sector presented on a topic in order to put into practice the techniques and receive feedback/comments from the rest of the training staff.
The tech trainers and I are all pretty excited to welcome the new group of future Mali PCVs. We all remember our first few hours/days/weeks in country and how intense an experience it was for everyone on different levels.

[We landed in country after 1 A.M., stepping off into the muggy heat of Mali, greeted by our Training Manager. All 80 of us Peace Corps Trainees huddled around to turn in our Passports and WHO cards to get through as quickly as possible and then wait an hour for our luggage in a small terminal with one swamp cooler. We were exhausted, after an unexpected change in flights we ended up with an 8 hour layover in France. Once we finally received our luggage we were told to walk outside to be greeted by current Mali volunteers. The volunteers led us to the shuttles and gave us a bottle of water and a bottle of mosquito repellant. On the ride to the training center there was nervous laughter and excitement. The volunteers at the head of the bus were telling stories and answering a number of questions from people in our group.
Once we arrived at the training center we received a brief tour by flashlight, "a how to poop in a hole"]

Now I am in Bamako, working on session plans etc. in preparation for the newbies, eating good food, exploring the city and watching movies.
p.s. Since I am in the capitol I have access to reliable internet so send me e-mails or let us set up a skype date.

Sitan, Koniba ye den-muso soro!

I helped present a country for an international fair in another volunteers' villages. The plan was to attend the international fair prior to going to Bamako for a 'Training of Trainers' (ToT). The international fair was great, majority of the Ktla Ladies (volunteers in my area) attended. We left town early morning for the 50+km bike ride into the small village to get ready for the day's presentation.

presenting to the first group of kids

I talked about Mexico. The flag and what it stands for, common field crops in Mexico, common food, sports (bull-fighting and futbol), music (played a mariachi song so they could hear the different sound of instruments), and where the country is located and its distance from Mali. Unfortunately the next two-days of the event were canceled due to unfortunate circumstances for another volunteer.

With the event canceled my plan for the rest of the week fell through, but that same day on my return to Ktla (banking town) I received a call from my host mother. "Sitan, Koniba had a baby girl!!!" I got the call on Monday evening. I had only left my village two days before, but I had no idea when she was due so I just said call me as soon as the baby arrives. Well I was 2 hours closer to Bamako since leaving village, but decided it would be such a surprise for my host family if I came back to see the baby. [I spent my free day in Ktla playing basketball with a bunch of Malians, men and women, my age. It was a welcome change to the group I normally play with in my village. We ran actual drills and played three on three. I was exhausted by the end. The great thing is they gave me an invitation to come back anytime.] The next day I woke up early purchased bars of soap, baby powder, and a baby wrap and headed back to site to see the newborn babe.
I didn't call anyone in my village ahead of time to let them know I was coming so it would be a surprise. It was awesome, my host mother and everyone was so glad to see me. I came into the concession gave a hug and then my host mother proceeded to tell her friend in the compound that she called me the day before yesterday and that I came back even though I had work to do in the capitol.

Baby and Grandma (Mo-muso)



My Malian Caleb, his mom tied a headwrap worn by Malian women on his head. We laughed. When I told her I was going into my house to grab my camera, she re-tied it to make it look better. Let the good times roll. : )



first time momma

"We got shafted!"

Paying 1000 FCFA ($2) more than every other passenger on the bus and we did not even get a seat. I turn to Paula and say "we got shafted!" Though we both were getting over a case of the West African cold we still had a good time. Catching up on each others village life and activities, eating beef jerky from my most recent care package, and I had someone to listen to my complaining; concerning public transport, mostly about the lady in front of me that kept invading my space (her behind kept hitting my knees!).

my shirt has faded

It was hot, stuffy, smelly, and bumpy. After riding on an empty water container for 3 hours at the lunch stop we insisted on getting the seats from passengers that got off at that stop. Unfortunately my seat was at the very back of the bus and was much worse than siiting in the aisle. One, it was more hot with less of a draft could not believe that possible. Two, some kind of hot vent was near my feet I felt like my feet were going to catch fire. Three, there were chickens on the other side near my feet. After sitting for about 30 minutes to an hour while my feet slow roasted I decided to swap seats with a fellow in the aisle. Though not the best seat in the bus it sure beat my alternative.