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| Wilma Traore (not her best angle) |
Malila
Thursday, March 17, 2011
My Hen Wilma Traore Laid an Egg
I bought a chicken about two weeks ago, because in my town eggs are more expensive compared to other towns, because all the eggs sold are brought in from other towns. I wanted to have local eggs and encourage others to do the same. Unfortunately my new hen has only laid one egg. There are a lot of other chickens in my concession that roam around looking for food, I feed mine three times a day, but she's battling with the others to get the food and I do not think it is enough. Very soon I am going to build a chicken coop dreamhouse, 2nd floor for roosting, sleeping, and egg laying; bottom floor caged off for a private dining room so she doesn't have to compete with the ladies to get her fair share.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Mango Rains
One pair of glasses broke, lost my prescription sunglasses in Segou during the Music Festival, and I have been using my old glasses from home for the past few months. Until today, I received my new glasses provided by Peace Corps. They're nice considering I picked them out from black & white photos. I didn't get my first choice, which was a pair of purple frames, but maybe thats a good thing.
I have been to two more villages to meet with women's associations that work with shea and I am getting very excited. All the women I have met have been so welcoming and now I have like 5 host families. I visit each town about once a week, unless I have to pass through one village to get to another. The farthest village, so far at least, is about 33km away, but my work counterpart says I still need to visit another a little bit farther away. Hopefully I will get there sometime next week. I always travel with an entourage the first time to make proper introductions with the president of the association and to know the way to get to these villages.
One village has so many roads and paths last time I went I was lost in the "bushes" for like 30 minutes. I took one path and it became too rocky, I knew it wasn't the right path, took another it became too narrow for me to ride my bike, took another and the path ended, took another and I was in someone's front yard, took another, and I was on the outer edge of a crop field, path ended again. I eventually found my way another way than the first and second time that I traveled to this village, but the trip was good, and it gave me a good story to tell once I arrived. I spent most of the day at the shea grinding machine and at my host families for lunch they served me to (malian dish made with powdered millet) with ocra and fish sauce. In the afternoon we sat under a large mango tree near the shea machine, ka ton sigi ke, to have a meeting. All the women of the group meet once a month to pay their dues, which is 100 cfa (20 cents) a month, to put into an account. They were collecting fees from women that had not finished paying for months in 2010, so they could catch up on their records which the president keeps in a small notebook. Everyone speaks in Menianka (?spelling) another language than Bambara, the one I am studying. It is kind of a bummer, but occassionally the women translate for me and speak to me in Bambara, but some will speak to me in Menianka knowing full well I don't understand so I just speak to them in English and they eventually switch to Bambara.
Well after spending the full day in village I took off back to my town to make it back before sunset. On the way I got great news, I am going to Ghana in April for a Global Shea Conference! Cannot wait to see all that can be done with shea and how I can get these women associatons to benefit from my attendance. Plus Accra, Ghana! Also it rained, ok sprinkled on the bike ride back and it was wonderful. It smelled like fresh soil and made me think of my mom. The time we were in a van taxi in Mexico on a dirt road and she said she liked the smell or taste of dirt. Love you mom.
I have been to two more villages to meet with women's associations that work with shea and I am getting very excited. All the women I have met have been so welcoming and now I have like 5 host families. I visit each town about once a week, unless I have to pass through one village to get to another. The farthest village, so far at least, is about 33km away, but my work counterpart says I still need to visit another a little bit farther away. Hopefully I will get there sometime next week. I always travel with an entourage the first time to make proper introductions with the president of the association and to know the way to get to these villages.
One village has so many roads and paths last time I went I was lost in the "bushes" for like 30 minutes. I took one path and it became too rocky, I knew it wasn't the right path, took another it became too narrow for me to ride my bike, took another and the path ended, took another and I was in someone's front yard, took another, and I was on the outer edge of a crop field, path ended again. I eventually found my way another way than the first and second time that I traveled to this village, but the trip was good, and it gave me a good story to tell once I arrived. I spent most of the day at the shea grinding machine and at my host families for lunch they served me to (malian dish made with powdered millet) with ocra and fish sauce. In the afternoon we sat under a large mango tree near the shea machine, ka ton sigi ke, to have a meeting. All the women of the group meet once a month to pay their dues, which is 100 cfa (20 cents) a month, to put into an account. They were collecting fees from women that had not finished paying for months in 2010, so they could catch up on their records which the president keeps in a small notebook. Everyone speaks in Menianka (?spelling) another language than Bambara, the one I am studying. It is kind of a bummer, but occassionally the women translate for me and speak to me in Bambara, but some will speak to me in Menianka knowing full well I don't understand so I just speak to them in English and they eventually switch to Bambara.
Well after spending the full day in village I took off back to my town to make it back before sunset. On the way I got great news, I am going to Ghana in April for a Global Shea Conference! Cannot wait to see all that can be done with shea and how I can get these women associatons to benefit from my attendance. Plus Accra, Ghana! Also it rained, ok sprinkled on the bike ride back and it was wonderful. It smelled like fresh soil and made me think of my mom. The time we were in a van taxi in Mexico on a dirt road and she said she liked the smell or taste of dirt. Love you mom.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Mogo den!
I love this saying "Mogo den". It translates as children of people and the context of when they say it and how is so much like if someone in America said "some people's children" while shaking their heads in a disapproving manner. They are usually scolding a child or they are talking about what somebody did and then they say 'Mogo den' and I have to chuckle to myself, because it makes so much sense finally I'm understanding what people are saying without trying so hard to translate word by word. Do not get me wrong the language is still hard and I'm occassionally reminded of my deficiences during a lanuguage lesson or on an off day. My most recent lesson was translating a small paragraph written in English by my tutor. I read it and thought this is going to be easy. I messed up on the title of the text! and nearly every sentence had an error except for the three last sentences. Again I learned you cannot compare Bambara to English and you cannot translate word for word, and there are words in Bambara that have different meanings depending on the context, etc. I felt a little deflated after that lesson, but the learning carries on.
After I got back from the Festival sur le Niger in Segou, my host mother and homologue informed me we were going to visit a village the following week to meet with a women's association I will be working with, I have been waiting months for an opportunity to get to this village so I can start travelling there on my own. This meeting also meant I would miss out on an annual softball tournament with Peace Corps volunteers in Senegal, but there is always next year.
So wednesday morning I followed my host mom and work counterpart to the village, me on bike and them on a small moto. We were following a guy going to another village that was in the same direction, he was also on bike, well my host mom decided to pass us on her moto and she went left at a crossroad. He tried to yell at them to stop, but they didn't hear. Turns out the path they took to the left goes to the village, but is longer, and the narrower path to the right is shorter. He's going left, because the other village is also in that direction so I figure I'll find my way to the village on my own on the shorter path and most likely my host mom and work counterpart will arrive before me, because they're on a moto. I'm riding my bike for about 30 minutes passing mud houses in the bush and taking paths at crossroads in hopes I'm on the right path. I come across some women working in a field and they point me in the right direcion, until I arrive in a small village and the next person I ask escorts me directly to the village chief. Well I arrived way before my host mom and work counterpart, later as I'm sitting with women at the shea grinding machine I notice I have seven missed calls. Well they got a little lost and got a flat tire. All in all the meeting was successfull and I will be back this upcoming Saturday to spend the day with them while they work and attend a meeting in the afternoon.
There always seems to be something going on in my dugu kono (in village). I went to another marriage party to partake in some dancing, and this time I took some videos! It was fun I went on my own and after when I got back home my homologue came over and told me there was a meeting taking place right now that she was late to and I should go with. So I went and it was a meeting with every important person in town and a few other towns nearby. Apparently the town-hall meeting takes place every year, so I'll have to wait a whole year to arrive on time for the next one.
After I got back from the Festival sur le Niger in Segou, my host mother and homologue informed me we were going to visit a village the following week to meet with a women's association I will be working with, I have been waiting months for an opportunity to get to this village so I can start travelling there on my own. This meeting also meant I would miss out on an annual softball tournament with Peace Corps volunteers in Senegal, but there is always next year.
So wednesday morning I followed my host mom and work counterpart to the village, me on bike and them on a small moto. We were following a guy going to another village that was in the same direction, he was also on bike, well my host mom decided to pass us on her moto and she went left at a crossroad. He tried to yell at them to stop, but they didn't hear. Turns out the path they took to the left goes to the village, but is longer, and the narrower path to the right is shorter. He's going left, because the other village is also in that direction so I figure I'll find my way to the village on my own on the shorter path and most likely my host mom and work counterpart will arrive before me, because they're on a moto. I'm riding my bike for about 30 minutes passing mud houses in the bush and taking paths at crossroads in hopes I'm on the right path. I come across some women working in a field and they point me in the right direcion, until I arrive in a small village and the next person I ask escorts me directly to the village chief. Well I arrived way before my host mom and work counterpart, later as I'm sitting with women at the shea grinding machine I notice I have seven missed calls. Well they got a little lost and got a flat tire. All in all the meeting was successfull and I will be back this upcoming Saturday to spend the day with them while they work and attend a meeting in the afternoon.
There always seems to be something going on in my dugu kono (in village). I went to another marriage party to partake in some dancing, and this time I took some videos! It was fun I went on my own and after when I got back home my homologue came over and told me there was a meeting taking place right now that she was late to and I should go with. So I went and it was a meeting with every important person in town and a few other towns nearby. Apparently the town-hall meeting takes place every year, so I'll have to wait a whole year to arrive on time for the next one.
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| Tree of Africa |
Monday, February 07, 2011
Festival sur le Niger
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| afternoon speaker tests |
Sunday, January 30, 2011
"Anw be deli ke."
"Let us pray."
I attended mass today in the big town. The church was about 10 times the size of the one I attend in village and was packed with parishioners. In my village the women all sit on the right pews and men sit on the left, but here its reversed; anyway men and women do not sit with eachother during mass. The pews are wooden benches with no backs, also we do not kneel during anytime of the mass. My church in village is quite plain on the inside and the same goes for the larger church except that behind the altar there is a large carved wooden picture of Jesus and the Disciples that looks really cool. I forgot my camera so next time I'm here for mass I am going to take pictures. Right after mass I set on my quest to find a Bambara prayer book. I was directed to a man outside selling rosaries, rings, and books. Unfortunately they were all in French, he did have some sweet hologram ring that alternated between a picture of Mary and Jesus, but I refrained from the purchase and was directed to another man (Ji Bee). He told me to sit, so I did. I explained again what I was looking for, I guess they have no Bambara prayer books at the church or maybe none for sale, because he gave me a number to another man named Laurent and had some girls escort me to his house. He wasn't home so the search continues for a Bambara prayer book. I'd like to be able to recite the Our Father in Bambara during mass rather than whisper the words in English.
Well this morning I got a call from my post office guy, and he said I have a package to pick up. So right after I left Laurent's house with no book, I went to get my package to lift my spirits. Thanks Rosa I love the shirt cannot wait to wear it this coming week at the Segou Music Festival.
Also cannot wait to read the letter!
I called my homologue (work counterpart) on the way back to the Peace Corps house and she gave me good news. When I get back from the Festival we are going to another town on my list of towns in which I will be working, I have been to 2 of the 5 towns that would like to work with a volunteer. I only know one towns work schedule so for every Wednesday and Friday I have been going to this town to sit, chat, and watch them work. The villages have machines used for the purpose of grinding shea nuts into a paste that will be beaten and heated to extract the shea butter. I noticed many women use methods to store and produce shea butter that can affect the quality, so eventually I'd like to request a formation (presentation) on shea collection, storage, and production methods. All in due time though, I would like to meet regularly with all the different women's associations in all the villages so we can schedule a large meeting in my centrally located village. My work counterpart is the president of an organization that is connected with all the women's associations from the smaller villages. Maybe we'll have a soap making party, we'll see what happens.
Here are some picks of the shea machine work place.
By noon the area is filled with pots of nuts. And this is all just one small step in the long process of making shea butter.
I attended mass today in the big town. The church was about 10 times the size of the one I attend in village and was packed with parishioners. In my village the women all sit on the right pews and men sit on the left, but here its reversed; anyway men and women do not sit with eachother during mass. The pews are wooden benches with no backs, also we do not kneel during anytime of the mass. My church in village is quite plain on the inside and the same goes for the larger church except that behind the altar there is a large carved wooden picture of Jesus and the Disciples that looks really cool. I forgot my camera so next time I'm here for mass I am going to take pictures. Right after mass I set on my quest to find a Bambara prayer book. I was directed to a man outside selling rosaries, rings, and books. Unfortunately they were all in French, he did have some sweet hologram ring that alternated between a picture of Mary and Jesus, but I refrained from the purchase and was directed to another man (Ji Bee). He told me to sit, so I did. I explained again what I was looking for, I guess they have no Bambara prayer books at the church or maybe none for sale, because he gave me a number to another man named Laurent and had some girls escort me to his house. He wasn't home so the search continues for a Bambara prayer book. I'd like to be able to recite the Our Father in Bambara during mass rather than whisper the words in English.
Well this morning I got a call from my post office guy, and he said I have a package to pick up. So right after I left Laurent's house with no book, I went to get my package to lift my spirits. Thanks Rosa I love the shirt cannot wait to wear it this coming week at the Segou Music Festival.
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| Happy Face UCSC Grateful Slug shirt |
I called my homologue (work counterpart) on the way back to the Peace Corps house and she gave me good news. When I get back from the Festival we are going to another town on my list of towns in which I will be working, I have been to 2 of the 5 towns that would like to work with a volunteer. I only know one towns work schedule so for every Wednesday and Friday I have been going to this town to sit, chat, and watch them work. The villages have machines used for the purpose of grinding shea nuts into a paste that will be beaten and heated to extract the shea butter. I noticed many women use methods to store and produce shea butter that can affect the quality, so eventually I'd like to request a formation (presentation) on shea collection, storage, and production methods. All in due time though, I would like to meet regularly with all the different women's associations in all the villages so we can schedule a large meeting in my centrally located village. My work counterpart is the president of an organization that is connected with all the women's associations from the smaller villages. Maybe we'll have a soap making party, we'll see what happens.
Here are some picks of the shea machine work place.
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| left: shea machine; center: storage room; right: my bicycle |
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| shea nuts |
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