Wow, I know it's been awhile since I've left, but I wanted to write to you and tell you what's been going on. I arrived safely in Mali three weeks ago and it's been pretty interesting since then. We had a week at our training site, Tubani So, which means House of the Doves (Peace Corps logo has doves on it) and it was kind of like summer camp. We had a lot of cross cultural sessions, some Philosophy of the Peace Corps, etc. and some language lessons. It was a pretty sweet life there with really good food and forks and toilet paper. Two weeks ago we found out where our homestay would be and mine was in a village called Banankoro. Its south of the capital about a half hour and it's pretty rural. We have about 2500 people in the village and my family is interesting, to say the least. My family is Muslim, so I have a Dad and four Moms, plus a couple Uncles and a boatload of kids. In my concession there are about 30 people. So, it's never a slow time! I've been given a Malian name, which is Fatumata (or Fatim for short) Coulibaly and it's been really good. No, I don't have electricity or running water, but I don't find it difficult at all. I have bucket baths everyday and I have a lantern that I use to read and do work at night. The problem is that I have a tin roof (which is a sign of wealth) and it makes my room unbearably hot, especially with a kerosene lantern going. In general, I'm finding it to be difficult to speak with my family. The local language here is Bambara, but I'm actually buffing up on my French right now. The problem is that my family only speaks Bambara.
Therefore, we play a lot of charades. It's good though, I mean, I'm able to get my point across and when I can't, a friend of the family is often there to help translate, and he speaks French. I actually just found out the other day that after I reach a certain level of French that I'll be taking Fulfide, or Peul, which is the language spoken in Mopti/Djenne (the famous mosque if you know of it), which is great. Almost no one knows where they're going yet and so the fact that I know is exciting. Now that I'm back at Tubani So I'll have the chance to read up on the area. What else can I tell you? Well, about the food – barely anyone in my village (other volunteers, there are 13 there) has utensils to eat, but it's awesome. I'm usually eating rice with fish and sauce or macaroni. Breakfast is standard – a French loaf of bread with tigidigi (peanut butter, which they make here!) or eggs. But it's cool – it's not Indian style where I had naan or chipathi to gather the food, it's just scooping a bunch into your hand and getting it in your mouth without making a mess – it becomes much easier that it sounds. Even when we had dinner here tonight, I grabbed a fork, but I didn't use it. I'm definitely immersing myself!
Let me tell you a little about my "culture shock." Other than living in a polygamous community, I'd have to say that so far, Mali is pretty "African." The kids run around in a constant state of dirtyness, wearing western clothes that are ripped and in a pretty bad state. It's really hard to know that some of the clothes that we donate in the states are being sold wholesale to African companies who sell them for cheap at the markets here. So, if you've ever thought that your old clothes are going to a good cause – they're not – they're going to fuel an American business. I'm not saying I have a solution, but it pisses me off. The only other thing that has really caught me off guard is the garbage around. There isn't any semblance of sanitation here, like a municipal garbage collection, so in my concession there is a large pile of garbage where our donkeys, chickens, goats and sheep live and eat. It's just new, you know? So the idea is to create as little garbage as possible.
All in all, everything really is going well. It's hotter than hell here, but you know, it's going to get better. We have ceiling fans here at Tubani So, so I'll be living in luxury until Thursday. We visit our sites soon, which is good because I'm really excited to meet my new host family and struggle to speak a language I don't know. Maybe they'll speak French! Anyway, for now, I'm going to be done. I hope you're all well and I hope to hear from you soon. Please let me know what's new with you and what's going on. I look forward to the latest developments!
Love always,
Sara
