August 3rd brought Mom and Beth to Mali, which was a pretty awesome thing. Even though their 2:35 AM flight didn’t arrive until 5:45 AM and there was no air circulation on their plane, and they don’t speak French so had no clue what was going on in Morocco, it was alright. Oh, I forgot to mention how I put them on a 9 hour bus ride, not even an hour after their arrival, to come to Sevaré. So yeah, they loved me the first day! But, they arrived in Sevaré, all safe and sound, if not exhausted, and slept clear till the next morning.
Funniest part about their arrival – I didn’t expect Baba to be at the bus station waiting because it wasn’t part of the plan we talked about. So, we get off the bus and I see him but am speechless, my sister sees him and recognizes him from photos and says hi and then my Mom sees him and is also surprised so she screams out, “FINMAN!” which means “Black” in Bambara. No one paid attention but she was later like, “Sara, I screamed out “Blackie” at the bus station. People must think I’m awful.” It was a great introduction to Sevaré.
Because they were only in town for 9 days, we had to make the best of it. Though I wanted to take them to Timbuktu, on a river trip and throughout the whole country, we decided to focus on Dogon Country. I didn’t realize also how exhausting the heat would be for them, so it was a good thing that we took it slow. So, we eventually headed out to Dogon Country with Hassimi the Fearless, my favorite Dogon Guide. He was awesome and my mom and sister loved him. We did the southern Dogon route, Ende, Teli, and Begimato because time was short. We also visited Songho, the village that is most known for its circumcision rituals for both boys and girls. It was my first time there and pretty interesting to see the process and the meanings for them of these ceremonies.
After two days in Dogon, we were pressé (in a hurry) to get back to Sevaré. The food had been pretty awful and we were pretty starving. So, we decided to treat ourselves and go out to this restaurant that has really good kebabs. So, we arrive there and we’re exhausted but we just want some food and then we can go crash. There was nothing available on the menu except for the kebabs. No sautéed potatoes, no French friends, no green beans, NOTHING. The part that pissed me off the most was that there is a potato market stand right next to the restaurant and the server told me, “No, we didn’t go to market today.” Um, how about exiting your restaurant and cooking me up something good? So, we ate meat, and then went home and cooked because we were still very hungry. Oh, Mali.
After Dogon we headed back down to Bamako and visited my host family in Banankoro before spending an entire afternoon at the artisan market where they bought lots of stuff, including a gorgeous leather and bronze Tuareg chest/trunk. I’m secretly hoping my Mom won’t want it in a few years and that it’ll adorn my house.
It was really great to see them, and I got homesick, but it was good timing. Luckily, I get to go home in less than 2 months, and I’m counting down the days to Mexican food and Cookies and Cream ice cream!
Funniest part about their arrival – I didn’t expect Baba to be at the bus station waiting because it wasn’t part of the plan we talked about. So, we get off the bus and I see him but am speechless, my sister sees him and recognizes him from photos and says hi and then my Mom sees him and is also surprised so she screams out, “FINMAN!” which means “Black” in Bambara. No one paid attention but she was later like, “Sara, I screamed out “Blackie” at the bus station. People must think I’m awful.” It was a great introduction to Sevaré.
Because they were only in town for 9 days, we had to make the best of it. Though I wanted to take them to Timbuktu, on a river trip and throughout the whole country, we decided to focus on Dogon Country. I didn’t realize also how exhausting the heat would be for them, so it was a good thing that we took it slow. So, we eventually headed out to Dogon Country with Hassimi the Fearless, my favorite Dogon Guide. He was awesome and my mom and sister loved him. We did the southern Dogon route, Ende, Teli, and Begimato because time was short. We also visited Songho, the village that is most known for its circumcision rituals for both boys and girls. It was my first time there and pretty interesting to see the process and the meanings for them of these ceremonies.
After two days in Dogon, we were pressé (in a hurry) to get back to Sevaré. The food had been pretty awful and we were pretty starving. So, we decided to treat ourselves and go out to this restaurant that has really good kebabs. So, we arrive there and we’re exhausted but we just want some food and then we can go crash. There was nothing available on the menu except for the kebabs. No sautéed potatoes, no French friends, no green beans, NOTHING. The part that pissed me off the most was that there is a potato market stand right next to the restaurant and the server told me, “No, we didn’t go to market today.” Um, how about exiting your restaurant and cooking me up something good? So, we ate meat, and then went home and cooked because we were still very hungry. Oh, Mali.
After Dogon we headed back down to Bamako and visited my host family in Banankoro before spending an entire afternoon at the artisan market where they bought lots of stuff, including a gorgeous leather and bronze Tuareg chest/trunk. I’m secretly hoping my Mom won’t want it in a few years and that it’ll adorn my house.
It was really great to see them, and I got homesick, but it was good timing. Luckily, I get to go home in less than 2 months, and I’m counting down the days to Mexican food and Cookies and Cream ice cream!
Mom, me and Beth on the way to Bengimato.
Me, in Songho, the quinesential Dogon Country Photo.
These instruments are used by the boys and girls during their right of passage circumcision ceremony.
Beautiful shot of the village.
Hassimi the Fearless talking to us about the circumcision ceremony and the rock paintings that are done during the 3 months the children are there.
Mom and Beth in Songho.
Mom, pounding millet with the Dogon women.
Beth and Mom on the Niger River in Mopti.
