Ameriki Greatness Part III: The District

I left NC with 5 days left in America and I can't imagine a better way to have spent them than in the last place I called home - DC! Though I was back in the States in February and March of 2007, I haven't seen any of my friends since May/June of 2006. The reunion was well overdue and I couldn't wait.

The theme of the long weekend was: Sara out on the town. Friday night, the GW crowd got together at Cafe Citron and while it was delightful to see everyone, I was shocked that few wanted to continue the dinner party and transform it into a real party. Lana, roommate and friend extrodinnaire and Megan, study abroad pal and travel parter in Europe, accompanied me out to The Park, a new bar/club in DC. Not going to lie, I had a fabulous time! Music that I've missed for 2 years came blaring back into my ears - so much that I had ringing in my ear for 2 days afterward! - and dancing with the ladies was a great time. Photographic evidence does exist of the debauchery that night and for your viewing pleasure we have a before and an after shot of the 3 of us:

Megan, Lana and me, getting ready to get the party started.

Lana, Megan and me - Hot, sweaty and more than a little tipsy thanks to Lana "knowing the bartender."

After leaving and Megan telling a police officer that some random man said her boots were ugly, it was evident we needed to get into a cab. We all got home safely and regretted the amount that was consumed the next day!

I had to recover most of Saturday and didn't leave the house until the evening, when it was time to go out and have a smaller repeat of the Friday night. Paul, my best friend in the whole world, didn't have to work, so we decided to hit up Nelly's and then go to Town. Some Peace Corps friends came to Nelly's and we chatted about the good ole' days - the ones I'm still living - and they talked about how America and Mali just aren't the same. Having been away from Mali for so long, it was good to see them and prepare myself for my return.

Isabelle, Liz, me and Lindsey

Paul and I hung around Nelly's for awhile awaiting the barrage of men who would shortly be making their way over to the newest, hottest club around. We probably danced for 2 or 3 hours and Paul was less than sober when we caught a cab and headed for Adam's Morgan. But not for more drinking. If not for more drinking, than what would one actually head to Adam's Morgan for at 2:30 AM? Oh right, JUMBO SLICE! Now, if you've never enjoyed a piece of Jumbo Slice, seriously consider a vacation to DC and a long, fun night in Adam's Morgan. Just look at the size of these slices!

Paul and me - You're the best friend I'll have!

Check it out!

How could you not be thrilled for Jumbo Slice?

"Jumbo" is no exaggeration! I still don't know how Paul ate 2!

Needless to say, seeing everyone was refreshing and catching up to see where everyone has landed is also interesting. Some are where they wanted to be, others aren't, but they're still happy. It gives me hope for not being absolutely positive of what I'm going to do.

To everyone, thanks for showing me a great time.
To Paul - I love you and I'm so proud of you. I can't wait to see you again.

And she's back to Mali....

Ameriki Greatness Part II: NC

This photo should have a website all to it's own. After 20 months, the glorious, succulent taste of a chicken fajita burrito from Chipotle has a rendez-vous with my taste buds. This was by far a headline of the trip.

Despite the white knuckled trip from TN to NC, I was very excited to arrive there. My plans for post-PC include moving to the Raleigh/Durham area before continuing with Grad School in 2010. Despite having visited before, I looked forward to checking out my new stomping grounds. It was also going to give me a chance to hang out with Emilee before she returned to South Carolina for school to start again. We all had a great time together, going bowling, playing air hockey, shopping the after Christmas sales, making dinner together and playing monopoly and bumming around in general. Beth was sick and highly contagious, so her Dr. asked her not to go to work and infect everyone around her. Therefore, more time was had with her too! Em, it was great seeing you and spending time together. I can't wait until I'm there and you can come spend double the time in NC hanging out with not only one, but two very cool Aunts!

Em and Beth in the bowling mood.

Air hockey - best game in the world, hands down!

And my short sister who can barely reach the puck. Poor thing! Though, this is an inventive way of playing the game.

Since when are 15 year old nieces supposed to be taller than 24 year old Aunts? I'm even wearing heels!

NC also gave me my first visit to Trader Joe's - or Trader Ming, depending on the ethnicity of food you're buying. I instantly fell in love with the goodness I've only heard of for so long.

After Emilee left, Beth and I had a little over a week in order to get lots done. There was chilling that needed to happen, movies that needed to be watched, books that needed to be read, a wedding who's plans needed to be started, and there was of course lots of EATING that needed to be done. The amount of food we ate was terrible! We'd both come home after eating out and say, "Okay, I don't need to eat until next Thursday," yet we'd find ourselves delighting just the next day. I don't regret any of it...it was only 8 lbs in a month - which honestly, is not bad at all! Thanks a million to you, Beth, for making my stay amazing and fattening. I can't wait to get back and see you more often and hang out all the time in Durham!

My amazing sister, Beth, with her amazing new haircut! Love you!

Ameriki Greatness Part I: The Arrival and TN

In dire need of a vacation, I board a flight from Bamako to Dakar. I'm also in need of medical attention that can't be taken care of in Mali, so I'm off to Dakar first. I miss Tabaski, the best holiday in Mali, because I'm in Dakar. Saving grace? Mary Virginia. Where was I? Right, so then after 24 hours of Grey's Anatomy, I board the majestic Delta flight from Dakar to Atlanta. It's almost 4 AM, I'm tired, but I want to watch movies because it's been so long. Didn't happen. I couldn't concentrate at all! 9 hours later I'm in Atlanta. Sensory overload! I don't know what to do...there are white people everywhere and more options than I can imagine in terms of shopping and eating. I hurry to my new terminal and wait, surveying many passers-by to see what good they've just purchased. I finally settle on a Starbucks Peppermint Mocha. I retreat back to the gate only to watch it pour rain outside. But wait, it's December? How is there rain? Oh right, I'm in a country where it can rain any day of the year, not only for 2 months during "rainy season." I'm overwhelmed by a lot during my first hours in America but I do my best to overcome the uneasiness.

These were my first few hours and they were difficult. I hadn't been back to America in 20 months and it was quite shocking. But that was it...I was back in America. After 20 long months of Peace Corps, I was ready for a vacation. I finally arrived in TN around 7PM and was so excited to see my Mom! I didn't stay up too late because I had a hair appointment first thing the next day. Trust me, if you had seen my hair you would have done the same thing! It hadn't been cut in 2 years. Scary.

The new 'do - swangs and the use of a curling iron. Genius.

2 days later my Aunt Liz was coming to visit, but I didn't know that I'd be surprised by my brother and nephew also! Liz, Rick and Eli all flew down from NY to say hey and see me which was really unexpected. We had a pleasant weekend together hanging out at home, playing Scrabble (who knew 9 year olds played Scrabble?) and went to a Christmas parade and celebration in my Mom's town.

Rick and Eli arrive at the airport to greet me and Mom! I last saw Eli in 2006 and barely recognized him now.

My handsome nephew, school Aunt Liz in Scrabble. He's so cute.

I was more shocked/enthralled by this horse due to its size! Malian horses are scrawny! They were giving horse carriage rides but Santa wasn't too jolly when we arrived 3 minutes late - he said no more rides.

Mom and her best friend Liz!

Their departure brought about the arrival of my Grandmother, and then right before Christmas my sister and niece drove out from North Carolina. It was a really great Christmas gift to have the opportunity to see everyone in my family. Though I saw Mom and Beth recently when they came to visit in Mali, I haven't seen my niece Emilee since my high school graduation in 2002! Needless to say, it was so shocking to see her - she's 15 now! Nonetheless, it was great to get reacquainted with her as an adult and to talk about how cool it is to live in Africa! We had a pretty stellar Christmas and I got to hand out all of my African wares. I think everyone was pretty happy and I was too.

Mom should have been a baker! Her cakes and cookies are gorgeous and tasty! This is in preparation for our trip to Nashville to visit family.

This is the power of being named Sara - you're able to show up wearing the same outfit. This is my cousin Sara and this is the second time we've shown up wearing the same outfit. The Power of Sara!

Mom with her red leather clutch made by Diakite here in Mali. She loved it!

Grandma with a photo of Baba and I.

Emilee and Beth - thrilled to be wearing antlers!

Pretty awesome to have 4 generations of the Rosen's all together at one time! A photographic opportunity indeed! Me, Mom, Beth, Grandma and Emilee.

On December 26th, my sister sick with bronchitus, Beth, Emilee and I got in the car and I drove them back to NC through the Smoky Mountains. Now, I could go on about how I haven't driven in 2 years and I had to drive through the mountains, etc., but suffice it to say I was white knuckled most of the way! Yikes.

Just a special shout out thanks to Mom. You made my trip home awesome and even though we didn't get any "Mom/Daughter" time together, we'll have plenty of it to come in the future. Mix in a little momliness and it'll all be alright. Miss you and love you!

A Tribute to a Great Friend

Cristina Nardone

January 15, 1982 to December 02, 2008

Sometimes Mali is hard, sometimes it's easy. Whether it was difficult or easy you were always there to encourage me. I met you one of my first days in Mali and we immediately formed a bond that was strong. You helped me get comfortable in a country where I didn't know left from right. I was elated when I found out we would be regionmates. You were so strong and I knew I'd make it if I had your personality around me all the time. You came to visit me and gave me pointers on how best to succeed with my projects. I admired all of the work you had done, all of the relationships you built. Some people say that your eyes are the windows to your soul. Your eyes are beautiful, but for me it's your smile that reveals everything. You never let Mali defeat you, even if you got mad. You always bounced back from minor things that held the rest of us down. You came to help and change peoples’ lives and you did more than you'll ever know. I think of myself as a strong person, but I don't know I would have made it in Mopti region without your words of wisdom to stay there. In the end, it was the best decision I've ever made. I want you to know that you will always be one of the most missed people in my and our lives. We miss you and we love you and we will think about you and your spirit and your way of dealing with everyday situations in our everyday lives. I've already started to introduce some of your habits into my own and I only hope that I can be as true to them as you would have been.

Thinking of you forever and may you rest in peace in El Salvador and in our hearts and minds.

World AIDS Day in Mali

December 1st is World AIDS Day. It's a day to bring about awareness of HIV/AIDS and to encourage testing and education about the disease. In Africa, it's that much more important. However, most people think that the entirety of Africa is plagued by the disease. Southern Africa, including South Africa, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia and Lesotho - to name a few - are the countries most plagued with prevalence rates as high as about 40%. However, in West Africa, the rates aren't nearly as high. Here in Mali, for example, the rate is about 2.1% - a far cry from 40%.

Because I'm not working on a community health initiative, I had the idea that we should have an event for World AIDS Day. We're in the process of building a clinic and we're trying to get the word out to the community that we are an organization that is here to help and promote better health practices. We've mainly been focusing on malaria because it's a huge problem here in Mali, but I felt we had a chance to branch out. We invited a local organization call DJEKAFO along with CESAC who does HIV testing. The information that was given out was helpful and we had a decent turnout. Convincing Malian's to get HIV tested is pretty difficult, but we were able to get 40 volunteers!

DJEKAFO presenting their educational materials on HIV/AIDS and explaining the importance of knowing your status and not judging those around you who may be HIV positive.

Oumou Camara, a member of the microfinance committee, and Madame Niare - both CHAG members - waiting for community members to arrive.

Later in the afternoon, we had a tombola (raffle) and a football (soccer) game to get more people out. If there's anything that can pull a crowd, it's a football game. So, we got the word out early and sold tickets for the tombola - all of the proceeds going to the community's contribution for their new clinic - and raffled off buckets filled with needed goods: spaghetti, sugar, milk, notebooks, pens, etc. We raised about 60,000 CFA ($120) in the raffle! During the selling of the final tickets, a pretty awesome game was had. Because of the political differences between the neighborhoods that we work in, there was a lot riding on the game in terms of pride. Sikoroni played Sourakabougou and Sourakabougou won!

Team Sikoroni wearing shirts donated from ChocoMali.

Team Sourakabougou wearing our World AIDS Day shirts.

It was a great day and it was nice to see our Community Health Action Group (CHAG) get involved and spread the world and get the community to give back to themselves in the form of their clinic. It's been an uphill battle, but I think we're getting there!

The football field, with mini Dogon Country in the background.

An action shot of a great game.

Thanks to all the members of Sikoroni and Sourakabougou and the members of CHAG and MHOP for making today a successful day!

Hard Work: Mali vs America

What's a hard days work in America? While there are several different levels of working - retail, restaurants, offices, manual labor, etc - we each feel as if we put in a hard day's work everyday, right? Even when I was living in Washington, my senior year of college, I was going to school full time and working part time while running a conference the other part time. I considered myself pretty busy. An active day would consist of waking up in my comfortable heated/air conditioned room, checking my email, showering with hot water, eating breakfast or heading out the door to catch the metro to work where I would grab a Starbucks and normally proceed to sit on my butt for the next several hours doing what I called "work." After those hours, I'm sure I would eat some lunch, chill, check my email about a billion times and just hang out. After lunch I would head back to GW, have a class or two, walk around a bit, grab another coffee or a Diet Coke and continue up to the 4th floor of Marvin Center and sit in the IAS office, sometimes doing WAMUNC work, often just sitting around talking. By the time I made it home, sometimes it was late, but I would sit and watch an episode of Family Guy, sit in front of my computer and talk on the phone until it was time for bed. Tough day, huh?

Now, I admit that there were days that were much harder than this one - and we've all had hard days. But lets be honest, we've all had easy days too. Isn't it funny though that with this account above, I would consider it a hard day? Can you imagine what I would have considered it had I actually been doing work?

Well, in Mali, a typical workday is quite different. I know that I've been here for 2 years, but living in Bamako brings a vastly new perspective to things. Bamako, more than New York than DC, is the city that Malian's come to in order to make money. Like any person growing up in Small Town, USA, one thinks that moving to the big city is easy and is going to solve all of life's problems. Well, it doesn't. I've had a lot of work to do in Bamako and since we're not allowed to ride on motorcyles and that riding one's bike in a skirt is a practical death sentence, I've taken to walking or to public transport (more on that in the next blog). While wandering around the really dirty streets of Bamako - we're talking African capitol city here - my eyes are introduced to new sites everyday. The site that prompted this blog entry was the following: seeing a young man, of 25 years old, average height and build, pushing a cart filled with 300 kilos of rice for delivery from market to a person's home. Now, for those of you not familiar with the metric system, 1 kilo=2.2 lbs. That means that we're talking about over 600 lbs of rice being pushed, with all the strength and might of a man who weighs about 150 lbs. The sweat that pours down his face is unbelievable, but there's nothing you can do. The even sadder ending to this story is that he'll make, maximum, $2 for this hard work. Another difficult site to see and watch is a man, normally about 40 or 50, riding the world's most decrepid bike, with up to 50 lbs of cucumbers, feed for the animals or sodas, stacked up on the back. I myself will confess that in my first months here I tried carrying a small child to market on my top of the line, Peace Corps issued bike, and I made it about 3 blocks until I was huffing and puffing wondering how anyone can carry weight on their bike. And now we're talking about 3 huge bags of cucumbers?!?! And what about the women and children - often between the ages of 5 and 10 - who sit at market or along the road where public transport frequently stops, to sell water or peanuts, making maybe an extra dollar a day? The idea that the family doesn't have the money or the interest to send their female children to school, but would rather earn a little extra. I mean, we hear about these things happening in the "3rd world" and in far far away, but, open your eyes people, it's happening right here! I know more people than I would like who wake up at 5 am and don't go to sleep until midnight because they're trying to make extra money for their families.

If nothing else, sit back at your desk while you're reading this, having one your really "hard" days at work, and be thankful that your life is as easy as it is.

Life in Sikoroni - Educating the People

I recently realized that I haven't really told you all about life in Bamako. Scratch that, life in Sikoroni, my neighborhood of Bamako. We all know that Bamako is gritty, expensive and utterly unattractive, but Sikoroni is less of those things. While there is the usual "Toubabu" at every waking moment, I have met some pretty nice people along my street, even people from Sevare/Mopti, so we have an opportunity to sit around and reminice.

Sikoroni - set in this quaint area on the hillside. There's a school in the foreground and Sikoroni extends all the way up the hill.

The community itself is divided into two smaller communities: Sikoroni and Sourakabougou. It's actually in Sourakabougou that we're building the health center. Apparently, I've recently learned, there is a bit of jealousy/tension between the two neighborhoods and while a health center already exists in Sikoroni, a lot of the people from Sourakabougou refuse to go to it, putting their health at greater risk. So, the idea is to give them equal access to care so that they're use it!

Yesterday we had an event called "L'integration des Images," whereby we had an artist create these health posters and the members of our Community Health Action Group (CHAG) got together to present the posters. MHOP normally works on malaria initiatives, but we've recently begun to spread out. So, yesterday's event focused on other health problems that plague the community like hypertension, diabetes, lack of protein and vitamin A, what to do when you have a fever, and other simple health problems that can be easily treated.

Though in Bambara, and therefore can only be appreciated by my Bambara speaking friends, below you'll find a series of the health presentations. Our three star CHAG members, Soukena, Oumou and Adama, totally took charge on a day when our Director, Modibo couldn't be around. They did a great job and here is the fruit of their labors. Oh, and I think the audio is pretty awful, but try to listen anyway!