Hey Everyone,
It’s been an eventful few weeks with lots of traveling! Once the 66 new volunteers arrived in Bamako on February 2, Justin and I left Bamako and headed out to Segou for the Festival on the Niger River. Segou is the 2nd largest city next to Bamako but much more manageable and overall more pleasant in my opinion (Less traffic, less air pollution, more organized, less stressful). Despite living in the region of Segou I’ve never really spent any time in the city itself, thus I was anxious to spend a few days seeing the sights. The music festival attracts many tourists and I’ve never been more appreciative of being able to speak Bambara. Everywhere we went people tried to rip us off until I spoke Bamabara with them and then they became much more willing to negotiate and offer fair prices. USAID was a primary sponsor of the festival and you could see the western influence in the layout and functionality of the event. There were vendors, museums, cultural events etc available to everyone in the city during the day but at night you had to have a wristband on to get into the main events. The stage was actually set up in the Niger River so people could sit along the bank and then in a makeshift stadium. Thousands of people turned up for the evening performances with the best of the best West African musicians performing. It was unbelievable to feel that kind of energy coursing through the crowds.
It was fun to be able to do some touristy things too. I went shopping at the vendor’s area and we went to a display at the museum featuring West African artists. Perhaps my favorite activity was going to the Bogolon Museum. Bogolon is the art form of mud dyed fabric which is practiced here in Mali. The origins of the fabric come from the hunters in Mali who needed the dyed woven fabric in the woods in order to blend in. The fabric originally is a creamy white thus had to be dyed to yellows/browns/reds to camouflage the hunters. The tour we went on was free but in Bambara so I had to translate for Justin what was said. We both made a small square of fabric with the help of our Bogolon guide, Bey. He showed us the most common symbols and explained their meanings and then left us to make our own personalized patch. It was really fun. While our works of art were drying, Bey took us on a start to finish tour on how to make and dye the fabric. I have a whole new appreciation for this kind of art.
One of the more amusing events was the boat racing day. Several canoe looking boats filled with paddlers raced around two buoys out a little ways in the river. While we were betting about who would win, the children who gathered to watch the race were guessing who would finish. We thought this was curious until the race began and in attempt to save some time, corners were cut too sharp and sent dozens of young men bobbing along in the Niger. Of the original 8 boats in one of the races only about 3 made it… “Rescue boats” were situated along the track to get the stranded paddlers.
We opted to return to San on Sunday to watch the Super Bowl game in the comfort of home via my computer. The game was delightfully clear but with the time change, I barely made it up to half time. Justin, a Packers fan, however stayed up for the whole game and caught me up on the details so I feel like I got to see it all.
On Tuesday morning we biked the 30 kilometers out to my village where we spent the day and night and next day. It was so nice to have a guest at my home. It’s always a little strange to me that I’ve lived in my home and with these people, but no one has really been to it and can see my life there. My Malian family was so excited for him to visit. They killed a chicken for us and made us beans (if you’ll remember, I’m a Coulibaly and we’re known for our bean eating tendencies) and spaghetti…all of which are very nice gifts for guests of the village. Justin in turn brought my family some cookies and dates and brought the chief of the village kola nuts. Kola nuts in my opinion are disgusting but men eat them for the pleasurable side effects… My chief mends broken bones and when we went to visit he was working on a boy’s knee that was massively swollen and distorted. Like I said, I’m so happy someone got to see my home and meet my family in Sebanso. It was quick trip but one of my favorites.
Currently, I’m in Bamako getting ready to take my GRE on Saturday morning. It was a taxing trip down. I really had my stress load put into perspective. My bus had nearly reached Bamako when we passed a very recent wreck. Volunteers tend to joke that transport is a death ride here because the poor quality of the cars, the roads (or lack thereof), no traffic lanes or really even laws (speed limits, etc), little training of the drivers…etc but to see the damage in person was like a nightmare. I’m glad I’m safe in the Peace Corps house, but I’ll be thinking about those families who lost loved ones today for a while and fear that I will be haunted by the images I saw.
On a happier note, I have a meeting set with my boss tomorrow to have a training done in my village for my animal raising cooperation. I’ve said it before it it’s still just as true, my village is very motivated. I told the men I’d help them if they told me what they wanted the training on and when. Seems pretty straightforward, but in most villages this could take months of bickering then finally nixing the whole thing out of frustration. My cooperation on the other hand, had their monthly meeting, voted, and wrote an official request for the type of training they wanted in the course of the week (pretty impressive since only a few of them can write). I love my village. I love that they want to learn. I love their desire to make their lives better themselves.
Depending on my state of mood post GRE I’ll write a quick synopsis, but if I don’t get the chance, I’m looking to get back to San on Sunday and then leave for site on Monday to spend a few weeks. We are starting to raise chickens and I’m going to help build the coop!
Much love,
Cait
