Hey! Thanks so much for getting the mail sent! Computer access has been limited until now so the updates have been few and far between, my apologies. Today i went to a neighboring village about an hour from Tubaniso (Where i stay with the peace corps) and we worked with a youth group, women and men's associations in implementing some projects. It's a bunch of analysis tools to find out what projects are necessary and feasible. All in all its was very insightful, it just made for a long day.
My homologue and i bonded a little today, i think he's going to be very much a father figure for me. Today a couple of boys were giving me a hard time and he grabbed my hand and pulled me away then shushed the boys away, it was pretty funny. I'm guessing he's about 55 years old and pretty shy but i think once i charm him with my bubbly personality we'll get along pretty well. I'm leaving for site on Sunday morning and it'll be about a 12 hour travel with my homologue on public transport which will be a real adventure. I'll be at site for a week then back at Tubaniso for a day before returning back to home stay (baguenda camp). I miss my home stay family so I'm pretty excited to see them and so sad that I'm almost done with my time there.
I've been one of the fortunate few trainees yet to have amoebas (the dreaded Mr D) and with the exception of my one vomiting spree I've been in superb health. With many thanks to inheriting dads sleeping patterns, i sleep through the nights without difficulty despite waking up in several layers of sweat. I only sleep in shorts and a sports bra with no sheets and I'm still pretty sweaty when i wake up. Fortunately, Malians believe in bathing every few hours so I'm not dirty for too long. It is crucial to greet everyone in my family many times a day but only after you've bathed, so after my morning bath i greet everyone then eat and go to class. I come home for lunch and then back to class and get back home around 5 pm. I usually have tea with my brother at our concession or a friends where we chat until dark. Sometimes we play soccer which they all love the fact that i can play and Alu brags about me a little. We have dinner about 8pm and I'm in bed on a normal night by 9:30.
So some funny things that have happened in my first month in Africa:
1. When it rains it becomes muddy and thus slippery. I fall on paved dry flat roads, so you can imagine my coordination on slippery, muddy, slanted roads... On my way to a dance with my brother and his three best friends i proceed to step in a mud puddle, slide about 3 feet before falling to my butt. Alu (brother) had to pull me up and then dig around for my flip flop which was suctioned off in the mud- I should have preceded this story with the fact that Malians like to laugh at us when we do ANYTHING, let alone wipe out in front of 3 20 year old boys.
2. After Alu told the whole neighborhood about my lack of coordination (which took all of five minutes to spread to the neighboring village) my family has taken it upon themselves to watch me try to cross our concession (courtyard) after it rains as a source of entertainment. Unfortunately, under their watchful eyes i become increasingly conscious and thus less coordinated. I'm up to 6 falls in the concession. It has become such entertainment that when it rains, they invite friends over and then call me out of my room to watch me try to navigate the mud. Once i was on my way back from the negen (bathroom) and i made it all the way to my room without falling and i hear this applause coming from the main house, i look up and see my entire family smiling and cheering my successful trip to the bathroom...
3. My teacher shot a snake out of a tree with a slingshot.
4. I had a monkey sitting on my windowsill screeching at me for about an hour in the middle of the night.
5. I have a pet lizard named George. He seems to find me every day i have class in the SED hangar at Tubaniso and he climbs up and sits on my shoulder. He won't sit still on anyone else.
6. i played soccer with some friends and the giant termite mound become the opposing teams best defensive player as it took me out not one, two or three times, but 4 times
7. I went to a wedding rehearsal dance that had to be postponed because a cow got loose and destroyed the chairs that had been set up.
8. A taxi of goats passed us. they were inside the car.
I'm sure there's plenty more but these are some of the more interesting ones. So much of what would have seemed weird a month ago are common place now so I'm having a hard time remembering that things aren't "normal". Becky said something in passing about getting her counters done and it occurred to me that it will be really nice to eat on a counter again instead of the floor and how nice a fork will be instead of my hands. There are countless examples of these situations that I'm just used too now. I don't miss cold drinks because i never have them so its hard to miss what i can't really remember and won't have for a while. That's pretty much the same way i feel about AC, toilets, electricity, etc. I love that i don't have the option to watch TV when I'm bored, the bonds people have here are so intense because you are surrounded by people at all times. It's pretty amazing to experience.
I know i don't tell you guys enough but i love you all and think about you often. i can't talk or write as often as I'd like but knowing I've got so much love back home is a huge comfort and has kept me from getting homesick yet. I'm getting the best of both worlds right now so even when I'm away from you guys know i love you and miss you very much.
Love,
Cait
July 13, 2009
Hello everyone! Don't get used to regular emails...I'm getting ready to move to my home-stay and will not have a computer for about two weeks so I thought I should send out an update while i still can.
I'
Malian culture is absolutely one of the most fascinating subjects I have heard about and I am so excited to meet my host family. Ill pretty much be dropped off on Wednesday morning and wished good luck. I've had about an hour of Bambara and can successfully wish people good morning, tell them my name and where I am from... should be a fairly entertaining trip. I'll still have class everyday and I'll have to ride my bike to class which is pretty exciting- i now know how to change a flat, adjust the brakes, change the tensions, etc.
I've already made about a dozen faux pas by walking in front of a man praying, walking on a prayer mat, looking people in the eye when I'm introduced, using my left hand to shake hands or do anything (left hand is considered dirty because the Malians use it to wipe after the bathroom).... the list goes on and on and will grow exponentially in the next two years.
I've already mastered peeing in a whole in the ground for those of you who were wondering, there is in fact a method that took several unsuccessful attempts to master. I learned how to take a bucket bath today too which will soon become my primary means of bathing and it's not too bad. I also learned to do laundry against a rock and the right soaps to use...basically i think we are being taught to survive in Africa in about three days so it's a lot to process. I'm pretty much sweating from sunup to bedtime...and then all night, but it doesn't seem like that big of a deal and i've already gotten pretty used to feeling disgusting.
Love,
Cait
I'
Malian culture is absolutely one of the most fascinating subjects I have heard about and I am so excited to meet my host family. Ill pretty much be dropped off on Wednesday morning and wished good luck. I've had about an hour of Bambara and can successfully wish people good morning, tell them my name and where I am from... should be a fairly entertaining trip. I'll still have class everyday and I'll have to ride my bike to class which is pretty exciting- i now know how to change a flat, adjust the brakes, change the tensions, etc.
I've already made about a dozen faux pas by walking in front of a man praying, walking on a prayer mat, looking people in the eye when I'm introduced, using my left hand to shake hands or do anything (left hand is considered dirty because the Malians use it to wipe after the bathroom).... the list goes on and on and will grow exponentially in the next two years.
I've already mastered peeing in a whole in the ground for those of you who were wondering, there is in fact a method that took several unsuccessful attempts to master. I learned how to take a bucket bath today too which will soon become my primary means of bathing and it's not too bad. I also learned to do laundry against a rock and the right soaps to use...basically i think we are being taught to survive in Africa in about three days so it's a lot to process. I'm pretty much sweating from sunup to bedtime...and then all night, but it doesn't seem like that big of a deal and i've already gotten pretty used to feeling disgusting.
Love,
Cait
July 11, 2009
Hello!!! So I've arrived safe and sound though absolutely and completely overwhelmed...fortunately everyone else is too and I've got some great company. We've got a big group and lots of new personalities to meet which is quite refreshing. My SED group has 11 people and I've gotten to know some of them really well already- I guess 48 hours being stuck together in either an airplane or an airport can do that to you. I'm currently living in a three person mud hut with no electricity (supposed to be fixed today) and two windows. All things considered though, its pretty nice. We have a shower in a cement hut with the water pressure of a leaky faucet... but it's so cold that its refreshing. Thank goodness Malians think cleanliness is next to godliness because I'll be taking a ton of showers just to keep cool. We've had class all day today and I got my meningitis shot and am taking malaria meds every morning for the next few days/weeks/months so I'm becoming well vaccinated. I love the classes and I'm learning all about some of the cultural stuff I'm going to be faced with- wow...
I just played some Frisbee with some friends and am getting ready for dinner which I've been pleasantly surprised by. anyways, sorry for the brevity, I'll try to write again soon, I love you and am having an aboslute blast thus far.
Love,
Cait
I just played some Frisbee with some friends and am getting ready for dinner which I've been pleasantly surprised by. anyways, sorry for the brevity, I'll try to write again soon, I love you and am having an aboslute blast thus far.
Love,
Cait
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