Foto Op

These are all wonderful pictures of various times, copywrite Hunter Gray:
Me and Rabayah in the cab in Bamako.

Me and my personal chef, aka Dave at my site.

Hunter's hike with his family


The view of the valley
The local mascot

From top left to right, Holly, Dave, Emily (front), Amanda, Me
The "Gang" Emily, Dan, Amanda, Holly, Me, my photographer Hunter, Jamie, and Chris front and center
My local transportation. I have to take the van on the left first and then the truck on the right when actually in Bamako. Totally safe I promise, or at least so far it has been!

The little Masaba that could

Ne be say. This is the phrase that I learned the fastest and since learning it I have used it more than once a day. It means "I can". This is because although Malians are incredible nice and helpful, they are convinced I can't do anything. I thought that with my first family it was just because they knew I was in training, but now that I have spent two months in the village I will be living in for two years (yeah place your bets now, if I remember correctly Arzhange already lost?), I now know that it is just the view the Malians have of me. They're number one, and frankly only, argument is that things are different in Mali that in the US. When I go to wash my own dishes I am met with a laughing 8 year old, "Oh Masaba, i te say, in Ameriki you have machines that wash that wash the dishes right?" Well yes, but that doesn't mean..... "Oh Masaba you can't wash your clothes, isn't there a machine for that too?," Yes but if you would just teach... "Oh Masaba you can't sweep, in Ameriki they have long handles on the brooms," That doesn't make me lazy just smarter, "Oh Masaba you definitely can't cook. In Ameriki you use, what, gas and electric stove tops?" How do you know... "Oh Masaba you can't speak Bamabara," but I just had a conversation with you and explained how to do factors and about prime numbers!!! If you notice all, but the last accusation, are gender specific. When my friend who is the son of the Iron Chef 2005 comes over, clearly I'm going to let him cook me garlic sauteed eggplant without putting up a fight. "Oh Masaba, you really shouldn't let the men cook." I saw this as an excellent opportunity to have a cross cultural exchange and defended myself with, "Oh but in Ameriki men cook just as much as women!" "Well Masaba, you're in Mali now, not Ameriki." Too true host grandma, too true. I would be fine with all this negative feedback if they would only help me when I want to learn. My clothes washing lesson started with me washing five shirts. That trial run earned me the role of the official clothes hanger. It's just as complicated as it sounds, I take the clothes to the clothes line and well, hang them. Yes you're right the 8 year's job. I cooked them curry chicken from scratch, which was FANTASTIC by the way, but as Malians aren't very adventurous with food, I don't think they liked it much. I have been promoted from the guava eater to the sweet potato peeler during dinner preparation. There are a few other things that the Malians will let me do, like pull water from the well and, after I insisted, I now carry 20 liters of water on my head 200 yards from the pump to my house once a week for my drinking water. This constant feed back has led me to need to remind myself what I am good at. No I can't wash my dishes well, but I can debug a computer. No I can't get my skirts completely clean, but I can tell you what the use of the invisible hand does on your national economy. No I can't cook the millet mash you call "toe" but I can make chocolate flan. No I'm not fluent after being here for five months but I can read and write in my native language. Because French is the official language, all children learn how to read and write in French. As a result, of the few that are literate even fewer know how to read and write Bamabara*. This makes it interesting when you are, for instance, having a meeting about taxes conducted completely in Bamabara, but the agenda and notes from the meeting are all written in French. Even after all of this, I'm not deterred, I'm determined. I will sweep my house everyday, I will learn how to make onion sauce better than anyone, I will learn how to get a hibiscus stain out of my "complet", and when I do, I will tell you how I did it in Bamabara and French, and then tell you all about the failing economy. Or at least I think I can.

*They are trying to change this in the school system right now. I also went to a mass today that was conducted mostly in Bambara. The French and Italian priests speak both French and Bambara and have taught those in the church how to read and write in Bambara. I also was excited to find a bible and a hymnal written in Bambara.

Obama Oh eight.

If a 60 year old African women with the ability to make a grown man cry with just the shake of her finger asks you who you are voting for in the only US presidential election she has ever heard of in her life, how do you answer? For me it was an easy and enthusiastic response and I didn't think twice. It wasn't until the boys of Dombila responded when asked who Barack Obama is by saying, "Oh I know him, he's the president of Ameriki!" that I started to realize the impact this election will have on the entire world. Their response came more than 2 weeks before many people even voted. As election day came closer the volunteers in Mali migrated to the capital. By the time I arrived with "the crew" we met up with a surprising amount of other volunteers. The energy was not unlike that of Christmas eve without all the watered down carols. The results wouldn't be announced until at least 5 am but that was not even acknowledged as an issue. We set up camp at the one of the hotels and watched as states lit up one by one. Red, Red, Red, Blue!! Red..... I was nervous, if nothing else just to avoid jinxing it. Slowly we became more confident, more emotional, more excited. When Obama was elected there was a small cheer, larger from those at the bar, and a huge sigh of relief. It didn't actually sink in until the victory speech. We sat silent, attentive, eating up every word he said. Even though it was the wee hours of the morning and none of us had naps, there wasn't a pair of heavy eyelids in the room. Granted this a group of highly motivated young people out to change the world living in Mali but, when Obama finished speaking, we couldn't sit still with excitement. This election is more than a response to the frustrations of a nation, more than just a reminder of what the youth of the nation can do when motivated, for us on the other side of the world, it is a symbol to those we are preaching change to, that we too can take a step to change the world starting with our own country. It is a symbol to the world that we still do care what they think and that we still value soft power. When I go back to my site tomorrow and greet my wiry neighbor I can shake her hand and laugh with her when we cheer "Barack-o" "Bama!" He will not single handedly fix the economy, he will not solve the conflicts in Iraq, he will however forever change the image of the United States of America in the eyes of the international community. Let's hope it doesn't stop there but rather, the American people continue to be inspired to invoke change to better the world around them. Again that is coming from motivated young woman out to change the world dooni dooni (little by little).