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).