Totto we:re not in Keleya anymore!

Hey folks! I'm now an official volunteer here in Mali. I got to set up my house and by some furniture or at least a bed. Day to day I don't really do too much yet as I am still learning the language. I go running every morning and then "study" aka lay a book in my lap while the kids play market with their favorite toy, the white girl. Then I work up the courage to talk to the mayor's office staff, three guys that assume I speak French better than Bambara... if they only knew... After that I make an awkward departure to go to my homologue's house to have lunch which is a 2 hour process. In order to feel like I'm not just eating a running, I sit around to chat but soon they realize I only know what they're saying about 60% of the time (and that works everytime) and I realize they really just want to watch TV and could care less if I stayed an extra 30 minutes after eating. I walk home and use the excuse of a nap to have a few hours to myself. After I feel guilty for being such a hermit I "wake up" refreshed and ready to intregrate! On my 3rd walk through the village of the day I greet my neighbors who are now use to me and all know my name. If you thought I was bad a names in the states (which I am, the starbucks customers I won over with my extremely amazing personality and good looks, not my memory of their names, but Mrs. Venti 8 pumps mocha, breve, 210 degree extra whip lady loved me) I'm even worse when the names are Niare, Djara, Shekabubakar, and Zumana. They also have nicknames for everyone which makes it easier/more confusing. After my stroll through town I either "gossip" with the girls (mostly just joking about who is who's "che"/man) or play soccer with the little boys. Unfortunetly it's near impossible to play soccer in a wrap around skirt and flipflops, but damn if it isn't hilarious. My homologue feeds me lunch and dinner, but her house is on the other side of town and Malians don't eat dinner until after sunset. This is fine except my homologue is actually part coworker, part stern grandmother and insists that I can't walk home after dark. We now have a system that she packs me a little dinner to go and I take it home to eat next to my family. This was a little weird at first, but now we both use it (that's what she...). I have to plan my eating percisely so that I am still eating when they are so I can politely decline the Malian need to forcefully invite people to eat with them. We end up drinking tea, talking politics and exchange views on globalization and who should be responsible for global warming..... and by that I mean we just drink tea and I look up at the stars. I make a goal to socialize until at least 9 before going to bed. Last night I was near my goal when my host dad noticed I was zoning out and asked why I wasn't chatting. My host mom then took the opportunity to complete shift so that it was clear I had her full attention. The conversation was menial but the gesture and the routine it has set up was priceless. My accomplishments so far are small and often hard to measure. I'm proud to say that I read 2 books in the last 2 weeks, I know all of my family and homologue's family names, I run every morning and I feel comfortable buying things in the market (so crowded that mom would last about .5 seconds). Small victories, but I have to get know the community before I can ask deeper questions like, "How do you think we could provide a sustainable form of income to boost the Malian economy?" or " Don't you think it would be better for women to go to school for more than 3 years before getting married even if they don't have to work outside of the family?" All in all I think I have a pretty sweet gig here. I miss you all, I will let you know when I get the ruby red slippers to work!

Picture-tastic

Here are some more pictures , much requested from the padres.
I can still get my dance on in Africa.



Here's my small class of 3 for Bambara and our amazing karamogo(teacher), Moussa.



Me and my "husbands" to deter male suitors.


One of my good friends after we both swore in as new Peace Corps volunteers.


I go out to my new house tomorrow so I won't have the internet for at least 2 weeks. Call me if you can't live without me. Miss you all!

Pictures!!! Eat your heart out.

Ok friends this is what you all have been waiting for... me to stop talking!!! Here are some pictures that I got from my friends. I will post more from my new camera that was sent to me soon.

Oh yeah I carried this all the way across the village.

If I can't laugh at myself.... others will definitely take the lead.

When the going gets tough.....
Our formal classroom!
If you were ever wondering where shea butter comes from, this is me mixing it up with one of the Peace Corps directors.My host dad, BabaMy little sister and host mom, Balikesa and Jennajay.

Answer: definately yes.

I'm in Africa. That may seem like an obvious, almost needless, statement but today may be the first time I had enough time to actually realize it. We have been so busy and so overwhelmed with information and new exciting things that I have not had anytime to think of the reality that this is going to be my life for the next two years. This all hit me on the top of a mountain over looking a scene I swear I've seen in The Lion King. We went on a field trip to learn how shea butter is made and how we can help Malians be more productive and receive a larger profit for one of their biggest natural resources. I now feel pretty solid on how I'm actually going to be doing some important work for the next few years. Then we went to a waterfall and a cave, at which point I just had to tell myself, this is what my life is now, mixing shea mush and climbing mountains in Africa. I feel pretty freaking lucky.

Everything thus far I would have to chalk up to luck actually, that and my inability to be really bothered by anything, but mostly luck. Even in my training group there have been some much worse situations that could have just as easily happened to me, in which even my rainbows and butterflies would have been smashed. This last week I spent time in my site and honestly I thought it was going to be much worse, and after hearing other trainees' stories it could have. I have a great homologue (french for counterpart), I had amazing food, a bed and I didn't get sick or bored at all. My village is smallish: I have cell phone reception, easy water to get, a main road (key for reliable transportation) and a large market. My house has 2 cement rooms and a tin roof in a concession with 2 other families. I'm also really close to 3 great other volunteers and semi close to 6 more. I'm in the middle of the country so I can really go anywhere and am surprisingly close to the capital. Also, more importantly, I'm not a PCV in Georgia right now.

For the next 19 days I'm going to be doing nothing but training in my homestay (the picture at the top is from our training village) on our last long stretch before we are sworn in as actual volunteers. In less than a month from now I will be living on my own and starting my real job. This next few weeks, though, are going to be a bit challenging. I imagine I will get very frustrated with almost everything by the end, but that will be a perfect set up for our giant party after swear in.

Some not so noteworthy points (Lindsay feel free to tune out now), I'm still happy, healthy and safe. I do get your comments and love all of them so keep them coming. I'm not sure how to respond to them except to write another blog, but thank you all. I will be without internet for the next 19 ish days, but I do have my phone and reception so feel free to call me. Also next time I am planning on having TONS of pictures from my friends that took pictures on our trip and other such activities. I haven't receive mail yet, but others have so it will get here and I promise to let you know when I get it. I hope you are all reading the news, and Tim if my absentee ballot doesn't show up in time, I have dibs on Mom's vote this year. Have a great few weeks guys.

While you're up...

As I am about to visit my site, with only my Malian counterpart and minimal language skills, I would like to reveil some typical American things I have been able to do. As I said before I do watch TV with my family almost every night. All you that thought I would not drink for 2 years (myself included), you will be slightly dissapointed to know that we as a group (almost all 75 of us) have already gone to a bar at least 3 times. By bar I mean someone's house where they sell Castle beer which is comprable to Rainer. I also have more soda here than I did in the States (sorry mom and meghan there is no diet soda here). On one of our field trips to the capital we got hamburgers for lunch. It was waaaay too much food, but that is the American way is it not? Back at the training center I have already found out whom I can ask to get me things when I'm feeling a little lazy which is...... almost all of the time. To counteract that I make sure to get people water or more food or clean up plates every time I get up.

I am being rushed to get off to go meet my Malian co worker so I will just do a little list to help out Lindsay and those of you that want to send me things.

Things I'm glad I brought
Crank lantern: not batteries baby!
Quick dry towel: it is the rainy season
Laptop/ipod/solio: sanity
Yoga ish pants: soccer, under skirts, all around good times
Face sunblock: All the protection without all the breakouts!
Babywipes: so I can be clean at least before bed
Makeup/ mirror: to remember I can still look good even in Africa.

Things I could use more of (wink wink):
Hand sanitizer
Hotsauce and chips (Hey Laura while you're at the store....)
headbands
cheap cute shirts
DVD's (mostly just mine that I left)
Earrings
Cliffbars/ snacks
Cards
Camera
More face sunscreen
babywipes, shampoo
razers
ipod speakers

I can live without most of these, but I would love any of them. That's all for now! I am starting to miss most of you.

Let the rollercoaster begin

Well I now know what it looks like outside the Camp Mali and the grass is actually greener. That's right Mom there's even grass in Africa, reason #14 to travel outside of Nevada. I would post pictures to prove it, but somehow the camera won't turn on anymore even with the special batteries. I'm going to try to get my friend's pictures until I figure out a way to take my own.

For training they split up the group of 75 trainees into groups of 4 to 11 depending on sector and language level. Most of the homestay sites, where we all go to learn language and culture before starting our real jobs, are about a 15-20 min drive outside of the training center, but mine... was an hour and a half, but it's the best one!! The name even means "jealousy" in Bambara. When we got there we met all of the important people including the dugutigi (chief) and the mayor and the people we were going to live with. After a lot of translating by our language teachers, we stood by our new families and before we knew it we were dancing in a circle to drums! Apparently this was the naming ceremony. My Malian name is Masaba Samake. My first name means Queen. So I really am the African Queen! After the drums faded away we walked with our new families to our new homes.

I now live in a square mud hut with a thatched roof. It is really nice because unlike the tin roof, the mud hut keeps cool during the entire day which is key for my 1 o'clock nap after lunch. My host mom is amazingly similar to my mom back home.... She's bossy and loud and... I mean she's fun, loving and patient! Haha. She really is a ham and starts dancing while walking every time she thinks I am looking. It just so happens that I am always watching her because I really have no idea what I am doing most of the time, which in turn makes her dance that much more. She really looks after me (even to the extreme of insisting I go to bed at 8pm because she thinks I am going to melt in the rain storm, if she only knew...). The food is very different, obviously, and I am still getting use to it. I also eat every meal with my hands with one exception when I was sick and used a spoon as a result, I don't eat very much at eat meal. I had a flashback moment last week when I insisted that I was incredible full (needed in order to leave the table), and she responded by telling me that I could be done when I ate all my meat. I laughed and chewed for another 20 minutes. My younger host sister (age 5) reminds me of Bailey, she's bossy and loud.... I mean she's soooo cute!!! She is always excited to see me and never gets tired of me asking how to say things like table and shirt. Whenever I get too tired to dance, I make her sing and when I have too much energy I can always count on her to round up the 20 kids from our side of the neighborhood to play a massive game of "duck duck goo".

The village I am staying in is about 3,000 people and has electricity, cell phone reception (feel free to call me, it's free for me to receive calls!), but no internet or running water. My typical day at my homestay consists of waking up way after everyone else in my family at the incredible late hour of 6 in the morning, eating bread and tea with my host dad, getting a good morning Tubob (word for any white person) chant while walking to school, learning Bambara under the mango trees with 2 other trainees, eating lunch with my moms (cultural note, polygamy is common here), napping for about 40 minutes, learning about Malian culture with the rest of the trainees (there are 8 fantastic people at my homestay), taking a bucket bath at sunset (so amazing after sweating from just sitting all day), eating dinner with my host dad while watching a Brazilian soap opera dubbed in French (either way I have no idea what is going on), and then dancing and singing with the kids until I finally tell them I have to go to bed.

I am baffled at how friendly Malians are, even though I can literally say about 7 sentences right now. The amount of rain when it rains and the amount of stars has yet to fail to impress me. I was handed a baby to take with me on my walk to the market and the kids helped me tie a cloth around her so she was strapped to my back and I got her to fall asleep. Of course there are the few people that think it is funny to see how many questions and how fast they can greet me with on my walk to school before I can't function anymore, I had a baby pee on me (not the same one that I took to the market and back) and I think I might explode with all the carbs I am eating. Over all as far as the culture shock "phases" go (there are 5, to be explained as they happen later), I am still in the first stage: the honeymoon.

I got my site assignment today.... get excited to hear about it soon.

Muy Mali, phase one:camp

Alright alright, I'll do more blogging. You do need to realize I am in Africa getting at least 4 shots now (yeah and I didn't even flinch), learning how not to get malaria, learning 2 new languages, playing soccer (vital to my mental health) and then taking a bucket shower. Well now Caroline what is a bucket shower? Good question Suzie, but I think the answer should be rather obvious, you take a bucket, go to the nyuegen (a box where you do everything you would do in a bathroom) and try to scrub the grim off your arms at least. When I get back to my mud hut I can use the baby wipes to clean my feet more throughly(note to readers, send more baby wipes, the word cosco comes to mind). I know you are cringing Mindy and that is why you're not doing the PC, I can read minds, ha!

Honestly so far it feels like Camp Mali. Yes a 6th grade science camp you stay at to appreciate things like running water. But camp is fun right?! We'll see how I feel in a year. At this rate I will be tanner and skinnier than a bride at her own wedding (motivation Andrea....?). We had a cultural fair inside the training compound so we could buy some Malian clothing and eat on the floor with our hands!! It looks like fun, but not as easy as I thought. Best part though, getting down on the dance floor (dance dirt?) Malian style. Needless to say I didn't need to play soccer yesterday. Other than that the days seem to entail: eating breakfast at 7am (yes I am dressed and "showered" that early, stop laughing), doing language training (I am learning Bambara first and then French), health education (no really guys you DO have to wash your hands here), safety training (don't go anywhere by yourself, and if you do carry a stick, jk mom stop freaking out), soccer until we pass out (one more goal, one more goal!), then delicious dinner (sometimes with our hands) and then my dear readers I play a card game called Caroline is Faster Than You (aka any game I decide to play, thank you Meghan). Although now I have the reputation with my good friends that I am competitive, if they only knew my family....

Over all it has been great. All of the type of people that do Peace Corps are amazing, I'm almost always amongst friends. Tomorrow we start the part of training where we stay with local families. I will be one of 7 Peace Corps Trainees (PCT from here on out) in a village with a local that is employed by PC to teach us Language and Culture (otherwise known as LCF's). This is scary, but where it really all starts. We stay there for 12 days. Needless to say I won't have internet (needless, Caroline, we thought you won't have internet at all! funny guys, really funny). So I won't post anything, but hopefully I will have more time to write at night and I will post 2 when I get back.

Note about the picture situation, someone (aka mom....) didn't tell me I need a certain type of AA batteries (alkaline) for the camera so until I can snag some from my friends, you will just have to enjoy my witty banter. OK, ok I'll get on that fast, stop foaming at the mouth!!

Love you all! I'm sure I will miss you as soon as I have time to breath.