Yay, an Update!

Introduction

It’s been a month and a half since my last update, and things have changed completely. The rigid schedule of training is gone while long, tedious days have set in. I’m no longer constantly surrounded by other new volunteers. I’m the only toubob in Yangasso, and when I do see other Americans, it’s a good mixture of the Breakfast Club and Belushis. Training was hard, but new difficulties have set in to make the first months here even more challenging. Though having some freedom now definitely has its perks. There’s a lot to say, so I’m going to break it up a bit…

Part I- Installation and Village Life

As you know, I was “installed” in late September. We got off to a rough start when we were in a bus accident on our way to site. We ran into a truck that was turning in front of us, ran over a motorcycle and ran off the road. I thought we were going to flip over. Miraculously, no one was seriously injured, though they had o bring us out a new bus. Anyways…

The five of us new to San kaw, Susie, Rachel, Stephanie, Nicole and I stopped in Segou and San on our way to site to do some shopping. We bought the basics for our homes that can’t be purchased at site. Stephanie and I installed first, which was a little bit terrifying. The Peace Corps helps to unload your stuff, and then leaves. You’re then on your own. Completely. Luckily I have the stage house to meet up with other volunteers to “debrief.”

My house is really nice by Malian standards. It’s a three room cement building with a tin roof on the west edge of town. As I’ve mentioned, I share a concession with a Malian family. My first day some neighbors built me a hangar, or guwa, for shade. I enjoy sitting outside reading and watching the family next door every day.

I’ve gotten the feel of Yangasso; it’s slower pace and agricultural focus. Cows, sheep and goats are herded past my concession every day, and donkeys pull carts piled with millet and corn. The market takes over on Tuesdays, when people come from surrounding villages to sell crops, fruits and vegetables, fabric, dead-toubob clothes and household items. It used to terrify me but I’m starting to pick up its rhythm. Though, I still find it difficult to be able to buy fresh produce only once a week. It rots quickly in this heat, and there are very few means of storage.

Part II- The Family

I’ve mentioned my homologue and neighbors, so it’s time to introduce you to the people in my life. My work counterparts are Mariam (or Mamu) and Diarra Coulibaly. They are two very strong and relatively educated women. Both have worked in the mayor’s office, and both are actively involved in the women’s association. I’ve also started working at the local school a bit, and have gotten to know the English teacher, Monsieur Thera, quite well.

My neighbors are the people I’ve gotten to know the best. Kasim has one wife, Aminata, two sons and three daughters. They are (with estimated ages) Bobsi (13), Moussa (11), La (9), Bailo (6) and Ama (2). Ama used to be terrified of me, screaming and crying whenever I came near. After about a month she warmed up. She loves bringing me my lunch everday. Bailo is my favorite. She was very worried when I was sick last week and informed me that I need to drink water with medicine mashed up in it.

Part III- My Work and the Challenges

So I guess people want to know what exactly I do here. A fellow PCV put it well when he said “anyone who lives vicariously through me obviously knows nothing about my life.” Honestly, I don’t do anything. At least, not yet. I try to study language and get to know the community. I go to the meeting for the women’s association every Sunday, but unfortunately they only speak Bambara. I’m also stating to help teach English in the secondary school. Besides that I sit, read, yaala yaala, clean, etc.

As I said before, a new life, new difficulties. Language is a big one. I spent all of training learning French but need Bambara at site. My homologue is often out of town, so I struggle to fill my time. Days are long. The abuse here is also very hard to deal with, especially in the schools. No matter how much I see it, I can’t (and don’t want to) get used to seeing teachers hit students. This is a new challenge that I haven’t yet found a solution for.

Part IV- My American Life

That’s all there really is to my Malian life here, but I do have an American side as well It’s in San. Every week or two the other volunteers and I head in to the stage house to recover. In San we can do some shopping that you can’t do at site (tuna, ketchup, produce every day, orange juice, cold soda and sweet frozen yogurt…as in yogurt that is frozen). At the stage house we enjoy electricity, ceiling fans, a stove and refrigerator, toilets and running water. More than anything we enjoy each other. Let me introduce you to San kaw:

The Breakfast Club:
Me- Malian alter ego Worokia Coulibaly
Susie- the other SED volunteer from Tennessee living in Kimparana
Nicole- super NRM volunteer furthest from San, excellent cook
Rachel- Ag volunteer in N’Torosso whose crazy enough to bike 3 hours to San in the heat
Stephani- NRM volunteer crazy enough to bike with Rachel

Belushis:
Kali- the one I’ve gotten to know best, fellow Incredible, NRM from central New York and a huge help thus far
Tamara- Ag or NRM volunteer who just went to Ghana
Patience- insanely kind SED volunteer who runs the behind the scenes work at the stage house
Jam- the missing Belushi who rarely leaves her site

Yup, we’re a girl’s club. Luckily it’s a great group of people who I really enjoy. Let’s take Halloween as an example…

Last week San hosted Halloween for 25 or so PCVs. Kali was in charge an did an incredible job. I tried to help out, but it was pure chaos (insanely fun chaos, that is). I got to San a few days eary to get my costume together and help set up. The theme was superheroes and villains, though only half of us followed the theme. Kali, Nicole and I went as the Incredibles (make sure to check out pictures of Flickr).

The day before a ton of people showed up; a little earlier than expected. We all spent the day getting caught up as it was the first time we’d seen PCVs from out of region since training. Kali and I cooked like mad in the sweltering kitchen. I’m told the food turned out well, though somehow I ate very little of it. We made a bunch of snack foods that included peanut butter cookies, cheddar popcorn, pork balls and banana bread; all luxuries we can’t get or make at site.

On Halloween we carved watermelons, which turned out to be bar superior to pumpkins. They made for excellent snacks and drinks that night. They looked great, too. Besides that we got all dressed up and partied all night. It was a great American holiday and release from Malian life.

Conclusion

So that’s it; my life thus far in Mali. I’m definitely still struggling to find my place in Yangasso, but I do feel like I’ve found my place within Peace Corps. The people here are amazing and I consider myself lucky to be in their company. I look forward to the next two years with them.

I want to thank everyone who has sent me letters and packages. Upon arrival in San, my first stop is always the post office, and the first hours are always spent pouring over letters. I keep them at site and pull them out whenever I feel lonely. Thank you so much, and I’ll do my best to keep up on my end.

Sorry this turned in to such an over view. If you have questions or want random stories, write a letter! I promise I’ll write back! I'll get pictures up as soon as possible...internet is slow here and I'm sharing my computer.

The Breakfast Club

The last few days have been a whirlwind. After swear in morning, all of the new PCVs headed to Bamako for the night to party with PCVs from past classes. There was a lot of drinking, dancing and late night swimming. One of the highlights was the naming of my PCV class. Every year, the group who swore in the previous year names the newcomers. Three classes ago they were the “Cleavers” because they were so well behaved. Last year’s class was the first huge group of over 70 new rowdy volunteers. They were appropriately named the Belushi’s. We were named “the Breakfast Club,” apparently because of our very diverse group of people.

We leave tomorrow morning for our sites…bright and early at 6am (following breakfast at 5). Honestly, I’m absolutely terrified. My language skills are not great, especially since I’ve been learning French but most people in my village speak only Bambara. They’ve also given us very little direction about what we’ll be doing the next few months. We’re not allowed to start projects until after IST (in-service training) in January, so this first phase is only evaluating the community and working on language.

More than anything, I’m nervous about the isolation. I’ve developed some close relationships with other volunteers, who I most likely won’t see for four months. I’m also losing my internet access. The closest is in Segou, a couple of hours away by bus. I’ll be lucky to update once a month or so. What I’m trying to get at is that my nerves are getting to me at the moment, though I am really excited to get going. So basically, please call or send letters whenever you have a chance!

Hopefully everything will work out for the best. If I can make through this next phase I’ll be able to last the two years. Being an official volunteer is great; but being an official volunteer who speaks the language will be even better. Wish me luck!

Swear In

We officially swore in as volunteers this morning. The ceremony felt a lot like college graduation with Malian clothes. It took place at the American embassy. Speeches were made by representatives of the Peace Corps and the Malian government, the American Ambassador, and several volunteers (in each of the five languages being learned). Like every employee of the United States government, we stood up and took the oath. The ceremony was followed by lunch at the Ambassador's home (which was absolutely delicious), and hundreds of pictures....some of which are up of flickr. Now we're hanging out here for a few hours before heading to Bamako to celebrate for the night.

It feels fantastic to finally be an official volunteer. No longer a PCT, we've made it past the first hurdle. I hope the next two years are all I hope them to be.

Malian Birthday

I wanted to thank everyone who made by birthday so enjoyable. I had a wonderful day. It started with a surprise phone call from some friends from home and was followed by my finally being able to open the birthday gifts that have been sitting in my room for weeks. I loved being able to talk to family, as always. My friends here were fantastic, and ensured with the kitchen staff that I got a fantastic cake. Thanks again, and there are a few new pictures up on flickr.

Installation Logistics

Since swear in is fast approaching, we have finally received the logistics for our installation at site. I hate the word "installation" that PC uses to refer to our actually moving to our new homes. But Peace Corps is all about integration, so there it is, I'm being installed. Here's the schedule of my coming week or so:

• Friday, Sept. 21st: Swear in! Party it up all night in Bamako.
• Saturday, Sept. 22nd: Recover. Malian Independence Day.
• Sunday, Sept. 23rd: Leave by public bus for Segou with about 10 other new PCVs. Spend the night at a hotel in Segou.
• Monday, Sept. 24th: Shop in Segou in the morning, then take a PC car to San to spend the night with the rest of San Kaw (my group).
• Tuesday, Sept. 25th: Shop in San. The first PCV of the San Kaw, Nicole, is installed. Spend the night in San.
• Wednesday, Sept. 26th: Move into my new home! Set up my house and get organized. Begin to freak out about having no idea what I'm doing. Start the next two years of my life.

As soon as I move out to site, I will not longer have internet access. The closest is in Segou, about a three hour bus ride away, so I'll be lucky to get there every month or so. However my phone will have great service and I'll have access to my San mailing address regularly...and I will be in need of support!

The End of Homestay...Finally

So homestay is finally over…and I couldn’t be more pleased. It has been a very trying past few months, and my host family has not made it any easier. This last week was especially challenging as my host father beat one of his wives on several occasions. I’d never seen a man strike a woman before, let alone to this extent. It was insanely difficult not to get involved (as is Peace Corps policy for our own safety). At the same time, I couldn’t act like it didn’t happen. I’m glad to be out of that house.

Now we’ll train for a few weeks here in Tubani So. I’m not really sure what all we’ll be learning, besides logistics for our first few months at site. My LCF, Oscar, said he’d give me as many Bambara lessons as we can fit it. I’ll miss him at site; he’s been fantastic and as helpful as possible over the past two months.

We swear in as official volunteers on Friday! I’m very excited. We had our first chance to pass the language requirement a few days ago. I was thrilled to pass the first time, as the pressure is now completely off and I can focus on Bambara. Learning two languages at once is not easy. It also guarantees that I’ll be able to swear in, as well.

Field Trip

Some days it just hits me that this is absolutely where I want to be. Today was one of those days. I’m bursting with so much happiness that it makes me want to cry.

Nothing particularly exciting has happened recently. There’s been a lot of language tutoring, and a fair amount of technical training as well. My favorite sessions were about a week ago when all of the SED and NRM (natural resource management) volunteers went to Siby, a little town an hour out of Bamako. We spent the morning learning about the shea nut industry and ways in which local production could really boost local economies. It was wonderful to finally study something applicable.

After lunch we were all able to go on several incredible hikes. The best was up to a seasonal waterfall that overlooked the countryside. We felt like little kids climbing on rocks and splashing in the water. If in two months time we all have schisto (a charming worm you can get from running water), it will have been well worth it. I’ll try to upload some pictures soon.

Now I’m off to play 151, a Malian card game (in French), with my favorite Lindsey in the world. Wish me luck…she’s going to kick my ass.