Malian Education Part Kelen (1)

Since I am technically an education volunteer, although I feel a title of community development volunteer would be more fitting, I thought I should introduce you all to the structures and ideas behind education here in Mali. 

The general structure is similar to that in the United States although the difficulties within are much more extreme.  Some communities have a Jardin d’enfants (Kindergarten) but most do not.  The basic school in most villages is the primary school which holds grades 1-6.  In my specific commune there are 16 villages and 5 primary schools.  About the farthest anyone has to travel is 5-7km to get to primary school.  However, we only have 1 secondary school (7-9th grade) meaning some students have to travel over 15km twice a day.  The high schools are normally only found in larger towns so in order for the children in my town to attend school past grade 9 they have to move to the larger town of either Koutiala or San, which means finding friends or family to agree to house and feed them during the school year. 

The school year lasts from October to the end of June.  July to September is rainy season meaning the villagers are incredible busy tending to their fields.  The rain on the all dirt roads during this time often makes the roads impassible which would create more issues for attending school.  The cool season here (October-January) is also harvesting time which also creates attendance issues since many families need the help of their young children in the fields.  Then comes the hot season (temps can reach 120 degrees F) where almost no one in village wants to move let alone learn or teach (this is something I still have not witnessed so more to come on this later).  

Most classrooms have at least 80 children – so those of you with 30-35 in the States can at least be thankful you aren’t teaching in Mali.  I went into an English class last week in Bamako that had 142 children in it.  Three students to a desk with maybe 15-20 books to go around.  The students range in age pretty drastically within a classroom often because there are not enough teachers so,for example, the 2nd and 3rd graders may get clumped together into the same room.  The ‘redoublement’ rate – or those who don’t pass from one grade to the next – is often more than 50 percent.  This is caused by many factors including the lack of teacher/student personal attention, low attendance because of work at home or in the fields, and sickness. 

In order to move from 6th grade to 7th, 9th to 10th and to attend University each student must pass an exam.  The number of students actually making it to University is so low that many villages cannot even name 2 or 3 people who have made it that far.  The obstacles are so extreme, especially for young girls, that attending school beyond the 5th grade is a feat in itself.  Primary schools tend to have a pretty even ratio of girls and boys (if the village is aware of the importance of this aspect) but the ratio decreases rapidly the higher the grade.  Much of this is based on the ingrained idea that once a girl has secured a husband there is no need to continue her education (especially because it is nearly unheard of for a man to marry someone more educated then himself). 

This is a start.  More to come on teacher training, adult literacy in Mali, and the creation of school management committees, parent teacher associations, and the student mothers association. 

Fanta…Toh?!

    No, thanks.  I’ve just, just eaten. 
Toh.  Malian staple.  Made from millet smashed and susu’d (mortar and pestle’d) to fine powder at which point it is slowly added to a pot of boiling water and man handled (meaning entirely by women) until it is an incredibly thick paste.  The mixture is then scooped into large bowls to cool slightly (meaning not nearly enough unless your hands and tongue are calloused from working in the fields and heat exposure) for consumption.  The taste of the Toh is similar to corn meal: very bland and grainy.  By itself, not the worst thing in the world, but when paired with its two most likely companions, nearly inedible (in my humble opinion).
Sauce Option 1: Okra sauce.  If you have never straight cooked the veggie before you may not know that once cooked it adopts an incredibly slimy texture making it similar to that of snot – i.e. hard to swallow.  This is cooked with an assortment of ‘herbs and spices’ and ready for dunking.
Sauce Option 2: Jege sauce.  For those of you who know Bambara, you know this means an even worse option than the first if you know me well…fish.  And not just any fish.  Since I am in a small village without access to fresh fish, smoked and dried fish it is with an extreme odor and therefore flavor. The actual sauce is just tomato based with onions but the addition of the black fish makes it just as intolerable as option 1.
Either of the previously described sauces are then poured into a small bowl which is then pressed into the now playdoh-like larger bowl of Toh.  As seen here in a fellow PCV’s photo:

Once the dish is ready to be served, you wash your hands with soap, while Malians “wash” their hands with water (the usage of soap has negative connotations in Mali where people think it will make them loose their riches) and you dive in.  The actual consumption process is one that cannot be described.  It must be witnessed or demonstrated by a person who has seen it done.  Let’s just say you’ve never seen someone use their hand as a utensil to its full potential until you’ve seen a Malian do it. 
Malians eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner and, man, can they shovel it in.  I’ve never seen a person eat more of anything in one sitting than Malians can eat of this stuff.  I am sure you won’t be surprised after reading the title of this post, or just by knowing me generally, that I rarely partake in the eating of the Toh.  Once and a while I will eat with my hands for special events like Cinquantenaire or Tabaski, but most days I cook for myself and continue to use a fork and spoon.  I’ve come to the conclusion that Americans are just no good at eating with their hands.  Perhaps its the mom in the back of all of our heads yelling at us to be ‘proper’.  Maybe it’s just my unease with this extreme version of the dreaded ‘double dip’.  Or perhaps its just me being the picky American that I am.  One thing is for sure though, I won’t miss Malian Toh nor be cooking it for friends and family upon my return stateside.  So sleep soundly at home tonight knowing tomorrow you can just take a lil’ trip around the block to someplace like Slows BBQ as that is what I picture in my brain when biting the bullet the days I do eat Toh :P

‘What’s Your Last Last Price?’ – The Malian Market

“Good Morning!  How are you?  How’s your family? And the other family? Your children? Did you have only peace last night?  Me? Oh, no problems to report.  Fam’s all swell.  The hubby is good.  Yup, children are fantastic, thanks.  And only peace last night.  So.  Do you have any bananas here?”

    Even  though I can plainly see the bananas and sometimes just want to hand the Malian woman a mugan (100 CFA) for the 3 bananas and be on my way, I still must greet this way at each stand.  In the larger towns, like San, you can easily get overwhelmed by choice and mass amounts of people, but you can usually get by without greeting every person you see.  In my smaller town, however, there may be less people, but the pressure is on to make sure I greet each person who looks up at me – and seeing that I’m the only white person within 27 km (where another PCV is placed) there aren’t a lot of people who don’t look my way.  Lets just say Wednesdays tend to be pretty exhausting.

    All towns, whether they have a market everyday or not, have one specific day in the week that is known as their Market Day.  If the town does have a daily market, Market Day is just the time when the freshest goods are available, aka wayyy more people.  In cities like San and Koutiala, I would just as well wait until the day after Market Day and still get pretty fresh goods and skip the masses.  My town, on the other end of the spectrum, has Market Day.  Yup.  Singular.  Wednesday means access to tomatoes, bananas, bread, peppers, teeny onions, and occasionally garlic.  These goods only last me 2, 3 days tops.  For, as those of you who have tried to keep bread, tomatoes, or bananas fresh outside of a fridge in 90 degree weather for longer know, its next to impossible.  Oh how I miss whole foods.

    But, back to my main task.  After getting my normal goods, there are days when I need something a little fancier, like a plastic maize and blue mixing bowl, or some cloth to make myself a fabulous Malian outfit with, I find a friendly face selling said item and begin the bartering dance…

See above for greetings.

Then proceed to…

Me: ‘So how much for 1 yard of that fabric over there?’   

Malian: ‘Keme saba ni bidurru (1750 CFA).’

Me: ‘Eh?! That’s expensive.  Reduce it.’ (Yes, very straightforward, I would say its because of my poor language skills, but really, its just Mali)

Malian: ‘No.  You’re white.  You have money!’ (While laughing and smiling)

Me: ‘You must be a Coulibaly and have had beans for breakfast! (Malian joke that will literally crack them up) Give it to me at keme fila ni bidurru (1250 CFA).’

Malian: ‘ Eh, Allah! No.’

Me: ‘Fine.  What’s your last last price?’

Malian: ‘Keme saba (1500 CFA).’

Me: ‘Ayiwa (okay).  Here’s your money.  Ala ka sugu diya (May your Market Day be blessed). 

    The Malian market and bartering really just have to make you smile.  Most Malians laugh with you as you are telling them they are crazy for trying to charge you so much – when you both know what the correct price should be - and they always reduce it.  Sometimes its amazing how big the jump is from the first price to the last last one.  More advice:  Even if you are told a seemingly priceless green, yellow, and red belt (the colors of the Malian flag) with a shiny, rhinestone rimmed belt buckle adorned with the smiling face of our dear President Barack Obama on its face is only $2, barter.  You can probably get them to $1.75.  Maybe even a $1.50 if you tell them you named your donkey after them. 

Ode to the Bashe.

     Three dollars, keme saba, gets me from my town road to the larger city of San.  A 65 kilometer trek that can take from 1.5 hours on a perfect day to upwards of 5 hours, if you’re me and have terrible luck with Malian transport.  You may be saying to yourself, “FIVE HOURS, that’s just over 30 miles Alyssa!  You could bike and get there faster!”  Well in response I say, “Oh, well you must never have met my friend Bashe…let me introduce you:”

WHO:    Name – Bashe; Age – anywhere from 10-30ish years; Color – white, blue or an off shade of rust with a side of rust.

WHAT:   A small van – almost the size of the old green Aerostar van like the Marks’ used to own – except in Mali, it fits upwards of 25 people.  You must mind your arms or you’re bound to get scratched by the rust, bump into a woman breastfeeding her 2 year old child, or perhaps disturb a chicken’s slumber.

WHERE:  This vehicle is found everywhere in Mali and will take you just about anywhere you’d like to go – but no guarantees when you’ll arrive or whether you’ll be sold to another vehicle along the way if yours breaks down or if you’ll take a quick nap on the side of the road until one of their friends with a ‘more reliable’ bashe arrives to pick you up…assuming there’s space.

WHEN:   Most transport here leaves between 7H00 – 10H00 and then again from 15H00-17H00 from the bigger towns.  If you’re me, you bike from your home the 2km to the main road and sit with the ever-so-friendly Malian folk at the side of the road until a vehicle passes your way.  I’ve been lucky enough to only wait 2 minutes and then other times wait for quite. some. time.

HOW:    Once you see the van chugging down the road your way you raise up your arm, as if to hail a taxi, and the van will slow to a hum, ask you where you’re headed as they are already piling your goods (backpack, bucket, bike, goat if you so choose) onto the roof, and you’re on your way.  You climb in – and sometimes over numbers of people – and find a space while simultaneously asking all around ‘How are you, how’s your family, and your children?’  Some days you’re lucky and get a few seats to yourself, other days you’re stuffed in the row with 4 other people – inevitably with a small child or chicken on their lap.  Malians en route also tend to the larger side because those who have money in Mali – which you must to travel – are expected to be heavy-set. 

and finally…

WHY, Alyssa, WHY?:  Well, what choice do I have?  It’s my escape to Internet, electricity, cold drinks and English speaking friends!  I’m forbidden to ride on a moto and trying to bike would likely be a poor choice seeing that I’m on the cusp of the desert.  And how ‘bout a donkey cart?  Well, I could get there that way, but considering each time I run in the trails behind my abode I pass up at least 2, I think I’ll take my chances at 5 hours – even though the smell might be just as rough. 

And I will end with some advice: if you plan to take a visit to Mali, or any other West African country I presume, prepare yourself for a harrowing ride, or 12.  It’s a good thing Malians are so genuinely friendly and often share a snack and at the very least a huge smile on your journey :)

Cinquantenaire!

     So I’m going to change the format of my blog for the next little while after a dear friend of mine inspired me with her tributes at the end of her year teaching in Thailand.  I am not doing a whole lot at site right now other than language practice.  I figure this is a better time than any to start one of my other Peace Corps tasks – to bring Mali & African cultural understanding back to America!  This is mildly selfish in that it will allow all my committed readers the ability to relate to me when I return home all crazy-like.  However, I am also hopeful a few future Mali PCV’s may stumble upon this blog before coming in February & July and get a little bit of a better picture of what life is really like here.  I will be trying to keep the posts mainly with a funny or upbeat tone, but there are topics to be covered that are of a more serious nature and I will try to intersperse those throughout as well.  Blogs to look forward to: ‘What’s Your Last Last Price? – The Malian Market’; ‘An Ode to the Bashe & Other Harrowing Malian Transport’; ‘A Day in the Life of…’ – featuring Malian Men, Women, Children and perhaps a guest spot from a fellow PCV. 

     But first, I must share my experience of this year’s Malian Independence Day – Cinquantenaire!  This year marked the 50th since Mali gained independence from France and it was a joyous day – likely my best here so far.  I was handed an invitation the evening before stating the events would commence at 07H00 and in typical Malian fashion I arrived at 09H00 and was right on time!  I got the perfect seat, right behind the Mayor and his cronies and the village chief (aka the dugutiki).  There was a flag raising ceremony accompanied by song and then a number of speeches from the mayor, the dugutiki, and a few others all in Bambara and French.  The mayor outlined some of the things he hopes to work on in the upcoming year – including time invested in education reform & he stressed the importance of education for everyone, Hooray! 

     Once the speeches were over there was a constant flow of villagers, men & women, walking over to the line of 6 people in front of me, raising their respective arms and shouting at the top of their lungs as a sign of respect and to bless them and in return often received 100 CFA ($.20).  Then began the myriad performances from huge xylophones (balonis) & other Malian instruments, to singing and tons of dancing.  The performances had a repeat of the arm raising, but many of the performers instead received 1000 CFA – clearly much more lucrative :)  They also hosted a number of games for the children including a twist on pin the tail on the donkey, a rice sack race, and a very unsanitary game where young boys dunked their heads in buckets of water to fill their mouths, run to the other end of the field and spit into a bottle and whoever filled theirs up first won.  It was all quite strange to take in it being my first Malian fete!  I took some videos and photos of the day and hope to get them up sooni. 

     After the ceremony the most important and respected men in the commune (consisting of 16 villages) and myself went to the Mayor’s office to share a meal.  It was the first time in village eating at the same bowl as a group of grown men, so I felt some pride in that!  Now if only I could get them to wash their hands we’d be golden!  The rest of the day was spent relaxing and watching a local soccer game but I feel lucky that right at the start of my time here I got to celebrate with my village such an important event in their history.   

     That’s news for now so until next time…

The end of the beginning…

Enjoying the last few days at our training center here at Tubaniso before officially swearing in as a Peace Corps Volunteer on Friday!  I cannot believe it has already been 2 months (some days it seems as though I’ve been here 5 years, but others it seems like yesterday when I was hugging everyone goodbye).  I passed my Intermediate-Mid level of Bambara – an incredibly frustrating and wonderful language all in one – and am really proud of myself :)  although I do still feel incredibly inadequate when thinking about beginning the community needs assessments and SWOT analyses I will be expected to do in the next 3 months!  I hope more of my French comes back to me to facilitate that process…I’ll keep you updated.  My language teacher was totally to thank as she is one of the most patient and understanding people I have ever met – Thanks Faty!!

I feel as though I am finally starting to get acclimated to life here, although its still hard every single day.  I’ve been sick a number of times from the food here (I accidentally had some unpasteurized milk the other day and am feeling the effects of that currently), it was in a drink they call Moni or Seri (depending on the time of day) and they drink it more during Ramadan to break fast before going to the mosque to pray – Faty says if they eat too much before going to mosque its hard for them to do the actual act of prayer and if they drink too much water you can hear it sloshing in their stomachs haha.  The food has not gotten any easier to deal with and although I am sooo excited to begin cooking for myself in 2 short weeks, I am also very nervous about my nutritional intake in the next 2 years.  I have a market in my town every week on Wednesdays (where men and women come and sell piles of their goods – hot peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, mangoes, meat etc.) but since I have no way to refrigerate anything I will only have fresh things for a few days, and then it will be back to bread, rice, eggs and beans (uhg).  I have NEVER in my life eaten the amount of white carbs and oil in such extreme succession or quantity as I have here in the last 2 months – its sickening really – and I totally feel the effects of this kind of diet (although surprisingly I’ve lost weight, but thats likely due to sickness!). 

It’s amazing how much you begin to rely on the people around you in such a short amount of time when life is tough.  I have made a really fantastic group of friends here and genuinely look forward to all the things we are going to experience together here.  I’ve made good friends from Portland, Texas, New York, Washington D.C., Florida, MICHIGAN haha etc etc.  The group of girls I have become closest to here all have a little life experience under their belts, as I do, and we have naturally gravitated towards each other and I feel really lucky to have them as my support system here.  As a whole group we are planning a trip to Dogon Country for Christmas time and then another quick trip to Senegal for the West African Softball Tournament (WASTe) in February – hopefully it overlaps with my birthday!

With the swear-in ceremony coming up this weekend, we are all really thinking about the realities that will come with getting installed at site, both good and scary!  Its nice though because swear-in will be at the American Embassy here in Mali and we will get sworn in by the Ambassador and then head to the American Club for some grub and celebration afterwards.  The current PCV’s in country will also all be around Bamako that evening and we all get to go out and spend some time getting to know them and each other better – which will be really nice since we don’t have a lot of free time here. 

So on to my concerns and excitement for site…I am so looking forward to settling in, getting to know my community better, and to quit living out of my suitcase!  I am also really excited about the idea of practicing the skills I spent the last 2 years before joining the Peace Corps attaining – Community Organizing and relationship/trust building!!  My largest concerns are -as I stated before- language and the ability to actually express myself and not go crazy!  I’m also really worried about the transportation in Mali as both of my trips to and from site visit were really not fun and it just makes me nervous.  I am hopeful that my housing will get all figured out as I am currently set up with one cement block room on my counterparts’ concession – neither of which are concurrent with Peace Corps standards.  My village is supposed to be building me my own -2 room- home on my own concession (which will be so nice for privacy) which they will start building once rainy season is over.  I think once I really get settled and get a routine – as long as I don’t go stir crazy (and am getting regular lovin’ from home in the form of letters and goodies – hint hint ;) I think I will figure it all out here.

Okay this ones a long one and my computer is running out of juice!  I will update again once I can :)  Miss the states and all my people in it so much…just so you know!

Fanta, Fanta, Fanta Soiree

    Wellllll I’ve made it successfully through my first 2 weeks with my home stay family – and its certainly been an experience!  There is an amazing amount of adjustment to be made from America to the villages – large or small – here in Mali.  Life here is incredibly different which brings with it a fair share of challenges and respites.  Lets start first with my new name – Fanta (yes, like the orange soda) Sacko!!  I quite love it.  My family is the Sacko family and they are great :)  I have 2 new brothers and 7 new sisters, a ma and a pa (ba and fa in Bambara).  The neighbors in my village are incredibly friendly – almost ad nauseum at times!!  My typical day goes a little something like this:

• 4:30am – first alarm in the form of the ‘call to prayer’ over the loud speaker in the town
• 5:30am – if not still awake from the first call due to donkey or rooster calls – 2nd call to prayer
• 6:50am - real alarm to get up to go to the nyegen (bathroom) for my cold water bucket bath
• 7:40am – Breakfast in the courtyard normally consisting of a baguette and eggs with the occasional addition of french fries or black eyed peas and sugar tea 
• 8:00am – Bambara class with my Language and Culture Facilitator (LCF), Faty, and 3 other Peace Corps Trainees (PCTs) outside with a standup blackboard
• 12:00pm – walk back to the house for study/nap/lounging and lunch
• 2:00pm – back to school for a few more hours of language or cultural discussion
• 5:00-5:30pm – walk home – greeting each and every person I pass with ‘hello, how are you, how is your family, how is your mother, how is your father, how is your husband/wife, how are your children,’ and the same in return - whew
• 5:30pm- bed time - reading, studying, trying/failing to talk to my family and laughing at the chickens, donkeys, goats, sheep and children strolling seemingly endlessly through the courtyard – dinner is around 9ish most days.

To fill in some of the specific challenges – the food and the heat are the hardest to deal with.  Meals are eaten out of communal bowls with your right hand only – this is a skill, I’ve come to find, that most Americans don’t naturally have – and you mix the sauce with either the rice or millet or cous cous that is underneath it.  You have one specific section of the bowl that is technically yours, but the meat/veggies put in the middle are for everyone to share and you use each other to break apart the pieces (i.e. one person holds the bone while you pull the meat off of it) – as you can imagine I am still struggling with this aspect!  I have actually eaten meat mayyyybe twice since I’ve been here (although there are fish and fish eyes in all the sauces I eat).  One morning as I was eating breakfast I noticed a chicken tied to my father’s chair and he smiled at me and told me it would be killed in a few minutes for me to eat – oh joy! 

The first night in home stay I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it though the night because I thought I might sweat to death!  It’s gotten better since then because I just keep my door open all night –except for the rainy nights because then I wake up to puddles in my room that will inevitably breed mosquitoes – I currently have about 15 bites on my bum – likely from the outdoor toilets (which are a whole other issue)! 

The wonderful things have been the night skies here in Mali, the laughs I have had over and over again with my family with which I don’t share a common language, the informal ways we teach each other (they are learning how to shuffle a deck of cards and I am learning their crazy 8’s card game), the bike rides, the cultural exchange with my LCF Faty since she is amazing, the rock climbing, the genuine smiles, the reality of it all –which can sometimes be good and bad, and getting to share it with all these new people who are going through the exact same things I am.  The next few weeks will likely go by quickly, then swear in, and then real site – which will certainly come with a whole new host of challenges!  Until next time we return for our 3 day respite at Tubaniso (where I am currently with half our stage of volunteers) miss you all and let me know how you are doing and if there are questions you have that you would like to know more about :)

I Ni Su (GoOd EvEnInG)

    Its been a whirlwind of a few days.  It is incredibly humid and hot here, I don’t think I’ve ever sweat so much in my life and its only the beginning!  Life here is so incredibly different I am not even sure how to describe it all.  We are currently ‘Tubabs’ or foreigners so we can get away with lots of faux pas for now.  These early days feel more like intense wilderness summer camp than what the coming days will most certainly feel like.  Time is spent in trainings and laughing over meals with the rest of the trainees about dropping soap down the hole we go to the bathroom in –since we shower and defecate in the same small mud room – or that as women we cannot whistle or we will be seen as ‘women of the night’. 

    We started language training today in Bambara and it is VERY difficult.  It doesn’t translate well so it makes it difficult to visualize (i.e. the title of this blog translates to ‘you and night’) but it’s going to be really cool to learn.  Beyond that we are getting training on how to treat our water at site, ensure our food is safe to eat, how to culturally engage, and how to fix our brand spankin’ new Trek bikes – so father I will be fully capable of maintaining my mountain bike when I return to the states so don’t ruin while I’m gone ;). 

    Us trainees are starting to form bonds with each other which is fantastic, but its also hard knowing we just are starting these relationships and we will be splitting up so soon!  They are dividing us into 2 groups for the next 9 weeks so after Friday I won’t be seeing half the people until Volunteer Swear In :( I am definitely one of the older volunteers, but there are a group of us bonding over having some experience in the real world after college.  It will certainly be good to know I have people to call here to keep me in it through the rough patches. 

   Its looking like its going to be much harder to connect to the internet etc than I thought it would be when I first got here so Skype etc is going to be hard to pull off for a while.  We move to home stays on Friday where we will be living with Malian families and adjusting to their customs while we still have the sounding board of our Language and Culture Facilitators and the other volunteers.  The food is going to be a challenge for me, as expected.  The food is pretty good for now – lots of rice and beans (carb overload) but I haven’t eaten much of any meat yet, but lots o bananas :) 

Okay I will update when I can!

Here in Africa

I’m here!  It was perhaps the longest day of travel imaginable, but we made it – all 80 of us, minus 2 bags (thankfully not mine) – and are trying to get settled. Thankfully I was able to sleep on both planes and watched Invictus and Men Who Stare at Goats.  We got assigned to huts when we got here at 12:30am on Saturday.  They have us three to a hut/cement block which is a bit scrunched but we are making it work.  The compound is in Tubaniso (Tube-ahn-E-soh) which is about 40 minutes by car/bus outside of Bamako (Bomb-ah-koh) which is the capital of Mali.

I’m in the cafeteria area which has internet access but it is slow because we are all trying to get on at the same exact time!  We started training but have mainly been given the policies and rules and I think we are all anxious to get started with the cultural and especially language training.  It sounds like the majority of volunteers will be using Bambara but I will more than likely be getting French since I will be working with the school systems here.  I will keep updates flowing when I can though :)  We have 3 more days at Tubaniso and then they will be moving us into home stays around the area (no more than 30-45 minutes away).  

We got to celebrate the fourth a bit today with other American’s from Bamako, so that was nice.  I am most excited for tomorrow though because we get to start the real training, have our interviews about site and health, and get our bikes :)  We started our Malaria meds today so hopefully I don’t wake up with crazy vivid dreams!  I got the one that I have to take weekly so I am glad about that – I won’t have to take it every day like some of the other volunteers.  My computer is going to run out of steam here since I have yet to find my converter in all the craziness!  I’ll update more again soon.

Decisions, Decisions

    So as you can all see, I have updated my blog to now follow my upcoming time serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali (I have included a map on the side for those of you who have not heard of this country)!  I will be working on Community Development around basic education and literacy.  I have not yet heard of where exactly I will be placed within the country, but will certainly be updating this blog to let you all know.

    I leave the United States on July 2nd, after a 2 day training in Philadelphia, PA.  Since my family lives in Atlantic City, NJ – only about an hour from Philly – I plan to fly to them the day before and spend some QT before leaving for 27 months!  The first 9 or so weeks in Mali will consist of 7 hours of language and culture training 7 days a week – I am certain to be exhausted and overwhelmed, but extraordinarily excited to be challenged in that way. 

    It was a difficult decision to join the Peace Corps as it is a long time away from the people I love most, but felt if there was any time to do something like this, now was it.  I am hoping to eventually work on International Human Rights issues and decided this would be the best, and most intriguing, way to get to know another culture and community as well as pick up a new language (Bambara and French).  Right now, the decision feels right and comfortable even though I know it won’t be easy.  I am entering this next section of my life understanding that this experience will change me in ways I have yet to even comprehend and through that I know I will struggle and question this initial decision.  I don’t want to come in saying this is perfect for me in every way because I believe that will set me up for disappointment.  I do know I am anxious to get started and to see this new country I will be calling ‘home’ for the next chapter in my life. 

    I will do my best to keep up with any new information I receive as well as give you all a glimpse into my state of mind throughout the process!  Wish me well =) 

peace & love

a 

Last Days in Pla Pak

Jan 12

Pla Pak Noi is Caitlyn's second school and is a much different atmosphere. The teachers were incredibly welcoming at Pla Pak Noi and the set up was pretty much the same in terms of her schedule. The children were very curious at this school and seemed much more comfortable asking questions (perhaps because the class size is smaller). One young girl seemed to really take a liking to me and was asking Caitlyn to ask me if I had a boyfriend. Caitlyn told her she needed to ask me that question, so she did and I said no and she ran off outside and yelled down the answer to all of her friends below, haha! She then came right back to ask me how old I was and ran and told everyone I was 24, it must have been exciting information :)

We had lunch at noon and the teachers made an extravagant feast, I guess it is commonplace at Pla Pak Noi, and in Thai culture it is seen as a status thing to have much too much food at the end of a meal. Caitlyn counted and there were 21 plates of food for the 6 of us eating! I got to try Som Tom (Spicy Papaya salad), fried chicken wings, a garlic and pork omelet, sticky rice, and sweet banana soup. It was all delicious (sap!) but so filling!

PiTook, who sometimes stays in the classroom while Caitlyn instructs seemed to get on Caitlyn's nerves a bit today, which was entirely understandable to me! She kept interrupting her in the middle of her sentences to tell the students to repeat of to say the English words herself, maybe thinking the kids would understand better with a Thai accent or perhaps just for her own practice! I absolutely know she had no clue it might be disruptive for Caitlyn but it was still difficult. After school we went over to see the gardens that the students tend to at Pla Pak Noi. Each grade has their own plot and they plant herbs and vegetables to use for the lunch meals.

When we got in the car to head home PiTook had many questions for me including how much my car cost and if my family owned a plane! I thought it was quite humorous :) They expect that everyone from the US is very wealthy from the TV they see. She didn't seem to understand why Caitlyn and I found the question so funny! Once we got home I was standing outside and the neighbor's daughter who is a nurse in Nakhon Phanom asked me to come over, so I did. She asked me if I would get on her motorbike and I said noooo way since they scare me here in Thailand (well also in the states) and so she insisted I jump on the back of her bicycle. I had no idea where we were going since neither of us spoke more than a couple words of the opposite language. She took me to the village center markets and bought us a bunch of sweets. She wanted to buy more, dinner food, but I told her that was not necessary since we had stuff at home already.

After the little adventure we had dinner and one of Steph's co-workers , Thon, the chemistry teacher ate with us. I felt kinda bad because he seemed very envious that I was heading to the islands after Chiang Mai and he has never been there. He lives about 20 hours away so that makes it hard and I guess I have not ever seen Boston and would love to so maybe I shouldn't feel too bad!

Jan 13

Last day in Pla Pak! It was quite sad after just meeting all these wonderful people having to say goodbye already. School was nice in the morning since their was a visitor so everyone was all geeked up to make sure it went well for him. Since we were leaving for Chiang Mai after lunch they moved all of Caitlyn's classes to the morning. She had fun activities planed so that was nice :) We grabbed the lunch they provided and got all our stuff together and waiting for Caitlyn's principal to come get us to take us to NKP. He helped us negotiate the purchasing of the tickets which was a challenge since it was not straight to Chiang Mai, we had to stop in Udon Thani on the way.

After buying the tickets we went to find a pharmacy in town to purchase some Dramamine for the bus ride. It was difficult to find (the 4th pharmacy had it) and then we waited for the bus to arrive. The bus was a bit smaller since the trip was shorter. The bus in Udon Thani was AWFUL. We both slept with fabric over our faces so we didn't breathe in the fumes being blown into the bus and I kept getting whiffs of the toilet smells, yuck!

We made it to Chiang Mai after a mid-night stop (Caitlyn ate the provided rice soup and veggies, but I couldn't handle the thought at the time). Once we got off the bus we had to find a taxi or bus to find the SpicyThai Backpacker hostel. We ended up overpaying (150 Baht when we could have gotten there for 20B on the bus that wasn't running at the time) but we made it safe and sound and the hostel is going to be fun and interesting I can tell already :)

Monk Arrival

Day 3 Pla Pak

Today was the coolest I have had since arriving in Thailand. We got up just before dawn this morning to get ready for school and head to the ceremony in town happening before the school day starts. One hundred and eleven Buddhist Monks came to Pla Pak today to take Merit from the community members (food is given from the community to the temples since money is not spend on feeding them but provided by the people). The typical offerings range from rice and vegetables to juice boxes, candy bars, and milk. We brought packaged noodles (like ramen) and fresh fruit to offer. We placed in all on a tray once we made it to the center of the village and went and sat at the spot they asked us to in the middle of the road where they had lain yards upon yards of cloth and plastic mats along the street. We sat on the ground with our feet behind us since in Thai culture it is rude to show the bottom of your feet to people and extremely disrespectful to point your foot at someone. Needless to say this position got extremely uncomfortable, but every Thai person seemed just fine so I tried to grin and bear it!

The ceremony began just after dawn. Prayers, ceremonial chants and speeches were performed and then the monks began their journey down the lain out path of village people with their offerings in front of them. With the passing of each monk we handed one or two items to each monk and they placed it in a bowl or canister they were carrying and once it was filled they transferred the goods into large plastic bags to take back to their Wat. I had to make sure I was doing a proper Wai (hands up in front like a bow) since with Monks the Wai is held in front of your face instead of at your chest.

Caitlyn and I had to rush out at the completion of the ceremony to meet Khru Kim to drive us over to Wang Yang - Caitlyn's first school. School began at 8:30 for the students and they do prayers, country pledges, and role call as well as cleaning before class begins at 9am. Caitlyn teaches grades 5, 6 and a combined class of 3rd and 4th graders each week at Wang Yang. The children are amazingly well behaved and respectful, it was quite a change from what I know in the states and very refreshing to experience!

Her first class was the 6th graders and they seemed genuinely interested in learning English and inquisitive in their own way. Caitlyn does quite well with them! I know I would struggle with the situation knowing that if I also spoke their language it would be so much more efficient, yet almost no one hear speaks any English and NO ONE is fluent. Its especially difficult since in Pla Pak they use Isan dialect which is almost an entirely different way to speak Thai so even a trained English teacher fluent in Thai would struggle in Pla Pak.

Between each class Caitlyn gets a one hour break to prepare and a one hour lunch break. Her classes are quite small (12-15 on average and one larger class with about 25). At lunch I received my Thai nickname, Bai Bua, which means Lotus leaf :) Cailtlyn's name is Bai Khao which stands for rice leaf and Steph is Pla Noi meaning small fish! The whole idea is very sweet and is just much easier for the Thai people to say and remember. It spread quickly that Bai Bua was my name and the children in the subsequent classes and days knew within minutes!

The craziest part of the day was really realizing how hard it is for these students to pronounce English words and sounds. They exchange their R's with L's since that is the sound in Thai and when you say the name for the letter H and ask them what it is they get it confused with the letter X because when they pronounce each they sound very similar. Some get it much better than others and I am sure, as in the States, much of that is influenced by family interactions.

After the day at Wang Yang we went over to the town Aerobic dance class and got a quick workout! It was a really relaxing and funny way to wind down after a very eventful day. They played some pretty riske music and it reminded me of aerobics in the 90s! We got back to the house and PiYok had gotten us some rice with chicken (well mainly chicken fat) and some veggies. Then Caitlyn and I rode into town on our bikes (somehow we miraculously had 3 bikes when we woke up this morning - I told you they are taking care of me!) and fulfilled our sweet tooth with an ice cream bar. Its not very usual to go out of the house after dark in Pla Pak so we got a few funny looks, but its definitely safe to do so.

Pla Pak - Caitlyn's Village

I made it into Nakhon Phanom after an extremely long and awful busride as I mentioned before and got to give Caitlyn a big hug which I am sure many people in her life are pretty jealous of right now! She looked just great and it seems as though Thailand is treating her extraordinarily well. One of Caitlyn's principals and her Thai mom (PiTook) and Thai dad (Khru Kim) met us at the Nakhon Phanom bus station and took us out to lunch (we picked Caitlyn's roommate Steph up from town on the way). It was the first time I really had to eat what was put in front of me and we had breakfast sandwiches with shredded sweet meat and eggs, spicy pork sandwiches, grilled spicy pork, fried eggs and tomatoes and cucumbers. I ate a little of each of it! Once we finished breakfast we toured around the town a bit and got to see the mountains of Laos from the border and we drove past the construction of 'Friendship Bridge #2' between Laos and Thailand. The 3 Thai people from Caitlyn's town with us were incredibly sweet and wanted to make sure we had everything we needed and were in want for nothing, and that is how I experienced my entire time in Pla Pak.

Nakhon Phanom is the bigger city (20,000) of which Caitlyn's town (Pla Pak) is connected. It took about 40 minutes to drive back to Pla Pak and we got dropped off at Caitlyn and Steph's home and I got to see the way they have lived for the last 2 months and will be living for the next 9! It was very simple and took a bit to get used to, but once you get over being barefoot in the bathroom and then in the kitchen and sleeping on either a very hard mattress or the floor, its just wonderful. We got to take out the bicycles and explore Pla Pak and the market nature of Thailand in the small villages. Everyone was staring as we rode through since they are still not even used to seeing one white person everyday let alone 2 together. We even rode over to one of Caitlyn's schools to check that out for a bit (which even she had not done before) and got to meet a few of her students. The weather was hot but not as humid and it was a beautiful day.

We met up with Steph for lunch in Pla Pak and had Mamaa (sp; Thai soup with beef, cabbage, bean sprout, rice noodles, and fish balls). I did my best with it (meaning I ate the veggies, noodles and broth with a couple bites of beef) and we were off. We stopped to get an ice slushy on the way back and then got settled into the house, read and chatted outside for a bit and then had dinner, relaxed and hit the hay since the morning had been so early and I was exhausted after the bus ride.

Day 2

Sundays in Caitlyn's village are very quite. There was almost no one around! The shops were still open since Sunday is not a religious staple in Buddhism so we went and explored all the village markets and what they were selling. It was quite fun! One interesting, and sad, aspect was that all the lotions here have whitening agents in them since whiteness is still seem as the ideal for beauty. Caitlyn says she gets often, as I did on a few occasions, the Thai people telling her how beautiful she is because of her white skin. We were told we looked like babydolls (we both have blue and green eyes so that only adds to the difference). The women ride around on their bicycles with parasols to protect their skin from tan. It is seen as a status symbol because if you are whiter that means you aren't having to work out in the fields or in the sun, indicating wealth.

After exploring town some more we met up with Steph again for lunch and more Mamaa, but this time it was the seafood version and had ramen type noodles inside. Since the lifestyle is just so simple here we are doing a lot of reading and reminiscing and catching up :) There was a lot of commotion towards the end of the day since the community was setting up for a big event for the morning. Because of this, PiYok, Caitlyn's older Thai roommate brought over dinner for us (she will often cook for the girls). We had pork fried rice, corn on the cob, and cucumbers and it was delicious. We also cut up some dragonfruit and enjoyed that alongside the meal. We have been struggling some with the neighborhood dog, Cha Dom, because when he plays he nips and we are not good at stopping him!

Thai Massage - Poor Decision!

My last day for this stint in Bangkok I decided to get a traditional Thai massage. After breakfast I went to find a place recommended by Lonely Planet - Marble House - it took a while to find and I walked in and asked for a 2 hour Thai Massage. The woman looked at me like I was crazy for walking in to her shop and then walked me over to a small room with three beds on the floor and gave me flannel pajamas to put on (mind you it was 80+ degrees outside and the place was not AirConditioned!). So I started to get changed, thought about what I was doing, and turned around and left the place. I figured I could find someplace that might actually have air conditioning and be happy to have some business! So I left and found a shop down the road from my hostel and I stepped inside and it was nice and cool and the women were very friendly, so I decided it would be a better decision. I signed myself up for a 2 hour massage ($15) and got changed. Then the pain began! Thai massage focuses on pressure points throughout the body. She pressed every one three times and it was excruciating and she just giggled at me! I think it may have been the longest 2 hours of my life. Although I did discover that my neck and head are the most tolerant of pain of all the areas of my body.

After that 'experience' I went for lunch at a place I also read about in Lonely Planet called Cabbage and Condoms. It took me a bit to find the place. The streets in Thailand have one main road and then 'Soi's off of them numbered. So I am staying on Sukhumvidt Rd Soi 11 and the restaurant was on Soi 15 but when I walked down it I couldn't find the entrance. It only took a minute though and I got it! The restaurant was pretty cool, an outside area and an inside area and figures dressed in outfits entirely made of colorful condoms! It was quite entertaining and impressive. I think it should be a challenge on next season's Project Runway, although it might create some drama :) I read through the menu and they had a full description of the mission behind their restaurant model. They feel that birth control and std prevention should be as available as vegetables are in this country. I thought that was interesting and kept thinking that the same slogan could not work in many places in our country, i.e. Detroit since fresh vegetables are probably much less common than a condom.

After lunch I walked around the vendors a bit more and then went back to my hostel to get my bag and head for my next destination, Nahkon Phanom to see my graduate school roommate, Caitlyn, who is living there and teaching English. I took the Skytrain again and got off at the Mo Chit stop to get to the Mo Chit Bus Station to catch an overnight bus to the NorthEast. I tried to take the city bus to get to the station, but it started pouring and I had already been waiting for a while for bus #3 and it hadn't come so I jumped in my first Thailand taxi! My taxi driver was wonderful. He didn't speak English but we had a connection ;) He also had a pair of aviator sunglasses so we were perfect companions. He also had Britney Spears on the radio, which I thought was quite humorous! He pointed me in the right direction for the NorthEast buses and I was off! The ticket purchasing was a bit of a trip, but once I found the English speaking folk at the back of the station I was all set. I got on the bus and it was super nice! Big seats that reclined really far and leg rests! They played a crazy Chinese vampire movie which was in Thai of course but was still entertaining :) The ride ended up being kind of awful only because they blasted the AC and I was freeeeeezing the whole way so my sleep kept getting interrupted by chills! I also recieved some serious mosquito bites that make my calves look a little funky! Alas, I made it safely and was incredibly excited to see Caitlyn peering in the window when I arrived in Nakhon Phanom!

Bangkok, Thailand

For the next few weeks my blog will be from Thailand, a big change from South Africa!

So my first 2 days in Bangkok have surely been adventurous even though I was fighting off a bit of Jetlag yesterday! I woke up quite early yesterday morning since I had slept some on the plane, throwing off my sleep schedule. I took my first outdoor shower, which was actually quite nice (all showers here are on the cold side). The breakfast at Suk 11 (my hostel) was fantastic. Lots of fresh cut fruit - most of it I could not tell you what it was! I think there was some sort of apple-dealy but I did not enjoy it, then watermelon, papaya or mango - I cannot tell - and pineapple. They also served toast with jam and coconut/strong tea spread. There was also a small dish with little ball of something at the bottom - one was sweet potato and the other was something strange that I did not eat - but ontop you were to pour a coconut milk and sugar mixture and it was delish! I sadly passed on the black squid option, not quite to that adventure level yet :(

After breakfast I was off to tackle Lonely Planet's suggested walking tour of the important sights to see in Bangkok. I took my first shot at the SkyTrain without any mixups - its very similar to the El in Chicago. Once I made my transfer and stopped at Saphon Taksin I then boarded the Chao Phraya River Tour Boat - which I was goaded into doing by a lady standing there and overpaid, but I learned from my mistake (and it was only 150Baht which is close to $5 for a day pass on all boat ferries). Lonely Planet suggested starting at Tha Chang, but the ferry I boarded did not stop there so I got off at the stop just before it and took a little stroll along the markets. They sell almost anything you could ever imagine there, its very strange. Normal stuff like t-shirts, sunglasses, bags etc but also phone chargers and anything that may have come from the bottom of someone's purse. Great WEGs I must say! haha. I wish I would have taken pictures or written down what some of the strange things were. They also sold an amazing amount of food. I could tell you there was fruit and fish but the specifics of those or anything else they were selling is beyond my Thai vocab. They also sell soda and once sold they put ice and a straw in a plastic baggie, pour the soda in that, and you drink out of it instead of a bottle, funny eh? I did not get one as I was unsure of the ice safety!

My first official site was Thammasat University and it was very tranquil with pretty foliage. Then I walked and stopped at a small temple, took some pictures outside, but did not go in. It was called Wat Mahathat. From there I went to what is likely the most famous spot in Bangkok, Wat Phra Kaew temple and Golden Palace. I didn't pay the 350 B to go into the Palace but took pictures of the beautiful architecture and landscape where I could.

From there I went to the home of Bangkok's City Spirit, Lak Meuang. It was beautiful although I felt as though I was stepping into a ritual that was likely meant to be more private. Then I paid to enter Wat Pho to see the golden Buddhas lining the square and to see the humongous Reclining Buddha, I had to take 9 length-wise photos to capture it all!

I decided at this point it was time for lunch so I re-boarded the boat to head back. In the midst of the journey the guide mentioned that the Rachawongse stop would be the place to unboard for Chinatown. So I figured I might as well try to find one of the Lonely Planet suggested lunch spots. Well, that ended up being a poor choice! I walked for what seemed like forever through crowds of people on the smallest sidewalks lined with vendors. It was incredibly hot and it had been about 5 hours since Id eaten so I was getting nervous that my body needed some fuel. Well I ended up getting quite lost and just popped into the first restaurant I saw with English written food options. I ordered a chicken mushroom and bamboo noodle dish and it came to the table and I knew immediately I was not going to enjoy it one bit. It had brown sauce all over it and the texture was just too slimy for me to handle, so I ate 3 bites and paid and left! I found my way back to the boat after a nice woman in the restaurant tried to help me with her limited English. I got back onto the boat and returned to the SkyTrain.

Since I had a bit of a frustrating morning, I decided to take a stop at the popular (and very European) Siam Square. I had a croissant and soup to ensure I had some food in me, I figure I'll get more adventurous as the days go on. I made it back to Suk 11 and decided to take a nap which turned into sleeping through the night, I guess my jetlag was worse than I thought!

DAY 2

Today I woke up at 5 in the morn since I went to sleep so early! So I got showered and got ready and headed out early for my next adventure. I decided I would try something a little different and try to make my way to the island in the river/canal of Bangkok, Ko Kret. I took the same ferry (only the cheaper option) all the way to the last stop (about an hour boat ride). When I boarded the ferry a very sweet woman asked me if I spoke English and asked if she could sit with me to practice hers! She is an secondary school English teacher and has a nephew living in New York right now who is visiting next month, so practice was a good thing! She gave me some tips on the area and at the end of our conversation she gave me her phone number and email so I may have a new penpal :) Her Thai nickname was Pui and her English name is Tina.

I made my way to the last stop Tha Nonthaburi. Once I got off I was unsure of what to do to get to Ko Kret as I knew it was another boat away and I had read that there were tours you could arrange. I guess since there were not many people even unboarding when I did, this was not a common tourist spot. A man offered to take me to Ko Kret by long boat for 700B. I think I probably could have bartered with him since this was a pretty high price but oh well! I took him up on his offer and had a fabulous boat trip to the island. He said he would wait for me where he dropped me off and that I had 2 hours to explore the island. I walked off unsure of where to go and just started exploring! I stumbled upon a shop renting bicycles, so of course I rented one for 40B and got a map of the island. The trail was a large circle, kinda like Mackinaw Island. It seemed to me like I was seeing the real Thailand on this excursion and the people were incredibly friendly. I was one of maybe 6 other tourists on the island, which was wonderful. I even had 2 15 year old boys following me for a while, only one spoke any English so I managed that their names were something like Boi and Mey?! They were sweet.

My boat driver was exactly where I left him on my return and after a quick trip to my first stand and squat, no toilet paper, bathroom, we were on our way back to the Tha Nonthaburi stop and reboarded the hour long ferry. All in all the trip was an hour and a half each way, but well worth the scenery and the atmosphere! On my way back I stopped for some Thai ice cream and explored some of the vendors close to my hostel. Now I am sitting at an outside restaurant enjoying my first drink in Thailand and the weather is beautiful! The past two days its been so humid that just by moving I sweat, its not even all that hot exactly, its just the humidity.

Tomorrow I am off to get a traditional Thai massage and eat at a recommended stop through Lonely Planet, Cabbages and Condoms - profits go towards sex education and aids prevention programs in Thailand. After that I will be taking the overnight bus to Nakhom Phanom to see Caitlyn :) Can't wait!