Marks Across Mali

Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

2011-12-20T20:32:00.001Z

One of my best friends will be disappointed in me once knowing this, since peanuts are her ultimate enemy, but I eat peanut butter and/or peanuts every day of my life here. I find it is one thing I can consistently find that provides me protein and nutrients. Before arriving in Mali I had the notion that I would get to eat quite heathfully and mostly organically. The reality is far from that supposition. With the arrival of sickness after sickness I, for the most part, stopped eating with my Malian family as they use untreated water and rarely wash their hands with soap. This has left me to cook each and every meal for myself, and with market once a week and no refrigeration eating organically, let alone healthfully, is incredibly challenging. When I arrived home for vacation in September after 15 months in Mali many folks were shocked that I wasn’t skinny as a rail since often rural Africa is associated with hunger. Truthfully, in Mali, hunger isn’t so much the issue. Families here always – well almost always- have something to eat, even if just because the culture of hospitality here won’t allow for a neighbor with food to allow another neighbor to not eat. The problem lies with nutrition.

Meat is very expensive in Mali, especially for village folk, so protein has to be found in other sources, mainly peanuts, dried fish, and beans. They don’t however add lots of vegetables to the sauce they make with the peanuts or on top of the beans. To the beans they add an amazing amount of oil and sugar and eat them with bread. To the peanut sauce – oil, salt, and hot peppers. When they do add veggies or meat the men of all ages get first crack at these portions leaving little to none for the women or children – who are the ones actually doing most of the hard labor. Because they are so busy all day every day, they then require a lot of carbohydrate energy, which can easily be found in rice, cous cous, millet, pasta, corn flour or wheat flour. The sad part is that the rice and pasta are white and refined so nutritionally almost fruitless. There are certain sauces that do better than others. The Malians use leaves (bean, onion, or tree) to add nutrition to the sauces, and those are easy to find and therefore cheap, but they aren’t used enough. The most popular is the okra sauce, often with dried fish, then the tomato and onion sauce – which often, strangely, has spaghetti strands mixed in – and then the peanut sauce. If there were enough vegetables and meat (fish, chicken, goat or beef) to give each consumer a proper serving size, things wouldn’t be so bad. The practice, however, is to take a large scoop of millet (with the 4 fingers of your right hand) and dip it quickly in the sauce bowl, retract and eat. This means only a little bit of sauce – and therefore nutrients – get consumed with each ~1/4 cup of toh. With the rice and cous cous dishes the sauce is poured over a huge portion of rice and the veggies and meat sit in a pile in the middle. Since eating is done from a communal bowl, whoever eats the fastest or grabs their share of the goods first ‘wins’! Once the sauce is gone, they fill up with the leftover plain rice at the bottom of the bowl.

All of these things make staying nutritious hard for me while eating a Malian diet. My two favorite meals are rice with peanut sauce and beans. Even when I ask – which I do every time and get a look of pure astonishment – for no oil to be poured on top – there is still quite a good amount used in either preparation or just naturally, as with the peanuts. Since I am forever a guest here, I do get a better portion of the meat and veggies when I do eat with the village, but still its maybe two 2inch chunks of meat and a few pieces of sweet potato, pumpkin, or cabbage. The bigger issue is the very smell of the most nutritious (i.e. leaf filled) sauces cause my stomach to churn, yet alone actually eating it! And, have you noticed that I have yet to mention any fruit? Well that’s likely because on a regular basis the only fruits available to me are oranges (which are really like big limes with very little flavor and even less juice) and bananas. Now I like bananas and all but as my only legitimate option? Rough. I LOVE fruit, especially apples with their delightful crunch and sweetness, so as you can imagine this has been the hardest part of eating in Mali. Well, that and the lack of cheese ;) The thing that changed my life last year was mango season! There are mangos everywhere and they are big, juicy, and perfect. I didn’t even like mangos before coming to Mali and now my mouth waters just thinking about them 6 months later! Its also why I think I really didn’t mind hot season, just sat in my hammock eating mangos all day in the 110 degree weather! I just have to be careful or I could end up developing an allergy as some of my friends did this year from overconsumption!

So as a PCV it is then our job, when possible, to talk with folks about how to make their eating more nutritious without making it lots more expensive. Its important for the people in my region to make beans more often, add dried fish to their sauces, and to use leaves in as many meals as they can. For other regions, like Sikasso, its encouraging gardeners to save some of the beautiful veggies and fruit they produce for their own families instead of just taking in all profit. All of us have the hard task of trying to encourage the families to give the larger portion of protein and veggie portions to the children and women (especially the pregnant ones). Any little bit helps. In my case, I have done a few radio shows on the importance of nutrition for especially young children and pregnant moms. Also, any time I see a child with a reddish tinge to their hair (a sign of malnutrition) I say something to their father – since he's in charge - if he’s around, or mother if not, that they need to give that child extra beans, meat, and leafy vegetables.

Obviously, growing up in Dearborn, I was ignorant about the whole structure of food production and consumption in a farming community, as likely many of you reading this are. It was helpful for me to understand the difference between food insecurity – healthy food not available all year round – and what people experience as true hunger. Nearly every child has a distended belly because the lack of protein prohibits their muscles to form properly, but they are eating, just not correctly. Its very rare to see an overweight person in Mali, but those who are, are seen as wealthy and romantically more desirable. Most of these folks live in the bigger cities or work in positions that don’t require going into the fields and have people to help them make food and clean their homes. Every woman in my compound is incredibly fit despite the oil and carbs because they work so hard! To keep myself from gaining weight here – which would be incredibly easy – I go for jogs in the morning and I ask for no oil and I cook meals for myself – even if they do contain lots of carbs and few veggies (except for right after market day when I overload!). This is all just to show that even things you think are safe to assume about a place can often be misleading. This topic area is a comparatively nice one to try to change minds towards leading healthier lives. The topic is less personally taxing for me as it is not an area of cultural difference that challenges my values. Malians love to talk about money, even if its how poor they are, so its not easy to offend them that way, but it is hard to get them to see how choosing to buy tea and sugar everyday instead of meat or vegetables is hurting the health of their family. Since the men control the money and also get the majority of said nutrition making the point is often hard won, but all the more reason to encourage women to be educated and hold paid positions in their communities!

Hey Mom! Look What I Can Do…

2011-11-22T15:47:00.001Z

I take a brisk but lengthy walk with 3 determined women about my age making our way to the cotton fields. We arrive, strap rice sacks around our waist to be filled to the brim with cotton. The heat is already blazing and its only 8:30am – looks like I’m in for a tiring day. I look to my left and 6 or 7 women are quickly making their way up and down the rows of cotton and I turn to my right and there is my 9 year old brother Bema. Not only is Bema smiling and greeting me, as he is one of the most courteous 9 year olds I’ve ever met, he is also dominating me in his plucking of bulbs of cotton hidden within their sharp natural containers. Typical. My first day cotton picking I had to leave after just 2 hours because I ran out of my (filtered and bleached) water. I’m fragile. My family likes to remind me of this daily telling me to take a rest from my hard work of book reading or move my chair out of the sun. Well the second time to the fields I thought I was more prepared with 2 full Nalgene’s (64 oz.) of water, but I still found my water supply diminished by lunch break. Of course there was still plenty of work to be done, so who could take me back? (believe me I would get lost somewhere in the corn fields and have a search party sent for me) Well my 4 year old brother Bakary of course! He easily navigated the 10 foot corn stalks, rows upon rows of budding millet, and stripped cotton fields to get me on the trail leading back to our house. Although I only picked 1/5 the amount of my counterparts I still got some village cred for participating! Everyone wanted to see my ‘battle scars’ on my fingers and arms the day after and many people expressed how Malian I was having done that :)

I tell this story to highlight how amazingly incompetent I am in the Malian context of life, especially when compared to the incredible competence of the children. In the States we are so concerned with the safety of our little ones that I think we create some unnecessary dependence and self-consciousness. More than any other thing here, I have learned to see the resilience of children. I still find myself saying “Be careful!” to the kids everyday, but really I know they have tested their limits, will continue to do so, and have lots of brothers, sisters, and cousins to make sure that don’t step too far beyond that line. My 7 year old host sister, Setou, carries my little 8 month old namesake, Fanta, on her back any time mom needs to be doing other things. Setou feeds her (non-breastmilk meals), plays with her, and on top of that is in charge of many of the household chores (sweeping the concession twice a day, washing the dishes and her own clothes, and occasionally plucking and prepping a chicken for lunch). Ask my 7 year old self to try to do any one of those things, besides play with a sweet little babe, and you’d be up a creek without a paddle. Just sayin’. I go for my runs in the morning and often see 6-11 year old boys, sometimes alone, sometimes with 2-3 others, herding sheep, goats, and massive cows with massive horns (can you hear my own fear?!) up through the trails to try to find some green for them to munch on. They just have this confidence about them where the cows, 6 times their size, know not to f*ck with them. Excuse my language, but seriously! Just hear the tone in their voice when they move 20 of them this way or that. I’d move too. Any time tea is made a small boy is summoned and trusted to retrieve fresh hot coals from the cooking fire to start a smaller fire to boil the tea. And nearly every time I make the tea, using this fire, I burn myself on the pot. See…fragile.

Now I realize most of you would ask where the time for the children to be children is, and some days I find myself wondering the same. But most days, I watch them interact, even while working, and they find just as many ways and opportunities to tease and taunt each other (as siblings and cousins should do, right?!), make toys our of sticks and cans, get scrapped up after chasing each other round and round town, and dance to any and every beat they hear or make. If we look back at when our grandparents and great grandparents were kiddos, I bet their amount of time for ‘play’ was pretty similar, because it comes with the life of farming for a living. Perhaps ‘time for being a kid’ in the way we tend to think about it in the States is a luxury of development. Perhaps its cultural. I think only time will tell.

What I can say I know now is that any Malian child past the age of 4 is a greater asset to any community or family here than I am at 26 years of age with a Master’s Degree. Ouch. All is well though because I think this will make me a better mother when I choose to embark upon that chapter of my life. Other people may not approve of my child being tied to my back or to letting them explore their own limits that might seem scary to others, but I know they can do a whole heck of a lot more than I ever realized on their own. There will still be limits to my ‘madness’, i.e. the whole “here 3 year old child, take this knife and cut up those sweet potatoes for me while I go pull some water from the well” or “sure you can play in the still extraordinarily hot ashes and coal from my cooking” won’t go over well with me. I find myself continually highly nervous when these episodes come about and I think for good reason, since just yesterday little 5 year old Douda came over to show me his half burned off toe. The difference, I find, lies in the strength of the community here and their ability to look out for one another. Some days I am walking through village and I run into a small pack of 3 year old girls running around enjoying their home all alone. They aren’t in any real danger, but its something I certainly had to get used to – no mom, no dad, no babysitter watching. Eventually I came to realize someone, maybe not as close by as I would like, but always someone, had an eye on those kids even if none of them were theirs. In Mali, I get to experience just how a whole village really can raise a child, and a highly capable one at that!

14 months…50 books!

2011-10-29T11:23:00.001Z

After promising numerous people numerous times that I would post a list of all the books I have read since arriving in Mali, I am finally doing it! I figure, why not wait til the number is pretty impressive right?! I also think that after giving myself some time to digest them all I am able to provide a pretty solid Top 10 List. I’ll start with that and then move on from there in Alphabetical order by Author’s last name, here we go:

Middlesex – J. Eugenides
Kafka on the Shore – H. Murakami
The Fountainhead – A. Rand
East of Eden – J. Steinbeck
Anil’s Ghost – M. Ondaatje
Love in the Time of Cholera – G. Marquez
Island – A. Huxley
The Autobiography of Malcolm X – as told to A. Haley
Everything is Illuminated – J.S. Foer
The Kite Runner – K. Housseni
Islam – K. Armstrong
Sense and Sensibility – J. Austen
When the Rainbow Goddess Wept – C. Brainard*
Wuthering Heights – E. Bronte
Palestine, Peace not Apartheid – J. Carter*
A Plato and Platypus Walk Into a Bar – T. Cathart & D. Klein
What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day – P. Cleage
The Valkeries – P. Coehlo
The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao – J. Diaz
Drown – J. Diaz
The Count of Monte Cristo – A. Dumas
The Rules of Attraction – B.E. Ellis
Nine Hills to Nambonkaha – S. Erdman
The Corrections – J. Franzen*
The Twenty-Seventh City – J. Franzen
Dove – R.L. Graham
Beneath the Wheel – H. Hesse
Jonah’s Gourd Vine – Z.N. Hurston
Brave New World – A. Huxley
The Liar’s Club – M. Karr*
Strength in What Remains – T. Kidder
The Poisonwood Bible – B. Kingsolver
The Girl Who Played with Fire – S. Larrson
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – S. Larrson
Big Machine – V. Lavalle*
Wicked – G. Maguire
‘Tis – F. McCourt
The English Patient – M. Ondaatje*
Cry the Beloved Country – A. Paton
The Tenth Circle – J. Picoult
My Ishmael – D. Quinn
Story of B – D. Quinn*
Fieldnotes on Democracy, Listening to Grasshoppers – A. Roy*
The Reader – B. Schlink
The Grapes of Wrath – J. Steinbeck
The Help – K. Stockett*
Anna Karenina – L. Tolstoy
The War of the Worlds – H. G. Wells
Eureka Street – R. Wilson
Native Son – R. Wright*

My two least favorites I would have to say were Anna Karenina and The Grapes of Wrath, sorry, I thought they were both terribly boring. I have put a (*) mark next to the books that would be included in a top 20! Hope you enjoy :)

Roundin’ the first year bend…

2011-08-01T13:53:00.001Z

After 12 months and 28 days, there are days I still stop in the middle of a walk around Bamako, or a bike ride through village, when I say to myself, ‘Holy sh*t. I’m in the Peace Corps. I am living in a mud hut in the middle of West Africa…and I am actually making it!’ I cannot believe the experience is half over and -if I can trust my friends about to COS (close of service)- the second year goes exponentially faster than the first. I can only imagine at this point next year I will be astounded that the experience is ending and that, hopefully, I have been a help in one way or another to the folks in Moribila. I’ve had a lot of chats with my friends about to head back to the States about their experience here and what it means to them to have finished. Most seem to express that the second year is much more meaningful since communication is easier and you know your village and their needs. So I look forward to this and I feel as though my vision for the next 12 months is already pretty laid out, which makes me confident in my ability to finish strongly.

I cannot say that things have become easier, I have just found better ways to cope with the difficulties. I have also realized I am capable in ways I did not know previously, and learned to find help in those areas where I am incapable (i.e. laundering jeans and large towels, or pounding millet for my morning seri :P). I have, however, become really adept in the last year at spending hours on end reading novels and sitting for immense periods of time doing absolutely nothing but stare at the stars and listen to Malian radio! I’ve learned that I prefer life and work in a structured environment, but have also come to appreciate the aspects of non-structure and small things that come to light through living life in this way. I have my routine at site, and when I get to go by it I feel comfortable and in a stride. There are days though, when routine gets thrown out the window, that my emotional stability takes a tumble; when so much else is different than what I know, a change in my schedule can impact me so much more than it would in any other environment. Thank goodness I have an amazing support network of family and friends both in the States and here in Mali that has helped me to stick it out thus far. I finally know I am glad I didn’t go home on the close calls I had feeling homesick, or actually sick, or had family issues arose, or was just bored to the point I wanted to jump out of my skin!

I talk with my friends all the time about the realities in Mali that so starkly contrast what life was like for us in the States. For instance, I got to wash my clothes in a washing machine this past weekend –it only took an hour!!!!!- and I got to drink a ice cold Sam Adams, and I nearly cried! haha. Those things are obviously very surface struggles and things I have barely noticed missing in the last 6 months or so. The forms of attention (often negative or from a patronizing fashion – i.e. ‘you are too old to not be married with at least 2 children’, or ‘well you should marry me then, since you are so old, you really don’t have much choice’ and then, themselves, getting offended when I say ‘No, thanks’) has made it so I cannot say I don’t miss the US nearly everyday. Not to say harassment isn’t real and persistent in the States, but I find I can choose to surround myself with people who are respectful towards me and can choose not to have meals or tea with them without offending the natural order of my community. The longer I am here, the more I understand the freedom that comes from being an American even if we still have a long long journey for equality. I find myself thinking about my life and knowing how incredibly lucky I am.

I was just remarking yesterday to a friend that I almost feel like I am in the home stretch now, even though it is only half-way done. The hardest parts about living here just take some time to get used to and the missing of my friends and family will be less intense this second year because I am coming home in September and then I know its way less time than I had to do previously before I get to see their wonderful faces again! I am also realizing how hard its going to be to leave this place in a year after understanding how close I have gotten to my Malian family in this first year and the second year (inshallah) my language comprehension and ability will only get stronger. My little namesake, Fanta, is getting so big and is so so cute, and I have gotten many phone calls from my village folks wondering how I am doing and when the heck I am coming back to them (since I have been in Bamako the last month doing training for Peace Corps). Realizing how much they have come to care, and in turn how much I find myself caring for them, shows me how much I have come to rely on them for support as well.

I am also, as I mentioned above, at the point where I know what my village needs that I can actually be of some help with. We are working towards starting a pretty big adult literacy program within 8 of the 16 villages in my commune; I have been working with the Women’s Association on Income Generating Activities so they can raise money to build a well within their garden; and because almost every person stated a sincere need for help with water sanitation issues (obviously not my area of great competency), we started a water and sanitation committee with the village chief and are going to discuss how we can improve the health practices around their water supply. Because we, as a community, have met numerous times to narrow down these 3 areas as their greatest needs, I am feeling much more confident and much less stressed about making sure I am doing the right work for the right groups of people. There were just as many, if not more, women than men included in the community assessment, so I am sure their collaborative voice was heard, and I feel like no single project was pushed by government folks within the village either, which seems to often become problematic.

I have a year to go and I wholeheartedly feel that if my friends and family support me even half as much as they did this past year, I can finish my time here and be really proud of what I’ve done. I know its unlikely all three projects will get finished or work perfectly, but I know they are all projects initiated by the community members and are things they have shown they want to be engaged in. I will have to work hard this year to keep them motivated and to fight against the backwards work many NGOs have established in my village and Mali more broadly (i.e. that they should not have to save up for anything their village needs because someone will come in and pay for it for them) and hopefully get some sustainable projects in the works. Wish me luck, and keep your letters of support and care packages filled with goodies - see list on the right if you are unsure what to send ;) – coming my way!!! I so appreciate each and every one of you that has helped me get this far, you know who you are, and I don’t know how I will ever be able to fully express my thanks.

I’ll leave you with a quote that fits my community organizing studies and now, even more so, this experience I am having trying to get work accomplished in West Africa…

“The greatest good we can do for others is not to share our riches with them, but to reveal to them their own.” - Benjamin Disraeli

Thanks for reading and keep your comments coming!

Hair & Henna

2011-07-18T12:07:00.000Z

    Traditional and modern Malian culture show their differences between generations through attitude and appearance. These things are especially apparent in village life with young men and women itching to explore aspects of the cultures they hear about from friends going to the 'big city' or from watching dubbed Spanish soap operas. Young men who wear detailed jeans and Ed Hardy tshirts (an easy find at the dead toubab clothing stops), adorned in jewelry, are often nicknamed 'Americain' (said with a French accent) and they revel in it. Young Malian women wear tighter clothing than their moms and grandmas and pair their traditional skirts (pagnes) with tank tops and tshirts certainly made outside of Mali. However, I've yet to see a woman in my village, other than myself, wear pants! The women love jewelry, more often than not, the tackier the better, and I get asked for my earrings, bracelets, rings, and watch every single day. Unlike in the US, in village life, shoes are just a barrier between your feet and the ground or a vehicle through which you improve your soccer game.
    I find the most intriguing aspect of this shift towards modernity to be the hair styles and the uses of henna for both the young men and women. Hair and the way it is styled or cut is a symbol of status in the United States, especially within Black communities, and it is here as well. The city women in Mali (the 'Bamakois' - the Bamako elite) spend lots of time and money on getting extensions and weaves which are a sign they don't have to work in the fields, are educated, or have money in the family. In village life, on the other hand, weaves and extensions are both hard to acquire and impractical. There is, however, a recent trend to use a gimp-like wire (can be seen in my pictures on facebook) to wrap around strands of hair as an alternative to regular braiding. I find the braiding patterns intricate and beautiful, but these wirey additions look so uncomfortable and strange that is is interesting to me as to why they have become so popular.
    Just as it is a special time for women when they get their hair done, it is the same for men and young boys in village. One day every few weeks I notice myself looking around at a bunch of bald headed boys and men in my concession! Some of the young men try to keep some hair and style it like early Fresh Prince episodes, zig zag patterns and all. Its always done on the same day, and in Malian culture hair must be disposed of by burying it in the ground or throwing it down the nyegen (pit latrine). It is said that if a donkey were to eat your discarded hair, you will come down with a terrible headache, so watch out!
Another popular way to jazz up your appearance here in Mali is to use natural henna. Traditionally, henna is applied for special occasions and is especially important for soon-to-be brides and their female family members. If you are planning to attend a wedding or Tabaski is coming up, it is customary to apply henna to your feet and hands with incredibly detailed designs by applying patterns using tape which you remove after the henna dries. It dyes your hands, feet, nails and hair for weeks if left alone. More recently though, other ways to use henna have become more popular. Tattoos aren't entirely understood here (as I've learned through experiences of other PCVs), but the temporary art of henna is loved. The men are often seen with henna tattooed on their eyelids as an eyeliner. This is especially prominent among the 'Americain' types I mentioned above. Most common though, is the practice for women of applying long thin strips of henna above the eyes to make eyebrows (since they shave their own right off). It creates an intensity in their facial expressions that, a year later, I am still not used to! It is also common for moms to paint eyebrows on brand new baby girls, perhaps to emphasize their gender.
    Some of these aspects are things I still take notice of daily and then others are just now part of my understanding of Mali and barely register anymore. I can say though, that this is just the cusp of understanding how modern culture is slowly, and sometimes strangely, influencing the lives of the Malian young people and Malian culture.

Malian Views on Ameriki

2011-06-04T17:53:00.000Z

Along the way in Mali I've encountered numerous folks with lots of ideas about what America (Ameriki) is like and the characteristics all Americans must hold. This last week I repeated an exercise with some English speaking Malians - some of the Peace Corps staff - that I did the first week I arrived here and had subsequently forgotten all about. The exercise focuses on the ideas around stereotypes and taking the initiative to air them out between two groups of people so we can begin a dialogue around where these perceptions, and sometimes misperceptions, come from. The first time I did this, there were around 90 Americans and 30 Malians writing down and presenting all their (or those of the typical village Malian) stereotypes of Americans. Curious?! Well, some of those that came up were as follows:

Rich
Hardworking
Spies
Dirty
Selfish
Frugal
Courageous
Promiscuous

    Now I don't have the best memory in the world so this list is far from exhaustive, but these are the ones that stood out for one reason or another in my mind. I am sure the stereotype of 'rich' does not come as a great shock to you all. Most of the NGOs Malians work with shell out the dough like there's no tomorrow...and whether its an American, Spanish, French, or Canadian NGO, or the Peace Corps, we are all seen as one...one big $ sign. I'm not sure when the last time was (if there ever was one) where I stepped outside my village and didn't get either straight out asked for money or for a cadeaux (gift). Either that or told I am going to take someone back to America with me. One time a woman even had the gumption, when I told them I didn't have money to do so, to say 'it's okay, then your dad can buy the ticket for me.' Eh?! They don't even know my dad ;) It's also incredibly hard to explain that, just like in Mali, there are those who 'have' and those who 'have not' and that poverty and hunger also exist in America.
    Now it was hard not to giggle when we, as PCVs, read 'spies' as a common perception of Americans, but when we asked the reasoning behind the idea, it was a little more humbling. They said that they see us, as PCVs or NGO workers, coming from a place like America where there is wealth, infrastructure and diversity, to live in Mali, sometimes in the poorest of villages, and find it incredibly hard to believe that we don't have an alterior motive. So what could our motive be? Spying on Malians for our government...obviously. It was a good reality check if nothing else. If they can get past this assumption, that is where the idea of Americans being 'courageous' stems from. We pick up, leave our families (unheard of here), friends, and (some of us) good jobs, to work for free in a place entirely unknown to us, with people we have never met before, who speak a minority language...brave.
    The last one that completely struck us by surprise was the adjective 'dirty'. It's almost laughable for us coming into Malian society - which I think is most germaphobes' worst nightmare - to hear that we were the dirty ones! Of course we had to ask and the answer was amusing. First, because we go into the latrine (remember this is plainly a hole in the ground) and sometimes we forget to take our salidaga with us so they assume we are not cleaning ourselves after we are done; i.e. dirty. Wait, wait, Alyssa...what's a salidaga?! Okay, well, its a small plastic container shaped like a tea kettle that Malians fill with water to use concurrently with their left hands to 'cleanse' themselves after latrine usage. Yup. They also use the salidaga to wash their hands, face, and feet for prayer time. So the concept of us keeping toilet paper in our nyegen (latrine) is entirely absurd - what would we use that strange white paper for? Certainly not cleanliness...We were also told if we don't take - or pretend to take - 2-3 showers/bucket baths a day the Malians will think we are dirty. This is something I have no issues with in hot and rainy season since I am perpetually a sweaty mess. They don't understand that in cold season, however, a second shower is just a waste of water. I do zero hard labor in the day, so one shower after my run in more than sufficient. Plus, the well water gets quite cold as does the air outside at dusk, and then I'm just left shivering in my outdoor nyegen...not fun. There is also the reality that in many nyegens you don't feel any cleaner after a shower since you are doing so in a place with an open hole filled with human waste. The smell of your own soap doesn't quite cut it. Plus, I guess lots of PCVs are pretty granola, so maybe we really are dirty ;) Only kidding folks!
    The last thing to remember about why Malians perceive us the way they do is because most of their initial exposure to us, if they have television sets in their town (which most do somewhere - powered by car batteries) are through cheesy soap operas. So the perspective might be slightly skewed! I think this has something to do with the 'promiscuous' note, although compared to this traditional Muslim society where you aren't even supposed to shake hands with someone of the opposite sex (since it's likely that will make you fall in love with them and that would lead to inappropriate behavior, of course), that's probably exactly what we are.
    I thought better of sharing what some of our stereotypes of Malian were, since I would rather hear from you all...what are some perceptions that you had of Malians before I came here, or still have now? Have some changed or been confirmed through following my experience so far?!

Cultural Adaptation or Loss of Self?

2011-04-29T13:32:00.001Z

The cultural differences between my life, and most of my fellow PCV friends’ lives, in America and here in Mali are vast. Many of these aspects stem from religion and tradition, both of which require me to give myself to the Malians to teach and understand so as not to offend and unknowingly burn bridges in my new home. Portions of Malian culture have been easy to adapt to: saying hello to everyone I walk past and asking after their family, drinking and making 3 strong shots of green tea at every informal and formal gathering, the ridiculously early morning call to prayers have stopped interrupting my sleep, and I have even grown accustomed to being laughed at each and every day! On the other hand, there are certain differences I still grapple with even after 10 months. I think I will always struggle with the Malian cuisine and the use of my hands for its consumption, the tendency for Malians to avoid confrontation and when forced either laugh or shout their way through it, and the slow and season-based pace and timeline for their work. Those frustrations however, come and go based on the day and my mood. Gender relations in Mali, on the other hand, continually force me to question myself, my understanding of this culture on a surface and underlying level, my Malian friends and family, and sometimes my fellow PCV friends and the ways they chose to adapt to or challenge these customs.

Ask any person who has had the pleasure of spending time with a Malian women and they will reiterate how amazing they are. In a traditional village (as is my village) a woman is expected to begin and end her day taking care of every minute detail of her, often very large, family. The bathing, the preparation for cooking, the cooking, the cleaning of the concession, home, dishes, and laundry, and the side-income generation – selling fruits, veggies, tea, shea etc. This all is done without running water, packaged foods, or electricity, and takes place in mud homes and dirt courtyards which have to be continually cleared of animal and child defecation. They have to gather wood, start and continually feed the fire to keep water hot and food cooking. I assume the women get maybe 4-5 hours of sleep a night, they are up past when I go to sleep and awake before I am awake. All of this and when meals are served the men get first dibs on all meat and hearty aspects of the food as they are seated separately from the women and children. Many women bow to the older men when serving them food or water. Much of this system stems from their religious and cultural customs that the man is the head of the household, the decision-maker, and therefore the most important in the family.

Witnessing this way of life the past 10 months has been a strange experience for me specifically because I don’t partake in most activities that are traditionally ‘women’s roles’ and yet am a woman so don’t quite fit in with the men either. I am generally given respect by the people I meet just because of the fact that I am white and from another country. I am able to sit and eat with the men but generally feel most comfortable hanging out with the 5 year old boys and the grandmas! Everyday I am asked if I can pound millet and cook toh like a Malian woman and everyday I respond that I cannot. They all tell me its no problem, that they will teach me, but I respond that I am not strong enough to do those tasks. Not physically or mentally. They laugh, but I’m not kidding. I struggle daily to make sure I am healthfully fed, clean and with clean belongings, and I eat a lot of protein bars, oatmeal, and packaged noodles and I pay someone in my family to to my laundry because they can actually get it clean. I am able to say ‘I cannot’ here because I am privileged to not have to do so and I know it.

The daily grind of a Malian woman’s schedule puts them in a place of awe to me, but the cultural issue surrounding women I most struggle with day to day is polygamy. My village is almost entirely Muslim so most men have multiple wives and if not, likely plan to. I get gasps of shock from Malian men when they hear that is not the case, nor legal, in the States. Much of this is reasoning based on an agricultural lifestyle where more wives means more children and therefore more hands in the field. However, this also means more mouths to feed and therefore less income generation from the sowing of the fields which I try to point out but ends a fruitless discussion with them laughing it off as the silly ideas of the white lady. On the other hand, I have Malians tell me they have to have the option to gain a second or third wife in case the first is ‘troublesome’. My natural response was to ask exactly what was meant by ‘troublesome’ and what recourse a woman may have if she happens to get married to a ‘troublesome’ man? My Malian friend’s response was ‘divorce’, which is laughable considering the amount of money that would require and the social status the woman would have as a consequence making it a non-option.

I know much of my problem with one man having multiple wives comes from growing up in the States and having different ideals about marriage and relationships than the people here, but I cannot seem to get past the issue that the women have no real choice in the matter. Most marriages are arranged through family and those that are chosen later are rare and still often not the woman’s choice. I suppose I’ve always had an issue with the custom in many religions and cultures that women should be submissive to men and I find that I struggle with it here more than anything else. I am trying to stay firm in my beliefs about women’s rights and abilities and sharing those views with my Malian friends and acquaintances, which is technically considered part of my job (sharing American ideals and culture with Malians). I have friends in country though, both men and women, who have seemed to see this culture, notice its difference to ours, and not have any part in sharing America’s ideas or challenging where, maybe I feel, they should have qualms.

For one, I never bow to a man in my village, no matter how old or respected in the community as I feel the custom is one that directly conflicts with my beliefs. Second, because of the fact that my Bambara is limited, I don’t speak French, and most English speakers here are limited in their ability as well, I could never foresee entering a relationship with a Malian man. There are plenty of people who do come into this experience and meet someone and decide that it is right for them. I know because of my issues around gender relations in this country that would be an incredibly hard sell and would have to be an incredibly forward thinking person who I could have conversations with about these ideas. Where my biggest question lies right now is how an American woman can come to Mali and enter into a relationship with a man who is already married and feel that they are still fulfilling their role as an American Ambassador. I get that there are gray areas with why people have been married in the first place – arrangement, financial security – but the respect issue as an American coming into a new culture and environment and entering into a relationship such as that is something I cannot entirely fathom and have been thus been mulling over my feelings about it lately and questioning why it is I feel this way. All I know is I feel sick when my work counterpart is courting his soon-to-be second wife in his home while his first wife sits next to me with their 2-month-old baby girl (most recent of 5 children) and listens to them giggle and flirt 20 feet away. Many Malian women say that it doesn’t bother them, but some are vehement that is does. I just would never be able to get past the idea that I was being incredibly disrespectful since that is not my culture or my custom and I almost feel as if its taking advantage of our societal position as ‘foreigners’ in the most negative of ways.

I am hopeful that, although this post is one that is more exploratory for myself than entirely informational or entertaining, if you read this and feel so inclined, let me know your thoughts. What experiences have you had with these types of cultural differences and how was it that you got past them or saw them in a different light…

Just Joking Cousins

2011-03-16T14:55:00.002Z

     One of the most standout and enviable aspects of Malian culture is that of their Joking Cousin Relationships. There are over 50 ethnicities with 13 local languages living and working together within Mali. As many of us know through experience, it is often challenging trying to work with 2 or 3 conflicting ethnicities which each come with their own culture and therefore ideas about life, business and love. We also know that having this diversity can add a special something extra to any situation and I think that is how Mali has decided to frame a potentially hostile situation. The Joking Cousins Relationship was established with the primary purpose of easing these inevitable tensions in situations in and outside the workplace. Names, especially last names, are incredibly important in Malian culture. A name can reveal a person’s religion, your family or ancestral language, and most importantly for this post, your ethnicity. Being that my Malian name is Fanta Goita one would assume upon meeting me that I am a Muslim and that my first language is Minnianka. Obviously, this is not a full proof equation, but it does tell the person I was introduced to whether or not my ethnicity is one he can use to call me a ‘bean-eater’ and in doing so induce a fit of laughter on both sides.
    Yes, I do like beans, and quite a bit since they are a great source of protein for me since I eat little meat here, so you could see how I was initially confused as to why being called a ‘bean-eater’ may be an insult and/or as humorous as Malians seem to find it. Well, if someone is designated – based on last name and therefore ethnicity – as your joking cousin, you are then free to throw every insult you can creatively muster their way and what you will receive in return will be similarly strange insults accompanied by full bully laughter and big toothless orange (dyed from eating too many kolonuts) smiles! So lets give an example: So my last name is Goita so if I meet someone who is a Traore, a Dembele or a Coulibaly I can greet them by telling them they eat beans (and therefore fart which, surprise, surprise, this fastidiously patriarchal society find fart jokes hilarious – just sayin’), that they drink bathroom water (especially revolting if you understand the bathroom situation here), or that I’ve recently named my donkey after them! If your last name is Coulibaly you are lucky (or unlucky depending upon your personal disposition) enough to be able to joke with everyone. My friends who were deemed Coulibaly because that is what the last name of their host family was during training got to immediately experience how exhausting this interaction can get. Some friends have endless insults stored in their back pockets for when these occasions arise because their last names, like Coulibaly or Diallo, invite lots of banter, but mine is a pretty uncommon last name so my joking know-how/vocabulary is mildly limited.
     This concept was one of the first introduced to us during our training as, beyond all the fun and silliness, it really can be a useful tool in getting yourself out of a potentially uncomfortable situation. If a taxi driver is being persistent that you agreed on a price that you find too high and incorrect and you can see that he is getting visibly agitated because of it, sometimes just asking if he is a Coulibaly will start the joking dance and can get you the correct price or at least out of the way of a yelling match! This also works if your bashe or bus is pulled over by the authorities so they can garner bribe money from all the passengers currently riding because your driver doesn’t have the correct documentation for driving the vehicle you are currently in. I often also use this while bargaining at the market, on a less intense scale. There are even instances of not having to pay at all when a money collector learns you have a last name ‘related’ to his.Once you see the way it works day in and day out and the obvious release of tension that comes with swinging that first insult you understand the extreme benefit this has for the Malian people in allowing a simple interaction to keep the peace in their country.
    Malian people grow up instinctively knowing who they can and cannot joke with in this way. They also take it seriously enough that there are superstitions around marriage between certain joking cousin relationships and it is thought that these marriages will be doomed from the start and will be ruined in some fashion or another through divine intervention. Us American, on the other hand, were given an extensive list of all the known last names in Mali and which last names we could appropriately joke with in our time here. The interesting thing is that if you are in one of those sticky situations and you learn the other party is not one of your joking cousins, you can still give it a try and it will sometimes still work wonders just because they like and respect the practice so much. I also think that being an American, speaking in Bambara, and being aware of these customs gives me, and my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers, a huge leg up in the relations we have with the Malian people. As much as I would have loved to learn it, I don’t think telling a cabbie he’s a ‘bean-eater’ in French would have quite the same impact!

Malian Noisemakers

2011-01-31T13:42:00.001Z

I need to start this with 2 facts: 1. That in no way shape or form is the concept of quiet time or time for sleeping respected in this country – if you have a way to power your stereo you’re going to prove how awesome you are by playing it at all times and if you’ve made tea you see no reason not to shout my name at my door ceaselessly until I wake up from my mid-day nap to take the bitter shot; 2. Mali is considered the music capital of West Africa. When I hear songs like THIS I can understand. Probably needless to say though, the majority of what I hear is closer to THIS. Now, this may be an unfair comparison likened to that of say the musical prowess of Barbara Streisand in stark contrast to the abysmal ‘music’ of Miley Cyrus. However, I felt I needed to put out there to you all the normal form of ‘entertainment’ I am so lucky to experience daily here.

Now it would be one thing if I were generally hearing just very unusual music, at least that is something to tap my foot to and fill up the relative quiet that comes with living in the Malian countryside. The bigger issue I have is with my two noise-making nemesis – Malian radio hosts and donkeys (or animals generally if you will). As I was already saying, Malian stereos are not underutilized here and the other form of entertainment ‘enjoyed’ is the Malian radio show. Now I won’t knock all programs since I, for one, do my own little radio program on health, nutrition, and gender development (with the occasional side of Rhianna or Sean Kingston) but some just get on my last last nerve. I have tried to find examples so you can hear for yourself but my Google searches have been fruitless. Perhaps I will have to make some recordings soon and try to post them. So for now I will try to explain, although there may be temptation on your end to find my explanation intriguing or (gulp) charming, I urge you to resist that inclination.

To start with there are typically 2 hosts on a program. One who shares the meat of the information and a second who acts as the ‘griot’ or ‘town crier’. The later is who I sincerely cannot stand. Throughout the entirety of the program this ‘griot’ continually interrupts mid or end sentence with his interjections of ‘namu, kosebe, amina, or Eh! Allah!’. I realize those read as nonsense to you but they translate loosely as ‘I’m listening, really/very good, amen, and what!/my god!. The majority of the time these interruptions make zero sense (well at least to me) and come off as highly unnecessary. Plus, how can anyone really hold a conversation with someone when they are sitting next to them saying ‘I’m listening’ at the end of EVERY SINGLE SENTENCE. Think about it. I realize its radio so non-verbal communication is out, but really?! It’s obnoxious.

If that doesn’t sound excruciating enough, they also have ‘call-in’ times on the radio when listeners can call in and share ideas – in theory. Well in Mali it translates to the radio host answering the phone on air saying ‘Ahlo. Ahlo. Ahlo? Ahhhlo?’ and then when no one responds he hangs up and tries with a new caller, over and over and over. Often it is minute upon minute of just the host saying hello. Then when someone finally does answer all they do is greet…’good evening, how’s your family, your wife, did you have peace today?’ and then that’s it. WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE CALL?! I’ve certainly no clue. I guess just to hear themselves on the radio. Typical Mali.

The last aspect of Malian radio I will touch upon is the random toilet flushing. Yup. Sound effects. Interspersed within a Malian music set, small clips of phones ringing (old cord phone on the wall style) and the sound of a flushing toilet can be heard for your listening pleasure. At least this aspect just has the effect of making me chuckle quietly to myself being ‘in the know’ as to what those sounds represent!

Now to the donkeys. I’m not sure how many of you reading this blog have spent copious amounts of time on or around farms, but if you have, you know sleeping surrounded by donkeys, goats, ducks, and chickens is not what I would call peaceful. In the states perhaps the solidity and structure of your home would act as a buffer for this ‘natural soundtrack’. Remind yourselves, however, that I am sleeping in a house made of mud, stones, and straw and the one window and one door are just screens surrounded with a boarder of wood. Not exactly the picture of ‘soundproof’. All night – and all day for that matter – I hear donkeys braying, goats screaming, ducks quacking, crickets singing, and roosters crowing. Now at home, I don’t like sleeping in complete silence – a little white noise through the constant of a fan running is quite perfect – however, the screams of a goat (which seem to always sound as though death is certain and upon them) waking you from your slumber is not what I would call ideal. So sadly – at least for the health of my eardrums – I have taken up the habit of sleeping with earplugs. I have also contemplated the thought of just wearing them 24/7 but I think that might be taking things just a tad too far ;)

Now please re-reference the 2 facts I stated at the beginning of this post and assess how they make you feel and subsequently how they might be making me feel as you are reading. If you are planning to send a package (see address at right ;) you might as well include a set or two of earplugs. They won’t go to waste. Especially for the unsuspecting visitor who may not take the time to read this before experiencing the joys of the myriad Malian noisemakers!

My 1/4 Way Reflection

2011-01-28T07:51:00.001Z

I look down at the 7 bracelets on my arm representing the 7 months in of the 27 I will be undertaking in Mali and realize I’m just under 1/4 of the way. Some friends say its like just yesterday that I left and my sister insists it feels like its been 5 years. For me its somewhere in-between. Its actually very strange to think back to my first week here and the sheer amount of change my life has experienced! As we are getting ready for a whole new group of volunteers to come into Mali I get the chance to reflect on how much I’ve learned in this short time as well as take count of what I may have missed in my moments (that sometimes lasted weeks) of culture shock. Every single day I still miss something from home, but I somehow don’t ever see that changing. Nor am I entirely sure I want it to. I hope to come home at the end of all of this appreciating how incredibly lucky I am to have an amazing support system (without which I would be home already), the unquestionable opportunity I have as an educated women in America, and the ease of access to things that I love and that make me happy.

As I have tried to explain to close friends and family, there is almost nothing I can touch upon that is truly the same between Mali and America. Obvious things like food, religious practices, concepts of work, and living situations are all vastly different. However, I find myself often mulling over cultural intricacies that are hard to explain without being here. Relationships between people (not just gendered) are somehow experienced differently. Warmth and love are certainly shared but picking up on the ways in which it is done takes time to understand. Respect is an incredibly salient aspect to life in Mali but grasping the whys and hows of its manifestation requires careful observation and an inquisitive nature. Its easy as a citizen of one country, or a member of a culture or group more broadly, to quickly criticize or set on a pedestal anything different. This experience is only solidifying the ideas I have been formulating for a while now, that no country, group, or culture has it all figured out but to be careful to seek out those ways in which your beliefs and values match with theirs, if if you can only find a single instance, as its an opportunity for learning and growth.

Living, working, and building relationships in a place so unfamiliar, so under resourced, so simple yet complicated, while simultaneously trying to get a handle on a language to communicate through has been a whole new kind of learning for me. I have gone from a world of specific tasks, deadlines, and un understanding of cultural norms (even if there are many I disagree with) to a place where I establish my own schedule, have lots and lots of time to sit and think (no electricity goes a long way in providing a person with such) and a new understanding of myself with a big ol side of vulnerability and doubt. While in school I knew what I needed to do on a day to day basis, the approximate ways to accomplish most tasks, and was pretty confident that I would get it done and that it would be done well. Now, ha, its a whole different story. I’ve done my needs assessment with the community but the sheer vastness and variety of things that need to happen in this small rural village are overwhelming. So much of what needs to change stems from an individual and behavior change aspect – i.e. hand washing, proper nutrition and farming techniques, providing clean drinking water to the community – that the bigger issues – i.e. increasing education for girls, gender equality generally, creating opportunities for export of Malian made goods to improve the economic status of the country – seem almost untouchable. I realize that many of the same type of problems arise in places like the US, but experiencing the difference in scale first hand is something else entirely.

In so many ways though I am a much healthier person in Mali than I ever was in the States. First of all, with easy to measure things, like exercising regularly, cooking for myself everyday, spending copious amounts of time outside and reading, but also in smaller ways. Much can be attributed to being a product of my environment, but because I have more time (i.e. forced time) I think and I write more. I have the luxury of time to explore my thoughts and write to myself, my friends, my family about all the change I am seeing and the news ways I see and ideas I have about life. I see the sheer physical strength and yet genuine warmth from the women in my village and the incredible resilience and competence of the small children. I get to explore – in my mind and in my journal – how I see this altering my perception of people. I think anyone even spending a few days to a few weeks here would easily experience this same type of exploration. Free time. Its a concept not really utilized in many circles, but I’ve realized its all about perception. People in the states often say to me they would love the chance to read all the books they have wanted to for so long, self-learn a language, and write long-hand notes to family and friends, but there are days here where I would rather pull every last hair out of my head than decide between starting ‘The Fountainhead’, ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ or just drudging through another mystery novel when my iPod is dead, I can’t write letters due to a bad mood, or I’ve had it up to my forehead with practicing my Bambara verbs. Perspective.

Right now I’m hopeful that with the start of my small projects in full swing and a visit back to the States in single digit months from how that time will go quickly and I will continue my learning and feel productive along the way. I’m feeling much more confident with the Bambara language as of late and can only hope it will continue to get easier. The small things like the animal noises and the ridiculousness of Malian music and radio have begun to bother me less and I’ve certainly gotten more competent in creative one-pot cooking and feel like my body is stronger than its ever been. I’m still working on making genuine Malian friends ( outside of the small children in my concession) and knowing that with patience and continuing to try with language that those will come. I know I have to ‘trust the process’ as my fellow Community Organizers would say. In so many instances I’ve put more trust in people and things here than I ever have in my life…so now why not give it to the process of international development work?!

Thanks for reading. Thanks for your support. Thanks for trusting me in this decision even when I doubt it myself. 20 months to go – keep the thoughts, love, and letters a comin’ my way’.

Malian Education Part Fila (2)

2011-01-03T10:34:00.001Z

The government in Mali is Democratic and has a system of decentralization, meaning the power is theoretically in the hands of the village members themselves. Each small town elects a mayor and the mayor and the mayor’s office are in charge of establishing – with the help of the Pedagogic Training Center located in the closest regional or ‘cercle’ capital – the School Management Committee (CGS). This committee is ideally made up of many respected and committed community members to run the logistical aspects of maintaining the school, teachers, and parent/student association (APE). My work counterpart in my village is the president of the CGS and just last month I sat in on their last meeting where topics like funding for school repairs, increasing enrollment – especially for the girls, and discussions about problems with instructors were discussed. People within the village are encouraged to go to the CGS with issues they see and experience surrounding education and they relay them to the other members through monthly meetings. This is how the decentralized nature of power works within Mali and it is seen especially clearly through the education system. If a village does not rally itself and get motivated to make changes, the changes will not happen. They have to be advocates for themselves which in so many ways is great but only if the community works together to instigate the change.

Adult literacy is an issue in almost all villages and towns within Mali. Because the importance of education has only been made a priority relatively recently, many adults in Mali are illiterate. The Bambara language – the most common local language in Mali – was only recently translated into written form as it has been used primarily at a village level. Resources for the schools have begun to use the 13 local languages to help with instruction of French which is the language all the national tests are written in. This creates issues with accessibility and consistency within the curriculum throughout many regions in Mali. For instance, my town’s first language is Minianka, however instruction varies between Bambara and French. So not only are these children hearing 3 different languages within their homes, the language they are learning through (Bambara) is not even their first language. This fact has shown me how much potential there is within this country. My work counterpart, for example, has a 5th grade level of education yet speaks Minianka, Bambara, and French fluently and is proficient in writing in Bambara and French. There are also many people in my village who speak Arabic and there is one Madrassa –or Koranic school. When I finished my needs assessment in my village one of the biggest requests was for help with training for adult literacy in Bambara since without being able to write in Bambara there is nearly no way to learn to read and write in French which is the only avenue for professional work within the country.

Okay so this is all a start as I get more acclimated with doing work around education here I will continue to update on what I learn through my experience. If anyone has specific questions please feel free to leave a comment and I will write back as soon as I can!

Malian Education Part Kelen (1)

2010-12-15T09:51:00.001Z

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?!

2010-12-02T09:09:00.002Z

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

2010-10-19T17:29:00.001Z

“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.

2010-10-16T11:04:00.001Z

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!

2010-10-03T17:05:00.001Z

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…

2010-08-30T18:37:00.001Z

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

2010-07-21T21:32:00.001Z

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)

2010-07-21T21:31:00.001Z

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

2010-07-04T19:44:00.001Z

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

2010-06-15T15:18:00.001Z

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

Last Days in Pla Pak

2010-01-14T18:00:00.000Z

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

2010-01-12T03:45:00.000Z

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

2010-01-11T04:25:00.000Z

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!

2010-01-10T06:00:00.000Z

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

2010-01-07T10:16:00.000Z

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!

My Last Week :(

2009-07-28T18:58:00.000Z

Wow didnt realize how far behind I had gotten on this thing! So much has happened since the last entry that I am not even sure where to begin. For one, Taylor and Erin have also left so I'm left with the boys in the house as my go-to people. I have also made some really good local friends here in Cape Town who live in an area called Sea Point (right on the water with a wonderful balcony for sunset viewing). Their names are Matt, Grant, and Gavin so I am definitely missing my girls from both here and home as well!

I've revisited some areas like Cape Point and the Wine Tour because they were both oh so beautiful and fun, plus not as expensive! I've also gotten much more acclimated to the area. I feel much more confident that if I were to come back I would be able to find my way around to the places I love so much here :) It has been helpful going around with people who have cars since we figure out together how to get places.

My parents came for the last two weeks and it was really great to see them! I hadn't realized how much I missed them until I saw them in the airport. It was a little challenging while they were here to juggle all that I have going on in CT and revisiting places with them and getting enough sleep! I hope they have forgiven me if I neglected them by now ;) They were able to come to my placement and meet the staff and most importantly my babies!! It was nice to have the take of a kindergarten teacher and an Occupational Therapist for all my abused and neglected 0-6 year olds. I wish, and I think Nomzamo wished once they left, that they had them on staff as well. That was their first taste of the township life and luckily we were able to contact Mama Ivie, who did my township tour, and she was able to take them around as well. She is a great guide since she has so much information and lives it everyday.

We also took time to go back to the Slave Lodge, which was something I really wanted to do since I felt I had extremely insufficient time the last time I was there. We were there for another hour and a half and I still didn't get to see everything. I was really struggling that night because of the extreme inequality in this country and the attempts that fail and the history all documented and displayed in the SL. Its hard to manage the idea that I am so lucky to have this chance to experience this country in the way that I am. Most people, its very evident, come to Cape Town and only delve into the tourist side and the immense beauty around every corner. Its challenging to even get into the townships without a program like the one I am in since Taxis will not travel to them and its dangerous to just drive in with your own car. It was just a night of release I think since I was with family and got the chance to own up to my privilege.

It also ended up being the best decision to not have my moms hike up Table Mountain with us! Pops kept saying it would be fine but about 10 minutes into the climb he easily agreed it would have been a poor choice! Todd, Joe, my dad and I went up the mountain again and it was another beautiful day. It was a challenge again but we made it up about a half hour quicker than the first time I did it so I was pretty proud of that :)

We experienced a lot of the local food and some shops including Green Market Square. I was in charge of the bartering since apparently I was the veteran...not sure how great of a choice that was! Mom definitely got some good stuff and hopefully all for pretty good deals.

Our Safari weekend away was very nice and I am not sure I have ever eaten or slept so much in 4 days but both were much appreciated! The cuisine was all African so it was lucky we went at the point I am now in my trip so I was actually willing to eat most things (outside of seafood of course!). The animals were beautiful and so was the weather so we couldn't have asked for more. We visited some vineyards and tasted some wine, met some great people and enjoyed each others company. We didn't even bicker alllll that much :)

Speaking of the cuisine...I'm learning to like new things!! woo-hoo. love when this happens. anywho I've started eating Calamari here since its delish everywhere we go. The guys in Sea Point did a Braai (BBQ) for me on Sunday night, they owed Erin and I a Braai but Erin is gone so I brought Joe instead! haha. They cooked lamb steaks, chicken, pork rashers, boerwoers (sp? its South African sausage) and Joe and I made veggies. If you can believe it the only thing I wasn't too keen on was the chicken! Everything else was suuuper good. Matt is an excellent Braaiman I guess :) Anywho Im proud of myself. Ive even eaten curry a number of times although I still can't say I like it.

This entire weekend was perfect weather so I was at the beach everyday including Monday after work! Saturday and Sunday we went to the Clifton beaches, mostly 2nd Beach and Monday we chilled on Camps Bay beach. Got to jump in the ocean each day and Monday I finally went allll the way in. I would have done so sooner but the waves were rather large and my suit would not have appreciated that! It was extremely cold though...it took quite a while to warm up after the dip.

Well this week is my last week and I cannot stand it. The time has flown by, as I knew it would, and I cannot say I am ready to come home. Each day is different but I still feel like I want to experience more. I'm trying to fit a lot into this week and hopefully I can pack it as full as possible- I can sleep when I get home and, fingers crossed, on the plane. I still havent visited Cape Town University Campus and it is pretty much in my backyard so hopefully that will happen in the next few days. I climbed Lion's Head (the smaller mountain to the side of Table Mountain) and it was challenging and fun and the scenery at the top was unmatchable anywhere in the world I would say...even though I'm obviously no expert. The ability to see huge mountains, beautiful sea sides, and a bustling city, and suburbs and townships all from one view is quite unbelievable. So I may try to get up there once again this week. I need to get another steak here since they are sooo good and way cheaper than in the US (the equivalent to about $14 for a 200g fillet). Other than that I wasnt to say my goodbyes and just really enjoy and appreciate my last few days.

Im most not looking forward to saying goodbye at my placement. I am really going to struggle to leave those kiddos behind since I have formed such a connection with all of them. I wish I could write a manual for what each baby likes and dislikes and how to challenge them. I also wish there were a way to get updates on all of them on a weekly basis! I know I'm crazy but I just know its going to be hard. I've already started getting emotional about a few of them and my baby (the one I am incredibly attached to) I dont think I've put down for more than about an hour each day!! wooops. I still have some painting to do, which I plan to do on Thursday, and then Friday it sounds like we're going to have a little going away thing so I am looking forward to that. I know I will miss everyone I have met here in South Africa because the people here are unlike any other. They are so sweet and welcoming and I have yet to have awful words to say about any of them. Don't get me wrong there are some nutties here but everyplace has to have those right!?

Okay thanks for reading and keeping updated on my travels even though I haven't been great about keeping up to date! I will continue to blog though because I have plans for other trips not too far in the future. I'm going to Chicago and New York in the month I get back and then I am hoping for Thailand and London after I graduate! We shall see where I end up :)

peace & love,

Alyssa

Dire Bacon Situation...

2009-06-15T17:25:00.000Z

So I just asked Taylor what to title my blog and she decided upon that. We spent an hour searching on google Saturday night as we sat home for a much needed relaxing girls night (Erin, Taylor and I) searching for places to have an American breakfast. We finally found a place with pancakes, maple syrup and bacon! Taylor has been getting very frustrated because there is often Macon on menus here because there is a large Muslim population in Cape Town so many places are Kosher and Halaal meat, when all she wants is real bacon! The bacon was still a bit odd at the restaurant since it was in a circular manner and I had to send it back so it would actually be crispy. If you didn't look at it while you were eating it it was pretty close to the real thing!

Saturday Erin, Todd, Chris, Taylor, Noelle, and our SA friend Mark all went to the Western Province Rugby game against the UK Lions. It was quite rowdy but a ton of fun. We had gone on Wednesday night to the Dubliner to watch the game prior to that one and decided it would be really fun to actually go to the game. The people we went with on Wednesday were helpful in trying to teach me the rules of rugby but there are so many! I had to look it up before we went to the game on Saturday so I would be better prepared with the vocabulary etc. Its a big thing here right now because the Lions only tour every 12 years to South Africa and they play a series of games leading up to the big game against the South African Springboks (which is this Saturday). All of the games leading to that one are insignificant for whether they win or lose but will help determine who gets to play in the big game! Don't I sound so knowledgeable after just 2 incidences with the sport! :) The hardest part on Wednesday before I read up on the game was my friend kept referring to the field as a pitch and that just sent my mind to a whole different place since I take that as a verb, but that is just the rugby term for the field.

Today was really quite wonderful. Erin and I were able to spend the day at an event held in a nearby town called Newlands. Nomzamo got an invitation for a few people to attend and Ethel asked me if I would like to go and bring another volunteer. Erin has not been super thrilled with her internship placement here so I figured her interests revolve around youth as well so she would probably enjoy the day also! It was a mixture of speakers and performances from youth and adults. The adults were from sponsors like ABSA bank and then the Minister of Education for SA was there, 2 people spoke from the Department of Social Development, and a woman from the Department of Education spoke. It was pretty impressive the caliber of people in attendance but the really moving and inspirational aspects were when the youth performed or spoke. Many of them did poems, one sang, and they performed a skit and had an informal dance off at the very end! One of the young girls spoke about sexual abuse from a family member and the backlash she experienced from her father who then spread around the entire town that she was a 'slut' and even had her pastor talking to the congregation about her transgressions. She was unbelievable though at such a young age to be able to talk about it and then to continue on by saying she was strong and powerful though and couldn't let those things bring her down because she knew she was going to be somebody. I was a bit choked up by her courage. Another boy read his poem, which was quite cynical but also very moving in his belief in himself, but he spoke about not choosing his family but choosing his friends and that those are the people he loves and those are the people that love him.

There was also a young man who came in who was in the Beijing Paralymics in 2008. He was a swimmer for South Africa and had missed the world record for one of his events by .5 seconds. He joked that he wished he had just grown his finger nails a little bit longer! He told us the story of how he lost his leg and it was unbelievable! He was working with a training company for divers and water rescue persons and was out on a routine trip. He was in the water with his brother and a friend waiting for the boat to come and snatch them up fooling around humming the jaws theme song with the other two and saw a shadow near where his brother was floating. He noticed that it was indeed a shark and that it was heading right for his brother. He began to frantically drum the water hoping to get the attention of the shark away from his brother and he watched the fin turn and come straight for him. He was actually quite funny while telling the story but it was very suspenseful for the audience! The shark came at him with his jaws open and he tried to jump around the shark (as he said in a 'juke' manner) and he had decided that the best place to be would be riding on top of the shark! He didn't quite get his second leg over the shark since the shark had it in his jaws. The shark tried to drag him down but he fought back and kicked and punched until his knuckles bled. He obviously made it out alive but just barely! What a story! The day after he woke up in the hospital he decided he was going to train for the paralympics with the encouragement of his brother. That was in 2006 and he made it to the Olympics nearly breaking records by 2008!

So yeah that was today and this past week. Tomorrow we have the day off from placement because it is Youth Day which is a National Holiday to commemorate the death of a number of youth in 1976 who were non-violently protesting the implementation of exams and instruction in entirely Afrikaans which is one of the languages of South Africa but those who speak Xhosa don't normally speak Afrikaans and vice versa. Language is an interesting subject here because you often don't know how someone would have been classified in the Apartheid era until you hear them speak. Those labeled 'Black' would speak Xhosa, and the next higher up classification would be those labeled 'Colored' (anyone who is of mixed race or Malay) would speak Afrikaans. So it was a way to further oppress the most oppressed group at the time. No one knows how it turned into shooting and riots but the children were singing and all of a sudden turning and running in the opposite direction. The children who died were shot in the back. There is now a memorial for one of the famed students Hector Pieterson who died on that day to remember all that was lost but also the attention gained from the actions taken on that day. We were able to see it one of the first days we were in Cape Town. Now June 16th is a National Holiday to support the positive actions youth are taking within South Africa. That was the reason we were able to go to the Youth Day event today because most things are closed tomorrow!

Okay that was a lot of information for one post but I hope some of it was interesting and/or new! I'll update again soon.

Peace & Love,
Alyssa

The Other Other Side of Cape Town

2009-06-06T17:25:00.000Z

Well it has been a pretty lazy week since this is our first week we have not had activities planned for nearly every afternoon we are here and it was quite rainy so we ended up reading and napping a lot as a group. We did go out a few nights during the week for some more karaoke and a few dinners out since it was Erica, Swapomthi, Emma, Karli, Theresa, and Ran's last week and we are all going to miss them terribly :( The good thing is we won't be spending near as much money after this week so I will be able to do some better saving!

I am getting much more information about the project I will be working on while I am here and I am really getting excited about the prospect of what it could be. I had a meeting with Luann and Tahira, my supervisors and CCS head staff, to talk about what it will mean for me to be heading this project. They are putting a lot of responsibility on me because it will end up being a project more for/through Cross Cultural Solutions than it will for Nomzamo but it will still be very beneficial for their work/mission. I was excited to hear that actually because that means more resources will be available to me when researching and making connections within the community. We are going to try to have one big day when the mural painting will take place with food, music, games etc and I am going to try (with lots of help) to get a celebrity sports player or someone like that to come and to get a radio station to broadcast from the backyard at Nomzamo. It will be a lot of networking and "creative persuasion" as Luann put it to get sponsors for the day and to make this a big event. I think it will be great for the community, for Nomzamo, and for CCS so I hope I have the skills to pull it all off! I am actually doing work on it tonight and writing up a force field analysis and maybe just for kicks also do a SWAT analysis for all you Social Workers out there! haha Anyway its feeling good to actually get to do use some of the skills I have learned this year at U of M.

On another note, I had my first attempted mugging today :( wah wah. Its okay we made it out unscathed and with just a bit less cash, but it could have been much worse. Its frustrating because it was just Erin and I and we were out during the day and we took the train into Cape Town to save some money and get to know the city a little better and this happened! We got off the train and walked out, not exactly sure where we were but we knew we were downtown Cape Town, and the day was beautious so we started walking. Well I guess we went the less traveled route and a man approached us asking for money. We said we didn't have any and tried to keep walking. Well he was not having that and was asking for a 'note' or a paper bill not just change (which I tried to give him). Then he kept saying 'I dont want to commit a crime here ladies dont make me commit a crime' and he had this real intense look in his eye that definitely scared us. He was also commenting that he just got out of jail and was trying to get some bread for his family but he was definitely not in the right mind if you get my drift. So we walked across the street while he followed (and while many other people passed us by I might add!) and I saw a man that looked nicely dressed and bigger than this guy and I just walked right up to him and stood next to him and said 'were just going to hang out here for a little while' and he was receptive but still did not say anything to this creepy man. But it did the trick and scared him off so needless to say Erin and I hurried along to the busiest street we could find and made our way but opted for a cab back to the train station for the way home!

A few of our adventure things this weekend fell through, we were supposed to go sandboarding but the weather has been pretty not great and then we were supposed to fly to Robertson on a friend's plane for the Wacky Wine Festival tomorrow, but that has also fallen through because of a double booking on the plane! Ahh well good thing I have 2 more months to experience those things :)

I'll update again soon hope everyone else is doing as fabulously as I am here in this amazing place!

peace & love,
alyssa

Placement Update

2009-05-28T15:52:00.000Z

Here you go FINALLY!!

So I am placed at Nomzamo Place of Safety and there are about 15 kids I work with/for each day. There are two babies, both born from HIV+ mothers so are taking AntiRetroVirals (ARVs) until they are sure the status. One is 1 month and the other is 4 months. The 4 month old, Asina, is only 7lbs so she is in pretty tough shape. The toddlers (13) are all absolutely adorable and of course I have my favorites...Mzamo (boy)- 6months, Siabonga (boy)- 8months, and one of the older ones Yoliswa (girl)- 4yrs. They are all so sweet in their own way though! Im not allowed to post pictures of them because of the nature of their stays at Nomzamo (abuse, neglect, or abandonment).

I have been concerned until this week about the nature of my placement because the first two weeks consisted of me babysitting the children. In reality I believe I was in the trust-building stage, and still am, but I think it will benefit me in the long run to really know and care about the children I will hopefully be part of the programming for.

The nurse and the social worker at Nomzamo have taken a liking to me and my supervisor, Ethel, I think has big plans for me being there and is very sweet! Most of the workers have Xhosa as their first language, so that has been a continual barrier in getting to know them. Some speak better English than others and my language lessons have been quite minor...

In speaking with Tahira, my CCS supervisor, it looks like I will be in charge of a Community Organizing project through Nomzamo. Ethel has wanted the outer walls of Nomzamo to be painted with a Mural for some time now and has expressed that desire with Tahira in her decision to take on an intern. Tahira thinks it would be great to connect area schools, both in the townships and in the wealthier districts, to come together after building a theme and ideas and to paint the wall in tandem. Tahira suggested doing a big day of it and involving the art teachers at the wealthier schools and then using volunteers from NYU's Art Therapy program (coming in August) to complete the project with the township children. I haven't got all the details but it will be a lot of planning and visiting area schools, asking for donations, and trying to get media attention for the actual day! The only sad part will be that I will miss the actual day because that won't happen til mid-late August :( I think that will be a good learning experience for me in my studies as a Social Worker - how to give credit to the participants and not need that thanks/credit for the organizing aspect.

Okay more to come later, any advice etc would be greatly appreciated :)

peace & love,
Alyssa

Weekend Update!

2009-05-27T05:30:00.001Z

Sorry this is a little late all I've been feelin real lazy the last couple of days and needed a bit of a rest after the weekend!

I will be posting an entire blog this afternoon allll about my placement so be looking forward to that. I am feeling much better about it and have a REAL Community Organizing project that I will be pretty much in charge of so I am beyond excited. We have a program today on Child Protection and Child Rights in South Africa since it is Child Protection week here.

So Friday night we went as a pretty large group to this chic little restaurant, yet still quite inexpensive, and had dinner and drinks. It was tapas style but the cuisine was Indian/Mediterranean mixed. I had butter chicken (traditional Indian Cuisine) and Vietnamese Salad Rolls. For my first drink I had a Madagascar martini, that I know my mother would have loved, which had vanilla vodka, pineapple puree, and smashed ginger. Sounds strange but was real good. For my second drink I had a Mantra which was lemon juice, vanilla vodka, sugar, and limoncello, just for Andy. Also delish :) The restaurant was called asoka with a flat line over the first a! haha

Saturday was a perfect day all around. We woke up at about 8:30 and were off on the road by 9. We started on the West Coast of lower South Africa and went past Seal Island and took tons of picture along the coast by Fish Hoek. The roads are amazing, almost like the PCH in Cali, but less scary! Then we headed east and went to see the Penguins again at Simon's Town for those people who didn't go on our trip last time. We ate at a restaurant right on the waterfront which was pretty nice. After the penguins we went South to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. To get there you had to travel through a Nature Reserve and it was gorgeous. The nature here is just beyond anything I have ever experienced and Cape Point was really unique. There were stone walkways all the way up and colorful greenery and flowers and the views were breathtaking. Then we traveled a bit farther to Cape of Good Hope (these were the southern most points in Africa) and the beach was perfect weather for walking around and taking pictures and we stayed til Sunset and it was sooo pretty. I just sat on a rock and enjoyed :)

Sunday we got up at 4:00am! We had to travel to get to the coast in Gainsbaai for the Shark Cage Diving. We got there around 6:30 and had a nice breakfast and watched a documentary about what we would be doing and the sharks in Cape Town. It was quite interesting. I also took pictures with pictures of Brad Pitt, Leonardo Dicaprio, Matt Damon, and Anderson Cooper who have all also dove with the sharks with the same company. I felt special ;) We got onto the boat with all our gear and headed out to our spot. Along the way we spotted a whale, which I guess is relatively rare for this time of the year, so that was great. Once we got to our spot and saw the actual cage (it had been left there with bait to attract the sharks) my stomach got a little queasy! It was WAY smaller and dinkier than I expected it to be! haha. The queasiness may have also been from the horrendous stench coming from the seal island right next to us!

We put on our wetsuits, with MUCH struggle, and I jumped into the water to be part of the first dive. It was awesome! They came right up to our cage and we could see them so well. Then the other people went (there were 6 divers each dive) and we got to watch all the sharks from the boat. We saw some seals pass us frolicking in the waves and were taking pictures. Then about 2 minutes later we saw commotion about 100 feet away and the seal was eaten by the shark and the water turned alllll red and I started crying. of course :(

After that I had to wait a bit to get brave enough to get back in the water, and for my stomach to settle, and I got back into the cage. This dive was the best of them all! The shark came riiiight in front of my face and I was screaming with another girl here, Annie, under the water and near hyperventilating! Then another shark came by and charged at our cage and its tail whipped it and shook the whole thing! It was awesome!!! Then we packed up and went back to shore and had a nice warm meal. We stopped at the beach on the way home and also for some Gelato and the day was over and I was exhausted.

I will write later today all about my placement, hope you enjoyed more of my touristy updates :)

peace & love,
alyssa

Weekend Festivities and Table Mountain

2009-05-20T17:15:00.000Z

Its been a filled last few days since I updated so I will surely miss some things along the way! Friday we went to Green Market Square after lunch to find some African souvenirs etc. It was extremely overwhelming but the stuff was very cool! I picked up some gifts for people but will have to go back once I've sharped my bartering skills. Every person/tent we passed yelled they had a good price and to stop in a look around that everything was 'half off today!' it was craziness! I did end up with some really great stuff though. I just need to stop laughing and smiling when I give them a number half of what they said they would sell it for! That evening we went out on the town to a few places and ended up at the Dubliner. The band was great but there weren't many locals so we will have to explore a bit more. It was a great evening with great company!

Saturday we ended up going to the vineyards instead of Cape Point because the weather was pretty bad. We ended up doing a Brandy tasting tour at one of the places...bad plan. Chalk it up to another thing I can say I've experienced!

Sunday was a much prettier day and we took the train into Simon's Town to see the Jackass Penguins, now known as African Penguins, but I like the old name better! They bray like donkeys kind of so that is why they were termed that. It was really nice and now we know a different side of travel here in the city.

I also went on the most beautiful run of my life on Sunday afternoon! I ran a ways past our house and up to this open tall grass clearing that was recommended by the staff here. There were trails throughout the entire space and there was about no way you could get lost because any way I went there was another trail heading back towards where I came. I will definitely be going back! The entire run I was looking up at a mist covered Table Mountain and you don't get better than that!

Last night we went to Dizzy's in Camps Bay and had a great night of Karaoke! We met a few people who live in Cape Town and had said it would be a good time. So we met up with them and it turned out to be really fun! Good company and karaoke is always a winning combo :)

Today was the best day so far I think! I finally got to climb table mountain!!!!! It was incredibly strenuous! That was unexpected because no one really warned me but it felt really good all the way up and then right at the top my legs just started turning to jello! Everyone seemed to feel the same way and I was really proud of our group that made it to the top! Plus today was 70+ degrees so it was a warm hike. Perfect weather for pictures and once we got to the top though. I hope I never get over how absolutely beautiful it is here and how lucky I am that I get to experience it!

I want to make a side note that I apologize for not discussing my placement. It has been quite a struggle for me so far, I am practically babysitting 12 babies and toddlers everyday and am working on trying to see the good in that for my education. If things don't change soon I will likely be moved to a new place so I will be keeping everyone posted on that. That is supposed to be the focus of my trip and much of my time currently is spent trying not to focus on that...

Tomorrow we are going to Bo Kaap which is a traditional African town in the midst of cosmopolitan Cape Town and I have heard wonderful things about it. It is one of the places I was most excited to see when I came here so I hope its a great day :)

I'll update again soon!

peace & love,
Alyssa

Robben Island

2009-05-14T16:25:00.000Z

Molo! I'm learning the Xhosa language while here in Cape Town so I can at least say hello and ask people how they are doing who do not speak English. In other words, Molo means hello! and there are no clicks in that one but there are in pronouncing Xhosa :) I can do two of the clicks and sometimes get the third so I'm doing better than I thought. Ill practice and show/tell you when I get home!

Started my placement on Tuesday and its been interesting so far. I use that word because its not what I expected and I am a little apprehensive about what this experience is going to mean for my internship but I am trying to stay open-minded. The babies are adorable, I am working currently with 6-9 toddlers from 1-4 years of age. Only two of them really talk, but they speak Xhosa so its been very difficult being left to practically babysit them not speaking their language. Needless to say Ive learned to ask them their names, say sit down, be quiet, sing, yes, no, stop and thank you! They looked at me very funny when I came in the second day being able to speak to them a little bit since we didn't have our first language lesson until Tuesday night.

All of our time so far has been pretty packed tight! We are all pretty exhausted because there are a number of people only staying for 3 or 4 weeks so we have to pack A LOT into a short time. I figured I would stay out of the planning for now since I have so much more time after they leave. We went to Robben Island yesterday to see Nelson Mandela's cell and hear about the history of the personal and political oppression experienced by so many detained at the prison. It was very interesting. Especially the story of Robert Sobukwe- look it up it is very sad and powerful, especially for us Community Organizers out there!

After our walking and bus tour on the island we went to dinner at a Portuguese restaurant on the waterfront, but we had them close the windows because there is a strong smell of bird or seal poo just about everywhere along the water! But the views are unbelievable so I would still absolutely make you go there if you enter the Cape Town vicinity. Then we went for a drink at the Green Dolphin - a jazz club also along the waterfront. It was really nice and will be taking the parents there when they arrive :)

Today everyone was exhausted when we got back from placement and we had a 2 hour HIV/AIDS workshop and everyone struggled to stay awake. After that a few people took naps and then we went into Rondebosch to pick up a few necessary items, like snacks. Tonight's dinner has been the first that was actually filling and pretty good. Ill probably be eating a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, sorry Cara!!

This weekend we are heading to a market and out on the town Friday after placement, Saturday we are heading to Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, and Sunday starts off our adventuresome activities with shark diving! I hope they come real close and hit the cage at least a little ;)

Okay I will update again after the weekend...

peace & love.
Alyssa

2009-05-11T16:54:00.000Z

IM HERE. FINALLY! We have been super busy the last couple days and the flying for 18 hours didn't help my inability to write sooner. It is beautiful here. The weather was perfect yesterday, it was about 75 during the day and the sun was shining making the Cape Town scenery absolutely breathtaking!

I woke up early Monday morning, didn't get much sleep at all :( but the morning started well with a stroll with the 3 oldest members of our crew Hattie, Dee, and Ivan! We walked around the suburbs and saw the local houses which are very nice and enjoyed the beautiful morning and the view of Table Mountain from practically our back yard.

Orientation began with intros etc and then we got to walk around the surrounding town of Rondebosch/Mowbray and find some of the local shops. We found Alma's cafe which is this sweet little spot that opens to a local street and sells flapjacks and sweets and the people are very nice :) I'm excited to take a sunday morning brunch there or an afternoon snack as soon as I am not so busy.

Then we wondered (a little too far) to Rondebosch Commons which has a local supermarket filled with area foods and there were gas stations and street sellers as well. When we returned to the homebase we had a BBQ which they call a Braai something or other. The chicken was good, haha I am not thoroughly enjoying the cuisine so far so I think I will have to purchase some side foods for myself at the market.

Then we traveled into downtown Cape Town to see views of Table Mountain, Robben Island, and the coastline. We stopped at the beach and had a blast walking around and people watching. It was great to think that all of what I was enjoying were nature's creations and that way available for every person to appreciate!

Today we went on a township tour and saw the poverty that dwells in Cape Town. It was definitely sad but I was less shocked than I expected to be. We stopped at a few places so we could get a closer look of the living conditions as well as the bright spots that live inside those areas (Vicky's smallest Hotel, a preschool, and a pottery shop).

Tomorrow I begin placement and I am apprehensive but also very excited to get started with what I came here to do! I will post again later this week. This weekend we plan to travel to Cape Hope and down to see the penguins :)

peace & love - AM

p.s. uploading pictures on the computer here takes FOREVER and is expensive, since we have to pay for internet by the byte so we will see how often I post them...

My Placement!

2009-04-24T00:32:00.001Z

Today I received my placement details for my South Africa internship! I will be working at a center called Nomzamo Place of Safety. The details were sent to me by Cross Cultural Solutions today and are as follows:

Nomzamo Place of Safety was established during the Apartheid to offer a temporary residence to the children of mothers who were arrested for contravening the pass laws. The babies could not be taken to prison with their mothers and an alternative placement was needed.

The 1976 to 1980 political upheavals affected the functioning of the facility and in 1980 the facility moved to Langa where a block house was secured at Zone 22- 60. Since there were no facilities for black African children at the time, the services were extended to accommodate other abandoned, neglected, orphaned and abused children as well.

The mission of Nomzamo is to transform and integrate the facility into the broader community by rendering an effective and efficient service for children under the age of 6 years that takes into consideration their special needs, ensures their safety and well-being, and reunites them with their families. Nomzamo aims to provide a place of safety for children who have been traumatized, provide care to children orphaned, abandoned, neglected, infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, and provide nursing care, spiritual and emotional support and education for orphaned and abused children.

Im extremely excited to be working with the babies but am a bit concerned that the skills I will be working on will be much more micro based then community organizing. They said I would be responsible for help implementing the program and making it run more efficiently, introducing new educational exposure to the children, assist with administrative tasks and 'domestic duties' ie cooking, cleaning and changing diapers haha. I will be speaking with my supervisor and contact at CCS about this to make sure I am not only having a wonderful experience but that my requirements are being met for school.

I can already see myself getting way too attached to these little ones so wish me luck! I will be updating often with all the adventures and what the placement is actually like :)

Peace - AM

2009-03-18T01:42:00.001Z

Happy St. Patty's Day! Just made my own green beer with neon green food coloring :) Me and the roomie just had one, needed a refresher after a long day!

Getting more and more excited about South Africa everyday. I got my immunizations yesterday and I was much braver than I expected to be. I am not a fan of needles period let alone 4 shots :( I'm up to $600 from the friends and family letters i sent out and am hopeful that I hear from some funding grants soon.

School is busy as ever but I am trying to stay focused and get as much as I can out of my courses and my field work at Butzel without losing my 'me' time. Jacky is coming in from Kalamazoo this weekend and I think we'll go to Dominiks for some Sangria. Its right up her alley and as long as its nice out its one of my favorite spots! Haven't figured out where to head for dinner yet though.

I talked to Leslie this week and decided that it would be pretty awesome to move to New York after graduation. I would have her there as a very close support system and would not be far from my family in New Jersey which would be really nice. New ideas everyday! Its nice to have options (well as long as I can find a job;) ).

Peace & Love -

Alyssa

My very own blog :)

2009-03-09T03:14:00.000Z

Decided it was finally time to start my own blog. I am traveling to South Africa this summer and plan to use this to communicate with my people at home so I figured I'd start early so I can be a pro by May! Any insight and tips will be much appreciated.

Choosing a blog title is difficult. Almost like choosing a title to your own movie, which I have never been good at coming up with. I chose Echo My Song because I have been listening to India Arie a lot lately and she speaks of wanting to go where the mountains are high enough to echo her song. That is my plan for the summer and I can't wait to tackle Table Mountain.

More to come...