1 month down... how many left to go?!

Well, I made it one month! I'm actually surprised! After being here for two weeks I was almost certain I wouldn't make it! It hasn't been easy that's for sure. Yup, I am really in the 3rd poorest country in the WORLD! I'm not sure if its what I expected or not...

First off my home stay village is called Baguineda Camp. It is a pretty big village of about 9,000, its a suburb of Bamako. We got dropped off and had a welcoming ceremony where we met the mayor and the Dugutiki (chief of the village) There were a lot of people who came to see the Tubabs (us/white folk) there was a lot of music, and dancing... we met our host parents, danced a bit then went "home" for lunch. Crap talk about overwhelming!!!! So many sights and sounds and smells, I was on the verge of tears the whole time!!!

My host family is AMAZING though! My host father is 35 his name is Yacouba Coulibaly, he only has 1 wife and I think he plans on only having 1 wife which is great! (I didn't realize Mali was hip to the whole polygamy business) So my host moms name is Fatimatu Seko and get this... she is 25! lol yup, just a year older than me. and they have 4 kids. The oldest is 10! Uh huh I said 10!! her name is Jaratu, Next is Boroley who is 7, then Bogoroba who is 4 and Muhamadu who is 1. Since it is summer and the kids are on break Yacoubas' older sisters two kids are also staying with us. There is Asa who is 9 and Jeneva who is 6. Also living in our concession is... Bakare Yacoubas 27 year old brother, and their mother Sonduguba, I'm not sure how old she is AND... another nephew Dreesa. I still haven't figured out who he belongs to or why he is living with them... but I guess it doesn't matter. Yacouba has 8 siblings his youngest brother Kassoum is 20 and quickly became my BFF because he is going to college in Bamako and is studying English, and can speak a tiny bit of English... which is amazing! it has proven to be very helpful! That is a whole crap load of people living in 3 bedrooms huh?! hahaha... I have my own room.

Lets see... so far I have been totally OK with the no electricity and running water business. Its amazing how quickly one can adjust. What I have not adjusted to so much is using a neygan... Which is a hole in the ground that you just have to squat over and aim very carefully... Me and my weak stomach don't agree with it so well. I throw up every time I have to go to the bathroom. Not good. Not to mention the Cock roaches and mosquitoes that seem to sit and wait for the split second that one pulls down their pants to bite my everything! NOT COOL! I loaththem! I have pretty much resorted to not going to the bathroom once it starts to get dark until the sun comes up. You do what you gotta do man!

Some things I have been amazed by are... 1, the fact that Malians don't use soap to wash their hands, they believe that soap will wash away all their luck/money. and it isn't just a wives tale, they truly believe this! 2, the amount of garbage there is... everywhere. I guess it makes sense I mean what do you do with garbage? you throw it away, then what happens to it? I know you put it out on the curb and someone comes and takes it away... what happens when there is no one to come take it away? It just sits there... which brings us to Mali. There is no waste management there fore the waste is well... in the streets. I don't know if I will ever get used to the kids running around half naked and barefoot playing with broken glass, razor blades, old pesticide cans and tampon applicators... and really what can I do about it? I mean I still collect my garbage, but I have no idea what I am going to do with it when it comes time to throw it out... throw it where?!

Language... is interesting. Bamanaka it is called and it isn't even really a written language! Its all contextual and I am convinced that it is made up as they go along! I'm also convinced that they entire language is made up of like 50 words, they just change the meaning... for example Ba means- mother, big and river. All pronounced the exact same way It just depends on the context of the sentence. its crazy. And you use the same word (ye) for past tense and present tense... So I can never figure out if someone is asking me what I'm doing right now or what I did before OR if I saw my mom before I got home or if I saw the river before I got home or if I am currently looking at something big... FML! and everything sounds the same! Somogo is family, Sonogo is sleep, Sokono is inside, and Sogoma is morning. hahah pretty sure I ask people how there inside is, tell them that I am going to morning and to have a good family because I cant ever remember which is which when Im speaking... I just cheated and looked at my language notes to get those right! I usually just say "Awo" which means yes, and if they look at my wierd I say, oh "Ayi" which means no! N ma famu ( I don't understand) and N taa do (I don't know) are my two most favorite phrases...

I think that's good for this session... I still have so much stuff to say but there will be more time... I can definitely say I am a total American and I miss it like crazy though!