Bamanakan Kalan

I ni Sogoma! I ka Kane? Somogow be D'i?
I have successfully completed another jaunt in Banakoro. This one was exponetially better than the previous. I was never sick, I am getting used to the food and eating more, and I can communicate a lot more with my family. I know how quickly time passes in the States, but here a day is week and a week is a year so I can't remember what i wrote in my last blog so if I repeat myself please forgive. Being able to communicate with my family makes life so much better, but I imagine it is very humorous for my family. I'll paint a picture. Imagine a half naked white man walking to the negen and 6:00 in the morning with his goofy white man walk announcing to the world "I'M GOING TO CLEAN MYSELF!" or during dinner "WE ARE EATING. THIS FOOD IS GOOD. I DON'T LIKE EAT BONES!" There is a lot of that. Last night though I threw caution to the wind. I ate fruit washed in well water, I ate goat meat, and I petted the dog. I should explain though. Dogs here are not like dogs in the States...at all. They are here to bark when someone comes into the compound and something to beat on when the kids are bored. And when I say beat I MEAN beat. Oh and they bark all night every night and won't let the Toubob sleep.
We changed schools. We no longer have class under the Mango trees. It rained and dumped maybe 8 to 10 inches on us in a single night and the negen overflowed. Now we have class in the kindergarten. Its ok, but I liked it better out under the trees. We're still outside, but there are walls around the place and it feels more isolated.
My Bambara is coming along nicely, but I am a little slower than I should be. I tested out at Novice High when the most of my class is at Intermediate Low. N HAKILIMADI!
If you want to act smart at home then I'm actually learning Bamana, and if you want to act really smart at home tell people I'm learning Bamanakan. Bamana is what they call the language and every language has kan added to the end of it so...Bamana...kan
So now I am at Tubaniso until Tuesday, maybe Wednesday and then I head off for site visit. Dogon country! I get to see my house and my village and meet the Dugutiki and set up my bank account and all that fun stuff. I might even start learning some Dogonkan ;) Its hot up there, but there are fewer mosqitos so take the good with the bad. Most PCV's sleep outside especially during the hot season. Right now its the rainy season and then it will cool off through Aprilish. I am told I will see parents putting big winter coats, hats and mittens on their kids even though its like 50 degrees out. I'll try and get some pictures for you guys. I know they make these things more interesting.
I'm trying to keep this organized but I'm not having much luck. Every time I tell myself I will write these out the night before, but it never happens and so I just write as it comes out of my head.
I might have wrote in my last blog that i will be near Bankass and that bankass will have internet? If I wrote that I am a liar. Bankass does not have internet and so I will only be able to get to a computer once maybe twice a month when I go to Mopti or Severe for banking and post.
Lastly, enjoy America. I'm not going to stand on a soapbox or anything, but it is beyond mind boggling the things I took for granted. Also I would give my left hand for a Double Cheeseburger Fries and a Pepsi (Coke flows like water here).

K'an Ben