I just finished my last week at Home stay. It was kind of bittersweet leaving Banankoro. I really liked my family and the town was pretty cool despite the kids yelling Toubobu at you everywhere you went. I have lived with this family for the past 8 weeks and now I'm heading off to actually start doing what I came here to do. I think they were kinda sad to see me go too. They kept asking when I would be back and I told them I didn't know. Once I leave for site I won't be back in Bamako until January so I definitely won't see them before then. They told me they would call me and keep in touch. It will be fun though to come back and see them from time to time. Hopefully next year they host a trainee. We had a big dance for the village and cooked dinner for all our host families. We made fries and actually scrounged up some ketchup. My brother really liked the ketchup.
So now I'm just hanging out at Tubani So until Friday. I passed my language test and as far as I can tell I'm all set to swear in. Swear in will be at the Embassy. Very Formal event. Probably the one time I will wear a tie in Mali.
No big adventures to write about. At least none I can put up here without risking Admin Sep. I spent a good deal of today in the library watching movies and really bad Malian music videos.
So I thought maybe some of you might want to know how we're structured here in Mali. Basically all the trainees come in under one of five sectors. I'm here under Ag. The others are Water Sanitation, Natural Resource Management, Health, and Small Enterprise Development. What's really fun is having tech exchanges between 2 or more sectors. Say, for instance, I build a community garden and need a well dug I'll call a buddy in Water San and have him come down and help build a well. But that's how we're structured. Also USAID is big here and works with Peace Corps a lot.
Sidenote: Through my small network of people who read my blog, if anyone knows anyone who wants to do Agricultural research or development in West Africa, especially with potatoes, let me know.
Now for the Cross Cultural part of the program.
Malians have something called Joking Cousins. Basically it goes by what your last name is and what group you come from. I was a Coulibaly in Banankoro. There are a lot of Coulibalys so they are joking cousins with everyone. Here's a typical conversation.
Malian: I Togo?
Me: Coulibaly
Malian: Ah Coulibaly! Coulibaly A min! I be sho dun!
Me: N te sho dun. I be sho dun oko i bena boci cosebe cosebe.
English
Malian: Your name
Me: Coulibaly
Malian: Ah Coulibaly! Coulibalys are bad. You eat beans.
Me: I don't eat beans. You eat beans then you're going to fart a lot
I apologize to any fluent Bambara readers out there if my Bambara is a little off.
Saying someone eats beans is a hilarious insult to Malians, but you can call someone who is your joking cousin a donkey or even your slave. "Oh he's Traore, he's my slave" is not an uncommon expression. I stay away from that one. One might that think that after a few hundred years the eating beans joke would get old and tired. Nope! It still just as funny as it was when the pilgrims were settling America. At least to them. It took me about a week before I was like "oh yeah I eat beans. Great. Super." Smile on the outside, die a little bit on the inside.
I want to be careful though, of painting a negative picture on this thing. Malians are a very nice accommodating welcoming people. They love to joke and have fun and they really have been great. Even though they eat to. But seriously a lot of times blogs can turn into a place for PCV's to vent frustration which means they write about the bad stuff a lot and not enough about the good. Just keep that in mind if I ever go off on a nasty tangent.
So now I'm just hanging out at Tubani So until Friday. I passed my language test and as far as I can tell I'm all set to swear in. Swear in will be at the Embassy. Very Formal event. Probably the one time I will wear a tie in Mali.
No big adventures to write about. At least none I can put up here without risking Admin Sep. I spent a good deal of today in the library watching movies and really bad Malian music videos.
So I thought maybe some of you might want to know how we're structured here in Mali. Basically all the trainees come in under one of five sectors. I'm here under Ag. The others are Water Sanitation, Natural Resource Management, Health, and Small Enterprise Development. What's really fun is having tech exchanges between 2 or more sectors. Say, for instance, I build a community garden and need a well dug I'll call a buddy in Water San and have him come down and help build a well. But that's how we're structured. Also USAID is big here and works with Peace Corps a lot.
Sidenote: Through my small network of people who read my blog, if anyone knows anyone who wants to do Agricultural research or development in West Africa, especially with potatoes, let me know.
Now for the Cross Cultural part of the program.
Malians have something called Joking Cousins. Basically it goes by what your last name is and what group you come from. I was a Coulibaly in Banankoro. There are a lot of Coulibalys so they are joking cousins with everyone. Here's a typical conversation.
Malian: I Togo?
Me: Coulibaly
Malian: Ah Coulibaly! Coulibaly A min! I be sho dun!
Me: N te sho dun. I be sho dun oko i bena boci cosebe cosebe.
English
Malian: Your name
Me: Coulibaly
Malian: Ah Coulibaly! Coulibalys are bad. You eat beans.
Me: I don't eat beans. You eat beans then you're going to fart a lot
I apologize to any fluent Bambara readers out there if my Bambara is a little off.
Saying someone eats beans is a hilarious insult to Malians, but you can call someone who is your joking cousin a donkey or even your slave. "Oh he's Traore, he's my slave" is not an uncommon expression. I stay away from that one. One might that think that after a few hundred years the eating beans joke would get old and tired. Nope! It still just as funny as it was when the pilgrims were settling America. At least to them. It took me about a week before I was like "oh yeah I eat beans. Great. Super." Smile on the outside, die a little bit on the inside.
I want to be careful though, of painting a negative picture on this thing. Malians are a very nice accommodating welcoming people. They love to joke and have fun and they really have been great. Even though they eat to. But seriously a lot of times blogs can turn into a place for PCV's to vent frustration which means they write about the bad stuff a lot and not enough about the good. Just keep that in mind if I ever go off on a nasty tangent.
So this is it. After Friday the official countdown will begin. T-minus 2 years and counting. Its going to be sad leaving for site. I probably won't see a lot of my fellow trainees for a very long time. But it will also be exciting to get going and get myself setup and be an actual volunteer.
Hope everything is going well in Ameriki.
Signing off from Mali, West Africa
5 comments:
Hey Braxton,
Thank you for the note. Your posts make your journey sound amazing, except for the toe/to. That was nasty. You are right, work started, so I am busy making sure orphans and children are thrown in the street so that oil hungry companies can kill penguins and cause global warming. Well that is a joke of course. I have moved to the wicker park area of chicago, not nearly as interesting as some of the moves you described. My neighbor is Gerardo, but I don't think he'll find the phrase about beans to be as funny as your neigbors find it to be. What is your address there?
Pat
Hey there,
It all sounds so EXCITING!!! Makes me wish I had been adventurous in my younger years.
I keep the plant updated and print out your blog so everyone keeps up on you.
Harvest here has started so we are quit busy with corn & beans. Have been taking corn in since Aug 14th and started beans this week.
Take care and can't wait till your next blog :)Peggy
Couldn't be prouder of you cousin! Keep up the good work and the blog entries.
Congratulations on passing your language test and swearing in, and good luck on the next part of the journey. Love Ann and Rog
Hi Braxton,
We've really enjoyed your blogs. What an experience you are having! We also congratulate you on passing your language exam and wish you well on this new part of your adventure.
Love,
Budd and Faye
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