My First Week at Site

4-23

So I just spent a week at my new site. Things are great!! Also, you can find an article about our swear in here:

My Malian counterpart teaches basic literacy classes in my village so I have been attending those and helping out when I can. This is very interesting as he just very recently learned to write. The whole thing is very inspirational, a little heartbreaking, and very funny. Funny because I can help the people sound words out because I can recognize letters and the sounds they should make, but I have no idea what some of the words mean. For instance, I can sound the word “jala” out, but I could definitely not use it in a sentence. I am slowly picking up on meanings, but it is very funny. I think where I am most helpful is with math. They are working on very simple addition and subtraction, which I can explain with my limited vocabulary and fingers, sticks, rocks, or lines drawn on paper. Mainly, I try to work with the people who can’t read or write at all. They get left behind quickly in class, and it is fairly painful to watch them try to force their hands to write their names or 1-10. Sometimes I make them repeat writing letters or their names, and other times I write something down and make them tell me what letter or number it is.

I also will be distributing mosquito nets from a US AID project. Yesterday I had to go around and figure out how many people are in each family and write them a receipt so when the nets arrive they receive the proper number, which is one net for every 2 people. It was also a good way for me to meet more people in my village, and get a count. There are 574 people. I know I am just lucky to have so much to do already, I know that the first three months are generally filled with a distinct lack of things to do, but I have plenty on my plate already. I mean, I only got one nap in yesterday!!! That means I had lots to do. Between drinking tea, counting people, reading, playing mini guitar concerts, and working on my garden I have tons of stuff to do.

Speaking of garden, I have built a fence just outside my house. It will be a bit of a walk from the nearest water, but I think I can handle it. The fence design is fairly brilliant in its African simplicity. I did not think of it. I’ll have pictures at some point I hope. The chief and I built it. I don’t really know how to describe it, but I’ll put up a picture sometime soon. It is basically a very thick bush that we built out of branches from various bushes, and then lashed between posts. Horrible description, but it’s the best I’ve got for now. I also dug one bed so far and will be hunting for seeds today in Sikasso.

I am lacking tables. I was told I could get a table in village, so no reason to buy one in Sikasso and then have to put it on a car to get to site. But this is not the case. I asked the chair builder if he could build me a table. He said no. I showed him that a table is just a chair with no back essentially, but he said he could not do it… Silly. I’ll have to figure that out at some point.

I’ve also started playing my guitar for an insanely, insanely skinny woman. She is not that old, but she can’t really take care of herself so either her brother or husband takes care of her. I think she enjoys it, but I can’t really tell. She just sort of looks like she has given up and is waiting to die, which from the looks of her will not be very long. Though she does have the occasional brilliant smile when I say hi. I hate to end on a depressing note, but I think that’s all the news I have for now. Things in general are really, really good and life is really relaxing in village. I am busy, but I still have plenty of time to read in my hammock that is made of what appears to be shoelaces. That was a brilliant purchase I must say!