Waterfalls!!!

So, I just got back from a little place called Woroni where there are some gorgeous and wonderful waterfalls.  I had my first real ride in a long distance taxi, and it was splendid.  They are called Bashees, and on the way there we had 11 people in a station wagon designed to sit 7.  They had at some point removed the roof, and welded their own on so it could hold more weight on top.  On top the pile of gear was taller than the car itself.  It included, 2 chairs, 2 decent sized tables, and one motorcycle along with all our backpacks for the trip.  Four Malians sat across the front where there were only two bucket seats, so that was probably really uncomfortable.  We had 4 Americans across the first bench seat, and three in the back.  The seats were designed for two in front, 3 in middle, and 2 in back.  Luckily it was an ancient Peugot and had a "3 on the tree" set-up for shifting so the two men sitting in the middle up front did not get in the way of the driver...too much.  We had to stop a few times and put water into the radiator, I don't know how the water did not burst out when he opened the radiator cap...maybe there was just no water in it?  Anyways, it was a little over and hour drive, and then a splendid hike through some fields up to the falls.  There were three sets.  The first set is maybe 40 feet, and kind of spread out, the second is also maybe 40 feet but is one big stream, and the third is small, but really secluded and beautiful.  The second set has a nice pool for swimming in, and a ledge that is maybe 10 feet up to jump off of into the water.  We spent the night at the base of the first falls, and hiked out in the morning.  We had paid the driver to stay the night at the nearest village and pick us up at the trailhead in the morning, and he was right on time.  Coming back, we had less people in the car, but I got stuck in the very back and so was pretty cramped, and the smell of gasoline and exhaust got trapped back there a little worse.  And I believe the car was actually gasoline as opposed to diesel which is really uncommon here.  Also, the driver would turn the car off on any downhill to conserve gasoline which is a good idea, but I just thought worth mentioning.  I'll try to put pictures up... but no guarantees.  Okay, well I had a great weekend, and I'll try posting soon!

Another Report

My creativity with titles of blogs is really slipping... I'll have to work on that.  Today, I got a lovely set of letters from the second grade class I volunteered in, and it really made my day!! Life at site is going well, and very warm.  I feel like the heat is a fairly recurring theme in these posts, but it is hot! Yesterday, my thermometer read 110, and it was so humid that there was a high fog that prevented me from seeing across the little valley that I can normally easily see across.  My teaching continues to go well.  I should be getting the the textbooks I asked for tomorrow sometime, and am very excited about that.  I tend to try to spend time with the students who are further behind.  There is one older woman who I have been working with a lot.  At certain points the class has to copy words down onto their little chalkboards, and she tries but her heart really isn't in it.  She told me that all she really wants to be able to do is write her name.  So, I wrote her name out, and I make her copy it over and over again.  She throws all her effort into this, and it is actually sort of touching how badly she wants to be able do this.  She's getting it down pretty well, and I am really proud of her.  I also work with other students by writing letters or numbers on their boards and asking them what they are.  And then I'll do simple combinations like "f" and "a" and I try to get them to understand that the name of the letter and the sound that it makes are different, (at least with consonants).  The village really enjoys when I play guitar, and I am asked on a daily basis if I am going to play for them that day.  I don't everyday because some days I am too tired, and also I only know a limited number of songs, and I think they're going to catch on that I am only playing the same songs, and I don't want them getting bored with it.... Though I honestly doubt that's possible.  They love it too much.

My garden is coming along nicely.  I have three tiered beds dug, and am in the process of digging out the large rocks of the lowest bed.  I hoping we get a good rain before I plant because I want to see how well things drain so I can make adjustments to the design as needed.  Also, I still need a gate, but that shouldn't take too long to make.  I'll be venturing down to a little town called Woroni tomorrow to check out their waterfalls.  Apparently, they are splendid.

I had a pretty large ant colony living under the clay pot I keep my veggies in, and I went to war with them a few days ago.  I got bitten a lot, but I won in the end.  I had to break out "Rambo" which is probably the gnarliest insecticide ever made.  It makes RAID look like water.  It comes from Nigeria, and works really, really well.  I discovered I can make gravy (sort of) using flavored MSG, onions, and flour.  It is delicious, and goes very well with the endless supply of potatoes I have.  I think that's about all for now.  I'll probably have another update in a few weeks.

Copy and paste this link if you can't click on Peace Corps Article link

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.media.press.view&news_id=1762

Peace Corps Article

Link

So that link didn't really work I don't think. I'll try again. Here:

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!

Becoming official

So, later today we are all going to the Presdential Palace and becoming sworn in as official volunteers, and the next day I am leaving for my site!!  Last night we had a huge party.  We went the "American Club" during the day which has a pool!  And pretty good burgers, then to a hotel in the evening then there were shuttles arranged for several bars/nightclubs.  The whole night was incredibly entertaining, and there was much ridiculousness.  However, everyone here has become really close in the last two months, and I am definitely going to miss most of the people...a lot.  I'll see them again in two months for In Service Training, but not really until then because we aren't supposed to leave our site for the first two months. (Normally it is three months, but there is another training group coming in June or July so they scheduled our IST earlier than normal), which personally I am glad about because the volunteers all celebrate holidays together, and Fourth of July is usually a pretty big event in one of the cities, and now I should be able to attend.  If the other groups was not coming in, our IST would have fallen during the Fourth, so we would have been at the training center unable to travel far.  I'm defintitely going to try to get some pictures at swear in, and hopefully will be able to post them in a semi-timely manner. 

I am very excited to start service, and to start cooking for myself! The food at the training center is pretty good, and well balanced, but I was not a huge fan of the cooking when I went to my site to visit a few weeks ago.  It didn't necessarily taste too bad, it wasn't great, but every meal I got some sort of fish sauce, and it generally sat out a bit too long in the sun, and it just turned my stomach.  I bought a stove, and will be buying a table to put it on when I get to Sikasso so I should be able to start cooking right away.  Now, I just need to figure out how to build a solar oven and I'll be in good shape...MMMMMMMMM.... Pie.

Rain!!!

We had our first rain yesterday.  It was an awesome thunderstorm for about an hour.  I, of course, stood in the rain for some time then ran through the puddles as it was my first rain in Mali, and I wanted it to be a memorable one.

Today, we went to a women's cooperative that makes Shea butter, lotion, and soap.  It was really, really cool, and will someday soon be very profitable I think.  And shea is really good for skin, so if you are someone who is inclined to sport lotions, or if you like to bath using soap try ordering some!! They only ship large quantities due to infrastructure logistics, but at least look at their website:  http://www.maisondukarite.org/pages/sibysheabutter.html or google it.  It's even in English (mostly).  I got to mix some of the shea stuff by hand with them today to extract the oil.  They create elaborate beats and rythyms while they beat the shea paste by hand, and it is just a really cool set-up. I bought some soap that they added cucumber to, it smells delicious.  I'll try not to eat it before I bathe with it.  The co-op is located in Siby which has a lot or rock climbing near it with bolted routes and guides.  It is a neat area for sure that will definitely need to be explored further.