I arrived alive :)

Hey everyone!!

I am so sorry I have been unable to update this so far… I will try and keep it short because I don’t have a ton of time to type and I know you all don’t have a ton of time to read but I want to update everyone on all of the amazing things I have done and seen thus far.

First off, my plane rides were fantastic. I spent all day Thursday exploring London and I got to see Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Picadilly Circle, and I good portion of the west side of London due to the fact that I was determined to walk the entire day! I definitely got an incredible workout considering it was approximately 5 hours of continuous walking with a heavy backpack. I stayed a few hours in Nairobi, Kenya’s airport but unfortunately my layover was too short for me to exit. Also, it was a very cloudy day so I couldn’t even enjoy the view out my window as I left Nairobi for Bamako.

The airport at Bamako was two things: simple and confusing. Simple because it is a single standing plain building with practically nothing else and because they don’t really believe in the concept of a customs gate. They barely looked at my passport or visa but instead just let me walk straight through. It was confusing because there were people checking our bags but no one their to explain the process. Also, it’s a little scary getting off a plane expecting to see at least one or two white kids from your program but instead getting a bunch of large African men busily walking around not speaking or acknowledging you. I couldn’t find the area designated for my group and my French was so rusty no one understood what I was asking and why I was asking it. After feeling defeated and settling in for my 8 hour wait until my group meeting, a man comes up to me holding a sign with my group name on it. I go with him and he takes me and another girl from my program to the hotel where 6 other kids have already arrived. We enjoy lunch in our hotel and rest for the rest of the afternoon. The other half of group trickles in for the rest of the day.

The next day we wake up bright and early to start ‘school’. They drive us there in these small crowded vans that they like to call buses and although our school seems to be surrounded by not-so-great surroundings, the school its self is really, really nice for the area. They talk to us about our calendar for the semester and what to expect with our families, and then we have our first Bambara language class (which is the native and most common language spoken in Mali). It’s hard but extremely interesting and our group is dedicated to learning it because only about 10% of the population speaks clear French, which means only 10% has any sort of education… wrap your thoughts around that for a second. After the Bambara lessons, we participate in our first drop-off. To be honest, if you are fearful.. do not read what a drop-off is BUT… if you like adventure… read on!

A drop is where we are given a slip of paper “Amazing Race” style. On the card it tells you the name of a place and what to do once you get to that place. It gives you a time to return to the hotel and how much money you are allowed to spend. We pair off in groups of two and are then dropped off in the middle of the city and set free to wander around. This was the single most terrifying and intense experience not only of my own life, but of any experience I have ever heard anyone having. Eventually you all will see pictures of Bamako and the roads but to paint a bit of a picture the first thing you need to know is colonialism didn’t really touch the city of Bamako because the French saw no purpose or use for it. Thus, it has barely any infrastructure, or really structure at all for that matter. All the roads are dirt and there are no sidewalks. There are tons of people just walking through the middle of the street with the cars and the motor bikes and along the unlabeled roads are kiosks and stands selling everything imaginable. I was paired with another girl from my group and our task was to find this one large market, Artisanat, and figure out the prices for drums, statutes, beads, silver rings, and belts. Hardly anyone spoke French and the place we were looking for was at least a 20 minute walk from where we were originally dropped off. After finding it, we walked around the outdoor market which is basically a Mexican flea market’s second-rate, half brother on steroids. Everyone was yelling and whistling at us. The market was full of men begging us to marry them and telling us we were the most beautiful women in the world. Children gathered around us as we walked trying to touch our hands so they could feel what ‘white skin’ feels like and they sing the word “toobaboo” (white person) over and over again while clapping. We stopped in several spots within the market collecting the price of different goods. Because of inflation, $1 is worth approximately 500 CFA. I bought myself a bracelet and my partner bought a pair of earrings to fulfill the challenge and in the process we made a very kind shop friend. We got into a bit of hot water when we told our shop friend that we only had a limited amount of money to spend on our items because we had to use the rest of our money for the taxi. We told him we only had 1000 CFA left and because that isn’t enough for a taxi (because they charge you more if you are white) he told us he would take us to the taxi place and tell them to take us for the lower price. The problem was, the taxi drivers didn’t care and refused to take us for less than 1500 CFA and although we did in fact have much more money than that, we couldn’t say it at the time because we would have to exposed that we had lied. The solution… our friend walked us halfway across town to a street filled with green vans (aka. their bus system) and instructed one of the van drives to take us on his route and drop us off at our hotel. We were fortunate enough to sit in the front seat (the vans don’t have back doors or seats) and we made it back to our hotel having spent by far the least amount of money. It was an incredible and exhilarating experience in which a picture will be worth a thousand words so get excited.

Today we went to class again and we got cell phones. My number is 223 7 653 1085. It should work with an international calling card if anyone wants to try it… I’ll always have it one me. Hopefully pretty soon I will be able to try the phone I brought with me that has the local number. Anyway, after we got our cell phones, we met our host families!!! We don’t get dropped off with them until Wednesday but we had a meet and greet with them so we aren’t as startled when we move in. The family members that were sent to greet me include my mom, 18 year old sister, older brother, and 6 year old sister. They also said I have a 6 year old brother as well. They didn’t mention anything about the father or if he has another wife so there will be more children or not. I had a very difficult time talking with them but they seem extremely welcoming and excited to have me in their family. Having your own American is like opening a Willy Wonka Chocolate Bar every morning and finding you, have a golden ticket.

That’s really all I have been up to, or at least that is the shortened version. To give you an update on the country of Mali in general… it’s really, really hot and I have never sweated this much in my entire life. The pride I felt while sweating through a grey shirt can never be duplicated and although its miserable its tolerable only because this is the rainy season so almost every afternoon it rains and gets cloudy so everything cools down for a while. As most of you know, the country is Muslim which has made for very interesting observations. Although Mali is not very strict in their practice of religion, they still keep some tradition. They pray five times everyday and it is announced by prayers over a loud speaker. Everyone stops what they are doing and washes their hands, feet, and face and then kneels on special mats to start the prayers. It is also the month of Ramadan which leads the city to be less outgoing because most of the population is fasting during the day. Although things are obviously different over here it really hasn’t been difficult adjusting to their culture. I think I came in expecting the worst and my expectation definitely turned out to be real life… but at least I was prepared! I have yet to experience any real amount of culture shock but I am sure it is coming… the news that they wipe their bums with their hand and water instead of tissue paper was a bit disturbing but their logic is rather sound proof and they don’t judge us for using paper so even that wasn’t so bad. The best part about my trip this far is the kindness and happiness displayed by everyone, especially the children. Everyone is so alive and appreciative here-- to make a child’s day by just talking with him for a few minutes or letting him touch your white skin is the most inspiring and moving experience I think anyone can have. To live on so little and have so little to look forward too yet still wake each morning with a smile because you don’t know any different is why, to me at least, we who know of something better should work for those who don’t know what they are missing. I am not saying they should emulate our lifestyle but asking for a house with a door for protection isn’t asking too much. To know that I will only be here for four months is heartbreaking but knowing that within only a few days I have already learned so much I am hopeful for what the rest of the semester brings.

I love and miss you all J

I’ll try to write again as soon as I can!!!!

Love. Sarah