From my Journal May 7, 2011
I was woken up this morning at 4:00 to the sounds of donkey and cow carts rushing by my house filled with people chatting excitedly. At 5:00 Bakari came by flashlight in hand informing me it was time to go. I quickly blinked off the sleep and threw my tent inside. I hopped on my bike and started the 8km bike behind Bakari to the river. On the way I found myself in my first traffic jam in Mali—we had to stop peddling due to the 10 donkey carts full of women, children and fishing gear.
When we finally arrived I was overwhelmed by the site; people had come from all over many had spent the night—there were carts as far as the eye could see. There were wood fires where people were heating up moni (millet porridge) for breakfast. Pray mats pointed toward Mecca as the sun was just coming up signaling Morning Prayer.
Around 7:00 everyone went and stood on the riverbank fishing baskets and nets in hand. I asked, “What are we waiting for?” “The signal” they said. A few minutes later a man walked out into the middle of the river raised his arm in the air and quickly brought it back to his side. At this people ran into the river. It was sheer chaos children pushed aside, nets and baskets flying everywhere.
At this point my idea of the slow, casual, waiting for the fish to bit, retirement people’s bobby of fishing was totally shattered. People splashed about and by the end everyone was covered in mud.
Once a fish was caught they brought the fish on shore and threw rocks at its head until it died or at least was sedated enough to put in in the rice sack bag that each person carried with them.
This went on for over an hour. Then people went home cleaned, cooked and ate their findings! Big day in village.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Tea Making: The National Pastime
Many friends from home have asked me what a typical day in Mali is like. In order to answer this question it is crucial to explain the art of tea making. There is never a time of day that someone somewhere in Mali is not making tea. It is done while people relax after returning from an early morning in the fields, chatting with friends in the afternoon, it guaranteed that during every meeting tea will be passed around at some point, and after dinner groups sit around and drink tea while nodding off.
To get started you need 2 small teakettles, 2 small glasses (almost like shot glasses), 1 package of green tea, a jug of water, sugar (lots), a small charcoal stove, and ginger or mint (optional).
In one teakettle put three and a half cups of water and bring to a roaring boil. Then place the entire package of tea into the boiling water. Let it brew for far too long… no really feel free to take a nap before taking the tea off the fire (Malians certainly do).
When you think it is done remove the tea from the stove. In order to do this like a proper Malian DO NOT use a potholder you rely on the calluses on your hands when handing hot items.
Pour the tea into the small glasses and then into the other teakettle.
Once all the tea is transferred fill one glass with sugar and pour into the kettle. Once again pour the tea in the glasses putting it back in the kettle when done… this serves as stirring the sugar in.
It is important to note now that foam is a very important part of the tea making process. When you mix the tea the higher you raise the kettle when pouring it into the glasses the more foam builds up in the glasses and remember the more foam the better!
Once the tea and sugar are well mixed place the kettle on the fire. Be sure to taste test a bit and add more sugar if needed (and lets be honest it is probably needed).
Then clean the outside of the glasses, which have most likely gotten sticky due to the stirring process.
Once the tea is steaming hot again remove it from the fire (remember NO potholder).
Pour tea into each glass—half the glass should be tea and half foam and serve.
When serving tea in Mali it is all about respect. The most respected person is served first followed by the next and so on. For example, every night I go to my homologues house for tea. He is always served first, then me (because I am white—the woman thing goes out the window), then the other men around, followed by his first wife then second wife, finally if there is any left the children get small glass.
When you have finished serving you repeat this process twice. But this time you can add ginger or mint to the boiling teakettle to add some flavor. There is no need to cut back on the sugar so basically by the third round its ideal to be drinking sugary water!
Important to note: There IS NO rush. Take your time—if this takes three hours GREAT you’re doing it right. If you can imagine doing this two or three times a day well then you have some idea of what a day is like in Mali.
Go forth and brew tea.
My Very Own Place in Sahel
As I write this I find myself smack in the middle of hot season. Ever since we first got here we have listened to the older volunteers tell us horror stories about this time of year and now that I am finally living it well, their descriptions were not that far off the mark.
No matter what you do sweating- and I mean like serious Shaq like sweating- is inevitable. Whether sitting under the shade reading a book, eating a bowl of to, or lying in your tent at night trying desperately to fan yourself to sleep the sweat will find you.
Nighttime is the worst because even though the sun has set somehow the temperature does not drop. So basically you fall asleep fanning yourself with a handheld bamboo fan and inevitably wake up 20 minutes later in a pool of sweat. Repeat this process until the sun comes up and that’s a night’s sleep in Mali! A trick many volunteers use and I must say it really does work-- is to dunk a cloth in water and lay with it as you doze off- at least this way you get about an hour of sleep before the cloth has dried and you wake up sweating again.
Crucial to surviving hot season is the bucket bath. Usually at site I take one to two baths a day but during hot season this is bumped up to five or six. There is nothing quite like the sweet relief of pouring lukewarm water all over your body to cool down. Then if you are lucky a light breeze will pick up and for a few glorious seconds you are actually cold!
In case the heat is not uncomfortable enough you also get heat rash. These raised red itchy bumps do not discriminate and are willing to cover all parts of your body and only the healing powers of Gold Bond can save you (thank mom and dad for sending it!!).
But hot season is not all bad. In addition to extreme heat it is also mango season. The markets are full of brightly colored mangos of all different types and sizes each more delicious than the last. There are so many mangos that they are sold for practically nothing. You can get 7 for 25 cfa (about 5 American cents!). I am eating so many that I am concerned that by the end of the season I might actually turn into a mango!
Finally, hot season teaches you to appreciate your trips into the city (Segou for me). Although bucket baths are great they can’t compare to that first shower followed by relaxing indoors while the air conditions rushes through your wet hair. Oh and did I mention ICE water!!
Yesterday, I was complaining about the heat to one of my friends in village and his response was —well you do live in the Africa—touché sir touché
No matter what you do sweating- and I mean like serious Shaq like sweating- is inevitable. Whether sitting under the shade reading a book, eating a bowl of to, or lying in your tent at night trying desperately to fan yourself to sleep the sweat will find you.
Nighttime is the worst because even though the sun has set somehow the temperature does not drop. So basically you fall asleep fanning yourself with a handheld bamboo fan and inevitably wake up 20 minutes later in a pool of sweat. Repeat this process until the sun comes up and that’s a night’s sleep in Mali! A trick many volunteers use and I must say it really does work-- is to dunk a cloth in water and lay with it as you doze off- at least this way you get about an hour of sleep before the cloth has dried and you wake up sweating again.
Crucial to surviving hot season is the bucket bath. Usually at site I take one to two baths a day but during hot season this is bumped up to five or six. There is nothing quite like the sweet relief of pouring lukewarm water all over your body to cool down. Then if you are lucky a light breeze will pick up and for a few glorious seconds you are actually cold!
In case the heat is not uncomfortable enough you also get heat rash. These raised red itchy bumps do not discriminate and are willing to cover all parts of your body and only the healing powers of Gold Bond can save you (thank mom and dad for sending it!!).
But hot season is not all bad. In addition to extreme heat it is also mango season. The markets are full of brightly colored mangos of all different types and sizes each more delicious than the last. There are so many mangos that they are sold for practically nothing. You can get 7 for 25 cfa (about 5 American cents!). I am eating so many that I am concerned that by the end of the season I might actually turn into a mango!
Finally, hot season teaches you to appreciate your trips into the city (Segou for me). Although bucket baths are great they can’t compare to that first shower followed by relaxing indoors while the air conditions rushes through your wet hair. Oh and did I mention ICE water!!
Yesterday, I was complaining about the heat to one of my friends in village and his response was —well you do live in the Africa—touché sir touché
The Dark, Bright and All Other Sides of the Moon
Never in my life have I been more aware of the moon. Living in a village were the closest electricity is located 45 km away I have learned to appreciate the moon for many reasons.
When I first came to site back in August I vividly recall looking up at the perfect round circle shinning bright and thinking that every month I would get to see this. In a way it has become one marker of the passing time. Since that night in August I have seen 9 other full moons and am looking ahead at the ones to come.
Another wonderful thing about the full moon is that once the sunsets there is still no need for a flashlight. Even when I read my book at night in my tent there is no need to crouch over my book lamp. Who knew the moon shinned so bright!
I have finally spotted the “man on the moon”. Ever since I first saw Apollo 13 when I was a young girl I have been pretending to be able to see this bogus thing. But now I have had so much time to stare up at the moon that now I can say I have actually seen it or it is possible I am just going crazy and have imagined it!!
It is not just the full moon I have come to appreciate but also the new moon. There is nothing more spectacular than a sky full of stars without a single disturbance. The half dome that surrounds me is one of the most breathtaking sites. I have never been very good with constellations but every night I am able to find the three starts that make up Orion’s belt. In the past year I have seen a ton of shooting starts, a few each week, and still I get excited as one races across the sky.
Now, in all honesty the reason I really love this absence of the moon is because this is the only time I can walk through village without being immediately noticed. Each night I take the five-minute walk from my house to my host family’s concession where I take my dinner. During the new moon I can turn off my flashlight and walk completely unnoticed as the only white person around; it is only when they get really close that they realize that I am the “Toubab.” But those few seconds that I go unnoticed are my favorite. I get this a few nights each month and I absolutely look forward to them.
While I am staring up at the sky each night I often think about how I spent my evenings while living in the states. I would return home from work, a meeting, or class and promptly order dinner while sitting down to some TiVo(ed) program, because God knows I didn’t have time for commercials. Here I am now spending every night sitting with my Malian friends—having only the stars to entertain me instead of reruns of Friends.
When I first came to site back in August I vividly recall looking up at the perfect round circle shinning bright and thinking that every month I would get to see this. In a way it has become one marker of the passing time. Since that night in August I have seen 9 other full moons and am looking ahead at the ones to come.
Another wonderful thing about the full moon is that once the sunsets there is still no need for a flashlight. Even when I read my book at night in my tent there is no need to crouch over my book lamp. Who knew the moon shinned so bright!
I have finally spotted the “man on the moon”. Ever since I first saw Apollo 13 when I was a young girl I have been pretending to be able to see this bogus thing. But now I have had so much time to stare up at the moon that now I can say I have actually seen it or it is possible I am just going crazy and have imagined it!!
It is not just the full moon I have come to appreciate but also the new moon. There is nothing more spectacular than a sky full of stars without a single disturbance. The half dome that surrounds me is one of the most breathtaking sites. I have never been very good with constellations but every night I am able to find the three starts that make up Orion’s belt. In the past year I have seen a ton of shooting starts, a few each week, and still I get excited as one races across the sky.
Now, in all honesty the reason I really love this absence of the moon is because this is the only time I can walk through village without being immediately noticed. Each night I take the five-minute walk from my house to my host family’s concession where I take my dinner. During the new moon I can turn off my flashlight and walk completely unnoticed as the only white person around; it is only when they get really close that they realize that I am the “Toubab.” But those few seconds that I go unnoticed are my favorite. I get this a few nights each month and I absolutely look forward to them.
While I am staring up at the sky each night I often think about how I spent my evenings while living in the states. I would return home from work, a meeting, or class and promptly order dinner while sitting down to some TiVo(ed) program, because God knows I didn’t have time for commercials. Here I am now spending every night sitting with my Malian friends—having only the stars to entertain me instead of reruns of Friends.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Market Day
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| Last week during market day they killed a cow outside of my bedroom window |
January 14, 2011
In Mali I frequently find myself wondering "what day is it?" The work week, Monday- Friday does not exist here (or at lease in the villages it doesn't) the same way it does in The States. The only day that I can rely on to keep me grounded with some concept of the passing time is Friday.
Friday is market day in Samene. Each week with out fail I am woken up by the bustling of activity in the town center which is located adjacent to my house. Vendors from near by villages ride in on donkey carts lugging everything from watermelons to fabric to repaired (and sometimes still broken) radios.
Although these vendors are looking to sell, Friday is also a time for socializing.
In addition to being market day Friday is also the main prayer day for Muslims. Meaning all the villagers don their finest clothes and when prayer call blares out mid-afternoon they all flock to the mosques and pray in unison, moving fluidly and in sync from standing to kneeling and back again.
Only after this is done does market day truly get underway. Women carry pots into the square and set them up to cook. The sounds and smells of hot oil crackling waft through the air. Men sit and chat in small groups while drinking tea and buy from the women who carry buckets on their heads filled with fruits, juices, fish and various fried foods.
By far, Friday is my favorite day in village whether I am sitting with the mend drinking tea or helping a fried cook farni (fried dough balls-- almost like doughnut if you have lived here long enough and have a wonderful imagination) I always know that I will have a good day.
In Mali I frequently find myself wondering "what day is it?" The work week, Monday- Friday does not exist here (or at lease in the villages it doesn't) the same way it does in The States. The only day that I can rely on to keep me grounded with some concept of the passing time is Friday.
Friday is market day in Samene. Each week with out fail I am woken up by the bustling of activity in the town center which is located adjacent to my house. Vendors from near by villages ride in on donkey carts lugging everything from watermelons to fabric to repaired (and sometimes still broken) radios.
Although these vendors are looking to sell, Friday is also a time for socializing.
In addition to being market day Friday is also the main prayer day for Muslims. Meaning all the villagers don their finest clothes and when prayer call blares out mid-afternoon they all flock to the mosques and pray in unison, moving fluidly and in sync from standing to kneeling and back again.
Only after this is done does market day truly get underway. Women carry pots into the square and set them up to cook. The sounds and smells of hot oil crackling waft through the air. Men sit and chat in small groups while drinking tea and buy from the women who carry buckets on their heads filled with fruits, juices, fish and various fried foods.
By far, Friday is my favorite day in village whether I am sitting with the mend drinking tea or helping a fried cook farni (fried dough balls-- almost like doughnut if you have lived here long enough and have a wonderful imagination) I always know that I will have a good day.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Harvest
November 2010The month of November marks harvest season in Mali. During this time everyone from young to old goes to the fields to cut millet. As this time has fallen during my three months of integration (not that the period of integration will ever end) I joined my homologus family everyday for nearly a month out in the fields.
As my only familiarity with any sort of "harvest" was that I heard the word while watching an episode of "Sex in the City" (the one where Smith is in the play in dreaded Brooklyn) I clearly found myself facing quite the learning curve. But after the first few days, several gnarly blisters and quite a bit of sunburn I quickly learned the proper technique of holding the knife and that a hat is an essential part of the millet cutting garb.
Millet is what I and most Malians eat on a regular basis and is one of the major agriculture crops produced in Mali. Millet is used to make a few different foods including Couscous, moni and to (pronounced "toe").
To is the most popular food and is usually, at least in my case, made in large quantities in the morning and then reheated throughout the day; this is a popular practice especially when families are going to the fields. The women will gather sticks around mid-day and build a fire then set the bowl of to on top. I must admit that I enjoy the second round of to better than the first- in my mind I think of it like cold pizza always a little bit better as leftovers!
The Brat Travel Guide describes to as " (a) moist, millet-based dough with a consistency similarly to plasticine" and if that wasn't appetizing enough for you its a greenish-gray color! To is pared with a sauce which is what makes or breaks your to experience. There are a few sauces traditionally served with to is a green okra based sauce, called fondly by Peace Corps Volunteers "snot sauce," because of its slimy texture. The sauce is what makes or breaks ones to experience. Then there is my favorite sauce which is tomato paste based.
To certainly took some getting used to; in fact, when I took my first handful of to a few months ago I thought to myself "There is NO WAY you can eat this for two years!" and I mastered the technique of swallowing before I had to feel the texture of it in my mouth. I must admit however, now I enjoy to. Although certainly if I had a menu in front of me it would not be my first choice but from time to time (if I didn't eat it everyday) it would be a nice treat; and there you go Peace Corps-- another volunteer integrating her way through Mali).
Monday, November 1, 2010
Holy SandStorm!
October 20, 2010Passage from my journal:
Currently waiting out my first Malian sandstorm and lets just say, now I realize why they advise Malian Peace Corps Volunteers not to wear contacts! I was biking around village going to pick up my cell phone which was charging on a friend's motorcycle battery when I felt a slight breeze I thought "how wonderful, its going to cool down for a bit" then not a second later I found myself engulfed in a cloud of dust so thick I couldn't see the front of my bike any longer. I was ushered into the closest hut where I sit now on the floor with several children staring at me while we wait for the wind to die down.
Despite momentarily fearing for my life, the layer of sand that covers my body, the taste of sand in my mouth and my concern that the clothes that hang on the close line outside of my hut are no longer clean, it is pretty cool.
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