Sorry for the Wait

So I know you have all been anxiously awaiting my latest post, but I haven't had internet access the last month. Rest assured, I wrote a blog entry a few weeks ago but I never got a chance to post it so here it is. I'll post an update in a few days.

22/2/11

I’m three weeks into PST and everything’s going well.  It’s really freaking hot here and getting hotter. After arriving here in Mali on the second we had a weeks’ worth of informational classes at the training center outside the capital Bamako. Topics varied from personal health and safety to cross cultural integration and culture shock adaptation. The training center, dubbed Tubaniso, is really nice. All the huts have electricity and fans, though we rarely spend time in them. There’s about sixty of us trainees. Almost everyone is in their mid- twenties, but there are a few older ones mixed in. Our stage is made up of three groups: health, environment, and small economic development. Everyone is getting along pretty well. The second night we had a small bonfire and a few people broke out their guitars. The first week definitely countered my expectations in terms of simple luxuries. Decent food, showers, and basketball and volleyball courts made for a smooth transition.

                The second week in I moved to my homestay site to start language training. I’ve been living with a host family the last 2 weeks. As you can probably imagine, it can at times be very frustrating. The language barrier is difficult to deal with, but we’ve found other ways to communicate. My family is incredible, and they’re extremely welcoming and accommodating. My host dad is the village Iman, and I have 3 brothers and a sister. They range in age from 15 to 21. My oldest brother is who I spend most of the time with outside of our formal language classes. There are constantly people at our compound conversing with the Imam which gives me a good opportunity to practice the language. I’m learning Bambara, the most widely spoken language outside of French. It’s been a rough two weeks as far as language acquisition goes. You have good days and bad. I can tell people in the village are getting anxious to have conversations with me but it still takes me a while to form a complete sentence. By this point I think they are expecting me to be able to talk to them so it’s frustrating on both ends.

                The village itself is decent sized for its location, as it’s about thirty minutes outside the capital. It’s set pretty far apart from the other homestay villages. There are 7 other health trainees there with me. Compound sizes vary. Mine is relatively big compared to others, and there aren’t as many people living in it. It’s completely walled off, and there are three separate mud structures. The Imam lives in the main room, where he also holds his discussions, his wife daughter and son stay in a separate structure. My oldest brother and I each have our own rooms in the same structure apart from the others. There is also are a few other kids that occasionally stay with us as well as a drifter who has been sleeping in the storage room for about a week. I’m not really sure what goes on after 9pm because I’m usually too tired to stay up so I don’t know for sure who all stays there. In the center of the compound is a single tree surrounded by sand where I do a lot of studying. We also have a donkey in courtyard. The nyegen( toilet)  is located in the corner up some stairs. The village mosque is right next door to our compound. I’ve developed a habit of waking up right before the first call to prayer at 5:00 and then again at six. My earplugs manage to block out all sound except for the mosque loudspeaker, which is deafening even through the earplugs. I don’t have class until 8am every day so I sleep in until 7. My brother usually makes me an egg sandwich and coffee after I wash. One of the religious customs is to not speak in the morning until you wash your face. I usually eat all my meals with one of my brothers, and my host dad has been eating with the other guest. We eat out of the same bowl with our right hand. It took a while to get used to but my appetite hasn’t decreased at all. Bathing is also a little different here. I take a bucket bath in the same area where the nyegen is in the late afternoon, which may sound awful but it really grows on you. It’s impossible to stay clean. There is constantly dust being blown around and its really hot so when you sweat the dirt sticks to you. Malians bathe several times throughout the day. I always look forward to my bath after class. The village, and Mali in general is covered with trash and open sewage is everywhere. There are also random donkeys, chickens, sheep, goats, etc. constantly roaming around. My market is really small but fully stocked with a variety of fruits and veggies. There are also a few buteegees around where I can get everything else. A nice thing about staying with a host family is I don’t have to do anything for myself. All my meals are made and I never have to do laundry. The only thing I have to focus on is getting the language down. Since we are right next to the mosque we are constantly visited by other villagers on their way to or back from prayer. They tend to stop by and wash their feet and faces before they go to the mosque.

                One thing interesting about Malian men is they really enjoy drinking tea. They’re constantly making it over a coal fire throughout the day. From about 11am to 4pm its really hot and no one does anything. They all sit in the shade taking little shots of tea. They always invite me to join them if I happen to walk past. It’s loaded with sugar so it’s not bad. After morning class ends at noon I head back to my compound for lunch and usually stop and sit with a group of guys hanging out under a hangar. They like to test out my Bambara skills. Another really amazing aspect of the Malian culture is called Joking Cousins. There are only a handful of Malian last names and they like to make fun of each other. Back when Mali had a caste system, each family had a specific job that they were known for. Now people with these last names are freely made fun of by joking about the name and what they used to do. There are also some very generic jokes that are completely dull by American standards but Malians find them hilarious. For example, one person with a certain last name can joke with his cousin by calling him a donkey or some other animal. The other person will repeat this in turn and it doesn’t ever get old. This apparently keeps people from getting into fights or arguments. The Malian people in generally are extremely chill. They sit around drinking tea and call each other donkeys or bean eaters. They especially find it funny when I joke with them. What’s great is you can joke with just about anyone as long as you know their last name. Greeting here is also a huge thing. It’s actually a requirement, or else people get offended. At a minimum, you have to tell them hello or good day, and how they are doing, even if you are just passing by. If its someone you know, you have to also ask them how their family is doing and then individual members of their family. They then ask you the same questions. Greetings can get really long. They like to throw in a few blessings as well. Sometimes people greet each other for over a minute before they even start a conversation. I usually don’t have to formally greet younger people and can get by with just a ko ki nyi, which is basically the Bambara version of what’s up?. They respond with doni, which has a lot of meanings but for this situation would be not much.

                I have another class session in the afternoon for 2 hours then head home. I usually bathe and then hang out around town with my brothers. One of them works as a tailor and is trying to teach me to make my own clothes. We play a lot of soccer as well. I’ve walked all over the town and know where everything is. The kids at first used to call us Tubabu, which is the Bambaran word for French person, but now they all know my name and have switched over to calling it incessantly. My host dad gave me the Malian name N’tji (in- chee) Konate the first day. We’ll usually eat around 7:30 and then sit around listening to the radio. Occasionally I bust out the ipod speakers and play some American rap music for them which my brothers and their friends really like. Probably the only good thing about the hot season is that the mangos are about ready for harvesting. We have mango trees all over the place so I’m looking forward to that. I’ve got another 2 months at homestay and then it’s off to my site where I’ll be working for 2 years. I don’t know exactly where that is yet but I have an idea. The next two months will be more devoted to my sector training along with more language. I’ve been at the training center since Sunday for more informational meetings. Tomorrow we go back to our villages so everyone is trying to write emails, update blogs and skype, so the internet is really slow. It’s been a nice change of pace. We should get another break in a couple of weeks when I can do another post.

Andrew

My room's the one on the right

Let the Journey Commence

I'm sitting in my hotel room here in DC, thinking about everything that's been going on the last few months and how quickly this moment arrived. I've been so immersed in preparing to leave that I never really noticed the date sneaking up on me. It's an incredible feeling knowing that I'm so close to something I've been waiting so long for, and for a while never thought would come at all.

After a quiet weekend at home I left on the first flight out Monday morning to DC for my PC staging orientation. It went very well, despite having to haul around 2 years worth of luggage. I met up with the rest of the volunteers at our hotel for registration and orientation, which officially transitioned us from PC invitees to PC trainees.  I definitely feel a change after yesterday. Now everything feels so much more real and a lot of my anxiety is gone. Orientation was a pretty long detailed explanation of some simple procedures we would be going through between now and the time we arrive in Mali. They passed out a long list of immunizations we should already have or will be getting over the next few months. We also went over some basic safety procedures, but we'll get more of that during PST (pre- service training). My flight for Paris leaves Tuesday night and then sparing any problems we will go straight to Bamako, Mali from there.

This will be my last post from the states and I don't know when I'll have time to make another. PST I've heard is pretty intense so it could be a while. My fellow trainees are all pretty amazing and unique individuals and I'm really looking forward to getting to know them.
Au revoir mes amis! I miss everyone already!

P.S. Thanks to Adam and Katie for the city tour last night. It was absolutely the best way to spend my last night in the States. 

Mali Family Letter

Here is a copy of the Mali family letter the Peace Corps sent me.


Dear Families:

Greetings from the Mali Desk in Washington, D.C.! It is with great pleasure that we welcome your family member to the Mali training program. During the past year we have received many requests from Volunteers and family members alike regarding travel plans, sending money, relaying messages and mail, etc. As we are unable to involve ourselves in the personal arrangements of Volunteers, we would like to offer you advice and assistance in advance by providing specific examples of situations and how we suggest they be handled. Peace Corps service certainly impacts more than just the trainee and we hope that this information will help ease some of the uncertainty which affects the families of Volunteers.

1. Irregular Communication. The mail service in Mali is not as efficient as the U.S. Postal Service. It can take three to four weeks for mail in either direction to arrive via the Malian postal system. From a Volunteer’s site, mail may take 1-2 months to reach the United States.

The following suggestions may be helpful:

• Determine in your first letters an estimate of approximately how long it takes for transit and establish a predictable pattern of how often you will write to each other.

• Number your letters so that the Volunteer knows if he/she has missed one.

• Send postcards in envelopes, as they tend to get lost or stolen.

Volunteers often enjoy telling their “war” stories when they write home. Letters might describe recent illnesses, lack of good food, isolation, etc. While the subject matter is good reading material, it is often misinterpreted on the home front. Furthermore, with the delay in mail, it is likely that a current problem described in a letter, has been resolved or forgotten by the time the letter is received. The Peace Corps Staff in Mali is available and equipped to assist Volunteers with any need expressed or in an emergency.

If for some reason your communication pattern is broken, and you do not hear from your family member, contact the Office of Special Services (OSS) at Peace Corps Washington 1-800-692-1470. OSS will contact the Peace Corps Country Director in Bamako and determine the information or assistance needed. In the case of an emergency at home (death in the family, sudden illness, etc.), please do not hesitate to call OSS immediately, so that the Volunteer can be informed.

2. Telephone Calls. Your loved one(s) will not have telephone or email communications for several weeks following arrival. The telephone systems in Mali are not as good as in the United States but improving. Service in and out of Bamako and major towns to the United States is usually reliable. In the interior of the country, where most of the Volunteers are located, the phone service is more limited. Many Volunteers purchase cell phones but networks availability differs greatly. Like letters, you may find it helpful to establish a routine so Volunteers can plan to be within networks areas to receive calls from home. Please be aware that the Peace Corps staff in Bamako cannot assist in arranging these calls and have limited phone lines for official business only. The Peace Corps Mali office cannot accept pre-arranged calls for Volunteers, except in emergency situations.

The Mali Desk maintains regular contact with the Peace Corps office in Bamako through phone calls and e-mail.

However, these communications are reserved for business only and cannot be used to relay personal messages. All non-emergency communication between family members and the Volunteer should be done via international mail, personal phone calls, or e-mail. Volunteers may have access to e-mail at Internet cafes on a weekly or monthly basis, depending on their location.

Please note that for the first 8 weeks in Mali, Trainees will be near Bamako where telephone, e-mail and postal services are more reliable and timely. In most cases, there will be a significant delay in communication when the Trainees finish Pre-Service Training and move to their sites. Do not be alarmed if the frequency of letters, phone- calls and e-mail drops suddenly around this time.

3. Sending packages. Families and Volunteers like to send and receive "care packages" through the mail. Unfortunately, sending packages can be a frustrating experience for all concerned due to the high incidence of theft and heavy customs taxes, as well as the long waiting periods involved for packages to arrive. We do not recommend that valuable items be sent through the mail. During training you may use the following address to send letters and/or packages:

Name of Volunteers, PCV
Peace Corps
B.P. 85 Bamako
Mali

Following training Volunteers often choose to get local post office boxes. Your loved one(s) will need to share this information with you.

The use of padded envelopes is recommended, if possible, as boxes tend to be taxed more heavily. Custom fees for the Volunteer can sometimes range up to $100. For lightweight but important items (e.g. airline tickets, important documents, etc.), DHL (an express mail service) does operate in Bamako. If you choose to send items through DHL, you must address the package to:

Peace Corps, C/o Country Director, B.P. 85 Bamako, Mali, West Africa.

The Peace Corps and its Staff assume no liability for any lost or stolen mail, including items sent through DHL. Please call a DHL office nearest you for more information. Their toll free number is 1-800- CALL-DHL or access the DHL website at www.dhl.com.

Sending airplane tickets, cash or checks via international mail is not recommended. Certain airlines will allow you to buy a pre-paid ticket in the US, though, unfortunately, this system is not always reliable. Please call the airline of your choice for more information.

Sending cash or checks is discouraged. If your Volunteer family member requests money from you, it is his/her responsibility to arrange receipt of it and to determine a means of cashing any checks or receiving wire-transfers.

We understand how frustrating it is to communicate with your family member overseas and we appreciate you using this information as a guideline. Please feel free to contact us at the Mali Desk in Washington, D.C. if you have any further questions. Our phone number is 1-800-424-8580, ext. 2327 or 2328, or locally, 202-692 2327 or 2328; e-mails are mali@peacecorps.gov, nlewis2@peacecorps.gov, and dwarner@peacecorps.gov.

Sincerely,

Nicole Lewis
Mali Desk Officer

Daryn Warner
Mali Desk Assistant

Address update:

This will be my mailing address at the Peace Corps office in Bamako:

Andrew Williamson, PCT

Corps de la Paix

B.P. 85

Bamako, Mali

Here it goes...

I realize that many of my family and friends are curious about what it is I'm going to be doing over the next two years while serving in the Peace Corps overseas. So, I thought I'd try and keep up this blog as a way for everyone to keep up with all the goings- on. I don't know as of yet how often I'll be able to update it but I'll definitely try to get around to doing so whenever I'm near a computer. I've never been much for writing but I think this is a good/ simple way to both keep an account of my experience and a way to stay in touch with everyone.

Over the last couple of months I've been doing a lot of research on Mali and trying to get some sort of idea of what the Peace Corps does over there. There are numerous projects that volunteers work on, including education, water sanitation, agriculture, small business enterprise, and youth development, among others. As of now all I know is that my official title is Health Education Extension Agent and over the next three months I'll be going through rigorous training to help me adapt to the Malian way of life and prepare me for my work. I think a majority of what I'll be doing consists of prenatal care, nutritional information, prevention of malaria and other diseases, family planning, and HIV/ AIDS education. Mali has a very high infant mortality rate, mostly due to poor nutritional practices and lack of vaccinations. The overall goal is to design and implement a project based upon my villages specific needs and work with them to get it done. However it is very common for volunteers to collaborate with others in different fields on secondary projects.
Mali is a large land locked country in the northwestern part of Africa. It's bordered by Algeria and Mauritania to the north, Niger to the east, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, and Guinea to the south, and Senegal makes up the western border. French is the main language spoken throughout the country, but there are numerous other languages spoken in various sectors as well as Arabic in the northern cities. I've been teaching myself French for the last 6 months so hopefully I 'll be able to get by. I'll also probably have to learn one of the native languages during my training.
The geography is typical of most north African countries. The Sahara desert stretches deep into the heart of the country and is steadily growing, while the south is mostly savanna. The Niger is the main river that flows through the country and splits off forming numerous deltas throughout the south. The temperature is hot and dry from Feb- June rainy and humid from Jul- Nov, and cool and dry from Nov- Feb.

Believe it or not Mali is actually a very frequented tourist attraction. The desert is home to the fabled city Timbuktu, which also happens to host one of the most prominent music festivals in the world, the Festival au Désert. Music in Mali is heavily influenced by the west, and plays a big role in Malian culture. I bought a few cd's from famous artists and it actually sounds like a hybrid of American folk and blues combined with traditional African percussion. It's really good. If anyone wants to check it out I would highly recommend Ali Farka Touré's album In the Heart of the Moon or Amadou and Miriam Bagayoko's Welcome to Mali. Malians are also extremely friendly and fun- loving people and are very welcoming to foreigners.

My lifestyle as far as I can tell is going to be extremely bare. No running water or electricity is a given, and I'll probably be staying in some sort of adobe hut in a remote village. During my training, and possibly afterwards, I'll be staying with a host family, which usually means a lot of kids and zero privacy. From what I've read, typical villages consist of anywhere between 500- 1000 people. Other volunteers have recommended that I bring a few simple comforts from home to help keep my sanity, such as an mp3 player, laptop, etc., and I bought a solar charger that will hopefully live up to its reputation. However, I'm almost entirely positive that these items will end up broken/ stolen or conveniently misplaced. Food and other supplies I'll be able to pick up at the local market, which may be up to 10 mi away but easily accessible by mountain bike (which they provide me with). Other than that I've been buying supplies that other volunteers have recommended and trying to get everything together. From what I've heard, current volunteers do a lot of traveling throughout the country, so I hope I'll be able to do some long distance hiking and overnight camping excursions. I also accrue 2 'official' vacation days a month which I can use at my discretion. I think it adds up to almost 3 weeks total over 2 years. I haven't decided whether or not I'll come home or do a bit o traveling but I'm leaning towards a bit o traveling.

So that's about as good a summary as I have right now for what I'm expecting. I know its going to be hard work, but I've always felt that most things worth doing are seldom easy. The PC might be a pretty extreme example of this but the overall experience will definitely outweigh any hardships. "True security is not a measure of what one has, but what one can do without." I can't remember where that's from but it seems to apply.

As far as care packages go, they will be greatly appreciated. Mail travels slowly in Mali (anagram!) and I think it could take up to several weeks for anything to reach me, so nothing perishable. I would also love to get a book here or there (not picky), as I think I will have a lot of downtime. I also heard that its best to postmark any packages as gifts worth 0$ to help avoid theft. I'll post the mailing address and other various contact information (cell phone, skype, if available) after I get there on Feb 2nd. Feel free to leave me any comments, questions, grammar critiques, suggestions, etc. on my blog. I'm leaving Jan 31st for DC and then leave to Paris Feb 2nd. I've tried to visit everyone I can before I go and I'll be free the last week before I leave to make more visits. 

I love you all and will miss you a lot. I don't want anyone to worry about me but be excited and keep me in your prayers! Remember, life's either a daring adventure or nothing! (one of my favorite quotes ever, by Helen Keller).