Arrived at Last

So I'm finally in Mali! Been here a few days now. Getting here was a bit of an ordeal. It took over 24 hours of traveling, it's hard to tell exactly how long because of all the time changes and the lack of sleep. We got to the airport in Philly around 2 pm or so on Thursday, and our plane took off around 7- didn't seem like much of a wait, though, because the lines took a while and there were a lot of people around to talk with. The flight was okay, though I didn't sleep at all really. We arrived in Paris around 8 am local time and had about 7-8 hours before our next flight. They had arranged a "day room" for us at a hotel near the airport, a pretty swanky one where they served us a nice breakfast and I watched soap operas in French with my roomie Stephanie. I had really wanted to go into Paris, but PC people strongly discouraged it and even though I almost went with some people, I figured it wouldn't really be worth it since I would just be angsty the whole time about getting back in time and I wouldn't get to see Martine, which was what I really wanted to do in town.

We left Paris around 5 pm local time and arrived in Mali about 5 hours later. The airport was crowded (especially with 81 volunteers) and it took a little while to locate my luggage, but everything was there when I got it. We all drove to Tubaniso, the training facility outside of Bamako in PC vehicles, through the dark. So far I haven't seen much of Mali outside of Tubaniso. There was a whole host of people in the traffic on the way here and by the side of the road hanging out or selling stuff, but we didn't really stop for anything. The sky was so big and full of stars when we got here, it made me feel a bit soothed. I have to say, arriving in the nighttime having not slept for over 24 hours (and having only had about 5 hours the night before due to salsa dancing) didn't really put me in a positive mood when we first arrived. I kind of wanted to get back on the plane . . .

But, here are some positive (and I'm feeling pretty positive right now) highlights of my time here so far: Learning Bambara- we've only had one class, but I'm excited to start a new language. Speaking French- it's amazing how much more confident I feel with my French now than when I was in Paris a few years ago. I was so excited to talk with the stewardesses on the plane, and now with the Malians. I had my language placement test in French today and I've been label "advanced low." The people- they're so friendly and encouraging, and eager to make us feel at home. The mangoes- oh my god you never lived til you tasted a Malian mango.

This afternoon we had a "cultural fair" where we all learned the value of bartering. There were three vendors and a tailor present. One of the vendors was selling ready-made clothes and tried to charge the volunteers about 4 times as much as the clothing was generally worth (according to a current PCV) and succeeded until we were all let in on things. Then he wouldn't take down his price and everyone went to the woman selling cloth instead to buy cloth and then have clothing made- still ended up paying a bit too much, but at least not outrageous (well, compared to the first guy). I had a panya (banya? not sure of the spelling) made- basically a wrap-around skirt- along with a top and a piece of cloth to tie around my head. It's funny, I thought it would seem like a chore to barter, but I think I'm going to enjoy it- if nothing else, it's a fun way of interacting with people. I just need to become better at it and to learn the best price for things (even if it is a toubab, or white person's, price).

I also had my hair braided at the fair- multple braids in rows. It looks really cool, though I'll probably have to take it out after a few days. It's also much cooler temperature-wise. I hadn't realized how much heat my head was retaining.

Hm, other highlights- we had lunch today and ate with our hands, with is the tradition in Mali. You're only allowed to eat with your right hand because people use their left hand when they're in the nyegan (bathroom). I don't think I've quite gotten the hang of the eating with the right hand thing- there was rice all over the place when I'm done. My Malian host family will laugh and laugh at me . . . 'twil be good fun.

We're only spending one more full day here, then it's off to our host villages for training. There are 13 host villages for 81 volunteers, so there will be 5-6 of us or so in each village. They used to send everyone to the same village, but then they figured that this wasn't the best way to help volunteers learn the language and culture and so on. There are villages with people speaking all of the languages we'll be learning (there are 5 local languages and French), and we'll be placed based on what language will be useful in the villages we end up serving in. Most of the training period host villages are around Bamako, I think the farthest is about 2-3 hour drive from Tubaniso.

I'm looking forward to moving to the host village on Wednesday, but I think it will be a whole new thing from what it is here. Here we have electricity, computers, and a staff of Malians who speak English and French and are used to us weird toubabs. I'm still excited, though. Hope things turn out well.