second installment of hot season a la malienne
hello, it’s been a long time, hasn’t it? well, i made it just in time to make one submission for april 2006, this being the very last day of the month. oops.
how are you all doing? excellent, i hope, as spring is in full swing in north america.
now, i find myself in the midst of hot season. it is regularly over 100 degrees where every day and every night, sweating balls is the norm.
work, work, work is what i have been up to. the on-going CLIC cooling project, the 6th annual african day for the fight against malaria on the 25th of april, a field trip i helped organize for the American International School of Bamako to my town of kangaba, and various other activities.
it’s all becoming routine here in mali. garbage in the streets, sweating balls, donkeys braying every hour on the hour, taking 2 showers a day in my latrine, sweating balls, eating lunches and dinners with my host-family, sitting and chatting with the locals, being called a tubabuni, sweating more balls. soon, that will be changing as i reward myself for staying in mali for 2 full hot seasons with a much needed vacation to ghana.
i will be in accra when the united states plays ghana in the first round of the world cup. (by the way, i have become a football fan since I have come to live in mali. it’s the only sport regularly telecast on ortm, the malian national television station.) i will also be taking full advantage of the beach, cheap umbrella-laden beverages, and excellent food whilst gazing out onto the atlantic. after a week of much needed beach-therapy, i will begin the ascent northwards to the capital of burkina faso, ouagadougou, making stops at national parks and wildlife reserves to see monkeys, elephants, and bugs oh my! and whatever other wild animal calls ghana’s country-side home. then, back to mali just in time for the muddy malarial rainy season! woohoo!
other news:
--i went rock-climbing in siby a couple of weeks ago! yes, it's true there are french, professionally trained malians with awesome equipment available here. i actually made it to the top of 2 out of 3 runs, the highest being about 13 meters or roughly 40 feet. this is in the mande highlands and a must-do when in mali! this is the second time i have done it and will be going regularly once rainy season is over.
--it will be arsenal v. barcelona in the champion's league championship on 17 may 2006! i will be watching en direct...
--kangaba's dugutigi, or village chief, passed away 40 days ago. the man was 116 years old, and as one of my host-family member's said, "it's no ordinary man who can live to see 116." this is a sous-entendu that leads to speculation that sorcery was involved in sory keita's longevity... anyways, on the 40th day is time for a big celebration according to malinke tradition. people from all over the world have flown in to celebrate our dugutigi's life and the naming of his successor...
--the announcement of over a billion west african francs for the fight against excision!!! (or about 20 million u.s. dollars!) last night on the news, att, or amadou toumani toure, the wildly popular president of mali received funding to help stop female genital mutilation, also known as excision! plan mali, an english-based international ngo is one of the primary recipients of the funding. there is a plan mali office in kangaba, and as soon as i can, i will be helping out with this project!
--local donkey stops braying! yesterday at about 9 a.m., sekou keita's donkey stopped braying on the corner of the water spigot and the flamboyant tree. "i just don't get it," says keita a 33 year old farmer, "he has been braying for the past 5 years every hour of the day. then today, after his 9 a.m. braying, no noise whatsoever. this donkey has been a wonderful work companion as he helped me to haul bricks and compost to and from the fields." this has raised alot of concern in the town of kangaba that a new strand of avian flu has mutated and is now affecting livestock unknown to scientists and villagers never before seen in the world. the donkey has been confiscated and destroyed by the local bureau of the ministry of agriculture for an autopsy. the examination will take a couple of weeks as there are no testing facilities available in mali. no comment has been issued by either the ministry or the united nation's food and agricultural organization.
okay that last story was satire people!!! this is my life, i have to make fun sometimes. not much happening of exciting. i think i will have more to say after a holiday, don’t you think?
read-what-i-have-read-book-list!!!
okay, i had to re-read the temple of my familiar, cuz it's only my favorite book of all time!
the fifth mountain: paulo coehlo. the story of elijah. coehlo's story-telling can at times be flat, but after you get sucked in, you have to finish it.
the color purple: alice walker. if you haven't read the temple of my familiar, read the color purple first, then temple. if you haven't read the color purple, a friggin' classic, you have no soul.
the god of small things: arundhati roy. talks about how communism in kerala, india, hasn't been successful in breaking down the caste system there. excellent.
the inner circle: t.c. boyle. if you've seen the movie the kinsey report, read this book. coincidentally both were released in 2004 and both are really, really good.
how are you all doing? excellent, i hope, as spring is in full swing in north america.
now, i find myself in the midst of hot season. it is regularly over 100 degrees where every day and every night, sweating balls is the norm.
work, work, work is what i have been up to. the on-going CLIC cooling project, the 6th annual african day for the fight against malaria on the 25th of april, a field trip i helped organize for the American International School of Bamako to my town of kangaba, and various other activities.
it’s all becoming routine here in mali. garbage in the streets, sweating balls, donkeys braying every hour on the hour, taking 2 showers a day in my latrine, sweating balls, eating lunches and dinners with my host-family, sitting and chatting with the locals, being called a tubabuni, sweating more balls. soon, that will be changing as i reward myself for staying in mali for 2 full hot seasons with a much needed vacation to ghana.
i will be in accra when the united states plays ghana in the first round of the world cup. (by the way, i have become a football fan since I have come to live in mali. it’s the only sport regularly telecast on ortm, the malian national television station.) i will also be taking full advantage of the beach, cheap umbrella-laden beverages, and excellent food whilst gazing out onto the atlantic. after a week of much needed beach-therapy, i will begin the ascent northwards to the capital of burkina faso, ouagadougou, making stops at national parks and wildlife reserves to see monkeys, elephants, and bugs oh my! and whatever other wild animal calls ghana’s country-side home. then, back to mali just in time for the muddy malarial rainy season! woohoo!
other news:
--i went rock-climbing in siby a couple of weeks ago! yes, it's true there are french, professionally trained malians with awesome equipment available here. i actually made it to the top of 2 out of 3 runs, the highest being about 13 meters or roughly 40 feet. this is in the mande highlands and a must-do when in mali! this is the second time i have done it and will be going regularly once rainy season is over.
--it will be arsenal v. barcelona in the champion's league championship on 17 may 2006! i will be watching en direct...
--kangaba's dugutigi, or village chief, passed away 40 days ago. the man was 116 years old, and as one of my host-family member's said, "it's no ordinary man who can live to see 116." this is a sous-entendu that leads to speculation that sorcery was involved in sory keita's longevity... anyways, on the 40th day is time for a big celebration according to malinke tradition. people from all over the world have flown in to celebrate our dugutigi's life and the naming of his successor...
--the announcement of over a billion west african francs for the fight against excision!!! (or about 20 million u.s. dollars!) last night on the news, att, or amadou toumani toure, the wildly popular president of mali received funding to help stop female genital mutilation, also known as excision! plan mali, an english-based international ngo is one of the primary recipients of the funding. there is a plan mali office in kangaba, and as soon as i can, i will be helping out with this project!
--local donkey stops braying! yesterday at about 9 a.m., sekou keita's donkey stopped braying on the corner of the water spigot and the flamboyant tree. "i just don't get it," says keita a 33 year old farmer, "he has been braying for the past 5 years every hour of the day. then today, after his 9 a.m. braying, no noise whatsoever. this donkey has been a wonderful work companion as he helped me to haul bricks and compost to and from the fields." this has raised alot of concern in the town of kangaba that a new strand of avian flu has mutated and is now affecting livestock unknown to scientists and villagers never before seen in the world. the donkey has been confiscated and destroyed by the local bureau of the ministry of agriculture for an autopsy. the examination will take a couple of weeks as there are no testing facilities available in mali. no comment has been issued by either the ministry or the united nation's food and agricultural organization.
okay that last story was satire people!!! this is my life, i have to make fun sometimes. not much happening of exciting. i think i will have more to say after a holiday, don’t you think?
read-what-i-have-read-book-list!!!
okay, i had to re-read the temple of my familiar, cuz it's only my favorite book of all time!
the fifth mountain: paulo coehlo. the story of elijah. coehlo's story-telling can at times be flat, but after you get sucked in, you have to finish it.
the color purple: alice walker. if you haven't read the temple of my familiar, read the color purple first, then temple. if you haven't read the color purple, a friggin' classic, you have no soul.
the god of small things: arundhati roy. talks about how communism in kerala, india, hasn't been successful in breaking down the caste system there. excellent.
the inner circle: t.c. boyle. if you've seen the movie the kinsey report, read this book. coincidentally both were released in 2004 and both are really, really good.
posted by chance @ 2:56 PM
2 Comments:
At 6:30 PM,
Anonymous said…
hey sweetie!
I've been checking your blog somewhat obsessively so now it's good to hear from you. I believed the donkey braying story. Well done, bun! Have many good times in Ghana. I look forward to hearing from you whenever you have a chance, chance.
Love,
Nikki
At 1:53 PM,
Outlaw Torn said…
I have to say your blog is extremely insightful and inspiring. My wife and I have joined the Peace Corps and found out not too long ago that we will be heading to Mali on July 26th. Since we found out, I've been studying guidebooks religiously, but I know from experience that they often leave out a lot of what's really going on. We really enjoy reading over your blog because I feel that you get to some of those aspects that a guidebook would avoid. I'm really excited about going to Mali. Keep writing about your experiences!
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