First Impressions

I arrived in Mali on August 28 after 3 long, stressful days of flying and sitting around airports. I stepped off the plane into the sweltering heat, walked inside, went through the fastest customs ever, watched several cycles of bags through the baggage claim, and did not find mine. Someone told me to go outside and around to find out about my bag, so i obeyed, about at my wit's end. I didn't have my bag, and worse, it looked as if there was not anyplace indoors for me to sit for the next 8 hours until the program director would arrive.

As I walked outside, I didn't notice the man holding a piece of computer with SIT written on it, until I was almost past him, and he approached me. When he introduced himself as Modibo Coulibaly, the academic director of my program, a wave of relief hit me. They helped me check with the office where I was directed to find out about my bag, and we found out that it wouldn't be there until Monday. I could go to the hotel right away, so I hardly cared that I didn't have my bag.

I hardly noticed anything else about the airport. I got in a van with another student who arrived shortly before me, and we rode to the hotel, staring out the window at the fields of corn and millet, which were quickly replaced by houses. I was struck by all of the women carrying huge buckets on their heads, with children tied around their waists. That is definitely not something you see every day in America.

From the moment I left the airport, everything keeps getting better. After a couple of days of orientation in Bamako, and staying in a hotel there, we went to Siby for three nights. Siby is a village about an hour and a half outside of Bamako, in a lush green area. We visited a women's cooperative that makes soaps and shea butter there, and spent a couple of hours in small groups in an actual village compound (a family here doesn't have a house, they have a compound, with different buildings aroudn the perimeter for cooking, sleeping, and washing). We knew just enough Bambara to introduce ourselves and greet people on the street. That is one of my favorite things about Mali so far: everyone greets everyone on the streets, especially in villages. The culture is so open and welcoming, which has made my transition to malian life very comfortable.
In the village, we stayed at a 'hotel', that was actually a series of huts. Living in a hut and listening to a thunderstorm through a thatched roof, but never getting wet was a great experience. While in Siby, we also went on a short hike that led to some places where some of the events of their legend of Sundiata took place. Look up Sundiata (or Sunjata)- it is the story that the Lion King was based off of!

After Siby, orientation was finished, I finally got my bag (on Wednesday since we were in Siby on Monday), and I moved in with my host family, and our normal class routine started. More about that later...

At long last...

I ni su! Good evening!

I was kind of slow getting onto the blog thing, but now I have one so I hope you enjoy! I will try to update the normal goings on of my life here, as well as what I am learning about in class and the cultural insight I am gaining. Luckily, my host family has a computer with internet (very rare) and it normally works (except when it rains or is really cloudy), so I can update regularily.

First, I assume some of you are wondering what I am doing here in Bamako, Mali. I am studying abroad through SIT (school for international training) in a program focusing on Gender, Health, and Development. The classes are not taught at a Malian university, or anything like that: they are seminar style with myself and 20 other students from universities around the U.S. in the same classroom together for all our classes, except french, which is split into four levels. The other classes are Bambara (the main language spoken here), a field study seminar, and a thematic seminar, covering history, culture, gender, health, development, and music. We have three main teachers and overall guides, who are Malians so they give us a real Malian experience, all the time. Also, lectures are often taught by guests from local universities or NGO's in their areas of speciality.
The program places much importance on field based learning, so we have assignments like interviewing a person, or making a photo essay. The most important source of direct contact with the culture comes in the home stay family (I'll write more about mine later, since I can say a lot on that topic). The culmination of our learning here is a month long independent study project (ISP). I haven't picked a topic yet, but I have many ideas and resources for a health based project.
I chose this program because it is in a francophone African country and has a focus on health...and frankly, I didn't have that many options. The field based nature of all of the SIT programs also drew me to it. I wanted a unique learning experience in a completely new culture, and a break from my normal hermitage in lab (not that i don't also enjoy that!) and thus far, my experience has been beyond fulfilling my expectations.

I will write more details about what I've been doing here soon, but right now, I am sick of the french keyboard with its misplaced a and w and nearly impossible period. Plus, I need to get back to my tea, dates, and millet porridge:)
k'an ben!