Boo’s lonely summer
I definitely did not realize how lonely the summer was going to be here. First off, all of the teachers I have made friends with are from regions far from here. As a result, the minute the last test is taken they all disperse to their own villages in the furthest regions of Mali.
On top of that, I’d say at least half of the students come from neighboring villages, and therefore they, too, disperse. I am living in a ghost town. I imagine this is what living in certain college towns is like.
Over here, the rainy season is in full swing. The storms continue to amaze me. Unfortunately for me, this means the rest of my friends are out in the fields and there is no soccer being played in the moment.
As a result my first week back at site was a little tough as I attempted to adjust. I also happened to be reading 100 Years of Solitude. That title obviously hit a little too close to home.
Slowly though, I was able to adjust and enjoy my alone time. It is definitely an adjustment I did not think of when coming here, but alone time is incredibly hard to come by here. In the US we all live in our separate houses. Within those houses we even have separate bedrooms and doors that you can close whenever you want to further seclude yourself.
Here in Mali, life is not like that at all. Even if I try and go into my house, that in no way prevents people from coming up to my door and begin talking to me and greeting me. This is true of pretty much any time of the day. Unfortunately sleep is not so sacred.
Life in general in Mali, is just incredibly public. If your family is having a fight, everyone will hear it. So, any alone time I can get I have learned to cherish. I’ve mostly been just reading, resting, and running.
On the other hand, my homologue, Tiokon picked a terrible time to disappear. He went to Bamako to get the check. He then failed to communicate for some reason (why the check wasn’t in my name is beyond me). Anyway he was supposed to come back on a Thursday. That day came and went, no call, no show. The next day a student came by and told me that Tiokon was coming on Monday. Once again no sign of him. The following Thursday, the next day the bus come, I got a call at 3AM telling me he was here and needed help carrying stuff. In the pouring rain I ran out to meet him.
In between those two moments I had done so much worrying. I assumed he had run off with the check and began to think of who I should call to go about fixing this problem. I figured he was like most other money-crazed Malians I have come across. I am so glad he proved me wrong. Some Malians do in fact want to see their country move forward.
I was ridiculously happy to be sprinting through the rain to meet him. He came back with the check, as well as a ton of important electrical stuff (including a huge solar panel). So, between 3 and 4 am we alternated trips back to the house from the bus stop, while the other waited patiently with the rest of the stuff in the pouring rain. Every single ordinary task is just so much more complicated.
Another example of this: he also had 48 chairs sent on transport from Bamako to Dialafara (not cheap). About a week later we received 34 chairs. We called the bus company to see what happened. Why the chairs were not sent together is anyones guess. A week after we received the 34 chairs we got another 20. Tiokon and I were sitting there just counting chairs and cracking up. We now had 54 chairs. 6 more than we bought. We called the company and they claim they’re going to send someone to pick up the extra chairs. Basically we went from having too few chairs to having too many. Whatever. In Mali, you have to learn quickly to just go with it, regardless of how little sense it all makes.
The project is really coming along really quickly. It is amazing what an amazing motivator money can be. A lot of the money problems went away once the work really began on the building as people started to understand they weren’t getting anything from us. A lot of people came buy our house asking for money in advance. The obvious and correct answer is always no. Do the work first, then you can get your money. The other way around just wouldn’t work. Yes, I’m very sorry your daughter is sick or you need money for food (or whatever other story you have for me), but do the work first then you’ll be paid.
Anyway, I have to say I am absolutely shocked at how well the project is going. The electrician is pretty much done. Lights have been installed and two car batteries have been hooked up to a pretty large solar panel which now sits on the roof of the building. The outside of the building is pretty much done. It looks really good. The painting is all done. The inside is actually pretty close too. The floors still need some work, but they are in the processing of cementing them. Other than that, some furniture (like bookshelves) still need to be built. But, honestly by the time I get back the building should be done.
I feel like after living here over a year I’ve become somewhat pessimistic about this country being able to make forward progress. Seeing something like this, really helps to restore my faith at least a little bit. I just wish people like the mayor didn’t have the mentality they did. Money should not be more important than progress. I am truly shocked to see the hard work the whole group of workers have put in.
So, things are looking up again. Living here is always a roller coaster ride. The project is going great and soon I’m off to Ghana. We have a good group going, and a few of us have for some reason decided to kill ourselves in a marathon there. The reward for crossing the finish line will be passing out on the Ghanaian beaches. Not too bad.
I have a bunch of pretty random pictures here. Some are from travels in Malian transport, others are from the building. I couldn’t get pictures inside since cement is wet among other things. I’ll have pictures of the completed project next time. Inshallah. Also enjoy a video tour of my sweet house in Dialafara. What a bachelor pad!
Once again take care and enjoy.
video: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=576894267361
Good to hear from you, Boo.
Hey Amadu,
Great video & blog entry.
Run like the wind in Ghana.
Have a great time.
Love,
Dad