Inside Boo’s Brain..

My favorite sportswriter Rick Reilly likes to do these pieces he calls “too short for a column,” when he has a bunch of short ideas. So, before I go into hibernation for a while I’m going to steal his idea and talk about some random stuff…

..As a white guy living in Africa I’m used to everyone staring. I’m used to being called toubab. When little kids do it, with a huge smile on their face, it doesn’t make me angry, how could it? If anything it makes me happy. They are so excited to see me. I wave back excitedly.

But there is a line somewhere. When older people call me toubab, they should know better. The worst situations are sitting in my concession in village. Moms take their kids/babies up to my house, point at me, and they all just stand and stare, point and laugh. I try and wave and pretend to be happy at first, but by the end of several minutes they are still standing there and I am just trying to keep a brave face.

I had a thought that this must be what an animal in a zoo feels like. It’s no fun…let’s move on to something happier..

…One night sitting around with one of my closest friends in village, Mamadou, I said something about how bright the moon and stars were here. How you never ever see that many stars back home. Too much pollution and high-rises. He said that the moon was the “eclairage publique.” In French it would translate to public lighting, although you’re just going to have to trust me that it sounds much more poetic in French.

The thought is so interesting on so many levels. First off, you really notice the moon when that moon is your only light. Little kids love when the moon is full or close to it. They run through my village at night laughing and playing games. I wish the moon made people that happy back home…

…Another moon story…

What do you see when you look at the moon? After over a year of living here I look up and see a woman holding a baby, which is what Malians tell me they see. I think it means something that I see what Malians see when I look at the moon..or something.

But then I sat there trying to remember what I used to see, what we see back home. I couldn’t remember. And that made me smile. Not exactly sure why, but it made me really happy. Something like I’ve come a long way?

Anyway, I had to google it, and remembered the old man in the moon. I think it also says something about Malian (or African culture) that they see a woman holding a baby. Family is an incredibly important aspect of Malian culture, and I really think that might be why they see that scene when they look up at night…

…I’m convinced that reading keeps me sane. My count is at 36 for the 15 months I’ve been here. I almost never read at home. I won’t bore you with a whole list but my top 5 so far are: Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett, A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hoesseini, The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger, The Alchemist – Paolo Coelho, Breaking Back – James Blake. I also loved all 3 books by Jhumpa Lahiri. She just plain knows how to write.

Anyway, I’m convinced that reading keeps me sane for a couple reasons. First, reading is an escape. That’s probably obvious, but it is especially true living here where you are always the center of attention whether you want to be or not. You are expected to be happy, greeting, friendly, etc, 24/7. This is just not possible. Everyone has bad days and bad moods. Reading is an easy way to avoid human contact for as long as needed.

Another aspect I didn’t realize I would miss and be able to get from reading is English. When I go to my site for over a month, that means that except for the weekly phone call from mom and dad, I don’t speak a word of English during that time. Reading helps fill that void. Incidentally, so does talking out loud to myself. Something I’ve done far more often since living here…

…And finally, I’m suffering from a huge case of soccer withdrawal. Watching the World Cup from a country that actually cares about every single match was absolutely amazing to be a part of. Every match was an event. I have no idea how every single person knew which game was going at which time. If you missed a match, you could ask any random person walking by for a score and a quick play-by-play.

Rooting for all the African teams was something really cool to see too. Since I was the only one who cared about either team in the USA-Slovenia match, as the match went on and USA was making its comeback, I had all the Malians pulling for the US. I will never forget the moment when Michael Bradley scored the tying goal, and I was mobbed by about 20 Malian teenagers. So cool.

I have no idea why soccer can’t catch on back in the US. Every sport that you and I love has its own issues that are far more serious than any problems I have heard with soccer. Baseball has steroid scandals, the NBA just had a referee scandal. I’ve also heard it said that our football (NFL) is a far better and tougher sport. Really? The most popular position is by far the quarterback, who essentially cannot be touched without drawing a flag, and who can slide if he doesn’t want to be tackled.

I’ll stop ranting about sports. I just wish soccer would catch on. Just know that there simply is nothing like an entire continent pulling for a team. Only in the Olympics can you get a similar situation. And the Olympics get us to care about sports we never even heard of…

..I better have at least one cat left when I get back. They’ve kind of been disappearing on me. I also enjoy speaking in English with my cats.