Back inside Bobby Boo’s Brain

Back to (relative) civilization after 6 weeks at site. So you can bet my brain has been busy. Back by popular demand. Follow me inside Boo’s Brain!…

..When I got back to site after my trip to Ghana I had been gone for quite a while. Also, all my students came back from their home villages. In Bambara they have the most perfect expression these situations. “i ni fama,” essentially means I haven’t seen you in a while. It also conveys the idea that you really missed that person. Soon I was saying it to everyone I knew. The proper response is essentially the same and translates to something like, “Well, I haven’t seen you in a while.” It’s almost like jokingly passing the blame for not having seen the other person. Anyway, I think it’s a perfect phrase, and I wish we had an equivalent…

…My first week back at site was terrible. It generally is, as I struggle to get back into things at site. This time I was going through Ghana withdrawal for sure. One day I was sitting at dinner, not completely full after eating my rice and sauce, I looked over and saw an empty mayo jar on a table. Malians like to eat mayo and bread for breakfast. Anyway, I just started staring at the jar of mayonnaise. I felt that the jar was taunting me. On the front of the jar was a huge picture of a mouth-watering hamburger. I stared at that image of the burger for several minutes. I thought about how much I wanted to eat that burger. I wondered where I would have to go to get that burger. I knew that the mayo was clearly made somewhere that actually had burgers. Later that night I looked at the label and saw that the mayo apparently came from Dubai. I hate that stupid jar..

…at least I like the weather. It is still in the upper 90′s, so I laugh every time someone tries to call this the cold season. At night though it gets into the lower 70′s. Malians are freezing, they wear their ski jackets, make fires, and a large number of them get sick. One night I looked at my thermometer by my bed and said, “Nice, it’s only 80.” Then I realized the absurdity of the statement. First off, I was talking to myself, out loud, again. Hey, I happen to be another person I can speak English to. It was also a crazy statement because 80 inside a house should not be perceived as a comfortable temperature. But, to me it feels great. I’m really enjoying sleeping again. As anyone I have ever lived with could tell, you I love to sleep…

…and jump in piles of leaves. I think I missed fall. My homologue grew a ton of peanuts, and enlisted the 7th grade as helpers in pulling them out of the ground. When the peanuts had been pulled out and piled up, in my mind it reminded me of a pile of leaves newly raked off the front lawn. I suppose I was feeling nostalgic, and I fell for the mirage. Anyway, I decided to go for it and sprint and leap into the pile. I jumped. The pile did not give an inch. It was not at all soft. Note to self: peanuts to not equal leaves. Oh, well. You live, you learn…

Other than that miserable failure, things have actually been going really well at site. The center is essentially up and running. It was well-inaugurated with a dance party that went into the wee hours of the night of Tabaski. Tabaski is arguably considered the most holy day of the year for Muslims. Everyone gets dressed in their finest clothes and gets their hair done. Everyone buys a goat (or more) to slaughter and eat, and if you cannot afford a goat you are looked down upon. People give a portion of their meat to other families as gifts. As the school’s headmaster, you can bet that all the students were giving Tiokon (my homologue and school principal) meat, and lots of it. Suffice it to say we ate much better than usual for several days after the fete. My homologue also purchased a goat, who was pregnant, and gave birth soon after purchase. Yatzee! My stupid cat also got pregnant again and had five more kittens. Anyone want one?

Anyway, the center, is only waiting on a couple bookshelves for the library. Otherwise it is ready to go. With some resistance from the mayor and friends we held meetings to discuss how the center is going to be run. We set two people, the head of the student government, and the head of the youth for Dialafara, in charge of the reservations and such for the center. We set prices for meetings, formations, parties, etc. The money goes directly to the Comite de Gestion Scolaire (CGS). They are the group in charge of buying chalk, soap, and other things for the school. The mayor’s right hand man seemed determined not to pay a cent if they wanted to use the room. He claimed that if they were meeting, then surely it was for the development of the community, so they shouldn’t have to pay. At this point I nearly flipped out. I told everyone at the meeting that if we were setting prices, which the money will go directly to help the schools, then everybody, without exception would have to pay. Even if Peace Corps wants to hold a meeting they would have to pay. I didn’t mention (although I wanted to) that the mayor’s office clearly does not care about development since they opposed us every step of the way.

So, the center has been christened, the weather is great, and school is in full swing. Or as much as it can be with all the strikes and vacations all the time. I was just told that I will be the P.E. teacher for the 7th grade with over 100 kids! I want to give a huge shout out to my girl Kat, and friends who sent a ton of frisbees over here from Richmond. So, those frisbees will immediately be put to good use.

Now, I’m back in Kayes, on my way to Sikasso to spend Thanksgiving with what should be a huge group of volunteers. I got on the internet yesterday for the first time in 6 weeks. I’m so out of in news, sports, etc. I called my good friend Zack on his birthday. He told me he was at the game. I had no idea what he was talking about. I was thinking maybe some sort of college game. NFL Sunday in Boston! Man and the Giants won the World Series, weird. Currently trying to get myself reaquainted with the outside world.

Well, that’s all I got from here. As always, be safe and take care!