tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7406639554263367212024-02-19T08:43:17.636+00:00Liz in MaliLiz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-34765758274332154792012-05-14T19:07:00.003+00:002012-05-14T20:35:36.758+00:00Liz in Mal(aw)i on Mother's Day<b style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And so it begins again.</b><br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">More than a year has passed since I left you all somewhere
between <a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/11/great-american-holiday-thanksgiving-has.html">goats</a>, <a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-treat-homesickness.html">Haribo candies</a>, and <a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/09/monstrous-moustiquaire.html">mosquito nets</a>. My life has moved forward and
progressed – I graduated from my MPH program, found myself a solid
international development job working for one of the biggest USAID contractors
in D.C., traveled to Uganda, Mozambique, back to Mali, and now to Malawi, and (let’s
not forget) debuted my back-up singing career in the release of <a href="http://www.facebook.com/MageezMusic">Mageez</a>’s first
album.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMWbM0PfeVW3glM8FBlJloYm1TI5KJclUkCVwdWPfOrlUXNrtcKIRgI1YZ4QOJw6va4SdGhMyIJh5Z2CFOPs5Wq7z3t24fE2cUSIe9lLjSt7yTBCmsMXHsu9We6YsiHufk3JcfARpqx0K/s1600/EMcGehee+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyMWbM0PfeVW3glM8FBlJloYm1TI5KJclUkCVwdWPfOrlUXNrtcKIRgI1YZ4QOJw6va4SdGhMyIJh5Z2CFOPs5Wq7z3t24fE2cUSIe9lLjSt7yTBCmsMXHsu9We6YsiHufk3JcfARpqx0K/s320/EMcGehee+001.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the balcony of my hotel in Kampala, Uganda recruiting proposal staff for a program to </span></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">increase nutrition through investment in livelihoods and access to agriculture inputs.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Poolside strategy session in Mozambique, thinking through teaming options for a project to </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: right;"><i>increase </i></span><i style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Portuguese reading capacity among 2nd and 3rd graders.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim4rnvCYKnM9vVN45Q3CG8uVJNN0lfSroREoHJDhCtad7G8M7wO8ES-qswhXERQNjNWZTt6V4xwfcKoaCbSp-LIk4K86h8vUoEhM5XeXzj2707en9A1-SoxNIQq-7D_avMd9-Rzu2tQI2P/s1600/EMcGehee+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim4rnvCYKnM9vVN45Q3CG8uVJNN0lfSroREoHJDhCtad7G8M7wO8ES-qswhXERQNjNWZTt6V4xwfcKoaCbSp-LIk4K86h8vUoEhM5XeXzj2707en9A1-SoxNIQq-7D_avMd9-Rzu2tQI2P/s320/EMcGehee+002.jpg" width="320" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Oh Mali, how I still love you...despite your sub-Saharn lands</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i> covered in black plastic "flowers."</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZ2d8KnSyLdAV8BjJ240Ob2OsaQPpGWpp6A3b4p1gvON88sK-nj3k1aU9ihLA0Y_J7UQ7fqAS_9jG4suE9QTQO3hhGg7-Tl_0C9qLHGbKplbgjhTjpWrqP0OlKLIc2BJ9lIdjt79vq0K3/s1600/EMcGehee+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZ2d8KnSyLdAV8BjJ240Ob2OsaQPpGWpp6A3b4p1gvON88sK-nj3k1aU9ihLA0Y_J7UQ7fqAS_9jG4suE9QTQO3hhGg7-Tl_0C9qLHGbKplbgjhTjpWrqP0OlKLIc2BJ9lIdjt79vq0K3/s320/EMcGehee+004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Over this same period of time, on the other hand, Mali has significantly
digressed – in the past 3 months, extremist Muslim groups have taken over the
northern region, tearing apart the gem that is Timbuktu and initiating Sharia
law; President Toure has been overthrown by junta soldiers upset with his
response to the situation in the north, only giving more power to those
northern rebels and throwing the country in further disarray, a country who
prior to 2012 had enjoyed peace for over 50 years.</b><br />
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<i style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lush Malawian mango trees</span></i></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But that’s neither here nor there, as today I am </b></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>writing
from sleepy Malawi, a small yet populous country sitting in southern Africa,
sandwiched by Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique along the beautiful Lake Malawi.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<b style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While the main purpose of my 10-day trip is to provide
technical assistance to the multi-million dollar malaria prevention project
I’ve been supporting from the home office back in Washington, you may be
wondering why am I really here? How did I begin down this path of international
development, hopping among what you laymen would call “third world countries,”
travelling to neglected corners of the world where there are open sewers,
tropical vector-borne diseases, and where Westerners are advised to even brush
teeth with bottled water??</b><br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Let’s wind the clock back to 2008, when I realized at the
approach of summer that I would not have the luxury of a junior-year abroad due
to my commitments to competitive college volleyball. Coach would not simply let
me ditch our prestigious Green Wave team for 4 months to go “find myself” in
Europe or Australia. However, this same coach would not be able to tell me no
to a volunteer (could we go so far as to imply, mission?) trip to India. I was
excited to receive the go-ahead from Coach, and even more excited to receive a
traveling stipend from the Newcomb College of Tulane – but this excitement was
quickly drowned away by the tears of my darling mother, Penny McGehee: “Lizzy,
I want to help the children.”</b><br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My dad will tell you this story differently. He will
illustrate, with his fictitious words, an intense father-daughter moment where
he tells me, “Princess, do you really think I’d let my only daughter, my ‘Hope
Diamond,’ fly to INDIA by herself? Your mom or I are coming with you, and that’s
that.”</b><br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He will then follow his description of that make-believe moment
with another one of Jim McGehee’s infamous one-liners, “She chose her mother!”</b><br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Don’t let this story fool you, though, it is not the
accurate depiction of what really happened. Sweet Penny had a “calling” and
could not ignore this inner pull she felt to follow her daughter to the
far-East. Sweet Penny came to me with her big, Lebanese eyes and begged me to
allow her to “help the children of India” alongside her precious angel baby.</b><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">And there were more tears – when this hodunk Louisiana
mother-daughter team were denied access to board their very first flight to
their very first developing country because of this little thing called a “visa”?
And even more tears – when, while lying under a mosquito net in rural India, trying
to take a nap after having handed out food and delivering first aid to homeless
Indian street kids, mothers, and young drug-addicted men from 6-11AM, the
electricity cut off. Penny’s precious fans stopped working in the middle of the
hottest time of the day during the hottest time of the year in the hottest
place she had ever been.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Sweat bib alert! 2008</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0JJiuiSa734_V8QO365ePs-a6NUxFg1RbQRCP5ZUjxa03k0VyEUx10UrkbwttF2xIHfHH_3CBtUm3J2RCaGz07CZFyRqcTUAUSTHB_x0QU3OWs1OWFN3s1H6e6pSfebt7svf5n083nOH/s1600/India.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0JJiuiSa734_V8QO365ePs-a6NUxFg1RbQRCP5ZUjxa03k0VyEUx10UrkbwttF2xIHfHH_3CBtUm3J2RCaGz07CZFyRqcTUAUSTHB_x0QU3OWs1OWFN3s1H6e6pSfebt7svf5n083nOH/s320/India.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>But, in only the way my award-winning real-estate agent,
million dollar personality mother can, she started laughing at herself: “Did I
really have a CALLING to come do this with you?!” She turned it around,
inventing the oh-so-creative game “Sweaty Scrabble” (can you guess the
difference between that and the original?), and going out to buy us a
cantaloupe to celebrate another blackout – nevermind the fact that the
cantaloupe turned out to be a pumpkin. Around this same time, when she finally started
seeing the beauty in her ever-present sweat bib, the beauty in what mystery
vegetable could result in the English-Bengali language barrier, and recognizing
the beauty in being in this foreign new land with her beautiful daughter, Mom
also discovered the beauty in the ever-available 22-Karat gold, legal only in India,
baby!!!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<b style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It was gold-hunting from that point on. After our early
morning first-aid and breakfast shifts, and before we devoted our evenings teaching
English to Calcutta’s slum children, Penny would drag me around town like we were
following the new gold rush East. We were treating ourselves to gold after
treating leprosy patients, wrapping bug-infested train-related injuries,
hand-delivering white bread and boiled eggs to hungry, broken families. And our
Indian patients and gold salesmen alike loved Penny for the better because of
it, “giving back” to the Indian people and economy with her skillset, warm
personality, and wad of cash.</b><br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Looking back, was the delivery of first aid and handing out
food willy-nilly at train stations, followed by purchasing locally-mined
precious minerals, a good model for sustainable international development? Is
it what catapulted me into this unwieldy professional field? I’ll answer that
with a simple: no.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2wgcqNsZcRyu5aKkmg8nMBu6-q9QrGVHgxOG96k5Kxm-fCmHfSzhukYRycPESgr1pAlgpIf9vuSJrlpQLldUbgDs9rFWCy5xtVAHU7_OQZIfZMoEy-efuDx3AHaNEOsnYbwHUo4ZyPFD/s1600/Mom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2wgcqNsZcRyu5aKkmg8nMBu6-q9QrGVHgxOG96k5Kxm-fCmHfSzhukYRycPESgr1pAlgpIf9vuSJrlpQLldUbgDs9rFWCy5xtVAHU7_OQZIfZMoEy-efuDx3AHaNEOsnYbwHUo4ZyPFD/s320/Mom.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Did I get SUCH a high from answering Penny’s “calling,” working
with the children of India in the mornings and hunting for gold in the
afternoons alongside the woman who gave me birth, that I’ve been trying to get
back to that same high with each additional country that I visit? Absolutely not.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<b style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So, what I DID take home from this roller-coaster trip – what
is now referred to as the blessed “mother-daughter bonding trip” in the aisles
of grocery stores throughout Lafayette, Louisiana – is that wherever you go and
whoever you’re with, you can just do you. My mom was her definitive self,
across the world on the outskirts of Calcutta, India, fraternizing with anyone
she could talk to. Flashing her smile and sweat bib to anyone she came across,
playing her favorite game, Scrabble, during monsoon season, and not being
ashamed of treating herself to some nice 22K gold after opening her heart to
street kids and drug addicts each morning and night. Penny was drinking tea in
the back alleys of Sealdah train station and in generator-produced
airconditioning of gold parlors the same way she drinks coffee with clients
back home, whether they’re buying a $40,000 townhouse or $4M home. And everyone
loved her for it.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLlDY5kIsacyfY6R1Df2WXndmL-1ofvma_kbdgOpTbr5U0fo1E31Tt3PvKmclpO7VO9uUrJO5YY30q_DSh-rfe6NybnJAyduReXpj9F_1i0krKTVRMT_EK3canIT8C5IyafZ6DMLDN_aNY/s1600/EMcGehee2+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLlDY5kIsacyfY6R1Df2WXndmL-1ofvma_kbdgOpTbr5U0fo1E31Tt3PvKmclpO7VO9uUrJO5YY30q_DSh-rfe6NybnJAyduReXpj9F_1i0krKTVRMT_EK3canIT8C5IyafZ6DMLDN_aNY/s320/EMcGehee2+003.jpg" width="239" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>My mother embodies the mantra that: wherever you go and
whoever you’re with, you can just be yourself and do what you love. In Hindu
India, Muslim Mali, Christian Malawi, or any new culturally rich, economically poor
country I travel through – I can just be myself and do ma thang (public health,
for those of you who haven't caught on). In any setting, I know I’m not going to lose who
I am, and that’s because of my momma.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<b style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In thanks, here is the beginning of a new set of blogs.
Because, for whatever reason, Mom seems to like these stupid things as much as
she likes that 22K gold!</b><br />
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Happy Mother’s Day to the best Mom gold, or anything else,
can buy! </b></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-38760436899092221902010-11-24T10:16:00.011+00:002010-11-24T14:47:08.418+00:00Turkeys and Goats<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The great American holiday, Thanksgiving, has arrived. The tight-knit group of American families to which I’ve grown so close have invited me to their annual potluck tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to contributing Mom’s famous hummus and Liz’s famous guacamole. While overseas, I've finally come to terms with the fact that I cannot cook and cannot bake -- I can merely “prepare” easy-to-mush dishes.</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Based on my kitchen skill-set, it’s not difficult deciding what I am going to “prepare." It IS difficult, with makeshift French skills, trying describe our feast to Malian friends and coworkers. The direct translation, “Action de Grâces,” does not seem to do “Thankgiving” justice. The abbreviated historical background, “la journée pour célébrer les pèlerins (pilgrims) et les Indiens,” simply will not fly. </span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Therefore, to transform our holiday into Malian terms, it has become “La Fête de la Dinde,” the “Turkey Festival.” The only explanation needed for such a festival in this beautiful God-loving country is: “mangeant de dinde pour donner nos remerciements à Dieu”/eating turkey to give our thanks to God.</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">What makes our Turkey Festival even more comprehensible is the fact that it coincides with Mali’s “Fête du Mouton”/Goat Festival, also known as Tabaski. Muslims devote one day in November to sacrifice a goat in honor of God’s mercy, when he gave Abraham a ram at the altar to take the place of his son Ishmael. </span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Our Thanksgiving bird does not have any such religious significance, although I do wish our history books included an allegory of a turkey being scalped in place of a pilgrim.</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_wDzIfpi_H4ceWF0VPxvsIRjJlgIeWf-pqigRFk-gC7EC2Xir0K1bEzodCh8bARcii3h0AieWXzLYU7oNmiY2m5HCfth063VzZcU7F7CKLgGn4jVvXvG6vPrMVeXgez0INGAtIDeqt3M8/s1600/P1030445.jpg"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "></span></span></span></b></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8NQ1amgZeGqjpMXZxhK6_cwaTmdVGlFmqfrCnehuDhTnQvD4OndWbSafT9GrokFdNmUNVGUiUfEYrjr7lGeC1RRYgkdxfZyBtPIfh0eGhufKl0Sa19bErqQ4VGsxp4eYNRxfE6i5fmTiT/s1600/P1030416.jpg"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8NQ1amgZeGqjpMXZxhK6_cwaTmdVGlFmqfrCnehuDhTnQvD4OndWbSafT9GrokFdNmUNVGUiUfEYrjr7lGeC1RRYgkdxfZyBtPIfh0eGhufKl0Sa19bErqQ4VGsxp4eYNRxfE6i5fmTiT/s320/P1030416.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543119697884771474" style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></span></span></b></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_wDzIfpi_H4ceWF0VPxvsIRjJlgIeWf-pqigRFk-gC7EC2Xir0K1bEzodCh8bARcii3h0AieWXzLYU7oNmiY2m5HCfth063VzZcU7F7CKLgGn4jVvXvG6vPrMVeXgez0INGAtIDeqt3M8/s320/P1030445.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543116699140699682" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /><br /></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><b><i>My Malian sister, Assi, and I in our festival finest. Gotta get a new bazin for every fête! Call me!</i></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">For the Fête du Mouton, the head of household is expected to provide the Almighty goat, which has become the ultimate indicator of male machismo. I have been watching men over the past few weeks gripping horns, tugging beards, grabbing haunches, and even cupping unbelievably saggy testicles, all in an effort to find their perfect goat match. In the days leading up to November 17th, I saw cars with backseats down carting goats, young boys driving motos with goats roped to their laps, bicycles with smaller goats curled into the bike baskets. The day before the festival, I flagged down a taxi and hopped into the backseat. There were kicks and screams coming from the trunk -- a goat hostage along for his “last ride.”</span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM15oKhWAQOMX-B6BH2rMOk1_-8RZs_7h4lC8u_T6qZuyjLgwWEKyNjpBXL_-qk1KRwjuiI5tPp2AFxu4LNHB-tdpdSea2HnNReYvPCr11VNrhdmWgatGabZT5Pm8NFlCpfI1VsE5Up69N/s1600/P1030336.jpg"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM15oKhWAQOMX-B6BH2rMOk1_-8RZs_7h4lC8u_T6qZuyjLgwWEKyNjpBXL_-qk1KRwjuiI5tPp2AFxu4LNHB-tdpdSea2HnNReYvPCr11VNrhdmWgatGabZT5Pm8NFlCpfI1VsE5Up69N/s320/P1030336.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543112563284503810" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></b></a></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_dvjSUhzdLS2Hv6mA4IZ33egsROPVrJ0l3o3MbbdHuOSWHiqR7iVXY9M803ILjOUpwIKJlR6JvnSc3ILRmVbWvvOA6OE6-2JuI6ayHH4bcnt5VlYVYrgSN6vKCrSbGbZoG_1h6H4ZzWke/s1600/P1030360.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_dvjSUhzdLS2Hv6mA4IZ33egsROPVrJ0l3o3MbbdHuOSWHiqR7iVXY9M803ILjOUpwIKJlR6JvnSc3ILRmVbWvvOA6OE6-2JuI6ayHH4bcnt5VlYVYrgSN6vKCrSbGbZoG_1h6H4ZzWke/s320/P1030360.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543112584042035074" style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><b><i>Goat hunting, and some of the finest goat testicles in Mali.</i></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The morning of Tabaski, I woke up at my boss Claudia’s home and accompanied her son Andrew as he walked his family’s meal down the driveway into the hands of their 3 guards. All six hands held the creature down, and when the cut was made at the throat and blood was pouring out, each guard whispered “Bissimila,” meaning “in the name of Allah.”</span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFhZZZGG1RK2xTwGdPmTtrxv0s-DtHcgfrON4ICs5zIENckSwok_Pbpo84Vw-QbOMNjlRDLp3hg4SBSh426AWcRhx5KN7ObNahyphenhyphenGb95qwN2a9L5fpZtATTEirTaGhA9OUWb4WGvj-9YRm/s1600/P1030346.jpg"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFhZZZGG1RK2xTwGdPmTtrxv0s-DtHcgfrON4ICs5zIENckSwok_Pbpo84Vw-QbOMNjlRDLp3hg4SBSh426AWcRhx5KN7ObNahyphenhyphenGb95qwN2a9L5fpZtATTEirTaGhA9OUWb4WGvj-9YRm/s320/P1030346.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543112568723825314" style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></span></span></b></a></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQSlGadTw9AcEx9zmVucG-etDxINuiico-6q_9e6Y39gyiJr8dNxxczzXq3QkOXPC3GX0SQp6P5OZkxpuYWU0IXeA3z3stu75nxYZRjxRnvq-hxUdHhyx_OeLNOI_OcQ2EAZfEGdSkGcn/s1600/P1030370.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQSlGadTw9AcEx9zmVucG-etDxINuiico-6q_9e6Y39gyiJr8dNxxczzXq3QkOXPC3GX0SQp6P5OZkxpuYWU0IXeA3z3stu75nxYZRjxRnvq-hxUdHhyx_OeLNOI_OcQ2EAZfEGdSkGcn/s320/P1030370.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543112589665253986" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><b><i>1) "Dead Goat Walking," 2) Try to find the 3 goat heads being roasted in the fire for the next morning's soup!</i></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">While it is the goat that was killed in the name of God that Wednesday morning, Malians do not forget to pay tribute to the Father for each animal life taken. A friend recently shared the story that a large rat had begun frequenting her home. Her guards plotted together and trapped the rodent in a corner, and the instant they killed it, they uttered the same chant, “Bissimila.” Even though it wasn’t “La Fête du Rat” that particular day, they found no shame in frying the thing up and eating it for lunch.</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">There is something special in the way Malians treat their food here, however grotesque that food may be. Not only because there is always that direct acknowledgement to God for each kill, but because that acknowledgement is part of an understanding in Mali: what you’re eating is your hard-earned nourishment.</span></span></b></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsR0ultylp9O7_awzNBl-EQllb4p2B9-VIwncFoS5vhWX28Dwo0ML3JrEf4VVo_sJ4J1vE53tOvQkI9rUNeSKNoLl-0pxPAydMxrEZiQ8IcnLFrqRq9Uof36hyWBKqQ1hmjJsviJ3gzK9m/s1600/P1030407.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsR0ultylp9O7_awzNBl-EQllb4p2B9-VIwncFoS5vhWX28Dwo0ML3JrEf4VVo_sJ4J1vE53tOvQkI9rUNeSKNoLl-0pxPAydMxrEZiQ8IcnLFrqRq9Uof36hyWBKqQ1hmjJsviJ3gzK9m/s320/P1030407.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543116698590039682" style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsR0ultylp9O7_awzNBl-EQllb4p2B9-VIwncFoS5vhWX28Dwo0ML3JrEf4VVo_sJ4J1vE53tOvQkI9rUNeSKNoLl-0pxPAydMxrEZiQ8IcnLFrqRq9Uof36hyWBKqQ1hmjJsviJ3gzK9m/s1600/P1030407.jpg"></a></span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf0wpVov2mUZpbSBjA9wrJQB6G7bZaGGf857npqO4NOlVRyPdsQCqIAuEqyN-g1hIAIkiTiaeOblk2UkrfleaUG8izYcExpnnRvvhaIYeVZjgDB65KnJriLDhzwT6N6VoTzqnZVStAQjSv/s320/P1030408.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543116704683225458" style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></span></span></b></span></div></span><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43pTmITkJN0z1HOugVNy0v52IgW0XqKBzMzsGNiIHEGoT4mhcT6_bKhr9rOJYQn3t373Keyx3MsULaqKzThogibAIJxbpZJLkZljAhyphenhyphenhAACpqFtNCmNxfdEmlrDHSiWO_LGqgRqhyphenhyphenjXl0/s320/P1030412.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543116708962488898" style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></span></span></b></p> <p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><b><i>Kintu enjoying the cooking process, singing and clapping.</i></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">They don’t just go buy frozen, packaged ribs on sale at the grocery; Malians save up their money to hand-pick the finest animal that they can be proud of holding down until its heart stops beating. They don’t go and buy a 5-pound bag of </span></span></b><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-treat-homesickness.html"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Haribo candy </span></span></b></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">at the nearest corner store; Malians take their time to make each and every dish in their iron pots on their coal fires from fresh, local ingredients. They don’t just fork and spoon gobs of food into their mouths without thinking; Malians ball up their rice and sauce in the palms of their hands for a few seconds before taking a bite -- feeling exactly what they’re eating, conscience of the size of each mouthful. </span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8am__Ma0tMy9MrXj-o0RgLLSduvrdhFEl-WI-ORhgvuabhf7iAYNVFokrcuDD6TnJ0zNjMXJ0sQgO9n_LYjo7ZIpH8zUYnPOucql2z6n7_P9VdpUXnQIew5b32d7bYOLZzjksGBGVZvm0/s1600/P1030440.jpg"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8am__Ma0tMy9MrXj-o0RgLLSduvrdhFEl-WI-ORhgvuabhf7iAYNVFokrcuDD6TnJ0zNjMXJ0sQgO9n_LYjo7ZIpH8zUYnPOucql2z6n7_P9VdpUXnQIew5b32d7bYOLZzjksGBGVZvm0/s320/P1030440.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543119702999304930" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></b></a></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Tomorrow for Thanksgiving, we’re having our turkeys shipped from the U.S., are cooking our prepackaged ingredients in the oven, and will be eating with a full set of utensils. The Malian food principles may not carry over into our celebration of the Turkey Festival, but there is at least one tradition that both eating festivals respect: eating together.</span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpsW4xi3Aw6CfacATR8A_RnyHCNct5FdIIz65oFggmGDyMGogw-05hACWgA6WKtnS-_0CedJVwFc7wHTHvmFjjziPKVbyPWa5EnSl7bWf6vqSmOCeC67wJ0qYrcsARrt_VH4M84T4XIUC/s1600/P1030352-2.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpsW4xi3Aw6CfacATR8A_RnyHCNct5FdIIz65oFggmGDyMGogw-05hACWgA6WKtnS-_0CedJVwFc7wHTHvmFjjziPKVbyPWa5EnSl7bWf6vqSmOCeC67wJ0qYrcsARrt_VH4M84T4XIUC/s320/P1030352-2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543123593380828930" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px; " /></a></span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJuGnO7L0glGVUQxK0RfPCPnvZ-KF2J-56L8-B8bdSlvtORENtdn7lkPJEyx1scsE8lAguIEwl0TX2Cklp769fkwwsTBodDBNc7yhET_7umvVflordrwBjalz8nFKcf3Ic9r2Vx3EeyPFJ/s320/P1030428.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543119798231122882" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-14914183731444890162010-10-14T12:51:00.007+00:002010-10-14T14:21:03.775+00:00French Fries: the Gift from God<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">On the second day of my father’s big Malian adventure, we decided to wake up early to catch a Malian Catholic mass. My Southern Baptist father, who frequents a church in Lafayette where Jesus-praising, hand-raising music takes up 75% of the service, had heard from a plane ride encounter that the music at these West African churches was not to be missed. We headed to the big cathedral in town about 45 minutes before mass to make sure we'd get a good spot.</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Despite the morning's rain, and what we thought was good timing, there was an enormous crowd of people with chairs on their heads waiting to squeeze into the double doors. Unbeknownst to us, this particular Sunday’s service had been aired all over the radio and television as Bamako’s official Cinquantenaire/50th Anniversary mass.</span></b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Even with Mali’s 90% Muslim population, you gotta remember Bamako is a densely populated capital. The approximate 10% Christian population still means serious numbers, especially when all of the other services are cancelled for such a special eucharist; 10% of Bamako was all heading to the same church to receive their week’s blessings.</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Dad and I, the only tubabous in sight, squeezed into the back door and found ourselves a little breathing room standing behind the second set of double doors. With all of the women with chairs on their heads standing in front of us, there wasn’t much to see. With all of the ushers yelling at all of the women with chairs on their heads, there wasn’t much to hear either. Dad stood in a zen position with his back to the wall for a few minutes, closing his eyes every now and then to try to listen for any kind of prayer or music coming out of the main room. Got to hand it to him, he really did try hard to feel like he was at church, meanwhile I just felt like we were in the back of a big red carpet show crowd trying to peek our heads in to see the hot celeb, a.k.a. the preacher. I suggested we leave. </span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">The streets at this point were flooded, and I tried to navigate us through ankle deep freshwater without getting us too close to the open sewers again. We made it to the town’s main market, and with the money that would've otherwise been used as an offering, we got to shopping for my nephew Mac’s birthday presents. We managed to acquire one fake Polo shirt to go with one pair of jeans stamped with grammatically incorrect English phrases, and then continued on our way.</span></b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">At this point, hunger pains started to strike. I saw a vendor with a plate of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Custard_Apple.jpg">custard apples</a> -- my all-time favorite exotic fruit, not available in the states -- on her head, a much more welcome head hold than a 4-legged chair in the middle of a pushing church crowd. I bought one for me, one for my dad, and a few extra for the road; he surprised me by popping right into the "street food," although I'm sure he was regretting his decision later in his hotel bathroom. We kept walking for a few more minutes, and then dad once again hit his third-world wall when we saw two consecutive <a href="http://advocacynet.org/wordpress-mu/ccarlson/files/2010/07/woman-in-wheelchair.jpg">3-wheeled wheel chaired individuals </a>begging for money in the street. We gave them our extra custard apples, but evidently we'd hit our ceiling for new sights and stimulations for one morning.</span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">"Taxi!"</span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Back at the hotel for our first meal of the day, Mali once more redeemed itself by offering "frites"/French fries on the menu, even at breakfast time. After a few tastes of that Malian street fruit, Dad needed to get back to his equilibrium with his favorite American vegetable: potatoes. It was at this point that his 2-day travel caught up with him, so I allowed him to take a nap under his mosquito net. A few hours later, he was again ready to take on this developing country and with my boss Claudia's two boys in tow, we headed off to the artisan/handicraft market. </span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; "></span></span></b></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><p style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><b><i>Knees to dash in taxi traffic</i></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-o03mH1SqlhpEzXJbLK7Cl8Ks6IEuJpW9_dIbOEws6OvVQhKdOdG00dv-Ndq8RMDLdUtpRdQMO_0t7FbJ8FaKuO-5ev2XiPZaPltWCSTiasjuaLikm-WT-hgPfwwWlgYJZHYMGGNZuGPL/s1600/P1020498.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-o03mH1SqlhpEzXJbLK7Cl8Ks6IEuJpW9_dIbOEws6OvVQhKdOdG00dv-Ndq8RMDLdUtpRdQMO_0t7FbJ8FaKuO-5ev2XiPZaPltWCSTiasjuaLikm-WT-hgPfwwWlgYJZHYMGGNZuGPL/s320/P1020498.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527900841000442722" style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></span></span></b></span></span></p></span></b></span></span><p></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">The boys, Abraham and Andrew, warned us about the hassling and haggling that was to come. In return for their help and advice, Dad offered to buy them a prize of their choice, thus the beginning of a lasting friendship.</span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><i>Big Jim, Big Abe, Little Andrew: BFF</i></span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRLrUbYvwAqEnAuEp_to9JX4YAi1BA_aHyOxr3ooXwuwUOROfvsjdf-Hqn_ZYmS0NSEgGil0LjL1Z-BRZyeyzoWE3EupmFGiCHufZRfjuvkW5XltjQ8QaVI61oj2oXsy9l4iUaPLWqbfo/s1600/P1020499.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsRLrUbYvwAqEnAuEp_to9JX4YAi1BA_aHyOxr3ooXwuwUOROfvsjdf-Hqn_ZYmS0NSEgGil0LjL1Z-BRZyeyzoWE3EupmFGiCHufZRfjuvkW5XltjQ8QaVI61oj2oXsy9l4iUaPLWqbfo/s320/P1020499.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527900848867377762" style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">At the market, we were immediately hit up by some Rasta necklace sellers, whom we quickly by-passed. Next came the row of wood crafts shops. Dad, being a lover of all things brown (you'd know this if you'd ever been to our house in Lafayette) immediately took to these craftsmen. To my surprise, he welcomed their chants to enter this store and that, to look at a hippopotamus which looked exactly like the last one. He even lit up at a good bargaining session, of course with me or one of the boys translating. We made some choice purchases, and moved along to the mask section, then to the jewelry, and then...</span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:100%;color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-style: normal;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></i></b></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUO-wYmuH6mXPxJfttwxahIbqtMaC1d1xRgQZ9SXXmvFEGl_sI3LeVEwQ55DB9eQfl2N2TUw3nrOlL-H7d9-kqWolaTZFRxTVsyRmpJStGoBW-SHuUxvSoTQp6q2USLFxsmifWz9e7aQrI/s1600/P1020501.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUO-wYmuH6mXPxJfttwxahIbqtMaC1d1xRgQZ9SXXmvFEGl_sI3LeVEwQ55DB9eQfl2N2TUw3nrOlL-H7d9-kqWolaTZFRxTVsyRmpJStGoBW-SHuUxvSoTQp6q2USLFxsmifWz9e7aQrI/s320/P1020501.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527900869162889522" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a> </span></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ain2xYBvEfuVEsQFsbeEM3y8fiEbikHq9ETg2iX3SADmwNWRuyO6Ab6n58uTutKbquoA_5kC3ZQxsDeGPYeJss2AXm4ChjinQP-qgI2YiZYU99-slx3sJDAmai95nPvrEaJnUfNeQCBj/s320/P1020503.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527900868585467906" style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:x-small;"><i><b>Checking out the brown crafts, meanwhile Dad finds himself another wide-hipped honey (sorry, Mom!)</b></i></span></span></b></span></div></span></span></b></span></span><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">The drummer man. He started following us around banging a shoulder djembe, and offered to sell it for a ridiculously high price. He then began dropping down the price like the stock market, and brought out desperation tactics, all while banging his off beats on the drum. Jim McGehee started walking faster, and faster, started wiping his forehead from all the sweat, and then hit that wall once more...</span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">"Taxi!"</span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">At this point, I'd learned that there was only one way to get my dad back into his groove in Mali: French fries. We had to get back to the hotel, and fast.</span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">When we arrived, the two boys proudly placed their two new elephant statues on the dinner table and ordered themselves two Cokes. We McGehees put a rush order on the fries, and in the meantime sipped a few local Castel beers. The food could not arrive fast enough, but even though he had not been to church that morning, Dad still made sure to take a hungry minute to say his pre-meal Southern Baptist prayer. He made sure to pay tribute to that higher power for bringing his new best friends, Abraham and Andrew, into his life. </span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">I had one of my own prayers that evening: thank you JESUS for French fries!</span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">End: Act Mali, Scene II. </span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkETcv6LhrB-tlHiAzTQc1vJBz8mgpar5V5fwvlcV0gdJiNZ11xIb3ufy8vte2T7ghVUJB-dOJwzcAQdtSX5fu2kKLK2UgKSsyJAW3FCl32W3xau6kYdX41PfRhH_y7KxA0cDX9MZXJBj7/s1600/P1020504.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkETcv6LhrB-tlHiAzTQc1vJBz8mgpar5V5fwvlcV0gdJiNZ11xIb3ufy8vte2T7ghVUJB-dOJwzcAQdtSX5fu2kKLK2UgKSsyJAW3FCl32W3xau6kYdX41PfRhH_y7KxA0cDX9MZXJBj7/s320/P1020504.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527900880062612834" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></b></span></span></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-46451313766702131532010-10-13T14:13:00.000+00:002010-10-13T13:14:38.672+00:00The Blackness<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>PREFACE:</b></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>My dad has recently become the proud grandfather to his second grandchild, Bach Franklin McGehee (congrats Bo and Jess!). He was feeling pretty lucky last week: two healthy, beautiful grandchildren living so close to him. He felt so lucky, in fact, that he planned a quick trip to Vegas. </b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Dad’s on top of the world right now, living the American dream. To bring him back down to Earth, though, I’ve got to rag on him a little. I'd stopped blogging to focus on my Public Health Analysis for school, but I've decided to bring it back to remind my Dad that he recently broke away from his American dream and lived through 10 days of his African nightmare (OK, not really a nightmare...maybe more like one of those creepy lucid nap-dreams we all have):</b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>---</b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>“There’s so much...blackness here.” These words were James A. McGehee, Jr.’s first reflections upon entering Bamako, Mali. He was looking out of the window during the car ride to the hotel when he let this one slip. It was the perfect reaction from Mr. Mashed Potatoes and Gravy himself, fresh off of the airplane, taking in West Africa. </b></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:medium;"><b>I wasn’t exactly sure if he was commenting on the lack of street lights around the city, making it complete darkness at this hour of 10PM, or if he was commenting on the general tint of the population. Either way, I just left the statement in the blackness, and couldn’t wait to see how Big Jim would fare in his first role as a minority.</b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Once we’d gotten settled into the hotel, after whipping out that unforgettable new quote, I asked my dad if, after two days of traveling, he could handle going out to hear some music. At that point he pulled out one of his old quotes, an ancient Jimism: “This ain’t no dress rehearsal.” </b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Ever since he’d hit the ripe age of 50, my dad’s been using this quote like white wine to get my mom out to the hundreds of activities he has impossible amounts of energy to do: movies, concerts, UL football games, and those last minute exhausting trips to Las Vegas (OK, my mom doesn’t need THAT much convincing to go to Vegas). He uses it to convince friends and acquaintances to take those intimidating investment risks in business or race horses. He uses it as his reasoning for designing something like an underground movie theater in his Louisiana backyard. Now he was rightfully using it to let his daughter know he could handle a little more Mali before going to sleep that night. </b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>I took him to Savannah, an expatriot favorite where we could listen to some local music and I could ease father into his new surroundings, by being surrounded by at least a few more white folk. While I tried to minimize his ethnic minority, I forgot about his debilitating anglophone/English-speaking minority. But even after 2 days on a cramped airplane, Big Jim was taking it all in stride, saying “merci” any chance he could (even though it did sound like more of a George W. Bush “mercy”). Plus, I was able to perk him up when I explained that “frites,” the French word for French fries, were available on the menu.</b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Unfortunately, due to the rain -- the all-encompassing excuse for everything that goes wrong in Mali -- there was no live music. In an effort to keep the night a positive experience, after dinner Dad suggested we take a short walk around the area so as not to waste our 20 minute taxi ride over to this side of town. A few paces later, though, he was regretting his decision; we had run into one too many open sewers. There was no escaping their omnipresence. I, myself, tried to use the rain excuse, “you only notice them after the rain!” but he had to get away from the black, gruesome canals closing in on him. </b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>“Taxi!”</b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Dad was right, life certainly wasn’t a dress rehearsal. At that moment, though, I'd wished there could have been some kind of rehearsing to prepare my dad for the sights -- and smells -- he was to encounter here in Africa.</b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>In Jim McGehee’s big performance of life, end Act: Mali, Scene I. </b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><br /></span></span></p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">What's under that mosquito net, and hanging off of that miniature hotel bed? Could it be?</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';font-size:13px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglykH7gqF6VGjr4EunmzQdkZS1URls2tq3Y2C0-DP3KtbMOmrsDNQkVZod1NaiDJtuKb8yDtJEFbaoR_rXNrcpJuswVz5MR2jAMoUyg26uaxoyCUPjzBj-9bIxnZOXHzoTLoBtf7ZVaxw4/s1600/P1020550.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglykH7gqF6VGjr4EunmzQdkZS1URls2tq3Y2C0-DP3KtbMOmrsDNQkVZod1NaiDJtuKb8yDtJEFbaoR_rXNrcpJuswVz5MR2jAMoUyg26uaxoyCUPjzBj-9bIxnZOXHzoTLoBtf7ZVaxw4/s320/P1020550.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527492231271155458" style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVh5nwUtJ-FOpSKby-oXTjbAhEegwzJKyBEN-Z3_YBCJroYhTG7SWKK8ZngN2VlX-viIW6ZouC02Jv_VmA7zvJr2cPpfcR5jVHguG1qlclmtbDVLeplMHze8rIq7U7zJCim2y3uWK8VgeC/s320/P1020551.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527492228772235490" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ENDMcvAEUfK1wwVJ0GeB6IRkraKAg-KEu-fmdKoVh6Y2L34No-qAVWLVpBAuLqi-e4iOGAFgdTQCG5d9_mkB4cP_8sam9X3vT-DIlR-mFE0z34mCa31S3MbrGdJ9rAf_nSTknNZuxTZa/s1600/P1020556.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ENDMcvAEUfK1wwVJ0GeB6IRkraKAg-KEu-fmdKoVh6Y2L34No-qAVWLVpBAuLqi-e4iOGAFgdTQCG5d9_mkB4cP_8sam9X3vT-DIlR-mFE0z34mCa31S3MbrGdJ9rAf_nSTknNZuxTZa/s320/P1020556.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527492237077952034" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It's true, ladies and gentleman: herein captured is Jim McGehee sleeping under a mosquito net.</span></i></p><p></p></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-36404742723818105442010-09-17T19:17:00.008+00:002010-09-18T19:28:42.384+00:00Monstrous Moustiquaire<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Wednesday morning, I got the call to complete an emergency mission for the “Voices for a Malaria Free Future” project. They needed someone to document the creation of a mosquito-net. Not just any mosquito net; a mosquito net big enough to cover the lobby of the UN building in New York City.</span></span></span></b></span></div> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">With my new, shiny blue camera, I was chosen to take pictures and videos of this monster “moustiquaire,” and show the chaos involved in shipping this mass of fabric to the states.</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">A slew of African heads of state are heading to NYC for an ALMA meeting, “African Leaders' Malaria Alliance” (www.alma2015.org) and in the American spirit -- where bigger means better -- the Big Apple hosts thought it would be a great plug for malaria awareness to have this gigantic net greet their guests. They wanted it shipped “at whatever cost” by Monday evening, to have it in place for the conference kickoff on Tuesday.</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Thankfully, our “United Against Malaria” campaign was getting such a mosquito net made for one of Mali’s most notable monuments, “le Tour d’Afrique.” Sitting at five stories tall in the middle of the capital city, when covered with “un moustiquaire” the Tour d'Afrique will give the United Against Malaria campaign some serious visibility, and ideally influence Malians to get their own net, albeit smaller, to sleep under.</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The official draping of the notable statue will occur in a few months, and in the meantime there’s another structure everyone’s talking about. To celebrate Mali's "Cinquantenaire"/50th anniversary on September 22, Monsieur le Président Touré purchased a 5 million dollar monument of a girl and a boy to be placed on the Niger river. </span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">A $5 mil. project like this would be considered nothing in a high-income country. In the developing country of Mali, however, $5 mil. ain't chump change. Such a huge percentage of Mali's purse could be used in so many more productive ways -- strengthening the health system, education system, infrastructure. </span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">You could come back with the counter-argument that: oh well, at least the money’s going back into the Mali economy, which could then trickle down to these other sectors.</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">But no, M. Touré did not have the monument locally constructed. He bought it from China.</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Instead of making a fuss about the already decided, ludicrous purchase of a statue that will contribute nothing to decreasing poverty, hunger, or disease in Mali, we at “Voices for a Malaria-Free Future” are just going to put a giant net over the much bigger, and more respected, monument. We’re sending a message to the Malians that even though their president made the decision to put the country's money into a chunk of Chinese handiwork with his name on it, we can make the decision to aim the country's attention away from it. We’ll be combating the president’s example of using Malian funds for self-commemoration with a better message to lead by example. If the Tour d’Afrique is going to sleep under a mosquito net, so can you!</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">It is this same Tour d’Afrique’s mosquito net that our project so kindly decided to loan to the United States, and whose production I was assigned to document.</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">On my way to the tailor’s, I started imagining the room where the monstrous moustiquaire was being assembled. The twenty, thirty people working together under high ceilings, trying to keep in order what could be the design for King-Kong’s insecticide-treated bednet.</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I was led through the “Grand Marché,” Bamako’s famous market, up a narrow staircase, and into a poorly lit room with a twin bed-sized pile of white netting on the ground. Sitting in the room, next to the sole dangling lightbulb, was a young man with a sewing machine: the tailor. The only tailor that had worked on this already-sewn, ready-to-go mosquito net.</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">It was an impressive feat for one person to squint through, and both he and the project were thrilled at the agreed-upon price of $300. I got a great video interview of his excitement in sending his work to the United States, all taken while he was lounging on top of the giant mass of netted cloth. </span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Monsieur le Tailleur</span></i></span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijD7sGzyu4NZmi01TfFxqPQI31fCdKI-eVcrHlmnH2QCF0fbQDJxQaRN4Ojsh4OZ6HfWRNxgPhbHqKPnbB3_u222ToESz3eqPUkPErzyTVr_5ljUYsYKXjxPqvmxE-76xDN-WVG1bfItcA/s1600/P1020466.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijD7sGzyu4NZmi01TfFxqPQI31fCdKI-eVcrHlmnH2QCF0fbQDJxQaRN4Ojsh4OZ6HfWRNxgPhbHqKPnbB3_u222ToESz3eqPUkPErzyTVr_5ljUYsYKXjxPqvmxE-76xDN-WVG1bfItcA/s320/P1020466.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518327210193144258" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">He walked me through the production process, starting from measuring the light fabric using his arm’s length. He mimed cutting with his rusted scissors. He showed me how to start up his lone, antique sewing machine. </span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Mass heap of mosquito net in the background</span></i></span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0fA7au60_ZQjW_Z11u39UlDNcNlCuBcvcn94e7pTSV4igfZYRON-Spic0WCD8Ym4obx_I-7bt3ZNv1jvsAg3Oox952OoCThnDq2EPWO-XnJ_rq1WkuNb2-Dz1jSaUhGSqlJizt9dCtN5/s1600/P1020470.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0fA7au60_ZQjW_Z11u39UlDNcNlCuBcvcn94e7pTSV4igfZYRON-Spic0WCD8Ym4obx_I-7bt3ZNv1jvsAg3Oox952OoCThnDq2EPWO-XnJ_rq1WkuNb2-Dz1jSaUhGSqlJizt9dCtN5/s320/P1020470.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518327226481682306" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">We wrapped up our interview when two of his buddies walked in to wrap up the net for shipping to NYC. They used a much larger needle to thread together four pieces of tarp that would ensure that the delicate netting did not get ripped. The tarp would allow something like rolling the net down the stairs to take place without worries. </span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><i>All packed up and ready to fly</i></span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYqPMsthzaTAY_3_cOTcfjWJQQM0cv51rQ5kcwzpms5SDnR1B6yLkmofzT_Dn6-rCYyjYf0x6SQAu2z82fOkgKtgD2Ub5sbyL_a-_fZ3TxGW0C5Iaw12xBqYv3P1UQ2iWSdymDjZVnp56Y/s1600/P1020479.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYqPMsthzaTAY_3_cOTcfjWJQQM0cv51rQ5kcwzpms5SDnR1B6yLkmofzT_Dn6-rCYyjYf0x6SQAu2z82fOkgKtgD2Ub5sbyL_a-_fZ3TxGW0C5Iaw12xBqYv3P1UQ2iWSdymDjZVnp56Y/s320/P1020479.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518327247747251394" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">So that’s what they did. After stuffing the net into this homemade tarp contraption, they let her rip down the outdoor staircase. Eyes on my digital camera, I almost got blasted with the falling heap, and instead let it knock down a moto to my right.</span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Avalanche.</span></i></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlD1TAXQPzsi9oc4XlvMgLBOC_MlTzn8NZw2nEj-kAVFgvQ1f9fCJkT9DAdUpwkzMcPnUW0uuFhJNmJ8oUaI68e3npnFGruSJCcyEB6bfWVZbuoraCDkiXMBdTMMMr4SQ7Y8AWP6YAkyCa/s1600/Still+16.jpeg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlD1TAXQPzsi9oc4XlvMgLBOC_MlTzn8NZw2nEj-kAVFgvQ1f9fCJkT9DAdUpwkzMcPnUW0uuFhJNmJ8oUaI68e3npnFGruSJCcyEB6bfWVZbuoraCDkiXMBdTMMMr4SQ7Y8AWP6YAkyCa/s320/Still+16.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518333119439342562" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">They jacked the tarped mass onto a cart, rolled it through the Grand Marché, and stopped traffic at each intersection for this all-important mosquito net that would travel over an ocean to an internationally-recognized building in NYC, and back again to top Mali’s most acclaimed monument.</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">When finally in the car, I looked through my video footage. This life-saving material looked so cheap, like tutu netting you could get at Marshall’s for ten cents a yard. Why wouldn’t those guys in New York just use such arts and crafts netting and get a local a tailor to make their show prop? Our shipping company told us it would take this $300 net a jaw-dropping $5,400 to ship there, and another $5,400 to ship back. The investment seemed almost as ludicrous as Monsieur Touré’s.</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The car ride back to our "Voices" offices was tight and uncomfortable, all of the seats folded to make room for the net of honor. When we arrived, we all ran up the stairs to get everyone down to the car to see probably the biggest mosquito net ever made. </span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">We walked in and were met by somber faces. Those flippant New Yorkers decided not to get the net shipped after all. Apparently, "at any cost" had a ceiling.</span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">While this may disappoint our lone tailor, it was a wise decision not to burn over $10,000 that could be used to buy moustiquaires for 2,000 households, saving much more than 2,000 lives. </span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Now if only we could get Touré to retract his $5 million being exported to China. Who knows how many lives that could save -- something much more worthwhile to commemorate his presidency, and Mali's 50th anniversary.</span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></span></span></span></b></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-65051383947260529722010-09-13T11:19:00.010+00:002010-09-13T14:06:55.661+00:00Sambé Sambé!<div style="text-align: center;"></div><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Hooray, the fast has ended! The “Carême,” or Ramadan, has finally come to a close. After 28 days, the full moon reared its beautiful head on Thursday, September 9th, at the wee hour of 3AM to signify the Islamic new year and the reintroduction of day-time eating. Praise Allah!</span></span></b></span></span></span><span><span><span><span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Work is cancelled the day of the fête/festival in Mali because God knows, and your boss knows, you’ve got to get eatin’. On top of that, the day after the festival is also a work holiday. After all the meat ingestion, you need a day devoted to your bed -- and the toilet.</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For la grande fête/festival/feast Aid el-Fitr, I was invited chez-Madame Touré, the secretary for our Keneya Ciwara office. S</span></span></span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">he offered to fix me, her "fille Americaine"/American daughter, some fish on</span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> the day which is typically spent eating beef cooked in every which way.</span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"La vache"/the cow is slaughtered the morning of the festival, one cow per large family or neighborhood, and every single part is distributed out for consumption. When I told Madame Touré’s son Draman I was a vegetarian and don't eat beef, he said, “mais Liza, tu peut manger le coeur ou le pancreas, n’est pas?”/“but Leezuh, you can eat the heart or the pancreas, can’t you?” Non merci. </span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><i>14-year old Draman, with the "etoile"/star he got shaved into his hair for the festival</i></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimUBmZduK_W_NBfnD6OdRGAXWnt_KuyWOTFhVHFHNwu4oZDQiMKiXKlH9dLP4jd3WgE4O_KgwwF1Z_mihXgyvqLKkm2N98f_agXoIfzjAdNc704TXOXOPKXV23YsAtPHatSP6Z-5f6FXXr/s320/P1020024.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516364517511442802" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJJVvQcSQNdGcfhrpaPmpYmjsacg6l8i-NnOVTewgWZXjuOQo7Jaah0HnW5H8N8o0-leAsApLjoGqzEQrMkSJUAP94BjSYKSAvERL9tRpj_l_p0CXiqt0z7cdDphyphenhyphennfDuoBBl8cGbuYPl/s320/P1020084.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516373128559579234" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">I was still able to enjoy the artistry and tradition behind the slaughter and the subsequent cow part distribution. I had given my camera to Draman for that morning’s kill. He was able to capture these awesome, and super graphic, shots:</span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><b>My personal favorite picture: the Malian flashlight</b></span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><b>a.k.a. a lamp without a lampshade</b></span></i></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><div style="text-align: left; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9pfFPeDlqqw4gZqRv6piEjiDEUblOgzjnwmA8lB94opRlA2dzSlJy3HD0fPW6TSAZZD8MqTQOZi48B50Of2XikonVA4kCqAqITuQKJhutBXcy8B51XjmX6yfACpPMjB9_8mFM426hBQH/s320/P1020261.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516373142819368578" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></span></b></span></div></span></b></span></b></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><b><i>Not for the faint-hearted, but can still be for the vegetarian if you're into gore:</i></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxuDRUbJOnjj5cM7bdd_lXuuWCnfNcP0p-2kB_wy7jsGAYYMUhOtO-2Wpip9DnrEQmM_s4gSZ4Pkublb33wQsror6JlGp1dAXRM1g7m9pcnRemc1Ye-pxAiGbmvp4pbcvXiGROVoyH_jDg/s200/P1020219.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516377796893253922" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj40ReQi1bxQn0J39u7ZU7oaTRPHohFFHxEmektVX7ryU114Nb3zDkxwf7ApOEp_1Snf0XGemnc3Yd5g-4cLZ2znFHs5C0l_K0hd9SM834YtEYKrn_0uor98iulxn3Uybw01KF0ysUGQJqs/s200/P1020221.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516377805153237458" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1PEVqj2A52JBuzkM6II_ywP82f0_zLtHecROlFWtVY2pAxiqr_I0J5gYaCVQmEh7HTH4U-urrJVlyZ8zXuq8EgZUpAEmhMag91VWVbSngHCzeAzuk0x8uDCiy0DrlGwfgM6GPjLcMeDrV/s200/P1020222.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516377814446685954" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIFjj74LSH3QkOaIN4PlGdy8RFmnlv424GS0NO5WL-jEapi5NzesSWLdSz9DyfcjUJVGm06QJrbkaMCGJ2JLdpBYqZKY1HLcv6xAVnHrjLF6ezuykP9gazOiopCZGgQAFi6qO8k29IgEQW/s200/P1020270.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516377820029626370" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></span></div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM2c8ik25SfGbEHx_DyG4kml2_NgNUvqv3f9WwaAtmnGE_kpKgxosqGJp9U6mnhFvCXCZ7mXRovBWlZYXiQFjQW36YAfQ8_-2Kd7k8n_l1CcUinchZ_R_FQmsej6u-wLL46EmhkrGGlUVK/s1600/P1020298.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM2c8ik25SfGbEHx_DyG4kml2_NgNUvqv3f9WwaAtmnGE_kpKgxosqGJp9U6mnhFvCXCZ7mXRovBWlZYXiQFjQW36YAfQ8_-2Kd7k8n_l1CcUinchZ_R_FQmsej6u-wLL46EmhkrGGlUVK/s200/P1020298.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516377834481817298" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></a></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKd55Ad7l43ZVaYnzMgeiAizf8Fl3vVLNIgJxk2H6klgqOaBZqQ12n5urWilksfAUn5Hox3TyaO9Jf433YxaeLbeOm9tt-H2Kn3r1en6B-bTOtM0V_Biw_drfhDGICW0vmqdNbN78cSdYb/s200/P1020063.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516382159555407602" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px; " /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><i><b>...and voila! Ready for some cookin.</b></i></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Now ever since Ramadan started, all of my friends and acquaintances have been talking about the outfits they were getting made for the big fast-breaking day, Aid el-Fitr. What kind of quality material, what style and cut, which tailor they had chosen for the important outfit, which embroiderer they would use for the details, where they bought the shoes to match...men and women alike got into this much detail on the outfits on a regular basis. </span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">I had the boubou Fatime and her family had dyed and tailored for me, so I was ready for action in the formless mass of tinted cloth. I hopped in a taxi and headed toward Madame Touré’s.</span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">When I walked into her house, I didn’t see all the women’s boubous and men’s basins that I expected. Instead, I saw women sweating in their tank tops, house skirts, and foullards (head wraps), and men in their wife beaters and jean shorts. I was absolutely over-dressed.</span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Regal Tubab Elizabeth</span></i></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Please notice the girl getting her hair done in background. Definitely didn't need a boubou for that.</span></i></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHzgGApU6FvTW3ubkauXrr0-mg4OkHKYcYgO1xEFOet87r_tPnEP90Lxqs-JTqM1esWR2PpOTMg7zS17AXZc_9oWyOTtaFsqoTc5MNyrYHrxGDsgTUf45osHeZTdiKTQZvXiJhagSHQQh/s1600/P1020035.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHzgGApU6FvTW3ubkauXrr0-mg4OkHKYcYgO1xEFOet87r_tPnEP90Lxqs-JTqM1esWR2PpOTMg7zS17AXZc_9oWyOTtaFsqoTc5MNyrYHrxGDsgTUf45osHeZTdiKTQZvXiJhagSHQQh/s320/P1020035.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516364537576570754" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEi9D3lH2Cl_MJNPHBBtPrIXrUpxxzMwcc8FuK60iVhRK4-fUEViEuDZKokg4VP61SSZxWLeM2NqCwYRgfzld8zJphG0JQZWSLKXSdYBE96UO4vKqlc5Bu98sTei4I1js7-XU_Ittgd5r/s1600/P1020031.jpg"></a></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEi9D3lH2Cl_MJNPHBBtPrIXrUpxxzMwcc8FuK60iVhRK4-fUEViEuDZKokg4VP61SSZxWLeM2NqCwYRgfzld8zJphG0JQZWSLKXSdYBE96UO4vKqlc5Bu98sTei4I1js7-XU_Ittgd5r/s1600/P1020031.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEi9D3lH2Cl_MJNPHBBtPrIXrUpxxzMwcc8FuK60iVhRK4-fUEViEuDZKokg4VP61SSZxWLeM2NqCwYRgfzld8zJphG0JQZWSLKXSdYBE96UO4vKqlc5Bu98sTei4I1js7-XU_Ittgd5r/s1600/P1020031.jpg"></a></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Apparently, the boubous and basins are reserved for after the beef-eating when you take a walk around the neighborhood to “see and be seen.” Because eating takes all day, boubous aren’t necessary until sundown. And no wonder, I was already sweating from the short walk from the taxi to inside Madame Touré’s house complex.</span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">As soon as my Malian mother, Madame Touré, saw the first drop of transpiration, she offered me something a little more comfortable -- a pajama top. All day eating in your PJ’s...this was my kind of festival!</span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"></span></span></b></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:x-small;"><b><i>The bent-over cooking position...fanning the wood fire beneath the pot</i></b></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEi9D3lH2Cl_MJNPHBBtPrIXrUpxxzMwcc8FuK60iVhRK4-fUEViEuDZKokg4VP61SSZxWLeM2NqCwYRgfzld8zJphG0JQZWSLKXSdYBE96UO4vKqlc5Bu98sTei4I1js7-XU_Ittgd5r/s320/P1020031.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516364526453258754" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></b></span></span></p></span></b></span><p></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">While I had gotten there at 11, the food wasn’t ready until about 2PM. The women cooked in a bent over stance over their large pots on an open fire for the entirety of the mid-morning, and I along with the guys just sat around drinking tea. Every so often, a group of young kids would come by in their finest outfits, girls with their braids bedazzled and small purses in tow to yell “sambé sambé!”/“bonne fête!”. They would then give their blessings for the new year: may Allah bless you, your children, your parents, your brothers, your sisters...and so on. After they chanted this series in unison, they kind of hung around waiting for their “petits cadeaux”/“small gifts.” Some households gave out small plastic toys, hats, candies, or like our household, small money. Our 100 or 200 pieces of fCFA, the equivalent to quarters, went straight into the colorful bags of these festival house-hoppers. </span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Kid Krewe</span></i></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFP3OzlrO0Niq23ydJ46z7NZodKfA-R8cX47EHXbNiJl8PUd-EoC0J0t91STFqoY1yu2wey03m1j5NNsY8otVmlm1Cs9Qwl7HP1cIPQgzcz9Ruc9twN9bOY2dz_ZxAeH-JZ0eLH97g9qKd/s200/P1020332.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516390545415800130" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">The first round of eating finally commenced, and we all sat on our stools and low chairs to eat with our hands. With the meat, we were served the traditional “riz gras”(finally a French word you recognize!)/“</span></b></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">fat </span></b></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">rice,” which is made with tomato sauce, meat, and veggies...the equivalent of Louisiana jambalaya. I was right at home.</span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:x-small;"><b><i>Eating some "riz gras" with that right hand</i></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvN1rYXyYMoRW59StiguSyDzo04bLsmxphoVMETHZ12Ph6pWZEvxReFnCfW4X6BdFH8JqDiVz3JJmOJmcjoWN6JRtvgvyrivvRRTLV2A85Im03GkSvcogq95fsRoOv7UgHABVD7qyuZm0A/s320/P1020042.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516364543754928658" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgZvKk7g6up5DeL8wvBl4dG0m-YCdf1bqAdtAQE249qoxItiYhAAAvtuYErZH_m-9phsu47Og04GkSvcy3X6sgUarADl4RogW2nh7nQJjYcsBBvCtcnRBwWEVq-Lbf_RU0AuEti0r-VEr/s320/P1020044.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516364551619344594" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Immediately after we finished eating, Madame picked up and got to cooking again for round 2: “les brochettes de boeuf”/“beef cabobs.” Once she had gotten things rolling, she rushed to get washed and dolled up in her boubou for the adults' turn at home visits. This round 2 of door-to-door housecalls meant serious money exchange, 5000-10000 note fCFA, not the chump change handed out to the kids. Madame Touré had to make sure she was dressed to receive the big bills.</span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">It was around this time that I started receiving the mass text messages of well-wishing and blessings: </span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><br /></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> </span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">"Dieu nous donne la longévité, la santé, la prospérité et</span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> le </span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> bonheur."</span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"> <i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> </span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">“God give us longevity, good health, prosperity, and </span></span></i></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> happiness.”</span></span></i></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> </span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">“Bonne fete de Ramadan à vous, à votre famille, à tout vos </span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> proche et </span></b></span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">collaborateur, </span></b></span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">que</span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> Dieu nous accorde sa grace à </span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> travers nos prières et </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">sacrifices. Amen.” </span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"> <i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> </span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">“Happy feast of Ramadan to you, your family, all your loved </span></span></i></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> ones </span></span></i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">and </span></span></i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">employees, </span></span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">may God grant us his grace through our </span></span></i></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> prayers </span></span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">and sacrifices.</span></span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> Amen.”</span></span></i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><br /></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> </span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">“Que Dieu te donne un bonheur croissant, une paix durable, </span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> un calme divin, </span></b></span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">une santé </span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">inoxydable, et une foi pertinente.</span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> Tels sont mes voeux pour l’Aid </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">el- Fitr.”</span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"> <i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> </span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">“May God give you increasing happiness, a lasting peace, a </span></span></i></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> divine </span></span></i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">calm,</span></span></i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> stainless health, </span></span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">and a relevant faith. These are </span></span></i></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> my wishes </span></span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">for the Aid</span></span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> el-Fitr.”</span></span></i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">The beeping of the texts were sounding the alarm to head out. Madame Touré was dressed to the nines, ready to go to her parent’s house and give some big bills to her mother. I had had enough beef exposure for the new year, and the fat rice had lived true to its moniker in my belly. It was the cook's turn to shine, and the eater's time to head home and take a post-feast nap.</span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:x-small;"><i>La Famille Touré</i></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEv_b3m40337YDdipTwYRq_GGghqR0cC4AW_qOHFJFGAWyxBnP3hchhFXeWYzOc66YFgVcd0ppozgMc75DpFQji93zmWQQsCkU08JY-FebH_oRkLmA2cncE0fghyphenhyphen6EW7eW720U5bHzDwP2/s320/P1020090.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516373136306531858" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span><br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyI6kYqtKaCL4hqF2rLKKMjtrVKJxODv8k_Mc4tWbx5CQ7236UtCxJ9AiLXEtEPveLqJPWyEkp9HEtoOAU8AJO3r4Ginz1gQylPDtv1ftPkSgSaxuakU8CWHVh7RTawsdfeGypIsDnzhIc/s320/P1020104.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516373150512592498" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">When I arrived back at the house, I de-bouboued, and laid on my bed with my computer to read some news. On this amazing day spent celebrating the culture behind the Islamic religion, all over the international news were threats from extremist Christians to burn 200 Qurans, protests to the mosque being built near Ground Zero, and the exploitation of the return threats to kill Iraqi soldiers coming from the extremist Muslims. </span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Nothing was found saying “sambé sambé” to the millions of moderate, peaceful Muslims around the globe celebrating the end to their holy month of sacrifice to God.</span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">So in response, I’d like to leave everyone with another one of the texts I received, from my Muslim colleague Tandina:</span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>“En ce jour beni de Ramadan, je formule les voeux, que le </span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> tout puissant</span></b></span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> pardonne</span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> nos peches, exauce nos prieres, et </span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> nous </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">donne la force de nous </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">tolerer et de nous</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> accepter les </span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> uns les autres, malgre nos differences.</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> Amen.”</span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"> <i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> </span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">"On this blessed day of Ramadan, I make the wish that the Almighty </span></span></i></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> forgive</span></span></i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> our sins, </span></span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">hear our prayers, and give us the strength to tolerate </span></span></i></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> and accept </span></span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">each other despite</span></span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> our differences. Amen."</span></span></i></p><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></i></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">And if you have any interest in donating to the imam's cause in New York City in an effort to improve Muslim-West relations, please visit: http://www.cordobainitiative.org/?q=content/donate. Sambé sambé!</span></span></span></b></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-76506784881767962052010-09-08T11:46:00.006+00:002010-09-08T12:41:14.198+00:00How to "Treat" Homesickness<div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">It’s true. The rumors are true. No need to hide it: I ordered a five pound bag of candy. I had five sugary delicious pounds of Haribo raspberry gummies shipped all the way here to West Africa.</span></span></span></b></div> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A few weeks ago, my c</span>amera broke. I was prohibited from documenting any of my fun adventures in Mali to share with friends and family, and knew a replacement camera would take at least a month to arrive. Around this same time, my cousin Rebecca was getting married; my mom’s entire side of the family was going to be at </b><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/07/wedding-edition-dedicated-to-becca.html"><b>her big fat Lebanese wedding</b></a><b> without me. Also during this time, my cousin Katie, for whom I was recently the maid of honor at her wedding, gave birth to her first child Avery Lee. My dad’s entire side of the family was going to cheer her on, and all I could do was send her lame Facebook messages of encouragement. I had reached the zenith of my homesickness. </b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>My brother Ben, who could sense my sadness, sent me a link to cheer me up: the “Back to School” berry sale at amazon.com. </b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>He knows how addicted I am to crappy gummi candies. During my college volleyball days when we were required to write down everything we ate as the nutrition component to our training, I wrote down “orange slices” almost every week. I did not mean the healthy fruit version. I was regularly eating the sugar-coated stick-to-your-teeth candies you can find at the Circle K for 2/$1 -- my faithful study companions. </b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>When I visited the link Ben forwarded, Amazon sweetly sang to me that for the knocked down price of only $12 (from the much</b></span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b> </b></span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>higher price of $14.77), plus an additional 15% off (a whopping $1.80 cents added reduction!), you could get five pounds of the gummi berry of your choice. Fake sugar renditions of real fruit? My specialty!</b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Being at a weak point in my sub-Saharan life, I pressed “add to cart” and didn’t look back. I also added a berry-blue Panasonic Luminix camera; wish I could’ve gotten the berry discount on that purchase.</b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Now that the candy’s arrived, and I’m back in high spirits armed with a camera, what the hell am I going to do with five pounds of Haribo raspberries?!</b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><b><br /></b></p> <p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><b>My demise:</b></span></i></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCOzdTraB9p47eiiShv_KDM3UBQmnwFXYlGG0IHu4r2gsi_sp-NyiZ7eUy_tQXxEi_ZPBFiN5sZ7YyiTT9461eWQ7ePiHhKoqJnd9WJ4RvSXAHeq0GZ4rYyyI45eLBT7rn4FM_8aUrCOcv/s320/Haribo.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514509549033585490" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px; " /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><br /></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>I packed a few ziploc bags chock full of the black and red sugary delights to bring to the office. On my way in this morning, I remembered that all my colleagues are still fasting. With my lack of self control, it struck me that I could very well put down this first pound of ziplocked raspberries all by myself. I had to get rid of them.</b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>Walking to find a taxi, I was bombarded by kids asking “madame” for money. Fresh out of </b><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/08/window-shopping-with-tums.html"><b>change and Tums</b></a><b>, the raspberries were the perfect solution. The kids and moms were so enthusiastic, “bonbons madame, bonbons!” that I just grabbed a huge handful and gave it to one of the more responsible looking individuals for distribution and hightailed it out of that “rat king” (just learned this slang American phrase, you should look it up at your own risk). </b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>Seeing that “les bonbons” were a big hit, and still needing to get them out of my possession, I offered a few to the taxi driver. He wasn’t interested, so I swung the plastic ziploc in front of the man in the passenger’s seat (having multiple clients in the taxi is normal practice). I asked him, “est-ce que tu veux du bon-bons?”/”do you want some candy?” and he moved his arm in what I thought was an effort to get some of these delectable treats.</b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>But he wasn’t going for the bag -- he was just lifting up his arm to show me his hand. Only 3 fingers were showing, the rest of his hand was ace bandaged up. "Je suis diabetique"/"I’m diabetic," and had lost the last two of his fingers because of it. Diabetes is no joke here in Bamako, where both treatment and diet change are too expensive for most.</b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>Candyman Liz committed a candy faux-pas, and was faced head on with what could be her candy-induced future.</b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>Needless to say, I’m rethinking my previously planned ingestion of the next four pounds of these Haribo raspberries. Let's hope I don't get homesick again in the next two months. If I do, other sicknesses surely await me. </b></span></span></span></span></p>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-49585552675471357972010-09-02T18:49:00.005+00:002010-09-03T08:49:05.920+00:00Franglais<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">It’s crunch time at the Project Keneya Ciwara II office. We've dedicated the entirety of last week to our annual consortium meeting, the local participating consortium being made up of us at JHU/CCP, plus Care Mali, Groupe Pivot, and IntraHealth. There’s been all kinds of stress trying to figure out, in a room of 20+ representatives from all of these different organizations, how far we’ve come in year two of our project, and how far we can go in year three. We’ve been following up with our “plan d’action de l’année deux”/plan of action for year two and are drafting the same thing for “l’année trois.” </span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">With all of the stress of the decision making, number crunching, and activity creating, there's also confusion. All kinds of snicker-inducing language confusion occurs on both sides of the language barrier -- mostly due to the fact that my francophone/french-speaking colleagues must write their project work plans, budgets, and final reports in English. </span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Each organization within the consortium brings their list of activities and budgets already written in their version of "English," and together we spend the majority of our time deciding which activities we think we can complete, which activities take priority, and how to harmonize all of these activities together. The harmonization process is done by having each organization present its ideas and documents via computer connected to a giant projector. </span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">The projector makes French to English mistakes all too visible for these detail-focused public health programmers. </span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">The easiest way to slip up has been with acronyms. In the international development field, there are a’plenty. We partner with “les ONGs” for “la distribution de SRO” en francais, whereas in English it’s the NGOs with which we're partnering to distribute the ORS (non-governmental organizations that distribute oral-rehydration salts for diarrhea). We hand out condoms to prevent les ISTs et le VIH/SIDA en francais, but in English we’re preventing STIs and HIV/AIDS. With our women’s groups, we want to promote le PF et les CPNs, but translated, that’s FP for family planning and PNC for prenatal consultations. </span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Even a Boggle expert like myself, who happens to be super-skilled at letter rearrangement, gets turned around with all of these mixed up and sometimes palindromic acronym translations.</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Other problems occur with vocabulary, large and small. One debate over “investissements </span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">on” </span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">versus “investissements </span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">to</span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">” lasted for a whole 10 minutes, despite my efforts to explain from the beginning that it was “inVESTMENTS </span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">in.</span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">” Another heated discussion was in deciding whether to say they would print “brochures” or “roadmaps” (?) as visual aids for the community health workers, which are referred to as “relais.” These “relais” were then continuously called “relays” in the reports. Apparently that’s how these community health workers have been described in the reports for the last two years, so who am I to come in and say, “hey, relays are for runners, not healers!”?</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">The relai-relay predicament is what in French is referred to as a set of "faux-amis"/"false" or "fake-friends" which means that while they sound the same, these words actually have completely different meanings in their respective languages. </span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Another example would be the verb “forme” which means to teach or train rather than to actually form something. Together, a “formation de relais” translated to “formation of relays” is all wrong and something that I decided to fight to change. I mean come on, we’re doing public health work over here, not putting on a track meet!</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">After I fought tooth and nail to change the phrase to “training of community health workers,” the group continued with the sentence, “...with will be supervised by the ASACO health workers.” Thankfully, someone else stepped in. Our chief of party interjected, “WHICH, WHICH will be...” He spelled it out for the person manning the projector, then said, “Faites attentions! Si tu ajoutes un ‘t’ avant le ‘c,’ tu va écrire une sorcière americaine!”/“Be careful! If you add a ‘t’ in front of the ‘c,’ you’ll spell out the American </span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">whitch!" </span></span></b></i></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">and then he went in for a <a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/07/hallelujah-high-fives.html">high five</a>.</span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> </span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">While I may have fought an English vocabulary battle, I wasn’t going to get into spelling, not with our big chief of party at least.</span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">By the end of the week, everyone was exhausted from staring at the projector, especially while fasting for Ramadan. We were ready to just put these action plans into action...at which point I was given the stage. </span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Before closing out our meeting, I wanted to introduce the idea of a <a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/07/newsletter-pkcii.html">newsletter</a> to the consortium, being that we had everyone pivotal to the project together for the first time since I’d been at the office. </span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">The chief of party gave me the go-ahead, so I stood up and gave what I thought was a pretty nice twist of words to poetically get my point across: "Cette semaine, on a discuté comment améliorer notre collecte de données. Cependant, c’est aussi important d’améliorer notre collecte d’histoires, pour suivre nos progrès avec PKCII."/"This week, we’ve discussed how to better our data collection. However, it’s also important to better our story collection to keep track of our progress with Project Keneya Ciwara II." I was trying to use a little wordplay to get the point across that we need to start documenting our successes in the field to send to the states, and therefore keep our donors happy.</span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Feeling really proud of myself, I handed out our first finished newsletter and asked if there were any questions.</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">No one raised a hand.</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">The chief of party stood up and said, "Nous savons tous que notre collègue Americaine est nouvelle avec le francais. Permettez-moi de traduire son ‘</span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">franglais.’"/'</span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">We all know that our American colleague is new to French. Please allow me to translate her ‘franglais.’"</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">The chief of party, who I had saved from a public spelling lesson on “witch,” had given my delivery of French the title “franglais,” a mix of "francais/anglais" -- what you anglophones may call "Frenglish." He gave me the stage then threw the first tomato! </span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">J</span></span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">ust like that, I was no longer a tubabou. The only white girl sitting in the room turned bright red when all of these Malian public health head honchos started cracking up. </span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">I was about ready to give him a real lesson on another word that ended in -itch, even if he was the chief of party.</span></span></b></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></span></b></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"></span></span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Fortunately for both of us, after he described my newsletter idea in “proper” francais, the crowd seemed open and encouraging to the newsletter idea. While my face stopped flushing and I returned to my complacent tubabou status, I am now keenly aware that our chief of party, although very knowledgable and generous, can be another kind of faux-ami.</span></span></b></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-18747853456900964082010-08-26T18:42:00.011+00:002010-08-27T00:01:08.691+00:00Window Shopping with Tums<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Le Carême, or Ramadan, is in full swing. Mosques blast their wakeup calls to prayer at 4AM, coworkers are nodding off in meetings from not eating or drinking during work hours, and traffic around Bamako at the end of the day is worse than ever. Everyone is leaving the office at the same critical hour of 3PM in order to 1) prepare the feast for breaking the fast at sundown; 2</span></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 0, 0); "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">) pray at the mosque at 4PM; 3</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 0, 0); "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">) take a nap before sundown to sleep away the now exponentially increased hunger.</span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b>The traffic creates mounting chaos during what is supposed to be a peaceful month of prayer. Cars are at a complete standstill before the two bridges to cross the Niger, “le Pont Ancien” and “le Pont Nouveau,” the Old Bridge and the New Bridge (not very creative names). It is in this river “limbo” that the increased traffic has caused an increase in window shopping.</b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b>The “Orange” Mobile Phone guys are at the car windows on the regular, selling phone credit in increments of 500 fCFA ($1). I’ve already mentioned these young men -- decked out in their neon vests and displaying these phone credit cards in plastic covers like they’re prized collectors’ baseball cards.</b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Phone "credit" cards</span></i></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6UywYjaUiZGi-lhVY9eNEJrp6o9OQgTDfgv5Xnea8UVbCS-iQFaeTwNfHwIZImJsBPfbKEIGP0403B-Ln0fvm2ybMSLgUEUCQh47mmsryvDZgGW4dLHDEZ_hyvycgCQWGgS0Pi3WysjoA/s1600/Still+83.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6UywYjaUiZGi-lhVY9eNEJrp6o9OQgTDfgv5Xnea8UVbCS-iQFaeTwNfHwIZImJsBPfbKEIGP0403B-Ln0fvm2ybMSLgUEUCQh47mmsryvDZgGW4dLHDEZ_hyvycgCQWGgS0Pi3WysjoA/s320/Still+83.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509823632822026562" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">What I haven’t previously mentioned are the rest of the “street” workers.</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The street workers may be walking through the traffic selling some type of food. There are not a lot of options in terms of snacks in Bamako, so you’re basically guaranteed the narrow choice of a sack of peanuts, a pack of dried dates, apples, bananas, or a bag of animal-cracker-esque orbs that will make you thirsty just eyeing them. They look and taste like a drier form of those puffy, circular soup crackers you add to clam chowder, and should therefore only be bought in desperate times of hunger.</span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><b><i>Dried dates and apples for sale</i></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3VTPaYmbVxzunN2FnH_C2fosmq-fYcBf4wyWdFpIUziBymDSHcAhGgnOYOFm5zmShBSJrZYqBM6Dl2ODvxnhlJ5FpAqWgzfjoqh9wC4GusnglY2tlw0dspwMlr7v0D_fIAsGkyBhRcOIv/s1600/Still+76.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; font-size:16px;"></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Ni5du0by7afihHvhX62kbHCdERM0Z_8ufdrVA-olYvL4ZQBGt6VCaG_TtYkKZRC3-aJ0uToagvqRmtjpEju2MO9AzUyV3G8pEleR4JIdDdBZzaWkiM9gT4Yc_49IMrE8gDQ19GoUGMeG/s1600/Still+80.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Ni5du0by7afihHvhX62kbHCdERM0Z_8ufdrVA-olYvL4ZQBGt6VCaG_TtYkKZRC3-aJ0uToagvqRmtjpEju2MO9AzUyV3G8pEleR4JIdDdBZzaWkiM9gT4Yc_49IMrE8gDQ19GoUGMeG/s320/Still+80.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509823616650998130" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYNb9Uc5fXLEVZlnJgk68lKCVJK1nboESwIv1ockCvgEmIu9MhE87WpmY7NU8u3sbVjKaz9-LyyrgPguF6Equ3Jn5Q7gIKAdrRVsq5LBL8Xq9FiKkn-FOaoX13_cdKus_mZDhplYcfc_n/s1600/Still+87.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYNb9Uc5fXLEVZlnJgk68lKCVJK1nboESwIv1ockCvgEmIu9MhE87WpmY7NU8u3sbVjKaz9-LyyrgPguF6Equ3Jn5Q7gIKAdrRVsq5LBL8Xq9FiKkn-FOaoX13_cdKus_mZDhplYcfc_n/s320/Still+87.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509846116619195122" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Even though everyone’s fasting, a few cars or taxis may buy the snacks to save in the dashboard (in the event that they’re still stuck in traffic at that crucial moment when the sun goes down and the fast is over). If they decide not to buy snacks, though, there are other options</span>.</span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><i>Need a grater? No problem. What about a sweat towel after all that tough labor in the kitchen? Also available.</i></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqeD3vSh-EQtkZjUAEInsnOoc4zZ_5CCqOFdgyYxZOG-113l5-GersdHj_0pJlhSsAHC4mC4IcpnejkfsIdxIgV6qgKzFIcuv_eFP1Oq8s5vUCgwOYMT8k3Uz5h_9vuY3cDlwmTvOuhyphenhyphenQ/s1600/Still+75.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; font-family:'Trebuchet MS';font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"></span></span></span></b></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinRIU9KADykUtoo5YqsqVMs_S8KbTJngEjDGBOsHs8oZAu5aBE0EZ0Emh4V7m1Pnvcrmjy-RQREaP0JLvCbd9SzUQqfrdZwGmkotkQWEKfxopTNs0jNQTcUmUxySDD8bSJR_PkXfhQvQ01/s1600/Still+77.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinRIU9KADykUtoo5YqsqVMs_S8KbTJngEjDGBOsHs8oZAu5aBE0EZ0Emh4V7m1Pnvcrmjy-RQREaP0JLvCbd9SzUQqfrdZwGmkotkQWEKfxopTNs0jNQTcUmUxySDD8bSJR_PkXfhQvQ01/s320/Still+77.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509822366080910034" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></span></b></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqeD3vSh-EQtkZjUAEInsnOoc4zZ_5CCqOFdgyYxZOG-113l5-GersdHj_0pJlhSsAHC4mC4IcpnejkfsIdxIgV6qgKzFIcuv_eFP1Oq8s5vUCgwOYMT8k3Uz5h_9vuY3cDlwmTvOuhyphenhyphenQ/s1600/Still+75.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqeD3vSh-EQtkZjUAEInsnOoc4zZ_5CCqOFdgyYxZOG-113l5-GersdHj_0pJlhSsAHC4mC4IcpnejkfsIdxIgV6qgKzFIcuv_eFP1Oq8s5vUCgwOYMT8k3Uz5h_9vuY3cDlwmTvOuhyphenhyphenQ/s320/Still+75.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509822356407279730" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">World Cup footballs, sweat towels, sweat tissues, magazines, kitchen food graters, lighters, French Scrabble (I’m surprised I haven’t bought this yet), wallets, umbrellas, belts...and wind-up toys. Lots and lots and lots of plastic wind-up toys.</span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><b><i>Leather products brought right to you...</i></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggg-1uDl1uD-uRBB0XW1VKeYdGq2UmlRP98etqen8gk6EuGypFzbEbsNy_CFb13LJzLmsQ3JqzenEyHPM8TDEG5cnZakyJQQ70SlL9CPjJ-KzNXpy4FpYyQj_VFuPcAYNFwEImp_jF4Rvy/s1600/Still+82.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggg-1uDl1uD-uRBB0XW1VKeYdGq2UmlRP98etqen8gk6EuGypFzbEbsNy_CFb13LJzLmsQ3JqzenEyHPM8TDEG5cnZakyJQQ70SlL9CPjJ-KzNXpy4FpYyQj_VFuPcAYNFwEImp_jF4Rvy/s320/Still+82.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509823628503705122" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjLXG0DWsAVCkfyAqT5OBU48qS3KEziUmVW00PSnqASgwD3e3EokCiqmMiIUvdlZ1bWLa89I2QbDHqeJHM3vZOF7fGiMxzpvzit_gF6dFZOO04i80OdvTmDe3mb7q5O_tBp8r6RCFVfZ17/s1600/Still+93.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjLXG0DWsAVCkfyAqT5OBU48qS3KEziUmVW00PSnqASgwD3e3EokCiqmMiIUvdlZ1bWLa89I2QbDHqeJHM3vZOF7fGiMxzpvzit_gF6dFZOO04i80OdvTmDe3mb7q5O_tBp8r6RCFVfZ17/s320/Still+93.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509846123169599490" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The less expensive the tool or gadget being sold, the younger the salesperson. They have kids as young as 6-7 years old walking up to your window, even in the rain, trying to sell you something you don’t need. And if it’s not a useless gadget they’re clasping, it’s a tin bucket for handouts.</span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><b><i>You don't even need to reach out the window to retrieve the goods!</i></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZoSyImXfyQ8p996FlNRv9QAzLdKoam5KM0iCekuazjeos5hDUbJYjbVCIMH-Zem8DkMyzei3BUyV-0OR3POOQCChahE0wHm-BRg8jB2lzRJkmapKWEg76fwvVJP1KAgibS7ELWeiT45cV/s1600/Still+86.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZoSyImXfyQ8p996FlNRv9QAzLdKoam5KM0iCekuazjeos5hDUbJYjbVCIMH-Zem8DkMyzei3BUyV-0OR3POOQCChahE0wHm-BRg8jB2lzRJkmapKWEg76fwvVJP1KAgibS7ELWeiT45cV/s320/Still+86.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509823645691541890" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLNR8sjmDp01ZsaIv67nNsOSJhrmqgX2NS_ACAl7r-7kdhyphenhyphenACYBENKFaad1gIuRkoqhDxm1xk6rRzc7MOmfropVFnWRj0-Zl45dp1xh6bJuC2GGrT5TDF2hXpUuunmRYEpzL_xUhxNKc2_/s1600/Still+85.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLNR8sjmDp01ZsaIv67nNsOSJhrmqgX2NS_ACAl7r-7kdhyphenhyphenACYBENKFaad1gIuRkoqhDxm1xk6rRzc7MOmfropVFnWRj0-Zl45dp1xh6bJuC2GGrT5TDF2hXpUuunmRYEpzL_xUhxNKc2_/s320/Still+85.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509823641694109762" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">As a rule, I usually don’t give money to begging kids. While I may purchase something kids of the same age are selling, I've learned from experience in India that if you hand out change to street children, you’re giving them a reason to continue to beg. Giving them positive results from begging helps to turn it into a full-time, long-term lifestyle. In Mali, the same situation is perpetuated if you decide to give your extra coins to kids, whose parents probably sent them out with their family begging tin bucket. </span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It’s hard to look these kids in the eye and say no, especially when approached by twins for some extra money. My fellow Malians tell me that giving to twins will bring me great luck. My favorite street-twins work on the corner by the Grand Marché/Big Market and sport worn out, matching, tee-tiny Orlando Magic jerseys.</span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Instead of flat-out saying “non” to these hard-working coin collectors, I try to find something else to give them. It could be the snacks I may have purchased at the last street corner from another kid...or it could be Tums.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For the trip to Siby, I poured a ton of the antacid into a ziploc bag as a "juste au case où"/"just in case." I had a ton minus two left after the trip, and have been handing them out like free condoms on Bourbon at Mardi Gras. The chalky chewables apparently double as calcium supplement AND a “bon bon”/candy. Good for your bones and your tastebuds.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Besides a street treat, they’ve also proven to be a great placebo for young New Orleanian girls. At our “Girls First” summer camp in NOLA, every counselor is given a first aid kit with a disproportionate amount of the space dedicated to Tums. Kid has a tummy ache? Tums, obviously. Kid has a headache? Tums’ll work for that too. How about kid feeling homesick and crying to use your cell phone to call mommy? No need to make that phone call with my precious minutes, kid, you’ll feel better after this magical Tums.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I don’t blame kids all around the world for liking the powdery discs. I can remember going through a phase back in high school where my 16 year old impressionable mind was learning about the effects of osteoperosis. I immediately sought out preventative measures, and my calcium supplement of choice became the fruity Tums. </span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I was popping these things like Tic-Tacs, and you could always count on finding a half-eaten bottle of them in the side compartment of my old, brown, hand-me-down 1984 Mercedes Turbodiesel. Little did I know then that seven years later I’d find myself in a yellow Turbodiesel taxi, across the world, handing out the same Tums flavors to Malian twins in an effort to increase my luck with traffic.</span></span></b></span></span></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-37444436125675047032010-08-25T01:10:00.011+00:002010-08-25T12:00:49.607+00:00Coming to Mali, Going to Siby<div style="text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My friend Cailey organized a trip to Siby, Mali, this past Sunday. The picturesque spot, located 30 km outside of Bamako, is known for its green hiking trails, rock-climbing friendly cliffs, and rainwater waterfalls. The trip would be just what I needed after two months of office work, sitting in front of a computer all day on (what Malians call) my "<a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/07/grosse-fesse.html">grosse-fesse</a>"/"fat ass."</span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">View of a waterfall from afar, in Siby</span></i></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYVPUv4MQeT-ILNFKeqIPXNyp-t3ZITEtL9PnSp_0cuKyIFc9wubA8CyRtJqEIJYXUgYdOatgPSpiFOYLeuH7EHIgGjuyVqGagJ1Qnue_odzZ8jX98Sr5cdyL51p7Li1nk_94dSKr5DYxJ/s320/Still+31.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509157569534259058" /></span></span></b></span></span></p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><i><b>Arch we climbed, on right</b></i></span></span></span></div></span></b></span></span><p></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRArGLiHvoM8Z9sHFPuS32kewuiEtd1Kc6_nDpsMS69TrpkZ5AXAPZrTrpAIv9lPX9bGUkIixXMXQpZzkvbKyyJMHt2Jq-RMjrSy-2g1E7FOIjqjoYXu7-d7IeP9yHgqCEfzSqU1Hny04E/s320/Still+72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509163015784824386" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A large white van/mini bus picked up all six of us American folk at the “Pasteur Clinique” in the heart of Bamako. There were three work pairs, each pair only knew Cailey so we spent the ride to Siby getting to know each other. Each of us went around answering the hot question, “how did you end up in Mali?” and the even more exciting follow-up, “what will you do next?”</span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">There were Cailey and Martha. Cailey left a desk job in the states working on a Climate Change Initiative for the Bill Clinton Foundation to volunteer with Project Muso, a community health strengthening program in one of Bamako’s “ghettos,” Yirimadjo. After devoting a year of her life to this slum-like community, she’s moving to sunny San Francisco in a month to try to find work with the immigrant population in So-Cal. Martha recently graduated college and landed in Bamako two days ago. She will be taking over Cailey’s spot with Project Muso in a week, and after her year of dedication to the same “ghetto” community is hoping to be accepted into the Peace Corps.</span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Cailey, the champ of the day for organizing our trip</span></i></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASHYQpHKt1-muuZEf6Lj8Hw1QHPVAcc1BNKihR_15GOs-44nXCz5PceeYypIWzzNNkXJotyCCbhvlh8IF_htBeabofO8vAktVwPl5B36ZHcz1_43u_uLbBs24c8pncjLoI8xH8HzCDWTU/s320/Still+51.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509161849497392242" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Bremen and Martha</span></i></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRM0sF9kOiSqNiizQaw4Mnq4RI3uIRY8mk9k8Cwqnxm9fwGHbm78ZV_n4VTocdIzaaJ9r7Zg0bbh78bs_hAPfeiYK3LnghnDuFeydvCfaE_AtOA_kIthe1Kd2t0IZPwSXv_r0a9AwEgxHI/s320/Still+37.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509157585757779074" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Then there were Mike and Erin. Mike is a young guy who decided to ditch his short-lived Wall Street stint in NYC to use his business savvy with a microfinancing program in Bamako. He loves Excel worksheets and talking about his accomplishments with them, and post-Mali is looking to work with the non-profit “One Acre Fund,” which helps East African farmers grow their own way out of hunger. Erin is an ex-Peace Corps volunteer who was previously working with Somalian refugees being reestablished in Nashville, TN, because of its close proximity to Tyson Chicken (who exploits vulnerable populations for cheap labor). She recently got the job of program manager with Mike’s same microfinancing group, and after only two months of delegation, meetings, and sitting at her laptop, misses her hands-on experiences in the Peace Corps and is wondering why she doesn’t just go home to the U.S., live on a farm, and teach.</span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Wall Street Mike and future farmer Erin</span></i></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcta9N2xVDtr1wSFadA43I7Xs-rvfrcXFoNYZQ0edJYUYU4-XcbNaordIZo-pIDDtNPeZ69CcZel5K2DCnhLjT2GBLI-j8kxv5KSWcE7NghN0NlQWfO6WV2VQM3r0Yd1wrHAd6mQEWFyH/s1600/Still+94.jpeg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcta9N2xVDtr1wSFadA43I7Xs-rvfrcXFoNYZQ0edJYUYU4-XcbNaordIZo-pIDDtNPeZ69CcZel5K2DCnhLjT2GBLI-j8kxv5KSWcE7NghN0NlQWfO6WV2VQM3r0Yd1wrHAd6mQEWFyH/s320/Still+94.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509177676535336738" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Finally, there’s Bremen and me. Bremen is a journalist who was hired by BusinessWeek in NYC right out of college. With the decrease in journalism fueled by the transition to more internet-based writing, Bremen (being one of the younger folk) got cut. He picked up a new and exciting profession that fit well with his running lifestyle -- organizing marathons across the United States -- and after revisiting journalism in Russia for two years, applied on a whim for a job with “Voices for a Malaria Free Future” through Johns Hopkins University in Mali. He’ll be keeping his job with JHU when this project ends in May, and will probably be happy to return to the states and their unlimited supply of peanut M&M's. And as for me, I just came to Mali to try to become a <a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/06/madame-toure-was-given-wonderful-task.html">fourth wife</a> in this polygamous/polygynous country. Thankfully divorce is quite common here, so after Mali I’m making plans to travel to polyandrous Tibet. Polyandry, ladies, is the practice of taking multiple husbands...another reason to “Free Tibet.”</span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Bremen on a solo mission</span></i></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"></span></span></b></span></span></p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Trebuchet MS';font-size:100%;color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:130%;color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0JSmvtX6p1m06L03MDYn9NsOr3tKAj5yCUZXY8Bq9GG0rkyJ7-RMKRYFDoDhMBX4DMafK27ruzyb4TYbHemXJpbyWiRSIR1jmPOqZg4UKMuBCRjJzg9AUpMBYBhNsjmCU3o3qdRnbmT4_/s320/Still+58.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509161859342131186" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div></span></b></span></span> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">En route to Siby, we had gotten through discussing all the unique paths we’d taken to get to Mali and where they would lead us afterwards. By the time we had walked up to the gorgeous red cliffs of Siby, we had moved on to favorite hang out spots in Bamako. From tubab dance clubs to wine nights on Malian roofs, it was interesting hearing about the very different lives of other ex-patriots in our same nook of West Africa. We each had the same desire to make Malian friends and fully immerse in their culture, while also wanting to meet every American in our locale to go through the run-down of what we'd been practicing: asking how the person is here in Mali and how that same person is going to leave this crazy country.</span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8E964cZqzfrJjEodqjZnLh0V3afdZhoEtAlXZdLQ4K5wMOWBJx5JHiaAxIQAKoJtVBQWTzmqOGbHtvXN-ZXlQ85f0cZ28DmgDZuAKngqCmFqevsUa-uSvratPZG8cwCqIdocpWDpODYpM/s320/Still+34.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509157576082511154" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /><i></i></span></span></b></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-family:'Trebuchet MS';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><b>Power in numbers, picked up some stragglers</b></span></span></i></span></span></div></i></span></span></b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIvwZIv9ovZAwTJ7P20LRoaeD3J5k68W83V8r2gJy1eUewp-aPEcNgTFD5pZfcBph2UJinWQywQnw4LtlD4E-NtZ0_Zd-WCNPy_-xO-Yd_4AlvokU6Xxfyr1QQ9zBMLTKr_dBAInLtQ5ro/s320/Still+35.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509157580769628722" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCeiXPT5tSIzrRP5ktCZWbohnokBfRt7tyhnkBOrS2B1WQdF8XsSNPj8jJa_TbHnd2HqfYueqdPspU0xwa8-A5ThvvvoGb5zmk4f3bet9sOybbzzeQI_iwTV6uJ75QKSOk2GFoQUfB4DKY/s320/Still+41.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509158689981673442" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></span></span></b></span></div> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We had finished climbing on top of a giant natural arch when our group decided it was too hot to continue trekking, and that we should head to the waterfall for a swim. At this point, we get back into our white mini bus and off-road it to what is supposed to be a rain-water waterfall in Sub-Saharan Africa. We had sweat out a ton on our hike and had inevitably gotten hungry, so the “favorite spot” conversation had drifted to “favorite food spot.” After listing the best restaurants to get Mali's famous <a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/06/peanut-sauce-and-perils-of-being.html">peanut sauce</a>, everyone agreed that Broadway Street Cafe was the best place for some American flavor in Bamako.</span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:x-small;"><b>Views of the under-arch</b></span></i></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyH_83c98eNCX4uMChDFMn8gtKX-3zpYopXIGCRG7nAY5vxvPCrCl9UYfL-2UV-RX5Tlu54-KUvNw1t6qQOhiqxgGDYOwE5LXtJ_iJTTPqnyiy1P5sxdRvgktFw8KX30qxh4BqPKs8ArpQ/s1600/Still+38.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyH_83c98eNCX4uMChDFMn8gtKX-3zpYopXIGCRG7nAY5vxvPCrCl9UYfL-2UV-RX5Tlu54-KUvNw1t6qQOhiqxgGDYOwE5LXtJ_iJTTPqnyiy1P5sxdRvgktFw8KX30qxh4BqPKs8ArpQ/s320/Still+38.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509158680028976082" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 0, 0); "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFsDaSDhUQBfCB6iEKRPYybx1v3URKHGSykwLjk6sEvmP091DDkMBPjbdSnWBFSd4qO_F5jkCL9gY5XCfOWHc2nYoYa1-ZsY7ffZc9kzL1jp2m2b__IqkNNUlhNa1G7UwbujV5hCfSwRJV/s320/Still+44.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509158700092736738" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></b></span></span></p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Climbing on top of the arch</span></span></i></b></div></span></b></span></span><p></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLuxI2QdnYvJX3WF_7MiLQAmRJnFW5-_4hI7SFjY4DoYT7kQmwxzVosR7ZNcpFPx60ldRLChSzLg3MVVuThYTB1p0aWw-b9tXInxaowV35wtBZ23THTi1vIWwX5BnxCxOKbhiMEgE0X0qR/s320/Still+47.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509161844785999042" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We started to get closer to the waterfall, continuing on a bumpy road through the brush, scraping the bottom of our van at every large rock or dirt pile. I was starting to feel a bit woozy from off-roading in a top heavy vehicle with suspect suspension mixed with my tubab dehydration. The food conversation was continuing, these people could not get over Broadway Street Cafe. They were now exchanging details on what each liked best about the Cafe’s burger. From that burger, other burgers were brought up in discussion, and meat preparation, and more meat admiration, and my wooziness turned right into full out vegetarian nausea. Thank God I had packed a plastic bag of first aid supplies for the trip: Tums (the cure-all), Ibuprofen, and Immodium. You never know what Mali’s gonna do to your body throughout the course of a day. </span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><i><b>Cows blocking our road in protest of the Broadway St. Café burgers</b></i></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6s_sj0gAFiZgROIcNO9SD-pI5eJj_tFFyD-ZUNV9hj_LHhOzMMNexkHLNn648Jm4Dgjrtvg8GthubHHXcwy78XIbHp_Mh5uvv2VO76OMRsAUOY9y2yoeQnzxGL-mV8RelH8zBctjGZMrM/s320/Still+33.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509157570561830450" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Twenty minutes later, in enough time for the meat discussion to die down and my body to soak up the pain blocker combo of Tums and Ibuprofen, we walked up to the gorgeous waterfall.</span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><br /></b></span></p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><i>Erin and Mike</i></span></div></span></b></span></span><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DRehrIQf34wMyNnS3G2ocj6mGkMJinREscaP9mBavzNv7MPc6RVnzETfDAct0oEk2J0a4Rko3I-MtdkVEusm693nZ-gaTL79OWroS1COlw2Nkja3PqTEfJLjF7tg3QXMHngwx0crofHP/s1600/Still+64.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DRehrIQf34wMyNnS3G2ocj6mGkMJinREscaP9mBavzNv7MPc6RVnzETfDAct0oEk2J0a4Rko3I-MtdkVEusm693nZ-gaTL79OWroS1COlw2Nkja3PqTEfJLjF7tg3QXMHngwx0crofHP/s320/Still+64.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509163006634457938" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></b></span></span></p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b>There I am feeling better! Look, Ma...no hands!</b></span></i></span></div></span></span></b></span></span><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlY_uHkWbRGizdrAbJ6svtwxYDxpsDQN_knQhDYKPz_75HhorW7mG5vZKivHoYU2VxX63nNQ5r8H1Fm2dVx6LCyeJe5HXVIguySYNE1PjGZrX4fapK1933NyOrwU-U7W9gqo5IBQn73Wvx/s1600/Still+61.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlY_uHkWbRGizdrAbJ6svtwxYDxpsDQN_knQhDYKPz_75HhorW7mG5vZKivHoYU2VxX63nNQ5r8H1Fm2dVx6LCyeJe5HXVIguySYNE1PjGZrX4fapK1933NyOrwU-U7W9gqo5IBQn73Wvx/s320/Still+61.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509161862139914386" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Thought Bremen's abs could give you a "to-scale"</span></i></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlY_uHkWbRGizdrAbJ6svtwxYDxpsDQN_knQhDYKPz_75HhorW7mG5vZKivHoYU2VxX63nNQ5r8H1Fm2dVx6LCyeJe5HXVIguySYNE1PjGZrX4fapK1933NyOrwU-U7W9gqo5IBQn73Wvx/s1600/Still+61.jpg"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgywqNbZQMNaFxb_gShdqA_STuSQzl4iURVeu1gvaz7GIilMqKTX_Yk8alOIfXmLqYt-_FOG8rkDUHHoXjD18o813lLO33kMbsQ4LiCL-Ao7sriehPY8v9j-s1MOkawifO2nN3fNzCoc5kT/s320/Still+66.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509165694032705202" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The place was packed with Europeans, Americans, and even a few Malians who usually do not know how to swim. It was oddly quiet, and most people were just lying around on the surrounding rocks in the shade. It felt like an opium den where everyone’s too high to interact or react to the surroundings, but our crew was on a different high -- finally able to hit the water after a day on the bumpy road, in the heat, journeying through the cliffs and each other’s "petites histoires."</span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "></span></span></b></span></span></p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><p style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><b><i>TOO relaxed?</i></b></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9pIVCiWQ-cKNNoq0Q3aHc4TRBhQ7fuk7mNsjohXpVUY6HKsM31B1l4V39xzFUkapqaq5RnJMJwA5KA8iQKp2IQIF3-3T_-B9hAms4luOmrEmVMCPKUTQ_0xqxXj3jceJncQzWfbP_PDmM/s1600/Still+65.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9pIVCiWQ-cKNNoq0Q3aHc4TRBhQ7fuk7mNsjohXpVUY6HKsM31B1l4V39xzFUkapqaq5RnJMJwA5KA8iQKp2IQIF3-3T_-B9hAms4luOmrEmVMCPKUTQ_0xqxXj3jceJncQzWfbP_PDmM/s320/Still+65.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509163010787577778" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></b></span></span></p></span></b></span></span><p></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"></span></span></b></span></span></p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-4wVYg2WSK76vTuGqzQ2HUgQy0cx8S86K_ADNvSSTPtoNnH6eCWUicw1zL6P-afAbFXjF5DyixNj9FcvrnLP_YI_9r5tzXA0U2WxriEY8uJxvP_XNi5Cx7JiikHN2rVn0ootfhPrnprp5/s1600/Still+63.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-4wVYg2WSK76vTuGqzQ2HUgQy0cx8S86K_ADNvSSTPtoNnH6eCWUicw1zL6P-afAbFXjF5DyixNj9FcvrnLP_YI_9r5tzXA0U2WxriEY8uJxvP_XNi5Cx7JiikHN2rVn0ootfhPrnprp5/s320/Still+63.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509161860355244866" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></b></span></span><br /></div></span></b></span></span><p></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-2517907087429278422010-08-21T18:46:00.006+00:002010-08-23T03:13:29.010+00:00Dirty Laundry<div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">My house-sitting stint is coming to a close. After five weeks of sharing my boss Claudia’s home with her live-in nanny Mélanie, Claudia and her family will be returning late tonight.</span></span></span></b></div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">In other words: it’s clean-up time.</span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></b></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Mélanie has taken on the role of the "hunter" in our cleaning relationship, hunting down any spills, stains, dirt, or <a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/08/ants-trump-maggi.html">trails of ants</a> and pulverizing them. My role, in contrast, has been that of the "gatherer."</span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 19.0pxcolor:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">My job duties include gathering up the vast CD collection I discovered in Claudia’s room. I’ve spent many free hours burning the mix of West African albums onto my computer, and have left the likes of “Mamou Sidibé” and “Ali Farka Touré” hanging out on the coffee table together. That just will not do.</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 19.0pxcolor:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The family’s collection of games must also be gathered and put in its correct corner of the house. Once Claudia’s two sons Abraham and Andrew get back, the gaming will recommence, but me and Mélanie can no longer keep our Jenga pieces splayed on the kitchen table (usually the evidence of the previous night’s slaughter of Liz McGehee). No, the table must now be properly set for real family life.</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 19.0pxcolor:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Finally, and most importantly, I must gather all of our clean laundry that has been strategically draped over every inch of free space on the chairs, couch, TV, book shelves, even fans. Everywhere you look, you can see a pair of my multi-colored undies from the 'ole faithful Fruit-of-the-Loom multipacks (my Tulane volleyball team still gives me crap about these).</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 19.0pxcolor:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The reason we have all of our "sous-vêtements"/"under-clothing" hanging around is because we are at the heart of the rainy season. Without a dryer, and with the rain preventing us from hanging up our clothes outside, we lay our clothes around the house. </span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 19.0pxcolor:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Recently, my colleague and former roommate Bremen had his computer charger stolen during his vacation in Morocco. We have been sharing my Mac charger this past week, and he prefers working over here at Claudia's house rather than make the trek to my Keneya Ciwara office on the other side of town.</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 19.0pxcolor:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Working from home has been great -- wearing pajamas and having the option of sitting outside by the pool -- but there is the problem of our clothes-drying. Bremen has had the displeasure of running into our damp clothes around the house. He has been ever-surrounded by my drying, clean laundry. </span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></b></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">And in return, I have been bombarded by his dirty.</span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 19.0pxcolor:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Ever since I’ve been here in Bamako, Bremen has struggled with the woman who cleans his house, Caddy. Despite his rigorous nightly studies, Bremen does not have a full grasp on the French language, so there’s a language barrier with Caddy. On top of that, however, there’s the body language barrier: Caddy is unbelievably unpleasant, and shows it with every inch of her being.</span></span></span></b></span></p><p color="#330000" style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 16px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I had the opportunity to experience her "mauvaise disposition"/"bad disposition" when I lived at Bremen’s my first month here. Even without the language barrier in my case, she will not greet you, she does not try to uphold conversation, and she never smiles. She seems aggravated at any and everyone’s presence, but most of all Bremen’s.</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 19.0pxcolor:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Now besides his lack of knowledge of the French language, the only problem I can think of when it comes to Bremen is an over-addiction to peanut M&Ms. Bremen cannot find this candy in Bamako, which sometimes makes him sad, and when he's sad he plays the same songs over and over again on the piano. Really not much too much to complain about there. </span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p color="#330000" style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 16px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">"Bremen: l'Agrèable"</span></i></span></p><p color="#330000" style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 16px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">who likes taking photographs of nature and feeding turtles</span></i></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhRR_L6J6k8oIxf-OvWwMIw668b90f0p30b-V2z90JPIftNAq4BFibFusy4_e7vH-8mr-FCWqB4HscRmAs36rlv5yj_408tdsJqzLcrd1BHNkZOmB_XlvOnLq8PKXeDUsEwjGcxZUcLPh1/s320/DSCN3365.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508423767921924226" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 248px; height: 320px; " /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">B<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">remen is the nicest person you could work for; he's a hard-working BYU grad that collects postcards with inspirational quotes. Bremen is also the cleanest person you could tidy house for; he really only eats salads in addition to his peanut M&Ms (when he can find them). He thus leaves little to no dish clean-up, and makes bathroom clean-up a cinch when he washes off in the pool after his hour to two hour runs.</span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">So why hate the guy?</span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></b></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span>Because he’s too clean.</span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 19.0pxcolor:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Bremen actually cleans up after himself...can you imagine that? Caddy can’t. She was astonished when he cut her days to 3 instead of 6, and refused to accept the proposition for her to come at 9AM instead of 7AM, which would give him time to cook breakfast and clean up after himself before she came. </span></span></span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">She’s been able to keep herself preoccupied despite the little work Bremen leaves her with; one day he came home to a whole rack of freshly cleaned and polished shoes. </span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 19.0pxcolor:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Bremen is SO clean, in fact, that he recently decided he doesn’t need a maid at all. He was finally answering to the voice inside of his head that said, “you’re still in your twenty-somethings, what are you doing with a maid?!” </span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></b></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">But there’s this tricky flip side here in Mali. The more people you have working at your house, the more people you give jobs to, and the more you’re able to share your tubab wealth to the local population. It wasn’t an easy decision to let Caddy go, and Bremen was hoping to keep it on the down low. Not to mention all of his Malian colleagues would think he was crazy for wanting to do is own house chores.</span></span></span></b></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 19.0pxcolor:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">He broke the news to Caddy, but cher Caddy wasn’t having it. Bremen gave her two weeks’ pay as a parting give, and yet little miss Caddy was still P.O.-ed. She called up Bremen’s co-worker Kankou, saying she was only given two weeks rather than a month’s notice; she phoned Bremen’s co-worker Lassana, citing all of the duties she's performed correctly, including meticulous shoe washing; she whipped out her very vague contract put together on a whim by her previous patron and pointed out to all of the other employees in Bremen's small neighborhood that there was no end date. Her unpleasantness had reached a new level.</span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"></span></span></p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><p color="#330000" style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 16px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">"Caddy: la Désagréable"</span></i></span></p><p color="#330000" style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 16px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">our wicked foil who can still wicked clean some sheets</span></i></span></p><p color="#330000" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 16px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKvothjTyGEEJOK6JQQNkBY9LDW5eC_bSO3U63dJwddBjGcmFU1JCWh9RSaU4ZcD-17XwsASyhdF0DMWgjxmr08R1Paap4B8KLWEl2h72Bi8uPhgziI8VF_87PBHLHGIHWLxvNvifpGEzi/s320/DSCN3340.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508423753816199426" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 251px; height: 320px; " /></span></span></p></span><p></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 19.0pxcolor:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">That’s where I get dragged into the whole shebang. As previously mentioned, Bremen has been over at the house using my Mac charger, and both of our offices know that we’ve been working together the past week. I get a phone call from Lassana, the office’s head of finances, who says he needs to talk to Bremen about his predicament. When I tell him I’m going to pass the phone to Bremen, he says, "Non, non, Liza; Bremen n’est pas encore francophone. Est-ce que tu peut traduire?"/"No, no, Lee-zuh; Bremen is not yet a French-speaker. Can you translate?"</span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">So translate I did: Caddy wanted to file a complaint against Bremen with the Bureau of Labor. T</span></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">here we all were, right smack in the middle of squeaky clean Bremen’s dirty laundry.</span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Despite all efforts to keep it civil, and quiet, now everyone was talking about Bremen and Caddy’s tiff. "Avez-vous entendu? Bremen veux se laver son propre maison!"/"Have ya’ll heard? Bremen wants to clean his own house!"</span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">With the threat of a government sanction because of a poorly-written contract he had no part in creating, our good guy Bremen is seeking out other options. He's biting the bullet and will try to keep Caddy on in some capacity. Perhaps if Caddy actually sticks to the later hour of 9AM, avoiding direct contact so that she doesn't bring down his day with her negativity, Bremen can probably live with having his shoes cleaned regularly.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 19.0pxcolor:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 16px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">And as for the comments around the office -- well, I’m sure Bremen would much prefer his colleagues being exposed to a house full of damp boxers than the reality of his house's dramatic, and personal, employee conflicts. </span></span></b></span></span></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-79494613181927249732010-08-16T17:15:00.015+00:002010-08-17T12:41:15.682+00:00Marcel's Malian Pizza How-to<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">While my boss Claudia has been away on vacation, she gave me the "difficult" task of house-sitting her sweet crib. In addition, she asked if I’d like to continue to have their cook come by the house and whip something up a few days a week. Marcel prepares meals for them 6-7 days a week for a mere $50/month; for him to come even half of those days it’d only cost me half the price. Back home I could easily spend that $25 on one crazy sushi night with the girls!</span></span></b></span></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';color:#330000;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;">Marcel dans la cuisine/Marcel in the kitchen</span></i></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGBZdYBkPnAA_vy0yTVJwm7TMq6udQ3E9HQJfGCICqzPwin17SjHoYRxfCb1iIK1IWmO_ERmgOv9lODXDv3cGcmxcqby6FkgXPah_pQYzW4gX1_BruA8FzvJgsAHF53IsctgMkUL46l3X/s320/Still+23.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506077773596912802" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">For such a great price, and what I convinced myself could technically be considered a culinary "</span></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">cultural" experience, I gave her a definitive "hell yes." I would love Marcel to come on over and get cookin’. Not to mention I had already burned now 3 attempts at dinner = 2 pots of beans + 1 pot of jambalaya mix I’d brought from home.</span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">My new chef has been coming in on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. When he arrives at around 7:30AM, we decide what he’ll make that day, what he needs to buy at the market, and how much I need to give him to buy “ces provisions.” Having him do the food purchasing saves me some cash; he gets the African price, whereas "toute seule"/by myself I'm almost always charged the “tubab” price, faring at about double.</span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Monsieur Marcel has thrown together all sorts of Malian dishes: "sauce feuilles"/leaf sauce, made with either spinach or potato leaves; “les allocos”/plaintains either deep-fried (deeply-awesome) or grilled; “aubergines”/eggplant and “gombo”/okra fixed every which way; “le poisson capitaine,” the most popular fish around Bamako; or one of my favorites, a sort of mélange of all of the above which he calls “sauce feuilles du bissap avec arrachides et le petit poisson sur le riz,” a sauce of hibiscus leaves and peanuts with "small" fish over rice.</span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;"><i>Sauce feuilles in the making on the outdoor stove</i></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1N0kgC4ar2P1s8T8dhz52MB4RoNmFQUWSObM8L9zfCE1Gg4aGs_qdbTpph5Pr1_WByNwwpal7r0WTuJksP75RDU0bBJENcrMOC6JaXX3SAs2oD_rDKwRigNNiYmG0sWWsbPaukf31bb6R/s320/Still+25.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506077767282198546" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b>My investment in Marcel has not only paid off in grocery shopping and food preparation, but also in juices. The first month of my trip, before he entered my life, I had spent the majority of my “liquid” assets on liquids. I just couldn’t get enough of the fresh juices around town: banana juice, mango juice, guava juice, bissap (hibiscus juice), and my favorite, “jus de pain de singe”/monkey’s bread juice/baobab juice. All of the drinking calories saved from leaving beer and liquor behind in Louisiana had simply found a new home in juice cals, which are now created by Monsieur Marcel. </b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b>So I’ve been eating AND drinking well, in full out Malian style (although <a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/06/peanut-sauce-and-perils-of-being.html">without the meat</a> that Malians love so). But to top it off, when I’m feeling a little more American, or needing a break from rice life, Marcel makes one killer vegetarian pizza.</b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b>I was looking for any excuse to give my new angel Marcel, who has saved me from myself in the kitchen, some extra cash in appreciation. It was this very home-made pizza that inspired me to ask him for a proper cooking lesson in exchange for some extra dough, which I found would be in cash and pizza form.</b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b>Pizza had become a staple in my pre-Mali life. My old roommate, Jen Linder, and I had gotten into the routine of Sunday pizza back in NOLA. We would flip between getting the greasiest pizza we could find, Pizza Hut(until we discovered Domino’s new recipe), and trying to feel better about our pizza choices by ordering the “World’s Healthiest Pizza," with its acclaimed probiotic crust. But what if we could make our own pizza back on Sundays in the dirty? Then we could put the money saved BACK into more beer purchases!</b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b>Sunday was the big lesson. Marcel and I started by adding the flour in a bowl for the dough. And then we stopped.</b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b>The flour was moving, ever so slightly. “Tu vois, Liza? (always pronounced Lee-zuh) C’est vermin.” Small bugs had gotten into the flour to reproduce, and now the tiny <a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/07/plastic-and-worms.html">worm-like offspring</a> were preventing us from continuing with our lesson.</b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b>At least, for a little while. Marcel was used to this kind of thing. He whipped out a sieve, and a few minutes of sifting later we were back at it.</b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b>When the dough was finished, we let it rise for a period of time while we made the homemade tomato sauce. We blended tomatoes together with a bell pepper and garlic, added the secret ingredient, and placed the mix onto the stove. Secret ingredient of the sauce? </b></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/08/ants-trump-maggi.html">Maggi, bien sûr</a></b></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b>!</b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b>While the sauce was simmering, I had to ask: where did this West African native learn to make such a good pizza? Marcel replied that in his home country Burkina Fasso, he had worked as a domestic cook for one particular development worker. She was moving to Germany for a new job, and asked him to come with her to continue cooking for her. Six years later he moved home to Burkina to take care of his mother after his father had passed away. When he came home, he brought with him a mastery of German cuisine and -- you guessed it -- some serious pizza skillz.</b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b>We rolled out the pizza dough and I then asked him what the markings on his face were from. He has three on each side of his face outside of his eyes, and one larger one sweeping from his nose, under his eye to his lip. He explained that the cuts are given to young men of his ethnic tribe when they’re babies. One certain tribe has only the eye slashes, another has the nose to lip slashes by themselves, and others perform the three slashes on both sides with a full lip to lip over the nose slash. </b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 0, 0); font-family:'trebuchet ms';font-size:16px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><b><b><b><b><b></b></b></b></b></b></span></b></span></p><b><b><b><b><b><b><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; display: inline !important; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b>His special sect of the Tuareg ethnicity did the two sets of three eye slashes with one side of nose to lip. To my surprise, he didn’t seem hurt or pained when he talked about it; he was too young to remember the event. Their practice is not unlike our own tradition with infant males, except over here its the foreheadskin that gets cut.</b></span></span></span></span></p></b></b></b></b></b></b></span><b><b><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; display: inline !important; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></p></b></b><p></p><p style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';color:#330000;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;">Three tribal markings next to his left eye</span></i></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGfFj0w1Z2WK0INK8LdSzWwXDm4L4TrrC5NoUMqn0pob6-xGny0HND2ngcupCTBxt9prNC7W5ye8_96qOdoFERsVVUVZUJzN2zGVvnlHpBBI-rvh51Jd-as04kYbLU-bPj0dU-H0gA-1i/s1600/Still+27.jpeg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaxt3qfOKhLN_4lyiudvtB9FzfwireMrYjv8ynps3s_cn575T3k8foyY1ltBcoMiByMw_DfNC-fzag1iASRzCgxP6nqlFsyJ_g5oogoKtsfKD-NkC0ajW58YnPyIzXssE_Sc-I7RbSKaGi/s1600/Still+26.jpeg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaxt3qfOKhLN_4lyiudvtB9FzfwireMrYjv8ynps3s_cn575T3k8foyY1ltBcoMiByMw_DfNC-fzag1iASRzCgxP6nqlFsyJ_g5oogoKtsfKD-NkC0ajW58YnPyIzXssE_Sc-I7RbSKaGi/s320/Still+26.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506082192522173010" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></span></span></span></p><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Three markings next to his right eye + nose to mouth slash</span></span></i></span></span></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGfFj0w1Z2WK0INK8LdSzWwXDm4L4TrrC5NoUMqn0pob6-xGny0HND2ngcupCTBxt9prNC7W5ye8_96qOdoFERsVVUVZUJzN2zGVvnlHpBBI-rvh51Jd-as04kYbLU-bPj0dU-H0gA-1i/s320/Still+27.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506082194872264466" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></span></span><p></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Marcel started pouring the now finished sauce onto the rolled dough, and I noticed his left hand placed on his lower back. It stayed there while he patiently placed each vegetable, lengthwise, in a spiral inward. He kept his hand placed there while he sprinkled cheese, and it didn't move when he walked to put the pizza in the oven. Thirty minutes later, his hand reassumed its position on the lower back when he retrieved the now finished pizza.</span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';color:#330000;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;">La position du main gauche/The left hand's position</span></i></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJGewISb56FesZf8FfDKWcQ9dagHt41yTc4nlHIGKrPvZdcQ-QpZUcgATd-2wZgjCSf7EmoxnCh-fYxgPsFRqRorfu5w8kb2F3OcPKJBz1WPqABgMUqvNIvtsC8SgztGSlJPwHGIn3uT3K/s320/Still+29.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506077781441839634" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/08/asking-questions.html">Mélanie</a></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><b>, the 22-year old live-in nanny that has been my temporary roommate, has this same cooking stance. However, it’s not unique to Claudia’s household, or to Mali for that matter. It’s a West African thing. West Africans don’t mess around with that left hand, especially not in the kitchen. With no T.P., the left hand is used for the bathroom only and nothing else. I was learning pizza and kitchen grace.</b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';color:#330000;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';color:#330000;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;">C'est la main droit qui fait tout le travail/It's the right hand that does all the work</span></i></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW3TmjoJYvdvdUXkhcv3RfFtUAfCnxERs1aOB17HUvR3ug3xZC8MBpzn3QDIAesV5IJRvfEdsTP7vc5xMX4GIq9RAKeZRLpzSusCPd1-ATwMDDoNItscLcE60CFDuNYTfp9dvAmgwOG3fR/s1600/Still+22.jpeg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW3TmjoJYvdvdUXkhcv3RfFtUAfCnxERs1aOB17HUvR3ug3xZC8MBpzn3QDIAesV5IJRvfEdsTP7vc5xMX4GIq9RAKeZRLpzSusCPd1-ATwMDDoNItscLcE60CFDuNYTfp9dvAmgwOG3fR/s320/Still+22.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506077776963857970" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">While the pizza was cooling down, Marcel had placed the excess pizza dough rolled up into the oven to catch some of the left-over heat, "C'est pour mon pain habituel, je n'aime pas le gaspiller"/"It's for my usual bread, I don't like wasting the dough." We waited together a few more minutes, and I asked him what his wife's favorite dish was that he made. He started laughing, "C'est ma femme qui prépare à la maison, je n'ai pas de temps de preparer chez-nous!"/"It's my wife that cooks at the house, I don't have time to cook for us!" My inner feminist flared up a little bit, but he explained himself further, "Je prépare à six maisons, je n'arrives à la maison avant 21h00"/"I cook at six different houses, I don't get home til 9PM" and he left at 5AM to get started buying groceries for all the tubabous. And on top of that, I wasn't the first person to ask for a weekend pizza lesson. </span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">He then proudly whipped out a picture of his wife, who was a whole foot taller than him. His femme had snatched a good man right there, even if his height allowed for an easy catch.</span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">By the time I was ready to eat our home-made pizza, Marcel's bread was finished -- both of them products of our ultra-probiotic flour. Turns out you don't need to spend extra money ordering World’s Healthiest Pizza. You can have a much richer experience making one for cheaper, all with your own special breed of Malian's (not so micro-)organism flour!</span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;">Bon appetit!</span></i></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhuoWs6-kR4YT-lSvCPeVovGk43PSF3evzMHPe6Y8Gs2f81y1myOG0qJAxI9oxFeAoJJXU2JMaYjQfa-bpfoqufK485AMN8QLILTGaJHuOmaigoM02xm1EfqeQt2ARZKcBdu_etTdWurj/s1600/Still+28.jpeg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhuoWs6-kR4YT-lSvCPeVovGk43PSF3evzMHPe6Y8Gs2f81y1myOG0qJAxI9oxFeAoJJXU2JMaYjQfa-bpfoqufK485AMN8QLILTGaJHuOmaigoM02xm1EfqeQt2ARZKcBdu_etTdWurj/s320/Still+28.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506077793931262242" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></span></span></span></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></span></div></b></span></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-88398713646582342182010-08-15T00:08:00.013+00:002010-08-15T23:20:30.779+00:00"Trop de Vitamin C"<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My coach picked me up at the house at 2:30PM for the big game yesterday. We were still going to have our football/soccer match despite it having rained all morning. The <a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/07/football-as-amazon.html">red, clay-like terrain</a> had already soaked up all of the water; besides a few puddles it was not even muddy at the dirt fields after hours of torrential raining.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This particular "field" was right in the middle of town, close to the Hippodrome/horse racing track. Located right off of the main road (a.k.a. one of few paved roads), it was smaller than usual. We were going to have to play 9 v. 9 instead of 11 v. 11, which was particularly disappointing because that would mean if my coaches wanted to play the white girl, one more of my native Malian teammates would have to sit out. The girls didn’t seem to mind, and when we warmed up together you could tell they were just excited to be playing in such a public spot.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Public, off of a paved road -- yes; urban or modern -- no way. During warmups, the neighborhood donkey walked onto the field and gave a frustrated donkey howl for about 25 long, loud seconds. I’d never heard an ass give that kind of a groan before (besides my brother Ben) and it was perfectly timed. After the donkey let out all its hot air, we huddled up for our big team pep talk.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Coach told us to “concentrez-vous,” because unlike the other field we’d played on, there were two huge amps set up in the corner of the field with two men on microphones. Throughout the entire pre-game, they spit out “micro teste, un, deux, trois, micro teste” and were babbling in Bambara to try to get a big group out there. It was incredibly annoying, but together with our mid-city location, effective. More people were at this match than our first. It was good advice by coach to stay focused.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The ref blew the whistle, and starting as forward I rushed in the direction of the goal to set up camp. I think they continue to put me in the position of “marquée" because that’s where they think I'll do the least amount of damage. I can’t be blamed if someone scores in the back, and if I don’t make any big moves up front, no big deal! There are other, more-acclimated-to-the-dirt-field players working hard.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Even from the beginning, the chatter from the gigantic amplifiers was beyond distracting. It was like the two men with the microphones were giving the play-by-play for a radio station, but instead of being volume-controlled by households or car radios, it was on full-blast in our tiny field for our not so tiny crowd. One of the girls on the other team got so frustrated she yelled at them mid-play to turn it down, making the hand motion to lower the volume after both announcers yelped at the top of their lungs when our team almost scored.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I wasn’t being very productive, and any time I tried to make any kind of a run downfield to try to get involved, the girls would yell at me to just stay up top. At one point, I tried to steal the ball away from one of the other team's defenders, but accidentally knocked this girl flat onto the ground. I fumbled into her with such uncontrollable force that I think she must've rolled over three times in the dirt like one of the World Cup footballers -- and the whistle blew for the foul. Whoops! </span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">As I was helping her up, I could hear on the amp, “Cette tubabou a pris trop de vitamin C, mesdames et messieurs!” “This white girl has taken too much vitamin C, ladies and gentlemen!” I almost let the girl fall again from laughing so hard!</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But really, none of our team was doing much except for #7, yet <a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/07/fatoumatas.html">ANOTHER Fatoumata</a>, Fatime (different from my main pal on the team, Fatu, and dress-maker friend, Fatime). I found out during the game from the microphone guys -- at least they’re good for something! -- that she plays for the women’s national team of Mali. </span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">At that point, it hit me: I’m actually playing on a women's professional soccer team. How did that happen?!</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Besides getting on her about her national team status, the announcers kept yelling “Attention, mes amis, cette #7...elle est dangereuse!” They went on and on about how dangerous she was every time she touched the ball. In one particular display of skill and grace, she headed the ball to her chest, and then used her chest to bring the ball down to her knee, then knocked the ball up with her knee, and trapped in with her left foot to her right foot, and took a shot. Five beautiful touches in perfect harmony. While she didn't score, she shut those microphone guys up for a few seconds of admiration until they, and everyone, started yelling and cheering for her.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The opposing team scored on us in a moment of miscommunication, 0-1, and it was just about the end of the first half. I was keeled over with my hands on my knees from the heat and (however little) exertion, but tried to pull some energy together when the ball was punted in my direction up top. Fatime, being everywhere all at once, ran right in front of the goal where the ball was coming. With her back to the goalie, she trapped it with her stomach. </span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span>As usual, as directed by my teammates, I was just standing in front of the goal waiting for something to come my way. The ball bounced up into the air in my direction, where I was facing Fatime, and I kicked it towards the back of the net....BUUUUUUUT!!! “Tubabou! Elle a marqué! La tubabou a marqué un but!” That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, the white girl just did that; she just scored a goal. </span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Vitamin C really pays off.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Talk about right place, right time. And then thank God the ref blew the whistle for half-time; I didn't know how much longer my new adrenaline high could hold me. After “félicitations” from the coaches on the sideline, I was given the wonderful news that I’d be subbing out the second half.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Being benched gave me the chance to really listen to what these weird guys on the mics were saying. Although mostly in Bambara, of which I know greetings only, I did hear a few pieces of complete babble nonsense. They went off on a rant about Nicholas Sarkozy, the president of France, and for whatever reason touched on “aubergin</span></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">es"/eggplant, during our professional women's soccer game. Intermittently they stuck to their real-time game chatter, and then really started mixing it up. </span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A DJ had shown up, and when he attached his computer to the amps the Windows welcome noise blasted. In their special corner, the DJ and the mic guys put on a French rap song. When one of the girls missed a shot, an announcer broke out into a free-style along with the beat: “Elle a voulu marqué, mais elle a echouée” which, in French, rhymes to say “She wanted to score, but she failed.” Harsh, but hilarious.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The second half came and went and no one else ended up scoring. Three girls were chosen from our team for the head-to-head PKs that were to follow. Coach gave us a pep talk in Bambara, which again, everyone knows I do not understand. For some reason, she switched into French to ask who wanted to volunteer if we needed more penalty kickers? </span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I’m not sure if that was aimed at me, being stated in French, but I definitely did not step up to the plate. I was planning to end on a high note, my first and what could be last reigning moment as a professional athlete. I wasn’t going to chance my glory on a PK, where who knows what could go wrong (Ghanian Gyan moment perhaps?) -- giving those ruthless announcers who knows what kind of material.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Our amazing keeper ended up blocking two of their three shots, and all our girls banked theirs. The crowd flooded the field to give all the players high fives, and to try to sneak into the group picture of both teams. The event ended with all in high spirits, including those who the announcers attacked in jest. Even my guilt from knocking the one girl over disappeared when she asked to take a post-game picture with the tubabou.</span></span></b></span></span></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-7465776498466123122010-08-14T10:19:00.007+00:002010-08-14T13:34:09.909+00:00Tea-Brewing Guards<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Making and drinking tea in Bamako says a lot about Malian culture and patience. While Lipton-brand tea bags are commonplace around our office, it's loose Chinese tea leaves that are most often brewed in a small metal tea-pot over a coal fire. All around the city, groups of men are hunched in a circle around the coals, adding unequal parts leaves to water into the pot, 3:1 (by choice, not miscalculation!). The tea-makers will give the liquid a few breaks from the coal heat, standing up to pour the tea from a height into two shot-glass sized drinking vessels, then will sit back down to pour the glasses back into the pot. It’s a repeated, drawn-out process that occurs over what seems like hours;</span></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> liquid is continuously steadied into the shot glasses and poured back in the pot. </span></span></b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Finally ready to drink, the first round of tea shots is strong and bitter: the Malian 5-hour Energy Shot.</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></span></b></span><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Malian tea pot: not much room for water with all those leaves!</i></span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAUJJEGc60eRY4CHkgemxvCb7_At08FNkU7x2XEzaC0ooVNC8kX5caTgbLKbMt5st0h2sHTcl1rFTpt-HzXE6QF0yMt_0av6eLTM3SopEhyphenhyphen2P16Ypi96-i0blJHsOIBSUZmpGwA2HumkL/s1600/Tea+1.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAUJJEGc60eRY4CHkgemxvCb7_At08FNkU7x2XEzaC0ooVNC8kX5caTgbLKbMt5st0h2sHTcl1rFTpt-HzXE6QF0yMt_0av6eLTM3SopEhyphenhyphen2P16Ypi96-i0blJHsOIBSUZmpGwA2HumkL/s200/Tea+1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505225197554165010" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></span></b></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> </span></span></b></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ShTrDIjerCcYKczFyFHtxR7GwsgDU4itJMnpiOOTbmblanQJs638B0b2ar8gs0b1nkfcG_RjGskVhdB-_fwxBg55j7UoZqNgdIEAQ_RThFOz2DU6PBjW4Cc8zYQEyoU-bopA_OjrFqLY/s1600/Tea+2.jpeg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ShTrDIjerCcYKczFyFHtxR7GwsgDU4itJMnpiOOTbmblanQJs638B0b2ar8gs0b1nkfcG_RjGskVhdB-_fwxBg55j7UoZqNgdIEAQ_RThFOz2DU6PBjW4Cc8zYQEyoU-bopA_OjrFqLY/s200/Tea+2.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505225205914658546" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></span></b></span></a></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">After the jolting first batch is finished, more water is added for the second. The pouring and repouring of shot glasses continues for another drawn out period of time. While not as strong, this second batch still has a kick to it. </span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Water is then added for a third round of tea shots, which are given just as much time and attention. With sugar and now worn-out, wimpy leaves, you get a much sweeter, more satisfying result. It's like the jello shot to chase a couple rounds of whiskey.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Some rainy afternoons at work when I’m struggling to stay awake, I go outside and ask for a three-shot trifecta from the Care Mali "gardiens"/security guards, sitting around their own little coal fire at the front gate. Every time I get out there, they always have to ask, “Sali, tu vraiment veux prendre le thé du Mali? Pas Lipton?”/”Sali, you really want to take the Malian tea? Not Lipton?” And while I do prefer the later, sweeter shots, you gotta sign up for the whole package. "Bien sûr, je vais prendre le thé Malien!"</span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Tea shot glasses hanging out together, recuperating after a few rough hours together. </span></i></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">With tea pot + sugar in plastic bag.</span></i></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikvXI0Uk6_st4nYz-amEy6cZDNtqKSDUfV2zB0clRIahtZnuejDEuxWW_48ZtrP4GbEvm1tDPMwuFlG6ChDlgbjSzwsoRE-weMeXwPDqjUhYDcZhOsHsPZTdjFacCnqD-pTEhJVtiuVCKS/s1600/Tea+3.jpeg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikvXI0Uk6_st4nYz-amEy6cZDNtqKSDUfV2zB0clRIahtZnuejDEuxWW_48ZtrP4GbEvm1tDPMwuFlG6ChDlgbjSzwsoRE-weMeXwPDqjUhYDcZhOsHsPZTdjFacCnqD-pTEhJVtiuVCKS/s200/Tea+3.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505225211584441186" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></span></b></span></a></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Not a true Malian, and needing the hours it would take to make the tea to focus on my work, one of the guards will bring me one shot after the other throughout the afternoon. </span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">“Gardien” is one of the top-ranking professions around Mali’s capital city. It’s up there with “le taxi-man” and the young men who sell “Orange” (the AT&T of Mali) phone credit. The Orange vendors get to wear spiffy neon vests and walk up and down the streets mid-traffic selling instant phone credit cards, comparable to the church collectors with fanny packs coming up to your car window on S. Claiborne in New Orleans. When it's not rush hour, these vested guys are sitting around making tea, too.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">The guard(ien) uniform isn't as exciting: an all-brown full body suit, not unlike that of the UPS man. It has got to be miserable in this West African heat. That’s probably one of the reasons they're making tea all day long. Drinking hot tea helps cool you off by increasing the temperature of your innards relative to your brown, uniform-trapped outards.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Another reason the gardiens spend hours brewing green tea until it becomes the color of their uniforms? There’s not much to guard against. The southern half of this 90% Muslim country does not have a lot of crime. The strong family and neighborhood ties stigmatize any acts of crime, and the worst are punishable by the ultimate penalty: community exclusion or expulsion. The hardest I’ve seen a guard work is having to fuss at young kids playing football/soccer in the street when their ball gets too close to a nearby parked moto.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Thursday was the first day of the month of fasting called “Careme” here in Islamic West Africa, “Ramadan” everywhere else. </span></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">A different cultural process of sorts I get to witness.</span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">In theory, the practice is done to remind Muslims of what the poor must go through every day. Each day, they are supposed to feel the hunger pains of not being able to afford food to eat. It is a sort of grounding period designed to make individuals appreciate what they have.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">In practice, it has become more of a “fête," an exciting festival. Entire families wake up at the pre-daybreak hour of 4AM to gorge themselves with a gigantic breakfast, and after a full day of no food, no drink, and even no chewing gum to help keep their minds off of the fact that they're famished, the whole family gets together again for another feast that has been prepared throughout the day.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">The two eating periods include mass amounts of meat, mostly “mouton”/goat, and lots and lots of sugar. Yesterday, one of my co-workers picked up a 50-kg sack of sugar for $50. It is used to sweeten the dates that the prophet Mohamed once ate, and is added into the "boullee," a porridge-like mixture drunk at both meals. The white color of the sugary boullee signifies the purity of the Careme. </span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">The amount of prayer to Allah is amped up, performed five times a day by even the less devout members who would normally spend more time brewing tea than praying. So while the message of starving yourself to become more minimalist has become starving yourself to have fun gorging at odd hours with your family, the prayer regime has at least remained stringent.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">My "drinking" buddies les gardiens are now in full fasting mode. They’ve officially traded their brown tea for white boullee. </span></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Despite the 4AM and 7PM feasting, it can’t be a good month for them, and certainly not for me; yesterday I was struggling to keep my eyelids open without my 5-hour Energy Shot series. They'll be doing all their waiting around in a guard-like fashion with none of the chatty brewing, and I’ll only have Lipton tea bags to get me through the day. </span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">It's time for all of us to say our prayers.</span></span></b></span></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-19489945461648197222010-08-11T10:33:00.019+00:002010-08-15T20:57:22.033+00:00Ants trump Maggi<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">En route to work today, I finally counted how many times I saw the phrase "Avec Maggi, CHAQUE Femme est une Etoile"/"With Maggi, EVERY Woman's a Star." Seven times I saw this catchy line: on small billboards, on the sides of buildings, stamped on canopies at corner shops, even on the back of motorized carts.</span></span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8arHfO402d0MveLFRVI_Fs2bd_UATG4kxoA-EqHUwSRWVBDD5vr9Ai9aKS3pR62sZ_-Ea8dddvQ1b3EMawfUbOSkmKIEOHpt49jGR5-rmFB-3U_lPNMkdHCiKbQl25prKb6VtrFprJC48/s1600/Maggi.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504101277510081506" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 83px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8arHfO402d0MveLFRVI_Fs2bd_UATG4kxoA-EqHUwSRWVBDD5vr9Ai9aKS3pR62sZ_-Ea8dddvQ1b3EMawfUbOSkmKIEOHpt49jGR5-rmFB-3U_lPNMkdHCiKbQl25prKb6VtrFprJC48/s200/Maggi.bmp" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-size:78%;">photo cred to camettoineduboutdumonde.toinegraphiste.fr<br /></span></em></div><em><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></em><div align="left"></div><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Now I don't normally consider myself a feminist, but this particular message really irks me. Maggi is, for all intents and purposes, a bouillon cube.<br /><br />More than that, it's a bouillon cube owned by the </span></span></span></b><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/06/nescafe.html"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Nestle Company</span></span></span></b></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">! They have some serious experience in advertisment (I would know, Homer Simpson got me every time with those old Butterfinger commercials), and are more than aware of the rigid gender roles they are helping to reinforce in Mali: women staying at home to cook...and clean, and </span></span></span></b><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/07/cofemali-kita-en-francais.html"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">make babies</span></span></span></b></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">. This would be fine by me if other professional options were equally available to women of all classes here -- but they're not.<br /><br />To pour chicken flavored salt into the open wound, at a recent national nutrition forum held here in Bamako, there were many complaints from NGO representatives that the cube's sodium content was too high. Research was suggesting that these Maggi cubes were contributing to the hypertension and obesity issues developing in West Africa.<br /><br />When then asked to describe the ingredients, the Nestle rep said she was not at liberty to give away their "trade" secrets. Isn't that illegal in the states?<br /><br />Maybe I'm a jaded Westerner viewing this Western company's </span></span></span></b><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/06/nescafe.html"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">continued abuse </span></span></span></b></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">of a fragile developing country, but maybe not. My feelings haven't stopped me from ingesting the stuff -- and liking it! At most restaurants where I've eaten, I've seen that now all too familiar sexist phrase along the walls, and yet still managed to enjoy a Maggi-spiced "sauce de feuilles"/"leaf sauce" or "sauce d'arrachides"/"peanut sauce" (OK, OK so I'm not the best </span></span></span></b><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/06/peanut-sauce-and-perils-of-being.html"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">vegetarian</span></span></span></b></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">, eating chicken-based spices and all). It's like MSG at your favorite Chinese restaurants; you know what you're getting into without knowing what you're getting...which really can be said for a lot I've eaten around here.<br /></span></span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">At the tailor's house, getting yet another Malian outfit made, I was offered "une chenille frite," a deep-fried caterpillar. Without giving myself too much time to think about it, I popped it into my mouth in a gesture to savor every cultural experience I could. This woman had a huge pan filled with the black creatures, so I figured they had to be somewhat tasty. I was wrong; not much to savor there.</span></b></span></span><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinspaPCzMUOqGG-MKNrzQO7sIDiSf_PiIfvztMzQLJkhtPgn5ppkmbXzUZshIx6_8xSHabmdmbECLDgXsmL1iZpyZ1oWfWsKTdcgfWUzNgD5O_VYEPd-wJiv2mIJwV24EQAalWF1ovFJe3/s1600/Caterpillars.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504117544164948178" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 172px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinspaPCzMUOqGG-MKNrzQO7sIDiSf_PiIfvztMzQLJkhtPgn5ppkmbXzUZshIx6_8xSHabmdmbECLDgXsmL1iZpyZ1oWfWsKTdcgfWUzNgD5O_VYEPd-wJiv2mIJwV24EQAalWF1ovFJe3/s200/Caterpillars.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><em><span style="font-size:78%;">photo cred to blog.hotelclub.com</span></em><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I also eat a lot of "fourmis" daily: ants. Not by any fault of Claudia (my boss </span></span></b></span><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-situation.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">whose house I'm living in</span></span></b></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">), her family, or her cooking or cleaning staff, but merely as a function of the rain and the house structure, her kitchen is an ant party. They march in lines along the walls, climb down the sides of the refrigerator, and swarm at any morsels or tiniest drops of juice splattered on the countertop. They sneak in through the cracks of the door and windows, and no amount of cleaning or antspray seems to keep them out.<br /><br />One day I didn't close the bag within the cereal box tightly enough. The next day I saw a trail of my friends the ants filing into a corner of the cardboard. I'm sure I've been eating the results of that invasion regularly for breakfast.<br /><br />Another time, I left my CLOSED homemade "beurre d'arachide"/peanut butter jar on the counter. The tiny things were able to squeeze through the edges, and their poor, trapped bodies were found on the surface of this precious commodity that had been given to me by a friend. No use in letting it go to waste -- I just mixed the ants in and consumed.<br /><br />I've grown accustomed to a daily bug intake, even without knowing what kind of nutritional component they add or detract from my life. Similarly, no one really knows the nutritional makeup of Maggi.<br /><br />However, I'd rather not get as complacent with my Maggi cube consumption. Ants don't know what they're doing to women like me; Nestle does.</span></span></b></span></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-56623144717566653822010-08-05T13:29:00.010+00:002010-08-15T20:58:20.718+00:00Le Taxi-man<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>As a native English speaker, I find it interesting to hear which of our English words are adopted to become a part of other languages (besides "Coke" and "fries," that is). At work, I’ve found that “</b></span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>planning</b></span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b> familiale” is used just as often as the French version "planification familial." In everyday interactions, “sorry” is used interchangeably with “desolé” and “excusez-moi.” “Camera-man” is used for photographers or videographers, and along that same line there is “le </b></span></span></span><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/07/aci-2000.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>taxi-man</b></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>.”</b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>I am presently living in the Badalabougou neighborhood, and commute at least 30 minutes to the Care Mali offices which are located in the Korofina Nord quarter. The long commute is merely a function of "embouteillage," or "traffic," and provides me with at least a full hour of time with mon ami, le taxi-man.</b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>Many days I’ll spend looking out of the window of the taxi moto-watching, to see what the mini-motorcycles are carrying from day to day. Women with child wrapped onto their backs on a moto is commonplace; every morning I see at least one moto with a young man holding a live goat or numerous chickens; couples are able to squish two or three children between them on the single moto seat. One afternoon I saw a guy with a 10 foot tall stack of new lawn chairs balanced on the back of his moto. When I gave him the thumbs up as he turned my way to switch lanes, he thought nothing of it to take his hand off of the handle bars and wave. There's a lot to see riding along with le taxi-man.</b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>Video of morning ride with le taxi-man through the backroads:</i></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxydDuj-cUJYpZf8-M5DlGlM1ErwNWIYJ0IqNiua2VQdi3_ulhf-e7Bswo9cVP45awhoV44hH-z9ly-p5ZQyA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><i>Sorry, vids aren't sent out via email. You'll have to visit lizinmali.blogspot.com to check em out.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15px; "><i> </i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Other days, like today, I’ll start up a conversation with le taxi-man. The opener is easy: “i ka kene?” which means “how are you” in Bambara, the local language that is used more often than French. After he replies “touro si teh,” which means "no problem(s)," it gets complicated. </b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>In Bambara you don’t only ask how the individual is doing, you ask how the entire family is doing, person by person. </b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>“I somogo?” And how is your family? “Touro si teh.”</b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>“I ba ka kene wah?” Your mother? “Touro si teh”</b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>“I fa ka kene wah?” Your father? “Touro si teh.”</b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>“I koromoso ka kene?” Your older sister? “I koroke ka kene?” Older brother?</b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>“I dogomuso ka kene?” Younger sister? “I denw ka kene?” And your children?</b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>“Touro si teh.”</b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Le taxi-man usually speaks small small English, or petit petit French, and is always amused when </b></span></span></span><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/07/football-as-amazon.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Tubab</b></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b> can speak doni doni Bambara. </b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>The farewells are less demanding than the greetings: “kan bay” for “goodbye,” and “Allah akah bee diayla” for “have a good day.”</b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>The direct translation for “Allah akah bee diayla” is actually “may God give you a good day.” In response, le taxi-man will surely say, “Insha’Allah," pronounced "Inshallah” which is Arabic for “God willing.” The Muslim-dominated Bambara culture adopts not only English and French words and phrases, but Arabic as well; yet I </b></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>can't imagine any of the Bambara exchanges being adopted into English, French, or Arabic. </b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>I've learned the complete and extended version of the Bambara salutations from le taxi-man on my daily rides. While there have technically been many teachers and many taxi rides, "le taxi-man" has been the universal driving force (literally) of my Bambara immersion. </b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>And because of the informal Bambara language lessons given to me by le taxi-man, I usually forfeit over the extra 500 fCFA, or $1, that I talked him out of at the beginning of the ride. Touro si teh.</b></span></span></span></span></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-53466036214765772832010-08-03T07:13:00.008+00:002010-08-15T21:01:26.295+00:00Asking Questions<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Saturday, July 31st, was the annual celebration of “La Journée Panafricaine des Femmes pour L’Afrique Ouest,” the “Panafrican Women’s Day for West Africa.” Madame le Président, or Mali’s first lady, was expected at the Palais du Congrès that morning to support the cause. Madame Touré, the secretary at the Keneya Ciwara office, offered to pick me up at 7:00AM to get a good spot in the auditorium where our famed first lady would speak at 9:00.</span></b></span></span><br /><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><br /></i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>Me and Madame Touré</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:-webkit-xxx-large;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvuennqnAMRZyz1zJ0RbxWkUnuemcg9yhmykj9uZ10gyhsURa7nkWkpvkxgClPrJw9Z0O7tyUxqGdL2DrkfUjg30SSGqg93oXMnlNM4is6QIeJSfedwHsAbOpyVtMjpWj79Tdtp6PMmXjj/s1600/Photo+on+2010-08-02+at+18.40+%232.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvuennqnAMRZyz1zJ0RbxWkUnuemcg9yhmykj9uZ10gyhsURa7nkWkpvkxgClPrJw9Z0O7tyUxqGdL2DrkfUjg30SSGqg93oXMnlNM4is6QIeJSfedwHsAbOpyVtMjpWj79Tdtp6PMmXjj/s200/Photo+on+2010-08-02+at+18.40+%232.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501080497326262290" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></a></span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvuennqnAMRZyz1zJ0RbxWkUnuemcg9yhmykj9uZ10gyhsURa7nkWkpvkxgClPrJw9Z0O7tyUxqGdL2DrkfUjg30SSGqg93oXMnlNM4is6QIeJSfedwHsAbOpyVtMjpWj79Tdtp6PMmXjj/s1600/Photo+on+2010-08-02+at+18.40+%232.jpg"></a></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Every single woman, myself included, was wearing an outfit made out of the exact same material: a blue cotton that had “La Journée Panafricane des Femmes” stamped all over it. Malians don’t get t-shirts made for special occasions. Instead, they get material dyed with the emblem or message they want circulated.</span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>Trying to sneak into the picture with unknown woman (left), Oule (center, who makes me baobab juice) and Assitan (president of the women's groups in San, Mali)</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXH-3rh_gLQNW_f5Wq9uNYDL2sV6FJjNC7MMdXjqe9rlpNPM3CER2fU78LcF9Gx3SwHyYfI9Fyc1TR4Itp33jZJ8PpyN5qB5Bm-qWfdYF30NyhZbhVeL6t-cwm40ClxgNRGCrOAM3cXhI0/s1600/Photo+on+2010-08-02+at+18.38+%232.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXH-3rh_gLQNW_f5Wq9uNYDL2sV6FJjNC7MMdXjqe9rlpNPM3CER2fU78LcF9Gx3SwHyYfI9Fyc1TR4Itp33jZJ8PpyN5qB5Bm-qWfdYF30NyhZbhVeL6t-cwm40ClxgNRGCrOAM3cXhI0/s200/Photo+on+2010-08-02+at+18.38+%232.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501080485325218146" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></a> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUOKwY27FMz_SaECzAvLrRj5akQLr0F_C2g3axNA2sP4UtiyOhXHm07V-agh36B9YVusmiFubhrzxHnXz3BR6CWAouUrP0gkYZMHhouZFOgF6JcHvWVJIpj_YmvluNogNtUV1ON-0eSBkT/s1600/Photo+on+2010-08-02+at+18.38+%234.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUOKwY27FMz_SaECzAvLrRj5akQLr0F_C2g3axNA2sP4UtiyOhXHm07V-agh36B9YVusmiFubhrzxHnXz3BR6CWAouUrP0gkYZMHhouZFOgF6JcHvWVJIpj_YmvluNogNtUV1ON-0eSBkT/s200/Photo+on+2010-08-02+at+18.38+%234.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501080502976714418" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></a></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">We frequently get material dyed with malaria messages printed on it for our “Voices for a Malaria-Free Future” campaigns. Politicians will use the same approach at election times, and give out material with their name and face stamped all over. Claudia, my boss, recently gave me a few yards of “Obama” material. There’s still a lot of Obama hype out here.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">There were 2 piece outfits, dresses, and head wraps all in this blue material, with every kind of detailed finish you can imagine. The trick is to try to get the most fashionable outfit made. The auditorium was filled to the brim with women in their new blue “robes" and "jupes”/dresses and skirts, checking out other women's dresses and skirts, already making plans for the next outfit for the next event. It got so packed that many women had to sit in the aisles and stand up in the back. We were a blue sea of estrogen.</span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><i>Rolling deep with my crew after the event.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnowFv7yfCTBMLm7W8z8snW51nC3MO_XyrjX52uXkRekLI8xiig4DrLL58mEzd-TL3UCNkPFDPBJsv-4X8Af7xWwR-cR9Ys1DZi4Zxx9OPL-1qTQ88uK53SZnKOMnVumcJqfINQT6xVRWC/s1600/Photo+on+2010-08-02+at+18.52+%232.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnowFv7yfCTBMLm7W8z8snW51nC3MO_XyrjX52uXkRekLI8xiig4DrLL58mEzd-TL3UCNkPFDPBJsv-4X8Af7xWwR-cR9Ys1DZi4Zxx9OPL-1qTQ88uK53SZnKOMnVumcJqfINQT6xVRWC/s200/Photo+on+2010-08-02+at+18.52+%232.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501080501427652450" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></a></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">At the ceremony, each of the head honchos of Mali’s women’s groups gave speeches. In-between these speeches, a traditional Malian band played live music. There was even music during speeches, performed by individual women in the crowd who felt so moved by what their peers were saying that they’d stand up and belt out a few measures of “thanks” to their own tunes.</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">One woman in particular, who was sitting in the seat directly in front of me, was really feeling her inner </span></span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Femme Panafricaine and got up to interject her vocals during almost every speech. When they were handing out awards for the most pro-active women and women’s groups, she stood up and sang a long segment about how we should not forget the individuals who fought for Malian women’s rights in the past, but who are now dead. They too should be honored with awards, if not only with her song of praise. Almost touching.</span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Apparently this same singer’s friend, who happened not to be at the ceremony, was then announced as an award recipient. Our singer quickly got on her cell phone to call the friend, and was talking so very loudly in congrats that she interrupted the entire procession of awards and was asked to “shush” a number of times. Post phone dialogue, she stood up once more to sing about how her friend expressed her thanks to everyone for the award and wished she could be there and congratulations to all of the other winners and...not very touching. Too bad there was not an award for most inopportune singer or most annoying crowd participant.</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">It finally came time for Madame le Président’s speech. Completely distracted by her pink accents, her outfit being the most flamboyant of the entire crowd, I only caught the final message of her speech. Mali, and thus the women of Mali, have been independent for fifty years now (Mali's been celebrating its 50th anniversary all 2010). In the next fifty years, women must continue to ask themselves the important question of what they can do next to ensure the health and safety of their African sisters. </span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Waking up at 6:30AM on a Saturday for the event took a lot out of me, so the rest of the Journée Panafricane des Femmes was spent lazing around the house with another femme, Melanie. She is the live-in nanny to Claudia’s two boys, and like me is a foreigner to Mali -- she hails from Côte d’Ivoire. </span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>Girl time at the house</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Kn_qxgh64JDM2n25_GA9NH50AxWVRZALGFZWADegVXvY1hHOJBKiWcYeEh2Zt_D2TWK5O8SxCS_zJWfWnfMU4DrpbhvMyA0_hPBYkljFPpb45Q4cG3UipL5xIeUYoVRKRKa8K8HfhUA_/s1600/Photo+on+2010-07-30+at+22.31.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Kn_qxgh64JDM2n25_GA9NH50AxWVRZALGFZWADegVXvY1hHOJBKiWcYeEh2Zt_D2TWK5O8SxCS_zJWfWnfMU4DrpbhvMyA0_hPBYkljFPpb45Q4cG3UipL5xIeUYoVRKRKa8K8HfhUA_/s200/Photo+on+2010-07-30+at+22.31.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501080732420995154" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></a> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGYjjMggtPb1HRFEinIJmnYIxsglhe_Y6ScwRUt6n7s0RuHPmwQSVRNoqNyUNFYL86pSPQG66GthNTAugWmFoDacq9kOCrgf2FCcO8eu_Yd-2WVhkxipB2xetIE10Xfv2Ig6UyokpeRNNX/s200/Photo+on+2010-07-30+at+22.32+%232.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501080729319711602" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">We spent a few hours watching horrible French comedies on T.V., aired in worse quality than Louisiana Public Broadcasting, then got to talking. We’ve spent the last two weeks together, alone in Claudia’s house while her family is on vacation, but I had yet to really get to know her. As is the girl way, I started with what seemed like a perfect, and easy, first topic of conversation: boys.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">At 22 years old, Melanie has a 36 year old boyfriend in Abdijian, Côte d’Ivoire, whom she cannot marry because she does not have enough money or education. Not so easy after all. She’s been working with Claudia’s family for the past year to save up, and when the family goes on vacation during the summer, Melanie has been taking computer classes. With time, she’s hoping to accrue enough savings and class credits that her boyfriend’s parents will approve their marriage.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">When I asked her if her parents could afford to support her marriage, wondering if she and her potential husband could just pay her parents back with time, she explained that her father had passed away. Being already so deep in her history, I asked why. </span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">She continued: he did not just pass away. During the civil war in Côte d’Ivoire, her father was murdered in front of she, her mother, sister, and brother. After the deed, the rebel fighters said that if they saw any of them crying, the family too would be stabbed and killed.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Melanie’s father was murdered in front of her eyes, and she was not allowed to react.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Now here she is years later, without a father, unable to marry the man she loves because of consequence. She’s living the life of a foreigner, away from her remaining family members and support system, to earn money in a job where she is required to care for, nurture, and help raise two boys who are not her own.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">She is only able to visit her proper family at Christmas, and is unable to call them often because of the costs. I offered for her to use my Skype account to call home, and she got out her cell phone to look up a number. </span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">When she handed me her phone, I saw that the name of the person she was calling was saved in her contacts as “ma jumelle”/”my twin.” Not only is she away from her family, she is a country away from her twin! They started talking and giggling on the phone, and a few minutes later she said bye to “Melanie.” Twins with the same name, at that!</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I finally asked Melanie if Claudia, who she works for, knew anything about her past or her family history. Claudia is the ultimate mother figure, always offering to take care of everyone around her, and loves giving advice and guidance. I knew if anyone could counsel Melanie through her tough times away from home and in dealing with her present situation with her boyfriend, it would be Claudia.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Apparently she hadn’t shared the information with anyone in Mali; no one had yet to ask.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Melanie keeps to herself, and despite her struggles, is a generally content person. I can see how it would be easy to let her be, and not inquire about who or how she really is, as I had the past two weeks. </span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Madame le President’s message was to ask ourselves the question of how we can ensure the health and safety of our African sisters. And yet what I've learned on this Panafricain Day of Women is the importance of asking this same vital question to our sisters themselves. The simple act of asking questions can help keep these women feeling healthy, safe, and happy.</span></span></b></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>Melanie</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih4n8xZaSBQJ4lXCEUDQxthQYRb8sBKSgn9-6BIuA75OdyqsjkGatQPtE0BMvaOP9ngXnH0tzJNrAIhYhw_Ws4K-O6SufAlZ9n8XPQE-B6-BSsHBOM2dfsM9koCu5jNVwVoMN4kIfwycVd/s1600/Photo+on+2010-07-30+at+22.38.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih4n8xZaSBQJ4lXCEUDQxthQYRb8sBKSgn9-6BIuA75OdyqsjkGatQPtE0BMvaOP9ngXnH0tzJNrAIhYhw_Ws4K-O6SufAlZ9n8XPQE-B6-BSsHBOM2dfsM9koCu5jNVwVoMN4kIfwycVd/s200/Photo+on+2010-07-30+at+22.38.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501080507038098242" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></a></span></span></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-57286594661656243222010-07-30T12:58:00.005+00:002010-08-15T21:04:47.864+00:00Fatoumata(s)<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">There are a lotta “-ata”s here in Mali. Salimata, which is my given Malian name; Alminata, my football/soccer coach’s name; Halimata; Aissata; and in a category of its own is Fatoumata, the #1 most popular name I’ve come across. The secretary at my office has a daughter named Fatoumata. The captain of our soccer team is 28-year old Fatoumata. In my data collection for the women’s groups I can’t tell you how many times I’ve entered the name Fatoumata into an Excel spreadsheet. Then there are the Fatoumatas I meet everyday on the street.</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">A few days ago, I was walking on one such Malian street looking for bananas. After nearly two months away from </span></b></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">home, I was needing some American flavor in my life and had big plans for making my friend Tori’s world famous banana bread. I asked our guard outside the gate if he knew where to find them, and was pointed in one direction. Minutes later and still “sans bananes”/”without bananas,” I asked the guard at the neighboring Senegalese Embassy if he knew where to find a banana stand; he pointed me in another direction. Still no luck. I next asked the guard at the “Palais de la Culture”...</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">There are a lotta guards in my up-scale neighborhood. Not a lotta bananas, apparently. It was getting close to evening, and it seemed as though the banana vendors were disappearing with the sunlight.</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Asking the guards wasn’t giving me results, so I asked one of the female soft drink vendors who was carrying an ice chest on her head. She pulled down the ice chest and suggested I buy one of the local D’jino colas, in flavors like “Pamplemousse”/grapefruit and “Ananas”/pineapple. It was hard to turn this insistent girl down, but I declined, having bananas and not ananas on the brain.</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">She pointed me in a new direction even deeper into the neighborhood. Great. Thankfully she offered to walk me there. She said it was she and her friend who sold the bananas down the way and was there anything else she could help me buy? </span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">On the way, she introduced herself: Fatoumata.</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">We found the precious bananas in holy territory: right next to the neighborhood mosque, which booms loud prayer chants every four hours from its outward projecting megaphones (like most mosques found in every neighborhood here). I stuffed my backpack with the fruit, and started heading towards Fatoumata’s home. She had invited me over, wanting to show me the “teinture”/cloth dying she, her mother, and sister did for a living. This 19-year old girl was a serious saleswoman.</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">We got to her home where there was an army of children crowding around Fatoumata’s mother, who was breastfeeding her youngest, and ninth, child. Fatoumata’s 17-year old sister was carrying her own 40-day old child wrapped to her back, and Fatoumata’s 3-year old son came running up to her. I thought the whole idea of having children at the same time as your mom was only a reality in the movie “Father of the Bride,” but it is very much a reality here in Mali!</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Saleswoman Fatoumata convinced me to purchase one of their beautifully dyed “basins,” also called a “boubou.” A “basin” (pronounced “bay-zeinh”) is a large, formless dress that covers the entirety of your body like a giant Snuggie, but in a cool material rather than the hot felt shown in infomercials. I told them what colors I wanted and in what style, and after measuring me, Fatoumata walked me home. She’d bring the basin to the house when it was finished. </span></b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i>The finished product! Pictured with Fatoumata</i></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN8C85cVtef9C6Hp-NDtjWZFvAeGnbWsMfSnA7PiH2qDpEZX488RCc4Ux6ILoo97CmgiIsTV-N_jVNhh5lLeEL6Zf-mdCNdVYSPoUnv1TFGbDsiQg7wHxZCRw5_JLXdoaQfx4Cc0oXZayx/s1600/Photo+on+2010-07-30+at+21.32+%233.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN8C85cVtef9C6Hp-NDtjWZFvAeGnbWsMfSnA7PiH2qDpEZX488RCc4Ux6ILoo97CmgiIsTV-N_jVNhh5lLeEL6Zf-mdCNdVYSPoUnv1TFGbDsiQg7wHxZCRw5_JLXdoaQfx4Cc0oXZayx/s200/Photo+on+2010-07-30+at+21.32+%233.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501532830073024034" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></a> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYp8JEkfbxKnWAdySSVUMOmnA5Qs5eEW9q7xbZfFWsr0yAkpZS8DRQO4ORpNFLT2dR3E7Wugv1GTR6BKKDe-s0WZJgKDiMOfKe5jcjZV-Y9sviPjZ1fXziPyf6F2BnnyTzHloL1G8E3R5P/s200/Photo+on+2010-07-30+at+21.32+%232.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501532823874439154" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></div><p></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My old friend Fatoumata came to the house a few days later with two of her sisters, equalling one third of her family’s brood. She showed me the colorful cloth they had dyed for the “tubabou’s” boubou. She unfolded the red and blue pattern, and I felt bad not being able to offer them the banana bread that I had since devoured. Instead, I offered the girls “jus de bissap”/bissap juice. Fatoumata nodded that she’d like a glass, but added: “mais tu sais ma mère est vendeuse de bissap avec gingembre?”/”but did you know my mother sells bissap juice with ginger?” </span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; min-height: 15.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Fatoumata sells a lotta stuff.</span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></p>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-48777266717874934482010-07-27T10:08:00.009+00:002010-08-15T21:06:10.984+00:00Football as an Amazon<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">For the past month and a half, I’ve been trying to find some sort of sporting activity. I’ve gotten a little soft now that I have a 9-5 desk job; my African dance class once a week isn’t going to cut it. I tried getting my jog on, but too many laughs and taxi honks have steered me away from that outlet. I've looked for volleyball, but the only facilities are at the American Club, where there would not be enough people to play. I tried getting into the Pilates DVDs that Claudia (my American boss whose house I’m living in) has lying around, but doing series of “10-minute Super Ultra Turbo Waist Slimmer” routines in my air conditioned room seems kind of lame here in Bamako, where women get trim waists from walking around with babies tied to their midsection and baskets of </span></b></span></span><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/07/drive-thru-mangoes.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">mangoes</span></b></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> balancing on their heads.</span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">That’s where football, or rather, soccer, comes into play. A young man, Douad, had stopped into the office saying that his women’s soccer leagues wanted to team up with our women’s groups to promote family planning, sexual health, pre-natal consultations, the importance of sleeping under a mosquito net, and all that good stuff. My boss in the office, Cameroonian David, knew that I had been searching by and large for some team camaraderie, so he suggested I start playing with the women and eventually introduce the topics to them.</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Douad took me to my first practice last Thursday, and from “la rue pavée”/”the paved road” (there are no street signs here, and this is my only point of reference) we turned left onto a dirt road and parked next to a big block party with music and a mic hooked up to an amplifier, a normal occurrence. </span></b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Block party</span></span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxv85lV8sjePokB_5zhTCAmqLzYvG8HqKYPjQyBASbmCu2IrxgxFpkqNjnAG2OGt0O-GHpPed47j3kTENc7NM0_HafT7oclvg_hkUKBUXTIVawGBmNdODu5d04YlzpPHXlb55mklHBuCB/s1600/Still+26.jpeg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxv85lV8sjePokB_5zhTCAmqLzYvG8HqKYPjQyBASbmCu2IrxgxFpkqNjnAG2OGt0O-GHpPed47j3kTENc7NM0_HafT7oclvg_hkUKBUXTIVawGBmNdODu5d04YlzpPHXlb55mklHBuCB/s200/Still+26.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498529722172376802" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></span></a></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We were in a large open space where the dirt road widened, with some kids were running around. No field, per se, or grass to be seen. Then I saw the two goals and realized this extra wide dirt road was actually the soccer “terrain.”</span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">The soccer road/field</span></span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoS4eEDo7-dlMUit0UYG0vWFIRXl-T9RUzwYsghsE9pTpg83JrW4YMhz_bHG8WBAOdWfijWc8yuCFbW46Eyxny1IFeAi7rRD32oGsY763AmN9O1LhYA_LMC_S-QJ2wbX4XPx_Nnbh2EaQ1/s1600/Still+30.jpeg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoS4eEDo7-dlMUit0UYG0vWFIRXl-T9RUzwYsghsE9pTpg83JrW4YMhz_bHG8WBAOdWfijWc8yuCFbW46Eyxny1IFeAi7rRD32oGsY763AmN9O1LhYA_LMC_S-QJ2wbX4XPx_Nnbh2EaQ1/s200/Still+30.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498529745278215634" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ8eZVsEFpDbWzO7jhmA2A2NMqmOKbhyphenhyphenCrb-dGVm5X4CgR3f7gHymHBA3jwEuMAf0Qm0-dWHAkatjAUXBapBRl2WeWHZs4eT89xAUC7dDu4Trz455jcJXyvlR_CusoF5oG6fS3YqKdMxs7/s1600/Still+28.jpeg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ8eZVsEFpDbWzO7jhmA2A2NMqmOKbhyphenhyphenCrb-dGVm5X4CgR3f7gHymHBA3jwEuMAf0Qm0-dWHAkatjAUXBapBRl2WeWHZs4eT89xAUC7dDu4Trz455jcJXyvlR_CusoF5oG6fS3YqKdMxs7/s200/Still+28.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498529737495654530" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></span></a></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">a) child performing what looks like gris-gris on the tubab</span></span></i></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">b) second child in awe of the tubab</span></span></i></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I introduced myself to the coach and team as Liza (Lee-Zuh), as that seems to be the easiest way to pronounce my name to most Malians here. I offered the alternative “Sali” in case Liza was even too difficult. They decided just to call me “Tubab,” short for “tubabou,” or “white person.” Pronunciation wasn’t an issue, they chose to call me "Tubab" simply as a matter of preference.</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">The practice felt like any other I’d been a part of, with warm-ups, sprints, passing drills, and a scrimmage. I overpassed many a ball, not having any grass to slow the roll, and when we did header passes everyone kept asking “tu es d’accord?”/”are you OK?” and insisted I stop a few headers early to get some water. Other than that, I felt like a regular part of the team.</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Only one practice into my new soccer life, we had our first game on Saturday. I walked onto the sand/gravel field and was handed a long-sleeve blue soccer jersey. That day, of course I had chosen to wear my bright blue </span></b></span></span><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/07/polyester-in-sub-saharan-africa.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">polyester</span></b></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> capris, and they insisted I put on the long blue socks so that none of my skin would be exposed to the hurt that awaited when (not if) I'd surely fall on the gravel dirt field. Covered in all blue, being the only white person on the field or in the entire neighborhood for that matter, I was quite a sight. </span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Before we began playing, the owner of the league had both teams circle up in the middle of the field for a pep talk. I figured it was a part of their normal pre-game routine until he turned to me and said, “I hope you’re getting all this,” as if I were a special reporter. The message was, however, duly noted: that women’s soccer has picked up in other surrounding countries of West Africa but had not taken off here in Mali the way it should. </span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I could tell. My team had girls as young as 12 and as “old” as 28. It was a mixed crowd. Not very many sporting opportunities exist for women out here, and there are few young women in Bamako that aren’t already with child or children.</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Which is why I felt pretty bad when the coach decided to “start” me, after only one practice and still wishing for grass. Normally, as in back in high school, I would play defense, but I had been put in the forward position. Fatumata, my main pal and the oldest on the team at 28, stayed on me about where to go, and after an unproductive few minutes with only minor slips I was happy to be subbed out and thrown a </span></b></span></span><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/07/plastic-and-worms.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">plastic bag of water</span></b></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">.</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">On the sidelines, I took a seat in the dirt next to my teammates. They grabbed my arms and took turns comparing their skin tone to mine. A few stroked my arm hair in wonder, as theirs is almost non-existent. </span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">At this point we had quite a crowd. I suppose there’s not a lot else to do on a Saturday afternoon when the rain is waiting to fall and a men’s team isn’t playing. We’d attracted more than a hundred by-standers; mostly made up of young men and boys but a few other girls’ teams had come to the game in support.</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Just when the game was about to be end, Coach yelled at me to get warmed up. I stood up, all decked out in my blue, and start doing high knees on the sidelines where the fans were lined up arm’s length away. They all start chanting “tubabou, tubabou, tubabou!” and yelling to each other, “tubabou se réchauffé!”/”white girl’s getting warmed up!”</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I jogged onto the field only to be met by the whistle with the ref holding his hand up to stop me. Apparently our very local league was playing by international standards, and after subbing out you’re not allowed to sub back in. He tried to escort me out, but the crowd wasn’t having it. They wanted to see the tubabou in action, and so they all yelled “boo” while simultaneously chanting, as usual, “tubabou.” The ref turned to me, defeated, and said “C’est pas normale”/”This is not normal.” And while for different reasons, I had to agree.</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">On the field, I tried to stay low on the radar, but a teammate passed me a ball presumably far enough ahead where I could run and take a shot. I tried to run after it but my legs weren’t going too fast after hurrying through my on-display warm-up. It rolled out of bounds, and everyone, all one hundred something people, started laughing.</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">They laughed again when I tried to change direction after trapping a ball, and slipped in the dirt.</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Pilates was starting to sound like a good idea after all!</span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Our team, FC Amazon, won the game 3-2 no thanks to the tubabou. My teammates still gave me big </span></b></span></span><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/07/hallelujah-high-fives.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">high fives</span></b></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> and sincere props, “tu as bien joué, tubab”/”you played well, white girl.” </span></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Coach gave us an inspirational talk at the end of the game, where I tried to just blend in with the girls. The neighborhood kids surrounded me, grabbed at my hands, and practiced their French on me, “bonjour!”, “bonsoir!”, “ca va?” throughout the entire talk. </span></b></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> I guess I’ll just have to accept that I can't exactly blend in.</span></b></span></span></p>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-83892078416573826922010-07-25T14:00:00.010+00:002010-08-15T21:08:54.187+00:00Wedding Edition! Dedicated to Becca<div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">My cousin Rebecca is getting married in less than a week. She is the only daughter, and baby, to my Uncle Richard and Aunt Lynn. As you can imagine, they will be throwing her a “Big Fat Lebanese Wedding.” Every aunt and uncle (including a great aunt, clad with 10 rosaries, on a walker) and every cousin (including second and third cousins, available for inter-marriage according to the aforementioned great aunt) will be there.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Except me.</span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Nevertheless, I’m doing my part to get into the wedding spirit across the world: I attended a Malian wedding. From my African marriage experience, I want to pass along a few pointers to my dear cousin Rebecca:</span></span></b></span></span></p> <ol style="list-style-type: decimal"> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Your new husband (in your case, John Bobby) does not need to be present at the reception.</span></span></i></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> After the small “official” ceremony in the morning, the celebration in Mali does not include the husband. How convenient! Becca would be free to eat all the cake she wanted to, without getting it rubbed into her face!</span></span></span></li> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">No males need to be present at all, in fact.</span></span></i></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> Except for the musicians and a few key dancers, males are nowhere to be seen in Mali on the wedding day. Win-win situation: ESPN for the dudes, and more cake for the females (I love wedding cake).</span></span></span></li> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">You can serve food in communal bowls without utensils. </span></span></i></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> That will definitely save mom and dad some serious moola. Forget buffet lines and fine china, all you need is a bowl of rice with a few chunks of meat, and some soap and water to wash that right hand!</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> Also would make cake-eating a lot more fun.</span></span></li> <li style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Your eyebrows must be painted in a radiant color at least 3 inches long each</span></span></i></b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">.</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> There were purples, golds, thick black eyebrows that reached the ears, and even multi-colored brows at this wedding I attended. Being raised by a 100% Lebanese woman, Penny Tanory, I know the importance of a well-shaped brow. Before she became the real-estate guru “Worth Every Penny,” my mother had three priorities in every-day life: a) child-rearing, b) cooking pork chops and mashed potatoes for Jim McGehee, c) eyebrow upkeep. Rebecca can agree that although diluted, our Middle Eastern blood makes tweezers our most prized possession. In Mali, it seems as though the eyebrow paintbrush</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> holds this same importance</span></span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbDGaBtKErJyLhUO7FsFcCJKTt75YxTg1i6BP8glrL1EwyCEddOqSxl8QMKGsUgRSHw0FE-BntTP9lCbFjmkNbKlGTl-11ZUCa8E94zuEQCnz_LrV9dKr3tuyZk6ZKsq8e_KUtGA3OYBZ/s1600/Purple+Browz.jpeg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbDGaBtKErJyLhUO7FsFcCJKTt75YxTg1i6BP8glrL1EwyCEddOqSxl8QMKGsUgRSHw0FE-BntTP9lCbFjmkNbKlGTl-11ZUCa8E94zuEQCnz_LrV9dKr3tuyZk6ZKsq8e_KUtGA3OYBZ/s200/Purple+Browz.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497862630254954850" style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></a></span></li> <li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">No need to have a music playlist, one song will suffice</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">.</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> While it had some variations to it, I’m pretty sure the musicians at the wedding played the same melody the entire time. Hours of the same song meant hours of the same dancing, which was basically all of the women trotting in a small circle. How could this be seen as a positive for a wedding state-side? Simple dance moves = not as tough on your poor feet decked in 4-inch designer heels.</span></span></span></li></ol> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">There were some notable similarities between the two wedding styles. Mali has your typical “money dance," although it includes money dancing for the bridal party and family ($core!). A few guys (a rarity) also appeared for a brief dancing cameo, and really gave it all they had on the dance floor. Similarly, I know my Uncle Richard will be stealing the dance floor for a few minutes with his rendition of “the worm," which I would imagine these days is more like “the slug” (sorry, Cheech!)</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">This Malian “wedding,” without the husband or any males, was quite an interesting experience. But at a family wedding done in this same manner, I’d miss the fellas too much. </span></span></b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">Who would want to miss Becca being roasted by her two brothers' toasts on the “zabada” or asking everyone to “telle hassa teezee?”</span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"> </span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">I wouldn’t, even though I will, but that’s no matter -- Becca told me she’d ship a piece of cake to Africa. That should more than make up for missing a wedding that includes men and properly plucked (rather than painted) eyebrows!</span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">FÉLICITATIONS Rebecca and John! I'm so happy for you two!</span></span></b></p></div><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><i> THE MALIAN WEDDING:</i></span></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxG0wLakxSt-IBaqFZ9OuIhtSNOJ6Ew22HTNmGS_QYlp06XWBAnn7-xptlQLg7zeB4A2fkP-py5U0BbmJYOdQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(my camera lost all picture-taking capabilities, I can only take videos...enjoy!)<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">*Note: just posted the English version of the video I made for Keneya Ciwara: lizinmali.blogspot.com*</span></div></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-919771994886095892010-07-23T16:59:00.005+00:002010-08-15T21:09:45.072+00:00COFEMali Kita<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Although not completely finished, as I continue to be stumped going from English to French and back again (making even my English incomprehensible), I wanted to attach the videos I've made for Kita, Mali. It's a smaller town about 3 hours away from the capital Bamako, and is home to one of our project's fastest growing women's groups.</span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Before you press play, however, you could probably use some background information: </span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">- Mali has one of the lowest contraceptive rates in the world, </span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> at 8.2%. (2006, worldbank.org)</span></span></b></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">- Mali has the 17th highest maternal mortality rate, at </span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> 970 women/100,000 live births. (2005, worldbank.org)</span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">- Mali has the 7th highest infant mortality rate, at a whopping </span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> 194/1,000 live births. (2008, worldbank.org)</span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">- Mali experiences more than 800,000 cases of malaria each year, </span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> which account for 30% of outpatient visits, 30% of hospital deaths, </span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> and 17% of childhood deaths, contributing to its unbelievably high </span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> infant mortality rate. (malariafreefuture.org)</span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Now what this should signal to you is that there is little to no contraceptive use, meaning women are having a lot of children starting at a young age, which creates a high maternal mortality rate. Disease, such as malaria, is prevalent, and when coupled with other issues like malnutrition, diarrhea, and having been produced by a mother whose body may not have been ready to produce a child, the infant mortality rate goes up. Children under-5 then only have an 80% survival rate, such that families continue to have even more children in expectation that theirs may not survive.</span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">It's a pretty vicious cycle; something we at Project Keneya Ciwara II decided not to add into the happy-go-lucky videos we're creating on the women's groups.</span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Within the scope of the project, we are trying to promote family planning, pre-natal consultations, vaccinations, and malaria prevention, primarily focused on family planning and malaria prevention.</span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">But now that you know the stats, you can understand that we're not just trying to implement "population control" for the hell of it. </span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Instead, we're using family planning as a means to push back age of first pregnancy and promote birth spacing, so that women's bodies can handle pregnancy. Coupled with sleeping under a mosquito net and anti-malarial drugs during pregnancy, mother and child are given a better chance at survival. </span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Voila!</span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">So here are the videos we're going to be putting up on our different project's websites, and sending to all the big guns with which we work. We will also be putting them on CD, or even VHS (yes, that still exists), to actually send out copies to the women's groups themselves. </span></span></b></span></div> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><div>In English:</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyD7DOtxh8U5om_fKKubHmtOMtsbERqCk6DMPDV_xhYaDok96KRlCjOtpFQLKskk9jjpfte0lTxACh85UM2oQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>En Francais: </div><div><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxfuUz-J67bKHOeWjnPtnPJoVnZy07xVX1vf6HR3WbQzEaWd14hf9wk7Px0b8CtO2BX76pPPybikilpvrsr-w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><div><br /></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-43103126258501150022010-07-21T09:27:00.006+00:002010-08-15T21:10:33.564+00:00Newsletter: PKCII<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Ta da! I’ve uploaded the English version of the newsletter I've created for Project Keneya Ciwara II. Those of you at home can get a sense why I seem to be on my computer all day in Africa, and can see where -- and for what reasons -- I’ve been “au terrain”/“in the field” when I'm not on the comp (I took the pics on the PDF). </span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I've also been working on short videos, with great W. African music, for each trip we've taken to the field. Hopefully when those are finished I'll be able to upload them.</span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">In the next months, I’ll be training one of the staff here to take over the newsletter once I’m gone. Ideally, the partner offices (Johns Hopkins, Care, Groupe Pivot, USAID) will continue to be kept informed of PKCII’s activities via the newsletter throughout the remaining years of this community health strengthening program. Recently, these donor partners have been frustrated by not knowing where exactly their money is going, and hopefully something as easy as a 2-page document can help keep them updated.</span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">We're also thinking of adding a newsletter in Bambara, the local language, to be sent out via snail-mail to all the 600+ women's groups that we work with throughout Mali. Seeing pictures of themselves and having something like a "Women's Group of the Month" may help keep these women, who volunteer their time as community health workers, motivated to continue promoting family planning, pre-natal consultations, malaria prevention, and community health center visits. </span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">And yes, I absolutely added on the front page that there’s a new colleague, Liz McGehee, in the house!</span></span></span></b></span></p><a title="View Newsletter PKCII on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/34630165/Newsletter-PKCII" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;"><br /></a><a title="View Newsletter PKCII on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/34630165/Newsletter-PKCII" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Newsletter PKCII</a> <object id="doc_25209194014932" name="doc_25209194014932" height="500" width="100%" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" style="outline:none;" rel="media:document" resource="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=34630165&access_key=key-ua4wllsb3v7nx7tvf41&page=1&viewMode=list" media="http://search.yahoo.com/searchmonkey/media/" dc="http://purl.org/dc/terms/"> <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="FlashVars" value="document_id=34630165&access_key=key-ua4wllsb3v7nx7tvf41&page=1&viewMode=list"> <embed id="doc_25209194014932" name="doc_25209194014932" src="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=34630165&access_key=key-ua4wllsb3v7nx7tvf41&page=1&viewMode=list" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="500" width="100%" wmode="opaque" bgcolor="#ffffff"></embed> </object>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-17887400289639102192010-07-20T09:18:00.008+00:002010-08-15T21:12:36.400+00:00Flashing Lights<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">"The Diplomat" restaurant is known all around Bamako for its atmosphere: local music played at extremely high levels for nonlocals. It's a hub for ex-patriots who want to feel as though they're being culturally immersed, even though there are no Malians in sight.<br /><br />When I had asked my friend Amanda where would be a good spot for local music on Saturday night, this is where she suggested. With old roommate Bremen, Johns Hopkins colleague Tina, and my Cameroonian boss David, we got a table, ordered fruit juice cocktails, and waited for the live music.<br /><br />The DJ played a great mix of Afro-techno and traditional music, and we waited for the live band to show up. At any lull in the conversation we could either watch the strange array of American music videos that served as a backdrop to the African music (No Doubt, James Blunt, Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" video even played) or we could watch the massive group of Parisian girls dance to the music.<br /><br />Our fish dinners had come and gone, and there was still no live music. Finally, an older man with perfect white curls in his hair came and asked us if we had enjoyed our dinner. He introduced himself as the owner.<br /><br />We all agreed that the fish was delicious, but expressed our concern that the live band had not yet taken the stage.<br /><br />Due to the rains (always the reason for something going wrong), the roads were too bad and the band could not make it out tonight. He suggested we bite the bullet and get out there and dance to the DJ.<br /><br />He asked if I spoke Spanish, and when I said that Tina was a native Espaganole his eyes lit up. And out on the dance floor, so did his hips.<br /><br />This Spanish restaurant owner, fueled by disco and strobe lights, really got his groove on. He would look back every so often to see if Tina was paying attention, and when he saw me taking this video the old man gave me quite a back lean in what I think was another dance invitation.</span></span></b></span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzqfENueXXoKrabzWYowDH4WwXXTYlLNoKV2bI80xhSI_vE742_lsSDujYRyQaAuM2nGuUS4sKWzqR9iv82vg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">A few minutes later we caved and started dancing, but talk about sensory overload!<br /><br />On the taxi drive home, I was still hearing the music blaring in my head and seeing the disco lights all around me. Then I realized that the sound and lights weren't in my head: they were coming from the car next to us. A truck labelled "1er Arrondissement" was honking and someone was shining a flashlight into our taxi. We pulled over.<br /><br />A policeman in uniform walked up to the front window and asked me and Tina for our passports.<br /><br />Claudia, my American boss, had previously warned me that after 11PM foreigners are required to have their passports, so I got mine out of my bag. Tina, who had only come to Bamako for a week to help with the malaria forum, didn't have hers.<br /><br />She explained that it was right down the road at the hotel, and if the police car could follow, she could show it to him within 5 minutes. He refused, saying in perfect English that without her passport she had two options.<br /><br />The first option was to spend the night in jail, and the second was to pay 18,000 fCFA, roughly $40US. A ludicrous amount.<br /><br />We called David and handed the phone to the officer, who was yelling that he'd been to three international police academies, flashed us his ID ever so quickly, and asked us to get out of the car.<br /><br />Tina tried to appeal to his soft side, saying that he's supposed to be protecting us as a member of the police force and that we were only on our way home. I chimed in, saying that we were here in Bamako to help his countrymen in "la lutte contre le paludisme."<br /><br />He didn't want to hear any of it.<br /><br />Tina said she'd consider paying the fine, but wanted a receipt. He couldn't provide a receipt here, so she got to yelling. This tiny Spaniard roared that this was corruption and that she wouldn't pay. After about 20 minutes of going back and forth, I finally got smart.<br /><br />I asked him for his ID so that I could copy down his information. After all his yelling and hard-headedness, he starts laughing.<br /><br />"Oh, non non non non Madame. Ca ne va pas marcher."/"That will not work." When I asked why, he said: "Je vais manger ton argent, tu vois?"/"I will eat your money, don't you see?" as he makes a hand gesture towards his mouth.<br /><br />He continues laughing, "Why don't we do this. You pay me half, 9,000 fCFA, you don't copy down my information, and we call it even."<br /><br />Then he does the unthinkable. He goes in for the </span></span></span></b><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/07/hallelujah-high-fives.html"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">high-five</span></span></span></b></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">.<br /><br />Thirty minutes of yelling, pleading, arguing, making phone calls, and even guilt-tripping the taxi-driver, and here he was going in for the Malian high-five.<br /><br />At this point, we were ready to be done with him and nearly hated him. But I couldn't help it, I accepted the high-five and started laughing, then said: "Monsieur, nous ne sommes PAS amis!" "Mister, we are NOT friends! Not after this!"<br /><br />When we handed him a 10,000 fCFA note, he said he didn't have change. Tina and I yell at him in unison, "Of COURSE you don't have change!"<br /><br />And then, of course, he laughs and goes in for another high-five.</span></span></span></b>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-71586742781993442992010-07-15T17:40:00.008+00:002010-08-15T21:13:40.364+00:00La Lutte Contre le Paludisme<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;">“Forum International des Parlementaires d’Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre en vue d’Acceler l’Atteinte des Objectifs dans la Lutte Contre le Paludisme”<br /><br />= “International Parliamentarian’s Forum for West and Central Africa to Accelerate the Attainment of Malaria Control Objectives”<br /><br />= “The Malaria Forum”<br /><br />The past few weeks have been fully dedicated to getting prepared for this 3-day monster of a forum.<br /><br />My first official duty was taking on the task of compiling an Excel worksheet of all the RSVPs from the West and Central African participating parliamentarians. This singular worksheet took me a whopping six hours to complete. Between trying to decode the hand-scribbled version of the RSVP list, emailing the listed National Assembly representatives that from what I’d deciphered had not yet RSVPed, calling these same representatives’ offices, and then continuing to call their offices in 20 minute increments because they were at a World Cup party, it was quite an endeavor.<br /><br />After such a week of frantic last minute preparation, at last Tuesday rolled around to start “rolling back malaria.”<br /><br />Professionally, I was totally ready. In addition to finally finishing my cumbersome Excel sheet, I had compiled all of the parliamentarians’ powerpoint presentations, had translated a number of them from English to French and vice versa, and had even laid out my most professional outfit.<br /><br />Personally, I was exhausted. Not only from my new nemesis Excel, but from “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” I had dumbly stayed up until 2:30AM Tuesday morning finishing the graphic Swedish thriller novel, and had to wake up at 6:30AM to get going for our big anti-malaria show.<br /><br />When we arrived at 8:30AM, I had to get some caffeine in me. Tea time wasn’t scheduled until after the welcome remarks. Rough start.<br /><br />My colleague Djiba represented our program, “Voices,” on the stage and began her welcome speech in French, then switched to English to kindly, although confusingly, add: “Some of you may be English speaking, but we are the African continent, and we are all African here.”<br /><br />She then starts talking about the reason we are all here today: “la lutte contre le paludisme” which means, quite literally, “the fight against malaria.” Packs a little punch to it. Yet when I was translating a few paragraphs for a presentation with my dear friend Google translate, it came up as “malaria control.” Not as much punch, although as I would find out, much easier to type.<br /><br />There had to only be about five other people on stage, but their personal thanks to the crowd took at least a full hour. All fifty of the parliamentarians plus an additional fifty or so extras made up of our staff, malaria programmers of Mali, and some of the parliamentarian’s personal body guards, then passed around a mic for individual introductions. </span></span></span></b><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">Taken just before my camera completely lost its picture-taking capabilities:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7YpFfhTvpOcr_2b6y7-9Dz6Al6jTBvu3d39wcKktlqqLkcAqFUztBP0xFFgfRLaGwAR28ys-_WFkmxZ3cTO_F3YELBtxbesHGuw3v-xMOGv_FJRpjzZD6wXvwh8yixAoBOS-Gw0lF0Ln/s1600/DSCN3515.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7YpFfhTvpOcr_2b6y7-9Dz6Al6jTBvu3d39wcKktlqqLkcAqFUztBP0xFFgfRLaGwAR28ys-_WFkmxZ3cTO_F3YELBtxbesHGuw3v-xMOGv_FJRpjzZD6wXvwh8yixAoBOS-Gw0lF0Ln/s320/DSCN3515.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495433019709475938" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">It was becoming a challenge to keep my eyes open.<br /><br />Right at my breaking point, we got our Lipton tea, Nescafe coffee, tamarind + ginger juices, and mingling break. Individuals representing their countries in the most vibrant clothes all sipped and snacked together. The outfits ranged from a pair of men’s bright red silk pants to another man’s bright red fez to the ancient head wrap that even covered the chin and mouth of an African-Arab representative, with individuals decked in traditional Mali patterns among them.<br /><br />The first presentation for the parliamentarians was given by Dr. Malle, who joked about being limited to 10 minutes, which meant that the old man was going to take his sweet time. The only thing I really understood were the charts he added to his densely worded powerpoint on “la lutte contre le paludisme” (still packing punch). Of interest is the fact that Rwanda had made the most progress in devoting more than 15% of national GDP to health, an amount previously determined by the “Alma Ata” agreement. Of particular interest is the fact that Rwanda's progress consequently ensures that 70% of its population sleeps under insecticide-treated bednets.<br /><br />By this point, my Lipton tea coupled with my ginger juice had gotten me going. I was running up and down the aisles making sure the presentations were on the main computer connected to the projector, recording the presentations on my camera, and jotting down notes. The next presentation on why women and children should sleep under mosquito nets flew by, and I listened intently while typing fiendishly.<br /><br />Lunch came around, where I opted for "bissap"/hibiscus juice and for an extra jolt, coffee. I wasn’t going to let “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” win this "fight against fatigue."<br /><br />The presentations recommenced and Joy Phumaphi stole the show. It’s hard to imagine show-stopping for malaria, but this woman has a way of commanding a room. I thought at one point all 100 of us were holding our breath just to make sure nothing would interrupt her. She delivered a very powerful message: how manufacturing anti-malarial products, like bednets, insecticide, and anti-malaria drugs, can enable countries to decrease import costs, eliminate taxes on the products, and reap not only health but also economic benefits. </span></span></b></span><div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br />Her presentation was the highpoint for me because of her inspirational words, and because it was the last presentation in English. I was stuck wearing painful earphones listening to painful translations the rest of the day.<br /><br />With help from the melange of caffeinated and highly sugared beverages I had been ingesting, I typed every word down coming out of those headphones. I wanted to have the opportunity to make sense of the content later, when I was no longer in an exhausted, jittery state, and at last free from the Frenglish babble being fed into my brain.<br /><br />Throughout the day, I had been working closely with Tina, a Spanish firecracker who had been sent from Johns Hopkins in the states to help us with the forum. She had been preoccupied with ensuring the day ran smoothly, and had been delegating tasks to me.<br /><br />She took notice of how quickly I had been typing, and officially gave me the job of secretary.<br /><br />This duty would not have been an issue had the presentations been in English, but again this is French we’re talking, with an at-times nonsensical English translation. <br /><br />After rereading my typed work during one of these bizarrely translated presentations, I decided I should try my hand at typing everything down in French. Yet as you can see from the title of the forum, while French may be considered more romantic than my native language, it sure is a hell of a lot more annoying to type.<br /><br />Eventually, I had typed “la lutte contre le paludisme” a few too many times. It wasn’t packing punch anymore, and no amount of caffeine could motivate me to go back and add the French accents where they were desperately needed.<br /><br />I made the decision to return to the head-squeezing headphones, and typed the best form of English translation Mali had to offer.<br /><br />From prep to end time, in my personal "lutte contre le </span></span></b></span><span style="font-style:italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">forum</span></span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">" on "la lutte contre le paludisme," I most surely lost. Any language you translate it.</span></span></b></span></div></div></div>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-740663955426336721.post-19558793916971024792010-07-11T23:20:00.020+00:002010-08-15T21:17:47.982+00:00My "Situation"<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">This past weekend I’ve been fighting off a foreign, exotic disease that most people have never even heard of -- “the cold.”<br /><br />All the going back and forth between the dusty, smoldering outdoors and my A/C-ed office has caused me to come down with a sore throat and stuffy nose. Someone call the emergency evacuation troops! </span></span></span></b><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">Who needs Walgreens or Rite-Aid!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3BO0QsvM_g1DpgNkxQ0ZBWtsJpS7SMT3nmCLuRfqfSoItlcyxHIZjUifRLyD0wi7hVx8pVLIfEwb91p5ABHT9uwwhaMVrdnwm63XCegGx1obd4NLdx0gR8MMHuWHGa08cOPBDvWhpvwd/s1600/DSCN3478.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3BO0QsvM_g1DpgNkxQ0ZBWtsJpS7SMT3nmCLuRfqfSoItlcyxHIZjUifRLyD0wi7hVx8pVLIfEwb91p5ABHT9uwwhaMVrdnwm63XCegGx1obd4NLdx0gR8MMHuWHGa08cOPBDvWhpvwd/s320/DSCN3478.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492798783607704354" /></a></div><span style="font-style:italic;"><div style="text-align: center;">Notice the small <a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/07/plastic-and-worms.html">plastic bag</a> in hand, only a few pills are sold at a time as necessary.</div></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">While I’m certainly thankful that I haven’t caught any real tropical disease -- come on! A measly cold is slowing me down in Africa? That’s pretty lame.<br /><br />Today, with my slight malady, I stayed indoors and hung out at Claudia's/my boss's house. I’ve recently moved in to house-sit for her family while they take leave on Thursday for 5 weeks of vacation. They’ve opened their doors, and all their amenities, to me: pool, trampoline, piano keyboard, Wii, unlimited access to their overstocked book shelves filled with African tales and French grammar texts. All for what I thought was going to be rent-free ride.</span></span></b></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">Sweet pool and backyard hut, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">which helps protect you when the </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">mangoes fall from their large mango tree:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJSzh9h2r6nf4OWYpkyjY32JjhGA-Snbvh-OPOoL-77EzTxPuMw5v3dww3cj_05PkLbD1GCoKESFrD807sPpE81sQ5qBd1B0BFQvSsjyNmTdkW23OFlbJMcx3kQbFruEe6dqL7PhyphenhyphennhabS/s1600/DSCN3474.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJSzh9h2r6nf4OWYpkyjY32JjhGA-Snbvh-OPOoL-77EzTxPuMw5v3dww3cj_05PkLbD1GCoKESFrD807sPpE81sQ5qBd1B0BFQvSsjyNmTdkW23OFlbJMcx3kQbFruEe6dqL7PhyphenhyphennhabS/s320/DSCN3474.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492802987801023634" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswPqmoI9uxV0AO3903Ydfdh07Et6Q5AIxxpecpuUd65M9xPEhX5wu4DUp8v0WbWN8KL3StFdYx-Mu8JDcSD_O2OhLgPf0UKEhEguYPVw7TLQzeCP-kBpwBHotuMmfvntePgPYZhf7b_LP/s1600/DSCN3475.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswPqmoI9uxV0AO3903Ydfdh07Et6Q5AIxxpecpuUd65M9xPEhX5wu4DUp8v0WbWN8KL3StFdYx-Mu8JDcSD_O2OhLgPf0UKEhEguYPVw7TLQzeCP-kBpwBHotuMmfvntePgPYZhf7b_LP/s320/DSCN3475.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492802975828442770" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">A few days ago, I accidentally let it slip that I had taken 14 years of piano lessons in my day. Claudia seemed excited, explaining that she, too, had taken 8 years of lessons and wanted her boys to learn and couldn’t wait to hear me play. <br /><br />This afternoon, she touches back on our conversation and asks, “Wouldn’t it be great if you could teach Andrew how to play? Why don’t we get started today while you stay in.”<br /><br />Never having taught a lesson before, and only really being able to remember one song all the way through after my years of Suzuki lessons (albeit a 14 minute long Beethoven Sonata), I had to say yes. This family was taking me into their home, the least I could do was teach the boy a few scales and arpeggios! </span></span></b></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">Claudia's son Andrew: my first victim -- err, student.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNyko2xBsRqHU5MRT-7WlKKp21g635_lZsynZsJE7mc6-LsrlX0ABCMsbATLLhRkRHOVQG5FCo-IQs_1wx4jskJkVyqikGBF4cCBHVy3pxo-Pm71sIhoikbjOYbUrsLhFRMSlPKKdfgTfN/s1600/DSCN3476.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNyko2xBsRqHU5MRT-7WlKKp21g635_lZsynZsJE7mc6-LsrlX0ABCMsbATLLhRkRHOVQG5FCo-IQs_1wx4jskJkVyqikGBF4cCBHVy3pxo-Pm71sIhoikbjOYbUrsLhFRMSlPKKdfgTfN/s320/DSCN3476.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492798774460691778" /></a></div><span style="font-style:italic;"><div style="text-align: center;">He's immersed in his reading about ninja chimpanzees and tree-climbing goats.</div></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We started with the C-scale and “Mary had a Little Lamb." While being the most repetitive hour I’ve spent in a few years, it was painless.<br /><br />Later this evening, just after the World Cup trophy had been handed to the most beautiful keeper in the tournament (I love you and your tears of joy, Casillas!), Christine -- one of Claudia’s friends and the Chief of Child Security at UNICEF -- took me to the side and said: “I heard about your ‘</span></span></b></span><a href="http://www.mtv.com/shows/jersey_shore/cast_member.jhtml?personalityId=13195"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">situation</span></span></b></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.’”</span></span></b></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">Christine jumping for joy after Espagne's goal:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWtxOXfW0fk9hLOyIcJ7yQvQCPNut-GHneqrHDels9YFRbY1bfY3N_atcY4gLtpURzZFT1cTkAA9Vr1zbgJ0IVgXP-96bEn2JGrwx1Tzk5bcocmGWGtxFCF5-tnyiazo0eItjWEDHQUDD0/s1600/DSCN3483.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWtxOXfW0fk9hLOyIcJ7yQvQCPNut-GHneqrHDels9YFRbY1bfY3N_atcY4gLtpURzZFT1cTkAA9Vr1zbgJ0IVgXP-96bEn2JGrwx1Tzk5bcocmGWGtxFCF5-tnyiazo0eItjWEDHQUDD0/s320/DSCN3483.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492798791864259346" /></a></div><span style="font-style:italic;"><div style="text-align: center;">Tina Wolfe, a Johns Hopkins colleague and native Spaniard, just as excited:</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwT9uKlyJcI65pZo1TIRaung4yO_6AjejtmKJMmB1ffDX6QrKESW3LqTG73Wa0UI83xdIUwWaQe2VY-yOtkwIhjRmb_f5FpVPPiM6bdeaWvtEVBBi2WETUdv0ggFqPg94mgZenLLxai03/s1600/DSCN3484.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwT9uKlyJcI65pZo1TIRaung4yO_6AjejtmKJMmB1ffDX6QrKESW3LqTG73Wa0UI83xdIUwWaQe2VY-yOtkwIhjRmb_f5FpVPPiM6bdeaWvtEVBBi2WETUdv0ggFqPg94mgZenLLxai03/s320/DSCN3484.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492798798077675314" /></a></div><span style="font-style:italic;"><div style="text-align: center;">Claudia and her other son, Abraham, were not as excited about Espagne's victory. They were pro-"Pays-Bas"/Netherlands.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIsAFNoJjCy_fkWKgffTRIakP1ywaMr-FRa3qi2HBlsLcwSt6-OzRgXySzwTAimQs_rDgkBTKZPschOonCPhMQxOGsm15NBKKgVhRAbJuUrd2kiF7LrqbHccoCz14OLhO60ry_FKcmqvo/s1600/DSCN3485.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIsAFNoJjCy_fkWKgffTRIakP1ywaMr-FRa3qi2HBlsLcwSt6-OzRgXySzwTAimQs_rDgkBTKZPschOonCPhMQxOGsm15NBKKgVhRAbJuUrd2kiF7LrqbHccoCz14OLhO60ry_FKcmqvo/s320/DSCN3485.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492798805639797874" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">I looked at her with my thick Lebanese eyebrows raised, and asked what she meant. Maybe she had heard about my uncommon sickness, and wanted to offer the newest and most effective treatment: a few Tylenol and some noodle soup. <br /><br />“Well, Claudia told me that you’ve been moving around a bit, trying to stretch your dollars. I wanted to let you know that once her family gets back from vacation, you’re welcome to move in here with us.”<br /><br />I looked around at her mansion of a home where we’d been watching the game on her huge flat-screen TV. It was decked with its own pool, basketball court, a huge surround sound system that was always blasting, and her two kids running around on a sugar high after a few apple sodas.<br /><br />I could rock this. It was a much better offer than what I thought she would’ve probably given me for my sinus situation: I’d guessed it would’ve been </span></span></b></span><a href="http://lizinmali.blogspot.com/2010/06/peanut-sauce-and-perils-of-being.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">CHICKEN noodle soup</span></span></b></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">.<br /><br />“There’s a catch...I was hoping you could maybe teach my kids how to play piano.</span></span></b></span>”<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">On the couch with Kessia, Christine's daughter looking like an angel;</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "> Amanda, who's in Bamako doing research on urban gardens; </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">Lisa, who works with USAID; and Mike, Peace Corps coordinator here in Mali</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigOWZ68c0Cl4Lux-HWsQGalbPRZWsoSrdXhsZiNXPlMvL3Mi5-R8qJwEECdKwt0JjaVNUwGdZBjwt36QPSLFQuJPa-3HMX_oFMzx86zFu5-4Qfe00rRNXx0O72OktdVZDb5eF1JY_UP7it/s1600/DSCN3487.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigOWZ68c0Cl4Lux-HWsQGalbPRZWsoSrdXhsZiNXPlMvL3Mi5-R8qJwEECdKwt0JjaVNUwGdZBjwt36QPSLFQuJPa-3HMX_oFMzx86zFu5-4Qfe00rRNXx0O72OktdVZDb5eF1JY_UP7it/s320/DSCN3487.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492802955410470962" /></a></div><span style="font-style:italic;"><div style="text-align: center;">What Kessia did to my hair:</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnZLD-cE3BCtYOWHq9GI9HOzkB8p2vFzItSnXMOobuG44yOVVk31ZDONwUY3x9M-Bj5Vosh5y1jwvP6wShsj2L2VO51lKc0m6UjGD8yeezMwOZR-VVcnrtsJp0edvqOKvKBMcs2CmQXb5/s1600/DSCN3489.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnZLD-cE3BCtYOWHq9GI9HOzkB8p2vFzItSnXMOobuG44yOVVk31ZDONwUY3x9M-Bj5Vosh5y1jwvP6wShsj2L2VO51lKc0m6UjGD8yeezMwOZR-VVcnrtsJp0edvqOKvKBMcs2CmQXb5/s320/DSCN3489.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492802961496567074" /></a></div><span style="font-style:italic;"><div style="text-align: center;">Not as angelic as she looks after all! Still a cutie:</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipD3hEjUQNUcugl3_LkrzLBSmoh78zGmLtRjEl2mTnqWXIY8H6sJbIrcuN1G7dg-AKIcZP8k0wGI-Zcp3NXQuZotCkTl3XUP68ovL0ouTCaHr_ljQFTxPWACqmolHOavZ9VtixrR86VbJP/s1600/DSCN3490.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipD3hEjUQNUcugl3_LkrzLBSmoh78zGmLtRjEl2mTnqWXIY8H6sJbIrcuN1G7dg-AKIcZP8k0wGI-Zcp3NXQuZotCkTl3XUP68ovL0ouTCaHr_ljQFTxPWACqmolHOavZ9VtixrR86VbJP/s320/DSCN3490.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492802968188935506" /></a></div><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#330000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Despite having a population of nearly 2 million, word travels fast here in Bamako.<br /><br />Still, not a bad trade-off for such an impressive roof over my head. Definitely won’t catch any serious tropical diseases here, chez-Christine.</span></span></span></b>Liz Mageezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05992763441679880304noreply@blogger.com5