Toothless in Africa

Vision: When I get home I am going to listen to live jazz. Good jazz, not the crappy kind. I am going to drink a ridiculously expensive craft beer and sit cross legged in my chair on the patio in a flowy summer dress and close my eyes and smell the muggy air mixed with smoke and music. This will preferably be in New Orleans, but I won’t get too picky.

I’ve felt a little stagnant lately. Tonight I had a burst of creative energy that for some reason gets stifled when I am here so concerned with something that keeps it under wraps. Cultural sensitivity, integration, people staring, not being able to explain myself in Bambara, whatever. Someone told me that Malians are going to think you’re weird no matter what… so taking that to heart gives me more wiggle room to be myself. That and to stick up for myself more. Some of the problems I could have seen myself running into in Koyan may have been a result of being afraid to be mean, but I realize now that I have to set cleaner and more ridged boundaries in order to be a more successful volunteer, to remain safe… and to keep my sanity.

It’s been 22 days since I left Koyan. It feels like 5 months. I’ve been keeping positive for the most part until I get to thinking about leaving behind all of my kids in there. I am worried what they will think when I come back to collect my things. I wonder if they will be excited to see me or if they will be mad and act distant. I feel like I am abandoning them and I know it isn’t my fault but that doesn’t stop me from feeling guilty. I grew so close to those little people during the two months I was there. They are what I will miss the most. Bamu, Issa, Bablen, Fatoumata, Jella, Bafi, Mariamu, Basuru, Baji, Garantigi, Ina, Kadja, Fatoumata, Madou, Lemieri, Kadja, Bua, Fanta, Sa, and Burama along with so many of my other little peeps in village. We used to play this game where one person would say “An ka taa Bamako” “Let’s go to Bamako” or some other village and we would run around with our arms outstretched like an airplane and make airplane noises. We would do this for all the cities we could name in Mali and it never got old. I miss Kadja’s face that looked so mean when she was sad or pretending to be mad at someone and all I would say was her name and her face would light up into a beautiful smile. Kadja was one of my favorites. I would tell the kids that fighting and hitting was bad when they would hit each other and any time someone would get in a fight she would look at me and say “kele a manye!” or “fighting, it’s bad!” and then smile… and maybe hit someone for fighting. I thought she was a boy at first when I came to Koyan because of her short hair (I am assuming she had to get it shaved because of lice which happens every now and then). I went around asking the kids their names and when they told me that another girl’s name was Kadja too I almost said “But she’s a girl and he’s a boy!” She is looked after by my host grandma in our compound and her mom lives in a compound that is around a 15 minute walk from ours. I am assuming her mom maybe was really young and unwed when she had Kadja or is going to school far away. I think her lack of a strong mother figure made us closer.

I am sure the new kiddos at my next site will be the bomb too… but I am going to miss the Koyan crew.

Here is a picture of Fatoumata, Fanta, and Kadja on the right. Fatoumata and Fanta are the bomb too.

Here’s what’s been going on since I got to Senegal.

I got to Senegal on October 29^th and immediately the Senegal volunteers were great and welcoming. I went out with some volunteers for a Halloween type romp to a few bars. After that, various people have been in and out of the medical unit where I am staying (which is in a different location than the volunteer transit house). A volunteer from Gambia named Lina left last night but we became friends during her time here and it was so nice to have her company. There are also two other med evacs that are volunteers from Burkina Faso that have been fun to hang out with. People from several countries come to this regional Peace Corps medical office as ‘medical evacuations” when the medical facilities in our countries aren’t up to Peace Corps’ standards for the type of work we need done. We’ve been watching a lot of Grey’s Anatomy, Friends, and any other silly TV show that can give us hours of entertainment on end as we pass the days we must spend here, lengthened by never-ending Malian and American Holidays and doctors not showing up to work. Luckily my dentist is the bomb and is going to let me come in on Saturday to clear me so I can fly out on Monday morning if all heals well with my mouth-hole situation (I am here because I needed a tooth pulled).

Dakar is really beautiful in places on the coast and the city itself is very developed, especially compared to Bamako. I haven’t done too much exploring other than going out onto the tip of the peninsula that juts out into the ocean twice. Lina and I sat out on the cliffs and looked at the waves and sun reflecting on the water and talked about the hardships in education in Mali and Gambia. There is a lot that needs to happen before things get better, but at least we can feel like we are helping a little bit.

IST (In service training) is coming up on Monday. I’m ready to be surrounded by my people again. Some people let you be yourself in such a way that it is a gift to be with them. I feel that more intensely with others in service work (shout out to my AmeriCorps peeps), and my stage of volunteers is no exception. I want to hear their stories and frustrations and be goofy and dance and smile and laugh. Dave’s birthday is on Tuesday, and I am grateful that I will be there for it since at first I wasn’t expected to leave until after the 15^th.

During IST we are going to learn more about projects that we can do in our villages. We will get information about our own sectors as well as how to implement various food security initiatives and we will get some technical training on things like moringa tree planting. I’m excited to learn these new skills but I think I probably speak for all of us in our stage saying that we’re more excited to see each other. Some of us haven’t seen each other since the beginning of August when we first went to our sites. I’ve been lucky to see Mary, Kat, Jenna, Renate, Lucas, and Dave but can’t wait to see everyone else!

That’s all I’ll say for now. Hopefully I will have more details on potential projects, and more information about my new site soon. I hope you’re all doing well in the States. I can’t say that I envy those of you who have been getting snow. We are entering into cold season here too but our “cold” is substantially more tropical than you Minnesota and Michigan folks. I will, however miss my Dad’s amazing Thanksgiving mashed potatoes and Wendy’s pies made from scratch. Yummmmmm! I miss you all and love you and thank you again for all of your support and for reading about my life. Send me e-mails so I can read about yours too! I will even bless you with a Malian name if you want one! But don’t worry, I won’t make anyone be a Traore… they eat beans.

Peace (Corps), Love (bugs), and Happiness (I couldn’t think of one for here) to you all!

Love,

Jamie