How many times have I heard stories of people waiting for hours in the emergency room just to see a doctor?? A lot!!!!
A week ago this past Thursday early morning, before Michelle and I left to go to Ségou for a 2 day training I was to help deliver, I felt my tummy hurt a lot. Suddenly at around midnight I woke up and went to the bathroom and was sick. At this point I thought it was caused by something I had had for lunch or dinner. After this, I felt better and relieved from this big weight in my stomach which had been preventing me from sleeping. Then at 6 am the driver came to drive us three hours north of Bamako to Ségou. For a good six hours I felt relief but then later in the day, the pain came back slowly and began haunting me again. I felt like nothing I was ingesting was going all the way down. It was just staying in the middle. All day Michelle asked me how I was feeling and every time I told her that I was fine but because she knows that I don’t get sick really often she took it really seriously . Soon after lunch I felt really bad again and I told Michelle that we might have to leave before the end of the training. Soon after I told her that I felt really bad and it got worse, so we made the decision to leave and go directly to the hospital. At this point Michelle was really scared because I never complain when I’m sick and I was the one who said that I wanted to go to the hospital. We agreed the driver would drop me off at the hospital and she would drop our stuff off at the hotel, while I waited at the hospital. When I got there everything went really fast. I crossed a room with 3 tiny windows and then entered a court yard where I could see signs for the pharmacy, lab, doctor, emergency etc. I followed the sign for the emergency ward. When I got to emergency there were 2 people sitting on a bench, I asked them where I could see a doctor. One of them showed me a door in the corner of the hallway that was half open. I pushed the door half way open thinking it was the waiting room. Inside was a doctor sitting with his feet on the desk waiting for patient. He asked me what I was doing here, so I explained my symptoms and then he stopped me and told me to go and get a receipt at the entrance. I went back to the room with the 3 tiny windows. I walk to the only one open and asked for a receipt to see a doctor. The men inside asked me for 800 francs ($2), which I paid and, in return, he gave me a tiny pink piece of paper. I went back to see the doctor. Nobody was waiting in front of the door, so I knocked and entered. There was another doctor there waiting with the one I had already seen. I present the receipt and then he asked me to lie down on the examination table. He examined me and then said by precaution he would like me to go get tested for malaria. In the mean time Michelle came back from the hotel. She asked me what was happening. I told her he wanted me to be tested for Malaria. In Mali, Malaria is more common than HIV/AIDS and almost everybody has a bit of it in their blood stream. If you are not treated on time it can be deadly. Michelle and I went to the lab, where the men asked for a receipt. I showed him the one I got and tells me you need to get another one, so Michelle and I went to the same place I went to get the first receipt and this time the person asked for 1000 francs. When we returned to the lab, the man took a drop of blood from one of my fingers and told me to wait 20 mins for the results. We waited outside talking to some people. I was looking around and I could see a stretcher with a broken wheel on the side. After half an hour the results came back negative. Michelle and I went back to the doctor. I entered his office and saw him with two other guys talking, I gave him the results, he looked at them and wrote me a prescription for some meds. After just over an hour I was in and out of the hospital and tested for malaria!!!!!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Pre-holiday in the hospital
Before heading off for our holiday in Dogon country, we were in Segou for a training Thomas was co-facilitating for the members of the shea butter cooperatives of the Segou and Kemeni regions. Seeing as part of my mandate with CECI includes working with the other Uniterra Mali partners to see where they are in terms of their knowledge/understanding of gender equality, I decided to accompany Thomas on this mission with the purpose of observing and seeing how the women (most of whom don’t speak a word of French and are barely literate in Bambara) learn. I also wanted to see how the two male facilitators interact with the women and incorporate/take their needs into account throughout the days of training.
So getting back to the topic of HOLIDAYS…..24 hours before we were supposed to leave Segou for our holiday, I seriously didn’t think we’d be heading anywhere except for back to Bamako with the project driver. If you’ve read Thomas’ posting, you know we took a little trip to the hospital in Segou. Thomas is NEVER sick and even when he IS sick, he says he isn’t. So when he told me he absolutely needed to go to the hospital, I internally freaked out (as to not freak him out even more!) A doctor quickly saw him and immediately tested him for malaria. Although we were never told that vomiting is a symptom of malaria, we’ve learned here in Mali that it can be a sign. Three of the other CECI cooperants have it and vomiting and nausea were their first symptoms.
The hospital we went to is the main one in Segou. Having visited hospitals in Rwanda and in Malawi, I thought we’d be in Emerg forever! Surprisingly (and thankfully!) we were in and out in just over an hour. We were told that mornings are always insanely busy with people traveling all night from surrounding villages to get there. Afternoons and evenings are apparently much quieter. Like the hospitals I’ve been to in East Africa, this one was set up like a village. As you walk in, there are little street signs which lead to Radiology, Emergency, Paediatrics, the Lab, the Pharmacy, the Morgue, etc. I thought there would be women outside cooking for their sick family members as this tends to be the norm but nobody was in sight.
In the end, we travelled to Mopti on Saturday- a whole other adventure (which was quite costly!) which we’ll soon tell you about. Thomas spent 2 days not feeling great and spent his birthday in bed. Poor guy! We did end up hiking for 3 days and will tell you more and show you pictures soon enough....
So getting back to the topic of HOLIDAYS…..24 hours before we were supposed to leave Segou for our holiday, I seriously didn’t think we’d be heading anywhere except for back to Bamako with the project driver. If you’ve read Thomas’ posting, you know we took a little trip to the hospital in Segou. Thomas is NEVER sick and even when he IS sick, he says he isn’t. So when he told me he absolutely needed to go to the hospital, I internally freaked out (as to not freak him out even more!) A doctor quickly saw him and immediately tested him for malaria. Although we were never told that vomiting is a symptom of malaria, we’ve learned here in Mali that it can be a sign. Three of the other CECI cooperants have it and vomiting and nausea were their first symptoms.
The hospital we went to is the main one in Segou. Having visited hospitals in Rwanda and in Malawi, I thought we’d be in Emerg forever! Surprisingly (and thankfully!) we were in and out in just over an hour. We were told that mornings are always insanely busy with people traveling all night from surrounding villages to get there. Afternoons and evenings are apparently much quieter. Like the hospitals I’ve been to in East Africa, this one was set up like a village. As you walk in, there are little street signs which lead to Radiology, Emergency, Paediatrics, the Lab, the Pharmacy, the Morgue, etc. I thought there would be women outside cooking for their sick family members as this tends to be the norm but nobody was in sight.
In the end, we travelled to Mopti on Saturday- a whole other adventure (which was quite costly!) which we’ll soon tell you about. Thomas spent 2 days not feeling great and spent his birthday in bed. Poor guy! We did end up hiking for 3 days and will tell you more and show you pictures soon enough....
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Intergenerational partying in Bamako!
As many of you know, Thomas and I love to host parties; and seeing as we’re missing the festivities taking place at home, we had a last minute idea and decided to get festive here! We didn’t go as far as purchasing red and green napkins which cost an arm and a leg at the Lebanese-owned supermarkets, but we did have yummy food (though not enough) and drinks.
A wife of a friend of ours looked after then food (we’d bought some meat to make brochettes) which made it so much easier for Thomas and I to socialize with guests. Many more people turned up than we had thought (about 35) and although the food was apparently delicious, Thomas and I didn’t get to try any of it because there wasn’t enough. Almost everyone brought a bottle of wine (which can be found at the supermarket for around $12) and we had beer so there was definitely more than enough to drink (as there always is at our parties!)…there just weren’t enough glasses. In the middle of the party, Thomas had to borrow someone’s moto to go and buy more glasses. Somehow, a dozen metal classroom-type chairs also ended up in our yard. I learned the next morning that one of our guests had given our guard 1000 francs to go and rent chairs.
All in all, the party was a success and people hung around until 3am. The neighbours must think we’re alcoholics as they saw all the bottles bringing brought in. Alou, however, is the happiest of all because when we asked him to get rid of all the wine bottles, he told us he could get 100 francs for each bottle! Joyeux Noel!
Homesick for Christmas
If it weren’t for people’s facebook statuses where Christmas parties and shopping are frequently mentioned, I really wouldn’t think it was Christmas at all. In Mali, there are no decorated store windows, no lights, the weather is hot, and the voices coming from the many mosques just don’t scream Christmas.
In the past when I’ve been away from family in Canada over the Christmas season, I never really felt as homesick for celebrating as I do know. I miss Christianity- and it never would have occurred to me that I would. In Canada, we regularly go to Church but when away, I have definitely gone a year at a time without attending. There have always been symbols of Christianity around me (Churches, Cathedrals, Nativity scenes, processions, music, crosses) and I now recognize that these symbols brought me comfort.
Thomas and I have not actively looked for a church in Bamako and probably won’t. Mali is only 4% Christian and with all the walking we’ve done around the city, we’ve only seen a few Catholic Churches and a building belonging to the Church of Latter Day Saints. At home in Bamako, I’ve been blasting carols and seeing as the walls are paper-thin, I’m sure the entire street can hear me singing along.
Last weekend, Thomas and I went to see The Messiah performed by the Bamako Community Choir and Orchestra- largely made up of Americans and Dutch. I had been looking forward to this concert the entire week and to say it was a bit of a disappointment is an understatement. But hey! What did we expect!?! A performance comparable to Tafelmusiek’s? No way! The Messiah is just too hard to do well. A good effort but Thomas and I cringed through the entire three hours and rushed home to play the recording we brought with us.
In the past when I’ve been away from family in Canada over the Christmas season, I never really felt as homesick for celebrating as I do know. I miss Christianity- and it never would have occurred to me that I would. In Canada, we regularly go to Church but when away, I have definitely gone a year at a time without attending. There have always been symbols of Christianity around me (Churches, Cathedrals, Nativity scenes, processions, music, crosses) and I now recognize that these symbols brought me comfort.
Thomas and I have not actively looked for a church in Bamako and probably won’t. Mali is only 4% Christian and with all the walking we’ve done around the city, we’ve only seen a few Catholic Churches and a building belonging to the Church of Latter Day Saints. At home in Bamako, I’ve been blasting carols and seeing as the walls are paper-thin, I’m sure the entire street can hear me singing along.
Last weekend, Thomas and I went to see The Messiah performed by the Bamako Community Choir and Orchestra- largely made up of Americans and Dutch. I had been looking forward to this concert the entire week and to say it was a bit of a disappointment is an understatement. But hey! What did we expect!?! A performance comparable to Tafelmusiek’s? No way! The Messiah is just too hard to do well. A good effort but Thomas and I cringed through the entire three hours and rushed home to play the recording we brought with us.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Watching the flocks go by...
As soon as we arrived in Bamako in October, we noticed that many people kept sheep. It wasn’t at all unusual to see a herd of sheep being hustled through the downtown traffic. It also wasn’t unusual to see someone “walking a sheep” just like in Toronto we see people walking their dog. As we entered the month of November, sheep were everywhere and last week, I can safely say that Bamako had been taken over by flocks of them….so much so that their “baaaaah”ing became a sort of lullaby for us as we fell asleep at night and was our wakeup call in the morning.
Thomas and I went away this past weekend and when we got back to Bamako, all the sheep were gone!!
This past Saturday was la Fête de Tabaski. In West Africa, this is the name given to Aïd-el-Kébir (which actually means “la grande fête”) and it’s held approximately two months after Ramadan. Tabaski is celebrated to remember Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son for God. According to the Bible (I think Genesis, chapter 22) God stopped Abraham and told him to sacrifice a sheep instead. Throughout the entire month of November, Bamako was getting ready for “la grande fête”. Women were buying new bazins (beautiful silk-like fabrics) to make new dresses and robes for their husbands and children and the streets were full of girls and women getting their hair freshly braided for the big event.
Though Tabaski is not celebrated by the 4% population of Christians in Mali, Abraham’s sacrifice is of course remembered.
Last Wednesday, while I was at thee office, a man came in from off the street selling knives. I deeply regret not having taken a picture. His entire bag was full of knives of every size- from the size you and I would use to peel an apple or chop vegetables to daggers to massive machetes. The two men in my office who are “chef de famille” (Heads of their family) looked through all of them very carefully trying to find the perfect one to use to “égorge” their sheep.
Thomas and I were invited by my boss at the last minute to celebrate Tabaski with her family- but fortunately or unfortunately (I’ve heard mixed reviews from other volunteers who witnessed celebrations) we had made plans with Deb and her daughter Bintou to go to Teriyabougou, a village just north of Segu. It was paradise!
Pictures of the weekend getaway will follow soon….
Thomas and I went away this past weekend and when we got back to Bamako, all the sheep were gone!!
This past Saturday was la Fête de Tabaski. In West Africa, this is the name given to Aïd-el-Kébir (which actually means “la grande fête”) and it’s held approximately two months after Ramadan. Tabaski is celebrated to remember Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son for God. According to the Bible (I think Genesis, chapter 22) God stopped Abraham and told him to sacrifice a sheep instead. Throughout the entire month of November, Bamako was getting ready for “la grande fête”. Women were buying new bazins (beautiful silk-like fabrics) to make new dresses and robes for their husbands and children and the streets were full of girls and women getting their hair freshly braided for the big event.
Though Tabaski is not celebrated by the 4% population of Christians in Mali, Abraham’s sacrifice is of course remembered.
Last Wednesday, while I was at thee office, a man came in from off the street selling knives. I deeply regret not having taken a picture. His entire bag was full of knives of every size- from the size you and I would use to peel an apple or chop vegetables to daggers to massive machetes. The two men in my office who are “chef de famille” (Heads of their family) looked through all of them very carefully trying to find the perfect one to use to “égorge” their sheep.
Thomas and I were invited by my boss at the last minute to celebrate Tabaski with her family- but fortunately or unfortunately (I’ve heard mixed reviews from other volunteers who witnessed celebrations) we had made plans with Deb and her daughter Bintou to go to Teriyabougou, a village just north of Segu. It was paradise!
Pictures of the weekend getaway will follow soon….
Sunday, November 22, 2009
hiking with hash
Thomas and I have joined a “hash group” (where no hash is smoked). There are hash groups all over the world – these groups meet on a regular basis to do short hikes. Our friend Deb (she lives here and works here and I met her years ago through my cousin Nadien) has a car and so we all go together. Her daughter, Bintou, is 15 months old and Deb does the walk with her on her back. Total pro-star athletic Mom and such an adorable and happy kid! Most of the people in the hash group are French, but there are also some Dutch, some Québécois, and some Belgians. The drive to where we start hiking is never longer than a 30 minute drive outside of Bamako and it’s so refreshing knowing that there are hiking trails so close to home where you can actually breathe. Bamako is such a polluted and dusty city! The terrain surrounding the two trails we hiked is extremely dry and there are little bush fires in certain areas. Apparently the cultivateurs light these fires once a year….none of us is too sure as to how they control them. Once the hike is over, we all have a beer (or pop) in the parking lot. Good times.
photo exhibit
A wonderful event hosted by the city of Bamako every other year is the Rencontres de Bamako photography exhibit. Lucky us! Free cultural events! It opened a few weeks ago and runs for a month- til December 7th. Photographers from all over Africa and European and North American photographers who have taken pictures in Africa can show their work. Thomas and I attended the opening event at the Palais de la culture where free booze and nibblies were being served. Those attending were photographers themselves and expats. It seemed that there were very few locals. The following Monday I told my co-workers that I’d been to see some of the photo exhibits and asked them whether they planned to attend. “Pictures and photography is what you toubabous like! We don’t have time for that stuff!” I was slightly taken aback by the response and at the same time, I wasn’t at all surprised. That same week, we went to another event being held at the Centre de Formation de Photography which is located in a very residential part of our neighbourhood. Pictures were also being shown on a large screen outside of the centre and there was live music. This was such a great way to get ordinary Malians (and by ordinary, I mean those not involved in art and photography) to come out and see what was going on in the street near their homes. Along with the live music, came some incredible dancing- some of these steps would have put MJ to shame (may he RIP). Pretty soon the entire neighborhood was partying it up. If you can’t get people to the event, bring the event to the people….works every time!!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Market
Since we weren’t 100% satisfied with the freggetable salad that Bintou made for us last week, I decided to work from home today and show her exactly what we wanted. When she arrived this morning, I told her nicely and jokingly that we were surprised by the salad she made last week and I clarified the situation by retelling what we wanted. I also took the opportunity to go to the local market with Bintou to see where she buys the meats and veggies. I jumped on the back of her moto and she took us on a bumpy road farther from the closet goudron(paved road) for about 10 mins. People were looking at us and certainly wondering what this Malian young lady was doing with this white man on the back. We drove directly into the market honking so people would let us pass. In the middle of the market we stopped at a stand where 2 big pieces of meat were hanging with flies flying around. She asked me for the money and then gave the traditional salutations to the only guy at the market. It is so rare to find men at the market- working or purchasing. The man chopped a first piece and then a second, weighed it and added a few pieces of some kind of skin or greasy part to get to the right weight. Bintou paid him and she turned to face me and said “On y va!” I looked around and saw only women selling all kinds of foods: pieces of fish, bananas peanuts on plates. Then we stopped at another stand where there were a dozen tomatoes and a few other veggies I’ve never seen before. Bintou took 5 or 6 tomatoes and paid with a 50 franc coin which was so old that it was completely smoothe. Sometimes with some of the coins it is really difficult to tell, because people have been using them for so long that we cannot see anything on it any more. Also the small denominations of bills and coins are really difficult to find as the only place they are used is in the markets and if you live here and never go to the market you might never see them.
Finally we went to this other stand where there were a few bags of dry spices, a dozen cubes of beef broth, and a big can of tomato paste. Bintou ask in Bambara for ome tomato paste and instead of getting a whole tin, the women took a spoon of the paste and put it in plastic wrap. At the same time Bintou was looking at the cubes and took 3. She quickly negotiated the price and she finally gave her 200 francs. We jumped on the bike and went back to the house on the dirt road trying to avoid the big holes. A very interesting morning for me!
Thomas
PS For those who ask for the comment I changed the set up and now you can leave use comment as anonymous.
Finally we went to this other stand where there were a few bags of dry spices, a dozen cubes of beef broth, and a big can of tomato paste. Bintou ask in Bambara for ome tomato paste and instead of getting a whole tin, the women took a spoon of the paste and put it in plastic wrap. At the same time Bintou was looking at the cubes and took 3. She quickly negotiated the price and she finally gave her 200 francs. We jumped on the bike and went back to the house on the dirt road trying to avoid the big holes. A very interesting morning for me!
Thomas
PS For those who ask for the comment I changed the set up and now you can leave use comment as anonymous.
Freggetable salad…
So, Michelle thought she would be able to deal with the girl (Bintou) who comes twice the week. Let me tell you what happen last week!!! So, last Thursday Michelle gave Bintou some instructions on what she had to wash, buy, and prepare besides the actual meal she makes every time. Michelle asked her to buy a pineapple and cut it up and add some other fruit to it. When we came home after work, I went to the kitchen to check what she had made for us. I found in the oven a dish of rice and another with beef peanut sauce. (Typically Malian) Then, I opened the fridge and found two metal bowls one with the washed lettuce and in the other one the fruit salad Michelle asked her to make. You won’t imagine what was in the fruit salad!!! Pineapple, bananas, apple and carrots, tomatoes, parsley and strange of all, ONIONS! Since then we’ve been trying to find the right name to call we thought maybe we could call it freggetable salad and en français, salade de fregumes. You may be curious as to how it tasted…not bad, but the tomatoes were too much. Otherwise the beef peanut sauce was really good. Finally, I said to Michelle that I would take over from now on and show her exactly what we want and what we mean when we ask for a fruit salad.
Bintou
Lots of people have been asking how Alou (our guard/house boy) is doing. I would say that it’s not that easy to have someone living with you and who barely understands and speaks French. This past week was quite interesting, one day he asked me for 1000 CFA (around $2.5) to buy a phone card to call hiswife who is sick. When he asked me I just thought “what!? you are married??!! (this was the first time we’d found out he was married. We honestly think he’s 17 years old!!) and you are also asking for money when we just gave you 15 000 CFA for food a week ago??” Don’t think I’m being cheap, because this is not the case; I’m just trying to be fair and help him in another ways. My concept is that you cannot always help someone just by giving him money because who knows what the future will bring and also the toubabous (us white people) won’t be there to help forever. Instead I’m trying to teach him new skills, buy him tools, and give him some kind of work ethic that will benefit him for the future to earn more in the future. After he asked for the money Michelle and I talked about what we should do. We were still surprised that he had a wife and kids in another village. The landlord hadn`t mentioned this to us and Alou was living in the house fulltime. We decided that I would talk to him and ask him, if he wanted to be paid every week instead of once a month. I ask Alou to come so we could have a chat. I had my note pad with me, so I could write down numbers. I started the conversation and told him we were worried because he already used the 15 000 CFA we gave him a week ago and we wanted to help him find a solution to managed his money. (Just a quick FYI- we always have a ^plate of food for him when we`re eating at home. The 15,000 CFA we gave him was for him to buy a meal when we weren`t eating at home- which is really just lunch time during the week. ) When he got the idea where I was going, he stopped me and said “attend je vais chercher mon frère”. Here he comes back 10 mins later with another guy his age. He presents himself as Alou’s brother who has a degree in computer science and has been looking for job for 3 years. I’m thinking in my head ; “ I`m sorry but I can’t help you. I’m already trying to help your bro.” Finally we chatted together and I explained to him that I want to help Alou and I’m also worried because we gave him 15 000CFA and he already spend it all. »I stressed that he needed to keep some of this money for himself in case we aren`t home. I told him that we might be away 2 weeks at a time and he`d have to buy his own food. After 10 mins of discussions we decided the 1000CFA would be an advance on his next pay check and that next month he would keep money aside in case something were to happen to him while we are away.
Alou
In the last two days we’ve been trying to decide on the limits we need to fix Alou in terms of what he can eat in our fridge . On Saturday when we came home at midnight Michelle went to the kitchen to get some water and he followed her. Michelle asked him if he had eaten something and he say no, so Michelle had to heat him up something. If you have any ideas/comments on how we`re dealing with this situation, don’t hesitate.
Thomas
Bintou
Lots of people have been asking how Alou (our guard/house boy) is doing. I would say that it’s not that easy to have someone living with you and who barely understands and speaks French. This past week was quite interesting, one day he asked me for 1000 CFA (around $2.5) to buy a phone card to call hiswife who is sick. When he asked me I just thought “what!? you are married??!! (this was the first time we’d found out he was married. We honestly think he’s 17 years old!!) and you are also asking for money when we just gave you 15 000 CFA for food a week ago??” Don’t think I’m being cheap, because this is not the case; I’m just trying to be fair and help him in another ways. My concept is that you cannot always help someone just by giving him money because who knows what the future will bring and also the toubabous (us white people) won’t be there to help forever. Instead I’m trying to teach him new skills, buy him tools, and give him some kind of work ethic that will benefit him for the future to earn more in the future. After he asked for the money Michelle and I talked about what we should do. We were still surprised that he had a wife and kids in another village. The landlord hadn`t mentioned this to us and Alou was living in the house fulltime. We decided that I would talk to him and ask him, if he wanted to be paid every week instead of once a month. I ask Alou to come so we could have a chat. I had my note pad with me, so I could write down numbers. I started the conversation and told him we were worried because he already used the 15 000 CFA we gave him a week ago and we wanted to help him find a solution to managed his money. (Just a quick FYI- we always have a ^plate of food for him when we`re eating at home. The 15,000 CFA we gave him was for him to buy a meal when we weren`t eating at home- which is really just lunch time during the week. ) When he got the idea where I was going, he stopped me and said “attend je vais chercher mon frère”. Here he comes back 10 mins later with another guy his age. He presents himself as Alou’s brother who has a degree in computer science and has been looking for job for 3 years. I’m thinking in my head ; “ I`m sorry but I can’t help you. I’m already trying to help your bro.” Finally we chatted together and I explained to him that I want to help Alou and I’m also worried because we gave him 15 000CFA and he already spend it all. »I stressed that he needed to keep some of this money for himself in case we aren`t home. I told him that we might be away 2 weeks at a time and he`d have to buy his own food. After 10 mins of discussions we decided the 1000CFA would be an advance on his next pay check and that next month he would keep money aside in case something were to happen to him while we are away.
Alou
In the last two days we’ve been trying to decide on the limits we need to fix Alou in terms of what he can eat in our fridge . On Saturday when we came home at midnight Michelle went to the kitchen to get some water and he followed her. Michelle asked him if he had eaten something and he say no, so Michelle had to heat him up something. If you have any ideas/comments on how we`re dealing with this situation, don’t hesitate.
Thomas
Thursday, November 12, 2009
The work
Hi all,
Many of you have asked about our work here…
Work is going well. Because Thomas is working on a project which has been going on for a while now, it’s easier for him to jump right in than it is for me in my organization. He’s already been to the field (la campagne) twice to meet with the cooperatives…I’m a bit jealous because I LOVE the field…but at the same time, I think that there are some interesting opportunities for me where I am.
My partner organization is called Group Pivot/Droit et Citoyenneté des Femmes (GP/DCF) and it’s composed of 8 different organizations all of which work for the rights of women; it’s a bit like a working group. Their mission is to Influence the definition and the implementation of policies, strategies and actions which promote and defend women’s rights and citizenship. Already, they’ve asked me for trainings on the concept of gender…which makes me think that they aren’t comfortable with the theme that is supposedly their raison d’être. Over the course of my first week here, I read the last 2 annual reports, midterm reports, and their strategic plan. It all looks great, but I’m finding it hard to see where the capacity is to deliver the programming and fulfill the mission let alone this year’s work plan. I’ve been pushing them to set up meetings for me with each of the 8 member organizations but because the GP is run by volunteers, I hardly ever see the same people who have authority two days in a row. Last week I finally got the secretary (one of the only two paid people) to email the 8 orgs asking them for a time that I could meet with them but of course we haven’t heard back as most places don’t have internet on a permanent basis. Yesterday I asked if I could phone them myself but “African formality” says that I have to be officially presented by the GP/DCF Presidente. So…things are moving slowly. In challah (or as they say in Bambara, “Allah sonama”) I will get a chance to meet with these 8 member organizations at some point soon. All travel is done on the back of a motorbike. I’ve been borrowing helmets but will probably invest in my own.
There is also another component to my placement. CECI Mali (who is responsible for all of the volunteers’ partners) wants me to meet with all their partners (about 7 associations which consist of NGOs, city hall, and 2 ministries) and see what their understanding of the gender approach is and to see whether they’re incorporating Egalité entre les Femmes et les Hommes (EFH) into their programming. For CIDA, this is a must!! I need to identify any needs or gaps they might have so that I can put together some sort of training/workshop in the New Year. Ideally what I’d like to do is get GP/DCF to be the resource organizations when it comes to gender for all of CECI’s partners….and get them to put together training modules for all the others. I know that my strength is putting together workshops and giving them but my weakness is getting things off the ground and getting it all started. Thank God I have Thomas to bounce my ideas off of….
Michelle
Many of you have asked about our work here…
Work is going well. Because Thomas is working on a project which has been going on for a while now, it’s easier for him to jump right in than it is for me in my organization. He’s already been to the field (la campagne) twice to meet with the cooperatives…I’m a bit jealous because I LOVE the field…but at the same time, I think that there are some interesting opportunities for me where I am.
My partner organization is called Group Pivot/Droit et Citoyenneté des Femmes (GP/DCF) and it’s composed of 8 different organizations all of which work for the rights of women; it’s a bit like a working group. Their mission is to Influence the definition and the implementation of policies, strategies and actions which promote and defend women’s rights and citizenship. Already, they’ve asked me for trainings on the concept of gender…which makes me think that they aren’t comfortable with the theme that is supposedly their raison d’être. Over the course of my first week here, I read the last 2 annual reports, midterm reports, and their strategic plan. It all looks great, but I’m finding it hard to see where the capacity is to deliver the programming and fulfill the mission let alone this year’s work plan. I’ve been pushing them to set up meetings for me with each of the 8 member organizations but because the GP is run by volunteers, I hardly ever see the same people who have authority two days in a row. Last week I finally got the secretary (one of the only two paid people) to email the 8 orgs asking them for a time that I could meet with them but of course we haven’t heard back as most places don’t have internet on a permanent basis. Yesterday I asked if I could phone them myself but “African formality” says that I have to be officially presented by the GP/DCF Presidente. So…things are moving slowly. In challah (or as they say in Bambara, “Allah sonama”) I will get a chance to meet with these 8 member organizations at some point soon. All travel is done on the back of a motorbike. I’ve been borrowing helmets but will probably invest in my own.
There is also another component to my placement. CECI Mali (who is responsible for all of the volunteers’ partners) wants me to meet with all their partners (about 7 associations which consist of NGOs, city hall, and 2 ministries) and see what their understanding of the gender approach is and to see whether they’re incorporating Egalité entre les Femmes et les Hommes (EFH) into their programming. For CIDA, this is a must!! I need to identify any needs or gaps they might have so that I can put together some sort of training/workshop in the New Year. Ideally what I’d like to do is get GP/DCF to be the resource organizations when it comes to gender for all of CECI’s partners….and get them to put together training modules for all the others. I know that my strength is putting together workshops and giving them but my weakness is getting things off the ground and getting it all started. Thank God I have Thomas to bounce my ideas off of….
Michelle
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
finally settled
Last Friday we received our living room furniture as well as our table and chairs and so we finally feel as though we are getting settled. None of this was easy of course….
Furniture is sold on the side of the road and the choice is variable but everything is expensive!! Thomas and I constantly think we’re being ripped off because we’re toubabs but we’ve been told by Malians that we’re actually paying a pretty fair price. A simple (and ugly) wooden table with 4 chairs costs at least $400. Wood is costly because it has to be imported from Côte d’Ivoire. A sofa is also about $400 but by bringing it into your home, you’re also bringing in tons of dust. This furniture sits on the side of unpaved roads until it’s purchased. At the beginning of our search for furniture, we began to wish for old school Becker’s milk crates…that is, until we discovered bamboo. A couple of CECI volunteers who had arrived earlier had gotten all their furniture custom-made. We ended up ordering a salon which is a set consisting of a three person sofa, a two person sofa, and two armchairs. All of these seats come with cushions covered with really tacky fabric of blue and yellow flowers; like a very cheap provençale look. We also ordered a kitchen table and 6 chairs. The best thing about furniture made of bamboo (besides being somewhat affordable) is that it’s relatively easy to wipe down and clean. We ordered all of this furniture on a Wednesday and the man promised that it would all be ready by the following Tuesday at 4:30pm. Last Tuesday the CECI driver took us to the workshop to pick it all up and take it to the house and of course…it wasn’t ready. The owner wasn’t even around. We called him and he told us he was at a baptism and couldn’t finish them. (this is a common occurrence in businesses…timelines for orders are ignored because someone is getting married or there’s a community meeting. No planning ahead here!) The worst part was that none of the work had even been started. We couldn’t even take 1 chair home!! We ate our first home-cooked meal in our new home on the living room floor and listened to our voices echo throughout the empty house which is much too big for us.
Around mid-day on Friday, Thomas and I went to pick up our furniture which was ready 3 days later than it had been agreed. We arrived prepared to negotiate that the furniture guy pay for the furniture delivery. Our argument was that we’d had a truck to help us on the Tuesday and no vehicle on the Friday. Thomas persuaded the man to pay for two taxis. Here in Bamako, believe it or not, it’s illegal for taxis to transport things on the roof. The taxi driver asked us if we had 500 francs to pay the police if ever he was stopped. I guess that’s the price to get out of a jam. $1.23 CDN!!
Friday night, we had our first party! Sorry you all missed it. We wish you’d been with us.
The house is way too big for us and our voices still echo throughout but with the curtains we’ve just had made, it’s a little less.
More blog postings to come later today or tomorrow….
Michelle
Furniture is sold on the side of the road and the choice is variable but everything is expensive!! Thomas and I constantly think we’re being ripped off because we’re toubabs but we’ve been told by Malians that we’re actually paying a pretty fair price. A simple (and ugly) wooden table with 4 chairs costs at least $400. Wood is costly because it has to be imported from Côte d’Ivoire. A sofa is also about $400 but by bringing it into your home, you’re also bringing in tons of dust. This furniture sits on the side of unpaved roads until it’s purchased. At the beginning of our search for furniture, we began to wish for old school Becker’s milk crates…that is, until we discovered bamboo. A couple of CECI volunteers who had arrived earlier had gotten all their furniture custom-made. We ended up ordering a salon which is a set consisting of a three person sofa, a two person sofa, and two armchairs. All of these seats come with cushions covered with really tacky fabric of blue and yellow flowers; like a very cheap provençale look. We also ordered a kitchen table and 6 chairs. The best thing about furniture made of bamboo (besides being somewhat affordable) is that it’s relatively easy to wipe down and clean. We ordered all of this furniture on a Wednesday and the man promised that it would all be ready by the following Tuesday at 4:30pm. Last Tuesday the CECI driver took us to the workshop to pick it all up and take it to the house and of course…it wasn’t ready. The owner wasn’t even around. We called him and he told us he was at a baptism and couldn’t finish them. (this is a common occurrence in businesses…timelines for orders are ignored because someone is getting married or there’s a community meeting. No planning ahead here!) The worst part was that none of the work had even been started. We couldn’t even take 1 chair home!! We ate our first home-cooked meal in our new home on the living room floor and listened to our voices echo throughout the empty house which is much too big for us.
Around mid-day on Friday, Thomas and I went to pick up our furniture which was ready 3 days later than it had been agreed. We arrived prepared to negotiate that the furniture guy pay for the furniture delivery. Our argument was that we’d had a truck to help us on the Tuesday and no vehicle on the Friday. Thomas persuaded the man to pay for two taxis. Here in Bamako, believe it or not, it’s illegal for taxis to transport things on the roof. The taxi driver asked us if we had 500 francs to pay the police if ever he was stopped. I guess that’s the price to get out of a jam. $1.23 CDN!!
Friday night, we had our first party! Sorry you all missed it. We wish you’d been with us.
The house is way too big for us and our voices still echo throughout but with the curtains we’ve just had made, it’s a little less.
More blog postings to come later today or tomorrow….
Michelle
Monday, November 2, 2009
the reason for my freckles....
This morning I got to work at 8:10am and the door was locked. I’ve been told that working hours are between 8 and 5, but I’m still getting used to African time (which means adding another half hour (at least!) to any given time). I wait at the door for about 20 minutes and a colleague shows up, lets me in and then buys me breakfast. Froufrou…a deep-fried something-rather that tastes delicious.
When Alima, the secretary arrives, she tells me she’s had a terrible weekend. On Friday night, her 6 year old son became very ill and began to hallucinate. Malaria. She herself is also suffering from a bout of malaria but tells me that she’s forgotten how sick she really feels to look after her son properly. One of the interns here also thinks she’s coming down with malaria. Her body hurts and she feels feverish. I tell her she should go home and she tells me she’ll head to the doctor tomorrow. I ask my colleagues whether they sleep under mosquito nets. “Why bother!” they exclaim. “If the mosquitoes don’t get us at night, they’ll definitely get us during the day.”
I show them the spray I carry around with me in my bag and they laugh and tell me that the reason some white people have freckles is because they use too much insect repellent. I smile and tell them that the good news is that if they use the repellant, the freckles won’t really show on their skin AND they’ll be more protected from the mosquitoes.
When Alima, the secretary arrives, she tells me she’s had a terrible weekend. On Friday night, her 6 year old son became very ill and began to hallucinate. Malaria. She herself is also suffering from a bout of malaria but tells me that she’s forgotten how sick she really feels to look after her son properly. One of the interns here also thinks she’s coming down with malaria. Her body hurts and she feels feverish. I tell her she should go home and she tells me she’ll head to the doctor tomorrow. I ask my colleagues whether they sleep under mosquito nets. “Why bother!” they exclaim. “If the mosquitoes don’t get us at night, they’ll definitely get us during the day.”
I show them the spray I carry around with me in my bag and they laugh and tell me that the reason some white people have freckles is because they use too much insect repellent. I smile and tell them that the good news is that if they use the repellant, the freckles won’t really show on their skin AND they’ll be more protected from the mosquitoes.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Finding house help…y a pas de problème!!
In Mali, anyone who can afford to rent a house is expected to employ a guard and a maid/housekeeper to do some cleaning and cooking.
Having help around the house sounds so wonderful, but getting it organized has been a bit of a challenge. I’ve always managed to avoid employing house help. In Peru, although we lived in places with maid’s quarters, we never hired one. Here in Mali, with both of us working, we figure we should be contributing to the local work force. Our idea is also to try to increase our guard’s or our housekeeper’s skill set so that they can eventually find a better job or charge more.
It’s a bit awkward for us. We’ve never hired help before and we’re not sure what the “job descriptions” should look like. We’d also both like our privacy. Tons of questions are running through our minds…some of which include: “What’s a decent salary? Where will the guard sleep? Will the guard be in the courtyard while we’re enjoying it or using the pool? Do we feed him even though we never know when we’ll be home? “
When we agreed to rent the house, the land lord told us he had a guard and asked us whether we would keep him. We said yes. The landlord has been paying Alou (the guard) 20,000 CFAs per month (about $50) and provides him with a place to live. Alou is more of a houseboy than a guard. He lives in the garage and has been helping the landlord with the upkeep of the house. The CECI driver we were with told us afterwards that 20,000 is little for a guard and suggested we find some other work for him to do around the house and increase his salary. Our yard is big and has a lot of greenery which needs to be trimmed on a regular basis. There was also quite a bit of clean-up in the yard which needed to be done before we move in this coming Tuesday. The landlord asked Alou to do the clean up and paint the kitchen cupboards. “Pas de problème!” was Alou’s response.
Saturday morning, a painter that the CECI driver recommended came to meet us at the hotel. The three of us jumped in a cab and headed towards our house. Because our street has no name and we’d only been to the house once before, Thomas and I were afraid we wouldn’t be able to tell the taxi driver where the house was. Thankfully, the painter had been to the house the day before so he was able to instruct the taxi driver. Once we got to the house we discussed colors and prices and the painter agreed to go to the market to get the paint color samples and bring them back to us in 2 hours time. One thing I didn’t like is that while we were discussing with the painter, Alou was lurking around as if he was supposed to be involved in the conversation. Neither Thomas nor I said anything, but we now realize that we probably should have. He really doesn’t need to know what we pay for things and services!
Thomas asked Alou if he could trim the hedges and create more of a path for us to walk up to the house so that we don’t have to bush-wack to get to the front door. “Pas de problème,” he said and then proceeded to tell us he didn’t have any scissors but said he could get some for 10,000 CFAs. Things here are super expensive as they all have to be imported from elsewhere so I wouldn’t be surprised if gardening scissors were that much, but we wanted to check for ourselves first. Thomas told him to hold on and wait until we decided what to do. “Pas de problème!”
We left the house to explore our new neighborhood and returned two hours later with a bottle of bleach, a broom, and some rags for Alou to do a bit of cleaning before we move in. Alou had his friend were in the yard doing the gardening with a machete. We were glad that he’d taken initiative but I also immediately got the feeling that this was going to cost us. While Alou showed me how he was cleaning the closets, he told me that we’d have to give his friend 10,000 CFA for his work. I must have looked stunned because he asked, “C’est beaucoup?” I ended up giving the guy 5000 CFA and as Thomas and I left the house we realized we’d just paid a guy $12 for cutting our hedge….which is way too much! The fact that Alou had originally asked me to pay 50% of his own monthly salary also really ticked us off. I’m sure he was testing us. He’d overheard how much we were paying painters and may have thought that $12 was nothing for us.
Thomas’ blood boiled for about an hour and we decided that this was strike 1. We’d give him one more chance and that’s it. I told Thomas that he’d have to deal with the situation. I’m too nice and soft and, although I’m here to “promote and support gender equality”, I think it might be better to have a man dealing with a man. Thomas has a tendency of being more diplomatic and stern. He agreed, but if/when we get a housekeeper, I have to deal with the logistics. Pas de problème!
Michelle
Having help around the house sounds so wonderful, but getting it organized has been a bit of a challenge. I’ve always managed to avoid employing house help. In Peru, although we lived in places with maid’s quarters, we never hired one. Here in Mali, with both of us working, we figure we should be contributing to the local work force. Our idea is also to try to increase our guard’s or our housekeeper’s skill set so that they can eventually find a better job or charge more.
It’s a bit awkward for us. We’ve never hired help before and we’re not sure what the “job descriptions” should look like. We’d also both like our privacy. Tons of questions are running through our minds…some of which include: “What’s a decent salary? Where will the guard sleep? Will the guard be in the courtyard while we’re enjoying it or using the pool? Do we feed him even though we never know when we’ll be home? “
When we agreed to rent the house, the land lord told us he had a guard and asked us whether we would keep him. We said yes. The landlord has been paying Alou (the guard) 20,000 CFAs per month (about $50) and provides him with a place to live. Alou is more of a houseboy than a guard. He lives in the garage and has been helping the landlord with the upkeep of the house. The CECI driver we were with told us afterwards that 20,000 is little for a guard and suggested we find some other work for him to do around the house and increase his salary. Our yard is big and has a lot of greenery which needs to be trimmed on a regular basis. There was also quite a bit of clean-up in the yard which needed to be done before we move in this coming Tuesday. The landlord asked Alou to do the clean up and paint the kitchen cupboards. “Pas de problème!” was Alou’s response.
Saturday morning, a painter that the CECI driver recommended came to meet us at the hotel. The three of us jumped in a cab and headed towards our house. Because our street has no name and we’d only been to the house once before, Thomas and I were afraid we wouldn’t be able to tell the taxi driver where the house was. Thankfully, the painter had been to the house the day before so he was able to instruct the taxi driver. Once we got to the house we discussed colors and prices and the painter agreed to go to the market to get the paint color samples and bring them back to us in 2 hours time. One thing I didn’t like is that while we were discussing with the painter, Alou was lurking around as if he was supposed to be involved in the conversation. Neither Thomas nor I said anything, but we now realize that we probably should have. He really doesn’t need to know what we pay for things and services!
Thomas asked Alou if he could trim the hedges and create more of a path for us to walk up to the house so that we don’t have to bush-wack to get to the front door. “Pas de problème,” he said and then proceeded to tell us he didn’t have any scissors but said he could get some for 10,000 CFAs. Things here are super expensive as they all have to be imported from elsewhere so I wouldn’t be surprised if gardening scissors were that much, but we wanted to check for ourselves first. Thomas told him to hold on and wait until we decided what to do. “Pas de problème!”
We left the house to explore our new neighborhood and returned two hours later with a bottle of bleach, a broom, and some rags for Alou to do a bit of cleaning before we move in. Alou had his friend were in the yard doing the gardening with a machete. We were glad that he’d taken initiative but I also immediately got the feeling that this was going to cost us. While Alou showed me how he was cleaning the closets, he told me that we’d have to give his friend 10,000 CFA for his work. I must have looked stunned because he asked, “C’est beaucoup?” I ended up giving the guy 5000 CFA and as Thomas and I left the house we realized we’d just paid a guy $12 for cutting our hedge….which is way too much! The fact that Alou had originally asked me to pay 50% of his own monthly salary also really ticked us off. I’m sure he was testing us. He’d overheard how much we were paying painters and may have thought that $12 was nothing for us.
Thomas’ blood boiled for about an hour and we decided that this was strike 1. We’d give him one more chance and that’s it. I told Thomas that he’d have to deal with the situation. I’m too nice and soft and, although I’m here to “promote and support gender equality”, I think it might be better to have a man dealing with a man. Thomas has a tendency of being more diplomatic and stern. He agreed, but if/when we get a housekeeper, I have to deal with the logistics. Pas de problème!
Michelle
Under a tree you’ll find a house!
Our new street
After a week in Bamako we finally found a house. We knew house-hunting here would be different and certainly non traditional, but not to this extent!
Bamako can be off-putting and confusing. Most streets don’t have names and if they do, people don’t know them. If you want to go somewhere, sometimes it can be really tricky to get there quickly. Before we go anywhere we always make sure we ask someone who really knows the city to give us some reference points. Don’t think that a Roundabout with a huge statue of an elephant or hypo would be sufficient to tell a taxi driver!! Here we really need to think outside of the box. For example, when Michelle went to work for the first time, she tried to explain to 3 taxi drivers that she had to go to the rondpoint avec l`hyppopotame. The taxi drivers did not know what she was talking about, so she called the CECI driver to ask him for another reference point. He told her to tell the taxi driver she had to go to the TOTAL gas station by the pharmacy. She found a driver who understood. Every time we go out and have to take a cab, it`s a real adventure, most of the time either we have to show the guy the way or rhyme off a bunch of different reference points until a taxi driver knows one of them. The problem is that we still don`t know the city very well.
After spending a few days trying to find our way and trying to get our bearings, we decided to look for a place to live either in the neighborhood of Badaladougou, quartier du Fleuve or Hippodrome. There`s no Craigslist and there`s no newspaper ads!! There are 2 ways to find a place here, either a real estate agency or the so called “coxers”/demarcheur . Our first step was to go the more conventional way… what we thought would be the simplest way. On Monday, I asked the CECI office where I could find an agency and someone gave me the number for an office close by. I went to the office and after a confusing and quick meeting, I exchanged numbers with people and never heard back. We finally decided to go with the CECI driver to look for a place to live. We told him which neighborhoods we were interested in and from there he drove us to the first one. We stopped at a booth…like a kiosk selling cigarettes and drinks under a tree and the driver exchanged a few words with the guy and called someone then we went two streets away where we stopped under another tree where 3 men were drinking tea. The driver exchanged a few words in Bambara and one of the men got in the car with us and showed us a house. The house was big but quite dark and we decided to keep looking. The custom is that you pay a coxer a few thousand CFAs for every house to thank him for his time. If you`re picky, house hunting can become expensive!!! This particular coxer told us that there was nothing else in this neighborhood within our price range. We decided to cross the river and keep looking. We stopped near the center and the driver asked a few men if they had heard of anything for rent but again, nothing was available in our price range. Finally, we went to Hippodrome and stopped at a tree were a man was sitting. He got in the car and we went to see a house.
After seeing the house Michelle and I talked a bit and ask the coxer to call the owner. Half an hour later he showed up and together we went through the house asking him a few questions. We finally made an offer and began to negotiate the price which we were able to lower a bit. The following day, we signed the agreement. There are 4 bedrooms, a living/dining room, 3 bathrooms, a small kitchen, a lovely yard with a mango tree, and an empty swimming pool which we will eventually fill.
So, for those of you looking wondering where it is we live exactly, get into a taxi and tell the driver to take you to Hyppodrome, go up the Bla Bla (a bar) street until the paved road ends, continue up 5 blocks (carrés) on the dirt road and turn right at the street where there’s a carpenter’s workshop and seamstress’ workshop. If you make it, we’ll have the mint tea brewing for you.
Thomas
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sunday night
We’ve spent the last two days walking around Bamako’s various neighborhoods to get a feel for the city and to figure out where we want to live. The Niger river flows right through Bamako and people living on either side all think their side is best. Originally Badaladougou , an area across the river appealed to us, but everyone we speak to has told us that we should live on the same side of the river as our workplaces. Apparently traffic on the bridge during rush hour is insane.
Imagine that! The lion has his own security guard. The "lion keeper" has his little spot where he can make his tea and keep on eye on the big cat. And it just all smells soooo bad!
We’ve done a ton of walking and have narrowed it down to a few quartiers. We’ve got a “coxer” who will begin looking for us tomorrow. A coxer is a non-formal real estate agent of some sort. We’ll keep you posted on our efforts in finding a living space.
Walking through the streets of Bamako, we came across a group of women dying fabrics (pagnes) which will then be sold in the markets. Once the fabrics are dyed, they need to be ironed. This is actually done with a hammer. The fabrics are beaten flat! Picture of this to follow soon.
This morning we had planned to go to the museum but ended up slightly further up the hill at the zoo. What a depressing and stinky place!! The only uplifting thing about it was seeing fathers with their 10-15 children strolling around the grounds.
We’ve spent the last two days walking around Bamako’s various neighborhoods to get a feel for the city and to figure out where we want to live. The Niger river flows right through Bamako and people living on either side all think their side is best. Originally Badaladougou , an area across the river appealed to us, but everyone we speak to has told us that we should live on the same side of the river as our workplaces. Apparently traffic on the bridge during rush hour is insane.
Imagine that! The lion has his own security guard. The "lion keeper" has his little spot where he can make his tea and keep on eye on the big cat. And it just all smells soooo bad!
We’ve done a ton of walking and have narrowed it down to a few quartiers. We’ve got a “coxer” who will begin looking for us tomorrow. A coxer is a non-formal real estate agent of some sort. We’ll keep you posted on our efforts in finding a living space.
Walking through the streets of Bamako, we came across a group of women dying fabrics (pagnes) which will then be sold in the markets. Once the fabrics are dyed, they need to be ironed. This is actually done with a hammer. The fabrics are beaten flat! Picture of this to follow soon.
This morning we had planned to go to the museum but ended up slightly further up the hill at the zoo. What a depressing and stinky place!! The only uplifting thing about it was seeing fathers with their 10-15 children strolling around the grounds.
Arguing in plane
Greetings from Mali!
The trip here was long.
The plane ride from Casablanca to Bamako was pretty hilarious. Thomas and I were dead tired but still found humor in what was going on around us. It’s always interesting to observe people’s behavior on planes…the Germans drink too much, the Dutch applaud and the West Africans argue.
The flight from Casa to Bamako had been cancelled the night before so the flight was completely full and everyone (mostly Malians) had way more than just 2 carry-on bags. There just wasn’t enough room for everyone’s bags!! When the flight attendant asked passengers if they would agree that one or two of their bags go down below, they refused. I’ve never seen people argue so intently with flight attendants! They were waiving their arms and snapping their fingers in the attendant’s face….it was quite the scene!
Then, as the plane was getting ready to land and the pilot asked everyone to take their seats and fasten their seat belts, about a dozen passengers (all African) decided that they had to go to the bathroom! Again, more arguing! Of course, as soon as the plane hit the ground, everyone got up. The poor flight attendants said nothing. They’d lost the battle.
The trip here was long.
The plane ride from Casablanca to Bamako was pretty hilarious. Thomas and I were dead tired but still found humor in what was going on around us. It’s always interesting to observe people’s behavior on planes…the Germans drink too much, the Dutch applaud and the West Africans argue.
The flight from Casa to Bamako had been cancelled the night before so the flight was completely full and everyone (mostly Malians) had way more than just 2 carry-on bags. There just wasn’t enough room for everyone’s bags!! When the flight attendant asked passengers if they would agree that one or two of their bags go down below, they refused. I’ve never seen people argue so intently with flight attendants! They were waiving their arms and snapping their fingers in the attendant’s face….it was quite the scene!
Then, as the plane was getting ready to land and the pilot asked everyone to take their seats and fasten their seat belts, about a dozen passengers (all African) decided that they had to go to the bathroom! Again, more arguing! Of course, as soon as the plane hit the ground, everyone got up. The poor flight attendants said nothing. They’d lost the battle.
Welcome
So here it is! The much-talked about and anticipated blog! We’ve been talking about it since the second week of August, when we heard that we’d both obtained postings in Bamako, Mali for the same period of time.
We’ve both lived and worked abroad before, yet the process of getting ready when you’re a home owner is all the more over-whelming. Between getting our home renovations done, finding a tenant for our house, finishing up in our previous places of employment, finding a storage locker for our stuff, packing it up (again), storing it (again), hosting family from overseas, and deciding what to bring to Mali, we’ve had little time to mentally prepare for our year abroad let alone get a blog started.
So without further ado, we’ll start off briefly introducing ourselves and telling you what we think our placements in Bamako will entail. One thing we’ve learned in the past is that Terms of Reference provided at the beginning of the hiring process are rarely the TORs which are followed and which apply to our jobs.
Throughout this year, we will do our best to share our thoughts and experiences with you. Once this blog is set up, the next step will be finding a place to live in Bamako. We will have a guest room and welcome anyone for a visit.
XO
MICHELLE & THOMAS (les Routards)
For those who don’t know me that well
The people who know me have always seen me as a routard, a person who is always on the road looking for new adventure and meeting new people.
My life started in France where I spent my youth and beginning of my professional life. After high school, I decided to go out on my own and make my own way and I went to to Vierzon to do a technical degree in Industrial Ceramics and discovered a really interesting wine region call Sancerre. At the end of my studies, I found a job in the central west coast of France close to Nantes, where I lived for 8 months. Then my feet began to feel itchy and I decided to look for a job somewhere I had never been before. I moved to a small town close to Bordeaux, between St-Emilion and Sauterne. I was in paradise! Two years went by and my need for new adventure came back to haunte me, so I decided to move to Nantes where some of my best friend where living.
I found a job as Manger of Production in a company producing temperature sensors, where I worked hard and crazy hours. Over there I met Michelle with whom I had so much in common. We shared the passion of seeking out adventures and meeting new people and sharing with them.
The day we got engaged was the turning point in my life. We started talking about going on a trip to Morocco. This trip was the beginning of road trip around the world. We moved to Toronto for 4 months and then she got an internship in Peru, where I was able to discover Michelle’s second country and her passion for development. Over there I volunteered with a local NGO which helps Andean communities produce and sell handicrafts.
After seven months of work and some traveling in Argentina, tasting some nice wines in Mendoza, visiting the majestic and gigantic falls of Iguaçu and seeing amazing landscape we finally came back to Toronto to go back to school. I went back to University to do a Bachelor in Business Economics. After I graduated I found a job as an accountant.
Last December we became the proud owners of a small home which needed a lot of TLC! So much had to be done before we could even move in. Over the winter Michelle and I, with the help of friends, spent all our spare time doing home renovations. Everybody thought this was the turning point for us and we would settle. In our minds we had this common dream to go back overseas and offer our experience and work with other people. In April ,while Michelle was in Burkina Faso, I was laid off from my job. Seeing her so enthusiastic about the work there gave me the desire to finally realise this dream to go back overseas. Over the summer we applied to CECI ( www.ceci.ca ) and found two amazing postings.
I will be working in Mali for the Ministry of Promotion of Women, Children and Family as a cost analyst consultant on the project Karite(www.projetkarite.org)
Thomas
Over the last ten years, I’ve been on the move quite a bit. I began my travels right after high school when I went to Peru and developed a long love affair with the beautiful and mystical country. In university I took every opportunity I could to take courses abroad. I was able to spend a summer studying linguistics and Mexican politics in Cuernavaca. I spent my final year of university in France and met Thomas, a man whose feet, I discovered, were as itchy as mine, and whose sense of adventure and work ethic were in synch with mine. Before settling in Toronto, we moved to Peru together so that I could complete an internship there with World Food Programme and we traveled throughout and fell in love with Argentina.
Between then and now, we’ve gone back to school, had jobs, and bought a house. I really think that once we got the keys to our new house in January, people thought we were finally settling down. Nope! Think again! Having a house just means we have a pied à terre somewhere. Thomas was laid off in April while I was in Burkina Faso for work. It was when I returned to Toronto that we discussed looking for positions abroad. I will be working in the sector of gender equality. My interest in applying for such a volunteer placement with CECI stems from my professional experience, my educational background and my desire to acquire more experience in a more specific sector than project management itself.
Getting ready to move abroad to embark on adventure has always been quite easy for me. This time it was all more difficult than I imagined it might be. Although Thomas and I were doing it all together, it was still a daunting time for me. This time, I found saying good-bye to people more difficult that I had in the past.
As I sit in a hotel near the Casablanca airport waiting for our flight to Bamako, I’m surrounded by sooooooo many different people. There are no back-packers. There are some business men and then common people like us. I think they might be from West Africa (their robes and “caps” give it away). The hotel is large but it feels a bit crowded. Thomas commented that he can already see that people are “warmer” and aren’t afraid to get close to others. For example, we were all served a buffet lunch and to line up for it Thomas and I both felt as though people were breathing down our necks. I think Thomas likes the feeling. I know it’s the kind of environment I’ll be living in over the course of the next year…and I’ll get used to it and adapt. That’s all for now. Maybe it was a bit of a ramble. I’m exhausted and off to have a snooze before the final flight.
Michelle
We’ve both lived and worked abroad before, yet the process of getting ready when you’re a home owner is all the more over-whelming. Between getting our home renovations done, finding a tenant for our house, finishing up in our previous places of employment, finding a storage locker for our stuff, packing it up (again), storing it (again), hosting family from overseas, and deciding what to bring to Mali, we’ve had little time to mentally prepare for our year abroad let alone get a blog started.
So without further ado, we’ll start off briefly introducing ourselves and telling you what we think our placements in Bamako will entail. One thing we’ve learned in the past is that Terms of Reference provided at the beginning of the hiring process are rarely the TORs which are followed and which apply to our jobs.
Throughout this year, we will do our best to share our thoughts and experiences with you. Once this blog is set up, the next step will be finding a place to live in Bamako. We will have a guest room and welcome anyone for a visit.
XO
MICHELLE & THOMAS (les Routards)
For those who don’t know me that well
The people who know me have always seen me as a routard, a person who is always on the road looking for new adventure and meeting new people.
My life started in France where I spent my youth and beginning of my professional life. After high school, I decided to go out on my own and make my own way and I went to to Vierzon to do a technical degree in Industrial Ceramics and discovered a really interesting wine region call Sancerre. At the end of my studies, I found a job in the central west coast of France close to Nantes, where I lived for 8 months. Then my feet began to feel itchy and I decided to look for a job somewhere I had never been before. I moved to a small town close to Bordeaux, between St-Emilion and Sauterne. I was in paradise! Two years went by and my need for new adventure came back to haunte me, so I decided to move to Nantes where some of my best friend where living.
I found a job as Manger of Production in a company producing temperature sensors, where I worked hard and crazy hours. Over there I met Michelle with whom I had so much in common. We shared the passion of seeking out adventures and meeting new people and sharing with them.
The day we got engaged was the turning point in my life. We started talking about going on a trip to Morocco. This trip was the beginning of road trip around the world. We moved to Toronto for 4 months and then she got an internship in Peru, where I was able to discover Michelle’s second country and her passion for development. Over there I volunteered with a local NGO which helps Andean communities produce and sell handicrafts.
After seven months of work and some traveling in Argentina, tasting some nice wines in Mendoza, visiting the majestic and gigantic falls of Iguaçu and seeing amazing landscape we finally came back to Toronto to go back to school. I went back to University to do a Bachelor in Business Economics. After I graduated I found a job as an accountant.
Last December we became the proud owners of a small home which needed a lot of TLC! So much had to be done before we could even move in. Over the winter Michelle and I, with the help of friends, spent all our spare time doing home renovations. Everybody thought this was the turning point for us and we would settle. In our minds we had this common dream to go back overseas and offer our experience and work with other people. In April ,while Michelle was in Burkina Faso, I was laid off from my job. Seeing her so enthusiastic about the work there gave me the desire to finally realise this dream to go back overseas. Over the summer we applied to CECI ( www.ceci.ca ) and found two amazing postings.
I will be working in Mali for the Ministry of Promotion of Women, Children and Family as a cost analyst consultant on the project Karite(www.projetkarite.org)
Thomas
Over the last ten years, I’ve been on the move quite a bit. I began my travels right after high school when I went to Peru and developed a long love affair with the beautiful and mystical country. In university I took every opportunity I could to take courses abroad. I was able to spend a summer studying linguistics and Mexican politics in Cuernavaca. I spent my final year of university in France and met Thomas, a man whose feet, I discovered, were as itchy as mine, and whose sense of adventure and work ethic were in synch with mine. Before settling in Toronto, we moved to Peru together so that I could complete an internship there with World Food Programme and we traveled throughout and fell in love with Argentina.
Between then and now, we’ve gone back to school, had jobs, and bought a house. I really think that once we got the keys to our new house in January, people thought we were finally settling down. Nope! Think again! Having a house just means we have a pied à terre somewhere. Thomas was laid off in April while I was in Burkina Faso for work. It was when I returned to Toronto that we discussed looking for positions abroad. I will be working in the sector of gender equality. My interest in applying for such a volunteer placement with CECI stems from my professional experience, my educational background and my desire to acquire more experience in a more specific sector than project management itself.
Getting ready to move abroad to embark on adventure has always been quite easy for me. This time it was all more difficult than I imagined it might be. Although Thomas and I were doing it all together, it was still a daunting time for me. This time, I found saying good-bye to people more difficult that I had in the past.
As I sit in a hotel near the Casablanca airport waiting for our flight to Bamako, I’m surrounded by sooooooo many different people. There are no back-packers. There are some business men and then common people like us. I think they might be from West Africa (their robes and “caps” give it away). The hotel is large but it feels a bit crowded. Thomas commented that he can already see that people are “warmer” and aren’t afraid to get close to others. For example, we were all served a buffet lunch and to line up for it Thomas and I both felt as though people were breathing down our necks. I think Thomas likes the feeling. I know it’s the kind of environment I’ll be living in over the course of the next year…and I’ll get used to it and adapt. That’s all for now. Maybe it was a bit of a ramble. I’m exhausted and off to have a snooze before the final flight.
Michelle
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