Hey everyone!!! Bonjour! i have made it to Mali and have been here for the past few days. Let me just say that it is hot hot hot here, humid but tolerable once you realize that you will be sweating non-stop while you are here. But that is ok, its a part of life and detoxing naturally. Our stay has been fun as the first morning was such an eye openner to a new place. The landscape is similar to southern CA but the temperature is much different. The fellow volunteers here come from all over the nation representing states such as Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, Tennessee, and New York to name a few. Everyone is great and excited about serving. Today was our first day of class, which covered saftey, health, and culture. Malian culture is different in many ways but their hospitality towards others is genuine as they will help out perfect strangers. Their humor is suprising with sarcasim a commonality. We have a few more training sessions to do then we head to live with our host family for two weeks. Before we make the transition, we will learn Bambara in order to help integrate with local communities. Mosquitos are here but not in the numbers i was expecting, which i am really happy about because mosquitos seem to really like me. We spent the 4th of July at the Americans Club which was interesting going to such a nice place after living a day in our training site.
Ok, animals i have seen. There hasnt been much but a gecko in the nyagan (litreen) and the biggest moth i have ever seen. Birds are common but can't really make out any so far. Oh and toads are here as well and they constantly hunt at night around the huts.
Training has been 80% of our day with breaks for lunch, vaccines and the occasional jam session with other volunteers in the site. A lot of work in a little time to prepare for service. We focus on customs the most, especially in an islamic country. Things like not using your left hand to greet someone, looking away from elders when meeting them, and eating ediquet are much different than US customs. This will take some getting used to but interesting challenge to abide by local customs. And my french is blah so i need much practice parle francias. Wish me luck.
A plutat,
Geoff
"these words are my own interpretation of events and in no way represent Peace Corps in any way"
I'm gonna try to be your french pen pal. Everything I write will be what i have learned and may not all be grammatically correct. I will correct it as much as I can.
ReplyDeleteBonjour mon amie! Vous mange du pain?
:-D