Meet the family

Friends,

I am off to home stay, which is 2 weeks living with my host family and learning Bambara and Malian culture. We live with a family and try to integrate with them by asking mun don (what is) and pointing to things trying to get a grasp of the language. I will not be back until the 21st so no blog until then, however the blog after will be loaded with goodies. This, told by current volunteers, is the most challenging part of the service as it calls on you to live with a host family without real comprehension of the language. We basically sit there with our family and feel eachother out, learning from one another. During home stay, we will get more language as the two weeks are fulfilled. We have been eating like Malians, using our hands (right only) to eat food, dressing in business casual all day, and learning about cultural fopahs to help us succeed at this point. Language will be big. We learned some stereotypes that Malians think of when they see americans. One is that we are dirty. Malians clean their face, feet, and hands 5 times a day, taking showers 2-3 times a day. So yes, we are dirty compared to Malians.
Ok off to bed as tomorrow is a big one. see you in two weeks.

Kan Ben,
Geoff

"these statements are my own and in no way reflect the Peace Corps Mission, Goals, and Operations in any way"