Krystal's Newsletter

[Nate L]

In the beginning....
On Sunday we departed for the three hour drive from the capital city,
Bamako, to our small village, Kangaba.  Emerging from the hustle and bustle
of city life into the vast land of greenery was an experience hard to
forget.  In describing it I would have to say it was much like the
stereotypical Africa you think about.  Small mud huts with thatch
roofs.  Young half-naked children stopping to stare at the "tobabo"
(whites).  When waving at them from the window, huge smiles come across
their faces as they yell to us in Bambara.  There were lots of donkey carts
that we passed along the road, and herds of cattle or goats to maneuver
around. The road was red dirt, and as it is rainy season now, there were
many grooves and ruts to dodge around as well where water would wash
through.  For the beginning of the journey there was a mountain range to
our right, the west (i think).  It was gorgeous.l  At one point we stopped
to take pictures of the one water fall.  Later we turned away from them and
then it was flat land, but very green.  Occasionally we would pass by small
wooded areas where the government had proclaimed it to stay untouched, or
Mango groves, or rice fields. A few times we had to drive through water,
but for the most part the road was dry.
We arrived to Kangaba around 1:30pm and had lunch.  Kangaba's population is
around 5,000 however it feels much smaller because at least half of the
population are children.  If all the village was lined up oldest to
youngest, the medium age is 17. The women here get married young and have
approx. 7 children each.  The mortality rate here is pretty high also,
approx. 1 in 7 children die. Malaria being the main cause of them dying. So
basically, about every mother here has experienced a death of a child. I
can't even imagine the pain they experience.

After eating our lunch at the Curry house (it was SPAGHETTI!! Spaghetti in
Africa...who would have thought :o)) we met Papa Camara-our host and the
head religious leader here in Kangaba. He is called an Imam (E-Mom).  He is
a tall, skinny, elderly man, in his seventies.  I took to him right
away.  One thing that is hard for us SMs to get used to is not looking the
men in the eyes.  We are constantly struggling with looking up and then
around and then down and around again and it can be a challenge.  But any
ways, Papa Camara seemed happy to see us.  He greeted us and
smiled/chuckled often.  We then moved into our mud huts. I am sharing a hut
with Tennille, another SM.  The other girl is staying close by in one of
her own.  In our hut we have a foam bed, a fan, and an armoire.  Colors
here are pretty bright and decorative.  My mosquito net is hot pink, and my
roommate's is florescent green LOL. Moving in was HOT and sweaty.  In the
rainy season the temp. gets up to the 90's mostly.  (its rainy season to
about Feb., the coldest time of year being Dec. when it CAN get down to the
60's SOMETIMES ) In these last two days it has been HEAVEN though as it has
stormed and stayed overcast.

We were lucky that day because in the Camara courtyard a party was going
on.  It was something of what we would call in the states a baby
dedication. Here they call it denkundi. On the eight day after a child is
born, its head is shaved and they are then Muslim.  Women are hired to come
and sing, dance, and play the ji filen, we call it a "woman drum" or a
"water drum". It is a overturned wooden bowl in a bucket of water.  They
beat on the bottom of the wooden bowl with wooden spoons and their hands to
create different noises. Woman aren't suppose to play the normal drum they
have here (the Jembe).  As soon as we walked over, they gave us front row
seats.  We, of course, break out our camera's and camcorder's and
immediately we are surrounded with children.  A couple times other women
would start yelling at them to leave us alone, but they mostly just wanted
to stair at us and look at themselves in the digital camera.  A little
later on in the celebration, the women dancing motioned for us to come
dance with them, so we did.  And they laughed at us while we feebly tried
to move our bodies like they were.  We had asked the Curry's earlier if
this was something we could do, and they had okay'd it as it was not an
animistic ritual or the like.  We provided some entertainment anyways for
them.  Later we paid them for the honor of letting us dance with them.

It is customary here for visitor's to adopt a new name while here.  Later
in the day we met with Papa Camara (on our choice) to have him give us
names.  I am now Asita Camara.  Named after his daughter.  The other two
girls were also named after his daughters.  They have an interesting custom
here where there are certain families who are called "laughing cousins"
with other families.  This means that we can joke around with them and are
not supposed to get angry if a joke is played on us.  If we do get angry,
they would say to us "you must not really be a Camara" Essentially, you're
mother must have had an affair"  So the big joke with being a Camara is
that we eat garbanzo beans. (or something like garbanzo beans
anyways)  When people ask our names, often times, if they are not also a
Camara they try to give us their last names, but we just laugh and say
sorry.  Kangaba is mostly filled with Camara's and Keita's.  A small
percent is all the rest.


Yesterday, we were able to visit the tailor and put in our order for what
we want made out of the fabric we got in the city.  Out of three girls,
there were about 3 dresses, 3 blouses, and 9 wrap skirts for him to make
and he said they would be ready to pick up on Wed.  That's two days.  We
were amazed. I am excited to start wearing some more traditional
clothing.  We also were able to stop by the Internet cafe they have
here.  The keyboards are French.

Fortunately, the heat hasn't been too difficult for me. I did notice that
it's hotter in the hut at night. My roommate pretty much has her fan in
with her under her mosquito net.

As far as meals and food goes here...the first two weeks being here are an
"immersion time" so each breakfast is provided by Papa Camara.  One
interesting thing here is there is really little or no conversation over
meals.  You eat, then leave.  Well anyways, breakfast is the same thing
every morning.  Its called Moni, and its a type of cinnamon-y liquid with
little bites of this soft dough, much like the texture of soggy rice.  It's
interesting.  It's not BAD really...just weird.  I can't really eat much of
it because of the taste being so strong.  Lunches are with another
Adventist family.  Yesterday we had cornmeal covered with a type of Onion
soup.  We sit in a circle around a bucket of this, and use our right hands
as spoons. We are not permitted to use our left hands because they are
considered unclean. Instead of toilet paper local people here use their
left hand. I had a hard time eating out of the same bowl as everyone else.
It's funny. Before coming here I had a hard time with people reaching over
my food and now they are diving right in! LOL  How do you say "hand
sanitizer" in Bambara?  :) We also had some banana's which are VERY
delicious.  We have been recently eating our suppers with the Curry family,
consisting mostly of a small meal of bread and fruit.  Today I think I'm
going to try out a local "restaurant."  The diet here consists mostly of
carbs, so its important to make sure we eat snacks of fruit.  I am able to
get filtered water from the Curry house, so that is nice and safe.  We also
soak foods in bleach.

It has only been two days now, since being in Kangaba, however it feels
longer.  It has been very fun and exciting, filled with many new
experiences and episodes of "I can't believe I'm in Africa!"  As I walk
down the dirt streets I see houses/huts lined up and down the road with
people sitting outside under canopies, donkeys roaming around, dogs and
chickens and an occasional goat.  Children everywhere.  It is sad to see
the small children, young infants, dressed in tattered clothing.  Trash
piles lie scattered around the village as well, usually off to the side of
the road.  My bathroom, when I'm not at the Curry's house is a small walled
cemented area with a small hole.  This is also where I bathe. With a bucket
and a cup (again when I am not at the Curry's). I had one of my culture
shock moment last night when visiting there and seeing cockroaches along
the walls and smelling the stench of urine.  But all the doesn't compare
with how I felt when I found a cockroach on my bed!!!  I have not yet taken
a shower that way yet.  In the morning, i have been exercising with Debbie
Curry at her house to a video, then I shower there. And on alternating days
I run with Nicole (the other SM) I do want to get in the habit though, of a
bucket shower.

It is challenging to remember not to take things offered with the left
hand, or point or motion...because the left hand is unclean.  Today, a
child offered Tennille his left hand, which is a great insult in the
culture.  She motioned to him and spoke to him showing him she knew what
that meant.  He ran away, yelling something unknown in Bambara.  If this
continues to happen, there is great consequences here to those who
disrespect visitors as it shows great dishonor to the people of Kangaba.

Well, this letter is getting quite long, so I better say "Ka'n Ben" for
now--until we meet again.

Thank you for your e-mails!  I love hearing from you.

Love,
Asita
(Krystal)