Reflection: Language Learning

As Training comes to an end, I thought it might be appropriate to reflect on what has made up such a huge part of our lives over the past few months: Learning Bambara

I  certainly did not realize how challenging it would be to start from the ground up. When I studied abroad during undergrad, I traveled to France having studied the language for 4 years in high school and 5 semesters in college. Sure, my conversational skills were lacking, but I had a huge base of vocabulary and structures buried somewhere in my head which I could refer back to if need be. I remember feeling how mentally exhausting it was to speak a foreign language constantly all day. Yet, in France, I started at a level where I could have relatively intelligent conversations with my host family and professors about culture, politics, classes, and daily activities. Here in Mali, this simply was not the case. Peace Corps only gave us one language session (Good Morning, How are you?, How is your family?) before dropping us into Homestay with no one to translate and a whole boatload of culture shock to deal with.

One huge shocker for me was that no one in my host family spoke French. I had come to Mali with the impression that it was a Francophone country and if you had asked me before I left, language was the last thing I was worried about. But then on that very first night in homestay, 2 months ago, I kept asking “Est-ce qu’il y a quelqu’un dans la famille qui parle francais?” (Is there anyone in the family that speaks French? and all I got were blank stares in return. I later learned that though French is the national language, most Malians don’t start learning it until grade 3 and can’t really speak it unless they’ve been to high school, which is often not the case unless you grew up in a bigger city.

Bambara itself was hard to wrap my mind around. In Bambara, one word will often have 3 or 4 meanings, which you have to guess based on context. For example, ba means mother, goat,  river, and respected man. Go figure. On the other hand, once you have the basics down you can probably guess the more complex words just by combining some simple ones. i.e. School = Study place, Diarrhea = stomach running, cafeteria = eating place, rain = sky water, etc. Ironically, it was this simplicity that sometimes made things very confusing for us.

Yet, little by little, we were forced to pick things up. It started with the practical vocab like “lunch” and “bathroom”, followed by phrases like “I’m going to school. See you later.” And having language class 8 hours per day, it was easy to start forming simple sentences. We were so excited when we finally had something to say to break that awkward heavy silence that sometimes hung in the air as we sat with our families at night.

Now, 2 months into homestay, we have only just barely reached the point where we can have a coherent conversation in Bambara about health, nutrition, or agriculture. However, we have also only just gotten to know our families well enough where they trust us enough to care about our weird western advice. Now as we leave for site next week, we have been told that our main job for the first 3 months is language acquisition and integration. Of course Jim and I have some mini projects planned as well, but homestay has really emphasized to me that it truly is important to get to know you community and be able to communicate BEFORE you try to make changes. So for all of you reading along and hoping to hear of us saving the world in the next few months, be patient :) We’ll be continuing language learning and hoping to build a strong relational foundation for the first few months at site before getting any bigger projects underway.

 

~Joye

Update: Last Week of Training

Good day everybody. Quick update from Mali.

As of yesterday, we have completed our homestays and initial language training! This means two things: 1) Joye and I no longer have to live apart in different villages, and 2) We only have one week left of Peace Corps training! Both are great news.

For the next week though, we still have more training sessions related to health, safety, and culture. Then, on Friday morning, we will go to the American Embassy to officially swear-in as Peace Corps volunteers. Following the ceremony, we will be able to spend the night in Mali's capital Bamako. We're doing something special, since it is so close to our one-year anniversary, but we'll save the details for later. :)

However, quickly reflecting on the past two weeks, our last stint at homestay was great. Our language continually improved, our host families were already familiar with our habits and daily routines, and therefore, we were able to accomplish things that we could not have done even a few weeks before. For example, Joye was able to buy the ingredients for and cook American spaghetti, and we were both able to get clothing tailored out of Malian fabric. Moreover, after many conversations, I was able to convince my family that America isn't all gold and glitter, which I consider a huge victory. And then, after fasting with them for one day (since this month is the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan), I was able to converse with my family about the similarities and differences between Islam and Christianity in an entirely friendly manner. In short, whereas we have spent the last two month learning about Malian culture from our host families, in the past two weeks were finally able to share some elements of American culture in return.

However, while we both loved our homestay families, we have concluded that homestay training was much like high school - we leave with a few close friends, but overall, we are ready to move on. So after exchanging phone numbers with my host family, I hopped aboard a Peace Corps van and was taken back to Tubaniso, our training facility / summer camp. We believe that our training was successful, both culturally and linguistically, and we are thrilled to be leaving for our site soon, where our work can finally begin.

Thank you for keeping with us! We will write again soon!

-Jim

Pictures: Site Visit

 

                                          

(1) Jim Eating To, the traditional Malian dish, People say that after you have been here for a few months you get used to it, but let’s just say we’re excited to start cooking for ourselves.

(2) Joye getting water for her evening shower from the pump.

 

 

 

  

(1)We had a bit of time on our hands during Site Visit so Joye gave Jim a much needed haircut.

(2) The final product:  Not bad for her first time ever cutting someone’s hair! ;)

 

 

The BEAUTIFUL mango tree in front of our house!

 

On a hill looking over the regional capital. Since its rainy season, everything is so green!

Update: Site Visit

Hey Everyone,

 

We just got back from Site Visit and are VERY excited about our placement! This is really the first week where we have been pretty much on our own instead of being carted around with Peace Corps vehicles and staff to translate and give directions. Therefore, it was very exciting as well as very challenging.

Our House: A 2 room mudbrick house with cemented walls, a tin roof, and a nyegen. We live in the teachers area so it is on the outskirts of town and overlooks some beautiful fields. We also have a huge mango tree right out front so we’re very excited for mango season to co me around! We also have a hanger outside to give us a place to sit in the shade. Finally, our village is building us a wall around our yard so that we can have more private space.

Our Village: A small village of about 2000 people. So far everyone has been very welcoming and seems very excited to have us here. It is quite a bit off the main road but once you get there, we love that our village is very clean and picturesque—unlike some of our homestay villages. Another perk is that we also have a very large market once/week in our town where we can buy almost anything we want. This is a huge difference from some villages where you cant find any fruits or veggies whatsoever! We discovered upon arriving to site that everyone in our village speaks another local language-different from the Bambara which we have been learning. However, men and most women can also speak Bambara, so we are going to continue with Bambara for a while but this just means  that we can’t communicate with any of the children for the moment. Another huge plus is that our local mosque does not have a loud speaker, so we are not woken up at 4:30am every morning with the call to prayer. YES! Our village does have a small protestant church too! So we plan on attending once we move in.

Our Banking Town: In Peace Corps, a banking town is the town with a post office, bank, and internet access, where  you go 1-2 times/month to connect to the outside world. Most people use a larger city or regional capital, but since all these things exist in the town 12K away (1.5 hours by bike) where Jim will be working, Peace Corps has designated this as our banking town.  Unlike our village, our banking town has internet and electricity and is the center for a lot of government buildings: Mayor’s Office, Ministry of Education’s Teacher Training facility. etc. We spent one day walking around this city with our homologues and introducing ourselves to all the “big-wigs” of the city and it looks like having this larger city close by will be a very nice complement to living in a small village.

 

Aside from seeing our village, we also had the opportunity to visit a sub-regional and regional capital and realized that we’ve actually traveled through a huge portion of Mali in the past week. It was nice to visit the cities that are smaller and cleaner than sprawling dirty Bamako but have the same amenities as most big cities. We even got to stay in a hotel one night with air-conditioning, a hot shower, and a toilet (no Toilet paper, but we brought our own :) ) !! After being here for 6 weeks this was a HUGE deal. So we now have only a few weeks left at homestay before we officially “Swear-In”  at the US Embassy on September 3rd and become Peace Corps Volunteers instead of simply Trainees. We’re really looking forward to moving to Site for good and starting to build relationships with the people we will be working with during our service. Thanks again for reading! Don’t forget to update us on what you are up to! We love hearing from home :)

Reflection: The Journey to Site

We had waited for it since deciding to join the Peace Corps: visiting our village for the first time in order to imagine more fully what our service will be.  Even after site announcement, it is one thing to see it written on paper, but another entirely to see your village, smell its air, and feel its dust on the pads of your feet.  It had already been a long agonizing journey, but our travels the day of site visit were possibly the most testing and grueling of all.

Deciding to join Peace Corps, applying for Master’s International, moving to Lansing…

We woke up at 4:15am and finished packing in the near dark. Joye and I both had our Peace Corps-issued mountain bikes, a medium-size backpack, and I also brought a large water filter.  Tired and wet with rain, we boarded a rickety bus leaving from Bamako along with our Malian counterparts. With our bags between our legs and the rain leaking through the roof, it was a tiring ride, and we were happy to be done with it past noon.

…filling out the application, writing eloquent essays, interviewing as a couple, waiting…

From here, a moderate industrial city, we boarded a shuttle bus. We rode with our bags on our laps and our bikes strapped carelessly to the roof. This lasted for a few hours, but as we crossed country, many pleasant changes occurred as well. The sun replaced the rain, and the landscape grew increasingly lush with thick grasses, taller crops, and more numerous trees. Around every turn in the narrow road lay a land more exciting and promising than before, so that our exhaustion was balanced by mounting anticipation.

…getting medical clearance, insurance, dental exams, fillings, eye exams, glasses…

Finally, after it seemed as if the bus could be no further from civilization, it found an three-way intersection and stopped. Minutes later, we had strapped the water filter to the back of my bike with a cord of nylon rope and we were ready to go. Joye’s counterpart led the way, taking us down the intersection’s fourth road, a dirt trail that headed into the bush. If we were not so busy grinning with sheer excitement, we might have noticed the clouds brewing just over our head.

…trips to the doctor, vaccination records, blood tests, express mail, waiting…

We should have seen it coming. Given our luck, it was inevitable and entirely predictable. Indeed, after one year of anxiousness and heartache, one month of Bambara language training, and twelve hours of uncomfortable travel, with only five kilometers to go, it began to rain. Or to literally translate the Bambara equivalent: the sky-water came, and it came big.

…getting approved, researching Mali, buying new skirts, tech,  footwear, raincoats…

Within minutes, the rain was stinging our faces, piercing our rain coats and backpacks alike. Then the water bullets were replaced with large pelting drops that soaked straight to the bone. At first it was refreshing, but it soon became apparent that it was not just a passing storm. I screamed out jokingly, “This is my nightmare!” but the nightmare had just begun.

…finishing school and research, two-weeks notice,  filing paperwork, settling finances…

The path narrowed as it fell in between large fields of millet, corn, and cotton. Soon, runoff from the farmland began to flow into and then fill the road ahead. Still, Joye’s counterpart led on, undoubtedly as drenched as we were, being continually attacked with water from both the ground and sky. I yelled to Joye, who rode in the middle, to make sure she was doing okay, and she turned to me with a big grin on her face. “I think we’ve invented a new sport,” she said. “River biking.”

…leaving our apartment, last church service, moving furniture, saying goodbye to friends…

However, very quickly, that joke wasn’t funny either. The entire path was a river, a flowing body of water that pushed against our progress. After a few tries at biking with the pedals submerging with every cycle, Joye’s counterpart decided we should walk. Mud to our shins, a flowing current through my hiking boots, and the soggy box of the water filter pathetically hanging from the bike rack like a loose tooth; this was a nightmare. Joye, too, was losing her patience, as her fabric wrap, now stained with mud, refused to stay tied about her. And yet, we both needed no encouragement. With resolute determination, we proceeded.

…packing our bags, hugging our families, takeoff from Detroit, Philly, touchdown in Mali…

It took us an hour and fifty minutes to cover what we later discovered to be a forty-five minute ride. By the time we arrived, back on the bikes, darkness had covered the fields surrounding our small village, but still, the rain did not cease. It was enough for Joye to revise her sport to “Midnight Mystery River Biking,” because in the dark, we were very much blind. In fact, I hardly noticed Joye’s counterpart signaling to dismount, not because we needed to trudge on foot, but because, at long last, we were there.

…going to homestay, living in separate villages, eating tough meat, learning the language…

Therefore, our first intake of our new home was not one of quiet contemplation or giddy enthusiasm, but rather that of two wet and dirty vagabonds desperately looking for shelter. But as we shrugged off our soaked clothing, we knew that we had done it – passed the final test, overcame the last obstacle. But we did not do it alone. Joye’s counterpart biked with us and two villagers on motorcycles carried our baggage part way. Friends did us favors, gave us encouragement, and our families fully supported a decision they never quite understood. And from before the beginning and through the storm, God was watching over us. We all did it, together. More than a year after we began, we got Joye and I to our site.

…bus from Bamako, shuttle to the bush, and biking to our site as the sky-water fell.

-Jim

Update: Assignments & Counterparts

Another quick update from Mali.

Along with information revealing our site for service, we also recently recieved what are intended assignments are. However, Peace Corps encourages volunteers to take up many projects outside of their assignment, so these are by no means are only work for the next two years. Rather, they are a guideline on where help is needed and where we may get started.

Joye's Education sector assignment is pretty vague: it is to spread awareness about the importance of education, increase female student enrollment, and work with youth in community development. However, our village also requested a Health Education sector volunteer, so there will be opportunities for her to fulfill this role in the community as well. Moreover, we know that we will be living in close proximity to the teachers, so this will allow Joye to integrate with them quicker, hopefully making her more effective at accomplishing her upcoming work.

Jim's assignment is a bit more specific, but there is a catch. He will be working with a tailor's association on improving their income-generating activities, including artisan craft and tree sapling production. So really, it will be a mix of both the Environment sector and the Small Business Enterprise sector, which is exciting. The catch is that the association is in a larger village 14k (1.5 hr bike ride) away from site, meaning that he will not be there everyday. However, there will be opportunities to work on-site as well, including starting a community garden and improving food security in the local area.

Yesterday, we also had our first conversation with our counterparts, Malians who have volunteered to "show us the ropes" during the first few months of site as well as be our business partners as we seek to fulfill our assignment. This involves a huge time committment from them and we are really grateful. Joye's counterpart is a farmer from our site village who may sit on the local school board, while Jim's counterpart is a tailor and a tree farmer who is part of the association. Joye's counterpart does not speak French (how ironic), so all of our first conversation was exclusively in Bambara! We impressed both our counterparts and ourselves, but we may have exhausted all of our vocabulary, making future conversation very difficult.

Which is a bummer becasue we will be travelling with them for eight hours on the way to our site tomorrow morning. But thankfully, they will be there to make sure we get on the correct bus, transfer to the correct car, and then find our way by bike to our new home. Our counterparts will also make sure we are healthy and secure, introduce us to community leaders throughout the week, and take us to our village's Wednesday market. It will be an exhausting, yet exhilarating week, and we are very much ready for it.

Plan on seeing another post on our site visit in a little over a week's time. Until then, thank you for reading, and please be sure to leave us a comment or question below!

Reflection: Chicken Tacos

Two days ago, we made chicken tacos. For eight Peace Corps trainees still learning to speak Bambara, it was a colossal challenge, but we did it in four hours. First, we went to the market and bargained for the ingredients. Next, we beheaded, plucked, and broiled a rooster. Following, we kneaded and fried flour and water into tortillas. We pulled bugs from and subsequently cooked an enormous quantity of beans. And we chopped up various vegetables, some from our own garden plot, and seasoned these to make our own salsa. The result was undeniably the freshest culinary masterpiece my testy tongue has had the privilege of tasting. And coincidently, it was a nearly perfect analogy of the second part of our homestay experiences.

The Tortilla – Language: A tortilla is rarely flavorful, but it is required to hold all of the taco’s ingredients together. So it is with learning Bambara. As the initial excitement of learning an exotic language wore off, Bambara classes became increasingly tedious. However, during training, it is probably the most important skill we can learn. This is because none of our other knowledge will be useful if we are unable to communicate. While at first, the new verb tenses and vocabulary fuddled together our mind, by the end of this homestay stint the gears were clicking and our next challenge is primarily vocabulary, not structure. In fact, according to our verbal language testers, my Bambara is already better than my French, which is some feat considering that I spent six months studying French at Michigan State, but only one month with Bambara here in Mali. Soon, we will write a post exclusively about this language.

The Chicken - Technical Sessions: The delectable chicken is the flavor, and quite literally the meat, of a chicken taco, and the sessions in which we taught new technical skills provided this base to our upcoming service. But like the scant meat found on our poor rooster, there have not been too many technical sessions since language has been our primary objective. For Joye, who is in the education sector, some highlights have been a session in Bamako on tangible USAID projects in Mali as well as another about how to paint a surprisingly detailed world map mural. In the environment sector, I thoroughly enjoyed our sessions on the Moringa tree – the greatest plant God ever graced the world with – and the benefits it can provide to malnourished Malian families. In fact, the day before we made the chicken tacos, we presented to a group of women about the Moringa tree (in Bambara!), which was a tremendously rewarding experience.

The Beans – Culture: Beans are the obvious choice to represent our continual education of Malian culture because Malians would have nothing to chat about, if not for bean jokes. Claiming that someone eats beans is not only hilarious for children, but for adults as well, and has been a great and easy way to integrate with our homestay families. Furthermore, beans play a difficult role in a chicken taco; not enough and there is no stuffing, but too much your taco is oversized and bland. Similarly, we have found that our homestay experience has become easier as we learn to balance how much of Malian culture we can take at a time. Additionally, we have learned more effective ways at managing our intake of culture. For example, I have now learned how to say “Don’t say that!” after ten children chanted “Tubabu, Tubabu!” as I attempted to blend in and walk solemnly in a funeral procession. Joye experienced this too after she got her braided by her neighbor and found that Malian braids do not flatter white women. Our host families have also learned when to give us personal time, which has made this homestay session easier as well.

The Salsa – Fun: A taco’s salsa is its zest and spice, and certainly, moments that we set aside this homestay to have fun were able to sustain us through some of its duller times. For instance, Joye and I went on a relaxing bike ride around my host village, where we saw a canal, miles of vast rice fields, and a mango grove. Afterward, she spent the night at my concession, and my host family had a riot chatting with us in Bambara and French. The following morning, we went to Bamako along with our Peace Corps training team to visit the Malian history museum and enjoy some time at a hang-out with more Westernized food. We have also had an increasing amount of fun with our homestay families, which we know will only make it more difficult to leave their homes in a few weeks.

Thank you for your readership, support and prayers. Please feel free to give us feedback or ask any specific questions about our experience in the comments section.

Writing again soon, Jim

Pictures: Homestay Part 2

As promised, here’s a photo journal of our past few weeks.

Jim’s concession (a walled area which is the equivalent of a Malian “front yard”) during a downpour.

 

A view of the rice fields near the Niger river on our bike ride along the irrigation canals.

 

 

Jim, holding the chicken they ate for dinner, moments before its death.

 

Joye’s Bambara class takes place at the local school. In Peace Corps Training, they keep the groups under 4 students so we get a lot of practice speaking.

 

Joye and her host brother at homestay.

Update: Site Announcement

Hello Everyone!

We’re very excited because we just got back from another 2 weeks of Homestay and have just gotten our site assignment! We are going to be in the Sikasso region which is in the south east of Mali. This is one of the cooler regions of Mali and has been described as the “breadbasket” of this country. So we are very excited about being somewhere where we have access to fruits and vegetables on a somewhat regular basis. According to the info we were given, we are in a small village but are within biking distance of 2 fairly large towns.  But at the moment we don’t want to say too much about our site because we want to visit it first!

We will be at Tubaniso for a few days before going to Site Visit for about a week to check out where we will be living, meet the host community, and start to make preparations for service! We will be sure to update you with pictures, etc. as soon as we get back from site visit!

Also, we’re in the process of writing our blog for the 2nd part of homestay so look forward to that coming soon! Thank you all so much for your prayers, email, and support!