Travel: Food Joye Wants in America

Since we are heading home to Michigan for a few weeks in October, I recently suggested to Joye that it would be a good idea to make a list of all the foods we plan to have in America…just to make sure we don’t forget anything. This is what she came up with in 5 minutes.

Tim Horton’s toasted blueberry bagel with cream cheese

Slurpee(s)

Taco Bell ( Hard Taco & Crunch wrap supreme)

Arby’s curly fries

All-American breakfast w/sunny-side up eggs

Cap’n crunch and cold milk

A glass of pink lemonade with ice cubes

A medium-well steak and broccoli

Real Michigan Fish

Mom A’s Nachos

A BLT, pickle, and chips

Apple pie

Celery/Carrots with Spinach dip

Chicken tenders and Honey Mustard

Dr. Pepper

Cider and Donuts

Grapes, Raspberries, and Strawberries

Quality Dairy/MSU Ice Cream

An American salad with Caesar dressing

A GOOD burger

A hot and ready pizza…or better yet, a Hawaiian pizza!

Applebee’s Chicken fajita roll-up

Garden Salsa Sunchips

Barbecue Pork

Chinese Food (Egg roll, Egg drop soup, sweet & sour chicken, fried rice)

Doritos

A Turkey (and/or any deli meat) Sandwich

Anything involving Cheese

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Anyways, we just thought you all would enjoy reading about the food that we are fantasizing about while we are here in Mali :) We can’t wait to see many of you very soon and perhaps share some of these delicacies with you!

-James (& Joye)

Update: Two Trees in Two Weeks

Two trees that every Mali volunteer is familiar with, and most Americans probably are not, are shea and moringa. And since we have spent the last couple weeks teaching Malians about the many benefits of these two amazing trees, we thought that we should educate our wonderful readers as well.

Shea is native and exclusive to West Africa, but is most commonly found in Mali. Every rainy season, it produces a green pulpy fruit about the size of a large black cherry. The fruit itself does not taste very good, but it has been traditionally collected by women for its nut (the pit), which can be pressed into oil useful for household cooking. However, an emerging international market for shea oil (used for soaps, lotions, and medicines) has transformed this practice into a potential income-generating activity for rural women, IF they can adopt improved processing techniques.

For this reason, we (ourselves and two other volunteers) held a meeting in Duguba - where James works - open to all women interested in learning the new techniques. The main point: Don’t let the fruit rot in a hole before smoking them dry; a nut that is charred or already germinating produces a stinky and bitter oil. Instead, boil the nuts clean and then drying them in the sun. The result is purer oil that not only tastes and smells better, but also is also more sanitary. Twenty-two women came to our meeting – a great turnout for the farming season – and the information was also repeated on our weekly radio show.

The moringa tree, on the other hand, originates from India but is widely promoted in development for its tolerance for arid conditions and high nutritional value. A hundred grams of its leaves has more Vitamin C than 7 oranges, more Vitamin A than 4 carrots, more Potassium than 4 bananas, and more Calcium and Protein than 4 glasses of milk! Also, it’s seeds and pods are strong in fiber and can help with intestinal troubles, including bacterial infections and worms. Moreover, its deep taproot and little use of lateral roots means it can be planted in farmer’s fields without interfering with the topsoil needed for crops. And did I mention that it’s practically impossible to kill; a transplant that was ravaged by animals and withered to nothing just recently sprouted new shoots! We like to call moringa the “miracle tree.”

In order to encourage the planting and utilization of the moringa tree, for the past three weeks we have led lessons with a community group in Kongodugu (where Joye works). Before we shared the benefits of moringa, it was necessary to convince the group that malnutrition was a problem in their village and explain what proper nutrition looks like. So our first week we emphasized the importance of regularly consuming the three Malian food groups: energy foods (calories/carbs), construction foods (proteins/calcium), and protection foods (vitamins/minerals). This was completely new information for our villagers; mothers were shocked as we explained that their children’s bloated bellies were a “construction food” deficiency, NOT a sign that they were full and healthy. We continued the second week by charting availability of the three food groups on a yearly calendar in order to show which food groups were most lacking in the Malian diet (construction and protection), and illustrate how trees can provide a year-round food source. Finally, we introduced the moringa tree - both a construction and protection food – described its benefits, and demonstrated how to plant and cultivate it in our own demonstration garden. The class was excited to go home with a branch of fresh leaves and three seeds to plant themselves.

It seems so funny to us that just a year ago we had not heard of either the shea or moringa trees, and now they are essential to our work here in Mali. Hopefully, this post has given you a greater appreciation for these two obscure trees as well. As Malians say: “Tulo be taa kalanso don o don,” which can be most literally translated as “the ears go to school everyday.”

Thanks for reading!

-James (& Joye)

Update: Not Getting Stuck In The Mud

Rainy season can be a hard time for many Peace Corps volunteers. Since everyone in village is busy working in their fields, there is no time for projects, formations, or even regularly scheduled meetings. We kept the first half of our rainy season occupied with the following:

Tree Nursery Training: Probably the most exciting that happened in the past month is that James and his Malian counterpart went to a Peace Corps training at Tubaniso (summer camp) on how to start and manage a tree nursery. Not only can a tree nursery be a great small business, but more importantly, it encourages tree planting, a priority for Mali’s environment volunteers. Depending on the species, trees can provide shade, animal fodder, soil conservation, field protection, firewood, construction wood, raw materials for processing and – most importantly – food, especially during months where food is hard to come by. Therefore, to counter deforestation (cutting down too many trees), we urge villagers to plant and cultivate valuable trees, most of which can come from a well-managed tree nursery. A good nursery prevents the young saplings from being stunted by disease and also can graft young trees to expedite and maximize their fruit-giving potential. Not only did he learn way to much about trees, but it was also a great time to catch up with other volunteers who are working on similar projects. 

Presentations & Formations: As we mentioned, it is really hard to meet with groups during rainy season since everyone is working in their fields. But even so, we have managed to lead a few informational sessions with various women and discussion groups. In Duguba, we met with twelve women to teach them how to make mango jam and mosquito repellant. And just last week in Kongodugu, we spent two hours stressing how all people need to eat from Mali’s 3 food groups: energy foods (calories), construction foods (proteins), and protection foods (vitamins), and not just one or the other. We explained to parents that their children’s bloated stomachs are not proof that they are full, but is rather a symptom of protein deficiency (kwashiorkor), which is tough but important lesson to learn. We have also been keeping up with our radio show, now going 26 shows strong!

 

Gardening & Farming: With the rains comes more work in the garden. Not only have our veggies been growing quickly, but so have the weeds! However, right now (post-hot season) it is very difficult to find vegetables in market, so we are more grateful than ever for having the garden as a dietary supplement. Furthermore, after a particular boring day, Joye succumbed to the old wisdom of: “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” She went out and planted cotton with our neighbor for an entire day, from 10am to 5pm! We now tell our villagers that Joye farms while James cooks the meals; the men always laugh nervously.

  

Graduate School: Despite being in Africa, we have also been pursuing  post-undergraduate opportunities. As many readers know, James is currently writing his Master’s thesis in village in order to earn a degree in agricultural economics from Michigan State. This month, he began writing his proposal and began playing with the data collected from a survey he conducted in April with 50 households. Meanwhile, Joye has been applying to pharmacy schools and dutifully studying for the pharmacy college admission test (PCAT, the MCAT for pharmacists). For her, this has meant reading for an hour or more daily an Anatomy & Physiology textbook, which by the way, was a pleasure getting to our site. :)

Reading Russian Literature: Lastly, Joye just started “The Brothers Karamazov” and James “Anna Karenina,” so that should keep us busy for a few weeks at least.

Thanks for reading! – James (& Joye)

Reflection: Planting Cotton

Malians are ALWAYS laughing, and most of the time, they’re laughing at us. So last week, when my neighbor Fatimata stopped by, I did not take offense when she  yelled “Ashata, Why don’t you come help me plant my fields?” with a faked indignant look and then burst into peels of mocking laughter. They love teasing us about not being able to do what they consider to be the simplest of tasks. Normally, I would brush it off and make a joke back, but that day was different and something inside me (pride, boredom, stupidity...) thought… how dare you? “I’m busy today, but can I come tomorrow,” I replied. “Oh sure, always tomorrow,” she laughed. “No, seriously, what time will you leave?” I retorted. “In the morning.” she answered in a tone that said, ‘why would you ask such a silly question?’ Yelling a quick blessing she walked away shaking her head and chuckling at those funny tubabs.

So, needless to say, I got a pretty big kick out of the look on her face when, on the following morning, I showed up to her  house in work clothes, carrying my garden hoe and a day’s supply of water, and said “Are you ready?” After repeated objections  of “Ashata, you can’t be serious,” I finally convinced the women in the house that I WAS in fact serious and around 10AM we set out on foot for their fields, a mile from the village. They strapped their babies to their backs, put large pots full of “toh” for lunchtime on their heads and after all that had the nerve to say, “Ashata, you can’t carry that garden hoe for a mile, give it to me, I’ll carry it for you!”

We arrived and as the sun was getting high in the sky, we got to work immediately. We have had serious droughts lately, so much of the seed that was planted did not come up and Fatimata’s husband assigned us to replant a few hectares of cotton. This basically meant, bending over, chopping up the hard dry soil, dropping in 2-3 seeds and covering it up and moving on to do it again 2 feet down the row. Not so hard right? It took about 15  minutes of this work to wipe the ‘I told you so’ smile I’d been wearing all morning off my face. Really, what was I thinking? Its not that planting cotton required great muscular exertion, but as you plant in rows, you move in a crouched, bent position that makes your back and legs ache. I honestly don’t remember being that sore since doing speed workouts for cross country. I was also amazed at the coordination of these women who, even when I got the hang of it, were planting at twice the speed of myself.

We planted until 12:45 and with sweat poring down my face, and my shirt soaked through, we took a break for lunch.  As I sat down hungrily to eat my toh and sauce, I realized that despite the exhausting morning and the further embarrassment I had caused myself  by actually being pretty lacking in my cotton planting skills, I had had some great conversations with the women I was working with. They wanted to know if  Numudjo (James) had worked in my father’s fields before we got married, which led to discussions on arranged marriages, polygamy, and eventually children and nutrition. It had been especially rewarding because there had not been men present, which gave the women an opportunity to really open up to me.

The conversations continued over lunch when I discovered that Fatimata had lived in the Ivory Coast until she was 12 and she completely surprised me with detailed knowledge of how ‘tubabs’ live (Sure, educated Malians know a lot about the outside world. But educated Malians,especially women, are few and far between in my rural village). She began sharing about the white people in the Ivory Coast. “They always bought the melons I was selling.  We would just sit around and watch them sometimes and they were so funny. They LOVED carrots, green peppers, cabbage, potatoes, eggs, macaroni…and the mom would actually split up their food first and then give them each their own little portion on a plate. (Malians eat everything from one bowl) Then, they dug this hole in the ground, filled it with water, and put their kids in it.” Choking a bit on my toh, “um…excuse me? what?” “You know, they dug a hole. Then they put cement in it. They put water in the hole and then they put their kids in it.” “I’m confused and slightly worried about where this is going, are you talking about a well?” “No, they would play in the hole and swim in it.” “OHHHHHH……a pool.” I realized with relief. “They would have competitions for whose child could get from one end to the other the fastest,” she continued miming with her hands, “and they would only wear these little tiny pieces of cloth to cover here and here. Then, one day, I used their bathroom. It had this big device that you were supposed to pee or poop into and then if you pressed something, it would just take it all away! And high on the wall their was a pump and if you turned these things it could be hot or cold or whatever you wanted. It was so cool! You got so clean and it was awesome!”

We rested until 2pm and then, the temperature still around 90F, we went back out and planted for another couple hours. At about 5, one of the women saw that, due to exhaustion, I was having trouble still planting in a straight line and suggested we rest and go back. Its Shea nut harvesting season, so each woman filled a large bowl with Shea nuts and placing it on her head, and tying a baby to her back, we walked back to village.

However, the mood on the return trip was completely different from that morning. Instead of the proud “how dare you question my abilities?"’ attitude I came with, I had been humbled by the fact that these women do this backbreaking work every day for months during rainy season. They wake up at 5 to make breakfast, wash and dress their children, clean their concession, draw water, wash dishes, and make lunch before heading out to the fields. They work until late afternoon, only to come home and repeat their chores in preparation for dinner before they can have any time for themselves. Though I only spent part of one day doing their work, I gained a new kind of respect for them that you can only have through experience. Since it took my about 3 days get over the soreness in my legs and back, I think I learned my lesson and will never again so lightly volunteer to work in the fields. Still, it was a wonderful experience to have and I know that I’ll never forget the conversations I had that day.

~ Joye

Update: One Year

Dear family & friends,

One year ago, in the evening of July 3rd, Joye and I landed in Mali. That's right, we've been in Mali for 12 whole months! And though the country probably doesn't look or feel much different (given its the same time of year), our perspective certainly has. However, instead of taking this event as an opportunity to reflect on the last year of experiences, I would rather take the time to thank you for your continued love and support. Whether a care package, email, facebook wall post, or blog comment, many of you have kept our spirits high with your encouragement and continuous updates of life back home. We also want to thank all of you for reading our blog, whether regularly or occasionally, and we hope that you have enjoyed following our adventures.

Here are some other fun facts about our blog, thanks to the "Stats" tab (as of 6/2/11):
Number of post (including this): 76
Total number of pageviews: 9052
Top 3 most viewed posts: "Packing List for Mali," "Malian Food," and "Malian Fashion."
Countries where viewed (from most to least): USA, Mali, France, Germany, Canada, Brazil, Russia, UK, Israel, China

We are also happy our viewership has been fairly steady since we came to Mali a year ago, so again, thank you!

However, we would always like to know how to keep your attention. And now that we've been here for so long, it has become difficult to remember what Americans might interesting. So, if you have a second, please put a blog post topic suggestion in our comments session. Anything from aspects of Malian culture to certain perspectives we may have on social issues. All is welcome.

Lastly, for our readers who originate from the USA (who are the majority thus far), Happy Independence Day!

-James (& Joye)

Culture: Blessings

When you see the word “culture”, the first things that probably comes to your mind are food, clothing, language,  family structure, etc. However, the longer we live here the more we realize just how important some of the smaller nuances are to integrating as a respected member of  the Malian community. And one of those nuances (which is a greatly overdue blog post) is the culture of Blessings.

What do I mean by Blessings? Well, in Mali, every time you speak to someone almost about anything you end the conversation with a blessing which correlates to the content of your conversation. The blessing goes like this: “May God ________________?” And the blank could literally be anything: bless your family, give you health, make your harvest plentiful, find a solution, help us to get along better. Then the receiver responds with “Amina” or Amen, let it be so. Since the Bambara word for “God” is “Ala",  blessings are said by everyone, no matter the religion. Muslims say them referring to Allah, Christians say them referring to the Christian God, and animists say them….though Im not sure who they are referring to. Still, the idea is that after listening to someone’s problems, you always have something to offer them in return: a blessing.

There are classic blessings for every occasion:

Baptism: May God bless this child. May God give him a long life. May she have a peaceful life. May God keep him/her healthy. May God make sure he’s not a bean-eater.

Funeral: May he be with God soon. May her resting place be cool.

Wedding: May they spend a long time together. May they live together well. May they become as one. May God give them tons and tons of children.

Sickness: May God lesson your pain. May God heal your sickness completely.

Daily: May God give you a peaceful day. May God watch over us through the night. May God bring us the morning.

We’ve really grown to love this idea. Because in the states, how often are you listening to a friend or family member vent about a situation which is simply difficult and unfair, but totally out of your control to help? You may strongly empathize with the person, but its so hard to find words. For example, an acquaintance might say to you “Man, I’ve been sick for a week, my job has gotten stressful, and to top it all off, my car broke down!” “Wow, that's terrible,” you reply “Hope you get better, and it all works out ,” and if you’re religious, “I’ll pray for you.” But the wonderful thing about blessings is that they are prayer on the spot. “May God reduce your workload, restore your health, and get your car in running condition quickly!” “Amen,” they’d reply knowing that you cared and they had been heard. This doesn’t get you out of helping when you can, but no matter what your resources are, you always can give people blessings.

But if you read through the Bible, old and new testament, you’ll find that this practice is not exclusively a Malian tradition. Jews and early Christians practiced the bestowal of verbal blessings. “May God bless you and keep you. May His face shine upon you. May he grant you peace.” Yet, likely due to the secularization of American culture, its no longer in popular use, even among theists. I understand that atheists, agnostics, or simply those of a different religion, would probably not understand or feel comfortable participating.  Still I know that when I return to America, blessings will be one of the first things that I miss in everyday conversation.  Because even if the person on the receiving end of the blessing doesn’t share my beliefs, the bestowal of a blessing now seems so much more meaningful to me than my former “Hope you feel better.” Perhaps we will be able to continue the practice in the states, maybe at least among family or between the two of us. However, we will never forget the wonderful feeling that arises in us when a stooped elderly Malian women stops us in  our village with the most genuine of smiles and decides to pour blessings on us—sometimes for a full two minutes. Its those moments that make you question “how could I ever be frustrated or have an angry thought about this country when there such amazingly sweet people here?”

So in closing, I’ll leave you all with a few blessings. May God give you a peaceful summer. May He give you time to enjoy his beautiful creation. May He bring you good weather, working air-conditioners, and relaxation. May God give you time to enjoy a barbecue, or many barbecues, and to savor an ice cream cone on a hot day. May He bless your workplace, your health, and your family. and since its 4th of July soon, God Bless America!

Amina.

 

~Joye (and James)

Update: Malaria Prevention

As we have mentioned in previous posts, Rainy Season is upon us. And with the rain comes LOTS of bugs as well as a huge increase in mosquitoes and therefore malaria. Thus, we have recently been working to prevent malaria transmission in our village.

Firstly, since we fixed the pumps, we have been working with the Water and Sanitation Committee to dig a drainage pit at each pump. This is important because once the pumps are fixed, the area around it becomes extremely muddy because women will gather to wash clothes and dishes and will dump their water in the same place. As James recently described it to a villager, it becomes the ‘mosquito maternity’. So although we have been educating people about the dangers of standing water in our community, it is an important part of the pump repair project that we include covered drainage pits to reduce it.  This piece to the project has taken much longer than we hoped due both to the procrastinating “we’ll do it tomorrow” Malian work ethic combined with the speedy arrival of planting season. However, we are finally completing them as I write this post :) So hopefully we can have them covered before the next big rain.

The other activity that has taken up a good deal of time is teaching various community groups how to make a mosquito repellent cream from the leaves of the local Neem tree.  Though everyone knows they should sleep under a mosquito net, most Malians don't go to bed til 10 or 11 pm. Instead, they sit and chat with their family and neighbors for hours while the mosquitoes are out. So if people can start using mosquito repellent it could make a huge difference. And the recipe is simple: First, boil a few handfuls of leaves in 1 L of water. Next, cut up a bar of soap. Remove the leaves and add the soap. Stir until the soap is liquid.  Remove from fire. Add 8 balls of shea butter and stir until it cools and thickens to a cream. All done! 

In the past few weeks, we have taught a local literacy group in Kongodugu and a Women’s association in Duguba how to make the cream. Everyone we’ve trained has gotten very excited about the repellent because the ingredients are cheap and readily available, and they can make a small profit. This is also an exciting activity for us because it not only will prevent malaria in our village but since it will become a small source of income, the vendors have a vested interest in spreading the message about malaria prevention.  Some of the women have started selling it in our village market and its grown in popularity at a surprising rate. We constantly have people stopping by asking if we’re selling it and we are happy to direct them to their own neighbors who are now making weekly batches.

Lastly, we have been reinforcing all of the malaria prevention methods (reducing standing water, making mosquito repellent, sleeping under a mosquito net) on the Numujo and Ashata radio show :) Its a great way to start addressing the superstitions/misinformation people have about malaria (i.e. it comes from mangos, eggs, or food with too much oil) in a nonthreatening way.

Thanks for reading!

~Joye