Thursday, August 26, 2010

Walking home

Well, its week 2 in Africa and school is under way. Now its time to adjust to culture and begin to understand where we live and what really is happening around us (the school is a little happy bubble that I intend to step out of as often as possible).
On Wednesday Ed and I decided that we wanted to walk home from the school. Usually we take public transportation -a van system called the sotramas -or taxis, but to really get our bearings we wanted to walk and see what we are missing as we zoom blindly by.

The first half of the walk was figuring out where a safe place to walk would be. There are no such things as sidewalks, only roads and motor car lanes. On the side of most places, however, are dirt areas that we can walk on, but that does not guarantee the safety of the pedestrian, mostly because motor scooters may try to pass and tend to weave on and off the road. Quickly we figured out that the best way is to be alert and be ready to do a lot of dodging- kind of like the video game frogger. As we continued along, we were both getting quite warm, I remembered the gas station with ice cream!
During our walk, Malians would greet us or yell out to us -toubabo- or the word for white person in bambara. We would smile and wave and I typically mumble something that could sound friendly back to them. At one point a man walks up to Ed and shakes his hand and starts asking questions in Bambara. Ed gave the typical "huh, no bambara or French, only English" statement and the guy switched to his limited English. The jist of the conversations was "Hi, Im Alex. I work right here. If you ever need anything, come find Alex. Bye". I was laughing at the guys friendliness and the randomness of "if you need anything, come find me". We walked away laughing and enjoying the humor of the situation.

We eventually reached the gas station and got our ice cream, then realized that an ATM and grocery store are also nearby so we decided to stop. ATMs are found in little rooms outside of banks-and are refreshingly air conditioned. Ed withdrew his money and we were about to leave when an African man walked into the booth with us. I was a little sketched out, but he looked rather frazzled and said he needed help withdrawing money. I glanced at Ed and we decided we would at least see if there was anything we do- but I stood by the door ready to bolt if it got sketchier.

Apparently the man is from Senegal and needed to catch a plane home that night. He is diabetic and needed insulin, but his bank card wasnt working, and he lost his wallet in a taxi. He said he didnt want money, just to see if we could help. (I have to pause and laugh at this because he wanted help from the tu-bobs who have only lived in the country for less than 2 weeks) Anyway, he asked if we could go to the pharmacy with him and maybe get him the insulin he needed. Ed looked at me and asked what we should do (mind you, because this is Africa, up until this point I was ignored during the whole discussion-which helps because I can watch and gauge the situation). I told Ed lets see what happens, just do not give any real contact information or let him know how much money we have (which really wasnt much).

We left with the guy and walked up the road about a mile to the pharmacy. He entered and started asking for insulin. They brought out a pack of five and it was 60,000 CFA (which is $120). We said there was not way we could do that, we dont have that kind of money. The guy said he understood, but do we have any friends we can get a hold of to help out? At this point, we realized that this situation was not going to have a happy ending- we would not be able to pay, nor did we want to give him any money. We both stated we have no phones (a lie) and we dont really know anyone-we havent lived here very long (truth). Ed decided to leave him with an email address (fake) and we asked if we could pray with him for this situation-which we did. Finally we walked away and continued on our journey home.
We back tracked to the grocery store and as always, enjoyed wandering around gawking at the random food. We were both pretty hungry and grabbed some pasta and sauce to make for dinner. We left the grocery store and proceeded to the old bridge- which we have to cross to get to Eds house. Neither of us had realized how long the bridge is or how fun it is to people watch. We walked over the Niger, busting out our cameras for the first time, and took pictures of the river as well as what we can see of the city. (I will post these eventually).

We made it to Eds house no problem. VICTORY in navigating the streets of Bamako, because it can be very confusing. The journey took just over 3 hours- which if done without stopping would be only an hour and half. I was fun to walk the streets, greet the people, and smell more of the city. Its been fun exploring and jumping into life overseas. There is so much that is hard, but so much that is interesting. I am relishing this "honeymoon" stage of cultural adjustment- because I know I will have hard days as well. But for now things are exciting, sunny and full of interesting stories.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Its the weekend!

Saturday morning is here!

I have survived my first week of school and am still smiling! Teaching is hard- not just because you have to know what you are doing- but in my class of 5 students there are so many ability levels that I want to ensure each student is pushed to excel in their interests and strengths.

I have one student who speaks no English, which adds an extra level of challenge! I have had to find creative ways to explain what the assignment is and describe information. It took two days to figure out a French/English dictionary would be important! (doi!) but she is quick to learn and works really hard so I am excited to see her grow and progress.

(Random side note: My room mate has a phycho cat that is currently meowing from the outside window! Its outside mostly, but when it is inside it tends to nuzzle my feet and lick them... weird!)

A few tidbits of life in Bamako-

*poverty is everywhere- yet it doesnt always appear so. Unlike big citites I have lived in before, all economic classes of people live together. My apartments would be upper middle class, they are across the street from tin shacks, next to mud house, but down the road is a mansion. There is no real "dodgy" area of town-it is all mixed in.

*People live in the streets. One person described to me that the house is the bedroom and the street is the kitchen and living room. Everything happens outside- cooking, washing clothes, bathing, watching TV, visiting etc. At night people go inside and sleep- but besides that most activity happens out doors.

*That being said- Bamako is extremely safe. I have walked around alone at 10pm- most people will say hi or smile at you, then let you be on your way.

*Its Ramadan- For Muslims it is the time of year where they fast for 40 days- eating only after dark. I dont yet know what that means to the life in Bamako, because I have not yet seen non-Ramadan life. Some things I do notice is the lack of people around in the morning on our walk to school, around 5pm taxi drivers get really grumpy, and the call to prepare food is heard at odd hours of the night (I think its the 4am call). Remember to be praying for the Muslims in this time and the believers who are reaching out with the love of Christ.

Some things to be praying for:
-Good rest! This coming week is a full week of teaching!
-Healthy connections with each of my students as well as their families.
-General health as I am adjusting to a warmer climate and different foods. So far I have not gotten sick! Praise the Lord!
-Time to reflect and meditate on the Word. Life is busy and packed, especially as I am trying to learn and adjust quickly.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Day 3... not 30

I have been in Mali for 3 days now, yet it has been so packed with school orientation, getting luggage, visiting people in their homes and trying to sleep, I feel like I have lived here 30 days! That being said, I am doing fantastic. I have decided to share a few random stories.

1- Tonight after dinner, my roomate Hilary and I walked to get ice cream.... from a gas station! No kidding, we walked up to what should be a gas pump and ordered some vanilla and strawberry soft serve! it was delicious!

2- This morning the guard at the school tried to teach me some bambara. But spoke so fast, i was completely lost and stuttered like a cool kid! Thankfully i had some other teachers write up the words so i can try!

3- School starts tomorrow bright and early (7:30) I have already met one of my students and had dinner with his family! I am excited to meet the rest of my students and start in the classroom routines!

4- In Mali I cant tell the difference between goats and sheep. Yesterday I was in a car and made a comment about the darn goat that was in the way (I was feeling my Polk Country Fair days come back to me). I was corrected to be told it was a sheep... but dont feel bad- they look exactly the same except for the ears. WHO KNEW?

Well, lots more has happened. My French is improving- as in I knew nothing and now can say 4 words. I do pick up a lot when I listen to conversations and feel good reading menus and such. I will be excited to start some official language study at some point- but right now my goal is to survive day one! Here is a picture from my classroom! I will try to post more eventually- it just takes forever!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

up up and away

I have made it to the East coast- DC to be exact. I was able to get some sleep on the flight over and am now chilling for my last few hours in the United States.

I found out upon my check in with Ethiopian Airlines that their carry on allowance is only 15 pounds. Since I am accustomed to US flights, I am 20 pounds over. Thankfully, that seems to be a normal occurrence and they just went ahead and checked my carry on in at no extra cost. I just pray that none of my luggage is lost- for I will be clothes less!

Another interesting tidbit is peoples reaction when they see that I am going to Bamako, Mali. The check in lady in Seattle didnt seem to know where that was. The check in guy for Ethiopian airlines gave me a look that said "you're crazy" partially because I am so white, and partially because he realized I have 25 hours of flights (not including layovers). Oh, well! Its just part of the adventure!

Well just wanted to update you guys- and now am in desperate need of food!!! Thanks for all your prayers and the next time you will hear from me I will be in AFRICA!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Bamako Christian Academy!

Here is a letter from some parents whose children attend BCA! Gets to the heart of the school and why I am so excited!

BCA is a crucial ministry in Mali, working not only for the students, but their parents as well. While it may not be considered a "front lines" type of ministry, there are many "front-liners" who would not be able to function without it! We recently faced the possibility of having to close next year due to a lack of teachers, and we were all reminded once again of how very important our school is.

There are very limited educational options in Mali. Public school is in no way an option, as the teaching standards are extremely low, and our students would not receive an education that would allow them to integrate into an American or European system afterward. That leaves the American school, which is extremely expensive (about $12,000 per student per year without financial aid). If not for BCA, homeschooling would be the only reasonable option for many families. We ourselves are comfortable homeschooling, but it is not everyone's "cup of tea." Before BCA opened up, there were in fact some families facing the possibility of having to leave the ministry in Mali. In short, BCA is extremely important to families working in Mali!

Monday, August 2, 2010

Numbers of my life!

10 Days left in the USA. My estimated departure date is August 10! I have not yet purchased my airline ticket, due to delays in accounting at the mission, but I am ready to go.

86% of my funds are in officially. I have another 12% in the mail-which will allow me to purchase my airline tickets. I am still in need of $25 a month or a special gift of $300.

1400 miles driven in my car in the last week- I have been all over the NW saying goodbye and spending quality time with friends and family.

19th of August my students show up in my classroom for the first day of school!

XX?? of partners praying for me, supporting me and allowing God to move actively in this process! THANK YOU!