Thanksgiving Musings

It doesn't seem much like Thanksgiving around here. There are no Hallmark cards, no turkey decorations, no supermarket endcaps filled with Stove-Top, and certainly no overzealous department stores with Christmas decorations up. The weather isn't even right, 98 degrees just isn't holiday weather.

I remember being in the 1st grade Thanksgiving Pageant at school. I was a pilgrim woman and my line, along with the rest of the pilgrim women, was "Mercy Me, Mercy Me!" (This, when I think about it, makes me wonder what kind of education I was receiving, as, if I remember correctly, the men had an equally sexist line espousing their bravery as a foil to the womens' lack there of. But I digress...) I also remember that I was quite upset I wasn't an Indian woman. Indian women had much cooler costumes. This was also the year I learned the story of Thanksgiving. Oh, yes, I know I heard the G rated story that left out the many atrocities and near genocide of Native Americans. Instead, I heard about the Mayflower, and the kind Indian named Squanto who helped the Puritans survive in their new home and taught them to make popcorn. Since 1st grade, I've rarely thought about the origins of Thanksgiving. It's more or less been a holiday to eat a lot with people you are related to (which for the Bailey's is a common event that doesn't even require an official holiday!)

I was thinking earlier today, as I dined on some delicious Thanksgiving fare at the Ambassador to Mali's house, about that first Thanksgiving. I didn't think about the Indians, the atrocities, or even the food though. I thought about the Pilgrims. I thought about what it would have been like to be far from home, to be in a foreign landscape, listening to an Indian tongue, trying to eek out a living in a world which is hostile simply because it is unfamiliar. Perhaps, for the first time in my life, I'm beginning to realize why holidays were invented at all.

As a stranger in a strange land I completely understand the need to to celebrate. Tonight as I sat in the home of the American Ambassador (our gracious host for the evening's festivities) I felt a kinship with a group of people who left home in search of a different life. They left to gain freedom, and in our most idealist of moments we PCV's leave home to give (and gain in our own transient way) freedom. Even on the best days in a foreign country you can't help but think about the home you left, the people you miss, the food you ate, and the security afforded by being surrounded by the familiar. Maybe we create these celebrations as a way of recreating the familiarity that we left behind. For just a moment we can join together as a "family" and momentarily shrug off our lonliness in favor of unity. So even with the warm weather and sorry lack of parades, Thanksgiving somehow manages to make me feel at home.

Enjoy Black Friday!

Gypsy on!

Birthdays, Hashes, and Thanksgiving

Hey Everyone

I had a great Birthday! I spent the day out with my friend Joost marking a trail for the Hash. Then, after the hash we had delicious food (pizza and pasta salad) with about 60 people! I have pictures!!!! Click Here

I also got SIX packages earlier this week (so my birthday basically is lasting all month hehehe). Thanks to my mom for all the awesome stuff and thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for sending me such great care packages!

The holidays are getting closer and I'm starting to make some pretty fun plans to celebrate. Thanksgiving I'll be travelling south to Sikasso to celebrate American style with a bunch of other Peace Corps Volunteers. Then for Christmas I'll probably go to the Dogon country, again to meet up with lots of other volunteers. If Thomas comes, he and I will probably spend Christmas here in Bamako though.

In local news:

While walking to the store the other day, I passed a small girl seated on a stool with another stool in front of her on which she had put several small bowls. In the bowls was a mixture of water and dirt. The child was happily mixing the dirt and water together and pulling assorted rocks and debris from another large bowl behind her and adding them to the smaller concoctions in front of her. At first I was confused at what she was doing, but I slowly realized the scene was very familiar. Every street corner in Bamako has a woman selling assorted fried food, rice and sauce, etc. This little girl was pretending. She was "cooking" food and pretending to be a street vendor. It reminded me of kids in the US with their plastic food toys, lemonade stands, and all their assorted games of pretend. Sometimes it's nice, in this crazy mixed up world, to know kids are kids are kids.

Gypsy on

oh ya, my cat is pregnant. the hussy.

A huge disappointment

the passage of measure 8 in california makes me very angry my absentee ballot didn't arrive in the mail in time for me to vote.  (i only used a federal write in ballot for president).  anyway, can we all just step back a minute and realize what a mistake we made.

prop 22 was passed (also banning gay marriage) awhile back and then the california supreme court overturned it saying it was unconstitutional because the California constitution requires that everyone is treated equal.

so brilliantly someone decided to amend the constitution so everyone ISN'T treated equally. so we let a majority vote decide that the minority can't be treated equally....isn't that what equal protection under the law is supposed to protect against?

we amended the constitution so we could treat people unequally.  really?  that struck us as a good idea?  unbelieveable.

can i also just point out that i can't give students a tylenol in class but we are passing laws that allow them to get abortions without informing their parents....that seems weird.  although, admittedly, someone mentioned to me "what if the girl is pregnant by incest or rape and they don't want to tell their parents for fear of further abuse?"  I hadn't thought of that, but i'm still not convinced.