For my momma

Well we had 4 weeks of class. That's a lot of work for Malians.....so the students went on strike. It is supposed to end and classes resume on thursday....we'll seeeee.

The GREAT news is that we bought Thomas' ticket today. I'm literally dancing around my room.

Momma sent me some valentine's candy and goodies. thanks mom. new valentine socks and undies. i have an unnatural obsession with holiday socks and undies. i just really enjoy the festive britches....makes me feel celebratory to have hearts/candycanes/pumpkins/four leaf clovers/etc. on my dereier. i can't spell in french...obviously. i can speak it, barely, but i can't spell. when i learned it here in Mali they only taught us orally, so we can't write in french at all. it's like being illiterate, kinda weird. Also included in said package was the prettiest apron i've ever owned. i dont' think i want to wear it in this country and ruin it!

Have i mentioned people carry goats on their motorcycles in the city? it's funny.

Racism is alive and well in Mali. For instance Malians insist that only people from the ivory coast and ghana steal things, never Malians. They also make white people pay more for everything. In addition they love yelling out peoples races as a way of getting their attention examples: Hey Chinese guy (to any and all asians no matter what their nationality is), Hey White person, usually followed by "give me money," sooooo whenever i hear tubob i say "oui farofin" which means "What black person?" can you imagine saying any of that in the US? like hey mexican come here. or hey black person where are you going? Joining the peace corps made me racist hahahaha.

Other ways the peace corps has made me a degenerate:
1. i litter now without any qualms. there is no garbage service in mali, so you just throw your trash in the gutter.
2. i have little to no sympathy for most beggers. i know ME who gives money away like it's going out of style. i walk past people 100x a day who ask me for money. i had to stop paying attention. now just old blind people get money.
3. i throw rocks at roosters. they are loud and they wake me up. it's not a deal where i live now, but in sanankoroba i had no qualms about heaving objects at roosters/donkeys/goats
4. i lie. i tell malians i'm going to work all the time when really i'm not. i just don't want to have to figure out how to say wherever my real destination is in French or bambara. work is easy to say and remember
5. i may have, unwittingly, encouraged revolution in my Friday night class at the catholic center. We were discussing foreign aid and it's affect on Africa and Mali. Many of my students feel foreign aid makes it difficult for African nations to achieve independence and it actually increases their dependence. they spoke of corruption, laziness, and the need for a stronger government. the word revolution was used more than once......i let it slide with no comment since i'm not supposed to insight war as a volunteer.

Gypsy on