I haven't forgotten about you faithful few who read this. I'm just fairly boring these days.
I listen to a lot of Christmas music, read, exercise, talk to neighbors, and teach a couple days a week. That's about it. And I figure you've heard enough about all that.
To be honest, I've heard enough about all that. I'm getting rather tired of waiting for school to start. We're hoping for January, but with strikes and general Malian systems it's hard to say if that will happen.
Can I just say that Development work is frustrating and nothing like I imagined.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Merry Tabaski!
Yesterday was the Muslim festival Tabaski. Tabaski is probably the most important day in Islam. It celebrates the day Abraham took Ishmael (note this is where the major split between Islam and the Jewish/Christian tradition happens) to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice him. God spares Ishmael though by providing a ram.
So what do we do on Tabaski? We eat a lot of sheep. I probably ate my weight in sheep. My friend Racy was gracious enough to let me tag along with her to attend two parties. The first was a traditional Malian fete. They killed FIVE sheep. Our first course was the liver and heart, and, i'll be honest, it was my favorite thing i ate all day. It was soooo (surprisingly) good. Then we followed that up with sheep meat galore with some fonio (some sort of grainish thing that's like cous cous).
After that party we went to the head of the Millenium Challange Corporation (google it) and had a nice dinner there. It was mostly americans and embassy folk (even the Deputy Chief of Missions was there). It was lovely and the food was delicious, but I was still full. I did, however, indulge in a large bowl of fruit and some orange juice.
There are a couple pictures floating about, but they weren't on my camera, if i can locate them I will put them up and let you know.
So Happy Tabaski even if it is a Heathen holiday ;) bwhahahahahaha!
Gypsy on!
So what do we do on Tabaski? We eat a lot of sheep. I probably ate my weight in sheep. My friend Racy was gracious enough to let me tag along with her to attend two parties. The first was a traditional Malian fete. They killed FIVE sheep. Our first course was the liver and heart, and, i'll be honest, it was my favorite thing i ate all day. It was soooo (surprisingly) good. Then we followed that up with sheep meat galore with some fonio (some sort of grainish thing that's like cous cous).
After that party we went to the head of the Millenium Challange Corporation (google it) and had a nice dinner there. It was mostly americans and embassy folk (even the Deputy Chief of Missions was there). It was lovely and the food was delicious, but I was still full. I did, however, indulge in a large bowl of fruit and some orange juice.
There are a couple pictures floating about, but they weren't on my camera, if i can locate them I will put them up and let you know.
So Happy Tabaski even if it is a Heathen holiday ;) bwhahahahahaha!
Gypsy on!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
All I Want for Christmas
Phoebe had 3 babies! It was a serious endeavour which I observed with fascination and a bit of disgust. But now that they are licked clean, they're pretty dang cute. The gray and white one is my favorite. See them here
Here is my Christmas List:
1. Thomas to appear under my little tree (thanks for sending one momma and daddy) ... (oh i mean thanks for sending a tree, not a thomas lol)
2. A box of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch
3. A decent amount of iron in my blood
4. A new blanket, it's flippin cold here...60 is the new 30 when you are used to 100.
5. Hot shower. Scratch that, Hot Bath.
6. A night out in the ragin city of Agoura Hills with my beloved. Maybe some Mongolian BBQ followed by a rented movie and chocolate chip cookies with ice cream on the couch. Okay so that's mostly a night in, but still...i like being home.
7. A complete and full understanding of both Bambara and French
8. A hug from my mommy
9. One day in Pioneer Place. Yes I hate shopping, but I love Christmastime at the mall.
10. An engagement ring. I mean what? tee hee. Delivered by #1 please.
11. A calorie free, yet equally tasty, form of peanut butter, chocolate, and ice cream...on the double!
12. A kiss from my nephew
13. A hoody
14. A new pair of tennis shoes
15. A pumice stone
16. An automated retractable mosquito net. The stupid thing is annoying to put up and down up and down.
17. Books, DVD's and DVD's of TV shows. I have a lot of time to kill.
18. Christmas dinner with everyone. yes everyone, if you read this then it probably means you too. unless you are a creeper, then you are not included.
Hmm that's all i can think of now. To be honest the things I REALLY want for christmas all revolve around spending time with people i miss. Somedays I wonder why I left all the goodness i had to come to this crazy upside down place. It is comforting to know that things I miss aren't things at all, they're people...and the occasional chinese, mexican, or italian dish.
Loves you guys
gypsy on
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Updates
Hey everyone
I've been neglecting you. Deepest apologies.
About two weeks ago I went on a Bike Tour from the regional capital of Koulikoro to a village called Banamba (I think that's spelled right). Twelve of us PCV's and 2 Malian friends biked from village to village doing skits and informational sessions on HIV/AIDS awareness as well as spreading the spirit of Global Entrepeneurship Week. Small Business Development is a major focus of Peace Corps Mali, and we spent time with Malian Youth helping them realize the oppurtunities for new businesses in their country. We also tried to bring up topics as simple as accounting and expenditure tracking within existing businesses (apparently many Malian business don't even do simple accounting).
I had a great time working on my Bambara and learning what it is like to live in "en Brusse" in Mali (en Brusse means in the bush). One village we went to even threw us a big party with traditional African dancing complete with scary masks and a person pretending to be a gorilla, very national geographic-esque. I will get pics up soon.
I can't hardly believe it's already december! I received several packages from my parents full of chistmas happiness and now my room smells and looks like christmas. It really lifted my spirits! I'm so blessed to have such great family!
Anyway, I hope you are enjoying the bustle of the holiday season! I sure miss it!
Eat Taco Bell for me and then tell me how good it was.
Gypsy On!
I've been neglecting you. Deepest apologies.
About two weeks ago I went on a Bike Tour from the regional capital of Koulikoro to a village called Banamba (I think that's spelled right). Twelve of us PCV's and 2 Malian friends biked from village to village doing skits and informational sessions on HIV/AIDS awareness as well as spreading the spirit of Global Entrepeneurship Week. Small Business Development is a major focus of Peace Corps Mali, and we spent time with Malian Youth helping them realize the oppurtunities for new businesses in their country. We also tried to bring up topics as simple as accounting and expenditure tracking within existing businesses (apparently many Malian business don't even do simple accounting).
I had a great time working on my Bambara and learning what it is like to live in "en Brusse" in Mali (en Brusse means in the bush). One village we went to even threw us a big party with traditional African dancing complete with scary masks and a person pretending to be a gorilla, very national geographic-esque. I will get pics up soon.
I can't hardly believe it's already december! I received several packages from my parents full of chistmas happiness and now my room smells and looks like christmas. It really lifted my spirits! I'm so blessed to have such great family!
Anyway, I hope you are enjoying the bustle of the holiday season! I sure miss it!
Eat Taco Bell for me and then tell me how good it was.
Gypsy On!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
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!
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!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, November 7, 2008
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.
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