Things just keep right on moving here in Bamako! In fact, I will be moving out of Bamako tomorrow morning. Tomorrow the 64 of us are splitting into 9 different villages where we will be living with different host families while we continue our language, culture, and technical classes. The point of “CBT,” or Community Based Training, is for us to be as fully immersed as possible so we can acquire the language and integrate into the culture as soon as possible. Today was the day we found out our Homestay village…and let me tell you, it’s a big deal!! Tensions were high as we all waited on pins and needles for our name to be called. You see, finding out our Homestay village also tells us which language we’ll be learning, and gives us a clue to our permanent site! For instance, those who learn a minority language know their permanent site will be somewhere in that minority region.
We were interviewed earlier this week regarding our placement preferences. I thought I would say I wanted to be close to other Volunteers, and I thought I would say I wanted to learn Bambara (the most widely spoken Malian language). But when it came down to it, I couldn’t. My placement isn’t my choice, and as such, I didn’t want to limit the possibilities for future opportunities. Especially as an Anthropology student, I didn’t want to stop myself from having the chance to live among a minority culture. So when my interviewer asked, I merely said I wanted to be close enough to at least one other Volunteer that I could have some contact every now and then. And luckily my interviewer remembered that I needed to have fairly regular access to Internet, since I am completing my Master’s degree here and will need to submit work and receive feedback.
So after all of that, my Homestay is in a village called Mountougoula and I will be learning Bambara! (I won't find out anything about my permanent placement for about a month yet). I think my group will be pretty amazing, and I’m excited that my DC roomie, Ashley, is in my group. It helps to have a good, close, support network. In less than 12 hours we’ll all be moving in with separate families. Most of us probably won’t be able to communicate with our host family. We’ll be doing 8 hours of training a day, most of it to learn a new language. We eat 3 meals a day of unfamiliar foods with a family we can’t talk to. We have no electricity or running water. We have to learn how to filter our own water. We have to try to fit in with the family and their customs without offending anyone. And in the midst of all of this change, we’re closing out the cool season and moving into the hot season!
Lots of stress and excitement and new experiences to come…I’ll keep you posted as much as possible, but I won’t have internet out in my village, so I’ll try and post every few weeks when we come back to the training center for a few days.
Me: K’an b’u fo. (Greet your family)
You: U n’a mεn. (They will hear you)
Me: Ka tile hεrε caya. (May we have a good day)
You: Amiina. (Amen)
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