Civilization

My time in Bamako is nearly up; I will be catching the evening bus back to Douentza today. So let me take this moment in a little second story Bamako cyber cafe to recap my last few days.

Salif and I set out on Monday evening for Sevare. This time it was on a legitimate bus, and consequently we arrived in a comfortable and timely fashion. We stayed at Minkailou's house there (Jeff keeps a couple mattresses and mosquito nets ready for wayward travelers such as ourselves), which doesn't have electricity, but no matter. It stormed that night, so we had to sleep inside, but again, nothing new.

In the morning, we got up and went to the BNDA, my new bank, where I opened an account. All went well, save for the fact that they misspelled my middle name (Elisabeth) and got the wrong birthday (May 25th?) on my ID card. After that, we ate breakfast in a little coffee shack and called up a taxi they know to go to Songho to collect our Russian friend.

I was shocked by how convenient his living situation is. Not only are there real roads that lead there, but he lives in a tourist hostel, essentially, complete with electricity from solar panels. No wonder he never stayed long in Douentza! Songho is a big tourist destination in Dogon country, so Salif and I took the tour. The village itself is very picturesque, with carved doors and granaries with pointed thatched rooves, just like you see in guidebooks (probably because it's Songho you see in guidebooks). Then the guide took us up the bluff to the sacred circumcision ground (not to be seen by women, except when they made that rule, they didn't know there were other colors of women, so I'm exempt. Yeah, BS). Anyhow, there are some great cave paintings up there, not old, they're redone every year, but they're symbolic of a lot of things. It was all very interesting, in any case, worth the visit. But I don't envy Kirill too much--I wouldn't want to work in a tourist village with random whities tromping through all the time.

After we collected him and his baggage, we went back to Sevare, left the bags, then took a quick trip to Mopti, which is just several kilometers away. Mopti, I think, is the next biggest city in Mali after Bamako, or at least in that ballpark. We got soft drinks at a restaurant overlooking the Niger River, then decided to take a little cruise on the water in a small pirogue (think gondolier). It was very calm and neat to see all of the fishing boats and villages.

We then headed back to Sevare to catch our bus to Bamako. The bus was supposed to leave at 8, but of course it was late and we left more around 9:30. While waiting, we ate some chicken and fries at a little food stall, which I was not convinced wouldn't give me food poisoning, but here I am, still healthy. The buses to Bamako generally originate in Gao, in the far north, so it was really full already when it got to Sevare. They managed to cram us in, though, by putting every woman and child imaginable in the very back row (right behind me), so it was basically Screaming Kid City. Needless to say, I did not sleep very well.

All of that aside, we made it to Bamako in good time, after which we made our way to the SIL guesthouse to clean up. Apparently they had some workshop going on, so their rooms were quite full. They split us up where they could find room in the various apartments. I shared the apartment with a German woman named Karin, who was quite nice indeed. And joy of all joys, there was a sink there! and a shower with hot water! and a flush toilet! I could've cried with joy when I saw the sink (kind of pathetic). Yes, Bamako does offer some modern luxuries. More on this topic later.

Wednesday was my day of appointments with the Bamako linguists, so after we got settled for a little bit, I got dolled up in my 4th of July Malian clothes and headed over to the Institut National des Langues with Salif. There we met with Hamadoun Ouologuem, a Tommo speaking linguist I met my first time in Bamako. This time, though, I wasn't jetlagged and was used to Malian French, so I could actually understand him. He certainly does like to talk. He took me over to see the director, to whom I explained the situation, why I needed a letter, etc. He said fine, so long as we drafted it and brought it to him, which we did. Hamadoun told me to come back the next morning to pick it up, so Salif and I headed back out for a sweet afternoon nap.

One entirely awesome thing at the guesthouse was that I finally had time to be alone. In Douentza, there are constantly people around, even when you're sleeping, so to finally have a space for some privacy was a blessing to a solitude-loving American like myself.

We ate basically all of our meals at this restaurant called Amandine, where a lot of foreigners and dignitaries eat. I ate all of the dairy I could manage, way too much at every meal, but I had lost calories to make up for. Delicious avocado salads, pizza, cheeseburgers, cheese omelettes... everything my heart desired. I figured that I am rarely in the big city, so I should live it up, which I did. We went to the grocery store a couple times too, where I probably spent way too much, but I stocked up on things like Nutella, Pringles, a couple bottles of wine, and cans of chili. Oh yeah.

To return to the program, of course the next day we went in the morning and the letter wasn't ready. That's just how things are here. Since we had some time to kill, we visited the national museum, which has quite a nice collection of carvings and textiles and artifacts. Better than I was expecting, in any case. Across the street was the Park of Prehistory, or something, which was largely (if not entirely)very corny. Caves with statues of cromagnun man, a corny placard about evolution, but at least there was a huge dinosaur statue. That was definitely a redeeming feature.

We got the letter, as promised, after lunch, at which point Salif and I headed over to the American Embassy. I guess it used to be in the downtown, but what with security concerns, they moved out of town a bit to a huge compound with ultra security. We couldn't bring in our phones or cameras or anything. The public affairs officer was out on business, but I met with Gaoussou, a friend of Jeff's, though I'm not certain what his title is. He was very nice and understanding and got all of my papers sent off for me.

Business was completed as such. Surprisingly efficient for Mali! I got my bus ticket, we took Kirill to the airport, we ate dinner, and all was well.

It's like over the last week, I have slowly been climbing the ladder of civilization and technology. A week ago, I was in Tongo-Tongo, with nothing, then Douentza, with shoddy electricity and unpaved roads, then Sevare, with paved roads and electricity in places, then Bamako, which could be a city in the US if you leave out the shacks selling cigarettes and sugar, the women selling mangoes from bowls on their heads, the overpacked city mini buses, etc. Basically, what I mean is that nearly every luxury we enjoy in the States you can find there. It was quite a nice vacation indeed.

From here, I'm meeting a Japanese friend of mine I knew in the States for lunch. Small world! Then it's back to Douentza. I'm hoping I haven't gotten soft after my stay in Bamako, but I don't think so. It'll be nice to get away from the hustle and bustle and also not spend money for a while. Bamako gets pretty expensive (compared to Douentza and the bush).

Time to climb back down the civilization ladder. At least I'm planning on spending a couple weeks in Douentza before going back to T-town for my last trip of the summer. Less than a month left here.