Taco night

Taco night was a success last night. We showed up at Nicolas’s house around 7:30, and I promptly got to work chopping vegetables for the salsa. Shortly after we arrived, a Malian man came over, whom Nicolas appeared to know. It took me a second to realize that something was a little off with him.

It turns out, he’s deaf and Dogon, a combination my Dutch linguist friend will be excited to learn about. He stayed over and ate with the three of us, a French guy with some English, an American girl with some French, and me bridging the two. Despite communication gaps, we all had a very fun dinner, full of laughter, gestures, and of course, tacos.

Reading this book makes me want to do nothing but cook. But it is also a cruel tease, as it talks about braised quail with steamed brussel sprouts and whipped potatoes and all sorts of other delicacies I can’t find here. At the very least, it’s making me excited to go home.

Yesterday was full of small victories (the most that you can hope for here, since, on the whole, Mali always wins). For starters, I finally brought my bucket-and-pitcher scheme into fruition. I had always been frustrated by having to go out and brush my teeth at the common spigot outside in the morning and not having any place to wash my hands in my room. So I decided to get a pitcher, a bucket and a cup: Mali’s modern answer to the old chamber pot system (minus using them for the bathroom). It has proved terrific so far.

Second, my flashlight stopped working, so I went to the boutique to get a new one. The guy there doesn’t speak hardly any French, so I had to Fulfulde my way through it, and I still managed to bargain him down from 1000 with no batteries included to 1000 with batteries. Plus five for Laura.

I know I had more small victories, but they elude me now. In any case, it was positive.

Bureima, Ramata’s brother, came into town yesterday evening, so I got the news on the Ondom Piri, the festival that will be happening in the village. Apparently it starts on Tuesday, and then dancing goes on every 2 or 3 days for approximately two Dogon weeks (10 days). Unfortunately for filming, most of the dancing happens at night, except on the final day, but I will want to be back in Douentza and in cell phone network then, since my colleague will be arriving in Mali. Ramata is planning on going Tuesday, then Oumar and I will go out on Thursday for a couple of nights of millet beer, feasting (on millet?) and dancing, coming back on Saturday. It will be my last time spending the night there.

I will go out, of course, one more time at the beginning of May to electrify the school. The estimates I got from the electrician in Sevare are as follows:

Solar panel 175,000 ($350)
Battery 120,000 ($240)
Converter 60,000 ($120)

That comes to 255,000, or about $510. Add to that the cost of renting a car to get everything there, which will be nearly $200, the cost of 6 light fixtures, 6 fans, and wiring, and then the cost of an electrician to mount the whole thing, and I should be right about on budget of $1000. I’m going to get a second estimate from an electrician in Douentza to compare, but I’m feeling very positive.

Market day is tomorrow, and Ashley wants to go see the animal market and see the camels. I actually haven’t graced the animal market yet myself (despite being quite the animal husbandsman), so it should be fun, albeit intense. Lots and lots of camels. I do love livestock.