Merry Christmas

The Peace Corps is aging me... I look older than my 23 years. I don't really have a mustache, though... that's just from lack of shaving regularly.

Christmas rocked in Mali. I rode a camel (which is seriously uncomfortable), slept on the fringe of the Sahara Desert (which is seriously cold), and rode fast in an offroad vehicle (which is seriously bumpy). All in all, it rocked.

I celebrated the Tabaski/Li-ah/Eid/Muslim New Year in my village and I ate more meat than I have in one day than in all 5 months here combined. My village slaughtered around 40 animals (which is seriously bloody!) and roasted them all throughout the day. That's a lot of meat for around 200 people. Between all the meat and around 15 rounds of Malian tea, my body was wracked and I didn't sleep that night. The villagers doned their finest white robes and went out into the fields to pray during the morning. Following the prayers, we all went to the local imam's house where he slaughtered lambs and goats, then to the local chief's house where he slaughtered more animals and people tooled around on motorcycles. Then, the slaughtering culminated in the slaughtering of a cow and lots more sheep and goats at my jah tigi's (host family) house.

I am going back to village this afternoon for a few days and will return to Douentza for New Years. After that, it's on to Bamako for In Service Training and hopefully some Americanized Food.

I read a quote from a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia in the 1960s. It was something along the lines of "I respected the Ethiopian customs and culture, but I could never fully adapt. I am just an incurable American!" That's me. As much as I enjoy village life, I can't stay away from Douentza where there are some modern amenities (although I still lack electricity and running water), I'll never wear the Malian clothing again, I cook semi-American food almost daily, I value American contacts (as I don't have to explain myself because the cultural values are innate), etc.

In other news, I have adopted the Peace Corps Stare. Upon first arriving in Mali, I noticed something odd and spacy about the current volunteers. I couldn't quite place it, but something was definitely different with these people who had lived in Mali for an extended amount of time. Speaking with the current PCVs, it was difficult to get their attention at times, as they would be staring off into space lost in some unseen fog. This is the Peace Corps Stare and it comes from spending hours, days, weeks, and months as the solitary American in a village where you are constantly lost in thought. You are able to tune the world out and find some comfort within the deepest recesses of your mind when you can't figure out what is going on around you... this happens way more often than you can imagine. The Peace Corps Stare is pretty serious and it can be difficult to get the attention of someone caught deep in it. It's almost like a zen/trancendental activity where you become completely immersed in your thoughts and leave the physical place you're actually in. I've been caught in this Peace Corps stare and my villagers have to scream "Amadu! Amadu! Ada milla faa hewi!" (Amadu you think too much!) in order to get my attention. It can definitely take some work to get me back into reality from the Peace Corps stare! This is definitely a useful tool I have adopted in order to pass the time at site and on those terribly uncomfortble bus rides.

Have a great New Year! This post is sporadic and doesn't make much sense or explain too much, but that's where I think I'm at right now. Hopefully I can find a faster computer to post more pics, as I have tons of awesome new ones.

Quick Post

I climbed the mountain, and it was awesome. I didn't think I would be in Douentza right now, so I didn't bring my camera. I will get pictures up at some point because there are some wicked good ones. I climbed with Eric from Nebraska and Fikru from Colorado. He camped in a cave, had a bon fire, drank some cheap whiskey out of plastic bags, and listened to country music while warding off imaginary hyenas with hollers, whoops and my big machette! There could have been hyenas... I think our fire, noise and big knife just scared them off. We WERE camping in a cave in the middle of Africa!

I wrote an e-mail to Dylan today and I am gonna post it here because it gets some points across about prospective Peace Corps service and may give some people a better idea of my life here. Hope he doesn't mind me posting it.

"what up?
Good to hear from you. You're seriously applying for the Peace Corps? That's awesome. We're gonna have to have a long talk on the phone sometime so I can explain many things to you. What I can tell you right now though is that the Peace Corps is the most contradictory life experience you'll ever have that combines the lowest of lows with the highest of highs that equal up to one wild emotional rollercoaster. I've only been here 5 months, and I have 21 to go, but I feel like I've lived an entire other life since I arrived. My thoughts, rationals, opinions, values, and everything else have all changed. I hope for the better. I have really learned to slow things down and take life as it comes, as I have FAR too much time to sit, think and refelct upon the past events of my life. It is one hell of an adventure and I am enjoying it thoroughly... minus becoming violently ill and having delirius fevers from time to time (they can be scary sometimes... combo of crazy malaria meds and high fever delirium equal really bad drug trip from a movie!) Combine the lows of the sickness, lonliness, feelings of isolation, etc with the highs of climbing mountains, speaking multiple languages, experiencing new cultures, and generally rocking and rolling and you can almost begin to understand the contradictory emotinoal rollercoaster that is Peace Corps life.
Apply sooner than later so that you can hone in more on what you want. I was too eager to just begin my service and took the first prospect that came. Had I waited, I may have got South America. I have actually forgotten almost all of my spanish now! My head is full of Fulfulde, Bambara, Dogon and French... I hope I don't forget English next! I spoke a little spanish today. but it was harder than pulling teeth. Anyway, as to getting what you want out of the Peace Corps app process, it is wierd how things work out. I am very happy in Africa. I love my village (we grow some tasty mangoes and guavas), have made awesome friends, have seen some terribly amazing sites, and opened up possibilities that I never knew were possible. Africa is poor, but the hope, happiness and resilience that the people harbor here is beyond words. It's just incredible. Strive for what you want, but if you don't get it, just go with what you get. It should work out. The Peace Corps is an amazing way to discover not only the world, but yourself as well. I read yesterday in a Hemingway book that traveling to different, exotic lands will not change you nor erase your problems because you are who you are. This is true to an extent. What you can attain from travel is a broader base to build upon. You can take everything in that you see, hear, touch, and smell and use it create your life the way you want. The Peace Corps is a great way to site back from 2 years, build up your resume, learn an incredible amount, hone in on what you want out of life, mature, and focus yourself.
I wish you luck and please feel free to send me questions any time. I hope this e-mail helps you out. Good luck with finals coming up and tell everyone i said hey when you see them over winter break. Hit up some mountains for me, as I won't see snow for another 2 years! If you need a friend to write a recommendation for you I will gladly write it up over the internet. who knows, maybe having an official PCV speaking on your behalf will give you some weight!
-Dave"

Take care everyone!

Here is the mountain we're climbing next weekend!

This is my buddy Salif playing with Rufus. I think he's like 12 years old. The kid studies the Koran and speaks about 4 different languages... he is very bright and helps out when we us PCVs are in Douentza.

This is me and Rufus hanging out in Douentza... as you can see he really likes to gnaw on my hand.

I start teaching English tomrorrow... I have never taught before, so this should be a trip. Ha teaching English through Fulfulde!