Little luxuries

There are certain things that I have developed a great appreciation for here.

First is toilet paper. A lot of people here don’t use it, they bring a plastic kettle thing with water in it to the bathroom with them. And they eat only with their right hand. I’ll let you use your imagination from there. Toilet paper is kind of expensive, but I don't think I'll be giving it up any time soon.

Next is butter. It is a great joy to me that I am able to buy butter, real butter, here in Koutiala. Most luxuries of this sort are only available 6-7 hours away in the capital of Bamako. The butter is imported from France and can only be found at a few shops in town, and only when they have it in stock. It makes me so happy to put butter on my bread in the morning. But I also kind of feel bad because my friends don’t have butter, its too expensive. (and if I shared with them all I wouldn’t have butter anymore either)

Then there are apples. Apples are imported, too. There are yellow ones for about 60 cents each or better red ones for 75 cents each. This is really expensive, especially if you compare it with something like bananas – you can get a little banana for less than 10 cents, or a whole bunch for the price of one apple.