camels!

I've only seen camels a few times in Mali, so this was exciting!  The men with them said they had walked over from Burkina Faso and were on their way to Bamako.  It was a surprise to turn down this street and find these guys hanging out in a neighborhood!

some signs

I took pictures of some interesting signs during our trip last week to Bamako when we went to get JP's mom when she flew to Mali from Chad to visit us. 

The first one is something I've seen several of on the nice newly redone paved road between Segou and Bamako.  I was so curious as to what these skull and crossbones signs are trying to warn of that we stopped the car so I could get a closer look (we also switched drivers at that point.)  It is a creepy sign, and my imagination suggested pirates or poison.  There is nothing scary to be seen on the bit of road where the signs are found.  While some of the signs only have the big triangle on top, I found this one with the smaller rectangle below.  It says that 4 people were killed and 1 wounded here on February 6, 2011.  So I guess it is a warning.  I heard from a friend that word is that these places used to have no cell phone coverage and some buses were stopped and people killed by bandits in roadside robberies.  So now I feel even more creeped out by these signs, but at least I know what they're there for.

There is a new fast-food joint in the neighborhood we used to live in in Bamako, Badalabougou.  The menu looks amazingly American, and I had heard from someone that the fries were really good.  So I thought we could give this restaurant a try.  After a long morning of walking around the national zoo and park, we came to "Bobsi" with Jean-Patrick's mom. It is pretty small inside, there are a few tables to sit at, and there is a tv that has changing images of menu items.  Two young fellas were sitting behind the order counter.  It was a Friday at lunchtime, which is when Muslims all go to mosque for their big weekly service. We were the only customers there.  We looked at the menu and each chose what we'd like.  I went to order, and of course they didn't have some of what we wanted, so we chose alternatives and put in our order.  The guy said it might take a few extra minutes because the cook had gone to mosque but he would be back right away.  "Right away" could have different interpretations, but we were tired and I hoped that it wouldn't take too long, so I sat again to wait.  I was looking forward to good fries!
As soon as I sat, one of the guys behind the counter (which was really only probably about 12 feet away) lit up a hookah.  A few minutes later some smoke started wafting over our way.  Then even more smoke, and it was decided that we would leave.  We went to another restaurant down the road. 
I guess we had been warned; as we left I noticed the menu posted on an outside wall of the building.  Have you ever been to a fast-food restaurant with hookah smoking on the menu?

It seems that you can also call in your order!

Finally, the last interesting sign I took a photo of was on the back of a big fuel tanker truck.  We were stopped at a gas station and I noticed this and found it odd.  What am supposed to understand and do or not do in reaction to this sign?  Don't put gas in the water because it will kill fish and trees, is that it?

getting internet and losing "it"

I am very thankful for the technology that we have here in Mali.  I’ve heard stories from people who have been here a long time that illustrate the amazing advances that have been made.  Apparently,  25 years ago it cost $10 per minute for a phone call to the states, and that was IF you could get through on the line.  Now, at any moment I can dial someone in the states on my cell phone at 40 cents per minute, or better yet I can connect with them for free on Skype and sort of see them as we talk.  I say “sort of see them” because our internet connection is a bit slow and the skype picture tends to be blurry and freeze up.  But I’m glad to have the technology we have, even if it has its issues!

There is more than 1 company that provides internet here, but something like 95% is through Orange, which is a company out of France.  Orange offers a few different possibilities for connecting online.  There is a usb stick that you can plug in and use anywhere, but it runs pretty slowly and the prepaid credit gets used up pretty quickly.  There is the “Flybox” which has supposedly faster speeds but isn’t cheap and you have to recharge when the credit runs out, at least monthly.  You can also prepay a bit of credit on your phone and connect if you have a smartphone.  What we have is called “Livebox” and it is a router in our office connected to an antenna on the roof.  You can pay monthly for unlimited internet, but if you pay for 12 months at a time you get a better price.  So we pay the 1 year subscription, which costs around $500.  Not cheap, huh?

Our annual subscription was going to end on February 15^th.  I went to the Orange office with a wad of cash on February 1^st.  I wanted to get it paid early so I could forget about it and continue with life. 
When I went in the office, which is just one big room with 3 desks surrounded by chairs sat on by people waiting to be helped, I had to sit and wait my turn.  When it was my turn I was told that they don’t take the annual subscription payments in their office, but I’d have to pay at a bank downtown and then bring them the receipt back to be processed.  So… now I had to drive around downtown (avoiding all the motorbikes, bicycles, pedestrians, donkey carts, and push carts competing for space in the narrow potholed roads) and try to figure out which bank is Atlantic Bank.  I think there are about 7 banks in town and I don’t seem to pay attention to their names.  So I found Atlantic Bank and went inside where there were at least 12 people waiting to be helped. 
This bank actually has those little paper tickets with numbers coming out of a dispenser so that you know who goes next.  While those tickets were impressive, I was not thrilled to have to wait over 30 minutes to pay my internet subscription.  I finally paid and got my receipt and brought it back down the road to the Orange office.  When I brought it in I was told that they would scan and send it to the main regional office and that I could come back next week to get the receipt and another service agreement page.  I asked if I needed a photocopy of the receipt now and was told “no.”  I figured I trusted them and left it at that. 

The next week when I went in to get the papers, I was told that they weren’t ready yet so to come back in a few days.  I went back in a few days and they took down my number and said they’d call when my papers were ready to be picked up.
Then, on February 19^th our internet cut out.  I wasn’t sure if it was just at our house or if it could be a widespread internet problem since we have those often enough.   Since it was Friday afternoon I couldn’t do anything about it until Monday when the office would be open again.

Monday morning I went in and waited my turn in line with the rest of the small crowd that had already gathered.  When it was my turn to be helped, I went and sat in the chair facing a desk with a lady in business attire and a lovely shade of pink lipstick.
I explained that I had paid my bill a few weeks ago but never got the paperwork, and that since Friday our internet had been cut at the house.  The lady started pulling piles of disorderly papers out of desk drawers and from a cardboard box sitting on the floor behind her chair.

Lipstick Lady:  Do you have a copy of your receipt from Atlantic Bank?
Me:         No, you guys said I didn’t need one.
LL:            Well, I don’t know where your receipt is now, so could you go down to Atlantic Bank and see if they can find a copy of it?

(OK, so let me take a second to admit that I KNOW that the way to get what you want here is to smile and joke around; to keep things light and be agreeable.  That’s probably good advice for any social interaction anywhere, but especially true in West Africa.

But, I’m human.  And I lost “it.” 
I lost my cool, lost my composure, lost my smile and joking demeanor.  As I said, the office is just one big room, so anyone speaking loudly can be heard by everyone present.  I spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.  I became the “ugly American.”)

Me:        Wait.  You want me to go down to Atlantic Bank and see if they can find a copy of the receipt that you guys told me I didn’t need a copy of for the bill I paid weeks ago that you never processed?!
Do you know what I’ve already done to get this bill paid?
I came here and waited for someone to tell me to go pay at Atlantic Bank because for some reason you don’t take payments here.  Then I wandered around downtown until I found Atlantic Bank, and then I had to take a ticket and wait a long time to pay the 264,000 francs.  I brought the receipt back here and I’ve been back twice asking for the completed paperwork.  Now I’ve been with no internet since Friday.  And you want me to go wait in line at the bank so they can see if they possibly might be able to find a receipt?!

LL:           (quietly)  Are you upset?
Me:        (incredulous)  I think that’s clear!

LL started digging through the messy piles of papers.

Me:        And you know what the problem is here?  There isn’t any competition for internet service.  If I want internet at home I have to come here and pay whatever overly high price Orange sets and deal with my receipt not being processed even though I paid it in advance, because there is no choice.  There isn’t a competitor to push Orange to give better service.  And what is this? (I motion to the floor)  This is the official Orange Office and your paperwork is in a cardboard box on the floor?  There is clearly some room for improvement.

At the end of my rant I saw my name on one of the papers and pointed it out.  Lipstick Lady said she would make some calls and that hopefully our internet would be working shortly.

So I went home.  But the internet didn’t come on.  I went back on Tuesday and LL said they needed a code number from our previous year’s bill, so could I go home and find that.  I went and got that and brought it back and LL gave me her number and asked me to call her when our internet came on so that she would know she didn’t need to keep calling the regional office.  The internet never came on though.
On Wednesday morning my neighbor came over and when I mentioned that we hadn’t had internet since the previous Friday, she pulled out her phone and called an Orange technician she knows.  He said he would come to the house to get it working.  That was at 11.  At 6:15pm when I was in English class and JP was out my neighbor let me know that the technician had just called her.  He was standing at our gate knocking but no one was home so he left.
Finally the technician came to the house on Thursday at noon and got us connected again.  It shouldn’t have to be this hard.  But as I said, I am very thankful for the technology we have!  Maybe next year I can get JP to take care of paying the internet bill?  I still don't have the new service agreement paperwork.  I may or may not go and see if they can find it tomorrow morning.

phone call: change of plans

I thought I’d share a moment in my life with you.  This was when I got a phone call from JP yesterday in the late morning.  I was thinking that probably none of my friends in the states would ever get a call like this from their husbands.
I don't know if you'll find this funny, but for some reason it just strikes me in a way that I'm still laughing about it today.

JP: “My friend called me to say that his sheep ate a plastic bag and is dying, and he wants me to come over and help him butcher it.  And then we’ll cook and eat some of the meat.  So I won’t be home for lunch today.”
Me:  “Ok, um… see you later then.”

freaky January rain

Ah, January! We look forward to the "cool" temperatures this time of year brings. I just looked it up to be sure, so here are the facts:
The average low temp in January is a bone-chilling 57 degrees. These are the nights we put blankets on the bed, though it stays warmer inside at night, over 70, due to the brick walls absorbing heat during the day and releasing it at night.
So 57 for overnight low (that's 14 degrees for my metric-using friends) and the January average daytime high is 90 degrees  (32 degrees Celsius.) I can't really consider 90 degrees cold, but as it is dry heat and cooler than most of the rest of the year, I usually find it pleasant and comfortable.
Along with this cool dry time of year we get DUST. Red dirt dust that coats and covers everything on a daily basis.  If the table is washed off in the morning you can write your name in the dust covering it in the evening.
The rainy season peaks in July and August, and then after the rain completely stops in October we don't usually get another drop until possibly a light short "mango rain" shower in April. But the real rains won't begin until later in June.

So January is supposed to be dry and dusty.

Last Tuesday night around 8pm I heard a noise on the metal roof. It sounded like rain drops, but I knew that it doesn't rain here in January. "What is that sound?" We just weren't sure, so I stepped outside...and it was just sprinkling a bit! I thought it was odd and exciting but certainly it wouldn't sprinkle for more than 15 or 20 minutes. Well, I was wrong. It kept lightly raining ALL NIGHT!
The next morning everyone was wearing thick puffy winter clothes and jackets and commenting on how crazy-weird the rain had been. And then it rained again, and more, until finally we had 4 chilly days in a row with off and on light rain!
On Thursday the temperature hovered around 70 degrees all day! People started wondering if it might snow. I knew better than that, but really these 4 rainy days in January were quite the anomaly. I don't know if this was because of el niño or what, but it was pretty exciting while it lasted. Saturday and today Sunday have been a return to normal, the high temperature today was 92.  Well, almost normal... the rain has made it less dusty for a few days! :)

papaya, a dog, ducks, chickens

JP planted a bunch of papaya trees and they grow and produce fruit pretty quickly! yum!

 

Here is our dog, Teddy. He has this low camp chair with his blanket and he hangs out there sleeps there at night on the veranda.

The ducks are doing well, but no eggs yet.  The chickens are great and they've started multiplying!

Several of the hens hatched chicks recently.  JP had this box made so that he can put chicks in there and the hens will start laying eggs and making more chicks because they don't need to look after these chicks any more.  The hens aren't very happy when their babies get taken away, but they get over it.  In the picture the hen was kind of freaking out and running back and forth in front of the box because she couldn't get to her chicks.  The chick box is in the garage so it can stay warm enough, and usually the hens are outside of the garage if the door is closed, so hopefully they'll forget about the chicks and start laying more eggs.

the trip home, our car

Here is a picture of our car!  We were blessed to be able to buy it cheap from a friend here.  It is a 20-year-old Toyota Corolla station wagon.
We did fundraising for a vehicle while we were in the states a year ago, and this is NOT the car that we fundraised for.  We plan to buy a newer vehicle this summer.

Because we have a car now, we have the luxury of being able to go places like Bamako and not take the bus!
When the American family that stayed with us over Christmas needed to go back to Bamako to fly home after their visit, I was able to drive them in our car.  Thankfully we got to Bamako without any problems!
I can't say the same for my trip back home...

Here I am on the side of the road in the middle-of-nowhere (I was about 40 minutes out of a town) because the clutch went out on the car, so it could be started up but not go into any gears to actually move.  Oh, and this was after I had dealt with a flat tire in the town 40 minutes back.  A large metal bolt, not even pointy, had been lodged in the tire, so a repair guy put the spare on and patched the holey tire, all for $2, and then I continued until the clutch went out.  Then I made some calls and waited... and waited... and waited for the mechanic to come save me.
The sunglasses that I am wearing here are ones that I bought in Bamako for $1 on my way out of town.  I couldn't find my sunglasses that morning when I started the drive so I was able to stop and buy a pair from one of the guys who wanders the city streets or hangs out on busy corners with a big board covered in pairs of cheap sunglasses.  I found the ones I'd lost under the car seat after I got home.

While I waited I walked around a bit.  I was thankful that it is now the cool time of the year!  Here is a passing mini-bus with a big load of calabash bowls (big gourd things cut in half) on top.

 

It really was the middle-of-nowhere.  When I walked down the road a way I did see a herd of cows and some sheep, but the shepherds didn't come over to talk to me.  I found the remains of some animal that may have been hit by a car because it was just off the edge of the road.

I thought these 4 trees were cool.

And finally!  The mechanic came with his assistant and some parts and tools.  I'm not even clear as to what all they did to get the car rolling again, but as they asked for a total of less than $50 for coming out there, the parts, and the work, I think I got a good deal.
From there it took me another 2 hours of driving to arrive home.  At a security checkpoint the officer asked me if I could take a young lady as a passenger.  She looked pretty harmless, and it's kind of hard to say no to a security officer with a gun, so I brought Fatoumata back with me for the last hour of the drive.