"i cant dance... because... theres a cow"

context: at rastaman abdoulaye's casa with my friend lobo and a bunch of other rastas. everyones got instruments. most of them are handmade by the players themselves. lots of djembes... oh man this is going to be good. BUT WAIT... theres a cow. yep, just standing there in the middle of things, peeing somewhat frequently. uh, i think i just got a little bit on my foot. they all know i dance djembe. the music starts. "ey! bintou! i ka kan ka don kE!" (you have to dance!) i survey the space: person, person, person, cow, person, person. hmmm. "n tE se ka don kE... misi bE yan" (i cant because... theres a cow there). it makes sense. then lobo and i break into laughter. i just dont think ive ever used that as a viable excuse for not dancing. this is life in mali now. sometimes there are farm animals in the way and you simply can not dance.

one of the girls from our trip went back to the US last weekend for an interview for a scholarship that might pay for grad school. we were all so freaked out about the idea of leaving here and going HOME and couldnt wait to hear about her experiences there. among other things, it was particularly interesting to hear about her friends and familys reactions to her photos. the fact is, weve all gotten really used to the way things look here, but when you all see the pictures, youre going to think 'wow, you really lived in poverty'. people here are poor, but it doesnt feel that way the way you would imagine. everyone is getting by together. there is an amazing sense of community and family and the people are so inviting and welcoming. here, people consider wealth to be in numbers -- the more children the better. while that may be contrary to our perceptions of wealth, you can see how family is sooo important to malian life and begin to understand a bit as you live here.

ok i have to sign off now because theres a creep next to me saying he loves me trying to get me to give him my information and reading over my shoulder.
bye!