the title of this entry is i am the tree person.
weve learned a bunch of verbs in bambara now but not really any nouns so this is one of the few i know which i use in almost every sentence. also, balon, tabili, jakuma, sugu, wulu, sogomogo balimamuso, sogobalimamuso (ball, table, cat, market, dog, meatman, sister, meatsister).
things are still going swell here. even though classes are way too long, we get wednesdays off which is marrrrvelous! my friends and i have been going to lots of concerts--- there is alllllways something musical going on. yesterday was a really fun day... after school i met up with a friend who goes to the INA (art school in bamako). hes a story teller and djembe player and he hooked me up with a dance practice in another part of the city. it was the first organized dance thing ive done (although were always groovin at concerts and what not) and i had such a great time! it was exhausting but i kept up with most of it thanks to west african dance class last semester. im so glad ive gotten the in with this dance troupe because its really cool and everyone was so nice and the place is close to my school. also all these kids from the cartier showed up to watch and dance along and stuff... it was sooo cool! when i got home i relaxed for a bit and then went out to a nightclub with my brother Sa (that means snake in bambara because hes like 1000 feet tall). a bunch of my friends were at the night club and we were there until 4 in the morning. sa's a sick dancer so he showed me all the specific dances for the different countries' songs. there are very specific dance moves that you use for each contry... for example, the cote d'ivoirians are major booty shakers! you should have seen how excited i got when soldja boy came on...
oh man right now in this cyber cafe the thong song is playing.
ANYWAY
i know that i write about mamadou in just about every post, but he is just so effing cute. i just look at him and laugh. it seems like every time i come home he has a new tooth coming in. his smile is so cute. the other day when i was leaving to meet up with some friends, mamadou followed me out and tried to come zith me (he does that a lot). so i picked him up and gave him a big hug and was like k'an ben mamadou! (bye mamdou!). and when i picked him up he grabbed my cheeks really tight with both hands and pulled really hard and one of them got cut! little devil! i have a scab but you cant really get angry at this child. lala is sick at the moment but i think she will be better soon. she still plays handclap games with me all the time so thats a good sign.
the weather is getting bloody hot now, and they say it will get a lot worse. even at night i just sleep on top of my sheet and im sweaty. luckily im always tired enough so that doesnt prevent me from sleeping...
i have a lot more to say but only 1 min left on my cyber time so i will have to continue a la prochaine fois.
keep writing me emails... i miss you all!
xo
bintou
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
i dont know how to title this entry
hey all... i have finally made it back to the cyber cafe! this place is not fun so i probably will not be here too often,,, its mega hot and the internet connection is suuuuper slow and this keyboard is mocking me. anyway, let me give you some updates...
my fam is wonderful. i have 3 brothers and 2 sisters that are older than me, plus 2 neices and a nephew (matou, lala, and mohamadou) and we have a servant who is like anohter member of the family (aminata). you might be thinking "wow a servant" and its true that my fam is not poor, but to give you some perspective, most of my friends fams have 5 or 6 servants and they are not treated well so i am glad that aminata is so loved and repected in our household.
i have found more than ever here that you cant make ANY assumptions about other cultures. not in the least. everything is different. here are some cool aspects about malian culture:
1. last names are very important and people will judge you by them. since there are only like, 12 malian last names, each one is paired off with another (or several) and these groups are called "joking cousins". as a traoré, my joking cousins are the diarras. and when you meat a joking cousin, you are compelled to make fun of them BUT there is only one insult you should make... you have to say "ahh! cousin! you eat beans!!! haahaha" and in response they will say "no no no, it is YOUR family that eats beans!!" effectively, everyone eats beans in mali and it is one big fart party but noone will admit this. i personally love this tradition and have had a wonderful time accusing people of eating a staple food in malian culture.
2. bambara is a tonal language and we have had some good fun messing up in class. but it is effing scary if you mess up for real. for example, you might try to say "how is your family?" (an important greeting with everyone you see)... but DONT MESS UP! you might accidently say "how is your meat man?". this is considered a grave insult and you better not say it. there are lots of things like this but im currently forgeting them because this cyber cafe is horrible.
anyway, let me think of some stories.
so the other day i got home from school and i looked at our big beautiful mango tree and decided to climb on up. this is like THE perfect climbing tree, im telling you. so i climb up and matou (my 16 year old neice) starts CRACKING UP. im convinced she will soon pee her pants. she calls out the fam and everyone has a huuuge laugh party. (weve learned very quickly here that malians love to laugh and its not an offensive thing). im up in the tree laughing at the fact that everyone is having laugh seizures and my bro mohamed is going "WHERES YOUR CAMERA?! WHERES YOUR CAMERA?!" it was a wonderful family moment. afterwards we took lots of pictures of each ohter and perhaps i will sometime be able to put them up. we shall see.
oh, i know im jumping around, but last weekend we went to this city called sikasso that was about 6000 hours away and we climbed really high on these huge cliffs and it was awesome. you could see so far and it was sooo beautiful. we also saw lots of dead animal skulls because that is one place where they are sacrificed. mmm.
so, my little nephew mohamadou is basically the cutest child ever. he is only 17 months and at first he was scared of me but now hes my little buddy. when i get home he runs over to me and jumps into my arms. its always really great when he runs because his arms flap around like the marionnettes in team america when they run. his head is still really huge and hes usually wearing a little tshirt and no bottoms and he only has a few teeth but is smile is contagious. today as i walked to my bus stop on the way to school he followed me out and didnt want to leave my side. it was so cute. oh man.
lala, my little neice, is wonderful too. shes 4 and she is suuuuper musical and wants to sing and dance with me all the time. you should see how she dances. any time you start singing shakira she breaks it DOWN. she like, gyrates her hips and lifts up her shirt and stuff. in the US everyone would think this was far too sexual for a 4 year old but here everyone just claps to the beat and sings for her and laughs and comments "oh yes, lala is a very good dancer, oh yes i taught her" weve also been playing handclap games up the wazoo and the other day i taught her and some neighborkids ring around the rosy and we had to play it like 30 times before they would let me stop.
my brother mohamed is 29 and hes the leader of the family. hes super cool and takes me everywhere with him so ive gotten to meet a lot of his friends. we drive around on his moto all over the city and each take an earphone of my ipod and jam out. its great because on these bloody hot days a little wind and a little music is all you need.
so yesterday i was very sick but today im better. the doc gave me 4 medicines and a little sleep did a lot of good.
this weekend i have some exciting plans. my bambara teacher manages a malian hiphop group and this friday they are having a concert in kati so we are all going. its going to be so fun!! this teacher is the shiiiz. on saturday were having a party at amadou and mariams house because its one of the students birthdays. hopefully we can chill with them some more. did i mention i played guitar with their fam?! also this weekend im going running with mohamed up a hill in bamako. hopefully the heat doesnt kill me!
well, thats all for now, my time is about to run out. ill try to give some updates in another week or so.
love to all.
hErE.
Bintou
my fam is wonderful. i have 3 brothers and 2 sisters that are older than me, plus 2 neices and a nephew (matou, lala, and mohamadou) and we have a servant who is like anohter member of the family (aminata). you might be thinking "wow a servant" and its true that my fam is not poor, but to give you some perspective, most of my friends fams have 5 or 6 servants and they are not treated well so i am glad that aminata is so loved and repected in our household.
i have found more than ever here that you cant make ANY assumptions about other cultures. not in the least. everything is different. here are some cool aspects about malian culture:
1. last names are very important and people will judge you by them. since there are only like, 12 malian last names, each one is paired off with another (or several) and these groups are called "joking cousins". as a traoré, my joking cousins are the diarras. and when you meat a joking cousin, you are compelled to make fun of them BUT there is only one insult you should make... you have to say "ahh! cousin! you eat beans!!! haahaha" and in response they will say "no no no, it is YOUR family that eats beans!!" effectively, everyone eats beans in mali and it is one big fart party but noone will admit this. i personally love this tradition and have had a wonderful time accusing people of eating a staple food in malian culture.
2. bambara is a tonal language and we have had some good fun messing up in class. but it is effing scary if you mess up for real. for example, you might try to say "how is your family?" (an important greeting with everyone you see)... but DONT MESS UP! you might accidently say "how is your meat man?". this is considered a grave insult and you better not say it. there are lots of things like this but im currently forgeting them because this cyber cafe is horrible.
anyway, let me think of some stories.
so the other day i got home from school and i looked at our big beautiful mango tree and decided to climb on up. this is like THE perfect climbing tree, im telling you. so i climb up and matou (my 16 year old neice) starts CRACKING UP. im convinced she will soon pee her pants. she calls out the fam and everyone has a huuuge laugh party. (weve learned very quickly here that malians love to laugh and its not an offensive thing). im up in the tree laughing at the fact that everyone is having laugh seizures and my bro mohamed is going "WHERES YOUR CAMERA?! WHERES YOUR CAMERA?!" it was a wonderful family moment. afterwards we took lots of pictures of each ohter and perhaps i will sometime be able to put them up. we shall see.
oh, i know im jumping around, but last weekend we went to this city called sikasso that was about 6000 hours away and we climbed really high on these huge cliffs and it was awesome. you could see so far and it was sooo beautiful. we also saw lots of dead animal skulls because that is one place where they are sacrificed. mmm.
so, my little nephew mohamadou is basically the cutest child ever. he is only 17 months and at first he was scared of me but now hes my little buddy. when i get home he runs over to me and jumps into my arms. its always really great when he runs because his arms flap around like the marionnettes in team america when they run. his head is still really huge and hes usually wearing a little tshirt and no bottoms and he only has a few teeth but is smile is contagious. today as i walked to my bus stop on the way to school he followed me out and didnt want to leave my side. it was so cute. oh man.
lala, my little neice, is wonderful too. shes 4 and she is suuuuper musical and wants to sing and dance with me all the time. you should see how she dances. any time you start singing shakira she breaks it DOWN. she like, gyrates her hips and lifts up her shirt and stuff. in the US everyone would think this was far too sexual for a 4 year old but here everyone just claps to the beat and sings for her and laughs and comments "oh yes, lala is a very good dancer, oh yes i taught her" weve also been playing handclap games up the wazoo and the other day i taught her and some neighborkids ring around the rosy and we had to play it like 30 times before they would let me stop.
my brother mohamed is 29 and hes the leader of the family. hes super cool and takes me everywhere with him so ive gotten to meet a lot of his friends. we drive around on his moto all over the city and each take an earphone of my ipod and jam out. its great because on these bloody hot days a little wind and a little music is all you need.
so yesterday i was very sick but today im better. the doc gave me 4 medicines and a little sleep did a lot of good.
this weekend i have some exciting plans. my bambara teacher manages a malian hiphop group and this friday they are having a concert in kati so we are all going. its going to be so fun!! this teacher is the shiiiz. on saturday were having a party at amadou and mariams house because its one of the students birthdays. hopefully we can chill with them some more. did i mention i played guitar with their fam?! also this weekend im going running with mohamed up a hill in bamako. hopefully the heat doesnt kill me!
well, thats all for now, my time is about to run out. ill try to give some updates in another week or so.
love to all.
hErE.
Bintou
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
so right now im in amadou and miriam's house. THE amadou and meriam. yep. they're my friends host parents. i just hung out with amadou. now were chilling in their megahouse and they have internet thus the update. anyway, things are going quite well for me n my modest home in hamdallaye (old city). we dont have 8 bathrooms like this house but im happy to be getting a realistic home experience. sometime i will have to explain the bathroom situation here but right now, were off to play some guitar with the fam.
k'an bEn
k'an bEn
Friday, February 8, 2008
call me bintou
a ni sogomo friends and fam, Im here in mali safe and sound and I love this place! so far everyone has been so nice, the weather is perfect (really not that hot) and it is so beautiful!
the first 2 days we spent near bamako, going to class in our wonderful, open air class building and meeting lots of people from the area. day one they set us loose in the crazy marketplace in center city and we were paired off and had to find certain things and buy certain things and then find our way back to the hotel. it was completely overwhelming without knozing bambara but we all made it!
weve met so many warm people who are very welcoming and invite us to join them in food or dance or the likes. (this computer is so hard to type on so excuse my mistakes).
ive spent the last 2 days in siby, a small village about 1.5 hours outside the city. it was very remote with no electricity or running water and we had a great time... meetng the locals, playing soccer, etc. the first night there after dinner we heard very loud music coming from another part of the village so some of us followed it and found a huge dance festival with hundreds of villagers. they invited us to dance so we ended up being there for hours, playing zith the kids and dancing a TON. it was so great... i even busted out some of the dance moves i learned in african dance class and they were cheering and joining. everyone just has this great love of life and its contagious.
today we returned from siby and ive just met my host family and seen my home for the next 3 mnths. i love it! its very simple but i have a small room to myself. most of the house is an outdoor area zith a beautiful mosaic floor. there are lots of people that im not sure my "relation" to yet including some adorable little kids; a little baby named mohamadou and a little sis named lala who is 4. there are some girls who are about 12 or so and more people that i will meet tonight zhen they return from work and such. i should tell you now that im not claire anymore... here i am BINTOU TRAORE. i love the name bintou so im having everyone call me that... even the other students. hehe.
so, there is so mcuh more to tell but my internet clock is running low and i need to leave so,e time for this thing to send. from now on, ill post updates when i can on my blog: dumali.blogspot.com. check it out and feel free to subscribe. im not sure that i will be able to use internet so mcuh here but i will try when i can!
feel free to write back and i will try to respond!
miss you and love you all.
hErE (peace),BINTOU
PS annemarie and lucy... there are mango trees everywhere!!! its all we eat!!!
the first 2 days we spent near bamako, going to class in our wonderful, open air class building and meeting lots of people from the area. day one they set us loose in the crazy marketplace in center city and we were paired off and had to find certain things and buy certain things and then find our way back to the hotel. it was completely overwhelming without knozing bambara but we all made it!
weve met so many warm people who are very welcoming and invite us to join them in food or dance or the likes. (this computer is so hard to type on so excuse my mistakes).
ive spent the last 2 days in siby, a small village about 1.5 hours outside the city. it was very remote with no electricity or running water and we had a great time... meetng the locals, playing soccer, etc. the first night there after dinner we heard very loud music coming from another part of the village so some of us followed it and found a huge dance festival with hundreds of villagers. they invited us to dance so we ended up being there for hours, playing zith the kids and dancing a TON. it was so great... i even busted out some of the dance moves i learned in african dance class and they were cheering and joining. everyone just has this great love of life and its contagious.
today we returned from siby and ive just met my host family and seen my home for the next 3 mnths. i love it! its very simple but i have a small room to myself. most of the house is an outdoor area zith a beautiful mosaic floor. there are lots of people that im not sure my "relation" to yet including some adorable little kids; a little baby named mohamadou and a little sis named lala who is 4. there are some girls who are about 12 or so and more people that i will meet tonight zhen they return from work and such. i should tell you now that im not claire anymore... here i am BINTOU TRAORE. i love the name bintou so im having everyone call me that... even the other students. hehe.
so, there is so mcuh more to tell but my internet clock is running low and i need to leave so,e time for this thing to send. from now on, ill post updates when i can on my blog: dumali.blogspot.com. check it out and feel free to subscribe. im not sure that i will be able to use internet so mcuh here but i will try when i can!
feel free to write back and i will try to respond!
miss you and love you all.
hErE (peace),BINTOU
PS annemarie and lucy... there are mango trees everywhere!!! its all we eat!!!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
the countdown begins...
im leaving in just 8 days. hollllly shit. at the moment my packing pile is lame-o. soap, deodorant, backpack, some skirts, and OH a water filter. i still have a lotalot to pull together. luckily, i have no friends (home) so all day every day i COULD be going to get stuff. at the moment im thinking the pack will be filled like so:
1/8 clothing
1/8 books and school supplies
1/8 miscellaneous - flashlight, small fan, host family gifts, yadda
1/8 sun protection
4/8 PILLS
ill be careful not to pull a heath ledger with those. too soon?
lately ive been trying to gather all the contacts i can get while im there. if anyone reading this blog can help me out that would great dude.
1/8 clothing
1/8 books and school supplies
1/8 miscellaneous - flashlight, small fan, host family gifts, yadda
1/8 sun protection
4/8 PILLS
ill be careful not to pull a heath ledger with those. too soon?
lately ive been trying to gather all the contacts i can get while im there. if anyone reading this blog can help me out that would great dude.
Friday, January 11, 2008
musique en afrique
http://mali-music.com/index.html
i just found this website with music updates in mali and i want to remember it so i can go to concerts and such while im there. one of the things im really excited about is the great art and music scene in bamako. some of the most internationally known african musicians like ali farke toure are from there. plus i really want to go to places where i can dance! in my west african dance class this semester a lot of the dances we learned were from mali...wooo.
my dream: my host brother plays djembe and my host sister dances...
...buuuut i dont even know if i'll have host siblings so i wont get my hopes up quite yet
i just found this website with music updates in mali and i want to remember it so i can go to concerts and such while im there. one of the things im really excited about is the great art and music scene in bamako. some of the most internationally known african musicians like ali farke toure are from there. plus i really want to go to places where i can dance! in my west african dance class this semester a lot of the dances we learned were from mali...wooo.
my dream: my host brother plays djembe and my host sister dances...
...buuuut i dont even know if i'll have host siblings so i wont get my hopes up quite yet
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