Hello faithful reader(s)!
Sorry it's been awhile, I have since returned from a two-week sojourn around Mali. We visited Segou, Djenne, Mopti, Dogon country, Sikasso, and Bougouni, to name the main places. The trip confirmed what I already knew: Mali is a beautiful country full of many, many things to be explored. On that note, I think I will be staying an extra week or so in Mali, doing archeology in Djenne-Djeno (Old Djenne) with Susan McIntosh, an archeologist/professor at Rice University. I am pretty excited, and just need to go to Air France to exchange my ticket. And find lodging in Djenne.
I am back in my homestay, and it is pretty nice. I have no personal space, which is starting to really wear on me, but my family is absolutely wonderful. They are so kind to me and for the most part patient. It is hard though, to be communicating on the level of a 7 year old (at most!) all the time. Still, I am impressed that I have survived this far, and am sure I can keep truckin'.
Bogolan is going well, I get covered in mud on a daily basis and couldn't be happier. I am having trouble learning much about ideograms, but there is still 3 weeks until the final paper is due (eep!).
Also, I have started learning balafon, a marimba-type instrument with calabashes under the beams which make a pleasant buzzing sound. In order to learn, I had to buy my own balafon, which is being made now and should be finished in about a week. I am learning a song called "N'i ko ka di", which means "Certain Things which are Good". My teacher, Baba, is kind and patient and holds my hand a lot. He is a great teacher and I love spending time with him at Maison des Jeunes, the space where he works. I also learn a bit of bogolan there, as there is an atelier (workshop) which caters to tourists.
Work is upon us, lots of it, so I will be swamped the next few weeks. Three papers, shit tons of bogolan, I will never have a free moment! Still, all will turn out well, I am sure.
Finally, Bamako is for the most part overjoyed about Obama's win. The first thing my family said to me on the morning of the 5th was "Congratulations!" and many other people have been congratulating me. At a boulangerie yesterday, I saw cakes that said "Obama" on them. Barrack, you are loved.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Bamako aka I am surrounded by muso fatos (crazy women)
Hello all! I am not quite sure what is happened (as usual) but I am in this really nice house in some neighborhood in Bamako and will be here until tomorrow, because someone is getting married. There are three young women who are nuts, in a great way. They are trying to convince me to either get Res to move here, or ditch him and marry some dude named Drissa. Marriage proposals are common, but this is the best so far.
Since last writing, we have moved into our homestays. I live in Magnambougou Faso Kanu, close to chez toubabu where we all stayed. I share a room with two university students, Mama and Asi, and there are tons of little kids. My jatigi (mentor)'s name is Bebe and she is wonderful and grandma-ish. Everyone is so nice, and the food is delicious. Those of you who asked, the food here is lots of rice and meat and sauce. Rice or couscous is served with sauce, either tomato, tiga dege (peanut butter), or leaf sauce. Meat is served in the sauce, along with some veggies. Bread is also eaten a lot. Lately, I have been getting really oily spaghetti with meat and onions, which from talking with the other tubabus I gather is the norm. Mutton and goat are the most eaten meats, I believe, because they are the animals I see the most. All the animals are free-range to the extreme, we've seen cows grazing in dumps before. Today I saw a donkey eating out of a tire. The food is delicious, and soon I'm going to start drinking tap water. There is a bathroom (with a toilet!! tres chic, n'est pas?) connected to my room, so if things don't go well I won't have to spend hours over a pit toilet. I really love the street food I've had, particularly muffins. Also, bisap juice (very sweet fruity juice) and gengen (sweet ginger drink) out of plastic bags are delicious.
Bogolan is going well, I am learning lots of idiograms, most of which are not used very much, and I have plans to bogolan a whole outfit for my final projet. I am in the process of dying some fabric with fixitive, so next will be painting, then painting again. Bogolan is a very time consuming art, but I love it. It's very tricky to work in negative space, but I will work hard to master this skill.
It is exhausting being unable to communicate properly, but I think my frambra (french-bambara melange) skills are improving, if not my french and my bamanakan separately. Living with a family is wonderful, though sometimes I miss having personal space. Next week, the toubabus leave on a 2 week trip through the country, and I am very excited!
Some pleasures of Mali that I have found:
1. Riding on the back of a moto through the crowded streets, feeling the wind beneath my toes
2. le fleuve Niger,in all its swollen majesty (it's rained way more than usual this year)
3. Delighting people with my limited Bamanakan
4. bats (they are huge and plentiful and for some reason I love them)
5. learning bogolan
6. muffins and bisap
7. scarification- this is something i have been thinking about a lot lately, one of the guys on the trip is thinking about getting some. The scarification practices here are incredibly attractive to me, and fascinating.
A bana ni kambe kofe (done and see you later)
Since last writing, we have moved into our homestays. I live in Magnambougou Faso Kanu, close to chez toubabu where we all stayed. I share a room with two university students, Mama and Asi, and there are tons of little kids. My jatigi (mentor)'s name is Bebe and she is wonderful and grandma-ish. Everyone is so nice, and the food is delicious. Those of you who asked, the food here is lots of rice and meat and sauce. Rice or couscous is served with sauce, either tomato, tiga dege (peanut butter), or leaf sauce. Meat is served in the sauce, along with some veggies. Bread is also eaten a lot. Lately, I have been getting really oily spaghetti with meat and onions, which from talking with the other tubabus I gather is the norm. Mutton and goat are the most eaten meats, I believe, because they are the animals I see the most. All the animals are free-range to the extreme, we've seen cows grazing in dumps before. Today I saw a donkey eating out of a tire. The food is delicious, and soon I'm going to start drinking tap water. There is a bathroom (with a toilet!! tres chic, n'est pas?) connected to my room, so if things don't go well I won't have to spend hours over a pit toilet. I really love the street food I've had, particularly muffins. Also, bisap juice (very sweet fruity juice) and gengen (sweet ginger drink) out of plastic bags are delicious.
Bogolan is going well, I am learning lots of idiograms, most of which are not used very much, and I have plans to bogolan a whole outfit for my final projet. I am in the process of dying some fabric with fixitive, so next will be painting, then painting again. Bogolan is a very time consuming art, but I love it. It's very tricky to work in negative space, but I will work hard to master this skill.
It is exhausting being unable to communicate properly, but I think my frambra (french-bambara melange) skills are improving, if not my french and my bamanakan separately. Living with a family is wonderful, though sometimes I miss having personal space. Next week, the toubabus leave on a 2 week trip through the country, and I am very excited!
Some pleasures of Mali that I have found:
1. Riding on the back of a moto through the crowded streets, feeling the wind beneath my toes
2. le fleuve Niger,in all its swollen majesty (it's rained way more than usual this year)
3. Delighting people with my limited Bamanakan
4. bats (they are huge and plentiful and for some reason I love them)
5. learning bogolan
6. muffins and bisap
7. scarification- this is something i have been thinking about a lot lately, one of the guys on the trip is thinking about getting some. The scarification practices here are incredibly attractive to me, and fascinating.
A bana ni kambe kofe (done and see you later)
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Greetings from Bamako
We've been in Bamako about three weeks, but this is the first time I've really had to update. So far things have been crazy but good overall, what with the language barrier and trying to navigate around a new city, especially one as big as Bamako.
There are 15 students, all American, and a TA who went on the trip last year. We get along really well, and are having a lot of fun together. During the past three weeks we have had language classes in the morning, and culture class in the afternoon, where we discuss readings, have guest lecturers, and go on field trips to various places in and around Bamako, like Point G (a nice hospital), a market where many masks and fetishes (roughly translates to amulets) are sold, and a biofuel factory near Koulikoro, outside of the city.
Some of us are learning Bamanakan, and others are learning French, myself included. Everyone speaks French, but people are very happy when you try to speak Bamanakan, and are more than willing to help out. Language has been the hardest barrier up to this point, and when we move into our homestays on Monday it will probably get worse. However, we will also improve drastically, which I am looking forward to. Another challenge is transportation, which at first appears very daunting. The common mode of transport is a Sotrama, which is a green van/bus thing with wooden seats along the walls. A pratige collects money and yells the bus' destination, and many, many people cram onto the benches. At first it seems very overwhelming, which bus to get on and how much it costs, but people really are helpful and I would say it's a lot less sketchy than Baltimore transportation.
Last weekend, we visited the town of Siby, which is about an hour outside of Bamako. We hiked in the area a lot, visiting two waterfalls and the Arche de Kamandjan. It was very beautiful and green, thanks to the rain that is still coming down, though it is well past the normal time for dry season to begin.
Please, if you have any questions about Mali and Bamako ask them, for I'm finding it hard to decide what to write and how to formulate my thoughts.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Getting Ready
Hello! I guess it's been awhile since I wrote. I finished work on the 15th, which was a bit sad but also really nice. The Alumni House gave me some really thoughtful gifts (notebooks, a map of North & West Africa), and OIS took Tatiana and I out to lunch. I learned a lot working at the offices this summer, and I'm pretty satisfied with my work. The Fall Quarterly will have all my work in it, so look out for that in a few months!
After work, Res and I went to California to visit the family before I left and my brother, Michael, went off to college. Res hasn't sent me all the pictures, or else I would post them, but I did manage to get one. Besides going to the Santa Barbara Zoo (where this lovely shot was taken), we visited Grandma, went to the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens, went to the beach, visited Inbal, and were guests of honor at a party my parents hosted. We saw lots of family and friends there, and it was a lot of fun. We also went hiking and spent some quality time lounging in the pool. I would say Res' first foray into the West was a success.
In the meantime, I've been hanging out at the house in Hampden. I've been freaking out a little about Mali (SIX DAYS until I leave!) and trying to get ready. My homework is almost done, now I just have to get everything in order and pack. And find my yellow fever vaccine card. Hmm...
I'm nervous because it's longer than I've ever spent outside the US by a long time, and because of the language barrier, and because I'm living at a homestay for six weeks. What if I don't get along with my family, what if I accidentally use my left hand to reach into the communal bowl at dinner, etc. etc. I talked on the phone with Maura yesterday (sorry, mom and dad!) and in her infinite study -abroad wisdom (she's already been in South Africa over a month!) comforted me. I will try to keep some perspective while I am there, and things should be okay. And get ready for interesting photos and blogs, friends and family!
PS. Did I mention Artscape was awesome? Well it was. You all should go.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
July
It's been nearly a month, so I figure it's time to post again.
Things have been going rather smoothly, apart from my two brief lessons on learning to ride a bike. Those have been more or less unfruitful, except from the 10 feet or so I rode yesterday after Res let go of the bike.
Work is good. It can be kind of boring at times, but I am kept busy. At the Alumni House I have been going down to the science building and interviewing professors and students on what projects they are working on. During this, I stumbled across a really cool topic, synesthesia, or two senses reacting to one stimulus (in my own words). For instance, the most common type of synesthesia is when letters or numbers appear in a certain hue- involuntarily and consistently. There are other types involving different senses, such as seeing colors when hearing music, smelling or tasting certain things when seeing or hearing stimuli, etc. Needless to say, I find it fascinating. Anyway, I am writing a full article on synesthesia for the fall edition of the Quarterly. I am pretty excited, but a little daunted by the task. International Studies is fun too, I finally finished the list of non-Goucher approved study abroad programs. You're welcome, future generations of Goucher travelers.
Apart from work, things are also going well. I have become re-addicted to Lost, so I watch that on my computer. I have some work for Mali I have to do. I still spend most weekends in Hampden. A week or two ago, Res and I rescued my friend Mary from a hellish day involving a flat tire on her bike and many hours of bus-riding. We ate dinner at her lovely house in Waverly, and got to hang out with her hilarious roommate and her dogs. Waverly is pretty close to Hampden, on the other side of Charles Village I believe (though I'm probably wrong), but completely different. It's pretty dangerous, I wouldn't feel comfortable out at night, but it also seems a lot friendlier: everyone we crossed said hello, and Mary says the kids a few houses down read to her. It was a nice change from Hampden, and great to see Mary!
A few days later was Fourth of July. It was nice to have a three-day weekend, and celebrating in an historic location was a first for me. Res, his friend Andrew and I went to Federal Hill to watch fireworks from the Inner Harbor. It rained a bit, but stopped in time for the fireworks. There was a bit of confusion for the audience, because fireworks started going off in the Harbor on one side, and from Fort McHenry on another! We settled on the Fort side, which is where, according to the man next to me, "we kicked the shit out of the British". Maybe not exactly true, but funny. We made the mistake of driving up to Fed Hill, and it took us nearly an hour to get out of the Harbor area.
This Saturday, I got to work at the Waverly Farmer's Market selling dairy products. It was a ton of fun, well worth getting up at 6AM for (even after a thrilling night at Joe Squared, meeting tons of Goucher alums as Res played bass with his old bass teacher and another Goucher professor). The people watching was great, and the customers were really friendly. My arms ached for a few days after, though. Still, I've got to try some of this milk, the customers act like it's crack out of a cow. After worked the Farmer's Market all morning, Res and I went up to his parent's house in Pennsylvania. His sisters came too, so it was good to see all the Saxtons together. Res and I went to Longwood Gardens on Saturday, a really nice botanical garden. We liked the tree houses spread throughout the grounds. I especially liked the Children's section and the Mediterranean section. I liked pointing out all the plants that grow in the wild in southern California, and what we have in our yard at home.
Now it's back to work for a few more weeks, though I'm having a bit of trouble with housing. I will definitely not be homeless, though, so all is well. This weekend is Artscape, a huge free outdoor art festival. I can't wait!
More to remind myself than anything else, there is a sliver of hope that I will spend summer of 2009 in Singapore. I need to get on this. Mom, send Roxanna's email please.
Also! I got skype, so please talk to me especially when I am abroad. My skype name is laura_langberg.
Things have been going rather smoothly, apart from my two brief lessons on learning to ride a bike. Those have been more or less unfruitful, except from the 10 feet or so I rode yesterday after Res let go of the bike.
Work is good. It can be kind of boring at times, but I am kept busy. At the Alumni House I have been going down to the science building and interviewing professors and students on what projects they are working on. During this, I stumbled across a really cool topic, synesthesia, or two senses reacting to one stimulus (in my own words). For instance, the most common type of synesthesia is when letters or numbers appear in a certain hue- involuntarily and consistently. There are other types involving different senses, such as seeing colors when hearing music, smelling or tasting certain things when seeing or hearing stimuli, etc. Needless to say, I find it fascinating. Anyway, I am writing a full article on synesthesia for the fall edition of the Quarterly. I am pretty excited, but a little daunted by the task. International Studies is fun too, I finally finished the list of non-Goucher approved study abroad programs. You're welcome, future generations of Goucher travelers.
Apart from work, things are also going well. I have become re-addicted to Lost, so I watch that on my computer. I have some work for Mali I have to do. I still spend most weekends in Hampden. A week or two ago, Res and I rescued my friend Mary from a hellish day involving a flat tire on her bike and many hours of bus-riding. We ate dinner at her lovely house in Waverly, and got to hang out with her hilarious roommate and her dogs. Waverly is pretty close to Hampden, on the other side of Charles Village I believe (though I'm probably wrong), but completely different. It's pretty dangerous, I wouldn't feel comfortable out at night, but it also seems a lot friendlier: everyone we crossed said hello, and Mary says the kids a few houses down read to her. It was a nice change from Hampden, and great to see Mary!
A few days later was Fourth of July. It was nice to have a three-day weekend, and celebrating in an historic location was a first for me. Res, his friend Andrew and I went to Federal Hill to watch fireworks from the Inner Harbor. It rained a bit, but stopped in time for the fireworks. There was a bit of confusion for the audience, because fireworks started going off in the Harbor on one side, and from Fort McHenry on another! We settled on the Fort side, which is where, according to the man next to me, "we kicked the shit out of the British". Maybe not exactly true, but funny. We made the mistake of driving up to Fed Hill, and it took us nearly an hour to get out of the Harbor area.
This Saturday, I got to work at the Waverly Farmer's Market selling dairy products. It was a ton of fun, well worth getting up at 6AM for (even after a thrilling night at Joe Squared, meeting tons of Goucher alums as Res played bass with his old bass teacher and another Goucher professor). The people watching was great, and the customers were really friendly. My arms ached for a few days after, though. Still, I've got to try some of this milk, the customers act like it's crack out of a cow. After worked the Farmer's Market all morning, Res and I went up to his parent's house in Pennsylvania. His sisters came too, so it was good to see all the Saxtons together. Res and I went to Longwood Gardens on Saturday, a really nice botanical garden. We liked the tree houses spread throughout the grounds. I especially liked the Children's section and the Mediterranean section. I liked pointing out all the plants that grow in the wild in southern California, and what we have in our yard at home.
Now it's back to work for a few more weeks, though I'm having a bit of trouble with housing. I will definitely not be homeless, though, so all is well. This weekend is Artscape, a huge free outdoor art festival. I can't wait!
More to remind myself than anything else, there is a sliver of hope that I will spend summer of 2009 in Singapore. I need to get on this. Mom, send Roxanna's email please.
Also! I got skype, so please talk to me especially when I am abroad. My skype name is laura_langberg.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Summer in Baltimore
The summer has begun, and I'm settling into summer life quite nicely. I have to balance between the freezing cold of the Alumni House (I have no idea why it's always so cold- menopausal women? penguins?) and the heavy humidity of outside, but other than that things are good. Today I got to do a phone interview with one of the executive staff members of Burning Man. It was cool to speak to her, and visit the website for hours and have it count as work. The Alumni House is shaping me into a little journalist, something I have no previous experience of yet am happy to become. It's also nice working at the Office of International Studies. I'm really big on travel, so even looking up program after study abroad program is pretty interesting.
Today I talked to the program director for the Mali study abroad program I'm going on in the fall, and right now it looks like I am going to be learning how to make bogolan, or mud cloth (think batik, but Malian). Also, it seems I will be learning enough Bamana to be competent, even without classes, which is good. If I weren't a French minor needing the credits, I would definitely take Bamana as my language option.
After a week in the office, it's nice to get away for the weekend. I go to Hampden, a fun neighborhood in northern Baltimore, to visit my boyfriend and some friends. It's a nice escape, plus pretty easy to get around. So far we've been to the Charles Village festival, Jazzfest in Federal Hill, and Honfest, right down the street in Hampden! Baltimore is full of festivals, though many of them are very similar. Still, it's fun to experience the sights and sounds and especially people-watch. It's also fun to have a full-size kitchen that I don't have to share with a whole residence hall full of people. And the grocery store is in walking distance! I'll definitely work on learning to cook better the rest of the summer. That and learn to ride a bike...
While Hampden is good, it's also nice here in Towson. The roommate situation is really good, and I have fun working out in the morning and then eating breakfast in our ENORMOUS common room. I also like going into town, the library will probably be my new favorite place to go in Towson (not like I had an old favorite place). Oh, and getting boba on the way back. A goal Tatiana (roommate) and I have set for ourselves is to find more boba, hopefully even good boba, in Baltimore. Does anyone know a good boba place?
Well, enough for tonight! I'll write more if anything exciting ever happen!
Today I talked to the program director for the Mali study abroad program I'm going on in the fall, and right now it looks like I am going to be learning how to make bogolan, or mud cloth (think batik, but Malian). Also, it seems I will be learning enough Bamana to be competent, even without classes, which is good. If I weren't a French minor needing the credits, I would definitely take Bamana as my language option.
After a week in the office, it's nice to get away for the weekend. I go to Hampden, a fun neighborhood in northern Baltimore, to visit my boyfriend and some friends. It's a nice escape, plus pretty easy to get around. So far we've been to the Charles Village festival, Jazzfest in Federal Hill, and Honfest, right down the street in Hampden! Baltimore is full of festivals, though many of them are very similar. Still, it's fun to experience the sights and sounds and especially people-watch. It's also fun to have a full-size kitchen that I don't have to share with a whole residence hall full of people. And the grocery store is in walking distance! I'll definitely work on learning to cook better the rest of the summer. That and learn to ride a bike...
While Hampden is good, it's also nice here in Towson. The roommate situation is really good, and I have fun working out in the morning and then eating breakfast in our ENORMOUS common room. I also like going into town, the library will probably be my new favorite place to go in Towson (not like I had an old favorite place). Oh, and getting boba on the way back. A goal Tatiana (roommate) and I have set for ourselves is to find more boba, hopefully even good boba, in Baltimore. Does anyone know a good boba place?
Well, enough for tonight! I'll write more if anything exciting ever happen!
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