As we were just planning this trip, I remember talking to someone about the possibility of going back to Mali. In a moment of deep, honest, un-edited expression, I remember saying something like: "Going back to Mali gives me the chance to tie-up a major loose thread in my life. Once Naomi and the girls have been there and experienced the warmth and wealth of the Malian family, then it won't matter if I get hit by a bus! The torch will have been passed."
Well, the torch has been passed. I had incredibly high expectations for this trip. Reconnecting with old friends and family. Introducing Naomi and the girls. Exploring ideas about integrating service learning in rural Malian bi-lingual education classes. Celebrating my 50th birthday. AND, the trip surpassed all expectations. We spent the first week with my colleague and big sister Maria Diarra in Kati, just outside the capital Bamako. There, we visited her school, became a part of her extended family, and visited a few other projects and schools in the area. We also got to spend some time with another Fulbrighter, Rosemary Traore and her family. Then, we took a 5-day trip north. First to Djenne (home to the largest adobe structure in the world -the Mosque of Djenne), then to the Dogon plateau, and finally to Segou, the historic capital of the Malian empire. Finally, we came back to Kati, where we had the birthday bash to end all birthday bashes (more on that later).
San mugan ni kelen tay tilay mugan ni kelen deh! (Twenty-one years is not twenty-one days!).
Two weeks of highs! Where do I start? This was truly the trip of a lifetime. It had been twenty-one years since I left Mali; but amazingly my Bamanankan (the local language spoken by most people in Mali) came back as if it was yesterday. More importantly, reconnecting with people after nearly a quarter of a century, was incredible. Mah Traore, the 2-year old daughter of Sambou and Haina Coulibaly is now married, and has a 2-year old of her own, Kadidiatou. Baba Traore, who was a high school biology student living with us in Banamba, is now principal of his own private school, "Ecole Sirido Baba" (the tiny farming hamlet that he comes from is called Sirido). Moussa Sissoko, one of my Peace Corps bamanankan teachers is now the director of education for the region of Kati; and Gaoussou Mariko, another Peace Corps teacher is now working at the US embassy. Here are a couple before and after pictures, to give you a sense of what 25 years looks like:
Left: Sambou with his daughter Mah Traore, and my Peace Corps buddy Yakuba (1985). Right: Sambou and his granddaughter, Kadidiatou (2008).
And here we all are looking at old pictures on the computer: (from left to right: Haina, Sambou, Seth, Mah Traore, Kafineh, and Alex in the back).
Left: Baba Traore and Haina in front of our home in Banamba (1986). Right: Baba Traore and Seth in front of Baba's school (2008).
Left: Peace Corps teachers in 1982 (Moussa Sissoko is on the far right). Right: In Moussa Sissoko's living room in Kati (from l to r: Alex, Naomi, Moussa, Moussa's wife, Maria, Seth and Maya). (2008).
Things have changed in Mali in the past 25 years. Cell phones are everywhere, and you can get coverage throughout the country, even in Timbuktou! In 1987, there was only 1 paved road, running north-south, connecting Mali to the Ivory Coast. Now, there are many paved highways, connecting Mali to Senegal on the west, Guinea on the South-west, and Niger on the east. Also, as Alex and Maya found out, styles have changed. In preparation for the trip, I told them not to pack jeans or shorts, as I said that girls, especially proper girls, did not wear such items! WRONG!!! Truly, with regard to Malian fashion, I am a "man of the '80s." While Malian women do wear beautiful traditional clothes, they also wear shorts and jeans. Sorry Maya!
So, this is the first of my Malian blogs. Just to break the ice. I'll end with this last picture from our trip north with Brahima Ouologuem. He and I worked together in Banamba, and when my mother visited in 1986, he accompanied us on a similar trip to Djenne and the Dogon Plateau. Now, 21 years later, he is working as a Dogon teacher for Peace Corps, and was able to join us again on our trek north. He is now married --2 wives and 10 kids-- but that's a story for later. Here we are on the banks of the Niger in Segou.
Blog ya later.
Madu (Seth)./.
