Much of our final days were spent with Yacouba’s family.  Kristen’s dad had sent a box of various styled scrubs, but also included the game, “Hungry Hungry Hippos!”  Hippos are local to Mali, so we aptly renamed the game, “Mali-Mangez Mangez,” and the kids loved it!  We each had traditional comples made, got henna tattoos and had our hair braided by the children.  After our short visit, I felt like I was actually part of their family...and I can’t wait to go back!

As we were walking around the cliffs, we saw an old man drawing lines in the sand - he was creating a sand divination.  The lines were actually questions with small nuts placed by each question.  During the night, the fox would come to answer the questions.  If the nuts were gone, the answer was yes.  

We stayed in the coolest hotel I’ve ever been in, by the way.  Hotel Kambary was made up of small dome shaped pods with mesh windows and leather plugs as “curtains.”  We even got to play “Dogon putt-putt” and had to get the golf ball through some amazing courses (such as through one eye of a Dogon mask!).  Very eclectic!  

We made our way to the well site, where we each got to pull up a ceremonial bucket of water.  This is no easy feet, however!  Consider pulling up about 2 gallons of water from the bottom of the well...and then repeating for the rest of your family.  This reminded me of an environmental science class that I took in which we were given a similar task.  We were given an empty 10 gallon paint bucket and instructed to fill it up at the nearest water source.  Sounds easy, right?  Nope, we were not allowed to use the sink or any spicket type source.  The nearest outdoor source was a small creek on campus, and it took two of us to carry it back to our building!  As we saw firsthand, this is an everyday reality for most Malians.  You should experiment by filling a bucket up outside and using this method to collect your water throughout the day.  You may begin to think twice about how much water you are really using.  

Also, while in Markala, we visited a Spiruline production facility.  Spiruline is a type of algae that is very nutritious and supports the immune system (you may have seen this supplement in the US as a powder in shops like Smoothie King).  The production takes very little space and there may be a possibility for expansion into a future project at village schools.  

Another school site that we visited was located on the river.  The river is a vibrant community gathering place for not only fishing, but bathing and washing.  Here, we not only saw the men and women race their dug out boats, but we actually partook in a race!  The boats are very long, carved out pieces of wood, that are tied together in some areas.  The river is not that deep, so you have the option of using paddles or long sticks to help you along.  While we were here, we were also presented with a large gift of fish, and we proceeded to eat of meal of beans, tomatoes, onions, rice, fish and sauce.  

Since we were staying with a new family in Markala, we also received new togomas, and spent the afternoon meeting and spending time with their families.  A major realization that occured during this trip to Mali, was that development work is more than just projects.  You can send in all the money in the world, but if you don’t take the time to create relationships, then the project may not last after you leave.  I saw myself struggling with this concept while I was there.  In America, we live in a 9 to 5 world where we’re obsessed with “getting things done.”  We also have to realize that the obsession is fueled by the fact that most amenities and conveniences are handed to us.  We drive to the grocery store and grab the lettuce off the shelf, rather than worrying about growing it ourself or walking a few miles to the market.  So, don’t feel as though you haven’t achieved a lot if your project takes longer than expected.  You’re not working with the same resources you might be used to, so you have to think outside of the box and channel your creativity.  The time you spend building relationships will help it sustain itself in the future.  

Our final stop in Markala was visiting with Jigiya.  Jigiya is a support group for the disabled, which helps to reintroduce them into a working society by providing start up resources for the creation of small shops and businesses.  African Sky has had a successful relationship with Jigiya, and the members presented us with breathtaking performances.  Even those who had trouble walking would dance on their hands!  It was utterly amazing.  

We left as we came, but our stay was not long enough for me.  I loved leaving the hustle and bustle of the city.  We traveled by bus for twelve hours to Markala, stopping frequently in roadside towns, and teaching ourselves card games to keep busy.  It was amazing to see how the ecology changed over such a short distance.  Once in Markala, we stayed at the home of Tamba Traore, a regional director for African Sky. 

We hopped off the bus in a nondescript roadside village to wait for our “rides” into Dissan.  After a few minutes, several mopeds drove up out of the sandy savanna.  We hopped onto the back of the mopeds and rode off on unpaved trails, past small villages, past fields being planted, until we came across Dissan.  I could already feel that it was significantly cooler here and I could actually breath in the non-polluted air!   Yacouba’s older brother, Brahman, greeted us upon our arrival and would act as our host during our stay.

As we relaxed with the family, we were constantly asked to move into the shade as the sun moved, in politeness, since they didn’t want us to be burned.  The children began to gather, but unlike the neighborhood children in Bamako, the Dissan kids were much more hesitant to speak.  As we ate dried peanuts (a staple crop here), two elders taught us greetings, with much amusement.  We ate a wonderful dinner of spaghetti and chicken at Brahman’s complex and headed in as it began to rain.  Even though night was falling, villagers headed back to the fields in the rain, since it was critical planting time with wet soil.

We gathered the sewing machines and dropped them off at the workshop.  We set the machines on the tables and took pictures to be created into a “how-to” guide for fitting the machines into the table (just in case, but it will probably not be needed since this is the standard machine and table type that they use in Mali).  

Michael - Abu Sangare (eldest brother of Yacouba)

Kristen - Matu Traore (named after Yacouba’s brother’s wife)

Katherine - Abi Samake (named after Yacouba’s wife)

With our new names, we soon commenced in the traditional joking between persons of certain last names.  The Malian culture is very light-hearted, and the jokes even provide strangers with a sense of connection.  As is customary with any visit, we proceeded with three cups of tea.  The first cup consisted of straight green tea, the second: half tea/half sugar, and the third was a very sweet sugary mixture.  The cups were passed to visitors first, then to family and elders.  An interesting twist to the process was that the tea was poured from a very high position, creating a thick foam at the top (a skilled tea maker can create lots and lots of foam).  As you drank your tea, however, you left as much froth for the next person as possible.  

From the museum, we traveled to the textile market to choose a selection of fabrics for our sample scrubs order.  The market was stocked full with anything and everything you could imagine!  You could buy fabrics, hubcaps, raw meat, fried fish, electronics, etc... creating a whirlwind of sights, sounds and flavors.  We chose five different fabric patterns for the scrubs, a mixture of funky and conservative, and decided to have them made in M, L, and XL, for now.  We will have one tailor use the fabric to create a sample order of twenty scrubs, so that we can compare sizes and quality later in our stay.

While we were in the market, we also checked the pricing for treadle bases.  We had only brought one base with us to Mali, with the intention of having copies made by a blacksmith.  We found a great deal on treadle bases that had the wooden top already built in, so we strapped them on to the top of a taxi and dropped them off at the workshop.  The workshop consists of a long room with a store front in a row of shops.

Once we were done at the workshop, we made our way to our Bamako host’s (Yacouba - country director for African Sky) house for dinner.  This was our first (of many!) traditional  meal, which consisted of a large communal bowl of rice, potatoes, and fish with a vegetable sauce.  To my surprise, it was delicious!  While we ate a dessert of mangoes, we learned some local Bamanankan phrases for mealtime.

We arrive in Casablanca, bright and early in the morning.  After we pass the palm-tree lined tarmac, however, it becomes a free-for-all as to where we should go next.  Since there aren’t any clear signs to point us in the right directions, we follow a crowd toward an area that looks somewhat like customs.  Here, we are basically shooed away by workers since this is not where we need to be.  Little did we know that for the next 6 hours, we’d be sent all over the Casablanca airport by officials who seemed just as confused as we were.  Luckily, we partnered with a Canadian traveler who could translate for us and we made it to the Royal Air Maroc flight desk.  Since we had a 15 hour layover, the airline offered a complementary hotel service, which we gladly accepted at the time.  They shuttled us to the “mysterious” terminal 3 and proceeded to lock us in with armed guards at the door.  This was terribly unsettling, but we came to find that because of the swine flu scare, anyone entering or exiting the airport had to go through infrared scanners to check for fevers (kind of cool, in hindsight!).  After more and more security procedures and even going to another terminal, we ultimately arrived at our hotel a mere 6 hours after we landed.  Thank goodness for the 15 hour layover, i suppose?

Road lines seem to be a suggestion for taxis in Casa, fitting nearly 5 or 6 cars across in 3 lanes of traffic.  Surprisingly, we only saw one accident along the way, with a bus hitting a man with a toilet on his head (no injuries, but seriously, why was he walking around with a toilet on his head?).  The hotel was well received by 3 tired travelers and we got some much needed rest before our Bamako flight.  

Arrived in Bamako around 3 or 4 am.  The plane pulled onto the tarmac and we were shuttled a lengthy 200 feet on tarmac bus to baggage claim.  Of course, Michael’s bags show up fine, but neither of Kristen or Katherine’s luggage showed up, so Dr. Lacy had to do some mediating.  Needless to say, upon entering our Bamako hotel, we had no trouble falling asleep.