It's one in the morning on Friday, so about 6:00 in Salt Lake. We're staying in the nicest hotel yet. We have towels and a bed sheet and wifi so even though I have to be up at 6:00 in the morning, I'm going to power through at least one more post so you guys will be updated until Saturday when I know I'll have wifi again.
Day four- Wednesday
The days keep getting crazier and crazier! I don't even know where to start.
Today was a big travel day. We had to get up about 7:00 and hit the road for a long seven hour drive to the dedication of our first school. It was an alright trip. My legs were cramped and I couldn't catch up on sleep from the night before in the weird hotel with no blankets. We had to keep stopping at checkpoints where you show some papers every few miles which was frustrating, and we would have to stop so everyone could buy their share of goat milk and weird fruit. When we would stop people would run up to the bus and shove whatever they're selling in the windows. I saw everything. Cookies, eggs, water, bananas, etc. I actually got to try this fruit they (I think) call tzi tzi. It looks like an artichoke mixed with a dragon fruit and tastes like a cross between a banana and a mango. It was actually pretty good, it just had a lot of big seeds in little pods. I also got to use my first weird latrine bathroom. Bridgett and I were dying in the car so it was either pee into a concrete hold, or squat next to a villager on the side of the road. Too bad we couldn't have found a nice bush though. Less splashy..
Moving on. So we're on our mini bus and the last hour of our trip was similar to the Indiana jones ride at Disneyland. I first snickered when there where "OMG" bars on the backs of the seats, but now I know what purpose they serve and why cars only last about three years in Africa. The road was crazy bumpy and crazy fun. I moved to the very back row right in the middle of the isle which I named the "Indiana Jones" seat. You catch the most air there. As we went further from the city the scenery became gradually more beautiful. The trees are massive with twisted trunks and huge leaves. There are also massive cotton and rice fields, tall grasses, and I even caught a glimpse of a small pond with large white Lilies floating on top. We tried getting pictures but it was difficult because we were bumping around everywhere and moving very fast.
The last hour was the most brutal. The bumps and the heat knocked out our awesome AC and we all felt like super car sick and grum The ride was totally worth it though when we pulled up to our first dedication. I sure wish my dad would've given me a heads up because I was absolutely amazed. We pull up to a huge isle of little kids singing and clapping and smiling. We walked between the rows and shook hands, gave high fives and tried a few knuckle bumps here and there. I would throw out "Bonjour" and "Ca va" (how are you) in hopes that they would understand, although I know that many of them speak Bambara and what little French they have learned so far in school. We were guided to the front rows of the ceremonies. I sat behind the chief. :D The whole village sat around in awe as my dad, Bridgett, Alou, and many people from The village went up to speak. Our Malian friends that travel with us would translate back and fourth between English and Bambara. I still didn't know completely what was going on, but I just smiled and waved and everything was "very good" (a phrase I've used a million times down here). They were just completely and utterly grateful for the school and couldn't say it enough. We just told them how much we value education and we hope that one day these children can be educated and give back to their village and the people of Mali.
After the speeches huge xylophones where played for us a some villagers started to dance. It's basically this awkward foot shuffle and arm wiggle around in a circle to whatever speed the beat is at. We all watched and took pictures but it wasn't long before a lady pulled Bridgett in. I just thought " You only get to dance with Malians once!" And jumped in behind her. We soon had nearly our whole group doing the shuffle with them.
We then went to tour the schools. We walked from class to class taking pictures of the inside which was just concrete, a blackboard and many crowded splintery desks and then took pictures with the headmasters, teachers, and members of the board of education for Mali. I then became a celebrity for a few hours which was extremely overwhelming. Everywhere I turned someone was taking pictures or video of us as we walked around. Many people stopped and asked for a picture or I would ask for everyone to gather in for one with me, and would be doggy piled again. It was simply amazing to see how we'll received we were by many people. I tried my best to talk to everyone in broken French and touch as many hands as possible, but there were just so many kids it was impossible to get everyone.
We then had the dreaded communal eating experience. In Mali they throw all their food into a huge bowl, sit around in a circle, and eat with their right hand only because their left is their potty hand. We all sort of had a heads up that it would happen at the dedications and we knew it would be rude to say no. Luckily, for our first time, we sat with our group and our Malian friends who showed us how it was done. Let me tell ya, it is an art form to eat the way Malians do. It was a simple meal of chicken and rice that was actually pretty good if you could get past the weird gritty bites here and there. Not sure if it were dirt, seasoning, or something else.... I just pecked at it while a million people watched me.
By this time it was about 7:00 but its was pretty dark. The party was sort of dying down and we were about to drop a suitcase full of some supplies off to the headmaster and head out. Earlier that day we also donated some soccer balls. Garrett and I walked onto the mini bus to grab them and when we came out we had a crowd surrounding us so instead of playing with them, we gave them to the headmasters and let them take care of it. While everyone was situating the supplies Bridgett and I had a cute crowd of about 8 or 9 kids gathered. We shook hands and introduced ourselves and they told us their names and we decided we had a blast. We showed them the Hokey Pokey, itsy bitsy spider, and the chicken dance, etc. They danced along and giggled and listened to Bridgett and I singing. It was the most fun I've had with the kids so far because it was a small group that I could actually have some personal time with. You can't be too crazy around them because they just think you're a silly American and think you're awesome. They even sang for us a little which was adorable. We still had them humming the chicken dance as we loaded the bus to go.
The Village of Lofine was supposed to be on the next days' agenda but when they heard that my dad was close they said we absolutely had to come say hello. We got back on the dark bumpy road, showed up in the pitch black and a small group of village elders and the chief greeted us. Lofine is where the school my dad's company donated is. He had visited around this time last year for the dedication and they all fell in love with him. Some kids ran up to us as soon as we got off the bus and said "Fred! Fred!" Some even still had their shirts he gave them last year. The meeting was short and sweet. I shook hands, met the chief (whose hand you don't shake because its tradition not to touch him), and we went to another sketchy little hotel. Still no bed sheet or towel. The courtyard was cool though with little animal statues and chairs. I shared a room with Bridgett and used her maxi dress as a sleeping bag for the night. I slept like a baby.
Two dedications tomorrow! Should be crazy.
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