Gummy bears and seizures

Tuesday- Day three

Today was by far the craziest day of the trip. I felt a whole new wave of culture shock and I finally got to see some cute African kids! I'm so excited!

Alright, so the group got up a little earlier than usual today, ate breakfast, and spent some time sorting through all the school supplies donations we brought to give to the schools. Between the six of us we have a huge selection of first aid kits, Bountiful High School apparel, rulers, paper, crayons, backpacks, math compasses- you name it, we probably have it. We then packed up everything because we were staying the night in Oolesseabougou and began loading it onto our "mini bus". I'll post pictures when I get s chance, but it's pretty serious and makes us look like the biggest tourists ever. I love it. We stopped by an ATM so everyone could get some cash and we drove about an hour with Alou, his crew, and my crew. My dad said he was kidding around when he saw our hotel and said "oh, we'll look at that sketchy little place." And then we pulled in and were told this is where we were staying the night. The hotel is the usual; simple, two in one shower and bathroom combo, a large bed to myself but no blankets or sheets or anything. I ended up  sleeping with my neck pillow and hoodie. We checked the place out, claimed our rooms, and were hanging out when we noticed that some villagers realized we were there. Ivy then had the idea we should go give them gummy bears. So we went out and slowly approached these two little kids and offered them gummy bears. I think they were a little confused so my dad put one in his mouth to show them. They copied him and laughed and ran off, then came a couple more timid children. They were so sweet and would whisper "merci" and smile. We decided that gummy bears are solid way to keep Mali Rising public relations in tact. We would go sit in our little courtyard in the hotel around a table waiting for lunch and would see a little group peering in from outside. I would run over and give out gummy bears with Garret and try not to be too scary. Some were very friendly and curious, others were shy or scared. Anyways, operation gummy bear was a success and I'm wondering wether or not this tactic will help me make more cool friends at home. Lunch was ready an hour later, and it was actually the first Malian meal we'd eaten. It was really good! Onions, tomatoes and cucumbers with what I'm gonna describe as thousand island dressing on it, French fries, and (extremely fresh) grilled chicken that was soon replaced by a man with ten live chickens on his scooter. 

After lunch we went to visit our first school; the Su Chin school. We pulled up and instantly I saw little heads  poke out of windows, around corners, and through doors. They would smile and giggle and run back in or watch us in curiosity. We then would walk around from class to class. I got some awesome pictures of them. These classrooms were dark, hot, and packed to the max. Most rooms kept role in the corner of the blackboard. It would say how many where present, the number of boys, the number of girls, and how many were absent. There were classes of up to 88 students with none absent. And the boys usually outnumbered the girls.Alou would introduce the organization, introduce us, and then we would just interact with the kids. We were sang to on a couple of occasions, kids told us their favorite subjects in school, what they were learning that day, their input on the school, etc. we were then introduced to the teachers, the headmaster, and the village elder. We told them through our translator and teacher who speaks awesome English. The more I hear him speak, the more I wonder how we made it those few days with Alou. We told them that the purpose of the Mali Rising Foundation is to better lives through education and all that jazz. It was good to check in with them and see how things are going for them at the school and hear their concerns. We then wrapped up our visit with them and headed to the next school.

This school was a little more overwhelming because the kids weren't in class, they were just walking around. We did pretty much the same as the other school, went into classes, talked to kids, took pictures. This time, I was married off though. Malians Know that Americans arent accustomed to plural marriage so they usually do it as a joke, so I kind of saw it coming. My husband was maybe twelve years old And Garett's  was about our same age, only we were pretty sure she was serious. We realized later we forgot to take them home with us, whoops.There was this one girl who was drawing a pretty flower when we came in that my dad and I took pictures of. She later came up to me in the crowd and gave me the picture.  She wrote her name and "I love you".I also got a picture with her which was awesome. So we were all just walking around giving knuckle bumps and handshakes which they love and taking pictures. I would turn my camera facing me and they all would gather in and see themselves. At one point I gave my phone to my dad so I could take a picture with them and when I waved them all in close I had three little boys on my lap and everyone pulled my face close to theirs. It's so cool how friendly they all are. They just want to be recognized and loved and played with. 

Allen then came up to Ivy and said there was a medical emergency and they needed her because she's a nurse. Kids circled in super tightly around a young boy who had had a seizure, fallen and bit his lip and the inside of his mouth. We instantly grabbed our first aid kit and moved everyone back. There wasn't much we could do besides give him clean water, clean him up, give his mom some ibuprofen to give him, and bandage him. The poor thing was really scared when he woke up surrounded by a bunch of white people helping him and the whole school yard filled with kids watching. We took him in one of the schools and waited for him to calm down. After his mom came and he was all fixed up we sent him with some fresh water, fruit snacks, and granola bars, and we were on our way. It was pretty crazy to think about what would've happened if we wouldn't have been there. Health care is so poor and no one would've known what was going on so he probably would've been laid down somewhere and sent home. People may have even been afraid to touch him or help him because of what shape he was in. It was scary yet incredible.

We then decided it was time to leave and headed back to the hotel. There wasn't much we could do but hang out and wait for dinner. We ate these yummy "butter noodles" as I'm gonna call them, the same french fries and vegetables from earlier, and this shishkabobbed meat that was chewy, but overall pretty good. I took a cold shower and stuck my legs in the arms of my hoodie because I didn't have a blanket. It was an interesting night.

What a crazy day though. Tomorrow is the dedication of a school in Lofine which is where my dad's homies are from last year when he visited. I'm excited to meet the kids and see what events take place. Hopefully pictures are coming soon!

All is well in Africa.(: