Just call me Kegnoro

It's Saturday and yet again I'm late on posting for you guys. We just got back from all the villages and are staying in Bamako so I have wifi. Lets take a step back to Thursday- my favorite day of the trip so far.

Thursday was absolutely crazy because we had two school dedications back to back. The morning was the usual routine; weird breakfast, weird night's sleep, and a long bumpy bus ride. The Indiana Jones seat wasn't fun anymore. I was excited because Lofine is a huge deal for my Dad and he was excited to go back and visit. We pulled up to the usual lineup of kids, but this time hundreds all singing and clapping. They herded us around their flag and as it was being raised the children sang their national anthem. Just like in the US, everyone puts their hands on their hearts and I saw some people remove their hats. The singing gave me chills. All these children were so proud of Mali and so spirited and it was absolutely amazing. Similar to the other school we were asked to sit front row under a massive tree in the shade next to many dignitaries. I did not feel important enough for that.

There were again many different speeches from different people. Most I didn't understand, but some were translated for us. They told us how grateful they were that Pongo Sonogo ( my Dad's African name) had come back to the people of Lofine. They treated us like family the whole time and couldn't stop emphasizing the bonds between Americans and Malians, and how eternally grateful they were. Alou then went up to speak and offered the Cola nuts to the chief as a gift that we had brought for him. The chief got very close to him and whispered to him for a moment. Alou then went up and began talking. I had absolutely no idea the immensity of what had just been said until our good friend Falto said "Wow, that is amazing!".

The chief had given my dad a small piece of land in Lofine to do whatever he pleases. Whether it be for a house or farm or anything, as a member of their family, they wanted to keep him and his family close. Falto then told me that the chief had named his three year old daughter after me and that I would take on her African name of Kegnoro (Ken Yo Ro) which translates as " May god allow us to keep you". He explained that the chief's wife had given birth to many children but the majority of them passed away at a very young age, so when his daughter was born they named her that. I started crying because now I know that many miles away sleeping in a mud hut is a strong little girl named Brianne who is being educated due to the work of my Dad and so many other big hearted people. So guys, just call me Kegnoro.

Ivy also recieved an African name of Kanadena which means lucky or good business. It was absolutely amazing that they did that for me and my family. I was relieved when the speeches were over and we got to do a ribbon cutting of the school. My dad cut it, handed the ribbon to me, and instantly a random stranger tied it around my wrist. I wore that bad boy with pride for the rest of the day. We were crowded by a million people in the small classrooms. I was stopped in every one for pictures with Bridgett. Everyone was taking videos and pictures and would grab me and pull me aside for a picture, I would sit down in a desk so my dad could take a picture, and instantly had five others crowding around. At one point a man said to me " May I have your hand as my wife?" I instantly went red and laughed it off and said no. He said " Then let's just be friends." Phew! I dodged that bullet a couple times. Oma, Alou, Falto and others were great at translating and keeping everyone safe. When I was overwhelmed by people or a guy would start being weird they would grab my wrist and pull me out of there. I found that if I stuck with them I wasn't given any trouble. However, Garret and Bridgett and I couldn't walk anywhere.

We were then ushered back to our seats under the trees for dancing. Hours of crazy dancing where a guy in a crazy monkey costume would come up and ask for tips and a huge line of buff traditional African dancers would shimmy and shake all over with iron cuffs on their ankles that made a cool noise. I can't even explain the music and the environment. It was just beyond anything I had ever seen before.

We then went to check out the piece of land that the chief had given my dad. It was kind of boring to stand around and look at it so when we showed up I took a quick look at small piece of land covered in trees and grasses and went over to an open field with Garrett and Falto to play some soccer. We soon had quite the group. Everyone would take turns shooting into the goal and the bus boy would play goalie. Malians know how to dance and play soccer extremely well so they were showing us all up until Bridgett came up and kicked the ball so hard and fast everyone was shocked and started cheering. It was hilarious. 

Our time in Lofine was ending and we had to make our trip to Dovong for our third dedication. We gave the headmasters a suitcase full of school supplies, three freshly pumped up soccer balls, and had our last little meet and greet with a cute group of kids. 

The bus ride to Dovong was the worst. The bumps and the heat knocked out our awesome AC and we all felt like super car sick and grumpy. I think it was worth it though when we showed up to probably the largest of all the dedications.  We were greeted by children holding signs that said "Good morning the Americans" and "Thank for the school we are verry happy". We also had a group of traditional African hunters walk in front of us singing and playing their instruments. We sat down under a tent once again and had the usual speeches from everyone. We were surrounded by hundreds  of people just staring and waiting for something to happen. We then did another walk through of the school and the publicity got pretty crazy. It was hard to keep our group together because we were all being pulled aside for pictures and whatnot. At one point Bridgett and I went to use the latrines and had quite the experience. First of all the doors hardly shut so you have to do your business in the farthest corner and its basically just a hole in the ground. It was interesting. 

While waiting for Bridgett to go I said hey to a group of about ten that soon because thirty. Bridgett came out and for the next fifteen minutes we were Disneyland characters. A guy would squeeze between us for a picture and as soon as we were done another would come and another and another. It was super funny. We were then flagged down by a member of our crew and ushered on the bus so we could finally leave. We had a huge group waving goodbye as we left.

That night we drove until about ten to Sikasso to the nicest hotel of the trip. We had towels and sheets and tv and we ate a late dinner there. I had this penne au frommage, or noodles with cheese. It was pretty good. I slept like a baby that night but had to get up at 6:00 the next morning which wasn't awesome.