Cribs Mali

Welcome to my home!

Warning: It is a little over 7 minutes long

Market Mudbath

So I’m behind a few days with writing, but it was only because I was transitioning…into my new home. I’ve finally moved in, yipee!

My new home is about a ten hour ride from the capital, Bamako. It is a medium sized town near all the main tourist attractions including Timbuktu, Dogon Country, and Djenne. The reason I am working and living out of our field office is because 90% of our development programs occur in this region. As our boss says, “It’s where all the action is.” This will enable me to better understand our programs with site visits and access to partners.

Anyway, I serendipitously met an American guy who lives in my town last week. He invited me to a party his friends were throwing last Saturday night. I arrived in town at 7pm, and made it to the party by 9.

I was having a nice time, meeting other Americans living in the region, until drama struck. One of his friends comes rushing into the party screaming for help. His guard, a Malian man, had malaria and just took a turn for the worse. As I was the only one with a vehicle at the party, I, of course, agreed to drive him to the hospital. Indeed, poor man was sweating bullets one minute, and shivering the next…signs of acute malaria. Fortunately, we got him to the hospital on time and am happy to report that today, he is recovering well.

I wanted to start off my first Sunday morning on a different note. I blasted iTunes and cleaned the heck out of my place. 4 hours later and 3 piles of mouse dung richer, I ventured off in my company issued vehicle to explore my town and shop for things I still had outstanding.

I had a list. I thought it was reasonable, i.e. noodles, oil, salt, clothespins, ground beef, wine, sugar, coffee, etc. I thought I would drive around looking for some stores to purchase these supplies and in addition, make an effort to note key places around town such as the post office, restaurants and markets. I thought it would take me only an hour given the small scale of the town. I definitely underestimated how hard it is to concentrate on driving stick shift while looking for key places left and right while dodging a myriad of video style obstacles coming at you, as seen in the video below.

I drove around and around and around the four paved streets that make up my town for 3 hours (I definitely must have confused the police who sit at each corner of the rectangular grid) until I acquired 70% of my list (most importantly, I found the only Coca-Cola Light dealer in town, BONUS!)

You can only get meat in this town at the market. So I went…right after a big rainstorm. This is also when my trip was cut short. The market is not on the paved road, but on side dirt ones. What do the dirt paths turn into when it rains? Mudbaths. Literally 2 minutes after venturing into the market, I slipped and fell butt first into the mud (amongst other things). I guess my gold metallic Steve Madden flip flops did not have enough friction.

Market Mudbath

On the bright side, a bunch of people first laughed at me, but then helpfully offered to instruct me on how to buy meat. They selected which part of the cow I should get my cut from at one stand and then took me to another stand where I had it ground (for 50 cents).

I made it back home safely andand proceeded to boil some noodles and cook some ground beef until I realized I never bought tomato paste/sauce. So although my first dinner at my new home was pasta, beef with olive oil and salt, it was nonetheless quite a reward after my first day of exploration.

Moving on Up – My new home

Last time I lived in Africa, this hut was my home.

My friends and I in front of my hut. I am on the right.

This time around, this house is my home.

My new home

When I visited the house last week, there were 3 squatters living there.  Therefore, I am moving in next week after it’s been cleaned out.  It has A/C, 3 furnished bedrooms, furnished living room, kitchen with a fridge and oven, two bathrooms w/hot water tanks, screened-in porch, a staircase for rooftop access and this lovely courtyard.

I’ll give a better tour in a few weeks after I’ve settled in.

Dr. Travel

I walked out of my travel doctor’s office last week with 4 new Band-Aids, 500 less dollars, and a chockfull of “travel advice.” The $150 consultation fee included “expert” country-specific medical, mental and living advice. When I told him where I was heading, Mali,  he inconspiculously excused himself only to return 10 minutes later with many printed pages of fresh internet research. For the following 45 minutes, Dr. Travel recited information he found on Google just minutes before.  It was nothing I hadn’t heard before and seems to be the generic “helpful” advice I’ve gotten many times before.  I can sum up in one sentence, “Don’t do, eat, drink anything (or anyone).” Thank Dr. That was helpful.

Let’s be realistic.  I will have to ‘do’ something.  So in the spirit of helping, I’d like to add some additional medical, mental and living advice that I learned on my own, that isn’t written in any google search. This is not a medical opinion but just some travel tips others forget to mention that saved me and my sanity many times the last time.  

1. Bring CIPRO antibiotic and lots of it. Don’t really know what it is…but I do know that it immediately cures you of whatever intestinal/stomach/nausea problem you have that day.
2. Pack your pillow. Pillows in Africa are made of styrophone. Sinking into your soft, plush pillow after a long day out will literally wash your worries away (temporarily).
3. Bring your laptop and buy internet service. C’mon, we are American. We LOVE access and convenience. So even though you are in the boonies, stay connected in cyber space. You’ll have access to your friends and family and can google your own travel medical advice any time without paying a $150 consultation fee.
4. Greet and remain friendly with your neighbors, and anyone else that you see everyday. They will get your back if you ever find yourself in a rut. Be friendly and go out of your way to maintain a cordial relationship with them.
5. Pack lots of ranch packets. Even if you are eating sterilized, bleached, packaged foods, it will taste a lot better with the BEST condiment in the world!
6. And most importantly, don’t rid yourself of things that make you feel better at home. If you like playing the guitar, just bring it! If you like feeling pampered, bring your pedicure set. If you indulge in gossip magazines, get a subscription (by the way, Elle Magazine and the Economist deliver to any post office in the world)!