Sept 22, 2009
Yesterday was the big julde, the religious feast celebrating the end of Ramadan. In the morning, everyone was getting ready, ironing their bezan (really nice fabric) and finishing up their braids and henna. I didn't get either done, but probably will shortly. I'm excited! (though it will probs hurt a lot, haha). Dembele, my neighbor, ironed for a good 2 hours - all of his family wore bezan. I wore my blue complet, and everyone was super excited to see me in Malian clothes. I went over to Kumbari's (my host mom/homologue) after greeting people, and we hung out for a bit. For lunch, her younger sister cooked huge amounts of rice for all the people in the village. I went with Kumbari to pick up ours, then we carried it back to Kumbari's concession, and the whole family ate together. The zame was delicious! Kind of like fried rice with meat and vegetables. Then I came back and called Mom and Dad - we actually got to talk for 30 minutes! It was so nice to hear their voices and support.
After, I went back to Kumbari's, and Moussa (my counterpart at the NGO I'm working with) was there - apparently there was a meeting last Wednesday that I was supposed to be at - 22 people were there to welcome me to Fatoma. But Moussa never told me about it. Good ol' Mali and their communication skills. He was kinda upset that I wasn't there, but at the same time, he did wait 5 days to come and tell me I missed the meeting I didn't know about, so maybe it wasn't that big of a deal. Sigh. After he left, Kumbari and I ate macaroni, and then an hour later she served dinner - so much food! It was crazy. Although after a month of fasting definitely understandable.
Today is Mali's Independence Day - Mali has been independent for 49 years. I went to Fatoma, where there was a huge vendi (party/feast) - people were dancing, playing drums, and the mayor was giving continuous speeches. Malian flags were everywhere, and everyone was in their finest clothes again. It was a really neat display of national unity for a country created 49 years ago.
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