A visit to the field

A neighbouring village coming out to see the foreigner!

It’s been some time since I last wrote. I’m afraid I will not be able to fully describe what I’ve been up to since then, but I can certainly attempt to share the greatest learning experiences, challenges and moments of happiness.

I returned to Dhaka Saturday, after spending almost two weeks in one of Nijera Kori’s working areas about 5 hours north of the capital. Up to that point my research had primarily involved speaking with NK’s central staff, academics, researchers and activists who are familiar with NK, and other NGOs with which NK collaborates. I felt I had a good sense of NK’s goals and activities, but less of a sense of their challenges. I was eager to hear from the landless group members, what they feel is most difficult about their civic participation and their membership with NK.

Above: A group member serving us jackfruit

Children just returned home from school

The 13 days I spent in Dhanbari and Madhupur (2 NK subcentres) were good, although more than a little overwhelming… It was nice to see another side of Bangladesh. Life outside of Dhaka is obviously different. I enjoyed a break from the noise, pollution, and crowding of the city. The staff at the Dhanbari subcentre where Dipu, my translator, and I stayed were amazing! Extremely helpful in making us feel comfortable, giving us a lot of their time, and scheduling interviews with members and various other local actors. I don’t feel that the sweets I bought them on our last night as a thank you are enough to really express my appreciation!

I did 33 interviews, which is a lot of information to digest! The trip was a success in terms of meeting everyone I had planned to. The interviews mostly went well. I feel like I have the hang of it now. I think my biggest learning experience about interviewing in villages is that nothing is private! I always conducted the interviews in someone’s home (which is essentially a one room hut), although with the heat it was impossible to shut the door. Being inside was at least one small barrier between the other village members and us. It was not uncommon though for people to gradually creep towards the door during the interview, or for people to stick their heads through the windows to see what we were doing. Dipu, my translator, would shoo them away but I wondered how much they could hear from outside anyway.

Above: My first experience wearing a sari

I was most surprised that this lack of privacy did not impede interviewees from sharing extremely personal information with me about their lives, their relationships with their husbands, wives and families, and about NK. But the reality is that village life naturally includes less privacy and anonymity than city living (the same is true in Canada). It seemed that the village members that I met accepted this fact (most probably had never known any other way of living) and so were willing to be very open in sharing their perspectives, their opinions and even their personal stories with me. I am left wondering though what the impact of ours conversations is on the members I interviewed and on the village dynamics. Will village members talk about what was discussed in the interviews amongst themselves? Will this be harmful in any way to the people who shared the most personal stories?
Above: Dhanbari mosque, reputedly 1200 years old

NK staff member Ahad (right) with a group member (left)

I had a funny experience during one interview – or I made a cultural mistake I guess would be a better way of putting it. We were interviewing a young male group member in a room at NK’s subcentre. The interview was going fine, although he seemed somewhat distracted. He kept looking down at his feet and I was trying to figure out whether he was bored, or tired, or just disinterested. There was quite a bit of background noise coming from outside so I got up and closed the door. We carried on with the interview for a bit, but he was looking at his feet even more at this point and even had his head almost down on the table. He was also sort of giggling in between the questions. I really thought to myself, “This guy has no interest in doing this interview. He could care less!” A couple of minutes later he burst out that he had to go to the bathroom, and opened the door and ran out. So maybe that’s why he was distracted, I thought. But he was only gone a minute or two before returning calmly to his seat. He seemed a little more focused after that and we finished up the interview. Afterwards, I said to Dipu that he seemed a little uncomfortable and that I found it weird how he kept giggling to himself. She laughed too and said that it was because I had shut the door to the room where we were sitting. Having found himself in a closed room with two young women was not only out of the ordinary for this young guy, it was also not considered appropriate! I also had to laugh at that point…oops!


Working with my translator was probably the biggest challenge. I hadn’t really factored into the whole research equation that she would have her own personality, and thus her own needs, opinions, ways of interacting with others…I was quite clear with her about maintaining the confidentiality of our interviewees and I feel she respected this. Utlimately I had to trust her, because I was not able to directly verify that she was saying what she should (and not saying what she shouldn’t) because of the language barrier. There were a few instances where I had to speak to her about her behaviour, in terms of showing the landless people we were interviewing respect (not laughing during the interview etc…) and I had to really contain my anger when after an interview she began lecturing one woman about why she should send her children to school! (Implying that this woman was for some reason deliberately choosing to keep her children uneducated…) I know that Dipu had a hard time with her role as observer and translator only (and not intervenor). Also she is an upper-middle class, well-educated student, and she has a high sense of self-importance. It was not always possible for me to change her condescending attitude towards others. We also spent almost 24 hours a day together for 14 days! That’s hard for any two people!

Pineapples being transported from the fields

I think my happiest moments were those spent chatting informally with the village members. I often took walks in the afternoon through the neighbouring villages and even though we couldn’t clearly speak to one another, we would have a great time trying! Another memorable moment was when after a men’s group meeting, the members insisted I sing a song for them! I racked my brain for a song that I know the lyrics to! Nothing Canadian came to mind…so I sang a Dixie Chicks song. Everyone seemed to enjoy it…the women staff of NK also dressed me in a sari (my first time). What an experience! Beautiful, but not so easy to walk in, and so hot! They also decorated my hands with henna. I felt like a real (Bangladeshi) queen!

I am back in Dhaka now and I've moved to a new apartment. It's much closer to NK's office. I actually walk to work there now. The neighbourhood is much less wealthy than where I was before, it just feels more real! I still have a wonderful walking path, which circles a huge lake. Walking is really popular among Bangladeshis in Dhaka. There are literally hundreds of walkers out every morning. I haven't seen any other foreigners yet (which isn't such a bad thing...) My new host family is also great. The apartment belongs to a woman in about her 50s. She has 4 children all about my age, who are all studying and/or living abroad (Canada, US and UK). She has an adopted daughter who is 8 years old, and also lives with a young girl and an old woman who do the housekeeping. It's a very laid back household, which I love.

I am leaving Saturday to stay with a friend of a friend in Sylhet (East) for 4 days. I am going to use this time to relax and take a break from work. Sylhet is known for its tea gardens and tropical landscape (including a waterfall). I can’t wait! Peace from Bangladesh!

Sunset on my last night in Dhanbari

2 weeks later

[Gulshan Lake in my neighbourhood]

Already 2 weeks has passed since my last post. I’ve been busy and the time has really flown by!

I am becoming more and more familiar with Dhaka city. I have to admit that it is not without its challenges (which are only multiplied as a foreigner). Bangladesh is a densely populated country with 1090 people per square kilometre (Canada’s is 3.2 people per km2). But that’s not really a fair comparaison because most of our population doesn’t live in a large portion of the country’s land (like in the North for example). So let’s compare cities. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, has a polupation density of 43,797.3 people per km2, Toronto (our most populated city) is 3,972 people per km2…so safe to say that the fact remains, it’s crowded here!

[Street in Old Dhaka]

With people comes traffic. I live about 10 km from Nijera Kori’s office and I have been taking the bus to get to and from work. These short 10 kilometers take me an hour and a half to traverse during rush hour! I’ll do the quick math for you: at 60 km/h this distance would take just 10 minutes. This traffic naturally causes a lot of air pollution and makes the city feel even hotter than it already is. Actually I have decided to move to another home, one that is closer to where I am working and further from the foreigner-populated “high-security diplomatic zone.” It’s much more interesting to live where the majority of the population does, rather than separating myself from the reality here. I’m looking forward to it!

[Performance to celebrate the birthday of Bangladeshi poet Kazi Nazrul Islam]

Despite the traffic and the people and the pollution, I was still offended when I read on the internet the other day that Dhaka was rated the 3rd worst city to live in the world. The BBC article dates from 2005 but I don’t imagine things have drastically changed since then. Apparently, this is because "many aspects of daily life present challenges"…I am not really living the daily life of most Bangladeshis so I can’t comment on whether this is true or not, but most of the people I’ve met here are very proud of their country and of its peoples’ achievements. I prefer to see this side of the story too.

On that positive note, here’s a cool fact: Bangladesh was one of the first countries to ban plastic bags in 2002. Imagine not seeing ANY plastic bags along the sides of the roads or hanging in trees!

[CNG or baby taxi]

When I initially arrived in Dhaka I was using the CNG (Concentrated Natural Gas) baby taxis to get to and from the NGO’s office. I liken the experience of riding in one of these to what it would feel like to be a character in a race car or karting video game. And like the characters in any video game, I’m participating in a game that someone else is controlling. I’m almost certain the CNG drivers think they’re in a video game too. They certainly seem to be trying to score points for getting to their destinations as fast as possible, while dodging obstacles coming at them from in front, behind, beside (or all three at once) at the very last second. I even hear a video game soundtrack playing in the back of mind when I’m riding in one. Luckily I don’t get motion sickness, and I find it best to take out a book and read rather than following the action on the road. I have had several drivers now laugh out at loud when they look in the rearview mirror and see my expression. However, the thought never seems to cross their mind to then be more cautious or to slow down…

[In the Nijera Kori office with Rose]

After a little over a week, I switched to taking the public bus. Now this would not at all have been possible if my colleagues hadn’t told me which bus to take, where to catch it, where I should get off, when it comes (actually nevermind, there isn’t a schedule…) and how much it costs. But now that I’ve got the hang of it, it makes perfect sense. It’s much cheaper than a CNG and certainly more social. Foreigners don’t take the bus so I do get stared at, but I have also had some nice conversations with fellow passengers. They all pretty much follow the same script:

“What is your country?”
“Canada. What is your country?”
Confused expression “Bangladesh”…

Followed by any combination of “what are you doing here?” “where do you live?” “are you married?” “where is your husband?” “do you have kids?” "do you like Dhaka?"

But I really do enjoy these conversations. I spend my day with Bangladeshis (those working with Nijera Kori) but this gives me an opportunity to meet people who don’t work in the NGO sector, working people that are not at all involved in “development” and who are going to and from work or students heading to and from school. The bus is hot and crowded, and long (as mentioned above!), but I will miss (some parts) of the ride when I move closer to Nijera Kori’s office next week. And for the first time in my life I ran off of a moving bus! That was exciting!

[At the National Theatre]

As you can see, I have adopted the local attire. What I am wearing above is called a shelwar kamiz. It is a long shirt with baggy pants, and a scarf (dopatta). It's the first time I've ever done this on a daily basis, but it certainly has its advantages. First, it allows me to go unnoticed for about 2 seconds longer than normal. Second, it's comfortable. And third, it is well-suited to life here. Take for example the scarf. At first, I thought, "Why a scarf? It's much too hot!" But then I realized its utility. When it is hot (always), the scarf serves as a towel to wipe the sweat from my face. At night when mosquitoes come out, it allows me to cover my arms to prevent bites. When it rains, the scarf can be used as an umbrella. And finally, when I smell something bad on the street, the scarf is used as a mask to block out the odour. All in all, it's fantastic!

[Post-cyclone Aila in Khulna Division]

I was supposed to travel to Khulna (in the South West) to meet with landless groups there but cyclone Aila hit earlier this week, as some of you may have seen on the news. The villages I was planning to visit are severely flooded. People's houses have been destroyed and many crops swept away. It is really devastating. The people there are now waiting for the government to arrive with a machine to remove water from the villages (it's complicated but because of the industrial shrimp industry in that area, raised embankments were built to surround villages, and the villages are essentially sitting in holes in the middle of these so when flooding occurs the water remains trapped inside, stagnant).

[Post-cyclone Aila in Khulna Division]

I have uploaded some pictures that one of Nijera Kori's employees sent from the area. Given this situation, and the fact that people in these areas are extremely preoccupied at the moment, I will instead be traveling North to visit some groups there. Hopefully, the government will step in quickly and people will be resettled soon. Then I might visit a little later in the summer. You can imagine the health issues too. There is a lack of access to clean drinking water, so people get diarrhea. And with this stagnant water, cholera can spread very quickly and dangerously.

[Post-cyclone Aila in Khulna Division]

I will end here. I am leaving Dhaka Monday for 2 weeks and I will be without internet, so look for another blog after that. Khudahafiz from Bangladesh!

Arrival to Dhaka

I guess I will begin this first blog by explaining what I am doing in Bangladesh. But your first question might be, where is Bangladesh anyways? As you can see below it is a small country in Asia, which shares most of its border with India, and the rest with Myanmar (Burma). After WWII this part of the world was divided into India and East and West Pakistan. So until its liberation in 1971 Bangladesh was known as East Pakistan. It is the 4th most densely populated country in the world (after Monaco, Singapore and Malta). The language spoken here is Bangla and the people are primarily Muslim (approx. 83%), followed by Hindu (16%) and then Christian and Buddhist (1% for both). There are over 30 rivers in Bangladesh and about 70% of the land is covered in water during the wet (monsoon) season. It is also a site for cyclones. A serious one hits the country about every three years, causing numerous deaths and displacement. In many ways, it resembles what we associate with Indian culture, however, Bangladesh is far less touristic. In fact, I have seen just a handful of foreigners since my arrival (more on that later).

Now onto what I am doing here. I am doing a fellowship with McGill's Institute for Health and Social Policy. I will be preparing a case study broadly on civic participation and equity, and specifically on how one NGO (non-governmental organization) has supported local poor landless populations to mobilize and demand their rights. The NGO I am working with is Nijera Kori (which in English means "we do it ourselves"). They are unique in Bangladesh, but also globally, for their focus on liberation education or conscientization, meaning they believe that marginalized peoples' learning about their oppression is the most important part of "development" and is the key to equitable social change.

I had my first "cultural" experience on the last leg of my flight here, from Bahrain to Dhaka. I had been waiting in the Bahrain airport for a couple of hours and it was time to head over to my departure gate. I arrived at the gate to find a sea of Bangladeshi men. In fact, I could not see a single woman, nor a single foreigner. This is definitely the first time this has ever happened to me on a flight. I wish I had a picture to show you, but the last thing I wanted to do was to draw more attention to myself at that point. Many Bangladeshi men work overseas, in the Middle East, in other parts of Asia and also in Europe and N. America. In fact, one of Bangladesh's primary sources of revenue is foreign worker remittances. Most of the men on my flight were returning to Bangladesh on holidays or extended visits.

Anyways, I joined the lineup to check-in, and of course everyone is staring at me, this is normal. But it was so openly and obviously (mouths open, eyes focused, fixed concentration on me) that I had to smile. My Lonely Planet guidebook says that visiting Bangladesh is the closest we'll come to achieving celebrity status. I believe it! The man in front of me was very nice and asked me where I am from, what I am doing in Bangladesh etc. In fact, I'm not sure I would have survived the next 1/2 hour without him. Once we had checked in, we joined the rest of the crowd in a small enclosed area waiting to load onto a shuttle bus to the plane. The first shuttle bus arrived and the sea gathered momentum and began to swell and charge towards the bus. The nice man held out his arm to keep me from being trampled. We waited for the next bus, which was a little less crowded. On the bus, everyone was quite concerned about my well-being, making sure I had space for my bag and a pole to hold on to.

I got onto the plane to find someone sitting in my seat, 22F. He showed me his ticket, which read 32F so I directed him to the right place. Then another man came along and showed me his ticket, so I directed him too. And then another showed me his and I realized that many of my fellow travelers couldn't read their tickets. Eventually a flight attendant came to assist me and I took my seat. Shortly thereafter a man came down and sat next to me. He was visibly uncomfortable with being seated so close. A friend of his joined us, and he was much less uncomfortable. In fact his second sentence was to ask for my phone number ;)

The flight attendant came by and asked me if I wanted anything to drink. I hesitated, because I was the only one asked about a beverage, but I said some water would be fine. He came back with the water then left. A few minutes later he returned and told me he had another seat for me. So I followed him and he took me to a pair of empty seats in 1st class! Unbelievable. I know it was totally unfair and I felt bad about the special treatment I was given. But I accepted and tried to enjoy the spacious, quiet comfort of my new seat. Perhaps the right thing to do was to insist that I keep my assigned seat...what would you have done after having already traveled 24 hours without sleep?

One of the cheapest (and most beautiful) types of local transportation, the rickshaw.

Anyways, I arrived in Dhaka at 5am last Wednesday morning. Several people had warned me about the airport scene but it was FAR less chaotic than the airport in Mali! The luggage came out rather smoothly and I had the space to gather my things and gradually make my way to the exit. Finding the driver who was picking me up was a little more challenging but I managed.

The view from my bedroom window

I am staying with a women who is in her 70s. She is the mom of a guy here named Tawfiq, who is the friend of a colleague of mine at McGill (hope that makes sense...). She doesn't speak English, so our dinner conversation has been pretty slim so far. But I am gradually picking up some Bangla words here and there and making an attempt to communicate. English has also seeped into the local language here so she knows a little of my vocabulary too. We also live with a girl hired to clean and cook etc., Morshedaa (she is in the picture further below). She's very sweet and laughs at me a lot.

View of the park from my window

The apartment we share is huge, and probably the nicest place I've ever lived in, in my life! It is in a rich neighbourhood, which is also the diplomatic area. I had no idea when I made arrangements to stay here that this is where I would be living. It has its advantages. It is less noisy than other areas, there is a beautiful park right next door with a walking path, I have a fan and tv...but I have to be honest, I don't feel totally comfortable there.



My bedroom

I find it difficult to deal with the privilege I have as a White, "Western" woman on a daily basis (both in Canada and abroad) and I find that living a privileged lifestyle only magnifies these feelings. I would prefer to stay in a more modest home, with a less wealthy family, but it is difficult to find this as a foreigner here. So I am making the best of where I am now and trying to get around out of my neighbourhood and meet other people as often as possible. Already, I have met some people at Nijera Kori who I think will be good friends!


I have had a few excursions since my arrival, but the highlight was yesterday's trip to the market (it's name is actually new market). It was a bustle of people, shops and vendors, foods and smells! A colleague from Nijera Kori, Rajib, took me. It is rather difficult to get around on my own at this point, without Morshedaa collecting dried chilis

knowing the language or the city. Plus, as a woman, it is always a good idea to be cautious. But I will be able to move around more independently once I learn more Bangla and know where things are. These things take time and I am being patient, even though I would love to just take off exploring on my own!

I will leave it there for now. My experience here as been great so far! Bangladeshis are EXTREMELY kind and genuinely hospitable. They are taking very good care of me. The climate is hot and humid but not unbearable. And the food is delicious! I'll send another update soon. Please send your comments!

Erin

The market

The forecast tomorrow for Bamako: 43 degrees!

Just a quick hello! I had a great weekend. Friday night I went to a "grin" (like a 5 à 7 or happy hour) at the Canadian Embassy. There were lots of other expats, most of them from Québec. The highlight for me was meeting a few other cool Canadians who work here. We exchanged phone numbers so now I really feel tapped into the scene here :)

Saturday I spent the day with Marianne, another project supervisor here. We had some good food. I dared to eat salad! And was fine luckily! Then we treated ourselves to an afternoon at a hotel pool. So worth it! I almost felt slightly cool at one point when I was in the water and managed to catch a breeze...it was delightful!

Yesterday I took a day trip with a couple of the Canadians I met to a nearby village, Koulikoro. It was your typical village, except that an ancient king is reputed to have fled to the mountains surrounding the village, seeking refuge from prosecution (that's all the info I've got on that...). We took advantage of the mountains to do some climbing. It was great (although not the best idea to head out during the hottest part of the day...).

We went by soutrama (public transport minivan which they managed to fit 20 people into) and it was long because of the frequent stops. I had invited Baba, my field supervisor, for dinner and arrived back in Bamako just a 1/2 hour before the time we were going to meet. I quickly ran home, undressed and turned on the water to have a shower and....no water!!! I was disgusting - sticky with layers of dried sweat. So I grabbed some antibacterial gel and rubbed it under my armpits and put some clean clothes on...it was awful really. Luckily by the time I got home from dinner, there was water!!!

Today was errands around town in preparation for the arrival of my group tomorrow. I visited the hospital used by most Canadians here. It was very nice. I have no worries at all about bringing one of my volunteers there. I also bought myself a bike! It will be useful for traveling between the 3 villages where my group will be living. It cost me $70, not cheap, and it needs repairs. But Baba assured me I was getting a good deal and that it's normal that it needed to be fixed before being ready to ride...he said that's the way it works here...ok I guess....

I've posted some pictures on Facebook. If you aren't on, you can just click on this link to see them: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125002&l=38176&id=719685270

As I mentioned, my group arrives tomorrow. We will spend another 5 days in Bamako before taking off for the villages. I'll be enjoying my shower (when there's water) until then!

Toubabou

I'm writing from the intense heat of Bamako, the capital of Mali! I promise not to talk about the heat in every blog, but just imagine sweating constantly all day. And the only reason why I don't at night is because while I'm staying in the capital, I have a fan in my room!

What an experience this has been already. I feel like I've lived a month of experiences crammed into 3 days. It's undescribably really...but I'll try.

Bamako is a busy, hot, dirty, loud, non-stop city. It's intense! There are many aspects (smells, sounds...) that remind me of the cities I visted in the Middle East, except that there is way less infrastructure here and visibly more poverty.

Up until today, I don't think my brain could fully register that I'm here. In Africa! In Mali! I'm getting used to the idea now. I can't say that anything has really shocked me yet. Except, even though I saw pictures and heard stories, it is very "undeveloped". I hate using this word, but unfortunately I am at a loss for a better one. People here live in what most North Americans would call chaos. And yet there is a rhythm and habitude that just works. I don't know what better way to describe it.

I arrived with another group from the same program, but from a different project and destined for a different region in Mali. My group arrives on the 10th, so until then I am preparing myself and joining in on some of the other group's activities. It is SO much easier traveling in a group like this. My previous travels were far more challenging. We are being led by our Malian partner NGO, and it is so nice being driven to where we need to go etc. Although, I do anticipate more challenging moments with the arrival of my group. I'm trying to relax as much as possible for the time being.

­Yesterday, I went to visit the 3 villages where my group and I will be living this summer. They are wonderful. Unlike the capital, they are quiet, green, peaceful, cooler (it's all relative) and the people are wonderful! The villages are basic, groups of huts essentially. If the residents need to buy anything, they have to walk (because there are no vehicles) or ride a bike (usually only the men get these) to the next "big" village, which in my village's case would be about 18 km away. It doesn't sound far, but the road is rough, so by truck it took us about 45 minutes.

My village is Floklon. It has a population of 782 (seems accurate...) and it is situed between the two other villages. The people are so friendly. Everyone smiled when they saw me, and the kids are adorable! They are just dying to say bonjour and wave with big smiles. As the project supervisor, I have the privilege of choosing my host family. There was a woman who accompanied us during my visit and we tried to talk to one another, despite the obvious language barrier. She was friendly and carrying a little baby on her back. Possibly the cutest baby I've ever seen, and happy. He smiled and giggled everytime I looked at him. Well I fell in love! And I now have a new baby brother. I'll send more photos of him soon for sure :) But in the meantime, the little girl in the photo below was cute too!

I had an interesting conversation on the way back to Bamako last night, with a man who works with a NGO here. He asked me why people in Canada (or especially Québec) do not get married...well I obviously didn't have a straight answer, but we talked back and forth about it, which led to a discussion about the role of women. I can't say I was shocked, but I was still disappointed when he said that he thought most women are trying to get their hands on a man's wealth (monetarily or not) and that, consequently, men are better than women. Cultural differences? Maybe, but unacceptable ones in my mind. It just gives me more motivation to fight for women's rights! That being said, there is a time and a place, so I didn't push my opinion too much, while at the same time trying to remain as honest with him as possible.

These experiences remind me of why I travel. Having your ideas challenged is so important(despite the frustration).

I think I'll end here for now. Like I said, more pictures to come. I didn't mention the food either. Next time!

Kan ben! (Bye!)

3 sleeps to go...

The pressure is on...my very first blog...but I figure it's time to let go of my inhibitions. It's time to open up and share my life with someone. I hope you feel lucky that I chose you!

Je m'excuse mes amis francophones, mais je crois que la plupart de mes blogs se feront en anglais. J'espère que vous arrivez à les lire pareil. Surtout n'hésitez pas de m'écrire en français!

So as many of you already know (and are possibly sick of hearing about) I'm going to Mali, West Africa, for the summer. I am a Project Supervisor with a Canadian ngo and in this role I will be leading a group of 9 "youth" (18-28 years). We will be working with a Malian ngo in three villages to build community gardens - the goal of which is to earn money for the schools in these communities. This work has already proven interesting and challenging, as over the past few months I facilitated training for my group in order to prepare them for this adventure.

I just returned to Montreal from 3 weeks of holidays down the East Coast of the US, and then to BC (the picture above was taken over Vancouver), and I am now feeling ready for my departure June 1st. I am looking forward to the new smells, sounds and people. I am looking forward to all the unexpected situations that lie ahead. I think this could be my favourite part about traveling - waking up and having no idea what your day will look like!

I will be using this blog to share my experiences with you and I welcome your comments. Please keep me up to date on your life too!

More to come from Mali...