sanyelo goes to church

that's right, i went to church and hell has not in fact frozen over. at least, that is the word on the street.

the ride to kansongho was long and bumpy. by the time we arrived, i was feeling pretty spent. no time for that though. after a quick clean up, we walked over to the small, mud brick church and entered. i followed timothee down the center aisle as he strolled right up to the very front. my goodness, i thought, that pastor has not missed a beat even though every eye in the room was firmly placed on yours truly. for anyone who knows me well, the word "demure" does not pop into mind. but that was my goal for the moment. be small, don't be distracting, just try to kind of, y'know, blend in. ha.

after the sermon, timothee got up and made a speech in dogon, but i heard my name mentioned as well as tandana and anna's. he signaled to me to stand up and when i did, the whole place went up in applause and laughter. i felt positively giddy by the whole thing. my four wonderful guides then led the congregation in a joyous song and the service was over just like that.

it is odd to recall the sense of homecoming i had in those moments. it was as if they knew i was coming and they had prepared for the return of their old friend. they shared with me a warmth of spirit that is not something i am accustomed to, and yet i relished it all the more. i know that this speaks to the energy and kindness of my dear friend anna, who has offered me this path to stroll. and i will be thanking her for a long time.

immediately, one of the village's elder women offered me my new dogon name. they now know me as sanyelo, which means in dogon "one who doesn't lose the way." i hope that bodes for my future.

after walking through the village to offer our greetings, we adjourned at the compound of moussa's brother. some lunch and a rest in the shade. soon enough, one of the elder men came into the compound carrying a live chicken. he explained that in dogon culture, if someone shares the name of one of your relatives, then that person is to be treated in the same manner. he said that since i have the same name as his sister, then i am his sister as well. and would i do him the honor of accepting his chicken? would i?!?! heck yeah, i'll take that chicken. again, the whole place erupted in laughter.

then, a few minutes later, a lovely old crone hobbled in, and guess what she had? yep, a chicken. she said, "i am sanyelo also. you must take my chicken." with tears of laughter still in my eyes, i accepted her chicken. i pulled timothee aside and said that we had better get outta here before there's a serious chicken shortage. he readily agreed.

many hugs goodbye later, we were back on the bikes zooming for town. my mind is spinning with questions. i daresay that i might be having a bit of a philosophical crisis. things about cultural distances and the possibilities for genuine human connection, aid work, volunteering, generousity, priorities, travel. these ideas weigh on me, as they should considering i find myself in what the UN considers to be the fourth poorest country in the world. it is hard to look away. so instead, i intend to lay my gaze right on it and keep it there till i figure it out. i suppose i ought to first find the questions.

of course, there are more beautiful places in the world. and probably there are places where the people are more generous, the children more lively, and the vistas more spectacular. i am sure such a place exists and when i figure out where it is, nothing will stop me from going there. as of now, that yet-unvisited place must compete with the grandeur of dogon country.

i managed to catch a ride with cristina nardone of USAID to bandiagara, where i hoped to track down timothee dolo and moussa tembine, two of anna friends. i had the wonderful, if somewhat nerve-wracking task of delivering funds from the tandana foundation that are designated for three school garden projects in the area. i arrived in town just as timothee was leaving for a few days, so i the opportunity to dash out to the escarpment for some hiking. i reunited with some folks i had met in bamako and spent three nights under the stars, re-fueling. getting outside after the rush rush of town is a medicine for me that helps me to find my feet and keeps things in perspective.

i returned to bandiagara and hooked up with timothee and moussa, in addition to daniel and isaac. these four men make up the non-governmental organization called dje yamen, which in dogon means "the messengers". they work as liasons with external organizations in specific local areas. as the five of us sat and chatted that first day, it was clear that these men maintain only the highest hopes for their communities and their families. the solutions they see are practical and manageable. it was decided in that brief meeting that they would take me to see the sites of the proposed projects. on friday, daniel would take me to kori-maounde where he is the primary school teacher. then saturday to sunday isaac and moussa would take me to tereli for the night the return via kansongho the following day.

my french is ok. there's a lot i miss. but there is also a lot i catch. let's just say, i was pretty excited for the upcoming expedition, as we took to calling it.

it turns out that all four men wanted join all legs of the trip, so we had quite a posse. the first day at kori-maounde was lovely. a picturesque village on the plateau, kori-maounde is the site where fourteen volunteers from tandana will be visiting in january to help construct a canal for watering the school garden. when i arrived, the village president came to greet me and was thrilled about the new work. a thousand photographs later, we hopped back on the motorcycles and returned to bandiagara.

we decided to wait till the afternoon to leave for tereli. the midday heat can really be something. the ride that afternoon was just incredible, out through the bush, over the rocks, to the very edge of the escarpment and an expansive view of tereli and the plains below. we left the bikes there and began our descent down the cliffs on foot. seriously. i love this, i am thinking the whole time. really? i get to do this? yes. i do.

the hike was short but dramatic. about 45 minutes later, we strolled into isaac's compound and met his beautiful wife and children. we toured the school and isaac spoke excitedly about the many ideas he has for the school. so much to do! he is a man of inexhaustible energy and humor. we walked through the village and i was presented to various important people.

my four guides arranged a place for me to stay at the local campement where i passed the night again under the stars, letting my drowsy mind float from place to place, but always coming back to stillness.

in the morning, we ascended the cliffs, hopped on the motos and went screaming toward kansongho. a journey, to be sure.

as it was sunday, we arrived just in in time to catch the last bit of church. and that is another story altogether...

with this french keyboard, i am back to the hunt and peck typing method of earlier days. bear with me.

bamako (the capital of mali) is nuts. it is like no other capital city in the world. i say that as if i am all-knowing, which i certainly am not. i do however have a pretty good imagination, and i cannot fathom a comparable madness. i suppose that what confuses me most is the contradiction of the place. streets over packed with cars, buses, motos, and vendors with their wares spilling into every available space, music, loudspeakers, hawkers hawking, calls to prayer, chaos chaos chaos. mud brick buildings and red earthen streets, and the occasional western-style architecture. then come the moments of being still, greeting someone on the street or perhaps in the midst of errands. ça va? how are you? how is your family? how is your home? your health? yes, life is good. thanks to allah. soft handshakes and gentle smiles. but really, the most extraordinary part of bamako is the glamour. i have a hard enough time keeping my t-shirt clean through lunch. but these people, men and women alike, remain beautifully kept even while they toil in these dirty streets. i try my best, but know that it is not reasonable that i will keep up.

in bamako, i was able to track down kris hoffer, the peace corps volunteer coordinator for mali. over dinner at her home, we had a chance to talk about some of the ideas i have for youth creative writing collaboration. there is possibly a new education volunteer coming to the village where i want to work. hopefully, kris will give me the chance to meet her when she begins her training her in bamako toward the end of the month. i hope to get this new volunteer in my grasp. but we will see if she takes the post because it is not exactly what she had requested. at any rate, kris is a riot. i am glad to have made her aquaintance.

i took an overnight bus up here to sevare, the jumping off place for both dogon country and for niger river routes north. with the beginning of rainy season, the river is growing again and river transport should become more accesible. as yesterday was the 4th of july, i ended up at a pizza party with a group of peace corps volunteers. it is wonderful to hear about the various projects at work here, as well as to hear the excitement of my american brothers and sisters. but i also hear their voices drop and see their heads sink when they talk about the sadness and frustration they often feel. this work they do has such wonderful highs with feelings of real connection and respect, but then there are also times when bureacracy, corruption, and hurtful traditions tear at their hearts and they wonder what they hell they are doing here. it is a profound human experience to know such a spectrum of emotions all at one moment.

today, my goal is to find cristina nardone, a USAID worker whose work focuses on environmental tourism. i don't exactly know what that means, but i am going to find out. monday, i will head to bandiagara to find timothee dolo and moussa tembine, friends of anna taft. i am hoping that timothee will be able to hook me up with some teachers at the lyceé, the local high school. there, i will also be able to check on some of the projects that tandana foundation is working on.

seven years ago, i had the wonderful opportunity to visit this place. some things have changed. some things are the same. i am trying to move through here without expectation, but with an open heart. there is too much uncertainty right now for me to jump down from this fence i am on. i am still gathering information.