Kourouma!

Aw ni wula!

I hope everyone's doing fantastic. I got to Sikasso, my regional capital, this morning after three full days spent in Kourouma which will be my home for the next two years starting at the end of September. On Monday I met my homologue, or counterpart whom I'll be working with in Kourouma. She is a very nice lady and works very hard at the CSCOM (medical center) doing pre-natal counseling. On Tuesday, we rode together on a bus from Bamako to Sikasso, which took about 6 hours. The bus ride wasn't bad, although it was incredibly sad because I sat next to the most malnourished child I've ever seen in person. He looked to be around 8 years old but was just skin and bones and could not use his legs at all. He seemed to be happy though and laughed at me when I made silly faces at him. We got off at Sikasso and caught a Sotroma which is a very ghetto bus to a town about seventy minutes north of Sikasso. From there, I met Elizabeth, the current Kourouma volunteer. Together we biked into Kourouma which takes about 40 minutes after getting off of the main road. While that sounds like a lot, really it's not bad at all and I figure I'll be able to come into Sikasso once every week or two.

It was actually dark when we biked into Kourouma, but over the next few days I was able to gather that it's a very beautiful village, with a road going through it and lots and lots of trees all around. There are about 2500 people living there, and it's fairly spread out so I'll probably be biking a lot. I love my future house. Sorry Kevin, but it's no dung hut. Quite the opposite actually. It used to be the mayor's house, and it is a concrete structure composed of two large rooms (living room and bedroom) and a small room for the kitchen. Elizabeth is leaving me all the major furniture as well along with most cooking supplies. There is also a nice covered porch. There is a front courtyard where Elizabeth has planted cucumbers, tomatoes and flowers. I have my own deep negen, although at night there are still roaches. All of this is enclosed, although the wall is short enough to look over and see the neighbors who are seem very nice.

So basically, the last few days have been spent going around the village and greeting people. I met the chief of the village, who is ancient, doesn't really speak Bambara, and seems to have no clue what's going on. Because it is rainy season, most people spend the day out in the fields, so I didn't get to meet a lot of people. It also rained during much of my visit, so a lot of the time we just hung out at home, reading or washing dishes and clothes. My favorite day was Thursday because I got to actually do some work. We went to the CSCOM, where there was someone doing vaccinations and Elizabeth did baby weighings, which I helped with. There were probably about 30 women who came in with their babies, and we would weigh them and record their weight. Most of the babies were underweight, in which case Elizabeth would talk to the mother and find out the diet of the baby. Babies are supposed to start eating porridge after 6 months of age, but many women only give breastmilk until about 1 year. Overall, the baby weighing was really fun and I'll probably do it in Kourouma every Thursday. Two or three other mornings every week I'll probably bike to nearby villages to do weighings in those places. My first three months at site though will be dedicated to Bambara rather than health work, because without knowing the language I won't be able to do anything. Another major highlight of the week: one morning Elizabeth made pancakes and someone had sent her real maple syrup. It was delicious! It was a good but awkward week, as I can really only greet and say simple things in Bambara. I just can't wait to swear in and move in and be completely immersed in everything! As always, I miss you all and hope you're well. Send me emails letting me know what's going on!

Anna