Elections in Sudan - Day Three

Juba, Southern Sudan
April 13, 2010

Another interesting day in the capital of Southern Sudan.  Most polling locations throughout the country now have the original Registration booklets which has allowed many more people to vote.  The heads of polling locations in the north and west of Juba have report they have been able to increase the casting of ballots by 20-40%.

Once the election is complete, we will have a fuller picture of how the elections have proceeded, but for the moment, in addition to issues of free and fair elections, the persistent logistical issues will a major issue of these elections in the South.

The system of ballots, polling staff and materials which have been incorrectly delivered will play a roll in the success or failure of these elections.

System of Ballots

The process of voting is an unnecessarily complex process that requires each voter to cast twelve separate ballots in four separate bins.

Voters arrive at the polling location, and after finding their registration are instructed to dip their fingers in green ink.  They are then allowed to proceed to the first table to receive their ballots for executive elections.  At this station, there are three ballots (with green, blue or orange headers) which represent the elections for the President of the republic of Sudan, the President of the Government of Southern Sudan and the Governor of the state were the polling center is located.

Voters have three more elections which each have their own table at polling locations.  The National Assembly, State Assembly and the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly.  Voters can vote for parties in a proportional election.  Also, women and the political parties are guaranteed a certain percentage of seats, so voters are given the choice from which parties they shall be picked.

Although part of the election process was to inform Sudanese citizens of the voting system, this information is not readily available and most Southern Sudanese are not entirely sure how there vote translates into representation.

At polling locations, it is fairly common to see someone cast the executive ballot and attempt to head directly for the exit, but polling staff tend to catch them.

Polling Staff

Each polling location has a total of seven people who are responsible to ensure the balloting process is followed.  There is a Head of the polling location, one Identification Officer and four Ballot Paper Issuers.  Each has a specific job so no one is able to take breaks during the ten hours reserved for voting.

Often times, polling locations have been set up in open areas where the sun beats down throughout the day.  While some polling centers have received awning materials so they can set up in the shade, no location has received food or water.  Some polling locations have received large coverings that keep the sun off the polling staff and voters, but for the majority of outside locations, staff members are very uncomfortable.

Polling staff are very vocal about these issues and some have threatened to shut locations down unless these issues are corrected.

Materials

The United Nations has been responsible for the delivery of non-sensitive election materials, including the ballot boxes, the cardboard stands on which people cast their vote, but it has been the responsibility of the National Election Commission to arrange the safe delivery of ballots, tamper-evident seals, ink, etc. to polling locations.

It is a very common sight around Juba to enter a polling location and find polling staff quietly sitting around sealed ballot boxes not allowing people to vote because certain ballots are missing.

Oftentimes, one of the state legislative ballot papers at one polling center will have been switched with another polling center on the other side of town.  Polling staff are unable to make the switch themselves because of protocols, cost of moving between polling locations and they have been instructed to be at the polling location throughout the day.

Elections in Sudan - Day Two

Juba, Southern
April 12, 2010

Hassan Fataki is a somewhat short man in his late fifites.  He shows a warm smile as he approaches his polling location in the west of Juba in the area called Muniki. He was unable to vote yesterday because his name was not found on the voter roll, so he spent the day walking between different polling location in the hoping his name and registration have accidentally appeared somewhere else.

In order to find his name, he has to approach polling staff and request they look through an alphabetical list of registered voters.  Because names were originally handwritten during registration and different election workers typed the information into a database, names are often written incorrectly.  Many polling locations have received lists that are entirely in Arabic which makes the finding registrations presented in English all the more difficult.

In addition, all registrations include four names while most Southern Sudanese use two or three names.  Most voters added their father's name to the registration under the assumption they were required to use four names.  Sometimes, the fourth name has been listed as the first which has further confused the search for missing registrations.

Today, as voting winds down, Hassan has returned to his original polling location, where he was registered, and expected to return to,.in order to vote.

Groups of polling locations are called polling locations are called polling centers.  Polling centers are grouped together under the control of the local National Election Commission Controllers.

Luckily for Hassan, the Muniki NEC Controller has just arrived at his polling location with the original registration booklets from November.  Registration cards were torn out of the registration booklets and a stub was left behind with a copy of the voters name and registration number.

According to the Controller, who declined to have her name recorded, they NEC local office met last night and decided they needed to bring these booklets to each of the polling locations to confirm registration cards.  The polling staff look through the registration booklet if a name is missing from the voter roll and still allow them to vote as long as their names have been found.

The Controller looks tired as she slowly leafs through each of the seven booklets from this polling location looking for Hassan's registration.  Hassan looks over her shoulder with his hands behind his back expectantly but trying to stay out of her way.

Although this solution is far from perfect, as registration cards can not always be connected to the voter rolls, it is allowing many people to vote.  On average, polling centers have still only allowed perhaps 20% of would-be voters to cast their ballot.  At different sites around Juba, the heads of the polling locations report they have turned away as many as 50% of the people who are looking to vote.  The great majority of these people have valid registration cards that could not be located in the voter rolls.

The controller slumps back in her chair and calls over to the staff member manning the voter rolls.  Hassan's registration has been found and he will be allowed to vote.

Interestingly, the polling staff is able to then find his name, which appears to be very similar to the name on his registration card.  In the voter rolls, his registration is alphabetized by his first name and his registration number is correct.  As I asked why his name was not found earlier, people begin to get suspicious, and stop talking to me.

It is a strange situation because the controller and the polling staff seem diligent in their work and interested in ensuring people have their chance to vote.  Hassan's situation may have just been an oversight or perhaps something else, but nothing indicates any wrongdoing.

As the second of three days of polling come to a close, reports are coming in that polling centers beyond Muniki have received the registration booklets.  Although they are arriving late, they are now able to locate peoples' names by searching through a list of registration numbers.

Apparently, missing registrations is a problem specific to the south, and it seems the government of the south and the southern NEC feel the problem was an error of data entry.  This is a good fix for a problem that has seriously complicated this historic vote.

For the moment, as Hassan happily dips his finger in the green ink and collects his ballots, but the polling staff have their work cut out for them as polling is set to close tomorrow.

Elections in Sudan - Day One

Juba, Southern Sudan
April 11, 2010

Polling has closed on this first day of elections on a searing hot day in the southern capital of Juba.  Would-be voters hug walls or collect under trees as they avoid the blazing hot sun.  Although they hold valid registration cards, they grumble about not being allowed to cast their ballot because their name did not appear on the voter rolls.  It is estimated that no more than 15% of registered voters have cast their ballot on this first of three days of voting.

The voting process began nearly six months ago with a week long voter registration.  Sudanese adults were registered after proving their identity with either a national ID or two witnesses, although in most cases, these requirements were not followed.  Up to four names were recorded on the official registration sheets and then transferred to a registration card that was laminated with thick tape. Citizens instructed to bring their registration cards to elections.

Registration lists were collected from almost 2,700 registration locations in Southern Sudan alone, and the handwritten names were then typed into a nation-wide database. These lists were printed, along with other election materials, and then distributed, in April, to election staff throughout Southern Sudan.

During today's polling, many registered voters unable to find their names on the voter rolls, which are alphabetized by first name.  Some confusion has arisen when family names appear where first names should, or in some cases, names have been printed in Arabic, which neither voters nor polling staff can read.

While these problems loom over the election, the much larger issue is the names which do not appear on the voter rolls at all.  Many people  who have not been able to find their names at their polling station have walked to other polling stations in an attempt to have their chance to vote.  Most visit two or three polling stations but are still unable to vote.

At this point, it is unknown why these names have disappeared.  It is possible some names were removed after registration because they were invalid, but there has been no official statement to that effect.  Some of the representatives from the opposition parties have suggested names have been removed and sent to distant polling stations, but they have not provided evidence of their claims.

Although polling staff are aware of the problem, it is unclear whether the issue will be fixed.  A temporary solution could be to send each polling stations voting rolls from other polling stations, but this may compromise the validity of the elections if multiple ballots from are cast for the same registration.

Another solution would be to reorganize the lists according to the registration number which would make it easier for polling staff to find valid registration card that may have a misprinted name.

Either solution would present the National Election Commission or the Government of Southern Sudan with the difficult logistical challenge of reprinting the lists, protecting the integrity of the data and distributing these materials to polling stations within the election period. Planes would need to be chartered to the ten states within Southern Sudan and then materials would have to be driven to polling stations that are often difficult to reach.  Considering that many polling stations have not yet received tables, chairs, and in some cases, necessary election materials, this does not seem likely.

In the midst of all the problems, many of today's polling stations had a quiet and almost solemn feel, with people whispering as they stand in line to present their registration cards to polling staff.  The question tonight is if the experience of visiting a polling station will hold the same amount of reverence if the problems are not solved.

For sure, the sun will shine down hard again tomorrow, and southern Sudanese people will return to their polling stations in the hope they will be able to dip their finger in the green ink as proof they have voted.

A month later...

I've been here in South Sudan for one month now, and a lot has happened.  So much, in fact, that I really haven't had time to either write in a journal or here on the blog.  There is really a lot to do with this mosquito-net distribution and not a lot of time.

Although, this is fairly late to be doing this, I would like to give my first impressions of this country, as I have never experienced a place like this before.  This is truly unlike any experience I have had.  There are certainly times when I have drawn comparisons between South Sudan and the other African countries to which I have been, but this area is truly unlike anything I have ever seen.

1.  Juba, the capitol of South Sudan, has an interesting and terribly sad mix of abject poverty and rapid growth that has been constantly shocking for me to see.  I caught my first glimpse as I touched down on the runway and saw a little child standing in the tall grass not 20 feet away from the 747 I was landing in.

As I understand, once Juba was named the capitol after the signing of the CPA, the city has continued unprecedented growth without any urban planning whatsoever.  Within the boundaries of Juba, I have yet to see any planting fields or even small vegetable gardens.  It just isn't possible to find open land because there are so many people moving into the city.  Food is literally flown and trucked in from Uganda and Kenya.  I will admit that I didn't believe it for a while, but things like beef and tomatoes are all coming to Juba from other countries.

The city is also lacking significantly in regards to utilities... no water, no sewage, no water runoff, no landlines or electricity (although there is a semi-working power grid).  

2.  The entire country feels like a graveyard of generations past.

Everywhere I have been so far, there are remnants of South Sudan's history... broken-down planes on the side of every runway.  Rusted out tanks on the side of the road along with old road construction equipment left behind when companies pulled out of the area.

South Sudan's history is laying in the streets and is underneath the houses.  It is something I am still trying to fully grasp, but even if I do not yet understand the subtlties, it is apparent everywhere I go.

I am going to try and write regularly as I am now out in the field and am allowing myself to be more pensive.

I miss you all and would love to hear from you.

Todd

Best of iphone applications

This is my running list of the best iphone applications.  I am ordering them by how much I use them, but don't hold me to it.   I know, I'm a dork.

Google Mobile - FREE

Google has come closest to creating a 1-stop application for the majority of iphone uses... contacts, web search, maps, etc.   It is an excellent concept that Google takes to a new level with their voice rocognition for web searches.   What they are missing:  Voice search of contacts, connection to native google maps application (see "Say Where."

Say Where - FREE

WOW... voice activated search of addresses (connected to GPS location) and then automatic integration with google maps.  Once the address is located, the application automatically maps directions from your current location.  Killer app!

WunderRadio - $5.99

This is one of the few applications I have been willing to buy, and I can't get over this app.  WunderRadio, who also have a fairly robust weather app, have searched the web and collected as many streaming radio-casts.  The app plays them either over wi-fi or 3G.  Here is the best part... if you find a stream that is not included on the app, you can email them and they will add it.  What is even better is they are quick to respond.

The Weather Channel - FREE

This should have been native to the iphone.  It is a no brainer.  I think this is better than WeatherBug, but others disagree... either way, they are both free and robust in the information they offer.  Both make use of GPS to locate accurate weather information.

Flixster - FREE

Great app that connects movies, trailers and theaters together all on your geo-location.  There isn't much to say except it works and it works well.

Remote - FREE

Apple's very own application.  Once the iphone is connected to wi-fi, it can control itunes on a mac or an apple TV.  I think it's pretty cool.

Sportacular - FREE

With this you can look up schedules, current game info, standings, news, play-by-plays and just about anything else related to any sport.  You can also create a favorite screen so you can put the info you find important on the first screen.

Fring - FREE

So I can never get the GoogleTalk gadget from the Google Mobile app to work, so I end up using Fring.  I do not use Fring for Voice over IP calls, although it would be great if it worked the way T-Mobile phones do (never going to happen).  Fring is great for IMing.

Google Earth - FREE

I almost never use this application since I have Google Maps, but it is so damn cool that I can't bring myself to delete it from my phone.  It is really a sweet application.

Lux Touch - FREE

Risk for the iphone...  I told you I was a dork.  The only downfall is you can only play one player against the computer. Supposedly, Lux is coming out with a multiplayer option for the iphone.  I think they already have a version for regular computers.

Enjoy Sudoku Daily - FREE

This is great free game.  I think it is the best of the Sudoku applications because it offers new puzzles every day.  A lot of the free versions will have a set number of puzzles that never update so the puzzle list is finite.  This updates a 7 new puzzles every day (one at each difficulty level).  There is a whole help portion to the application that explains some of the wierd minutia of Sudoku puzzles, which helps with the Devious and Fiendish levels.

So, I've also downloaded a bunch of applications I think are cool, but don't have a use for, and I keep them on my computer.  I will post that list below... but for the moment, this is what I got.

The Obamathon Ba-rocked... Good lucky

Washington, DC is definitely an odd place. I could (and probably should) devote an entire entry to all the oddities that make up the District (chief among them Johnny DC)... BUT on November 4th DC served up one of the greatest parties I have ever seen.

10:00am: I vote.

10:00am-9:30pm: Long process of collecting my Voting Prizes... Flu shots, free coffee, Krispy Kreme donuts, Ben & Jerry's ice cream... I can't even remember if the 4th was a work day.

9:30pm: Arrive at Stetsons Bar. We decide the downstairs is too packed, so we fight our way to the second floor. Temperature exceeds 200 degrees... retreat. We fight our way into the center of the bar and as I'm shifting some girl out of the way, I realize it's my friend Sarah Breul... good deal.

9:45pm: I realize my collection of post-it notes with all the poll closing info, possible winning models for both candidates, and electoral vote numbers is totally useless because Obama has basically already won. I literally spent about an hour writing all that blasted information down.

11:00pm: CNN calls the election. Turns out everyone in the bar is routing for Obama as the place erupts... oh wait.

11:20pm: McCain's concession speech impresses everyone and silences the bar.

11:30pm: Half the people filter out of the bar with the specific intention of running around in the streets.

12:00am: I'm back at my apartment and in bed, when I get a phone call from my roommate's little brother instructing us to get back out into the streets.

12:10-1:00am: Jon, Josh and I dance in the street with a huge crowd at 16th and U Street NW... the same place where the DC riots started after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. Also the same place where I voted.

1:00am: We hear the White House is happening, so we lamely attempt to spread the word and get everyone to march down with us... no surprise... it does not happen. We walk down alone, but on the way get a ride from an Iraq vet driving his family down to the white house and run the rest of the way.

1:45am: We dance around the White House for a good long while. People are alternatively singing "Move Bush, get out the way. Get out the way, Bush, get out the way!" and the National Anthem. The best way I can think to describe the crowd is that it reminded me of a news brief detailing a coup in the developing world. Think tons of people running around screaming and shaking flags in the air.

2:00am: I see Michael Earls and his girlfriend, Victoria. I hug them both and congratulate Victoria, but then she reminds me she is Canadian. Oh well. They suggest we walk down to the Lincoln Memorial.

2:45am: We arrive at the Lincoln Memorial. I read both inscriptions and have a good feeling about tomorrow.

3:00am: While on the way back to the apartment, in a cab, I get a text from a friend of mine in Mali. He does not speak English but somehow gets someone to translate his sentiments...

AMERICA IS FANTASTIC CONTINENT NOW ALL AFRICA WISH GOOD LUCKY TO AMERICA AND OBAMA!

Done!

I made it back.

The trip from Dakar to DC took about 24 hours, so I am beat, but happy to be back in the States.

For the most part, the flights were fine. The only annoyance was the final flight from JFK to DCA. Our flight got delayed because of a storm system over DC, so we had to sit in the plane for about an hour and a half. By the time we left, I counted 25 planes sitting on the tarmac waiting to take off. Ridiculous.

I am back though...

Quick Note:

I think I am pretty much done entering all my journal information onto this blog... the only entries left are the days of travel from Mali-Senegal-France-New York-DC.

I also have posted my photo albums (to the right) and I have put some photos into the blog enteries now that I have reliable internet.

Enjoy,
TW

Diakite

I got down to Bamako and headed back to Eric Anderson's apartment... he was kind enough to let me stay there versus getting a hotel room for 40 bucks a night.

Today, I went out on a search for Saleem Diakite, international man of mystery and creator of the San Hot Pocket.

He left San when a friend of his told him they could work together down in Bamako and made gobs of money. Unfortunately, when Diakite got down here, his friend refused to give him any of the earnings. He ended up finding a new job working at the Avis rent-a-car center cleaning cars when they come back from rentals. It is not good work, but it pays the bills for the moment.

It was good to see Diakite, but you could tell he wasn't psyched to be cleaning cars. I'm hoping he gets back on his feet making those hot pockets.

This is quite possibly the coolest photo I have ever taken. The coolness does NOT come from my camera ability but from this guy.

San Redux

After Yangasso, I headed back up to San. I had purposely left some of my stuff in the San Stage house and I wanted to buy a few things at the market.

Coulibaly was working again at the stage house and I snapped a couple shots of his mohawk. It's been growing out a little bit so it isn't in full effect, but it is still rock and roll all the way.


There were a couple volunteers still at the stage house. It was a good time, we went through old photographs left behind by Peace Corps Volunteers from my time and they all looked on as I explained who they were and where they lived. As a volunteer, you have such access to the culture and the community in Mali, but Peace Corps has almost no institutional memory, so any chance volunteers have to connect with the history or Peace Corps, they jump. I remember having that same feeling. It was always so weird to find out about the history of Peace Corps before I arrived. It was like finding a treasure map after you've been searching for burried treasure for the last year and a half.

I spent the afternoon walking around San and buying plastic cups and a hat. I think it was an excellent use of my time.
TW

Roosters

So very tired. Around 4:30am, the rooster Vieux gave me started cock-a-doodle-doing just about every five minutes. I'm pretty sure no one in the concession got any sleep. The rooster decided the best place to stand was right next to me, too.

Everything works out in Mali though... In the mid-morning, the rooster started fighting with the other rooster the Coulibaly's have so we decided to cook him up and eat him for lunch. HA!

Lunch was great.

After we ate, I lapsed into my coma-like state underneath the gwa and lost all track of the world. I didn't realize this as it was happening, but it started to get more hot and humid than normal... which would explain why I litterally could not stay conscious... anyway, that is a great sign for rain, and around 3:30pm a full on monsoon came through and soaked the earth for a good hour and a half. It was a great feeling to have the heat broken and it was great for Yangasso. This does not ensure a good rainy season, but it is a great sign.

During the storm, Awa and her kids hung out in the their house and I took photos of everyone. It was a great hour and a half. Aloo, the second youngest, put on a show for us. Everyone had smiles on their faces and laughs came easily. It was a great way to end my stay in Yangasso.

In the afternoon, I got my stuff together and headed down to the center of Yangasso to try and find transport out of Yangasso.

Leaving this time was much easier. I had wondered whether it would be as hard as the last time... getting left handed shakes and people not looking at me... but it was a very different experience. People were all happy to have seen me and wished me a safe journey home.

Everyone in Yangasso greets you all in the United States.

I headed up to San on a transport coming from the Dugoulo (sp?) market. The transport was slow but I didn't mind too much. I spent the ride thinking about my time in Peace Corps and this visit. There are so many memories to sort through and to make sense of. I was in such a different place when I was leaving Mali in 2005. I was sorting through all that I did and what I would have changed.

Hint of rain

In the midle of the night there was a little bit of rain and a lot of wind. The Bocadari and Awa were happy it was there, but we all had to get up and bring things inside and change where we were sleeping.

I was sleeping outside so I had to move inside. I think in an attempt to be nice they put me in the storage shed so I would have my own space. I had my own spot, but I ended up sharing the spot with all the mice who live around their house. In a half-sleep state, I turned my headlight in the direction of some noise (which was right above my head and outside my mosquito net) and found about 5 or 6 mice huddled up trying to get away from the storm. What surprised me the most was that I went directly back to sleep. For some reason it really didn't bother me that much.

I woke up a bit early, and headed over to Madu Konate's house. Yesterday he said he was heading out to the Bani River Dam, which was just being built as I was leaving in 2005. It was a Malian-Chinese joint project that installed two roads and the dam itself. Madu never really explained why he was going but he said it would be fine for me to come along. I hopped on the back of his moto and we began the journey.

It turned out to be 40km away which is pretty long in the sun on the back of a moto. We did make one stop at the house of a friend of Madu's. I figured out Madu was interested in going to the river to buy fish from the Bozos (ethnic group who live along the rivers and fish). His friend had told him he could buy fish for 400 CFA per kilo at the river versus 600 CFA in Yangasso. We had to stop at his friend's house to find the name of the people we would buy from.

While we were there his friend figured out I was American and immediately asked if I could take his picture. Why my nationality prompted him to ask for a photograph escapes me, but hey... So we walked through the town to this guy's horse and I took a photo of him, some of his kids and his horse. We then walked back and got on the moto to leave. Right as we fired up the moto and started to leave he called us back and came running after us with a small box and handed me his business card... This guy lives probably 35km from the main road of Yangasso which is already Nowheresville for Mali, but this guy still had a business card. **When I get back to the US, I will post that photo**

The river dam was pretty cool. Over half of the river is an earthen jetti. The second half has a bridge with an overflow dam that funnels the water quickly into some structure. What happens to the water is still unclear. Some people in Yangasso told me it is transported about 70km away to be used on the cornfields up there and some other people said it is just used on the millet fields in the commune of Yangasso. I definitely saw a sign saying it was used for corn fields, but all the fields in the Yangasso area are millet. I can't imagine how hard it would be to transfer all that water 70km away... I should try and figure out what exactly happens to the water.

When I got back, I was dog-tired and a little bit sunburned. I spent the afternoon using Bocadari's slingshot to knock over a can near the Coulibaly concession. Ba Djenne and Aloo helped me by collecting rocks for me. I love Malian kids... they had just as much fun collecting rocks as I did knocking the can over.

In the late afternoon, I went over to Vieux Traore's house, who was one of the people I worked with while I was living in Yangasso. Turns out, the fencing project we worked on has not really developed at all since I left. World Vision came in right after I had left and built a large scale community garden with a solar pump and water basins. Ugh. All the material the tree association and I purchased have been sitting in Vieux's back yard collecting dust.
Apparently, a few factors have changed the situation since I left...

1. During the drought, sales of trees has dropped
2. The association is worried people will steal the metal fence once it is installed
3. The World Vision garden has given some members of the association a cheaper alternative to creating an association run tree nursery.

I certainly understand the drought altering the market for trees, which is already a difficult market in rural areas. While the trees sold by the association are reltively cheap and are usually 1 to 2 years old (which is the hardest years for growing trees), people will still try and grow trees from seed or try and find saplings in the woods, even if they are bound to die. As well, the World Vision garden is great for the community and it definitely trumps the work I did. I was working with a small association who had limited resources... World Vision has tons of cash and can spend it on whatever pleases them.

What seems nuts to me is the idea that someone would steal all their fencing if they put it in place. There is metal fencing everywhere in the Yangasso and I have never heard of crooks coming in the night and making off with large amounts of chain-link fencing. I think the greater shame is the association didn't think about the possibility earlier. If they had been worried about a criminal coming and stealing their fence, we could have included cement in the project and got funding for it. As it stands now, I can't go back to Peace Corps and try and finish up my project.

It is frustrating, but not insurmountable. With mobile service now in Yangasso, it means I can keep in touch with Vieux and the association pretty easily and we might be able to make some progress.

I let them know they could sell the fencing and use it for the association, but they still want to try and make the tree nursery work. They already have cash invested in the project with the land, the well and the materials. We shall see.

I had forgotten Vieux's character a bit, but I was reminded of how good of a person after today. It would have been so easy for the association to sell the fencing off and have a made a windfall after I left. Instead he has guarded the materials and has been pushing to make this happen. He is also one of the most pious and devout people I have ever met. He doesn't push his religion in your face, but it eminates from him with everything he does. The idea of quality applies directly to him.

The Search for Chinois

This evening, I spent my time looking for my friend Chinois (he is the one on the left). His is so named because as a kid he caused problems for his parents and his grandmother thought he was a vagabond... so she said Chinois. You can guess what Malians think of the Chinese and the products they send to Mali.

Anyway, Chinois has been absent from his usual post at his boutique since I have gotten here, so I decided I would go on the hunt. I found his wife in the early evening selling food on the side of the road and she told me he has been farming during the day and has been too tired to work at the boutiqu at night. She got a little kid named Oof Diarra to walk me back to Chinois' house.

The walk turned out to be longer than I thought, but it was all right because Oof might be the coolest kid I have met since I showed up in Mali. This kid couldn't have been more than 9 years old but you would have thought he was 25. As we walked he was greeting adults and young woman. He was talking with them and joking with them... it was impressive. My mobile phone has a flashlight on it and he asked if he could use it, so I handed it over to him. He then started asking about how you call the United States on the phone. I asked him if he wanted to speak English to an American and he said yes. I took the phone back and called Carolyn (who is in England, but that's neither here nor there). I quickly said hi and handed the phone over to Oof. I could hear Carolyn say hello so I told him what to say... he did brilliantly.

I don't think I'm doing Oof justice, because this kid was amazing. When we arrived at Chinois' house, Chinois told me this kid hangs out with adults and they all like hanging out with him... super cool.

Anyway, I finally found Chinois who was, in fact, dog tired after working in the fields all day. He has a dinkey cart that takes him out to the fields which is very far away and must be incredibly hot. We hung out for a good long while and then I wanted to let him get to sleep. He insisted on walking me back to Coulibaly's house. I tried to let him go but in true Malian fashion, he wanted to give me the road.

When we showed up at the Coulibaly's house, Vieux had stopped by and given me a chicken and a rooster from the tree association. Super nice.

Sleep escapes me

Turns out a nice comfortable bed actually makes a difference... who would have thunk?

My bed in Yangasso is a mat on the ground outside. It's pretty flat but there are small rocks embedded into the ground that feel pretty damn big around 3:00am.

This morning, I began my yalla yalla (walking around and greeting people). I started by heading down to the empty market area of Yangasso. Since Tuesdays are market days, the rest of the week there is a huge expanse made up of gwas which are small structures with four wooden posts and the top covered with either millet stock or dried grass. It's a cool spot during the week where old men hang out and listen to the radio.

I ended up hanging out with Mamadou Tangara. We basically sat and listened to a griot tell a story on the radio. Every so often, Mamadou would ask me about the United States... about the weather, snow or American houses... it was as if I had never left.

I then took off to look for a friend of mine Madu Konate who makes jewelry. He had made a braclet for me before I left Mali in '05, but it was stolen when I was in South Africa. He was happy enough to make another one and said it would be done by 5:00pm today.

I then sat in his work area with his son as they made braclets and earings. Since there isn't a store where you can go to buy the tools for making jewelry, they make it all themselves. In order to heat metal, they have a fan belt from a car attached to the ground and they turn it by hand. the wind is funneled into a mud oven where there is burning coal. The coals are super-heated and they will put the metal in ceramic bowls right on top of the coals. It melts in a couple minutes and then begins the process of banging the shape of the jewelry out. They were making a man's braclet when I was there (much like the one I ordered) so they would hold the metal with a pair of pliers and then swing a hammer down on the metal. When they get going, it is a little bit like a drum beat. Two whacks on the metal and then a third on the anvil. Whack-whack-ting. Whack-whack-ting. Whack-whack-ting.

In the cities, there will be four or five guys making jewelry at the same time so you get fast-paced rhythm repeated on top of itself again and again, but here in Yangasso it was a much calmer beat. I don't meditate but watching Madu create that braclet has got to be close to the idea of meditation... I must have spent an hour sitting there staring, listening and thinking about absolutely nothing.

Around noon, Madu invited me back to his house to have lunch with his family. We had bashi, fish sauce and lait caille. I'm not entirely sure this is correct, but Bashi is millet couscous. Millet is ground down to a flour and then cooked with a little bit of water so the flour clumps together into little tiny balls. The bashi was great and afterwards, I had my first Malian siesta in a long while. I forgot how hot it is here and how normal it is to absolutely pass out between 1:30 and 2:30pm... Even during the rainy season, the hours after mid-day are so hot that it is difficult to stay conscious. The only thing to do is pass out and revive yourself with Malian tea afterwards.

I then headed down to the main boutique in Yangasso and officially greeted all the old men. They are the stalwarts of Yangasso. Always to be found hanging around and passing the time. I was an honorary member of the club while I lived here, so I was quickly welcomed back to my spot. Again, it was as if I had never left. We had a couple of the same conversations and then we proceeded to hang out and tell jokes.

Since it is the rainy season, most people are out in the fields during the day weeding around their millet and making sure the crops are all right. Apparently, there hasn't been much rain this season. People are beginning to wonder if the millet is going to make it. It's a good reminder of the careful balance of life in this area of the world. For the most part, Malians hover right above the cut-off for existence. As long as there is rain during the rainy season, they can grow enough millet to last them through the rest of the year. If there isn't enough rain or if there crops don't make it for some reason, the ability to exist disappears. Just like that, a little less rain turns a thriving successful community into one of those ads you see on television with starving children covered in flies.

This all makes me realize why the culture and society is so important... why there is this amazing hospitality here. It is something they can have and control no matter what happens during the year. It's what makes them Malians... they will laugh and they will enjoy life.

TW