Oh man, I am terrible about updating this thing. It’s not my fault! There is hardly any time to come to the cyber (which, by the way, I recently found out has ethernet cables to plug directly into my netbook!) We get to school by 7:45, and then after school we go on little “excursions.” Yesterday and today, we visited two different women’s rights organizations in Mali. Rad rad rad rad!
I am thinking about completely changing my idea for my research project. This might be a little bit complicated, because I got a grant from UMBC to do a specific research project while I’m here. However, I think I could probably make a good argument about the nature of research and why my new idea is important, etc. So I was thinking about focusing my research on abortion in Mali. I have talked to a few people about it, and apparently there are doctors who perform abortions here, although it is extremely secretive and socially condemned. There are also women in the villages who use traditional methods to help women induce miscarriages and prevent pregnancy. Anyway, I think it would be so fascinating to talk to doctors and women who have had experiences with abortion. We will see!
When I walk through the streets, children scream “Toubabu!!” at me, meaning “white person.” Because of the colonial history of Mali, when I tell people here that I am American and not French, they are often relieved. A country that prefers Americans to the French- oh la la!
If the editors get it together, I have a forthcoming “foreign desk” article in The Retriever Weekly. Check it out.
The students in my class, myself included, are starting to miss comforts like wine, vegetables, toilet paper, and speaking English. There has been some discussion about a rooftop party next weekend at the home of my classmate’s homestay family. After Ramadan is over, my sister is going to take me to “No Stress,” apparently the best club in Bamako.
Speaking of no stress, I am not stressed out for the first time in probably my whole life. It’s……still foreign to me.
Pun intended, for Meryl.
