Merci Beaucoup

I don't think I've commented on this blog my thanks to all my supporters. You're all great and I thank you for your continued encouragement and support. I especially want to thank my bible study group. I shared with the teams/missionaries that you played a big part in getting me to Mali. The group hosted a garage sale to raise funds for my trip. It not only raised the funds I needed to go to Mali, it also was great fun and great comaraderie: a spirit of friendly good-fellowship. Thanks Susan, Mame, Ann-Marie, Jan and Nancy! The missionaries also thank you. 

Reflection on Education

Malian schools have a unique way of teaching. The kids are typically taught by memorizing the content. They are very good audible learners, unlike many of us who are visual learners. This is a challenge because they don't learn 'critical thinking' until much later, like high school age. To give an idea of the impact of teaching: The kids learn, in French - 'to cross the road, always look left first'. So they simply memorize the statement, in French. A young girl was asked the day before her test if she's nervous about her exam. She said she wasn't because she knew the question... and answer. 'always look left'. So her mom asked her the question in Bambara. Which way do you look before crossing the road? The young girl didn't know the answer. She could only answer in French, by what she memorized! (but didn't know what it meant!)

In fact, when the hospital hires new nurses, they allow 6-9 months for the nurses to learn the clinical basics. They start to develop more critical thinking methods as they face new clinical challenges.

And talk about a challenge in hiring nursing staff! There is a requirement that the nurses be Christian. Also, there are few who are trained and that live in Koutiala. Nurses will often move to their husband's town to work, so it's a challenge keeping staff for long. This is why the Pediatric unit hasn't officially opened. They don't enough trained nurses and staff!

I added a Wordle to the title page of this blog - check it out. It takes all the words from the blog and sizes them according to how often they are used. Cool look!

Back in the US

That's a long way from home. Friday we left the guest house in Koutiala at 8am. Barry and Terry took us back. It was a nice drive, but long... stopped in Segou at the mudcloth place. I notice some updates and new styles there - very  nice. (the pic shows the dies they use on the cloths - all natural, from leaves or bark - tres jolie!)
We also had lunch in Segou, close to the river and market. And yes, the beads beakoned me - Terry did a great job negotiating for me and it turns out I got a great deal (at least according to what they were charging for similar beads at the Bamako guest house). Luba & Ter - you'll love them! The restaurant was good too - a little upscale this time and the beef brochettes were tender and delicious. Then, it was off to Bamako - another 3 hours. We were able to drop off our luggage at Air France (downtown) - that was efficient... and saved us the queue at the airport. So we had time to explore a bit in Bamako. It was a different guest house this time - this one was closer to the main market which we explored prior to dinner. Remember that I said the Malian people are so gracious and friendly... well, we saw another side in Bamako. First of all, as a bigger city, the people aren't as friendly and few say hello, like they ALL do in Koutiala. Secondly, we busted them bigtime. We were admiring/watching a lady make and cook their version of an empanada - they looked delicious - pastry stuffed with beef, onion, half egg, folded over, then deep-fried. She even used only her right hand to make them (they don't use their left hand around food). Some young men were watching us watch her (did I mention the men are the ones sitting around) and commented "white people are stupid". Well, little did they know that Barry is fluent in Bambara. He couldn't hold back and spoke to them in Bambara, defending us. They were so busted... and everyone laughed. We hope they got the message.

Dinner was good. Barry and Terry sure have taken good care of us! After a quick shower, we were off for our 11:40pm departure to Paris.The flight was fine - I even slept.

All flights headed to the US are under greater scrutiny and screening. Pat downs and bag inspections are the norm. Security even required me to play my African drum (he smiled and wanted more :) and to have a sip of water from my water bottle. It was a reasonable wait at CDG, Paris - 3 hours.

Then it was the long haul to Seattle (10.5 hrs). I was fortunate to get some sleep and watched a couple of movies. So, all was fine and we landed an hour late due to delays in Paris (it was cold there, -1degC). It's good to be home, safe and healthy. That was 36 hours 'on the road'. That's very dizzying... (if that's a word). While I felt OK, Peter described me as 'vacant' that day of arrival. After 11 hours of sleep, I was rested. Gotta get back on to this time... welcome home!

I'll continue to blog with additional reflections, as they come to mind. My heart and mind are still in Africa.