More Q & A

 I am currently doing a correspondence program with a friend from home who is also a teacher, Greg Shurman.  I'll be working with the school in my village and with his civics class in Florida, to help them get to know each other!  Anyway, Greg sent me a letter introducing his students and in it he asked some interesting questions.  I figured I'd put them up here for everyone to see.







Does your host family know much about the United States?  No, but I'm always teaching them and telling them stuff.  All they really know is that "there's a lot of money there!"

Do you have time to teach them about our culture? Yeah, thats actually a big part of my job.

Will you be in Kissa the entire two years or will you travel to other parts of Mali? I get to leave Kissa occasionally (for example, to go to a bigger city and get internet).  But, my work will be in Kissa and I will be spending most of my time there for the next two years.

What is the Peace Corps goal in Mali? The peace corps has three goals. First and foremost, to provide assistance and technical expertise to peoples who are lacking it, to help them escape poverty.  However, the Peace Corps also serves to educate Malians about America, and to educate Americans about Mali (hence the exchange we're doing)

Where do you see places like Kissa in the next 10 years?  Thats really hard to say!  Change happens slowly here.  I would like to see Kissa's children healthier, better fed and with more access to medicines. I think thats the biggest thing.  Another thing would be to have more kids going to school and learning to read (most of the town is illiterate).

Does it cool down at night?  Yes, but during the hot season (which is over now, whew) you pretty much still sweat at night.

What are the main problems facing west Africa and Mali?  Where to begin?  Corruption, poor infrastructure, lack of education... I'd say those are the biggest things hindering development.

What are some solutions to these problems?  I think the most comprehensive and long-term solution is better education.  Everything else is just a band-aid solution.

What nations are involved in the region that you are working?  The big ones are America, France (who colonized Mali), China and Libya.  Americans do a lot of development work but the military has a presence here as al-qaida is in northern Mali.  The Chinese do a lot of work building infrastructure to help Chinese business interests (which still ends up helping Mali, but more inadvertently). Libya (ie Qaddafi) wants Mali as an ally, and spends a lot of money trying to look like Mali's helpful big brother. They have paid for big, showy buildings in Bamako and give Malians cheap oil. Many Malians support Qaddafi and are upset about what Americans are doing over there now.

Is your host family curious about the United States? Yes, very much so. They don't know much about it, and many things about America and Mali are so different.  It can be hard for them to understand, or for me to explain things like, say, why anyone would have a job other then as a farmer, consumerism, religious pluralism, a free press and un-corrupt government, homosexuality and transsexualism, environmental issues, American relationships...

Tulonke

Malians love to laugh with each other.  However, the way that they joke and tease each other is very different from how we do in America.  They have a much more structured and formulaic way of teasing, and it is called “Tulonke.”  When Malians are “Tulonke-ing” (which can mean playing, joking, or teasing), they rely on a very specific system for who they joke with and what they joke about.  Although some of their jokes seem simple and predictable to Americans, Malians find them absolutely hilarious, every time.  I often find myself laughing like crazy along with them, catching it contagiously!

Joking Cousins - Sinunkun

            The most prominent form of Tulonke in Mali is called joking cousins.  This system relies on all of the many diverse ethnic groups and family names here in Mali.  In this system, people of a certain last name are “joking cousins” with people of other specific last names.  For example, cowherders tease blacksmiths, the fishermen tease people of the Dogon ethnicity.  In my case, my last name is Kone, and the joking cousins of the Kones are Dembeles and Traores.  So, whenever I meet people whose last name is Traore, I immediately tell them that their last name is bad and we will begin insulting each other.  I’ll tell them they eat beans (an insult here), and then they’ll tell me I’m lazy because I’m a Kone.  Then everyone will laugh and shake hands.  Other common insults are to tell someone they sleep in the latrine, and that eat donkeys or dogs.

Family Relationships

            There are also family relationships that have a joking relationship.  Grandparents and grandchildren joke with each other, as well as your older brother’s wife, or, conversely, your husband’s younger brothers.  The grandparent-grandchild relationship is surprising: grandparents with say that they are afraid of their grandchildren, and that the grandchild is trying to kill them.  The grandchild, on the other hand, will say that their grandparents are too old and need to hurry up and die and stop taking all the food!  This is something I would never, ever say to one of my grandparents, but Malians love it, and find it hilarious.  Nevertheless, grandchildren still respect their grandparents very much, and would only say something seemingly disrespectful or rude if it is within the formula of “Tulonke.”

Ugly Name – Togo Jugu

            This is not found all over Mali, but in my village people especially love the form of Tulonke called togo jugu or ugly name.  In this system, everyone has an ugly name, for example, mine is monkey-nose.  Some ugly names include rat-testicle, old woman’s mouth, red cucumber mouth, dog-thigh, demon-butt, or pig-stomach.  When you call people their ugly name, or make insinuations about it, everyone laughs.  But, if someone calls you by your ugly name, you must act indignant, and say “don’t ever call me that” and threaten to make them buy you tea or kola nuts.  And its always hilarious.