Day 4 - Training Commences

I arrived in Bamako last night. Moving through customs was easy, but I think collecting your baggage is the actual Malian way of proving if you are worthy to enter the country. It's more free than a free-for-all. We soon discovered that using a "fend for yourself" approach would solve nothing, so we decided on a "bucket brigade" strategy for collecting bags. Before we left everyone put yellow yarn on their bags so we could identify them at the airport. At the baggage claim we simply formed a line, the first person picking out all the yellow yarn bags and then handing them down the line where we piled everythnig in a corner of the airport. Then we regrouped, found our own bags, and then made our way through the baggage screener to leave the airport.

We started training today at Tubaniso (the training center) located about 40 minutes outside of Bamako. It's a secluded facility that is set up like a camp. Dining hall, meeting centers, outhouses, showers, sleeping huts, and an athletic field. I'll try to upload some pictures in the next day or so.

Our training today included the following:

• meeting the PC country staff and Tubaniso staff
• filling out tons of paperwork
• doing a language competancy interview
• medical safety meeting
• cultural awareness training (fyi: burping ok, farting not ok)
• getting shots (Td, Hep A, Meningitis) (more shots in future)
• starting malaria meds
• meeting current PCVs
  

PC has gone to great lenths to make sure everyone is safe and comfortable here. This place would be just like any other "camp" in the US if some of the main buildings were air conditioned. The food is great. There are showers. Squat toilets... yes - but we get tp. The biggest nuisance are the flies, but they don't put up much of a fight.

It is fairly humid at the moment, but the temperature was probably only in the low 80's today. You don't sweat to the point of being wet, but simply damp from time to time.

I'm enjoying my time so far and learning a lot of new things... from the training staff, current PCVs, and fellow trainees. Everything here has been set up to make the first few days in a new country as easy as possible. The real test will begin in a few days when we are taken out to live with host families for much of the remainder of the training period (about 2 months). I'm trying to take in as much as possible in order to make a good first impression with my hosts.

Lastly, if you wish to send me mail, use the following address. Also, if you are sending any kind of item other than a letter, you need to include a customs slip which can be found at any post office.

Matt Seib, PCV

Corps de la Paix

B.P. 85

Bamako

Mali