New Years in Dialafara!

This year for New Years, we decided to go visit some of our friends, Andrew and Nicole in Dialafara. Dialafara is a small town about 250 km south of Kayes. We left on the 31st. The Peace Corps driver for the Kayes region, Vieux, gave us a lift, which is good because the road sucks (have you noticed a theme with our travel stories yet). Anyways, the actual New Year night was relatively uneventful. We played some cards and talked. Natalie and Nicole went to sleep early. Me and Andrew forced ourselves to stay up until midnight. We lit off some firecrackers at midnight with a couple of Malian guys. It seemed that the Malians thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The next day we took a walk and worked on Andrew and Nicole's garden and their new chicken coop. Their chicken coop was pretty cool, they made it out of mud like many of the Malian houses. I helped put in the roost (I learned what a roost was just before this) and Natalie helped to rip up straw for their bedding.



We also took a little walk around the area. I saw these pretty cool parakeets and planned to take a major hike the next day. The next day we set off on our hike with a few bottles of water, cameras, and a couple of oranges. Andrew was quite the guide. He knows an incredible amount about the different trees and wildlife. It was really interesting. Anyways, after a while, we started to hear a strange barking noise. Andrew informed us that the noises we heard were baboons. We all decided that it would be a really good idea to head towards the baboons. All of a sudden Natalie yells out to us, “I see them!” No way! I have a bit of trouble seeing them because I wasn't wearing my glasses and I had to search for them through a 200mm telephoto lens on my camera. I managed to get a couple pictures before they scurried off though.



Of course, at that point we decide, let's climb the mountain and follow them! So I have to say, right now I am in the middle of reading The Lord of the Rings, and our journey totally reminded me of it the whole way. First we had to wade through this ridiculous high straw which was well over our heads. This continued most of the way up a large hill which was full of large rocks. It was pretty slow going. Eventually we made it up to the top after a bit of rock climbing. The baboons were long gone, but we did manage to see them again on a distant cliff. They were clearly watching us. Andrew and the baboons did a bit of communicating through barking at this point. It was pretty funny. They were barking back and forth as if they were really talking. We found a cool rock wall which had these amazing holes and things in it that made for perfect and easy rock climbing. I was pretty pumped about it, as I'd recently read through a few Outside magazines. It really was amazing and even Natalie seemed to enjoy it. I couldn't help but think that this could potentially be a great new hobby. Andrew informed us that the cliff was clearly formed by running water and surely if we continued on, we would come to a waterfall and hopefully it doesn't run through the cliffs so we can see it. This seemed like a pretty good idea, so we walked along the cliffs until finally, we heard the sound of running water. It wasn't much, but it was definitely a waterfall.



The types of trees there were really cool too. They had these huge root systems which hung into the water. We hung out at the waterfall for a while and had a bit of snacks and cooled off some. After some time, we decided we would try a different route back. We thought it would be a good idea to follow the waterfall down to the ground again. We should be able to rock climb down...I mean...we've been climbing up and down rocks all day. It should be no problem. We came to a point where we were forced to climb up and there was a little bit in the beginning that was steeper than vertical. This posed two problems. One, we couldn't see above the overhang, so we weren't really sure how far we had to climb, and two, once we got over the overhang, you were pretty much committed to keep on climbing. Natalie told me that she would do it if I would do it. With that, I decided to go first. I managed to make it over what seemed like would be the hardest point without too much trouble. Unfortunately, a couple steps up, I grabbed onto a rock and started to pull myself and realized that it was loose. This definitely freaked me out. I pulled the rock off and tossed it over my shoulder where it smashed into a thousand pieces far below. Unfortunately, I realized that this was a pretty bad idea because at that point I realized how high up I was and what was going to happen if/when I fell. I started to freak out and shake a bit uncontrollably. I know the chances of me actually falling were probably pretty slim, but at that point, I seriously considered the fact that I may be climbing to my death. It was then that I realized that Natalie was about to climb up to my point. I told Natalie and Andrew that I was having second thoughts about this route (actually I think I said I was totally fucking scared out of my mind). We all agreed that I should climb back down. Easier said than done. Basically, my plan was to crouch down, get the best hand grips I could and swing down with Andrew guiding one of my feet to a spot where I could place my feet. Of course, moments before the actual “swinging” took place, I started to chicken out. It was at this same moment that my hands started to slip and I realized, I've got about 5 seconds until I fall down, so I better drop down now. The swinging didn't really take place, but luckily Andrew more or less caught me and I thanked him profusely. At that point I said that we are turning around and going exactly the same way that we arrived. Eventually, we made it back and I shouted out “Eureka!”, which I never say (or think), but for some reason it felt appropriate at the time.

Anyways, that night we finally bought the chickens for the chicken coop. Two males and two females. They are pretty interesting. It's so weird that chickens go completely calm when you hold them by the feet. Also, their legs are really warm and fuzzy. I always imagined them to be cold and scaly.



That night we looked at the stars, you have never seen so many stars in your life. I learned quite a few constellations from an old Boy Scout manual that Andrew had around. I also decided that instead of rock climbing, my new hobby could be astronomy.

Biennale

December 20 – December 30

We saw signs for the 'Biennale' in Kayes as early as October. Ever since, we have been anxiously awaiting yet another cultural festival. Since the '60s and more recently revived, the Biennale is held 'every other year' (or every couple) as an art and cultural event for the entire country. Since the new president, every Biennale is now held in a different city in Mali and this year it would be held in Kayes. (In addition, every city chosen to host the Biennale receives a statue of the infamous 'Biennale' mascot. It was constructed in one of the major roundabouts in Kayes.)

In the days preceding the opening ceremony, we went shopping for the official Biennale fabric. It was a hideous puke gold color, however we bought a pagne's (pronounced as pan ya) worth (a little over a meter) for our collection. (It is more common to buy fabric in increments of a pagne rather than a true meter.) Adding to our excitement, we were informed that the opening ceremony at the stadium would consist of camel races. We could hardly contain our excitement... our first camel races.

The day before the opening ceremony, Ashley, another volunteer who works with the tourism bureau in Kayes (OMATHO), invited us to a VIP-like dinner with live music at the Hotel du Rail in Kayes. We gladly accepted the invitation. After language class that Friday, we walked the hour to the Hotel du Rail in hopes of seeing some very important people. We also heard a free chicken dinner would be provided. Just the day before, Luis, another volunteer, told us that the president of Mali, Amadou Toumani Toure (ATT), would be attending the opening ceremony. We hoped to see him at the Hotel du Rail event but alas he was not yet in Kayes. We did see the Minister of Culture and were overly videotaped for a later television broadcast. (It is not uncommon while watching the national station (ORTM) to see footage of all the white people in attendance of whatever event is being broadcast.) We enjoyed the atmosphere and the Cuban inspired music that was performed. Unfortunately, on the walk home that night, I lost my phone.

We awoke on Saturday morning the 20th to the sound of drums off in the distance. During our pre-service training, we were advised that any time you hear drums... go to them. I will always follow this advice. As soon as we were awake, we were off for the day. We were led to the paved road in Kayes n'Di, where we found crowds and crowds of people lining the street for the arrival of the president. Instead of waiting for the president, we decided to go explore the city, which is one of our favorite things to do. We walked the streets all morning greeting everyone in our path. By early afternoon, we had already decided to head to the stadium since we assumed the camels were there. We stumbled upon a free photography exhibit of all the prior Biennale celebrations that was very well put together. We were actually able to learn some of the history of the Biennale, such as its mascot is the snail. In addition to a photography exhibit, every region created a display educating about the 'marriage rituals' of each region. At this point in the afternoon, we could see people filing into the stadium so we followed.

In Kayes, the stadium was built for a African Cup soccer tournament sometime in the early 2000s. Unfortunately, it has rarely been used since. (In fact, the house we live in was built to house soccer players for this tournament.) We arrived at the stadium about two hours early and found seats with backs in the shade, very key. Still, we had yet to see any camels, we were starting to question our intel. Although while we were waiting, we were entertained with performers from all the regions who were at the stadium early to practice. Finally around 4:30, we heard some official music... the president had arrived. Luckily, we had chosen seats right next to the VIP section where we were fairly certain the president would be. As he walked the track
around the stadium, all of the Malians around us stood, clapped and chanted 'A-T-T.' I had chills. We were within twenty feet of the president of Mali. After his arrival, we all sat back down and recomposed ourselves when all of a sudden we noticed the Malians around us looking up at the sky. At that very moment, a plane was flying overhead. (It is not uncommon for Malians to stare at airplanes as they do not see them very often.) We were less than excited to see an airplane in the sky, until we realized that it was surrounded by parachutes with the colors of the Malian flag. Yes, that's right, about six Malians were parachuting onto the soccer field in front of us. I got chills again. Just like many of the Malians, it was also my first time witnessing such a grand event. After the parachuting, we listened to the president speak about the fact that the problems of Mali are not only the problems of Kidal (the North), but that these problems affect all of Mali. We watched representatives from every region parade around the stadium. There were also several 'live performances' by local singers. (In Mali, 'live performances,' are all actually live lip synced performances.) Along with the parade, we were graced with performances from every region. By far, we enjoyed Kidal the most. To conclude the celebration, about fifty children in matching costumes performed a choreographed dance telling the story of the 'Manantali hippopotamus.' (In Bambara, the word 'Mali' means hippopotamus.)


















Throughout the ten days of the Biennale, there were different performances every night by artists from the different regions. Sometime during the week, while we were talking about the Biennale with Labas, our local language tutor, we told him that we took a picture of the president. Somehow, our conversation escalated to the topic of a picture with the president. We were told by Labas that if we ask the president for a picture, 'he cannot refuse.' While we were skeptical, we decided we had to try and we knew he was returning to Kayes for the closing ceremonies.

At the closing ceremony, a winner in each category (such as local dance, local music, drama, etc.) was named and then awarded cash prizes. To everyone's surprise, Tombouctou won the overall grand prize. (After the speech given by ATT, we wondered if it would be awarded to Kidal.) At the conclusion of the closing ceremony, much to our disappointment, we were unable to get a picture with the president. Not for lack of trying though, we pestered two different groups of guards who both chuckled and told us that a picture with the president 'was not possible.' Lucky for us, we still have a year and a half to keep on trying.