Week Two Bamako Update

It's strange to think that I’ve been in Mali for just over two weeks now. It’s incredible how quickly things come to seem normal, or close to: the dirt and the moto-filled roads, the heat and the compound-life, the French and Bambara and every-day-ness of work.

Each day I go to the embassy and learn a hundred new things about my job, try to keep up with the frantic pace that is set merely by a routine day’s needs: problems with housing, official procurement needs of many different individuals, offices and organizations, planning for an upcoming event, tracking people’s shipments of personal goods or vehicles, reviewing and approving travel paperwork for everyone that is coming and going or planning to come or go; and of course, responding to status requests on all these things. 

I seem to meet new people every single day, both American and Malian. Practicing my French feels good, it's all coming back; practicing my abysmal Bambara is a little embarrassing, but hopefully I'll start to improve soon. The weekends are a fun mix of getting together with friends, maybe exploring a new restaurant or store, relaxing, or setting up house a bit more.

It’s the normal routine of having moved. I’ve done this four times in the last five years (albeit three times in DC alone), so it doesn’t feel strange or even too terrifically exciting this time, even though it's a new country rather than a new neighborhood.

Then again, there are the times things don’t feel normal at all: moving indoors from a screened in porch because of the fireworks-sound, pop-pop-pop, of distant gunfire, and the relief when a security officer comes by to tell us all is safe, that student elections were being celebrated with gunfire or fireworks, or both. The pause during a dinner party when an embassy radio has chatter on it, followed by a quick check of smartphones around the table to see if any new warnings or news stories about the city have popped up.

That doesn’t feel normal at all. And yet… I continue eating and chatting, enjoying everyone’s company while calming the unease in my chest. ; the ever-so-slight anxiety on the drive home; these are new to me, and difficult to adapt to.

It is a reality here that is hard to describe. I’m not frightened or anxious all the time, or even most of the time. One must live one’s life, after all. And the fear of a new place, and how to act, and where to go is not new to me. Truthfully though, that lurking sensation of unease is weird. 

I went out to eat at a restaurant with some friends last week, and to get in required getting wanded, going through a gate that was locked behind us, then let in via another locked gate to the compound which housed the restaurant. Odd, yes, but somehow also reassuring. As we left, standing just outside the two gates, a friend who has been here almost two years became suddenly anxious. She ushered us into the car and insisted we leave quickly, explaining that she felt uncomfortable standing in a group of obvious Westerners with no one else around. Too target-like.

It’s going to take awhile to adjust, and depending on what happens – if anything – I imagine my behavior will change. Some people show obvious signs of unease and fear; others seem to take it all in stride. I’m sure I’ll be one of the latter, at least for a while.

At the end of week two, it feels like I've been here a month at least. Not in a bad way, not at all! I just feel like I've adjusted rather quickly to being in an all new place with all new sensations. I can see now how easy it is to remain "in the bubble," as I've heard it described: spending time with embassy people, going to each other's homes or staying at my own, going out only to Western-style restaurants, and rarely getting out into the local culture, into the Bamako the Malians know and love. Staying in the bubble is easy and comforting and safe, or feels that way. 

I hope that I will adjust enough to explore the city and learn more about the culture. And I'm optimistic that I can and will! It may just take time and experience and learning a bit more about the pulse of things here.