the holiday season, pt. I

halloween was entertaining. we sorta had a full house and everyone decided to get their rocky horror on. in the transvestite spirit I doubled up on ladies fashion, having sported a skirt and makeup last year as well as this. we finally hung out at the infamous brothel in kita. le chat rouge, the red cat, has lots of rooms to stay the night, or just the hour. I guess I don't think anyone sleeps there. we danced though, some of us uninhibitedly and to the point of being asked to leave the floor. and as terrible as we look or act if you greet and bless in their language everyone seems to look the other way.

then a deviation, to manantali, for the regular relax. you can do whatever you want out there. after recharging I wanted to go back to site, but bamako called. had my mid-service medical exam and took care of paperwork. all healthy, just the standard amoebas that turn your shit into snot and make your hangovers a lot more heavier. hooked up with a cousin who's been working in kayes at our transport station and started my way back to marembilia, with tabaski fast approaching.

tabaski is the most celebrated muslim holiday. in rural west africa this includes a short service (not your typical hour grinds for easter and christmas), strolling around sharing blessings, eating meat and potatoes, and dancing. last year I spent it in sikasso, a relatively large town, which has quite a different buzz than doing it in the bush. big family time right now. absolutely no work. everything got put on the back burner, but got lots of talking done nonetheless. soon, soooooni, farming will ease up, the cool weather will settle in, and hopefully we can pick the well work back up. it's been long overdue, and I haven't even been able to bust bricks on my own because no one's gotten any gravel.

I was able to work in a neighboring village, karo, where I'm never without workers and a friendly stay. we fixed their well a while ago, and I had left them the last part of the job to finish on their own. I wanted to find out if they understood the work we had been doing - quality control for concrete work, knowing what kind of mix to use where - but they didn't. after a good absence I visited them to find a falling apart headwall and not so user-friendly apron. so this past week we fixed it all nice and neat and they offered their services if marembilia ever decides to get their shit together and get some sand. I know the incentive is relatively low, at least when compared to income generating activities, but they asked for a water and sanitation volunteer and self-identified the need for increased access to potable water. so what the hell else am I supposed to say?

also spent a day in kokofata with bureaucrats; I don't really know how it works everywhere else, but it was quite the sight to see all the prominent figures in our area - mayors, chiefs, etc. - yell over each other in an attempt at electing representatives and establishing bylaws for a new association called for by a foreign NGO. some french or italian group wants the area to organize itself into a body for project management. another example of putting the western squeeze of rule of law on traditional tribesmen. oh boy oh boy oh boy.

everyday I find out a little more about my village, marembilia, and the villagers, malinkes. as much good I hear there comes the bad. so welcoming and generous, yet possessive and manipulating at the same time. they love to trick you, lie, only because it's about things that aren't important to them. all in all, they take their way of life very seriously, seem to have a more crystallized perspective, a more clearly understood direction and destiny. get a good woman, have lots of kids, establish or maintain your lineage. paradise for some, a prison for those with a taste for something different, something more.