We’ve spent less than five whole days at Tubani So, the Peace Corps training center in Mali, but it seems like we’ve been here forever. We had lessons  from the moment we stepped off the plane into the humid, post-downpour rainy season air from our  two-hours-delayed Air France flight, tired but wide-eyed. Peace Corps staff were waiting all throughout the airport to greet us and guide us to the Peace Corps vans, which was helpful in warding off the may people who wanted to “assist” us with our baggage.

We were introduced to our huts in Zubungmungu, the living compound for trainees. Each hut holds three beds and is pretty small, but we have our own “concession,” or open front area where Malians do laundry, socialize or otherwise hang out when it is just to hot to be inside. The compound is spread out in an area with lots of trees, paths for walking or jogging, and a nice breeze occasionally coming from the Niger nearby.  It is not, in short, much like the actual world of most Malians, which is why Peace Corps switched a decade ago from having the entire training program at Tubani So to a community based model, where Tubani So is our ‘base’ but we spend most of our time training in villages with host families. Although accommodations are pretty simple, we do enjoy electricity and running water here, two luxuries I will not have access to once I move to home stay tomorrow.

On Sunday, we began the notoriously regimented and intense Peace Corps training schedule. Four sessions a day, of two hours each in length, covering topics from basic cross-cultural competence (a pagne, or fabric skirt, must be tied with the right hem over the left to avoid negative connotations), need-to-know health issues (literally two hours discussing the infamous gastrointestinal affliction “Mr. D” and all its varying causes and symptoms) and beginning language (Bambara). A session on stereotypes allowed us to examine our own preconceived notions of Malians and Africans, and learn about how Malians view Americans. Aside from classes we have administrative issues to take care of, from changing money to having initial interviews with our Program Directors, who will be our in-country supervisors and are working to place us in sites based on our skills and interests.

Our days have pretty much blurred together all week; we are up and going from 8am to at least 8pm, and between jet lag, abrupt temperature change, and new malaria prevention medications, sleeping is not as easy  as one might think. However, after getting into a bit of a rhythm here I’m starting to really enjoy getting to know both the Peace Corps trainees and the staff, and am getting more comfortable. Even though it seems there is enough information being thrown at you to make your head spin, everything is still new and there is still a lot of energy. Everyone seems genuinely excited to delve into the Malian way of life.  We eagerly sat down around communal bowls of rice at lunch, spooning handfuls into our mouths awkwardly with our hands (because I am a leftie and had to use my right hand, more rice ended up on my skirt than in my stomach).  We had a “culture fest” today where Malian musicians were brought in, as well as fabric vendors and a couple of tailors so that we could have some simple Malian clothes made. I had my first two pagnes (wrap skirts) sewn and got my feet decorated with the black henna popular in Mali. It all feels like getting some slice of Malian life without actually living the reality yet. We are still in the training center environment and have not seen much of what lies outside of it. I suppose the Peace Corps does this to ease our transition; to take us from the airport to village would not give us time to gain a few necessary and important survival skills. But now, after a couple of days of this, I’m ready to actually interact with Malians outside of those who are training us.

Tomorrow will come the real test and the whole point of training: can we make it in the village living with a typical Malian village family? We’ll be getting our assignments and heading out in the afternoon, and we will be there for 2 weeks until coming back to Tubani So for another session. During our stay in village, we have minimum five hours of language instruction every day; these are conducted in groups of only 3-4 trainees by Language and Cultural Facilitators (LCFs) who are our teachers as well as our liaisons, helping us to digest our experiences with host families and interpret how to react to different situations we may encounter. Though the Peace Corps language learning model is widely recognized as excellent and allows most trainees to go from zero to conversational in a very short time, I am still, of course, nervous about being in a house with a family to whom I can only speak a few stock Bambara phrases. This is definitely going to be a gigantic challenge, but I’m really looking forward to it. Stay tuned!