Mopti

Sunday, July 17, 2008

It was a cloudy morning with an enjoyable breeze that rustled the leaves overhead in a gentle rhythm. We departed at seven thirty in four land cruisers for our trip off the paved road to Nando, a Dogon village with an incredibly unique mud mosque. The village does not receive tourists normally and so it was quite a different experience.

Once we drove through the uncharted bush and over a field of boulders we parked at the bottom of a large rocky mountain, certainly not as massive as the Bandiagara, but a test in itself. It took nearly forty minutes to reach the flat plane at the top where the Dogon live. Once we entered inside the walls of the village children came running. We watched women working on various tasks and finally emerged at a large baobab tree where the mosque stood. It is the only mud mosque you can enter, barefoot, and I walked the darkened interior, climbed to the mud roof, and circumambulated its circumference.

After two hours we were headed back out of the maze and descending the steep embankment once more. This time however I apparently had my souvenir with me, a small girl, who insisted on holding my hand for the entirety of the stay. It is difficult to take photos with one hand but everyone time I took an image she giggled and put and lens cap back on the camera and pushed down the flash cap. I was rather surprised by this and when she asked for Bic at the bottom I couldn’t help but sneak her one of my pens while the other children weren’t looking. It is so difficult to give anything to anyone without attracting a crowd.

We drove a little ways so as to be inconspicuous and hopped out of the cruisers for a picnic lunch. Stephanie and I had purchased tuna fish, in a can, cheese, and olives and quickly made ourselves a delicious sandwich. I was quite the hit with my can opener when everyone realized they needed one to open their tuna, anchovies, or sardines. I crave steamed vegetables so immensely, especially peas, and the canned peas in the supermarket are looking more and more delectable every day. I believe I will purchase some tomorrow and just eat them with a spoon out of the can. My meals mostly include rice, frites or meat, but no vegetables because I don’t want to get sick.

I am a little concerned about our accommodations here. Since arriving my nose has become completely congested and I can barely breathe. There are two other students who are experiencing the same problem and we have come to the conclusion with Mary Jo that the rooms are heavily affected by the rainy season, thus the air conditioners are a veritable trap of mold and mildew to the extreme. This bothers me because we are staying at this hotel the most throughout the remainder of the trip. I also have a horrible heat rash of sorts on the arch between my thumb and forefinger on both hands. They burn immensely at all times and my hands have now started to tingle as well. Hopefully it will pass. I thought I had brought more medication with me but can’t seem to find the majority of the containers.

Class is at four o’clock and we are planning on watching a video on Djenne to prepare us for the trip tomorrow. I would like to get to the Cyber Café again today, but we’ll see. I washed laundry for the first time and there happened to be, rather conveniently, a clothesline right outside on our balcony area. I don’t have clothespins so I hope my clothes don’t blow away!