Borko Video

Borko

Borko is a beautiful town about an hour south of me. It is home of the crocodiles, which the Dogon believe to be their ancestors. It was pretty amazing. A guy went out and whistled and 8 of them came like dogs on command.
Here is me and some of them: They got really really close!

There is a guy in a blue shirt getting water from the pond. He kept an eye on each of the crocodiles.

We bought an animal carcas to feed to them:

The local kids watching the excitement:

The guy with the stick made sure that the animals behaved.

There were 2 off in the distance fighting for some meat.

After the excitement was done, they slid back into the pond.

Tourism Formations in Douentza (aka Yes, I actually do work in Mali)

We had a formation in Douentza for the tour guides in Douentza and Hombori (another village a few hours North). Here are Ben, Shawndra and some of the guides outside of the museum in Formbori (another little village just outside of Douentza). We went for a hike.

and looked in some Dogon burials.

Back at the Mayor's office where they learned how to play Simon Says and the importance of listening to the tourist.

Ben, Shawndra and Cisse (my homologue).

The Mayor of Douentza (on the left) came and spoke for a few minutes.

Everyone with their certificates of completion after the long days of training.

Gratulerer med dagen!

Happy Norway Day! I was invited to celebrate Norway's Independance Day with the missionaries that live in Douentza.
Here we are hearing a quick history of Norway Day and why celebrating is so important. Katie then translated into English for those of us who don't speak Norwegain.

The happy group:

Then the kids had a spoon race:

Then the adults got into the fun:

We had a potato sack race. I am on the far right:

Mind you, it is over 100 degrees F:

I am getting close to the finish line:

And I finished last but I had a blast:

We had a tug of war, Douentza vs Sevare. Douentza won, of course.

Laura's Going Away party :-(

Laura is my friend who has been living in Douentza for the past year on a Fulbright scholarship studying a Dogon dialect. Last week was her last week so we slaudered a sheep and invited some friends over.
Here I am waiting for the sheep!Laura and me:
Fatimata, isn't she beautiful? She is a leatherworker and her husband is a silversmith. They are super sweet!
Me and a friend (I forget his name)
Me, Laura, and Fatimata:
Laura and our tailor:
The butcher and Ousman with the sheep. Yummy!
A lot of people waiting for the meat:
Eating the meat:
Everyone was excited about the sodas as well:
The meal was really good!
Phil:
I have no idea what Phil is saying....
...but the butcher seems excited!
Dave and Phil being boys:
He looked so cool sitting on his moto...
I definitely miss my friend! It was sad saying bye!

Hiking Douentza

To help burn off the calories we ate the day before, we went for a hike in the mountains behind Douentza. They are the ones you see in my pictures of my apartment off in the background.
Here is me (obviously) about half way up the hike:Phil and Rabayah:
I thought this was pretty:
The cliff in the foreground is 'old douentza.' That is where they used to live before moving to bigger and better places down the mountain.
Another view of old Douentza.
Susan, Phil and Rabayah:
We came across an old Dogon village where they obviously stored the dead. The area is mostly animist so the bones are most likely from sacrifices.
Phil with 'new' Douentza in the background behind the trees.
Me and Susan. I think this is a cute photo.
Rabayh, me, and Susan:
Susan under a cool tree:
I really loved this rock formation.
It was an awesome hike!