Will find time to write just as soon as I can. Until then, there are a few more pictures up on my flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheryldeutsch/

Everyday is an adventure here, and always I am learning how to get by. Yesterday I was informed by the woman I'm staying with that she's not comfortable with me using her washing machine... she'd prefer that I send my laundry out to be washed. OK. I try not to question anyone's logic here... she also insists on locking me out of the kitchen ( Read more... )

A short while after getting off the bus I realize I am lost. Maybe I got off at the wrong stop or maybe I took a wrong turn, but nothing looks familiar. It is my second day in Bombay, so even though I am tired and I need to use the bathroom, I take the opportunity to explore these new streets rather than hopping into an auto rickshaw and being ( Read more... )

Ok, so I never really finished my Mali journal... but again, I'm heading off to another country, this time for a considerably longer period of time. I've received a grant to study street vendors - hawkers, as they are known colloquially - in Mumbai, India (formerly known as Bombay). But I haven't left just yet... I ship out September 17th, and I ( Read more... )

Last Saturday I went and saw the film and concert. The documentary was incredible... it traces the history of blues in America - specifically in Mississippi - and then moves to Mali to document the parallel development of a bluesy music style. I highly recommend it. It's called I Feel Like Going Home by Martin Scorsese. Afterwards was the ( Read more... )

The last week has gone by quickly because I've been busy with my project. I've dropped transportation as a topic entirely and have focused on the rural exodus of women... this is kind of a misnomer, however... I'm studying the phenomenon by which many many young women leave their villages to come to Bamako and other cities for several months out ( Read more... )

One more thing about the blanket... by the time we got back to the hotel I was covered in purple because of the indigo in it... supposedly its rubbing off so easily is a sign that it is genuine, but it honestly could be just another dye... I am going to choose to believe that it is real indigo. After lunch on Sunday we drove to Djenne and checked ( Read more... )

First, to answer some questions... Pirogues is a term I have heard before and always to describe the same type of boat, so Malian pirogues are probably just like those in Louisiana... they are definitely not bateaus. AIDS is about as prevalent in Mali as it is in the US... its a rarity in Africa, but all signs point to the rate increasing rather ( Read more... )

Thursday, March 31: After a beautiful night spent outside on mats under the stars and in the cool air (no need to worry about mosquitoes as much anymore because the hot season has begun and they are dying off, plus the north is dryer and less infested), we woke up early to begin a 10 mile hike around Dogon country. As I said, our hotel was on top ( Read more... )

Tuesday, March 29: We met at the Bamako airport at 10 for our plane to Timbuktu. Mali owns exactly one 17-passenger Russian-built airplane, and our 6:30am flight was postponed until 10 because they decided to throw in an extra flight to Kayes in the southwest. I was a little nervous walking onto the runway and climbing into the little two prop ( Read more... )