Three hours ago I received the information about the village I would be spending the next two years in. As a Tomokan student, I knew I would be heading to Dogon Country, but for my fellow volunteers it was a very anticipated moment.
My village is in the Mopti region and within Dogon Country. The village has 500-1000 inhabitants. I requested to replace a volunteer and I sort of got my way. In 2010 a volunteer spent 6 months in my village before getting a job with the Red Cross and leaving Peace Corps. I am not sure if this will present any advantages or disadvanges.
The inhabitants of my village speak Tomokan (and some Bambara) which is nice, because I feared that my village would end up speaking a different Dogon dialect. Tomokan is spoken by 135,000 individuals (the most widespread Dogon language) and though all Dogon dialects are similar (10+ dialects exist), it is strange to think that so many languages/dialects are spoken and I am sure that no matter how good my language skills get to be, understanding the different Dogon accents/dialects will always be an obstacle.
On Monday (I think) I will be traveling to my village to make sure my living situation is up to par. I will be going with my homologue, who I meet tomorrow as he is on his way to Bamako to do some training with me. I hope he's chill.
It will be great to finally see the place and meet the people that will be the focus of my Peace Corps service. I also can't wait to finally be surrounded by the language that I have been studying (and getting good at) and not have to transition to Bambara when outside of class.
I am going to Dogon Country in a few days!
nice!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat is your homologue? Trainer?
ReplyDeleteHe is my counterpart in Ama. He helped his village apply for Peace Corps aid, and now he is doing some training with me. He has volunteered to facilitate my work by easing those cultural barriers and whatnot. I met him a few days ago. His name is Embe Arama and he is old and doesn't speak French so I guess. Hanging out with him has been strange.
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ReplyDeleteBy counterpart, he will be training as well on water sanitation? He is from the village that you will be station?
ReplyDeleteI don't think that he has much training on water and sanitation, but he lives in the village and wants me to help his village, so he is pretty crucial when it comes to integrating and whatnot
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