First Impressions

Although I have already written a few blogs about our trip to Africa, I feel that I should first back up to our arrival in Bamako, as it sort of set the tone for our experience. The two words that come to mind if asked to give my initial impressions about Africa are shocking and chaotic. (I want to be real careful in this blog not to generalize about all of Africa from our experiences in two countries within Western Africa. It would be the equivalent, perhaps, of making statements about all of the U.S. based on visiting L.A. Thus, when I refer to “Africa” in the generic, I really mean “those places in Africa where I have been.”)

Shocking in many ways: both Mali and Guinea were assaults to the 5 senses. Stepping off the plane was like entering a sauna, and we arrived at 9:30 at night! Smells were quite strong, as well(unfortunately, I don’t know if I will ever forget the smell of rotting bananas and plantains—that smell was in downtown Siguiri, a town of 200k!). And the colors of Africa—the bright green vegetation against the red soil, the multi-colored fabrics people wore, to the dark black skin color of the locals-there is a vibrancy that resonated. The sounds, of the people talking/bartering/laughing; the Africans we met (which besides Malians and Guineans also included people from Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Liberia) are very vivacious and loud—Russians, by comparison, seem anti-social. Even my taste buds were shocked: real, tree ripened bananas are SO much better than any banana I have ever eaten. My sister used to say that she didn’t like bananas in the US, cause they are rather bland—and she’s right! I never, until our trip to Guinea, knew of sweet bananas. Mmm-mmm.

Chaotic, too, is an appropriate word to describe this part of the world. Chaos in two senses of the word: first, describing an out-of-control mayhem, and second, in a unstructured, disorganized sense. Let me talk of the first point. When we got to the airport, we were totally unprepared for what lay ahead of us. There were 3 passport control agents, but no lines—everyone simply swarmed and pushed. Flesh pressed against flesh. A police man (perhaps, it’s hard to know for sure, but probably) came up to us and told us (via another white guy who translated, as we don’t speak either French or the local dialect) that he would help us because we had David in the stroller. So, he took our passports, and took off, only after that French guy assured us that it was OK. Let me tell you, that is a bit disconcerting—knowing that we could very well be stranded there if he were to bolt off. Well, he did indeed cut to the front of the line. From there we went to claim our luggage, will all sorts of “helpers” standing around us, asking us if we needed their help, for money, of course. One guy took my baggage claim tickets and was off. At this point, the policeman, too, started telling us that we owed him $$. I told him to wait (via sign language & by simply not giving him anything) until I could get to my brother-in-law. Then, as we were leaving, our bags were x-rayed, and since we were bringing food into the country, we were supposed to have filled out some customs form (read: extort the white (assumed to be rich) tourists who don’t speak the language!). Now, in lest than 15 minutes, 3 people wanted money from me. I had traveled; a lot, in fact, but never quite like this. Luckily, my brother-in-law was able to convince the police guarding the arrival area that we needed his help (which we did), and came and dealt with the people ($16, in all, to pay off the three people).

Second, there was a feel to life in that part of Africa, that as a Westerner we would deem it “chaotic” in an disorganized sense. Basics of life weren’t basics. In Siguiri, for-example, a town of 200-300k people, there was no electricity, running water for a few hours a week, no trash removal system. Basic amenities that are assumed in America were simply lacking. Many that were in place, like justice and the rule of law, were simply up to the highest bidder. Bribery is the modus operandi (which isn’t too unlike Russia, actually). Corruption is rampant. Progress (especially in Guinea) is at a snail’s pace.

Those were our first impressions. But, while there is truth to them, we discovered so much more, a much deeper richness, as well—a beautiful area of the world with warm, generous, inquisitive people. While it took a while to look beyond those first impressions, we were able to do that, thankfully (in large part, this was true due to the experiences my sister and brother-in-law arranged, as well as their ability to serve as cultural “translators” for us).