K K
Kara and Kevin Joined: April 17th 2006
Logged in: September 27th 2008
Logged in: September 27th 2008
Travel Blog Posts
Jams with Sega
It's important for me to praise the master drummers who taught me so generously in Bamako at the Djembe Hotel, and to tell aspiring djembe players in America about the value of going to Mali and learning from masters like Sega Cisse and Matche Traore. It's hard to put into words how grateful I am to the drummers I played with and learned from in Mali. I got to have an excellent first time experience in playing djembe in its natural environment with the help of Jeremy Chevrier at the Djembe hotel--he's connected to some of the best drummers in Bamako, but what made the experience so good is the human connection I had with these drummers. Not only did they teach me from their hearts, but they became my friends. I will never forget these ... read more
KnK au festival
Hi Folks, What Kevin forgot to mention last night is that I am being treated for Malaria and not dying, really! Thanks for all the love and support. I generally feel a bit better in the morning, and I think maybe the drugs are working (fingers crossed) so I'm up now writing in a slightly dizzy going-back-to-bed-soon state. Kevin and others here at the Djembe Hotel are taking fabulous care of me. Despite fraility of body, the trip up to the desert and back was an incredible experience. The Tuereg people are so so beautiful, in dress, in music, in culture. The highlight of the festival really was watching small circles of traditional Tuereg music and dance while the sun set over the sand dunes, it literally brings tears to my eyes to think about how ... read more
in Sega's village
We've been a long time on the road, all the way up to Timbucktou the fabled city and Essekane to see the festival in the desert--it was a most bumpy road, our bodies are rocked to the core, wiped out and sore, the dirtiest dustiest drive deep in the desert; it's like we drove from Michigan to California, but back in time, the sunsets and sunrises made the trip all worth it. We got to see a lot more of Mali and the many Tuaregs on camels in the desert. Some of the music at the festival was unfortunately European and strangely very bad. But the African acts were excellent and the traditional tuareg music was hypnotic and bluesey. Not enough djembe for Moi. I've missed the drum classes here in Bamako, but we got to ... read more
We have had an amzing past couple of days. Thanks to Jeremy and Sega, we have had a fantastic journey to Sega's village 3 hours NW of Bamako. Yesterday morning we loaded up our gear into a minibus, drums, back backs etcs and went off for an adventure...which started with drumming the whole way there! As we passed villages and roadside communities, we drummed and danced and sang the whole way, invoking waves, smiles and dances! We bought muffins, peanuts, yogurt, and drinks from folks along the road, tried not to step on the chickens that we were bringing, nestled on the floors, and watched the landscape of mali unfold. I learned how charcoal is made and papayas ripen from my friend Fadou, cushioned little Abdulayi as he slept, and observed termite mounds and bricks drying ... read more
Kevin's new drum!
The last few days here have been busy busy fun. Jack and Sharon are here with us now, settling in to African life. Its great to see them and to share this experience with them! Yesterday we went to see the National Ballet practice, awesome dancers and drummers! They gave us our own little show, very cool. We came back to Jeremy's compound for lunch and a short rest. After a break, I had a really fun dance class. I'm starting to catch on to things a bit more quickly. Issa is an excellent teacher, very patient and playful. Jack and Sharon joined in at the end and we had a little dance jam out as the drummers started flexing thier muscles. After dance class, Kevin had assembled a group of killer drummers for a little ... read more
New Year's
January 2nd--here in Bamako, playing drums everyday, learning a lot, classes in the morning and afternoon and into the night, hanging out with great teachers at the Djembe Hotel. Jeremy and Tewa have been great hosts helping us absorb the often overwhelming atmosphere of Africa. The internet has been down for a few days. We're mostly hanging out at their home; adventures outside require effort and planning. Today Kara's going to the market and I'm going to go watch a djembe ballet perform in town. We're looking forward to seeing Jack and Sharon arrive tonight. It's hard to plan everything for our journey to Timbucktu--we're trying to arrange a car and driver, etc. Sometimes it sounds like a tourist trap, but we still want to get out and see more of Mali, hoping it will all ... read more
Sega and Matche
Hi Everyone! So we've been here for a few days now, how many? It's easy to lose track of time in a way. We all keep forgetting what day it is. We're really happy staying here with Jeremy and Tewa and their family at the Djembe Hotel, we heartily recommend it! They are lovely lovely people, welcoming us into their home, bringing in excellent drum and dance teachers, taking us to interesting things, and cooking fantastic food! Its been a very rich and memorable time overall. I'll try to post some pictures here. We're trying to be very respectful with the camera, as some folks in the town would prefer not to be photographed, and not to be on the internet, so maybe not as many photos as we would like to. But we'll carry a ... read more
We've finally made it to Bamako and are settling in to a new space, languages, and yummy food. We had a really long trip here, but it was very cool. After a great send off by the Liskas and Colleen and friends, just two hours of sleep, we flew to Casablanca. We arrived in the morning knowing that we had around a 16 hour layover and that there are neat things to see in town, but not sure about how we were going to do that with our packs, or if it was realistic. We were pleasantly surprised, after some confusing chaos, mysterious lines, and half french conversations, that Royal Air Maroc was providing us with a shuttle bus to town, a room for the day, and food! Voila! How totally perfect. After some waiting (I ... read more
Happy Holidays! We are in the final stages of planning for a new adventure, a new continent, a new year. Next Friday Dec 21 we leave our beloved and comfy home in Davis for time with the Liska-Rockwell's and a farewell party in San Fransisco, then early early in the wee hours on Saturday we depart for Africa. We'll land briefly, but not momentarily in Casablanca, hopefully spending the day on the town before departing again later that night for Bamako, Mali. We plan to spend most of our trip in Bamako, the country's capital at the Djembe Hotel , chez nos ami Jeremy and his family. Kevin will study drumming in its home culture, and I will play the role of observer, participant, explorer. Who knows! Perhaps we will have encounters and adventures of the ... read more
in the kangra valley
Hope you enjoyed our blog hearing of our journies together--we are back in sunny california trying to process our trip and get ready for homelife again. Kevin's going to massage school for 12 straight days! and Kara will work on her dissertation, both jetlagged and happy to have had such an exciting adventure. Our honeymoon in the third world. It has been a great learning experience. One of the big lessons we've taken from our trip seems simple but it almost needs a direct challenge that confronts all the senses rather than just intellectual understanding--it's that this world is so big with so many people and cultures and haves and have nots, and the idea of wealth is truly relative. There are some people there who seem so happy without desiring all the stuff of our ... read more
