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Published: July 16th 2009
Neauveaux Amis
At the orientation campHey Everyone!
I ni swogoma? (Greetings and how are you in Bamabara, a Malian language)
Unbelievably, it's only been one week since I met my Canada World Youth group in the Montréal airport. Since then I have been surrounded by a crazy whirlwind of activity and a rollercoaster of emotions.
It all began on July 8th...
After saying goodbye to my parents I met the other 8 Canadians in my exchange plus 9 others from the second CWY group. We waited in the P.E.Trudeau airport for 3 hours and acquainted ourselves with one another. Luckily, I wasn't the only one who wasn't a fracophone. In fact, there were a few people who didn't speak ANY French, a few with no English, and when the Malians arrived a few more who conversed with each other in Bambara.
Eventually we got on a schoolbus and drove for an hour to our orientation camp in Ville David. I sat beside a Malian boy named Boubabcar Sidiki Sangarre and answered his questions about Canada. Half-way through the ride, someone passed around muffins and I tried my best to explain what they were...des petites gateaux!
I made friends really quickly
with the other Canadians in the group and with some Malians, but many times I can't understand their accent and they have an equally hard time understanding me. Orientation camp was basically summer camp with the added aspect of culture shock. Malian culture is much different than Canadian culture. We spent 3 days as a group taling about the goals of the program, what is accpeted of us, and what we should expect. More than once during the three days I wondered what I was doung there and considered calling my parents to pick me up. An hour later I would be having the time of my life, and two hours later I would want to go home again. Surprisingly it is not the language barrier that I find the most difficult, many people in the group have the same barrier and when surrounded by French I begin to think in French!
On Sunday we left Ville David and drove for eight hours to Matane. We had two Tam-Tams (djembes), three guitars, and twenty singing Malians on the bus! In Matane the two groups split and the second continued on to Amqui (another town in the Gaspe). We continued
Teresa and Antoine
Playing the Malian versoin of crazy 8's (cent-cinquant-un) on a Tam-Tam orientation and tomorrow I start my work placement in the 'Gite' (B+B) where I'm living with my Malian counterpart Sadio.
I promise to write again very soon with many more details but for now I only have time for a brief overview. It's 21:53 (I have been counting the time on my hands all week!) and I have to get up very early to serve breakfast!
Here is my address if you want to send snail mail:
3263, Route du Peintre
Saint-Léandre, Québec
G0J 2V0
email: celinaclarke@gmail.com
Au revoir!
xoxoxCelina
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Charlotte
non-member comment
The beginning
It sounds like you're already over your head in adventure. Miss ya!