In 2007 I visited my homeland country Mali for the first time with my family .Mali is located in West Africa and the city that I am from is known as Bamako.As soon I arrived in Mali I immediately felt displaced because the scenery was so different from New York City,where I came from.The first thing I did when I saw all these people who seemed to know who I am was cry. I wanted to go back home to a place I was comfortable .As days went on I had to adjust to the Mali lifestyle .In Mali there is a big families per household so there was about 20 people living in a fairly large house.Since it is okay in Africa to have multiple wives I was confused when I had to call two different women grandma and had to know the difference between my first and second aunts and uncles . This was not easy but as time passed I got use to it .As for the food in Mali ,about 6-7 people eat together in one bowl.I was so shocked that this was happening and could not adjust to this displacement so I was served with my bowl and a utensil since they ate everything with their hands.During my stay I tried to fit in with the lifestyle of my cousins like playing games outside such as jump rope since I am familiar with that and I learned some games that I did not know about.Considering I was young when I attended Mali I do believe it was harder to adjust to their lifestyle .The next time I visit Mali God willing I think I will not have the feeling of being displaced as much because now I am more familiar and understanding of my culture.
2 thoughts on “Mali Displacement”
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Wow, that was an incredible read, Jenebou. Honestly though, when you visit the place you’re from and see all your family. The warmth feeling of just being home, where you belong, is just overwhelming. Nothing is better than the love you receive from your family. Mali’s tradition of having 6-7 people share a dish sounds interesting too. In-Sha-Allah, your next visit to Mali won’t cause you make too many adjustments. Just try to have an open mindset and try everything everyone is accustomed to doing. Feeling displaced from the country you originate from could suck, but then you get the chance to learn and understand your culture more. When I visited my homeland, Bangladesh I felt displaced myself. There were herds of cows and just similar to your adjustment to Mali’s lifestyle, there were about 25 people each household. It was also weird because in America we’re considered low to middle class, while in Bangladesh we were treated like royalty. We had servants, it was crazy, I never allowed them to do anything for me, I always felt wrong for asking them.
It is interesting to know that in Africa it is ok to have multiple wives because I didn’t know about it. I can understand it is confusing to distinguish family members especially when you have a lot of people in the family. It is also interesting to know that Mali have 6-7 people eating from one bowl and using their hands instead of using the utensils.