Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Korum

This is the name of our new bonne from Mali. I finally got a chance to talk with her today as we were the only ones home this morning. She is younger than my sister at home (just 17!) and she left Mali as a result of the recent coup d'etat. I really relate to her because it's not so long ago I found myself in a new country, living with a new family, and not speaking the language everyone expected me to. Of course, her life is far more difficult than mine, but we connected anyway so that was nice.

She has been living with the family (Ariana did the bonne you had live here?) which is odd for me, because Gnilan always went home. It kind of bothers me, as she just sleeps on a mat in the room with all the dishes and freezer. She does eat lunch with us around the bowl. She also goes to bed super early so I barely see her when I come home at night, and she takes dinner by herself. But she's such a sweetheart.

Anyway, it's weird thinking of these things because I never really imagined myself living in a household that had a maid and now it's in such a different cultural context.

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