Congratulations America!!!

'America is second to heaven'
-Ghanian street vendor in Cotonou (a few weeks ago)

Congratulations America!!! I woke up this morning on a rooftop in Begnimato, a small village on top of the Bandiagara Cliff in Dogon Country, southern Mali, to hear the good news...I couldn't believe it at first, but some guides and other travellers had listened to the radio and yes, we will have a new presdient, Obama won, it's time for a change, it's amazing!

Over the last two months, every single African I've talked to has been hopeful for Obama. They've followed the election over the radio, and they were excited that someone with African roots might make it to the top of a country they regard as the most powerful and wonderful in the world. They truly see the US as a land flowing with wealth and opportunity: even if the real thing might not live up to the fantasy, America really is a symbol of hope and liberty, and I am so glad that we now have the chance to live up to that symbol. People here love America despite the wars in Iraq and Afganistan, and despite these countries being up to 90 percent Muslim.

I'm in Mali, just passed through the Dogon Country, where the flatlands end abruptly in a huge mesa, and where some people still practice their traditional religion. It was harvest season, and it seemed like entire villages were outside cutting millet, then hauling it and pounding it for storage, even the smallest little kids were out in the fields. I went with a guide, but as far as I can tell the only good a guide does in Mali is keep other guides off your back. Mali is perhaps the most-visited country in West Africa, so people see you as a cash machine, which is rather unpleasant. I painted some really bad watercolors here the last few days, plus one I like, it's a baobab tree in the evening. Niger and Burkina were much more intersting, with friendly people, or people who just left you alone.

Right now I'm in Sevare, about 200 km south of Timbuktoo.