Calling Mali is much easier than calling Burkina Faso. I got through on the first try, but it was hard to hear E, so I called him back on his cell phone. Then we followed the International Calling rules:

1. Speak loudly and slowly, and enunciate. "WELL, HOW ARE YOU?" boomed E, in International Call Voice. International Call Voice turned out to be unnecessary on his nifty new cell phone, which carried his voice to me loud and clear. "I'm fine, honey, you don't have to shout," I answered as gently as I could.

2. Finish speaking and wait patiently. Your voice has a long way to travel! If you don't give it time, you'll end up talking over each other, sounding like an instant-messaging conversation.* It's an awkwardly long time to wait, and the urge to blurt out clarifying followup or filler ("You know?") will be strong. Resist.

By the way, did you know that the rest of the world only pays for calls they make from their cell phones? They don't pay for calls they receive. Does everyone else already know this? Why are we not outraged? Well, I'm not, because I don't have a cell phone. Yet.

* Sample IM conversations with my brother:
Robin: Hey, what's up?
Robin: Where are you?
Pat: Not much
Robin: Did you see the Superbowl?
Pat: At work
Robin: Or did you watch something else?
Pat: yeah
Robin: You saw the Superbowl at work?
Robin: yeah what?
Pat: TTYL