People in Mali are nicer than...

The below email exchange is a reminder of how nice people are in Mali.  A friend's wife just returned from a North African Arab country.  For the record, though Mali is 85% Muslim it is not Arab.  I've edited heavily.
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s'suup?
How's it going in Mali? You settled into a routine yet? Hope it's going well. My wife just got back from xxxxxxx. Said it was an awful trip. She's never said she's had an awful trip before. ALL the men were totally rude, grabbing her ass and making comments, everybody trying to rip them off at every turn. Bogus. She was there like 17 years ago and it was much better...

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Hi,

Things are pretty good in Mali.  Life here is a little easier than expected, and as my French improves and I learn my way around things continue to get even better.

That's too bad about xxxxxxxx.  Mali is nothing like that.

People treat Rebecca (and me) with respect.  The only thing that might be called remotely disrespectful is young children calling out "Toubab" to get our attention as we walk by.  (Toubab means white person in Bambara.)  They just want attention and often run up to shake our hands.  I find it endearing.

Salespeople are kind and couldn't really care whether or not I buy what they're selling.  I feel like everyone charges me fair prices without bargaining, and I have yet to see a confirmed instance where I was charged a "toubab" price.

People on the street are friendly.  They often offer, and usually respond to a "Bon soir. Ca va?"  The only begging is "can children" who are pretty innocuous, unaggressive, and about as prevalent as homeless people in SF (that is to say, not overly prevalent).