From 29/7/08

So today I really freaked out! I went to see Steven in Jiboro because I wanted to have a nice, relaxing day, but no luck. I went with Steven to his meeting at "Christian Children's Fund." We spoke with the chairman about neem cream and mosquito nets. The man was more excited about the fact that Steven was able to get a CD that had been stuck in the disk drive for five days out of the computer than anything that we had to say. That's why I love the Gambia!!! We road our bikes back to his house, and then we were going to head over to the village clinic to watch DVDs. (Not my village, so I'm more than happy to abuse the system.) On our way out the door, my boss, Gibril, calls to tell me that next week I have to play hostess to 15-20 PC people that are here for some sort of medical conference. I knew that something like this was coming, but I did not realize that it would be this soon! I started freaking out and actually said, "but I do not do anything at site." This was after Gibril told me that I was supposed to show them what I do in my village. We talked a little more, and then Gibril said that he would talk to the Country Dir, Mike, about the details. I was not happy!
After that Steven and I went to his clinic to watch movies. First though, I saw the nurse about my ear. My ear had been hurting all morning. It felt like I had a simple ear wax build-up, so I thought (against my better judgement) that maybe the nurses could handle it. Big mistake!!! The nurse tried to flush out my ear, but all he did was spray water all over me and the floor. I thanked him, and continued to freak out! I decided then that I should call the PC nurse about it, so I actually called her. (I was not in a proper mindset at the time) Of course she really did not think that it was a big deal, so she told me that I could come in if I wanted to, but I could also just stop by whenever I came to Farjara next. Due to my altered mental status, I decided that I did not like this answer, and I would come in. I went back to Steven's house, got ready to go, and then Steven found some ear war drops. I used that instead, and decided not to go. Poor Steven! We just went back to the clinic.
When we got back there were some tourists visiting the clinic. They were in from Holland. The four of them were very nice, but I felt that the two women had shorts on that were way too short! Anything above the knee is just wrong in a Muslim country! Steven gave them a tour, and I just started chatting with the Gambian guy who leads the tours to various villages. Why not network? At this point anyone may be able to help. I told him about my village, and the things that I'm trying to do. Then out of no where I started talking to him about all my frustrations and problems that I am having. He listened, and then told me that I have to do what makes me happy. These are my two years, and it I'm not happy, then nothing will get done. He told me to work with the people that I want to work with, and do the projects that I want to do. He made me feel so much better. Gambian therapy really works! ( I also have a Gambian man that I go to for love advice at the Karaoke bar we all like to go to when we are in Kombo.) Then we talked about PowerPoint, and how it would be important for him to learn to use it when he makes presentations to tourists to get them to go on the tours. Usually Gambian men are annoying and always try to hit on me, but he was very respectful about it. He dropped hints, but he never acted creepy or even asked for my number. He just gave me his business card and that was that. About this time Steven came back and apologized for leaving me alone with the guy. I told him not to worry. The guy was very respectful, and he really made me feel a lot better!
Around this time the staff brought out lunch for the tourists. Now I didn't want to be rude and eat their lunch, but the dish looked amazing and smelled really good! It was Gambian food, but it looked like the really good kind. (Not sure what this means, but basically it did not look like vomit or baby poo) We were invited to join them for lunch, so we stayed. We got to eat out of really nice bowls from Ikea. We had some sort of fried rice, potato, beef, carrots, and a really good seasoning. I was in heaven! The tourists were all complaining about how spicy the food was, but I loved it! The Gambians and I finished our bowls really fast, and even had seconds. They even served cold water. While the tourists drank out of their fancy bottles, I drank cup after cup of cold water that probably came from an open well. Oh freaking well, it was cold. You learn to never turn down a glass of cold water! After lunch we spoke to the tourists about the Gambia. They seemed very nice. The tour company that brought them recruits them, charges them a great deal of money, and then hits them up for donations at the end. All of the money goes to an association that gives the money to villages. The whole idea is genius.
After that, we went back to Steven's house, and the tourists left. Gibril called again, and we spoke about the upcoming program. Turns out that I only have to entertain the guests for about 30-60 minutes. This is between all of you and me, but I'm pretty sure that PC is only stopping by so the women have a chance to sell some bags. I'm going to the PC office on Friday to plan it.
After the call, Steven and I watched "Beauty and the Beast," AND "The Little Mermaid." Both classics! We had actually started watching "Beauty and the Beast" earlier at the clinic, and let me tell you the nurses loved it! Toward the end of the second movie it started to pour, so I had to wait the rain out. Normally I probably would have just stayed the night because of the rain, but I really couldn't since I was going to Farjara for a few days. It finally stopped raining about 7pm, so I went home.

The road was all muddy from the rain, so I got covered in mud! (not looking forward to cleaning everything tomorrow!) I made it home right before it got dark. When I showed up I was actually covered from head to toe in mud. I actually had some mud on my helmet. My whole family just stared at me, and they looked horrified. Gambians do not like to get dirty. I'm already strange enough to them, but riding home through mud puddles may be my top for the month! I greeted all 20 of them, and then headed to the pump for water to take a bath. I took a nice, long bath, and then felt great! I had some dinner (Easy Mac), and then my aunt, Yesi, showed up. She's been coming by in the evenings to chat. She just sort of walks in, grabs my mat, and sits.It's sort of weird, but nice at the same time. We usually "talk" close to an hour, and then she goes to bed. She's super nice, and works really hard. She's one of the lowest in terms of women, so she has a lot to do! She's a funny, little, caring lady. She speaks English so-so, so we have a random English-Mandinka conversation. To tell you the truth, I think she's just as lonely as me sometimes, and that's why she stops by.
Things are random, but if I just breathe deeply, lean on my friends (and Gambian therapists), things will be okay. It's my two years and it's up to me to be happy. I have no desire to come home, I think that it's just part of my nature to freak out about everything. It should be a really interesting 21 more months!