Random Thoughts

From 11/14/08

Only 12 days to go til Farjara for Thanksgiving. Only 17 days to go til holiday!!!

I recently discovered the joy of bike riding again. I've been riding my bike all over the Greater Brikama Area. If I ride east of my village, then I have to ride up and down hills which can get quite tiring after some time. It's good for my legs, so I try to do it a couple of times a week. My family still doesn't get that I'm just riding for fun, and they always want to know where I'm going/where I've been. I always tell them, "N ka ta training," which means "I go training." They still think I'm a total weirdo, but I'm sure that they're just thinking, "oh that crazy Fatoumata." Some people in my village actually get what I'm doing though. The other day one of the bitik owners in my village told me that he saw me training, and how wonderful training is for the body.
I've had some crazy adventures while riding my bike. Today while riding through Brikama, some random Gambian man shouted out, "hey Katie!" That was a little odd! I also get a lot of kissy faces/noises and obscene gestures from the truck drivers, so I'm just as rude right back. I've given quite a few people the finger in this country. I also sometimes get bothered by the truckers that sleep by the road outside of my house, but I find that a few choice words usually shut them up really fast. They seem to understand exactly what I am saying to them.
Today I did a little "off-roading" in search of a lodge that I saw a sign for on the side of the road. The sign said that the lodge was "400 meters" off the road, but I have no clue how far of a distance that actually is. I road down the road and ended up in a village. I then turned around, and tried a different path, and ended up in a garbage dump. There were other paths left to explore, and I plan on going back soon, and this time paying closer attention for car tracks. I really want to find this place. I mean what if it has a pool!!! That would be amazing.
I'm still losing a lot of weight, and soon I'm going to be thinner than when I was in high school. Most people aim for their high school weight; looks like I'm going for middle school. I've been really hungry lately which I guess is because I've been working out. I eat a lot of food, and nothing satisfies me any more. What I wouldn't give for some french onion dip made out of sour cream and french onion soup mix! There doesn't seem to be any sour cream in The Gambia, but I have been told that the plain yogurt here is a great substitute.
Everything here for the most part is "natural," so I'll probably come home all "healthy" and unable to eat processed foods. Even though I've already decided that I'll only buy produce from farmer's markets from now on (it's cheaper and better quality), I swear that I will of everything in my power to get my body used to an extreme amount of processed foods again! I will also join a gym.
I've found that hot sauce makes all of the nasty food my host aunt cooks magically taste good. Just sprinkle a little, or a lot in some circumstances, and the food goes from bland to bam! I also can't wait to get the box that my mom sent because there is canned chicken in it. I'm going to mix some of it up with mayo and hot sauce, and then eat it on bread. I can't wait! Right now I'm just really hoping that my package came in, and that it will be delivered on mail run. Because of Thanksgiving and the All-Volunteer Meeting this month, mail run got shortened from 6 days to 4 days. I just hope that they'll deliver my package even though I live with 2 hours of Farjara.
I'm starting to get really antsy waiting for this trip! On Wed I cleaned my entire house (okay my teeny, tiny 2-room place) and even moved furniture. I dusted, swept, and threw things away. I even cleaned my windows.
The humidly has left for the time being, and it's actually starting to kind of get cold. At night it's in the 70s, and I've been sleeping with a sheet! I even wear my long-sleeve shirt in the mornings sometimes because it's a little chilly. I heard that the temperatures will drop some more soon. Then it'll just work its way up to being really hot and raining all the time again. A new group came last week, and some of them were going on and on about how nice the Gambia is. I thought, "just you wait!"
The problems with the bats seem to have been solved. Papa Jammeh put up some chicken wire along the line where the roof and the ceiling meet. I've been trying to keep the place nice just in case I do get replaced. I doubt it, but you never know. Papa Jammeh also showed up one day to fix the screen. I could hear him shouting my name while I was cutting down the top of my morigna tree with my machete, and when I went to greet him at the door he was outside of the window. He smiled and said, "Fatou screen mang beteyatta." (Fatou your screen is not good.) He said this with his arm inside the screen. I had been meaning to get the screen replaced, but I kept forgetting to buy a new screen. Papa Jammeh once again had taken care of me.
I still cannot believe that I have been here for almost one year. November is almost over, and then December will fly by. I've got the trip and Christmas, so that will fly by as well. Jenni is staying with me after the trip til Christmas, and she is bringing her bike, so we'll be able to do a lot of things. Maybe even ride to the beach! Before I know it I will have been here one year, and then it will be time to get all of my check-ups.
In February there's WAIST (West African International Softball Tournament). I'm planning on playing on the social team, which is the worst of the three teams that PC The Gambia is sending. I've heard that all of our teams do poorly, but I'm playing on the team where people might not even be able to catch the ball. I want to play with my friends, and to be perfectly honest I just want to have fun. People have been practicing for a couple of months for the other two teams, and if I'm on vacation then I want to have fun and relax. I gave up competitive sports a long time ago because I hate all of the pressure. Some time in the Spring I'm also going to get my Fula scars done. AKA let an old woman slice into my back using a razor blade.
I've got a lot to look forward to, and things are FINALLY picking up at site! The couple of months should fly by!