From Thursday, 21/8/08
The Ambassador's visit was two days ago. Actually, the Ambassador was sick, so he sent an officer from the Embassy instead. In my opinion the whole thing was a complete disaster! There was a funeral that morning, so everyone in the village had to go, so I was left to clean/set everything up. Sometimes I feel like a party planner instead of a PCV. It is nice though to have something to do. I'm never sure if I am actually supposed to go to the funerals. No one ever invites me or tells me to tag along, so I never go. We had planned a grand welcome of singing and dancing, but we are technically in mourning now, so all of that jazzy stuff was out of the question. I got everything ready, put on my outfit, and then ran around trying to make sure that everyone else was ready by 11:30; the time that we were told everyone would come. When 12p came and still our guests had not arrived, I felt like an asshole for hurrying everyone along.
The plan was for this to be a small, but by the time the Embassy group arrived close to 12:30, there were at least 20 people. More people continued to filter in as time progressed. I had the chairwoman of the women's group go first since she had to go cook lunch. Then the youth group men took turns speaking. All both groups did was basically praise the last pcv. I just sort of sat there with a fake smile, trying to hide that I was really angry. It was all, "she did this," "she was wonderful," blah, blah, blah. They also kept trying to get money for things. They thought that they were so sly, but it was so obvious. When a hour had passed, and our guests had to leave, I pretty much had to sew everyones mouths shut. After they left, no one in the village could get over that fact that two people came in two different SUVs each with a driver. Even I was a little taken back by the whole thing, but said, "hey that's America for ya!"
I guess the thing that makes me the most upset is the fact that all everyone wants here is money. I've suggested ways to make money, people agree, then later they keep bring up sponsors. I'm always told that we won't make any money selling things. I want to say, "well you'll make a lot more money then you have right now." I have however found another group that does want to do something. These men planted over 40, 000 moringa trees, and they just want help learning how to care for the trees in the dry season. These are the kind of people that I want to work with. They want to teach others about the tree, and they don't need some fancy skills center to do it. Sure it would be nice if everyone had fancy phones, TVs, and clothes, but if people are starving or dying from preventable diseases, then what good would the latest technology do anyway? That's the problem with people helping developing countries. Sure a lot of good is done here, but in the process we've also shown the people what the Western World has to offer. It would be nice if everyone in the world had the same great things, but a country can't magically shift from third world to an America overnight.
Even America was once a struggling nation. All the big companies come here offering fancy gadgets, but what they really need to do is start from the bottom up. Great, everyone has a cell phone, but right now no one can afford fuel for the few generators that are here, and the Gambian NGO that is here can't charge everyones phones. My cell phone has been dead for three days now because there hasn't been any sun to charge everyones phone. My cell phone has been dead for three days now because there hasn't been any sun to charge my solio. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if people had normal cell phones, but everyone here has to have the fancy phones with mp3 players and cameras. Those use up the battery even faster. Everyone talks of buying cars or visiting Europe, but when they can barely afford food for their family, they need to switch their proprieties.
So who really is to blame for all of this? In my opinion: everyone. Africa is the "cradle of civilization." We're taught that life began here. Rather you believe mankind evolved or "poof" we were here one day, all hard evidence supports the idea that it all started in Africa. Over time some people left Africa, and soon people began to inhabit other parts of the world. For some strange reason, the rest of the world began to flourish, while Africa stayed the same. My first group to blame, colonists. Countries from all over came to Africa, robbed her of her natural resources, and also tried to "save the savage beasts." Those who were not sent away on slave ships were left to be "colonized" and "taught the right way to live." Really all that happened was countries were created, lands were robbed of natural resources, and the people began to fight back.
Most African countries at some point gained their independence, but now they were left a complete mess. Most countries quickly became ruled by vicious dictators, and most are still that way today. At some point it was time to make amends for what the "white man" had done, so then came the foreign aid. If you saw how that money was spent it would make you sick. However, I just as equally blame Africans for all of this. Sure there wasn't much they could do when people arrived with guns, but still today continuing to take and more importantly, expect handouts is wrong. I understand that everyone wants the sort of treasures I was lucky to grow up with (and will in fact return to in less than two years), but we grew up in two different worlds. Ideally everyone should have the same things, but like I said before, it is not possible for these things to happen overnight.
People in Western Societies really just need to stop feeling bad for the people of Africa. All that has done is create a continent that is completely dependent on the world. People need to put away their checkbooks. If someone really wants to make a difference, then they need to come on over and help teach the people of Africa to be independent. Instead of watching late night TV and then sending money to some organization that promises to send kids to school, people need to sit down with the people here and explain to them that if 30 people sell the same thing, then no one is going to make any money. Sure they'll make enough to buy food for the next day, but they'll never make enough to get ahead. I've personally seen some of these organizations that advertise for money to send kids to school. They've got nice cars and computers, but I still see a lot of kids that are not in school. I'm not saying that these organizations aren't trying to do their job, but again, maybe a big pile of money is not the solution to the problems of Africa. Every day I'm asked for something, or told to go get money from some organization. I didn't come here to give away handouts, but unfortunately that's exactly what I'm expected to do. Some people see this part of the world as a lost cause. As horrible as it sounds, sometimes I almost have to agree. While everyone searches for the newest thing they must have, people are still dying every day over simple things that could easily be taken care of. Malnutrition, malaria, AIDS and many other things that have been taken care of (minus AIDS) kill people every day here. I was here two months ago when the country ran out of fuel and I saw first hand how ugly things got. I do not even want to imagine how things will get once the food shortage arrives.
The President may not be the most popular man in the world because of the things that he has said, but at least he is trying to push people to farm and feed themselves. I can look past his entourage of 10+ cars, trucks, and hummers, because if what he said at a conference recently on a national holiday. He said many things that day, but what really stuck out (and got my attention) was his request for the people of the country to work hard and take charge of their country. Sure he went on to blame Western Society, but in a way he's right. Nothing will come if the people here are not willing to take a stand and work hard for their country. Also, nothing good will ever come if people continue to thoughtlessly just send money here without actually knowing what it will be used for. Don't get me wrong, some donations are good and really do a lot of great things here. However, a large number of donations are not used properly and in turn are just wasted away on things that will do nothing to help. and soon will be disguarded when the generator runs out of fuel and no one can buy anymore.
One time I heard a story about a PCV in another country putting a video on You Tube and getting in trouble. The video showed a very brief clip of someone dumping trash on the ground and people running and fighting to collect it. The harsh reality is this is what we do everyday to the people of Africa.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Time to put on hostess hat yet again...
From Monday, 18/8/08
Okay, so when I signed up for PC, I had no idea that it would involve so much event planning. Maybe I'm the "lucky" one. Most pcvs here will never have anyone important come to their site at all. Two weeks ago like half of the PCMOs (PC medical officers) from all over Africa stopped by while they were here for a conference, and now tomorrow the US Ambassador is stopping by as well. The Ambassador is visiting various PC sites along the South Bank, and he's coming here. Oh yeah, sooo excited! Thankfully, another PCV from a site down the road is also coming here to talk to him, so that will take a lot of the pressure off me. The Ambassador went to Amanda's site last week, and she said that it really was not too bad. She said that he stops by and just talks to you. She also said that he's really laid back, and nice to talk with. I'm mostly nervous because I am waiting for PC to call and let me know what time he is coming exactly. I didn't even know that he was coming til yesterday afternoon, so the whole thing is really last minute! Oh wonderful, the PCV that I thought was going to come to my site just texted me to let me know that the Ambassador is coming to her site as well. Oh great, now I have to go after her. I'm sure that she has some great talk planned, and mine will be a complete train wreck. Okay, I just spoke to her on the phone, and she made me feel a lot better. She said that really all we have to do is sit down and talk to him. He's new, and he's really unfamiliar with PC, so he just wants to know what is going on. She said that basically she's just going to sit down with her women's group and have them do most of the talking. They'll just talk about their goals and what is going on. She heard that other villages went crazy, and really he is just there to learn about PC. So now I feel a lot better again. We also talked about how things are going at site. Every day little things are really something to be proud of.
My cell phone will probably die again soon, because it appears to be another rainy day. I also just managed to drop my solio off the roof. It seems to be okay, it's just a little wobbly now. It seems to still be able to get a charge from the sun. I checked when it stopped raining long enough for the sun to come out for 15 minutes. Thank God! If that thing broke then I would really be screwed!
Now I have to walk around and find my counterparts and explain what is going on tomorrow. I can handle a "little chat" so it all should work out fine. Current goal: find a mobile phone that is charged so I can put my sim card in it and call PC so I can figure out when people are coming exactly. Things are pretty dull most of the time, but every once in a while they get really crazy!
(Couple of hours later...)
All of my counterparts are away til the afternoon, so I'll tell them about the "Ambassador chat time" later. My cell phone is dead, so now I just have to wait for my solio to charge. Please do not rain! It's getting dark again which is never a good thing. Okay, it rocks when you want to be locked up and left alone in your house, but when you need the sun to charge your mobile it is not good! Right now there are a whole bunch of kids that want to come into my house and color. This is not a good time. Now it's raining again, so I guess the cell phone will stay dead for the time being.
Almost 2 weeks ago was when the PCMOs came to visit. This was the program that I was stressing about in a blog before. Surprisingly, the whole thing went quite well. Even about 30minutes before everyone was scheduled to arrive, things were not looking good. We had the library all set up, and the bags were there, but no one seemed to be coming, I had spent three hours the day before weeding the area, and a good two hours sweeping and collecting trash around the area that morning. When I went back home to wait for PC, only a couple of the 20+ people that I live with were at home. Right before PC came Papa Jammeh came home, so I told him what was about to go down. The visit to my house had only been added that morning as a way to stall to give the women more time to arrive at the library. Papa Jammeh realized what I was trying to say, and then ran into his house to change. Then of course Ebrima was walking around with poop all over his legs because he was sick. I really wasn't too worried about that; I thought why not let people see what it is really time to leave here. Sunto, my binkie (aunt/father's sister) grabbed Ebrima, cleaned him up, and was in her plastic chair ready to go when PC showed up. Papa Jammeh was also dressed, and it was show time.
Now I had been told to expect 25 people, but close to 40 piled out of the PC bus and various suvs. I welcomed everyone, well as much as one can welcome people when their guests are being bombarded my children that want candy and their picture taken. I let all of them parade through my house. I walked in when a woman who was a guest speaker from an infectious disease place was in there, and I got sucked into a detailed conversation about everything from how I cook to where/how I bathe. All she kept asking were "why questions." That was a real experience! The PCMOs gave me a gift bag (which I later opened and discovered that it was gull of food!). Once everyone got a look around, and people got enough pictures to satisfy themselves, it was time to go buy the bags, so I led everyone to the library. I warned them about the geles, and I told them that they would get hit! In every group there are the people too cool to listen, so a few people actually did get close to getting hit. Geles do not have the best brakes, so unless you have enough time to dart across the road in front of one, always wait til they pass. When we arrived at the junction, the village chief just happened to be there, so everyone got to meet him as well. By this time the kids had all gotten really bad, so I was trying to get rid of them. I told them to "go away" in Mandinka "Ta," and when that didn't work, I said "Penugie te" (no clue how to spell that), which means "I will beat you." Then in English I said, "scram, you know I will beat you!" (Okay I actually never have, but people always tell me to. I can't do it with the peer pressure, but one day a kid almost did get a whack with my broom if I had been able to catch him). The PC Country Director heard this and shouted, "oh she just told them she was going to beat them in Mandinka." I told him, "no that was jola." He just seemed really excited, so I wasn't worried that I threatened to beat kids in front of a whole group of PC nurses. People just laughed. While all of this was going on, one of my host mother's, Mama Jaju, got off a gele, so everyone got to meet her as well.
I was still really nervous about the library, but when we arrived there were actually women there singing and dancing! I was so happy! The women performed, everyone spoke a little, and then it was time to buy bags. The women were able to sell all of the bags minus a few of them. Everyone seemed really happy. It helped that the CD was there really pushing people to buy the bags.
After all that, I grabbed my bag, and hitched a ride with PC to Farjara. We stopped and picked up another PCV that I was going to be traveling with, and then off we went again. Olga and I grabbed a taxi in Westfield, and then headed to Banjul to catch the ferry. We traveled across the Gambia River as the sun was setting. This took about one-half hour because we were crossing at the mouth of the river from Banjul to Barra. I heard that this was actually a really great time because most people end up on ferries that get stuck sitting out in the water at some point and the whole process takes like an hour. We arrived at the other side after dark, and we fought our way off with other people and cars. The road from the ferry to the carpark is walled all the way down, so we were joking that it felt like we were in a refuge camp. We got on a gele and started driving to Amanda's village just as it started to pour. At one point we stopped and the driver escorted a girl home via running through the pouring rain. Who said that chivalry is dead? We met some people on the gele that knew where Amanda's house was, so they promised to help us get there. It was dark, and the rain was really coming down, so I really was not able to see anything. The next thing I knew everyone was telling us that we arrived at Amanda's house. This was probably the nicest gele driver ever! Because of the rain he was going to drive each person home. We jumped out into the rain, I kicked off my sandals, and we ran around trying to figure out which compound was Amanda's. Then we found Amanda and Jenni who had been waiting for us at the gele stop in the rain, and we all went into the house.
Jenni had been in Farjara all week because she was sick, so she just stopped at Amanda's house because we were all traveling to her house the next day. We all had mac&cheese for dinner. Amanda, Jenni, and I ended up staying awake most of the night just talking. The next morning we all stopped at one of Amanda's friend's houses because her daughter was getting married. We ate some breakfast, and then it was on the road again.
When Jenni, Shayla, and I were in Farjara the previous weekend to work on the computer, and collect our "living allowances," Jenni found a kitten in front of the US Embassy. It was little, and super cute, so against her better judgement she picked it up. She was able to find a home for it with another PCV, but that PCV was going on vacation to Spain, so Jenni had to watch little Tobey for the time being. The cat was also coming on the road trip. Jenny brought him in a box the day before, but the box got damaged in the rain. On the short gele ride back to Barra to catch a ride to Farfeni, the cat completely tore the box apart. Now we were forced to hold the silly thing. Jenni was made at him after the box incident, so Amanda and I volunteered to hold him. I put the cat's bottom in a plastic bag to serve as a diaper because he was not yet trained. About half-way through the trip, the kitten got all upset and kept trying to get out of the bag. I looked into the bag and it had pooped everywhere. Amanda and I wait until he was done, and then threw the bag of poop out the window. Amanda even had to wipe him with TP! We quickly got him into another plastic bag diaper, and I just looked over and smiled at the Gambian woman sitting next to me. She looked back at me like what the hell?
We made it to Jenni's house safely. We had to change geles and Olga started holding him without his diaper. We warned her, and he peed in her bag. The weekend was fun, and we all just sort of hung out. Shayla joined us a little while later. Everything went well til one girl there went on and on about how hard she works while PCVs in villages just sit around a lot. This got all of us pretty upset, and we let her have it! It didn't help that most people already feel like they don't do anything in the first place. She's now talking about joining a gym in the town where she lives, so I really do not think that we are apart of the same PC world.
When Sunday came it was time to go. This time I was traveling down the South Bank road, so it would be a long day. Olga and I traveled with Shayla to Soma. It took almost four hours to get there and it really isn't even that far! We had to ride to Farafeni, take a gele to the ferry, cross the ferry (a bridge would have been useful because it was maybe 25 yards across), and then take another gele to Soma. Then we boarded the gele for the 4-5 hour ride home. This particular gele did not have a lot of leg room, so my legs were really jammed in. Luckily they went to sleep quickly, so there wasn't much pain. By the time I was able to get out in my village, my ankles were so swollen that I had kankels! The lack of circulation and lack of water really did a number on them. I returned home, and then took a bath and went to bed as soon as I could without looking weird. I find that 9p seems somewhat okay. I guess that they just think I'm a crazy toubab that needs lots of rest sometimes.
(Many hours later...)
Right now it is about 8:30pm, and I am still waiting to talk to one more person about tomorrow. As of now, things are good to go. We lied and told the women the program started at 11am instead of 11:30 hoping that some of them would make it on time. It really is stupid to visit at that time because the women have to cook lunch and others work in the fields, but the US Embassy doesn't seem to get that. Now the Ambassador is sick, so he's sending someone else in his place. Throughout the day, the time also kept changing, but now things seem good to go. Let's hope so! I'm really glad that I've made some friends, because today I was able to look sad and beg them to come help me out. Life here is always an adventure! I also got to spend some time talking to one of my counterparts about some of the things that he would like to do. One of his sisters had a baby last week, so I also got to see the baby, Adama, as well. I did my good toubab deed, and held the baby. I always have newborn babies thrown at me. They're always so small and alien looking, and I'm always afraid that I'll hurt the baby.
Today when I went to see Kaddy, one of my counterparts, her baby, Ababukar (age 9 months) peed all over the front of my shirt. Apparently that's good luck here, so I know that things will go well tomorrow.
Okay, so when I signed up for PC, I had no idea that it would involve so much event planning. Maybe I'm the "lucky" one. Most pcvs here will never have anyone important come to their site at all. Two weeks ago like half of the PCMOs (PC medical officers) from all over Africa stopped by while they were here for a conference, and now tomorrow the US Ambassador is stopping by as well. The Ambassador is visiting various PC sites along the South Bank, and he's coming here. Oh yeah, sooo excited! Thankfully, another PCV from a site down the road is also coming here to talk to him, so that will take a lot of the pressure off me. The Ambassador went to Amanda's site last week, and she said that it really was not too bad. She said that he stops by and just talks to you. She also said that he's really laid back, and nice to talk with. I'm mostly nervous because I am waiting for PC to call and let me know what time he is coming exactly. I didn't even know that he was coming til yesterday afternoon, so the whole thing is really last minute! Oh wonderful, the PCV that I thought was going to come to my site just texted me to let me know that the Ambassador is coming to her site as well. Oh great, now I have to go after her. I'm sure that she has some great talk planned, and mine will be a complete train wreck. Okay, I just spoke to her on the phone, and she made me feel a lot better. She said that really all we have to do is sit down and talk to him. He's new, and he's really unfamiliar with PC, so he just wants to know what is going on. She said that basically she's just going to sit down with her women's group and have them do most of the talking. They'll just talk about their goals and what is going on. She heard that other villages went crazy, and really he is just there to learn about PC. So now I feel a lot better again. We also talked about how things are going at site. Every day little things are really something to be proud of.
My cell phone will probably die again soon, because it appears to be another rainy day. I also just managed to drop my solio off the roof. It seems to be okay, it's just a little wobbly now. It seems to still be able to get a charge from the sun. I checked when it stopped raining long enough for the sun to come out for 15 minutes. Thank God! If that thing broke then I would really be screwed!
Now I have to walk around and find my counterparts and explain what is going on tomorrow. I can handle a "little chat" so it all should work out fine. Current goal: find a mobile phone that is charged so I can put my sim card in it and call PC so I can figure out when people are coming exactly. Things are pretty dull most of the time, but every once in a while they get really crazy!
(Couple of hours later...)
All of my counterparts are away til the afternoon, so I'll tell them about the "Ambassador chat time" later. My cell phone is dead, so now I just have to wait for my solio to charge. Please do not rain! It's getting dark again which is never a good thing. Okay, it rocks when you want to be locked up and left alone in your house, but when you need the sun to charge your mobile it is not good! Right now there are a whole bunch of kids that want to come into my house and color. This is not a good time. Now it's raining again, so I guess the cell phone will stay dead for the time being.
Almost 2 weeks ago was when the PCMOs came to visit. This was the program that I was stressing about in a blog before. Surprisingly, the whole thing went quite well. Even about 30minutes before everyone was scheduled to arrive, things were not looking good. We had the library all set up, and the bags were there, but no one seemed to be coming, I had spent three hours the day before weeding the area, and a good two hours sweeping and collecting trash around the area that morning. When I went back home to wait for PC, only a couple of the 20+ people that I live with were at home. Right before PC came Papa Jammeh came home, so I told him what was about to go down. The visit to my house had only been added that morning as a way to stall to give the women more time to arrive at the library. Papa Jammeh realized what I was trying to say, and then ran into his house to change. Then of course Ebrima was walking around with poop all over his legs because he was sick. I really wasn't too worried about that; I thought why not let people see what it is really time to leave here. Sunto, my binkie (aunt/father's sister) grabbed Ebrima, cleaned him up, and was in her plastic chair ready to go when PC showed up. Papa Jammeh was also dressed, and it was show time.
Now I had been told to expect 25 people, but close to 40 piled out of the PC bus and various suvs. I welcomed everyone, well as much as one can welcome people when their guests are being bombarded my children that want candy and their picture taken. I let all of them parade through my house. I walked in when a woman who was a guest speaker from an infectious disease place was in there, and I got sucked into a detailed conversation about everything from how I cook to where/how I bathe. All she kept asking were "why questions." That was a real experience! The PCMOs gave me a gift bag (which I later opened and discovered that it was gull of food!). Once everyone got a look around, and people got enough pictures to satisfy themselves, it was time to go buy the bags, so I led everyone to the library. I warned them about the geles, and I told them that they would get hit! In every group there are the people too cool to listen, so a few people actually did get close to getting hit. Geles do not have the best brakes, so unless you have enough time to dart across the road in front of one, always wait til they pass. When we arrived at the junction, the village chief just happened to be there, so everyone got to meet him as well. By this time the kids had all gotten really bad, so I was trying to get rid of them. I told them to "go away" in Mandinka "Ta," and when that didn't work, I said "Penugie te" (no clue how to spell that), which means "I will beat you." Then in English I said, "scram, you know I will beat you!" (Okay I actually never have, but people always tell me to. I can't do it with the peer pressure, but one day a kid almost did get a whack with my broom if I had been able to catch him). The PC Country Director heard this and shouted, "oh she just told them she was going to beat them in Mandinka." I told him, "no that was jola." He just seemed really excited, so I wasn't worried that I threatened to beat kids in front of a whole group of PC nurses. People just laughed. While all of this was going on, one of my host mother's, Mama Jaju, got off a gele, so everyone got to meet her as well.
I was still really nervous about the library, but when we arrived there were actually women there singing and dancing! I was so happy! The women performed, everyone spoke a little, and then it was time to buy bags. The women were able to sell all of the bags minus a few of them. Everyone seemed really happy. It helped that the CD was there really pushing people to buy the bags.
After all that, I grabbed my bag, and hitched a ride with PC to Farjara. We stopped and picked up another PCV that I was going to be traveling with, and then off we went again. Olga and I grabbed a taxi in Westfield, and then headed to Banjul to catch the ferry. We traveled across the Gambia River as the sun was setting. This took about one-half hour because we were crossing at the mouth of the river from Banjul to Barra. I heard that this was actually a really great time because most people end up on ferries that get stuck sitting out in the water at some point and the whole process takes like an hour. We arrived at the other side after dark, and we fought our way off with other people and cars. The road from the ferry to the carpark is walled all the way down, so we were joking that it felt like we were in a refuge camp. We got on a gele and started driving to Amanda's village just as it started to pour. At one point we stopped and the driver escorted a girl home via running through the pouring rain. Who said that chivalry is dead? We met some people on the gele that knew where Amanda's house was, so they promised to help us get there. It was dark, and the rain was really coming down, so I really was not able to see anything. The next thing I knew everyone was telling us that we arrived at Amanda's house. This was probably the nicest gele driver ever! Because of the rain he was going to drive each person home. We jumped out into the rain, I kicked off my sandals, and we ran around trying to figure out which compound was Amanda's. Then we found Amanda and Jenni who had been waiting for us at the gele stop in the rain, and we all went into the house.
Jenni had been in Farjara all week because she was sick, so she just stopped at Amanda's house because we were all traveling to her house the next day. We all had mac&cheese for dinner. Amanda, Jenni, and I ended up staying awake most of the night just talking. The next morning we all stopped at one of Amanda's friend's houses because her daughter was getting married. We ate some breakfast, and then it was on the road again.
When Jenni, Shayla, and I were in Farjara the previous weekend to work on the computer, and collect our "living allowances," Jenni found a kitten in front of the US Embassy. It was little, and super cute, so against her better judgement she picked it up. She was able to find a home for it with another PCV, but that PCV was going on vacation to Spain, so Jenni had to watch little Tobey for the time being. The cat was also coming on the road trip. Jenny brought him in a box the day before, but the box got damaged in the rain. On the short gele ride back to Barra to catch a ride to Farfeni, the cat completely tore the box apart. Now we were forced to hold the silly thing. Jenni was made at him after the box incident, so Amanda and I volunteered to hold him. I put the cat's bottom in a plastic bag to serve as a diaper because he was not yet trained. About half-way through the trip, the kitten got all upset and kept trying to get out of the bag. I looked into the bag and it had pooped everywhere. Amanda and I wait until he was done, and then threw the bag of poop out the window. Amanda even had to wipe him with TP! We quickly got him into another plastic bag diaper, and I just looked over and smiled at the Gambian woman sitting next to me. She looked back at me like what the hell?
We made it to Jenni's house safely. We had to change geles and Olga started holding him without his diaper. We warned her, and he peed in her bag. The weekend was fun, and we all just sort of hung out. Shayla joined us a little while later. Everything went well til one girl there went on and on about how hard she works while PCVs in villages just sit around a lot. This got all of us pretty upset, and we let her have it! It didn't help that most people already feel like they don't do anything in the first place. She's now talking about joining a gym in the town where she lives, so I really do not think that we are apart of the same PC world.
When Sunday came it was time to go. This time I was traveling down the South Bank road, so it would be a long day. Olga and I traveled with Shayla to Soma. It took almost four hours to get there and it really isn't even that far! We had to ride to Farafeni, take a gele to the ferry, cross the ferry (a bridge would have been useful because it was maybe 25 yards across), and then take another gele to Soma. Then we boarded the gele for the 4-5 hour ride home. This particular gele did not have a lot of leg room, so my legs were really jammed in. Luckily they went to sleep quickly, so there wasn't much pain. By the time I was able to get out in my village, my ankles were so swollen that I had kankels! The lack of circulation and lack of water really did a number on them. I returned home, and then took a bath and went to bed as soon as I could without looking weird. I find that 9p seems somewhat okay. I guess that they just think I'm a crazy toubab that needs lots of rest sometimes.
(Many hours later...)
Right now it is about 8:30pm, and I am still waiting to talk to one more person about tomorrow. As of now, things are good to go. We lied and told the women the program started at 11am instead of 11:30 hoping that some of them would make it on time. It really is stupid to visit at that time because the women have to cook lunch and others work in the fields, but the US Embassy doesn't seem to get that. Now the Ambassador is sick, so he's sending someone else in his place. Throughout the day, the time also kept changing, but now things seem good to go. Let's hope so! I'm really glad that I've made some friends, because today I was able to look sad and beg them to come help me out. Life here is always an adventure! I also got to spend some time talking to one of my counterparts about some of the things that he would like to do. One of his sisters had a baby last week, so I also got to see the baby, Adama, as well. I did my good toubab deed, and held the baby. I always have newborn babies thrown at me. They're always so small and alien looking, and I'm always afraid that I'll hurt the baby.
Today when I went to see Kaddy, one of my counterparts, her baby, Ababukar (age 9 months) peed all over the front of my shirt. Apparently that's good luck here, so I know that things will go well tomorrow.
C'mon meeting, let's get started!!!
From Saturday 16/8/08
I haven't written any blog entries in a long time, so I decided to write one while I wait for a meeting to start. Right now it's 8p, and I'm super tired! I really just want to go to bed! This was a long, emotional week. For a good part of the week I felt unmotivated and depressed. I just felt like I wasn't getting anything done. I talked to other people, and I realized that we all feel the same way, so I guess that is just apart of the PC lifestyle. Today was a great day! All week long I've really had no cell phone because we haven't had very much sun. No sun=not being able to charge my solio=no cell phone. I couldn't believe it, but there is no where to charge cell phones in this whole village! Today I decided to ride my bike down to Steven's village to charge my phone. I couldn't call him to let him know that I was coming, so I just sorta showed up. It started raining around lunch time (aka 2:30p), so I waited for it to let up a little, and then I road home. I don't think that I have ever ridden my bike so fast before!!! I just kept turning around to look at the big wall of water that was slowly coming toward me. I made it back to my village, greeted everyone, ran to the bitik for food, and back into my house just as a huge storm hit. It was really nice because no one bothered me for almost three hours.
During the storm I actually got to talk to my mom for the first time in about one month. That was really nice. I ended up talking to her for almost one hour, and pretty much emptying my battery in the process. So much for having a cell phone. Oh well, it was really nice to talk to my mom.
For dinner I made a chicken salad sandwich. My mom sent me some canned chicken, so I made one amazing sandwich. It was the chicken, mayo, onion, paprika, tomato, black pepper, AND ranch dressing mix. I put all of this onto bread and it was amazing! MY propane tank ran out of gas a couple of weeks ago, so I've pretty much just been living off bread and butter or bread and mayo. I still get a cooked lunch from my host family, so I have plenty to eat during the day. When we get paid again next month I'll be able to get another tank and cook all of the yummy looking food that I have waiting in my house.
Right now everyone is walking to the mosque (well the men) to pray. Women are not allowed in the mosque, and must pray under a covered porch. Most women don't go. Actually to be honest with you I think some of the women just skip certain prayers. There are some women that I know that I have never seen pray once, and I spend a lot of time with them. I think that they just make up the prayers that they missed at the end of the day or something. The women that do pray all five times a day just pray at home. The men never seem to miss going to the mosque though. Even the old blind men go because they are escorted there all five times by one of the younger people. Even on days like today when it is pouring outside, everyone always goes.
Ramada starts September 2nd, and I've decided to fast with everyone else in the village. If everyone else isn't going to eat during the day, I might as well join in. Everyone in the village knows that I have decided to fast, and they are all really excited. Really it will not be that bad because we are only not allowed to eat from sunrise to sundown. Once the sun goes away it'll be chow down time! I've been told that we will rise around 5am, pig out, and then have our dinner late in the evening. The part that will be the hardest is the fact that we are not even supposed to drink any water. I usually drink a ton of water during the day. I'm going to try, but I may end up cheating a little bit on the water. Does it count if you just put the water in your mouth, and then spit it out? I asked someone about this, and they just sort of laughed. I'm serious though, so I will have to find out.
I'm getting really tired, and it's pitch black, so I'm going to stop writing. All week we had the moon getting larger as it moved across the sky slowly becoming a full moon. This is my favorite part of the month because you do not need a flashlight to see outside at night because everything is illuminated. Tonight when I take my "shower" aka dumping cup fulls of water on my body, I won't have to worry about bringing a flashlight out with me too.
Thanks for reading my blog. I'm super tired, so hopefully this meeting will not happen, or at least it will be quick and we won't fight about the same thing as last week. HA HA, it's a meeting run by men so that is exactly what will happen.
I haven't written any blog entries in a long time, so I decided to write one while I wait for a meeting to start. Right now it's 8p, and I'm super tired! I really just want to go to bed! This was a long, emotional week. For a good part of the week I felt unmotivated and depressed. I just felt like I wasn't getting anything done. I talked to other people, and I realized that we all feel the same way, so I guess that is just apart of the PC lifestyle. Today was a great day! All week long I've really had no cell phone because we haven't had very much sun. No sun=not being able to charge my solio=no cell phone. I couldn't believe it, but there is no where to charge cell phones in this whole village! Today I decided to ride my bike down to Steven's village to charge my phone. I couldn't call him to let him know that I was coming, so I just sorta showed up. It started raining around lunch time (aka 2:30p), so I waited for it to let up a little, and then I road home. I don't think that I have ever ridden my bike so fast before!!! I just kept turning around to look at the big wall of water that was slowly coming toward me. I made it back to my village, greeted everyone, ran to the bitik for food, and back into my house just as a huge storm hit. It was really nice because no one bothered me for almost three hours.
During the storm I actually got to talk to my mom for the first time in about one month. That was really nice. I ended up talking to her for almost one hour, and pretty much emptying my battery in the process. So much for having a cell phone. Oh well, it was really nice to talk to my mom.
For dinner I made a chicken salad sandwich. My mom sent me some canned chicken, so I made one amazing sandwich. It was the chicken, mayo, onion, paprika, tomato, black pepper, AND ranch dressing mix. I put all of this onto bread and it was amazing! MY propane tank ran out of gas a couple of weeks ago, so I've pretty much just been living off bread and butter or bread and mayo. I still get a cooked lunch from my host family, so I have plenty to eat during the day. When we get paid again next month I'll be able to get another tank and cook all of the yummy looking food that I have waiting in my house.
Right now everyone is walking to the mosque (well the men) to pray. Women are not allowed in the mosque, and must pray under a covered porch. Most women don't go. Actually to be honest with you I think some of the women just skip certain prayers. There are some women that I know that I have never seen pray once, and I spend a lot of time with them. I think that they just make up the prayers that they missed at the end of the day or something. The women that do pray all five times a day just pray at home. The men never seem to miss going to the mosque though. Even the old blind men go because they are escorted there all five times by one of the younger people. Even on days like today when it is pouring outside, everyone always goes.
Ramada starts September 2nd, and I've decided to fast with everyone else in the village. If everyone else isn't going to eat during the day, I might as well join in. Everyone in the village knows that I have decided to fast, and they are all really excited. Really it will not be that bad because we are only not allowed to eat from sunrise to sundown. Once the sun goes away it'll be chow down time! I've been told that we will rise around 5am, pig out, and then have our dinner late in the evening. The part that will be the hardest is the fact that we are not even supposed to drink any water. I usually drink a ton of water during the day. I'm going to try, but I may end up cheating a little bit on the water. Does it count if you just put the water in your mouth, and then spit it out? I asked someone about this, and they just sort of laughed. I'm serious though, so I will have to find out.
I'm getting really tired, and it's pitch black, so I'm going to stop writing. All week we had the moon getting larger as it moved across the sky slowly becoming a full moon. This is my favorite part of the month because you do not need a flashlight to see outside at night because everything is illuminated. Tonight when I take my "shower" aka dumping cup fulls of water on my body, I won't have to worry about bringing a flashlight out with me too.
Thanks for reading my blog. I'm super tired, so hopefully this meeting will not happen, or at least it will be quick and we won't fight about the same thing as last week. HA HA, it's a meeting run by men so that is exactly what will happen.
Friday, August 1, 2008
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!
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!
Deodorant, bikes, and other random things
From 27/7/08
So, my Mom sent me men's deodorant. Because I'm weird and do not want to smell bad (although none of the Gambians actually wear it). I now smell of "mountain spring" or "forest something" or whatever random name that they give to the stuff. When I first found it in one of my care packages I was sort of annoyed, then I thought "oh whatever." So now I just smell like a man. I also got this really cool water backpack system. It's a fancy pouch with a tube that I can drink right out of as I am riding my bike. The best part of the whole thing is the mini backpack that it goes into. This is the most magical bag ever!!! It looks small, but the thing actually expands pretty big. It has hidden straps everywhere, and even has a hidden net to hold onto my bike helmet. Not that I really plan on using that part much, but it's nice to know that it is an option. Honestly the thing has so many "bells and whistles" that I had to look at the card that came with it to find everything that the backpack has. There is a compartment for every little thing possible. This is by far one of the coolest things that I have ever owned!!! Sad I know, but it really is the little things that get me through each and every day.
PC finally got around to giving us our new bikes. Now I go on really long bike rides whenever I can. This is often quite hard because it rains A LOT. Also. because of the rain my clothes have not been drying on the clothes line, and my host family has been holding onto my only pants that fit for three days. They do my laundry, so I sort of have to work with their schedule. I currently have all of my undergarments hanging on a clothes line that I hung myself inside my house. Just like every other Gambian, I now have a line outside, and one inside as well. This has been a lifesaver so far during the rain season! Back to the bike... so this is a really nice bike!!! I try to ride 15K, and then turn around and head home. I like to ride on the south bank road because it's paved, and it has a lot of hills that really work my legs. There are also a lot of things to see!
Whenever I'm having a bad day I feel so much better once I'm out on my bike. I get "toubabed" a lot, but I'm usually riding by too fast to notice. The other day when I was almost home and really tired, a grown man actually shouted "toubab" at me. It's one thing when the stupid kids do it, but it's rude when it comes from an adult that knows better! (God I sound just like Steven) I looked at the man and said, "Hey mofingo, n so minte!" (hey black person give me minte/candy.) The man just started laughing, and then said something about me knowing the local language. The kids usually scream, "toubab give me minte." (This is about the only English a lot of them know) They all do this because stupid tourists actually drive by and throw candy at the kids. I guess that they think that this is cute. I would love to know how the whole thing actually started. The real problem with this is the fact that it only encourages the people to expect handouts from white people. This has been their survival tactic for years, and they do not realize that they are actually being exploited. Toubabs (hey when they behave that way, they earn the name) come through my village all of the time and act so stupid. If I were saw one of them throw candy at kids, then I'd give them a piece of my mind! Just like when you feed an alligator, the kids learn to associate people with food and free stuff. Kids will run right up to me when I'm on my bike and try to tough me or my bike. Now I just swat them away. Maybe that form of positive reinforcement will teach them to associate toubabs with violence. Or if anything they'll leave me alone when I ride by. When the kids run up to the road it is so dangerous! Cars (especially Government vehicles) drive really fast down the road, and I'm always worried that someone will get hit. I now have no problem with parents beating their kids for playing too close to the road. I also joke with people about starting an "anti-minte campaign." Every time I catch a tourist throwing candy at kids, I'm going to throw a piece of candy back at them. I of course would really never actually do this, but it would be fun!
I now have all of the furniture that I planned on purchasing for my house. Thanks to a married couple that decided to leave, I saved a lot of money!!! I'm thinking about buying a couch, but I'm not sure if I really need it. My toy chest seems to double as a couch pretty nicely. I've even started hanging things up on my walls.
I currently do not have much food because I spent most of my money at IST on junk food and beer. Once I get money again, I plan on buying groceries and making some really yummy food! I really want to buy eggs in Brikama, I just have to figure out a way to safely get them home on the gele. I can buy 36 for 80 Dal (4 dollars), so it's worth it to me. I need more protein in my diet, so eggs seem to be the easiest way to do it. I'm also running low on propane, so I'll have to deal with that too. I've been cooking my own dinner, so if anyone has any ideas for things I can easily make on a single-burner stove that does not require too many ingredients, PLEASE let me know. I want to figure out a simple way to make wraps. Also, if someone could send me some dried fruit that would rock!
I've seen some really interesting things while riding my bike. Now that it's raining everything is green, and the place is actually really beautiful! I like to ride to spot where the paved road ends, so I really have the chance to see a lot. There's always a lot of children playing football (soccer to us Americans). The other day I actually saw a dead animal carcase being eaten my vultures. That was pretty cool! Sometimes while I am riding I just look around and observe how beautiful everything really is. Then I start to think about how lucky I actually am. Really, how many people my age, or any age for that matter, can say that they have gone on a bike ride through Africa? As much as I sometimes feel lost and wonder why I'm even here (surprisingly though I never actually want to go home), I always feel lucky at the end of the day. I'm usually high on endorphins at this point so that probably plays a big factor in my whimsical thinking. I also always think about how much my friend Kyra would love to ride her bike here. (This is usually as I am swearing while biking up a huge hill!) Kyra is finally going to get married this December. I'm really sad that I'll miss her wedding, but that's life. I knew I'd miss a lot by coming here (including her wedding), but I made the decision to become a krazy world traveler. Jenni and I jokingly made a pact that we had to be in a promising relationship (aka looks like it'll lead to marriage) by New Year's of our 33rd year. We got the idea from our favorite singleton, Bridget Jones. That gives me a little over ten years.
In about two weeks it will be six months that I have been here. Part of me says "wow it's gone by so fast," and the other part says "that's really all it has been?" Only 21 months to go!!!
So, my Mom sent me men's deodorant. Because I'm weird and do not want to smell bad (although none of the Gambians actually wear it). I now smell of "mountain spring" or "forest something" or whatever random name that they give to the stuff. When I first found it in one of my care packages I was sort of annoyed, then I thought "oh whatever." So now I just smell like a man. I also got this really cool water backpack system. It's a fancy pouch with a tube that I can drink right out of as I am riding my bike. The best part of the whole thing is the mini backpack that it goes into. This is the most magical bag ever!!! It looks small, but the thing actually expands pretty big. It has hidden straps everywhere, and even has a hidden net to hold onto my bike helmet. Not that I really plan on using that part much, but it's nice to know that it is an option. Honestly the thing has so many "bells and whistles" that I had to look at the card that came with it to find everything that the backpack has. There is a compartment for every little thing possible. This is by far one of the coolest things that I have ever owned!!! Sad I know, but it really is the little things that get me through each and every day.
PC finally got around to giving us our new bikes. Now I go on really long bike rides whenever I can. This is often quite hard because it rains A LOT. Also. because of the rain my clothes have not been drying on the clothes line, and my host family has been holding onto my only pants that fit for three days. They do my laundry, so I sort of have to work with their schedule. I currently have all of my undergarments hanging on a clothes line that I hung myself inside my house. Just like every other Gambian, I now have a line outside, and one inside as well. This has been a lifesaver so far during the rain season! Back to the bike... so this is a really nice bike!!! I try to ride 15K, and then turn around and head home. I like to ride on the south bank road because it's paved, and it has a lot of hills that really work my legs. There are also a lot of things to see!
Whenever I'm having a bad day I feel so much better once I'm out on my bike. I get "toubabed" a lot, but I'm usually riding by too fast to notice. The other day when I was almost home and really tired, a grown man actually shouted "toubab" at me. It's one thing when the stupid kids do it, but it's rude when it comes from an adult that knows better! (God I sound just like Steven) I looked at the man and said, "Hey mofingo, n so minte!" (hey black person give me minte/candy.) The man just started laughing, and then said something about me knowing the local language. The kids usually scream, "toubab give me minte." (This is about the only English a lot of them know) They all do this because stupid tourists actually drive by and throw candy at the kids. I guess that they think that this is cute. I would love to know how the whole thing actually started. The real problem with this is the fact that it only encourages the people to expect handouts from white people. This has been their survival tactic for years, and they do not realize that they are actually being exploited. Toubabs (hey when they behave that way, they earn the name) come through my village all of the time and act so stupid. If I were saw one of them throw candy at kids, then I'd give them a piece of my mind! Just like when you feed an alligator, the kids learn to associate people with food and free stuff. Kids will run right up to me when I'm on my bike and try to tough me or my bike. Now I just swat them away. Maybe that form of positive reinforcement will teach them to associate toubabs with violence. Or if anything they'll leave me alone when I ride by. When the kids run up to the road it is so dangerous! Cars (especially Government vehicles) drive really fast down the road, and I'm always worried that someone will get hit. I now have no problem with parents beating their kids for playing too close to the road. I also joke with people about starting an "anti-minte campaign." Every time I catch a tourist throwing candy at kids, I'm going to throw a piece of candy back at them. I of course would really never actually do this, but it would be fun!
I now have all of the furniture that I planned on purchasing for my house. Thanks to a married couple that decided to leave, I saved a lot of money!!! I'm thinking about buying a couch, but I'm not sure if I really need it. My toy chest seems to double as a couch pretty nicely. I've even started hanging things up on my walls.
I currently do not have much food because I spent most of my money at IST on junk food and beer. Once I get money again, I plan on buying groceries and making some really yummy food! I really want to buy eggs in Brikama, I just have to figure out a way to safely get them home on the gele. I can buy 36 for 80 Dal (4 dollars), so it's worth it to me. I need more protein in my diet, so eggs seem to be the easiest way to do it. I'm also running low on propane, so I'll have to deal with that too. I've been cooking my own dinner, so if anyone has any ideas for things I can easily make on a single-burner stove that does not require too many ingredients, PLEASE let me know. I want to figure out a simple way to make wraps. Also, if someone could send me some dried fruit that would rock!
I've seen some really interesting things while riding my bike. Now that it's raining everything is green, and the place is actually really beautiful! I like to ride to spot where the paved road ends, so I really have the chance to see a lot. There's always a lot of children playing football (soccer to us Americans). The other day I actually saw a dead animal carcase being eaten my vultures. That was pretty cool! Sometimes while I am riding I just look around and observe how beautiful everything really is. Then I start to think about how lucky I actually am. Really, how many people my age, or any age for that matter, can say that they have gone on a bike ride through Africa? As much as I sometimes feel lost and wonder why I'm even here (surprisingly though I never actually want to go home), I always feel lucky at the end of the day. I'm usually high on endorphins at this point so that probably plays a big factor in my whimsical thinking. I also always think about how much my friend Kyra would love to ride her bike here. (This is usually as I am swearing while biking up a huge hill!) Kyra is finally going to get married this December. I'm really sad that I'll miss her wedding, but that's life. I knew I'd miss a lot by coming here (including her wedding), but I made the decision to become a krazy world traveler. Jenni and I jokingly made a pact that we had to be in a promising relationship (aka looks like it'll lead to marriage) by New Year's of our 33rd year. We got the idea from our favorite singleton, Bridget Jones. That gives me a little over ten years.
In about two weeks it will be six months that I have been here. Part of me says "wow it's gone by so fast," and the other part says "that's really all it has been?" Only 21 months to go!!!
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