so im staying with the sarr family - and as ebrima told me last week, the sarrś are fishermen. every last name in the gambia (in all of africa, presumably) tells people what the family does and who they are, as a people. some may be hunters, warriors, farmers, etc. but the sarrś are fisherman and last night this was apparent when ali - ebrimaś older brother (but with a different mother) returned home from the sea with buckets full of prawns! i don't think i´ve ever seen so many prawns at one time - not even in a seafood market. there were prawns to feed the entire village, though we only fed ourselves. and what a feast it was. they cooked up all the prawns so that they would not go bad (no refrigeration, remember) and today they will begin the drying process, so that they can pound the dried shrimps into a powder to use in their cooking. they also eat them dried by the handful, like chips.
the weekend in fajara was lovely. i had another saturday under the palapas at leybato reading for nearly 5 uninterrupted hours. (interrupted only for a beer and occasionally by the women walking around with trays of peanuts on their heads, trying to sell). it took me 2 hours to get to the beach, waiting for a ride and then getting a lift in the neighbors truck (surely a model-T, or a closely following model, very very old). he had to pick up eggs on the way into town and i would wager a bet that only half of the 30 dozen or so eggs made it to the paved road intact.
ive grown fond of my canadian ´cub´ friend - she and i have a laugh together and enjoy comparing experiences. i think she´ll help keep me sane for the next 9 weeks here, and i can see crashing at her place when i stay in fajara. we went to dinner on saturday night with a few other women and then hung out a bit on sunday morning back on the beach, taking a walk through the fajara craft market where she bought some (overpriced!) fabric and is having a dress made and where i bartered hard for a wooden bowl. i imagine that will be my one african purchase (besides any clothes i have made) because i not really into much of the other identical crafts i keep seeing around. wooden giraffes are just not my thing.
sandra and i found ourselves laughing hysterically on saturday at the beach at some photos we taken of ourselves. which was brilliant because i realized itś been a very long time since i´d laughed that hard (well, at least 3 weeks). things have been funny here and have made me chuckle, but not a downright belly laugh. that felt good. we were laughing at how funny we both look. itś quite obvious that i have not had a mirror for 3 weeks nor do i care. and her outfits that are so classic and stylish on the streets of montreal are hilarious here. (knee-high socks and pointy shoes are a sight to behold on the sandy streets of fajara). so we laughed and laughed at our ridiculous appearances.
hers is a completely ´urban´ experience complete with bumsters (annoying men constantly cat-calling, ´hey nice lady, i make you friend´, etc), electricity and water, an office job with daily internet, and a bedroom ceiling fan. i think she finds my experience nearly impossible to comprehend but enjoys my stories about the squat toilets and bucket showers. i hope to get her out to the village at some point before i leave.
a few other random tidbits:
* i´ve gotten my showers down to half a bucket of water! to shampoo and wash with soap. (no conditioner out here in the bush). think of me next time you linger for a few extra minutes under the tap, and then STOP WASTING so much water!
* for 1 dalasi, i can buy a bag of peanuts the size of a tangerine. for 2 dalasi, i can buy a bag of purified water in a bag, for 4 dalasi i can buy a stick of delicious tapalapa bread, for 7 dalasi, i can buy a gellah gellah ride from my village to brikama, for 10 dalasi i can buy a cucumber (if i can find it), for 15 dalasi, i can buy an omlete and a nescafe, for 16 dalasi, i can buy one hour of internet at the internet cafe, for 18 dalasi, i can get two gellah gellahs into the bigger town, for 20 dalasi i can treat myself a chocolate croissant, for 23 dalasi, i can buy a kitkat, and for 35 dalasi, i can indulge in a cup of watered down filtered coffee. remember that 1 dollar = 20 dalasi / 1 pound = 40 dalasi. thatś living on the cheap. going into town, i usually end up spending around 200 on a meal out (without drinks) ... so weekends are a little more expensive! but well worth the luxury by the time they roll around.
* this morning i waited for over an hour to get a ride to brikama. while i waited, i shook hands with at least a dozen people who were gathering in the market place (near the bus stop), i met a trained ornothographer (?) - bird watcher - who can guide me around abuko national reserve should i like to, i bought some peanuts, and was given a baobab-flavored icey. (frozen drink inside a small plastic bag - bite a corner and suck - also 1 dalasi). sometimes waiting is fun.
* when i finally did get a ride, it was on the back of a moped and was quite possibly the most dangerous thing ive done yet. but im here and alive, so the trip was not in vain, though i did wish i had a helmet and spent much of the ride contemplating how much it would hurt if the bike wiped out in the sand.
and now i must get some work done in the internet cafe lest i spend the entire morning blogging and emailing. thank you to those who comment, itś lovely to hear from you, and for those who´ve been emailing! much appreciated!! itś nice to stay connected when i can.
enjoy the week!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
chicken at last!
back to fajara this weekend for a day or two on the beach under the palapas. i've not yet spent a weekend in the village, but i know exactly what would happen if i did. (the same thing that happened yesterday, and the day before, and the day before - only MORE of it). so i don't feel bad. in fact, i've gotten over the small guilt i was feeling at the time i spend away from the family/compound. i don't feel, as i think i did the first week, that i must spend every waking hour under the mango tree with the ladies, or playing with the kids. i have my routine and that involves sometimes hours at a time on my own, locked away in my room reading, or listening to podcasts or whatever it is i feel like doing on my own. (i have to lock myself in or the kids, chickens or goats might wander in).
speaking of chickens, we had chicken for dinner last night. i saw the chicken we ate when jainaba caught it with her two hands and grabbed it by the legs and took it into the kitchen to slaughter it. i can say that it made me think twice about eating it, and i pondered the benefits of vegetarianism (the way it squawked was horrific, and then the bile that came up from its stomach as it continued squawking!) but only for a few minutes, because IT WASN'T FISH and it was delicious! (from the looks of it, i thought it might have been a rooster, is that the same? who cares!) the sauce was amazing - the equivalent of an african BBQ, i think. i'm not sure what the special occasion was, i think perhaps because it was friday. so i'll make it a point to be home on fridays from now on!
though fridays are also rather slow because school lets out at noon. so i have the whole afternoon to lounge around the compound. yesterday i sat for awhile in jainaba's living room with her husband osman working out the sarr family tree. it's very complicated, but i think i get it. it started when he tried to explain to me that he'd married his sister. i told him that would be illegal in america and then worked out that he'd actually married his second cousin, and not his 'sister' (much better). the confusion comes here because everyone is 'sistah' or 'brother' ... so you have to be very specific in asking, 'do you have the same mother and father' 'do you mean blood sister'??
school has been successful this week. i consider a day successful if i feel like i've been able to get through to the kids to teach them one lesson, however simple. i've been assigned to work with the 5th grade, and sometimes the 6th grade - but the highest two grades. which i'm happy about because they can understand and speak a bit more english than the little ones. this week i taught the classes about opposites, pronouns, adjectives, and how to tell the time on a clock. they respond well to quizzes and group games where there is competition, and also to exercises that give them a little artistic freedom - although that one took a while to describe because i don't think they are used to being allowed to be creative. when i asked for them to draw a picture of two things opposite - most of them drew man/woman, boy/girl - and the pictures were hilarious, i wished i had my camera with me. only one team drew something different 'church/mosque' .... i let them have a point for that because i didn't think their english could handle the philosophical question of whether, in fact, the church and the mosque were really opposites.
i go back and forth in my reaction to the school, and my experience with teaching. one the one hand, i am extremely hopeful and i leave the school on most days feeling like the day was a success and i made a small difference. (which is fine, and exactly what i said i wanted to do). but other days, it feels so hopeless and i feel so sad at the 'school' experience that these kids are getting. and i feel like i could just charge in and tell them what they could do to improve things and what they'd need to change and how best they might do that. but things just don't work like that here. they wouldn't respond to that (indeed, the previous volunteer wrote up a report that said as much and the staff was very upset). they need encouragement with the staff that they do have (when they show up) - and not condemnation. so i am reserving those thoughts and just trying to do the best i can with the resources that they have. (chalk). if i were going to be here longer than 3 months, i might attempt some kind of shake up. but it just feels futile to rock the boat when i won't be around to ride the waves afterwards.
but it still feels early for the 'this is what african schools are like' blog - because even though it's been 3 weeks, i am still trying to get the hang of how it works, the timetable, the staff, the discipline, etc. so more on that at a later stage.
in other news, my eyedrops that i laughed about in an early blog (eyedrops? why am i bringing eyedrops?) have come in very handy! kaddy had something in her eye and was terribly upset and crying and i brought them out again and put a few drops in her eye. i think she was shaken a bit by the sting of them and cried even more, but then we layed down on her bed and i rubbed her head and sang just about every song i could remember from 'the sound of music' while she calmed down. i think she liked that because she put her hand on my hand as i rubbed her head to make sure i was still there (i'd covered her eyes with a wet cloth). i sometimes feel sorry for the kids because while they are so good at playing with each other and so independent and free-spirited, i don't think they get a lot of physical love from adults. so i didn't mind sitting with kaddy for awhile. and after awhile, she got up and said it was all better. and we shook our hands in the air like champions and ran around the compound in a victory march. (this was my way of letting the grandmother know that she was fine, and she quickly followed suit raising her arms in the air as well and laughing). i wish she spoke more english because i'd love to know more about the matriarch of the family. alas, we get buy on laughing with each other at our attempts to mime.
so onwards to the beach for a relaxing day of reading and listening to the waves crash. the program manager is leaving on tuesday so a few of us are going out for dinner tonight and i'll stay up in fajara with my friend (from last weekend) in her palace. to recharge myself (and my ipod!).
happy early birthday to my grandmothers who have birthdays on monday and tuesday!
enjoy the weekend!
speaking of chickens, we had chicken for dinner last night. i saw the chicken we ate when jainaba caught it with her two hands and grabbed it by the legs and took it into the kitchen to slaughter it. i can say that it made me think twice about eating it, and i pondered the benefits of vegetarianism (the way it squawked was horrific, and then the bile that came up from its stomach as it continued squawking!) but only for a few minutes, because IT WASN'T FISH and it was delicious! (from the looks of it, i thought it might have been a rooster, is that the same? who cares!) the sauce was amazing - the equivalent of an african BBQ, i think. i'm not sure what the special occasion was, i think perhaps because it was friday. so i'll make it a point to be home on fridays from now on!
though fridays are also rather slow because school lets out at noon. so i have the whole afternoon to lounge around the compound. yesterday i sat for awhile in jainaba's living room with her husband osman working out the sarr family tree. it's very complicated, but i think i get it. it started when he tried to explain to me that he'd married his sister. i told him that would be illegal in america and then worked out that he'd actually married his second cousin, and not his 'sister' (much better). the confusion comes here because everyone is 'sistah' or 'brother' ... so you have to be very specific in asking, 'do you have the same mother and father' 'do you mean blood sister'??
school has been successful this week. i consider a day successful if i feel like i've been able to get through to the kids to teach them one lesson, however simple. i've been assigned to work with the 5th grade, and sometimes the 6th grade - but the highest two grades. which i'm happy about because they can understand and speak a bit more english than the little ones. this week i taught the classes about opposites, pronouns, adjectives, and how to tell the time on a clock. they respond well to quizzes and group games where there is competition, and also to exercises that give them a little artistic freedom - although that one took a while to describe because i don't think they are used to being allowed to be creative. when i asked for them to draw a picture of two things opposite - most of them drew man/woman, boy/girl - and the pictures were hilarious, i wished i had my camera with me. only one team drew something different 'church/mosque' .... i let them have a point for that because i didn't think their english could handle the philosophical question of whether, in fact, the church and the mosque were really opposites.
i go back and forth in my reaction to the school, and my experience with teaching. one the one hand, i am extremely hopeful and i leave the school on most days feeling like the day was a success and i made a small difference. (which is fine, and exactly what i said i wanted to do). but other days, it feels so hopeless and i feel so sad at the 'school' experience that these kids are getting. and i feel like i could just charge in and tell them what they could do to improve things and what they'd need to change and how best they might do that. but things just don't work like that here. they wouldn't respond to that (indeed, the previous volunteer wrote up a report that said as much and the staff was very upset). they need encouragement with the staff that they do have (when they show up) - and not condemnation. so i am reserving those thoughts and just trying to do the best i can with the resources that they have. (chalk). if i were going to be here longer than 3 months, i might attempt some kind of shake up. but it just feels futile to rock the boat when i won't be around to ride the waves afterwards.
but it still feels early for the 'this is what african schools are like' blog - because even though it's been 3 weeks, i am still trying to get the hang of how it works, the timetable, the staff, the discipline, etc. so more on that at a later stage.
in other news, my eyedrops that i laughed about in an early blog (eyedrops? why am i bringing eyedrops?) have come in very handy! kaddy had something in her eye and was terribly upset and crying and i brought them out again and put a few drops in her eye. i think she was shaken a bit by the sting of them and cried even more, but then we layed down on her bed and i rubbed her head and sang just about every song i could remember from 'the sound of music' while she calmed down. i think she liked that because she put her hand on my hand as i rubbed her head to make sure i was still there (i'd covered her eyes with a wet cloth). i sometimes feel sorry for the kids because while they are so good at playing with each other and so independent and free-spirited, i don't think they get a lot of physical love from adults. so i didn't mind sitting with kaddy for awhile. and after awhile, she got up and said it was all better. and we shook our hands in the air like champions and ran around the compound in a victory march. (this was my way of letting the grandmother know that she was fine, and she quickly followed suit raising her arms in the air as well and laughing). i wish she spoke more english because i'd love to know more about the matriarch of the family. alas, we get buy on laughing with each other at our attempts to mime.
so onwards to the beach for a relaxing day of reading and listening to the waves crash. the program manager is leaving on tuesday so a few of us are going out for dinner tonight and i'll stay up in fajara with my friend (from last weekend) in her palace. to recharge myself (and my ipod!).
happy early birthday to my grandmothers who have birthdays on monday and tuesday!
enjoy the weekend!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
cougars in the gambia?
im back in brikama for a day of errands. yesterday was quite possibly the hottest day ive ever sat through and it made me realize that i need a game plan every day so as NOT to be at the compound from 1-5, the hottest hours of the day, lest i toil away under the tree dripping with sweat and boredom. so i got into a strangers car this morning, hopped out at the main street and hailed a gellah gellah to brikama for 5 dalasi. turns out, i am misisng a committee meeting at CCF for the nursery school, but he did not tell me about it until just now, and rushing back only to sit in the taxi garage while the gellah gellah back to makumbaya fills up is futile. so iĺl stay here inside the cool-ish internet cafe.
yesterday ebrima took me into banjul to see the independence day celebrations. it was a big football field-like stadium where the president rode in in a hummer-limo, as well as the president of zambia and the president of cape verde (gave an extra clap for him in a shout out to my man sean williams...booyakaashaaahh!) after the president arrived, the army, marines, police and firefighters marched, did some sort of salute with guns, then hundreds of children from different schools all over the gambia marched, then the cultural parade of womenś groups, health groups, and other charities/ngos marched by. we left at that point because it was so hot i couldnt really take the heat. so we got home, i ate lunch (you guessed it, fish and rice!) and then collapsed on my bed listening to podcasts.
i´ve become a huge fan of NPRs ´this american life´ and i only bummed i didnt record the entire history as im nearly finished with the 8 hours i did bring. itś onto news and science and marketplace stories next, but those are likely to be dated. ah well.
a lot of things make me laugh here in africa. for example, walking through the dusty streets of lamin, the nearby inland village, asking for ćucumbers´ and NO ONE having any idea what im talking about. and then me talking to myself out loud on the same streets asking myself ´cucumber, a cucumber?´ (as in, ´i carried a watermelon?´ - girls from the 80s should get the reference).
and saturday night i was out with the girl id met on the plane who is from canada and also volunteerings. hers is a much more urban experience and she lives in a proper house with tile floors, a shower and toilet, electricity and running water. i discovered in the course of the day that sheś 22. and she referred to saturday night as her night out with a cougar. HA. that REALLY made me laugh. who knew i was a cougar at 32? brilliant! though very un-cougar like, we were in bed by 9:30, not trolling the cougar dens.
speaking of cougars (sort of) ... the grandmother of the compound came into jeneba´s living room yesterday to show us the new fabric she bought the girls for some new clothes ... and she was topless. completely topless. i tried to think of how my guests might react if MY grandmother walked into a room topless at my house, but decided that wasnt a thought i really wanted to be having (no disrespect to my grandmother!) and today, on the gellah gellah, the woman next to me pulled her top off to nurse her son, then called for the taxi to stop, and piled out of the car and onto the side of the road, still with her top around her shoulders and her sagging globe-like breasts hanging. which was just as well by me because she kept scooting closer to me and i was afraid i was going to get slapped with one of them the way her son kept jumping around on her legs and stomach. he too, was naked.
i bought some fabric this morning to make an outfit. hopefully jeneba will come with me to lamin to find the tailor who can make something nice. he started at 600 dalasi for 4 meters and then quickly settled for 200, so i have a feeling i could have gotten it down even more. next time. ebrima has a project with women who are making tie dye to support themselves so i may buy some of that as well. (nothing haight-ashbury like though - thankfully theyve not discovered rainbow).
nothing much more exciting to report as things seem to be getting on and im continuing to settle into my routine. unlikely to be back to an internet cafe until the weekend as wed-fri are my school days. appreciating the luxury of my time and the choice i have with it (´hmmm...feel like an omelet and coffee for breakfast today? i think iĺl head into brikama´)
hope you find the time to enjoy your omelet today!
yesterday ebrima took me into banjul to see the independence day celebrations. it was a big football field-like stadium where the president rode in in a hummer-limo, as well as the president of zambia and the president of cape verde (gave an extra clap for him in a shout out to my man sean williams...booyakaashaaahh!) after the president arrived, the army, marines, police and firefighters marched, did some sort of salute with guns, then hundreds of children from different schools all over the gambia marched, then the cultural parade of womenś groups, health groups, and other charities/ngos marched by. we left at that point because it was so hot i couldnt really take the heat. so we got home, i ate lunch (you guessed it, fish and rice!) and then collapsed on my bed listening to podcasts.
i´ve become a huge fan of NPRs ´this american life´ and i only bummed i didnt record the entire history as im nearly finished with the 8 hours i did bring. itś onto news and science and marketplace stories next, but those are likely to be dated. ah well.
a lot of things make me laugh here in africa. for example, walking through the dusty streets of lamin, the nearby inland village, asking for ćucumbers´ and NO ONE having any idea what im talking about. and then me talking to myself out loud on the same streets asking myself ´cucumber, a cucumber?´ (as in, ´i carried a watermelon?´ - girls from the 80s should get the reference).
and saturday night i was out with the girl id met on the plane who is from canada and also volunteerings. hers is a much more urban experience and she lives in a proper house with tile floors, a shower and toilet, electricity and running water. i discovered in the course of the day that sheś 22. and she referred to saturday night as her night out with a cougar. HA. that REALLY made me laugh. who knew i was a cougar at 32? brilliant! though very un-cougar like, we were in bed by 9:30, not trolling the cougar dens.
speaking of cougars (sort of) ... the grandmother of the compound came into jeneba´s living room yesterday to show us the new fabric she bought the girls for some new clothes ... and she was topless. completely topless. i tried to think of how my guests might react if MY grandmother walked into a room topless at my house, but decided that wasnt a thought i really wanted to be having (no disrespect to my grandmother!) and today, on the gellah gellah, the woman next to me pulled her top off to nurse her son, then called for the taxi to stop, and piled out of the car and onto the side of the road, still with her top around her shoulders and her sagging globe-like breasts hanging. which was just as well by me because she kept scooting closer to me and i was afraid i was going to get slapped with one of them the way her son kept jumping around on her legs and stomach. he too, was naked.
i bought some fabric this morning to make an outfit. hopefully jeneba will come with me to lamin to find the tailor who can make something nice. he started at 600 dalasi for 4 meters and then quickly settled for 200, so i have a feeling i could have gotten it down even more. next time. ebrima has a project with women who are making tie dye to support themselves so i may buy some of that as well. (nothing haight-ashbury like though - thankfully theyve not discovered rainbow).
nothing much more exciting to report as things seem to be getting on and im continuing to settle into my routine. unlikely to be back to an internet cafe until the weekend as wed-fri are my school days. appreciating the luxury of my time and the choice i have with it (´hmmm...feel like an omelet and coffee for breakfast today? i think iĺl head into brikama´)
hope you find the time to enjoy your omelet today!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
coffee and couches
it's a beautiful crisp morning here and (again) i treated myself to a coffee and croissant at le palais on my way back to the compound. as i was sipping my coffee, my mind was wandering (as it often does) to the life that awaits me in milwaukee and i found myself (shamefully? randomly?) thinking about the couch that we'll no doubt buy for our new house and how the cost of the couch could probably fund 5 nursery schools here in the gambia. and i got to wondering how i would ever rid myself of the guilt of spending money. ($120 for a pair of jeans? OR pencils and paper for an entire school for a year?) and then i got to thinking that perhaps somehow i might be able to at least continue to support the sarr family with whom i am living, and allow their kids to get to upper basic school, and then maybe even college, and then maybe with the condition that at least one of them must get abroad as part of their college experience.
but then i also started thinking, for what? so that they can see what they do not have, what they are missing, what they are unlikely ever to have in the gambia? so they can leave the compound and disrupt the cycle of family, leaving their uneducated mothers and grandmothers to fend for themselves in old age, to create a desire for more, when they are so perfectly content with what they have? to encourage fast living and the idea that more is better, bigger is better, money is king? so they can see that eating with their hands and running naked is not commonplace?
so it's a dilemma that i'm not sure how to view. i'm as yet undecided about this idea of progress. ebrima was telling me of a plan the government had to ban the import of crappy old cars into the gambia - but the people protested and the government backed down. because with these cars, and vans, some people are able to make a living (as taxi drivers) that they otherwise would not be able to make. same with the 'dead toubab' clothes i wrote of in the the previous blog. someone is making a buck from those, however small the buck.
perhaps by the time i leave here, i'll have a better understanding of what progress means in africa. perhaps they have a different definition of progress, of success, of happiness. i've seen glimpses of this.
and now i'm back to the compound for an afternoon with the children. tomorrow is independence day, so ebrima is taking me into the capital to see the celebrations! no school, no work, possibly a chance to see the president speak! maybe even some fireworks!
but then i also started thinking, for what? so that they can see what they do not have, what they are missing, what they are unlikely ever to have in the gambia? so they can leave the compound and disrupt the cycle of family, leaving their uneducated mothers and grandmothers to fend for themselves in old age, to create a desire for more, when they are so perfectly content with what they have? to encourage fast living and the idea that more is better, bigger is better, money is king? so they can see that eating with their hands and running naked is not commonplace?
so it's a dilemma that i'm not sure how to view. i'm as yet undecided about this idea of progress. ebrima was telling me of a plan the government had to ban the import of crappy old cars into the gambia - but the people protested and the government backed down. because with these cars, and vans, some people are able to make a living (as taxi drivers) that they otherwise would not be able to make. same with the 'dead toubab' clothes i wrote of in the the previous blog. someone is making a buck from those, however small the buck.
perhaps by the time i leave here, i'll have a better understanding of what progress means in africa. perhaps they have a different definition of progress, of success, of happiness. i've seen glimpses of this.
and now i'm back to the compound for an afternoon with the children. tomorrow is independence day, so ebrima is taking me into the capital to see the celebrations! no school, no work, possibly a chance to see the president speak! maybe even some fireworks!
crickets and karma
sitting in an internet cafe in bakau ... a new village for me. it's a coastal town, quite touristy and filled with african crafts, wooden giraffes (though as yet, i've not spotted a giraffe in the gambia), turtles and long necked women on batik prints. nothing that screams out at me to buy it - except for the men selling. 'hey nice lady, you want look?, come into my shop boss lady' ... no thank you.
i ended up staying the night in an extra room at an eccentric english woman's house in cape point last night. she is the landlady of the program manager and it's a beautiful place, with electricity and running water (and toilets!) - and she's happy for visitors to stay for a respite. caroline (the PM) came to makumbaya yesterday for a visit with some friends of her so they could see 'real' african life, and they brought me up for the night. i was going to head up anyway on saturday morning. so i just got a head start. as i said in a previous blog, you take a ride when you can get one! and today i'll go back to the beach - i'm meeting up with another girl i met on the plane who is also volunteering in the gambia. though hers sounds like more of an 'urban' experience. she's living in fajara with some english expats. it'll be interesting to swap stories and compare experiences.
per the last blog, i found the marriage proposal. all mistakes, his:
'High!
With the refernce of above mensioned school, I am a young teacher of 28 years of age.
And I would like use this visiting oppotunity to creat intimediate frienship which could easily lead us to the state of husband and wife.
I wish to stay to the expectations that, my dream will be giving go a head by your instant reply.
Thank you for your visit.
Yours faithfully,
Mr Alhassan Muhhammed Colley
Phone no xxxx '
sweet. but like the wooden giraffes and rasta beads in the stalls, no thanks!
so ... thursday night i killed a cricket in my parlour. i thought it was a cockroach, and i was going in for the kill when i realized it wasn't a cockroach but in fact a small cricket. i could've stopped myself, i had enough time. but i went ahead and smacked it with my flyswatter (another genius pack). and now i think i've got bad cricket juju. because that night, i had another cricket in my bedroom singing a very lonesome song. i think i'd killed its singing buddy, so it kept me awake all night whining and whimpering. i hope all is forgiven and it's gone by tomorrow night. it was incredibly LOUD!
i've decided that since there is no way i can kill all of the bugs in africa, to simply put up with them unless they are severely bothering me, or unless they are long legged spiders the size of silver dollars. (no sympathy for those, ever). some kind of bug fell into my bag of clothes and i searched for it for a few minute, couldn't find it, so gave up. if it would have fallen into my 'kitchen' (the bottom compartment of my rucksack) i would have turned the bag inside out ... but as long as it doesn't lay eggs on my trousers, i'll survive. like the fish heads in the rice, if i just don't think about it, i'm fine.
in brikama my peace corp friend pointed to the stalls in the market where they sell 'dead toubab' clothes, as they are called. and they really do get the dregs here of our old clothes. probably the stuff even goodwill is too ashamed to sell. 50 Cent is pretty big on t-shirts, as are Destiny's Child (with the old girls), and random t-shirts from bars, restaurants and events from around the world. yesterday, the teacher was wearing a shirt that said 'swizzle inn, bermuda' and on the back it said 'swizzle out' ... quite apropro as i looked over to see him falling asleep while the kids were working on their assignment. (!!) i'm trying to take a photo diary of the kids in the compound and their dress. it would be sad, if they weren't so happy and it wasn't so funny. some days they will wear traditional (as you would expect) african garb, beautiful dresses, with sequence and headscarves. other times, they'll wear raggedy pajamas, ripped shirts, oversized t-shirts, silky slips for skirts. but most of the time, it's a combintion of the two. so they might wear a lovely skirt, with an oversized Sean John t-shirt. i'll get some photos up o the blog so you can see what i mean.
and i've given up on concern for hygene when it comes to the kids. two things made me give up. firstly, kumba had something in her eye (pink eye or something similar has been going around the compound with the kids this week), and she came over to kaddy (pronounced haddy, i learned) who was sitting next to me and knelt in front of her. kaddy spread her eye open with two hands and leant over and blew very hard into her eye. (!!) despite a small protest from me, she did it again and again, with kumba's consent. i didn't get that. and secondly, i looked over to see assan a) attempting to mount a goat wearing nothing but his juju beads around his waste (AKA, naked). and then b) then scrubbing his undersides with the same brush that his mother was using to scrub the washing only minutes earlier. the mother's don't seem to mind, so why should i? but it's not surprising that whilst they are so good at sharing, they also share each others colds and germs and sicknesses. fatou and assan constantly have running noses. though i am trying to teach fatou to wipe her nose (especially before she hugs me, which she likes to do) by making the wiping motion with my finger under my nose. and fortunately, she's learning.
i just get used to carrying around my germ-X bottle of antiseptic and rinsing with that every hour or so. especially at school - because everyone wants to shake my hand. and again like the fish heads, i just can't think about it or i wouldn't touch anything or anyone here. so i just get on with it.
school was interesting this week. i went in to 'observe' this week to just get a feel for how things are run and what they do and where i can be of use. on my first day, the first grade teacher didn't show up for school, as sometimes happens, so i ended up teaching first grade for the morning. and yesterday, i filled in for forth grade and attempted to teach them about months (30 days has september, april, june and november .... etc) by the end, i think they understood. but it took a very long time, and their fourth grade is nothing like ours. very different levels. the biggest hit by far was 'making rain' .... that i learned at sixth grade science camp, where you start by rubbing hands together, then tapping two fingers, then four fingers, then hand claps, then pounding thighs, then chests, then finally banging desks. and repeat. i did that with grade one, grade four, and then at the school assembly with about 100 kids, and they all loved it. (or loved the toubab at the front of the class beating her chest like tarzan). either way, it kept them amused and occupied for a good 5 minutes. i would be VERY grateful for any simple games to play ... rainy day classroom games that kids can do at desks ... leave them on the blog or email if you would!
it's too early for me to write any solid reactions to the school and how it is run - because they would be my initial impressions without a real understanding of why things are done that way, and perhaps, why that is the only way that will work in the gambia. so i'll save school thoughts for a later blog.
of note though this week, my proposal was accepted and it looks like we'll be getting the money to build the nursery, so that is exciting! i'd like to aim for march 1/2 as the building weekend - but we'll see what the village development committee has to say and whether we can muster the support from the villagers for the labor.
and now, lest i spend an entire saturday in the internet cafe, i am moving onwards to the beach. hope you're enjoying your time wherever you are! xx
i ended up staying the night in an extra room at an eccentric english woman's house in cape point last night. she is the landlady of the program manager and it's a beautiful place, with electricity and running water (and toilets!) - and she's happy for visitors to stay for a respite. caroline (the PM) came to makumbaya yesterday for a visit with some friends of her so they could see 'real' african life, and they brought me up for the night. i was going to head up anyway on saturday morning. so i just got a head start. as i said in a previous blog, you take a ride when you can get one! and today i'll go back to the beach - i'm meeting up with another girl i met on the plane who is also volunteering in the gambia. though hers sounds like more of an 'urban' experience. she's living in fajara with some english expats. it'll be interesting to swap stories and compare experiences.
per the last blog, i found the marriage proposal. all mistakes, his:
'High!
With the refernce of above mensioned school, I am a young teacher of 28 years of age.
And I would like use this visiting oppotunity to creat intimediate frienship which could easily lead us to the state of husband and wife.
I wish to stay to the expectations that, my dream will be giving go a head by your instant reply.
Thank you for your visit.
Yours faithfully,
Mr Alhassan Muhhammed Colley
Phone no xxxx '
sweet. but like the wooden giraffes and rasta beads in the stalls, no thanks!
so ... thursday night i killed a cricket in my parlour. i thought it was a cockroach, and i was going in for the kill when i realized it wasn't a cockroach but in fact a small cricket. i could've stopped myself, i had enough time. but i went ahead and smacked it with my flyswatter (another genius pack). and now i think i've got bad cricket juju. because that night, i had another cricket in my bedroom singing a very lonesome song. i think i'd killed its singing buddy, so it kept me awake all night whining and whimpering. i hope all is forgiven and it's gone by tomorrow night. it was incredibly LOUD!
i've decided that since there is no way i can kill all of the bugs in africa, to simply put up with them unless they are severely bothering me, or unless they are long legged spiders the size of silver dollars. (no sympathy for those, ever). some kind of bug fell into my bag of clothes and i searched for it for a few minute, couldn't find it, so gave up. if it would have fallen into my 'kitchen' (the bottom compartment of my rucksack) i would have turned the bag inside out ... but as long as it doesn't lay eggs on my trousers, i'll survive. like the fish heads in the rice, if i just don't think about it, i'm fine.
in brikama my peace corp friend pointed to the stalls in the market where they sell 'dead toubab' clothes, as they are called. and they really do get the dregs here of our old clothes. probably the stuff even goodwill is too ashamed to sell. 50 Cent is pretty big on t-shirts, as are Destiny's Child (with the old girls), and random t-shirts from bars, restaurants and events from around the world. yesterday, the teacher was wearing a shirt that said 'swizzle inn, bermuda' and on the back it said 'swizzle out' ... quite apropro as i looked over to see him falling asleep while the kids were working on their assignment. (!!) i'm trying to take a photo diary of the kids in the compound and their dress. it would be sad, if they weren't so happy and it wasn't so funny. some days they will wear traditional (as you would expect) african garb, beautiful dresses, with sequence and headscarves. other times, they'll wear raggedy pajamas, ripped shirts, oversized t-shirts, silky slips for skirts. but most of the time, it's a combintion of the two. so they might wear a lovely skirt, with an oversized Sean John t-shirt. i'll get some photos up o the blog so you can see what i mean.
and i've given up on concern for hygene when it comes to the kids. two things made me give up. firstly, kumba had something in her eye (pink eye or something similar has been going around the compound with the kids this week), and she came over to kaddy (pronounced haddy, i learned) who was sitting next to me and knelt in front of her. kaddy spread her eye open with two hands and leant over and blew very hard into her eye. (!!) despite a small protest from me, she did it again and again, with kumba's consent. i didn't get that. and secondly, i looked over to see assan a) attempting to mount a goat wearing nothing but his juju beads around his waste (AKA, naked). and then b) then scrubbing his undersides with the same brush that his mother was using to scrub the washing only minutes earlier. the mother's don't seem to mind, so why should i? but it's not surprising that whilst they are so good at sharing, they also share each others colds and germs and sicknesses. fatou and assan constantly have running noses. though i am trying to teach fatou to wipe her nose (especially before she hugs me, which she likes to do) by making the wiping motion with my finger under my nose. and fortunately, she's learning.
i just get used to carrying around my germ-X bottle of antiseptic and rinsing with that every hour or so. especially at school - because everyone wants to shake my hand. and again like the fish heads, i just can't think about it or i wouldn't touch anything or anyone here. so i just get on with it.
school was interesting this week. i went in to 'observe' this week to just get a feel for how things are run and what they do and where i can be of use. on my first day, the first grade teacher didn't show up for school, as sometimes happens, so i ended up teaching first grade for the morning. and yesterday, i filled in for forth grade and attempted to teach them about months (30 days has september, april, june and november .... etc) by the end, i think they understood. but it took a very long time, and their fourth grade is nothing like ours. very different levels. the biggest hit by far was 'making rain' .... that i learned at sixth grade science camp, where you start by rubbing hands together, then tapping two fingers, then four fingers, then hand claps, then pounding thighs, then chests, then finally banging desks. and repeat. i did that with grade one, grade four, and then at the school assembly with about 100 kids, and they all loved it. (or loved the toubab at the front of the class beating her chest like tarzan). either way, it kept them amused and occupied for a good 5 minutes. i would be VERY grateful for any simple games to play ... rainy day classroom games that kids can do at desks ... leave them on the blog or email if you would!
it's too early for me to write any solid reactions to the school and how it is run - because they would be my initial impressions without a real understanding of why things are done that way, and perhaps, why that is the only way that will work in the gambia. so i'll save school thoughts for a later blog.
of note though this week, my proposal was accepted and it looks like we'll be getting the money to build the nursery, so that is exciting! i'd like to aim for march 1/2 as the building weekend - but we'll see what the village development committee has to say and whether we can muster the support from the villagers for the labor.
and now, lest i spend an entire saturday in the internet cafe, i am moving onwards to the beach. hope you're enjoying your time wherever you are! xx
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
and on the twelfth day ... she ate RICE
starting to worry slightly that it's only been twelve days here and i'm already getting sick of rice. that's not entirely true. i'm more sick of the idea of eating rice and what loading up on carbohydrates at 8pm is doing to my body than the rice itself. lately i've been picking off the toppings and eating around the rice, with a few spoonfuls of rice for good measure, and so not to offend the cooks. the fish is good for protein, but i have to just swallow without looking or thinking too much about it, and ignore the crunch of the small bones. slowly slowly, i'll get used to it.
but today, i had to come into fajara to register with the american embassy. and fajara has a supermarket, so i stopped and loaded up on TERRIBLE foodstuffs that included a jar of pringles (bbq flavored), animal crackers, a kitkat and a lemon fanta. never shop when you're hungry, they say. but my real aim of going to the supermarket was to find a tupperware container so that i can buy some fresh vegetables like cucumber, carrots and tomatoes and make myself a salad. i am desperate for some vegetables! they don't sell carrots and cucumbers everywhere, but the american peace corps guy i met showed me the stall in brikama where i can find them. and i'm hoping to find a few on my way back in serrakunda today.
the weekend at the hotel was lovely, if quiet, but that is exactly what i wanted. it was a small hotel (12 rooms) tucked away down the dusty streets of fajara and once-inside, was practically self contained with a pool and tropical trees surrounding the area, a restaurant, bar and even a book-swap. (though most of the books were in german). i got there on saturday afternoon and didn't leave all day. on sunday morning, i got up and went for a long walk down the beach, and then back to the hotel for breakfast, and then back to the beach to sit under a cabana and read and enjoy the waves crashing. very peaceful.
this is week two and it is the final week i am giving myself to piece things together and get things organized before i really jump in and GO here. tomorrow i am going to the school to talk about how i can be of use there and where they need me the most. i managed to run into the other english woman who teaches at the school full time in the bus garage in brikama yesterday, so she and i talked for about an hour about her experiences (mostly good) and what i can do. and it's going to be hard to know any more than that until i just get in there and start! but as i am attempting two projects while i'm here, the teaching and building up of the nursery school, i've decided to try to split my time with mon/wed/fri at the school and tue/thu working on the nursery school. apart from just building it, i also want to leave them with an idea of curriculum and how to run it so that they have a training manual for any new hires and/or volunteers.
ebrima's brother is in town from senegal staying in the compound and he continues to ask me to be his african wife. he is not the only one. i've had several offers. one even formally wrote me a note and handed it to me as i was leaving the school asking me to call him immediately and without haste because he would like that we get married straightaway if it would please me. (i should find the note and copy it here, it's actually quite funny!) but i don't know ... i think i'll hold out for a better offer! :)
the children in the compound continue to amuse me. i love them, they are the sweetest children - so loving and so generous and each with their own distinct personality. haddy is the oldest, at 8 years, and she is the mother of them all, barking orders and commanding respect in her tiny shrill voice. she is also a singer and is constantly teaching me new songs, and also loves to be photographed: 'meagan, you take picture of me now?' kumba and yabo are both 6 years, and equally as loving, though yabo is quieter in her affection. kumba has the most mischievous grin but is entirely respectful. and the little ones, all around 3-4 i would guess are equally as adorable. the way they play together, without crying, or fighting or competing. it's as if as early as 3 they understand the lesson ebrima spoke to me about the other day. 'today is for you, tomorrow is for me' ... when there are treats to be shared, they are shared equally, when someone is hurt, they all do the comforting. there is none of this 'me me me' 'mine mine mine' 'no no no' so commonly heard in western children. they are amazingly obedient.
that said, i have no idea what the women are yelling when they talk/yell - they could well be saying 'get your little ass over here or i'm going to smack you so hard ...' but i doubt that. sometimes sitting with them is like playing that game of watching foreign movies and self-dubbing. i can only imagine, based on their gestures, eyes, expressions and intonations, what they are possibly saying. and much of it would still probably get lost in translation.
jeneba asks me into her parlour every night after dinner. she has the parlour with sofas and chairs (think sutherland square sofas after about 10 years) and a TV and radio and all the amenities for evening entertainment. usually the teenage boys are in there, dancing and singing, and the girls sometimes dance too. dancing to african music from a warbled cassette. it's fun to watch them. but after awhile, i get tired, so i excuse myself and head to my room to read.
i'm still working out the relationships of everyone on the compound. each day i learn something new - but it's interesting to watch how they interact. the 'wives' seem to get on much better with each other and with the teenage boys, with whom they are probably closer in age, than with their husbands. in fact, what little i do see of the husband-wife interaction seems obligatory and somewhat stilted. and in fact, ebrima spoke to me today about his wife and how he is only married because his mother wanted him to have a wife because if you do not have a wife in africa, you are not a man and something must be wrong with you. he had a previous wife but she gave him troubles because she would go out to the dancehalls until 2am. so they separated. i can't imagine i'll understand african relationships in the 3 months i'm here, but slowly slowly, i'm trying to ask questions, without appearing nosy. when i asked jeneba what she thought when she first saw her (arranged) husband, she said 'nothing. i did not think anything.' which, in itself, was quite telling, i thought.
in any case, i must slowly make my way back to the village. fortunately, i have not discovered that i am impatient person. in fact, i am growing used to waiting for everything. waiting without exasperation. won't i be the model customer at the milwaukee DMV?
until next time ... xx
but today, i had to come into fajara to register with the american embassy. and fajara has a supermarket, so i stopped and loaded up on TERRIBLE foodstuffs that included a jar of pringles (bbq flavored), animal crackers, a kitkat and a lemon fanta. never shop when you're hungry, they say. but my real aim of going to the supermarket was to find a tupperware container so that i can buy some fresh vegetables like cucumber, carrots and tomatoes and make myself a salad. i am desperate for some vegetables! they don't sell carrots and cucumbers everywhere, but the american peace corps guy i met showed me the stall in brikama where i can find them. and i'm hoping to find a few on my way back in serrakunda today.
the weekend at the hotel was lovely, if quiet, but that is exactly what i wanted. it was a small hotel (12 rooms) tucked away down the dusty streets of fajara and once-inside, was practically self contained with a pool and tropical trees surrounding the area, a restaurant, bar and even a book-swap. (though most of the books were in german). i got there on saturday afternoon and didn't leave all day. on sunday morning, i got up and went for a long walk down the beach, and then back to the hotel for breakfast, and then back to the beach to sit under a cabana and read and enjoy the waves crashing. very peaceful.
this is week two and it is the final week i am giving myself to piece things together and get things organized before i really jump in and GO here. tomorrow i am going to the school to talk about how i can be of use there and where they need me the most. i managed to run into the other english woman who teaches at the school full time in the bus garage in brikama yesterday, so she and i talked for about an hour about her experiences (mostly good) and what i can do. and it's going to be hard to know any more than that until i just get in there and start! but as i am attempting two projects while i'm here, the teaching and building up of the nursery school, i've decided to try to split my time with mon/wed/fri at the school and tue/thu working on the nursery school. apart from just building it, i also want to leave them with an idea of curriculum and how to run it so that they have a training manual for any new hires and/or volunteers.
ebrima's brother is in town from senegal staying in the compound and he continues to ask me to be his african wife. he is not the only one. i've had several offers. one even formally wrote me a note and handed it to me as i was leaving the school asking me to call him immediately and without haste because he would like that we get married straightaway if it would please me. (i should find the note and copy it here, it's actually quite funny!) but i don't know ... i think i'll hold out for a better offer! :)
the children in the compound continue to amuse me. i love them, they are the sweetest children - so loving and so generous and each with their own distinct personality. haddy is the oldest, at 8 years, and she is the mother of them all, barking orders and commanding respect in her tiny shrill voice. she is also a singer and is constantly teaching me new songs, and also loves to be photographed: 'meagan, you take picture of me now?' kumba and yabo are both 6 years, and equally as loving, though yabo is quieter in her affection. kumba has the most mischievous grin but is entirely respectful. and the little ones, all around 3-4 i would guess are equally as adorable. the way they play together, without crying, or fighting or competing. it's as if as early as 3 they understand the lesson ebrima spoke to me about the other day. 'today is for you, tomorrow is for me' ... when there are treats to be shared, they are shared equally, when someone is hurt, they all do the comforting. there is none of this 'me me me' 'mine mine mine' 'no no no' so commonly heard in western children. they are amazingly obedient.
that said, i have no idea what the women are yelling when they talk/yell - they could well be saying 'get your little ass over here or i'm going to smack you so hard ...' but i doubt that. sometimes sitting with them is like playing that game of watching foreign movies and self-dubbing. i can only imagine, based on their gestures, eyes, expressions and intonations, what they are possibly saying. and much of it would still probably get lost in translation.
jeneba asks me into her parlour every night after dinner. she has the parlour with sofas and chairs (think sutherland square sofas after about 10 years) and a TV and radio and all the amenities for evening entertainment. usually the teenage boys are in there, dancing and singing, and the girls sometimes dance too. dancing to african music from a warbled cassette. it's fun to watch them. but after awhile, i get tired, so i excuse myself and head to my room to read.
i'm still working out the relationships of everyone on the compound. each day i learn something new - but it's interesting to watch how they interact. the 'wives' seem to get on much better with each other and with the teenage boys, with whom they are probably closer in age, than with their husbands. in fact, what little i do see of the husband-wife interaction seems obligatory and somewhat stilted. and in fact, ebrima spoke to me today about his wife and how he is only married because his mother wanted him to have a wife because if you do not have a wife in africa, you are not a man and something must be wrong with you. he had a previous wife but she gave him troubles because she would go out to the dancehalls until 2am. so they separated. i can't imagine i'll understand african relationships in the 3 months i'm here, but slowly slowly, i'm trying to ask questions, without appearing nosy. when i asked jeneba what she thought when she first saw her (arranged) husband, she said 'nothing. i did not think anything.' which, in itself, was quite telling, i thought.
in any case, i must slowly make my way back to the village. fortunately, i have not discovered that i am impatient person. in fact, i am growing used to waiting for everything. waiting without exasperation. won't i be the model customer at the milwaukee DMV?
until next time ... xx
Saturday, February 9, 2008
roosters at dawn ...
... have become my daily alarm clock. they start around 5:30 and really pick up the pace around 6:30 ... so that by 6:45, it becomes nearly impossible to sleep any longer. which is just as well because my bed sags in the middle and i think it's rather bad for my back anyway. plus the early morning is one of my favorite times in the gambia because it's cool and the sky is shades of pinks and oranges. as i think i've said before, i'm trying to establish a routine ... which now includes 1/2 hour of yoga in my 'parlour' room, strawberry jam on the tapalapa bread and a ripe green orange to wash it down. the french could learn a thing or two from the bread here, it's absolutely amazing!
i've come into fajara this morning because the ride was leaving the village so i left when he did. i had planned to spend a nice morning cleaning my rooms and relaxing on the compound, but when the ride goes, you go! i've spent the last three mornigs waiting at least an hour and a half each time to get to brikama, so i didn't want to risk waiting around. actually, yesterday, as i was waiting, there was a naming ceremony taking place (they do this on the 7th day of life). there were loads of people gathered at the alkalo's house (the village chief, who coincidentally, looks a lot like our family friend chuck, only black, obviously). i think i was probably expected to give a present (one woman tugged at my sarong-come-scarf saying it would be a nice gift for the mother) but since i wasn't really expecting to attend, i didn't have anything to give. they gave me a piece of white, chalk-like candy (?) that looked a bit like the soap they throw into their laundry. but i say candy because it had a vaguely sweet taste, i have no idea what it was. only that everyone was eating it and seemed to enjoy it. i split mine up when i got back to the 'bus stop' (the log under the in the village center) and shared it with the ladies who were also hoping to get to brikama some time that day.
the center of the village has a market every morning. though to call it market makes it sound more elaborate than it is. in reality, it's 10-12 stalls, and by stalls, i mean women with a cloth spread on the ground with piles of tomatoes, or hot peppers (the really firey ones that they sell in brixton market, can't recall their names), okra, miniature eggplant, onions, spices in plastic bags, and fish (both fresh and dried) swarming with flies. i'm still trying to get my head around their economy. they are all selling identical wares, i'm not sure how i would know who to buy from, or what it would mean if i bought from one and not the other. or should i take turns?
the same goes for the sellers in the brikama taxi garage where i sit at the end of the days waiting to return to makumbaya. they walk around with fake rolex watches, plastic toys, mirrors, racks of cheap earrings and necklaces, generic toothbrushes, hair picks. and there are at least a dozen guys with the same exact stuff wandering from bush taxi to bush taxi, hoping that someone will buy through the window. but really, who buys this stuff? they are selling to each other, it's not as if there are many out-of-towners waiting in the stands. i definitely give them credit for the entrepreneurial spirit - because at least they are doing SOMETHING to make a living. but it seems a little odd. you'd think that one guy might think it clever to think of something ORIGINAL to sell - to position himself slightly different than his comrades. it's amusing.
but luckily the boys with 1 dalasi fresh coconut pieces come by every so often, and the girls with bags of purified water for 2 dalasi also wander between the taxis. (you're meant to bite the end and sip). and the tapalapa at 4 dalasi/stick. those are my daily treasures.
other random things:
* sleeping with dust is not so bad
* i thought i had mice, i think they are actually lizards and i'm getting used to their sounds at night.
* the sound as i lay reading at night is actually a call to prayer by the mosque and NOT a mosquito buzzing around my net, as i first thought.
* conversation is everywhere if i open myself up to it.
* yesterday i learned how to say 'my name is NOT toubab, my name is meagan' - and now the kids call me meagan.
* thank you to jason for the headlamp and lynne for the sheets!
* a jul brew (beer) is 25 dalasi and tastes very good on a hot day!
* rice pudding for dinner is not so bad
i am going to sign off now because i want to enjoy a REAL coffee at the only place i've found in the gambia that serves filter coffee and not nescafe ... but if i wait too much longer, it'll be too hot to appreciate. it's 10.42am on saturday! i'm treating myself to a night at a hotel tonight and 2 days on the beach in the shade to read and relax. (as if life is stressful, ha!)
enjoy the weekend!
i've come into fajara this morning because the ride was leaving the village so i left when he did. i had planned to spend a nice morning cleaning my rooms and relaxing on the compound, but when the ride goes, you go! i've spent the last three mornigs waiting at least an hour and a half each time to get to brikama, so i didn't want to risk waiting around. actually, yesterday, as i was waiting, there was a naming ceremony taking place (they do this on the 7th day of life). there were loads of people gathered at the alkalo's house (the village chief, who coincidentally, looks a lot like our family friend chuck, only black, obviously). i think i was probably expected to give a present (one woman tugged at my sarong-come-scarf saying it would be a nice gift for the mother) but since i wasn't really expecting to attend, i didn't have anything to give. they gave me a piece of white, chalk-like candy (?) that looked a bit like the soap they throw into their laundry. but i say candy because it had a vaguely sweet taste, i have no idea what it was. only that everyone was eating it and seemed to enjoy it. i split mine up when i got back to the 'bus stop' (the log under the in the village center) and shared it with the ladies who were also hoping to get to brikama some time that day.
the center of the village has a market every morning. though to call it market makes it sound more elaborate than it is. in reality, it's 10-12 stalls, and by stalls, i mean women with a cloth spread on the ground with piles of tomatoes, or hot peppers (the really firey ones that they sell in brixton market, can't recall their names), okra, miniature eggplant, onions, spices in plastic bags, and fish (both fresh and dried) swarming with flies. i'm still trying to get my head around their economy. they are all selling identical wares, i'm not sure how i would know who to buy from, or what it would mean if i bought from one and not the other. or should i take turns?
the same goes for the sellers in the brikama taxi garage where i sit at the end of the days waiting to return to makumbaya. they walk around with fake rolex watches, plastic toys, mirrors, racks of cheap earrings and necklaces, generic toothbrushes, hair picks. and there are at least a dozen guys with the same exact stuff wandering from bush taxi to bush taxi, hoping that someone will buy through the window. but really, who buys this stuff? they are selling to each other, it's not as if there are many out-of-towners waiting in the stands. i definitely give them credit for the entrepreneurial spirit - because at least they are doing SOMETHING to make a living. but it seems a little odd. you'd think that one guy might think it clever to think of something ORIGINAL to sell - to position himself slightly different than his comrades. it's amusing.
but luckily the boys with 1 dalasi fresh coconut pieces come by every so often, and the girls with bags of purified water for 2 dalasi also wander between the taxis. (you're meant to bite the end and sip). and the tapalapa at 4 dalasi/stick. those are my daily treasures.
other random things:
* sleeping with dust is not so bad
* i thought i had mice, i think they are actually lizards and i'm getting used to their sounds at night.
* the sound as i lay reading at night is actually a call to prayer by the mosque and NOT a mosquito buzzing around my net, as i first thought.
* conversation is everywhere if i open myself up to it.
* yesterday i learned how to say 'my name is NOT toubab, my name is meagan' - and now the kids call me meagan.
* thank you to jason for the headlamp and lynne for the sheets!
* a jul brew (beer) is 25 dalasi and tastes very good on a hot day!
* rice pudding for dinner is not so bad
i am going to sign off now because i want to enjoy a REAL coffee at the only place i've found in the gambia that serves filter coffee and not nescafe ... but if i wait too much longer, it'll be too hot to appreciate. it's 10.42am on saturday! i'm treating myself to a night at a hotel tonight and 2 days on the beach in the shade to read and relax. (as if life is stressful, ha!)
enjoy the weekend!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
finally ... a connection!
i´ve been patiently waiting in this internet cafe for nearly 2 1/2 hours for the connection to work so that i could send an email. FINALLY it comes on! i need to send an email to mondochallenge to ask them for some funds for the nursery project. we´ve spoken to a local masoner who has given us a list of supplies - which come to nearly 150 GBP ($300) - and the village will provide the labor if we can get the supplies.i think i could probably set up a paypal account and ask you, dear readers, to forego a glass of wine or a meal out this weekend and contribute and we´d have it covered ... but thatś not really the point. or at least not yet. i want to show ebrima how to write a proposal and ask for funds to see if we can do this ourselves. but watch this space as i may ask for a bit of money for supplies, if we can get the darn thing up. if i can do that while i here, iĺl feel like i´ve accomplished something. so i think iĺl spend the mornings at hte school and the afternoons working on the nursery.
the women in my compound are amazing in the way that they just get on with things, never complaining, always smiling. yesterday, the three women crushed corn into powder (maize?) for the breakfast porridge. to do this they put popcorn in a huge wooden mortar - and by huge, i´m talking about a 2 1/2 foot mortar - and each took a pestle sticks the size of a small child and - all at once, in turns - ground the corn by pounding it rhythmically. jeneba, even threw her stick in the air with a clap in between to keep the time. amazing. and one of the women had her small baby wrapped around her back with a cloth.
they also spend most afternoons washing clothes. by hand, of course. scrubbing and rinsing and rinsing and scrubbing and then hanging in the afternoon heat to dry. and then thereś the ironing of the husbands outfits. and this is an iron that i´d only expect to see in a museum ... filled with coal to get it hot (imagine!), and the cooking, and the preparing of food, picking out the black bits in the rice (dirt? bad rice? who knows?), and when itś too hot to do anything else, just sitting and sleeping. slowly slowly, things here get done.
and the noise. OH the noise of africa! it is so loud here! everyone knows everyone elseś business, there are no dividing lines between what is acceptable to share and what is not. so they shout, at their children, and each otherś children, at each other. but not in an aggressive way - just in a decibel that my ear is not accustomed to. i´m getting used to it though, and can actually let it float like a melody while i rest under the mango trees with them. (they will not have me sitting on my own, ever.)
i came to brikama on my own today. my first solo adventure. and itś much nicer to feel independent like this. i treated myself to an omelet and a coffee (nescafe with VERY sweet condensed milk) for 15 dalasi (around 35p/70c). and when it cools, iĺl make my way back to the bus taxi garage to find the gellah gellah to take me back again for 7 dalasi.
until next time ... salaa maleekum!
the women in my compound are amazing in the way that they just get on with things, never complaining, always smiling. yesterday, the three women crushed corn into powder (maize?) for the breakfast porridge. to do this they put popcorn in a huge wooden mortar - and by huge, i´m talking about a 2 1/2 foot mortar - and each took a pestle sticks the size of a small child and - all at once, in turns - ground the corn by pounding it rhythmically. jeneba, even threw her stick in the air with a clap in between to keep the time. amazing. and one of the women had her small baby wrapped around her back with a cloth.
they also spend most afternoons washing clothes. by hand, of course. scrubbing and rinsing and rinsing and scrubbing and then hanging in the afternoon heat to dry. and then thereś the ironing of the husbands outfits. and this is an iron that i´d only expect to see in a museum ... filled with coal to get it hot (imagine!), and the cooking, and the preparing of food, picking out the black bits in the rice (dirt? bad rice? who knows?), and when itś too hot to do anything else, just sitting and sleeping. slowly slowly, things here get done.
and the noise. OH the noise of africa! it is so loud here! everyone knows everyone elseś business, there are no dividing lines between what is acceptable to share and what is not. so they shout, at their children, and each otherś children, at each other. but not in an aggressive way - just in a decibel that my ear is not accustomed to. i´m getting used to it though, and can actually let it float like a melody while i rest under the mango trees with them. (they will not have me sitting on my own, ever.)
i came to brikama on my own today. my first solo adventure. and itś much nicer to feel independent like this. i treated myself to an omelet and a coffee (nescafe with VERY sweet condensed milk) for 15 dalasi (around 35p/70c). and when it cools, iĺl make my way back to the bus taxi garage to find the gellah gellah to take me back again for 7 dalasi.
until next time ... salaa maleekum!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
´today is for you, tomorrow is for me´
i was walking with my host father, ebrima, today and he told me that this is how africa operates, and why people are so ready to give and share. if today i share with you, maybe tomorrow, you will share with me. a lovely way to look at the world.
yesterday was tough. in part, i think, because ebrima was waiting (kindly) for me and i felt rushed. (!! rushed in africa?? !! thatś my own fault, not his!) in any case, i find that the heat of mid day really wears on me. i think iĺl need to start structuring my days so that i work in the early morning and again at night. after the internet cafe yesterday, i sat in a gelleh gellah in the hot sun for an hour and a half waiting for the drivers to finish their socializing and attaya (green sweet chinese tea) and for the bus to fill so we could go. girls walking around with bags of water on their heads for sale, boys with coconut slices for sale, all stopping by the window of the van hoping i would oblige. i did on a few occasions, for 1-2 dalasis each. a nice treat on a hot day. i also made conversation with a village boy and another woman, wrote in my journal and read a bit of john irving.
imagine a flea market lokoing space with van after van and stalls of food and rubish on the ground and people everywhere. at one point, a goat ran through the parking lot, bleating loudly and looking lost and scared and out of place. i completely identified with that goat yesterday.
but today i feel much better. (thank you for your kind comments, posters!) we made it back to brikama because ebrima has a meeting and i needed to change money and buy a new phone as mine isn really getting signal. and i getting the hang of the taxis, and the morning exchanges, and seeing the girls off to school, and had a banana for breakfast, so routine is slowly beginning.
the evenings here are lovely as well, as the sun sets and it begins to cool. i went for a walk around the outskirts of the village on my own, walking slowly. all the kids come out to look at me and wave and are thrilled when i wave back. then they follow me for my journey - the timid ones keeping their distance and finding the courage to shout at me from afar. and the more confident kids running up to me with their sing-song ´how are youuuuuuuuu?´ ´i am fiiiiiiiiiiine´ - clearly the bits of english they are taught first in school.
the sun in africa is HUGE. and the setting suns are amazing. but the stars at night are even MORE amazing. i dont think ive seen such amazing night skies. i must make an effort to stay up later to watch them. and so far the mosquitos havent been too bad.
this machine keeps crashing so im going to post this before i lose it.
salaa maleekum!
yesterday was tough. in part, i think, because ebrima was waiting (kindly) for me and i felt rushed. (!! rushed in africa?? !! thatś my own fault, not his!) in any case, i find that the heat of mid day really wears on me. i think iĺl need to start structuring my days so that i work in the early morning and again at night. after the internet cafe yesterday, i sat in a gelleh gellah in the hot sun for an hour and a half waiting for the drivers to finish their socializing and attaya (green sweet chinese tea) and for the bus to fill so we could go. girls walking around with bags of water on their heads for sale, boys with coconut slices for sale, all stopping by the window of the van hoping i would oblige. i did on a few occasions, for 1-2 dalasis each. a nice treat on a hot day. i also made conversation with a village boy and another woman, wrote in my journal and read a bit of john irving.
imagine a flea market lokoing space with van after van and stalls of food and rubish on the ground and people everywhere. at one point, a goat ran through the parking lot, bleating loudly and looking lost and scared and out of place. i completely identified with that goat yesterday.
but today i feel much better. (thank you for your kind comments, posters!) we made it back to brikama because ebrima has a meeting and i needed to change money and buy a new phone as mine isn really getting signal. and i getting the hang of the taxis, and the morning exchanges, and seeing the girls off to school, and had a banana for breakfast, so routine is slowly beginning.
the evenings here are lovely as well, as the sun sets and it begins to cool. i went for a walk around the outskirts of the village on my own, walking slowly. all the kids come out to look at me and wave and are thrilled when i wave back. then they follow me for my journey - the timid ones keeping their distance and finding the courage to shout at me from afar. and the more confident kids running up to me with their sing-song ´how are youuuuuuuuu?´ ´i am fiiiiiiiiiiine´ - clearly the bits of english they are taught first in school.
the sun in africa is HUGE. and the setting suns are amazing. but the stars at night are even MORE amazing. i dont think ive seen such amazing night skies. i must make an effort to stay up later to watch them. and so far the mosquitos havent been too bad.
this machine keeps crashing so im going to post this before i lose it.
salaa maleekum!
Monday, February 4, 2008
never look a hungry goat in the eye ...
i in an internet cafe in brikama, the nearest big town. but i hardly call it big. typing on quite possibly the worst keyboard i´ve ever used. it took about 2 hours to get here in two gellah gellahs (minivans with about 18 africans and me crammed in) they come through the village a few times a day, and you have to know where they are going before you get in.
i can´t even begin to describe this so far. not least because this bloody keyboard won let me. i´ve gone, and continue to go through, just about every emotion. on the one hand, itś amazing. crazy. chaotic. mayhem. exciting. but on the other hand, itś disturbing, sad, frustrating and slow. the slowness hasnt bothered me yet.
im living with a village elder and his family. he is a very respected man around the village, he gets things done. he lives with his wife (18 years old), his brother and his two wives and their kids (7 in toatl), and a few teenage boys, haven worked out their connection yet. they´ve all been very welcoming, as has everyone ive met. one of the women speaks english a bit, fairly well, and he (ebrima) also speaks it. apart from that, everyone speaks mandinka or fula. so i think i will have a lot of time on my own to think, read, etc. though they rarely leave me to myself, always asking me to come sit with them under the mango tree.
i have 2 rooms, one sitting room with a simple couch, and a bedroom with a abed a table and a bench. then the door in the back opens onto my own shower and toilet area. the toilet is literally a hole in the ground the size of a folgers crystals can. aim is everything. and then the toilet has a heavy cover that you drag on and off. showering outside is actually quite nice. and itś completely private. all in all, the compound is much nicer than i thought it would be.
for food, the family eat thre etimes a day. yesterday i arrived in time for lunch. the women prepare it. it was a huge silver salad bowl of rice and one fish on top, with some sort of tomato sauce. they are big on their maggi here. (salty seasoning). the men eat separately, the women share one bowl. i shared with them. they eat with their right hand, rolling the rice into balls and then breaking off pieces of the fish and eating those too. no veg apart from the tomatoes. we had the same again for dinner. jeneba (the english speaking woman) would tear soem fish off and throw it in front of me. (youŕe not supposed to reach across), and the kids also eat from this bowl, so they are grabbing too. not the most hygenic but i suppose they are family. not sure how i am going to continue - i started with them, but may ask for my own bowl. i am going to buy some fruit at the market here in brikama to take back for my room. i think losing weight won´t be a problem.
there is so much more to write about, but this damn keyboard cannot keep up the pace.
i went to the school today. the kids stand up when i walk in and sing-song ´hello teacher, hello friend´ ... very cute, but also sad. some of the classes had no teachers, they hadn shown up yet - because they have to travel to get there. there is a german guy named andreas also teaching. heś probably early twenties, as part of his teaching course. i may tag along with some of his classes to see how he deals. i don´t quite get how it works here. apart from the fact that itś completely and entirely different from anything i´ve known.
iĺl try to explain more about the projects when i get my head around it. so far, i cant quite imagine how im going to be of any use here.
anyhow, must sign off for now. more whenever i can. xx
i can´t even begin to describe this so far. not least because this bloody keyboard won let me. i´ve gone, and continue to go through, just about every emotion. on the one hand, itś amazing. crazy. chaotic. mayhem. exciting. but on the other hand, itś disturbing, sad, frustrating and slow. the slowness hasnt bothered me yet.
im living with a village elder and his family. he is a very respected man around the village, he gets things done. he lives with his wife (18 years old), his brother and his two wives and their kids (7 in toatl), and a few teenage boys, haven worked out their connection yet. they´ve all been very welcoming, as has everyone ive met. one of the women speaks english a bit, fairly well, and he (ebrima) also speaks it. apart from that, everyone speaks mandinka or fula. so i think i will have a lot of time on my own to think, read, etc. though they rarely leave me to myself, always asking me to come sit with them under the mango tree.
i have 2 rooms, one sitting room with a simple couch, and a bedroom with a abed a table and a bench. then the door in the back opens onto my own shower and toilet area. the toilet is literally a hole in the ground the size of a folgers crystals can. aim is everything. and then the toilet has a heavy cover that you drag on and off. showering outside is actually quite nice. and itś completely private. all in all, the compound is much nicer than i thought it would be.
for food, the family eat thre etimes a day. yesterday i arrived in time for lunch. the women prepare it. it was a huge silver salad bowl of rice and one fish on top, with some sort of tomato sauce. they are big on their maggi here. (salty seasoning). the men eat separately, the women share one bowl. i shared with them. they eat with their right hand, rolling the rice into balls and then breaking off pieces of the fish and eating those too. no veg apart from the tomatoes. we had the same again for dinner. jeneba (the english speaking woman) would tear soem fish off and throw it in front of me. (youŕe not supposed to reach across), and the kids also eat from this bowl, so they are grabbing too. not the most hygenic but i suppose they are family. not sure how i am going to continue - i started with them, but may ask for my own bowl. i am going to buy some fruit at the market here in brikama to take back for my room. i think losing weight won´t be a problem.
there is so much more to write about, but this damn keyboard cannot keep up the pace.
i went to the school today. the kids stand up when i walk in and sing-song ´hello teacher, hello friend´ ... very cute, but also sad. some of the classes had no teachers, they hadn shown up yet - because they have to travel to get there. there is a german guy named andreas also teaching. heś probably early twenties, as part of his teaching course. i may tag along with some of his classes to see how he deals. i don´t quite get how it works here. apart from the fact that itś completely and entirely different from anything i´ve known.
iĺl try to explain more about the projects when i get my head around it. so far, i cant quite imagine how im going to be of any use here.
anyhow, must sign off for now. more whenever i can. xx
Saturday, February 2, 2008
i'm here, alive and well (and hot!)
just a quick note while i can use the computer at the peace corps offices to say that i'm here. i've landed. it's been a whirlwind of 24 hours ... i've just had a two hour mandinka language lesson. i don't think i'd really clocked that learning a new language would be part of this experience. (typical of an american traveler, 'they will speak english, no?') but NO ... they probably won't. so i've learned the greetings. and they are brilliant and go on for a few minutes.
how is the morning?
the morning is here only.
how are you?
i am here.
hope you sleep with peace
peace only.
and how are the people in the village.
the people are there.
i love it. they totally live in the present. even the language structure would say so. brilliant!
today, as i said in an earlier blog, is set setal, so the morning was very quiet with everyone in their compounds cleaning. caroline, the country manager, and i went down to a very cool place by the beach to sit and have breakfast and talk. i'm very excited about what will come, if a little nervous. i've decided that if i am able to accomplish one thing per day, i will be satisfied here. (and that could just be a simple conversation!)
there are goats roaming the street here, taxis beeping, men yelling 'toubab' from their car windows (white person), women carrying mint on their heads, women selling peanuts and peeled oranges from the street, dust everywhere. but i love it. so far so good. and now i am off to the market with my language instructor, babaacour, but he's just gone to pray so i have a few more minutes on his computer. hopefully i'll find myself a hat and a wallet. their money is the dalasi, about 40 dalasi per pound (per $2) ... and that means you carry wads of it around.
last night we were waiting for our dinner and the electricity went off. after about 5 minutes, they brought us a candle. it came back on after 10. our food was ready after about a half an hour ... gambian time. i had butter fish and a salad. need to get my protein while i can. chicken kebab for lunch today.
tomorrow it's off to the village, to meet the compound and settle in. and slowly slowly (as they say) i'll figure out what i'm to do.
salaam maleekum
(peace be to you!)
how is the morning?
the morning is here only.
how are you?
i am here.
hope you sleep with peace
peace only.
and how are the people in the village.
the people are there.
i love it. they totally live in the present. even the language structure would say so. brilliant!
today, as i said in an earlier blog, is set setal, so the morning was very quiet with everyone in their compounds cleaning. caroline, the country manager, and i went down to a very cool place by the beach to sit and have breakfast and talk. i'm very excited about what will come, if a little nervous. i've decided that if i am able to accomplish one thing per day, i will be satisfied here. (and that could just be a simple conversation!)
there are goats roaming the street here, taxis beeping, men yelling 'toubab' from their car windows (white person), women carrying mint on their heads, women selling peanuts and peeled oranges from the street, dust everywhere. but i love it. so far so good. and now i am off to the market with my language instructor, babaacour, but he's just gone to pray so i have a few more minutes on his computer. hopefully i'll find myself a hat and a wallet. their money is the dalasi, about 40 dalasi per pound (per $2) ... and that means you carry wads of it around.
last night we were waiting for our dinner and the electricity went off. after about 5 minutes, they brought us a candle. it came back on after 10. our food was ready after about a half an hour ... gambian time. i had butter fish and a salad. need to get my protein while i can. chicken kebab for lunch today.
tomorrow it's off to the village, to meet the compound and settle in. and slowly slowly (as they say) i'll figure out what i'm to do.
salaam maleekum
(peace be to you!)
Friday, February 1, 2008
and .... she's off!
writing this from the lounge at gatwick airport ... my last email from the UK before i must dash to my gate. i didn't end up taking my guitar because i realized yesterday it was a soft case i had, which wouldn't travel very well. but got here to be told they would have made an exception for me. ah well.
i did, however, get to the bookshop in the airport for some last minute books (a good man in africa, william boyd (thanks daryl) and widow for a year, john irving. i also bought the catepillar book and where the wild things are. i wish i could have found goodnight moon, but alas. favorite childhood books of mine for the boys in the compound.
i also managed to get a few other random things from the shop last night - one pot noodle, one flapjack, some sour cream and chive pretzels (my favorites!) and a few other random taste sensations that may remind me of home if i need them.
and got some lovely parting gifts from anna - very practical! nando's peri peri sauce (to spice up the food a bit if it's bland, she remembers the basilius family in costa rica well!), a small bottle of wine (i'm keeping that one to myself), some nuts, some chocolate drink mix, some peanut butter and a bag of salt (i love salt and dread tasteless food). i couldn't squeeze the peanut butter in my bag, and peanuts are the gambia's cash crop, so i left that. i also left the bag of salt, because it looked a little too much like a bag of cocaine ... and as per my previous blog, i already have enough drugs in my bag. i don't need an excuse for them to search me! even if i offer to taste it for them.
i've finally had a chance to really delve into my rough guide book (far better than the lonely plant, BTW) and it all sounds very exciting! i've decided to spend the six hours on the plane really letting go of my expectations and assumptions so that when the warm blast of air hits me as the plane doors open, i'll be completely and utterly ready for it. (once i take my fleece off and find my sandals, that is).
thank you again for all the well wishes - they've meant so much!
more from africa!
i did, however, get to the bookshop in the airport for some last minute books (a good man in africa, william boyd (thanks daryl) and widow for a year, john irving. i also bought the catepillar book and where the wild things are. i wish i could have found goodnight moon, but alas. favorite childhood books of mine for the boys in the compound.
i also managed to get a few other random things from the shop last night - one pot noodle, one flapjack, some sour cream and chive pretzels (my favorites!) and a few other random taste sensations that may remind me of home if i need them.
and got some lovely parting gifts from anna - very practical! nando's peri peri sauce (to spice up the food a bit if it's bland, she remembers the basilius family in costa rica well!), a small bottle of wine (i'm keeping that one to myself), some nuts, some chocolate drink mix, some peanut butter and a bag of salt (i love salt and dread tasteless food). i couldn't squeeze the peanut butter in my bag, and peanuts are the gambia's cash crop, so i left that. i also left the bag of salt, because it looked a little too much like a bag of cocaine ... and as per my previous blog, i already have enough drugs in my bag. i don't need an excuse for them to search me! even if i offer to taste it for them.
i've finally had a chance to really delve into my rough guide book (far better than the lonely plant, BTW) and it all sounds very exciting! i've decided to spend the six hours on the plane really letting go of my expectations and assumptions so that when the warm blast of air hits me as the plane doors open, i'll be completely and utterly ready for it. (once i take my fleece off and find my sandals, that is).
thank you again for all the well wishes - they've meant so much!
more from africa!
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