Apple juice and airplanes are the comforts of home that I miss most. A gallon of apple juice would barely last me a week. These days I have to wait until I’m in Kombo to buy a litre for 55 Dalasi (~$1.50) and it is definitely a celebration. Growing up near Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, the busiest airport in the world, I am used to seeing at least fifty airplanes within any given hour. In The Gambia, I’m lucky if I see two airplanes in one week!
Books read
so far include: Reason for Hope (Jane Goodall), Thinking in Pictures
(Temple Grandin), First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria (Eve
Brown-Waite), Joni (Katherine Monk), Mango Elephants in the Sun
(Susana Herrera), Madame Doubtfire (Anne Fine), Small Wonders (Barbara
Kingsolver), An Hour Before Daylight (Jimmy Carter), These Strange Ashes (Elisabeth Elliott). I am also reading
through the book of Acts with some of my fellow Christian PCVs.
“Calling the
Dawgs” and other University of Georgia football cheers has been my most
memorable Goal Two teaching moments with my host family.
Donkey cart
is definitely my favorite mode of transportation in The Gambia~ great breezes,
not crowded, steady, and slow enough to take in the scenery.
Eating lots
of bread, rice, noodles, chicken, fish, potatoes, okra, seasonal fruit, and
black-eyed peas…with only my hands of course! Many Gambians I’ve shared a meal with have jokingly spelled
out s-p-o-o-n with each of their fingers.
“Fetcha” or
dancing happens all the time, which I love! Thankfully, my “moving like a
jellyfish” is seen as hilarious and somewhat close to the native dancing.
Giggles,
giggles, giggles! I just love hearing Gambians giggle! I am currently working
on compiling a video of all my favorite gigglers :-] They truly love to laugh
and it is becoming more apparent why The Gambia is referred to as “The Smiling
Coast of Africa.”
Hippopotamus
(7!) were spotted during our boat cruise while upcountry in Janjanbureh.
Islam is the main religion of The Gambia. Unfortunately, many Americans view Islam negatively. As
a Christian, I would not want to be characterized or defined by the Ku Klux
Klan; Why should Muslims be characterized or defined by Al Queda or other
terrorist groups? The five calls to prayer, the modest dress code, fasting
during Ramadan, and extensive charity for example could be seen as obligatory
but I find the devotion and inner peace of my Muslim friends as a challenge to
my own faith and how poorly I live it out.
“Jangalakat ti
jangalakat la” or “teacher of teachers” in Wolof is my main mission these next
two years. I will be working at a lower basic school (kindergarten through
grade six) alongside of the teachers assisting them with literacy education,
expanding enrollment, planting trees, and gardening. During my first month I have been focused on getting to know
and connect with my teachers as well as organizing the school library.
Cataloging the books and arranging them according to the Dewey Decimal System
has been quite fun…I am definitely the daughter of a librarian!! Hopefully,
students will soon be able to check out books!
Killing
flies, spiders, and termites keeps me busy. The circle of life is fascinating…before I can sweep away
the corpse of whatever insect I just killed the ants have already assemble and
carry it away to feast upon.
Lost over
30 pounds so far! Granted, I have had a drastic change in diet, I am always
active, and the heat has me constantly sweating! I just cannot get over the
comparison of these two pictures! The one on the left is from my driver’s
license taken a week before I left and the one on the right is the most current
picture of me.
Maka
Farafenni, located 105km inland on the northern bank of The Gambia, will be my
permanent site for the next two years. Farafenni (5km away) is the closest city
and the Senegal border is just 3 km to the North.
Night sky
is indescribable…virtually zero light pollution. Imagine a black sheet of construction paper with a whole jar
of silver glitter spilt on it and that is my view. I see at least three shooting stars during supper and my
bucket bath.
Optimism is
the key to keeping sane while living a day-by-day life of service in the Peace
Corps. Even in the most trying of times I must find something positive to focus
my attention. Unidentifiable food served during dinner? At least I didn’t have
to cook and won’t have to clean the dishes. Nonstop diarrhea? Thankfully I have
enough toilet paper. Cell phone battery is dead again and electricity is a 5km
bike ride away? At least I’ll get to drink a Coke and sit in air conditioning
while it charges.
Professional
& proud pit latrine user right here! “Popping a squat” definitely took some
getting use to but now it is quite comfortable and not a big deal. Still using
toilet paper…
Quilt
project is in the works using all of the scrap fabric from my outfits. My father is a nawkat {tailor} and I
look forward to having him fashion many outfits for me, and my family &
friends back home. Be on the lookout for me showing off a sweet UGA
assobee!!
Rainy season is here bringing plenty of time to relax and rest during the nonstop rain. Enjoy the weather forecast my language group and I made!
Scrabble
matches are a plenty including Scrabble boardgames…nine (in one form or
another) are currently in my possession. I am contemplating how to convert the
tile distribution to include Wolof specific characters. Slowly but surely, my
younger sister and her friends are learning how to play. Some of my teachers that I play with
sure do give me a run for my money!
Trees here
are wonderful! Cashew, mango, avocado, palm, eucalyptus and Baobabs are
everywhere! Sitting under their shade while drinking attaya and chatting is a
frequently enjoyed pastime.
Umbilical
cords are everywhere…My host sister recently gave birth to a baby boy, the
family horse delivered a filly the day before I arrived, and four of the goats
have had babies as well. I left
the States with at least fourteen friends expecting a child~ six of which have
been born so far. So many babies!!
Viewing
futbol (whether it’s just the neighborhood guys or professional leagues on
television) is becoming one of my favorite pastimes! Still trying to decide on
a team…any suggestions?!
Wolof is
the language I’ve been learning~ challenging yet fun! Want to learn it with me? Check out Wolof and other languages using this amazing resource.
X-rays
taken during med-evac in Dakar revealed heel spurs on both of my feet that will
eventually have to be surgically removed within the next two years.
“Yumba” is
Wolof for honeybee and it has quickly become my Gambian nickname. Names are a
big deal in The Gambia as they automatically inform others on where one comes
from, which people group one belongs to, and what language one speaks.
Zero
turtles (of any kind) have been spotted thus far. I am still doing my research
and networking hope to contribute eventually
