02 September 2010
01 September 2010
30 August 2010
Standard of Living UPGRADE
Mango season has come and past; though that isn’t the only change that has happened since my last post. My mom and sister came in May, which was so refreshing. I feel so blessed to have gotten to share this experience with them. They were instant celebrities in Jali village and will surely be the “talk of the town” for years to come. So many wonderful moments with them! First off, to all the women who donated their old bras to the busty women of Jali, they would like to thank you for your “support”. Sorry, I’ve been waiting to write that for too long.
While they were here, mom and Emmy took Gambian names, Mindy and Emily are just too difficult for people to remember. My mom’s namesake is Janke Fatty (yes, her last name is Fatty, and when you greet someone, you often just say their surname over and over- FATTY FATTY FATTY…great for self-esteem, eh?). Anyways, Janke is a vibrant woman who loves to dance, entertain, and always making people laugh with her sarcasm, so I knew my mom had to be named after her. Emily took the name Naba- 2 of my favorite ladies in Jali are named Naba- first, one-armed, Binki (means Aunt) who never complains about anything and will do anything to help anyone, and secondly, Naba Daffee, my humbled, hard-working neighbor who is stunningly beautiful and is probably the strongest women ever, other than Emily. They were so excited to have namesakes in America. We had a party for them where the women cooked bennechin- fried rice and chicken. DELICIOUS! They even learned some Mandinka- SUMOLU LEE?? Yes, the home people are here only! After the village, we spend a relaxing few days at the beach, dodging jellyfish, playing scrabble, and eating fresh fish every day. Hard to resist. The 11 days seriously flew by!
More recently, I have moved to a new site. The road up to Jali was giving me one too many problems and so I moved to a town along the road about an hour from the coast called Brikama. I am working with the Methodist Mission Agricultural Programme (MMAP) and living in the NGO’s compound. Talk about an UPGRADE! I am blessed with wonderful co-workers, a great town, and above average living conditions. Currently, MMAP is working on agricultural extension work planting woodlots and orchards, increasing food processing into juices, jams, chutneys, and dried fruits with mangos, cashews, citrus fruits and REALLY HOT HOT-SAUCE, and working on improved irrigation systems in rural villages. This had been a really great and meaningful experience thus far and I’m excited to finish up my time in The Gambia here. Additionally, I am only an hour away from the beach via rubber horse (bicycle) along a beautiful road. There’s a big market in Brikama, so nearly every day I can go get vegetables, salad, bananas, and all those exciting things that I’ve been deprived of during my first year and a half here ;)
Two weekends ago, I went to the beach with the MMAP Director’s family- The Mendy’s. They are a Methodist family who live in Brikama with 8 kids, who get along like the best of friends. They are incredibly welcoming and fun to be around. The girls cooked tons of great food, including crabs in a pepper soup and baobab-banana juice! We swam, took pictures with my underwater camera, danced, and turned sea-weed into moustaches and beards. It was hard to leave!
As a secondary project, I’ve been working on organizing a week-long cross-country bike trek stopping each day at secondary schools (Grades 7-9) to do HIV/AIDS education. We’ve drummed up a lot of support nationally and hope to reach 15 schools across northern Gambia in one week. It’s really exciting to see this coming together. The HIV rate may be low here compared to other African countries, but talking to kids when they are young about risks and how to protect themselves is key to keeping infection rates low. We already have 45 people interested in participating in the trek! How great! We have begun finding local businesses and organizations to financially support this endeavor as well and I’m feeling quite optimistic!
Thank you everyone for their continued support! My official Close-of-Service date is 15 January 2011 and I’m trying to decide what to do at that point. Thanks to all my cousins, Aunts, and Uncles in advance because I’ll be showing up to sleep on your couches soon. I’ll make a list of all the things I like in my egg-white omelets, please no flannel sheets, and where’s the liquor cabinet? I don’t want to over-stay my welcome, so I’ll only stay a month before moving on. In efforts to save money, I won’t be calling first either- SURPRiSE!
While they were here, mom and Emmy took Gambian names, Mindy and Emily are just too difficult for people to remember. My mom’s namesake is Janke Fatty (yes, her last name is Fatty, and when you greet someone, you often just say their surname over and over- FATTY FATTY FATTY…great for self-esteem, eh?). Anyways, Janke is a vibrant woman who loves to dance, entertain, and always making people laugh with her sarcasm, so I knew my mom had to be named after her. Emily took the name Naba- 2 of my favorite ladies in Jali are named Naba- first, one-armed, Binki (means Aunt) who never complains about anything and will do anything to help anyone, and secondly, Naba Daffee, my humbled, hard-working neighbor who is stunningly beautiful and is probably the strongest women ever, other than Emily. They were so excited to have namesakes in America. We had a party for them where the women cooked bennechin- fried rice and chicken. DELICIOUS! They even learned some Mandinka- SUMOLU LEE?? Yes, the home people are here only! After the village, we spend a relaxing few days at the beach, dodging jellyfish, playing scrabble, and eating fresh fish every day. Hard to resist. The 11 days seriously flew by!
More recently, I have moved to a new site. The road up to Jali was giving me one too many problems and so I moved to a town along the road about an hour from the coast called Brikama. I am working with the Methodist Mission Agricultural Programme (MMAP) and living in the NGO’s compound. Talk about an UPGRADE! I am blessed with wonderful co-workers, a great town, and above average living conditions. Currently, MMAP is working on agricultural extension work planting woodlots and orchards, increasing food processing into juices, jams, chutneys, and dried fruits with mangos, cashews, citrus fruits and REALLY HOT HOT-SAUCE, and working on improved irrigation systems in rural villages. This had been a really great and meaningful experience thus far and I’m excited to finish up my time in The Gambia here. Additionally, I am only an hour away from the beach via rubber horse (bicycle) along a beautiful road. There’s a big market in Brikama, so nearly every day I can go get vegetables, salad, bananas, and all those exciting things that I’ve been deprived of during my first year and a half here ;)
Two weekends ago, I went to the beach with the MMAP Director’s family- The Mendy’s. They are a Methodist family who live in Brikama with 8 kids, who get along like the best of friends. They are incredibly welcoming and fun to be around. The girls cooked tons of great food, including crabs in a pepper soup and baobab-banana juice! We swam, took pictures with my underwater camera, danced, and turned sea-weed into moustaches and beards. It was hard to leave!
As a secondary project, I’ve been working on organizing a week-long cross-country bike trek stopping each day at secondary schools (Grades 7-9) to do HIV/AIDS education. We’ve drummed up a lot of support nationally and hope to reach 15 schools across northern Gambia in one week. It’s really exciting to see this coming together. The HIV rate may be low here compared to other African countries, but talking to kids when they are young about risks and how to protect themselves is key to keeping infection rates low. We already have 45 people interested in participating in the trek! How great! We have begun finding local businesses and organizations to financially support this endeavor as well and I’m feeling quite optimistic!
Thank you everyone for their continued support! My official Close-of-Service date is 15 January 2011 and I’m trying to decide what to do at that point. Thanks to all my cousins, Aunts, and Uncles in advance because I’ll be showing up to sleep on your couches soon. I’ll make a list of all the things I like in my egg-white omelets, please no flannel sheets, and where’s the liquor cabinet? I don’t want to over-stay my welcome, so I’ll only stay a month before moving on. In efforts to save money, I won’t be calling first either- SURPRiSE!
28 April 2010
Eating Clay
Digging the wells deeper after some problems with them drying up this year.
Nothing better than fresh honey comb with bees still in it.
Beekeeping at Siffoe Peace Corps In-training. Look at that uncapped honey :)
At the Samateh's. The kids were literally eating clay.
Women fetching water for their garden beds.
18 April 2010
Kwasa
Tonight is my last night in town until next month when my MOTHER and SISTER are coming to visit! YAY!
On my last night before heading back to Jali, I always like to eat a really nice meal- tonight: barracuda and salad! The "restaurant" we went to had a big sign at the entrance. TRY A NEW FOOD- KWASA - 15 DALASIS. I like trying new foods...so order a Kwasa excited to try something new and exciting! Minutes later comes a croissant on a plate. I guess Kwasa kind of sounds like croissant...
On my last night before heading back to Jali, I always like to eat a really nice meal- tonight: barracuda and salad! The "restaurant" we went to had a big sign at the entrance. TRY A NEW FOOD- KWASA - 15 DALASIS. I like trying new foods...so order a Kwasa excited to try something new and exciting! Minutes later comes a croissant on a plate. I guess Kwasa kind of sounds like croissant...
Lizard in my sheets, chick in my backyard, and the Jali massage parlor
Each day is filled with hundreds of moments that make me smile, laugh, and really appreciate my life here. Here are some highlights from my journal this month...
The back massage: While in South Africa, the physical therapist gave me some stretches to strengthen my neck muscles, so I usually do them outside at night with the kids, which is seriously hilarious. For one of these stretches, I put my hands on my shoulders and then move my shoulders in a circular motion. It's essentially giving yourself a shoulder massage. One evening, one-armed Binki was sulking. "I went to the hospital last week to get medicine, but it's not helping my pain-ing back." So I rubbed her shoulders a bit. She was moaning in delight while I was nearly crying from laughter. The next day, she said my hands are better medicine than her pills.
Surviving a mid-day bike ride: Once a week (at least) I head up to Keneba village, my neighboring village as I think of ice probably more than a teenage boy thinks about girls. Keneba village boasts a medical research hospital fully equip ted with 24-hour electricity (aka 24-hour ice) This time of year, it's really only possible to bike in the early morning and then right before the sun sets, so I'll go early, hang out with my friends there, DRINK ICE WATER, visit the school, etc etc and then just go back in the evening. Though, one day, I get a call that I have to get back to Jali because the well diggers had finally arrived. Exciting, but it's noon! My only option is to go back. As I sip on my refreshingly chilly water (which i place gently on my cheeks and neck between gulps), I come up with a plan on how I can realistically make it back to Jali without melting. I jump in a cold shower (yes, Keneba even has showers...) with my clothes on. This won't be enough. I then empty my friends freezer full of bags of ice and strategically elastic banded them around my body- one of the back of my neck, one between my hat and head, and the third on my lower back. I raced back to Jali and made it just as the ice had fully melted. Though, as I rode through the village, my chest and behind were completely soaked and everyone laughed at me. It was worth it and I would do the same thing again.
Lizard in my sheets: It was a long day in the garden and I didn't get back home until late. Exhausted, I crawl into my outdoor bed/cot and notice a strange smell. It's not my feet (for once...) but it's coming from my feet. Oh god. It hit me. Something has died and rotted in my bed. Words cannot describe this smell, and it's dark, and I just want to sleep! I pull up my thermarest, and the stench hits me like a ton of bricks...there it is...dead lizard rotting on the cot. Flies quickly come. Not dealing with this...I slept in my sauna-esqe house and cleaned it up in the morning. After 6 days of extensive bleach and soap scrubbing, the smell subsided. I learned my lesson and now bring my sheets in everyday.
Chick in my backyard: Goodmorning. The sun is rising, the roosters have called, and the day is about to begin. "TWEET TWEET TWEET" is shrieking in my ear. Somehow, the chick has gotten stuck in my fenced-backyard. After chasing it around in my underwear with a dust pan, finally had success! The poor thing was so scared. I think he learned his lesson. Ok, now we can start the day :)
The joys of the Gambian post office: (This one is dedicated to my Postmaster Uncle Chuck) I dread buying stamps, mostly because the workers at the post office don't know how to count or multiply, which I think are necessary skills for working at the post office, right? So trips to the post office always take a while. It costs 18 Gambian dalasis to send a letter from here to the states, so I either buy some D5 and D3 or if I'm lucky, they have D6. But on this particular trip, they only had D7 stamps. This is why I hate the post office.
My children's books: I have 4 children's books: One about 2 girls who love their pink tutus, one about a Christmas mouse who wants to go to the movies, another about a cat who is asking other animals what they are eating for lunch, and every one's favorite- Dippy the lonely Dinosaur. Talk about complete irrelevance to this culture, but none the less, better these than none! In the cat eating book, every page ends with "YUM YUM". My host kids and Fatoumata all asked what YUM YUM means, and I explained that you say that when you're food is very sweet. YUM has really caught on in Jali village. "How is your lunch?" I asked the old neighbor lady. "YUM YUM," she said with her toothless grin.
The back massage: While in South Africa, the physical therapist gave me some stretches to strengthen my neck muscles, so I usually do them outside at night with the kids, which is seriously hilarious. For one of these stretches, I put my hands on my shoulders and then move my shoulders in a circular motion. It's essentially giving yourself a shoulder massage. One evening, one-armed Binki was sulking. "I went to the hospital last week to get medicine, but it's not helping my pain-ing back." So I rubbed her shoulders a bit. She was moaning in delight while I was nearly crying from laughter. The next day, she said my hands are better medicine than her pills.
Surviving a mid-day bike ride: Once a week (at least) I head up to Keneba village, my neighboring village as I think of ice probably more than a teenage boy thinks about girls. Keneba village boasts a medical research hospital fully equip ted with 24-hour electricity (aka 24-hour ice) This time of year, it's really only possible to bike in the early morning and then right before the sun sets, so I'll go early, hang out with my friends there, DRINK ICE WATER, visit the school, etc etc and then just go back in the evening. Though, one day, I get a call that I have to get back to Jali because the well diggers had finally arrived. Exciting, but it's noon! My only option is to go back. As I sip on my refreshingly chilly water (which i place gently on my cheeks and neck between gulps), I come up with a plan on how I can realistically make it back to Jali without melting. I jump in a cold shower (yes, Keneba even has showers...) with my clothes on. This won't be enough. I then empty my friends freezer full of bags of ice and strategically elastic banded them around my body- one of the back of my neck, one between my hat and head, and the third on my lower back. I raced back to Jali and made it just as the ice had fully melted. Though, as I rode through the village, my chest and behind were completely soaked and everyone laughed at me. It was worth it and I would do the same thing again.
Lizard in my sheets: It was a long day in the garden and I didn't get back home until late. Exhausted, I crawl into my outdoor bed/cot and notice a strange smell. It's not my feet (for once...) but it's coming from my feet. Oh god. It hit me. Something has died and rotted in my bed. Words cannot describe this smell, and it's dark, and I just want to sleep! I pull up my thermarest, and the stench hits me like a ton of bricks...there it is...dead lizard rotting on the cot. Flies quickly come. Not dealing with this...I slept in my sauna-esqe house and cleaned it up in the morning. After 6 days of extensive bleach and soap scrubbing, the smell subsided. I learned my lesson and now bring my sheets in everyday.
Chick in my backyard: Goodmorning. The sun is rising, the roosters have called, and the day is about to begin. "TWEET TWEET TWEET" is shrieking in my ear. Somehow, the chick has gotten stuck in my fenced-backyard. After chasing it around in my underwear with a dust pan, finally had success! The poor thing was so scared. I think he learned his lesson. Ok, now we can start the day :)
The joys of the Gambian post office: (This one is dedicated to my Postmaster Uncle Chuck) I dread buying stamps, mostly because the workers at the post office don't know how to count or multiply, which I think are necessary skills for working at the post office, right? So trips to the post office always take a while. It costs 18 Gambian dalasis to send a letter from here to the states, so I either buy some D5 and D3 or if I'm lucky, they have D6. But on this particular trip, they only had D7 stamps. This is why I hate the post office.
My children's books: I have 4 children's books: One about 2 girls who love their pink tutus, one about a Christmas mouse who wants to go to the movies, another about a cat who is asking other animals what they are eating for lunch, and every one's favorite- Dippy the lonely Dinosaur. Talk about complete irrelevance to this culture, but none the less, better these than none! In the cat eating book, every page ends with "YUM YUM". My host kids and Fatoumata all asked what YUM YUM means, and I explained that you say that when you're food is very sweet. YUM has really caught on in Jali village. "How is your lunch?" I asked the old neighbor lady. "YUM YUM," she said with her toothless grin.
12 April 2010
Summary of the December-April:
So the past few months have brought me from Jali, up to Dakar, then to Pennsylvania for a month, back to Dakar, over a long bumpy road returning to the Gambia, then to Jali, an unexpected trip to Pretoria, South Africa for the entirety of February, then back to good ol’ Gambia. Needless to say, it’s been quite eventful!
Over Christmas when I went back to PA, the women did a remarkable job preparing their new garden for the dry season vegetables! It’s BEAUTIFUL. Then I was back for a week or so before leaving for South Africa. After returning to Jali after SA, I was a bit surprised that no progress had been made to fix the 5 dried up wells in the garden. As you probably know, these were just dug last March. So frustrating…
After a lot of “back and forth” on how we can solve this, the garden committee agreed to meet the following day between the 5pm and dusk prayer. I was waiting at the bantaba- the village meeting area as the men trickled out of the mosque and the women from their homes. A small group had formed, and small chat filled the air, “Oh yes, today is very hot”, “My kids, they are all fine.” Etc, Etc. I was pretty excited, mostly because I’d been trying to organize a meeting all week. We begin chatting about who we were still waiting for when one of the elders comes over and makes an announcement: “My wife is cooking a goat which we have sacrificed for charity. Everyone come eat meat.” As I begin to say, yes, we’ll all come AFTER our meeting, I quickly notice that I am the ONLY one at the bantaba as the group of people scurry to the goat party. How can I compete with that? Meeting adjourned.
So it was postponed until after dinner the following day. The next day, I quickly ate my dinner and headed over to the meeting spot. I told the committee members that if, and only if, the meeting happened TODAY, I would bring a treat for everyone. I’d been looking to share a large bag of double bubble gum that I’d gotten in a care package and this seemed like an appropriate occasion. We all pray to signify the beginning of the meeting and I distribute the chewing gum. Note to future self: Wait until AFTER the meeting to give large quantities of gum. Understanding Mandinka at night is challenging enough, not being able to see people’s mouths moving and facial expressions- which is really important! Now add the slurs from gum and loud chewing sounds- I’m done for…
After a few more lengthy meetings, we were able to hire a contractor to dig each well a bit deeper with the help from a local Koranic Reading fundraiser, ABARAKA Organization in Spain, and Appropriate Projects (http://appropriateprojects.com/taxonomy/term/7). I am confident that this garden will now last the Jali women many many years!
Over Christmas when I went back to PA, the women did a remarkable job preparing their new garden for the dry season vegetables! It’s BEAUTIFUL. Then I was back for a week or so before leaving for South Africa. After returning to Jali after SA, I was a bit surprised that no progress had been made to fix the 5 dried up wells in the garden. As you probably know, these were just dug last March. So frustrating…
After a lot of “back and forth” on how we can solve this, the garden committee agreed to meet the following day between the 5pm and dusk prayer. I was waiting at the bantaba- the village meeting area as the men trickled out of the mosque and the women from their homes. A small group had formed, and small chat filled the air, “Oh yes, today is very hot”, “My kids, they are all fine.” Etc, Etc. I was pretty excited, mostly because I’d been trying to organize a meeting all week. We begin chatting about who we were still waiting for when one of the elders comes over and makes an announcement: “My wife is cooking a goat which we have sacrificed for charity. Everyone come eat meat.” As I begin to say, yes, we’ll all come AFTER our meeting, I quickly notice that I am the ONLY one at the bantaba as the group of people scurry to the goat party. How can I compete with that? Meeting adjourned.
So it was postponed until after dinner the following day. The next day, I quickly ate my dinner and headed over to the meeting spot. I told the committee members that if, and only if, the meeting happened TODAY, I would bring a treat for everyone. I’d been looking to share a large bag of double bubble gum that I’d gotten in a care package and this seemed like an appropriate occasion. We all pray to signify the beginning of the meeting and I distribute the chewing gum. Note to future self: Wait until AFTER the meeting to give large quantities of gum. Understanding Mandinka at night is challenging enough, not being able to see people’s mouths moving and facial expressions- which is really important! Now add the slurs from gum and loud chewing sounds- I’m done for…
After a few more lengthy meetings, we were able to hire a contractor to dig each well a bit deeper with the help from a local Koranic Reading fundraiser, ABARAKA Organization in Spain, and Appropriate Projects (http://appropriateprojects.com/taxonomy/term/7). I am confident that this garden will now last the Jali women many many years!
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