Monday, January 13, 2014
Journal Post 1/11
So it turned out the naming ceremony started at 6 AM... eff. I meandered over in the morning to apologize for not making it and saying my stomach hurt - not untrue. I've still been uncomfortably bloated from eating nothing it seems. I went over to HM's and he bought me a bean sandwich - self resistance was not there and I ate it all before saving it for lunch. He also got me cold water + told me where it get it! I was going to use the water to make oatmeal + cereal + honey for lunch had I not been UNCOMFORTABLY BLOATED from noon-7 PM. I went to the carpenter's with HM to check on my table (not done or not even started, I'm not sure), formatted a book for future data scribing, and talked to people. I didn't go much in depth but I met like 4 new people today + explained why I was here. I spent the majority of my afternoon packing for Basse, feeling ridiculously bloated and finally kicked my butt to work out. I even drank so much water today to stay hydrated! It better be my period that's bloating me because I don't think I can give up bean sandwiches, ever, NOT an option. I sat out in the evening for an hour before dinnering and turning in. Not a very big day in general but I'm relieved for Basse tomorrow.
Journal Post 1/10
Let's see... yesterday... I stayed in two compounds for like an hour. One was another Touray compound branch (same as my surname) and it was only occupied by women and kids by the time I was there so they fed me roasted peanuts and they were delicious. I successfully expressed that I forget names if I don't write them down and I was trying to learn the adults first which they understood - glorious. This is an especially proud moment because this is all done on the spot. Of course they asked me to teach them English but I told them I have to get a grip on Serehule first and they understood, but dammit what I really should've said is just go to the English school. NExt time. They also really wanted to show me a video/TV they had and I looked around - they had a huge satellite dish and a pretty legit looking chicken house thing. I didn't stay for long or the video and went to the next compound.
This compound I passed the other day saying I'll chat later since I was tired as hell from the monthly clinic. It's the compound behind the second bitik/shop - Fofana compound, and the head just happens to be the head of the Village Development Committee (who is kind of a big deal). I was surrounded by kids of course - most of them scared - and they were kind of obnoxious trying to come close to me but then backed off and the cycle repeated. One of them women didn't know it was the monthly clinic the other day but now I'll know what to do in future months - spread the news like wildfire. I wrote down some names again and saw a woman who just gave birth to a baby girl. It was pleasant and my softspoken friend sat with me + another one of the older women. They then invited me to the baby's naming ceremony! It's on Saturday. I sat outside, shelled some peanuts, and left. I went to take inventory of the bitik in front - one of the girls were fine but the other one had a terrible attitude so I didn't tarry for long, haha. I tried to sit in on one more compound but didn't feel very energetic and the people in front were all teenage boys and a very weary woman so I just left. Not much happened aside from that but I was fed up with being so bloated from rice that I told my family I'd like to switch it up and eat breakfast and dinner with them but cook lunch for myself. I have no idea why but the rice here bloats me up in five spoonfuls and it feels like I can't stop eating because I don't feel satiated. It's highly uncomfortable and tires me out. I also tried preparing coos for dinner which involved mashing it up with a large, metal laddle in two huge wooden bowls that look more like basins by American standards. I'm trying to do a little bit of everything to show effort that I'm trying.
Anyways, today, as promised, I woke up early to go outside and sit with the family. I thought I was suppose to wake up and sift but they didn't start until 9 AM. I ate porridge (of course, CHO loaded but it was coos ... I had two big heapings of sugar to make it bearable but it was better than rice), went to a part of the house that I never ventured to before - the washing area in a HUGE trash/waste land next to me. Well, it's on the other side of where my hut is on the left side of the compound while I'm on the right, but that doesn't make me feel much better. I set out for the day by first heading to the bakery. I sat there forever, collected some more names, and the baker's a very nice hard working guy but he only speaks Pulaar. I got a piece of bread - it smells so wonderful when it's right out of the oven - unfortunately, it's all white bread. A woman sat there for awhile talking to me but I think she was more laughing at me than really being a nice soul. She kept on insisting America was better and that I take her there. You can tell I gave up with her and kept on saying I didn't understand. I tried telling her education was important and if she didn't go to school, America won't accept her. I also said it was very individual based - which is opposite of their communal-society. I mean no harsh feelings but do these people understand I've only been here for 2.9 months. I know I shouldn't take any of this seriously but what really gets to me is when they don't understand that I'm in the process of learning. Anyways on the bright side, I really like this girl at the baker's - she's going to be 19 and came from Nigeria. I like her demeanor + she's going to school! She can speak English and Serehule and translated some of the conversation with that woman.
I went to HM's from there and unfortunately he was still in Basse but I called him and he said he would be back tonight. Good, because I need to go to the carpenter's to look at my table. I took the time instead to talk to the Alkaloo's younger brother - he knows English quite well - and he wants to go back to school. Seiku, his name, was taken out of school by his parents at grade 9 and he really wants to go back but needs money to. I gave him ideas to acquire some money - business related, I asked him about his skills and how that can be turned into a money generating thing. Hopefully I incepted him and planted a thought. I bought four bananas from a girl and ate them on the spot. I then purchased a bean sandwich from a girl who sells them near HM's place - Isatou, I've talked about her before - and she's very nice towards me and can understand me to some extent. She's probably somewhere between 8-10. She sells sandwiches every day and her younger sister tags along sometimes. Her name's Isatou and she's very sweet - her younger sister is quite sweet, too, sometimes when I read and the wind picks up, my pages will turn but she'll reach over and hold them in place. I sat with her for awhile until I said I was tired and she asked if I wanted to rest. I said yes, then somehow I agreed to go to her compound. I guilt tripped myself - it was legit right behind HM's and I should talk to one more compound before I called it a day.
I greeted her compound and Isatou led me to a room - it had a huge queen sized bed and she's like, "Rest." I said.. I was okay, hahaha. The kids were all around me and it's not like I would do that anyways, just lie down in some random person's house. I joked with her dad, said hi to her mom, her sister next, then I collected some names and chatted a bit outside - it always feels weird being inside people's homes. I told the boys not to call me toubab and the adults backed me up but I had a feeling the boys weren't really listening. They were three very rowdy 12 year olds... bleh. I had another pleasant conversation about why Gambia and US are have both good and bad traits and that Gambia has plenty of good too, it also has work, you have to look for it. The special part about this conversation was that it was in Serehule and of course I'm speaking in mad broken Serehule but the mom was able to decipher what I said - especially when I talked about chicken coops and how that generates money since Kulari doesn't have one. They were very nice and offered me half a sandwich which I declined and said I ate one already, complimented Isa because she really is a hard worker sitting out there every day. I did accept their small juice-mix as a gift, however. Isa walked me halfway home in jeans, a shirt, and make up, and I hope they don't think I'm going to take her to America but the other time she visited me she also dressed up. I hope that's not the case... So the 4 bananas really took a toll and bloated me for the rest of the day. Operation do not bloat didn't work out at all and I ended up not having anything to eat for the rest of the day, felt terrible, didn't go out until evening, skipped dinner, and opted for half my bread from this morning and tea. When I went out and said I wasn't feeling well, my mom promptly took my bucket and filled it up from the well for my shower. My warm and fuzzy feeling quickly dissipated of course when my younger sister, a new bride who's visiting for a week before leaving tomorrow, opened my door (screen door closed) with her damn friends and I got annoyed and said, "What? I'm bathing." And she's like, "Now?" And I'm like, "Yes, now." And I reach over and shut the door in her/her friends face. Clearly she hasn't been here since anyone else would knock. I was going to tell her not to do that again but she's leaving tomorrow and I don't want to make a scene. Aside from doing nothing, I did wash my panties today and sat out with my family for an hour. I held the flashlight while one of my moms peeled kasava and talked to a relative I never met who lived by the capital. In other news I have rats in my backyard - I thought all those scurrying noises were from lizards/geckos...nope. They're pretty ugly, too, ugh. This is Africa, I have to get over it.
This compound I passed the other day saying I'll chat later since I was tired as hell from the monthly clinic. It's the compound behind the second bitik/shop - Fofana compound, and the head just happens to be the head of the Village Development Committee (who is kind of a big deal). I was surrounded by kids of course - most of them scared - and they were kind of obnoxious trying to come close to me but then backed off and the cycle repeated. One of them women didn't know it was the monthly clinic the other day but now I'll know what to do in future months - spread the news like wildfire. I wrote down some names again and saw a woman who just gave birth to a baby girl. It was pleasant and my softspoken friend sat with me + another one of the older women. They then invited me to the baby's naming ceremony! It's on Saturday. I sat outside, shelled some peanuts, and left. I went to take inventory of the bitik in front - one of the girls were fine but the other one had a terrible attitude so I didn't tarry for long, haha. I tried to sit in on one more compound but didn't feel very energetic and the people in front were all teenage boys and a very weary woman so I just left. Not much happened aside from that but I was fed up with being so bloated from rice that I told my family I'd like to switch it up and eat breakfast and dinner with them but cook lunch for myself. I have no idea why but the rice here bloats me up in five spoonfuls and it feels like I can't stop eating because I don't feel satiated. It's highly uncomfortable and tires me out. I also tried preparing coos for dinner which involved mashing it up with a large, metal laddle in two huge wooden bowls that look more like basins by American standards. I'm trying to do a little bit of everything to show effort that I'm trying.
Anyways, today, as promised, I woke up early to go outside and sit with the family. I thought I was suppose to wake up and sift but they didn't start until 9 AM. I ate porridge (of course, CHO loaded but it was coos ... I had two big heapings of sugar to make it bearable but it was better than rice), went to a part of the house that I never ventured to before - the washing area in a HUGE trash/waste land next to me. Well, it's on the other side of where my hut is on the left side of the compound while I'm on the right, but that doesn't make me feel much better. I set out for the day by first heading to the bakery. I sat there forever, collected some more names, and the baker's a very nice hard working guy but he only speaks Pulaar. I got a piece of bread - it smells so wonderful when it's right out of the oven - unfortunately, it's all white bread. A woman sat there for awhile talking to me but I think she was more laughing at me than really being a nice soul. She kept on insisting America was better and that I take her there. You can tell I gave up with her and kept on saying I didn't understand. I tried telling her education was important and if she didn't go to school, America won't accept her. I also said it was very individual based - which is opposite of their communal-society. I mean no harsh feelings but do these people understand I've only been here for 2.9 months. I know I shouldn't take any of this seriously but what really gets to me is when they don't understand that I'm in the process of learning. Anyways on the bright side, I really like this girl at the baker's - she's going to be 19 and came from Nigeria. I like her demeanor + she's going to school! She can speak English and Serehule and translated some of the conversation with that woman.
I went to HM's from there and unfortunately he was still in Basse but I called him and he said he would be back tonight. Good, because I need to go to the carpenter's to look at my table. I took the time instead to talk to the Alkaloo's younger brother - he knows English quite well - and he wants to go back to school. Seiku, his name, was taken out of school by his parents at grade 9 and he really wants to go back but needs money to. I gave him ideas to acquire some money - business related, I asked him about his skills and how that can be turned into a money generating thing. Hopefully I incepted him and planted a thought. I bought four bananas from a girl and ate them on the spot. I then purchased a bean sandwich from a girl who sells them near HM's place - Isatou, I've talked about her before - and she's very nice towards me and can understand me to some extent. She's probably somewhere between 8-10. She sells sandwiches every day and her younger sister tags along sometimes. Her name's Isatou and she's very sweet - her younger sister is quite sweet, too, sometimes when I read and the wind picks up, my pages will turn but she'll reach over and hold them in place. I sat with her for awhile until I said I was tired and she asked if I wanted to rest. I said yes, then somehow I agreed to go to her compound. I guilt tripped myself - it was legit right behind HM's and I should talk to one more compound before I called it a day.
I greeted her compound and Isatou led me to a room - it had a huge queen sized bed and she's like, "Rest." I said.. I was okay, hahaha. The kids were all around me and it's not like I would do that anyways, just lie down in some random person's house. I joked with her dad, said hi to her mom, her sister next, then I collected some names and chatted a bit outside - it always feels weird being inside people's homes. I told the boys not to call me toubab and the adults backed me up but I had a feeling the boys weren't really listening. They were three very rowdy 12 year olds... bleh. I had another pleasant conversation about why Gambia and US are have both good and bad traits and that Gambia has plenty of good too, it also has work, you have to look for it. The special part about this conversation was that it was in Serehule and of course I'm speaking in mad broken Serehule but the mom was able to decipher what I said - especially when I talked about chicken coops and how that generates money since Kulari doesn't have one. They were very nice and offered me half a sandwich which I declined and said I ate one already, complimented Isa because she really is a hard worker sitting out there every day. I did accept their small juice-mix as a gift, however. Isa walked me halfway home in jeans, a shirt, and make up, and I hope they don't think I'm going to take her to America but the other time she visited me she also dressed up. I hope that's not the case... So the 4 bananas really took a toll and bloated me for the rest of the day. Operation do not bloat didn't work out at all and I ended up not having anything to eat for the rest of the day, felt terrible, didn't go out until evening, skipped dinner, and opted for half my bread from this morning and tea. When I went out and said I wasn't feeling well, my mom promptly took my bucket and filled it up from the well for my shower. My warm and fuzzy feeling quickly dissipated of course when my younger sister, a new bride who's visiting for a week before leaving tomorrow, opened my door (screen door closed) with her damn friends and I got annoyed and said, "What? I'm bathing." And she's like, "Now?" And I'm like, "Yes, now." And I reach over and shut the door in her/her friends face. Clearly she hasn't been here since anyone else would knock. I was going to tell her not to do that again but she's leaving tomorrow and I don't want to make a scene. Aside from doing nothing, I did wash my panties today and sat out with my family for an hour. I held the flashlight while one of my moms peeled kasava and talked to a relative I never met who lived by the capital. In other news I have rats in my backyard - I thought all those scurrying noises were from lizards/geckos...nope. They're pretty ugly, too, ugh. This is Africa, I have to get over it.
Journal Post 1/8
WELL OKAY. I had an unexpected day. I woke up tired and didn't end up going outside until half an hour later than I usually do. I sat out for a bit then headed off to HM's. I said my usual greetings, stopped by a bitik to inquire what kind of candy and such they had because I wanted to make Valentines for the Motley Crew and I'm still debating if candy's the best thing to give people. They could always use it to small boy little kids. But perhaps drink packages would be more favorable. Anywho, I visited two bitiks before a lady by the last name of Jowara took me to a branch Touray compound where I had an older uncle there. I greeted some, chatted, and that was awfully nice for her to take me and introduce me. I then continued my way to HMs... only to be greeted by a metric boat load of women and babies surrounded his house which only meant... monthly clinic DUN DUN DUN
These monthly clinics occur once every month in every larger town. Women in that town or in surrounding communities will bring their babies who are less than five years old to get weighed and to see if they're on track/in a health weight range, and also get their immunizations - if they're due for any. So imagine me walking into a large room surrounded by sitting women and shrieking babies while a cluster fuck forms in front of the table centered in the center of the room - women standing in no line whatsoever, crowding around the table they're suppose to check in and get their baby weighed and their health cards checked (these are blue cards that have dates written on them to see if their baby is due for an immunization). Each woman is carrying a baby that's just bawling on top of their lungs. There's a hanging scale that the kids are hung onto (they put on pants that get strung up to the scale) in front of the table, someone reads the weight in kilograms/records/tallys the gender and whether or not the baby is a newborn, another person takes the child's health card (that usually has vomit, food, smears, torn to shreds, masking taped up, creases up the wazoo so reading is completely illegible) and checks for immunizations/tracks their health progress/assesses whether the mother still needs to wait for their child to be immunized or not. Some moms are really on time while others skip for months and months at a time. As soon as I sat down they put me to work on the writing/scribing task. This freed up HM to do some crowd control. Some sort of structure began developing and I got the hang of what I was suppose to be doing fast. I liked it when HM was in the room and teaming up with me to record the baby's weight because he would send women out and told people where to go. Wujare was there, the Village Heatlh Worker, and he was good too but he had to duck out for some reason. When he came back, he wouldn't tell women to go to the immunization room so that clogged up the line. I barely had time to take a drink, in fact I didn't for all of five hours, and being clueless about my task was not an option with our crazy it was in that room. Luckily I had a guy who spoke both Serehule and English next to me and he was nice. He was on the computer inputting the data/immunizations required for the children that needed it and I passed on the health cards onto him. I would ask him if there was anything I couldn't read or understand or needed a second opinion - he clearly knew what he was doing. It was so busy that for the entire five hours we were sitting next to each other, we didn't ask for each other's name! Finally when we finished everything I asked - his name is Adama Sankare. He said I was a fast learning and that I picked everything up right away :) I'm glad I could do something right and help this hell of a day along - everyone worked their butts off and I'm sure the women didn't like waiting so absurdly long either when they always have busy days.
I definitely know things I have to look out for next time and a possible organization structure so that things make sense and women aren't waiting for hours. I also know I need to remind women prior to the monthly clinic and show up early myself. I got to small-boy Ceedee, Fatou's son and HM's friend, into getting a sandwich for me. Unfortunately it wasn't a bean one, it was just boiled egg and mayo...which was nasty but I was too hungry to care so I stuffed it down my throat anyways. Right after the kids were all checked, I went straight into HM's house to finish up data inputting from monthly clinics in four other surrounding villages. I was fed more lunch and eight scoops for rice later I was uncomfortably bloated... damn it. I finished everything at 4:30 PM, wrapped up, said my byes, and was off. It was so sweet - Fatou called me when I got home to see how I was. LOVE HER. My mom's even saved my lunch but I couldn't stomach any of it from being so bloated so I brought it right back out to the whiney baby who eats everything. I spent the rest of my day inside, resting, writing in Serehule, drawing potential shirts/dresses to be made, drew my character design at level six if I really was a gnome mage hahaha, and chilled. I decided to practice some self care and not go out to sit tonight. I'll get a full night's sleep and make up for it tomorrow. HM won't be there so maybe I'll compound hop and end up near his place to see the Alkaloo's younger brother since I couldn't go to the English school today. I'll probably scout out for more bitiks/shops and see what they have. Note to bring my glasses.
These monthly clinics occur once every month in every larger town. Women in that town or in surrounding communities will bring their babies who are less than five years old to get weighed and to see if they're on track/in a health weight range, and also get their immunizations - if they're due for any. So imagine me walking into a large room surrounded by sitting women and shrieking babies while a cluster fuck forms in front of the table centered in the center of the room - women standing in no line whatsoever, crowding around the table they're suppose to check in and get their baby weighed and their health cards checked (these are blue cards that have dates written on them to see if their baby is due for an immunization). Each woman is carrying a baby that's just bawling on top of their lungs. There's a hanging scale that the kids are hung onto (they put on pants that get strung up to the scale) in front of the table, someone reads the weight in kilograms/records/tallys the gender and whether or not the baby is a newborn, another person takes the child's health card (that usually has vomit, food, smears, torn to shreds, masking taped up, creases up the wazoo so reading is completely illegible) and checks for immunizations/tracks their health progress/assesses whether the mother still needs to wait for their child to be immunized or not. Some moms are really on time while others skip for months and months at a time. As soon as I sat down they put me to work on the writing/scribing task. This freed up HM to do some crowd control. Some sort of structure began developing and I got the hang of what I was suppose to be doing fast. I liked it when HM was in the room and teaming up with me to record the baby's weight because he would send women out and told people where to go. Wujare was there, the Village Heatlh Worker, and he was good too but he had to duck out for some reason. When he came back, he wouldn't tell women to go to the immunization room so that clogged up the line. I barely had time to take a drink, in fact I didn't for all of five hours, and being clueless about my task was not an option with our crazy it was in that room. Luckily I had a guy who spoke both Serehule and English next to me and he was nice. He was on the computer inputting the data/immunizations required for the children that needed it and I passed on the health cards onto him. I would ask him if there was anything I couldn't read or understand or needed a second opinion - he clearly knew what he was doing. It was so busy that for the entire five hours we were sitting next to each other, we didn't ask for each other's name! Finally when we finished everything I asked - his name is Adama Sankare. He said I was a fast learning and that I picked everything up right away :) I'm glad I could do something right and help this hell of a day along - everyone worked their butts off and I'm sure the women didn't like waiting so absurdly long either when they always have busy days.
I definitely know things I have to look out for next time and a possible organization structure so that things make sense and women aren't waiting for hours. I also know I need to remind women prior to the monthly clinic and show up early myself. I got to small-boy Ceedee, Fatou's son and HM's friend, into getting a sandwich for me. Unfortunately it wasn't a bean one, it was just boiled egg and mayo...which was nasty but I was too hungry to care so I stuffed it down my throat anyways. Right after the kids were all checked, I went straight into HM's house to finish up data inputting from monthly clinics in four other surrounding villages. I was fed more lunch and eight scoops for rice later I was uncomfortably bloated... damn it. I finished everything at 4:30 PM, wrapped up, said my byes, and was off. It was so sweet - Fatou called me when I got home to see how I was. LOVE HER. My mom's even saved my lunch but I couldn't stomach any of it from being so bloated so I brought it right back out to the whiney baby who eats everything. I spent the rest of my day inside, resting, writing in Serehule, drawing potential shirts/dresses to be made, drew my character design at level six if I really was a gnome mage hahaha, and chilled. I decided to practice some self care and not go out to sit tonight. I'll get a full night's sleep and make up for it tomorrow. HM won't be there so maybe I'll compound hop and end up near his place to see the Alkaloo's younger brother since I couldn't go to the English school today. I'll probably scout out for more bitiks/shops and see what they have. Note to bring my glasses.
Journal Entry 1/4-1/7
1/4:
Purchased (white) bread fresh out of the oven. Went into town greeting everyone and anyone and arrived at my counterpart's to see that he was gone giving Fatou a ride to a neighboring town for a naming ceremony. I went to Fatou's house/compound and sat for like, an hour. I chatted with the women - Sona, Isatou, Ami, and the grandma and they showed me their backyard. They had a garden! I also watched them cook/prepare lunch, chatted with the grandma some more, shelled peanuts, and boiled them. I didn't know that boiling peanuts took all of like, two hours, so I just ate half boiled peanuts because I don't think I could sit in a compound doing nothing for two hours, hah. I went back home sometime afternoon noon to do whatever and got a free juice from Jenneba (she's actually a Pulaar woman, not Wolof) SCORE. I got an awful lunch so thank God I bought that back-up bread and chilled until my teacher came over and I had her translate a queue of things I was interested in expressing in Serehule. I read like, 200 pages in Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and slept like a baby.
1/5:
Again, my community rep was gone and I only found out that he went to Basse when I arrived at his house. I bought a sandwich for myself from a stand run by this little girl named Isatou and her sister and it was delicious! I was reading on the bench with them and a ton of kids when an older Isatou in the Women's Group that Fatou leads came over and said she had something to show me. I continue munching and she comes back with a folder. What's inside took me by surprise - they're sheets of paper keeping track of face to face encounters with compounds talking the importance of mosquito nets! WTF that's awesome and totally community health education! Also I found out almost every compound is marked/painted wit ha number to keep track of how many there are in Kulari. Incredible. This kid I met from before during site visit also gave me a free cold soda to drink - Vimto - it was fruity and berry flavored. Sweet. Fatou, the leader, came by to sit with us. I joked about how I was scared of having kids and that made them laugh. I complimented them on how great it was on what they were doing with bednets especially during summer months prior to rainy season because that's when mosquitoes are rampant. Then SOMEHOW we talked about exclusive breastfeeding. Not only did they understand the concept but they understood ME and this is all in Serehule. Clearly these are health educated/conscious ladies with clout in the community. I then sat with Isatou's family for a while chatting, actually chatting, and she's such a pleasant, kind, soft spoken lady. She's also full of life and it would be fantastic if I could befriend her more. She has the prettiest smile and the most soothing tone. By noon, I walked back home and sat in another compound - that of the baker's. I've GOT to watch how much I consume because it's all white bread and God knows how much CHO I'm already consuming. My friend from Nigeria - Aminata - was out but her husband (I think that's who it was anyways) was there and I watched him make peanut oil. He put it in this machine from France and manually cranked it in a circle and it compressed the peanuts so the oil came out, draining it in a basin. I sat and chatted a little and the grandma said I was smart, aw, and the guy welcomed me to their compound whenever. It's a pretty big one right next to the mosque. My teachers came over - both sisters - later in the evening and we went over health translations! I have them secured for two hours a week - on weekends. Of course, things happen, so it's always open and free to fluctuate. School comes first to them first, after all.
1/6:
Had an off day because I read another 200 pages of Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and had five hours of sleep. I did, however, finish the book! I need to stop being so obsessive with finishing things right away. I decided to not go anywhere that day but I DID go out and study/shell peanuts for like, 2.5 hours in the morning, then hibernated inside after that. I cancelled my plans to see the women's garden and they were understanding. I said my shoulder hurt, which was very true. Instead, I spent the afternoon drawing a present for my coworker's upcoming birthday since Beth, Lizzie, and I formed an unofficial birthday committee for Motley Crew. Basically, we'll send packages to our friends on their birthdays but details are still a bit blurry. I renamed my off days as Day Offs to stop guilting myself and I hope to take one every week :) Guilt free!
1/7 TODAY:
Interesting day. I promptly fell asleep last night at 9:28 PM and had 9.5 hours of deep slumber. I was refreshed and ready, I even jump roped in the morning! I sifted, walked to work, greeted, HM wasn't there again, but I ran into the acting Alkaloo Musa instead. His dad's the Alkaloo but he's very old, so Musa steps in. He was in the right place at the right time, or maybe I was, and I asked if I could charge my phone. One of his clan's compounds were near us and they had electricity so we stopped by. On the way, I ran into Fatou and she said she tried calling me but couldn't because my phone died. She was on her way to the garden and invited me along. I wanted to go with her so I quickly dropped my phone off at Musa's younger brother's room (Seiku), and went with Isatou and another woman (Fiye). Fatou went off to call her daughter who is my Toma (which means we share the same name) and whose nickname is Baby, haha. She's a very friendly girl in her teens.
Good news: the garden's huge and women are killing it out there gardening like fiends.
Bad news: It's in the middle of no where. I would have never gotten there myself nor do I think I can get there by myself for a long while...
I took a path I never have before and greeted new people, joked with new people, watered a huge bed or two, Fatou took my bag since I remarked the other day that my shoulder hurted (that woman... I love her so much), and watched as she settled a despite among the women about dividing up a plot of land and watering responsibilities. I picked some green onions and 10 hours later, my fingers still smell of them. I really had no idea what I was doing nor could I understand the instructions in Serehule but I tried my best and made use of myself where I could. I also saw two dead rats being thrown over the garden fence, great. I got my squat on though and I need to learn to put on sunscreen every morning no matter how cloudy it is because it will ALWAYS, WITHOUT FAIL get hot/sunny. Fatou told Mariama to take me home at around 12 and she walked me back to HM's on a new path. I discovered another bitik/shop that sold eggs, though! That's fun. It wasn't so far from HM's, either. I met back up with Musa who was sitting at a bantaba/sitting shaded place where men just sit around and brew attaya, sit around, or talk (Cough while the women are in the gardens/home cooking/preparing food Cough). He got his brother to fetch my phone for me - fully charged! I got a bunch of texts and apparently the Country Director is visiting my site next week. Everything's happening next week! More on that later.
So at the bantaba, the Alkaloo said he wanted an European/American wife out of the blue. I ask him why, he had a great wife already, and he says he wants to get one because there's no work in Gambia. Meaning he wanted to go to Europe or America. He says they're just sitting there right now. I mean in my head I'm like no shit, yes you are, I just came back from the gardens where women are working their asses off, but I bit my tongue and said instead, "The women are doing plenty of work, I just came from the women's garden and everyone there is working!" Also no western woman in her right mind would share a husband that doesn't work much less one who is merely using her to get out of the country - which involves a crap ton of paper work and money anyways. Well, that's too general, I suppose there are some western women who are down for that, but few. I told them there was plenty of work available if they were willing to work. The younger brother, Seiku, said it was not that easy for men and women to work together and that the Serehule culture is known to travel. I responded, traveling's good but you need education. Seiku told me it was rare for people to send their kids to school when they can send them to the bush and collect crops/get money. Also, schooling for little boys costs money but is free for young girls, who are more often than not pulled into doing household chores and taking care of their younger siblings. I turned to Musa and said, "You're the Alkaloo, you must have some influence and people will listen to you." Musa just half heartedly laughed at me probably thinking, "This naive foreign girl." I then said if everyone's leaving, there must be a lot of jobs here. Then I suggested they should be businessmen. Honestly they could improve their family's happiness if they would just help their wives or sisters instead of drinking attaya and sitting at bantabas -__- They could do a nursery business, construction, chicken coop, opening a business, bee keeping, fish farming, banking, the list continues, just look at what isn't there and trying. I know there's successful business people in the Gambia and I bet attitude has a lot to do with it. Of course they've been here all their lives, but maybe I can just plant a seed into their heads that they can do something here, with what they have, rather than always setting their sights abroad. They're clearly just trying to find an easy way out (like marrying) but unfortunately there isn't one - even if you go abroad. Seiku understood that without education, they will be cheated anyways. The men at the bantaba told me there was an English school in addition to the Madrasa (the Muslim school) and that they would take me tomorrow. Nothing else really interesting happened the rest of the day save for extreme bloatedness after lunch and I think I'm flirting with the idea of making my own lunch rather than breakfast since the rice here bloats the hell out of me but I keep on eating because it doesn't feel like I'm satiated! Peace Corps problems. Grumble. I'll figure it out... oh also I visited a compound next to another bitik/shop, tis important to show my face.
Purchased (white) bread fresh out of the oven. Went into town greeting everyone and anyone and arrived at my counterpart's to see that he was gone giving Fatou a ride to a neighboring town for a naming ceremony. I went to Fatou's house/compound and sat for like, an hour. I chatted with the women - Sona, Isatou, Ami, and the grandma and they showed me their backyard. They had a garden! I also watched them cook/prepare lunch, chatted with the grandma some more, shelled peanuts, and boiled them. I didn't know that boiling peanuts took all of like, two hours, so I just ate half boiled peanuts because I don't think I could sit in a compound doing nothing for two hours, hah. I went back home sometime afternoon noon to do whatever and got a free juice from Jenneba (she's actually a Pulaar woman, not Wolof) SCORE. I got an awful lunch so thank God I bought that back-up bread and chilled until my teacher came over and I had her translate a queue of things I was interested in expressing in Serehule. I read like, 200 pages in Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and slept like a baby.
1/5:
Again, my community rep was gone and I only found out that he went to Basse when I arrived at his house. I bought a sandwich for myself from a stand run by this little girl named Isatou and her sister and it was delicious! I was reading on the bench with them and a ton of kids when an older Isatou in the Women's Group that Fatou leads came over and said she had something to show me. I continue munching and she comes back with a folder. What's inside took me by surprise - they're sheets of paper keeping track of face to face encounters with compounds talking the importance of mosquito nets! WTF that's awesome and totally community health education! Also I found out almost every compound is marked/painted wit ha number to keep track of how many there are in Kulari. Incredible. This kid I met from before during site visit also gave me a free cold soda to drink - Vimto - it was fruity and berry flavored. Sweet. Fatou, the leader, came by to sit with us. I joked about how I was scared of having kids and that made them laugh. I complimented them on how great it was on what they were doing with bednets especially during summer months prior to rainy season because that's when mosquitoes are rampant. Then SOMEHOW we talked about exclusive breastfeeding. Not only did they understand the concept but they understood ME and this is all in Serehule. Clearly these are health educated/conscious ladies with clout in the community. I then sat with Isatou's family for a while chatting, actually chatting, and she's such a pleasant, kind, soft spoken lady. She's also full of life and it would be fantastic if I could befriend her more. She has the prettiest smile and the most soothing tone. By noon, I walked back home and sat in another compound - that of the baker's. I've GOT to watch how much I consume because it's all white bread and God knows how much CHO I'm already consuming. My friend from Nigeria - Aminata - was out but her husband (I think that's who it was anyways) was there and I watched him make peanut oil. He put it in this machine from France and manually cranked it in a circle and it compressed the peanuts so the oil came out, draining it in a basin. I sat and chatted a little and the grandma said I was smart, aw, and the guy welcomed me to their compound whenever. It's a pretty big one right next to the mosque. My teachers came over - both sisters - later in the evening and we went over health translations! I have them secured for two hours a week - on weekends. Of course, things happen, so it's always open and free to fluctuate. School comes first to them first, after all.
1/6:
Had an off day because I read another 200 pages of Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and had five hours of sleep. I did, however, finish the book! I need to stop being so obsessive with finishing things right away. I decided to not go anywhere that day but I DID go out and study/shell peanuts for like, 2.5 hours in the morning, then hibernated inside after that. I cancelled my plans to see the women's garden and they were understanding. I said my shoulder hurt, which was very true. Instead, I spent the afternoon drawing a present for my coworker's upcoming birthday since Beth, Lizzie, and I formed an unofficial birthday committee for Motley Crew. Basically, we'll send packages to our friends on their birthdays but details are still a bit blurry. I renamed my off days as Day Offs to stop guilting myself and I hope to take one every week :) Guilt free!
1/7 TODAY:
Interesting day. I promptly fell asleep last night at 9:28 PM and had 9.5 hours of deep slumber. I was refreshed and ready, I even jump roped in the morning! I sifted, walked to work, greeted, HM wasn't there again, but I ran into the acting Alkaloo Musa instead. His dad's the Alkaloo but he's very old, so Musa steps in. He was in the right place at the right time, or maybe I was, and I asked if I could charge my phone. One of his clan's compounds were near us and they had electricity so we stopped by. On the way, I ran into Fatou and she said she tried calling me but couldn't because my phone died. She was on her way to the garden and invited me along. I wanted to go with her so I quickly dropped my phone off at Musa's younger brother's room (Seiku), and went with Isatou and another woman (Fiye). Fatou went off to call her daughter who is my Toma (which means we share the same name) and whose nickname is Baby, haha. She's a very friendly girl in her teens.
Good news: the garden's huge and women are killing it out there gardening like fiends.
Bad news: It's in the middle of no where. I would have never gotten there myself nor do I think I can get there by myself for a long while...
I took a path I never have before and greeted new people, joked with new people, watered a huge bed or two, Fatou took my bag since I remarked the other day that my shoulder hurted (that woman... I love her so much), and watched as she settled a despite among the women about dividing up a plot of land and watering responsibilities. I picked some green onions and 10 hours later, my fingers still smell of them. I really had no idea what I was doing nor could I understand the instructions in Serehule but I tried my best and made use of myself where I could. I also saw two dead rats being thrown over the garden fence, great. I got my squat on though and I need to learn to put on sunscreen every morning no matter how cloudy it is because it will ALWAYS, WITHOUT FAIL get hot/sunny. Fatou told Mariama to take me home at around 12 and she walked me back to HM's on a new path. I discovered another bitik/shop that sold eggs, though! That's fun. It wasn't so far from HM's, either. I met back up with Musa who was sitting at a bantaba/sitting shaded place where men just sit around and brew attaya, sit around, or talk (Cough while the women are in the gardens/home cooking/preparing food Cough). He got his brother to fetch my phone for me - fully charged! I got a bunch of texts and apparently the Country Director is visiting my site next week. Everything's happening next week! More on that later.
So at the bantaba, the Alkaloo said he wanted an European/American wife out of the blue. I ask him why, he had a great wife already, and he says he wants to get one because there's no work in Gambia. Meaning he wanted to go to Europe or America. He says they're just sitting there right now. I mean in my head I'm like no shit, yes you are, I just came back from the gardens where women are working their asses off, but I bit my tongue and said instead, "The women are doing plenty of work, I just came from the women's garden and everyone there is working!" Also no western woman in her right mind would share a husband that doesn't work much less one who is merely using her to get out of the country - which involves a crap ton of paper work and money anyways. Well, that's too general, I suppose there are some western women who are down for that, but few. I told them there was plenty of work available if they were willing to work. The younger brother, Seiku, said it was not that easy for men and women to work together and that the Serehule culture is known to travel. I responded, traveling's good but you need education. Seiku told me it was rare for people to send their kids to school when they can send them to the bush and collect crops/get money. Also, schooling for little boys costs money but is free for young girls, who are more often than not pulled into doing household chores and taking care of their younger siblings. I turned to Musa and said, "You're the Alkaloo, you must have some influence and people will listen to you." Musa just half heartedly laughed at me probably thinking, "This naive foreign girl." I then said if everyone's leaving, there must be a lot of jobs here. Then I suggested they should be businessmen. Honestly they could improve their family's happiness if they would just help their wives or sisters instead of drinking attaya and sitting at bantabas -__- They could do a nursery business, construction, chicken coop, opening a business, bee keeping, fish farming, banking, the list continues, just look at what isn't there and trying. I know there's successful business people in the Gambia and I bet attitude has a lot to do with it. Of course they've been here all their lives, but maybe I can just plant a seed into their heads that they can do something here, with what they have, rather than always setting their sights abroad. They're clearly just trying to find an easy way out (like marrying) but unfortunately there isn't one - even if you go abroad. Seiku understood that without education, they will be cheated anyways. The men at the bantaba told me there was an English school in addition to the Madrasa (the Muslim school) and that they would take me tomorrow. Nothing else really interesting happened the rest of the day save for extreme bloatedness after lunch and I think I'm flirting with the idea of making my own lunch rather than breakfast since the rice here bloats the hell out of me but I keep on eating because it doesn't feel like I'm satiated! Peace Corps problems. Grumble. I'll figure it out... oh also I visited a compound next to another bitik/shop, tis important to show my face.
Journal Post 1/3
Again, it’s been awhile since I wrote but that’s for good reason! I spent my first of three New Years in The Gambia. Let’s start with December 31, New Year’s Eve starting from the beginning...
Woke up at 5. I decided to try my luck and
wait for the gele that was suppose to drive past my compound at 6. By 6:20, the
only thing walking past my compound were people waving flashlights in their
stride to the mosque for their morning prayers. I decided enough was enough and
I wasn’t going to risk my only chance heading to Basse (regional big town where
the Peace Corps transit house was, also where internet is found, and just a
bigger town to buy supplies, take money out of the bank, and see fellow Peace
Corps volunteers) so I abandoned the uncomfortable bench I was sitting on and
sped-walked in the direction of the car park. Fortunately, I didn’t have to
walk as far as I thought I would because I saw a gele flashing it’s lights
halfway there parked conveniently by the ‘market place’ which is just a place
where women sit out with their vegetables, and it’s no more than 10 sellers all
at once. I waited for a bit, the gele finally started, and we were off!
I got into town at about 7:30 AM. They
dropped me close to the center of town which meant I had to walk about 30
minutes to the transit house, which is located just outside of Basse proper.
It’s like if you say you live in Boston but are actually in, like, Arlington or
something. Anyways, it’s cold as shit in the mornings now at a whopping low 60s
or dare I say high 50s range which is numbingly freezing for Gambia because it
reaches, like, mid 90s by the afternoon. I was wearing a yellow short sleeved
shirt and orange skirt that was too tight at the knees to allow me to walk
faster than I wanted to and glasses... and figured, what the hell, I already
look weird as hell so I pulled out my handy dandy roll up blanket and wrapped
it around me as I trucked to the transit house as fast as I could. I stopped on
the way at Kumba’s, this breakfast place on the side of the road where I think
I’m going to slide down from the main pavement and break my neck every time I
frequent there. Kumba’s on a steep slope downward from the road and it’s
underneath a large bamboo thatched cover. Kumba is a Fula woman (the Fula ethnic group speak a language
called Pulaar) who can speak English quite well and her eatery is the closest
to the transit house so that woman makes bank any time there’s a gathering in
Basse. I got a full bean and egg sandwich with ketsup and trust me, it’s
heaven. I know it might sound really weird from an American point of view but
if any of you make it to Gambia, I will bet a day of indentured servitude that
YOU WILL get hooked on bean sandwiches. A full bean and egg sandwich will cost
you 50 Dalasi, and for me it can last me for breakfast and lunch.
Alright so I finally get to the transit
house. Jason, one of the few Serehule speakers and an Education volunteer who
also graduated from UMass, was the first one to greet me! He was the only one
up. I decided to wake everyone else up by jumping in their beds and cuddling up
to them. All my decorations from the week prior have not been torn down and I
was very much pleased. We all ended up talking for the greater part of the
morning into the afternoon before an army of us marched into town. I,
personally, went with a group down the fabric road to a shop that one of the
older volunteer’s frequented a lot. The owner knew quite a bit of Serehule and
I was able to talk to him! This is always an exciting moment because, like I
always stress, not even a majority of Gambians can speak Serehule since they
only make up 9% of the population and are concentrated in the eastern most part
of the country. Waaay far into the bush. I was able to purchase 3 patterns at 2
meters each, paid 50 D for each meter which is way more reasonable than the
friggin 80-100 D that other shop owners were trying to rip me off with during
Christmas week. I also got a meter of this nice silk-esque material as a veil
in case I need to attend anything serious (funerals, among other occasions,
call for head drape/veils/whatever you call them). FINALLY I have the materials
for wrap skirts, I feel like I’m the last volunteer to get one! I also
desperately need them because all my previous items in my wardrobe became
obsolete since they don’t go down to my ankles or aren’t skirts, fail. The
group and I walked around some more, then we decided to check out this
restaurant by the ferry that had a brothel on the second floor. They sold bush
pig and alcohol there, and of course it’s in the farthest reaches from the
transit house in the most unexpected place ever, haha. I went to the bathroom
on the second floor and it was actually a great view from where the brothel was
situated, the staircase up to it was sketchy as hell, but the view of the river
was very pretty. They also had a black board that had the phrase ‘you are what
you are’ written on it. Not sure what that’s supposed to mean.
The walk back was miserable. It was hot,
hot, and hot. We finally reached home and I ripped off my clothes into
something a lot less sticky on me and played ping pong for hours. Or watched
people play ping pong for hours. It’s been awhile since I picked it up but I
have an obsessive personality and get hooked on something easily, haha. I
attempted to do a quick workout session before my friend was dragged away to
fetch firewood and reverted back to playing ping pong. After forever, dinner
was served at it was SCRUMPTIOUS. Two groups of people were making different
things – a chilli was brewing in the garden fire pit and other people were
making garlic bread/pasta/vegetables and I opted for the latter although I
totally could have had both. We paid the cooks and I volunteered to be one of
the two tributes to wash dishes. After that I spent a large amount of time
consuming 30 roasted marshmellows out by the fire and don’t feel a molecule of
regret because damn they were so good!
No one really danced for the greater part
of the night until we all looked at the clock and said ‘Oh shit, it’s 10:30 PM
already!’ Most of us went inside and I was one of the 3 people to start
dancing. In all honesty I love the open space to dance like a fool, but it’s
Peace Corps and I’ve been told this is where people really find their style
when it comes to dancing haha. I was particularly fond of twirling around that
night, partially attributed to the fact that my shirt flowy and I liked the way
it spun when I twirled around. Random detail. Anyways, I felt like there was a
struggle for music-power when it came to music selection and it got to the
point where I had no idea what music was playing nor could I really dance to it
and felt a little bit uncomfortable with how tense it was over in the DJ
corner... and went into a bedroom with a fellow volunteer to throw our own
dance party. Much more manageable. We also had couches were we could jump on
and it was grand. I’m not saying for sure, but we may have started the no pants
fashion trend that existed into the night.
We all danced until midnight where we had a
great big count down. I PROMPTLY fell asleep at 1 and luckily a good friend of
mine was nice enough to share a bed because I did not want to be out in the
mosquito infested living room whatsoever.
I woke up on New Year’s Day and still
managed to receive two mosquito bites... to the face. Of course. It was a real
chill day, I can’t really remember doing anything except for going into town to
use the internet, shopping for dinner, cooking a delectable Japanese/Gambian
soba noodles fusion type of thing with some friends, studying, and falling
asleep on my book. I really hope I absorbed information through putting my head
on that thing because it was real uncomfortable all night and I have no idea
how I could possibly fall asleep in such a bad position in the first place! Oh
somewhere among all of this happening I got my secret santa gift and it was
such a pleasant surprise :D
I woke up pretty early the next day to
some leftover breakfast that my secret santa made before he left to head back
to site. I spent the majority of the morning cleaning up dishes and packing. I
walked my friend Tyler Bear to the bus stop and dropped him off, then took a
sharp left straight to the market. I bought a head of cabbage, eggplant, and
beans for my family and headed to the internet cafe. It always amazes me how
fast time flies when I’m on the internet, haha. I like to think I did
productive things on there – sent an email, caught up with a couple of friends,
listened to some tracks on the new Beyonce album, whatever, but next thing I
know I’m walking to the car garage!
I kept track of it – I left for the garage
at 12, got there at 12:10, and didn’t even leave for Kulari until 1:20 PM. I HAVE TO REMEMBER 1 PM IS THE MAGIC NUMBER. I know it’s risking it
but sitting in a fly infested place is not what I call a good time... I spent
the hour and a half sitting, studying a bit, and chatting with some people in
Serehule since everyone sitting beneath the shade of the Kulari 18-passenger
van were all Serehule! Of course I have people walking by surprised there’s a
Chinese girl speaking Serehule and I had to deal with all that. Some people are
honestly nice and some people are just there to say two things super fast and
turn away before I have the time to register and respond. Lots and lots of kids
always surround me to stare me down with either curiosity or disgust or trying
to will me with their eyes to buy whatever it is their selling, haha. It was
pretty tempting but I got a bean sandwich earlier that morning. Anyways, I was
chatting with the women and I’m always asked why I don’t have kids if I have a
husband. This one woman in particular was just nodding her head at me whenever
I spoke as if she actually understood me but I’m 98% sure she didn’t actually
hear a word I said and stopped understanding when I said I didn’t have kids.
Thankfully, this one woman next to me understood what I was trying to say on
the spot – I said I didn’t want kids yet because I’m learning and working now,
I don’t have money, if I don’t have money and have kids it will be bad because
I want to help them if my husband dies/leaves me, and later on I will have
children. Pretty practical, right? She seemed to understand. Other women don’t,
but really, that’s the biggest thing in their lives – it’s like their main
purpose for being put on the planet. It’s pretty sad, but if it’s one thing I
can try to change, it’s that women can definitely work and make money and their
ability transcends that of JUST baring kids.
The car ride home always seems the longest.
I was sitting on the sunny side of the gele for awhile and it was jam packed,
and of course there was the loudest baby every on board shrieking because of
how hot it was. I understand baby, I totally understand. We finally got off in
Kulari and unfortunately I was dropped pretty far away from my place but,
whatevs, exercise! I passed by a Wolof woman named Jenneba Njie and greeted
her, passed her, then back tracked because I saw a bitik shop next to her
house. I walked in, greeted, no one was there, but she comes in and I ask her
for sugar. She sees my water bottle empty and pulls out water (the unsure if
safe kind, of course haha) from the refrigerator and gives it to me! It didn’t
fill all the way so she pulls out another bottle in the fridge and fills it up
to the tip, saying I was her friend. Omg. THE NICEST GESTURE EVER. I will
definitely be frequenting that bitik. I hugged her and went on my way.
I greet all the way back to my house and
drop down my stuff, greet my family, give them the groceries I bought, and
retreated in my house. I didn’t come out really all day and thank God I had my
bean sandwich because I missed lunch. I spent the entire time cleaning
up/putting things away, and just relaxing. I didn’t even go out that much at
night, only to return my dinner bowl, and went straight to sleep.
The next day, I woke up at 7 without an
alarm clock. Pretty impressive! I was able to do everything in the morning
(including squeezing in jump roping) EXCEPT for make my own breakfast because I
ran out of clean water. Luckily my family got my back and made me some
porridge. I got ready, went outside to sift coos a little, dropped my fabric
with the tailor to put a tie on it, and went off into the town to greet/explore
a bitik shop/go to HM’s. He bought me a bean sandwich again God bless his soul
and I went to work on Excel. The report needs to be done by Sunday and now that
he read me all the names, I think it’s a totally doable goal. I just need to
transcribe all the names from the monthly clinic visits to three villages,
their birthdays, sex, weight, height, and other data stuff. I’ll totally do
that if someone’s feeding me, haha. It’s also something to do and I get to
reclaim what little I knew about Excel. On the way back to my house for lunch,
I stopped by a compound (Bambara kunda? I think.) to shell some peanuts and sit
and talk for a little bit. I’m trying to make it a part of my routine. Again,
greeted all the way back to my compound and promised the ladies at the market
I’d come back later in the evening but I didn’t because... I’ll get to that
later.
Get back, sweep, wash some clothes, and ate
lunch. I went outside to study/translate some things I wanted to say to my
family. I’m totally not sure if I made any sense, but I THINK they understood
my message..
‘I wanted to thank them for their delicious
food and for cooking for me. However, I want to start cooking breakfast for
myself because I have a husband and I should start learning. Starting tomorrow,
I would like to do that, but please still cook lunch and dinner for me. Also,
can you help me wash my clothes? I’m not fast nor are my clothes clean if I
wash them. Is that okay? Every two weeks wash once? Here is my rent of 1,200 D.
Sometimes I need to go to Basse because I have work there and here, and I might
stay for the day or night, I will call you all. If I go to Basse, I will buy
groceries to bring back for us. Thank you all for helping me so much. I can’t
talk a lot but my teacher will come in two weeks to talk to you all and she is
a Serehule woman who can say a lot.’
Yes, very rudimentary but that’s
essentially the paragraph that I said. They smiled and said thank you and ‘no
problem’ so hopefully that means they understood. They also said they would
tell my grandma when she got back. It brought the biggest smile on my face. My
toma/namesake/someone with the same first name as me and my other younger
sister went to the pump. Thankfully the water was much faster than last time I
went. A horde of women gathered around me to see the foreigner and I greeted
some people, apparently my aunt from my dad’s side was there and of course I
couldn’t tell and it took me forever to understand her child was a new bride as
of last week, but we finally went back to our compound and at last I have clean
water. I never know if it’s safe to boil well water because I’ve seen how muggy
it is and even get second thoughts about using it for shower water, haha.
I decided to stay in and not go out like I
told the women I would. I feel super bad but I’ll sit with them tomorrow
morning or afternoon for sure. I might even buy something. I don’t want to be
seen as the big money spender and it’s awkward navigating 10 women selling
things but only buying from one of them... or buying something more expensive
from one person than the next. Derp I’ll have to face it tomorrow. It is,
however, supplementing my and my family’s diet. I would love to buy fruit but
for some reason the banana sellers are always evading me. I was able to tell my
family that if they see the banana seller to send them to my house, or if they
see pretty fabric then tell me. Hopefully they understand. My mom understand
the other day!
Aside from exercising, bringing in my
clothes, receiving my wrap skirts with a tie on them (but still way too tall on
me, I’m going to see if he can cut it shorter for me), I read like 70 pages in
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I’m trying to finish it by the twelfth and
start The Hobbit then. I’ve got a healthy amount of stuff lined up for tomorrow
and hopefully I’ll have the same success that I got today!
Journal Post 12/29
I feel like today was pretty fun! It started earlier - which I'm trying to alter - and I was able to go out and sit with my family by 8:30 AM. It wasn't until 9 that my sisters and I traversed into town - of course before I was told to change out of my skirt and into pants, and change my shirt haha. I guess I suck at dressing like an appropriate Serehule woman. We went into town specifically to go to a bitik/shop that sold fabric. I greeted all along the way and I consider that work. It's tough speaking in another language. Whe nwe got there, the bitik owner was mean, didn't barter, and just saw me as a rich foreigner. He didn't have a lot to choose from anyways and was just very curt. He wanted to charge me 300D for six meters of fabric but I definitely don't need anywehre close to that amount and definitely overcharged me compared to other Gambians. The price would have been cheaper in comparison to Basse for six meters but I wasn't all that in love with any of the six patterns available to buy that much. So, we said our goodbyes and left.
We walked back and I greeted some more. This one guy who I met during site visit who I try to ignore because he calls me and wants to teach me Serehule all the time and lives near me so it's awkward but his family is friendly enough... well, he was on our route going back and we were quarantined by his family who wanted to say hi. Of course I greet back and chat a little but he kept on speaking to English to me and even had the audacity to say, "Hey pay attention to me!" But I just looked at him and was like, I'm greeting. I immediately turn to his mom (there's a sizable crowd forming to see the new/only foreigner in town) and started a conversation with her in Serehule. I hope he took this as a hint to stop speaking to me in English and that I'm here to talk to everyone - not just him. I spent a little bit of time studying, charged my phone (so happy that my solar works), and went outside to help the ladies with food preparation. They wouldn't let me pound (probably for the best, they were pounding dozens of corn still on the cob) so I picked the kernels from the cob instead with my younger sisters. They're the inseparable duo and I love both of them. The younger one is so full of life and always willing to help me in the smallest ways. For example - they would start shucking a row of the kernels for me to make it easier to shell the rest. Starting it is always the hardest. My fingers definitely hurt because that shit is prickly but I think they appreciated that I was helping them out. I'm going to try to do little things every day - even small tasks that a kid can do - and maybe graduate to bigger tasks so they don't think I'm lazy, ha. I *do* honestly like doing things with the ladies because we're doing something together, we don't need to speak, and I'm participating in their every day life. All a part of integrating! Tomorrow I hope to sift coos in the morning.
After I was done, I spent the majority of the afternoon inside exercising, lunching, doing a bit of laundry, and took a much needed shower. It was scorching today and I felt drained for some reason. I went out into town again at 4:40 PM ish and greeted more people - this time to my final destination which was my teacher's place! I stopped by HM's/the health clinic first and he told me my bamboo bed was done! Yay. We'll transport it to my house tomorrow. We went to Hadja - my new teacher (her sister is out of town) to coordinate tomorrow's lesson. I'll be doing one hour tomorrow to test the waters and if that goes well, I'll be doing 1-2 hour lessons every weekend mornings or evenings with them. HM also expressed the need to speak slowly with me which is a must - everyone talks so fast here. I'm lucky in that both Hadja and Ramata (her sister) are also Fulas so maybe I can speak a bit of Pulaar, too! They have to bike to school (easily 10k) every day - full of rough roads and sand - and it makes me so happy they're that committed. I'm so happy to have them as friends and that they live in Kulari.
We walked back and I greeted some more. This one guy who I met during site visit who I try to ignore because he calls me and wants to teach me Serehule all the time and lives near me so it's awkward but his family is friendly enough... well, he was on our route going back and we were quarantined by his family who wanted to say hi. Of course I greet back and chat a little but he kept on speaking to English to me and even had the audacity to say, "Hey pay attention to me!" But I just looked at him and was like, I'm greeting. I immediately turn to his mom (there's a sizable crowd forming to see the new/only foreigner in town) and started a conversation with her in Serehule. I hope he took this as a hint to stop speaking to me in English and that I'm here to talk to everyone - not just him. I spent a little bit of time studying, charged my phone (so happy that my solar works), and went outside to help the ladies with food preparation. They wouldn't let me pound (probably for the best, they were pounding dozens of corn still on the cob) so I picked the kernels from the cob instead with my younger sisters. They're the inseparable duo and I love both of them. The younger one is so full of life and always willing to help me in the smallest ways. For example - they would start shucking a row of the kernels for me to make it easier to shell the rest. Starting it is always the hardest. My fingers definitely hurt because that shit is prickly but I think they appreciated that I was helping them out. I'm going to try to do little things every day - even small tasks that a kid can do - and maybe graduate to bigger tasks so they don't think I'm lazy, ha. I *do* honestly like doing things with the ladies because we're doing something together, we don't need to speak, and I'm participating in their every day life. All a part of integrating! Tomorrow I hope to sift coos in the morning.
After I was done, I spent the majority of the afternoon inside exercising, lunching, doing a bit of laundry, and took a much needed shower. It was scorching today and I felt drained for some reason. I went out into town again at 4:40 PM ish and greeted more people - this time to my final destination which was my teacher's place! I stopped by HM's/the health clinic first and he told me my bamboo bed was done! Yay. We'll transport it to my house tomorrow. We went to Hadja - my new teacher (her sister is out of town) to coordinate tomorrow's lesson. I'll be doing one hour tomorrow to test the waters and if that goes well, I'll be doing 1-2 hour lessons every weekend mornings or evenings with them. HM also expressed the need to speak slowly with me which is a must - everyone talks so fast here. I'm lucky in that both Hadja and Ramata (her sister) are also Fulas so maybe I can speak a bit of Pulaar, too! They have to bike to school (easily 10k) every day - full of rough roads and sand - and it makes me so happy they're that committed. I'm so happy to have them as friends and that they live in Kulari.
Journal Entry 12/28 Part 2
Well this is a great opportunity to write! I'm on my 1.5th hour waiting at the car park while my gele gele van to Kulari fills up with enough passengers. On my way to the garage (mind you I still have no idea where it is), Ceedee's mom saw me and led me there thank God. That woman's Grade A awesome and if you just meet her you'd want to be around her, too. We stopped by a fabric shop and they told me two meters was 100D. Bullcrap. I still don't believe it so I'm holding off on buying any since I need to buy a lot... NOT at a bad price. I went online and got a bunch of dress ideas so I'll have fun drawing them out the next couple of days. I hope the tailor that my family knows is a good one. I'm not sure if my moms like it that I want to make dresses, haha, but I saw other girls do it! Serehule's are really conservative, remember, but I'm thinking of making a shorter dress that I can wear by itself in Kombo and in village I can wear that + a wrap skirt underneath so I'm all covered. Speaking of which I really want some wrap skirts but the prices I've gotten are outrageous. I'll hold off until a PCV who has connections take me under their wing.
So, Fatou (Ceedee's mom) and I walked to the car park and the first thing I hear is "CHINA CHINA CHINA" haha. Some weirdo who was really dirty, tank top/jeans wearing, has the balls to approach us (and he's chanting this in a pretty loud tone, too) and Fatou goes, "Her name's Mariama" in Serehule. I think she's a very dignified woman that won't take shit but also won't start shit. I think he may have some mental issues but I'm not sure. When we went to the Kulari car, she dropped me off and went off on her way - I think she was visiting someone - and I tried sitting near the shops/small food hole in the wall places but the flies were disgusting and omnipresent. Mad guys were there and that weird bold guy from before approaches me yet again but I think I scared him off with a very pronounced, agitated, sharp "WHAT?" and sometimes I think that's what I need to do to get people off my back. I can understand with little kids since they don't have a good sense of, well, anything, but when adults do it, it definitely grates on my nerves. He didn't come back to annoy me after that. I told the guys waiting at the Kulari car that the guy was crazy and I think they told me not to mind him because he was (crazy - there's no PG term for mentally disabled people - even professionals straight up call them "dumb"). I chatted with them for a bit, texted my friends, got obnoxiously toubab'd by kids - all in a normal day's work. As I'm waiting for three more people to fill the gele, a banana seller with a really cute fabric pattern for her skirt and the nicest ass is standing next to me mostly talking about me to the driver but she doesn't speak Serehule - just Pulaar. Earlier today at Kumba's, a food stand situated close to the transit house that everyone frequents, the woman who runs the place (Kumba) taught me a few words in Pulaar and I was excited to use them!
Oh yeah - that's something worth writing - one of my favorite foods here which is ONLY sold during the morning (but I can eat them at any time of day, all day, every day) is called the bean sandwich. At first, I don't know what the hell kind of phenomenon those were because EVERYONE was raving about them. But after I took my first bites... Essentially it's a long piece of white bread with cooked beans (like the type you'd get for camping) and you add either one or two fried eggs in them or they're topped with this oil sauce with onions and pepper which is just spicy enough to give it a kick but not overwhelming. If it's just beans and sauce it should cost anywhere from 10-25 D for a full. If you add eggs to the beans mix, it makes it 35D for a half, 50 for full.
---
OKAY so it took me a long two hours in total for the gele to fill up with enough people to leave. Note to self I have plenty of time to get to the car park by 1-1:30 PM next time. It was so hot and I was awfully thirsty and I think the combination lulled me to sleep on the bump ride home. By the time I got up, we already arrived in Kulari and the car dropped me off closer to my house than expected! I greeted all the people my there, and one of my uncles (who I call dad) were there! He's very sweet and knows English but speaks to me in Serehule. I made the off hand comment that my bag was heavy and he went off to get his bike, hoisted my backpack onto it, and walked me home. I was so happy and instantly felt happier being home. Along the way, he said I was his child and I assumed his message was that of course he'd help me. We got to my house and everyone was there. Apparently all the peanut picking ended yesterday so maybe it was lucky I stayed in Basse instead of being pressured to go out in the bush again, haha. My dad biked my backpack to my door while I ran and hugged my moms and grandma. I ran back to put my stuff in, grabbed the groceries, and took it all outside to give to the fam. I also gave my dad two packets/boxes of attaya, I have no idea how many that brews but whatever it was a road gift. My older mom gave me lunch and helped me fetch water which was so thoughtful. At first glance it didn't seem like my house needed a lot of cleaning but I was so naive as to what was to come...
I went outside to transfer water that my mom fetched for me into my bath bucket. It's on a raised platform so I moved it a little but like 15 of those gross, big burnt yellow big ants (sometimes flecked with brown or black) came out from the bottom as soon as I lifted them up. They're like 1 cm- 1.5 cm long which is a hell of a lot bigger than any of the ants back home. AND GROSS COLORED. Anyways, I completely removed the bucket from the platform and there's a small hill of UNHATCHED, WHITE, LARGE RICE LOOKING EGGS and three dozen of those ants tumbling around. I dashed back inside to grab bug spray and by the three seconds that past between dashing inside and back, the ants were crawling everywhere in my shower/bathroom area. I had no choice but to spray the entirety of my shower area to get them all. Now, my shower floor has a hole connected to the pit latrine for the water from my bucket baths to drain into. I guess some of the bug spray residue got into the hole and out comes HUNDREDS of those gross ants again! It looked like a scene in Lord of The Rings when all the orcs were marching out of fucking Mordor and Frodo and Sam where like shit, shit, shit. Of course the ants were writhing and crawling out haphazardly but it was just SO gross seeing all of them on my shower area, like a mass diaspora, and they're all types of dirty having just crawled OUT OF MY PIT LATRINE.
OK so the massive graveyard of ants that my shower area just transformed into was pretty easy to clean. I basically used water to flush the corpses back from the portal to hell from which they came. So now that I ran out of water, I go fetch more and explain to my family what happened and resumed cleaning my house. As I'm cleaning, of course, a super fast black thing darted underneath my gas tank so obviously it must be a spider. I grabbed my handy dandy bug spray again and sprayed into the bottom of it - where it's raised and has some openings, no, not the actual gas tank part - and OF COURSE TO MY HORROR AGAIN five dozen of those gross ants come stumbling out. I continue spraying but they continue evacuating/dying/writhing so I move my gas stove a little and legitimately see a MOUNTAIN of eggs. Ugh. After the second massacre, and I cannot even imagine if all of those eggs hatched (I learn now that I have to move my gas tank frequently), I swept and felt utterly creeped out. I did some exercise, went to shower, ate dinner, but I saw more of those fast, big, flat spiders than usual. I was not above asking my mom to kill it so I did, haha. I also was able to give her my rent and she still remembered that I wanted to cook breakfast for myself! Yay. And that I wanted lunch + dinner cooked for me. I was able to communicate everything on the spot without my book and sat out with my family for an hour without my book and got to just talk/joke with them. My moms understand me and for that I am so ever grateful. I'm also truly grateful I didn't forget as much Serehule as I thought in my short hiatus away from site.
When I turned in for the night, of course, there was another huge spider inside and it crawled so fast too! I had to battle it out and feel like I emptied an entire can on its ass to kill it. I thought it was going to crawl into my mattress at one point but it just went back on the wall... unless that was another spider fml. I didn't have such a problem before I left, maybe this is just what happens when my hut's unoccupied? I want a table stat so I can get my chests off the ground and I'll need to move my gas tank around more. Have to figure out my bed situation when that finishes, too, bah. I just want my house finished now!
So, Fatou (Ceedee's mom) and I walked to the car park and the first thing I hear is "CHINA CHINA CHINA" haha. Some weirdo who was really dirty, tank top/jeans wearing, has the balls to approach us (and he's chanting this in a pretty loud tone, too) and Fatou goes, "Her name's Mariama" in Serehule. I think she's a very dignified woman that won't take shit but also won't start shit. I think he may have some mental issues but I'm not sure. When we went to the Kulari car, she dropped me off and went off on her way - I think she was visiting someone - and I tried sitting near the shops/small food hole in the wall places but the flies were disgusting and omnipresent. Mad guys were there and that weird bold guy from before approaches me yet again but I think I scared him off with a very pronounced, agitated, sharp "WHAT?" and sometimes I think that's what I need to do to get people off my back. I can understand with little kids since they don't have a good sense of, well, anything, but when adults do it, it definitely grates on my nerves. He didn't come back to annoy me after that. I told the guys waiting at the Kulari car that the guy was crazy and I think they told me not to mind him because he was (crazy - there's no PG term for mentally disabled people - even professionals straight up call them "dumb"). I chatted with them for a bit, texted my friends, got obnoxiously toubab'd by kids - all in a normal day's work. As I'm waiting for three more people to fill the gele, a banana seller with a really cute fabric pattern for her skirt and the nicest ass is standing next to me mostly talking about me to the driver but she doesn't speak Serehule - just Pulaar. Earlier today at Kumba's, a food stand situated close to the transit house that everyone frequents, the woman who runs the place (Kumba) taught me a few words in Pulaar and I was excited to use them!
Oh yeah - that's something worth writing - one of my favorite foods here which is ONLY sold during the morning (but I can eat them at any time of day, all day, every day) is called the bean sandwich. At first, I don't know what the hell kind of phenomenon those were because EVERYONE was raving about them. But after I took my first bites... Essentially it's a long piece of white bread with cooked beans (like the type you'd get for camping) and you add either one or two fried eggs in them or they're topped with this oil sauce with onions and pepper which is just spicy enough to give it a kick but not overwhelming. If it's just beans and sauce it should cost anywhere from 10-25 D for a full. If you add eggs to the beans mix, it makes it 35D for a half, 50 for full.
---
OKAY so it took me a long two hours in total for the gele to fill up with enough people to leave. Note to self I have plenty of time to get to the car park by 1-1:30 PM next time. It was so hot and I was awfully thirsty and I think the combination lulled me to sleep on the bump ride home. By the time I got up, we already arrived in Kulari and the car dropped me off closer to my house than expected! I greeted all the people my there, and one of my uncles (who I call dad) were there! He's very sweet and knows English but speaks to me in Serehule. I made the off hand comment that my bag was heavy and he went off to get his bike, hoisted my backpack onto it, and walked me home. I was so happy and instantly felt happier being home. Along the way, he said I was his child and I assumed his message was that of course he'd help me. We got to my house and everyone was there. Apparently all the peanut picking ended yesterday so maybe it was lucky I stayed in Basse instead of being pressured to go out in the bush again, haha. My dad biked my backpack to my door while I ran and hugged my moms and grandma. I ran back to put my stuff in, grabbed the groceries, and took it all outside to give to the fam. I also gave my dad two packets/boxes of attaya, I have no idea how many that brews but whatever it was a road gift. My older mom gave me lunch and helped me fetch water which was so thoughtful. At first glance it didn't seem like my house needed a lot of cleaning but I was so naive as to what was to come...
I went outside to transfer water that my mom fetched for me into my bath bucket. It's on a raised platform so I moved it a little but like 15 of those gross, big burnt yellow big ants (sometimes flecked with brown or black) came out from the bottom as soon as I lifted them up. They're like 1 cm- 1.5 cm long which is a hell of a lot bigger than any of the ants back home. AND GROSS COLORED. Anyways, I completely removed the bucket from the platform and there's a small hill of UNHATCHED, WHITE, LARGE RICE LOOKING EGGS and three dozen of those ants tumbling around. I dashed back inside to grab bug spray and by the three seconds that past between dashing inside and back, the ants were crawling everywhere in my shower/bathroom area. I had no choice but to spray the entirety of my shower area to get them all. Now, my shower floor has a hole connected to the pit latrine for the water from my bucket baths to drain into. I guess some of the bug spray residue got into the hole and out comes HUNDREDS of those gross ants again! It looked like a scene in Lord of The Rings when all the orcs were marching out of fucking Mordor and Frodo and Sam where like shit, shit, shit. Of course the ants were writhing and crawling out haphazardly but it was just SO gross seeing all of them on my shower area, like a mass diaspora, and they're all types of dirty having just crawled OUT OF MY PIT LATRINE.
OK so the massive graveyard of ants that my shower area just transformed into was pretty easy to clean. I basically used water to flush the corpses back from the portal to hell from which they came. So now that I ran out of water, I go fetch more and explain to my family what happened and resumed cleaning my house. As I'm cleaning, of course, a super fast black thing darted underneath my gas tank so obviously it must be a spider. I grabbed my handy dandy bug spray again and sprayed into the bottom of it - where it's raised and has some openings, no, not the actual gas tank part - and OF COURSE TO MY HORROR AGAIN five dozen of those gross ants come stumbling out. I continue spraying but they continue evacuating/dying/writhing so I move my gas stove a little and legitimately see a MOUNTAIN of eggs. Ugh. After the second massacre, and I cannot even imagine if all of those eggs hatched (I learn now that I have to move my gas tank frequently), I swept and felt utterly creeped out. I did some exercise, went to shower, ate dinner, but I saw more of those fast, big, flat spiders than usual. I was not above asking my mom to kill it so I did, haha. I also was able to give her my rent and she still remembered that I wanted to cook breakfast for myself! Yay. And that I wanted lunch + dinner cooked for me. I was able to communicate everything on the spot without my book and sat out with my family for an hour without my book and got to just talk/joke with them. My moms understand me and for that I am so ever grateful. I'm also truly grateful I didn't forget as much Serehule as I thought in my short hiatus away from site.
When I turned in for the night, of course, there was another huge spider inside and it crawled so fast too! I had to battle it out and feel like I emptied an entire can on its ass to kill it. I thought it was going to crawl into my mattress at one point but it just went back on the wall... unless that was another spider fml. I didn't have such a problem before I left, maybe this is just what happens when my hut's unoccupied? I want a table stat so I can get my chests off the ground and I'll need to move my gas tank around more. Have to figure out my bed situation when that finishes, too, bah. I just want my house finished now!
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