Woke up freezing yet again - a great trend and I relish every second of it because I fear what is about to come in a matter of months - but this time it was without the A/C. It was my first time actually cold in Jenoi because the dorms they put us in are like ovens usually. I was all wrapped up in sheet and blanket but still woke up at 3:50 AM -_- I listened to music and derped in bed forever until I finally threw myself out when the breakfast bell signalled abnormally early and stumbled into the dining hall. Breakfast was potato wedges, greasy fried egg, bread, and chocolate spread. We had a brief session about our sites, language (my teacher wasn't there so Elizabeth and I just studied alone), session about making neem cream (where you have to stir for EVER and get beast arms or small boy a child to do it for you, if you haven't read before it's an organic not totally scientifically proven way to prevent mosquitos but works well enough here), lunch (which was delicious), another session about methods to exchange Gambian culture back home (sending back gifts, having people visit, talking at colleges, blogs, World Wise School pen pal system and teaching everyone how there's so many misconceptions about Africa and especially the Muslim religion and debunking a shit ton of myths) and I like that one a lot. I'm writing a lot about my day-to-day life now but I think life slows down for me, I'll be able to write a lot more about my observations and such and go in depth about the people in The Gambia.
We threw around a Frisbee for a bit and then I took an early shower again to wash a few things so I don't get a mountain of clothes to tackle when I get back to training village. I went outside to study, folded stars, counted what I actually folded and... I counted 481 stars in the past two days???? Jesus, fingers, good for you! It totally doesn't even look like it in my small little zip lock bag. I'm planning to give them all out as Christmas presents, kukuku. We then had a scrumptious Thanksgiving dinner/feast prepared for us by the PCVs and I was yet again in food heaven. We had carrots, cucumber, ranch dressing, stuffing, string beans, broccoli, yam, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, beef and potato stew (that was Gambian), and it was ALL SO DELICIOUS AH. I guiltily admit that our carbon footprint for that dinner was large but for this one time... so be it. I hate so much because I was well aware after training I will not be feasting like that for a WHILE. I may have gotten up for fourths. The dinner was all very joyous - I talked to lots of people from the kitchen staff, PCVs, staff, and the trainees. I went off to go study/journal inside one of the classrooms and waves of people would come in and out with different things to talk/laugh about. One group of ladies came in and we started to brainstorm ideas for the big speech for the swear in ceremony which is TWO WEEKS AGH. This will be televised, read in four different languages AT the Ambassador's house... before the big big party that's the talk of the country right now among the PCVs One of the guys who we elected to be a part of the speech writing group wasn't there since he had to be transported to Kombo for a hook worm in his foot, eek. He'll be back tomorrow, though, and another trainee had to be transported to Kombo late, late, late last night but both are okay now!
Anyways, it's been a real chill day+night. I just randomly started thinking about how awesome this one kitchen lady is - she's always all smiles and can speak English but mostly Mandinka. She also knows a handful of other languages too She always comes up to hug me and ugh I swear to God I want to get something just for the kitchen staff. She makes me feel so welcomed whenever she talks to me even when I'm bitten alive or starving from a late lunch. I think she's the one person/thing I'll miss most about Jenoi!
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Journal Post 11/24
I wake up freezing in the transit house because they're BLASTING the AC with no mercy. It was like, 4:30, too. I tarried for the longest time in bed cocooning both my blanket and sheets around me as many times as possible before getting up and ready but it was a chill, non rushed morning. Kara, the volunteer who saved me and served as our main guide (go figure she was a New Students Orientation counselor, too) was so nice and made us feel even MORE at home by getting us breakfast sammiches. That's called being small boy'd/girl'd. When you do something for another person like they ask you to fetch something for them. I got half a sammich with fried eggs and beans again and a cup of warm (powdered) milk. I am addicted to powdered milk, it has a bunch of nutrients but also a lot of calories. I can literally eat it out of the can with a drop of water, it's really what I grew up on. Chinese kids (I mean, those who actually grew up in China) love that kind of stuff. I had the right amount of time to get packed, dressed, the red sea even subsided, and peed before we left. I would've been so miserable if I had to pee again because that means sacrificing my ankles to those goddamn bugs again. We also met up with Malcolm who arrived - he always has the BEST stories. He's the farthest volunteer out east into the bush and he absolutely loved his family. Of course it's no surprise when he told us he tried goat brain in the middle of a herd of goats during a ceremony and sat and watched a small goat terrorize this kid. A normal person may chase the goat off... but not Malcolm, haha. Anyways, out of all of us, he's 105% getting a donkey.
Anywho, we walked into Basse for the 12 PM bus and had time to spare. Soooo Kara took us on one of her favorite past times - fabric shopping! I can't even describe how beautiful (and random, some prints are all money signs or toilets or bowls used for pounding coos) the prints are and I'll be excited to have more time to check them out. I'm about to drop bank around the time I close my service on all these fabrics to bring back home/make something out of it to bring back home. We all said our goodbyes and the bus was moving by 12:05 PM. It was not the express bus so there wasn't AC but we got seats anyways which makes everything 50000x better. The bus was empty when we got on but within a turn of the corner, more and more people started jumping on (even when the bus was moving... because the door never shut, it just hung limply open), and it was full! Multiple co-workers and people we met on the bus fed me panketos today (small fried balls of dough, kind of like a munchkin) and Elizabeth got me a banana! The ride was delicious and smooth sailing. Lots of music listening and it was relaxing. We paid 120D and arrived by 4:30 PM. My pants had a huuuge sweat stain from my butt, though, so that was uncomfortable and I had to air that out pronto. We even got to skip a military checkpoint because the amicable guy sitting next to us was a soldier in the army! Sweet success.
We arrived in Soma and it was hot as hell. The guys secured a bigger car to get us all to Jenoi for 25 D a piece and we ended up being the last group back at 4:50 PM ish. We were only separated for four days but everyone was so happy to see each other and exchange stories. We were talking like we haven't seen each other in ever! I chatted a bit but straight away set my stuff up and took a shower. Good life decision right there, I had 6 layers of dried sweat on me. Anyways, I went back to the group and listened in. Like I said, everyone had different stories - in one village, some guy committed suicide while my friends were on their site visit, someone helped deliver a baby, someone else saw bush pigs and monkeys, some were spoiled rotten by their families with food, some had an American/British couple living in their community for 15 years - every site was so unique! BUT we had one thing in common - we all loved our new families. It was really everyone's biggest fear - not liking our family, but we were all so relieved. We spent the entire rest of the day and night talking and I ended up staying up way late. Daniel, the Health PCVL, came over to deliver our fabric for our asobes which look fantastic and I headed in for the night. It was very pleasant altogether :)
Anywho, we walked into Basse for the 12 PM bus and had time to spare. Soooo Kara took us on one of her favorite past times - fabric shopping! I can't even describe how beautiful (and random, some prints are all money signs or toilets or bowls used for pounding coos) the prints are and I'll be excited to have more time to check them out. I'm about to drop bank around the time I close my service on all these fabrics to bring back home/make something out of it to bring back home. We all said our goodbyes and the bus was moving by 12:05 PM. It was not the express bus so there wasn't AC but we got seats anyways which makes everything 50000x better. The bus was empty when we got on but within a turn of the corner, more and more people started jumping on (even when the bus was moving... because the door never shut, it just hung limply open), and it was full! Multiple co-workers and people we met on the bus fed me panketos today (small fried balls of dough, kind of like a munchkin) and Elizabeth got me a banana! The ride was delicious and smooth sailing. Lots of music listening and it was relaxing. We paid 120D and arrived by 4:30 PM. My pants had a huuuge sweat stain from my butt, though, so that was uncomfortable and I had to air that out pronto. We even got to skip a military checkpoint because the amicable guy sitting next to us was a soldier in the army! Sweet success.
We arrived in Soma and it was hot as hell. The guys secured a bigger car to get us all to Jenoi for 25 D a piece and we ended up being the last group back at 4:50 PM ish. We were only separated for four days but everyone was so happy to see each other and exchange stories. We were talking like we haven't seen each other in ever! I chatted a bit but straight away set my stuff up and took a shower. Good life decision right there, I had 6 layers of dried sweat on me. Anyways, I went back to the group and listened in. Like I said, everyone had different stories - in one village, some guy committed suicide while my friends were on their site visit, someone helped deliver a baby, someone else saw bush pigs and monkeys, some were spoiled rotten by their families with food, some had an American/British couple living in their community for 15 years - every site was so unique! BUT we had one thing in common - we all loved our new families. It was really everyone's biggest fear - not liking our family, but we were all so relieved. We spent the entire rest of the day and night talking and I ended up staying up way late. Daniel, the Health PCVL, came over to deliver our fabric for our asobes which look fantastic and I headed in for the night. It was very pleasant altogether :)
Journal Post 11/23
Today, I woke up nice and early at 5:15 AM but didn't really get up until 15 minutes later. It's just hard to get up that early. W knocked on my door and I threw myself outside, got ready, there was a constellation in the sky because of how early it was but I didn't have time to look at the beauty just yet. It was freezing for sure but much more comfortable inside my hut. I was packing with God speed and promised to appreciate the zillions of stars when I walked to the main road.
By the time I was out the door, it was 5:50 AM and the only person awake in my compound was my sister. I told her bye and hugged her (which probably freaked her out) and trudged through the sand to get a gele. If it was any hotter I would be soaked in sweat but thankfully it wasn't. W was in his usual sweater and mittens while I just had shorts and capris on, hah. True New England style. I can't believe I actually like the cold now. The stars were just as beautiful as before and it looks like something straight out from a museum. It's unreal. They were all so bright and me being as blind as I am could see them as clear as day. As cheesy as it sounds, they look like someone scattered glitter in the sky and the deep, navy blue sky in the background made it so gorgeous.
When I finally arrived at the only gele leaving, I was surprised to see it in awesome condition. It looked like it was newly shipped in from America! It had great padded seats and none of the lining was falling off, either! I lightly chatted with a woman next to me and even found out where she was going (hospital) and asked what was wrong... which is a success whenever I can successfully communicate anything. As the gele started filling up, one of the men who boarded even knew my name from last night's event! I was also able to thoroughly surprise the drivers when I asked for the fare/ask for my change back, haha. It took a little under an hour to get to Basse and they dropped me off at a gas station where I originally thought I had to go but it turned out to be the wrong one. So, 7:30 AM and I'm ringing up my PCVL/RAs and they were telling me directions to get to the PC transit house but I could barely hear them because there were three bulldozer/construction trucks ROARING in the background literally following me. Damn it. Eventually, Seth (PCVL) called his girlfriend who was in Basse (I tried calling her last night but her number wouldn't go through, womp) and her savior soul found me and led me the right way. Which was the exact opposite way I would've gone because it was pass a construction "do not pass" zone, but silly me, construction tape means nothing in the Gambia and we limbo'd under it to continue on our way. We stopped by a stand along the way to order breakfast sandwiches. It's called Kumba's and it's apparently the most frequented place that PCVs go to since it's so close to the transit house. I got a half order of bean+fried egg sammich for 25 D. Yum. We walked back to the transit house where I met Christine - a volunteer who I already met from previous training sessions - and Albert, an older Agriculture volunteer. After chatting for a bit - it's such a burst of energy everytime I see PCVs and get to know them - Kara and I walked into town and she showed me around. We saw Selina, a fellow trainee who lives in a village past Kulari but on the main road, on the way and her community rep was en route to lead her to the PC house. Best of all, Kara showed me the INTERNET CAFE! What I wasn't expecting was Dillon, another PCV who also has a relationship with someone back home so we have that bonding point, already sitting there! I shamelessly went on for 4 hours and typed my fingers away to get my blog updated, e-mailed some people, and talked to some really close friends back home.
After forever, I walked back to the house with three other trainees and Christine and we arrived right in time for lunch! It was hot as hell for sure and sweat just continued to drip while I was eating. Beth, another volunteer, arrived and helped fix up a salad with a current volunteer who's from Connecticut named Peter. It was such a memorable time - eating my first real spaghetti dish in a long time with vegetables and everything. We had spaghetti with tomato sauce and an array of veggies, watermelon, peanuts, bananas, and a salad with delicious and healthy dressing (I think). After that, the AC miraculously came on (which it doesn't usually until 6 PM at night but the governor was there) and we all enjoyed the fresh breeze for a moment before heading back to the Internet cafe. I got another 1.5 hours of online time and talked to more friends from back home. Best of all, I figured out my travel itinerary! If everything goes well, I'll be going to Zambia, Spain, someone's visiting me in Gambia, Senegal, Morocco, Turkey, and the Seychelles! Like I said, all is tentative but it got me excited and put me in a fantastic mood.
Dillon and I were the last to return home after the sun was starting to set so we walked back 3/4s of the way back... and decided to walk back towards Basse proper to a restaurant and meet everyone there. Could've planned that better, oops. We were the first to get to Aminata's and it was a two-room restaurant filled with men transfixed on two huge TVs with the same soccer game on. The men here LOVE soccer. Or, football as they call it. It's all that the little boys do it seems. I was the only woman in there and we were the only toubabs. Neither Dillon nor I really watched soccer so this was all very new for us. Eventually our group came and we ordered either domada (rice with peanut oil sauce) for 40 D or a chicken and spaghetti dish for 80 D. I got the former and it was delicious. Clearly my priorities are the same as they are in America: Internet, food, transportation...damn I'm so straight out of college. We walked back in the dark with shoddy light, thankfully I didn't step in anything suspicious, watched Pitch Perfect which actually was pretty cute/good, and showered in a creepy bathroom. CREEPY. Really creepy, I want to do some work in cleaning it up but definitely not alone. Shit I never want to be in there after it gets dark again. It was also fricken freezing because we had the AC on but it was all so very perfect. We went to bed but I got two stupid late night calls when I was snuggled in! My mom calls me frantically about something and she like needed me to fax her my passport/license/everything and I'm like, I'm 6-9 hours away from the capital where that stuff is... sorry. She can't just spring stuff on me like that, damn, so that got me a little bothered. Then Musa, the kid, calls me and I sternly tell him he can't call me at night and he hung up right away. Gr. Anyways, it was a fantastic day over all and the Peace Corps Volunteers did everything to help us feel at home. I'm so thrilled to be close to this house. Home sweet transit home.
By the time I was out the door, it was 5:50 AM and the only person awake in my compound was my sister. I told her bye and hugged her (which probably freaked her out) and trudged through the sand to get a gele. If it was any hotter I would be soaked in sweat but thankfully it wasn't. W was in his usual sweater and mittens while I just had shorts and capris on, hah. True New England style. I can't believe I actually like the cold now. The stars were just as beautiful as before and it looks like something straight out from a museum. It's unreal. They were all so bright and me being as blind as I am could see them as clear as day. As cheesy as it sounds, they look like someone scattered glitter in the sky and the deep, navy blue sky in the background made it so gorgeous.
When I finally arrived at the only gele leaving, I was surprised to see it in awesome condition. It looked like it was newly shipped in from America! It had great padded seats and none of the lining was falling off, either! I lightly chatted with a woman next to me and even found out where she was going (hospital) and asked what was wrong... which is a success whenever I can successfully communicate anything. As the gele started filling up, one of the men who boarded even knew my name from last night's event! I was also able to thoroughly surprise the drivers when I asked for the fare/ask for my change back, haha. It took a little under an hour to get to Basse and they dropped me off at a gas station where I originally thought I had to go but it turned out to be the wrong one. So, 7:30 AM and I'm ringing up my PCVL/RAs and they were telling me directions to get to the PC transit house but I could barely hear them because there were three bulldozer/construction trucks ROARING in the background literally following me. Damn it. Eventually, Seth (PCVL) called his girlfriend who was in Basse (I tried calling her last night but her number wouldn't go through, womp) and her savior soul found me and led me the right way. Which was the exact opposite way I would've gone because it was pass a construction "do not pass" zone, but silly me, construction tape means nothing in the Gambia and we limbo'd under it to continue on our way. We stopped by a stand along the way to order breakfast sandwiches. It's called Kumba's and it's apparently the most frequented place that PCVs go to since it's so close to the transit house. I got a half order of bean+fried egg sammich for 25 D. Yum. We walked back to the transit house where I met Christine - a volunteer who I already met from previous training sessions - and Albert, an older Agriculture volunteer. After chatting for a bit - it's such a burst of energy everytime I see PCVs and get to know them - Kara and I walked into town and she showed me around. We saw Selina, a fellow trainee who lives in a village past Kulari but on the main road, on the way and her community rep was en route to lead her to the PC house. Best of all, Kara showed me the INTERNET CAFE! What I wasn't expecting was Dillon, another PCV who also has a relationship with someone back home so we have that bonding point, already sitting there! I shamelessly went on for 4 hours and typed my fingers away to get my blog updated, e-mailed some people, and talked to some really close friends back home.
After forever, I walked back to the house with three other trainees and Christine and we arrived right in time for lunch! It was hot as hell for sure and sweat just continued to drip while I was eating. Beth, another volunteer, arrived and helped fix up a salad with a current volunteer who's from Connecticut named Peter. It was such a memorable time - eating my first real spaghetti dish in a long time with vegetables and everything. We had spaghetti with tomato sauce and an array of veggies, watermelon, peanuts, bananas, and a salad with delicious and healthy dressing (I think). After that, the AC miraculously came on (which it doesn't usually until 6 PM at night but the governor was there) and we all enjoyed the fresh breeze for a moment before heading back to the Internet cafe. I got another 1.5 hours of online time and talked to more friends from back home. Best of all, I figured out my travel itinerary! If everything goes well, I'll be going to Zambia, Spain, someone's visiting me in Gambia, Senegal, Morocco, Turkey, and the Seychelles! Like I said, all is tentative but it got me excited and put me in a fantastic mood.
Dillon and I were the last to return home after the sun was starting to set so we walked back 3/4s of the way back... and decided to walk back towards Basse proper to a restaurant and meet everyone there. Could've planned that better, oops. We were the first to get to Aminata's and it was a two-room restaurant filled with men transfixed on two huge TVs with the same soccer game on. The men here LOVE soccer. Or, football as they call it. It's all that the little boys do it seems. I was the only woman in there and we were the only toubabs. Neither Dillon nor I really watched soccer so this was all very new for us. Eventually our group came and we ordered either domada (rice with peanut oil sauce) for 40 D or a chicken and spaghetti dish for 80 D. I got the former and it was delicious. Clearly my priorities are the same as they are in America: Internet, food, transportation...damn I'm so straight out of college. We walked back in the dark with shoddy light, thankfully I didn't step in anything suspicious, watched Pitch Perfect which actually was pretty cute/good, and showered in a creepy bathroom. CREEPY. Really creepy, I want to do some work in cleaning it up but definitely not alone. Shit I never want to be in there after it gets dark again. It was also fricken freezing because we had the AC on but it was all so very perfect. We went to bed but I got two stupid late night calls when I was snuggled in! My mom calls me frantically about something and she like needed me to fax her my passport/license/everything and I'm like, I'm 6-9 hours away from the capital where that stuff is... sorry. She can't just spring stuff on me like that, damn, so that got me a little bothered. Then Musa, the kid, calls me and I sternly tell him he can't call me at night and he hung up right away. Gr. Anyways, it was a fantastic day over all and the Peace Corps Volunteers did everything to help us feel at home. I'm so thrilled to be close to this house. Home sweet transit home.
Journal Post 11/22 Pt 2
I woke up and wrote in my journal at 6 AM. I finished up my journal entry from last night because it was so late. I finally got ready at 7:40ish and was dressed by 8:15... unlocked my door and breakfast was delivered to me. I ate a little and W comes knocking at my door telling me he was at my house since 7! I felt so bad since yesterday, he told me he would show up at 9. Either way, he looked cold (it was cold by Gambian standards I'm sure) with a fleece sweater and mittens on and I felt bad. I was just lying in my bed with music on, writing away, which is probably why I didn't hear him. It was probably a good thing he didn't get me for my sake anyways because HM calls me right in time to tell us the district chief we were suppose to donkey kart to wasn't there. SO we didn't need to haul ass. Nice, because I could tell the day was going to be hot as hell already. We changed plans and W took me to HM's place instead.
HM wasn't feeling well when I got there and it turns out he was tested POSITIVE FOR MALARIA???? W gave him a shot but wtf! I asked him what happened and he kept on saying "Malaria is bad" in Serehule and well yeah I know it's bad but shit I didn't know he had it! I keep on freaking out but adults have a resistence to Malaria but still you can't let your guard down that shit killsssss. HM thinks he got bit in Jenoi which I totally believe since it's mosquito city there. So now I know why HM isn't taking me places, he's such a nice guy and very concerned but it's because he's been feeling like crap with Malaria ughhh. W gave him a shot. HM seems like he's holding up okay but clearly it must suck. Ceedee, one of HMs friend's, was at HM's house with his mom, the coolest woman so far who led the singing group that inducted me into the village upon my entry. Both of them are just a friendly presence but SHE is a woman to reckon with and you know when that lady is in the room. We touched base and figured out the rest of the day and C and W walked me back. Along the way, we stopped by some people's homes and even this one compound was cooking food for tonights big event. Everyone seemed mobilized for this huge event. M was no where to be found because he's probably running around getting everything ready. C is also on the committee since he's the point person for TOSTON. When they dropped me off, C said he'd come by at 2 to pick me up to have lunch.
I stayed in my house for a bit to journal and then some random guys came by. First, Ali, one of my host brother's friends, comes by right after prayers and just says hi. Then bikes away, but I bet he wanted me to come out to talk. I just wasn't feeling it and opted to stay inside, out of the window's view, and went right back to writing. I'm period tired, still. Anyways, then it was Mohammed, this really tall guy who kind of reminds me of the evil guy in the Princess and the Frog, comes by. He actually came into my house the first night with his mom I think it was, then yesterday and kept on telling me how bad Gambia was, then today. He just kept on standing in front of my door - which I had the screen shut but the outside door was open - and was just talking to me even though I said I was writing. Just then, a little girl comes over to peek into my house but then one of my moms appear out of no where, reaches across Mohammad and shuts the door to end that conversation lmao. He's like, "I'll come by later." I'm not sure if my mom was protecting me from him or the girl but I love how she just ended that little meeting. Thank God, I nothing that guy anyways and don't want men I don't know anywhere around my house.
I was left alone for a bit to muse and went back outside at around 12:30 PM to chat/study. I had fun this time since the kids all huddled around me and were less shy... but a lot more loud. Not sure if I like the trade off now that I think about it. I sat with my mom and sisters and found out that one of my moms don't feel well!!! The elder mom went to fetch her medicine. So now, I'm confused. I THOUGHT my mom who was in pain wanted to lie down so I followed her inside the house (my first time in) and she did lie down. I got her water to drink...but as soon as she get up to get a sip she's like "Okay, now I have to make lunch." Even though she was in pain! I think it's from overworking since it's in her right arm and back. To make matters worse I get served lunch by her -_- My elder mom came back with medicine - hopefully it's even the right one - and if not I hope it's something that won't make new problems - but the lunch was delicious. Fried rice, pumpkin, and fish. I went inside to eat and they all called me out a bit later. Ali was there, but that wasn't why they called me out. They pointed for me to go inside the house. I stepped in and ... my dad bought a really big juicy watermelon! It was fucking lovely. It was delicious but I suck at eating the fruit without making a mess. My family were nice enough to see my distress and gave me a pan and even a small pot to wash my hands with.
Then that Malick guy from yesterday who was nice came by and was talking to men when W appeared to take me out again. Both M and W walked me to HMs where the agricultural extension worker was. He isn't in Kulari but traveled all the way here to see me since he was HM's friend and HM asked for a favor. It really makes me smile that even though he's sick with Malaria he's still on it with his task. The Extension Worker didn't know Serehule and lives a couple of towns away but was nice nonetheless. I then called my PCVL to get the OK on skipping out on the district chief since I didn't go today and I'll be heading to Basse tomorrow morning ... and the only car that goes to Basse from Kulari that's reliable leaves at 6:15 AM. Malick just followed us and he isn't even W or HM's friend so I don't even know what happened.
Anyways, W walks me to the last person I needed to meet and that was the school management committee head. When we got there, I Found that he knew English pretty well - why am I always surprised. I guess I'm surprised by them and they're surprised by me. I got a bit closer with W today, we joked around more and he was less ambiguously condescending I think. I told W how expensive and cold America was and the differences in health care for the UK and the US. They're both his favorite places. Of course they're probably everyone's favorite place in the Gambia. It would do everyone wonders if they would set their sights on making their country just as "good" as the UK/US in their eyes, I think. There's definitely some things I think Gambia can imitate from the US and some things they should never, ever imitate. More on that in later posts. Anyways, I hope I debunked his theory that I had money because I definitely don't and I did out the math to show him how expensive college was in America.
After the meeting with the School Management Committee Chair, I thought we were walking home. Mind you, Kulari is a spider web of streets and everything looks the same so I have no idea where I'm going without someone's lead. Next thing I Know, I take a right turn, and I see a HUGE, ginormous, astronomical gathering of people. It was a gigantic circle which probably explained why the streets seemed so empty. IT was the TOSTAN event that everyone was talking about. I met up with Ceedee and Musa and they told me this meeting was talking about the importance of clean water and polio/meningitis vaccinations. Ceedee's running around doing a bunch of things, talking to a bunch of people, moving stacks of chairs left and right so as many people can sit, and beckons me over. He then looks me in the eye and says, "We want to introduce you. Can you speak to the crowd? In Serehule?"
So I mean, I suppose so, but I told him it would be much better if he practiced first. He took me aside and helped me craft a paragraph where literally minutes later I was speaking with a microphone in front of 300 Gambians. I guess the stars really aligned for me because like I said, TOSTAN was once a year and it just happened to fall on the day I was here for site visit. So this is what I said... in a completely different language from English:
Hello. I want to extended my greetings to the Imam and the VDC Chairman. Good evening. I am not a toubab/foreigner. I am a black, Serehule man. My name is Mariama Touray and I am from America but next month, I'll start my stay here for two years. I am a volunteer because I like to help people and educate them about health. Thank you, bless you, and good night.
SO CLEARLY Ceedee quipped in his own notes (I am not a black Serehule man, I was lying to 300 people in front of their faces -_-) but I did all of that by myself! I was recorded and pictures were taken and everyone was talking about it that night, said HM when he called me. I left early because I was really tired and so that I can finally take a shower in peace without bugs colliding into me and it was glorious. I got fed boiled peanuts through the window RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FRONT DOOR which can look into my entire house but whatever, they fed me free food and I'm down with that. I spent a good amount of time phoning my friend to get her ready for her own site visit while snacking on said peanuts and it was a fine time. Dinner was served by one of my moms and they're always so sweet when they enter my house, they always take off their shoes. She even saw all the empty peanut shells and collected them for me ugh I was really treated with grade A hospitality. The moms respected my need for alone time and that means a lot in this culture when no one does anything by themself.
Dinner is something I'm skipping from now on since it was plain coos with this watery/oily sauce which gets old really quick. I'll probably do lunch for sure and maybe breakfast with the family and contribute half a bag of rice and beans to my rent every month. I snacked on a breakfast bar (which I thank myself every day for packing) and took out the rest of my lunch. I spent an entire hour with my family talking by the fire about having kids (and why I'm scared to do so which blows their mind since women really set their sights on marrying and having kids in Serehule communities and that's their biggest thing for the majority of them), telling them that I was leaving tomorrow until next month, discovering that one of the ladies were leaving to get married and promising to visit her by donkey cart, they tested me in some vocab and I impressed them thoroughly, thanked my mom for saving me earlier in the morning from strange men and told her I didn't like men around my house and the moms IMMEDIATELY shouted over to my host brother who was sitting away from us to not let any more of his friends near my little hut hahaha. They are on their shit. When you ask them to do something, they will do it. I'm just surprised they actually understood!
I really like the nights around the fire especially since I hate being inside my house at night with all the bugs... bleugh. Except if I'm tucked away in my bed. Yes I know I'm in Africa, don't judge me. Okay sleep time.
HM wasn't feeling well when I got there and it turns out he was tested POSITIVE FOR MALARIA???? W gave him a shot but wtf! I asked him what happened and he kept on saying "Malaria is bad" in Serehule and well yeah I know it's bad but shit I didn't know he had it! I keep on freaking out but adults have a resistence to Malaria but still you can't let your guard down that shit killsssss. HM thinks he got bit in Jenoi which I totally believe since it's mosquito city there. So now I know why HM isn't taking me places, he's such a nice guy and very concerned but it's because he's been feeling like crap with Malaria ughhh. W gave him a shot. HM seems like he's holding up okay but clearly it must suck. Ceedee, one of HMs friend's, was at HM's house with his mom, the coolest woman so far who led the singing group that inducted me into the village upon my entry. Both of them are just a friendly presence but SHE is a woman to reckon with and you know when that lady is in the room. We touched base and figured out the rest of the day and C and W walked me back. Along the way, we stopped by some people's homes and even this one compound was cooking food for tonights big event. Everyone seemed mobilized for this huge event. M was no where to be found because he's probably running around getting everything ready. C is also on the committee since he's the point person for TOSTON. When they dropped me off, C said he'd come by at 2 to pick me up to have lunch.
I stayed in my house for a bit to journal and then some random guys came by. First, Ali, one of my host brother's friends, comes by right after prayers and just says hi. Then bikes away, but I bet he wanted me to come out to talk. I just wasn't feeling it and opted to stay inside, out of the window's view, and went right back to writing. I'm period tired, still. Anyways, then it was Mohammed, this really tall guy who kind of reminds me of the evil guy in the Princess and the Frog, comes by. He actually came into my house the first night with his mom I think it was, then yesterday and kept on telling me how bad Gambia was, then today. He just kept on standing in front of my door - which I had the screen shut but the outside door was open - and was just talking to me even though I said I was writing. Just then, a little girl comes over to peek into my house but then one of my moms appear out of no where, reaches across Mohammad and shuts the door to end that conversation lmao. He's like, "I'll come by later." I'm not sure if my mom was protecting me from him or the girl but I love how she just ended that little meeting. Thank God, I nothing that guy anyways and don't want men I don't know anywhere around my house.
I was left alone for a bit to muse and went back outside at around 12:30 PM to chat/study. I had fun this time since the kids all huddled around me and were less shy... but a lot more loud. Not sure if I like the trade off now that I think about it. I sat with my mom and sisters and found out that one of my moms don't feel well!!! The elder mom went to fetch her medicine. So now, I'm confused. I THOUGHT my mom who was in pain wanted to lie down so I followed her inside the house (my first time in) and she did lie down. I got her water to drink...but as soon as she get up to get a sip she's like "Okay, now I have to make lunch." Even though she was in pain! I think it's from overworking since it's in her right arm and back. To make matters worse I get served lunch by her -_- My elder mom came back with medicine - hopefully it's even the right one - and if not I hope it's something that won't make new problems - but the lunch was delicious. Fried rice, pumpkin, and fish. I went inside to eat and they all called me out a bit later. Ali was there, but that wasn't why they called me out. They pointed for me to go inside the house. I stepped in and ... my dad bought a really big juicy watermelon! It was fucking lovely. It was delicious but I suck at eating the fruit without making a mess. My family were nice enough to see my distress and gave me a pan and even a small pot to wash my hands with.
Then that Malick guy from yesterday who was nice came by and was talking to men when W appeared to take me out again. Both M and W walked me to HMs where the agricultural extension worker was. He isn't in Kulari but traveled all the way here to see me since he was HM's friend and HM asked for a favor. It really makes me smile that even though he's sick with Malaria he's still on it with his task. The Extension Worker didn't know Serehule and lives a couple of towns away but was nice nonetheless. I then called my PCVL to get the OK on skipping out on the district chief since I didn't go today and I'll be heading to Basse tomorrow morning ... and the only car that goes to Basse from Kulari that's reliable leaves at 6:15 AM. Malick just followed us and he isn't even W or HM's friend so I don't even know what happened.
Anyways, W walks me to the last person I needed to meet and that was the school management committee head. When we got there, I Found that he knew English pretty well - why am I always surprised. I guess I'm surprised by them and they're surprised by me. I got a bit closer with W today, we joked around more and he was less ambiguously condescending I think. I told W how expensive and cold America was and the differences in health care for the UK and the US. They're both his favorite places. Of course they're probably everyone's favorite place in the Gambia. It would do everyone wonders if they would set their sights on making their country just as "good" as the UK/US in their eyes, I think. There's definitely some things I think Gambia can imitate from the US and some things they should never, ever imitate. More on that in later posts. Anyways, I hope I debunked his theory that I had money because I definitely don't and I did out the math to show him how expensive college was in America.
After the meeting with the School Management Committee Chair, I thought we were walking home. Mind you, Kulari is a spider web of streets and everything looks the same so I have no idea where I'm going without someone's lead. Next thing I Know, I take a right turn, and I see a HUGE, ginormous, astronomical gathering of people. It was a gigantic circle which probably explained why the streets seemed so empty. IT was the TOSTAN event that everyone was talking about. I met up with Ceedee and Musa and they told me this meeting was talking about the importance of clean water and polio/meningitis vaccinations. Ceedee's running around doing a bunch of things, talking to a bunch of people, moving stacks of chairs left and right so as many people can sit, and beckons me over. He then looks me in the eye and says, "We want to introduce you. Can you speak to the crowd? In Serehule?"
So I mean, I suppose so, but I told him it would be much better if he practiced first. He took me aside and helped me craft a paragraph where literally minutes later I was speaking with a microphone in front of 300 Gambians. I guess the stars really aligned for me because like I said, TOSTAN was once a year and it just happened to fall on the day I was here for site visit. So this is what I said... in a completely different language from English:
Hello. I want to extended my greetings to the Imam and the VDC Chairman. Good evening. I am not a toubab/foreigner. I am a black, Serehule man. My name is Mariama Touray and I am from America but next month, I'll start my stay here for two years. I am a volunteer because I like to help people and educate them about health. Thank you, bless you, and good night.
SO CLEARLY Ceedee quipped in his own notes (I am not a black Serehule man, I was lying to 300 people in front of their faces -_-) but I did all of that by myself! I was recorded and pictures were taken and everyone was talking about it that night, said HM when he called me. I left early because I was really tired and so that I can finally take a shower in peace without bugs colliding into me and it was glorious. I got fed boiled peanuts through the window RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FRONT DOOR which can look into my entire house but whatever, they fed me free food and I'm down with that. I spent a good amount of time phoning my friend to get her ready for her own site visit while snacking on said peanuts and it was a fine time. Dinner was served by one of my moms and they're always so sweet when they enter my house, they always take off their shoes. She even saw all the empty peanut shells and collected them for me ugh I was really treated with grade A hospitality. The moms respected my need for alone time and that means a lot in this culture when no one does anything by themself.
Dinner is something I'm skipping from now on since it was plain coos with this watery/oily sauce which gets old really quick. I'll probably do lunch for sure and maybe breakfast with the family and contribute half a bag of rice and beans to my rent every month. I snacked on a breakfast bar (which I thank myself every day for packing) and took out the rest of my lunch. I spent an entire hour with my family talking by the fire about having kids (and why I'm scared to do so which blows their mind since women really set their sights on marrying and having kids in Serehule communities and that's their biggest thing for the majority of them), telling them that I was leaving tomorrow until next month, discovering that one of the ladies were leaving to get married and promising to visit her by donkey cart, they tested me in some vocab and I impressed them thoroughly, thanked my mom for saving me earlier in the morning from strange men and told her I didn't like men around my house and the moms IMMEDIATELY shouted over to my host brother who was sitting away from us to not let any more of his friends near my little hut hahaha. They are on their shit. When you ask them to do something, they will do it. I'm just surprised they actually understood!
I really like the nights around the fire especially since I hate being inside my house at night with all the bugs... bleugh. Except if I'm tucked away in my bed. Yes I know I'm in Africa, don't judge me. Okay sleep time.
Journal Entry 11/22
God I've been so tired lately. I don't know if it's my period/the red sea as I like to call it zapping my life force (not unlikely) or what but I feel like I have endemic low energy stores which gets drained after a brief walk. Anyways, I woke up and spent a lot of time laying in bed thinking about everything and really just trying to procrastinate dealing with bugs. Because really, the ladies help me do a once over of killing spiders/grasshoppers the size of a fifty-cent coin before bed every night. The damn spiders here are fast as hell too! WTF. So finally the ultimate alarm clock rang - my bladder - and I can't hit the snooze button on that. I forced myself out of bed and getting ready took a lot longer than usual because I have very limited supplies and I wasn't sure about the water they gave me since it looked super muggy even after I ran it through the filter. They said it was pump water... but I really don't know. So it's really unnerving with my looking inside the cup they gave me and the liquids all muggy. I drank maybe three gulps before saying stop stop stop. Plus, it tasted plastic. SO NOW I'm really not sure if it's the water or just the filter... woe. I took what remaining trustworthy water I had left and used that for the important stuff.
My breakfast got delivered to me as soon as I opened my door and I'm glad that my family got the message last night that I did not like sugar (SUCCESS) because they put it on the side for me to add in. They gave me this corn porridge which is delicious with a generous ladle of sugar on the side but it's really awful without any added in. I ate all the boiled peanuts they gave me last night instead. I gathered everything together and decided to go outside and chat. I was with my moms and tried doing the family tree. Amazingly enough I think I figured out a lot - way more than the first time I did my family tree, but then again my training village family tree is more like a family forest. This family is much more contained. I have some brothers in the capital/kombo, some women marrying out, some women about to be married out, but overall the family is much smaller. Everyone else was out in the bush so it was just me, my three moms, and some small kids which I really like. I was halfway finished with the family tree when Musa (the acting Alkaloo for his dad, who is very old), Wujare (Public Health Official), and HM arrived to take me everywhere. We went to the Village Development Committee sitting place where I discovered I am related to some people on the comittee! Yay. One of them even speaks french...which doesn't help me much, but cool nonetheless. I also met the chair. He had a realllllyyy large compound full of women cooking in the front/main entrance. Next, we went to the Imam's place and that was a ridiculously large compound as well. I found out he's the eldest man of all the Tourays (my surname) which makes him the clan head. I'm so, so tired by now and it's just a bunch of meetings with people talking wicked fast and it's burning me out. Mostly when I open my mouth they look at me confused like "who is this girl and why does she speak my language" and we then both proceed to look confused at each other. The women, although I had no time with them, were all very friendly. The group and I trekked through the Sahara once again to the Alkaloo's compound (Musa's home) - which is also as large as can be with outside mosquito nets, too! He very much loves Obama because on top of his main entrance is a huge poster. Anywho, we go inside to meet his wife and prior to that I mentioned that I wanted a bag of water with small drinking water packets inside (yes, bagception) because I was way too suspicious of the water coming out of my filter. He had a couple of packets inside his house and HM asked me if I wanted it... 45D later, I finally had drinking water without needing to haul it 20k away from Basse (the nearest place where I can get anything). This rocked because I was thirsty as hell. We went back to HM's place which is attached to the health clinic/meeting area and dropped him off. We gave his friend Ceedee my huge bag of water to take by motorcycle back to my place while Wujare walked me back home. Like I said, I was so thirsty by the time I got back that I just downed an entire packet, which is impressive because I don't drink that much in one sitting for those of you who ever saw me drink.
I chilled inside for a bit and thought about how I wanted to arrange my new home. After a while I went back outside and there was a lot more people there. They were all back from the bush for lunch. I read them my notes in Serehule and everyone seemed pretty tickled. A friend f my host/landlord/brother came over - his name is Ali - and he seems to know more English than anyone else in my compound thus far. When I started reading my vocab, he started pointing things around us and translating to me what they were. This went on for a bit until I asked them if they could show me the tap system. THANK THE LORDS it's only down the street and to the left. Apparently there's also another tap - a spigot system - but that was broken or maybe they just took off the knob and only give it to the public at certain times in the day. We walked back and they pointed more things out to me - some I knew and some I seriously had no clue even if it was right in front of me. I think they were telling me the different types of trees and shit, I don't even know that in English.
I found out that Baharu, my host dad, is 32 years old and still looks very young. It must be his smile. He has a very kind smile and reminds me of Baloo from Jungle Book - just super chill and easy going. He doesn't have kids yet - he just married Fatoumata like 5/6 months ago - and she's from Sabi. Baharu loves kids and is always laughing in the background while messing around with them. Anywho, we got on the topic of my 'husband' and so I went inside to get a picture. They were all pretty enthralled. Lunch was delivered right after and I was so thankful it was rice and some sauce. One of the moms, who I didn't get to show my "husband's" picture to because she was cooking, rushed up to me and was like, "Picture! Picture!" When I finished eating and brought the bowl outside (and I might have derped inside for a little), I wasn't aware that they were waiting for me to resume chatting until they asked me if I was ready. I guess I was because next thing I know, I wrote down all this vocab - like literally a full page and a half worth - but was unsure how I'd ever use it. When will I ever need to know the word for coal? Or the thing you put around a donkey when you use it to pull a cart. Or snot. And halfway through I'm like, are they really teaching me or making a fool out of me because Baharu is laughing while Ali is teaching and I think they had the best of intentions but we didn't have a ton around us. Anyways, they then said something about me having something and at first I didn't understand and neither Baharu or Ali could translate it. It turns out that my grandpa, who comes riding a bike back, actually knows English! He came by and told me they were trying to say that I have a good mind. Or memory. Lol, maybe, but I appreciate the compliment. Another guy came along and jumped in on the teaching. We had kids all around us and laughed in surprise whenever I knew something. I think they're all surprised that this random Chinese American can speak a bit of Serehule. They were REALLY tickled that I knew the word for butt. After forever, I finally said I was going inside to wash my hair which I totally wanted to... but Wujare came by again and whisked me away to meet more community figure heads.
We went this really long back way to see the school/head teacher. He was teaching me random vocab along the way and I can't tell if he's a good teacher or what. He knows English well but he talks too fast and I don't know if he's making me feel dumb when he re-emphasizes the fact that I don't know something or when he's genuinely surprised when I do know something. Or maybe this is just natural. However, I have heard many stories from Ida (my formal teacher), that the men do not like women in education or having any sort of power over them and that especially the Serehules because they are very traditional. Also, being around a lot of men can tarnish my image to the community because they will start thinking I'm there to find a husband or that I sleep around a lot or something like that. It's just really hard now because I'm meeting all these figure heads and they're, OF COURSE, men that hold these seats/positions of power but I really feel comfortable with the women and kids. I do know that I'll need to be well known and respected by the men but I really want to do some empowerment stuff with the women. I know it's not their fault, but HM being a guy is going to have a lot of male friends which is why I have this body guard of males following me around. SIGH anyways. W would sometimes say, "do you know _______really fast sentence________" and I'm like, "No," in which he's like, "You don't know?" Or, "You have to know _______really fast sentence______" No, dude, I wouldn't lie to you about something I didn't know. Then he translates. I have picked up some helpful things but if I don't write things down there's no way I'll remember it. Good thing we were always walking >_> He's a pretty fast paced guy in general and he's been helping me a lot since he lives closer to me than HM. His house has electricity, a TV, and a satellite dish! It's a pretty sizable compound, too. He has relatives that come back to live with him from Spain. W also asked if he could be considered as a teacher if I ever needed (PC will reimburse, 45 D an hour, which is some but not much). I said I would ask, but ideally I would like to get a female teacher. He'll be a back up, though.
When we finally got to the school, we found out the Head Teacher wasn't there but I got his phone/name anyways for my Peace Corps assignment (where I have to identify figureheads in the community). We walked all the way back to HM's place to meet M/acting Alkaloo and back to his compound to find the chair of the women's group...who of course wasn't there. Instead, a cohort of women were there instead, cooking. Apparently, tomorrow is a huge once a year event that an organization called TOSTAN is holding in Kulari. They have a representative in Kulari that sets it all up with the help of the community. I don't know exactly what TOSTAN is but I do know it has to do with culture and they're based in Basse, so they have to travel to get here. I got to sit with the ladies and they are so, so, so friendly and I feel just so comfortable with them but unfortunately the sun was setting and I still had more people to meet. People were reeling at the fact that I've only been learning Serehule for 4 weeks and they're so excited to teach me more. WHICH IS GREAT, but I hope they set their expectations low because I'm just working hard at my own pace. They then start to think about me learning Pulaar (another language) and Mandinka and I'm just like hoooold up, cannot do yet.
Anyways, W thinks I know kungfu and if that's what it takes for personal security then so be it. By the time we finished meeting the remaining craftsmen that I was required to find, he walked me home and it was really dark.I went to take one of the most miserable showers so far - cold and a multiplicity of bugs. I don't even know if I'm clean. It hurt to splash water on me, damn. I ate dinner (two really bony fish, coos, and watery sauce) and went outside to chat. My family that I met outside were mostly the women and children and it was very homey and comfortable. They had a fire in the middle while everyone sat around. The women who talked to me understood the few things that I said. I noticed that the three moms had very distinct personalities but they all seem very protective and caring towards me. The children are older than the kids in Jalanbereh. They don't interact with me much yet probably because I'm new and I haven't spent much time with them alone. We mostly sat in silence and watched the fire. This one kid materializes from thin air all of a sudden and says some greetings before plopping down right next to me. He's a reserved boy and I couldn't see who he was. I asked him his name and he said Musa. He asked if I forgot who he was but as soon as I heard him speak English, I remembered! Yesterday, he helped me with carrying my sleeping bags from HMs all the way to my house. Right before he left, he said he would see me tomorrow (today) and he kept his promise. He knew his English pretty well and I got to know him better - he showed me pictures of his family on his phone and told me he went to school in Kombo before his dad moved him and his mom back to Kulari... way the hell back into the bush. I liked his presence and sat in silence or talked some. I gave him my phone number because I felt like he'd be nice to know - kids are good and allies in the Gambia - and it was a nice ending to my night. BUT although that was a nice ending, my favorite part is still lying in my two layers of protection from bugs while I think about all that happened in the day.
My breakfast got delivered to me as soon as I opened my door and I'm glad that my family got the message last night that I did not like sugar (SUCCESS) because they put it on the side for me to add in. They gave me this corn porridge which is delicious with a generous ladle of sugar on the side but it's really awful without any added in. I ate all the boiled peanuts they gave me last night instead. I gathered everything together and decided to go outside and chat. I was with my moms and tried doing the family tree. Amazingly enough I think I figured out a lot - way more than the first time I did my family tree, but then again my training village family tree is more like a family forest. This family is much more contained. I have some brothers in the capital/kombo, some women marrying out, some women about to be married out, but overall the family is much smaller. Everyone else was out in the bush so it was just me, my three moms, and some small kids which I really like. I was halfway finished with the family tree when Musa (the acting Alkaloo for his dad, who is very old), Wujare (Public Health Official), and HM arrived to take me everywhere. We went to the Village Development Committee sitting place where I discovered I am related to some people on the comittee! Yay. One of them even speaks french...which doesn't help me much, but cool nonetheless. I also met the chair. He had a realllllyyy large compound full of women cooking in the front/main entrance. Next, we went to the Imam's place and that was a ridiculously large compound as well. I found out he's the eldest man of all the Tourays (my surname) which makes him the clan head. I'm so, so tired by now and it's just a bunch of meetings with people talking wicked fast and it's burning me out. Mostly when I open my mouth they look at me confused like "who is this girl and why does she speak my language" and we then both proceed to look confused at each other. The women, although I had no time with them, were all very friendly. The group and I trekked through the Sahara once again to the Alkaloo's compound (Musa's home) - which is also as large as can be with outside mosquito nets, too! He very much loves Obama because on top of his main entrance is a huge poster. Anywho, we go inside to meet his wife and prior to that I mentioned that I wanted a bag of water with small drinking water packets inside (yes, bagception) because I was way too suspicious of the water coming out of my filter. He had a couple of packets inside his house and HM asked me if I wanted it... 45D later, I finally had drinking water without needing to haul it 20k away from Basse (the nearest place where I can get anything). This rocked because I was thirsty as hell. We went back to HM's place which is attached to the health clinic/meeting area and dropped him off. We gave his friend Ceedee my huge bag of water to take by motorcycle back to my place while Wujare walked me back home. Like I said, I was so thirsty by the time I got back that I just downed an entire packet, which is impressive because I don't drink that much in one sitting for those of you who ever saw me drink.
I chilled inside for a bit and thought about how I wanted to arrange my new home. After a while I went back outside and there was a lot more people there. They were all back from the bush for lunch. I read them my notes in Serehule and everyone seemed pretty tickled. A friend f my host/landlord/brother came over - his name is Ali - and he seems to know more English than anyone else in my compound thus far. When I started reading my vocab, he started pointing things around us and translating to me what they were. This went on for a bit until I asked them if they could show me the tap system. THANK THE LORDS it's only down the street and to the left. Apparently there's also another tap - a spigot system - but that was broken or maybe they just took off the knob and only give it to the public at certain times in the day. We walked back and they pointed more things out to me - some I knew and some I seriously had no clue even if it was right in front of me. I think they were telling me the different types of trees and shit, I don't even know that in English.
I found out that Baharu, my host dad, is 32 years old and still looks very young. It must be his smile. He has a very kind smile and reminds me of Baloo from Jungle Book - just super chill and easy going. He doesn't have kids yet - he just married Fatoumata like 5/6 months ago - and she's from Sabi. Baharu loves kids and is always laughing in the background while messing around with them. Anywho, we got on the topic of my 'husband' and so I went inside to get a picture. They were all pretty enthralled. Lunch was delivered right after and I was so thankful it was rice and some sauce. One of the moms, who I didn't get to show my "husband's" picture to because she was cooking, rushed up to me and was like, "Picture! Picture!" When I finished eating and brought the bowl outside (and I might have derped inside for a little), I wasn't aware that they were waiting for me to resume chatting until they asked me if I was ready. I guess I was because next thing I know, I wrote down all this vocab - like literally a full page and a half worth - but was unsure how I'd ever use it. When will I ever need to know the word for coal? Or the thing you put around a donkey when you use it to pull a cart. Or snot. And halfway through I'm like, are they really teaching me or making a fool out of me because Baharu is laughing while Ali is teaching and I think they had the best of intentions but we didn't have a ton around us. Anyways, they then said something about me having something and at first I didn't understand and neither Baharu or Ali could translate it. It turns out that my grandpa, who comes riding a bike back, actually knows English! He came by and told me they were trying to say that I have a good mind. Or memory. Lol, maybe, but I appreciate the compliment. Another guy came along and jumped in on the teaching. We had kids all around us and laughed in surprise whenever I knew something. I think they're all surprised that this random Chinese American can speak a bit of Serehule. They were REALLY tickled that I knew the word for butt. After forever, I finally said I was going inside to wash my hair which I totally wanted to... but Wujare came by again and whisked me away to meet more community figure heads.
We went this really long back way to see the school/head teacher. He was teaching me random vocab along the way and I can't tell if he's a good teacher or what. He knows English well but he talks too fast and I don't know if he's making me feel dumb when he re-emphasizes the fact that I don't know something or when he's genuinely surprised when I do know something. Or maybe this is just natural. However, I have heard many stories from Ida (my formal teacher), that the men do not like women in education or having any sort of power over them and that especially the Serehules because they are very traditional. Also, being around a lot of men can tarnish my image to the community because they will start thinking I'm there to find a husband or that I sleep around a lot or something like that. It's just really hard now because I'm meeting all these figure heads and they're, OF COURSE, men that hold these seats/positions of power but I really feel comfortable with the women and kids. I do know that I'll need to be well known and respected by the men but I really want to do some empowerment stuff with the women. I know it's not their fault, but HM being a guy is going to have a lot of male friends which is why I have this body guard of males following me around. SIGH anyways. W would sometimes say, "do you know _______really fast sentence________" and I'm like, "No," in which he's like, "You don't know?" Or, "You have to know _______really fast sentence______" No, dude, I wouldn't lie to you about something I didn't know. Then he translates. I have picked up some helpful things but if I don't write things down there's no way I'll remember it. Good thing we were always walking >_> He's a pretty fast paced guy in general and he's been helping me a lot since he lives closer to me than HM. His house has electricity, a TV, and a satellite dish! It's a pretty sizable compound, too. He has relatives that come back to live with him from Spain. W also asked if he could be considered as a teacher if I ever needed (PC will reimburse, 45 D an hour, which is some but not much). I said I would ask, but ideally I would like to get a female teacher. He'll be a back up, though.
When we finally got to the school, we found out the Head Teacher wasn't there but I got his phone/name anyways for my Peace Corps assignment (where I have to identify figureheads in the community). We walked all the way back to HM's place to meet M/acting Alkaloo and back to his compound to find the chair of the women's group...who of course wasn't there. Instead, a cohort of women were there instead, cooking. Apparently, tomorrow is a huge once a year event that an organization called TOSTAN is holding in Kulari. They have a representative in Kulari that sets it all up with the help of the community. I don't know exactly what TOSTAN is but I do know it has to do with culture and they're based in Basse, so they have to travel to get here. I got to sit with the ladies and they are so, so, so friendly and I feel just so comfortable with them but unfortunately the sun was setting and I still had more people to meet. People were reeling at the fact that I've only been learning Serehule for 4 weeks and they're so excited to teach me more. WHICH IS GREAT, but I hope they set their expectations low because I'm just working hard at my own pace. They then start to think about me learning Pulaar (another language) and Mandinka and I'm just like hoooold up, cannot do yet.
Anyways, W thinks I know kungfu and if that's what it takes for personal security then so be it. By the time we finished meeting the remaining craftsmen that I was required to find, he walked me home and it was really dark.I went to take one of the most miserable showers so far - cold and a multiplicity of bugs. I don't even know if I'm clean. It hurt to splash water on me, damn. I ate dinner (two really bony fish, coos, and watery sauce) and went outside to chat. My family that I met outside were mostly the women and children and it was very homey and comfortable. They had a fire in the middle while everyone sat around. The women who talked to me understood the few things that I said. I noticed that the three moms had very distinct personalities but they all seem very protective and caring towards me. The children are older than the kids in Jalanbereh. They don't interact with me much yet probably because I'm new and I haven't spent much time with them alone. We mostly sat in silence and watched the fire. This one kid materializes from thin air all of a sudden and says some greetings before plopping down right next to me. He's a reserved boy and I couldn't see who he was. I asked him his name and he said Musa. He asked if I forgot who he was but as soon as I heard him speak English, I remembered! Yesterday, he helped me with carrying my sleeping bags from HMs all the way to my house. Right before he left, he said he would see me tomorrow (today) and he kept his promise. He knew his English pretty well and I got to know him better - he showed me pictures of his family on his phone and told me he went to school in Kombo before his dad moved him and his mom back to Kulari... way the hell back into the bush. I liked his presence and sat in silence or talked some. I gave him my phone number because I felt like he'd be nice to know - kids are good and allies in the Gambia - and it was a nice ending to my night. BUT although that was a nice ending, my favorite part is still lying in my two layers of protection from bugs while I think about all that happened in the day.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Journal Entry 11/20
Today was the big day! I got up and packed, ran into the dining room to eat a chocolate and grease sandwich, downed half a cup of powdered milk in hot water, and had just enough time to sterilize my moon cup. Great first journal entry sentence. Before I knew it, Peter the Driver was rushing us to the bus garage park and all hell broke loose. We ran around at the last minute trying to pack and whatnot. My community representative was real sweet and helped me with some of my stuff and is always concerned/keeping me up to date with stuff. I sat up next to him and right before we drove off, someone yelled "CHINESOO" really loudly and I have no idea who but I decided to ignore it because it was too early. I think some of the Gambians/volutneers gave whoever it was a look.
So, we're off to Soma at 8:20 AM, arrived at 8:40 AM, walked around the huge and barren garage park with my stuff for training/exercised and talked about everything under the sun with fellow volunteers who wanted to walk around. We were going to be trapped on a bus for the next 5 hours, after all. We legitimately walked around for 1.5 hours while my counterpart was like this girl is crazy and sat in the shade. The bus finally arrived at 11:15 AM and we were actually on the road, MOVING at 12:04 PM. It was 140 D for express which saves a lot of time since we didn't need to stop every other stop for people to get off. Of course, 15 minutes into the bus moving I really needed to pee but my theory is that it's because of all the damn bumps! I thought my seat was going to be miserable but I totally overestimated my size and I actually sat really comfortably alllll the way in the back in the left-most seat next to the window. We drove all the way east - past Jalanbereh, past Janjanbereh (another big town), past Bansang (a bigger town), and had to maneuver around lots of free roaming animals.
Along the way there was a military check point where we all had to get off and unzipped our luggage for a brief glance over. My friend/colleague, Beth, and I took the opportunity to jet off far into the distance behind some bushes to pee. It was awesome to let it all out but unfortunately it was not so awesoem for my calves/ankles because they were victims to some pretty potent mosquitoes. There's even a huge swollen bump on my left ankle which is still so very itchy, 8 hours later. It was pleasant just sitting, listening to music, and looking at the passing landscape. HM was really considerate and left me to listen to music (he dozed off, too, haha) but pointed out certain things we passed - like the oldest weekly market, different cities, etc. When we finally arrived in Basse at 4:30 PM, we bought some cola nuts (as a traditional gift when you arrive at a new place) to give to the Alkaloo to distribute to the various family heads, candy, and bananas for my family. HM had his motorcycle in Basse so he found a friend who drove a gele to Kulari and instructed him to drop me off at a particular spot. I hopped on while HM went to find his bike and I took up the entire 3rd row to myself with all my stuff... because I am such a large person. It was 35 D from Basse to Kulari.
After what seemed like forever waiting for the gele to fill up, stopping for gas, driving, dropping people off, veering away from huge holes in the road, breathing in a dust storm, I finally arrived at 5:50 PMish. The Alkaloo's son, Musa, the acting Alkaloo, met me there and so was HM's other friend, Ceedee. They both helped me with my stuff and we walked to HM's place. It was a MAZE. Everything looked the same and very different from Jalanbereh. I felt like I was walking through the Sahara desert with the huge sand dunes in the road. After maybe 10-15 minutes, we finally made a right turn to HM's house and there was a group of women there waiting to dance/clap/and greet me! They immediately started celebrating and dancing me to HM's place - just like a mini Jenoi! HM said a few words to them about me, I greeted people, and I was shipped off to my permanent home... which turns out to be in the middle of no where because it's far away from the mosques (so that the 5 AM prayers won't have to always wake me up). It's also super far away from the main road AND HM's place... guh. But I do like the secludedness of it.
My new family was all there and it seemed smaller than my Jalanbereh family but just as welcoming. I dropped off my stuff and requested a chair, bucket, cup, and water and they all helped gathered it for me. I have a pretty big round hut with a thatch roof to the side of the main compound and tucked in. There's a window right directly in front of my door where people can look in from, yay. It's closed most of the time though. Pretty private over all. I have 2 windows - 1 where I can see out to the main front part of the compound and the other that's out back. My backyard is brand new with corrugated metal to block off wandering eyes, a new road, and a pit latrine/shower area. It's smaller than my training village backyard but not by much. There was definitely room for a small garden. A couple more people came to say hi, I showered, washed my water filter, got served dinner (coos with some salty/spicy sauce and a piece of fish), took it outside, and talked with my fam for the rest of the night. They even gave me boiled peanuts! Huzzah.
So, we're off to Soma at 8:20 AM, arrived at 8:40 AM, walked around the huge and barren garage park with my stuff for training/exercised and talked about everything under the sun with fellow volunteers who wanted to walk around. We were going to be trapped on a bus for the next 5 hours, after all. We legitimately walked around for 1.5 hours while my counterpart was like this girl is crazy and sat in the shade. The bus finally arrived at 11:15 AM and we were actually on the road, MOVING at 12:04 PM. It was 140 D for express which saves a lot of time since we didn't need to stop every other stop for people to get off. Of course, 15 minutes into the bus moving I really needed to pee but my theory is that it's because of all the damn bumps! I thought my seat was going to be miserable but I totally overestimated my size and I actually sat really comfortably alllll the way in the back in the left-most seat next to the window. We drove all the way east - past Jalanbereh, past Janjanbereh (another big town), past Bansang (a bigger town), and had to maneuver around lots of free roaming animals.
Along the way there was a military check point where we all had to get off and unzipped our luggage for a brief glance over. My friend/colleague, Beth, and I took the opportunity to jet off far into the distance behind some bushes to pee. It was awesome to let it all out but unfortunately it was not so awesoem for my calves/ankles because they were victims to some pretty potent mosquitoes. There's even a huge swollen bump on my left ankle which is still so very itchy, 8 hours later. It was pleasant just sitting, listening to music, and looking at the passing landscape. HM was really considerate and left me to listen to music (he dozed off, too, haha) but pointed out certain things we passed - like the oldest weekly market, different cities, etc. When we finally arrived in Basse at 4:30 PM, we bought some cola nuts (as a traditional gift when you arrive at a new place) to give to the Alkaloo to distribute to the various family heads, candy, and bananas for my family. HM had his motorcycle in Basse so he found a friend who drove a gele to Kulari and instructed him to drop me off at a particular spot. I hopped on while HM went to find his bike and I took up the entire 3rd row to myself with all my stuff... because I am such a large person. It was 35 D from Basse to Kulari.
After what seemed like forever waiting for the gele to fill up, stopping for gas, driving, dropping people off, veering away from huge holes in the road, breathing in a dust storm, I finally arrived at 5:50 PMish. The Alkaloo's son, Musa, the acting Alkaloo, met me there and so was HM's other friend, Ceedee. They both helped me with my stuff and we walked to HM's place. It was a MAZE. Everything looked the same and very different from Jalanbereh. I felt like I was walking through the Sahara desert with the huge sand dunes in the road. After maybe 10-15 minutes, we finally made a right turn to HM's house and there was a group of women there waiting to dance/clap/and greet me! They immediately started celebrating and dancing me to HM's place - just like a mini Jenoi! HM said a few words to them about me, I greeted people, and I was shipped off to my permanent home... which turns out to be in the middle of no where because it's far away from the mosques (so that the 5 AM prayers won't have to always wake me up). It's also super far away from the main road AND HM's place... guh. But I do like the secludedness of it.
My new family was all there and it seemed smaller than my Jalanbereh family but just as welcoming. I dropped off my stuff and requested a chair, bucket, cup, and water and they all helped gathered it for me. I have a pretty big round hut with a thatch roof to the side of the main compound and tucked in. There's a window right directly in front of my door where people can look in from, yay. It's closed most of the time though. Pretty private over all. I have 2 windows - 1 where I can see out to the main front part of the compound and the other that's out back. My backyard is brand new with corrugated metal to block off wandering eyes, a new road, and a pit latrine/shower area. It's smaller than my training village backyard but not by much. There was definitely room for a small garden. A couple more people came to say hi, I showered, washed my water filter, got served dinner (coos with some salty/spicy sauce and a piece of fish), took it outside, and talked with my fam for the rest of the night. They even gave me boiled peanuts! Huzzah.
Journal Entry 11/19
Yesterday, I got picked up nice and early and UNPREPARED at 7:18 but left by 7:25 AM. It was a really messy leave and I wish I had more time to say all my goodbyes but the PC car was waiting. The other group received wrong information as well and was unprepared save for one person but we all eventually were on our way to Jenoi, the kingdom of mosquitoes. More mishaps happened - like 3/10s of us got breakfast and that annoyed some people but I was at the right place at the right time and got to nom a bit... on greasy breakfast.
I got to briefly glance at a mirror from a friend and trimmed the brows but also REELED at how bad I was breaking out because of my damn approaching period which of course will come on the day of traveling to site. Y U SO BAD AT TIMING YOURSELF, PERIOD? This probably explains my overflowing emotions lately.
Anyways, after mowing my eyebrows, we all sat in a big meeting room facing the front and met our counterparts! THE BIG UNVEIL! The Serehules all have male community representatives ranging from 25, 27, to somewhere in his 30s. They were a bit surprised when I started greeting in Serehule. My own community representative from Kulari, HM, is a very friendly, kind, and helpful 27 year old community health nurse who is actually Mandinka so I guess I'll be learning Mandinka for my 2nd language, lol. The other counterparts are all very nice and show that they want to help us so it's a huge relief! There were a lot of introduction-esque activities that ensued and I got super tired probably from the lack of sleep.
Lunch was had, I was still tired, but finally we finished and was treated by one of my favorite sessions thus far - cooking for yourself 101! Taught by Chris Dude (not really his surname but we were teaching a Gambian teacher Californian English which includes tonal variations of 'dude' to describe your emotions), a information technology volunteer in the Kombo area who has a culinary arts degree, was in the presence of Julia Child, and managed restaurants before coming to The Gambia. How interesting, right? He's very funny, too. He taught us how to make spaghetti and cream sauce with veggies from scratch with all these tips inbetween, and all the ingredients were locally found! I hope I remember everything since I didn't take notes...
After that, I played frisbee with some trainees and my Agriculture/Forestry PCVL/RA, and two Gambians. It was so very fun. We (my team consisting of three very tall men - my PCVL and the two Gambians - 1 was my friend Musa), were down by 4 points bu twe caught up and stayed ahead. It was a close game but we stayed ahead and I contributed with some clutch catches but I think by the end of the game there were more "if only she was a bit taller" moments than not. I'm pretty sure that was our team name. BUT, we won! Mwahahaha. I smelled horrid after, showered, dinnered, studied, and slept.
Today, we started with lots of activities again. I perfected my Neem Cream Serehule translation as best that I could and people were very happy with my progress. I'm sure I'll have more tools in my vocab to make it better! People call me Serehule Girl now and I suppose that's okay. I prefer Serehule Princess :P I snuck in the chance to charge my iTouch before tomorrow's long journey to site, thank God. The counterparts are all so sweet but they all speak Mandinka (and English) and I can only speak like 6 phrases in their language! Many more activities (all about what we expect from our communty representatives, how they can help us, what's expected from the volunteers, what PCVs are/aren't, anxieties, travel logistics) and lunch later, it was finally over for the day. I washed my shirt from yesterday which reeked and found a good place to study while everyone else went to Soma. I wasn't really feeling it, probably my period telling me to stay.
Anywho, I did study, but I also drew some sketches for my first custom made Gambian outfit! The entire PC training group is going to get asobes which are clothes in matching fabric to symbolize a united group. These asobes will be worn during our swear in ceremony. I looked over the map that HM and Omar (a representative from another Serehule village) helped me with of the Kulari region and talked to one of the language teachers and other community representatives. Before I knew it, dusk arrived, mosquitoes were out for blood, I was victim to 4 bites, and the trainees were back. I showered, dinnered, and went to bed. Big day tomorrow!
I got to briefly glance at a mirror from a friend and trimmed the brows but also REELED at how bad I was breaking out because of my damn approaching period which of course will come on the day of traveling to site. Y U SO BAD AT TIMING YOURSELF, PERIOD? This probably explains my overflowing emotions lately.
Anyways, after mowing my eyebrows, we all sat in a big meeting room facing the front and met our counterparts! THE BIG UNVEIL! The Serehules all have male community representatives ranging from 25, 27, to somewhere in his 30s. They were a bit surprised when I started greeting in Serehule. My own community representative from Kulari, HM, is a very friendly, kind, and helpful 27 year old community health nurse who is actually Mandinka so I guess I'll be learning Mandinka for my 2nd language, lol. The other counterparts are all very nice and show that they want to help us so it's a huge relief! There were a lot of introduction-esque activities that ensued and I got super tired probably from the lack of sleep.
Lunch was had, I was still tired, but finally we finished and was treated by one of my favorite sessions thus far - cooking for yourself 101! Taught by Chris Dude (not really his surname but we were teaching a Gambian teacher Californian English which includes tonal variations of 'dude' to describe your emotions), a information technology volunteer in the Kombo area who has a culinary arts degree, was in the presence of Julia Child, and managed restaurants before coming to The Gambia. How interesting, right? He's very funny, too. He taught us how to make spaghetti and cream sauce with veggies from scratch with all these tips inbetween, and all the ingredients were locally found! I hope I remember everything since I didn't take notes...
After that, I played frisbee with some trainees and my Agriculture/Forestry PCVL/RA, and two Gambians. It was so very fun. We (my team consisting of three very tall men - my PCVL and the two Gambians - 1 was my friend Musa), were down by 4 points bu twe caught up and stayed ahead. It was a close game but we stayed ahead and I contributed with some clutch catches but I think by the end of the game there were more "if only she was a bit taller" moments than not. I'm pretty sure that was our team name. BUT, we won! Mwahahaha. I smelled horrid after, showered, dinnered, studied, and slept.
Today, we started with lots of activities again. I perfected my Neem Cream Serehule translation as best that I could and people were very happy with my progress. I'm sure I'll have more tools in my vocab to make it better! People call me Serehule Girl now and I suppose that's okay. I prefer Serehule Princess :P I snuck in the chance to charge my iTouch before tomorrow's long journey to site, thank God. The counterparts are all so sweet but they all speak Mandinka (and English) and I can only speak like 6 phrases in their language! Many more activities (all about what we expect from our communty representatives, how they can help us, what's expected from the volunteers, what PCVs are/aren't, anxieties, travel logistics) and lunch later, it was finally over for the day. I washed my shirt from yesterday which reeked and found a good place to study while everyone else went to Soma. I wasn't really feeling it, probably my period telling me to stay.
Anywho, I did study, but I also drew some sketches for my first custom made Gambian outfit! The entire PC training group is going to get asobes which are clothes in matching fabric to symbolize a united group. These asobes will be worn during our swear in ceremony. I looked over the map that HM and Omar (a representative from another Serehule village) helped me with of the Kulari region and talked to one of the language teachers and other community representatives. Before I knew it, dusk arrived, mosquitoes were out for blood, I was victim to 4 bites, and the trainees were back. I showered, dinnered, and went to bed. Big day tomorrow!
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