Back in Village

Hi everyone! I'm been back in village for a week now but came to Farafeni for the weekend. Its a bigger town with an internet cafe and cold sodas. My host father lives here with his second wife so I always have a place to stay if I need it. There are other volunteers in the region and we want to meet up here in Farafeni a couple times a month. There's a bar here and a huge open market that goes late into the night. It's really beautiful at dark because all the little shops and food stands are lit up by kerosine lanterns and then the dust settles down and it looks like fog. We checked out a Gambian brothel the other night which was easily the seediest l've place I've ever. I need to buy a table at the market today and hop on the bush taxi home before dark. This has been easily the coolest week of my life, meeting all kinds of new people and learning about my village. I didn't speak English for a week. There was a naming ceremony and they named the little boy after me (Bubaccar). I also walked to the rice fields where the women work long hours. Its about 2km from village on a rough path and they walk back with huge loads of rice on their heads. Other women go to the abandoned refuee camp to use the pump their to wash clothes. It's an eerie place all delapidated and over grown with tall grass. My village health worker used to teach an adult literacy class in Mandinak but had to stop after the money dried up. I would like to get that going again...

Swear In

Yesterday we were sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers in a really nice ceremony at the ambassadors house right on the beach. We all bought the same fabric and had clothes made at our local tailors. The whole event was broadcast on Gambian national television and was quite the spectacle. The next two days are free days in the capital for us to do all our shopping and preparation before we go to village for good. The city is nice because there is cold beer and cheeseburgers, but I'm ready to head back to village and begin integrating...

Kombo Update

Salaamaleekum!

We are now in the Kombo area for swear in on Friday and are staying at the Peace Corps transit house. Kombo is the name for the metropolitan area surrounding the capital, Banjul, and encompasses the coastal cities. It is the only place in country where you can get cold gatorade, ice cream, and pizza. Not surprisingly, after two months in rural villages eating rice and drinking well water, a cold drink goes a long way. Today we had our final assessment and will be sworn in as Peace Corps volunteers in two days. After our assessment, me and a couple other volunteers headed to the beach for some amazing body surfing and sun. The beach is spectacular and the waves are huge, upwards of ten feet right off shore. The weather is perfect right now, in the 90s during the day and not too humid. In a few months it is supposed to reach 125 degrees daily. I had a crazy encounter with local wildlife a few weeks back. I was walking in the bush in the evening to get some alone time and happened upon what I thought were monkeys. I decided to follow them through the bush to get a closer look. All of a sudden I had stumbled upon about 30 baboons and they all started screaming and going nuts. I was all alone and far from help. A large male came out in front of me and began posturing as if to charge. I just backed my way out and was followed for awhile but managed to get back to village before dark. It was scary but exhilarating. After swear in I will begin shopping for home furnishings and anything I may need in village. It's all very exciting....

First Week in Bambali

Hello Everyone!
I've decided to start a blog of my time here in The Gambia as it is the easiest way to communicate. The title is a Mandinka phrase loosely meaning "There is nothing like love". We are almost finished training and I will be moving to my permanent site in a little over a week. It's a village right on the river called Bambali. I spent last week there living with my family and meeting with the village chief, traditional birth attendant, village health worker, imam, and others. There are roughly 1,500 residents, all Muslim, making it fairly large as far as villages go. The primary means of subsistence are fishing and rice farming. There is no electricity or running water and every family lives day to day on what they can grow and the little money they may be able to generate. My home is a two room row house made of mud brick with corrugate roofing. My backyard fence hasn't been built yet so everyone can see my pit-latrine during the day. All my water I fetch from a well and use for taking bucket baths and drinking. I have four moms, seven brothers, and one sister, and our family is fairly small by Gambian standards. All the men work in cities, so I am now the resident man in the family. During the day, my moms sweep the compound, wash clothes and dishes, pound rice and millet, cook meals, and brew ataaya (black tea). From the village there is a beautiful path down to the riverside flanked by rice fields dotted with palm trees. During the day, the women go to the river side and wash clothes while the fisherman prepare to push off in their dugout canoes. There is a lower basic school (grades 1-6) but it has low attendance and is generally lacking, though the teachers are great. The nearest health center is 10 kilometers away through rough bush and is difficult for villagers to get to. I am learning Mandinka quicker than expected and can't wait to be communicating fluidly. I will try to blog consistently, but the closest internet is a few hours away and only works sometimes. I can't even begin to do this justice, its has been mind blowing on a daily basis and Gambians are very warm people. At night there is usually singing, dancing, prayer, and ataaya. The world is a magical place...