Monday, January 4, 2010

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...

2 comments:

  1. Devin!!
    This is so awesome that you set up a blog of your experiences! It's a neat way to look at the world as others see it.
    The pictures are beautiful. Grandma showed me all of them last night. There is this one of 3 little boys, and the one on the far right looks like he'd be such a comedian. He has the cutest cheeks!!
    It sounds like you're have such an amazing experience over there. I wish I could just hop a plane and visit you!
    Keep up with the blogs because we sure love reading about your travels.

    Love and miss you!
    Crystal.

    PS..Happy New Year!
    Do they celebrate the New Year?

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  2. Yay, Devin - its so great to hear of your adventures in The Gambia. I didn't get to your blog til tonite, 'cause Jim was keeping us updated at work, but now that he and Diane are off on their own tropical walkabout, I thought I'd check in. Thanks for the updates. I really love it. It takes me back... Do people use pidgin english to communicate there at all? Is Mandinka a Bantu language? Are you getting pretty good at talking to people? I remember being amazed at thinking that I was going to go there and teach something. Its mostly the other way around, eh? Tell the baboons I say Hi! (from a good distance, OK?) -Leslie

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