hi everyone! i know it's been an ENTIRE YEAR since i last posted. i've been too busy ringing in the new year and not having access to internet/free time. when i have one, i seem to lose the other. we are a little over an hour from the moment my creators step into the Gambia. am i excited? yes. is my village excited? yes. are the kids ready to greet them? no.
i tried to have them practice on some of my peace corps friends, and the moment a white person who's not me shows up, they get all shy and look at the ground. and mumble. these are the kids who get up from the mat, announce to me quite clearly (and loudly) that they're going to fart in the house, and then scramble away giggling. i am not quite sure where the shyness is coming from. but hopefully my parents can melt their icy hearts with a football (a soccer ball, my brain gets stuck on the local slang) and their constant presence. pretty soon, hopefully, the only thing keeping them from knowing who's going to fart where will be the language barrier.
in case you are wondering about the post title, it's from an email circulated by the embassy here. they are having a meeting/potluck and apparently they want to make sure nobody shows up empty-handed. it made me laugh. i probably won't attend, but if i do i'm going to bring a dish of food for sure.
i apologize for the short post, don't worry, i have a good one planned (really, i wouldn't lie to the blogsphere) but i need to leave for the airport. here's a teaser:
"these are our wives, our mothers, our sisters, our friends. they are all ladies of the night."
yes you will keep checking for updates.
