as i'm sure you can imagine, obama's kind of a big deal in these parts. the man is kind of a big deal everywhere, but here he's really achieved another level of popularity. he is ubiqutious. his face is everywhere here. and i really mean everywhere. people have holographic obama belt buckles. his face stares up at me from the wristwatch of the man sitting next to me on the gelly. his love for michelle is celebrated in tee-shirts of all shapes and sizes. you can get clothes made from fabric with his face printed on it over and over, a banner of obama adoration to be worn on the most special of occasions. even the beloved green tea that people guzzle here like americans and their starbucks comes in obama brand. for a slight price hike, but a small price to pay i'm sure.
and then, of course, there's the song.
ba-rack. obama.
ba-rack. obama.
there aren't really any other lyrics. but it really is a song here, and we sing it to baby Omar all the time. then we clap his little hands together for him and he laughs.
and of course, being an american, i'm clearly on speaking terms with him. i think some people even suspect i have his mobile number and am keeping to selfishly secret for some unfathomable reason. i have actually had arguments with people where they acccused me of lying when i said i didn't know him.
"but you work for the government. you have met him at least."
"no. my country is very big. many people work for the government. he can not meet them all."
"yes, but you work for him. he is your president. you know him"
and so on. it's not everyone, but i have been asked to greet him more times than i can count. now i just say okay, knowing full well that if i ever do get the chance to meet one of the most popular political leaders of our time i will be greeting him on behalf of an entire west african nation.
and of course i expect this to happen immediately after my return to the u.s., where i will fly into d.c. through an arch made of balloons with a floating banner that welcomes me personally back.
because that's what happens when you arrive in america.
we should be flattered, really, that our country has been percieved to have such a great and welcoming reputation. it's difficult to explain to people that america is great, and there are many opportunites there, but we also have many problems. that we have poor and even homeless people. and our doctors can't cure everything. that not everyone has a mansion and 3 cars and a fat white wife. and that the incredible culuture they have here, where everyone knows everyone, and welcomes strangers as you would a long-lost friend, is often lost in the day-to-day stresses that make up american life. i wish i could instill the friendliness and sense of community that comes so naturally to everyone here to the more uptight, isolated, distrusting nature that comes to americans almost by necessity. i wish we were a little less of an individualist culture, less reluctant to celebrate things we have in common, things that make us feel united, instead of competing through status symbols and constant one-upmanship. i'm not saying gambian culture is perfect, i'm not saying any culture is perfect. i'm just saying we could learn from them, just as they can learn from us.
but mostly i wish some one would greet obama for me because my host brother was playing with my cellphone the other night and deleted his number. i know he's waiting for my call.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
maybe i'll never leave site again.
and not just because things are going really well there. which they are. it's been a really good few weeks, and when it came time to come back here (i'm doing some oyster work) i was really dragging my feet about leaving. but leave i did. and it's nice to be here, with a fan on, sitting in a chair that has a back and a cushion, with the feel of cool tile on my feet. but i think the real reason it's so nice to be here is because the process of getting here was comically drawn-out and convoluted. i'll try and be concise, but get comfy, cuz that's not exactly my style...
i set out from home later than i intended, which was my first mistake because it was sunday and nobody likes to do anything on sunday (or friday, of course). but i was helping with the laundry and lost track of time, and then was heavily pressured to stay for lunch, which typically happens around 3 here. after lunch, i headed to drop off some seeds at a friend's compound. she was out, which was fortunate because she missed seeing me spill my bag of Moringa seeds all over the sand. luckily, i managed to corral some kids to help me collect them. then one of her sisters asked me to save her a seat on the gelly (the typical transport method, a van that is stuffed to the brim with people, luggage, and various other items such as chickens, gas cans, buckets of fish, photos of the gelly driver and the gelly,etc) so i went to the carpark and boarded the waiting gelly, taking care to save a seat for my friend. in due time (we'll say 30-45 minutes) enough people came and after some shouting and searching for the driver and apprentice, we set off, stopping at my friend's compound (it's by the one road running through my village), horn blaring, as she calmly strolled over and boarded. yes, the driver honked the horn the whole time. no, it did not quicken her pace. her 2 year old daughter chased the gelly crying as we rolled slowly away, with one last horn blast for emphasis.
and then my water bottle leaked through my bag and all over my pants. yes, it was unpleasant, but i am fortunate to be in such a climate that it dries rather quickly.and i managed to extract my mobile and wallet from the bag so my documents were safe. the rest of the trip was uneventful.
so i arrived at the first carpark and boarded yet another gelly to continue my journey, trying to ignore the wet spot on my leg and the confused glances it invited. this gelly also filled up slowly (who wants to go anywhere sunday afternoon?), but luckily i had a book with me, which served the dual purpose of giving me something to do and giving me an excuse not to talk to the man sitting next to me, who immediately upon taking his seat asked me which country i was from and if i was married. as we rolled along, two men in the front of the gelly started having a conversation about how we should all live like the prophet and how Allah is the only way, but only one felt that way. i suppose their "argument" was really about religious freedom, but it was a lot of back-and-forth and clearly no conclusion was going to be reached. everyone in the car noticed, we were all exchanging looks and chuckling to ourselves, except for one older man who listened quietly for about 10 minutes, and then could no longer restrain himself. he began yelling at the two men in the front, saying that they were distracting the driver, which they may have been. however, he did not seem happy with their response (silent), so he got to his feet and yelled more and more. apparently he used to drive for the embassy in Dakar for 22 years. and he doesn't want to hear anyone's thoughts on Allah. at this point, other passengers were trying to reason with him, which caused him to lash out at them, which made him even angrier. at all times about 3 people were standing and shouting at each other, ostensibly over how this man didn't want anyone to distract the driver. those of us who weren't yelling were laughing, but more in the "this is really uncomfortable and i'm nervous" sort of way. and one lady in front of me was recording the angry man's impassioned tirade on her cellphone. but i guess the still-shouting man had a point, because the driver was indeed distracted, and we got a flat tire. so we pulled over and moved the shouting match to the road side, with one very angry "i told you so" addressing the whole group. somehow everyone calmed themselves by the time the tire was changed (maybe 30 minutes) and we all piled back in, ready to get going. lesson learned?
no.
they started fighting again. and this time, they tried to bring me into it. "let's ask our white sister here" they would say, and the whole gelly would look at me, and fall silent. and i would tell them in english and mandinka that i wasn't going to comment on their arguments. they wanted me to take sides on religious freedom. and then on who was responsible for environmental degradtion. and then, to ice the cake, the man sitting next to me asked if i had a boyfriend, and if i could tell him my pet name for him. i have never been so happy to get out of a car.
but now i am here, and ready to get to work. ready to forget that in a few days time i'll be back on the road. ready to believe that it was a fluke and that many people willing to argue for that long will never be on the same gelly with me also present, and that if this happens again it will be an hour ride, not 2 and a half. ready for action.
i set out from home later than i intended, which was my first mistake because it was sunday and nobody likes to do anything on sunday (or friday, of course). but i was helping with the laundry and lost track of time, and then was heavily pressured to stay for lunch, which typically happens around 3 here. after lunch, i headed to drop off some seeds at a friend's compound. she was out, which was fortunate because she missed seeing me spill my bag of Moringa seeds all over the sand. luckily, i managed to corral some kids to help me collect them. then one of her sisters asked me to save her a seat on the gelly (the typical transport method, a van that is stuffed to the brim with people, luggage, and various other items such as chickens, gas cans, buckets of fish, photos of the gelly driver and the gelly,etc) so i went to the carpark and boarded the waiting gelly, taking care to save a seat for my friend. in due time (we'll say 30-45 minutes) enough people came and after some shouting and searching for the driver and apprentice, we set off, stopping at my friend's compound (it's by the one road running through my village), horn blaring, as she calmly strolled over and boarded. yes, the driver honked the horn the whole time. no, it did not quicken her pace. her 2 year old daughter chased the gelly crying as we rolled slowly away, with one last horn blast for emphasis.
and then my water bottle leaked through my bag and all over my pants. yes, it was unpleasant, but i am fortunate to be in such a climate that it dries rather quickly.and i managed to extract my mobile and wallet from the bag so my documents were safe. the rest of the trip was uneventful.
so i arrived at the first carpark and boarded yet another gelly to continue my journey, trying to ignore the wet spot on my leg and the confused glances it invited. this gelly also filled up slowly (who wants to go anywhere sunday afternoon?), but luckily i had a book with me, which served the dual purpose of giving me something to do and giving me an excuse not to talk to the man sitting next to me, who immediately upon taking his seat asked me which country i was from and if i was married. as we rolled along, two men in the front of the gelly started having a conversation about how we should all live like the prophet and how Allah is the only way, but only one felt that way. i suppose their "argument" was really about religious freedom, but it was a lot of back-and-forth and clearly no conclusion was going to be reached. everyone in the car noticed, we were all exchanging looks and chuckling to ourselves, except for one older man who listened quietly for about 10 minutes, and then could no longer restrain himself. he began yelling at the two men in the front, saying that they were distracting the driver, which they may have been. however, he did not seem happy with their response (silent), so he got to his feet and yelled more and more. apparently he used to drive for the embassy in Dakar for 22 years. and he doesn't want to hear anyone's thoughts on Allah. at this point, other passengers were trying to reason with him, which caused him to lash out at them, which made him even angrier. at all times about 3 people were standing and shouting at each other, ostensibly over how this man didn't want anyone to distract the driver. those of us who weren't yelling were laughing, but more in the "this is really uncomfortable and i'm nervous" sort of way. and one lady in front of me was recording the angry man's impassioned tirade on her cellphone. but i guess the still-shouting man had a point, because the driver was indeed distracted, and we got a flat tire. so we pulled over and moved the shouting match to the road side, with one very angry "i told you so" addressing the whole group. somehow everyone calmed themselves by the time the tire was changed (maybe 30 minutes) and we all piled back in, ready to get going. lesson learned?
no.
they started fighting again. and this time, they tried to bring me into it. "let's ask our white sister here" they would say, and the whole gelly would look at me, and fall silent. and i would tell them in english and mandinka that i wasn't going to comment on their arguments. they wanted me to take sides on religious freedom. and then on who was responsible for environmental degradtion. and then, to ice the cake, the man sitting next to me asked if i had a boyfriend, and if i could tell him my pet name for him. i have never been so happy to get out of a car.
but now i am here, and ready to get to work. ready to forget that in a few days time i'll be back on the road. ready to believe that it was a fluke and that many people willing to argue for that long will never be on the same gelly with me also present, and that if this happens again it will be an hour ride, not 2 and a half. ready for action.
Friday, April 16, 2010
wrap. it. up.
wrap it up is something i've been saying a lot lately, at least in my head. we're headed into our last day of all-vol, a conference where all the volunteers in the country get together and we have a big meeting where we talk about...policy. and policy. and policy. and sometimes people complain. about policy. it's a long, painful, nessecary process that can not be avoided but is absolutely exhausting. exhausting.
but it's the last day! by this afternoon, whether they're done or not, they have to wrap it up!! and then i'm finally free to go home for the first time in more than 2 weeks. actually, i'm going to Abuko nature reserve to help make a firebreak tomorrow-but after that i'm going home! it's more than time. i think my school probably thinks i've left the country. they had spring break for one of the weeks i was gone, so it won't seem AS long to them. but i want to make sure they're going full-tilt on their tree nursery. i'm one of the regional coordinators for the all-school tree nursery competition, so i have to work extra hard to make sure my school isn't slacking. i'm also trying to get them to plant more native species instead of invasives, and any tree other than a fruit trees, but even fruit trees absorb carbon so i can't complain.
and i just need to readjust to village life. there's been a lot of toilets, electricity, reliable phone service, and delicious western food in my life lately (they actually have Nutella here) and i'm headed back to rice, a pit, and flashlights. but i'm not really complaining. i'm just psyched to see my host family and ride my bike again. also, tourist season is winding down so i think i will be less and less confused with the tourists that come through my village because there's no one to confuse me with around.
this is not to say the last two weeks haven't been worth it. IST taught us some amazing things, and it was great to see everyone from my training group (and everyone in the country). i would have to say the major highlights of in-service training for me were 1) the demonstration glass hive and 2)advanced composting techniques. more on that later, i promise, but i'm offically obsessed. but i have to wrap this up because our transport is here. love ya, mean it.
but it's the last day! by this afternoon, whether they're done or not, they have to wrap it up!! and then i'm finally free to go home for the first time in more than 2 weeks. actually, i'm going to Abuko nature reserve to help make a firebreak tomorrow-but after that i'm going home! it's more than time. i think my school probably thinks i've left the country. they had spring break for one of the weeks i was gone, so it won't seem AS long to them. but i want to make sure they're going full-tilt on their tree nursery. i'm one of the regional coordinators for the all-school tree nursery competition, so i have to work extra hard to make sure my school isn't slacking. i'm also trying to get them to plant more native species instead of invasives, and any tree other than a fruit trees, but even fruit trees absorb carbon so i can't complain.
and i just need to readjust to village life. there's been a lot of toilets, electricity, reliable phone service, and delicious western food in my life lately (they actually have Nutella here) and i'm headed back to rice, a pit, and flashlights. but i'm not really complaining. i'm just psyched to see my host family and ride my bike again. also, tourist season is winding down so i think i will be less and less confused with the tourists that come through my village because there's no one to confuse me with around.
this is not to say the last two weeks haven't been worth it. IST taught us some amazing things, and it was great to see everyone from my training group (and everyone in the country). i would have to say the major highlights of in-service training for me were 1) the demonstration glass hive and 2)advanced composting techniques. more on that later, i promise, but i'm offically obsessed. but i have to wrap this up because our transport is here. love ya, mean it.
Friday, April 9, 2010
hope you like the new pic
i thought this lovely picture of the beach was a little more "Gambia" than the old one (me in America making a face). i've spent the better part of the evening watching the internet come and go as i try and upload photos. so enjoy them, because they were quite an effort to get up on the old facebook. i named the album after my favorite Gambian joke. if you ask someone how they are doing, they will say "oh i am just managing." but one day (at a police checkpoint, of all places) the police officer, when he heard that we were managing, said "i guess we are all managers, because we are all managing." it made me giggle.
the festival was pretty great, some of MY favorite acts from around the region showed up. and the bumster-boss lady population was through the roof, which always makes for some excellent people-watching. it was some late nights though, and i'm glad it won't be back for a year. i need more sleep than that lifestyle requires.
but anyways, things are good here. we've had some in-service training going on, where we learn more intensive skills like bee-keeping (i've already got most of that covered, but it's nice to hear from someone other than my counterpart, i suppose) and tree-grafting. today we practiced on real trees. i don't know how well i did, but i do know that grafting trees feels like playing god. but you need a really, really sharp knife. we're also going to be doing some advanced composting (yay) and other gardening stuff. i'm pretty psyched to get back to site, of course. they keep giving us all these good ideas but i have to wait another week at least until i get back to try them. ay yi yi. in-service training itself is pretty exhausting, but it has been nice to see other volunteers for awhile. there's just something about being with someone who knows what it's like to be toubab-ed on daily basis that's just...therapeutic. also we've some really intense discussions about sustainability. it's something that comes up all the time here, and it's amazing how a small group of people working towards the same cause can have so many different opinions. but it's really important for us to keep talking about it, to keep that dialogue open, because otherwise who knows what we'd wind up doing. it reminds you why you're here and makes you re-think what you've done so far and what you want to do again. we've also been talking a lot about food security, which i'm sure you can imagine is a huge issue here. it goes really to every aspect of life here, you can't look at one issue plaguing this place without tracing it back to food security. so i guess it's good we're trying to focus more on that now.
speaking of food security, apparently it's socially acceptable now to post things on your blog that you want people to send you in care packages. i had no idea this was okay, but when in rome, you write your wishlist on your blog.
granola/luna/protein bars
peanut butter m&ms (the candy-coating keeps them from melting)
plain m&ms are also appreciated :)
TRAIL MIX!!
DRIED FRUIT!!!
sour punch straws ( i loove the strawberry ones)
any seeds you want to see if they can grow in a hot climate (apparently this is ok)
fun mix cds (or cds in general)
LOVE
this is going to sound a little silly, but please remove all excess packaging (otherwise i have to deal with where to put my plastic waste, which is not easy) but put everything in ziplock bags. counter-intuitive, i know. but while i am okay with no excess wrappings, the rats and bugs that live both in the Peace Corps mailroom and the Banjul post office have other ideas. and they are not to be trifled with. anyways, don't worry about this list too much because if you take the time to send me a package i'll be so grateful to you that it could probably be a dirty sock and some sugar packets and i'd still be psyched. and i have a pretty barren backyard right now (baby monkey's a digger and chewer of most things green) but rainy seasons a'comin and i'd like to get some stuff planted out there so if you've got some seeds lying around and you've ever wondered how they would grow in africa, apparently there's no overregulation of what you can plant here. i know the volunteer before me tried for a pecan tree and it was too hot, but that's only the beginning. people have grown pomegrante here before, and pineapple (yummy) and all kinds of things. so send 'em on if you wanna know and i'll give you a full report. because my tomatoes and basil are doing great, but i'm looking to expand to other gardening endeavors.
and trees! i got so many seeds today, i can't wait to get some trees in the ground.
anyways, i'm around the internet for a hot minute, so i'll probably post again soon. check hourly!
or maybe every few days.
the festival was pretty great, some of MY favorite acts from around the region showed up. and the bumster-boss lady population was through the roof, which always makes for some excellent people-watching. it was some late nights though, and i'm glad it won't be back for a year. i need more sleep than that lifestyle requires.
but anyways, things are good here. we've had some in-service training going on, where we learn more intensive skills like bee-keeping (i've already got most of that covered, but it's nice to hear from someone other than my counterpart, i suppose) and tree-grafting. today we practiced on real trees. i don't know how well i did, but i do know that grafting trees feels like playing god. but you need a really, really sharp knife. we're also going to be doing some advanced composting (yay) and other gardening stuff. i'm pretty psyched to get back to site, of course. they keep giving us all these good ideas but i have to wait another week at least until i get back to try them. ay yi yi. in-service training itself is pretty exhausting, but it has been nice to see other volunteers for awhile. there's just something about being with someone who knows what it's like to be toubab-ed on daily basis that's just...therapeutic. also we've some really intense discussions about sustainability. it's something that comes up all the time here, and it's amazing how a small group of people working towards the same cause can have so many different opinions. but it's really important for us to keep talking about it, to keep that dialogue open, because otherwise who knows what we'd wind up doing. it reminds you why you're here and makes you re-think what you've done so far and what you want to do again. we've also been talking a lot about food security, which i'm sure you can imagine is a huge issue here. it goes really to every aspect of life here, you can't look at one issue plaguing this place without tracing it back to food security. so i guess it's good we're trying to focus more on that now.
speaking of food security, apparently it's socially acceptable now to post things on your blog that you want people to send you in care packages. i had no idea this was okay, but when in rome, you write your wishlist on your blog.
granola/luna/protein bars
peanut butter m&ms (the candy-coating keeps them from melting)
plain m&ms are also appreciated :)
TRAIL MIX!!
DRIED FRUIT!!!
sour punch straws ( i loove the strawberry ones)
any seeds you want to see if they can grow in a hot climate (apparently this is ok)
fun mix cds (or cds in general)
LOVE
this is going to sound a little silly, but please remove all excess packaging (otherwise i have to deal with where to put my plastic waste, which is not easy) but put everything in ziplock bags. counter-intuitive, i know. but while i am okay with no excess wrappings, the rats and bugs that live both in the Peace Corps mailroom and the Banjul post office have other ideas. and they are not to be trifled with. anyways, don't worry about this list too much because if you take the time to send me a package i'll be so grateful to you that it could probably be a dirty sock and some sugar packets and i'd still be psyched. and i have a pretty barren backyard right now (baby monkey's a digger and chewer of most things green) but rainy seasons a'comin and i'd like to get some stuff planted out there so if you've got some seeds lying around and you've ever wondered how they would grow in africa, apparently there's no overregulation of what you can plant here. i know the volunteer before me tried for a pecan tree and it was too hot, but that's only the beginning. people have grown pomegrante here before, and pineapple (yummy) and all kinds of things. so send 'em on if you wanna know and i'll give you a full report. because my tomatoes and basil are doing great, but i'm looking to expand to other gardening endeavors.
and trees! i got so many seeds today, i can't wait to get some trees in the ground.
anyways, i'm around the internet for a hot minute, so i'll probably post again soon. check hourly!
or maybe every few days.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Baby Monkey was adopted.
you would think that being saved from the life of a typical Gambian cat-the beatings, the parasites, the hunger-would make him grateful. but no. despite the steady diet of fish and powder milk (and cheese if he's been particularly sweet lately), despite the petting, the protective flea collar, the baths, and the love, despite the fact that he has a perfect life, he still insists on waking me up at 5am. every morning. this is a new trend. he used to sleep through the night (and most of the day). but i guess since it's hot hot hot his nap schedule got rearranged and now "be really obnoxious and cry loudly until casey lets me out" happens from 5 until5:30 every morning, instead of the middle of the day when it used to happen. and yes, he has been reminded that he was adopted. it didn't help.
otherwise things have been pretty good. my cold is little more than a pesky cough now, and it actually has been cooler these last few days. i can breathe even at the hottest part of the day (through my mouth, but i'm still breathing). we're all getting geared up for the big festival this weekend, i'm actually getting excited. there's going to be so much music. i love watching the Senegalese dancers that are going to be coming, as well. they're just impressive people. i'm on the "hospitality" committee, which basically means they want me to keep the tourists attending happy. i think it should be a pretty manageable job, i just hope there are no drunken scenes. the soldiers are coming to help control the crowd, but i don't know how they will feel about disciplining tourists. which is where i come on. i'll use some of my american moxy to keep them in line. or just tell the soldiers not to worry, they're people just like the rest of us. last year the soldiers locked up all the overly intoxicated rastas, cut off their dreads, and made them work in their garden. i don't think they're allowed to go that far this year, but i hope the boys are thinking of their dreads and behave.
after the festival i'm headed back up north for a girl's leadership camp. it's pretty exciting. i can't wait to see girls from all over the country working together. it even involves a "bridge-building" activity. who doesn't love a well-placed metaphor? i'm doing the icebreakers, which is in my opinion the most important part. just kidding. but i think it could be the most fun. the girls are at a really fun age, so hopefully nobody will be too shy and we'll be able to get them to bond. i think they're all going to love it. after a week together, how could they not?
so i'm off to search for lunch
otherwise things have been pretty good. my cold is little more than a pesky cough now, and it actually has been cooler these last few days. i can breathe even at the hottest part of the day (through my mouth, but i'm still breathing). we're all getting geared up for the big festival this weekend, i'm actually getting excited. there's going to be so much music. i love watching the Senegalese dancers that are going to be coming, as well. they're just impressive people. i'm on the "hospitality" committee, which basically means they want me to keep the tourists attending happy. i think it should be a pretty manageable job, i just hope there are no drunken scenes. the soldiers are coming to help control the crowd, but i don't know how they will feel about disciplining tourists. which is where i come on. i'll use some of my american moxy to keep them in line. or just tell the soldiers not to worry, they're people just like the rest of us. last year the soldiers locked up all the overly intoxicated rastas, cut off their dreads, and made them work in their garden. i don't think they're allowed to go that far this year, but i hope the boys are thinking of their dreads and behave.
after the festival i'm headed back up north for a girl's leadership camp. it's pretty exciting. i can't wait to see girls from all over the country working together. it even involves a "bridge-building" activity. who doesn't love a well-placed metaphor? i'm doing the icebreakers, which is in my opinion the most important part. just kidding. but i think it could be the most fun. the girls are at a really fun age, so hopefully nobody will be too shy and we'll be able to get them to bond. i think they're all going to love it. after a week together, how could they not?
so i'm off to search for lunch
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
you better believe i'm tan.
against my best efforts (sunscreen, sleeves, hats, avoiding the sun) i am a toasty brown (at least for me, being so fair-skinned). people in my village joke that soon i will look like one of them, and be a lovely chocolate color. i'm not sure about that. i'm still holding back.also, due to the culture here (lenient muslim, i suppose) i am actually only tan from my mid-calves down, on my arms, and my face. the rest of me never sees the sun.
international women's day went reasonably well, we actually had to do our activities the day after because monday was commonwealth day also, which included traditional dress, girls with candy braided into their hair, and a parade. the parade went to the military camp, where the commander treated us to a speech about student-on-teacher violence and teenage pregnancy. in celebration of the commonwealth, i guess. it was a great day though, and there was dancing in the afternoon. "traditional dancing" here is fun to watch and imitate, but it's a little awkward because everyone wants to see what the white girl is going to do. yeesh. it's worth it, though, to see what everyone else does. they get really into it. i love how they try and one-up each other. it's all a dance-off.
today i went to most of the upper school classes to talk about a tree nursery competition the school is participating in. the teacher i am working with is a little overenthusiastic (a problem i prefer to the alternative) and is having trouble letting the students take control of the nursery. he really wants to win, i guess. i just want to make sure the students learn how to raise trees. i really like this competition because it gives me lots of chances to talk about how important trees are, something you can't do enough here. as it gets hotter, there are more and more bush fires in my area. we passed 4 on the way here. it's such a sad site, and there's no real fire department to take care of it. people lose their farms and homes all the time.
the solution is firebreaks, but people are reluctant to build those, and often do not get around to it until later in the hot season. i suppose bush fires have been going on so long here they are almost viewed as inevitable, the way people see floods and tornados. hopefully they can be educated and encouraged otherwise. it's a long process. i know people know about firebreaks, but getting them to make them is another story.
so i am busy busy, when i'm not working i'm sitting around complaining about how hot it is. it's getting hotter, and i feel completely justified in complaining simply because i'm doing it with gambians. if the host country nationals say it's too hot, it's too hot. it's nice to commiserate. my mandinka is far from advanced, but my weather-based complaints are excellent.
while we're on the topic, i've been making a list of things i thought needed to be refridgerated before i came here. here's a brief version
1)eggs (cooked or raw)
2)milk
3)mayonaise
4)yogurt/cheese
5)fish
6)butter
7)leftover food from meals
i can't believe people here don't have all sorts of bacterial infections. or maybe they do...
anyways, i have some emails to reply to. i've hooked up with this NGO that does some really great work, but the majority of people there have computers and want me to be keeping in touch with them via email. it's not an option for me, so i have to cram before each of our meetings. my brain is a little fried, but at least they get stuff done.
fo waati do (till another time)
casey
international women's day went reasonably well, we actually had to do our activities the day after because monday was commonwealth day also, which included traditional dress, girls with candy braided into their hair, and a parade. the parade went to the military camp, where the commander treated us to a speech about student-on-teacher violence and teenage pregnancy. in celebration of the commonwealth, i guess. it was a great day though, and there was dancing in the afternoon. "traditional dancing" here is fun to watch and imitate, but it's a little awkward because everyone wants to see what the white girl is going to do. yeesh. it's worth it, though, to see what everyone else does. they get really into it. i love how they try and one-up each other. it's all a dance-off.
today i went to most of the upper school classes to talk about a tree nursery competition the school is participating in. the teacher i am working with is a little overenthusiastic (a problem i prefer to the alternative) and is having trouble letting the students take control of the nursery. he really wants to win, i guess. i just want to make sure the students learn how to raise trees. i really like this competition because it gives me lots of chances to talk about how important trees are, something you can't do enough here. as it gets hotter, there are more and more bush fires in my area. we passed 4 on the way here. it's such a sad site, and there's no real fire department to take care of it. people lose their farms and homes all the time.
the solution is firebreaks, but people are reluctant to build those, and often do not get around to it until later in the hot season. i suppose bush fires have been going on so long here they are almost viewed as inevitable, the way people see floods and tornados. hopefully they can be educated and encouraged otherwise. it's a long process. i know people know about firebreaks, but getting them to make them is another story.
so i am busy busy, when i'm not working i'm sitting around complaining about how hot it is. it's getting hotter, and i feel completely justified in complaining simply because i'm doing it with gambians. if the host country nationals say it's too hot, it's too hot. it's nice to commiserate. my mandinka is far from advanced, but my weather-based complaints are excellent.
while we're on the topic, i've been making a list of things i thought needed to be refridgerated before i came here. here's a brief version
1)eggs (cooked or raw)
2)milk
3)mayonaise
4)yogurt/cheese
5)fish
6)butter
7)leftover food from meals
i can't believe people here don't have all sorts of bacterial infections. or maybe they do...
anyways, i have some emails to reply to. i've hooked up with this NGO that does some really great work, but the majority of people there have computers and want me to be keeping in touch with them via email. it's not an option for me, so i have to cram before each of our meetings. my brain is a little fried, but at least they get stuff done.
fo waati do (till another time)
casey
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
this one's for the ladies
but fellas, listen close.
march 8th (monday)is international women's day. it even has it's own website:
http://www.internationalwomensday.com/. it's a little heavy.
i am planning on going to the basic cycle school and doing some activities with the girls there. then i want to go to the skills center and repeat. but i'm on the hunt for activities to do with them, if you know of any good ones, please call/email/facebook me with suggestions! i'm working with a student who is staying in my village, and the two of us want to really bring home the point that women can work and have a family, and of course that education is the key to everything. so let me know if you have any ideas!
right now we are going to have a discussion on setting goals and doing an activity called "pat on the back," where everyone stands in a circle and writes something nice about the person in front of them on their back. it's cute. but it's not enough.
otherwise, things here are good. it's been hot hot hot but not so bad today.
march 8th (monday)is international women's day. it even has it's own website:
http://www.internationalwomensday.com/. it's a little heavy.
i am planning on going to the basic cycle school and doing some activities with the girls there. then i want to go to the skills center and repeat. but i'm on the hunt for activities to do with them, if you know of any good ones, please call/email/facebook me with suggestions! i'm working with a student who is staying in my village, and the two of us want to really bring home the point that women can work and have a family, and of course that education is the key to everything. so let me know if you have any ideas!
right now we are going to have a discussion on setting goals and doing an activity called "pat on the back," where everyone stands in a circle and writes something nice about the person in front of them on their back. it's cute. but it's not enough.
otherwise, things here are good. it's been hot hot hot but not so bad today.
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