Mini Peace Corps Adventure

After a 6 hour bumpy uncomfortable journey, Sarah and I arrived in Dakar, Senegal. That evening I was picking up my mom in from Los Angeles. Not only would it be my mom’s first time in Africa but it also was her first time meeting my girlfriend, Sarah. Let’s just say I was nervous. But everything went swimmingly. No bags were lost or stolen and I knew just enough French to get us back to the hotel. And yes yes, Sarah and my mom got along great, except for ganging up on me a little bit.

Dakar is one of West Africa’s most metropolitan cities. So Sarah and I eased her into African life. But it was kind of the opposite for Sarah and I. Not having been in a city with buildings over 3 stories since leaving America. Riding an elevator was a new experience again. Don’t even get me started on grocery stores with 20 different types of cereals. We are used to only having one option- corn flakes. We were only in Dakar for 2 days because she wasn’t here to see Dakar, she came to see The Gambia.

So we took what Sarah and I called uncomfortable and my mom called amazing, 6 hour ride to Gambia. We crossed the border and decided to take a taxi instead of local transport back to my village. We would stay only one night this first time being that it was late and its easier to cross the river in the morning time. As we pulled up to the village the taxi started spitting black smoke and spraying fluids, I said, “Welcome to the Gambia!”

It was December 29^th and it was my mom’s birthday. It was my first time in 5 years spending her birthday with her. I think it meant a lot to her but you will have to ask her. The three of us spent the day on the beach just relaxing after many days of traveling.

The coastline of Gambia is not what you expect of a 3^rd world country. Beautiful white sandy beaches with dark blue clean waters. Resorts have capitalized on the natural beauty and started a semi successful tourist track on the coast. The brits call it the budget vacation. It’s like a $100 flight from England and very inexpensive once you have arrived. I told you all that to tell you we stayed at the Sheraton Resort at the cost of the Holiday Inn in New York. HAH. Sarah also partook in our luxury tour of The Gambia. Neither of us had been there before and we were both blown away that this kind of stuff existed in Gambia. At the same time, the staff were blown away that we could speak local language. One staff member almost fell over laughing so hard that Sarah could speak Mandinka. Needless to say we talked more with the staff at the Sheraton than the other guests. In reality, at this point in our lives we had a lot more in common with the staff then the rest of the quests. When it came time to leave we had 3 guards, 2 gardeners, and a driver walk us to the gate of the Sheraton. Gambians are naturally very hospitable people, so what these men were doing was walking us out of their compound as friends that had came to visit. From the Sheraton we went to Sarah’s village, which is one of the poorest regions in Gambia.

There we did what you do in village, relax and greeted(chat/visit)people in village. Sarah’s family taught my mom how to eat with her hands as we all ate from the same food bowl. At nights we played with the kids and sat by the fire (in cold seasons, nights get into the 60s).

Being a mini PC experience it was important for my mom to give something back to the community. She brought graphing calculators to donate to another PCV for her calculus students. This volunteer works at the oldest school in Gambia and one of the only boarding schools in the country. The volunteer is involved in a project to build a math room at the school for tutoring and other math resources. Before my mom donated the calculators there was only one graphing calculator for 10 students. It is so important to contribute to higher levels of education because these are the students that will help shape Gambia. With more highly educated students, Gambia has a great chance for further development.

The last 8 days of my mom’s 3 ½ week visit was in my village. It is customary for a visitor to meet the village elders. So on the second day she was here she walked around to see the alkalo (village leader/chief), the Imam (head of the Muslim mosque) and several village elders whom we would be offending if we didn’t greet them. The head of the women’s group Mam Gaye, was by far the most animated. She started out with a squeal of excitement, 2 kisses and a hug (all being quite abnormal for a Gambian woman.) Then she proceeded to speak really fast, a little too fast for me to translate everything, say how happy she was to have her in her village and what a great job I was doing. Then she started running around the house trying to find something, it you can’t tell, she has a lot of energy for a 60 year old woman. She finally came back with a necklace that she wanted to give to my mom. After that we did some more laying around for the next couple of days. Energy gets zapped really easy here in Africa with the heat and the low calorie intake of food.

While my mom was here we also had to prepare for the opening ceremony of my health school. So that meant going to the weekly market called a lumo, to buy supplies for food. The lumo is a bustling African market full of raw foods and fabric sales for clothes. A place where you see the butcher hacking away at meat on a table on the main market road. Live animal sales are going on at the far end of the market, including sheep, cattle, horse and many more. It’s the kind of place where you can buy colorful African fabrics and have them tailored into anything you like. It’s an ADHD person’s nightmare and an all-in-one shoppers dream. If you can’t get it here you can’t get it anywhere. I actually love going to the lumo because there is such a great energy and social atmosphere. Every time I go I usually make 2 or 3 new friends and it’s not hard to forget me [Queue white joke]. I have a breakfast lady, a fabric guy, and a phone man. The markets in the capital are full of tourist traps and looters. The lumo is full of friendly Gambians looking more for your friendship then your business. So if you are going to buy, you buy it from a friend.

The opening ceremony went great with a little help from me. (One of the PC goals is to be a facilitator, not a worker, several villagers took charge of the program and it went very smoothly).  Gambian Programs are always filled with lengthy speeches and lots of repetition- this one was no different. We had about 2 hours of lengthy speeches and long drawn out thanks. Including my speech in Wolof but mine was very short. Then we ate lunch and most importantly, we danced! No African celebration is complete without clanging pots and pans. With a shortage of real drums they bang on pots and pans but with their amazing abilities you wouldn’t know the difference. Aimee even got up there moving to the beat of the drum with Mom Gaye’s help. She went out with a bang.

Literally, 3 days later she had to get on a plane and fly back to the States. A departure filled with laughter and tears and an imprint of yellow, red, and green in her mind. Don’t be surprised if her English sounds a little weird. That’s just Gambian English. Don’t ask ‘why’ if she asks: How are you? How is the morning? How is your family? How is the work? Peace Only. She is only greeting you. So take it easy on her for a while because she saw those African children that everyone talks about when you don’t finish a meal. But the truth is she knows what their smiles look like.

African Creations

This will challenge me in every day,

It will take my heart and unstitch it.

The fibers of my being will be stretched to their limits,

And there will be nothing left but the bits of my soul.

This will challenge me in every way,

But the drum will replace the rhythm of my heart,

The thatch will bind what has fallen apart.

And my soul will have nothing but a new start.

This has challenged me in every way,

But what challenges me, creates me! 

Willingness

It has been 12 months with about 14 months to go, just about at the half way point. I have adapted to my environment where honestly couldn’t tell sometimes what would be considered normal American behaviors. I think certain kaf-tans (local celebration attire, a mid-thigh shirt with intricate embroidery)  would be quite nice back in America but from what I am told it would not fly.

Adaptation is my body’s natural response to survival and further more thriving in this environment, what 12 months ago was forgotten. Although, I don’t think that I am that different from the general society. I think most of you could do this. Playing to the same cord, just like I think any physically able bodied person can complete a marathon. The most important ingredient being- willingness.

Willingness is to train 3 times a week for 6 months

Willingness is to leave everything you know and move to a new continent.

Willingness is to cut certain foods out of your diet so you have the energy to run 20 miles a week.

Willingness to wear someone else shoes for a change or in the case of Africa, take your shoes off completely.

To be completely honest I am no different than any of you because all humans can adapt. I just might be a tiny bit more willing at times. This is where you might compare yourself to those of us in the Peace Corps, but I challenge you to think differently. Because willingness isn’t moving to Africa, it is accepting a challenge of something that by most standards is considered difficult. Willingness isn’t succeeding but the effort put forth in the attempts to succeed. “To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one’s self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—this is to have succeeded (Ralph Waldo Emerson).” So go work with children or plant a garden. But if that child doesn’t  smile or the plants die. “Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow.”(Mary Anne Radmacher) This is how I get through my days. What great is that it doesn’t only work in Africa, it works everywhere.

You know you have adapted to Africa when:

• 
  
  ·         80s feel like 60s
  
  
  ·         Your poop is solid
  
  
  ·         You ask for more rice
  
  
  ·         You agree with the driver a full 20 seater van can definitely fit 5 more people
  
  
  ·         You think something is wrong when you’re not sweating
  
  
  ·         You know all of the radio commercials by heart
  
  
  ·         Carrying things on your head is easier then out in front of you
  
  
  ·         Eating some foods with your hands is much easier than with forks
  
  
  ·         You can tell the difference between the attaya brands (local tea)
  
  
  ·         You have a favorite rooster
  
  
  ·         You prefer a pit latrine over a western toilet
  
  
  ·         You eat sooooo much of the seasonal fruit during season, that you can wait till the next season to eat it again
  
  
  ·         You have named the rodents that moved into your house
  
  
  ·         Stripes goes with plaid (sorry Nicole)
  
  
  ·         Greet callers from American in Gambian English
  
  
  ·         Can’t wait for the full moon because you get to save the batteries on your flashlight
  
  
  ·         Village shorts: worn everyday and they are starting to look like the shorts the village kids wear
  
  
  ·         You can put your feet on anything just as long as you take your shoes off. 

Pilgrims and Indians

Even though Thanksgiving was 3 weeks ago, I still want to speak my thanks.

                But first, I want to tell you about my first ever real Thanksgiving the way the Native Americans intended it:

                Ten friends and I slaughtered a turkey. Someone cut the turkey’s throat while two others held it down (it was one big bird). Another volunteer gutted it and the rest helped clean and cook it. We also made several sides from scratch, including my favorite garlic, cheese mashed potatoes. You could not get any closer to the real deal then that, beyond dressing up like actual Pilgrims and Indians (although we did consider that option).

                The whole ordeal brought a lot of appreciation to my consciousness. We all learned lasting lessons in food preparation- from field to table. The ability to go to the store and buy ready made food in a grocery store has taken on a whole new meaning. Having this experience with 10 friends in a foreign land will forever change the meaning of being thankful on Thanksgiving.

                On Thanksgiving, I like many of us do, we had the round table pre-dinner ‘what we are thankful for’ conversation. Although every year I earnestly thankful, it was not until this year was I able to match that gratitude with experience.

                Not until this year did I really know what good health was until I saw how malaria affects a           village during rainy season.               

                Not until this year did I totally value my own education until I saw kids go to school every day     and sit in a classroom all day with no teacher.           

                Not until this year did I understand the books I read.  I majored in African Studies in college. I     read books about culture, societies, history, and the effects of colonialism but not until I got here did I totally understand what it all meant.

                Life experiences.  Education.  Health. I have been thankful for these things before but now I know what it feels like. I knew the weight of it in my hand. I know what it looks like and I cannot change the channel.

                And of course, I cannot forget all of you at home and all my new family and friends here in Africa. I am thankful every day, while a bit corny, for the love that I have all around the world.

                Speaking of family, my mom is coming to visit in 2 weeks for the holiday season. I am both excited and nervously awaiting her arrival. This is not an easy place and I hope all goes well. She told me when I was selected for the PC that she had once had dreams of joining the PC when she was young. (shhh….. don’t tell her but I am going to try and give her a mini- PC experience). So send her good luck and happy travels her way just like you did for me.

                Until the next time, stay happy and healthy. Go experience the day. 

Photo Blog

I want to post this blogs with as little writing as possible and let the images do the talking. They will tell a story. So enjoy reading and I hope all is well:

I saw a lot of great sunset while I was in the capital for a month

I worked with WFP on a rice distribution project

Back at site I did a lot of reading and playing cards

...and hanging out at my compound

... and sitting in the dark.

Then I got hit in the face by my own shovel...Och!

Thank you so much Wendy_I received your package