The Gibsons

Today my parents and sister arrived in The Gambia! They stepped off the plane looking tired, a bit frazzled, but excited. Oh, the things they will learn...

When The Lights Go Out

Activities we partake in when the power station flips the switch:

1. BANANAGRAMS.

2. Harass the cat.

3. Debate the difference between Liberals and Democrats and Conservatives and Republicans.

4. Dip our fingers into the hot candle wax until we sustain a serious burn.

5. "What should I do with my life?"

6. Analyze the funniest and most current run-in with The Gambians.

7. Discuss which foods from America we would make appear if we were wizards.

8.

Serekunda Market

Our Wolof language tutor, Haddy, took us to the Serekunda Market so she could refine our bargaining skills, help us get fair prices (not tourist prices), and attempt to teach us more Wolof that can be used during shopping.


Giant: A shop selling typical Gambian foodstuffs. Onions, potatoes, oil, mayo, tomato paste, eggs, fruit juice...

Reading China and Glass: A shop selling all sizes of cooking pots, little ovens using charcoal, ladles, knives, kettles and teapots...

The Hardware Store: In The Gambia, this shops sells everything to fix anything...

CVS: This car is selling cosmetics, ketchup, and custard powder...

This man is using a bandsaw, and producing sparks, right next to a stand selling dresses and shirts.

"What do think I can charge for this?

The arch over one of the entrances to the market.

Things I've Done Today That I've Never Done Before in The Gambia

1. Sang karaoke (to a bunch of Brits and Irish, no less).
2. Sang the American National Anthem in The Gambia.
3. Watched Planet Earth on the wall of an Italian restaurant while eating dinner.
4. Ate spinach!
5. Attended JulBrew Night at a pub.
6. Fit 10 people in an SUV meant for 5.
7. Argued with The Gambian traffic police.
8. Ate pizza while arguing with The Gambian traffic police.
9. Used a bathroom that had all the above: toilet paper, hand soap dispenser, towels, toilet seat with penguin pictures on it.
10. Violated The Gambian noise ordinance: no loud music after midnight.

The Opening of the National Assembly

Today was the opening of The Gambian National Assembly's legislative year. Our professor scored some tickets for gallery seating, so Tiereney, Blair, Otto and I went to observe. The opening was designated to start at 3 pm and President Jammeh was supposed to give a speech at 4 pm. However, we must remember that this is Africa and things rarely start on time. By the time all the guests arrived it was 4 pm. By the time all the assembly members were seated it was 5 pm. And by the time President Jammeh arrived and began his speech it was 7 pm. So we began about 3 hours late.
President Jammeh was a very charasmatic speaker. He addressed issues like The Gambia's achievement of all 7 Millenium Development Goals, his Vision 2020 plan, and violent crimes like rape. The Gambia is the only African country so far to achieve all 7 of the UN's Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), which are development targets meant to improve African quality of life. The goals were set by the UN in the 90s and The Gambia just achieved all the goals last year; this is a great accomplishment for a small country. Jammeh also advised Gambian's not to "rest on their laurels" because there are still goals for Vision 2020 that need to be accomplished. He wants more women in business, more kids in school full-time, and more Gambians at work instead of harassing tourists on the beach as "bumsters." Then, he went into detail about how violent crimes will not be tolerated in The Gambia. Apparently, last year saw an increase in the amount of violent crime and Jammeh was concerned that these new crime stats would discourage tourists from coming to the country. Because tourism is their biggest export, a decrease in tourism could dramatically affect their economy in a negative way. He expressed outrage at the rape of two girls by older family members (two separate incidents). Jammeh told the assembly that even his pigs on his farm in Kanilai know not to rape their piglets, so Gambians ought to understand that too. When a lot of people in the audience laughed at this, thinking it was a joke, he told them he was not joking and that this is a serious problem that would affect The Gambia's international image. Although they quieted down, it was obvious they were still uncomfortable with Jammeh speaking publicly about sensitive issues like rape, because Gambians, like many Africans, prefer a "don't ask, don't tell" for issues dealing with sex. However, a woman sitting a few seats to my left slept right through his whole speech, so she must not have been too uncomfortable.
Jammeh's speech was over a little before 8 pm, which has to be a record for him. Normally, his speeches carry on for a long time. It was obvious from the mood of the assembly members and the guests that they respect and like their President and place a lot of faith in his and the assembly's ability to lead The Gambia.

The Back Porch

Naughty kitty staring at a bug in the banana trees, most likely.

Our little banana tree in the backyard....and Sainabou walking into the kitchen.

Professor Nagengast drawing a to-scale and highly accurate map of Banjul.

I squeezed three fresh oranges into a glass and mixed it into a Sprite. That's refreshment.

RVTH

On Wednesdays, we have no classes and our professor organizes little excursions around our area so we can learn more and more about The Gambia. Today we visited the Royal Victorian Teaching Hospital in downtown Banjul. It is the most popular and most well-run public hospital in The Gambia. The average Gambian would pay 50 dalasis per day to have minor maladies treated (that's 2 US dollars) and the rich Gambian would pay 250 dalasis (10 dollars) per day to have his own private room. The first stop on our tour was a visit to the administration where they thanked us for coming and told us donations are always accepted, "Now is fine or at the end of your tour." Then, one woman told us that there is a Gambian saying along the lines of: if everybody spits on something big, it will get wet. This was some sort of analogy likening our small donation to the spit. They may be small, but together with all the other little donations they make a difference. Interesting analogy in a hospital.
On the way to RVTH, we walked by the Supreme Court. There were a lot of people hanging around on the sidewalks, cars parked in the street and on the sidewalks, police sauntering around with guns. Even the sheep were staring at the Supreme Court building as they trotted by. Then our intelligent and interesting professor remembered that the Supreme Court was trying some of President Jammeh's staff for treason. Apparently, a few weeks ago, some people in his administration were caught smuggling guns into the country in an attempt to stage a coup. Obviously, their plot was discovered and we had the fortune of walking by the Court on the day they were being tried.

Class Time

The view from the back of Human Rights.

A Drop in the Barometer

Cloudy, cool, and hazy: the nicest day so far in The Gambia.

Roadblock

As we were driving to a friend's compound, we were waved over to the side of the road by a uniformed policeman packing heat (an AK-47). We parked the car on the side of the road and got out to see what was going on, because there were a lot of other cars parked and waiting. We heard sirens and a motorcade drove followed by a pickup truck full of more armed police. Then our illustrious professor remembered that the president of Guinea was visiting President Jammeh and they were driving by to get to the airport. Two heads of state in one day!

Hotel Senegambia's Monkey Posse

Today, Michelle, Tiereney, Jonas and I went to the Senegambia Hotel to relax by the pool and sip cocktails. Little did we know, some other critters had the same idea.

Sunning himself, of course.

Grabbing a snack.

Sharing the stolen snack.

Searching for the babes.

Mmmmmm....banana.

Coconut Climber

A crazy man climbing up a coconut tree using a rope as leverage.

Most likely, he will cut off some leaves to make palm wine.

Revolutionary New Blog Idea

I am a bad blogger. I admit it. So I've decided to change my blogging style. Instead of writing long essays condensing days and weeks into paragraphs, I am going to start updating daily with a short entertaining story-of-the-day, a picture, a quote, etc. Just something to sort of summarize that day.

Today I had Social Change at 12 pm. I got on the bushtaxi with Tiereney and Blair to go to class. When we were about halfway there, another student named Sarah from St. Mary's in the States calls to inform me that class has been canceled...and I was already on my way. So, as this is a normal occurence in The Gambia, I simply hopped off the bushtaxi, bought a coconut slice to snack on, crossed the street, and got a bushtaxi going home. It was only a 105 degrees here today, anyway.

To My Family

"The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family."
Thomas Jefferson


"I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your own lungs." Jesse Owens