Village life; it can be filled with "sunshine" and then it can be filled with "rainclouds." I really do like my village but sometimes people can just irritate me. I have a few projects that I'm working on with my village. They always look to me when they have questions, which is fine, but I'd love it if they could take initiative and do things on their own. That's what I'm dealing with right now, it is wearing on me more I think because we'll start planting soon and that's when I'll really find out if the projects are going to be successful or not. Right now the community tells me they will be able to help plant, weed, put up fences, etc. but until the time comes I really don't know what to expect. As of now, this is the first project I've ever done with my village.
So as the title says, I'm relaxing in Kombo right now. I had to get away for two reasons, one was what I mentioned above and the second was taxes. Yes you heard me right, taxes. My host father decided not to pay the Alkali (village head) the compound tax in January and now after many attempts to get the money the Alkali is going to the police. That very day I was leaving to come into town my host brother came up to me and explained the situation and asked me if I could pay my rent early so they could pay their taxes.
I politely declined to pay early for a few reasons. The biggest one was that I pay rent to food and food alone. So if this money ended up going to taxes, who is paying for my food? Secondly, I think that after 5 months my family would of been able to save up the small amount owed to pay the Alkali. It is simple money management that they refused to do which is why I don't feel I should bail them out. I hope I'm not coming off as to cold hearted. It's just that when I see my family spending money on unnecessary things I feel no pity when they can't afford to pay off old debts.
So in the mean time I sit and relax. Cheers.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
In Service Training (IST)
Good evening all! Sorry to keep you all waiting, I just looked at the date and it's been almost a month since I last posted. Don't blame me though, I try not to spend to much time in Kombo (the land of electricity and computers) because I already spend a lot of time away from my site and my host family.
It is time though, man, site was wearing on me for a little while there right before I came in. Once I'm away from my friends, the Internet, and good food for a long time I start counting down the days until I get to come into Kombo. I'm a happy camper now since coming into town. Our Agfo group is having our IST right now so everyone is reunited again, at least for a week and then we'll all be back at our sites. I hadn't seen one of my really good friends since training, 4 months ago. We have cell phones though so all communication isn't lost at least.
IST is good though, we are mainly focusing on beekeeping, tree grafting, planting nursery's, talking about what species are good for this and that, and lots of other details such as grant writing and acquiring funds for projects we're are doing.
So far we have gotten through the beekeeping sessions, it's been a lot of fun. We talk about the different hives used, how to harvest the honey, what tools are needed plus a lot more and then all of us are required to go out and harvest a hive with a trainer. If you are allergic to bees you don't have to go. Everyone did really well though, of course most of us got stung but you can't really expect to go beekeeping without dealing with stings and such.
Today we covered tree grafting and I got to say it's complicated. By the end I was starting to understand it better but the theory and then the actual process of grafting one variety of tree onto the other is very difficult and takes a lot of technique and skill to master. This is something I want to bring back and teach in my village. There are many advantages you get from grafting and it really doesn't cost anything except a little bit of know how and time. I don't think I will try to teach the entire village, only select individuals who show me they are motivated and really want to learn.
As far as other news goes I am in the process of planning a vacation. Morocco isn't to far away from The Gambia so with any luck I hope to go there at the end of July or early August with a couple friends. We would have to fly there, I don't have enough time to take an overland trip, although that would probably be a fun way to do it. Besides that I got nothing booked, the only thing I do know is that I want to surf in Morocco and I will be there for around 10-14 days.
My host family is doing well besides my host father who has been sick for the past few months. They keep telling me he has malaria but I want to say it's something else. He hasn't gone to the hospital and the medicine they have for him isn't labeled and I couldn't tell you what it's really for. Most Gambians think that if the medicine comes from the U.S. or Europe it is a cure all so they don't even bother to figure out what it does. They just expect to get better once they take it.
I want to thank everyone who has been sending me letters and care packages, especially Auntie Mo, Aunt Mary, Aunt Karen, and both Grandma Brooks and Grandma Ward. If I forgot anyone I'm sorry but be assured that I appreciate everything that is sent my way!
And with that, so long and farewell!
It is time though, man, site was wearing on me for a little while there right before I came in. Once I'm away from my friends, the Internet, and good food for a long time I start counting down the days until I get to come into Kombo. I'm a happy camper now since coming into town. Our Agfo group is having our IST right now so everyone is reunited again, at least for a week and then we'll all be back at our sites. I hadn't seen one of my really good friends since training, 4 months ago. We have cell phones though so all communication isn't lost at least.
IST is good though, we are mainly focusing on beekeeping, tree grafting, planting nursery's, talking about what species are good for this and that, and lots of other details such as grant writing and acquiring funds for projects we're are doing.
So far we have gotten through the beekeeping sessions, it's been a lot of fun. We talk about the different hives used, how to harvest the honey, what tools are needed plus a lot more and then all of us are required to go out and harvest a hive with a trainer. If you are allergic to bees you don't have to go. Everyone did really well though, of course most of us got stung but you can't really expect to go beekeeping without dealing with stings and such.
Today we covered tree grafting and I got to say it's complicated. By the end I was starting to understand it better but the theory and then the actual process of grafting one variety of tree onto the other is very difficult and takes a lot of technique and skill to master. This is something I want to bring back and teach in my village. There are many advantages you get from grafting and it really doesn't cost anything except a little bit of know how and time. I don't think I will try to teach the entire village, only select individuals who show me they are motivated and really want to learn.
As far as other news goes I am in the process of planning a vacation. Morocco isn't to far away from The Gambia so with any luck I hope to go there at the end of July or early August with a couple friends. We would have to fly there, I don't have enough time to take an overland trip, although that would probably be a fun way to do it. Besides that I got nothing booked, the only thing I do know is that I want to surf in Morocco and I will be there for around 10-14 days.
My host family is doing well besides my host father who has been sick for the past few months. They keep telling me he has malaria but I want to say it's something else. He hasn't gone to the hospital and the medicine they have for him isn't labeled and I couldn't tell you what it's really for. Most Gambians think that if the medicine comes from the U.S. or Europe it is a cure all so they don't even bother to figure out what it does. They just expect to get better once they take it.
I want to thank everyone who has been sending me letters and care packages, especially Auntie Mo, Aunt Mary, Aunt Karen, and both Grandma Brooks and Grandma Ward. If I forgot anyone I'm sorry but be assured that I appreciate everything that is sent my way!
And with that, so long and farewell!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
St. Patty's Day
For St. Patrick's day I decided to take a little trip up country to my friends place in YBK. Quite a few volunteers from my group were posted there and since I hadn't seen them in a while I had a good excuse to go. Alicia, who lives at YBK was hosting St. Patty's day for all of us. In total there was about 15 people from our group that came and I must say it was a blast.
Since I didn't want to leave my site for to long I only went up to YBK for 3 days. For those that are unsure, that really means I traveled two days and got to sit down and have some beer for only one. It was a short trip but definitely worth the time spent getting there.
The first evening everyone was dead tired from traveling but we hung out none the less. Later that night a dead half of a bush pig (the stomach, back and both hams) was brought to us from the Hunter Alicia had hired. The pig wasn't skinned, eviscerated, or butchered and being so tired with full darkness fast approaching we decided to wait and do the grisly job in the morning.
Sunrise came early the next morning and none of us were really in the mood to butcher a pig but it had to be done so we got started. Alicia had gone to school and taken classes on butchering animals so she was kind of our expert during the whole experience. Her, Bjorn and myself were the ones who partook in the slaughter. I was a little apprehensive at first just because I'd never done anything like it before but really I had a good time taking out the entrails, the skin and then finally the meat. For some reason I felt more manly afterwards, it was great.
Before Alicia, a volunteer named Frank lived in YBK and he had built a big stove/barbecue in the back yard so once we had that thing burning nice and hot we threw both hams on. They were huge so we couldn't fit the rest of the meat on at that time. Little did we know, the rest of the pork wasn't faring so well without ice or refrigeration to sit in while it waited to be cooked. After a few hours the hams were finished and I have to say they looked absolutely delicious but they weren't really anything to special, you could even say there was something a little fishy, if you will, tasting about them. We had paid for the pig though, so whether is tasted good or not I was going to eat it, and I did. Dad taught me well, clean your plate, even if it means the possibility of getting food poisoning. Grandma Ward would be proud I think.
Meanwhile, back at the barbecue we had the rest of the meat cooking, it was in smaller pieces than the hams so they cooked much faster. All our efforts at cooking some delicious pork went to waste though, apparently since it had sat out much longer unrefrigerated it all went bad. Just imagine eating pork that has the consistency of feta cheese with a really funky taste, it was a little disturbing. Besides just a little nibble to try out the meat none of us ate any of the remaining pork.
St. Patrick's day was a success though, everyone had a really good time and I even brought some wine that I brewed and was sipping on that. The recipe wasn't to complicated, 100% grape juice, two spoons of sugar and some yeast. After 12 days of fermenting I had my Gambian Merlot. The next day came too soon and after half a day of riding in the gelegele and an hour hike back to my village I was home again.
Where does the time go? Don't ask me, I've been in The Gambia for 6 months now and it feels like I just got here yesterday.
Since I didn't want to leave my site for to long I only went up to YBK for 3 days. For those that are unsure, that really means I traveled two days and got to sit down and have some beer for only one. It was a short trip but definitely worth the time spent getting there.
The first evening everyone was dead tired from traveling but we hung out none the less. Later that night a dead half of a bush pig (the stomach, back and both hams) was brought to us from the Hunter Alicia had hired. The pig wasn't skinned, eviscerated, or butchered and being so tired with full darkness fast approaching we decided to wait and do the grisly job in the morning.
Sunrise came early the next morning and none of us were really in the mood to butcher a pig but it had to be done so we got started. Alicia had gone to school and taken classes on butchering animals so she was kind of our expert during the whole experience. Her, Bjorn and myself were the ones who partook in the slaughter. I was a little apprehensive at first just because I'd never done anything like it before but really I had a good time taking out the entrails, the skin and then finally the meat. For some reason I felt more manly afterwards, it was great.
Before Alicia, a volunteer named Frank lived in YBK and he had built a big stove/barbecue in the back yard so once we had that thing burning nice and hot we threw both hams on. They were huge so we couldn't fit the rest of the meat on at that time. Little did we know, the rest of the pork wasn't faring so well without ice or refrigeration to sit in while it waited to be cooked. After a few hours the hams were finished and I have to say they looked absolutely delicious but they weren't really anything to special, you could even say there was something a little fishy, if you will, tasting about them. We had paid for the pig though, so whether is tasted good or not I was going to eat it, and I did. Dad taught me well, clean your plate, even if it means the possibility of getting food poisoning. Grandma Ward would be proud I think.
Meanwhile, back at the barbecue we had the rest of the meat cooking, it was in smaller pieces than the hams so they cooked much faster. All our efforts at cooking some delicious pork went to waste though, apparently since it had sat out much longer unrefrigerated it all went bad. Just imagine eating pork that has the consistency of feta cheese with a really funky taste, it was a little disturbing. Besides just a little nibble to try out the meat none of us ate any of the remaining pork.
St. Patrick's day was a success though, everyone had a really good time and I even brought some wine that I brewed and was sipping on that. The recipe wasn't to complicated, 100% grape juice, two spoons of sugar and some yeast. After 12 days of fermenting I had my Gambian Merlot. The next day came too soon and after half a day of riding in the gelegele and an hour hike back to my village I was home again.
Where does the time go? Don't ask me, I've been in The Gambia for 6 months now and it feels like I just got here yesterday.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
I'm Back!!!!!
Hello everyone, its been a while. The last time I posted was Christmas, I wish I could of gotten on here sooner but we're in our three month challenge so were supposed to stay in our village as much as possible. Village life has been good though, I'm staying busy like i always tell everyone. So far I've built a total of 8 mud stoves and have another on the way.
Oh man Christmas was so great, thanks again to those who sent packages, Grandma Ward, Auntie Mo, Grandma Brooks, Mom and Dad, and Jackie (that book is hilarious). It was a belated Christmas but very merry, I had so many boxes and and letters from everyone. Food was the most common thing sent it was also eaten very very quickly ha ha, yeah i was living high off the hog for about a week and then it all came to a screeching halt.
OK i gotta go get some food but this is a work in progress, so stay tuned.
Well its been a few weeks but I'm finally back. Sorry about the delay for those of you who check my blog every day (I know there's a lot of you.!) it must of been quiet a suspenseful wait. Village life is still good, same old thing though. I'm glad to be into town and leave all that behind for a few days.
The biggest thing/event that went down in the past two weeks was the West African International Softball Tournament (WAIST). It was held in Dakar, Senegal and as you might have guessed I went along and played in the tournament. It was a blast, so much fun, I'm for sure going again next year. There were a few who didn't play in the tournament, they just came along to see Dakar which is a real awesome city. I liked Dakar so much more than Banjul and the Kombo area of The Gambia. The main reason for that is, Dakar is a real city, a booming metropolis with so much to do, i recommend it to anyone traveling West Africa.
So Peace Corps the Gambia put together two teams, one in the social league and another in the competitive league. I played on the competitive team, ha ha, oh man that was an experience. Our team was athletic, we knew how to play but hadn't really practiced much or actually at all for that matter. The first time any of us played together was at our first game in the WAIST tournament. This turned out to be our biggest downfall considering we played against well practiced, well disciplined, very very competitive, non-coed teams (our team was coed). So as you can imagine, we didn't fare to well. An especially tough game was against the high school varsity team who also play club ball year around, at least that's what their coach was telling me. Yes, we lost every one of our games, four all together.
I was happy that the mercy rule didn't apply to the competitive league because all our games would of ended well before the seven inning limit if it had. After the first game we new we were outmatched but all of us still had fun and we actually had some really good plays. One was a double play that I was a part of, that guy shouldn't of been so ambitious. Instead of winning games we won "plays." Speaking of plays, I also pulled a Bill Buckner while playing first base. Not one of my high points but at least that was the extent of my errors during the four games.
Oh man Christmas was so great, thanks again to those who sent packages, Grandma Ward, Auntie Mo, Grandma Brooks, Mom and Dad, and Jackie (that book is hilarious). It was a belated Christmas but very merry, I had so many boxes and and letters from everyone. Food was the most common thing sent it was also eaten very very quickly ha ha, yeah i was living high off the hog for about a week and then it all came to a screeching halt.
OK i gotta go get some food but this is a work in progress, so stay tuned.
Well its been a few weeks but I'm finally back. Sorry about the delay for those of you who check my blog every day (I know there's a lot of you.!) it must of been quiet a suspenseful wait. Village life is still good, same old thing though. I'm glad to be into town and leave all that behind for a few days.
The biggest thing/event that went down in the past two weeks was the West African International Softball Tournament (WAIST). It was held in Dakar, Senegal and as you might have guessed I went along and played in the tournament. It was a blast, so much fun, I'm for sure going again next year. There were a few who didn't play in the tournament, they just came along to see Dakar which is a real awesome city. I liked Dakar so much more than Banjul and the Kombo area of The Gambia. The main reason for that is, Dakar is a real city, a booming metropolis with so much to do, i recommend it to anyone traveling West Africa.
So Peace Corps the Gambia put together two teams, one in the social league and another in the competitive league. I played on the competitive team, ha ha, oh man that was an experience. Our team was athletic, we knew how to play but hadn't really practiced much or actually at all for that matter. The first time any of us played together was at our first game in the WAIST tournament. This turned out to be our biggest downfall considering we played against well practiced, well disciplined, very very competitive, non-coed teams (our team was coed). So as you can imagine, we didn't fare to well. An especially tough game was against the high school varsity team who also play club ball year around, at least that's what their coach was telling me. Yes, we lost every one of our games, four all together.
I was happy that the mercy rule didn't apply to the competitive league because all our games would of ended well before the seven inning limit if it had. After the first game we new we were outmatched but all of us still had fun and we actually had some really good plays. One was a double play that I was a part of, that guy shouldn't of been so ambitious. Instead of winning games we won "plays." Speaking of plays, I also pulled a Bill Buckner while playing first base. Not one of my high points but at least that was the extent of my errors during the four games.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Merry Christmas!!!!!
Merry Christmas everyone! I'm back in the city for a brief time to celebrate Christmas with Peace Corps so I thought I'd better get a post written. Village life is fun but man it is nice to get away sometimes just to break up the monotony of it. I spent about two weeks in village without traveling anywhere, it didn't seem like that long but time is going by faster than I expected.
My day consists of me waking up at 7am every morning. I get up wash my face, open my door and go greet the family. They are usually up before me, especially the women who are normally pounding coos in the big wooden mortar and pestle. After that I will go into my backyard and check out my garden, see how my plants and everything is doing, make sure everything is how I left it and all that good stuff. I have tomatoes, carrots, banana, papaya, pigeon pea, cucumber, onion, egg plant and cabbage growing. Currently my cabbage and tomatoes are getting eaten by birds and other insects, I've take the necessary measures and I think They should be safe for now. I'll find out once I return to site tomorrow. But anyways then I water and work in the garden doing whatever work needs to be done.
Mid morning I'll take a little break to read and eat breakfast, this is around 9:30am. I get quite a bit of reading done in village, I always feel guilty because I don't study language a whole lot any more but I will be getting a tutor after x-mas so that will help a lot. At around 11am I go to the well and pump water. There is usually a line so it takes a while for me the get all the water I need. I water my garden in the morning and at night so I go through quite a bit of water.
During the afternoon I eat lunch, read, and drink attaya. Maybe I'll walk around the village and visit the different compounds. I still don't really know anyways name except a few people so that's something I'm trying to work on. Then when evening rolls around I'll water again, take a bucket bath and eat dinner. More reading, hanging out with my family and drinking attaya is done.
I've been visiting other volunteers, going to my fathers orchard and visiting the women's garden also, just not every day. That pretty much covers it.
Peace be with, have a Merry X-mas and Happy New Year.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Life In The Gambia
Some of you have asked me about the weather, food and just day to day life here so this post will concentrate mostly on that. As for weather, it is very nice here now, it still gets into the 80's during the middle of the day but usually I'm inside or under a shade tree by that time so it doesn't bother me a whole lot. Speaking of which, during the middle of the day almost all farmers and family's will come in from working the fields to eat lunch and drink attaya (the local tea).
Attaya is a big part of Gambian culture. Almost all men drink attaya at least once a day, if not 2 or 3 times, and women and children drink it too but not as much. Attaya is boiled in small tea pots over charcoal stoves, lots of sugar is put into attaya and it usually takes about half an hour to prepare one serving. The tea grounds are then used two more times to brew the attaya which makes having attaya about a two hour ordeal. This drink is high in caffeine so this is another reason farmers like it so much. I can attest, attaya is a real pick me up when you are feeling a little tired or sluggish.
The food here can be very good and also very bad. Some of the main dishes we eat are white and red benechin, maffe, mbahaal, cuwa gerte, cere, and lak. These all have either rice, fish, peanuts, coos, and or other miscellaneous things in them. At first there were some things I wasn't a big fan of like the cere (coos) but now I really do like all the foods that are prepared here. It helps that my host mother and sisters are excellent cooks, they really have cooked the best food I've eaten here in The Gambia.
Day to day life should consist of me waking up at 7am washing my face, going outside and greeting my family, going to pump water at the well and then helping my host brothers water my banana and papaya trees in my backyard. Since I'll be planting a garden I want to spend the mornings working in my backyard doing whatever needs to be done. By this time is should be about 9:30-10:00am and we will have breakfast. After this the rest of the day will consist of my walking around talking to people, drinking attaya, studying Wolof, reading, sleeping, eating lunch and doing little things here and there. My teacher is loaning me a bee hive so I'll be spending some time with that getting it ready and trying to colonize it. It's almost harvest season so I need to get it colonized as soon as possible. I have a bee suit also so don't worry, I wont get stung to much.
I'm tired so I'm ending it here, if your good I will add more later!
Attaya is a big part of Gambian culture. Almost all men drink attaya at least once a day, if not 2 or 3 times, and women and children drink it too but not as much. Attaya is boiled in small tea pots over charcoal stoves, lots of sugar is put into attaya and it usually takes about half an hour to prepare one serving. The tea grounds are then used two more times to brew the attaya which makes having attaya about a two hour ordeal. This drink is high in caffeine so this is another reason farmers like it so much. I can attest, attaya is a real pick me up when you are feeling a little tired or sluggish.
The food here can be very good and also very bad. Some of the main dishes we eat are white and red benechin, maffe, mbahaal, cuwa gerte, cere, and lak. These all have either rice, fish, peanuts, coos, and or other miscellaneous things in them. At first there were some things I wasn't a big fan of like the cere (coos) but now I really do like all the foods that are prepared here. It helps that my host mother and sisters are excellent cooks, they really have cooked the best food I've eaten here in The Gambia.
Day to day life should consist of me waking up at 7am washing my face, going outside and greeting my family, going to pump water at the well and then helping my host brothers water my banana and papaya trees in my backyard. Since I'll be planting a garden I want to spend the mornings working in my backyard doing whatever needs to be done. By this time is should be about 9:30-10:00am and we will have breakfast. After this the rest of the day will consist of my walking around talking to people, drinking attaya, studying Wolof, reading, sleeping, eating lunch and doing little things here and there. My teacher is loaning me a bee hive so I'll be spending some time with that getting it ready and trying to colonize it. It's almost harvest season so I need to get it colonized as soon as possible. I have a bee suit also so don't worry, I wont get stung to much.
I'm tired so I'm ending it here, if your good I will add more later!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Story Time
So this time I thought I'd tell a funny story that happened to one of my friends, I wont name names. Anyways it was just a regular night for all of us trainees, most of us were pretty tired from working and studying all day so we went to bed early. Matt, Rob (not his real name), and myself were sharing a room on this fateful night and all got to bed at a decent hour. I should mention though, that Rob was experiencing Mr. D, diarrhea for the lay person, but I didn't really know how bad he was having it.
The next thing I know it's three in the morning and all I hear is Rob telling Matt that he had pooped his pants while he was sleeping. For some reason this didn't rouse me to much considering that Rob isn't the first person to have had this problem (we all get really desensitized to this sort of thing very quickly). Rob was sleeping right next to me, on a different cot of course, so I decided to wake up fully, and find out how everything went very wrong.
Apparently Rob had not changed out of his dress pants that he wore to the 40Th anniversary party of the Peace Corps The Gambia that afternoon so inevitably when he woke up and had to go his pants got the worst of it. He had washed those and had them in his bag or something, not really sure what happened to those pants. Matt and I were laughing pretty hard by this point, Rob took the whole thing really well, we actually got him laughing about it after a while. He just flipped the mattress over and went back to sleep, not for long though, Mr. D called again, and again, and... again.
Eventually Matt and I just stayed up and Matt read Clockwork Orange to us. This book, which was very weird, the fact that we were all dead tired, and the whole thing with Rob made for a very funny morning. I'd have to say it was one of the funniest things that has happened here so far. I mostly believe this because it wasn't me who had to experience the worst of it on this particular night.
Rob is now fine and doing well. His pride and bowels were wounded but he has since made a full recovery. We still joke about it and its also still very funny. Hope you all enjoyed this edition of "Story Time," I know I did!
The next thing I know it's three in the morning and all I hear is Rob telling Matt that he had pooped his pants while he was sleeping. For some reason this didn't rouse me to much considering that Rob isn't the first person to have had this problem (we all get really desensitized to this sort of thing very quickly). Rob was sleeping right next to me, on a different cot of course, so I decided to wake up fully, and find out how everything went very wrong.
Apparently Rob had not changed out of his dress pants that he wore to the 40Th anniversary party of the Peace Corps The Gambia that afternoon so inevitably when he woke up and had to go his pants got the worst of it. He had washed those and had them in his bag or something, not really sure what happened to those pants. Matt and I were laughing pretty hard by this point, Rob took the whole thing really well, we actually got him laughing about it after a while. He just flipped the mattress over and went back to sleep, not for long though, Mr. D called again, and again, and... again.
Eventually Matt and I just stayed up and Matt read Clockwork Orange to us. This book, which was very weird, the fact that we were all dead tired, and the whole thing with Rob made for a very funny morning. I'd have to say it was one of the funniest things that has happened here so far. I mostly believe this because it wasn't me who had to experience the worst of it on this particular night.
Rob is now fine and doing well. His pride and bowels were wounded but he has since made a full recovery. We still joke about it and its also still very funny. Hope you all enjoyed this edition of "Story Time," I know I did!
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