last post in the gambia

howdy all,
my time in the gambia is finally coming to an end. i will be back in texas at 10pm on monday, nov 16. i look forward to catching up with everyone back home. but know that i will miss my friends and people i have come to consider my family here. it's a bitter sweet time. but i am looking forward to eating american foods, speaking english, being inconspicuous, not sweating all the time, driving a car, listening to new american music, seeing new movies in a theater, and many many other things.
see yall soon soon!





my fence was blown over by the wind. so i fixed it.
this is how sweaty i was after working on it for twenty minutes


this is one of my host sisters. her daughter was named after
me. she is getting SO big! she can even run now.



another child that was named after me. this is how
women carry their children around. it's actually extremely
practical. they can do all their work and still keep an eye
on their child.



my friend seedy. we worked on lots of projects together
over the last two years: rabbits, chickens, sheep
fattening, cereal banking, ducks.

this is the family i ate dinner with every night. words

cannot describe how attatched i am to these folks.

cracking peanuts

this girl put peanuts all over her face. they were

trying to get as many on their faces as possible.

when you don't have a lot of toys, you play with

hat you have.

typically how i spent my afternoons. hanging out

with the family in the shade.

this is the family i ate lunch with. i spend a lot

of time hanging out with these guys.

this is mo lamin. he's working on learning how to walk.

this is manjang. he is in charge of the livestock camp

that i lived it. we worked a lot together. he has a lot

of ideas on how development work can benefit his

fellow gambians.

this is maam, my host brothers wife. therefor she

is my wife.

hanging up the laundry on the grass fence to dry.

the herdsmen at the camp. they tie the cows up

at night and then herd them throughout the day.

using a straight razor to give a hair cut.

a traditional fula hat. old men usually wear these.

my friend fatou was making me traditional fula

anklets. women wear these for their wedding.

whenever i was away from site, my friend fatou took

care of my dog. she said she was dixie's mom.

the women of my family. these are amazing hard

working folks. they were always welcoming and

very giving.

this is my favorite way to roast peanuts. they take

an entire bush, dry it in the sun. they set it on fire.

it cooks the peanuts in the shells. so good!

auntie cooking lunch.

rainy season is coming to an end

check out the obama shirts.

my host mom and sister.

one of my host dad's wives (he's got 3). she's

telling me i am not good because i am not

helping her work. it's a joke.

taking beans out of pods.

another one of my dad's wives. she's sorting through beans.

my host brother's wife. she's taking the corn off

the cob. then they will try it out and take it to the

mill to be ground up.

ladies coming back from working hard in the rice fields.

eating a little pre-dinner snack.

getting hair extensions put in for the big

prayer day at the end of ramadan.

dressed up in nice clothes for the end of ramadan.

mam finished braiding my hair and wanted a picture.

this kid is yelling my name: tida! kids yell my

name a lot. they think it's fun. i do not.

VIDEOS:

the rain makes things green

howdy all. the rains are in full force here, so everything is beautiful and green again. allowing for animals (both domestic and wild) to increase in number. i've seen two snakes this season. one of which i almost ran over on my bike... yikes!
things are winding down work-wise and so i am just trying to enjoy these last couple of months in my village. here are a few fun pics and videos.


my friend tobo resting while i pound.

outskirts of the weekly market

saidou milking the cows. they allow the milk to

sour and eat it with coos.

pounding coos

nene roasting peanuts

mahamadou is in charge of guarding the corn.

he scared away a monkey, but not before it took

a bite out of this ear of corn.

traditional fula bride.

the girl on the right is adjusting her skirt.

my friend fatou. gambians don't like to smile in pictures.

please note the cell phone. just like america, isn't it??

my duck had babies

tobo washing dishes. check out how she rinses the

bottom of the bowl by throwing water in the air.

auntie washing clothes. most women just use

their hands. i have only seen one person using a wash board.

there was a wedding, so these girls are pounding

millet in preparation for all the guests that will be

coming over for the party.

nene preparing roasting peanuts to eat.

cas grinding coffee at my house.

more movies for your entertainment

I just went to my close of service (COS) conference this week. It was at the sheraton, which is amazing. I took full advantage of the air conditioned room and all you could eat breakfast buffet, which included three types of real cheese, bacon and sausage. It may not sound that excited to those of you living across the atlantic, but to those of us in this developing nation, it's a pretty big deal and we made sure to consume as much of these protein rich foods as possible.

I am still working out the details of coming back home, but hope to be in america in time to eat turkey and canned cranberries, while watching the aggies beat the hell outta t.u. on thanksgiving day. when i find out more info, i will be sure to let yall know. also, please don't send anymore packages or letters to me here because i may not get them before I leave. thanks

i haven't been taking too many pictures lately, but i have several videos. hope you enjoy these.

here comes the rain

flash flood... good thing this is a flat country

troubles in travel

african fence repair

hungry season animal feeding frenzy

cleaning the roof

cleaning the ground before the rains.

disclaimer: to those of you who actually speak mandinka,

i would like to appologize for my poor sentence structure

and lack of ability to communicate in this particular tongue.

weeding my back yard

push start

new york times article

interesting article in new york times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/world/africa/21gambia.html?_r=2&scp=2&sq=gambia&st=cse

do not comment on this article on my blog. thanks

april and may

A TYPICAL DAY:

It's hot. I rode my bike to the weekly market this morning, about 20km. by noon it was too hot to ride my biek back so I decided to take a gele-gele (van). I walk my bike to the carpark, haggle over how much I will pay for getting my bike tied to the tope of the vehicle along side the sheep and bags of rice. after negotiations are finished, we seal the deal witha a fist pound. not a cultural normal custom, but thanks to rap videos has become and ever more popular action.
I climb into what used to be some sort of delivery van, bossibly a bread truck. It is only half full which means at least another half hour of waiting. I now regret not bringing my book. I find an open seat and chat in a local language before the crazy man comes and starts asking me for money. He is always here and always askes me for mooney. I never give it to him, but I know next time I see him, he will ask again.
I am thirst, but have run out of water in my nalgene bottle. So I catch the eye of the ten year old girl with a tray of bananas balanced on her head. I hiss at her and motion for her to come to me. Through the open window, I give her a dalasi coin (about 5 cents) and tell her to bring me a bag of cold water. She leaves and returns 30 seconds later with luke warm water in a clear plasic sandwich bag tied at the open end. I tear a hole in the corner of the bag with my teeth and drink the liter of water as fast as humanly possible. when i'm finished drinking, I throuw the empty bag out the window on the ground next to the other empty bags, old papers, and disgarded cans.
As more people climb into the vehicle, it gets hotter and hotter. It's now 1:30pm and probably 115*F. Finally the car is full, but the driver isn't here. He returns after a few minutes and starts the van with one turn of the key. I am impressed because we often have to do a push start. We still do not move however because the front passanger is having issues putting his seat belt on. Recently a seatbelt law is being enforced at all of the police check points. Ok, it's unstuck and we are off!
Less than half an hour later I am at my house. Because it is too hot to do anything else, I lay on my bench and read a book. I've changed into boxer shorts and am taking refuge in the coolness of my house. It's only 95*F inside. Even the breeze that cuts through the windows is warm.
After awhile I become drowsy and put the book down to take a nap. After dozing a little, I am awoken by a tickling sensation on my leg. Flies. I make a mental note that it is time to shave because the flies are tickling the hairs on my legs. Despite the screens on the windows and doors, five or so flies have managed to get in. I try to ignor them, but it is impossible. I look at my dog, the flies are not disturbing her. I shake them off and try to sleep again. but they return. I swat at them with my book killing one. I feel satisfied that the other flies get the message and will leave me alone now. They however do not. Again after dozing off, I am rudely awoken by the tickling on my legs. I feel like a crazy woman. I sit up frantically waving my arms in the general direction of the flies and mumble at them, explaining how annoying they are and that they should leave me alone. I lay back down. Two seconds after I shut my eyes, the alarm on my watch chimes. It is time for me to go meet my friend. I will not get a nap today.




PICTURE TIME:

this goat was sick, so we had to kill it before it
died so that we could still eat it. turns out it had
pneumonia. yes, we ate it anyway.




this is my friend seedy. he is doing a poultry project
with exotic (european) broilers. his over all goal is to
have layers.




different poultry farmers

men building a poultry house out of "local materials"

typical style is a mud brick house with grass roof.

when i brought the camera over to take her picture
auntie made sure to go put her flip flops on. safety first!

nene chopping fire wood. and yes the child standing

next to her is perfectly safe.

chickens:

bunnies:







firewood chopping video

goat slaughtering video:

WARNING: some people may find animal slaughtering

disturbing