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.