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

news articles

here are some links to articles about interesting stuff happening in the gambia. these events are not happening in my region. i am perfectly safe, so don't worry about me or my friends. please don't comment about these articles on my blog. thanks

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/03/18/gambia.amnesty.witchcraft/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7949173.stm

wanna take a little trip??

howdy everyone.
i hope the first day of spring is providing you with colder weather than i am experiencing. the cool season has definately passed and the unrelenting heat has taken its place. the best part about the hot season is that it is too hot at mid-day to do much, so i get to relax in the afternoons. i hang out with my family and friends, read a book, or just take a nap in the hammock (if i'm not bothered too much by the heat, sweat, and flies). i am now sleeping outside at night b/c it is significantly cooler that the inside of my house. it is still getting quite chilly in the early morning. i woke yesterday at 4am b/c i was so cold. the thermometer on my clock told me it was 60 degrees F. i had to go inside and get my fleese blanket; and then i got snuggly and warm.
my friends and i had a st patricks day party at my house. it was really fun. we decorated the house in green clovers and a "happy st pats" sign sent from home. we cooked chicken on the grill, had powdered mashed potatoes with butter, and canned green beans and we cooked some cakes in a dutch oven... it was some of the best food i've had in a while. we listened to irish and american music on our ipods and enjoyed good conversation. we also bought ice blocks (which i rarely ever buy) and enjoyed chilled beer. the only thing that was missing was the green food coloring! over all it was a great time.


some folks have expressed interest in visiting me in the gambia. i welcome anyone who wants to come. this summer would probably be the best option, but i am very flexible. i would recomend a stay of 10-14 days. the plane ticket is kind of expensive ($1000-$1750 roundtrip), but staying in gambia is really cheap... especially if you are hanging out with me :-) it will be less than $20/day - this includes transport, food, lodging, souveneirs, etc. check out buying a plane ticket online, several airlines (delta, south african air, brussels air, royal air moroc) regularly fly into dakar, senegal and i could meet you there. so if you are interested just send me an email and i can give you more details.

hey everyone. i don't have much time to write, so i'll just put a few pictures and videos up.

WAIST is a softball tournament in Dakar, Senegal.
PCVs and ex-pats come from all over west africa to
play. it was a fun time.



my name sake... isn't she cute!



cleaning fish for lunch



relaxing




this girl is about to go pound millet which
she and her family will eat for dinner for
dinner.