Why it's helpful to have a Lawyer as a friend

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Hi all,

So last time I wrote we were about to head off to Scottish Embassy. It was fun, a lot of the members of the peace corp were there so we were able to mix with them and hear about their experiences. The food was chicken and potato salad and was very nice and good value. Scottish Embassy is basically called that because 2 scottish travellers asked to stay there while they were in Fajara and they created a bar inspired by their roots. Apparently one of the guys who owns the bar tells the story better but we weren't able to speak to him as it was pretty busy.

On Wednesday we went out with the TB reach researchers which was interesting though not very educational as again most things were conducted in the local languages. It was interesting to see where local people live and what living conditions are like as well as understanding how consent is gained among people who do not understand the notion of consent. I arrived back at about 3pm and went back to the ward to do a few things but didn't stay for long as my brain was pretty fried from being outside all day. (after typing this I feel I may have already written this on my previous blog but oh well). On Thuesday I went to clinic and we assessed the people as they came in from all over the country to see if they needed to be admitted. I also helped Dr. Anderson by putting up some posters to promote world rabies day, not really in my job description but I didn't complain. In the evening we ordered Koko curry in the evening to take-away which was very tasty and meant that everyone sat around and chatted in the evening.

Friday morning I helped to put up a few more posters around the campus before joining the ward round. The ward round went on past 1pm which is later than we would have liked for a friday but there we go. We did some discharge summaries and tried to phone the labs but they had already packed up to go home. When we were dismissed fromt he ward at about 3pm I hung around for a little bit spending some time with a little baby called eugene, his mum asked me to look after him for 10 minutes so that was quite fun. In the evening we went to Alaeldins for some simple food and managed to beat the rain coming back which was a positive.

Saturday morning I woke up to lovely sunshine so I decided to walk to Bakau to see the tailor and see if he had made any of my clothes for me, to my disappointment he hadn't so I walked home again. A group of us then decided to go to the beach bar leybato's to spend the afternoon on the beach and in the sea. It was lovely. The tide was low when we arrived so the water was cooler than the first time I'd swum. We stayed until about 6 and then came home. I realised that maybe I should have put a bit more suncream on as I was definitely a little bit pink when I got back. I had the rest of my take away curry for dinner which was nice and read my book.

This morning (sunday) we got up to another beautiful day and had made the plan that we were going to go to Banjul, the capital city of Gambia so we got a taxi there and our first stop was the arch 22 which is a big arch with panoramic views of the city, a good photograph stop. We next went to Albert market which was similar to serrekunda market but a little bit less busy, probably because it was a Sunday. On our way back through the market we saw a sign with the presidents face on it saying "behind every man there is a great woman" I went to try to take a photo of it. As I was doing so, people started shouting and I turned around looking confused, I got called over the guards standing near the sign and they started to tell me off for take a photo. I showed them the photo and explained that I just wanted to take a photo of the sign but they weren't happy with that, I said that I would delete the photo but they were very suspicious of me. By this time the other girls had joined me. The guards told us that it is illegal to take photos of the presidents house and we all said that we did not know this and as there were no signs stating that how were we to know. The guard was holding my camera by this point and I was getting very nervous, I kept appologising and explaining that I didn't know what I was doing was wrong. They said that ignorance of the law was no excuse, at this point Janine who is a lawyer from northern ireland who has come over to lecture at the university told the guards who she was and explained once again that we didn't know that we were doing anything wrong, that we were sorry and that I would delete the photo. Eventually I got the camera back into my hands and showed the guards that I had deleted the photo. It was all a lot of hassle for a photograph but it seems that there are many things in Gambia you are not allowed to photograph. We had been stopped on our way here for trying to take a photo of the entrance sign to Banjul and the police wanted to see our passports etc. It all seemed way over the top but I was very glad we had a lawyer with us and that we were able to say that we worked at the MRC.

In the afternoon after all that excitement I went to Bakau and picked up my clothes which this time were ready and then we went to the senegambia hotel to use the pool and have a late lunch. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon especially as it was really hot and sticky. We got a scoop of ice cream on our way back and now here I am typing to you all about the last few days.

I have 10 days left in the Gambia and it sounds like this week is going to be fairly busy in the evenings and we are always busy at work so I think the time will go very quickly.

Will write on Wednesday or Thursday depending on how much news I have to tell.

K x x x

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Comments

[Lydia]

Sounds like you're having such a nice time Katy, just got your postcard today was so nice to hear from you! Keep enjoying the sunshine, the weather here is horrible I'm very jealous! Love you lots xx

[doctorinthemaking]

Yay Lydia, I'm so glad it's arrived! Miss you, hopefully we can catch up while I am home for a little while. Hope work is going well! x