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District of Banjul Travel Blogs

Background: The Gambia gained its independence from the UK in 1965; it formed a short-lived federation of Senegambia with Senegal between 1982 and 1989. In 1991 the two nations signed a friendship and cooperation treaty. A military coup in 1994 overthrew the president and banned political activity, but a 1996 constitution and presidential elections, followed by parliamentary balloting in 1997, completed a nominal return to civilian rule. The country undertook another round of presidential and legislative elections in late 2001 and early 2002. Yahya A. J. J. JAMMEH, the leader of the coup, has been elected president in all subsequent elections.

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By eddy15
June 22nd 2009

Chillin' in Da Gambia Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul

Chill day. So many hustlers saying “remember me?”. Saw some crocs and bought some more books! Also saw a pack of gay dogs fucking each other. Off to Dakar tomorrow. Also, man am I bad a ping-pong! Oh yes, at a museum I saw an exhibit that presented both sides of the story of female genital mutilation! Fuck, moral relativism! That shit is wrong! [View Full Entry]

By eddy15
June 21st 2009

Extortion and Marriage Proposals at the Gambian Border Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul

Well a rather long day of travel from Cap Skiring to The Gambia. Early rise thanks to Simon (5:30) and on the bus at 6:30. I hope he didn’t expect any cash? At the Gambian border I got pulled in to the border guards office for my “address”. It soon became clear that I wasn’t going to be allowed to go anytime soon. However, I wasn’t in a rush. Neither of us were willing to bring up the idea of a bribe (for different reasons). We casually chatted about sports, Canada and the weather. All the while the border guard was [View Full Entry]

By katiemac604
May 12th 2009

Remember my last entry? I did the same thing with Grade 5 today. So i have 9 more letters to share with you guys. Same edits, same deal as last time. Here goes: Topic: Explain the customs and traditions of The Gambia to someone who has never been to The Gambia. The costoms (costumes) in The Gambia are nice, like the traditional dresses. Some of the traditional dresses are made out of different things and the traditional dresses are used by some of the ethnic groups in The Gambia. When you are from another country, you can choose the kind of [View Full Entry]

By katiemac604
May 6th 2009

Sixth Graders Talk About The Gambia Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul

i've hand-written 10 pages of my 12-page paper, so i feel comfortable using this time to add this entry. (kate's not procrastinating? what?) i started a new project. which reminds me...how's everyone coming with those SCHOOL SUPPLIES? i taught grade 6 yesterday afternoon...4 boys and one girl. i showed them my passport and taught them the star-spangled banner. then we did verbal for all of 15 minutes. then i gave them each a piece of paper and a topic to write about. this will give you an understanding of how they speak and write here, and why sometimes i feel a [View Full Entry]

By katiemac604
May 5th 2009

Too much to do, and no time to do it. Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul

Let me give you an overview of my last two weeks here: Due on May 13: A 12-page ethnology project 5 2-page essays Due when i get back to Maacama 3-page self-evaluation Internet Cafe hours: 10-6 Sunday-Thursday 10-4 Friday 11-3 Saturday My Schedule: Today (Tuesday 5/5)-School from 8:30-6:30 Wednesday 5/6-School from 8:30-7 Thursday 5/7-School from 8:30-2 (and then probably about three hours at the internet) Friday 5/8-School from 8:30-2 and then going gift-shopping in Banjul Saturday 5/9-nature reserve Sunday 5/10-internet/beach Monday 5/11-school from 8:30-7 Tuesday [View Full Entry]

By katiemac604
April 24th 2009

HEAT Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul

as the rainy season approaches it is SO HOT here. i used to have to wear a fleece at night. now i sleep on top of my covers. i forgot to put this in my last entry-on tuesday when mr gaye was talking about pollution, he talked about the dumping ground. for those of you who aren't in the gambia (i guess that's everyone), the dumping ground is literally a giant field full of trash. it's the gambia's version of a landfill. and they burn the trash to get rid of it. this is right next to abc 1. mr gaye [View Full Entry]

By katiemac604
April 21st 2009

Kids Say The Darndest Things (subtitle: Toubabs Galore!) Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul

so i have this new thing where i like to walk. and it's working out quite well for me. after the internet yesterday i walked to the bank. i ran into two peace corps. one was named maggie, and i forget the other (oops!). they told me that a bunch of peace corps were coming in that day and would be around all week. we exchanged numbers. then i went to the bank and got D5000 ($200). on the way to my facial i ran into David and his girlfriend! we chatted for a while and parted ways. then i got [View Full Entry]

By katiemac604
April 20th 2009

A Quest for Friends (continued) Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul

i believe i left off at the philly cheese steak (that's something you don't hear every day). after lunch we parted ways. i went home and then out to the tailor's. i still needed to get my charger back from el boy, so i went to his compound, but his mom told me he brought it to aunty isha's compound. so i went to aunty isha's compound and she told me she told him to bring it to pipeline. so no luck. i went to the tailor and got all the clothes i had made. i went home and tried them [View Full Entry]

By katiemac604
April 19th 2009

A Quest For Friends Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul

once again, you guys are slacking in the comment department so friday afternoon i went over to njareh's. we went to her uncle's house to drop off a bowl and i played with a puppy. he was a domesticated puppy and was so cute. i spent so much attention to him that he tried to follow me out of the compound when i was done. then njareh and i walked to the beach. we were trying to find crabs, but all we saw were giant crab holes in the ground. the holes ranged from the size of a nickel, to the [View Full Entry]

By katiemac604
April 8th 2009

A Second Grader's Birthday Party Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul

so on saturday night Jarry and Fatou Ngoneh were getting all dressed up. they asked me if i wanted to go to Laila's (pronounced la la) birthday party. laila is in grade 2. she is from sweden and turned 10 on friday. so i said "sure." by the way, i'm currently in senegal and the keyboard doesn't make sense. the q and a have switched, the w and z have switched, the m is after the l, and the comma, period, and apostrophe are all misplaced. it's very difficult to type. we drove to laila's house which is near to abc [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul