Blogs from Gambia, Africa

Una settimana in Gambia, e' uno stato di dimensioni ridotte e finalmente si parla inglese: meglio approfittarne. Banjul e' una capitale atipica, sorge praticamente su di un'isola e i suoi confini naturali ne hanno impedito la crescita in superficie e nel numero di abitanti; tutto questo si traduce in un'atmosfera piacevolmente tranquilla, quasi sonnolenta, ma anche in una pressoche' totale assenza di attrazioni degne di questo nome. L'Arco 22 e' forse il monumento piu' rappresentativo e probabilmente anche l'unico, posto all'ingresso della citta' e voluto dall'ex dittatore/presidente Jammeh, la cui statua e' stata ormai rimossa dal piedistallo e trasferita nel giardino del piccolo museo nazionale; le tipiche case in stile "krio" e lo smercio di grossi sacchi di noci di cola testimoniano i legami da sempre stretti tra Gambia e Sierra Leone, cosi' come la presenza ... read more

img=https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Ndt9N7HMWQTLmAUDELou6UVK7j8ezzxh4HLeAbEplkYMsK01QzcGrMTlDM4sRfZrcF-xb4BK0Z2uiVbHD7N73mZP10ky2_0nhpNmFFUpwYgNiq8puX_GCz0km2zDQ7kXwpc1s_bB Whether you are coming to the Gambia for the first time, or you have been visiting for a while now, these tips would be helpful. The easiest way to have a full Gambia experience is to adopt a Gambian lifestyle and live like a local. Eat street food, take local buses, drink local beer. Bumsters Try avoid being friends with every person you meet especially at the beach; not everyone is friendly some are willing to be friends with your money, not you as a person. Transport In Kombo area use Vans for transportation, they are slow and not too comfortable but less expensive, walk if the distance is short. Taxi’s charges more money than other transportation if they ... read more

Kunta Kinte came from the Gambia Over Christmas and New Year we went to Senegal and the Gambia. You are now reading the first blog entry from that trip and it is about the part of the trip we spent in the Gambia. The Gambia is in West Africa and if you look at a map you'll notice that it is looking very funny. The country is very thin and elongated and sort of resembles a snake in shape. The Gambia is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except to the west where the country has a short coast. The country's snake-like shape is explained by that the country follows the Gambia River. The rest can be explained by Senegal's past as a French colony and the Gambia's past as a British colony. We are not ... read more

Dear All Hello! And greetings from The Gambia, my 75th country!! Perhaps this should be cause for some sort of celebration, definitely a landmark in my country counting, and well on my way it seems to completing my target now of reaching 100 before I retire (I have eased my earlier target of visiting every country on the map before I retire, for the sake of keeping life simple and more enjoyable!). But definitely an important number to reach, and very proud of myself to have seen so much thus far. The Gambia is an interesting country – the smallest country on mainland Africa, at 11,295 sq km, and one of the very few in the world to continue using the definite article (particularly after Ukraine, Lebanon and Sudan all moved on from that). It is ... read more

Being in a meaningful place is not solely bound to one room, one home, one state, one country, one race, one gender or one economic class. It in turn, is a state of consciousness where you constantly feel like you serve a purpose in every space that you enter. So the question is how do we design space to help facilitate Place for those who may be lacking this feeling of belonging? A seemingly omniscient and influential power permeates organismic behavior at every given second of existence. It can never leave, but it can always assume dynamic nature. This power is Space; re-defined, it may be a parameter in which psychology can reflect its own design. Once behavior can reflect happiness, productivity, and healthy function, Space can then transform to meaningful Place. This Space is therefore ... read more