Blogs from Gambia, Africa - page 5

So I’m back in Basse again after a long stay in Kombos and a two week holiday back at home. I was really keen to get back to get on with my work and see my compound family again though dreading the infamous heat. I was lucky enough to get a lift up along with Lilli and Kebba in one of the Tostan vehicles (the organisation that Lilli works for). The landscape along the way is looking incredibly dry after 6 months without rain. The land is very bare with all the crops apart from the trees either dieing back naturally or burnt in bush fires. The poor cows look starved. We took the south road meaning we avoided the dreaded Banjul ferry and we also got to experience the beautiful new road that is fully ... read more

The hot, as they say, has definitely reached Basse. According to the BBC the temperature reached 42° though without any breeze it felt even hotter. The heat wouldn’t be so bad to deal with if the generator at the local power station could handle the heat, but like everything else in Basse at this time of year, the temperature gets too much and it, along with everyone, stops working properly. Having electricity to charge my laptop so that I have something to occupy myself with on an evening suddenly dropped straight down my list of priorities; without electricity the fans don’t work and even worse than that, the fridges don’t work so you can’t get your water cold. The water from the tap, when it decides to come on, comes out warm enough to have a ... read more

Today I had my first Gambian cookery lesson. I’m a bit ashamed how long this has taken me. We made choo with fish. No, it’s got nothing to do with a nasty sneeze, ha ha! It’s a spicy onion stew type thing that is served with either meat or fish or sometimes fish balls which is pounded fish, bones and all, made into meatball type things (they’re nicer than they sound). I think choo has become my favourite dish or ‘my choice’ as the Gambians would say, overtaking domada even. Hopefully I was actually a little bit of a help and didn’t get in the way too much. I did manage to get covered in soot which everyone found very amusing. I would probably be more help if I stopped taking photos while I’m doing it ... read more

After getting to the hotel at 2:30 in the morning after 24 hours in transit, the 9am alarm for breakfast comes entirely too soon. I theory we have a slate of meetings today with the ministry of education and the mayor, the when and where is of course still in flux. A quick breakfast at the hotel, a quick dip in the somewhat chilly (but lovely) Atlantic Ocean and we are ready, but still waiting for word on our schedule and our transport. As Americans it is still an overwhelming case of HUAW (Hurry Up And Wait). We will adapt, though it will take a few days to really get the hang of it. This is the only day of meetings that I will be involved in for a couple of days. We are meeting with ... read more

I’m back in Basse after being away nearly a month. After the fiasco of not getting to Dakar I stayed in Kombos for another few days as we had our review meeting at VSO. I also helped my friend Chris, another volunteer, who has transferred her placement from Soma (a village about half way up the country) to Kombos, move into her new house. We travelled up to Soma to collect all her stuff from her two roomed ‘cattle shed’ as she called it (and it’s really not far from the truth) to an amazing house. With its three bedrooms, en suite facilities, proper kitchen with running water and even a TV, it’s a world away from where she came from. The outside has very fetching dusky pink walls so previous volunteers that have lived there ... read more