Welcome to the world baby Sarah or maybe Fatou Baldeh You do look at home holding the baby! Isn't she beautiful? Will you have to babysit aswell? You should find out how much a ram costs,we could have a whip round and send it from her new family. Take care. xxxx
forgot to say.... you look amazing in your 'local' outfit! Are any men trying to see if you are single :-)
And I can't help but wonder if the Attaya (spelling?) tea is similar to the exceedingly sweet milky tea I had all the time in India. I became quite addicted to it in the heat. (i suspect i just became addicted to sugar!)
Thanks Mel. The attaya is drunk in little glasses a bit like shot glasses. I think it's about one part tea to one part sugar. It's like drinking sweets. Sometimes they have it with tinned condensed milk. I could drink mugfuls of the stuff. It's like liquid toffee. Mmmmm!
Ahh, that 'moment' I love those moments, where you reflect and think - how did I ever get to this place?!?
I still even get them in the UK :-)
Love your blog and your stories. Can't wait to read what happens next...
xx Mel
Happy Tabaski It's lovely to hear from you again, it seems like ages since the last entry. Your life there seems happy and your pictures are fantastic. Omar is so cute. What would be a good presant for you for christmas then? I suppose a hat and scarf set would be useless??? Take care and you looked marvelous in your finery by the way. xxxxx
Happy Tabaski to you too Loved this blog. You made me feel quite choked when you talked about how lucky you felt. I feel that I'm getting a very intimate and personal view of a very far away place.
x
Happy Tabaski to you too! You're back! I've missed your lovely uplifting letters, they're an absolute joy. The photos are fab, you look as though you're having so much fun.
What a story! Sarah, your dad and I both had a few tears as we read this tonight. It is just fantastic to read about your life at the moment. I can't wait to experience alittle of it when we see you in December.
Adventure! I'm basically working for the malaysian government, in a kind of indirect way - I'm actually working for a company called Brighton Education with a government contract. I'm working in a tamil school, a chinese school, and 3 malay schools. Some of them are right out in the jungle. I need a car to get about. It's an interesting place out here. No plans for a blog yet. Take care, I'll keep checking here for updates!
Hey sounds like an adventure! Hi Sarah, I knew you were in Gambia from your facebook updates but I didn't know till now you're gonna be there a whole year! Hope you can adjust to all the crazy challenges of living in such a place, I know it must be very frustrating. The only advice I can think of is go with the flow and celebrate the very small improvements you can make, however tiny they would appear by western standards.
I have just started a job in rural Malaysia. It's very early days, but I think I'm gonna have similar challenges ahead. I'm currently staying in a hotel in the town (an old colonial administrative town for the region), and my main challenge at the moment is finding somewhere to stay. Seems there's a housing shortage in the town, and the rural areas have the problems of no phone coverage and very large wildlife... baboons, rhinos, etc. who may wish to share my residence.
I'll keep checking your blog! Take care, Alex.
ps have you any trips back to the UK planned?
Hi Alex. Good to hear from you. Wow haven't we turned into an intenational lot what with Andy in South Africa is it? and Emma in Korea. Are you working in an international school or with a charity? Yours sounds even more of an adventure than mine. Are you writing a blog? No proper plans to come home just yet. It all depends on how long I decided to stay here for - 1 year or 2. I'm being open minded about it until after Christmas. Good luck finding somewhere to stay and keep me updated.
OMG! how do you keep so calm? I would have had to strangle that lazy git under the tree! Those poor kids, do you just want to take them all home with you? I hope you are going to write a book about all these adventures cos I'm loving this blog. Cant wait for the next episode. xxxxxxxx
Ah yes. The classics always come to mind in times of stress.
Stick in there girl. That sort of pent up frustration will drive you forward to make things better.
ups and downs Well you know it all sounds a bit scary but you are working with a great organisation who will support you i'm sure. its seems like you are having some doubts but i know you will be rewarded sometime soon.
Yuo have a terrace! Linda Snell would be jealous. Are you sure the goats are named Tony, Lily and Susan after the previous vollunteers? If one is suddenly called Mary I\'ll be suspicious
Thanks Sue! That's really nice to hear. How is your daughter getting on? There are lots of Peace Corp people here, though I haven't actually met anyone yet. They're way more hard core than we are. I don't know how they do it, left on their own in the middle of no where with people that don't really speak English. They have a reputation here to be a bit wild when they all get back together but we say who can blame them. They're probably all going stir crazy!
You are hilarious! Sarah,
I love reading your blog. Your comments about learning the language remind me of my daughter Amanda learning Mende, except your's is funnier. Hang in there.
Sue
I'm off to The Gambia with the VSO to be a Cluster Primary Teacher Trainer, (or is it a Primary Cluster Teacher Trainer, I can never remember.) I'll be based in Basse Santa Su, the most up river town in The Gambia meaning it's out in the sticks. I'll be staying on a compound with a local family where I'll have intermittent electricity and water and, I've been told, will experience the true Gambian way of life away from the tourists on the coast. Armed with a motorbike, a basic supply of stationary and a 20 pack of laminating sheets I've been tasked with the job of organising workshops and trai... full info
Susan Platten
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Welcome to the world baby Sarah or maybe Fatou Baldeh
You do look at home holding the baby! Isn't she beautiful? Will you have to babysit aswell? You should find out how much a ram costs,we could have a whip round and send it from her new family. Take care. xxxx