http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Gambia , Upper River , Basse Santa Su en-us Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:17:05 +0000 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:17:05 +0000 As I reach my last week in Basse Ive been thinking of all the things Im going to miss about the place. I have to admit Ive been hard pushed to think of that many. I wont miss hand washing my unddies the unpredictable electricity sand in my bed sheets and being woken up at the crack of dawn by a chorus of donkeys chickens dogs barking and children squabbling all to the beat of cous http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-730697.html I think I was on the telly last night On Saturday we had the Region 6 Teachers awards and the event was featured in the evening news. I had to attend to present the award for best ECD teacher of the year. Over the last few weeks I and many of the other staff in the office have been verifying teachers nominations as I trekked around the schools. However the actual oraginsation of the day happe http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-729634.html I will be leaving Basse in two weeks time as the schools will close on the 18th July so Im making my final visits to the schools. This week Ive been on trek with FIOH again but this will be the last time. Ive been popping in to see my ECD classes but Ive also been helping with the task of evaluating the teachers performance in phonics to see whether they will be certified by FIOH as http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-729581.html Work has been busy lately. Ive done my workshops. I think they were moderately successful if not slightly frustrating.ltspangtltspangtltspangtltspangtMost of the teachers responses were to complain that they had never had training in early years followed directly by requests to finish early or I need to go out to drink wateranswer this phone callgo for a wander around. I http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-723380.html My house has been painted pink. I mean really pink When I got back to Basse Amadou who is and see if you can keep up with this Takos son who is Fatou and Bintas husband and Adama and Esther and a few more children around the compounds Dad. He lives in Spain and came back for a two week holiday. It was all go in the compound with him around. They had a serious spring clean which went http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-723118.html So Im 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 d http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-717191.html Way back in October when I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do with myself at work I wrote some emails to charities that distribute second hand books to Africa. One of them got back in touch saying there was a possibility they could help. I kept meaning to chase this up but it was one of those things that seemed permanently stuck at the bottom of my todo list and I never got round to it. Last http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-695053.html Today I had my first Gambian cookery lesson. Im a bit ashamed how long this has taken me. We made choo with fish. No its got nothing to do with a nasty sneeze ha ha Its 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 theyre nicer than they sound. ltspangtltspan http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-691087.html Lilli and I decided that on Tuesday this week it would be a good idea to cook pancakes for my compound it being Pancake Day and all. At the weekend we went to the market to buy the ingredients but left the eggs to buy till Tuesday so they would be nice and fresh. Big mistake apparently. On Tuesday we were all excited at the prospect of pancakes with spready cheese onion and tomato followed by mo http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-690283.html Memory Foam BedThere has been much discussion about beds and the unique design which offers you total comfort and support and helps you achieve a perfect night39s sleep. However if you are looking to change your bed then you may want to consider our excellent range of memory foam beds.If you39re considering beds but are struggling to find a mattress to suit your needs then memory foam beds a http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-688261.html Things are plodding along nicely here. I dont feel like I have that much to write about these days as life has seemed to settle down and Im feeling more at home here. Work is picking up and I finally feel like I have things to do which is great. I stopped counting how many weeks Ive been here which is surely a good sign. It must be because last week I told VSO that Id like to extend my http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-688021.html Im 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-679975.html On Friday night we had the official VSO Christmas doGoodbye to a few of our VSO friends party down in Kombos. The time has finally come to say a fond farewell to Duncan and Sam sniff sniff. I was given the mission to buy Christmas decorations on Friday morning. I was amazed to walk into Emporium the posh shop or Harrods as we call it because it might as well be here to find it looki http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-671421.html ... and a whole lot of time on your hands. Weve had a four day weekend this week thanks to the presidential elections. Duncan went off to do his bike ride from Basse to Banjul all 370k of it Sam is enjoying herself and of course working down in Kombos for the week and Lilli is back in the UK for a two week holiday. So what does one do when one has four days off work no one to play with and i http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-667990.html I39ve told a lot of people already about this daft idea I39ve had of doing a 10k run on 17th December and I promised not to pester for sponsorship. However I39ve found this snazzy way of linking up my Just Giving page with my blog so I thought I39d look at techy and give it a go.I39m raising money for Basic Foundations who are fundraising for a garden project based at the Rural Sup http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-667090.html Last Friday Fatous sister had a baby girl and theyve only gone and named her after me. I cant work out whether its called Fatou or Sarah yet because they seem to be calling it both but it means I have a namesake which is a great honor and a big deal here by the looks of things. I couldnt believe it when Fatou told me. I thought she was taking the mick. She said it was because they http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-666375.html I havent been able to write lately because the internet has been so bad in Basse. Qcell the internet provider decided to switch their 3G network off in Basse. Hopefully theyll realise this is a bad idea soon otherwise Duncan Sam and I will be storming their headquarters in protest. So while Im visiting the coast I thought Id update the blog while I can. This weekend it has been Tabas http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-664253.html This week Ive been on a sort of tour around schools accompanying one of the Education Officers while he does his monitoring visits. He inspects the general state of the schools and at this time of year makes sure that the teachers have all turned up to where they have been posted. We visited up to 8 schools a day so I feel like Ive been Ofsted on speed. One of the things that is worrying me http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-658558.html It was Duncans birthday on Sunday so we decided to have a little party a fancy dress one at that. Parties concerts and any kind of event are known as a programme in these parts so it was Duncans Happy Birthday Programme with the theme being of course The Gambia It was a monumental affair with all four of us in attendance Duncan of course Me Lilli and Sam. Its no mean f http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-658072.html No no I39m not scared of it at all. I am fully confident DefinitelyI think the picture is showing up at the bottom of the page. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Gambia/Upper-River/Basse-Santa-Su/blog-657663.html