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Published: April 19th 2009
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 size of a softball. we also saw a bunch of pigs in the road. finally we got to the beach where the ground was speckled with nickel-sized crab holes. and there were crabs everywhere! they were really small, and they were quick enough that i could only see them out of the corner of my eye before they disappeared, but they were really cool.
it was low tide and we walked for a while on the shoreline past a whole bunch of football games. i found 5 beautiful shells, including a sand dollar with jagged edges. apparently it's not common to find a completely smooth circular sand dollar around here. we walked for a long time until we got to a beach relatively close to senegambia. we watched two dogs, one leashed, one stray, play and they followed us up the road until a pack of stray dogs bullied the leashed one away. then we walked all the way home. it was a long walk, but the sky was pink and we walked past a wedding so the sound of african drums filled the air. then we hung out at her house and had sour milk and grainy pasta for dinner, with sugar added. we made plans for saturday night to go out dancing and then she invited me to her friend's cousin's wedding on sunday.
on saturday i decided to go friend-searching. on friday aunty bin told me about a cafe called la parisian that a lot of peace corps volunteers go to. i walked over and went in. it's a really cute cafe with coffee, crepes, bread, ice cream, and cakes. there's a patio with tables outside, and inside is a bar, a bunch of tables, and three red couches in one corner situated around a glass table. there were two white guys sitting on the couches. i asked if i could join them and we started talking.
they weren't peace corps, but they were med students from england. they have been here for five weeks working in the hospital in banjul and are spending their last week doing touristy stuff. we talked about bargaining and england and america. then they left. i ordered myself a coffee and journaled.
then i saw two girls come and sit at a table outside. when i finished my coffee i went out and asked where they were from. america. they were both peace corps volunteers living in remote mandinka villages in the interior of the country. i'm talking 300 km interior. tara is from dc and went to american university to get a degree in political science. kate is a military brat but said she's from texas. they're here for 27 months, and kate's been here longer than tara. i talked to them for a long time. we ordered more coffee. they were so much fun to talk to. it was nice to have an informal conversation and swear and joke again. then two more volunteers came over and joined us. olivia and nate. they sat down and started talking about really cheap beer they found. they were both a little buzzed. when i told them i can't drink nate said "well, we can't do a lot of things, but that doesn't stop us." i said "no. i REALLY can't drink. i'll get kicked out of the country if i drink." nate and olivia were going to the beach, and so i went with kate and tara to get some lunch.
over by traffic light is a tiny hut the size of a porta-potty. outside are a few plastic tables and chairs. this is omar's. he cooks for peace corps. kate and tara told me his american food is really good as long as you don't expect it to be like it is in america. i ordered the philly cheese steak. it was really tasty, but not at all like a philly cheese steak. it was more like ground beef with vegetables and cheese melted on top. and some fries in the middle.
more later. going to the beach again.
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Joan Carlson
non-member comment
Hi from New England
Dear Kate, Actually, I am spending the 3 day Patriot's Day weekend up here in Maine at our beach house. I am glad you had a chance to walk the beach- I have always found that so relaxing. There are sand dollars up here on Maine beaches but usually i get to find them in the early summer of fall. i am glad you had a chance to connect with some Americans. The Red Sox are doing better ( they got off to a slow start) Right now they are playing Baltimore and just won 2-1. ( took all 3 games in the Baltimore series) They played at Fenway and it is beautiful day for baseball (sunny and in the 50's.) No much time left before the seniors finish here at the end of April. The senior prom is next saturday night. All the girls have been out spending way too much for their prom dresses. lots of money for one night with tickets, dresses, shoes, hair etc. I guess you'll get back to teaching the little ones after this spring break. Keep going on the blogs. I love to hear of your adventures. from your Biology "Mom' at Bancroft