Blogs from Banjul, District of Banjul , Gambia, Africa - page 4

Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul May 12th 2009

Remember my last entry? I did the same thing with Grade 5 today. So i have 9 more letters to share with you guys. Same edits, same deal as last time. Here goes: Topic: Explain the customs and traditions of The Gambia to someone who has never been to The Gambia. The costoms (costumes) in The Gambia are nice, like the traditional dresses. Some of the traditional dresses are made out of different things and the traditional dresses are used by some of the ethnic groups in The Gambia. When you are from another country, you can choose the kind of dress you will like to wear, But their (there) are rules in The Gambia, like when you are a lady you should not wear short clothes walking on the street. You can wear short clothes ... read more

Sixth Graders Talk About The Gambia

Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul May 6th 2009

katiemac604

i've hand-written 10 pages of my 12-page paper, so i feel comfortable using this time to add this entry. (kate's not procrastinating? what?) i started a new project. which reminds me...how's everyone coming with those SCHOOL SUPPLIES? i taught grade 6 yesterday afternoon...4 boys and one girl. i showed them my passport and taught them the star-spangled banner. then we did verbal for all of 15 minutes. then i gave them each a piece of paper and a topic to write about. this will give you an understanding of how they speak and write here, and why sometimes i feel a language barrier between my english and gambian english. my edits are in parentheses for clarification purposes. here is the topic and their responses: Explain the customs and traditions of The Gambia to someone who has ... read more

Too much to do, and no time to do it.

Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul May 5th 2009

katiemac604

Let me give you an overview of my last two weeks here: Due on May 13: A 12-page ethnology project 5 2-page essays Due when i get back to Maacama 3-page self-evaluation Internet Cafe hours: 10-6 Sunday-Thursday 10-4 Friday 11-3 Saturday My Schedule: Today (Tuesday 5/5)-School from 8:30-6:30 Wednesday 5/6-School from 8:30-7 Thursday 5/7-School from 8:30-2 (and then probably about three hours at the internet) Friday 5/8-School from 8:30-2 and then going gift-shopping in Banjul Saturday 5/9-nature reserve Sunday 5/10-internet/beach Monday 5/11-school from 8:30-7 Tuesday 5/12-school from 8:30-6:30 Wednesday 5/13 (the day everything's due)-school from 8:30-7 (no internet time! ahh!!) Thursday 5/14-school from 8:30-2 Friday 5/15-school from 8:30-2 (last day!) then Banjul to spend all the money i have left on fabrics Saturday 5/16-getting hair braided, sponsor walk... read more

HEAT

Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul April 24th 2009

katiemac604

as the rainy season approaches it is SO HOT here. i used to have to wear a fleece at night. now i sleep on top of my covers. i forgot to put this in my last entry-on tuesday when mr gaye was talking about pollution, he talked about the dumping ground. for those of you who aren't in the gambia (i guess that's everyone), the dumping ground is literally a giant field full of trash. it's the gambia's version of a landfill. and they burn the trash to get rid of it. this is right next to abc 1. mr gaye was talking about how a lot kids who live around the dumping ground have cancer. and he said it like a matter-of-fact as i sat in the back of the class open-mouthed. so sad. after ... read more

Kids Say The Darndest Things (subtitle: Toubabs Galore!)

Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul April 21st 2009

katiemac604

so i have this new thing where i like to walk. and it's working out quite well for me. after the internet yesterday i walked to the bank. i ran into two peace corps. one was named maggie, and i forget the other (oops!). they told me that a bunch of peace corps were coming in that day and would be around all week. we exchanged numbers. then i went to the bank and got D5000 ($200). on the way to my facial i ran into David and his girlfriend! we chatted for a while and parted ways. then i got my facial. it was incredibly relaxing. i had nowhere else to be so i just enjoyed it. i put my face in a hot steam thing and then i got a facial massage, mask, and ... read more

A Quest For Friends

Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul April 19th 2009

katiemac604

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 ... read more

Homeward Bound (don't get too excited)

Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul April 17th 2009

katiemac604

so i left you guys at the border. we got out of the car and got attacked by people with wads of cash asking us if we wanted to exchange money. we brushed them off and headed over to customs. we went to the senegal office and i got a stamp in my passport that said i was leaving the country. then we went to the gambia office and waited in a line to have our baggage inspected. we stood there for a while outside of the office, and then mr jobe decided that we actually didn't have to have our baggage inspected (?), so we left the office. we started walking towards the taxis when some guy yelled at us to come back, telling me i needed a visa. well, duh. i think mr jobe ... read more

A Second Grader's Birthday Party

Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul April 8th 2009

katiemac604

so on saturday night Jarry and Fatou Ngoneh were getting all dressed up. they asked me if i wanted to go to Laila's (pronounced la la) birthday party. laila is in grade 2. she is from sweden and turned 10 on friday. so i said "sure." by the way, i'm currently in senegal and the keyboard doesn't make sense. the q and a have switched, the w and z have switched, the m is after the l, and the comma, period, and apostrophe are all misplaced. it's very difficult to type. we drove to laila's house which is near to abc 2 and went in. we sat in the living room for a minute until we greeted her mother, and then we went out back to where the party was. people were everywhere. family, friends, and ... read more

And The Gambia Takes The Cup!

Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul April 4th 2009

katiemac604

so in my last few minutes of interneting on thursday i heard screams coming from the building next door. then a guy rushes in and says "Gambia got another goal! it's 3-1!" i guess they were in the finals for the african U-17, which is this huge african football tournament. so i went home and watched the final moments. basically, Gambia won and yesterday was declared a public holiday. why don't they have that in the US? no one had school or work, and my vacation started a day early. the rest of thursday was filled with people driving by screaming and playing drums and such. a firecracker or something went off right near me when i was walking jarry to the junction, and it scared us to death. it was a really cool energy, though. ... read more

American Money and Spanish Lessons (in africa?)

Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul April 2nd 2009

katiemac604

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT!!!! 1. BUY ISHMAEL RIGHT NOW. if it's sitting on a bookshelf somewhere because you've already read it, lend it to a friend. it's one of those books that the entire human race needs to read. 2. the address you should send school supplies to is my address at home in the states. if you know it, awesome. if you know my mother, ask her. if you don't know either, send me a message and i'll send it to you. i'm gonna collect them all at home and send them all at once once i get home. 3. if you want to send me things here (ie books, candy (both of which i would love)), send it to Kate MacDougall ABC Learning Center P.O. Box 1754 Banjul, The Gambia in other news. it hasn't ... read more

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