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

Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul February 24th 2010

THE GAMBIA When someone suggested spending the weekend in The Gambia, I was all for it. We left Friday afternoon, with a taxi to the "garage" where buses & station wagons leave. It was a 2 hour trip to the border. One hour was on a good road, the other very pot-holed, so drivers were often on the unpaved area that would be the shoulder, left or right side, veering around trees and signs. Passengers cross the border on foot, stopping at immigration desks. The red tape was quick. Another van ride to get to the ferry to cross the river to Banjul, the capital. The Gambia is strangely located inside of Senegal, with one edge on the Atlantic Ocean. Senegalese describe it as the tongue on the mouth (see map). It is essentially a river ... read more

Chillin' in Da Gambia

Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul » Banjul June 22nd 2009

eddy15

Chill day. So many hustlers saying “remember me?”. Saw some crocs and bought some more books! Also saw a pack of gay dogs fucking each other. Off to Dakar tomorrow. Also, man am I bad a ping-pong! Oh yes, at a museum I saw an exhibit that presented both sides of the story of female genital mutilation! Fuck, moral relativism! That shit is wrong! ... read more

Extortion and Marriage Proposals at the Gambian Border

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

eddy15

Well a rather long day of travel from Cap Skiring to The Gambia. Early rise thanks to Simon (5:30) and on the bus at 6:30. I hope he didn’t expect any cash? At the Gambian border I got pulled in to the border guards office for my “address”. It soon became clear that I wasn’t going to be allowed to go anytime soon. However, I wasn’t in a rush. Neither of us were willing to bring up the idea of a bribe (for different reasons). We casually chatted about sports, Canada and the weather. All the while the border guard was getting more and more antsy. He kept asking me: “You want to leave?” “Well eventually” I’d reply. Then I started to read his newspaper as his work started to pile up. Finally he asked: “you ... read more

Back By Popular Demand...

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

katiemac604

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 (continued)

Africa » Gambia » District of Banjul April 20th 2009

katiemac604

i believe i left off at the philly cheese steak (that's something you don't hear every day). after lunch we parted ways. i went home and then out to the tailor's. i still needed to get my charger back from el boy, so i went to his compound, but his mom told me he brought it to aunty isha's compound. so i went to aunty isha's compound and she told me she told him to bring it to pipeline. so no luck. i went to the tailor and got all the clothes i had made. i went home and tried them on. the shirts all fit now, but the dress needs a bit of altering. easy enough. i'll do it when i get back to maacama or home. when i got home njareh called and told ... 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

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