Blogs from Western Division, Gambia, Africa - page 3

I live in a compound with two other families. There are 3 houses (one being mine), and the other’s belong to Gambians…very domestic and traditional Gambians. Pretty much the day I moved in they expressed their concerns to me and my roommate, Julia, that we were not fit to clean an African house, and urged us to hire a maid ASAP. These people are very lovely, but are completely up in our business. They peer in my bedroom window just to see what’s up. Usually nothing besides my nudity and possibly some dance exercise to David Bowie. They knock on my windows at 7am to ask me questions, and tell me that I should feed my cat more often. All very nice, when I’ve had 2 cups of coffee and a cigarette. There is no such ... read more

For some queer reason I have been frequently getting the “What do you want to do with your life/ what are your career goals” question lately. I usually stare at the person with glazed over eyes and drool hanging off my chin in response. I usually don’t have much to say, and when I do say something, people look at me like I’m not ambitious enough, that I won’t amount to anything. What they are really saying, in their deepest gut, is, “Well why don’t you want to be successful and make a good living for yourself?” These life questions usually make me think of the question in different terms…What do you want? Well I can answer that question. I want more girls in the developing world to be educated. I want my family to be ... read more

I’ve been putting a lot of thought recently into the Gambian bumster situation. Allow me to pause and explain bumsters for your full enjoyment. A bumster is a young Gambian man, typically with “rasta” hair, who hangs out on the beach or on the street and tries to make friends with white people in the hopes of earning a living. These are the people that are relentless in their efforts to talk to you. Their typical greetings are “Hey boss lady, you’re looking very smart today” (smart means awesome)… “Pretty lady, won’t you give me a minute of your time?”… “Oh lovely white girl, you’re looking so cool, come and chat with me”… “I love you, what is your name?”…and my personal favorite “Hey empress, heaven must be missing angels because I’m seeing one right now.” ... read more

I got to thinking about communication, and if understanding every part of language is really vital. Could fluent communication perhaps take away some beauty that lies in body language, eye contact, and understanding a person in other ways? I live in the modern day tower of babble. English is Gambia’s official language, because it was forced that way from colonialization (thumbs down). However, there are about seven tribes here that speak their own languages, as well as an increasing population of French speakers from Guinea Bissau and Senegal. And let’s clarify English here for a second. There is a small portion of people who speak and understand English well, as it is formally taught. Most people know a small amount of English. You have to develop a new concept of speaking “English” in order to be ... read more

Currently, I am in my home, with my eyes transfixed on my e-commerce book. With all the beauty that lies right out my door, it is terrible nauseating to force myself to contemplate which is the preferable web template. It is true that I signed up for this class, however, why do I give a rip about e-commerce. Props to those of you who get high off of HTML, customer acquisitions, and web marketing, but I am personally numbed by the subject. The thought of spending another minute alone with my book brings me to tears. I need to learn how to fix my toilet when it clogs, how to get rice out of my drain without breaking the pipes, and how to effectively wash all my clothes by hand with minimal scrubbing and soap. This ... read more