May 6th Post

I actually typed this May 6th, but didn't have internet. I'll hopefully post again soon so you can have a more current update on my adventures...

Six months in country!!! Wow it doesn’t feel like I’ve been here that long, but there you go. The first two weeks of April I took my first trip down to the Banjul area, for In-service Training and then all volunteer conference. Three months up country and I needed a sweater for the ‘cold’ nights in Banjul (I would guess low 60s) and I was a little taken aback by a display of kids tricycles, something not really for sale up country.

After training I spent almost two weeks at site. It was nice to be back with my family, and mangoes are ripe now, so the heat doesn’t seem as bad. However after two busy weeks in kombo I felt a bit lazy sitting with my family on the bantaba. I was able to help with the polio vaccination treks around the Kantora district, which let me visit some new towns around and meet some new people. One compound gave me a bag of peanuts after we vaccinated their under 5 children and chatted a bit in Pulaar. Then at the lumo (weekly market) in Fatoto I ran into one of the older girls from the compound who gave me a big friendly greeting!! It’s always encouraging to be recognized and greeted by name around the area.

Fatoto also hosted a wrestling competition this past Monday and Tuesday. Wrestling is a more traditional sport in the Gambia, more so than football at least, which is the most popular. They fenced off a huge area of one field, strung a line of carnival style lights, attached it to a generator and charged D25 for admission. The event was planned to start at 9pm. It didn’t actually get started until about 10:30pm and when I left at 1:30a I was informed it would go until about 3a but I was catching a gele to Basse at 6:30a so I had to get a bit of sleep.

The wrestling was amazing to see. Spectators were either seated in chairs (kids on the ground) or standing behind the chairs all along the fenced area. There were typically two matches going at the same time. There didn’t seem to be a referee, the two men competing decided when to start, take a break if they wanted to move under the lights better, and who ultimately won. They wore brightly colored mini skirt like wraps of colored tassels, which seem to be the traditional outfit, with modern spandex shorts and leggings underneath. Some fancier skirt/wraps had bells that jingled on the fringe.

Overall I’m really enjoying life in the Gam, though I do miss all of you, and love getting little updates either via mom, the limited time I have to facebook ‘research’, and best of all when you send letters!!! Work is sporadic, like for example last week I was just sitting with my family for several days enjoying their company and working with the kids on their homework. This week I went to the Forestry and Education offices to work on coordinating an annual tree nursery competition among the schools that PCTG helps support, I’m going back tonight to join the Kantora Bee Keepers Association with harvesting and building a new honey processing house for them, and I’m hopefully building another mud stove for Susana, and maybe getting some of the other women in town to come learn how to make one for themselves!!

Love to you all!!

Julia