Apologies for such a lengthy gap between entries it’s just.....er....well it's really hot and at work I’ve been very busy and then when I get home I just can’t be bothered to write my blog!! The 'really hot' excuse might sound lame but seriously it drains you of energy! Not only that but I spend most of my 'free time' wiping sweat off my body! Since coming to The Gambia my skin has never stayed dry for longer than about 30secs! I'll go out to 'shower' (pour water over myself), dry myself with a towel and by the time I’ve walked 5 metres back into my house I’m sweating again! I currently have an open wound (just minor so nothing to worry about mum!!) and horrible heat rashes on my hands, arms and feet, the problem is my skin just doesn’t stay dry long enough for them to heal or clear up!! The time has come to seek medical advice! So I am planning a trip to Kombo next week!
So, back to my update! A few weeks ago I had my first 'official' house guest. I have had many other guests in my house since I’ve been here, mice, ants, spiders, cockroaches, a lizard and a frog but this particular guest I invited! Her name is Priya and she is a Norwegian student. She is doing her thesis on an aspect of 'maternal health in the Gambia'. She is based in the hospital at Farafenni (which is about an hour away from Kerewan). I met Priya in Kombo through a VSO called Marcus who was communicating with her on another VSO's blog. (If you go back to the bbq pictures in Kombo you will find her there). Anyway as she was living quite near to me (relatively) so I thought that I would invite her over and also that weekend a 'peace corp' in Kerewan (a guy called Nathan) was having a birthday party at his house so it would be a good chance for us both to meet more people (networking as big sis Lucy calls it)!!
It was nice having Priya at the house and interesting watching her struggle with some of the things that I’ve become so accustomed to now (such as the en-suite facilities and the other house guests!) I have to note that Priya has been to my house again since that first visit and is now adjusting better to my accommodation!!
After showing Priya around Kerewan (which took about a whole 15mins)!! I introduced her to the people on my compound. Everyone got on marvellously. We all sat round on my porch chatting and drinking attayh. Later that evening, we headed over to Nathan's compound to join the party celebrations.
When we got there the group were a little tipsy (I think I’m being generous when I describe them as merely tipsy) but still welcoming. Also at the party there was another guy from the 'peace corp' and 4 other 'peace corp' girls. We had a pleasant evening and played a few card games and even had a couple of games of twister!!
Nathan (who is based in Kerewan) is a nice guy and a good laugh. He likes to drink a lot (spirits usually; that he gets from Kombo) and he likes to play poker (Texas hold'em) of which I’m always up for a game.
After the party, Priya, Paul and I all walked home and the following day we all went back to Farafenni with Priya. Paul went by motorbike and took Lamin (a guy on our compound) to watch the football. People here go to 'video clubs' where there is an average sized TV (connected to satellite dish) at the front of a room full of rows of benches. People then pay to enter and watch the games; they are often very crowded and hot! Lamin (with the help of Paul) has set up a video club on our compound so there is no escaping the premiership here! (Or the Spanish league which seems exceptionally popular). Priya and I took the 'gelly' (an over-crowded minibus that works like a bus service following set routes).
Whilst in Farafenni I purchased some material which I took home later that day and used to improve the furnishings in my house (I actually stayed up until gone midnight making curtains)!
A week after Priya’s visit all the new volunteers were summoned back to Kombo by VSO in order to apply for and pick up our bio-metric id cards (all very impressive, they even have finger prints on them)!
I had to make the trip alone which was a new and slightly daunting experience as it involved a ferry crossing. At the ferry terminal in Barra I met more (but different) peace corps (those guys really are everywhere)! Sadly when we arrived at Banjul the customs and immigration officials identified all 5 white people (myself and the other peace corp) as potential drugs traffickers! We were taken into a little office and had to hand over lots of identification documentation and we also had our bags searched. I thought the profiling system was quite interesting! Upon release I took a taxi and met up with the other new volunteers.
It was nice to see the other VSO (though to be honest I felt quite sad leaving Kerewan because I’d only been there a couple of weeks and was starting to settle). Kombo felt busy and hectic and really expensive (you can buy 2 cokes and a bag of sugar in Kerewan for the price of one coke in the Kombo)! Though I was keen to leave Kombo and head back up-country I was appreciative of the things that you could buy there that I couldn’t get in Kerewan. So whilst there I purchased a kettle, a pan, some more cutlery, a metal bucket (to burn rubbish in) and a covered bucket (always need buckets!)
I was really lucky when it came to leaving Kombo and managed to get a lift with a group of people attending a VSO conference further up-country. It was Marcus that found out about the vehicle going up-country and suggested that we try and tag along! This really was a life-saver because I had purchased too many things to be able to carry them all back on the gelly! Also it turns out that some of the people travelling with us were very important including some MPs and the Deputy Speaker so on the way back good we also got priority ferry boarding and crossing!!
Marcus had arranged with Paul to collect his house keys (Paul was spending the weekend with his wife Courtney in Kombo) and then on the way back from Kombo Marcus stopped off in Kerewan for a couple of days. It was great. Once again I got to show the visitor around (the people on my compound always refer to my visitors as ‘your stranger’ which really makes me laugh). We went to a local football match, drank attayh, Marcus even got to watch me strap baby Mama (that’s the baby’s name) to my back African style and then later we had a few (and then a few more) drinks at my house with peace corp Nathan and played poker until 3:30am!!A super weekend!
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