Run for Cover!

When I first arrived in Kerewan, VSO supplied me with a large gas canister which I attached to my gas stove. Though I'm a little ashamed to admit that I don't actually know how much gas the canister holds I can tell you that the canister itself is about a metre high, exceptionally heavy and that it lasted a whole 6 months (being used daily) before it finally ran out. But run out it did so I had to look into getting it refilled.

Despite the fact that refilling the canister sounds like a relatively simple task, it really isn’t! The empty canister has to be taken to the nearest big city to fill it (Farafenni) and it is far too large and impractical to transport around. So after much negotiation I managed to get somebody to agree to do the transportation and I handed over the rather large sum of money which was required to fill the canister.

When I finally got the canister back in my house I reconnected it to the gas cooker only to find that the tap at the top of the canister (which turns the flow of gas on and off) would not turn. I tried several times but was unable to turn the gas on. So I gave Nathan a call and asked him if he would come over and give me a hand.

Despite his best efforts Nathan too was unable to turn the gas tap on therefore I decided to ask a couple of the men on my compound, perhaps there was a knack to it which Nathan and I just didn’t know about?

Well the compound men came in to help and there didn’t seem to be any special technique to it at all, they just went for the sheer force approach. Within minutes of being in the house one of the men did something to the gas tank which suddenly caused the tap to blow off altogether and the gas to come bellowing out of it.

Everyone’s instincts are different and as soon as I heard the bang of the gas tap hitting the ceiling I ran to the nearest exit (which for me was at the rear of the house). The two men from the compound who had come to ‘help’ also ran for cover (out the front of the house), one of them pulling the door closed on the way out leaving poor bewildered Nathan stood in the middle of a gas-filled room! I don’t want to spoil the end of the story but for the sake of all those who worry about my well-being - both Nathan and I survived this ordeal!

Within seconds the whole house was full of gas as the entire canister just emptied there and then in the middle of the living room. (That’s 6 months worth of gas!!) Intrigued by the noise and commotion a whole crowd of people quickly gathered round the front of the house and once they had seen and smelt what had happened they all started shouting at me (who was stranded at the rear of the building) not to enter the house again.

Well I stood out the back for a few minutes but then the gas was all around me so I had no choice but to run back through the gas-filled house to the front of the building. For the remainder of the evening I sat outside the house with all the doors and windows open however the gas just wouldn’t disperse. Needless to say I couldn’t sleep in the house that night. I did have to go in to get some overnight essentials and the whol ordeal left me a little delirious and light-headed.

So how do I feel about wasting so much money, time and effort and having a house full of gas? Well to tell you the truth I feel bloody lucky because if the gas leakage had happened only half an hour or so later than when it actually did then it would have coincided with the electricity coming on and that initial surge of power could have been disaster for all of us in the house. On reflection we were all very lucky indeed!!

Pigtails?

For some time now a few of the girls on my compound have been putting pressure on me saying that I should braid (plait) my hair. The girls (and women) frequently plait their hair and every few weeks they will have new and wonderful styles.

Usually friends/sisters/mothers will braid each other’s hair but occasionally if there is an event coming up, a special occasion or you just feel like something different, then there are people in the town who you can go to who are known for being able to do good plaiting.

So recently I caved in to the pressure and went to see Julde (a really nice girl who stays in the compound opposite me and who is known for her plaiting ability!) to see if she would be able to braid my hair. Apparently a few years ago Julde braided a 'toubabos' (white person) hair (a previous VSO) and was up for the challenge!

I sat on the floor in Julde's compound whilst she set to work. Four hours later Julde announced that she had finished and all those around (a small crowd had gathered to see the toubab hair show!) were suitably impressed. Though I hadn't actually seen my hair, about half way through I realised that Julde was creating 'pigtails' (something Westerners like myself usually associate with children!) so I was happy to see that Gambian's clearly didn’t have the same perception of pigtails as we do in the west!!

After the initial shock of looking in the mirror and realising that I was now a 31yr old woman with pigtails, the hairstyle really grew on me (excuse the pun)!!

I've had my braids in for almost a week now and I’m actually starting to really like them. I love the fact that I don’t have to wash my hair (or even think about it)! Admittedly putting my motorbike helmet on was a little tricky but I seem to have mastered that now!! I'm even starting to think about what style of braids I will have next!!