The 15th June came and went and there was no rain!
Today (on the 25th June) it rained heavily during the day - I think that this is the start of the rainy season!
Saturday 25 June 2011
Tuesday 14 June 2011
Baby Sarjo
Baby Sarjo is doing just fine. She is so small and cute! Sometimes Isatou (her mother) will feed her and then leave her at my house for a couple of hours to sleep. I have a mosquito net permanently fixed in my bedroom so I place little Sarjo underneath it (mosquito nets are readily available here and most people have them but just don’t use them. It's quite frustrating as malaria is a big killer especially amongst children! Somebody here once told me that he thinks people don’t utilise the nets because they are given them for free and therefore never really appreciate their value, he believes that if people were sold them for a small price or were told to go and collect them, rather than just distributing them, then people would be more inclined to use them as they have put an effort into their acquisition. I don't know if that is true or not but I have seen mosquito nets in many Gambian houses and yet most of the people who have them admit to not sleeping underneath them).
Anyway little Sarjo often spends a few hours a day in my house lying on my bed under the security of my mosquito net. It's also an opportunity for Sarjo to get some undisturbed sleep as one of her big sisters (Bakaddy who is about 3) keeps prodding her and squeezing her face and fingers. It often begins under the guise of affection but if you watch Bakaddy carefully you can see that the 'gentle' stroke quickly turns into a jealous pinch!!
So I’ve decided to post a few more pictures of beautiful (bald) Sarjo!
Anyway little Sarjo often spends a few hours a day in my house lying on my bed under the security of my mosquito net. It's also an opportunity for Sarjo to get some undisturbed sleep as one of her big sisters (Bakaddy who is about 3) keeps prodding her and squeezing her face and fingers. It often begins under the guise of affection but if you watch Bakaddy carefully you can see that the 'gentle' stroke quickly turns into a jealous pinch!!
So I’ve decided to post a few more pictures of beautiful (bald) Sarjo!
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| Bless her! |
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| Sarjo on my bed |
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| What a cutie!! |
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| Safe on the bed but not asleep!! Sarjo prefers to be held! |
Mangoes and Rain
Mango season is coming to an end. There are lots of mango trees in The Gambia and people here like the trees as they provide excellent shade. Many hours are spent talking, chatting, chilling and drinking green tea under a mango tree.
During mango season (which seems to have been the last three months or so) you often hear the thud of mangoes falling to the floor (you have to take care to dodge them if you were relaxing under the mango tree) and you will see lots of children and adults throwing stones into the trees in an attempt to knock the mangoes to the floor or prodding the trees with exceptionally long sticks (sold specifically for this purpose!)
I have eaten a lot of mangoes during the last couple of months and I think that now I have eaten so many that I am going 'off' them! When I hear the 'thud' of a mango falling to the ground I no longer run to locate the fruit! The novelty has worn off. However all is not lost as I am told that there are different varieties of mangoes and there is one particular type that I still really like and enjoy eating (I also want to note as a side that the way people eat mangos here is very interesting to observe)!
Very soon mango season will be over and perhaps if there are no mangoes for 8 months or so when they return I might be keen to eat them again? We will have to see.
Now rainy season is fast approaching. It rained in the evening in the 1st June and again in the evening the following day. Since then it rained once during the morning. When rainy season starts properly then it will rain heavily (on and off) for about 3 and half months. Everything here goes green, rivers fill up again and the sand 'roads' become streams! There are things about rainy season that I love and things about it that I hate! What I can tell you though, is that it gets HOT, really hot and humid and when it actually rains it's not like a shower, it's like somebody is pouring a swimming pool of water over your head!!
People here tell me that the rainy season starts on the 15th June. I have no idea why this date has been selected (the say the same day every year - 15th June). Originally when I heard this date it made me smile as I was sure that there could not possibly be an exact date when the rains start properly every year? HOWEVER as this date approaches I'm becoming more and more intrigued.
Today is the 14th and the sky has changed colour. It is still exceptionally hot but the sky is grey. My neighbour Isatou told me, 'Kaddy, the rain is coming'. There is definitely a difference in the atmosphere. So who knows? Maybe tomorrow it will rain and then the rain will continue for three months. Maybe the rains do start on the 15th June every year? How exciting! Watch this space!
During mango season (which seems to have been the last three months or so) you often hear the thud of mangoes falling to the floor (you have to take care to dodge them if you were relaxing under the mango tree) and you will see lots of children and adults throwing stones into the trees in an attempt to knock the mangoes to the floor or prodding the trees with exceptionally long sticks (sold specifically for this purpose!)
I have eaten a lot of mangoes during the last couple of months and I think that now I have eaten so many that I am going 'off' them! When I hear the 'thud' of a mango falling to the ground I no longer run to locate the fruit! The novelty has worn off. However all is not lost as I am told that there are different varieties of mangoes and there is one particular type that I still really like and enjoy eating (I also want to note as a side that the way people eat mangos here is very interesting to observe)!
Very soon mango season will be over and perhaps if there are no mangoes for 8 months or so when they return I might be keen to eat them again? We will have to see.
Now rainy season is fast approaching. It rained in the evening in the 1st June and again in the evening the following day. Since then it rained once during the morning. When rainy season starts properly then it will rain heavily (on and off) for about 3 and half months. Everything here goes green, rivers fill up again and the sand 'roads' become streams! There are things about rainy season that I love and things about it that I hate! What I can tell you though, is that it gets HOT, really hot and humid and when it actually rains it's not like a shower, it's like somebody is pouring a swimming pool of water over your head!!
People here tell me that the rainy season starts on the 15th June. I have no idea why this date has been selected (the say the same day every year - 15th June). Originally when I heard this date it made me smile as I was sure that there could not possibly be an exact date when the rains start properly every year? HOWEVER as this date approaches I'm becoming more and more intrigued.
Today is the 14th and the sky has changed colour. It is still exceptionally hot but the sky is grey. My neighbour Isatou told me, 'Kaddy, the rain is coming'. There is definitely a difference in the atmosphere. So who knows? Maybe tomorrow it will rain and then the rain will continue for three months. Maybe the rains do start on the 15th June every year? How exciting! Watch this space!
Tuesday 7 June 2011
A night at the pier
A couple of nights ago Nathan, Nfamara (my friend) and I decided to go down to the pier in the evening and hang out together. When we were down at the pier we met some sailors who transport the ground-nuts (peanuts) from Kerewan to Banjul via the river. We all chatted and had a good evening.
However though it was quite cool in the evening by the river, one of our group wasn't feeling the cold - a bout of Dutch courage I suspect!
Now I don't want to get anyone into trouble by naming names (especially as his lovely mother sometimes reads this blog) but if you have a look at the pictures from that night you might be able to guess WHO had one too many!
However though it was quite cool in the evening by the river, one of our group wasn't feeling the cold - a bout of Dutch courage I suspect!
Now I don't want to get anyone into trouble by naming names (especially as his lovely mother sometimes reads this blog) but if you have a look at the pictures from that night you might be able to guess WHO had one too many!
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| Lopiz (one of the sailors) |
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| Me and Nfamara (note the jumpers, jackets and long sleeve tops because it's cold!) |
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| Nathan (Hmmmmmmm) |
Baby is named
7 days after my neighbour Isatou gave birth, the family held a naming ceremony on the compound. Here in The Gambia, at the ‘Naming Ceremony’ the baby’s name is announced (which is selected by the father, sometimes the wife won’t even know the name selected by the father until it is announced at the naming ceremony) and the baby’s head is shaved.
So baby now has a name and she is called Sarjo. She is still as beautiful as ever and was exceptionally well behaved when her hair was being cut off!!
Here are a selection of some of the pictures that I took on the day.
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| Isatou (before her 'make-over') |
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| Isatou (after her 'make-over'. Isatou changed outfits at least 4 times during the day of the naming ceremony!) |
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| Danfar (the proud father) |
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| Ebrima (Isatou's first child) |
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| Basi (Isatou's second child) |
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| Bakaddy (Isatou's 3rd child and my 'toe-mar' meaning we share the same name, not sure about the spelling though!) |
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| The head shaving begins |
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| Close shave!! |
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| Sarjo is starting to get mad now!! |
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| Wow, almost there! |
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| Good girl! Nearly finished. |
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| Bald baby! |
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| Me and Isatou (not sure why I look so manic?) |
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| Isatou, little Kaddy and Nathan (Nathan is not a giant, Isatou is just very short!) |
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| Basi (big sister) holding baby Sarjo (support that baby's head!!!) |
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| Naba (lives with Isatou and her children) holding baby Sarjo |
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