Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Koriteh and lots of attaya!
Today was a very eventful day! The moon had appeared last night and as a result it was now officially the end of Ramadan and the beginning of the festival Koriteh. I woke up with that familiar breakfast craving for tapalapa and chocolate spread (ummmmmmm….).. As I headed out of the house to ask Omar (my local tapalapa dealer) if he had any, I realized that there was an unusual air of excitement, much like the atmosphere on Christmas day. I also realized as I stood there in trousers and a sweaty t-shirt that I was dramatically underdressed. The streets were crammed full with people wearing vibrant coloured fabric, dazzling sequins (mum you would have been in your element!) and elegant high heels. In a flash I went back into the house to change into my one Gambian dress (which was still underdressed but was a massive step up from my sweaty t-shirt)..
We spend most of the day sat under a tree with our neighbours drinking the local attaya (which is a very strong, very sweet and apparently very addictive tea). The preparation of attaya involves lots of pouring.. from shot glass to shot glass… from shot glass to pot… from pot back to shot glass… We were also invited to a party in the evening by our other neighbours which was definitely the most bizarre evening yet. We thought we were going to a small Gambian gathering but ended up in a mansion with a massive TV screen being waited on hand and foot. Apparently the husband of the woman used to be a professional football and is now teaching PE in Sweden . All in all, a bright and eventful day.
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Thursday, 17 September 2009
Motorbike training… the Gambian way…
So after my semi-traumatic experience of motorbike training in the After meeting and greeting everyone in the workshop we sat down by a workbench. After about 30 mins we were given a talk by Sol about the importance of looking after your bike 'It can be very useful in your work but if you do not care for it is worse than useless!'. We were then given a talk about maintenance. After all this talking we were desperate to get on the bike… but this was too big a step it would seem. Sol then announced that the 'work' will start tomorrow and that we were just chatting and getting to know each other today. So we had a lazy day in the workshop- the guys and girls were great fun. Eventually after a lot of persuading we were aloud to sit on the bike and kick start it – which was then followed by a rapturous cheer from anyone that was close by. So that was our first day… a little more relaxed than the Over the next couple of days… we rode the bikes round and round a field (which often had children playing football and a herd of goats wandering around).. We also did a hideous amount of figures of eight and emergency stops. We were now ready to leave the field… the excitement was just too much as we finally escaped and explored huge puddles, manic roads, sloppy mud, powder like sand (the worst by far!) and a golf course. Here are some things I have learnt during my training…
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Monday, 7 September 2009
Up country trip...
Before we all have to start work, VSO organised an up country trip so that the volunteers that are in the capital can experience life in the villages. The trip was great fun! We all got to experience the ferry crossing from Banjul to Barra (which I will have to take when I want to visit the Kombo from Kerewan). I was going to try to write something that would explain how manic the whole ferry situation was but I feel the photos tell a better story! Previous volunteers were giving me advice about how to take my motorbike across… in a nutshell… squeeze yourself between two vehicles, pray they are not lorries, and don't panic if your bike doesn't start the other end… in fact I have been advised to make friends with the ferry guys at either end as they sometimes help you push it off if it doesn't start. We went to a village called Juffure which is where Kunta Kinte came from (if anyone has read the book 'Roots' or remember it on TV) and also visited James Island where the slave traders kept the slaves before the middle voyage to America. It was a very interesting trip but parts were also very shocking and will stay with me for a while. |
Gambian food bowl...
During our dramatic trip to Banjul we met a girl who was volunteering independently with the health sector for 5 weeks. She is living in a local compound in Bakau so when she invited a few of us round to her colleague Lamin's house for a traditional Gambian meal we jumped at the chance! This was our chance to put our cultural training to the test. When we arrived we greeted Lamin's family in the local language, took our shoes off at the door and was ready to eat only with our right hand (as is rude to eat with your left). As I moved the piece of fabric in the doorway and stepped inside I heard a very familiar beeping sound coming from the corner of the room. 24! Lamin's face lit up when I recognized the series on their TV and it soon became apparent that he was an even bigger fan than me! Lamin's sister brought in the food bowl along with plates and spoons – they wanted to spoil us so we couldn't convince them that we wanted the traditional Gambian food bowl experience. I can honestly say it was the most bizarre night since being here. There I was eating food bowl from a plate discussing the merits and flaws of Jack Bower's character. Priceless! (I was not expecting to have such a 24 themed blog I may add! I will hopefully steer clear of this topic in the future!) |
Meeting Charlie...
Since arriving in The Gambia we are constantly asked… 'Have you seen Charlie yet?' so when we were given a day off to explore we thought it was our duty to do just that. However finding him was easier said than done. We knew he was somewhere in Bakau so when we got there we kept muttering the word Charlie and people pointed in the general direction. We ended up walking through a network of tangled back streets meeting a variety of people along the way. Eventually we made it. As we walked through the gate we were confronted by a goat that had the loudest belch I had ever heard! Emily was the first to spot the pool through a wire fence. As we peered through we could see two crocodile eyes staring back at us. This must be Charlie! Charlie is famous in Gambia for being gentle enough to touch (although there are some rumours floating around that he is either made of stone or dead). As we turned the corner Emily let out an amused gasp- there was a big chunk of the fence missing… The amused laughter quickly fell silent as we realized that there were two huge crocs blocking our path. We heard a voice saying it's ok they have been fed! A park attendant appeared and leaped enthusiastically onto one of the crocodiles back as if it was a docile donkey. He was beckoning us to go and touch the croc. He didn't look like stone to me… When it was my turn I walked towards one of the many Charlies and could see his eye following me. I hovered my hand over this full but, let's face it, still very unpredictable creature… the attendant pushed my hand down… well he felt like stone- cold and rock-like. As I walked away the croc had obviously had enough and wandered off – so the stone myth was completely crushed. As we continued our walk we became very aware that there were a lot more Charlies than we first thought… they were under benches, climbing out of the pool and enjoying the shade of the trees surrounding us. After a lot of nervous laughter we made our excuses and very carefully and slowly made a dash for it! |
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