Dad's Adventure...

So Dad loved The Gambia so much that he decided to return. After hiring a motorbike from 'Riders for Health' he set off on his own 'long way round' adventure (although not quite so long!). He had a great time crossing the river on a variety of ferries (one that required you to pull yourself across!), finding someone to fix a puncture in a tiny village when nobody speaks English and enjoying the friendliness of the local people. For more information about the charity 'Riders for Health' - click on the link next to 'home' on this blog.

Murder Mystery Mayhem!

So for Andrew, Greg and Sukey's leaving do, Amy came up with the idea of a Murder Mystery evening. It was a great idea and fun was had by all! I enjoyed being Selina Skye for the night (a wealthy Jewellery designer who had come to seek revenge against the person who murdered her parents!) although three people tried to murder me and they succeeded in the end so I am not sure that I was any good at it!

Work update...

So what have I been doing recently?

Well, we had another regional training day on the 13th March so Paul and I went to the furthest cluster from us to help them plan the day. We also went to the day itself to offer support where we could.

The main project I am working on at the moment is a training DVD on the teaching of reading in The Gambia. I am travelling to a variety of schools to film good examples of teaching to share with the rest of the region which is keeping me busy!

Saa!

So I am lying on my bed reading a book ('The White Tiger' to be precise... would definitely recommend it!), trying to ignore the fact that the heat is almost at a level where one may start to panic, when I hear a frantic shout from outside. I would later find out that the word the lady on the compound was shouting was 'saa'. If I knew this at the time I would have looked outside immediately rather than choosing to ignore the noise until Ebrima came knocking at my door asking me to come look. I reluctantly put my book down and stepped into the furnace outside my door. I looked at Ebrima and I swear my heart stopped for a split second. He was holding the biggest snake (saa) I have ever seen (well the biggest snake outside a snake farm that is!). I managed to mutter an inquiry into whether the snake was dead and he assured me it was while holding it out towards me to touch. I politely declined and watched in fascination as he cut off the snake's head. There were others on the compound by this time trying to get a photo with their mobile phone. It was like a circus. Once the head was finally separated from the body with a rusty bit of tin, the men made a hole in the ground with a stick and then buried the head with a lump of coal so that the compound would be safe from snakes in the future. What with this and a crazy lizard who decided to move into my house this week (and is particularly partial to backflipping  towards me whenever I walk into my bedroom), life is certainly not dull in Kerewan. Well now that Ebrima has got rid of my lizard (felt guilty but it had to be done) and following a number of conversations with the locals whereby they convinced me that it is very rare to see a snake in Kerewan, I can now sleep soundly. I don't think I will ever look at a daddy-long-legs with fear in my heart again!

We needed more fire wood so the boys came up with this...

What a kebab!!

sunset on the pier

Party on the pier... with the biggest kebab known to man...

Seeing as Courtney is a vegetarian, I was surprised when she came up with the idea of making a spit to roast a bush pig on the pier. She managed to find a welder for the job and in no time at all the spit was stood in her backyard. The spit idea came about when Cathy and James announced that they would be visiting the bright lights of Kerewan for the weekend. It was a perfect opportunity to have a party on the pier. When I say pier, I mean a chunk of concrete that juts out into the river, usually engulfed in the smell of fish guts. Having said that, it is still my favourite spot in Kerewan. It was the night of the party and we had unfortunately been unable to get hold of a bush pig in time (I was secretly relieved as I am not sure the task of getting the pig onto the spit would have been an easy one). We did however have sausages, bacon, chicken breasts and steak. We built a fire underneath the spit, poured some drinks and sat down to watch the sunset. It wasn't long before it became apparent that cooking sausages and bacon on a spit is very different to cooking a bush pig. For one, the sausages were too small so we tried to attach them to the spit with wire which then resulted in the cooked sausages falling into the fire. The fire was also far too low to cook the meat so Nathan and James spent much of the night finding different ways to correct this issue, including raising the fire and physically holding the spit lower. To cut a long story short, the spit was a great idea with lots of potential but in reality was a disaster (an entertaining one though so all was not lost). We kept the fire going and danced the night away until the early hours. One of my best nights in Kerewan so far.

The morning after the weekend before...

Valentines meal for 4...

What to buy....

The gelli park

transport...

What are we doing now Amy???

art, art everywhere...

Trip to the beautiful Goree Island

The market in Dakar

The winner of the random photo competition ...

Outside the cathedral

Coffee anyone?

The streets of Dakar

Something to be proud of... (guess you had to be there...)

Cheers!

busy traffic

Drink stop in Kaolack

On the ferry bright and early

Dakar Baby!

I have always thought that there is nothing more exhilarating than waking up at some silly time in the morning to begin a journey in the dark. I'm not sure whether Emily , Amy and Andrew appreciated my enthusiasm at 5am but going to Dakar for the weekend was just too exciting for words!  As luck would have it, the Peace Corps had a softball tournament in Dakar that same weekend which resulted in a hassle free lift straight into the city for us. I say hassle free... So we walked to the meeting place, Omar's restaurant, in the dark and met a group of very subdued Americans waiting for the coach. The coach was already there so once everyone had arrived we piled on. There was a strange smell when we boarded. We managed to find four seats together and began to tuck into our breakfast; sour milk and cous (only a little nicer than it sounds). After 20 minutes and no sign of the driver, a coach comes round the corner and stops. It didn't take long to realise that the coach was in fact our coach. God knows whose coach we were sat on! It had probably been there for months which went some way to explain the smell! We all filed out and began to walk towards the real coach. It was still dark at this point and my enthusiasm was beginning to be replaced by drowsiness. I couldn't see Amy in the crowd so turned round to get a better look. Without warning the ground beneath my feet completely disappeared. A wave of confusion swept over me as I felt myself falling. Before I could really absorb what was happening I was surrounded by concerned Americans all offering an outstretched arm. It suddenly hit me when I heard someone shout "Oh my God... did you see that girl fall in the ditch?!" I cannot believe I forgot that there is a huge ditch between Omars and the road. Oh well I survived to tell the tale and provided some entertainment to a sleepy crowd. A few harmless grazes later, I was on the real coach heading for the ferry. The ferry crossing was very cold but watching the sunrise over the water made it the most beautiful crossing I have experienced so far. We grabbed another coach on the north bank to take us to the border. The border was quick and the rest of the journey went smoothly. After a drink stop in Kaolack, a lot of junk food and occasional dancing to various i-pod tunes, we finally arrived in Dakar around 5pm. Going from a view of never-ending sand tracks to cafes and skyscrapers was quite an event. The energy in Dakar was addictive. The streets were full of men pushing carts of coffee and various sellers ready to sell you anything from a toothbrush to a game of monopoly. We spent the entire weekend eating croissants, drinking coffee (even I drank the coffee, it was that nice!) and marvelling at the wine selection. We visited the cathedral and I eventually bought a candle from the woman outside after attempting to communicate in French... not my strong point. We took a boat trip to Goree Island which is a peaceful oasis of calm compared to Dakar. There were no tarmac roads, just narrow sandy alleyways sandwiched by buildings with shuttered windows. I felt like I was in France for the day. Went to a cocktail bar for one evening and I managed to sneak into a live Jazz/soul gig for the last couple of songs, great fun! Our last evening was Valentines night and in true Gambian fashion we all hit the town in outfits made from of the same fabric (they call it asobi). Had a lovely meal and then prepared for the 5am start the next day to head back to The Gambia. The next morning was not quite as exciting as the first early start and after 6 hours in a car to the border, 30 mins in a taxi to Barra, an hours wait for a gelli gelli, another brief pause to change vehicles when the gelli gelli broke down and then an hour or so drive into Kerewan,  I was more than happy to see my little house!