Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Don't rush out and get this, but if you are thinking about it sometime and feel like sending a package a long way....

Granola bars (chocolate chip, etc.)
Salty snacks
Gator aid
Emergen-C packets
Bug spray (pump spray) (they give us a lotion, that is just horrible to put on because you are just so sweaty all the time, plus you have sunblock on.. it would be much better to be able to do an overall spray of the body)
waterless hand sanitizer
cookies
button up shirts colorful, and straight cotton - size large
Stickers for kids
Notecards (index cards)
pictures
q-tips
sport shorts (I forgot these, and had to jump rope in my pajama pants the other night! hehe)



You should have the address to send any of these things if you choose to send it- NOT that you need to! I was thinking that maybe you could seperate the things that you want to send into a couple of packages, (small of course), because if they go through it they won't be as likely to take the only thing in the package, then if there are a bunch of things, they would think I wouldn't know what was in it anyways. Also, maybe it would be a good idea to put a list of items in the package somewhere on the actual package... I really don't have any clue, because I am new at this as well, ... so. we will just have to try it out and see.

Wednesday

Hello, man, last night was a bit difficult, because Andy and I switched beds (he insisted that his was much hotter). And I fell asleep fine, except I woke up and there was another storm, this time much worse, and I had to go to the bathroom.. there were more people in the unlucky position to get their laundry caught out in the rain, so there were people running out there in the lighting, rain, and extreme wind. There was something shorting out and sparking on the side of the building, so it all seemed a bit crazy in the middle of the night. So after I got back from the bathroom, I fell back asleep but woke up again because I felt something bite on my shoulder. I thought it might be mosquitos, so I tried to cover my body up with my sheet. In the morning I felt a large bit bump on my arm that was exposed, because I was sleeping on my right side, so my left arm has that one big bump and a ton of other bites. They itch a lot, and I guess there are either, 1)mosquitos, 2)an ant and mosquitos 3)bed bugs,..(yuk! I don't even want to look! because there is nothing I can do about it!) or 4) any combination of the previous three choices!
Yesterday we had that infamous two hours class on diarrhea, and other common diseases, and we learned all the horrible things that could, and probably very well will happen to us. And today in the same class we learned more about that, but also how to put up our mosquito net, filter and bleach our water... and went through everything that is in our extensive med. kit. Today we took our second dose of malaria medication, so hopefully everyone will be alright with that.. I went to the "supermarket" to try to find some things, but it gets very expensive right away, IF they have the things you are looking for. Tomorrow will be our last day here in this area until after training village. We are going to be very busy with our schedule, we have language pretty much from the moment we wake up for a couple of hours, then breakfast, then another couple of hours, and then we are supposed to go to our host families and practice with them for a few... so from like 8 am to 6 pm we will be doing that stuff, then we have to work in bucket baths, filtering/fetching water, and other things. Everyone says that they are totally exhausted at the end of each day.
So, that's about it for now, we have some more studying to do...
I don't know when the next blog will be because I probably won't have time to come over tomorrow, we will be busy with classes all day and then we have to pack to get ready to go on Friday. I feel kind of like what I was feeling on the plane over here, that I just want to hurry up and already see what it is like, and what the situation is already in the village.

Ok, oh, yeah, I might cut my hair short, or shave it (some girls have already done that!) I am going to try it out in training village having long hair, and if that doesn't work then off we go with it!

Later!
Lydia

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

New Week

So, I guess the last time I wrote we went to the beach. It was pretty unique. The sand is a deep black color with gold and shiny specks in it. The water was pretty much the same, a nice color, and little waves. There were lots of people playing soccer, and the area goiabove the beach had little hammocks and cabana type things. You could get a semi cold sprite or fanta. We walked back from there and stopped by the hostel that PC people only can stay in. There is actually a room that has air conditioning and a hot water heater...ohhhh...ahhhh... hehe. Yesterday we got more shots, typhoid in one arm and Hep A in the other.... (there is more tomorrow!) The typhoid was the most sore I have had from a vaccine. Yesterday I could barely move my arm! Anyhow, we are preparing ourselves for leaving the comforts of the compound in the "city" because we won't have extras like, showers, toilets, solid walls, ceiling fans etc.
Yesterday evening we Andy and I decided to try our hand at the bucket method of doing the laundry, and it was a lot of work. After we hung it all up we went to dinner, and went to bed. Well,... in the middle of the night about 3, I noticed that Andy had turned the fan on super fast, and then I noticed he was gone,.. I thought it might have gone to the bathroom, so I fell back asleep for a second,.. and I woke back up because the wind was rushing through the window and blowing the curtain and I noticed that he was gone still... and it took me a few seconds,... to realize that Oh my gosh my tank tops and clothes are going to blow away!~ because we don't have clothespins! So I frantically find my dress and put it on, and run out into the hallway,.. I check the bathroom for Andy, and he wasn't there, so I headed out of the hallway and outside, and he was there, I grabbed my headlamp and we started to gather up the clothes that dropped, and put them back on the line, when it started to really blow, .. there was dust everywhere,.. then.. it started to rain! So then we just went around as fast as we could gather up everything. Once we got inside our small room there was a challenge of finding places to hang wet clothes, but we eventually did. We ended up with some dirty clothes again, but hey, what can you do! Hehe. Oh, today we went to the big market downtown.,,.. let me just say ... oh my gosh! I was so overwhelmed, and we didn't have any practice with our "market terms and language" so it was difficult, and I felt hopeless! Well, I suppose that will get better with practice, but there were so many things everywhere, and back hallways, and people, and random things, that it is hard to know where to go to buy specific things, and if you are getting the lowest price possible!
I know this is long, but one more thing! We went to this crocodile pool, that is basically a big hole in the ground with a bunch of crocodiles in it, some people went up to "pet" it, and take pictures, (to me not so smart!), and the guy fed them in front of us.. I got a lot of mosquito bites... OH, yeah, they say that if you are an infertile woman, and you go and bathe in the crocodile pool, you will have a baby. (don't know if I believe that! I think it is a ploy to get infertile (useless) women to get eaten by crocodiles! hehe) Ok.. People are waiting for the computers... so I will have to catch up more later!

Lydia

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Salaa Maaleekum!

Now, you would say.. "maaleekum salaam" That is how you start the traditional greeting here in the Gambia, then you can continue in your the language that you are learning, mine is Mandinka. Today is Sunday, and we are just pretty much chillin. We woke up to go to breakfast in the morning, but afterwards went back to sleep for a quick nap. Afterwards we went to a grocery store here in the city, it was pretty well stocked, and had a lot of foreign things (to me). We were told by other PCV's (Peace Corps volunteers), to get some extra toilet paper to bring to training camp, so we got that and some pringles and cookies. (They also suggested snacks). We are planning to go to the beach, but that will be after lunch, then while at the beach a guy said we could come and check out his solar panels, so we are going to do that. That's about all we have planned, except for lots of language studying and making a detailed list of our med. kit., which is pretty extensive.
Yesterday, while we were under this humungous mango tree "in class" and a mango just fell beside one girl and splattered next to her. That was bad enough, but the stuff that splattered on her arm had maggots in it! heheheh... whenever we are under there, (which has been alot) for class we are always paranoid that mango is going to get us! hehe.
Anyhow, if you are mom or dad please check your email, I just sent one about phone cards.
Talk to you later

Lydia

Friday, June 15, 2007

Ist full day in Gambia

Hello. Today was the first full day in Africa. We woke up and had breakfast, (we had some good rice porriage and things) and then we started into a rotation of going to get shots, interviewing with the director of our sections (mine, education), and going to the Peace Corps office. I only had to get one shot today, rabies, which is always good. Andy and I found out that the language we are going to be learning is called Mandinka. We had a good time learning from our teacher today, which everyone says looks like Dave Chappell, which he does but he is a little shorter. He also if very funny which makes it very easy to make mistakes and not have to worry about it! We learned the greetings today, but we shall see if I remember them tomorrow! Tomorrow we are going to go to a mosque and check it out together, it shall be interesting. Everyone here if very nice and ready to help you, I had a conversation with a school boy today on the street when we were walking from the office to where we are staying. He spoke very good english. On Sunday we are going to go to the beach, we saw pictures of it today, it looks very nice. Sorry there is a lack of details in my blogs so far, but I am still trying to catch up on sleep, we planned to get to bed early tonight but I don't think that is going to happen. Last night I slept well, and only woke up once, but we had to wake up early and have been going, going, going all day long. Ya know, living in this compound feels like living in Puerto Rico, with the kind of tropical-ness, the cold showers and humid conditions, the strange animal noises outside that we dont' quite know what they are... Well, thats about it for now, Talk to you guys later! Hope you are going well.

Lydia

Thursday, June 14, 2007

I'm in Africa!

Hello everyone, I hope you are checking this, we finally arrived here in The Gambia, and it is so far so good. It was a long trip here, and I still feel like everything is moving, and that I am still riding on an airplane! But I'm sure that good nights sleep in a cot will take care of that :) We have a busy schedule planned for us, but I think I may be able to make a couple of posts while we are here near the PC office. I wanted to thank everyone again for the well wishes, and your support. We are both really excited, and glad that the anxiousness if over, and we can finally get in the midst of the whole thing. Well, I gotta let other people on the computer, so I will hopefully update/talk to you guys later!

Lydia

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Time to Move...

I have that Tom Petty song in my head, "Time to move on... Time to get going.. What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing....... In fact that has been a theme throughout the goodbye process. But that last bit is especialy true of tomorrow, it will be exciting to finally get there and to start actually "knowing" what lies ahead!
We had staging all day today, and afterwards we went to do a jam session through the monuments. We saw a lot in a little bit of time, I'm glad we went, because a lot of people didn't go because it was kinda rainy. But we just got a little sprinkle at the beginning and then it was fine. We had a good "last dinner" in the US and probably last glass of red wine for a while. I savored that for sure! If only I wasn't so full from dinner I would have gone to get some ice cream for dessert!
Well, tomorrow we are off early in the morning to get our shots, and then it will be all mass in transit to the airport. I am actually looking forward to getting on the plane for a while, so that I can finally just chill out and read, do crossword puzzles, etc. Well, I think that's it for now, my brain is kinda full from today, and getting ready to actually leave tomorrow... :) :0

Talk to you all soon somehow! (letter, email, phone)

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Day before departure to D.C.

Ok, early tomorrow we will be leaving on the plane to DC. That is just wacky! I am very excited/anxious. I am pretty sure I am ready, I finished packing my bags, (except for last minute stuff) on Saturday, and the total weight is........60 pounds! I think that is pretty good! We are allowed to have 80 pounds of checked luggage. Andy actually has more than me,.. but I will grant him the fact that he is carrying a lot of our electronic stuff which may be heavier,... I guess. Tonight, our last meal here will be some yummy homemade smoked ribs, that will be a memorable one! We went to the beach earlier today and met a lot of people and it was very nice, I spent most of the time in the water, it will be a nice memory to take with. Well, that's about it for now! Not very interesting,.. but ya know..
Later
Lydia

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Getting Started

Ok, everyone that knows me knows that I don't have that much computer tolerance. So I am going to be brief in my blog start, because setting it up used up a lot. It is Saturday, and Andy and I are leaving for West Africa on Monday morning. Man, it has been a lot of work (over a year in the making), and it has really yet to begin! We keep finding things we need to get or do before we go, and I am so ready to just be done with it! I guess we won't really feel like we can stop until we are on the plane heading for Washington D.C. That is where we are going for staging. Staging will be a few days of quick pre-training, lots of vaccinations, and piling x number of people in a van to go to the airport. After that it will be a skip, hop and a jump to Africa. (Actually we will be going through Brussels and then Senegal, to get to our country of service, The Gambia).

I think that Andy did a really great job of outlining our jobs and things in his blog so here is his:
http://www.nasdrovya.blogspot.com/


Links to Information about The Gambia:
CIA Factbook:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ga.html

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambia
**Look for the pictures heading towards the bottom for some cool pictures**

Peace Corps:
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.wherepc.africa.thegambia

Lonely Planet:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/africa/gambia

Ok, well gotta go now, Charlie is setting up a feast of a breakfast! Yumm-o!

Later,
Lydia

And We're Off!

Let me just start by saying, I find that the best way to write for me is to just ramble, and not go back and read it. If I go back and read it I will end up editing, re-editing, spell checking, reformatting, etc. and that's probably why I don't like to write that much. I can't get past the perfectionist syndrom! So if it lacks in sense, sorry, I probably didn't go back and spellcheck/proofread it!