So, I'm sitting here for 2 hours in the staff lounge making myself available to the students at the college, t help them with their lesson plan assignments. And... going on about 1 hour and 45 minutes, I have had one student come to me! So, lucky for me I have been wasting time away on the internet thanks to Andy and his counterpart in getting the staff lounge decrepit computers back and running... now if only the power would stay on...
Like I said I have had plenty of time to browse around, and sometimes I like to go to other Peace Corps blogs and read up on what other people are doing. While doing this I came upon another blog, revisiting their packing list now that they are in country. And came upon the sentence that I regret listening to before I came here.. You can get skirts made here that will be better than anything you can bring from the states. Yeah right!
Don't get me wrong, one of my many pleasures here has been getting clothes made,.. but unless you want to go hop on your bike in a ankle length wrap skirt, you need to invest in some good practical skirts from the states! Part of the problem is getting the taylors here to make "American" style clothing. They don't like to touch your body in places that are required to measure if you want things to fit how your used to it, especially if it is a man, (a majority of the tailors are men). Even if you manage to bring in a template.. they will always manage to make it a little less than perfect, especially if you have to rely on a village tailor. If you live in the city area, you might get lucky, but they are generally 1) way more expensive 2) have a lot more work to do, so they will inevitably take longer and 3) you will have to travel to the city to pick it up, and in my experiences, they will never have it the day that they will tell you.
The most useful and wearable skirt that I brought with me here is the brown linen shin length skirt. Though it is now seriously faded from rough washing and African sun, I still wear it all the time.
Another thing is that I have the resource of great second hand piles in Brikama market, but though they are cheap,.. and you inevitably end up not caring what you look like to other people, it is hard to find things that are great fits!
Anyhow,.. just wanted to put the word out, to any potential volunteers here, because I don't want you to fall into the same trap!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Sorry for the wait
Ok, so I have slacked a little on the blog writing, but I've really been busy, plus, I think people take the information for granted! Like, they get to hear all about what I'm doing, but I never hear from them! hehe Anyhow, classes at the college are going well, though the spring term is notoriously slack and short. I am doing my best to make it work, and help the student learn as much as they can in the time we have. The nursery school work is going very well too, I feel I am making progress with the teachers, we are getting more organized, and making plans.
The weather has been warming up, (not all too slowly either, one day it's cool during the day, the next it was hot!) But we are looking forward to rain (and mango season) after this extended period of hot and dry.
I recently made a trip up to a place in the Central river region of the country to visit a friend. She lives on an island called Janjanbureh. It's a cool place, it was my first time traveling up there, so Andy and I went together across the ferry from Banjul (the capital) and stayed a night together in a place on the north bank called Farafenni to visit our friend Josiah. We had a good time there together on Friday night, and then on Saturday morning, I went on further up country to Janjanbureh while Andy stayed another night in Farafenni.
Janjanbureh was nice, it was exciting to see the other parts of the country, hang out with Blair and other volunteers.
The trip there and back had the typical travel folleys that your encounter here; flat tire, police checkpoint hassles (not with me, but with locals if they don't have id), very slow and scarry ferry boats, car drivers that tell you they are going one place, and then stop at an earlier destination so you have to switch cars or find another car, etc. But traveling here in the country, even through all the challenges is ok, even for women traveling alone, especially if you can speak the local language, because people will always make sure you are going to the right place, paying the right amount, etc.
Another thing about traveling here is that at most points there is always fantastic street food to grab on the go. The reason I think it is fantastic is because it is what you would usually consider health food. While sitting on a gelley waiting for it to fill up with passengers to go, you can call a guy over to get some cocounut, oranges, peanuts, a slice or watermelon, fruit icees, etc. It is great, and you don't have that after Wendy's sick feeling when you are road-tripping and you grab something from the drive-through. I wish traveling in the US was like that in that you could grab real "fast food" from fruit and veggies vendors everywhere.
Thank you again to all those who have sent us packages for the holiday and otherwise! We appreciate it.
I don't have much else to write about right now, but questions are always welcomed from you to help me along in explaining our time here.
The weather has been warming up, (not all too slowly either, one day it's cool during the day, the next it was hot!) But we are looking forward to rain (and mango season) after this extended period of hot and dry.
I recently made a trip up to a place in the Central river region of the country to visit a friend. She lives on an island called Janjanbureh. It's a cool place, it was my first time traveling up there, so Andy and I went together across the ferry from Banjul (the capital) and stayed a night together in a place on the north bank called Farafenni to visit our friend Josiah. We had a good time there together on Friday night, and then on Saturday morning, I went on further up country to Janjanbureh while Andy stayed another night in Farafenni.
Janjanbureh was nice, it was exciting to see the other parts of the country, hang out with Blair and other volunteers.
The trip there and back had the typical travel folleys that your encounter here; flat tire, police checkpoint hassles (not with me, but with locals if they don't have id), very slow and scarry ferry boats, car drivers that tell you they are going one place, and then stop at an earlier destination so you have to switch cars or find another car, etc. But traveling here in the country, even through all the challenges is ok, even for women traveling alone, especially if you can speak the local language, because people will always make sure you are going to the right place, paying the right amount, etc.
Another thing about traveling here is that at most points there is always fantastic street food to grab on the go. The reason I think it is fantastic is because it is what you would usually consider health food. While sitting on a gelley waiting for it to fill up with passengers to go, you can call a guy over to get some cocounut, oranges, peanuts, a slice or watermelon, fruit icees, etc. It is great, and you don't have that after Wendy's sick feeling when you are road-tripping and you grab something from the drive-through. I wish traveling in the US was like that in that you could grab real "fast food" from fruit and veggies vendors everywhere.
Thank you again to all those who have sent us packages for the holiday and otherwise! We appreciate it.
I don't have much else to write about right now, but questions are always welcomed from you to help me along in explaining our time here.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Happy Birthday!
Happy (early) Birthday Dad!
Just in case I don't get a chance to talk to you this weekend!
20 plus some odd years... and still going strong! hehe
Just in case I don't get a chance to talk to you this weekend!
20 plus some odd years... and still going strong! hehe
TGIF-Thank Gambia It's Friday
On Fridays in the Gambia people mostly cut out early because Friday prayer is at 2 o'clock.... so schools are only half days, and a lot of businesses are closed... sometimes that's nice because for those of us that don't go to the mosque we sometimes get out of work earlier . :)
So, classes at the college were scheduled to start this week.... But..... being that it is Gambia, no one really had classes I think... except for me! :) Well, Tuesday I went for the one class I was scheduled to have, but of course, ... should have known,... that no one would be there. Wednesday I had two classes scheduled, one in the morning, and one in the late afternoon... I think I caught some students unaware that were here to register, by having classes that first class, but of course in the afternoon no one came. This morning, I had two remaining classes back to back and I had fairly good attendance in the first and minimal in the second.... The problem is that the students have to come register in person, and there are always long lines, and problems, so, no one ends up really holding classes that first week.. Well, being the type A-(for American!) that I am,.. I just get a little confused about when exactly we are supposed to start if it's not when it says on the schedule...... Other than the minimal attendance, the classes went really well, so hopefully the influx of students next class won't change that.
Well, Andy and I have recently received many packages from you generous and caring people in the states. We really do appreciate those nice little treats from home, even though I am afraid that because we have so many treats that I will start to balloon up! hehe..
Yesterday, I didn't have classes at the college so I went to the nursery school early, then caught another gelley to keep on going to the peace corps office. Once there, I did some internet stuff, grabbed some more reading material, found our packages in the mailroom (!) and then hung around until Andy came into town. We were meeting a volunteer and her friend that came to visit from America. So we went to dinner and came back fairly late for us, catching a gelley after a little wait at around 9. When we got home (I hadn't been home since 7:30 am) it was about 10 and we still had to take our bucket baths (brrrr cold!) so it was nice to make tea after and open some Christmas gifts. Cozy Cozy.. It's so funny, because now we have a thermometer and can really see that we are cold when it is literally 70 degrees, because our bodies have adjust so much to being at about 100+
Well, I think that's about it for now, ... I have some random projects planned for this weekend... I want to try my hand at cooking some more things in the solar cooker (I think maybe beans this weekend), make some more tortillas (this time we will triple the recipe! Because they never seem to last long!) I really like finding things to make from scratch in the solar cooker.. I am looking for simple recipes for things I can find in the market to make, like breads, beans, etc., (only problem is lack of spices) so if you have a good simple recipe let me know!
I got some parsley seeds and want to plant them (though, I'm not sure about where they will be able to get sun because we don't have a back yard... or place that is protected from goats that we could put it out in) and maybe visit some local areas and volunteers.
Well, Andy has put up some more pictures recently of bee keeping activities, so make sure to keep checking it out.
Have a nice weekend,.. hope to hear from you!
So, classes at the college were scheduled to start this week.... But..... being that it is Gambia, no one really had classes I think... except for me! :) Well, Tuesday I went for the one class I was scheduled to have, but of course, ... should have known,... that no one would be there. Wednesday I had two classes scheduled, one in the morning, and one in the late afternoon... I think I caught some students unaware that were here to register, by having classes that first class, but of course in the afternoon no one came. This morning, I had two remaining classes back to back and I had fairly good attendance in the first and minimal in the second.... The problem is that the students have to come register in person, and there are always long lines, and problems, so, no one ends up really holding classes that first week.. Well, being the type A-(for American!) that I am,.. I just get a little confused about when exactly we are supposed to start if it's not when it says on the schedule...... Other than the minimal attendance, the classes went really well, so hopefully the influx of students next class won't change that.
Well, Andy and I have recently received many packages from you generous and caring people in the states. We really do appreciate those nice little treats from home, even though I am afraid that because we have so many treats that I will start to balloon up! hehe..
Yesterday, I didn't have classes at the college so I went to the nursery school early, then caught another gelley to keep on going to the peace corps office. Once there, I did some internet stuff, grabbed some more reading material, found our packages in the mailroom (!) and then hung around until Andy came into town. We were meeting a volunteer and her friend that came to visit from America. So we went to dinner and came back fairly late for us, catching a gelley after a little wait at around 9. When we got home (I hadn't been home since 7:30 am) it was about 10 and we still had to take our bucket baths (brrrr cold!) so it was nice to make tea after and open some Christmas gifts. Cozy Cozy.. It's so funny, because now we have a thermometer and can really see that we are cold when it is literally 70 degrees, because our bodies have adjust so much to being at about 100+
Well, I think that's about it for now, ... I have some random projects planned for this weekend... I want to try my hand at cooking some more things in the solar cooker (I think maybe beans this weekend), make some more tortillas (this time we will triple the recipe! Because they never seem to last long!) I really like finding things to make from scratch in the solar cooker.. I am looking for simple recipes for things I can find in the market to make, like breads, beans, etc., (only problem is lack of spices) so if you have a good simple recipe let me know!
I got some parsley seeds and want to plant them (though, I'm not sure about where they will be able to get sun because we don't have a back yard... or place that is protected from goats that we could put it out in) and maybe visit some local areas and volunteers.
Well, Andy has put up some more pictures recently of bee keeping activities, so make sure to keep checking it out.
Have a nice weekend,.. hope to hear from you!
Friday, January 4, 2008
Happy New Year!
Hey, Happy Birthday David! hehe
and Happy Anniversary (you know who you are!)
Well, now it is officially 2008. Andy and I didn't do much for New Years. We hung out with another volunteer for a little bit, but then came back home. Andy had bought these little fireworks at a bitik in Sera Kunda when we were there for Christmas, and he had about 2 left. He set them off, and the kids stood around and watched. It was funny though, because it was only 10 o'clock. After that took 2 seconds, (the grandma aka: Mama, cheered for Andy when he set off the fireworks and thanked him as she sat in her normal spot on the porch. It was funny.), we went inside our house and tried to stay awake till 12, which we successfully did by making some tea and eating some stollen Andy's mom sent us (Thank You! For everything!).
I have been busy working on various things for work. I have all my lessons completed and typed, along with my syllabus. This term, I had to find a solution to the problem of having 350 plus students, and needing to get information to them to read. Because the college doesn't have textbooks, that usually could be dealt with by giving handouts, but there is no way I could make that many copies. On top of all that, I don't have a permanent office here at the college (still haven't found that empty closet I could fit a desk in!) So I have decided to make a binder, put some copies of the articles in sheet protectors and have the binder up at the library. The students will be able to sign out the article they need, make any notes they want, return it for others to use during the week before they see me again, and it will be available during more hours that I would even be if I did have an office.
The school term starts next week. It seems like it is going to be hard to get back into the groove of going to work, because of all the holidays, plus the randomly declared national holidays here. I am apprehensive about the new term (not really sure I have it in me to teach another term!) but at the same time, when I go through what I have planned I am optimistic that it will be a good learning experience for the students at the college and that it will work out. It reminds me of the phenomenon like when you hike up a mountain or some other physically and/or mentally painful event (childbirth comes to mind, though not from experience!) and you tend to forget all that pain once you are past it, and you want to climb another mountain! (or have another child!)
Andy went to the beekeepers late the other night. They went at night to harvest honey at the bee's calmest time, but he still ended up with 20 plus stings in various places, but came home very excited about it, and I think exhilarated by finally getting to experience the harvesting. Along with the excitement, he also brought home a cup of freshly harvested honeycomb. Yum!
And, Dad, he got some use out of the sun hat you sent me, it is apparently great for wearing under the bee suit!
Well, I feel like I'm kind of running on fumes with what to say here, so, questions/comments would probably do some good from you readers. *It is amazing how normal everything feels here, how if someone came to visit, it would take me a while to realize something wasn't normal for them in any given situation here. So, being that way, it is harder to come up with "interesting" things to write about.
Wish me luck for the start of classes next week!
Later.
and Happy Anniversary (you know who you are!)
Well, now it is officially 2008. Andy and I didn't do much for New Years. We hung out with another volunteer for a little bit, but then came back home. Andy had bought these little fireworks at a bitik in Sera Kunda when we were there for Christmas, and he had about 2 left. He set them off, and the kids stood around and watched. It was funny though, because it was only 10 o'clock. After that took 2 seconds, (the grandma aka: Mama, cheered for Andy when he set off the fireworks and thanked him as she sat in her normal spot on the porch. It was funny.), we went inside our house and tried to stay awake till 12, which we successfully did by making some tea and eating some stollen Andy's mom sent us (Thank You! For everything!).
I have been busy working on various things for work. I have all my lessons completed and typed, along with my syllabus. This term, I had to find a solution to the problem of having 350 plus students, and needing to get information to them to read. Because the college doesn't have textbooks, that usually could be dealt with by giving handouts, but there is no way I could make that many copies. On top of all that, I don't have a permanent office here at the college (still haven't found that empty closet I could fit a desk in!) So I have decided to make a binder, put some copies of the articles in sheet protectors and have the binder up at the library. The students will be able to sign out the article they need, make any notes they want, return it for others to use during the week before they see me again, and it will be available during more hours that I would even be if I did have an office.
The school term starts next week. It seems like it is going to be hard to get back into the groove of going to work, because of all the holidays, plus the randomly declared national holidays here. I am apprehensive about the new term (not really sure I have it in me to teach another term!) but at the same time, when I go through what I have planned I am optimistic that it will be a good learning experience for the students at the college and that it will work out. It reminds me of the phenomenon like when you hike up a mountain or some other physically and/or mentally painful event (childbirth comes to mind, though not from experience!) and you tend to forget all that pain once you are past it, and you want to climb another mountain! (or have another child!)
Andy went to the beekeepers late the other night. They went at night to harvest honey at the bee's calmest time, but he still ended up with 20 plus stings in various places, but came home very excited about it, and I think exhilarated by finally getting to experience the harvesting. Along with the excitement, he also brought home a cup of freshly harvested honeycomb. Yum!
And, Dad, he got some use out of the sun hat you sent me, it is apparently great for wearing under the bee suit!
Well, I feel like I'm kind of running on fumes with what to say here, so, questions/comments would probably do some good from you readers. *It is amazing how normal everything feels here, how if someone came to visit, it would take me a while to realize something wasn't normal for them in any given situation here. So, being that way, it is harder to come up with "interesting" things to write about.
Wish me luck for the start of classes next week!
Later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)