New Home, New Life...

Training is winding down and I am officially finished with all training sessions and activities. Tomorrow morning at 9:00 am I will be sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer at the U.S. Ambassador's house, beachside. Hard to believe that I have already been in The Gambia for two months. When I first arrived, swearing in seemed so far off and almost unattainable. Now I look back and I can't believe where the time has gone and that I am about to head off to my permanent site for my 3 Month Challenge in just two days.

Just to give you all a little idea of my milestones thus far:
1.) I don't cringe or gag when red meat is in the same food bowl as my rice and vegetables.
2.) I have discovered that I have a irrational fear of birds - pigeons, chickens, etc. If it flies and is in close proximity I freak out.
3.) Rats and lizards scurrying through my roof while I try to fall asleep is no cause for alarm.
4.) I can function and not look perpetually confused in a conversation when the highlight of a conversation revolves consists of "you're sitting, yes I am sitting."
5.) Bucket bathing is actually wonderfully refreshing and I take about 3 a day
6.) I happily munch on fish bones and scales and chalk it up to a good source of calcium
7.) I firmly believe that my mosquito net will protect me from any menacing night creature that sneaks into my house
8.) I have killed a snake with a bucket.
9.) 50 dalasi is now considered terribly expensive (the current exchange rate is $1 to 27.50 D)
10.) I can exchange pleasantries in Wollof and understand most of what is being said around me!

I am sure many more milestones will come as the months progress and I get more assimilated into my community and school. As promised I will update everyone as best I can on my future place of residence for the next two years.....

As I said in my early post, the name of my town is Njongon and it is located on the North Bank and is about 30 minutes from the beach. The population of the town is around 2000 and the ethnic makeup is primarily Sereer and Wollof. The community is predominately Muslim but there is also a rather large (for The Gambia) catholic mission in town that runs the basic cycle school (grades 1-9) and the nursery school.

My host family is a Sereer family so in addition to mastering Wollof I am going to try to pick up some Sereer so I can converse with my host father and mother. Sidenote on my host father - he resembles Charles Taylor (the Librarian dictator) and wears a kick ass pair of aviators and a tye-dye scarf at all times - the combination is pure comedy. My host family, like all people in this country, are wonderfully warm and inviting and immediately made me feel at home. They also check up on me and are concerned with how I am doing and if I am eating enough. It's really sweet. My host family consists of my host father, Pa Saine; my host mother Ya Boi; older host sister, Ansel; younger host sister, Yemen; and younger host brother, Ousman. It is a pretty small family by Gambian standards and the majority of children are grown - Yemen and Ousman are grandchildren that have come to Njongon to attend the mission school. Another tidbit about my family that differentiates them from almost everyone in The Gambia is that they are catholic. It should be interesting to discover the interplay between Catholics and Muslims on a micro level in a small town. From what I have seen so far Gambians are amazingly tolerant and peaceful and always go out of their way to avoid confrontation so I can't imagine I will encounter much animosity. Another funny sidenote: in Gambia the code phrase for "alcohol is allowed in my house" is "I live with a Christian family." So needless to say my compound is likely to be a popular stop over for passing through volunteers.

Living in Njongon won't be all fun and games and getting to know the religious minority of The Gambia - it will also consist of a lot of work since I am officially "on-duty" 7 days a week. My official title is Teacher Trainer at IT Consultant at St. Michaels Basic Cycle School. So what this big title means is that I am in working with Gambian counterparts at my school to update and organize the library and train staff and students to properly care for and use computers. The school currently has about 6 computers that are very old but hopefully operable and close to twenty type writers. There is no electricity in Njongon so the computers run off a generator that requires very expensive fuel. From what I understand, it is a constant struggle to pay for the fuel to turn the computers on so that the students and staff can actually work on the computers. Right now I am really interested in researching the feasibility for solar power to replace the generator and want to look into getting a grant from a NGO or cooperation to fund the project. I still have to talk to my headmaster and see if he is on board with the idea and if it is what is best for the school - but I think it could be really cool. So we shall see. If anyone knows anything about solar power, send the info my way!

In addition to the computer lab I am working in the library to get some more updated books, especially science, culturally relevant fiction and easy readers. The library is actually in pretty good condition and the school seems to be using it very effectively. It is always packed with students when there are free periods which is exceptional here since a lot of people don't fully seem to grasp the concept of libraries and their purpose. There is already a Gambian librarian so I don't anticipate that I will to much of my focus will be on the library, but I am excited to help out and improve it a little more.

I will also most likely be working with other volunteers in the area to coordinate and carry out teacher training workshops for the schools in my region. I am not sure what topics we will cover yet as we need to observe and evaluate what the needs and wants of the teachers. And as if all that isn't enough, I may also get involved in the Girl's Club at St. Michaels to do some female empowerment, income generation and life skills education.

All in all I am really excited about the work I have ahead of me and can't wait to get to site and get started with the work at school and getting to know everyone in my community. I have 3 other volunteers in towns that are very close to me so I will definilty have friendly faces around whenever I need some "American time." Next time I have a chance to get to internet I will be sure to try and post some pictures of my town, school and compound so everyone can get an idea of my day to day scenery. I am not sure when I will next have access to internet as I am supposed to stay within a 10 k radius of my site during 3 Month Challenge but I will see if I can swing it. So don't be alarmed if I am MIA for a bit. You can get in touch with my on my cell phone at 220-783-8650 as long as I have network which tends to be a bit shotty.

Check out Evan's blog for some sweet photos from training village in Sare Samba (link on the left)!!!

Jamma rek! (Peace Only!)