Pictures...

Bella boo.

buzzards.

Maiyo helping us cut up the snake meat over the pit latrine. sanitary, I know.

went on a hike with Bella boo, and came across this :o]

The snake meat. I am shuddering as I write this.

Pleasure & Pain

The past few days have been spent in Jessi's village, Sibanor. What a beautiful village it is! Besides being enormous, her family & friends are incredibly welcoming and not one person asked me to buy them something. Ha! That's huge!

We biked over to her friend's house the other day and became involved in a pretty intense conversation in Mandinka about sex. I realize that this may not be appropriate to write about in a blog, but between the two of us, we were pretty proud of ourselves. We first started talking about birth control and let her friend know of options she has, then we maneuvered into sexual intercourse and The Gambia. From what we could gather, it is all about the man, and nothing with the women. I realize that FGM is alive here and that could be a major stipulation, but Jessi and I tried talking to her, telling her to talk with her husband, encourage a more open relationship, and to not be afraid to tell him how she feels. She took everything we had to say more seriously than I thought she would, and we left with smiles on our faces.

Next day, we decided to henna our feet. I thought this would be great, I could go home with orange feet and cool designs, and Jessi could become a more 'Gambian woman.'

We arrived at 7pm. Oumi worked soooo hard on my feet, but the tape we had brought was useless and didn't stick that well. After she applied the henna, she stuck my foot in a plastic bag, duct taped it to my leg, then stuffed my foot into a knee-high sock. At this point, I had to pee pretty badly, but her house was full with 4 other women and 6 kids, plus Jessi & I. Finally I begged her to let me go to the bathroom, and she scolded me, saying I couldn't stand or my henna would be ruined.

Sure enough, her mother waltzes in with a tomato paste can.

I kind of stare at her, thinking I've got it all wrong. Nope. She wants me to hover over it and pee.

She ushers all the kids out and I am still sitting on the floor, wondering how I'm going to get my pants down, much less hover over a tin can and NOT get pee all over the floor. I somehow managed it. The women came back in laughing and Oumi's mum whisked the can away.

Then we ate coos and milk. And I got sick the next morning.

And we hobbled home on our feet... so this is what they now look like :

No, it's not gangrene. We are just clearly very much Toubabs still.

Back to Bumari

[Ash & I on the beach during our sector's one year anniversary in the Gambia]

I had the opportunity to go back to my training village today, and I took it. Brendan & I hopped in the Peace Corps car and I anxiously fidgeted the entire ride down. When we finally arrived, it was as if I had come home. I remember thinking to myself, When did this place become my home? And then I began debating my decision to go home for Christmas... which is really insane, if you think about it. But maybe in a good way? :o]

So we climb out of the car and walk into my old compound, which is right on the main road. My host father, Jatta, was laying on his prayer mat but immediately sat up when he saw me and started shouting, "Saatu! Saatu!" We then greeted each other, he complimented me on my Mandinka, then turns to Brendan and proceeds to say, "Seikou, when Saatu first got here, she was big and strong. Now, she is not...?" Then he turns to me, "Saatu, are they feeding you?" ...what a wonderful, wonderful man. He sent one of his oldest sons to buy gas so we could turn the generator on that night.

I ended up sleeping with Brendan in his compound. They made me this nice bed on the floor and while I was worried about mice, I slept like a rock. Before we crashed, Brendan wanted to take pictures of a controlled fire on the road into Bumari. We were out there watching this beautiful flame grow in the night, licking at the shadows of a baobob tree, looking as if it were reaching for the stars. I sat on a log and just watched the embers glow as the flames went out. It was beautiful. I had 3 children on either side of me, each just sitting, one holding my hand, the other 2 just talking quietly amongst themselves, and I observed the gray ash smoke against the blue of the night. And I felt renewed.

Days like these are blessings. I hope to never forget them, or the feeling I have in my heart right now.



[Jax dancing on the beach with cows in the background. Oh, Africa...]

Pictures

Dust Storm

I traveled into Basse the other day with a fellow PCV, Bjorn, as we were planning on taking a trip to Senegal with a few other volunteers. We headed into the main part of Basse to meet up with Tyler at the car park when he decided he wanted to go to the house to shower after traveling all day. He walked off down the crowded street of donkey carts, people, taxis, geles, and motorbikes. Within 3 minutes, Bjorn and I saw people sprinting in every direction with cardboard boxes, yelling about something, and watched as shop owners locked up their bitiks. We turned around simultaneously.

"What IS that?" I asked, peering down the street. My eyesight is notoriously terrible, but from the looks of it, we had a wall of sand headed our way.

Within seconds, Bjorn had turned his back to the storm quickly on top of us and I was crowded up in front of him. The wind seemed to be coming from all directions and I could not see ANYTHING. It was as if we were encased in sand and I had no idea what was happening.

Next thing I know, a truck had pulled up to us and Bjorn was pushing me into it. I was completely covered in sand... I had it in my eyes, ears, mouth, all over my body, some was sinking into my bag... it was absolutely insane. I loved it.

The Rain in Spain...

                             [Jessi & I at the dolphin show at the Madrid Zoo! FANTASTIC!]
     [Jessi, Whitney & I before going to see "Carmen: The Flamenco Ballet." It was amazing!]
 [Strange creatures in the square... these people are everywhere! The rabbit scared me. I had to walk very quickly away.]

...hasn't fallen at all!

This place is so strikingly beautiful. Everywhere we go, we see couples in love. It's so wonderful to witness! Except for the ones who decide to get a little frisky on the beach... notice bottom photo for an example of that. We have spent a lot of time walking, eating, sleeping, drinking delicious wine, walking some more, falling asleep on park benches, grass, cement blocks, the metro... oh wait, that's just me. I really think I have narcolepsy... must figure that out when I get back to The Gambia! 

INTERESTING THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED IN SPAIN:

1. Freaking out about seeing McDonald's then promptly having a photo shoot at 5am. Tammy & I both nearly teared up over our meals. Then I immediately had diarrhea. Standard.
2. Stepping onto the Metro and greeting everyone with a big "Salaam maaleekum." It was very embarrassing.
3. Speaking Mandinka and not Spanish. It happens ALL THE TIME!
4. Going to the zoo with Jessi and watching her ask the man, "If we rent a buggy, do we have to be disabled?" After having rented the buggy, she attempted driving it down a wheelchair ramp and broke the fence on top of getting stuck. A nice Spanish dad helped us push it back up the hill and his daughter sobbed the entire time.
5. Watching the people be painted with silver and gold paint and then taking pictures of them as they pretend to be statues.
6. Getting free shots everywhere! What is the sense in that?! Do people know we are poor? We sure aren't attractive OR clean! OR healthy, for that matter.

[the south of France... yes, I went there! For free! I'm so lucky!]
[beautiful San Sebastian... again, I could live here]
[ a couple getting it on on the beach!!!! yikesers.]

Time To Catch Up...

[first stop in Spain? MCDONALD'S! Tammy & I had an entire photo shoot at 5:00am. It was fantastical.]

It has been much too long since I have sat down and written a decent blog post... so I will begin with our trip to Dakar. As my family so conveniently realized after they landed in Senegal, Air Senegal was bankrupt and there were no flights into Banjul. The crew decided to leave at 5:30am to make sure we made it on the first ferry and into Dakar. We flew out of Senegal at 10:20pm, so we were giving ourselves quite a bit of leeway.

Everything went perfectly, including the horse cart all 7 of us took across the border. We were piled on the wooden crate [literally, that's what it looked like] with an enormous mountain of luggage. I felt really bad for the horse.

I slept in the car into Senegal with my head nearly out the window. When we finally got to Dakar around 5:00pm, I used the bathroom and my entire face was gray thanks to the filth that is pollution/exhaust/dirt. I looked like Bert from Mary Poppins.





Anyway. We get on the plane, all of us are ecstatic, including Tammy who was vomiting yellow froth in the bathroom thanks to the Doxy [it's okay, she ate 2 airplane meals later on, including my turkey]. Never have I been so happy to be on a plane, even though our meal was cous and turkey... of course I devoured the cous and wouldn't touch the turkey. I had some leftover water in my cup so I decided to wash my white headband in it... not thinking anything strange of it until Jessi starts elbowing me and Tammy starts laughing hysterically. But it worked! It was clean!

We arrive in Spain and our first stop is McDonald's, of course. Hotcakes? I THINK SO! Absolutely delicious, even though they don't have syrup here. I was absolutely okay with it.

[Jessi & I after our new haircuts in Madrid! The woman worked miracles!]

Family Was Here!

I just spent the last 2 and a half weeks with my incredible family. I am awaiting Marsey Jo's email from the book/journal she kept while they were here. It was pretty amazing to have them experience The Gambia with me. I wanted to post a few pictures while I had the chance... I am currently sitting in the Dakar airport with 6 other amazing PCV's. We are on our way to Spain! Where I will be clean [let's hope], slow down the diarrhea [probably will get worse... what up Mickey Dee's], and attempt to dress pretty [again, not going to happen]. ALSO, our hostel has wireless, so I will be able to write more about what it was like to have my family here.

Now, the girls want to check their email/facebook. It's amazing how fast wireless is here! I am in awe.

[and as far as the sleeping-on-the-boat picture goes, I don't sleep a lot here, but yet narcolepsy hits me at the most random places. Nice.]

Dean... you can't swim!

Today, I biked the 40km to Basse so that I could visit friends and pick up more stuff for the Nursery School/talk with people at specific offices here about maybe getting a new well put in the women’s garden at Kuraw.

Dean Pritchard decided to follow me.

All was going well until we got to Lizzy’s village and he started favoring his back leg. Liz and I were really pushing ourselves and made it to Basse in a little over 2 hours… last time we made the trek it was over 3 hours. So Dean is hopping along behind us on 3 legs and I’m thinking, okay, I have this manorexic dog with 3 legs who won’t stop following me… oh well, at least he’ll turn around once we hit the river.

Wrong. Dead wrong.

Dean climbs up on one of the metal canoe boats as we drift off to cross the river. “Bye Dean!” I yell, “See you in 2 days!” What does he do? LEAPS off the boat and into the water. He starts pawing ferociously at the water, making this terrible thumping noise every time his front 2 paws hit the water.

Liz starts laughing and I start to panic.

“What kind of dog doesn’t know how to swim?!” I say, yelling. Our boat man is just laughing and says, “Why, look. This dog really likes you. He is trying to follow.” Well no kidding, buddy. At this point the dog is trying to climb up onto the boat and I could hear his nails scratching the side of it.

At this point, I am laughing and tears are streaming down my face.

“Someone help this dog!” I shout, Liz laughing in front of me as 3 boats pass us full of Gambians pointing at the dog that can’t swim. We are in the middle of the river and I notice the look on Dean’s face: pure terror. His yellow eyes were wide with complete panic and he started making this horrible whining noise… so I very nearly jump in after the son of a gun to save him… Liz holds me back.

We make it to shore, and Dean is alive. In fact, he’s currently asleep on the floor beside me, where he has been for the past 6 hours.

Forst Fyr: Git On Yor Tant

Maiyo in the garden
Amie in the garden

The walk back from the Garden :o]

Just a quick blurb before I go eat dinner with my family… was hanging out with the women next door today, playing with their babies and helping them crack peanuts when the Mosque’s PA system went off. It was 3 o’clock, NOT time for prayer, and when I asked the women what was going on, they said, “Fire comes now now.” Let me preface this by saying at 1:00 it was 120 degrees outside… so at this point it was BRUTAL and we were all dripping with sweat.

I start freaking out as large clouds of smoke billow towards Kuraw… and the women start asking me why Liz isn’t dating Bakary. Suddenly dozens of men go sprinting past the compound, machetes in hand, yelling, “We go to the bush, we fight the fire!” …with machetes. No water. I saw one bucket and it was empty [Ashley later informed me that true forest fire fighters do not use water. Shows how much I know!].

Needless to say, the fire is still burning. It is on the very outskirts of Kuraw and is quickly heading towards Diabugu. My days here are so wonderfully frightening, I don’t know how I haven’t lost my mind yet!

Oh and ps…. The dog that I named Dean Pritchard pooped out a mass of white, wriggling worms today. I almost vomited. I don’t even want to know what’s in my GI system, what with all this diarrhea I’m having.

Kuraw's on fire!

Dead Bird Number 5

[a picture of Momodou and F.O.]

Just a quick note… today was much like yesterday, although I went on trek with Ebrima, the new CHN nurse here in Kuraw. It was fun! I’m going back on Thursday for the clinic at Momadie Ceesay, a village about 8 or 9 km away.

I was just outside in my compound when Momodou [formerly known as the compound crazy] discovered a dead chicken on the side of the kitchen hut. As he picked it up and said, “Isa! A jiibe!” [Look!], all I could think was, ‘that thing better not have had the bird flu.’ Noticing Senne [age 2], Lamin [age 4], and Sirra [also age 4], Momodou decided to have fun and began chasing them with the dead bird. I was horrified. The body was stiff and yet its’ head was still bobbing around. Around and around they all went, the younger children screaming and Momodou drooling/laughing. I began to get nauseated with the sight and told him to stop. What does he do? He begins chasing a sheep, flinging out the chicken to hit the poor thing with it. I tell him to throw the bird… and he does, directly at the sheep. Mid-air, one wing and the head flies off. I was so appalled I started laughing and couldn’t stop… in fact, I am still laughing now. It was grotesque and morbid and hilarious all at the same time. Oh, Africa… you are too wonderful.

THE CARPENTER.

Can't tell me this isn't hot for 10am.


The Nursery School!

Today was very, very busy. I got up at 7 to go for my usual morning run and then weighed babies all morning. RCH Clinics are always hectic but today was extra wonderful because it was here in Kuraw, and it showed me just how many people I actually know in this village.

After having lunch, I rounded up the village children so that we could go to the carpenter’s to get the furniture for the nursery school project I am working on. After hunting down the carpenter and him yelling at me for an average of 7 minutes and 32 seconds, the kids piled into his backyard and immediately began hefting the benches and tables. It was quite the sight to see! I lagged behind at the back of the train, and as I carried the end of the bench around the corner, I looked in front of me. Stretching about a tenth of a mile were children and furniture galore. I stopped, completely taken with the sight in front of me… thus causing the bench to fall as well as the children helping me carry it. They all shouted exclaims of surprise, but I just stood there. In the distance, I saw 5 boys struggling with the extra-large table by the pump. Behind them were two girls balancing chairs on their heads. Next in line were about 9 pre-school age children attempting to drag Bench #2… and I followed with Bench #1. Edrissa and Elijie [2 high school boys] came out of my compound and immediately helped the younger children with Bench #2. It was just another one of those moments where I was almost overtaken with joy. I cannot describe it, but The Gambia is really helping me to appreciate the small things in life.

The Fight!

Ashley’s village is too fun.

We sat at the gele stop this morning, awaiting a gele from Bansang, when two men start yelling at each other [must mention that if they were in America, chances of them being in a nursing home are high]. They start shaking fists at each other and one man yells, “YOU LIKE TO FIGHT! YOU JUST LIKE TO FIGHT!” as he swings his fist at him. It was quite entertaining. The entire village comes running and Ashley & I are just sitting on the bantaba, gaping. Rubben Studdard showed up, trying to get in between the old geezers and instead falls on his rear. Then Ashley’s host brother shows up with a tray full of meat and what was in the middle? A dog paw. He decided to sell them while the fight was going on.

And yet, I find all of this to be completely normal.

Hellakunda & The Goat

I am still in Ashley’s village & loving it! We went to the Life Skills Center to brew/drink attaya and I also charged my cell phone. Pondo [short for Ponderosa Pine!![, Ashley’s puppy, came along with us. We were all sitting outside chatting when a baby goat wanders in. He looked like an oreo, which of course got me hungry. Pondo decided to make friends with the goat, so they are frolicking about the front yard and we are all watching and laughing, enjoying the not-so-hot afternoon. Suddenly, Momma Goat saunters in. She is a BIG lady. She doesn’t like Pondo chasing around Oreo so she comes up to Pondo and head-butts him, then runs off behind the Center. Pondo just looks around, obviously having no idea what had just happened to him.

“Hey Ash,” I say. “Let’s catch Oreo and teach Momma a lesson.”
BAD IDEA. I creep up behind Oreo [who is atop a pile of logs] and get him by the back hoof. He starts SCREECHING as I scoop him up under one arm. Ashley yells, “Look out behind you!” and I see Momma come tearing around the corner of the house. I start to run [which isn’t easy, as I am wearing a Bob Marley wrap skirt], start tripping all over the place, notice that the goat is about to kill me, drop Oreo, and hop on the porch. Ash is still standing in the yard as Momma Goat turns to Pondo and starts attacking him. I flip out, Ashley is screaming, Pondo is crying because he is trapped between the ground and Momma Goat’s horns, Oreo has no idea what’s going on, the Gambians on the porch are running towards us and suddenly Ashley sprints towards the goat and grabs her by the back leg, screaming, “YOU STOP KNOCKING MY DOG!” She LIFTS the goat off the ground by one leg, I grab Pondo, and she drags the goat out of the compound. I am not sure how good of a job I did detailing this, but I wish I had a camera rolling.

Needless to say, we taught Momma a lesson.

Trip Back from Kombo

To preface this, some pictures from the cliff in Kombo where I go running: Stunning, isn't it??





Oh, good Lord. Where do I start? Lizzy found out around 10am that she was going to have to stay on medhold, so I decided to hitch a ride with Peter back up river. We didn’t end up leaving Kombo until noon, and by this point, I was regretting going, as we were taking the south bank [I live on the north bank], we were stopping in Bansang [not really close to Kuraw], and I had nowhere to sleep. Then we reached Bumari, my training village.

I am leaning out of the back of the land cruiser, scanning both compounds my family lived in: empty. I hop to the other side of the vehicle to peer into the road that leads into Bumari, and I see my mama musoo walking. I yanked open the window and leaned over Amber and yelled to her. She came rushing up, grabbing my hand through the window, not even greeting me but almost scolding me, saying, “Where have you been? We MISS you!” And I start crying again, my heart completely swelled up with missing my old family, and suddenly I hear, “Saatu?” I whip my head around, and there is Ousman’s mom! I literally scream and crawl over James, grabbing ahold of her hand and at this point, tears are literally running down my face, I cannot speak in any Mandinka except to say, “I miss you so much, I love you very much, I really miss you” and she is saying it back, tears start forming in her eyes, and then Peter says, “KASEY WE MUST GO!” So I tell her I will see her soon, say goodbye to my mama musoo, and we drive off. I could not stop crying… I looked out the back of the vehicle and they were standing in the middle of the road waving at us.

“I’m so sorry, guys,” I choked out to James, Tavi, and Amber. “That was just… oh God… I’m so emotional.” And then I’m back to crying profusely.
“You know what? That was really neat to see,” Tavi said. And with that, I really lose it. I threw on my iPod headphones and cranked some tunes, trying to settle down.

I finally get my bearings together by the time we get to Soma. We decide to stop and get silafando for our families [a traveler’s gift]. I am standing by the land cruiser with my back to the road when I hear, “Saatu!” Mind you, I am never called Saatu in Kuraw, it is always Isatou or Isa. I whip around, and my host father from Bumari is on the other side of the road.

And the waterworks began again. ‘This is ridiculous,’ I kept thinking to myself, ‘Get yourself together!’ It was just so amazing to see them all. I felt so blessed.


So, we left Soma. The rest of the trip up country was pretty uneventful until we hit Bansang, which is very close to Marnie’s village [who was still in Kombo]. I find a gele that’s going to Basse and decide that since it’s already 6pm, it will be very dark by the time we get to Basse and I should just stay with Ashley in Helakunda. I spent 45 minutes sitting in the gele, eating pieces of pound cake and playing with the baby sitting next to me. I also admonished the 13 year old aparante for smoking cigarettes. He was not pleased with me, needless to say.

We begin our journey to Basse at a little after 7. It is starting to get dark. I am starting to panic, alone on a gele with dozens of men… but I arrive safely after breaking down twice. Thank goodness Ashley lives on the way to my home… just on the south bank :o]

[a baby fast asleep on a gele]

Stone Circles & Tears

Wow, I have already been at site for 2 months. That is astounding to me! I have been struggling trying to load my pictures on my blog, so I will try to describe my village, Kuraw. It is set back from the road; you enter it by way of a narrow, dusty path. The north bank of the Upper River Region is a region unlike any other in The Gambia. It is filled with miles and miles of African savannah… pale golden grass with the occasional large, very green tree. So you can see Kuraw from the road. It is a small village by The Gambia’s standards [about 39 compounds, approximately 550 people… make that 555 because of the 5 births that have happened since January!], but it is beautiful. I live on the edge of the village, directly across from a pump that overlooks the savannah, split only by the reddened road. It’s gorgeous. The mosque is only a few steps from my door, as well as the school for the women’s literacy program. On the winding path into Kuraw, there is a large school and immediately adjacent is the nursery school I am working on getting running. Honestly, I need to get pictures up, and stat!

Up behind the mosque there’s a small beaten down path amongst the tall grass that winds right to Kuraw’s stone circles. Again, I must get a picture :o]



I spent the other night in Lizzy’s village [truly my home away from home, her family is absolutely amazing] and had Modou pick me up on his motorbike the next morning. He took the back route [through the bush… what am I talking about, the entire URR is the bush] to Kuraw and stopped at several villages to check on projects he’s been working on. It was really fascinating to see… one Fula village was digging a new well, their goal was 43 meters… they had already reached 27 meters deep and had yet to strike water [just an example of how dry it is during the dry season!]. Crazy.

We rode through Kwonku and I was like, “Modou! My host sister is here!” A few weeks ago Manta’s mother came for a visit and brought Sene, my 2 year old babygirl, back to her village. I have been a bit lost without having her tied to my back, or banging on my door naked at 7am saying, “Isatoooooouuuuuuu!!” I immediately wanted to see her, so we hunted down Tourey Kunda and sure enough, there she was. One of the older girls carried her over to me and she reached her arms out for me and said, “Ma!” [what young children call their mothers… haha]. I literally started tearing up. Modou was standing awkwardly beside me, stammering out a, “Well, welll… shshshshshe recognized you INSTANTLY!”

I talked to her for a bit with her on my lap and then handed her back to her grandmother. We walked through the compound to Modou’s motorbike when I heard women laughing and speaking in rushed Mandinka. Modou burst out laughing, and I immediately said, “What! What are they saying?” He replied, “Sene is crying. She is saying she does not want you to go.”

Oh, for God’s sake, I started crying. Typical. The tears started streaming down my face in the middle of a country where you are not supposed to show emotion. There are 2 cats strapped to the back of Modou’s motorbike in this stupid basket thing and I’m trying to climb onto the back of it and I have snot running out of my nose and I can’t talk because I’m crying. Modou just stood there staring at me, a hot mess trying to get on a motorbike blubbering away, and he says, “Oh, oh oh Isa… Isa?” I’m like, “MODOU GET ON THE BIKE WE’RE GOING.” At this point, 2 of the girls were bringing Sene across the compound and I could see her crying and reaching her arms out for me… I just put my head down and cried into my chest. To make matters worse, I was sweating profusely and my hair was awry [again, typical]. GET ME OUT OF HERE, was all I thought.

So we drove off. I didn’t stop crying until we reached Kuraw, which is a good 45 minutes away. Talk about embarrassing. It’s the first good cry I’ve had since being here, and it had nothing to do with not being home, or missing my family. It had to do with a 2 year old who I have become incredibly attached to in under TWO MONTHS. I am doomed when I leave, doomed!


[Maiyo & my little babe, Senne]

The Kittens!

This just arrived from Kasey so am posting for all of you to enjoy.
Hi Mom! It's Lizzy Lizzy. This is from Kasey. Happy Birthday!!#



March 2nd, 2009


I am currently writing from a computer lab at a nursing school in Bansang. It's
9:00am and I can hear the sounds of the RCH clinic outside the door; screaming
babies, chattering mothers, and a chain being swung over the beam in the ceiling to
set up the scale to weigh the children. Liz and I arrived last night to stay in
Bantonto, Marnie's village, which is about 4km from Bansang. It was quite the trip
in yesterday [funny side note -- just logged into my Yahoo!email account and was
informed that it's 19 degrees at home. It's currently pushing 90 degrees here, and
only getting hotter. Surreal!]. I only have a quick minute to post this, and will be
in Kombo within a week where I will be able to write much, much more, but wanted to
let everyone know the following:

1. I am alive, and VERY well... although the other day, on a 9-hour trip to the
Married's site to get 2 kittens [due to an immense mouse problem in my hug], I
vomited out of a moving gele. Mid dry-heave I was propositioned for marriage by the
side of the car park... never have I looked better, obviously. Then Rachel drags me
onto the nicest gele I have ever seen [plush midnight-blue seats! dark silk window
curtains! a sunroof! SPEAKERS and a radio!] and I think, oh God, I'm going to vomit
all over the place. I am shoved into a seat next to a window. A beautiful Fula woman
sits beside me with her infant child. I begin sweating and shaking... the gele
starts to move, I get concerned because the woman in front of me has her arm hanging
out the window and I have no space to stick my head out. In one bold attempt I throw
open the window, stick my head out, start vomiting as all the school children
walking past scream "Toubab!" and immediately stop pointing
when they see what is happening. The baby next to me begins touching me in
inappropriate places and I can do nothing to stop it, as all I can concentrate on
is getting rid of whatever is in my stomach. The gele is moving so fast the vomit
ends up in my hair, and I am mortified. I finally pull my head back in, everyone in
the gele is asking me if I am feeling better, and the woman whose arm I pinched in
the window in front of me turns around and hands me a menthol coughdrop. I nearly
cry tears of happiness from the strangers around me.
2. I have been battling immense homesickness, but I am doing a lot better now. It
really is a rollercoaster ride.
3. Again, my hut has an insane amount of mice. I don't know what to do about it. The
kitties are smaller than the rats and spend their days sleeping, so they are of no
help. The most they do is have the runs on my bed, which I can't get mad at them
about, because my GI issues haven't exactly resolved, either.
4. My site is beautiful, breath-taking, amazing. There are unreal bush trails I can
go jogging on [where I constantly have Sting's "Fields of Gold" playing in my mind
as I pass through the wheat, unnoticed] & Amanda recently showed me how to get to a
cliff overlooking the river. The Gambia snakes its' way through villages, fields,
and trees... it was beautiful and serene. I will be going back soon.
5. I have fallen completely in love with my host family. I am not sure it's normal
to have such an attachment to them already, but I cannot imagine being without them.
They are all truly extraordinary. There is Maiyo, my 9 year old host sister, who
beats up any boy who says anything rude to me. She also knows when I need a hug or
to tell me she loves me. There is her sister, Manta, my age, who constantly thanks
me for the bra I gave her and will flash me any chance she gets. She washes that
thing every day. There is Sirra, Manta'sa 4 year old daughter, who is always by my
side wanting to help whatever I do. Senne, Manta's 2 year old daughter, is
constantly swaddled to my lower back, yelling "Ma! Ma!" while I pound rice with the
woman in the wooden mortars. Niara, the 15year old girl who is here to learn how to
cook, with her rockin' body and her soft, sad words when telling me about her
boyfriend who left to Kombo. Wuday, the amazing 16 year old girl
here to go to school, who is consistently helping me with my Mandinka and pushing
me to work harder. My host mother, Fatoumata, who brings me to every birth in the
village, whether it is 8am or 3am. Again, I am in love.

Okay, I think that's it for now. About a month ago I mailed home my flashdrive full
of pictures. I am hoping my mum will be able to post some and SOON :o] I miss
everyone terribly & hope all is well :o] Please send me emails, as I have a phone
now that allows me to check them. And thank you again for all the letters and
packages I have received, it makes the tough days seem a lot easier! I promise to
write more soon, I have a lot of stories in my head that need writing out. I just
want to say this, though... the difficulties of this have really hit me. And while I
definitely have my moments [aka crying into my bowl of oatmeal & syrup in my
backyard at 8am], I'm still here. I am STILL here, it's been almost 4 months, and
that astounds me. Also the fact that my family is coming in May is really helping!
:o]

** HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MUM! :o] I hope you don't have to work, and if you do, I hope it
goes by quickly... and that Nick takes you somewhere fabulous for dinner, YOUR
choice of course :o] I LOVE YOU!! **

I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-D

I hit intermediate mid in Mandinka and I get to swear-in and become an offical Peace Corps Volunteer on Wednesday! Everyone did, and it's so exciting. I am so proud of our group, we are all still here, which seems to be quite the feat. I seem to be so happy here, despite major setbacks. It's really amazing :o]

On a side note, some more stories. We are staying at stodge, which is the Peace Corps Transit House in Fajara [an area of Kombo]. Lizzy, Marnie and I are in a room with 2 bunkbeds. I decided to go to sleep at 9 the other night because I was wicked tired. The girls stayed out in the living room to watch tv with everyone and socialize.

Around approximately 10:13pm, I hear Matt's voice. Now, he has quite the distinguishable voice. [side info: Matt is an agfo PCV and he's downright amazing/hilarious] Our bedroom door creaks open and the light is switched on. Okay, I think. No big deal, just Lizzy or Marnie. Then the light shuts off and I hear footsteps. Then the bathroom light goes on and I hear someone urinating. I remember thinking, okay, cover it up Kase, so I threw the sheet over my body and feigned sleep.

I hear the sound of the bathroom door opening and closing, the light being turned off, and someone leaving our room. Okay, no big deal. Just Lizzy or Marnie.

Lizzy strolls in around 11:30. I have yet to really sleep at all.

"Hey Lizzy Lizzy, did you come in to go pee?" I asked.
"Uh, nope! Been out in the living room socializing." She answered.
"I'm pretty sure Matt came in here and used our bathroom," I said.
"WHAT?! No he didn't. Why would he do that, there's a bathroom right down the hall!" Lizzy replied.

Well, I thought, that's very true. I must have been dreaming.

Since the light was on anyway, I crawled off the top bunk and went into the bathroom. Sure enough, the toilet seat was up. No surprise that there was urine in the toilet bowl as well.

"Ah-HA!" I shouted. "HE DID PEE IN OUR BATHROOM!" Lizzy rushed in and this became quite the show. Matt ends up walking by our room and we yell to him. He admits to urinating in our bathroom and then explains his reasoning as to why he used ours and not any of the other 12 bathrooms in the house.

He leaves, Lizzy and I go to bed.

30 minutes later, Rachel shows up, calls us all crazy, and tries to set Lizzy's bunk on fire.

About 15 minutes after that, the door opens again.

"Who's there?!" Lizzy asks.
"It's no one," a muffled voice answers. Then the muffled voice trips over the mess in our room and the bathroom light is flung on. Sure enough, it's Matt.

[pardon the swear, mum] "Your shit is EVERYWHERE!" he shouted. "I JUST WANT TO BRUSH MY TEETH!"

Needless to say, I got no sleep and it was an amazing night. We have the best half-roommate ever. Probably not as funny as I thought it was but hey, TIA.

I'll be coming back to the office later to write more, I have some amazing pictures from our night on the town last night that I want to post :o] Miss and love you all so much!

Worried/Stressed

I just took my language test and I think I bombed it. I legitimately think I bombed it and I am freaking out. I am going to finish typing this up, wait for Liz to get done her test, and we are going over to the office so I can post this.

If I didn’t pass, I don’t swear in. That means I stay in Kombo for an extra week and I don’t want that, I will be mortified. I have to hit intermediate mid. Please pray for me…. I am hoping that the LCF’s opinion will override any mistakes I made personally, as Babucar and Bakary both talk about how I am always with my family, greeting, speaking and studying Mandinka. And that’s all I’ve done since being in Kombo, is study.

Okay, deep breath. I will live. On a lighter note, I stuck my foot in a bucket of hot salt water for 30 minutes and you’d be appalled to see the amount of pus that leaked out of the wound. It is now saturated in Neosporin and looks like someone spit on my foot. The throbbing has somewhat slowed down, so that’s good.

Okay, I’m saving this and heading to the office. I miss everyone! I hope everyone is doing amazingly :o]

More travelling and stories

Just a quick blurb about my day yesterday/today. Yesterday was just wonderful. We all awoke at the Basse house at 6:30 and traveled 2km through town [again] with all our bags [again] and grabbed a Gele to Soma on the Southbank road. That equals pure torture.

I’m beginning to think that taking Seasonique was a bad idea, as my period decided to come while I was on the gele and it was not pleasant. We were smooshed among several Gambians and I am pretty sure our driver was 15. We ended up in the African Bush and we pulled over several times so the cops could inspect our luggage [apparently there is a lot of drug smuggling over here]. After about 9 hours of driving, our gele broke down. Let me please include a picture of this scene.



If you will look to the right of the vehicle, you will see Babucar, one of our LCF’s, praying. In the middle of the street. To the left of the vehicle is our driver with our other LCF’s and a random man attempting to fix the tire. To the complete left of the picture, you see a bunch of Fula children staring at the toubabs. This was surreal. I took this picture directly after having a gardia attack behind a large baobob tree [thank you again Liz for guarding].

We climbed back onto the gele and finally made it into Soma. Let me rewind a little bit and give a little story. Approximately one week ago, a small red ant viciously attacked my second toe [yes, Marsey, the hideous ET toe that’s longer than the big toe]. It was no big deal until the past few days. By the time we got to Soma, my entire foot was swollen to twice its’ size and was red. My ankle looked like it was pregnant and my toe was throbbing. My foot was FILTHY. We hopped on a gele and rode into Kwinella… on the way there, we passed by Bambako and Bumari. I saw Mustafa! He is such a sweetie. I hung out the window to yell to him and he was like, “SAAATUUUU!!!!” and waved, despite carrying a bucket of water on his head.

I tapped Babucar on the shoulder and said, “Babucar, Ismila le?” And he was like, “A be je” [Where is Ismile? He is there only]. I was like, man. Then Babucar goes, “Ismila a fele!” and points to the road. Sure enough, he is walking in all his African glory with a few of his buddies, sees me, and does a double hand-wave. When we got back to Kwinella, Babucar called my host father and told him to send Ismila to Kwinella after 9o’clock prayer. HE CAME. He brought attaya, we all drank it, and I didn’t get to bed until 11:30. It’s rather interesting and awkward and I don’t really know what to do about it. So that is all I will say about that.

Next. Liz and I sleep on the floor that is crawling with ants. I have a bizarre dream that she’s under the bed and wake up all messed up. 5:30am comes and we leave to go to Kombo. The gele is fairly uneventful. The only thing that really happened was an insane dust storm evaded the ‘bus’ and I inhaled it all. Lungs didn’t feel so great but that’s not a big deal.

And now, here I am. Off to study for my Mandinka test! I am very tired after 3 days of insane traveling, and I am broke, so I need to find a bank as well so I can cash the 20 my gramps sent me for Christmas :o] Love you all!





a picture of Lizzy and my delicious egg sandwich! HEAVENLY.

Missing Kasey's Stories? Read This...

January 6th, 2009

Happy New Year :o]

I haven’t written in awhile because I have been so busy, but wanted a chance to write about my day today. I am currently sitting on the floor at the Peace Corps Transit House in Basse. 2 days ago, we traveled to our sites to visit before our last 10 days in Kombo/swearing-in ceremony. My host family is absolutely amazing; instead of paying rent, I will purchase a bag of rice every 2 months for the family. This is truly astounding, and I am so grateful for them. I live in a round hut, and my backyard is HUGE! I have a ton of cockroaches in my pit latrine [not the best] and I had to fix part of my fence, but that’s fine. Yesterday, I opened my door to welcome the day, and a dog comes bounding in, wagging his tail and licking at my palms. Since then, he has not left my side. He is very well-kept, with a gorgeous roan coat and pale yellow-brown eyes. He follows me about Kuraw and chases the donkeys.

Oh, before I forget --- LOADS of horses in Kuraw. That is amazing, they ride them, they treat them well, I am in heaven and plan on shipping one home. Mum, be ready.

So, onto my day today. Bakary came to my site to help negotiate with my family meals, rent, and laundry. We were told a car would be picking us up at 5:30 this morning, and to be ready. I spent the night anxiously awaiting the dawn, hearing mice scurry around my head and listening to the deep breathing of Dean Pritchard at my feet [my dog. Anyone who knows me knows where that name came from]. By the time 5:00am crawled around, my bags were packed and I was ready. I was donning pants, a tank top, a hoodie, and my raincoat. Needless to say, I thought I was freezing; a quick look at the thermometer had me feeling my head: 72 degrees. I have a problem… and it is Africa.

I literally sat on my bamboo bed for 2 hours waiting for Bakary. He finally strolled in as my family began stirring around 7:30am. The car had not shown up, and we were to walk the 2km to Diabugu and try to get a GeleGele. Okay, I thought. No problem. We’ll just load up everything and hit the road, Jack. And off we walked, down the dusty road, greeting the pink African sun as it rose from its’ slumber.

[Time to paint a quick picture: I had 2 backpacks, a purse, and a big plastic bag that contained my mosquito net. One backpack was on the front of me, one was on the back, and I was carrying the plastic bag while the purse was slung over one shoulder. I looked a hot mess.]

Dean Pritchard bounded happily after us, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as he chased after white birds that were freakishly large in size. The dusty road became incredibly tiring as Diabugu ceased to come in sight. 2 km is not far, yes I know this. Try strapping about 90 pounds to your body. Yes, I know I need to learn how to pack lighter. I realized this about 15ft from my door.

Finally, we reach Diabugu, where the policemen inform us that all 10 gelegele’s left at 6am. It is currently 8am. We are told they might all come back around 9 or 10am. Bakary hoists a bench onto his shoulders and carries it to the side of the road, and tells me to sit. Dean Pritchard curls up at my feet and promptly falls asleep. I drop my bags behind me and slump on the bench. I look around and think, probably for the millionth time since being here, This is Africa. Soon, 2 donkeys come strolling up beside us. The one in front has a rope tied to its’ front hoof and is currently tripping over it with his back hoof. Every 3 paces this happens, as if on cue. I notice the second donkey and poke Bakary.

“What’s on that donkey’s foot?” I asked.
“Why, it looks like he is wearing someone’s shoe!” Bakary exclaimed.

Sure enough, the donkey had stepped on some child’s plastic sandal and it had somehow climbed up his hoof and was strapped somewhere near his ankle. It was hilarious. Bakary and I laughed for a good 5 minutes about this, and I seriously debated on whether I was going crazy or not. I think I probably am.

After about an hour, a motorbike pulls up and Bakary speaks quickly to the man in mandinka. The woman on the back hops off, and Bakary looks at me, says, “Get your bags, you’re going to Basse.” Um, okay. WHAT?!

“But what about you?” I ask, trying to gather my things and wondering if I should take off one of my fifteen layers, as I am breaking out into a sweat because it’s well past 80 degrees and I am dressed for a nor’easter.
“I will try to get a gele. I must get Elizabeth in Darsalami, we cannot leave her.” He answered.
“Okay, but you’re leaving me! How will I find you?” I exclaim, as the man is strapping one of my backpacks to the back of his motorbike. At this point, I am slightly panicking. The Africell network is down and has been for 2 days, Basse is a huge city and I have no idea who this man is that I’m about to put my life into his hands.
“Well actually, you’re leaving me. And it’s okay, this man knows the police,” he answers, as if that will reassure me. Next thing I know, I’m on the back of a motorbike with a Gambian and we are puttputting into the distance. Dean Pritchard trotted off behind us happily for about 3 k and then turned around and headed home.

Everything was going fine until the man in front of me [still don’t know his name] ducks and I wonder what he is ducking for. Then I get hit in the face with a branch. Ohhhhhkay, I think. I’m having enough problems with acne over here, now I have a thorn in my face. That’s fantastic. Trust me, I’ve never looked better.

After about 40 minutes, we arrive to the river. We climb into a large metal canoe-type of boat and are transported across, motorbike and all. We end up getting to Basse and have to stop at the Police Stop. They interrogate the poor man [who, might I add, charged me nothing to bring me here] about who I was. He mentioned the Peace Corps, and then they asked for his registration.

“Bring the toubab into town and then come back here.”

All right, this is just fantastic. I am dropped off in the heart of Basse, in front of a Moritanian shop. At this point, I am literally soaked in sweat, and yet I do not take off any of my many layers of clothing. Instead, I put my backpacks back on, yes I understand I looked pregnant, and yes I knew there was a big chance I was going to get pickpocketed.

The Lord was with me today, as none of the above happened. I found a small ‘restaurant’ and completely ravished through a meat and mayo sandwich that was covered in flies. I thought it was delicious.

The man who owned the shop asked me my name and was interested in my story. I explained the events of the morning; he could not believe I was in Basse with no one to help me. “If you wait just a few moments, I could bring you to the Peace Corps house. It is about one kilometer in that direction, but I have my motobike.” Okay, sure, why not. I’ve already done several illegal things today, why not add more to the list? Perfect stranger that wants to bring me somewhere on his bike? Sure, sounds great. Truly. Let’s trust him.

Sure enough, I hop on the back of this motorbike [I am a pro at this point], a bit queasy from the greasy sandwich [still not sure what kind of meat that was? Hopefully not testicle again! Although I could not smell wet cat so I’m sure that wasn’t it] and hoping that I will not die.

We ZOOM off. I am talking insanely fast. There was no puttputting. This man FLEW. After about 3km, I start to get nervous. Okay, he said 1k away…. I’m going to die, he’s going to bring me into the African bush and rape me and then possibly eat me.

Nope, he was just lost. We found the Peace Corps house, and now I am here. WHAT A MORNING.

…this part written later: Lizzy and I have ventured into town 3 times today and had 3 separate sandwiches. This is becoming a problem. Is it really a wonder that I’ve sat on the latrine with gripping stomach pains and GI problems 4 times today? Not at all.

Our last walk into town was around 4pm. Everyone was closed up for prayer, and as we are scurrying through the heart of Basse, I hear a voice.

“Hey, hey you! Did you find your friends?” Sure enough, it was the nice man who had given me a ride. We conversed with him for a bit, asking if he knew where we could get sandwiches. “Well, everyone is closed up for prayer, but if you would like, I could open mine and send my small boy to get eggs! Would you like that?”

Well, TIA again. We just had the most amazing egg omelet and fried onions with mayo sandwich EVER. This man is definitely my new best friend.

I must get to bed now as I am tired and we are leaving around 7am tomorrow back to Kwinella. I have received 3 phone calls these past 2 days from my host sister and father, saying they miss me and I promised to stop in and see them…. As well as my Gambian boyfriend, Ismila Samiteh :o] Who resembles Taye Diggs very strikingly so…. But this is a story for another time. I shall write more later.

Lots of love and prayers to you all!

YAYYYY!!!!! :o]

[My little Ousman, husband numero uno! Is he not fabulous?!]

So many amazing things happened this evening! Number one being, my mama musoo and Fatou came back from Kombo! This is wonderful for so many reasons, number one being that Fatou is no longer sick. Number two, my best friend is back! We were seriously inseparable. Yes, I know she’s 6 years old, but she is the only girl in this entire compound and we bonded. What can I say? THIS IS AFRICA.

Then, as they are getting off the gelegele, I notice a boy dragging in a sheep with a baby! The baby was probably 2 days old, max. Might I add, momma and baby are currently tied to my front porch post. Pretty amazing, despite momma sounding like a man.

Did I mention that I cried when I saw Dobally and Fatou get off the gelegele? Cause I did. And I am pretty sure they think I am crazy, but that’s okay with me. I am so incredibly happy for them to be back! Fatou came running up to me and I am sniffling away, struggling to find the Mandinkan words for “I missed you, you were gone too long, I’m so glad you’re back!” and instead I just crushed her to me and was blubbering away. Had we been in the states, someone would be yelling to ‘get that girl a Kleenex stat’. I promised Brendan’s host sister [also named Fatou] that I would help her with her homework tonight, so Fatou, Manding [she’s the 2 year old who has finally decided that she likes me] and Ousman trudged up through the town. It was the Von Trapp family, I swear. I have taught the little Ousman to sing the “Dayyyyyoooo… me say daaayyyyoooooo” song and I am determined to videotape it before I leave on Sunday.

We also went to visit Whitney. There was a boy there that told his mother he was going to marry me. His name is Ismila [pronounced iSmile-yah… perfect because he has a gorgeous smile!] and he’s actually super attractive. I told him my husband was in America, but he insisted he’s in love with me. He’s 27. Should be interesting, haha.

Pretty crazy that we are already done with our training villages. We shall see how this goes!