Setting up home

Slowly but surely I have bought new things for my house.

On Wednesday we went to the market as part of our language training, and I used the opportunity to buy sugar (sukar), salt (xorom), candles (sondeel), garlic (laaj) and a couple of different types of fabric (piis). The green and turquoise fabric is two metres and I will get a skirt made from it. It cost me about £1.50. The blue material is 6 metres, enough for a full dress and maybe a top (or a full Gambian outfit which I do want to have made but will get a much brighter fabric for!). The blue material cost me about £6 after some hard bartering!  

This weekend I unpacked the rest of my stuff, and started to make the place a bit more homely by putting pictures and cards up.

And then today I managed to buy some buckets for laundry, and get some wine glasses and a book of card games that had been left at the VSO shared house by outgoing volunteers. Carrying it all back from the market stall, and then back from Helen’s later this evening was quite amusing. We were met with many cries of ‘you are Gambian now’, and as I walked back to mine I had about five different guys ask me if I wanted any help, and all offered to carry it all home for me! I did attempt to carry the buckets on my head as the local women do, but it didn't really work! 

Today's haul

Postal address

I gave some people my postal address before I came out here... which was correct but a bit longer than necessary. The simple address is:

VSO The Gambia, 
PO Box 677, Banjul 
The Gambia
West Africa

Learning Wolof

During our in country training we have been learning Wolof. The first thing we learned was the greetings – which are very important here. There are general greetings and specific greetings. All conversations will begin with salaamaleekum, for which the response is maleekum salaam, and then the following could be exchanged – sometimes all, sometimes just a few…

Greeting: Nanga def? How do you do?

Response: Maaŋ fi rek. I am here only. (The ŋ is an ng sound – like bung)

A less formal version of this is -

Greeting: Jaama ngaam? Do you have peace?

Response: Jaama rek. Peace only.

Greeting: Sa yerem jaama? Is your body at peace?

Response: Jaama rek. Peace only.

Greeting: Naka waa kër ga? How are the home people?

Response: Ñuŋ fa rek. They are there only.

Greeting: Mbaa defuñu dara? I hope there is no trouble?

Response: Déédéét defuñu dara. No there is no trouble.

Greeting: Naka ligeey bi? How is the work?

Response: Ligeey baangi fi rek. The work is here only.

You will see that each greeting has a set response – if you are asked ‘is your body at peace’ you can’t say ‘no, actually I have a really bad headache’ for example!

Some of the more specific greetings include

Greeting: Jaama nga fanaan? Do you spend the night in peace? (Good morning)

Response: Jaama rek. Peace only.

Greeting: Naka bécék bi? How is the afternoon?

Response: Bécék baaŋ fi rek. The afternoon is here only.

The list goes on, depending on what time of day it is. These greetings just have to be learned so that you can fire them off, but I have had a great reaction from people when you can respond properly. The first time I tried jaama nga fanaan was in the little bitik (shop) near Helen – I said it to an older man, who was so surprised he could barely spit out jaama rek in response before he burst out laughing! He kept saying good good good over and over again after that and laughing!

I have enjoyed learning – we have covered how to buy things at the market, how to introduce ourselves and how to get around on public transport. All very useful stuff, and I have been able to put it into practice, but you can tell that we have only just scratched the surface. We now have an optional thirty hours tuition which we can take, and I am keen to continue with it. 

Shimoni taking over from the teacher!

Trip to Ndemban

Our trip to the village was a great experience. We danced, shared food bowls, met with the village elders, and were shown around the farming projects and the new accommodation for what they hope will be an eco-tourism business.

After a rain storm as we travelled to Ndemban - this is a main road!

Huge tree in the centre of the village

Time for dancing. We never did work out why the viking costume!

Fledgling eco-tourism business

We were told that the children would be very interested in us and would want to hold our hands – which they sure did. One girl - Isa - said she wanted to be my friend, and stuck to my side all day. She even asked if I would take her home and be her mum! At one stage while we were walking she asked me what job I did, so I told her what I would be working on in The Gambia. I asked her what she would like to do when she was older, but she stayed quiet. I probed, asking if she wanted to be a farmer, or a doctor, or a policewoman for example, all the while thinking that perhaps I had asked the wrong question and that she hadn’t been encouraged to think about a career. But I was proved wrong when she looked up and said ‘I’d like to be the President’!

My new friends. 
The future Gambian president 
is holding the water bottle. 

For lunch we shared a number of food bowls – benechin, domoda and a Jola dish that I didn’t catch the name of. Food bowls are particularly common in the villages, rice or cous cous or similar is cooked with meat or vegetables placed in the centre. People all sit around the same bowl, often split male and female, and you eat from the section directly in front of you. Ideally you eat with your hand – always the right – but you can use a spoon (and are encouraged to carry one with you if you live in a village!). If there is some meat or veg in the middle the host usually breaks it up and scatters it around, but sometimes you might need to take some for yourself. If you do you must only use your right hand – which may mean getting some help from your neighbour’s right hand to tear the meat – and then you put some in front of you and throw the rest back into the middle. You must not pick from the centre and put it straight into your mouth as this is rude. I had a go at eating with my hand, but reverted to a spoon when it got messy!

After we got back I went for a quick beer with John and Patrick while I waited out a rain storm, and then did a bit of shopping. By the time I wanted to travel back it was dark and very wet, and I was struggling to get a seven seven as they were all going to Senegambia rather than Bakau. But a gelli drove past and shouted ‘Bakau’ so I thought ‘why not’ and jumped in. My first gelli experience – I wasn’t expecting to catch one on my own and in the dark but it was all fine and I jumped out right outside my door! 

Once home I watched a West Wing and chilled out before bed.

Market time

After cleaning my kitchen, and chasing cockroaches out of my fridge, I went to Serrakunda market with Helen. We took a gelli there, and spoke to a nice woman who gave each of us one of her bracelets!

The first thing we did was buy tapalapa as we were both starving. I have had a few tapalapa now, mostly with egg mayonnaise, but this time I tried tapalapa filled with neebe (beans) which was very tasty and very filling for a mere 7 dalasi (14p). 

At the market we bartered like pros for Tupperware and frying pans – probably only saving a couple of quid but every dalasi counts on a volunteer allowance! I haggled a frying pan down from 400 dalasi to 175 which felt like a good achievement.

We then walked all the way down Kairaba Avenue, stopping at a supermarket for more house items like tea towels, chopping boards, coat hangers and cutlery, and then went to Safari Gardens to use the wifi and the swimming pool! John and Patrick joined us, and we played cards and drank a couple of beers, before heading to a local restaurant for some chicken afra (barbecued chicken) which cost 50 dalasi (about a pound) and a final beer before I caught a seven seven home. A very easy and happy day, and I feel like I accomplished a lot. It’s all starting to come together ndanka ndanka.  

Wherever I lay my hat…

So I ended up staying with Helen for two nights, which actually worked out quite nicely. On the first night we had no water or electricity, and on the second night we had water but still no power, so it felt like we were camping more than living in a house! But it was nice to be there, and for both of us to have company as we adjusted to real life outside of Safari Gardens.

After morning language lessons on Friday we finished for the day and went for lunch at Leybato. We had some domoda (meat in ground nut sauce with rice) and I walked back to Helen’s to start moving in to my place.

Fridays have a very different feel to them in The Gambia. They are usually half days as it is the main day for people to go to mosque and then spend time with their families. I think that some people go back to work after Friday prayers, and some shops re-open, but mostly things quieten down and the weekend begins. As well as finishing early, everyone dresses in very smart clothes or robes – unlike England where Fridays are usually more casual.

Ebrima and Ba Sarjo from the VSO office picked me up and drove me to my house in Bakau – where I met my landlady and compound family. They all seem very nice; the landlady is the grandmother (Mam in Wolof) and the granddaughter, Saffy, is very sweet. She gave me her number and told me that she would help whenever I needed her, even if it was to go to the market or to explore Bakau with, which was very kind of her. The house is great – much better than I expected. I have comfy purple sofas and a good shower – two things which make me happy… particularly as I have been taking at least two cold showers a day!

After moving my stuff in I arranged for my mosquito net to be put up and then went to buy phone credit and a coke. All simple things but each activity involved lots of talking to people and figuring things out… as they say in Wolof ndanka ndanka (slowly slowly) – nothing is rushed and nothing is all that simple! I then met Helen for a quick drink, bought some corn from a street vendor, and wandered home to have my first ‘meal’ in my new house. 

On Saturday I woke early to go on a trip to Ndemban, a village about an hour away from here. It was a great day and I will write a separate post about it soon. As I opened my front door someone jumped up from my doorstep and introduced themselves as my cleaner! Who knows how long she had been sitting there, I am just glad I left the house at 7.30am and not any later! She had already left me a note with her phone number, but had obviously decided to come in person to see if I still wanted her to work for me. It is very usual here, and in most of the countries that VSO work in, to have help around the house. Often cleaners, and sometimes security guards, are ‘inherited’ with the property that the volunteer moves in to, and volunteers are encouraged to keep them on. She will do my washing and clean for me, and I will pay her out of my monthly allowance. Her rate is slightly more than I had budgeted for, but I think I can afford it, and it will be brilliant to have someone do my washing! She seems really nice, and cleans for the VSO shared house and another volunteer that I have met who confirmed that she is very good, so I feel happy to have ‘employed’ her! 

Waiting to move

I am sheltering from the rain* and writing this as we all wait to be taken to our new accommodation. I am staying at Helen’s overnight as my house is not yet ready. I am looking forward to getting in to my place and seeing what it is like, but I’m happy to wait one more day! All I know at the moment is that it has one bedroom.

The last couple of days have been pretty busy. Yesterday was a full day at the office looking at Gambian law, planning our work under the new country strategy, and starting our language lessons. Afterwards we went down to the beach and had a swim and a beer, which felt like a luxurious way to unwind after a day’s work!  

We’ve been warned about ‘bumsters’ on the beach – guys that hassle you for money, your time, your name, your phone number, your hand in marriage… but so far I’ve manage to avoid anything too problematic! Apparently there are some real pros out there who you get to know, and we have had descriptions about the most notorious guys, but up to press my beach experience has been relatively bumster free!

Before going for a beer we called in at a supermarket near the hotel. Very small shops where you can buy phone credit, food bits and bobs like mayonnaise and candles, and tapalapa (bread with different filling – I haven’t had one yet but will describe it when I do!) are called bitiks. Bitiks are on most corners and roads, but supermarkets can only really be founds in the Kombos. This supermarket was definitely geared towards toubabs – it had everything! It was good to see what can be bought, and at what price… all the items that you can find at home were pretty expensive on a volunteer allowance but not as bad as I was expecting.   

*Last night there was a HUGE thunder storm and it has rained and thundered all day since.

Time to explore

Yesterday morning we were met by current volunteers and taken to explore the local area. We walked up Kairaba Avenue and I saw where my office will be. We then called into La Parisienne for a coke and a chat, and to cool off in the air conditioning. When we came out we realised that the sky had gone black, and it wasn’t long before the heavens opened and it was thundering and lightening. We took a seven seven up to the area called Westfield, stood under a porch, checked where the gellis go to Banjul from, and then jumped back in a seven seven to get back to the hotel! Seven sevens are yellow taxis with green stripes that serve fixed routes; you pay 7 dalasi for wherever you want to go (about 14p). The gelli is a minivan type taxi which costs about 10 dalasi to get to Banjul from either Bakau or Westfield.

Once back we sheltered from the rain and read the information pack that we were given, before getting ready to go out to our welcome drinks at The Kairaba Hotel in Senegambia. This was described as a cocktail party… and although there was a distinct lack of cocktails or alcohol of any kind it was still nice to meet everyone! 

The newbies with a couple of VSO staff members and their children

We watched the sunset over the sea, which was fantastic as it was my first glimpse of the ocean.

After the official party Helen and I went for a beer with the established volunteers – it was nice to get out of the ‘bubble’ of Safari Gardens and speak to people that have been here for a while, and I really enjoyed the evening.

Shortly after we got back to the hotel Nicola arrived – another volunteer from the UK who unfortunately missed Thursday’s flight out here. We had a good chat with her over a couple of beers, and gave her a summary of what we’d discovered about The Gambia so far.

Today we went to the beach that’s near the hotel and had a swim in the sea. It is like bath water, which I really wasn’t expecting from the Atlantic ocean! Lunch at Leybato was fish benechin for 75 dalasi (about £1.50) which was delicious, and then back to Safari Gardens to chill a bit more!

Language lessons start tomorrow which I am really looking forward to – I have discovered I will be learning Wolof, so we’ll see how that goes!

First impressions

Waking up at Safari Gardens on the first morning was great – I had been expecting pouring rain as it is currently wet season but the sky was blue. There is a pool here, surrounded by beautiful bamboo and palms… the only downside is that this encourages not so beautiful mosquitos and I have a few juicy bites already.

After breakfast of bread, boiled egg, fruit and tea we were picked up and taken to the VSO office – which is only round the corner. Once there we had the welcome introduction and were told about what to expect over the next three weeks. Everything has been really well organised, and a very full programme has been put in place to ease us in to Gambian life. We were given mosquito nets, deet sprays, and three different SIM cards for our phones so that we can choose the one that gives us best coverage depending on where we live. Next up was form filling – we applied for our alien cards and residency permits, and completed endless paperwork which helped make me feel quite instantly ‘established’. 

We then received an envelope full of grubby notes – our first month's allowance. We get 7372 dalasi a month, which is about £163. This works out as just over £5 per day, so some budgeting will be required!

After a sandwich we came back to the hotel and chilled by the pool for a while – as I said, the programme is designed to ease us into Gambian life nice and gently!

At dinner I learned that I will be living in Bakau and that I will have my own place. I was half expecting to share, and I can see positives and negatives for both options, but I am pleased to know that I will have my own little space.

Dinner was a buffet at the hotel with some of the VSO staff and current volunteers. The food was great; fish in coconut sauce, chicken, rice, potato salad, tomato salad and pasta followed by banana pancakes! That, topped off with a couple of bottles of Julbrew (the local beer), left me wanting my bed, so an early night followed. No electricity all evening meant no ceiling fan, so it was a hot night and I was glad that the power came back on at about 11.30.   

Final hours in the UK and arrival in The Gambia

On Wednesday night Alex and I went out for a cheese and wine fest! It was the most perfect evening, and the best way to spend my last few hours in London. I made sure that I ate and drank enough red wine to see me through for at least a few months! Alex amazingly decided to come with me to the airport, and came back to stay for the night. By the time she had sorted out my packing (Alex pointed out that my ‘light’ rucksack was only light because most items were in my hand luggage… which consequently weighed about 700kg) we only ended up with about 4 hours sleep – and all of a sudden it was time to leave. I was really glad she came – not only for moral support but to help me get my 49kgs of luggage across London!

The flight was fine – but very long as we went via Brussels and Sierra Leone. I met Helen at Heathrow and the other three UK guys (John, Patrick and Robert) on the plane. We landed at about 9.30pm (it was still 30 degrees outside and very humid) but it took us an hour and a half or so to get our luggage and out of the airport. One challenge was being asked to show the baggage stickers that you get given when you check your bags in. Could I find mine anywhere?! I think only two of the five of us had them to hand, but thankfully we managed to bustle our way through and blag it. A useful lesson learned that if you fly into Banjul airport you need your luggage stickers!    

Once through the baggage collection we met three Ugandan volunteers and the VSO staff who transported us to the Safari Gardens hotel. We will stay here until Wednesday. After some fish soup and a couple of beers it was time for bed – a long and exhausting day but a great feeling to have arrived.   

One day to go!

I only have one full day left in the UK!

I arrived back from Uganda and Zanzibar on Sunday and haven't stopped since in preparation for leaving for Gambia on Thursday morning. Leaving work mid-August came with mixed feelings; great to know that the adventure was starting and that I was moving on to do what I really wanted to do, but hard to leave great work friends at the same time. As a leaving present my work mates arranged a surprise cake sale in support of VSO - it was fantastic!  A total shock, but a brilliant contribution to the fundraising.

This was just the beginning...! 

Uganda was just brilliant - the wedding was beautiful, I loved the safari experience, and Zanzibar gave us the perfect opportunity to wind down and relax. Although I am sure Gambia will be very different, loving being back in East Africa as much as I did really reassured me that I'm doing the right thing, and made me even more excited about what is to come over the next couple of years.

The journey home from Zanzibar, via Dar Es Salaam and Cairo, on Saturday/Sunday was long and slightly delayed, but I woke early on Monday to spend the day and evening with friends and family. Leaving drinks at my favourite local were bittersweet - amazing to see everyone, but so sad to say goodbye. I felt really loved - I couldn't have asked for more support from my friends and family. I received some really thoughtful and special gifts, and the best leaving cake I have ever seen:

The wildlife of Gambia!

Today has been a shopping frenzy, buying up last minute bits and bobs. Tomorrow will be spent packing, before a final bottle of wine (or two) with my best friend. If I could pack her into my suitcase as well that would be perfect.