I have now been in The Gambia for one month. I feel very
settled, and I am beginning not to notice the things that first caught my eye,
like the many goats I see walking around Bakau, or the chickens running around
my feet, or the children calling ‘toubab’. But everyday holds a new challenge
or a new experience, and even simple things, like buying onions, can feel like
huge achievements.
Work is still very slow – we are being introduced very
gently. In some ways this is useful, because it takes so much time and brain
power to just live and get used to this new life – whether that’s speaking
Wolof, or buying vegetables, or taking public transport – that I don’t seem to
have much capacity for work at the moment! But I am looking forward to things
taking off a bit, and getting started on the project that I am here to provide
support for.
This week was mostly spent on the office balcony – this is
my view over Kairaba Avenue.
We also went to Katchikali crocodile park which is here in
Bakau. This is a sacred place with over 100 crocs. It is thought that the
crocodiles are very powerful, and you are encouraged to touch them to absorb
their special powers – which I did… cautiously! They even have a washing area
for women who are unable to conceive. It is believed that if they bathe in the
water from the pool, and then go home and spend time with their husband, they
will have a child which they must then call Katchikali. I asked if they had had
many Katchikali babies and was told ‘oh yes, loads and loads’ although I didn’t
get any exact figures! The washing area was a new addition by all accounts –
they used to make the women dip directly into the pool! I stayed well away from
the water …!
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| The brick square is the washing area |
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