Today, we found out our site placement, so the place were we’ll be spending the two years after training. Site placement was just like county placement. I forgot how stressful it is to be on the unknowing side of deciding people's fate, as opposed to the Admin, all-powerful side.
My village is called Nyokoi (which means White Eye in Mandinka) or something like that, a village about 10 km from a larger town called basse. It’s pretty close to the beautiful gambia river, and apparently has some hiking with some cliff views of the river. The unfortunate thing is that I’m SO far from banjul, the capital, where most of the civilization and peace corps stuff is. It’ll take a full day of travel to get back to Kombo (the Banjul suburban area) when I have to.
I’ll be working mostly in a lower basic school, doing literacy work with the teachers and students. I’ll also be working a little bit in an upper basic school, doing some math work, hopefully. Also, and most exciting, is that apparently one of my schools has a basketball court at it! The basketball court is apparently just a slab of concrete, but it’s something to work with. I’ll find the first gambian star yet.
I haven’t been there, but have seen pictures of my house. It’s tiny, a round mud hut, with a thatched roof. I still can’t believe it. It’s really Africa.
Hi Abby, I just created my own google account so I could blog with you. Wow, you are having quite some experiences there! Don't feel bad about learning language there, I'm having same problem learning Spanish with all the Mexican workers I work with here too. Hope you can find that next NBA star when you play on that basketball court. Mosquito's are bad here too. Some get in house here too and net might not be a good idea. Had a bad day today at farm. Had to fix manure sled cable in 4ft deep channel with about 3ft deep cow poop in it. Dark cramped, amoniated, smelly, etc. job. A 2x6 board got wedged between sled and drop hole above manurepump chamber which caused cable to break. Imagine farming is a little different there. Lots of sweeping and cleaning wherever you go. Spose you've lost a few pounds. Food preparation sounds a ittle different there. Rice seems to be the common food. Thanks for the interesting blogs. God bless you , You've touched many lives . Keep up the good work. You're very loving and caring. Love what you do, take care, your uncle Doug
ReplyDeleteAbby - enjoy reading your blog. You mentioned basketball - let me know if you need some nets - even the sturdy metal nets like the one we had in the driveway. Your Uncle Doug mentioned mosquitoes - boy they are bade here too - could only get out and pick a few green beans before they overwhelmed me. One of our refugee families have moved on to Aurora - so we are prepping the house for new occupants. Having some bug issues - do you have issues with ... you know .... c-o-c-k-r-o-a-c-h-e-s ?? I hate to even say the word.
ReplyDeleteAny way stay strong - get ready for those future students of yours. Love you, Dad
4:23 AM??? Yikes Doug - a little bit of insomnia?
ReplyDeleteGood to see others commenting -
I didn't know we could -
I was surprised I had to create my own blog first
Anyway, I'm here and I'll be baaaaaack .... to check on you, Abby
Loveya, Mom
You are an excellent writer, Abby. No doubt reading all those books in your "younger" years has nourished your descriptive prowess. I appreciate the details you present. I especially enjoyed your earlier description of the incessant vigilance required when eating around those pesky monkeys. Myself, I probably would have clobbered a few of 'em (no doubt receiving several painful bites and an agonizing death from rabies in return - infernal primates!) And I enjoyed your more recent account of the roof top vista of the approaching storm and the ensuing rainbow and also of the your challenges in trying to get some, eh, personal privacy. And, knowing n-o-t-h-i-n-g about Islam and its rites, rules, and rituals, I appreciate your educating me on the direct and tangible ways Islam affects the daily lives of believers. (What a bummer not being able to get a drink of water between sunrise and sunset during Ramadan! I admit it - it strikes me as totally irrational. Well, at least Frisbee playing is not prohibited, praise Allah.) Please continue to write about the religion-in-daily-life stuff and other examples of cultural differences, such as avoiding "high-fiving" black children who are terrified of white persons (I found that quite amusing). Regarding your list of things you want/need, I'll look it over again and try to send you some of those items. At this point I'm leaning toward some raw almonds and AA batteries (I am not kidding). I have no idea about what kind of books you like (clue me in, if you wish) and forget about music (I'm stuck in the rock 'n roll of the 50s (gasp!),60s' and 70s and classical stuff). Keep up the good work, try to take care of your health, and most excellent journal writing. Hasta luego. Uncle Tom
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