I just went on an epic trip to Cape Verde. It was amazing and beautiful and perhaps the greatest place on earth, but I’m not going to publish the itinerary nor my reasons for my glowing recommendations until a successful travel writing business pays me for my efforts.
Instead, I am going to publish the top three reasons that Cape Verde is greater than the Gambia.
Reason Number Three: Street Food
I cannot explain how amazing the street food was there. I told myself before I went that I would try every piece of street food that I saw, at least once. In The Gambia, if I had made that promise, I would be sputtering in disgust often. Following through on this declaration in Cape Verde, however, was joyous surprise after joyous surprise.
My knowledge of the Portuguese language, and most street food vendors knowledge of English intersected enough for them to understand, through broken Portuguese and emphatic hand motions, that I was indicating, “FEED ME ONE OF THOSE”.
The first tasty morsel was some sort of brownish goop that they spread on bread. Now, in the Gambia, this goop is bound to be something okra or fish related. So I was nervous. But upon its first contact with my taste buds, I knew this was not Gambian street food. The goop was some sort of sweet caramel type substance. The bread was about the size of a hot dog bun, slathered with delicious muck, and it put me back 10 escudos, or about 14 cents. I immediately ate two more.
Only then did I notice the wild variety of street food surrounding me. Had I noticed it before, I would not have been so quick to guzzle the first nugget.
Immediately upon discovery, I had all my hands and mouth space occupied with some pizza type onion-y thing, two incredibly iced doughnuts, and a huge piece of cake. All of that for 50 escudos. Or like 80 cents.
The best street food moment of the trip came after many attempts. I’d seen woman walking around with large, clear plastic bags, filled with what looked like raw tofu. It was visibly cold and wet, and was about the size, shape, and thickness of a rice cake. I had no idea what this was for a long time. I had seen many people walking around with the bags, and people making purchases, but no one actually consuming this mysterious consumable.
My moment came, and in a flurry of misunderstanding, I finally ended up with one of these discs, for 150 escudos, or slightly more than two dollars. Based on my previous experiences, this was an expensive hunk of something.
I examined its cold wetness, and wondered what it could possibly be. At this point, I was still pretty sure it was raw tofu. But upon the first squeaky bite, I knew for certain that it was the greatest discovery since the finding of these beautiful islands so long ago.
It was cheese. A huge disc of recently pressed goat cheese (I think). Cheap, accessible, fresh, not processed, cheese????? This is the stuff of a Gambian volunteer’s dreams. And thus, reason number three that Cape Verde is greater than the Gambia.
Reasons Number Two: Infrastructure
This may have been the biggest shock upon arriving to Cape Verde. I’m no expert nor widely traveled person, but having lived on the continent for over a year, I thought I’d understood what Africa had to offer, and most likely wouldn’t be too surprised by anything this continent had to throw at me.
Then I arrived in Cape Verde.
You think Africa, in general, has a lack of power, running water, banks, restaurants, on time vehicles, or schedules of any sort? Think again.
Cape Verde has some amazingly beautiful sights to see. They have mountains, beaches, volcanoes, beautiful people, interesting cities, etc. But a strange proportion of my pictures are of seemingly mundane things. Trash cans, power lines, electric lights, and comfortable seating.
BECAUSE AFRICA DOES HAVE THESE THINGS.
Was I pretty ignorant of Africa before I got to Cape Verde? Definitely, but I would argue that makes me appreciate it much more. Most folks, upon seeing a beautiful valley filled with sugar cane blowing in the wind, capped off by a low, fluffy cloud cover, would miss the understated beauty and the manifestation of lots of time and effort on the part of government and local laborers if they overlooked the green trash cans, the cobbled road, the delicate spine of power lines running to the most remote, basic, rural homes.
Reason Number One: Stuff to See
The most amazing thing that Cape Verde had was stuff to see. Scenery you couldn’t get anywhere else, sights and sounds completely unique and beautiful. Looking to the west and seeing the ocean, and across the channel, another island with the sun setting behind it, and then turning to the east and seeing the peak of a epic volcano that you climbed earlier that day?
Emerging on the top of an epically high ridge of mountains, to look down into the next gorgeous valley, shade obscuring half of it and sunlight blindingly illuminating the rest?
Watching farmers not only plow their fields with horses and donkeys, but also adjust the irrigation lines that come from the water trickling down from way up the mountain?
A boy making his way up a steep cobbled road, and to assist him, he’s holding the tail of a huge white horse?
Hearing a local Creole speaker order the locally made alcohol called “grogue”, which in my Chicago accent sound synonymous with witch’s puke, but in their lispy, musical tongue, it sounds like something fantastical and delicious?
Amazing.
You should go there.
PS. Mom. I know you just bought your ticket to the Gambia… but it’s pretty good too!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Stay Tuned!
The Gambia was lucky to welcome a new toubab non-tourist inside its borders a few weeks ago, and he has generously agreed to write a blog post about his experiences. Check back for what's sure to be a hilarious, well written tale of wonder and woe.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Food Critique
I’ve eaten a lot of meals in the Gambia. By my calculations, about 1300. About a third of those have been breakfast, which I provide for myself, but the remaining two thirds, over 800 meals, have been with Gambians, served by Gambians, cooked by Gambians. The vessel to bring much of these meals from bowl to mouth has been my hand. I’ve learned by the smell of an unopened food bowl which delectable mash I’ll be served that evening. And through these hundreds of lunches and dinners, I’ve noticed some trends. So, come and learn with me, as I take you through the slimy, mushy, and carb-filled world of food in the Gambia. As the Gambians say, “Come eat.”
Here in the Gambia, the food pyramid is nothing like the triangular thing of beauty that we all grew up with, and definitely nothing like the weird thing the FDA is trying to make Americans buy now. I spent some time drawing it up, and this is about how it looks.
Here are some common recipes that are cooked here in the Gambia. Try them at home!
RECIPE ONE: Serve at least 9 times per week
Ingredients: Carbs
Oil
MSG
Fish (and especially the bones)
Cook a carb: usually rice, bird seed, or sand.
Cook another carb, usually pasta, and cook it in oil.
Add plenty of MSG.
Fry a fish and throw it in on top of the bowl. (If you can’t afford a fish, at least throw in a bunch of bones to give the illusion that it once had fish… or for a boost of calcium. Or for crunch. Or a challenge, something to search for amongst the homogenous mash)
RECIPE TWO: Serve four to five times per week.
Ingredients: Carbs
Leaves
Oil
MSG
Fish bones
Mash leaves together with MSG. Don’t stop mashing until they’re good and slimy.
Cook in oil until the sliminess is maximized, and all nutrients or beneficial substances in the leaves have been removed completely.
Cook a carb: either rice, bird seed, or sand.
Serve leaves over carbs.
Add fish bones to taste
RECIPE THREE: One time per week ,if you’re lucky.
*These recipes will provide the eater with a bit of protein, an essential element that is absent from all other meals. Since this is the case, if you are ever served this dish, EAT UP.
INGREDIENTS: Ground nuts
Carbs
Oil
MSG
Fish bones
Mash groundnuts (peanuts) into peanut butter. Try to remove all the bugs first, but if you miss a few: meh.
Cook with oil and MSG.
Prepare a carb: either rice, bird seed, or sand.
Serve groundnuts over carbs.
Add fish bones to taste.
Beyond meals, sometimes Gambians snack throughout the day (unless its Ramadan. Or hungry season) These snacks are sometimes a delightful way to introduce some variety to the day to day food options. Snacks depend greatly on the season in which the snacker is snacking.
June – August: No snacks. It’s hungry season. The crops are in the ground, and none have grown tall enough for us to eat yet.
August – October: Carbs on the cob.
November – January: Groundnuts, fresh from the earth, still crawling with pests.
January – April: Groundnuts, now old. Still pests though!
May – June: MANGOES! The only time fruit is added to the everday Gambian diet.
So no matter what time of year you choose to come visit the Gambia, you'll be prepared for the dining options that await.
Bring Clif Bars.
Here in the Gambia, the food pyramid is nothing like the triangular thing of beauty that we all grew up with, and definitely nothing like the weird thing the FDA is trying to make Americans buy now. I spent some time drawing it up, and this is about how it looks.
Here are some common recipes that are cooked here in the Gambia. Try them at home!
RECIPE ONE: Serve at least 9 times per week
Ingredients: Carbs
Oil
MSG
Fish (and especially the bones)
Cook a carb: usually rice, bird seed, or sand.
Cook another carb, usually pasta, and cook it in oil.
Add plenty of MSG.
Fry a fish and throw it in on top of the bowl. (If you can’t afford a fish, at least throw in a bunch of bones to give the illusion that it once had fish… or for a boost of calcium. Or for crunch. Or a challenge, something to search for amongst the homogenous mash)
RECIPE TWO: Serve four to five times per week.
Ingredients: Carbs
Leaves
Oil
MSG
Fish bones
Mash leaves together with MSG. Don’t stop mashing until they’re good and slimy.
Cook in oil until the sliminess is maximized, and all nutrients or beneficial substances in the leaves have been removed completely.
Cook a carb: either rice, bird seed, or sand.
Serve leaves over carbs.
Add fish bones to taste
RECIPE THREE: One time per week ,if you’re lucky.
*These recipes will provide the eater with a bit of protein, an essential element that is absent from all other meals. Since this is the case, if you are ever served this dish, EAT UP.
INGREDIENTS: Ground nuts
Carbs
Oil
MSG
Fish bones
Mash groundnuts (peanuts) into peanut butter. Try to remove all the bugs first, but if you miss a few: meh.
Cook with oil and MSG.
Prepare a carb: either rice, bird seed, or sand.
Serve groundnuts over carbs.
Add fish bones to taste.
Beyond meals, sometimes Gambians snack throughout the day (unless its Ramadan. Or hungry season) These snacks are sometimes a delightful way to introduce some variety to the day to day food options. Snacks depend greatly on the season in which the snacker is snacking.
June – August: No snacks. It’s hungry season. The crops are in the ground, and none have grown tall enough for us to eat yet.
August – October: Carbs on the cob.
November – January: Groundnuts, fresh from the earth, still crawling with pests.
January – April: Groundnuts, now old. Still pests though!
May – June: MANGOES! The only time fruit is added to the everday Gambian diet.
So no matter what time of year you choose to come visit the Gambia, you'll be prepared for the dining options that await.
Bring Clif Bars.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
An Apology
To my dear friends and family -
I realized that I haven't blogged in a long time. A LONG time. And the past few times that I blogged, it was about things that were decidedly un-Peace corps or un-village life. It's not that nothing has happened since I last posted. Actually, a lot has happened. New trainees came, the president of the Gambia came to my village, we passed our one year in country AND one year of service, training ended, Ramadan began, Ramadan ended, rainy season came, my backyard became a jungle, new volunteers swore in, I got blood poisoning, we had a ton of fun parties. LOTS has happened, but I haven't felt the incredible need to write about it, nor experienced the moment where my eyes light up and I break into a huge grin and exclaim, "That was SO bloggable."
After extreme soul searching and hours of hungry boredom during Ramadan, I realized what it is.
I've become a Gambian.
No longer is it crazy to see goats and couches piled high on top of the same bush taxi. No longer do I feel strange when I go haul water for my daily bucket bath. No longer am I annoyed by having to sweep everything in my house daily because otherwise I will eat dust only. It's normal to greet in Mandinka, and holidays, although still boring, are now not mysterious ordeals. I think domoda is delicious, I've come to terms with eating a few bugs every day, and wading through knee deep mud is an expected part of my commute. As you can see from the facebook photos as of late, I have become extremely unaware of my appearance, and match the most horrible prints with other equally horrible prints.
Upon arriving in the country, and for much of the first year, I punctuated this sentence as follows. "THIS is my life?!?!?". Now, it look more like this. "This is my life." No longer does the sentence end with an interro-bang of shock and awe... now only a accepting and normal period.
So, I'm sorry. I know the stories that were once funny, gross, and or wild to me are probably still pretty shocking to others. It's like I'm no longer a tourist. When you first move to New York City, you may take pictures of Times Square, and famous street signs, and the Statue of Liberty, but after a certain amount of time they're just part of your regular life, no matter how different from your past life it is.
I don't know how to fix this problem. I'll try to remember how I felt in the beginning, and write with the same fervor and zeal. Another, even better, option, is for everyone to come and see it themselves. You should come and take the pictures that I should be taking, gasp at the sights that I no longer even see, and experience the traditions and culture that is now everyday.
Again, I'm sorry for the lack of communication. I'll be better.
I apologize very dangerously,
Abby
I realized that I haven't blogged in a long time. A LONG time. And the past few times that I blogged, it was about things that were decidedly un-Peace corps or un-village life. It's not that nothing has happened since I last posted. Actually, a lot has happened. New trainees came, the president of the Gambia came to my village, we passed our one year in country AND one year of service, training ended, Ramadan began, Ramadan ended, rainy season came, my backyard became a jungle, new volunteers swore in, I got blood poisoning, we had a ton of fun parties. LOTS has happened, but I haven't felt the incredible need to write about it, nor experienced the moment where my eyes light up and I break into a huge grin and exclaim, "That was SO bloggable."
After extreme soul searching and hours of hungry boredom during Ramadan, I realized what it is.
I've become a Gambian.
No longer is it crazy to see goats and couches piled high on top of the same bush taxi. No longer do I feel strange when I go haul water for my daily bucket bath. No longer am I annoyed by having to sweep everything in my house daily because otherwise I will eat dust only. It's normal to greet in Mandinka, and holidays, although still boring, are now not mysterious ordeals. I think domoda is delicious, I've come to terms with eating a few bugs every day, and wading through knee deep mud is an expected part of my commute. As you can see from the facebook photos as of late, I have become extremely unaware of my appearance, and match the most horrible prints with other equally horrible prints.
Upon arriving in the country, and for much of the first year, I punctuated this sentence as follows. "THIS is my life?!?!?". Now, it look more like this. "This is my life." No longer does the sentence end with an interro-bang of shock and awe... now only a accepting and normal period.
So, I'm sorry. I know the stories that were once funny, gross, and or wild to me are probably still pretty shocking to others. It's like I'm no longer a tourist. When you first move to New York City, you may take pictures of Times Square, and famous street signs, and the Statue of Liberty, but after a certain amount of time they're just part of your regular life, no matter how different from your past life it is.
I don't know how to fix this problem. I'll try to remember how I felt in the beginning, and write with the same fervor and zeal. Another, even better, option, is for everyone to come and see it themselves. You should come and take the pictures that I should be taking, gasp at the sights that I no longer even see, and experience the traditions and culture that is now everyday.
Again, I'm sorry for the lack of communication. I'll be better.
I apologize very dangerously,
Abby
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Posh Corps
Sometimes a person joins the Peace Corps, an organization that demands flexibility under extreme conditions, but gets lucky enough to not have to be flexible at all. Sometimes people in the Peace Corps, even though living in a developing country, gets a sweeter set up than they had back in America. If you have an apartment, you’re in the Posh Corps. If you have electricity and/or running water, you’re in the Posh Corps. If you can get ice and/or ice cream in your village/town/neighborhood, you’re in the Posh Corps.
In no way could my Peace Corps experience be considered “posh”. I pretty much got the ”maximum flexibility” option. However, this past week, I have lived how the other side lives. This is the story of my one week of Posh Corps.
The American Embassy in the Gambia sent out a text a few weeks ago, asking for volunteers who would be willing to assist with a basketball camp in Kombo. Being the basketball aficionado I am, I promptly jumped on this opportunity. As I learned more about the camp, I got more excited. An ex-NBA player would be flown in, to teach the people of this tiny African country how to ball efficiently. It would involve about six hours of basketball a day, in ocean-breezy Bakau. It was too good to pass up.
When the other two volunteers and I arrived in town to assist, we didn’t know what to expect. We had no idea that the upcoming week would be the most luxurious and worthwhile one we’d had in this country… perhaps ever.
Day One of the camp was pretty standard. My fellow Peace Corps buddies and I didn’t really know what to do to be most helpful, so we just ran drills with the camp participants. We felt like rock stars when Tommy Davis, ex-NBA player, invited us to help him demonstrate drills or skills, and then, after fundamentally flawlessly completing the play, all the Gambians would cheer when we scored, yelling “Basket!” and offering enthusiastic high fives.
There’s about a four hour break in the middle of the day, so on day one, we just went back to our Peace Corps house and hung out. Then we returned to the camp to coach the little ones in the afternoon. Pretty standard day of basketball camp.
On Day Two we started to get to know Ole Tommy Davis even better, and he turned out to be the nicest man in the world.
A quick biography of my main man TD: He played at the University of Minnesota , and his favorite college memories were dropping thirty plus points on Indiana and a furious, chair-hurling Bobby Knight. As a child, he went to the annual camp for the best youngsters in the country, and he played with the likes of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, etc. According to him, (and you don’t doubt a man with as much integrity as Tommy Davis has), he was better than Michael Jordan when he was twelve. After graduating college, he was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks. He played I think only one season in the NBA, and then traveled to play in the Philippines. He was a huge star in the Philippines, and made tons of money while living in paradise. When he left there, he traveled around Europe, scouting for the team he coaches in Bordeaux, France. He has lived there for the past twenty years, and speaks French fluently. Now he travels everywhere, running camps, scouting and recruiting internationally. He still keeps in touch with Popovich, coach of the Spurs, and has been extended an offer to coach in the NBA when he wants to return to the US.
When a man with this many credentials comes to chill in the Gambia, you know he’s a good dude.
So, after the first session on Day Two, Tommy asks us if we’d like to go get something to eat – something Gambian. After dining on cheap Gambian food, he’s like, “We have a couple hours before we have to go back to the courts. Why don’t you tag along with me to the hotel I’m staying at, which happens to be none other than Cocoa Ocean, the most luxurious hotel in the country? My personal driver will drive you there, you can hang with the celebrity likes of me, and then we’ll return to play basketball.”
So we did that. And you don’t know luxury until you leave a Gambian village and then are suddenly surrounded with the blatant, extravagant luxury that we were thrust into. There were like eleven horizon pools, just waiting to be dipped in. The hotel overlooked the ocean, and was filled with tasteful yet funky furniture, enough pool chairs to seat my entire village comfortably, color and beauty.
Old TD hung out with us by the pool, telling us all about the basketball royalty he had faced, asking us questions about the Peace Corps, reminiscing about NCAA tournaments past, and continuing to offer us things we had been deprived of – food, hot showers, air conditioned rides across town.
So, daily, we continued to do this. We were Tommy’s helpers in the morning, perfectly following his instructions and demonstrating skills which we had mastered as children, being worshipped by Gambians for making simple shots or dribbling between our legs.
One day, I invited Tommy to play a friendly game of HORSE… in which I couldn’t miss. I beat him and one of my male volunteer counterparts, and THE Tommy Davis, NBA star, friend of Gregg Popovich, pal of Tony Parker, who played with the legends of my youth said, and I quote, “That girl can shoot.”
Then we’d go eat Gambian food, return to luxury, and sleep by the pool for a few hours, before we’d go back and play basketball again.
One day, the employees of the embassy decided to show their appreciation for all the” work” we were doing. They took us to the best and most expensive restaurant in town. The amount of money I spent on my meal was more than the monthly rent I pay my family to stay in my house and eat with them every day… FOR A MONTH. We got fancy juices, ate meat without bones, Mexican food, salads, and dessert. It was perhaps the best meal I have ever eaten.
On Saturday, the final day of the camp, Tommy invited us to escort him through a few of the markets in Kombo. Where normally we would have to cram into a smelly broken car, his personal driver took us right to the market in an air conditioned vehicle. We helped him bargain for the items he wanted, and he was impressed with our comfort in the market, as well as our language skillz.
As he dropped us off for the final time, he took our email addresses, told us anytime we came to France we had a place to stay, double kissed my face, and then told us he loved us.
And we loved him too.
In no way could my Peace Corps experience be considered “posh”. I pretty much got the ”maximum flexibility” option. However, this past week, I have lived how the other side lives. This is the story of my one week of Posh Corps.
The American Embassy in the Gambia sent out a text a few weeks ago, asking for volunteers who would be willing to assist with a basketball camp in Kombo. Being the basketball aficionado I am, I promptly jumped on this opportunity. As I learned more about the camp, I got more excited. An ex-NBA player would be flown in, to teach the people of this tiny African country how to ball efficiently. It would involve about six hours of basketball a day, in ocean-breezy Bakau. It was too good to pass up.
When the other two volunteers and I arrived in town to assist, we didn’t know what to expect. We had no idea that the upcoming week would be the most luxurious and worthwhile one we’d had in this country… perhaps ever.
Day One of the camp was pretty standard. My fellow Peace Corps buddies and I didn’t really know what to do to be most helpful, so we just ran drills with the camp participants. We felt like rock stars when Tommy Davis, ex-NBA player, invited us to help him demonstrate drills or skills, and then, after fundamentally flawlessly completing the play, all the Gambians would cheer when we scored, yelling “Basket!” and offering enthusiastic high fives.
There’s about a four hour break in the middle of the day, so on day one, we just went back to our Peace Corps house and hung out. Then we returned to the camp to coach the little ones in the afternoon. Pretty standard day of basketball camp.
On Day Two we started to get to know Ole Tommy Davis even better, and he turned out to be the nicest man in the world.
A quick biography of my main man TD: He played at the University of Minnesota , and his favorite college memories were dropping thirty plus points on Indiana and a furious, chair-hurling Bobby Knight. As a child, he went to the annual camp for the best youngsters in the country, and he played with the likes of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, etc. According to him, (and you don’t doubt a man with as much integrity as Tommy Davis has), he was better than Michael Jordan when he was twelve. After graduating college, he was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks. He played I think only one season in the NBA, and then traveled to play in the Philippines. He was a huge star in the Philippines, and made tons of money while living in paradise. When he left there, he traveled around Europe, scouting for the team he coaches in Bordeaux, France. He has lived there for the past twenty years, and speaks French fluently. Now he travels everywhere, running camps, scouting and recruiting internationally. He still keeps in touch with Popovich, coach of the Spurs, and has been extended an offer to coach in the NBA when he wants to return to the US.
When a man with this many credentials comes to chill in the Gambia, you know he’s a good dude.
So, after the first session on Day Two, Tommy asks us if we’d like to go get something to eat – something Gambian. After dining on cheap Gambian food, he’s like, “We have a couple hours before we have to go back to the courts. Why don’t you tag along with me to the hotel I’m staying at, which happens to be none other than Cocoa Ocean, the most luxurious hotel in the country? My personal driver will drive you there, you can hang with the celebrity likes of me, and then we’ll return to play basketball.”
So we did that. And you don’t know luxury until you leave a Gambian village and then are suddenly surrounded with the blatant, extravagant luxury that we were thrust into. There were like eleven horizon pools, just waiting to be dipped in. The hotel overlooked the ocean, and was filled with tasteful yet funky furniture, enough pool chairs to seat my entire village comfortably, color and beauty.
Old TD hung out with us by the pool, telling us all about the basketball royalty he had faced, asking us questions about the Peace Corps, reminiscing about NCAA tournaments past, and continuing to offer us things we had been deprived of – food, hot showers, air conditioned rides across town.
So, daily, we continued to do this. We were Tommy’s helpers in the morning, perfectly following his instructions and demonstrating skills which we had mastered as children, being worshipped by Gambians for making simple shots or dribbling between our legs.
One day, I invited Tommy to play a friendly game of HORSE… in which I couldn’t miss. I beat him and one of my male volunteer counterparts, and THE Tommy Davis, NBA star, friend of Gregg Popovich, pal of Tony Parker, who played with the legends of my youth said, and I quote, “That girl can shoot.”
Then we’d go eat Gambian food, return to luxury, and sleep by the pool for a few hours, before we’d go back and play basketball again.
One day, the employees of the embassy decided to show their appreciation for all the” work” we were doing. They took us to the best and most expensive restaurant in town. The amount of money I spent on my meal was more than the monthly rent I pay my family to stay in my house and eat with them every day… FOR A MONTH. We got fancy juices, ate meat without bones, Mexican food, salads, and dessert. It was perhaps the best meal I have ever eaten.
On Saturday, the final day of the camp, Tommy invited us to escort him through a few of the markets in Kombo. Where normally we would have to cram into a smelly broken car, his personal driver took us right to the market in an air conditioned vehicle. We helped him bargain for the items he wanted, and he was impressed with our comfort in the market, as well as our language skillz.
As he dropped us off for the final time, he took our email addresses, told us anytime we came to France we had a place to stay, double kissed my face, and then told us he loved us.
And we loved him too.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Dizzy Bats
The antics of ASP have given me many fun games to play in a tight spot, when I’m bored or need to entertain many.
This time I chose to enlist the help of Dizzy Bat, a hilarious game involving materials readily available in the Gambia. I grabbed a locally made broom (lots of grass tied together with a piece of fabric), and told kids to look up in the air, put the broom on the tip of their nose, look at the end of it, and spin around ten times FAST. Then, when they’ve finished, they should put the broom on the ground, stand next to it, and jump from side to side over the broom ten times.
That’s the game.
I played it with kids of all ages. Lots of kids fell down, tons of kids got real dirty, and my 9th grade friend and I exchanged words for “dizzy” in our respective languages. In Mandinka, it’s “tiroo”.
The next day, my ninth grade friend Maimuna approached me and gave me the following letter.
“Abby How are you today.
Yesterday the game that we played seen I go home I started sleeping at 7:49 I sleeping up to 10:53. my mother called me, did not anser, she ask me what happened. I say noting, she say no something is go on. I say noting go on. she say you never sleeping like this.
I willy I am not going to do these game again
From Maimuna”
So, obviously I made an impression on her. I also now have numerous kids who I don’t recognize start spinning around when they see me, yelling “Abby! Tee-zee! Tee-zee!” until they fall down.
I constantly wonder what my legacy will be when I finally leave this tiny country. I think this game is in the running for what people will remember about me. "Oh, yeah, Abby? She's the one that drew that map on the wall right? Or, she's the one that carried 20 liters of water in her backpack AND twenty liters on her bike for training? Ohhhhhhh, the dizzy bat chick... Now I remember."
This time I chose to enlist the help of Dizzy Bat, a hilarious game involving materials readily available in the Gambia. I grabbed a locally made broom (lots of grass tied together with a piece of fabric), and told kids to look up in the air, put the broom on the tip of their nose, look at the end of it, and spin around ten times FAST. Then, when they’ve finished, they should put the broom on the ground, stand next to it, and jump from side to side over the broom ten times.
That’s the game.
I played it with kids of all ages. Lots of kids fell down, tons of kids got real dirty, and my 9th grade friend and I exchanged words for “dizzy” in our respective languages. In Mandinka, it’s “tiroo”.
The next day, my ninth grade friend Maimuna approached me and gave me the following letter.
“Abby How are you today.
Yesterday the game that we played seen I go home I started sleeping at 7:49 I sleeping up to 10:53. my mother called me, did not anser, she ask me what happened. I say noting, she say no something is go on. I say noting go on. she say you never sleeping like this.
I willy I am not going to do these game again
From Maimuna”
So, obviously I made an impression on her. I also now have numerous kids who I don’t recognize start spinning around when they see me, yelling “Abby! Tee-zee! Tee-zee!” until they fall down.
I constantly wonder what my legacy will be when I finally leave this tiny country. I think this game is in the running for what people will remember about me. "Oh, yeah, Abby? She's the one that drew that map on the wall right? Or, she's the one that carried 20 liters of water in her backpack AND twenty liters on her bike for training? Ohhhhhhh, the dizzy bat chick... Now I remember."
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Back to School
So, even though we still have about six weeks left in this term, I was thinking about back to school after the long rainy season. Then I was thinking about back to school in America.
American back to school time is my favorite time of year. WalMarts are filled with all of the students, unexcited to go back, the parents, unexcited to be in a WalMart, and me, excited all around. There are so many things arranged in rainbow order, the smell of glue and paper in the air...
And I was thinking about the sales. How for a dollar, you can get an entire pack of crayola markers, or ten packs of notebook paper.
So, if you or anyone you know is doing back to school shopping this year, think about this.
If everyone I know fills one standard weight shipping box (cost to send about $50-60) with school supplies, they will last my school years and years beyond my tenure here. So, if you're up for it, here are the things that are most useful to my school and the teachers within it.
- Markers - good crayola ones, thin and thick.
- CONSTRUCTION PAPER - Impossible to get in this country but SUPER important.
- Lined notebook paper
- Glue - not glue sticks, but elmer's in a bottle. Glue sticks dry out in like a day during dry season.
- SCISSORS - both big teachers pair and LOTS of small kids pairs. My dream is to make a class set so students can actually use them, but classes have like forty or more kids...
- Pens and pencils - less important than the above things, but nonetheless important.
- Dictionaries. I know these will be hard to send, but most kids don't know how to use one/have never seen one. Beyond that, I think they would be helpful for teachers.
- Books - used, new, any children's book are appreciated. See below.
- People here love certificates. If you can find blank "Certificates of Achievement" or "Certificates of Accomplishment" or whatever, they'd be great to have.
- Page protectors - I'm working on using some dry erase markers I have to make worksheets reusable, so putting them in page protectors is like the same as laminating them. If you have any of these lying around, send them.
- Prizes - any prizes that children would like. Colorful erasers or pencils, anything you can buy for cheap in a big pack that kids might like.
I also just painted a giant world map on the wall of the library, and I want to teach students a little more about the rest of the world, of which they know nothing! I was thinking about reading them books from other countries scattered throughout the world. I have West African books, and I have books from America and England, but none from anywhere else. So, if you can find books from Scandinavia, Indonesia, Patagonia, or Antarctica, I'll take ANYTHING!
And while you're at it, if you want to send me Clif Bars, raw almonds, and/or candy of any kind, I'd accept it. :)
Thanks in advance!
American back to school time is my favorite time of year. WalMarts are filled with all of the students, unexcited to go back, the parents, unexcited to be in a WalMart, and me, excited all around. There are so many things arranged in rainbow order, the smell of glue and paper in the air...
And I was thinking about the sales. How for a dollar, you can get an entire pack of crayola markers, or ten packs of notebook paper.
So, if you or anyone you know is doing back to school shopping this year, think about this.
If everyone I know fills one standard weight shipping box (cost to send about $50-60) with school supplies, they will last my school years and years beyond my tenure here. So, if you're up for it, here are the things that are most useful to my school and the teachers within it.
- Markers - good crayola ones, thin and thick.
- CONSTRUCTION PAPER - Impossible to get in this country but SUPER important.
- Lined notebook paper
- Glue - not glue sticks, but elmer's in a bottle. Glue sticks dry out in like a day during dry season.
- SCISSORS - both big teachers pair and LOTS of small kids pairs. My dream is to make a class set so students can actually use them, but classes have like forty or more kids...
- Pens and pencils - less important than the above things, but nonetheless important.
- Dictionaries. I know these will be hard to send, but most kids don't know how to use one/have never seen one. Beyond that, I think they would be helpful for teachers.
- Books - used, new, any children's book are appreciated. See below.
- People here love certificates. If you can find blank "Certificates of Achievement" or "Certificates of Accomplishment" or whatever, they'd be great to have.
- Page protectors - I'm working on using some dry erase markers I have to make worksheets reusable, so putting them in page protectors is like the same as laminating them. If you have any of these lying around, send them.
- Prizes - any prizes that children would like. Colorful erasers or pencils, anything you can buy for cheap in a big pack that kids might like.
I also just painted a giant world map on the wall of the library, and I want to teach students a little more about the rest of the world, of which they know nothing! I was thinking about reading them books from other countries scattered throughout the world. I have West African books, and I have books from America and England, but none from anywhere else. So, if you can find books from Scandinavia, Indonesia, Patagonia, or Antarctica, I'll take ANYTHING!
And while you're at it, if you want to send me Clif Bars, raw almonds, and/or candy of any kind, I'd accept it. :)
Thanks in advance!
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