Oh the places i've been!

So my time is winding down here. I have less than two months left in the Gambia and I can't believe how fast the time has gone! I feel like every blog post I apologize for not writing as many blogs, but eh, that's just the way it is.

So i figured i would do a bit of a summary on my favorite things I have done in the Gambia...sort of like a Letterman Top 10 list. So here goes:

Basse/Upcountry
The cows, they are many in Basse. My best friend Sarah lives up in Basse and this past year I have been up no less than 6 times. Bear in mind that it takes 12 hours to get there so its not an easy trip but its always a blast. Sarah has a basil and tomato garden (where i relentlessly ridicule her for her bushy tomatoes despite my never having planted any), a well in her compound (high livin!), a super cool family, etc. Also, Basse has a great Nigerian bar where the beers are ALWAYS cold (this is not a common occurrence here. the sun is very hot). They also have an amazing egg sandwich place where they give you Jimbo and potatoes AND beans with the most delicious Nescafe/condensed milk drink you will ever taste. In short, i heart Basse but lord, it is too hot up there!

Moving to Kombo
I loved my Brooklyn-like town of Brikama, but a lot of my work ended up being in Kombo so when I moved there, I was super psyched. Mainly, I was just happy to not have to live out of a bag like a hobo due to constant travel (which was what i did for the first 18 months of my service). Additionally, i can't lie...returning to the land of running water and electricity was pretty sweet. I even got a mini-fridge in my place! Of course, this was all before our compound went for 2 months without water and electricity maybe turned on for 2 hours out of the day. But luckily both were restored. Oh yeah, and living with 2 other volunteers in the same compound = extra sweet! Proximity to bars, restaurants, internet, beach, etc. is also a huge bonus. :-)

Bike riding to the Beach
Brikama was awesome. There were several other volunteers who lived in the city so once a month we would do a 20-25 km bike ride to one of the nearby beaches on the coast. Whether we went for the seclusion of Kartung or the resort-like feel of Sanyang, it was always super fun to ride down a highway with the iPod speakers playing OutKast, kids running after our troupe of 6 bikes, and passing under the cashew and mango trees. Once we got to the beach, we stripped off our clothes and ran into the ocean to enjoy!

HIV Bike Trek 2010
So last year, another PCV and I organized a bike trek around the Gambia to teach kids about HIV. We were completely flying by the seat of our pants. We had no idea what we were doing or proper procedures but we were willing to work hard for it. In the end, over a third of PCVs in the Gambia participated, we taught for 5 days in different schools in over half the country, reached over 2,000 young people, and biked more than we ever thought possible. It was the classic PC experience and one i will never forget (although the work load is something I am grateful to not do again!).

OVC Camp
This was my pet project. I come from a long line of camps (okay, just one) and I really wanted to do a camp in the Gambia, especially one kids with cancer or HIV. My organization got the funding through Peace Corps and off we went to Sanyang (the aforementioned beach resort area). We asked all the HIV support groups to send us young women (16-20 yrs old) whose parents were infected. We got 50 of them and plenty of logistical problems.

One of the groups sent us a 10 year old (we were going to talk a lot about sex...not appropriate for her), the lodge didn't have running water or electricity (even though they said they did), the food was consistently 4 hours late (because we only had one cook for 70 people), etc. BUT then a funny thing happened. We got through it. We accepted the 10 year old (who turned out to be super smart and funny and got adopted by all of us), the water started running again (still had probs with electricity), and we got the cook some help. It all turned out not just okay, but AMAZING. All the girls had a fantastic time and we have even started doing some life skills classes with a few of them. All in all, one of my favorite things i have done here.

Life Skills classes
I have already done a post on this but I just wanted to reiterate how much I have loved doing these classes. I spent most of my time doing Life Skills at MJ's Salon in Brikama but I have also started doing them with some of the girls from Mutapola (my women's HIV org), at workshops, trainings, etc. Whether we are talking about self esteem issues, gender roles in the Gambia, HIV/STIs, communication skills, etc, its always a fun time and the girls really take the messages to heart. This was recently evidenced by one of the girls calling me to schedule the next class so she could tell the other students (this never happens!). It warmed my little feminist heart to see how much they love taking the class as much as i love teaching it.

Peace Corps discounts
Okay this is random, i know. But a lot of restaurants, bars and grocery stores in the Kombo area will give you a discount JUST FOR BEING PEACE CORPS. I love it. All you have to do when you pay is ask "Do you offer a Peace Corps discount?" and they normally say "Yes." and then take 10-40% off the bill. This will not happen in America, I know.

Jokors in the Brik
To my favorite watering hole in Brikama...you were the greatest. With your bumster waiters who never bumstered me, to the never-ending parade of women in their wrap skirts about to take showers (they worked there), to the normally cold Julbrews, and the occasionally weird bumster who took pictures of us on his camera phone (ugh), Jokor's was the place to be! It was also where Peace Corps and VSO (a British version of PC) always met and hung out. Did i mention that this place was less than 2 blocks from my house? Oh yeah!

Scottish Embassy
And this was my other favorite watering hole in Kombo but for many different reasons. Its the place where i met my boyfriend (who ran the place) and where we hosted tons of Peace Corps parties. Its where my group (aka Best Group Ever) held our 1st year anniversary and where Kelsey mispronounced super-LA-tives. Its where we played pool while watching Senegalese wrestling matches on tv. Its where the best domoda AND cheeseburgers were made. Its where i spent my 29th birthday having a chicken bbq and dancing the night away with my friends. Oh Scottish Embassy...so sweet!

PC 50th Anniversary Stuff
So in case you haven't heard, Peace Corps is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Its been pretty awesome these past few months because we have been on a HUGE tv show here (the Fatou Show...like Gambian Oprah), met the President AND had a huge celebration in his village complete with the slaughtering of many animals and speeches commemorating our time here (45 yrs to be exact). Oh yeah, and we have one more big event in December where we will march down the main street of the capital and have a big party. YAY PC 50th!

PC Parties
PC likes to say that volunteers that go to Asia come back more spiritually enlightened. Those that come from Latin America are more politically conscious. And those that come back from Africa like to P-A-R-T-Y!!! So yeah, Gambian volunteers like to party. Hey, its not easy living in a village and you need to cut loose somehow. Also, Gambians like to party too so they never begrudge us a good time. My group likes to organize themed parties so we have done a booze cruise for the 4th of July, a scavenger hunt birthday party for all the 30 yr olds (Dirty Thirty), the Brewlympics (you can guess...beer + olympic style games + birthday parties = EPIC). Oh yeah and lets not forget all the partying in the Senegambia area. In short, its been fun. ;-)


Travel (Italy, Scotland, America)
I went to Italy for my best friend's wedding last year. I went to America and saw my family and friends. I went to Scotland to visit my boyfriend. I got all I needed for my time here: eating good food (Italy), being home (America), and partying (Scotland). Each of these trips served their purpose of rejuvenating me for returning to the Gambia because its not easy being here. I never thought I would get the opportunity to travel this much and for that, I am extremely thankful. Oh yeah, and thanks so my siblings for subsidizing my travels to Scotland. Capital One also thanks me for going there and spending my non-existent funds.

BEST GROUP EVER (EPIC)
So my group (Health and Environment 2010-12) is the bomb. There are 30 people in our group (used to be 35 but many medical issues put it down to 30). Frankly, we all are kind of in love with each other. We have had more epic journeys than most other groups (see: HIV Bike Trek 2010, Dirty 30 party, HIV trainings, GAD, Baby Mamas, North Bank HIV Football Tournament, LGBT trainings, Life Skills, Moringa tree plantings, Oyster harvesting, ETC, ETC, ETC). We are kind of known as the cocky mo-fos of the Gambia but after reading a tiny sampling of all the shiz we did, how could we not be?

We work well together. We party well together. We are excellent organizers. We like to get things done. We know the language (most of us, not me so much). In short, we freakin ROCK. Our COS (close of service) conference in October was a week of extreme fun and maybe a bit of over-the-top self-congratulation. We had a taco night, a jeopardy game about our life stories, a night at the Scottish Embassy, and oh yeah, GAMBIAN PROM! An epic two years? I'd say so!