One Week To Go: A Shelly Good-Bye

Yesterday marked the one week count down to our time here in Gambia. The past two years have flown by and we're starting to feel a bit sad about leaving. Saturday was a beautiful day and we soaked up the last of the beach before we head back to DC. Over the past 2 years we have spent a significant time at the beach. When the bumsters, cows, horses and trash can be avoided it is lovely and we will certainly miss being able to walk down to the beach after work and put our feet in the water. The beaches here are often littered with pretty shells and we've managed to accumulate quite a collection over time. Rather than just leave them in the house or throw them out Zack came up with the idea of having a shell ceremony to return the shells to the ocean and also celebrate all the lovely moments we've had on Gambia's beaches, particularly the Kartong beach. So last night we stayed at out our favorite eco-lodge, Sandele down in Kartong on the Gambia-Senegal border. Apart from the lovely setting, it was a good chance to catch the wonderful owners Geri and Maurice who we have got to know pretty well during our time here, it was sad to say good-bye. The photos today are of the shell throwing ceremony that took place (just the two of us) yesterday evening. It was warm, the wind had dropped, the sun was setting and the beach was deserted. Although we were just throwing a bunch of shells in the water it symbolized more to us and although I am excited to move on from Gambia, I started to feel quite sad about leaving what feels (somewhat) like our home. I know my photo a day project did not work at all but I will write another blog before we leave next weekend.

 

Yes! We Have No Bananas...

 

One of the best things about living in a tropical climate is the wonderful fruit... mangoes, melons, papaya, pineapple, coconut (is that a fruit) and of course an endless supply of bananas. We are lucky to have two banana palms in our front yard and (with no help from Zack or myself) they have grown two huge bunches of bananas. Even after giving heaps to Lamin and Isa we still have a huge supply and for the past week we have been gorging on bananas. It make's me think of the movie Sabrina where Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart are our on the boat and singing... "Yes we have no bananas, we have no bananas today!" Well we have LOTS of bananas... we have had banana smoothies, frozen banana and yogurt-banana cake - made with wholemeal flour, sunflower oil, yogurt and a small amount of raw sugar it tastes delicious but is healthy! I know you don’t believe me that it tastes good but I adapted the recipe from Elisabeth Bard's popular book Lunch in Paris, you can try it yourself. So this week I’m proudly sharing with you the transition of our bananas from tree to kitchen to cake. We still have another big bunch ripening on the tree so any banana recipes would be greatly appreciated, is there such thing as banana jam? OK well I’m off to make some more banana cakes, I’ve had to start giving them away!

Hanging out on the tree... no idea of what's coming :)

Just a small sample of the bananas we have

Banana-yogurt cake... YUM!

Book Launch

I can't believe it's already been 2 weeks since my last post, where does time go!? So I have been meaning to tell you all about my book launch with was held a 10 days ago at Tanji Lower Basic School. Tanji is a fishing village about a 20 minute drive south along the coast. This is the first real event (apart from mural paintings and drama performances) that I've organized here and although it really wasn't a big event it took LOTS of organization. The main hitch was funding so it took quite a while to work out all the money but thanks to a small grant, cheap food, drink donations and some money from my family I managed to get it all together... 

Students came from 8 different coastal schools

The morning started with a hectic trip with Sheriff, a guy in my office who helps out with... well anything really. So sor the past 3 weeks Sheriff had been calling "a guy" who was organizing 7 buses for us to rent in order to transport all the attending students to the event. Despite the multiple calls when I arrived at 8am to meet them all at the "garage" (also known as an area on the side of the road that is packed with people, buses, animals, sellers etc.) nothing was really organized. It was a little (ok very) crazy and I had little hope that the 7 drivers were going to make it to the various schools and the get the kids to Tanji but by some miracle they all turned up - even on time!

"Bakary in the boat"

I headed down to Tanji - via a very rushed trip to the supermarket to get last minute ice for the drinks - and everything started to come together. People began arriving, all the kids were there, the school was ready and we managed to start only 1 hour late which by Gambian standards is a good effort. Luckily I had hired a drummer who kept the crowd entertained and the students dancing. The event began with various speeches from the head of WWF here, representatives from the education department, environment department, the US embassy, myself and the Tanji Principal - who spontaneously broke into song at the end! Except for the wind blowing sand everywhere and the increasingly hot sun all was OK - some of the speeches were a little long but we managed to wake the crowd up with a entertaining drama interpretation of Bakary and The Dolphin by a local drama group. Despite my homemade costumes they were wonderful and even finished with a song.

The Gambian Youth Actors Association

All the press arrived and this week Bakary and The Dolphin has been on TV, in multiple papers and I even read it on the radio. So I am happy to report that everything is going to plan. Gambian events are fairly relaxed so it didn't matter that we started late or that we had to move the main table several times because of the sun. After the event, food and drinks were served and things started to get a little hectic, especially around the free sodas... luckily the principal welcomed the chance to take control and I was able to quietly escape knowing that everyone was happy.
 

My speech - making it up as I go along :)

The "high" table, a staple of all Gambian events - it always makes me think of college!

Handing over copies of Bakary and The Dolphin for the school libraries

A couple of the teachers, the women look amazing as always

Lunch

Today we were invited to have lunch with the family that we buy our vegetables from. We were very flattered to be asked. Gambian food usually consists of a big bowl of rice with a different type of stew/sauce over the top and with lots of msg seasoning.  I most often eat local food for lunch at work where a big food bowl is brought in every afternoon from a small nearby restaurant. I’m not going to lie, I don’t love it. All the heavy rice and starchy veges make sleepy , I feel a little queasy after all that palm oil and I’m not good with having the fish head looking at me while I eat – especially when my boss slurps up the intestines! Which I’m sure is a delicacy but I’m not very good with animal parts.  However, now again I enjoy it and I’m sure I’ll miss it when I leave. Especially domoda - which is a peanut based sauce - and nebbe (spelling?) which is basically kidney beans cooked with spices and put in baguette type bread, great for brunch.

 

It turned out that today’s lunch was some of the best Gambian food I have ever had. The benachin (again spelling?), which is sort of like fried rice with veges on top, was not too oily or too salty for my taste and it was delicious, I loved it! I ate so much my tummy is still hurting (but in the good way!). We even had the entertainment of their 2 year old son who spent the entire time running around trying to simultaneously build, break, stretch, light and pull anything he could get his hands on.  The husband, Mohammed, ate with us and it was incredibly interesting listening to all the things he has done and jobs he had had throughout his life. Growing up in a poor, rural farming family that couldn’t afford to send him to school, we were blown away at how intelligent and driven he was. Moreover, he spoke perfect English (a probably at least three other tribal languages) which made me feel very lazy for not being able to speak more that 3 words of Mandinka or Wolof.   On whole it was such an enjoyable experience and the immense kindness and hospitality of Gambian people is something that I will really miss when we go back the States in 2 months.

Happy Sunday!

Just an average Sunday at Casa Zackatie... Hope you're having a great weekend too!!!

I'm an Author!!

Today’s blog pictures are particularly exciting for me... yesterday I picked up 1000 copies of a children’s book I have been working on the past year... I’m a published author!! :) Bakary and The Dolphin in a joint effort between myself, some students in nearby villages and a local artist Njogu Touray.

You may remember that I have been working with WWF on a marine education project that I have been lucky enough to have free reign over. Having my own project is completely new to me and has been quite intimidating but also great experience and lots of fun. Last summer I did a few marine education workshops with students in Kartong and Brufut (2 coastal villages) Upper Basic (middle) Schools. The students were great and I think we all had a good time but I was surprised at how little they knew about the ocean that they live right next to. I figured that writing a book for younger students would be a great way to get kids to start thinking about the ocean at a young age and getting excited about what is out there – much more than the fish that the fishermen bring in. So Njogu and I ran a series of lectures, drama and art classes with the Kartong and Brufut Students. Using art and drama was a good way to engage the students in what they were learning and it is much more fun than listening to me rattle on about the web of life.  Needless to say the drawings they did in class turned out beautifully and I have used them to illustrate the children’s book that will now be given out to the majority of lower basic schools around the country and submitted to the curriculum department to become an official supplementary reading material... YAY! 

The story is about a young Gambian boy who steals his dad’s fishing boat to explore the “mysterious” ocean. When a big storm comes and tips Bakary out of the boat he is saved by a dolphin who guides him back to shore. On the way home Bakary meets and learns about all the wonderful creatures that live under the ocean.   Here are a couple of photos of illustrations from the book, (I can't work out why they won't upload the right way up or how to rotate in blogger sorry!)

Fabric Shopping

 One of my favourite things to do when I get a chance is to go fabric shopping at the local markets – I try not to go too often because I already have a huge pile of fabric at home (any takers, I have stacks?!). I love looking at the head spinning patterns, admiring the fantastic colours (both in the shop and on the clothes the women wear) and imagining all the wonderful things I could do with it. Of course the reality is that it usually sits around for months (or longer) before I actually make anything. I’m also pretty hopeless with the sewing machine, I have a lot of enthusiasm but quite as much capability!  Anyway, half the fun is in the purchasing so I thought I’d share some photos of Serrekunda market with you. It is the largest market in the country and can get a little hectic!

Street scene in the fabric section of serrekunda (thankfully not nearly as dense as the fruit & veg section)

I have very little need for ribbons but how can I resist all the pretty colours!

We usually finish we a Youki - the local soda which has so much sugar my teeth start to ache

Kotu Layout

Last summer we moved into a new house in an area known as Kotu Layout. As some of you may remember we had a rather 'shocking' experience at our old place and while we liked the house and location, we didn't really enjoy being electrocuted every time it rained. Apparently this is pretty common in Gambia and from what I can tell it's a combination of dodgy electrical work and the difficulties associated with grounding a house when it's built on sand - the constant power surges probably don't help either. We had a friend who would always get shocked by the soap dish in her shower - when she complained to the landlord he seemed very unconcerned and told her to just wear flip flops when showering. Anyway so here are a few pics of our new digs - not too bad, we're just surviving over here in Africa :) The photo on the left was taken on Sunday... we were enjoying homemade fishcakes and fresh watermelon juice out by the pool to celebrate out 2nd wedding anniversary.

Although we also enjoyed our last house it is nice not to be around the seedy tourist strip. Our new area is much more residential and for Gambia it is very wealthy. The photo on the right is the view from our bedroom balcony, it's looking out over our yard and across the neighborhood, towards the beach. The idea that our neighborhood is "wealthy" is a relative term. Two of our neighbors don’t even live in finished houses, just the shells, no floors, doors, windows etc. just concrete walls and a roof.  In the morning, starting at 5 am we hear the call to prayer at the mosque down the road. Throughout the day we hear kids in the school across the street and as I write this I can hear them singing. The roads are always busy with goats, sheep, dogs, people and more kids than seems possible!  My study overlooks next doors yard where they keep sheep tied up to our fence, the sheep are kind of cute but when the wind blows the wrong way the smell is awful!   We still buy bread from the bitick (small shop) on the corner but the owner isn't as friendly as our previous bread lady. The area is also convenient for walking and I often walk to the beach (although I get hassled so much I don't go alone), supermarket, vege stand and even a great little Chinese mini-mart that has fresh tofu twice a week. Anyway, until tomorrow...

On the beach near our house

The sunset sky lights up over the pool and papaya trees