So today I began at the World Food Programme. I was so lucky that the UN offices were just across the street from the hotel I was staying in. Getting into the UN can be a bit of a hassel. Yesterday I had to give them my passport (something I truly hate doing, as all my insticts say "Don't let anybody have that!!), sign in, wait for them to go visit my supervisor and then find someone with enough time to come get me out of the holding area. Luckily, today, they just looked at my passport and sent me right in. My supervisor was not happy of the lack of security~I guess I just don't look threatening enough.
The WFP is located on a long hall painted yellow with lots of white doors and white tile. The left of the hall is occupied by the Population Fund and we are on the right. About 10 people make up the office, along with several drivers. Everyone is very polite, but incredibly busy. The country director, programing director, and I believe, the adminitrative secratery are all leaving (retiring or being relocated to other countries, as the WFP moves people about every 4 years), so everyone is crazy getting ready for the impending chaos of new bosses etc. In all this confusion, they seemed to forget that I was coming! They have been very kind in welcoming me, but so far have just given me one document to read in the last 3 hours. They are supposed to set an office up for me, but the man who does that is out, so I am at his desk. Just trying to fill up the time. So far, I've read everything on the WFP website that has anything to do with Gambia, replied to lots of e-mails and looked at Facebook.
I believe my job will mainly consist of working with the School Feeding Programme, a national program that provides school lunches as an incentive to get kids to go to school and improve child nutrition. Gambia is one of the poorest countries in the world (I believe 122 out of 177), so improving education is vital. Education is one of the primary ways to pull a country out of poverty and reduce hunger rates. If you have money, you are more likely to eat.
Hopefully soon, they will throw me into the deep end and pile me with work and make me miss this time of idleness. Until then, I will keep dreaming of being across the street at the beach.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
New Opinions
I bought a little book on Gambia before I came and I got a completely different impression of what this country would be like. First of all, the book said that this is a Muslim country. While it is true that most people here are Muslim, it is certainly not what I had in mind. I pictured women wearing long skirts, heads covered, very pious, religous group. While everyone is deeply religious they dress just like Americans! I brought lots of long skirts and tops with sleeves etc. and I couldn't have been further from what they wear here. I should have just brought my favorite sun dresses and summer clothes and I would have fit in just fine. Everyone is incredibly approachable (I was worried about talking to men in particular). But women are very empowered here, there are several wealthy business women and they seem to be treated as well as the men in their jobs, and social life.
I also planned on lots of power outages. The truth is, every once in a blue moon the power goes off for a couple of hours. It's like living in Alabama during tornado season. There is also no reason not to walk at night. My book said not to walk at night because you might fall into an open sewer. All the sewers are covered! So this book must be very outdated or maybe the author has never been here! There are people walking around at all hours of the day and night. Not just Gambians, but all nationalities and races. I feel incredibly safe here, all the time! I'm so happy about that because it would terrible living in fear for 3 months!
Last night I had dinner with some friends from my hotel. We went to a great area with lots of restraunts and live music! I would have LOVED for Alex to have been there to twirl me around a bit;) We also walked around and saw some of Gambia's most expensive hotels and took a stroll on the beach. We went by Monkey Park, but it was closed and I suppose all the monkies had gone to sleep. It was so much fun to get out and go exploring with some new friends! One of the guys was Gambian and I asked him question after question about the country and he made me feel so much better about everything!
Today I went by the WFP office and was told about my job, which I'll learn more about tomorrow. More importantly, the UN helped me find a great apartment. Its called Sea View and its in walking distance of everything I need, an African market, a supermarket, shopping centers, and an internet cafe! I've also made friends with some of my neighbors which I'm excited about. One is a Spanish man who carries a baby bird in his pocket! I think the mama bird was pretty angry about that though, she kept dive bombing him! There's also an American woman who works at the Peace Corps office that lives nearby that was helping me find a good apartment and we plan on going out sometime soon!
Today I went by the WFP office and was told about my job, which I'll learn more about tomorrow. More importantly, the UN helped me find a great apartment. Its called Sea View and its in walking distance of everything I need, an African market, a supermarket, shopping centers, and an internet cafe! I've also made friends with some of my neighbors which I'm excited about. One is a Spanish man who carries a baby bird in his pocket! I think the mama bird was pretty angry about that though, she kept dive bombing him! There's also an American woman who works at the Peace Corps office that lives nearby that was helping me find a good apartment and we plan on going out sometime soon!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
I made it!
This mornig I woke up to beautiful golden morning with palm trees and a sea breeze from the gorgeous green Atlantic Ocean (having trouble uploading pictures, but they're on Facebook). My trip here went well. I was surprised at how emotional I was saying goodbye yesterday. I think it was a combination of saying goodbye, nerves about going to a new country by myself and being excited that my lifelong dream is finally coming true! My parents and my boyfriend, Alex, were so nice to take me to the airport and see me off. (Saving tons of money by not leaving my car at the airport for a little over 3 months:)
I flew from Huntsville, AL, to Chicago, IL, on to Brussels, Belgium and finally to Banjul, Gambia. All flights went well except for there were a LOT of babies on the international flights. I love babies, but these were the angriest babies I have ever come across. They made sure no one got any rest. The man sitting next to me called it "surround sound." Thankfully, on the trip from Belgium to Gambia, the babies weren't quite as persistent and I got a few Z's in. I even woke myself up snoring! So embarrassing!
I was suprised to be dreadfully under dressed on that flight. The men were either dressed in very high fashion suits or designer shirts or in majestic African tunics. The women were in high heels and dresses and scarfs. One woman wore a hat that looked like she just left Prince William and Kate's wedding!
I pre-booked a resort which was supposed to pick me up from the airport. They were late so the airport manager sat with me, got me a drink, and told me all that he loved about his country. He was so nice, and every older man that passed kept on telling me that was his son. He must have had at least 5 fathers! The trip to the resort took about 45 minutes through the country and a small village. It looks a lot like many of the 3rd world countries that I've been to. Lots of compounds built with cinder blocks. Many people on the street socializing, selling things, and several people going for jogs. I asked why so many people were running and my driver told me that jogging is a favorite form of exercises! I don't think I've ever seen that in a third world country!
My resort is gorgeous and located right across the street from the UN offices. ( A very pleasant surprise!) There are very few guests here, as it is not the tourist season here because it is much too hot. The weather is a lot like a summer in Alabama~hot and very humid. All the workers here know me by name already! The guests all watched a soccer match last night on television. I'm not sure who played but the guests were NOT happy with the winner. I think it may have been Manchester United? The grounds here are absolutely beautiful, with lots of flowers, exotic birds an impeccable large swimming pool, several bars and restaurants. My room is very nice with a powerful air conditioner, hot water (it's hard to get it cool enough!), satellite television (I watched Oprah's last show last night) and a great view of the ocean.
This morning I got up early to go to church with a woman I met here. Unfortunately my malaria medicine made me very sick. I went back to bed and stayed there until early this afternoon. Then I took a walk on the beach and had drinks at the pool. The beach has very beautiful horses and very few people. Both big surprises! I'm about to go into town to check things out with a few friends I made here. Until later!
I flew from Huntsville, AL, to Chicago, IL, on to Brussels, Belgium and finally to Banjul, Gambia. All flights went well except for there were a LOT of babies on the international flights. I love babies, but these were the angriest babies I have ever come across. They made sure no one got any rest. The man sitting next to me called it "surround sound." Thankfully, on the trip from Belgium to Gambia, the babies weren't quite as persistent and I got a few Z's in. I even woke myself up snoring! So embarrassing!
I was suprised to be dreadfully under dressed on that flight. The men were either dressed in very high fashion suits or designer shirts or in majestic African tunics. The women were in high heels and dresses and scarfs. One woman wore a hat that looked like she just left Prince William and Kate's wedding!
I pre-booked a resort which was supposed to pick me up from the airport. They were late so the airport manager sat with me, got me a drink, and told me all that he loved about his country. He was so nice, and every older man that passed kept on telling me that was his son. He must have had at least 5 fathers! The trip to the resort took about 45 minutes through the country and a small village. It looks a lot like many of the 3rd world countries that I've been to. Lots of compounds built with cinder blocks. Many people on the street socializing, selling things, and several people going for jogs. I asked why so many people were running and my driver told me that jogging is a favorite form of exercises! I don't think I've ever seen that in a third world country!
My resort is gorgeous and located right across the street from the UN offices. ( A very pleasant surprise!) There are very few guests here, as it is not the tourist season here because it is much too hot. The weather is a lot like a summer in Alabama~hot and very humid. All the workers here know me by name already! The guests all watched a soccer match last night on television. I'm not sure who played but the guests were NOT happy with the winner. I think it may have been Manchester United? The grounds here are absolutely beautiful, with lots of flowers, exotic birds an impeccable large swimming pool, several bars and restaurants. My room is very nice with a powerful air conditioner, hot water (it's hard to get it cool enough!), satellite television (I watched Oprah's last show last night) and a great view of the ocean.
This morning I got up early to go to church with a woman I met here. Unfortunately my malaria medicine made me very sick. I went back to bed and stayed there until early this afternoon. Then I took a walk on the beach and had drinks at the pool. The beach has very beautiful horses and very few people. Both big surprises! I'm about to go into town to check things out with a few friends I made here. Until later!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Getting Ready: The coutdown begins!
I've been looking forward to my May 27th departure date since 6th grade. 12 years!! I finally got an internship with the UN World Food Programme (British Spelling:) in the Gambia. The Gambia is a small country in West Africa that is on the Gambian river and surrounded by Senegal. I'll be staying in the capital, Banjul which is an island right on the Atlantic coast and the Gambian river~my kind of place! The WFP is working on revamping the national school meals program so I'll be helping with that.
Last week I put the pocket change I've been saving for 12 year to pay for my plane ticket. It took 3 trips to the bank to take the money because it was SO heavy! I also got my vaccinations. Luckily I only had to get a few (Polio, yellow fever, and a Hep A booster) since I've had to have lots of vaccinations for other trips. I had a site reaction to two of the vaccinations but it only lasted a few days. I sent off for my visa, got my official internship agreement form and got my first official Gambia guide book. I also signed for my diploma for my masters, which I will receive while I'm gone! Woo! Hoo! Finally done with school!
A few minor details still need to be figured out. Namely, where am I going to live? and what do I need to pack? The UN may have a guest house I can stay in but they haven't e-mailed me back. I'm planning on booking a hotel or guest house the first few days until I find someplace longer term. I'm also hoping that the official Gambia guidebook gives details on what to pack. Other than that, just spending lots of time with friends and family before my little adventure.
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