How's the food?

Like true Southerns, everyone's first questions seems to be the most important one: How's the food? To be completely honest, it's fantastic! I tried to come to Africa with a completely open mind because I was thinking that I would be eating bugs and fish heads (which I actually did try) and rats and things of that sort. I have tried a few new things but everything I have tried is absolutely delicious.

Because the Gambia depends on tourism, they have tons of food and restaurants that cater to every palate. I eat lots of pizza and pasta, club sandwiches, fried chicken sandwiched (I still miss Chick-fil-A), hamburgers, Indian food and last night I had Chinese. The African food is also wonderful. They eat a ton of fish here because we are right on the ocean and these waters are largely under-fished so every fisherman catches a lot. (Dad you should give up on Smith Lake and come here!) You can eat fish and chips andy way you can dream. If there isn't fish in a dish than there are probably prawns or prawn sauce, which are ship. I have a friend at home that specializes in mercury intake, he would have a fit over how much fish is eaten here. But there is far less commercial pollution so these fish are not as dangerous to eat as fish at home.

A noticeable difference from home is that everything here is so fresh! I have some friends in Alabama who are from Africa, they never eat meat in the States because they say that it tastes wrong. It is so different here because it is killed in the morning and eaten for dinner. Nothing is ever frozen, shipped thousands of miles, or processed, like all of our food in the US. At home there is a movement to "Eat Locally." Here, you don't have a choice. The fruit is so delicious, banana, oranges, mangos etc. can be picked off trees everywhere you go. They don't use GMOs here (Genetically Modified Organisms that scientifically make our food grow faster and bigger that are herbicide and pesticide resistant etc.) so everything is smaller but is packed with a lot more flavor.

I have a small kitchen and mini-fridge, but the fridge doesn't usually work and its difficult to cook for 1 with out left-overs, so eat almost every meal out. (I do have powdered milk and cereal, long-lasting yougurt, cheese and crackers at home.) This time of year many, many restaurants are closed because there are no tourists and locals can't afford it. The restaurants that are open have super long menus but you have to pick out youtop 5 choices because they may not have the ingredients. As an extreme example, I went to an Italian restaurant the other day and they didn't have flour to make pizza! Begining in August, the restaurants and supermarkets will be closed all day due to required fasting in Ramadan. During that period people may not eat or drink while the sun is up, so all the places that sell food close down so as not to tempt anyone. People are known to get very irritable during this period and it sounds terrible. I have decided to go home in late July and am so happy that I'm going to miss Ramadan.

Food here is also very expensive if you don't eat rice every meal. The cheapest thing that I have found so far is tomato soup, which is $5-8, and I eat it almost every night for dinner. Its amazing how much policy in the US affects the rest of the world. The US subsidizes farmers to not grow food, buys corn to convert to ethanol, and buys excess crops to send to other countries. Each of these practices effects the natural economics of the food market and drives up food prices all around the world. All around teh world there has been a food crisis, not because there is not enough food, but because there is plenty of food sitting around and nobody can afford to buy it. There has been a little bit of talk about rising food prices in the United States, but that has been astronomical to so many other countries, and Gambia is certainly not excluded.

The locals eat a lot of rice. Rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's white rice usuallyu accompanied by some type of tomato or pepper sauce and of course, fish. I have a friend that grew up in a family of 11 and he said hkis family ate on less than $1 a day be eating rice and catching their own fish, squirrel or rabbit to eat with it.

I for one, am looking foward to returing home to cheap Mexican food and Jack's milk shakes! Have a great day!

Slowing Down

I find that the more I travel, and get to know different cultures and different people, the more I find that people are the same everywhere. People want a life free of financial trouble, people want their children to have a better life than themselves, people want friends and family that love them and they want a happy, peaceful and secure life. I think once you realize how similar we are, its difficult to dislike people. Once you begin to learn someone else's story their actions become much more understandable and relatable.

With that being said, a lot of what drives people and society here are the same as home. But there are a few small day to day things that make it very different.

• At home we do things big. We have big cars to buy lots of groceries, live a long way from work and have big houses to store all of our stuff. Here, things are done on a much smaller level. A lot of that is dure to the extreme poverty here, people just can't afford much, but it also has to do with the culture and circumstances. People don't have cars to take to a grocery store, so they only buy what they can carry and are going to eat for the day. People have to live close to work and within walking distance of what they need, so there are little shops and markets everywhere. You never have to go too far to get everything you need.



• From what I can tell, there is not a great mail system here. You don't get phone bills or electric bills. To keep your phone going you have to buy a little scratch off card with a code for more minutes. They are sold on every corner and in every store. You also just have to remember to go pay your electric and water bill. If you forget they cut it off. It could still be a few days before you realize that you forgot to pay your bill, because you are so used to no power or water anyway. (I've been to the electricity company twice and they didn't even have power!)



• For me, the biggest thing to get used to is the pace. If the South is considered to have a slow pace, Gambia is molasses slow. If you want to dine out, forget about fast food. Everything is cooked to order and they often have to go to the market or find a chiken to kill (no joke!) So lunch or dinner can take up to a couple of hours, even just to eat at a small casual place. You can only get internet when you are at an internet cafe, if the power goes out, you are out of luck, and the internet is still really slow, so its going to take a while to do anything anyway. (I usually take my laptop to browse the internet while I wait for dinner~problem solver!) Gambia depends a lot on tourism to drive its economy. Tourist season is November-March so many of the restaurants, hotels and other businesses are clossed. Lots of people are out of work and Gambia is moving even SLOWER than usual. I'm accustomed to being busy all the time, so slowing down has certainly been a challenge.

Anyway, those are just small day to day things that are just different from home and need some getting used to. Have a great day!

A Prayerful People

One thing that some people were scared about when I told them about Gambia is that this is a primarily Muslim country. I wasn't nearly as worried as I have several friends that are Muslim that are all wonderful people. However, often in the States we get ideas that all Muslims are extremist or blindly follow terrorist ways. A little less extreme, would be to say that women are trampled upon and have no rights at all. It may not be "patriotic" or "politically correct" to write a post about my observations about the Gambian's faith, but I think travel is an incredible way to educate yourself on a host of topics and life here revolves around their faith.

I am pleased to tell you that I am getting a completely different picture of Islam here. People are so peaceful, wonderful and happy to share their faith, but never forceful. They pray constantly, 5 times a day. And everything they do is to glorify God. They wash constantly which is a symbol of purification so they can pray to God. Even the cell phones have alarms that remind us of prayers. The mosques have loud speakers to remind them as well~like church bells. People carry their mats and pray anywhere and everywhere~on the streets outside of supermarkets, in the office, in any alley way are solitary crack or crevas you can find someone praying. When they are not kneeling they are carrying beads (it looks a lot like a rosary) and praying.

I never feel, as a woman, that I am looked down upon or have fewer rights here. (Sometimes I do regret being a woman simply because the men are much more vocal about professing their love for passerbys than women are.) Men do have more rights in things like divorce, are more likely to go to school, more likely to eat etc., but women are treated equally and are free to wear and do whatever they want. I must point out, that in many countries, Christian countries included, when families must choose which child get to go to school or eat a meal, they often favor sons because they have greater economic promise. But I must say, my office is full of Gambian women with their masters and PhDs.

Often in 3rd world countries, people's faith is amazing. They have nothing and realize that every little thing they get is from God. They have faith that what they don't have, He will provide it if He wants them to have it. I think often, in the States, we get used to relying on ourselves, thinking that our hard work or money can get us through any situation. There's just no job opportunities here, and certainly not many paying enough to pull oneself out of poverty! They look forward to heaven, because they know that life will be so much better. It's such a testimony of the Christians, as well as the Muslims here. I always thought the "Bible Belt" was the most religious place in the world-I think we've found a rival!

Animal House

One thing Gambia has plenty of are Animals! There are monkeys, lizards, crocodiles, birds, goats and on and on. There are exotic and beautiful animals like the hippos, fish and birds. Bird watchers flock to the Gambia to see the vast number of species here. For a long time I thought there were monkeys playing outside my room every morning. It turns out it's just a weird spiecies of birds! There is also a very irritating rooster that wakes me up every morning~luckily he woke me up this morning because I forgot to set my alarm!

There are also lot of farm animals everywhere. Cows roaming the streets, goats meandering through markets and chickens looking for food in restraunts. There are some garbage trucks here (I've seen one in the resort areas) but most people throw their trash in a large heap and burn it every once in a while. The animals dig through the piles finding the tastiest treats. It sounds like a great plan but the animals tend to find things that can make them sick, kill them or contaminate their milk and meat that people eat. They also leave little messes behind so you have to watch where you step. There was a public health study in Peru a few years ago that had one village put their animals in fences or cages and one village let their animals roam as usual. It was astounding how much desiese dropped when the animals weren't out, especially among young children who have a tendency to put everything in their mouths!

There are also lots of cats and dogs. They are often very mangy and sick looking and the only attention they get is being kicked or shooed when they get too close. A far cry from treating a pet like a member of the family, buying it treats and dressing it up! There are a few dogs that are pets, but very few. The Gambians tend to be scared of the cats. I've been asking why. One person told me that they are considered unlucky. Another told me that they have rabies. Who knows!?

The wild life is a constant source of entertainment for me. This morning I watched a family of monkeys gather breakfast on my way to work, a horse graze and check out a crocodile at lunch, and have been shooing a hen and her chicks while I've been writing this blog! I wouldn't call Gambia an "Animal Lover's Paradise"~ as most of the animals are mistreated. But it certainly is neat to see so much life all the time!

Daily Life in Africa

In some ways, daily life in Africa is the same as the good ole US of A. I get up every morning, head to work, eat out for lunch, and look at Facebook everyday. But a lot of things are taking some getting used to. For example, I will forevermore be infinitely more grateful for washing machines. To wash clothes here you must:

1. Get 5 buckets of water



2. Fill 4 with soap



3. Put whites in 1 and colors in another



4. Scrub every inch of an article of clothing



5. Rinse and Ring



6. Put it in the next bucket of soapy water and Repeat steps 4-5



7. Put it in a bucket with no soap and repeat steps 4-5



8. Hang to dry



9. Iron when dry

Something else I'm not yet used to is not having power. Rainy season started last week and we only get a couple of hours of power a day. There is no air conditioning, but no power means no fans, no water, no refrigerator, no lights, no internet. In short, if you have a flashlight you can read or play games (we play a lot of cards!) I didn't take a shower for 3 days simply because we didn't have water. Last night, I FINALLY got a cold shower! If you want a hot shower, you have to ask the man at the compound to turn on the hot water, but he had already left when the power came back on last night. With the power shortage, it is also becoming more difficult to find things to eat. I'm weary to eat meat if it has not been refigerated properly so I'm quickly becoming a vegetarian. It sounds terrible, but everyone here is so used to it, it doesn't seem like a problem at all. I'm worried about when the rains REALLY come and we can't sit outside anymore and we can't keep the windows open for the breeze. Everyone spends so much time outside here, I think it will be really oppressive. We'll see!

Another thing that I'm still getting used to is depending on public transport to get everywhere. I've never depended so heavily on strangers to get me to where I need to be and always needing cash to get around. There are 3 types of taxis here. Green taxis are tourist taxis and charge about 400D ($16), yellow and green taxis are town taxis that take you by yourself anywhere you want for 25-100D ($1-$4) and yellow and green taxis with a taxi sign on top are taxis with little routes and carry lots of people at a time for 7D (28 cents). If you take those taxis you may have to take several to get where you want. But I can take one to work. Its taken me a long time to tell the diffence between a town taxi and a taxi for 7D, but now I think I got it down.

In other news, I got a kitten this weekend that is absolutely wonderful! The ticket guy at the soccer game let me hold her and then told me to keep her. So I did! She looks about 1 month old and is still drinking milk, but she is very playful and sweet. Everyone loves her!

Work has gotten much better. I have lots of projects to keep me busy. Most of them are research studies and I probably cannot leave the office for liability reasons. So I'm just looking at a lot of data all day. Its not exactly what I had in mind, but I may look for other volunteer opportunities to do when I'm not working.

I'm trying to upload pictures everyday to Facebook. Feel free to check it out! Thats all. Have a wonderful day and enjoy your electricity!!

Living for the Weekend

So far the weekend has been far better than I could have expected. On Fridays the entire country gets off early for Friday prayers. While Muslims pray 5 times a day, Friday is their holy day like Sunday is Christian's day to go to a service. At the UN we get off at 1:00 or 1:30, I'm not exactly positive. You can hear loud horns and chanting through a speaker to call people to prayers. Everyone, even some Westerners dress in the most gorgeous African clothes. The rest of the week most people dress in Western clothes, so it was neat to see everyone so dressed up!

A colleague asked if I wanted to stick around after works for drinks. Most people here don't drink due to religious reasons. However, my colleague is European so I assumed he meant beer. Nope! He meant a Coke and some ice cream! How much fun! There is a "bar" which is a restraunt across the street from work, on the beach. They have a tree house where you can watch the crocodiles in the pond~luckily they only eat fish! When we finished our treats Darko, my colleague, took me home on his motorbike because I was running late for a Skype date with Alex.

Later I was going back to the beach that is only a block away and ran into some children playing outside. Instead of bringing practical things like business clothes, I brought bubbles and soccer balls. Luckily I just happened to have a bottle of bubbles with me, so we played with them until the whole bottle was gone! I talked to the children's father who sells cars from the United States. He had a Lincoln Navigator with a Washington state tag! He only gets one car at a time so its important that he sells it. Hes hoping to get one million dalisi (the local currency, $1=27D) which isn't too shabby!

Later I met some American students from Pennsylvania on the beach and they invidted me to go to a club that evening. It was a challenge to stay awake until 10:00 but I made it! (I'm starting to act SO old!!!) The club was an interesting experience. It had a pool table, couches, small tables and a large dance floor. There is a large group here from Pennsylavania and they were out in force. The club blared music so it was difficult to talk, but the power never stays on too long so we got to mingle quite a bit. The only problem is that you would be in the middle of a conversation and suddenly the music would be blaring again. I left, exhausted, at 12:30 and supposedly the Gambians didn't start coming in until about 1:30!

Today I went with my neighbor on a walk for about 3 miles down the beach to a national park called Monkey Park. There were the cutest monkeys everywhere! They are used to humans so they would come right up to us and just stare at us, presumably wanting food. We met up with some girls that I met last night and had lunch with them. I meant to go home and give my apartment a good cleaning, but to my suprise I have a maid! She came to clean up so I got to come work on my blog! In a little bit I'm going to a national soccer game and then to a game night that all the workers from other countries (expats) go to.

My one regreat that I've had so far is not bringing a friend with me. I think I would have so much more fun, be far less homesick, and be much more adventurous if I had a buddy to do things with. I'm so happy to have people to hang out with this weekend and hope that I continue to meet wonderful people!

A New Apartment

I love my new apartment. But more than that I love the community of it. It sits on the end of a dirt road, about 3 blocks from the main raod. It's a white and green compound with 9 apartments, 7 of which are occupied by the most wonderfully interesting and kind people. The compound is full of beautiful trees, flowers and exotic birds. From the 4th floor you can look over the treetops and see into the town or out to the ocean.

Last night, after my first day of work, which was quite discouraging (but is getting much better!), I hired a taxi to take my things to the apartment. First, we went through a security check. The driver did not have the appropriate documents so he had to get out and have a lengthy discussion that he in fact did own the papers, they just happened to be misplaced at the moment. While he was doing that, I saw a small church and got the mass times from the priest. When the driver finally came back he didn't know how to get to the apartments and had to stop several times to ask. All the while my luggage, which has 4 rolling wheels, was banging around in the back because he forgot to lay it down. After a long day, this incredibly long ride was so frustarating and put me into a very foul mood.

However, when I arrived, it was like coming home. I was greeted by the Spansih man I met yesterday. My bags were quickly gathered and taken to my room, with many more offers to help. I wasn't even able to get settled (I still haven't) before people were asking me to sit, relax and chat with them. They taught me a new game- something like dominoes but the tiles are in triangles- and let me win twice! They also gave me a tour of the grounds and described and gossiped about the rest of the residents. From what I gather, there are quite a few characters!

There's a Dutch woman with a Gambian man that are my next door neighbors and have been showing me the ropes. The woman is late-middle aged and likes to wear skimpy clothing and does this cat-like growl to express any and every emotion apparently. She has really taken me under her wing and told me exactly what I do, and don't need to do in the Gambia. The Gambian man and his best friend, the manager, have also been very good to me in helping me get more comfortable with living here. I wanted to talk to Alex last night, via Skype, and the manager took me to an internet cafe and waited an hour and a half in the parking lot until I was done so he could walk me home. I had NO idea he was waiting, but I certainly appreciate him not letting me walk home alone so late. Some of the other neighbors that I haven't met include: 2 Dutch girls about my age, a very serious nursing student that may be an American, a young African family with small children, a very funny elderly Belgian man. There may be others , but that is who I know all the gossip about! The residents here often socialize, meet outside every evening, make and eat meals together and tour the country with each other. It's a family!

My personal apartment has a small living room, a somewhat large bedroom with a desk, sitting area, and armoire, a very small bathroom with no shower curtain, and a very small kitchen with a mini-fridge, cupboard, sink and gas-stove that needs more gas. I really do like it, but I can already hear my brother's sarcasm on how glamorous it is living in Africa! I really needed a place that felt a little like home and to make some friends. It is so wonderful to have that.