My So-Called Gambian Life

I want to share with you some of the fixtures in my new life as Sally Bojang!

This is the Bojang compound.  I live in the far right end of the building.

  Sally Kunta is my 3-year old niece whom I spend a lot of time hanging out with.  Even though I tested at the Intermediate Medium Language Level of Mandinka speaking, my skills are lower than that of Sally.  She is very patient with me and helps me learn new words.

Njaka is my 7-year old brother who is a very sweet but spoiled boy.  I told Mbaa (my Gambian mother) that in America we call people like him a "mama's boy".  It has become a new family joke.  The boy refuses to go to school so my sisters laugh at him saying that he will be a donkey driver when he grows up.

Sirifo is my 16-year old brother who I don't see very often because he is a teenager on the go.  In the picture he is displaying a wood burning project that he did for school.

The news is out in the village that I like to talk to the wuuloo (dog)...it cracks the Gambians up!!  Lion is the wuuloo that lives in my compound...I think I'm the first person that has ever given him attention, so ofcourse he has taken a liking to me.   He followed me to the car park the other day and even jumped in the gele gele (rundown public transport vehicle) after me!  In America my heart would ache for any animal that appeared to be malnourished, homeless, diseased, or mistreated.  In The Gambia, that would be 99% of the "domestic" animals.  It has thickened my skin for sure; whether that is a good thing, I don't know, but it is a reality you are face to face with in a place like this.  I think my family is catching on though because they have quit throwing rocks at Lion, and the kids help me pull ticks off of him.  He is being fed leftover rice daily and I have been giving him water.

I bail water from this well daily.  It is a good upper body workout.  I'm hoping it will rid me of my arm jiggle.

Admire my new kitchen.

In the afternoons I visit Mbaa at her fabric bittik.  She let me pick out some fabric and is having a traditional African outfit made for me.

Oblie Nje Bojang is my closest friend in village so far.  He helps me with whatever I need and looks out for me.  Last week we watched five Africa Cup of Nations matches at the local video club.  Modu (pictured on the left) is currently staying in my compound while he is teaching at the primary school.  He is very funny and helps me to encourage Njaka to go to school.

I visited Modu's Grade 4 class last week and was very impressed with their reading and writing abilities. I hope to work with them some in the future.

My sister Rohey (Sally's mom) is tall, gorgeous, and likes to think of herself as the "Gambian Beyonce"!  She likes to listen to Akon, Rihanna, Beyonce etc. and dresses in skinny jeans and fancy tops everyday!

My sister Adou also dresses very fashionably and sassy.  They put me to shame.  Chacos and capri pants don't exactly measure up.  Adou's 2-month old baby Molamen cries most of the time.  Every time I hold him he manages to coat my shoulder with fresh breast milk.

My bike ride to the beach....

Ba Nafaa

At this point I have not divulged any information on the environmental issues here in The Gambia, and believe me, there is a plethora.  Some of the major culprits include the non-existent waste management & disposal system, deforestation, desertification, sand mining, pollution, overfishing and unsuitable fishing methods, and poor resource management, just to name a few.  Severe environmental degradation is evident in this region, but there are many initiatives underway that are aimed to improve the current situation.

Yesterday I had the privilege to spend the day learning about Ba Nafaa, a Sustainable Fisheries Project that has recently launched as an ecosystem-based approach to protection of the biodiversity and ecological integrity of this area, while sustaining the resources that support its people.  The Ba Nafaa initiative is a partnership of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), University of Rhode Island Coastal Resources Center (CRC), and the Department of Fisheries of The Gambia (DoFish).

I joined some representatives of this partnership on a tour of the Tanbi Wetland Complex, a wetland reserve just outside the capital area.  The majority of the reserve is forested with several species of mangroves and includes salt marshes, woodlands, tidal creeks, lagoons, and mudflats.  This protected area is rich in biodiversity and plays an important role in shoreline protection, provides breeding grounds for many migratory birds, and contributes many nutrients and sediments to the productivity of the marine ecosystem.  It is a designated Ramsar site and contains globally significant wetlands.  Monkeys, crocodiles, and lizards are common here, as well as some threatened and endangered species such as the West African manatee, Pel's fishing owl, African clawless otter, and the red colobus monkey.

During the dry season, the mangrove forests of Tanbi are a popular site for oyster harvesting.  The women navigate the waters in dugout canoes and pluck the oysters from the mangrove trees.  The harvesting can be destructive to the mangroves, so efforts to encourage growth on these man-made structures placed in front of the trees have been underway.  The original racks were constructed of mangrove trees, but new bamboo ones are being installed in some areas.

These women reside in fifteen different communities along the Tanbi Wetlands and have organized themselves as the Try Oyster Women Association.  Ba Nafaa is helping the women to learn improved oyster production and processing techniques, as well as marketing strategies such as packaging and labeling.  Part of the goal is to provide technical support but also to empower them through education and the promotion of sustainable development.

You Can't Always Get What You Want...

But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need~

As I am preparing to take off for my permanent site, I thought I would extend to you my list of "wants".  My "needs" are now being met by excreting my waste into a hole in the ground while squatting; fetching drinking water from a well pump, carrying it on my head, filtering it, then bleaching; fetching bathing water from an open well, carrying it on my head; bathing out of a bucket while sitting on a concrete block; eating rice three meals per day; sleeping under a mosquito net; and seeking shelter beneath a roof that is made of sticks and corrugated tin, and a ceiling made of rice bags that rats run along all night.  Thus, I have acquired a strong desire for material things that I might not otherwise be attracted to.

"Wants" include any type of makeup or beauty products (i know, i know).  Because my feet stay a nice shade of dirty at all times, nail polish helps me to still feel like a woman.  I can always use antibacterial bar soap, facewash, and chapstick/lip gloss as well.

Next is food; ANY type of food.  Candy, junk food, processed cheese, drink mix, soup packets, spices, summer sausage, dried fruit, trail mix, and any granola bars, power bars etc. (i love luna bars and cliff bars)

There is a pretty stellar collection of books circulating here, so I have been keeping busy reading anything from the Kite Runner to chemistry text books (yes, I'm a nerd).  However, the Peace Corps community here gets pretty stoked about celebrity gossip/materialistic american culture type magazines, so feel free to send any of those!  (think cosmo, people, us weekly, etc.)  But any issues of something like National Geographic, New Yorker, or The Sun would be awesome!!

Music, music, music.  Cassette tapes, cd's, whatever!!!  Gambians love reggae, hip hop, r&b...I love anything.  Lately I have been craving old Madonna and early 90's alternative.

Movies.  Any copied dvd's of anything (there is a tv at the volunteer transit house).

Pictures of you!!!!  My family loves to look at pictures of America and of my friends and family, and I do too!!!

And lastly, letters from you!!!  I want to hear about your life, what I'm missing out on, has Courtney Kardashian had her baby yet, is Oprah really retiring, does the job market still suck, and how fast your kids are growing up!  I miss everyone terribly.  Hearing from you and knowing that you are supporting me really helps me to keep truckin' on!  I promise that I will get some letters out soon as well!  Don't forget to mark anything you send as Airmail!!

P.S.  I REALLY enjoy receiving phone calls and text messages as well!  Thanks so much to those of you who have been calling,  you are amazing!  I have really good reception here so you should be able to reach me whenever!  :)

This is me with my favorite PC Driver, John, who is taking me to site.

It is Official!!

Today we swore in as official Peace Corps Volunteers at the U.S. Ambassador's home on the coast.  It was a really nice ceremony and a very exciting time!

View from the Ambassador's yard

The Ambassador welcoming us

The ceremony

The guys I shared a village with during training

Me and Melissa

Me and Kelsey

Site Assignment!

I have received my permanent site assignment to the village where I will be living and working for the next two years.  I am excited to announce that my new home is located on the Atlantic Coast of The Gambia!!  It is in a large fishing village that boasts many trees of the palm, banana, mango, papaya, and citrus varieties; but most importantly, smiling Gambian faces.  My family is warm and welcoming.  I have one mother, three brothers, five sisters, a newborn nephew, and a 3 yr. old niece whom I was named after (at site visit the family named me Sally Bojang, so I am no longer Fatou Samateh).  The father lives in Madison, Wisconsin...not sure yet what he's doing there, but I find it random and sort of hilarious all the same.  My mother owns a fabric bitik (shop) and seems to be a business woman through and through.  She only speaks Mandinka, but luckily some of the other family members speak some English, because my Mandinka sucks!  It is really helpful to have them translate sometimes!  I will try to post pics of my beautiful compound and village soon, but for now, here are some of my new family members...

Christmas in the Motherland!

Although it was roughly 90 Degrees outside and I was sporting flip flops and tank tops, the holiday spirit was lurking last week.  I spent Christmas Eve at Tendaba Camp, laying out by the pool listening to live shows from this year's Newport Folk Fest (Liz Phair, Neko Case, Arlo Guthrie...), and making Christmas cookies with a few other trainees while listening to Christmas blues music!

 

On Christmas morning we took a sunrise boat ride across the Gambia River and through the Baobolong Wetland Reserve.

This park is a Ramsar listed Wetland of International Importance.  It is a beautiful area that hosts many different species of migratory birds as well as protected plant species.

  

We explored the salt marshes, mangrove forests, and savannah by pirogue....it was an amazing way to spend Christmas morning!

Salaamalekum!

Things have been busy here in The Gambia...learning Mandinka, adapting to a new culture, and receiving technical training (primarily agroforestry).

There are four days left in training, then I will swear in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer and move to my permanent site.  I lived near the Kiang National Park in a small rural village for the majority of training.  My host family was comprised of a father, three mothers, and approximately 15 siblings.  Here is me with my host father and some of the children.

In the Muslim culture, a baby is named one week following its birth.  The entire village participates in a naming ceremony that involves traditional dancing, cooking, praying, and naming of the infant.  This is from the naming ceremony in my training village.  My family named me Fatou Samateh after my sister Fatou Demba.

I spent Thanksgiving at the Tendaba Camp on the Gambia River.  It is a popular birdwatching spot and is surrounded by mangroves...very pretty and peaceful.  Our group prepared a wonderful feast of turkey and other delicious holiday dishes.  It didn't compare to being at home with the fam, but overall it was a nice day.  Upon return to the village, I celebrated Tabaski with my family.  Tabaski is a Muslim holiday that signifies Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his only son.  On Tabaski a goat or sheep is slaughtered to represent the ram that God sacrificed in place of Abraham's son.

The women preparing the Tabaski Feast

The village men going to prayer