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...
Salaam aleikum!
ReplyDeleteKori tanante, Sally Bojang?
Sleet and light snow is falling here in B'ham as I write this. My pipes froze a few days ago (no damage though) and this may end up being the coldest winter here in 25 years. In other words it's a really good time to be in the tropics!
So, do you think there's any more room in your host family's house? I could be there with my flip flops and other beach accessories (except dolo, of course) in two days...
Seriously though, I've been keeping current with your posts and it's great to see how well the transition is going for you (and that your assignment is by the beach!). I'm guessing that's a coveted position; who doesn't like the beach?
Hopefully soon things will settle down enough for me to write you a proper letter, which means writing it on an ancient invention that is apparently called "paper" and putting it into a clever device called an "envelope."
Keep up the good work!
Foo Watido,
Harlan
P.S.: If you ever decide to open a restaurant in The Gambia, you could call it "Sally Bojangles'" (sorry, couldn't resist).