Literally translating to – Oh man… my work is teaching.
We are now successfully ending the third week of classes at The University of The Gambia Fall semester 2010. Before I pick up where I left off last time (explaining how school could have already started yet I did not know for sure what I was teaching), I would like to update you on the actual status of my schedule.
Turns out I am NOT teaching a Pre Calculus class… or a calculus class for that matter. Now I am supposed to be starting a College Algebra class! Yay! Still exciting… except that I don’t yet have a book with which I can teach (We are however working on remedying that fact through several different avenues. It is a small problem at this time compared to the fact that I do not really have students). Moving on.
So what happened was that first the University decided they did not need another teacher to cover Calculus at this time so that class was out for me. Second, we received an entirely new teacher to help where needed, in BOTH the math and computer science departments. This new teacher was going to take a College Algebra class, but then he heard of my Pre Calculus class and preferred it to College Algebra. I actually have no real preference so I took the College Algebra to make the whole situation easier. And all of this could happen after the semester had started because neither of these specific classes had actually started.
So right about now you should be thinking that it is great that I, and the University, got two whole new class so quickly!… but, among other things, you should also be wondering why I do not have any students. Well let me tell you. Until now the lowest level math class offered at UTG was calculus. All students started at the calculus level directly from high school (maybe it was different a few years ago, but I actually have no idea). Theoretically, this semester, they have an option.
Now UTG is offering both College Algebra and Pre Calculus classes for students who do not feel that there math foundation is strong enough to start at the calculus level. However, these two lower level math classes are not offered as credit classes. Any student who takes these courses takes them as a result of their own desire to be better in math and ultimately pass calculus. In the future the ideal situation would be for UTG to recommend certain students start in specific math classes, but at this time that process has not been developed. Anyway… so the reason that I have no students at this time is because A) the class was only listed day before yesterday and B) most students have not realized they should even take the class and have instead jumped into calculus. I am hoping that in a week or so several students will drop calculus and come down to my class, but overall I am thinking of College Algebra as an “experiment class” for the semester. Now that I know what needs to happen, and when, I will be in a better position to recruit students for next semester! I think this still counts as a win.
Another change! So. Most of the teaching assistants that I thought would be helping me teach CPS 111 a few weeks back are now no longer my assistants. UTG decided they could not afford to pay fourth year assistants when they had graduate assistants who were not fully utilized. I think that this makes complete sense; sadly it just occurred a little late in the semester which threw me off for a moment. As a result I am now working with two graduate assistants and one other teacher (the same one that is teaching pre calc) to teach 8, 3 hour long, CPS 111 lab sections. We are each covering two sections per week (I teach on Tuesday from 9AM – 12PM and 2:30PM – 5:30PM) and I am still directing the syllabus, course content, final exam etc. My slides for the first class were pretty awesome. Not going to lie. I know the students can’t wait for next weeks lecture on hardware, software and networks.
So, best question yet… why, and how, do instances such as these happen in the first place? Well here are only a few reasons that I have picked up on thus far:
1) UTG is still new (established only ten years ago) so they are working to get all of the processes sorted out. At this time they literally just do not have the systems in place to complete class lists and registration in time for the start of the semester. There are no class lists and descriptions, and no online systems for students to reference. The lists of available classes are actually posted outside on the walls on pieces of paper.
2) There are not enough professors. Historically, in order to receive a masters degree or higher, a Gambian would need to leave the country and eventually return to teach… or take a different position such as banking etc. which would also probably be much higher paying. At the end of the day there just are not enough people….yet.
3) UTG started classes during Ramadan. Many students and teachers will just NOT come to class during this time. End of story.
4) UTG is trying to grow in almost every direction. Every year they are creating new classes (e.g. Pre Calculus and College Algebra), departments (e.g. Management Information Systems is a new department they are creating this year) and process (e.g. they are in the process of creating a master list of courses and course descriptions for students to reference) all at the same time. Everyone is very busy.
Overall, I still must say that I very much enjoy the work that I have been doing and the environment within UTG. It is very exciting to see all the new developments in such a short period of time. I also have much more flexibility when it comes to the work that I want to do, I have a lot of freedom to start new classes or change existing classes and I have the opportunity to make in impact in so many different areas if I choose (though I am still worried about the whole “long term sustainability” issue).
I think from reading about my current situation at the start of this post you can see that there are definitely a few frustrations that come with working in an unstructured and ever changing environment such as this, but I think in the long run the investment will definitely be worth the return. And if anything, at the end of the day if I get stressed out I think my cell phone display says it best “Don’t worry, be happy!!”.
Love,
Samantha
PS I am writing this blog from the comfort of my desk in my air conditioned office which still blows my mind. It is SO cold in here :D Pics to come soon.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Things that American people living in Africa want
So a few people that love me for some crazy reason have been asking what they can send me way over here in Africa. As a result I have decided to create what, in really lame circles, is known as a “living document”. I will update this list as time goes on so that it will always be pretty much up to date and can always be used as reference.
Before reading this list, please know that these are only suggestions. I am sure that you have many creative ideas for things that I would love, but have not thought of. Additionally, I would be happy to receive pretty much ANYTHING. If you want to send me an envelope full of sour patch kids I am alright with that (but I would recommend a zip lock bag to keep the ants away).
Also, the reason that it is so great to send me things is because a lot of the stuff that is sold in America is either A) Not sold here at all so I really miss it a lot or B) Sold here, but only in Banjul and is really expensive and C) Because I really really like getting stuff in the mail and it makes me extremely happy…
Finally, the best way to send things is to buy one of those standard rate boxes and to ship it via airmail. You can also buy smaller padded envelopes to be sent via airmail. The main point is that you really should send using airmail or I may never see it :(
Alright, here goes –
UPDATED ON 11/04/2010
• Combination lock
• Pens
• Bobby pins
• Head bands and braclets
• Fly swatter
• Aveeno face wash
• Tooth paste, floss, Listerine
• Knives and other cooking utensils such as spoons and spatulas and measuring cups and teaspoons/tablespoons
• Tupperware is a good way to store things
• French press coffee maker (will be really hard to send)
• Blender
• Pictures!
• Small speakers for my computer to play music
• Dry erase markers
• American food such as (I would really love some of this right about now):
- Crystal light drink packets are amazing (or any other brand really)
- Starbucks VIA instant coffee!
- Tea and hot chocolate with marshmallows
- Refried beans, black beans and pinto beans (Why don’t they have these here? I have no idea)
- Thai peanut sauce
- Stir fry sauce
- Seasoning packets such as Ranch dressing and Lipton French Onion dip
- Fried rice seasoning
- Falafel mix (Mom, you know the brand that you made before)
- Lipton rice and noodle packets
- Dried Fruit – Cranberries, pineapple, blueberries
- Granola
- Granola bars
- Cheese! – If you can find a type that makes it in the mail :D
- Crackers and cheese nips
- Pesto
- Sour candies! I love these :)
- Any other type of dry foods that can last in the mail
If there is something you want from here don't be shy to tell me what it is and I will see what I can do!
A tip on sending boxes of food is to remove the contents of the box and put it into a plastic bag instead so that it takes up less space.
Finally, school supplies such as markers, note cards, pens, folders, staplers, paper clips, tape, books are really hard to come by in this country. If you want to send some specifically to me or if you would like to send something and have me make a donation on your behalf please do so. On that note, if you want to send anything and have me donate it on your behalf please do, you don’t even have to include anything for me. The only item that you cannot send to me for purposes of donation is money! Please do not send money to donate to an organization or school etc. If you want to do so you need to go directly through Peace Corps.
Abaraka bake! Jere jef!
(Mandinka and Wolof)
Love,
Samantha
Before reading this list, please know that these are only suggestions. I am sure that you have many creative ideas for things that I would love, but have not thought of. Additionally, I would be happy to receive pretty much ANYTHING. If you want to send me an envelope full of sour patch kids I am alright with that (but I would recommend a zip lock bag to keep the ants away).
Also, the reason that it is so great to send me things is because a lot of the stuff that is sold in America is either A) Not sold here at all so I really miss it a lot or B) Sold here, but only in Banjul and is really expensive and C) Because I really really like getting stuff in the mail and it makes me extremely happy…
Finally, the best way to send things is to buy one of those standard rate boxes and to ship it via airmail. You can also buy smaller padded envelopes to be sent via airmail. The main point is that you really should send using airmail or I may never see it :(
Alright, here goes –
UPDATED ON 11/04/2010
• Combination lock
• Pens
• Bobby pins
• Head bands and braclets
• Fly swatter
• Aveeno face wash
• Tooth paste, floss, Listerine
• Knives and other cooking utensils such as spoons and spatulas and measuring cups and teaspoons/tablespoons
• Tupperware is a good way to store things
• French press coffee maker (will be really hard to send)
• Blender
• Pictures!
• Small speakers for my computer to play music
• Dry erase markers
• American food such as (I would really love some of this right about now):
- Crystal light drink packets are amazing (or any other brand really)
- Starbucks VIA instant coffee!
- Tea and hot chocolate with marshmallows
- Refried beans, black beans and pinto beans (Why don’t they have these here? I have no idea)
- Thai peanut sauce
- Stir fry sauce
- Seasoning packets such as Ranch dressing and Lipton French Onion dip
- Fried rice seasoning
- Falafel mix (Mom, you know the brand that you made before)
- Lipton rice and noodle packets
- Dried Fruit – Cranberries, pineapple, blueberries
- Granola
- Granola bars
- Cheese! – If you can find a type that makes it in the mail :D
- Crackers and cheese nips
- Pesto
- Sour candies! I love these :)
- Any other type of dry foods that can last in the mail
If there is something you want from here don't be shy to tell me what it is and I will see what I can do!
A tip on sending boxes of food is to remove the contents of the box and put it into a plastic bag instead so that it takes up less space.
Finally, school supplies such as markers, note cards, pens, folders, staplers, paper clips, tape, books are really hard to come by in this country. If you want to send some specifically to me or if you would like to send something and have me make a donation on your behalf please do so. On that note, if you want to send anything and have me donate it on your behalf please do, you don’t even have to include anything for me. The only item that you cannot send to me for purposes of donation is money! Please do not send money to donate to an organization or school etc. If you want to do so you need to go directly through Peace Corps.
Abaraka bake! Jere jef!
(Mandinka and Wolof)
Love,
Samantha
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
So what the hell AM I doing in The Gambia….
Alright, this is a question that I have been receiving quite a bit recently from the very few people that still talk to me :D … and the answer is a little long, and I will probably ramble a lot, but here is my best attempt at an explanation, with a bunch of additional information that you did not ask for ---
For the next three months I am in what PC (Peace Corps) calls “The three month challenge”. These three months are the months directly following our swearing in as volunteers, and are also expected to be some of our most difficult in country. During this time we are all separated as a group and sent to our permanent sites all over the country (mine is Brikama). There is also the additional rule that we are NOT allowed to leave country or travel overnight away from our sites for any reason other than banking and for holidays (e.g. Thanksgiving). This means that most of us will not see each other for quite some time.
Once at site we first need to start turning our new houses/huts/shacks into homes. We also must become part of our new host families and integrate our selves into our new communities. On top of all these settling in tasks and, of course, more paperwork, we do start our actual work… but not totally start actual work. What we really do is begin going to the schools to which we were assigned to work, but it is up to us to determine what we want to do, and where we would be of most use, for our remaining time in country. So the majority of these next three months will be spent trying to determine what is going on and setting the foundation for our next years of service.
I would like to caveat all of this by saying that because we are volunteers we are extremely self directed, and can do pretty much anything that we want (assuming it is beneficial to the community obviously). Although we are “assigned” to a school at the start we are definitely expected to perform additional work outside of that “assignment”. We could start community groups, create community gardens or libraries etc., build a fence, work in a hospital, hold classes/training sessions for the public, work with local business, work at other school etc. etc. etc. We do not even have to stay at our original assignment if we do not think that there is enough support or work available.
Most of MY time will be spent working at the University of The Gambia (UTG). Thus far I am very interested in what is happening here, so I am not sure how much time I will spend on outside organizations as time goes on. I need to get my feet on the ground at UTG and see what else is out there before making that decision.
Now here is some really interesting stuff. A little background on UTG… UTG is the first University in The Gambia, and graduated its first class of students in 2004 (yes, that officially makes UTG only ten years old). It is still important to note that there are three other colleges in country (Gambia College, GTTI and MDI).
Currently UTG does not have its own campus. It is sharing a campus with Gambia College and has another smaller campus in Kanifing. They are however, in the process of building a new, sustainable, campus which will be able to hold 15,000 students, not exactly, only approximately. The construction of this new campus seems to be heavily focused on “sustainability” and “setting new environmental standards”. The architectural plan even includes “a solar park for generating energy, a waste management center and locally done water harvesting”. I am very interested to see how quickly construction work begins, and how much the end product resembles the original intention. In addition to building this new campus UTG is in the process of merging with the three aforementioned colleges (Gambia College, GTTI and MDI) to create one much larger educational system which will run under the same over arching administration. I am not totally clear as to how or when this will happen/be complete, but I plan to learn more in the near future.
So right now, given my PC responsibilities and my lack of understanding all that is really going on, I am only teaching two classes. The first is CPS 111 Introduction to Information Communication Technology which falls within the computer department. Another name for this is “computer literacy”. The class covers everything from the basic parts of a computer, how to turn one on, how to type, how to use Windows and Microsoft Office etc. The class is also required for all students at UTG, so the size this semester is expected to be approx. 200. Each student is required to have access to a computer and each lab has only about 20 computers. To handle all the students I have 6 teaching assistants and the classes are broken into three hour labs that each meet once a week. My role will be to lead the teaching assistants, teach my own sections, own the syllabus and content of the class, create exams, and finalize grades and such.
My second class is still TBD (which is interesting because classes technically started last week, but I will get to that later). I believe it will either be to start a pre calculus class, which they have never had before, or to take a section of the calculus class. Because enrollment was unexpectedly high this semester they are not sure they have enough lecturers. I should find out in the next day or two.
Either way I am looking forward to becoming more involved with both the computer and math departments as time permits. I am sharing my office with Kathy Lewis, an American woman who just returned to teach permanently in the Math department at UTG. She has been a huge help thus far from the math perspective. From the computer department perspective I am trying to become more involved in advanced Excel / VBA programming classes. Not sure if this will be through the university or another professional organization.
So that is, generally speaking, what is keeping me busy on the whole, settling in, learning about the University, starting my two classes and trying to identify other work opportunities. There is however ONE last point on which I would like to elaborate. Why did classes “start” last week but I still have so many fundamental questions that are unanswered? Why do I still not really know what I am teaching, or who my students are, or if there will even be a pre calc class this semester, or if we have enough teachers to teach calculus? Turns out…this is not a surprise and everyone told me it would happen, and it happens for many legitimate reasons. These many reasons are ones that I will elaborate on further in my next posting….
For the next three months I am in what PC (Peace Corps) calls “The three month challenge”. These three months are the months directly following our swearing in as volunteers, and are also expected to be some of our most difficult in country. During this time we are all separated as a group and sent to our permanent sites all over the country (mine is Brikama). There is also the additional rule that we are NOT allowed to leave country or travel overnight away from our sites for any reason other than banking and for holidays (e.g. Thanksgiving). This means that most of us will not see each other for quite some time.
Once at site we first need to start turning our new houses/huts/shacks into homes. We also must become part of our new host families and integrate our selves into our new communities. On top of all these settling in tasks and, of course, more paperwork, we do start our actual work… but not totally start actual work. What we really do is begin going to the schools to which we were assigned to work, but it is up to us to determine what we want to do, and where we would be of most use, for our remaining time in country. So the majority of these next three months will be spent trying to determine what is going on and setting the foundation for our next years of service.
I would like to caveat all of this by saying that because we are volunteers we are extremely self directed, and can do pretty much anything that we want (assuming it is beneficial to the community obviously). Although we are “assigned” to a school at the start we are definitely expected to perform additional work outside of that “assignment”. We could start community groups, create community gardens or libraries etc., build a fence, work in a hospital, hold classes/training sessions for the public, work with local business, work at other school etc. etc. etc. We do not even have to stay at our original assignment if we do not think that there is enough support or work available.
Most of MY time will be spent working at the University of The Gambia (UTG). Thus far I am very interested in what is happening here, so I am not sure how much time I will spend on outside organizations as time goes on. I need to get my feet on the ground at UTG and see what else is out there before making that decision.
Now here is some really interesting stuff. A little background on UTG… UTG is the first University in The Gambia, and graduated its first class of students in 2004 (yes, that officially makes UTG only ten years old). It is still important to note that there are three other colleges in country (Gambia College, GTTI and MDI).
Currently UTG does not have its own campus. It is sharing a campus with Gambia College and has another smaller campus in Kanifing. They are however, in the process of building a new, sustainable, campus which will be able to hold 15,000 students, not exactly, only approximately. The construction of this new campus seems to be heavily focused on “sustainability” and “setting new environmental standards”. The architectural plan even includes “a solar park for generating energy, a waste management center and locally done water harvesting”. I am very interested to see how quickly construction work begins, and how much the end product resembles the original intention. In addition to building this new campus UTG is in the process of merging with the three aforementioned colleges (Gambia College, GTTI and MDI) to create one much larger educational system which will run under the same over arching administration. I am not totally clear as to how or when this will happen/be complete, but I plan to learn more in the near future.
So right now, given my PC responsibilities and my lack of understanding all that is really going on, I am only teaching two classes. The first is CPS 111 Introduction to Information Communication Technology which falls within the computer department. Another name for this is “computer literacy”. The class covers everything from the basic parts of a computer, how to turn one on, how to type, how to use Windows and Microsoft Office etc. The class is also required for all students at UTG, so the size this semester is expected to be approx. 200. Each student is required to have access to a computer and each lab has only about 20 computers. To handle all the students I have 6 teaching assistants and the classes are broken into three hour labs that each meet once a week. My role will be to lead the teaching assistants, teach my own sections, own the syllabus and content of the class, create exams, and finalize grades and such.
My second class is still TBD (which is interesting because classes technically started last week, but I will get to that later). I believe it will either be to start a pre calculus class, which they have never had before, or to take a section of the calculus class. Because enrollment was unexpectedly high this semester they are not sure they have enough lecturers. I should find out in the next day or two.
Either way I am looking forward to becoming more involved with both the computer and math departments as time permits. I am sharing my office with Kathy Lewis, an American woman who just returned to teach permanently in the Math department at UTG. She has been a huge help thus far from the math perspective. From the computer department perspective I am trying to become more involved in advanced Excel / VBA programming classes. Not sure if this will be through the university or another professional organization.
So that is, generally speaking, what is keeping me busy on the whole, settling in, learning about the University, starting my two classes and trying to identify other work opportunities. There is however ONE last point on which I would like to elaborate. Why did classes “start” last week but I still have so many fundamental questions that are unanswered? Why do I still not really know what I am teaching, or who my students are, or if there will even be a pre calc class this semester, or if we have enough teachers to teach calculus? Turns out…this is not a surprise and everyone told me it would happen, and it happens for many legitimate reasons. These many reasons are ones that I will elaborate on further in my next posting….
Friday, September 10, 2010
Bii mu Korite le ti! (Today is Korite!)
Happy Korite (aka Eid Al Fitr aka Festival of Sacrifice)!!!
.. and I have decided to start writing post about current events as opposed to constantly trying to catch up on the past.
So for those of you who are not aware today is Korite! Yay! Sooooo what the hell does that mean? Well, here goes. Please feel free to elaborate where I am lacking –
The past 29/30 days (depending on when the individual started) have been Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar AND is the month of fasting. It is also one of the five pillars of Islam (generally speaking the other four would be prayer five times per day, pilgrimage to Mecca, giving of alms and there is no god but Allah). The intention of fasting is to teach Muslims about patience, humility, and spirituality and to practice self-discipline, self-control, sacrifice, and empathy for those who are less fortunate; thus encouraging actions of generosity and charity. This means that all Muslims have not been eating or drinking ANYTHING from sun up to sun down. You can imagine how difficult this can be in such a hot country. You are not even allowed to brush your teeth! Oh, and one must also refrain from “sexual relations” during this same part of the day. Double ouch… To help elaborate, this is a potential schedule for a Gambian Woman in the village during Ramadan (I am not totally sure that these prayer times are correct, but you get the idea):
4:30 – 5:45AM Wake up and cook and eat breakfast
5:45 – 6:00AM Pray
6:00 – 12:00PM Clean and feed children, clean house and laundry, watch children, go to market, garden, get water from pump, general work
12:00 – 2:00PM Rest with no food or water since before dawn
2:00 – 2:15PM Pray
2:15 – 4:00PM Continue to rest… and still no eating or drinking
4:00 – 7:00PM Begin preparing dinner, iron clothing, general work
7:00 – 7:15PM Pray
7:15 – 7:30PM Wait until Imam announces break fast and potentially walk in circles to not think about eating or drinking
7:30 – 8:00PM Yay! Break fast (usually with tea and bread or dates and juice)
8:00 – 8:15PM Pray
8:15 – 9:00PM Finish preparing and eat dinner and clean children
9:00 – 9:15PM Pray
9:15 – 11:00PM Continue to eat more and hang out with friends and family outside and put children to bed
11:00PM – 4:30AM Sleep
Side note: Their day is NOT easy. Think about doing all of these things without electricity OR running water. Cooking alone is a chore
There are however, a few exceptions to the fasting rule. The elderly and the sick can abstain for obvious reasons. Children are not required to fast until their teenage years, and may only fast for half a day before being required to follow the fasting rules completely. Also, menstruating women are not required to fast, but the best explanation I have for this is that they just are not required to do so. I believe it is stated in the Qur’an, but why this is, I am not sure.
You can imagine that as a result of this fasting everything moves a bit slower. It is also MUCH harder to get work done because everyone is so damn tired during the day.
Back to where I started. Korite. Korite is the celebration that occurs the day after Ramadan. So yesterday was the last day of fasting and thus today is Korite. All Muslims go to pray at the Mosque from 9:30 – 10:30 (or around there) in the morning and they are dressed in their Gambian finest. They will also sacrifice a goat, or something similar, and cook an extremely large celebration lunch to eat with family, friends, neighbors and villagers. Oh, and this is definitely like the second biggest day on the Muslim calendar and it TOTALLY messes up the start of the academic year (to be complained about at a later date).
Since I am still stuck at the stodge with a few others I was sadly unable to celebrate Korite with my future host family. However, the head guy here (don’t know his official title, but his name is Lamin) invited us to go to the Mosque with him this morning! Excellent! So about seven of us dressed nice and conservative and headed over to the Fajara Mosque to pray with several hundred other Muslims for a little less than an hour. I got a few funny looks, BUT I also received a compliment on my head wrap (a scarf that I loosely wrapped to cover my hair). I was being very respectful and fashionable I must say.
Lamin also invited us back to his house for the lunch celebration; however, I had a work meeting at 11:30 so I could not join. Instead I headed back with Caroline after prayers… and we obviously got lost/caught in the pouring rain... once again. I am only slightly embarrassed to admit that this has now happened multiple times. We are not a good pair when it comes to directions. This will make our time together in Brikama extra extra interesting.
A few pictures for your enjoyment ---
Washing hands and feet and face before entering the Mosque and praying
The empty Mosque as a few people begin to arrive
Praying from my place outside on the mat. Women sit outside and upstairs. Most of the men are inside or around the other side of the Mosque.
Part of the crown finishing prayers as I am leaving
.. and I have decided to start writing post about current events as opposed to constantly trying to catch up on the past.
So for those of you who are not aware today is Korite! Yay! Sooooo what the hell does that mean? Well, here goes. Please feel free to elaborate where I am lacking –
The past 29/30 days (depending on when the individual started) have been Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar AND is the month of fasting. It is also one of the five pillars of Islam (generally speaking the other four would be prayer five times per day, pilgrimage to Mecca, giving of alms and there is no god but Allah). The intention of fasting is to teach Muslims about patience, humility, and spirituality and to practice self-discipline, self-control, sacrifice, and empathy for those who are less fortunate; thus encouraging actions of generosity and charity. This means that all Muslims have not been eating or drinking ANYTHING from sun up to sun down. You can imagine how difficult this can be in such a hot country. You are not even allowed to brush your teeth! Oh, and one must also refrain from “sexual relations” during this same part of the day. Double ouch… To help elaborate, this is a potential schedule for a Gambian Woman in the village during Ramadan (I am not totally sure that these prayer times are correct, but you get the idea):
4:30 – 5:45AM Wake up and cook and eat breakfast
5:45 – 6:00AM Pray
6:00 – 12:00PM Clean and feed children, clean house and laundry, watch children, go to market, garden, get water from pump, general work
12:00 – 2:00PM Rest with no food or water since before dawn
2:00 – 2:15PM Pray
2:15 – 4:00PM Continue to rest… and still no eating or drinking
4:00 – 7:00PM Begin preparing dinner, iron clothing, general work
7:00 – 7:15PM Pray
7:15 – 7:30PM Wait until Imam announces break fast and potentially walk in circles to not think about eating or drinking
7:30 – 8:00PM Yay! Break fast (usually with tea and bread or dates and juice)
8:00 – 8:15PM Pray
8:15 – 9:00PM Finish preparing and eat dinner and clean children
9:00 – 9:15PM Pray
9:15 – 11:00PM Continue to eat more and hang out with friends and family outside and put children to bed
11:00PM – 4:30AM Sleep
Side note: Their day is NOT easy. Think about doing all of these things without electricity OR running water. Cooking alone is a chore
There are however, a few exceptions to the fasting rule. The elderly and the sick can abstain for obvious reasons. Children are not required to fast until their teenage years, and may only fast for half a day before being required to follow the fasting rules completely. Also, menstruating women are not required to fast, but the best explanation I have for this is that they just are not required to do so. I believe it is stated in the Qur’an, but why this is, I am not sure.
You can imagine that as a result of this fasting everything moves a bit slower. It is also MUCH harder to get work done because everyone is so damn tired during the day.
Back to where I started. Korite. Korite is the celebration that occurs the day after Ramadan. So yesterday was the last day of fasting and thus today is Korite. All Muslims go to pray at the Mosque from 9:30 – 10:30 (or around there) in the morning and they are dressed in their Gambian finest. They will also sacrifice a goat, or something similar, and cook an extremely large celebration lunch to eat with family, friends, neighbors and villagers. Oh, and this is definitely like the second biggest day on the Muslim calendar and it TOTALLY messes up the start of the academic year (to be complained about at a later date).
Since I am still stuck at the stodge with a few others I was sadly unable to celebrate Korite with my future host family. However, the head guy here (don’t know his official title, but his name is Lamin) invited us to go to the Mosque with him this morning! Excellent! So about seven of us dressed nice and conservative and headed over to the Fajara Mosque to pray with several hundred other Muslims for a little less than an hour. I got a few funny looks, BUT I also received a compliment on my head wrap (a scarf that I loosely wrapped to cover my hair). I was being very respectful and fashionable I must say.
Lamin also invited us back to his house for the lunch celebration; however, I had a work meeting at 11:30 so I could not join. Instead I headed back with Caroline after prayers… and we obviously got lost/caught in the pouring rain... once again. I am only slightly embarrassed to admit that this has now happened multiple times. We are not a good pair when it comes to directions. This will make our time together in Brikama extra extra interesting.
A few pictures for your enjoyment ---
Washing hands and feet and face before entering the Mosque and praying
The empty Mosque as a few people begin to arrive
Praying from my place outside on the mat. Women sit outside and upstairs. Most of the men are inside or around the other side of the Mosque.
Part of the crown finishing prayers as I am leaving
Domanding Domanding … Training Part Fula
Looking back on it now Yuna Village Resort was pretty damn awesome. It is this hostel meets eco lodge place a little off the path of Yuna village. Upon arrival we were given wonjo juice (also called sour juice - it is a dark purple juice, made from boiling the dark red flower from the sorrel plant and adding pounds and pounds and pounds of sugar – typical of Gambian ways), partnered with a roommate (mine was Sonja) and sent to our rooms to unpack a little. The rooms were already fixed with mosquito nets. Amazing! This is also the first time I was introduced to the tuck and sleep method. Even better! Apparently you cannot just hang your mosquito net over the sides of your bed. Oh no. That method only keeps out mosquitoes. To keep out ants and spiders and termites and roaches and bed bugs etc. etc. you must also securely tuck all sides of the net under your mattress at all times of the day. I would hands down marry the person who invented mosquito nets and here is only a small part of the reason why --
When we arrived the bugs were a little frightening. Okay. Seriously frightening. And it wasn’t the size or the look of the bugs. I am okay with that. It is the shear quantity of bugs. Swarms of anything have always freaked me out and there were literally hundreds and hundreds of what look like dragon flies crossed with may flies buzzing around every light source. These things burrow out of the ground and fly around for one night. Then they lose their wings (so there are these nasty wings covering everything the next day) and they burrow back into the ground…. I think. Id rather they died but sadly I do not think that is what happens. The worst part is that the bastards cannot even fly well so they constantly get stuck in my hair and my food and run into me in unfortunate places such as my sticky back and neck. Eck! There are also termite hills that could engulf several small children. I have never gone close enough to one to touch it for fear of being attacked, but suffice it to say they frighten me….. in later posts I will describe how these creatures have become the bane of my existence.
Also, Sonja may or may not have gone through the trouble of taping up all the holes in the bathroom and main room screen windows to keep the bugs out. I of course thought this was an awesome idea … only to discover several days later that the hall window had zero screen. The entire screen was missing. Lol, our efforts were totally effective right? The part that makes me the saddest about that story now is actually not the complete lack of effectiveness of our efforts, but the tape that was wasted in the “repair” process. It was good tape.
Anyway… we did not have too much time to start adjusting to the new time zone and climate because we began classes the next day. Classes were the same old same old in general (culture, security, paper work, PC rules and so many more classes), but one interesting event was the welcoming ceremony that they took us to attend at the house of the Country Director of the Peace Corps (Jeffry Cornish).
They took all 16 of us to the Cornish’s backyard where they had a circle of chairs arranged and an African drumming group with dancers situated on one side. The drummers did an awesome! job (though I could have done without the addition of the whistles as I highly doubt they used those damn plastic things twenty years ago) and the dancers (some of which were costumed) were even better... The only slightly awkward part was that we were all completely jet lagged and had no idea what was going on. We definitely looked like zombies… and we felt a little bad because we did not know when to clap or how to dance etc. It the end we all managed to stay awake and embarrass ourselves with attempted dancing and clapping (at least that is what mine should be considered).
One of the costumed dancers
Our fearless PCVL Leader - Ian -- Pretty much our savior during training
To wrap this post up because it is getting a bit long, during out time at Yuna we were also interviewed to discuss where we wanted to live and what we saw ourselves doing during the next two years. This was called out placement interview. Although they were going to wait another month to tell us our final placement PC needed to make the decision now to determine which language we were to learn and to divide us into training villages. For my interview I drew a picture of myself teaching math/computers at a university or large school building (and yes my drawing was in crayon) and let the rest of the pieces fall where they may.
A few days later I was told that I would be learning Mandinka in Mariama Kunda and that Nathan and Jay would be my classmates -- of course out of 16 people, only four of which are guys, I end up in village with these two fools :D We also learned that Erin, Lilly and Josh would be on the other side of Mariama Kunda learning Wolof. These are the 5 Americans that I would be spending a very significant about of time with over the next month and a half….
When we arrived the bugs were a little frightening. Okay. Seriously frightening. And it wasn’t the size or the look of the bugs. I am okay with that. It is the shear quantity of bugs. Swarms of anything have always freaked me out and there were literally hundreds and hundreds of what look like dragon flies crossed with may flies buzzing around every light source. These things burrow out of the ground and fly around for one night. Then they lose their wings (so there are these nasty wings covering everything the next day) and they burrow back into the ground…. I think. Id rather they died but sadly I do not think that is what happens. The worst part is that the bastards cannot even fly well so they constantly get stuck in my hair and my food and run into me in unfortunate places such as my sticky back and neck. Eck! There are also termite hills that could engulf several small children. I have never gone close enough to one to touch it for fear of being attacked, but suffice it to say they frighten me….. in later posts I will describe how these creatures have become the bane of my existence.
Also, Sonja may or may not have gone through the trouble of taping up all the holes in the bathroom and main room screen windows to keep the bugs out. I of course thought this was an awesome idea … only to discover several days later that the hall window had zero screen. The entire screen was missing. Lol, our efforts were totally effective right? The part that makes me the saddest about that story now is actually not the complete lack of effectiveness of our efforts, but the tape that was wasted in the “repair” process. It was good tape.
Anyway… we did not have too much time to start adjusting to the new time zone and climate because we began classes the next day. Classes were the same old same old in general (culture, security, paper work, PC rules and so many more classes), but one interesting event was the welcoming ceremony that they took us to attend at the house of the Country Director of the Peace Corps (Jeffry Cornish).
They took all 16 of us to the Cornish’s backyard where they had a circle of chairs arranged and an African drumming group with dancers situated on one side. The drummers did an awesome! job (though I could have done without the addition of the whistles as I highly doubt they used those damn plastic things twenty years ago) and the dancers (some of which were costumed) were even better... The only slightly awkward part was that we were all completely jet lagged and had no idea what was going on. We definitely looked like zombies… and we felt a little bad because we did not know when to clap or how to dance etc. It the end we all managed to stay awake and embarrass ourselves with attempted dancing and clapping (at least that is what mine should be considered).
One of the costumed dancers
Our fearless PCVL Leader - Ian -- Pretty much our savior during training
To wrap this post up because it is getting a bit long, during out time at Yuna we were also interviewed to discuss where we wanted to live and what we saw ourselves doing during the next two years. This was called out placement interview. Although they were going to wait another month to tell us our final placement PC needed to make the decision now to determine which language we were to learn and to divide us into training villages. For my interview I drew a picture of myself teaching math/computers at a university or large school building (and yes my drawing was in crayon) and let the rest of the pieces fall where they may.
A few days later I was told that I would be learning Mandinka in Mariama Kunda and that Nathan and Jay would be my classmates -- of course out of 16 people, only four of which are guys, I end up in village with these two fools :D We also learned that Erin, Lilly and Josh would be on the other side of Mariama Kunda learning Wolof. These are the 5 Americans that I would be spending a very significant about of time with over the next month and a half….
Sunday, August 29, 2010
My Address for the Next Sanji Fula (2 Years)
Samantha Jarema, PCV
U.S. Peace Corps
PO Box 582
Banjul, The Gambia
West Africa
Woo Hoo! I will be living in Brikama but everything goes into the PC office and they do a mail run across the country one or twice a month... I think it takes them 5 days for each run.
Please send all packages via airmail no matter what the post office tells you. I have heard horror stories of people not getting boxes for four months! Not kidding.
Thanks!!!
Love,
Samantha
U.S. Peace Corps
PO Box 582
Banjul, The Gambia
West Africa
Woo Hoo! I will be living in Brikama but everything goes into the PC office and they do a mail run across the country one or twice a month... I think it takes them 5 days for each run.
Please send all packages via airmail no matter what the post office tells you. I have heard horror stories of people not getting boxes for four months! Not kidding.
Thanks!!!
Love,
Samantha
My Training Group :D
16 totally different people from completely different areas and backgrounds, but with some of the strangest things in common. -- These pictures are kind of cheating because they were taken after we had been in country for a while... but they are the best group shots I have right now damn it
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