20 moons

Day 10 of Ramadan, and still going strong. I took day 9 off and ate lunch, I needed a day to re-group. It's much easier when its cloudy, rather than sunny. So usually I write blogs during the week as things come up that I've like to share, but this week I've been busy with field work and responding to many letters that I didn't get the chance. But there are many great letters going out in the next mail run. Here are a few of the highlights,

Last night after breaking fast, I was sitting around with the family chatting and they were talking about other volunteers who had lived in the area...they mentioned their names as Senabou, Aunti, Rohey... I found it very similar to how celebrities are discussed by first name...Beyonce, Rihanna. That being said, my name is Isatou Fatty, yes Fatty, and everyone greets here using the last name, it symbolizes a recognition to all your family members and honoring them. Yes, I walk around village and have everyone call me Fatty. Just taking it in stride, most days I don't even notice because I'm in the world of Mandinka, where fatty doesn't mean fat, not in the world of English. Who else can say they were called Fatty for 2 years and were ok with it. haha oh africa. The conversation moved to my service and how I will be here for 2 years. They were saying that they want me to stay for 4, a thing they say every time I say 2, its part of the culture. They asked how many months I had left, and I responded with 20-21 months. As the months are based on the lunar schedule, and they are particularly focused on the moon because of Ramadan, they said 'that's only 20 moons.' This makes me so happy and sad at the same time. Sure I have moments were I just need to get out of village, as everything becomes overwhelming and tiring. And many many moments where I daydream about life in America and returning home to spend time with my friends and family. But when its said as 20 moons, it somehow doesn't seem that long before its time to move on to the next adventure. Right now, I am just trying to appreciate that I am here, and be here completely without my mind being too far away. 

Mom and Baby. She's coming home to america with me, sorry i'm not sorry.

Field work in The Gambia, hardest work I've ever done

Typical Ba, everyone carries everything on their heads, except for babies...which are on their backs. 

Thank you Aunt Pam for the coloring pencils, the kids and I love them !  They helped to put these drawing into an envelope to send to some lucky people in America. They are very excited. 

Breaking the Fast

June 23, 2012

Day 3 of Ramadan has begun and I’ve had the most physical activity I’ve had in 3 days. I biked to the office to check in on the internet. I can say that fasting while sitting around and not doing much of anything besides carrying water, reading books, writing letters, and studying Mandinka is difficult but not impossible. We shall see how I am feeling around 7pm tonight, after this activity. I wrote before of what the morning meal is like, the rest of the day after around 2pm slows down considerably. After the work in the fields, everyone heads home to lie around or sleep. Baboo heads back to the fields around 5, which I think is incredible slash insane that he has that much strength. Around 5 the mom’s begin to cook the breaking fast meal. Any meal here takes about 2 hours to cook because it is on a wood fire, there is lots of preparation and effort that goes into pounding the sauce spices, the sauce is cooked separately from the rice or millet. So yes, 2 hours of cooking for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, 6 hours a day of cooking is quite a lot of time. The breaking fast meal is really enjoyable. Those who are fasting sit outside on a mat and watch the sun set waiting for the call of the mosque to symbolize the end of that days fasting. The fast is broken with hot tea with milk and sugar and locally baked bread called talapa. Next course is an oil sauce with anything from chicken eggs to onions and pasta, the bread is used to dip into the bowl and absorb the oil. Finally, there is the ‘dinner’ which is the normal rice or coos with sauce. Last night we had…..drum roll….. chicken! The second time in 2 months that we had meat in the bowl, the first being the day I came. I usually contribute something to the meal, the first night I gave juice and ‘minty’s’ because that’s considered traditional. Last night, I made popcorn which they loved. The kids have an especially great time and look forward to Ramadan because they aren’t fasting and they get to eat all the benefits of fasting at the end of the day.

I will say that there is a power of reflection in fasting; it does something not only for the body but for the mind. I’m not exactly sure what that is because its only day 3 but I’ll let you know when I figure it out. Also, it is less difficult to fast intentionally than it is to not eat because the food is not available. Man, this whole experience is incredible. 

Also, this NewYorkTimes article is interesting: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/world/middleeast/this-years-ramadan-arrives-with-a-set-of-challenges.html?_r=1

The season of Ramadan

July 21, 2012

Ramadan began today. The family members who are fasting are Nymandin, Bori, Baboo, Pabi, and myself. We ate a breakfast of millet porriage, called monoo, at 5am, before the first daily call to prayer at approximately 5:15am. The prayer times change according to the lunar movement. I have decided that I will be fasting, the general reason being that I am living in a Muslim community and am part of a new family, I came here to share cultures, among other things, and I am sharing this fasting with them. There are more detailed reasons behind my choice but this is a blog and I don’t care to share every intimate detail of my life.  Please understand that I am doing this safely and supplementing the diet I get here with items from care packages to ensure that I am the getting proper nutrient, thank you care package senders!! Also, I am drinking water during the day, it is too hot here not to drink, I am still adapting to the environment. After breakfast we all went back to bed. Currently, its 9:30am and my 16 year old brother, Pabi, is headed to work the fields with the donkey. My mother Nymandin is washing the dished and has already been to the pump carrying water. My other mother, Bori, is asleep in bed. My father, Baboo, is out weeding the groundnut field. To the outsider it would appear as if this was normal everyday life, one would not know that these people won’t be eating or drinking again until the sun sets tonight.

Side note:

I awoke to the normal sounds of coos pounding, chickens crowing, and children playing, and although I’ve heard it many times before the sound of a bike horn. This morning the bike horn reminded me of something very similar in the US. Let me explain, this bike horn carries with it a bicycle and a man from Brikama Ba, some 25K away. He bikes here every morning to sell fish.  What struck me this morning was that I was very excited to hear his horn because this means there is a possibility that there will be fish in the food bowl tonight. My excitement over this is much like the excitement a child would have over the ice cream truck driving around their cul-de-sac. Its funny that today of all days this struck me, partially because its Ramadan and also that Evan is on vacation in the OBX which is the only time during the year that I do buy ice cream from an ice cream truck. Apparently, what my mother’s say is slowly coming true, I am because a Gambian woman. 

When it rains, it pours

I've been writing blog posts while at site and in case you couldn't guess there is no power of any kind but I am lucky enough to have an office about 6k away which not only has solar power but also has wireless. Its like heaven and I try to go to the office once a week to recharge all of my batteries, electronic and otherwise.  So the blogs are written the date below:

July 20.2012

Last night Tenenfara had close to 15 inches of rain. I am very glad that my thatch roof is strong because no rain came into my house, also that the Peace Corps has certain standards for the volunteers house because no rain came in through the doors either. One of my mothers rooms had water rush under the corn stalk door. A common occurance apparently because no one seemed shocked or surprised. They really only laughed about it, which is a perfect example of the culture. They laugh at everything, it is wonderful to be around as long as im in a good mood when they are laughing at me. If I am in a bad mood I sometimes take it personally. But I’m getting over that quickly because they laugh at me all the time and I’m learning to laugh with them. What can be better than learning to laugh more often? 

Living on top

Baboo, he hates this photo but its one of my favorites.

The heavy rains caused my fathers' roof to fall through, so we had to replace it. This man is the village roof maker, him with usually two others construct the roof, but he is always the one on the top. Its quite a sight to see this type of roof go together. 

Corn is growing, food will be here soon. 

Baby on the Back, and teaching Dad how to use to camera!

Ramadan starts this weekend, or the coming of the moon.  Ramadan rotates 11 days each year.  As this is my first Ramadan, i'm not exactly sure how its going to work but the principle is that you fast from food, drink, and impure thoughts and activities during daylight hours and eat a breakfast and a dinner before the sun rises and after the sun sets. Regardless of whether I decide to join the fasting or not, I won't be able to eat or drink in public, as its terribly offensive. Ramadan lasts about a month, but pregnant or lactating women and children are allowed to break fast. I'm not sure if I will be joining with the fast because this is one of the hardest years to fast because we are in the middle of the rainy season which means field work all day long. That among other reasons, I need to give fasting some thought. But I have until this weekend to decide/ this weekend to eat as much food as I can.

Go Fish

The rains have come and brought The Gambia hope for a productive growing season. The men have slowed down on their attaya(African tea) brewing and have turned out to the fields where their boys and donkeys, behind and in front of a plow, help work the soil for what is to be planted. But do not fear the attaya set is underneath the nearest tree waiting for the next pass of the plow so everyone can stop and take a sip. My family is currently planting coos or millet along with groundnut, more commonly known as peanut. The women find time in their day between carrying the whole families water from the solar powered/hand pump tap to their compounds (water is carried in huge tubs on their heads), washing all the clothing by hand, cooking 3 meals a day over a fire stove, sweeping, cleaning, and now they plant individual family garden plots, most of what is being planted right now is peppers, mainly hot peppers. The Mandinka tribe loves their spices. When the rains have gone, I have been told they plant many other vegetables. In between all of these responsibilities everyone still finds time to sit around and relax because after all the heat is still here and no one wants to be in the field in 105 degree weather.

Too pass some time and have a bit of fun I brought out a deck of cards. My mom's knew the face values of the cards and even Nyamandyin calls the Queen, 'Queeny.' I will never again call Queen, just queen because queeny is so much better. Anyways, I never thought I would be playing go fish again, because after all it’s a terrible card game and after about 12 years old/or younger everyone is so sick of it and moved on to more important games like slap jack and BS. But hey, this is Africa and what are you supposed to do with your time. Go fish was started, after a round or two my mom's completely understood the game. Now imagine go fish but in an African language. Instead of go fish, its "nee ta" or "fish go" and whenever someone says that the person taking the card now says "nee na" or "fish come;" which I personally find absolutely hilarious. The game did help a lot with beginning language skills, like sentence structures and positives and negatives of verb conjugation.  

For example....

Do you have a 5? in Mandinka it would be ya sutoo luuluu le ban?
No, I don't have a 5 ...... Luuluu te je. or direct translation 5 is not here.

Very appropriate way to learn useful sentances.

Maybe by year two I will have taught them how to play Shanghi....well let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Baby steps, domandin, domandin (slowly, slowly).