The Day the Ambassador came to Tenengfara

In late September, the American Ambassador to The Gambia, his wife, and staff arrived at Tenengfara to sit down with the village to discuss a Emergency Relief Grant that they were given in the beginning of May to purchase, rice and coos for food aid and groundnut for seed. The rice and coos were very needed at that time and although it was difficult to walk into village with a lot of US aid money already in hand, because this then sets the thought that I am here to give money, which isn't exactly part of the PC position, the whole village including myself benefited. The groundnut seed was excellent, and the rains successful, so the groundnut crops are doing well for this year. I wasn't able to be in village during the Ambassador's visit but a fellow volunteer (sitemate! shout out) came to help out. Here are some of her photos...

The greetings and a flag that the village made to welcome the Embassy. 

Traditions of Africa

When I got back home, all anyone could talk about was the Ambassador's visit. They were so excited to have the honor to meet him and put on quite the show. They made him a great benechin lunch and traditional Gambian shirts. There was even the appearance of a conquron, a dancing man dressed as a spirit. The Ambassador also told everyone how important it is to educate the children. I arrived home and thought how quite the village seemed; it was because it was quite, all the kids were in school. The enrollment of children in school has sky rocketed and its great to see the kids all occupied during the day.

The Naming Ceremony.

Tenengfara women at the naming ceremony, working and laughing hard. Bori (my mother is in the black shirt), the women with the white scarf is the chief's wife and the head of the women's group, the women in the back is one of my favorite women in village she is constantly teasing me and laughing. 

This past week there was a naming ceremony at a Fula compound. Naming ceremonies take place 7 days after a baby has been born and the purpose it to introduce the child to the community and ...give them a name. I've seen wolof and mandinka ceremonies but the fula one was very different. There was a moment where an aunt sat holding the child under a white cloth while a elder man poured some milk, water, wood-bark substance onto the baby's head and shaved off the hair, at the same time 3 women pounded corn together next to the baby, at the same time the Imam of the village slaughtered a goat into a hole to let the blood drain, and at the same time that another elder lead the gathered people in prayer. It was quite the moment and orchestrated perfectly. After this all happened the mother was brought out to hold the child and had parts of her head shaved, money was then put on top of the white cloth and wishes were announced, a large number of men who attended were served a breakfast of mono, or millet balls in a liquid with sour milk on top, and dried balls of millet or corn with sugar. With traditional Islamic societies the men and women rarely socialize in public. I am, however, the exception, because females from other societies tend to fall into a third category, somewhere between the traditional roles of men and women in this culture. It seems like even the locals don't know where to place me, and I don't try to define it, I just adapt while allowing them to adapt to my differences and try not to offend anyone. I always sit and socialize with the women, rarely doing more than greet the men unless otherwise invited.

This was the first day that the women included me in their gossip circle. I had always sat with them but didn't understand much. I have started to understand more of the conversations and at the naming ceremony, the women were sharing the gossip of the village and asked me what I thought about it. So yes, gossip happens everywhere especially in small African villages where there are no other distractions like TV or books and everyone lives  2 feet away from each other and everything is heard by your neighbors. There is a proverb that goes, "the foot is on the ground, the snake is on the ground." Meaning neighbors must learn to get along with each other because they all share the same ground.

Help me to see...

I can't believe that it is November. Really, where did the time go. As a girl who has lived in New England her whole life, this is my first year where the seasons haven't changed. It is still 85 degrees at least during the day and the sun still beats down, although it has started to get cooler at night, which makes it much easier to sleep, there isn't that cool brisk air that fall brings every year. The leaves aren't changing colors, but there is a bounty of watermelons. Eating watermelons during November is a treat especially because it is so hot and the watermelons offer a refreshing break. Thanksgiving is around the corner and a fellow volunteer has located turkey's in his village! So yes, we will be eating turkey!!!

HIV/AIDS bike trek is complete. About 20 PC volunteers taught for 4 days at 4 different schools, educating and interacting with students about the facts of HIV/AIDS and about the strength of speaking out and talking about the disease in their communities. I learned about myself as a teacher and about Gambian school systems and culture. Volunteers came and taught at the Upper basic school closest to my village, my mother and another woman from the town cooked us meals for two days which I will say were absolutely delicious! Although it was a bike trek, I didn't even touch my bike besides to put it in the back of a truck. But it was a much more rare treat to ride in an air-conditioned comfortable vehicle than my bike, which I use every day, so we will leave the trekking till another day.

Myself and a fellow volunteer have been doing some photography work with the World Food Program which has just been put up on their website. So check it out. http://www.wfp.org/node/3464/4113/342772

Now to the deeper stuff....

We have now been at site for 6 months, reaching 1/4 of our service complete. Yesterday, I spent the day in the fields with the ladies piling groundnut and picking up left behind peanuts. Then I smashed peanuts against a metal rod cracking the shell so we could eat them later. I did this for 3 hours. Sometimes the goal is to simply find something, anything to do to pass the time.

I guess the hardest part right now is not feeling as if I have a purpose. What am I here to do? Where is the most need? What will benefit the village the most? What can I give them? I need to find something that I feel passionate about so that my heart is in my own work. This life isn't all great days or the moments where I can't believe how lucky I am to be in Africa, living this life. Many of the days, I wake up thinking about what I can do to simply pass the time, wishing to exhaust myself to the point where I can fall back asleep again. My heart aches for loved one at home, for loved ones in country, for the next moments that I will see them. Then the feelings of guilt come because I am not living for each day, appreciating the things that I have, rather  my mind is far away, wishing for people and places that are to come. But I will never get this time back, once May 2014 rolls around this life will be only a memory, photos, and love in my heart. Its a delicate balance of appreciating and living in the moment while also allowing myself to feel the ache to be with loved ones.

The time element is difficult. There are so many hours during the day where I can play and laugh and appreciate all I have here. But it is all in another language, which I only partly understand, so the language of my heart and mind is playing in my own head. These thoughts run a constant reel like a radio you know is playing in the background and sometimes you hear its news and sometimes its just white noise, but you know it is there, some thoughts are superficial, some philosophical, the majority of them deep. Being surrounded by people all the time but essentially being alone with your own feelings and thoughts is to put it lightly, quite the experience. You question yourself, the person you thought you were, the person you are becoming, because regardless of where I will be next in life, everything that Africa has taught me and continues to teach me will be ingrained  in my understanding. Then there is the fear, I've been in Tenengfara for 6 months, and I have 18 left, these people and this place has already changed and challenged me in 6 months, what will the 18 left bring...will I recognize the person I have become after my service is over? I think its all about letting myself go and being open to whatever this crazy life has to throw at me, but sometimes I just wish for a few days where the peace is constant and the sleep is deep.

Enjoy the Thanksgiving festivities, appreciate the food and drink, an early congratulations to Lauren and Anthony on their wedding, sending the giggles of African children and the excitement of Gambia drums to everyone.

A selfish reminder that Christmas and the next mail run are coming up in the middle of December so now is the time to get those packages and letters into the mail box as they will take awhile to get to me. I really love letters as they let me revisit the people who sent them over and over again, and it only costs $1.06 (I believe).