Quarter of My Service Quarter of My Sanity…Gone

Where in the world does time go? This seems to be an everlasting life question for me haha. I have lived in The Gambia for six months and I cannot believe it! My three (actually four for health volunteers) month challenge is over and I am currently attending my IST (In-Service Training). Peace Corps really likes acronyms. We have a ton on the schedule for our three weeks of training but this time is so valuable. I am with ten of my co-health volunteers and we are seeking inspiration and knowledge from one another to take back to our own villages. We are all so ready to get back to site and start the work we came here to do. We will have sessions on malaria, how to apply for grants, family planning, female genital mutilation, pit latrine construction, soap making, HIV, complementary foods, care groups, environmental sanitation, gardening, and mural painting. Hopefully by the time we are finished we will all have a pretty good idea of what our primary projects will be and how to make them happen.

As for life in my village Besse, I feel like I am integrating well. Most if not all of my village knows me now and I am still trying to speak Mandinka and Jola to the best of my ability. I have held a health talk about malaria in my village as well as a Bed Net Bathe and Bedazzle program which the women loved. Many of the mother's in the village never had an opportunity to go to school when they were young so most cannot read or write. I have been politely asking many ladies if they would like to learn and there is a resounding YES all around. This may be my secondary project because the ladies are just so passionate about having the opportunity. Besse was recently involved in a region wide soccer tournament and we won. The village partied for about 3 days straight and made history. This is the first trophy Besse has ever received and they were thrilled with the honor.

As for integrating and melding into my family I am officially melded. Unfortunately, it took a bad incident to prove this to me but part of me felt proud to be involved in the situation and welcomed. When I left for my three week training my mother kept saying how much she would miss her sunkutu baa (big girl) and her sunkutu ding dingo (little girl) would miss me so much. When I left my mother shook my left hand which is a huge sign of respect. People here use their right hands for everything and their left for one thing only (wiping). I know this sounds gross but to have someone shake your left hand is actually a sign of honor, trust and respect. My kittens are getting too big too fast. Lankershim and Silafandoo (road gift) basically run the compound now. My hut is no longer mine but theirs and they have me well trained as to when they would like to eat, go out, and play.

Hot season is upon us and I am sweating my patootie off during the day, I am lucky the nights are still cool. After lunch my family, neighbors, and I usually sit under a cashew tree and brew attayah (green tea) because it is just too dang hot to do anything else. We sip water from a jiibida (big clay pot) which keeps the water cool. The other day I was sitting with only my mom and sister and my sister kept telling me toubab (white people) skin is softer and better than black people skin. I laughed and said no way they are the same. She said okay then prove it. I asked her to close her eyes (no peeking) and use her hand to feel her mom's arm then my arm. We did this several times in different order and she could never guess which arm belonged to which one of us. We were all laughing as she guessed and failed many times. Finally, she gave up and said okay there is no difference I suppose both are adyatta (sweet). I cherish moments like these under the cashew tree because time is spent with family, laughing is always contagious, and valuable lessons are often learned.

Something huge I have learned here so far is something I do not think I could have learned in the US. Truly nothing is in my hands, I have no control no matter how much I think I have. This country runs on community effort and basically zero planning and somehow things come together. I used to be so frustrated with transportation and how inefficient it was and now I think to myself if I get where I need to it does not matter how long it takes. I am adapting into someone who goes with the flow and lets silly worries go (which is weird for a type A planner). I have a roof over my head, food in my bowl, friends and family, I am healthy, there is clean water, and my village is safe. What more does a girl need?