Week 1 and 2

Ok I have now been at site for about a full week. My house is starting to take shape. I had to have a few things fixed but nothing major and then had to have the family kill the rats. OMG. But now that am moving everything into its own room am starting to feel more comfortable. The family is starting to take to me more and speaking in mandinka is not that hard if I understand the question. I haven't been to work yet but that shall come. Hopefully with the start of the new week and school actually starting I can be more productive.

2nd week at site has ended. So I have started to work and work is nothing like what I aspect even though my expectations were very low to begging with. Since my post is the education department office I mainly have been fixing the computers there first. I shall soon go on treks to see the other schools that have computers. And see how they are doing and what it is they need. I have also been asked to teach some of the staff how to use the computers since the advancement in technology they must learn to keep up. So am trying to come up with a schedule to were I will be available for teaching classes and trekking all at once. But since it’s the end of Ramadan is here now I have more time to work on a schedule and go to the city to do banking and a little playing on the internet. I have to take pictures of my new place to show off to people at home that my house is bigger. But that will come. Plus I have meet another sister who lives in Dakar. So we have exchanged information so that when I travel there I have a free place to stay and with family everything is cheaper.

Pictures From Training Village.

August

So I will be living in one of the big cities in Gambia. I will be in Soma which is ok since it has markets that are daily and not only weekly.

Ok After finding out where I was going to be living it was back to the training village. I cant believe how much my life style has changed. I have been placed on a vegetarian diet. Who consumes mostly all rice with some type of sauce on top it, 3 times a day. I don’t see much meat unless it is bought by the Peace corps because it cost to much for my family to afford it. But am still alive so the adjustment is not to hard. I just don’t eat much breakfast because I don’t like rice porridge which is something like oatmeal and grits but made from rice. I eat a big portion of lunch which is the only meal I get that has vegetables in it everyday. And I try my best to eat at least half my dinner bowl because it the last meal of the day and because I know I wont eat breakfast.

My language has made a big improvement in the last month. I am now at NH which is very good for me thus far. I have to be at IM by the 12th of Sept. so am going to continue to work on t and hope for the best. If worst come to worst I will be keep back to have more language training or sent home. So lets hope for the best.

In training village for the majority of this month none of the men have been at home. They have all went to travel to either work or religion. So at home it has just been the women and kids and its still just been great fun.