So far I've failed to mention that I've returned from The Gambia and have been in the States for about 5 days now. Right now it just feels extremely surreal to be here and not there. I'm still kind of going over the experience in my head and thinking "what was that?" Sometime when I get the itch I will write a more fitting conclusion and try to put some time into something meaningful, but here's the truth: this blog doesn't capture even 1% of my experiences, challenges, rewards, high points, low points, successes, failures, joys, sorrows, new normalities, and absurdities. More later.

Note: I realize the post before this has disappeared. I'll try to get it back up.

My prophecies from my last post have already begun manifesting themselves. Today the computer lab was about 75 yards from burning down. The students have been discontent with school policies, especially about being required to go to night class, so they have turned to arson. Our school grounds have been the victim of five arson incidents in the past two weeks and two of those incidents have occurred within the past 12 hours. All of the incidents occurred during night classes except for the one today. None of the fires have posed any threat to any buildings until today because our school property contains several acres of land - most of the fires were started 200-300 yards away from any buildings. The incidents usually achieve the interruption of classes and students congregating a safe distance from the flames screaming "mo fiya! mo fiya (more fire)!" If the arsonist's goal was to generate international media attention, I suppose I helped him/her succeed - although they'll never know that because my students don't know about this blog.

Take note the side of the firetruck says "Avon County" - no, there's no Avon County in Africa that I'm aware of - possibly Avon, CO?? But is that in Avon County?

I'm surprised this picture turned out at all because I was shaking with uncontrollabe laughter. This fireman is running from bees. Several of them were running from bees - dressed in full fireman attire. The tree that caught on fire was the home to hundreds of them. They were extremely pissed off. I couldn't stop laughing until they came after me, but I ran away zig zagging and juking like Barry Sanders and shook them off - on second thought I think you're supposed to run away zig zagging from either bears or crocodiles. Afterwards I felt kinda bad because a couple of the firemen were laying in the grass in agony because they were stung a few times. The lab is actually on lockdown right now because the bees have advanced their assault to the classrooms.

If I ever wrote a book about my experiences with IT here (which I won’t), I think I would title it Memoirs and Visions of Upcountry IT Apocalyptic Mayhem. As the time for me to leave here draws nigh, I’m starting to imagine a horrible future for IT in Basse. In my nightmarish visions I see power supplies and monitors exploding every which way. I see Phillips-head screwdrivers jabbing violently into motherboards. I see one of my counterparts with the most sinister laughter, arms spread out at his sides – a box of matches in one hand and WD40 in the other hand - standing over a computer case that’s sparking and pulsating with plumes of fire. I see my other counterpart laughing like a hyena and scuffing his shoes on the carpet to build static electricity and then handling sticks of RAM. I also see the Brontok virus (a ridiculously annoying and widespread computer virus here - non-sexually transmitted through flash drives) mutating and going airborne and people uncontrollably defecating executable files disguised as folders (that’s what the virus does). I see infected zombie children tearing out all of the cat5 cable and then using it as jump ropes and donkey whips. I also see our school’s data entry clerks gathering all of the town’s keyboards and setting them below the only 3 story building in Basse, dousing them with gasoline, and then I see them carrying the Education Office’s $5000 heavy duty copy machine to the top of that 3 story building, setting it on fire, and then pushing it off of the building onto the keyboards. Just for good measure, the Four Horsemen will stop by and club people in the faces with swinging mice. When all is destroyed and the dust has settled, Basse will appear to have been bombed by TigerDirect.com.

Just because I'm a Peace Corps volunteer I think I'm required to actually say I'm joking. The Thought Police are always reading these. There are actually people employed in Washington to read and monitor Peace Corps blogs and correct them if they see fit. It's probably for the best I suppose. I know some pretty deranged volunteers posting out there.

Lately I’ve been feeling a bit guilty about playing animal documentaries for my neighbors. The past week or so I’ve been playing a David Attenborough series called The Life of Mammals. Initially I thought “Yeah, this will be a good one to show them. None of that Hollywood crap. Educational…animals…David Attenborough at 70+ years old climbing trees and snorkling, yes, yes, yes.” I didn’t take into account that I might be destabilizing much of what they know and understand about the earth and the life inhabiting this planet. Everyone (especially the kids) was really excited to see all the animals, but for each animal the children would naturally ask their father what the animal was. He confidently told them the sloth was a monkey, the echidna and pica were rats, etc. By the time the duck-billed platypus came swimming around, it was obvious his confidence had been shaken. When I play Hollywood films the people here just chalk it off as “Ohh look at what those crazy white people and Chinamen gone up and done again. That’s amazing. Boom! Kill those bad guys! Karate chop his face! Those people have enough money.” When it comes to the natural world I think a lot of the people here think they already know basically all there is to know because some of them spend almost every day out in the wilderness farming, collecting firewood, or maybe some will travel to see relatives or buy goods. By the end of a few episodes the look on my neighbor’s face seemed to say “Maybe I really don’t know that much at all and I will probably never see any of these other places in the world.” Which is unfortunately for him true. 99% of the people here live in a world of about 50 square kilometres. In this country that is half the size of Vermont some might move as far as the coast. As far as other countries go some might travel to Senegal. .001% will walk on another continent and that’s the dream for 90% of the population. In a similar incident I was at the neighborhood bar the other night, and the people there were watching an American show titled something like Daddy’s Spoiled Little Girl on satellite TV. It’s one of the only American TV shows I’ve seen on that channel. In this show the girl’s father took her to a car dealership and she was pissed off because her father wanted to buy her a silver $60,000 Mercedes sedan, and she already had a black $60,000 Mercedes sedan. She actually had her personal attorney come to the car dealership to argue her case. So he could keep his job, the attorney pleaded that she was promised the other car a few weeks ago. He lost, but maybe he kept his job. Later they went to check out a $1 million house for her, but she thought it was absolutely disgusting. The next morning this girl woke up at noon and started drinking in bed, and then three $1000 dresses came that she had delivered. Two of them were gross, but she picked out one for the day. Then her father called from the car dealership saying he had purchased the other car. She went to the dealership where her father was waiting, and then took the car without saying a word. People in other countries are watching this show that can't even afford a new donkey, goat, or chicken.

Be proud America. That is how people in other countries view you because you produce, watch, and support television shows like that every week. Did I mention the show was being broadcast on Arabic satellite television? I can’t seem to think why anyone would dislike us. Next time you're channel surfing try watching those ridiculous shows through the eyes of Third World farmers and goat herders!

Looky here! I've been working on a lesson plan to show students how dangerous drinking open-well water can be, and I was able to borrow a Dino Lite digital microscope, and this is what I was able to find in the open-well in my compound! I really had no idea what it was, but according to one of the Peace Corps doctors it is probably aedes aegypti mosquito larvae; which grows up to become the mosquito that transmits dengue fever, yellow fever, chikungunya, and others. It's probably not too harmful to drink, but it was enough for some of my students to vow to never drink open-well water without boiling it first. I shall continue to hunt for nastier and more malicious critters lurking beneath the water in my well.

The night sky was incredibly bright and celestial last night. If you live somewhere where you can see the sky or if you're planning on camping or traveling or going for a drive, I highly recommend downloading Stellarium from http://www.stellarium.org . It's planetarium software. You can simply put the time, date, and location in, and then it will show you the sky, stars, star clusters, constellations, constellation art, planets, etc. You can move forward and back in time and the sky will change accordingly, and you can also zoom in on clusters and planets. It's almost like Google Universe. Check it out.

I just thought I should share this timely excerpt from an exceedingly hilarious and sidesplitting book I'm reading by David Sedaris (NPR, This American Life) called Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim:

While eight flying reindeer are a hard pill to swallow, our Christmas story remains relatively dull. Santa lives with his wife in a remote polar village and spends one night a year traveling around the world. If you're bad, he leaves you coal. If you're good and live in America, he'll give you just about anything you want. We tell our children to be good and send them off to bed, where they lie awake, anticipating their great bounty. A Dutch parent has a decidedly hairier story to relate, telling his children, "Listen, you might want to pack a few of your things together before going to bed. The former bishop of Turkey will be coming tonight along with six to eight black men. They might put some candy in your shoes, they might stuff you into a sack and take you to Spain, or they might just pretend to kick you. We don't know for sure, but we want you to be prepared."

This is the reward for living in the Netherlands. As a child you get to hear this story, and as an adult you get to turn around and repeat it. As an added bonus, the government has thrown in legalized drugs and prostitution - so what's not to love about being Dutch?

Oscar finished his story just as we arrived at the station. He was an amiable guy - very good company - but when he offered to wait until my train arrived I begged off, claiming I had some calls to make. Sitting alone in the vast, vibrant terminal, surrounded by thousands of polite, seemingly interesting Dutch people, I couldn't help but feel second-rate. Yes, the Netherlands was a small country, but it had six to eight black men and a really good bedtime story. Being a fairly competitive person, I felt jealous, then bitter. I was edging toward hostile when I remembered the blind hunter tramping off alone into the Michigan forest...

The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is underway in The Gambia. I avoided the market at all costs today because everyone is preparing for the Muslim festival called Tobaski (Eid al-Adha in Arabic) on Thursday.

From answers.com:

Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى ‘Īd al-’Aḍḥā) is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims worldwide as a commemoration of Ibrahim's (Abraham's) willingness to sacrifice his son Ismael for Allah. It is one of two Eid festivals that Muslims celebrate. Like Eid ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha also begins with a short prayer followed by a sermon (khuṭba). Eid al-Adha is three days long and starts on the 10th day of the month of Dhul Hijja (ذو الحجة) of the lunar Islamic calendar. This is the day after the pilgrims in Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide, descend from Mount Arafat. It happens to be approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan.Men, women, and children are expected to dress in their finest clothing and perform the Eid prayer (Salatu'l-`id) in any mosque. Muslims who can afford to do so sacrifice their best domestic animals (usually sheep, but also camels, cows, and goats) as a symbol of Ibrahim's (Abraham's) sacrifice. The sacrificed animals, called "udhiya Arabic: أضحية", have to meet certain age and quality standards or else the animal is considered an unacceptable sacrifice. At the time of sacrifice, Allah's name is recited along with the offering statement and a supplication as Muhammad said. According to the Quran a large portion of the meat has to be given towards the poor and hungry people so they can all join in the feast which is held on Eid-ul-Adha.The remainder is cooked for the family celebration meal in which relatives and friends are invited to share. The regular charitable practices of the Muslim community are demonstrated during Eid ul-Adha by the concerted effort to see that no impoverished Muslim is left without sacrificial food during these days. Coming immediately after the annual hajj ends with the celebration of the Day of Mount Arafat. Eid ul-Adha is a concrete affirmation of what the Muslim community ethic means in practice. People in these days are expected to visit their relations, starting with their parents, then their families and friends.

Plan for Withdrawal:

Effective on January 1, 2008, I will no longer touch a computer in an attempt to repair it, or any piece of hardware, network cable, switch, firewall, virus, or anything that shares the likeness. I want to turn everything over to my counterparts and see how they handle things. My counterparts are enthusiastic, but the offices and businesses we've been doing work at are about as excited as an arctic seal going up for air at an icehole where a polar bear is waiting to club and mangle it (watched Blue Planet last night). I've been referring government offices/businesses to my counterparts for a while, but they keep insisting that I come personally instead because they say they trust me more. Some of these people calling me are not used to hearing the word "no", but I've been trying my best to explain to them that my goal in being here is to train Gambians to help other Gambians, and my counterparts are in fact properly trained and know what their doing. I've definitely pissed a few people off, but fortunately my counterparts usually solve the problems and the half-life for a grudge here is only a day or two.

I met an interesting photographer the other day that has been traveling around Africa for around 5 years. He said he's finally running out of money and is going back to the states.

Check out his website and publications:

http://www.thomasmillerphotographer.com

I also just heard my good friend Joe Riis has a term photo published in the January '08 issue of National Geographic! Congrats Joe!

http://www.joeriis.com

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Years, Chanukkah, Tobaski, Eid al-Adha!

Here is a gift voucher for everyone:

Gift Voucher

This past week I was in the Banjul area for Peace Corps meetings and ceremonies. This month we are celebrating Peace Corps The Gambia's 40th Anniversary. It is the only country in the world the Peace Corps has been in to go for 40 years without interruption of service (wars, civil unrest, violent coups, etc). It was a good weekend. We had Thanksgiving dinner at the Ambassador's house on the beach, and a couple days later we had a ceremony at a hotel to celebrate the 40th anniversary. The program was put together well and included speeches from our new country director, PC staff, testimonials from Gambians, a slideshow, and a secret agent-esque official congratulations from the desk of the U.S. Peace Corps Director, except the message didn't self-destruct afterwards, and to tell you the truth I didn't recognize the director because the directorship has changed since I've been here. Nevertheless, I'm going to request a copy of the video e-mailed to me personally. Most impressively, a gentleman from the first PC group in 1967 was there and he hasn't left the country since. I'm not too sure what kind of work he has been doing, but he seemed normal. On the abnormal side of things, I met a man that said something to the effect of "I arrived here in 1980. My name used to be Tim but now I'm Brother Dimas!" He was a heavy-set, jolly and jovial type, had long white hair, a big white beard, a blue monk-like outfit, and a big wooden "T" necklace.

Right now we're in the middle of final exams here at the high school. We will be generating reports cards from our database for the first time as long as no catastrophes occur.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and don't forget to remind your children this holiday season (especially if they're refusing to eat) that there are starving PC volunteers in Africa.

At approximately 5:50 A.M. this morning I woke up to 3 simultaneous prayer calls, 2 donkeys, a pack of stray dogs howling, a rooster, and an unknown bird. The first prayer call acted as the catalyst. One gets used to all those sounds and can even sleep through them, but the way they all came to together this morning grabbed my ears like meat hooks fresh from a kiln. In case you need visual assistance in imagining what the cacophony of the apocalypse will sound like:

Due to the never ending battle of our school's fuse box and faulty wiring, these past two weeks it has been back to the chalk board; no electricity. I'm beginning to master methods of stalling classes, and I'm starting to become aware of my former teachers' stalling methods that I never noticed at the time. Unfortunately, the most obvious method, playing a videotaped PBS series, is not an option. I'm also getting extremely good at slowing down my speech to speeds not uncommon to the crawling pace of an injured sloth.

Lack of silence usually doesn't bother me in the computer lab because students are always helping each other to find solutions and moving about, but when I'm trying to lecture and explain things on the chalkboard I require silence. This can often be difficult to come by, especially on entering a classroom. I'm tired of yelling, so lately I've been working on my Clint Eastwood "I don't have six-shooter drawn but as you can see by the look on my face I'm about to pump your head full of mind bullets, or maybe throw an eraser at you, and you'll be pushin' daiseys, unless you take out your notebook and pencil and shut the hell up." I'm getting pretty good at it. My favorite stare-downs occur when the rest of the class notices it and submits except for maybe two people, and the whole class is silent, shifting glances from me to them in anticipation of what will happen next... BOOM! Eraser in the face.

Sometimes I don't know whether my ideas are original or whether I ripped them off from somewhere but I've always wanted to make a bathroom/coffee table type book called "The Writings on the Wall" and collaborate with other photographer friends around the world and get a compilation of writings on walls and in bathroom stalls, along with translations if it's in another language. I think you can discover a vast amount of information, values, and culture by just looking at what people take time to write on walls. I've seen quite a bit of interesting things written places here, but I haven't had a camera most of the time. Here's some things I've photographed just around our school, which might not really interest you that much, but I'm going to try to get some better ones before my time is up here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52546085@N00/

I've also uploaded quite a few more pictures I've been meaning to upload. Also, I realize my pictures are in extreme disarray, but that's because of bandwidth and time constraints.

I failed to mention in my last post that the month of Ramadan is underway, and is actually over very soon. I mentioned this in a post last year, but it definitely makes teaching and learning challenging. What I probably didn't mention last year was what Ramadan actually is.

It's really quite beautiful. From answers.com:

Ramadan 2007 (the year 1428 AH, according to the Muslim reckoning) runs from approximately September 13 to October 12. The exact dates depend on one's geographical location. A blessed month has arrived. Observing it in fasting is mandated on you. During this month, the gates of Paradise will be opened and the gates of Hellfire will be closed. (Abu Hureirah) Ramadan mubarak! (a blessed Ramadan!) Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and the most sacred of the twelve months. The name Ramadan derives from the Arabic word for intense heat and sun-scorched ground. A number of reasons have been advanced to explain the linguistic connection: It refers to the hot, dry sensation of thirst during this month of fastingRamadan scorches out evil like the sun scorches the earthJust as heat shapes and influences all matter — organic and inorganic — so does Ramadan shape and influence the believer Fasting The Koran mandates fasting during the month of Ramadan: The month of Ramadan is that in which the Koran was revealed, a guidance to men and clear proofs of the guidance and the distinction; therefore whoever of you is present in the month, he shall fast therein, and whoever is sick or upon a journey, then (he shall fast) a (like) number of other days... (sura 2.185, known as The Cow) Fasting, or sawm, during the month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Sunni Islam. Why fast? to develop patience and self-controlto learn sympathy for the deprivedto cleanse the body and mindto gain appreciation for Allah's bountyto demonstrate the depth of one's commitmentto protect against sin. A hadith states: "Satan runs in the circulatory system of the son of Adam in the same way blood circulates in our system; so tighten his passages with hunger." There are, then, three levels of the Ramadan fast: refraining from the physical things that are forbidden (performed with the mouth/stomach/sexual organs)restraining oneself from saying, hearing and looking at forbidden things (performed with the senses)renewing one's devotion to Allah (performed with the heart and mind). Special meals are eaten before and after each day of fasting: suhoor before the dawn prayers, and iftar, the evening meal often eaten communally and often including dates. I swore by the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, the breath of the faster is sweeter to Allah on the Day of Judgment than the scent of musk. (Abu Hureirah) In addition, Ramadan is a time for increased devotion, reading of the Koran, self-improvement, community involvement, charity and good deeds. He who does not desist from obscene language and acting obscenely, Allah has no need that he did not eat or drink. (Bukhari)

...

Breaking the fast When Ramadan is over, on the first day of the next month, Shawwal, Muslims celebrate Id al-Fitr (lit., feast of the breaking of the fast). Id al-fitr is a day of joy, thankfulness, piety, forgiveness, peace and brotherhood. Worshipers dress in their finest clothes, preferably new ones, and, after special early-morning prayers held in large mosques or other venues, visit each other to exchange greetings and good wishes. Special alms, zakat, are given; children receive gifts; and feuds and disputes are settled. Together with the sadness at the end of Ramadan comes the joy at having been granted by Allah the strength to perform the fast.You can read more about it at answers.com or a million other places if you want.

Next Week: The Writing's on the Wall (for real this time)

Here's an excerpt to ponder from a good book called Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values by Robert M. Pirsig:

I wonder. There's kind of a glaring inconsistency here, that's almost too obvious to dwell on. If they can't stand physical discomfort and they can't stand technology, they've got a little compromising to do. They depend on technology and condemn it at the same time. I am sure they know that and that just contributes to their dislike of the whole situation. They're not presenting a logical thesis, they're just reporting how it is. But three farmers are coming into town now, rounding the corner in that brand-new pickup truck. I'll bet with them it's just the other way around. They're going to show off that truck and their tractor and that new washing machine and they'll have the tools to fix them if they go wrong, and know how to use the tools. They value technology. And they're the ones who need it the least. If all technology stopped tomorrow these people would know how to make out. It would be rough, but they'd survive. John and Sylvia and Chris and I would be dead in a week. This condemnation of technology is ingratitude, that's what it is. Blind alley, though. If someone's ungrateful and you tell him he's ungrateful, okay, you've called him a name. You haven't solved anything.

When I read that a few bells went off in my head because there's definitely some parallels there in regards to working with technology in Africa. I'm definitely not saying everyone here is a mechanic or technician, but most people here are incredibly willing to learn all these new things being introduced to them. They're accepting all this new technology with open arms and embracing it. Elderly people and uneducated people who have never even had electricity or seen a computer have come up to me and begged me to learn about computers. I think the attitude is quite a bit different for most of America where technology is often viewed as a necessary evil, or an inconvenience that is required to learn. I could definitely argue that it is an inhuman, isolating, necessary evil, but I just wanted to make a point. If these people lost all modern technology, they would manage just fine, but I shudder to think what would happen in the States.

Speaking of willingness to embrace technology, surprisingly I've been given the go-ahead to design a database to do away with most paper records here at the school, as well as network most of the school together. There's probably only 1 or 2 other high schools in the country at the most that has a system as advanced. It's even a decent sized database with around 20 tables. It's coming along well and the accountants, administrators, and teachers are showing a good amount of enthusiasm. I just hope everything will still run smoothly after I leave. I have 2 computer-literate counterparts that I'll be doing plenty of training with, but sometimes I still have my doubts.

I'm back to write another post and it's not raining outside, but if I sit here long enough, it probably will. And then the rain will come heavy, and then lighten, and I will have to make a decision on whether I should ride my bike home now as the rain is falling somewhat lightly before it potentially goes torrential again, getting a bit muddy in the process, or I could wait and see if it stops completely. This week I've been deciding wrong most of the time, but last week I was on cue. This week I've been deciding to go home when the rain lightens, and I get wet and muddy riding through puddles and torrents, and my bike chain gets all nasty. I'll arrive at home and the rain will stop completely; wrong decision. Last week I would do the same, but the long torrential downpours came. Yesterday I just said to hell with it and I just jumped on my bike in the middle of a downpour. It's a good feeling to just accept how muddy, wet, and cold you and your clothes are about to get and just run into the downpour every now and then. I've been keeping a plastic bag in my pocket ever since the rains started coming to protect anything that I don't want wet.

Summer classes started on August 1st and end tomorrow, and then we will have a week break and some teacher workshops. School will start again on August 10th. This past month I've been teaching or at least trying to teach my students MS Excel. I only have 2 more terms left to teach. This fall we'll focus on Excel, Powerpoint, and the Internet. I was horrified to find out none of the grade 12 students have ever researched or done a report on anything in their lives, so the 2nd and final term for my students will be focused on doing research and presenting a group report with Powerpoint to the grade 12 class. I'm hoping that it will become a yearly presentation; kind of a capstone computer project. The students won't have computer class during the 3rd term (a school year is 3 terms) because they will be focusing on their West African Exams.

Besides school, I've just been helping a couple internet cafés to get going, which is turning out to be more difficult than I imagined because the people running them have less experience on computers than some of my students. Believe it or not, a lot of things can go wrong with a small network of 5-10 second or third-hand computers. Also, we have internet at the school once again, so expect to see more frequent blog posts, and I'll be trying to get caught up on my e-mails.

After a couple weeks in Sierra Leone, I have returned. It was a great time to get away from The Gambia for a while. Quite the interesting trip. A Peace Corps friend and I stayed with the family of some friends of mine in Basse. Our plan was to stay in Freetown for a few days and then go up-country to Kenema. Unfortunately, the family's residence we were going to stay at filled up from villagers frightened of the up-coming presidential election on August 11. They felt vulnerable living in the smaller villages and fled to Kenema for the time being until the election is over. Most of the people in Sierra Leone have been through a lot, and that became more apparent the longer I stayed there.

We stayed in a part of Freetown called Calaba Town. This part of Freetown was one of the many areas the RUF rebels terrorized during "Operation No Living Thing". The house we stayed in was one of the few that wasn't completely burned down in that area of Calaba Town. I never really asked anyone much about that time period, but the people there didn't hesitate to bring it up a few times. I heard some horrible stories, but the people (at least the ones I talked to) didn't sound as bitter about the war as you might imagine. Most of them were frustrated with the government at the time as well; many said it was just horrible how it ended up turning out. It's pretty complicated and horrible, and I don't think I should get into it much on this blog.

From the start of our trip at the airport in Banjul to the end of the trip the Sierra Leoneans were some of the nicest, friendliest, and most helpful people I've ever met. It was refreshing to go to an African country where tourism hasn't spoiled much of the local population. Yes, of course tourism benefits The Gambia and SOME of it's people, but like I've said in other posts, a lot of tourists come here and throw out money and candy, which makes it a bit difficult for foreign workers trying to preach and teach sustainability. Anyways, it was nice to experience genuine kindness from the people of Sierra Leone.

Freetown is a beautiful area with great people, but it definitely has some problems. There hasn't been electricity in Freetown for about 6 months, and no running water in most of the area I was staying in. Traffic is absurd in the downtown areas, mostly due to way too many poda-poda's (taxi vans). One of the biggest sources of Freetown's problems is the flood of people that came to Freetown during the 10 year war; they haven't left yet and don't plan to. My prediction is as long as this election goes smoothly, things will begin to get much better there. I think a lot of investment and aid is probably waiting to see what happens. Totally unofficial information, but I'm guessing Peace Corps will probably open up there again not too long after this election.

Here's just a few pictures until I get a constant internet connection again:

When you land at the airport in SL, you actually land across an inlet from Freetown. After you land you need to cross the inlet to Freetown on a ferry. This is what Freetown looks like when you're crossing.

While we were in Freetown we met some people that were making a local film and we hung out with them for a few days. These pictures were taken from where they were shooting in the film in Allen Town, which is the far west of Freetown. I think it has the best view of anywhere we went around Freetown, and it's not even a wealthy area!

The man in the picture with me above is the director of the film. During the war he hadn't eaten for a few days, so he found a red bandanna and a knife and tried to imitate the appearance of a rebel so he could be fed. A rebel questioned him and he bravely said "What are you doing questioning me in a time like this?! This is war!" Fortunately, he was fed that day and lived to tell about it. He told me that during "Operation No Living Thing" people tried to swim across the river in these photos to be safe from the rebels, but many drowned.

This is one of the beaches in the east. It's called Lumley Beach. It's one of the few that local people are actually welcome at anymore because the rest have been bought up and developed. Lot's of good small beach bars to relax at, and there's usually hardly anyone there.

This is a typical scene during the rainy season. Not too many wells or running water where I was at, so when the rains came many people would be outside under rooftops collecting rain.

Let's hope for the best on August 11th!

In a couple days I'm heading to Sierra Leone. A friend and I will be staying with the families of friends we've met here in The Gambia. We'll be around Freetown for a few days and then we'll be going up-country to the provinces. We'll be staying in Kenema for a majority of the trip, which is where a lot of the diamond trading goes on, so that will be interesting.. but don't worry. It shouldn't be too dangerous. I'll have a lot more to say after the trip.

CIA World Factbook: Sierra Leone https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sl.html

I thought about pulling the old Fox News trick and making up a dramatic story to accompany this picture. Wrong news network, FNC would just deny it ever existed. Or maybe more accurately they would say hateful nomadic Palestinian Islamic extremists funded by Iran with weapons manufactured in Russia caused this while smoking Cuban cigars after attending a Pro-Obama rally where a whole lot of flip-flopping was taking place. But no, it's simply just children playing in some old rubble next to some grass that was burning.

The other day I heard a Christian teacher say to a Muslim teacher with a cell phone "What are you doing with that mobile phone??! You're going to blow us all up aren't you? Muslims shouldn't be allowed to have mobile phones." He was referring to Islamic extremists using cell phones to detonate bombs. The Muslim teacher replied "Okay then Christians shouldn't be allowed to have guns because they kill everything in site when they have one in their hands." The two teachers just chuckled and shook their heads then went on with their day. No lawsuits, no one lost their job, no news stories, no fights, no riots. And this was in an Islamic school. Too bad things can't be that relaxed in other places in the world. Could you imagine a Muslim teacher in America saying something comparable to that in a Christian school? Could you even imagine a Christian school hiring a Muslim?

The third and final term is now wrapping up here. I just need to calculate grades and then I'm done with school until September. I'll have some more time to do a little bit of traveling and work on other projects. The rainy season is just starting now as well, so that's exciting. Soon somehow plants will start growing out of the formerly dry, barren dirt and sand, and the land will become lush and green. Soon I'll be able to watch the ominous cloud formations roll over the bush while they bang on their drums in the distance; gathering troops, deciding which cardinal direction to attack. Soon I'll be curled up in the fetal position sucking my thumb while thunder, lightning, and wind threaten to annihilate my hut. It's a common occurance for people to loose their rooftops during the rainy season.

In two weeks I'll be going to the Banjul area again for an all-volunteer meeting. On July 4th we'll be slightly more American than usual and we will be having a party at a beer factory it sounds like. The second week in July I'm planning to go to Sierra Leone. I'll hopefully be staying with some relatives of one of my friends. I'm still debating on whether I want to spend my time in Freetown itself, or out in the countryside. I'm leaning toward the second choice. I've heard the countryside is beautiful there and the village people (no relation to the band) are especially friendly. I'll keep you all posted on how that shapes up.

Pets of The Gambia:

Some pictures of my hut here and a few others:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52546085@N00/

I may have already said this in a previous post, but from now on I'm going to spare you all the explanations on why it often times takes me so long to update my blog. As they say, "This is Africa." Yesterday I arrived in the Banjul area in record time clocking in at around 6.5 hours; which is about half of the amount of time it took me on my longest trip so far. In a couple days my Peace Corps group will have In-Service Training here where I'm guessing we'll get into discussion groups and a few different people will speak for 4 days. A bit of a refresher course on why we're here, how to deals with things, generate some new ideas, etc.

The 3rd and final term of school started a few weeks ago. The school is a bit more quiet this term. The grade 12 students are busy with their West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), so their regularly scheduled classes have concluded. Break-time during the late morning has been chaotic lately. During break students rush to the computer lab to try to use one of the computers that has internet. They usually look up their favorite football clubs and athletes, look up information on visas and universities, find pictures of pop stars, or check their e-mail. The number of students with e-mail addresses now is impressive. They're learning quick. On a down note, one of my grade 11 students passed away last week from a cause all too common here: unknown. She fell down at home, her family took her to the hospital, and she died shortly after that. That's all that is known. The students of her class still came to school the next day, but they were extemely distraught and were sent home.

Tomorrow is the widely celebrated (in Africa) Bob Marley Day. Radio stations all over the continent play nothing but Bob Marley all day and there are concerts, programs, and celebrations. It's actually the anniversary of his death, which is also coincidentally or not the anniversary of my birth. So tomorrow is looking like it will be a reggae birthday. A few of us will probably make our way to the beach and have a few rum and cokes or perhaps gin and juices. When I get back to Basse I promise to put up a few pictures I've been meaning to upload.

It's TV turnoff week. Instead of watching TV, go outside and find something to do. I know, I know. Easy for me to say living in a hut.

From Adbusters.com :

Just a reminder that TV Turnoff Week 2007 begins today. If you haven't

yet pulled the plug on you TV, it's definitely not too late. In fact, go

ahead and do it right now -- this newsletter can wait!

The idea is simple: take your TV, your DVD player, your video iPod, your XBOX 360, your laptop, your PSP, and say goodbye to them all for seven days. Simple, but not at all easy. Like millions of others before you, you’ll be shocked at just how difficult – yet also how life-changing – a week spent unplugged can really be. But there’s a lot more to TV Turnoff Week than shaking up your relationship with passive entertainment. It’s all about saying no to being bombarded with unwelcome and unhealthy commercial messages. It's about saying no to unfettered corporate media concentration and to the democratic deficit that results. And it's about challenging the heavily distorted reflection of the world that we see on the screen, a reflection that is keeping us ill-informed and unaware of the very real political and environmental crises that we all currently face. This year, we’re returning to the kind of stunt that spawned the Adbusters Media Foundation and our ongoing Media Carta Legal Battle against the corporate gatekeepers that control access to the public airwaves. There are loads of ways you can get involved, whether it’s spreading the word with a poster campaign, posting our spots on your video blog, or making a donation to help us air the uncommercials on broadcast TV. Or, you can just go ahead and brace yourself for the challenges and joys of seven days spent liberated from the commercial information grid.Happy Unplugging,

The TV Turnoff Team

Last night there was no electricity and a funny thing occurred. Instead of everyone crowding around a TV watching movies at night, the village became vibrant with life. It was a radiantly bright, full moon and there were children running around laughing, playing games and singing old traditional Fula and Mandinka songs. It was a refreshing temporary time warp of how things used to be and will be less often; perhaps forgotten eventually. And now the electricity is back on.

This is the way most people watch movies in The Gambia. Someone will bring a TV outside at night that they were able to afford because of a relative in Spain, or somewhere else in Europe or the U.S., and then sometimes dozens of people living in the compound, or neighbors, or other people in the village will gather around and sit in the bantaba (used for shade during the day) and bring any chairs, logs, or mats they can muster up. The children usually sit in the sand. Can you guess what movie they're watching in this picture? If you guessed the 1980's Indian movie “Disco Dancer” about the 1980's Indian disco scene where rival Disco gangs got into fights then you're right. No english, no subtitles. Some other popular films here include all of the Nigerian films, anything with Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Van Damme, Wesley Snipes, Steven Segal, Arnold (who they are well aware is the Governor of CA; they yell “Yeah Mista Governah! Blow him up!”), and B action movies with the Russian from Rocky IV. I've introduced them to the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “Harry Potter” and now some of them have an extremely inaccurate view of reality. “Do you have these flying brooms in American?”, “Have you ever seen any of these talking trees?”, “Does America have these Elf people?”, “I hope I never meet a spider that big” , “Africa needs one of these Wizard schools. They're fanastic!” I try explaining that most of it is done with computers, but I don't know how well they like that answer. I'll try to post some Nigerian film recommendations at some point. They're all in English and quite comical.

My final exams are completed and graded for this term now. This term went fairly smooth, and I expect next term to go even better. I keep correcting mistakes I've made as each term goes which is a great thing about teaching. It seems you can continue to refine your art and technique in teaching as you progress. It's nice to start with a clean slate during the next term if a term does end in disaster. I plan on relaxing for the next couple weeks; maybe go on a couple bike rides, explore the bush a bit, sit in the shade and read, and I'm going to start learning Pulaar, the language of the Fula people. We're beginning to enter the peak of the hot season, so it's often between 95-110 degrees, and maybe it will cool down between 80-90 degrees at night. The air-conditioned computer lab, the mango orchards, and a nice shady spot by the river are the best retreats when I need a break from the heat, but it just takes some getting used to for the most part.

Here's a picture of a huge garden near the mango orchards I recently found that I had no idea existed. It was rather surreal at first because we're in the middle of the dry season and most of the country is brown from thirst. We were walking through the mango orchards and then we came to a huge clearing with this enormous garden. The water level is very high here. They just dig wells in the ground about 4-10 feet deep all over the garden and constantly water the plants by the bucket load. In this garden they grow red peppers, potatoes, onions, lettuce, and a few other things. During the wet season it's flooded and they're grow rice.

Updated Photo Album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/52546085@N00/

Me: We'll meet again on Thursday.

Students: Tuesday?

Me: No, Thursday.

Students: Next Tuesday?

Me: No, Chursday.

Students: Ohhhhh, Chuuuurssday!

I'm back. The softball tournament in Dakar was a lot of fun, and it was a nice break from the normal routine. Surprisingly, Gambian volunteers are probably the most normal of the Peace Corps volunteers in West Africa. The Peace Corps volunteers of Mauritania are nuts.. a bit out there in left field. We mutually decided it was the country that did it to them. Both of our teams made our mark in the tournament. Our competitive team almost made the semi-finals, but we ended up choking to one of Dakar's teams. Our non-competitive team gave up the most runs ever in the history of the tournament according to one of the tournament organizers. I've now passed my peak in softball ability; I had a grandslam with 2 outs, so that was kind of exciting.

The tournament organizers placed each of us in a homestay with someone somehow involved with the U.S. Embassy. A few friends and I had a great homestay with a U.S. Army Attache. Staying with his family was like being in the States again. They even had different types of American cereal and Budweiser; though I wouldn't recommend mixing them. Dakar has a lot of great food that Gambia doesn't have, so that was refreshing also. Senegal is a French (Wolof being the majority tribe) speaking country, so it was kind of amusing for us Wolof speakers to confuse the locals with our lack of French but knowledge of Wolof. They don't get too many white people coming through Dakar whose Wolof is better than their French.

Yesterday I went to my first Fula marriage ceremony. It's more of a week long series of events. Two days ago they took the groom out to the bush to beat him severely with sticks and machettes. It's done in secret with a few elders, and then everyone waits on the edge of the village for the groom to return (Pictured). It's actually kind of a funny tradition; not because of the being beaten severely with sticks and machettes part, but because these musicians follow them out there and back playing their traditional instruments. They follow the groom around off and on for a few days, so it's like he has his own live theme music where ever he goes ("C-mon guys, seriously, I'm trying to take a piss here"). Last night, the bride arrived from her village along with 150 other people. Most of the guests had to sleep outside on mats because there wasn't enough room for them. There was music and dancing from 10 P.M. until 8 A.M.