So I have decided that our previous posts on our Peace Corps experience were somewhat biased and rushed.  I was looking through our hard copy journal we kept our first year and thought- why don't I share these? Granted, I would not like to re-type the whole thing, but rather, extract short quotes from long entries that capture a certain memory of that time.   I'll post them in order of write date

I made Martha Stewart pancakes twice (they are seriously amazing and simple... fluffy recipe here). Then we biked 10 miles over to Idaho ( and the 10 miles back) to buy Josh a suit for an interview in March (looking good!). And I re-pierced an ear that had closed up... thank goodness I had that bear to squeeze. The food court is right in front of Claires, so of course everyone was

I love time in coffee shops, so even though I don't have "work" to doI read newspapersAnd I have been flipping through our old journals from Peace Corps I flagged a few that I want to remember  And I wrote up some for this blog, so we can rewind a little and remember a little something.Even if it's just a short little quote or funny story.I felt like our posts

Happy Un-Anniversary! I can't believe Josh and I have been married 3 and a half years. I'm just going to keep posting wedding photos every anniversary (and apparently every un-anniversary). Our first year of marriage, we stuck to the paper theme- as first year is paper gifts.We made fun lists about different things- things we like about each other, places we want to visit, etc. We also got

by Kelsey 1. Step Brothers - "Do You  Want to do Karate in the Garage?" with Hall and Oates 2. 500 Days of Summer. The scene where he is walking through the park and everything in his life is right- I love that feeling and you can totally get it by watching this- also with Hall and Oates: 3. Mrs. Doubtfire - Best "Make Over Montage." I love a good makeover sequence, but my all

After two years of cultural integration within a foreign culture I now find myself having to adjust to an equally foreign culture: academia.   There are certainly some similarities between the two. As I feel like I’ve been literally plucked from one geospatial coordinate and placed in another, like one of those mechanical-arm prize machines in Pizza Hut lobbies, that I might be qualified to

On a walk today, I couldn’t shake the thought that I held more babies in my two years in Peace Corps, The Gambia, than I had prior in my whole life. I also started thinking about how parenting here differs, or in particular, how people perceive parents differently. I believe parents in the U.S. feel a lot more responsibility for their children’s behavior. The mom on the airplane, the mom in the grocery store- who, when their child acts up, cries, throws a tantrum- feels embarrassed and apologetic to everyone around her. Now, in The Gambia, women are never embarrassed or apologetic about things like that. Ok, maybe if their kid poops or pees on you, they are really sorry and clean it up swiftly, but really it’s no big deal. However, the community is a lot more involved in raising children (insert it takes a village quotation here).

Yes, in The Gambia, children are not raised solely by these two individual struggling parents- who from what I see are trying to do it all- instill morals, go grocery shopping, work, etc. In The Gambia- men and women both have to work- just not what we think of traditionally. Out in the provinces the traditional method is farming. Women go out to the rice fields and men work the millet and peanut fields. The rice fields, especially during the rainy season is hard work that requires constant weeding from sun up to sun down (feel lucky yet?). Now, what some moms do with infants is either (a) use formula, (b) have a wet nurse (not common from what I saw. However an interesting thing I observed is some aunts or grandmas gave the child a nipple- like a pacifier effect) (c) have someone bring out the baby to the fields or (d) not go to the fields for as long a period during the day. Now, the D option is what really disturbed me while I was there because I witnessed and heard some unhappy babies- to which the grandma or the young sibling who was babysitting all day would reply, “S/he’s hungry.”

As mentioned, siblings and grandmothers do a lot of the childcare. Because a lot of the elderly people are somewhat house bound already (i.e., a lot of general body pain) they often just sit outside and watch the children in the middle of the compound, or hold them for a while, especially the babies. Similarly, the older siblings do a lot of the care taking such as bathing, feeding (not preparing meals, this task is for older siblings or parents), dressing, etc. The moms usually work in the rice field, cook, pound rice, or do laundry. Siblings also shared in this task, which was done every other day and is very labor intensive.

To do laundry, you have to first fetch enough water from the pump to fill three big buckets. Then, you basically cycle the clothes through the three buckets. In the first bucket you do an intensive scrubbing with a very harsh soap made of lye and soda (very toxic and harsh- some women douched with this). In the bucket, the clothes are rubbed together to sud and rinsed a little. The third bucket is the final rinse and the white clothes got a final dump in a chemical that maintains whiteness, called “Blue-O” (the water was literally dark blue). Yes Josh and I did this 1-2 times a week and I can say from personal experience it is not fun.

But anyway, that was a side note. Basically, women do a lot of work. But that’s not my point. My point is that mother is not expected to do it alone. Her children, her mother, her sister, her aunt and all the other women in the compound take care of each other. Sometimes they take turns cooking. Sometimes they take turns watching baby. The other women in the community also share in on the responsibility.

I will use a story as an example- I will call it, “Baby Ya Ya and the Bean.” So one night, Baby Yaya’s mother came frantically up to us, telling us baby YaYa had a bean in his nose and wanting to know if we could fix the problem. This was a frequent occurrence (not the bean, but being asked to help- as they assumed we know so much about medicine and what to do). I looked at baby YaYa and I felt so bad- he was crying and scratching/rubbing his nose. I honestly did not know what to do- so I told them to go to the nurse. The nurse, as usual was not there. I could go off on a tangent about that as well. And honestly even if he was there I would be scared to think of what he actually might do. Injections were usually the solution to most problems. Even when I was talking together with the nurse and a young boy who was sharing about his father being mentally ill (actually the correct term was possessed by demons) the nurse said “We can give him an injection for that.” I would hate to know what that injection is. Back to the story- Baby Yaya’s mom finally decided- that’s it, we are taking him to the “sateweo kono” which directly translates into “middle of the city.” So, off went Yaya, Yaya’s mom and a couple other people from the compound. Fifteen minutes later, back they came. And the bean was out. “What happened?” I asked. Apparently, someone got it out with a stick. So, there you have it, when something goes wrong, just take it to the middle of the village and someone will fix the problem. I can also gaurentee you from memory the next day, everyone I passed in the village knew the story about baby YaYa and the bean.Baby YaYa, sleeping peacefully, many weeks after his bean removal.

On a side note- public breastfeeding is no big deal either. I saw boobs on public transport, in the city, village, walking down the street- anywhere! No one is ashamed to breast feed their child. Now part of that is cultural. Boobs are not a sexual object in The Gambia as they are in the U.S. In The Gambia, the sexual object is the upper thigh.

People help women out too- getting on public transport it is not uncommon to see a mother hand a random stranger her baby when getting in and out of the car. And hey, sometimes they even hold it awhile. Myself and a lot of Peace Corps volunteers can tell of many car trips where we had a baby on our lap the whole way. Sometimes mom needs a break.

I feel, in the U.S., mothers are judged too harshly by others on their childcare practices. People don’t like to get involved either. And part of that is we don’t trust each other, we don’t want to infringe on personal space. We just want to sit from a high chair (no pun intended) and tell other people how they should be raising their children instead of giving them a hand. We have too many walls- literally and figuratively. I have heard of some great ways around this in the U.S. – parent groups, baby co-ops, etc. But wow, we are just so different as far as playing the role of the bystander. In The Gambia, I felt there was no bystander. We were all there- sitting, standing, lying down- we were a part of it.

Between my thoughts this morning on my everyday market experiences in The Gambia while strumming through my routine to the long conversation I had at the bus stop with a stranger and fellow psychology student on time spent with friends and surrounded by people, I have been thinking a lot about being around people vs. being in isolation, and what that means for a person, and for a culture. Americans spend a substantial amount of time not interacting with other people. In The Gambia, and perhaps other more communal cultures, that just isn't possible. In The Gambia, every vegetable purchase, every transportation moment, every walk, and every mostly every waking moment involved being with or interacting with people. It was one of the hardest things for me, as an "introvert", to get used to. And now, I am finding it to be the thing that I miss the most. I miss having to go through long drawn out greetings while buying a pound of potatoes. People were really nosy too, "Where is your husband?" or "What part of town do you live in?" I miss sitting at work and either sharing or having some one else share food with me. Maybe I knew them, maybe I didn't. I probably miss that aspect of constantly interacting with people more than anything.

Interestingly, in my conversation with this student at a bus stop, he mentioned how some of his International student friends (I assume from more communal cultures) find that when they switched to spending more time alone, they find it easier to study. So, in some ways, it is good that in our American culture we can find and value time alone. Spending time alone isn't necessarily a bad thing, I don't think. It helps us grow and study ourselves or whatever topic or work we are focused on. But, lately I have been thinking that it's important to find a balance. How we can best develop a good balance between spending time with other people and spending time alone?

One of my past times I was excited to get back to when we returned to the U.S. was cooking. So, I have been using google calendar for meal planning, which has worked out really well. If you google "google calendar meal planning" a million mom blogs show up! It is really funny. Here is the site I used to make mine: http://simplemom.net/how-to-menu-plan/

Every Sunday, I plan the weeks dinners. It's fun to sit down and sort through bookmarked recipes and think about what would make a balanced week of food. Breakfast and lunch are on our own, or we eat leftovers. Usually we go out to eat Friday and Saturday, or Saturday and Sunday. Josh usually makes breakfast on weekends and he always does the dishes! Thanks! It works really well because then we can do our grocery shopping on Monday for the whole week, with the list I have crafted based of the ingredients in the recipes. As the author in the above link/blog mentions, she uses something called "delicious cookbook" or something like that. I use Pinterest, blog searches, or Tastespotting to find recipes (or from a magazine collection ripped out page). Google, also has a cool recipe search option which is great if you are trying to use up certain ingredients.

Tonight I made Vegetable Pot Pie. It was more like a vegetable soup with puff pastry on top but I thought it was really good and wholesome. I used, as I always do, low fat milk instead of cream or half and half. Which is really ironic now that I think about it because the puff pastry was probably loaded with butter. Kind of like the one time I confused the barista and ordered a soy drink with whip cream.

note: this is not a ramaken (sp?)! It is a souffle bowl.

Josh at the dentistI forgot to mention. So post Peace Corps you have to go to the dentist and get an exam. Some PCV's in my group had multiple cavities and some serious teeth issues. So I was a little scared! Well, I am happy to say no cavities for us! Just need to floss more.

Art made by Josh's friend, Stephenteater.com

It's so cold, some one put a hat on the coug!

Now let me just figure out my buttons...

Child development is measured biologically, socially, emotionally, psychological, and cognitively. With infants, children and adolescence- we can see the changes which are, for the most part, measurable. However, from about 25-65 it’s as if we are in some sort of developmental measurement hiatus period. Sure, we have major life events such as marriage, children, buying a house, work, job stress and an occasional mid-life crisis. But these changes are not universal, and occur at different times for individuals. Most importantly, they do not necessary mark a developmental or noticeable change in a person. Some theorists believe our developmental growth ends after adolescents. Others have argued that children from a young age are set on a sort of ‘developmental trajectory’ where their previous or cumulative experiences set them on a certain path for their rest of their life. All notes aside, if we are interested in growth in middle adulthood - what does that look like?

Several theorists have noted middle adulthood, including the famous psychologist, Erik Erikson, a stage theorist. A stage theorist is essentially someone who believes that humans move in stages and changes are marked by qualitative differences. Erikson divides middle adulthood into two sections: young adulthood and middle adulthood. For Erikson, at each life stage we face a struggle. So for example, in young adulthood the struggle is Intimacy vs. Isolation. For Erikson, this initial stage in becoming an adult is seeking companionship. For middle adulthood, the internal struggle is Generativity vs. Stagnation. During this time, adults are hopefully engaged in meaningful work either in the office or with family, and feel they are contributing to society.

Adulthood has not garnered the same attention of researchers that infancy, childhood and adolescence has. And I suppose, with good reason. In early periods of development, biological, social, and cognitive changes are somewhat aligned and universal. However, once we stop growing developmentally in a universal way, so to speak, how do we measure change? Essentially, how do we grow?

If anyone is reading this... what do you think?

Interesting Internet Finds: http://www.search-institute.org/system/files/GatesFdnReport-EmergingAdulthood2004.pdf (Report submitted to Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations- Indicators of Young Adult Success, 2004)

Or make a snowman (still on my list)! We sure needed a break from unpacking!

walking in the suburbs. mexican food. ice cream. new bike. lots of facebook shout outs. call from gma and gpa.

I'll never forget the year I turned 27... when an Italian cruise ship sunk like the Titanic! My heart goes out to those people who were just trying to enjoy their vacation!

I did not make any new years resolutions, so maybe I will make birthday ones. I really want to make a picture book this year of our Peace Corps experience. I also want to focus on spirituality a little bit. Oh, and get organized (whatever that means. Like, get my life together!).

So... maybe the tone of this blog has changed a lot! But I am finding it's working out well for me. Maybe it is an interesting study into women who have to keep themselves busy somehow. Today I took a stab at the clothes piles and boxes. And it feels pretty good! The organizing book, "Organize Yourself!" by Ronni Eisenberg with Kate Kelly, recommends the following:

Four piles: 1. In Season ( to put away in dresser or hang), 2. Out of Season (in this case, Summer clothes), 3. Donate and 4. Need to be fixed (i.e., ironed, hemmed, dry cleaned).

For the "In Season"clothes, those get organized according to color. You can also organize according to type but I like the color approach better. I rolled scarfs above the jackets using the opposite color spectrum (so bright scarves can go with black and darker scarves can go with brighter jackets and tops). Here is an example of our closets:

Josh has a lot more color in his outerwearI guess I like black, grey and maroon! Something I never would have realized if I had not organized.

Now, what I have not gotten to are shoes. But I feel like this organization thing is really coming along. Next week... books!

So I wrote down some little notes on a flash card about what I was going to blog about. Now, mysteriously, the piece of paper has disappeared. Somehow, when moving, socks disappear, the microwave relocates, and where did we put that one thing? I realized the other day, that since my junior year of high school I have moved living spaces literally every year of my life.

Martha, will you help me?

As we have been unpacking boxes, I have become inspired to get organized. The first TV show Josh and I watched when we got back to the U.S. was about hoarders and that was a real wake up call. Not so much in that I hoard things, but it led me to think about material objects in a different way. People on the show had such strong emotional attachments to various objects for different reasons. One woman on the show had gotten a divorce and was hoarding notebooks as a way to deal with her divorce. In Buddhist teachings, all life is suffering, and our suffering is caused by our attachments to things. I am sure Buddha was not always referring to objects- but also people, places, ideas, and ways of living. Nevertheless, I find that organizing and minimizing my material things is going to help me simplify my life. Don't worry mom, I am not getting rid of the wedding gifts! Basically I just need to have a place for everything and everything in its place.

So, I found two books in our storage and ordered two more on Amazon on organizing. Not only am I hoping to de-clutter but also minimize and maximize the use of our objects. I read something about how the French just buy a few high quality things for everyday living. In The Gambia, most people had just their bed and clothes to worry about. They didn't have souvenirs, magnets, lamps, or socks! Even though some people might say organizing runs your life, or it takes more time, I believe just the opposite. Being organized gives me the freedom to focus on the task at hand and to take things just as we are supposed to- one at a time.

My first organizing move: Meal planning. Check out this amazing blog: http://simplemom.net/how-to-menu-plan/. I followed her steps for meal planning using google calendar.

(Josh side note - I was laughing a little as I was reading this because the majority of the total lbs of our stuff is books. So, it's somewhat ironic that we're relying on two more books (!) to dig us out of our semi-hoarding situation. But I will confess that I do get emotionally attached to things, books especially, and that it's difficult for me to just out and out throw things away. But my thoughts aren't that we have too many things. It's just that our house isn't big enough yet.)

It’s funny how I used to wonder what about my personality would change after returning from Africa. Various people have asked me, as well, if I feel like a ‘different’ person or if I feel as though I have changed. It seems like a very egocentric way of thinking about service. Maybe some Peace Corps have the mindset in wanting to go to a foreign country to serve others to become a ‘better’ or a ‘changed’ person. I keep thinking back to my social psychology course and the influence of the social environment on our behaviors. Perhaps once we find ourselves back in a familiar environment, our previous experiences diminish, and we go back to the person we were. Or maybe our experiences don’t really have the power to change who we are. Maybe anyone else, put in our surroundings, would have done the same thing or felt the same way. What power does an environment have in shaping personality, if at all? And how permanent is that change, if there is a change?At first, in America, everything was exciting- the food, the smells, the sounds, and the interesting people walking up and down the street. Now, I still can’t shake the feeling of being an outsider in my own country. I feel very observant and reflective. I am much more saddened by homelessness (I guess I always was, but even more so). It amazes me that there are people who sit outside in the cold and sleep with just a card board box covering them and that just is beyond my understanding how that happens. How did that come to happen? What was that process like, and who was there to witness it? We have set up million dollar charities to buy people in Africa farm animals but we don’t know what to do with our own neighbors living in poverty. I am amazed at all the choices and all the distractions from what is really important. It is so easy to become avoidant – of ourselves, of the world, of our ideals. It’s easy because we have so many stimuli and so many choices to keep us from thinking about what is real in the world. In Gambia, people were always more important than things. Now that I am surrounded more by ‘things’ and less by people, I have been pondering what type of person I am going to become, yet again. What power do we have over the type of person we are? In Gambia, it seemed to me that people are who they are based on relations with other people. In the U.S., identity appears to be shaped more by our own choices- like our occupations, or maybe even by something superficial - like the way people dress. I’ve also picked up Stephen Covey’s new book, “The Third Alternative” which is about reaching an entirely different solution than what two opposing parties can come up with. In the book, Covey mentions that the worst type of identity theft is not the one in which your credit card is stolen, but the one in which you let other people define you, or let the culture define who you are. So, in America, where individuality is idolized and prized- it is important to know what about me has changed from my previous experience. I changed, not because of myself, but because of other people. It was the people I surrounded myself with that made me feel like a different person. But today, they are no longer with me. They are carrying on with their lives and I am left feeling like a changed person void of the people who shaped me. The people who knew me before I left for Peace Corps and who see me now have never met the people who shaped me into who I am today. So, am I a different person? I don’t know. But I do know that I am somewhat confronted with a hope in myself that I did change, in one way or another and preferably for the better.

Stuffed animal from Kelsey's parents

by Josh

It’s been a week of American living and, let me tell you, the readjustment process has been a real whirlwind. I’ve been enjoying a life of temporary luxury before returning to the penurious existence of a graduate student and so far have had a massage with a steam room, eaten a bagel wearing a beret and sung that “I’m proud to be an American” by Mr. Lee Greenwood twice. I also drank a beer while having my hair cut. Similarly, I rode a miniature train while wearing a bear hat. And during all of these I’ve been talking non-stop about Gambia and the Peace Corps. I try to mix-up my intro a little to avoid repetition and frequently shuffle “When I was in Gambia. . .”, “In the Peace Corps . . .” and “In Africa . . .” although the last one is admittedly overly broad as I can’t really speak for the whole continent. It is true that people back home will listen to about 5 minutes of Gambia talk before they start to get bored but as a semi-academic and longwinded person on obscure subjects I’m somewhat accustomed to this reaction and have found that if you just keep going you can stay in a self-contained rhythm. The biggest change in my interactions so far has been an order of magnitude (see Brian Bartley) increase in my level of gratefulness for everyday things. When you go out to eat there is usually a perfunctory and awkward ‘thank you’ as the waiter fills up the water glass while you pause your convo. But I’ve found that I truly am grateful that the guy comes around, checks up on you and then refills your water without my having to ask. And the other day I thanked a city street cleaner for “keeping the streets clean”. Because I’ve seen what happens when streets aren’t cleaned. I even give thanks to terrible drivers for A) making everyone else look like professionals in comparison and B) at least having the courtesy of doing their terrible driving on only one side of the road. I’m thankful for the people who keep the lights on, the people who make the donuts, and the people who make and sell bear hats. And last but not least, of course, I’m grateful for friends and family who have welcomed me back like not a day has passed. My change of heart in terms of gratefulness has come about by keeping two thoughts in mind. The first is that “everyone is doing the best they can with what they have” and the second is that “everyone and everything is connected”. Since coming back I’ve met people whose sister’s co-worker’s friend was in the Peace Corps Gambia which is a rather amazing coincidence. And there is a guy working at our local Trader Joe’s who is from Gambia and worked for Peace Corps for some time. And I wouldn’t have known that if I haven’t been introducing myself as a recent returnee to anyone with ears. So, in closing I can already tell that this wave of gratefulness is not “sustainable” to throw in a buzzword here. I’m going to get tired and cold and acclimated but for the time being I’m thankful for the chance to thank and unembarrassed be nakedly grateful. Interesting raw food in Portland

Yesterday I made a list of little list of top 10 things that surprise me, or that are a little shocking as far as "reintegration" goes.

1. I've only been in a few stores, but I have found I need employee assistance with almost every purchase. Everything is shiny. Everything is over packaged.2. Dairy- not so good for the stomach.3. Everyone knows someone who was in Africa. It's been great to hear people's stories.4. Everything is touch screen and I don't know how to work those things.5. Tights, leggings and boots.6. Americans are great people. Americans have great oral histories too.7. Busy, Busy, Busy.8. Strangers don't hold each others babies. I can't give strangers my soda cans....9. People wear so much black. Quite a change from the bright colors in The Gambia.10. So many choices.At this point I just close my eyes and point.

One last Hurrah before we left on our flight to the U.S.

Packing up the gelli gelli

beach time!

Making Boabob Juice

Frying the meat

Wow. Josh and I are almost one day into our travel back to America. It feels so bittersweet. I don't necessarily notice the things I do, but watching Josh try to joke with the luggage guy and then him not getting it... Ah, little things like that make me miss The Gambia soo much. People are so distant in the Western world, we put up so many walls. I forgot about the seriousness, the disengagement from strangers lives we are supposed to have. I offered part of my cookie to the man sitting next to me and he gave me this look and Josh is nudging me while saying under his breath "are you crazy?"

Saying goodbye was very difficult. MJ's had a beach party on Saturday- the day we left- joint goodbye for me and Lucia - but also celebrating because the president gave money again for a party (woohoo!). We all had bennichin and danced. It was very sad, the moment I had to go. I never thought some of the students would cry, but they did and then I started crying. It was awful, especially when everyone is saying- stop crying! and looking so worried. Luckily the music started as we left on our path home and I danced away to my favorite Nigerian song (Sawa Sawa Sawa Le!).

Two of our sitemates came home with us and we had a nice toast. Josh disappeared to get a taxi and as he arrived our neighbors came over and gave us hugs. I made one last stop to say goodbye to the staff at Gateway , the "toubab shop" in Brikama (meaning they have yogurt and pringles... haha).

We had a 12 hour daytime layover in Barcelona, so we locked our luggage up and went exploring for the day. Josh and I were just ooing and ahhing at everything in site- graveyards, escalators, buildings, highways, etc. We started at a little flea market at the port and walked up Las Ramblas, the famous tree lined street. Managed to figure out the subway system enough to head to Sagrida Familia. Walked around the park admiring the nativity scenes and Christmas lights. As we headed home in the taxi I clenched the door handle for life and closed my eyes- it felt like we were going so fast and I was praying silently that we would not die (he was going within the normal speed range).

Now, It is 4 AM in Brussels, and I am still processing everything. It's hard to believe, about a year ago I was so much looking forward to this day, but all I can think about is what I have left behind.

Will try to post photos soon.

These last couple weeks have been a little choatic, because we have had these large 50th celebrations and also we are preparing to say goodbye. Thought I could share some pictures.

Gambian Peace Corps Volunteers waiting in line for Thanksgiving Feast, Dec 2nd

Hiking the 'cliffs' by the beach

Josh singing and dancing with local musicians

Overcrowded volunteer house. People sleeping on the floor, couches. Josh and I slept on a springboard.

In a gelli with girls from MJ's. Heading to 50th celebrations at Westfield.

We made our grand entrance into the stadium to preform our drama and song at the 50th Peace Corps Anniversary celebrations

Kadee and Fatou acting in the drama titled, "Where There is Life, There is Hope." They were amazing!!

MJ girls preforming a song at the 50th Celebrations

volunteer photographs posted at the Franco-Gambian Alliance

Quote from his Excellency

ET is staying one more year, but we are sure going to miss him!

getting all things sorted out last minute... pictures and updates to come!

So, I don’t really know if I believe in omens or not. In Gambia, they have their own set of omens. For example, cashew trees bring loneliness. You can get jujus made by marabous, and these marabous can also tell your fortune. Devils or witches can also cast spells on people, or try to bring evil to others. But this is a discussion for another day. A long time ago, Josh and I went to a marabou. He told us to take 10 candles to the mosque and we will have no troubles here. Well we did and so far, no troubles.Josh and I have a lot of changes coming up. And lately, a lot of strange things have been happening, that I would like to think are somewhat symbolic. A couple weeks ago, a snake fell on my head when I opened our front door. I watched it slither away but I could not shake off the feeling it meant something. Throughout this week, I have dropped at least 3 glass objects. One glass I dropped right on my foot. And today, Josh called me outside, loudly. There, in disguise climbing up a moringa tree and then switching to a different tree, was a beautiful chameleon. Maybe 6 months ago, Josh stopped these small boys in our compound from killing a chameleon. We think maybe it is the same one. But today it was green, last time it was grey. Gambians think these creatures are evil spirits or witches. Owls too. But Josh and I think it is perhaps a symbol of change, or maybe for the chameleon, to blend in. As for the glass… I am not sure but maybe I need to make the switch to plastic!

I will soon be giving up my status as a Peace Corps Volunteer and return to life as a civilian. And this blog’s title is multi-referential as along with this transferal of duties I have been concomitantly giving away/ selling at cut-rate prices my possessions to any willing takers. So far, I have sold my guitar, internet stick, sweet double-SIM cell phone and voltage regulator. I am giving away the coffee presses, wheelbarrow, machete, and pick-ax. The most difficult donation thus far was my large, carelessly nursed tree seedling collection. I found a good home for the mahogany, citrus, winter thorn, and rosewood and donated the rest of the polypots (plastic bags in which to plant trees in) to my neighbors.

All of which have made me think of the way our possessions define, shape, and in some ways, become our identities. I mean, am I a Peace Corps without my pick-ax? Am I a student because I carry a backpack or am I confusing causation and correlation? (Reader, take a second to consider what’s in your pockets, what you carry and how that came to be.)

I have always been somewhat of a hoarder of things. Not so much that I collect certain objects but more that I’m loathe to throw anything out. This is probably partially genetic and partially environmental. For example, I have boxers that have been in rotation for a complete decade. I still have my Boy Scout uniform for some reason. As well as my notes from high school algebra (which I’m sure will be useful approximately never).

But giving up my Peace Corps possessions has been totally different in that it’s been easy to do. I’d like my years in Gambia to seem like a logical sequence in my life’s story but the reality is that the Peace Corps experience is so different from the way I remember “everyday” life as a US American being that the challenge will be not to encapsulate it in some type of dream-like memory. And like a dream there is no win-lose ratio in play. Whatever comes to us in our dreams is lost when we awaken, that’s part of the bargain in having the chance to dream. So, when I give away things that have sustained, supported and enabled me these past two years I’m not really losing anything. I’m passing them on to the next dreamer.

I am limited to two 50-lb bags plus carry-on for my flight back to America but, luckily, the lessons I’ve learned about patience, humility, success and failure don’t weigh more than a few connections between neurons. I am less and less sure of things I once considered as set-in-stone facts but know that my time in Africa has absolutely changed me in ways that I can’t even imagine yet. And so this short warning to friends, family, fellow students: I apologize in advance for being slightly strange. Sorry if I ever seem to be staring off in the distance, marveling at an elevator or start stomping my feet and flapping my arms while dancing. I will probably shake hands more than most people are comfortable with. And I have already started reminding myself that picking up stranger’s babies is not something generally done in America.

Not to go totally hippie, ex-Peace Corps-weirdo on this post but lately I’ve been grateful for the chance to practice yoga with Kelsey. Yesterday, the yoga teacher, through the podcast, said that a yoga pose really begins the moment that you want to get out of the pose. How true of yoga and how true of certain places in life moving as we go from place to place and pose to pose. I don’t know if what’s next will be warrior, up-dog, or tree but I feel confident that I’m ready.

We celebrated a day early due to elections being on the real day of Thanksgiving, tomorrow. Thanks to my big brother John who sent us some cranberry sauce, stuffing mix, and gravy. We also made green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and chicken. I was stuffed!

post meal but still full... pie and chai tea

Here are some pictures of the girls working on our drama. We are going to present it at the 50th Anniversary party for Peace Corps and they will present it again at their graduation, which I wont be here for (sad face). I am so proud of the girls for coming before school time to practice.

Ha, I have written the funny title because in a way it's like we have to expect the unexpected. Elections are coming and worse case scenario is we get evacuated out of this country before our COS date. As a fellow PCV, Jacob Cohn once said, "Elections in Africa are never good.'" (well,that's me re-quoting through a second source).

We feel safe, not too much drama here, but you never know what's going to happen. Peace Corps wants us to stay inside our compounds for four days! Josh and I decided we are going to take walks around the compound and Josh said, "Oh, this place IS like a mental institution." We have these high walls and a gate out front. So, I can just see us walking to the "calming brook" or sitting on a side hill (ok no hills here). Something like 'One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest.' That's how its going to be for those who consolidate at the transit house.

Here is a link to a fellow PCV blog with info on all the candidates and links to news sources: http://stevostjohn.blogspot.com/

Doing a small, Brikama Thanksgiving here tomorrow because elections are Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. We are hoping to use our four days at home to pack.

Running out of toothpaste, coffee, non-rusty razors (I'm coming home with full pits mom!!!) and tired of doing laundry by hand that takes the whole day. Our underwear is torn,dirty and tattered. America, we are so ready for you. Inshallah everything will be peaceful here and we will return safely. And then , on to our next adventure, Ice Age 4: Eastern Washington.

So, I am still teaching Life Skills and I thought I would share this lesson plan my counterpart and I taught today which was somewhat successful, and very interesting for me anyway.

Oh Musa! Managing EmotionsEmotions, what are emotions? Can anyone tell me what this is? Write all responses on board. Emotions are the way you feel, or ‘feelings.’ Sometimes you don’t know how you are going to feel about something. Sometimes, you already know how you are going to feel. Like for example, if a close friend lies to you, you may know how that is going to make you feel. How would that make you feel?Let’s write down as many feelings that we can think of. Allow to students to generate as many as they can. May need to prompt with examples. How about at a celebration, how do you feel? A funeral? When you are with your boyfriend or husband? Some feelings might include:
SadnessAnger confusionPainFearGriefanxietyjealousyragejoyhappinesspassionlovedisappointmentguiltannoyance regretmisery

Now, knowing all these emotions. I want us to do a quick exercise. Invite students to stand in a circle. There are more ways to communicate, not just with your voice but your face, your body. This activity will show how different people use voices and body language to communicate. It will also help prepare us for dramas. So, we want you to show how you can say the phrase “oh musa!” with a different emotion. You can use the list on the board as a guide. Each person will say “”Oh Musa!” using different body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions to communicate. Everyone should participate once or twice.Everyone go back to seats. Remember communication skills, an important Life Skills, are linked with your emotions. Reviewing the Bridge Model, talk about managing ones emotions and how it helps to avoid risky behavior. Let’s look at our list. DO any of these emotions put us at risk? Does anyone remember this word risk? Risk is chance something bad might happen. So, let’s circle some emotions that put us at risk or that are difficult to manage. How can learning to manage emotions reduce risky behavior? It is not easy to manage difficult emotions. But ift is very important we learn strategies to do so. Especially if you are going to be professional women. Most of us already have strategies to deal with emotions, we have just never written them down. Now, let’s go through these and talk about different strategies we can use to manage these emotions ( i.e. grief/sadness, jealousy, passion/sexual feelings, anger). Lead in discussion, like “If you are feeling angry and want to hit some one, what can you do?” “ If you are feeling sexual towards some one but know it is not right to be them , what can you do?”Write strategies on board under each emotion to manage.Example:AngerCount 1 to 10Walk away from the situationPrayTry to communicate peacefullyTry to understand other person

Now, I want everyone who has their book to get out their book and think about one of these emotions you want to manage better. So think of one, write it down and then write 1-2 strategies you think will work best for you.

It was definitely an interesting two classes (one in morning, one afternoon) especially regarding anger because almost everyone picked anger as one they would to control. This is probably true for Americans as well, or maybe more Americans would choose sadness I am not sure Some of the strategies that came up first for anger were "I would fight the person" or "have a drink" (this surprised me). For jealousy some said "talk bad about the person."" Don't worry we turned course and talked about positive strategies. So of course some of the students always act like they are so tired or hungry but I really hope some of this is sticking with them. It is a lot of work being a teacher but lucky for me I have my Gambian counterparts to help me.

Then , we talked about our drama we want to preform at the Peace Corps 50th celebration. I was worried because no one signed up in the first class but in the afternoon shift everyone wanted to do it. In fact we are doing a read through tomorrow.I really care about these girls. Why does everything have to go so well right as I am leaving? This is life I guess!

Well, it is really hard to believe how soon we are coming home! Less than one month away. To pass the time and because us toubabs are so busy these days… and we like to eat non rice options together, we have had a lot of get togethers lately in our neck of the woods. It's crazy we used to see other peace corps once a month now we see them 2-3 times a week. Some Peace Corps have a hard time even being around so many white people some times. It can be a big change. But, it is definitely going to help with our transition back to the U.S.

We had a salsa/moringe dancing session followed by an Occupy bar crawl (ok one bar) just before Tobaski.dirty dancing. The time of your life?

step one two

Occupy It

We love each other TOO muhch!

Another night this week Josh and I attempted our dream of having BBQ/skewers. Josh built a BBQ in our front yard and got a fish from the market. That was an experience. It took the two of us to gut the thing, me saying “didn’t you learn this in boy scouts?” and experimenting with grilled watermelon.

BBQ Pit

Fish skewers with watermelon

This weekend our whole region got together to work on our banner for the parade we are going to have to celebrate 50 years of Peace Corps down the main avenue. What a time to go - out with a bang! Some people came back to the capital with us and we went to our one and only bar and played apples to apples. What fun!

amazing palm tree. Notice the Chevron style?

Apples to Apples!Today I went to a distillery with some volunteers where they make fine liqueurs and got to sample mmm about 7 of them! They were delicious. Also got to hang out with a Cape Verde volunteer.

But yes, despite all this hanging out with the toubabs I am doing work. Stopped my job at the hospital and computer classes but am still teaching Life Skills. We are working on a drama, I’ll be sure to get it on video. I am attempting to help with the design of the new school so any budding architects out there want to help… come take over for me in The Gambia please!

Our third Tobaski in The Gambia!

We were hoping to go to our home village this Tobaski. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Instead we will be going in a couple weeks. We did call our host family and our father informed us that Tobaski is in fact tomorrow. Oh how I miss the debates up country of when a holiday begins and ends.

So today we got to hang out with our site mate Caroline, Eduardo and Lucia!

Caroline cutting onions with her host sisterCaroline, me, EduardoLucia with her Brikama family

Me, MJ, LuciaJosh, Lucia, Me, Adsoulie (above) and his cousinTobaski is a big Muslim holiday. It is to commemorate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son for Allah/God. But before Abraham killed his son God told him he could sacrifice a lamb instead. So during Tobaski the head of the household and married men are supposed to buy a ram for their compounds. So today the rams were slaughtered and the meat is given as charity to some and was eaten and will continue to be eaten for three or so days. Everyone dresses in new clothes, and all the children especially look sharp- many of them have new sunglasses and shoes to go with their clothes. People go around to friends and neighbors and pray for them or even give them small money/gifts.

One of the great things about Gambia is you can get anything tailored you could have ever imagined. Well, for awhile I had wanted to get bathrobes made or as my tailor corrected "morning gowns."

While shopping at this huge fabric store in the capital I saw terry cloth material and thought- that's perfect. Combined it with some african print trim and voila! morning gowns are born.

happy kelsey

angry kelsey

so ridiculous I love it.

Was in Monday and Tuesday for our Close of Service medical appointment. We went out to some nice dinner places! Good news neither of us have TB, HIV, or anemia!

Just had one of the most memorable nights of our lives as Peace Corps volunteers, The Gambia. All the Peace Corps volunteers, staff, and U.S. embassy staff were invited to His Excellency, the President of The Gambias home village in Kanilai. This was in part to celebrate 50 years of Peace Corps worldwide and 45 years in The Gambia. It was probably one of the best ceremonies I could imagine any country will have. No one really knew what to expect, if it would be a small dinner and we were not even sure we would get to see the president. When we were escorted by a motorcade and then greeted by the whole village singing and dancing we thought, ok this is going to be big. But we had no idea how big. The Gambian president is such a wonderful host. Upon arrival we had a large buffet lunch, and a program following that was beyond our wildest imagination. We were escorted to our seats, which were right behind the president. There was a large band and a stadium full of people. The U.S. ambassador and our Country Director were sitting up front side by side with the president as well. The president arrived and then the program began. There was a series of welcome remarks and keynote speakers including Peace Corps volunteers themselves speaking in local language, former and current staff and a drama made by Peace Corps volunteers. Our Country Director, the Ambassador and finally the President spoke. His speech was very touching, he thanked God for the day, and said the most important people to thank were our parents, who allowed us to join the Peace Corps and come to The Gambia. He talked about how we have always been partners in peace. After the scheduled program, he said he had one last surprise. We did not know what to expect and they called all the female volunteers up to choose an African dress to take home. He also called the Peace Corps female staff up, and followed with the males, who also all received an African dress. I shook hands with the president a total of four times! He was chatting with everyone as they chose their dress. Following the ceremony, we had a large dinner around midnight with a giant buffet full of American type foods- cheesecake, salad bar, etc. One of our Peace Corps volunteers, Marta, has been working on a documentary for The Gambia and part of it was shown. I was so happy my counterpart, Mariama Jallow, was able to attend the events and she also had a short feature in the documentary. Following the dinner they had music and the president was even dancing. He was calling up Peace Corps to dance and I did not think I could say no to a president so I tried my best to dance like a Jola for him. After the music and dancing, it was around 2:30AM and we were transported to a nice complex where we were all given lodging. The following morning we had breakfast at the Presidents hotel and then came back to site again with the motorcade police escort. It was definitely one of the highlights of my service here in The Gambia and a night I will never forget. I am so grateful for the kindness of the President for showing his hospitality to the Peace Corps. In the 45 years in Peace Corps, The Gambia, we have never had any interruptions. The night will definitely go down in the history of Peace Corps, The Gambia.

MJ, my counterpart and I leaving the salon for the festivities.

On the bus at the Peace Corps office

Part of the welcoming group

Kanilai sign to welcome guests

Josh dancing for the people of the village welcoming us

Lunch buffet

Fatou Jammeh, a fourth year volunteer (yes! I wrote that right) talking to a soldier and enjoying the ceremony

dancing with a group of Jolas

Police band and flag carriers

His Excellency

A very blurry photo of me, I'll try to get a better one. Apparently I made the audience laugh when I "curtsied" to the president.

Josh put on his Kaftan from the president and then he called him up for a picture

At the dinner

More peace corps at the dinner (it is 12:30 AM!)

Dancing with His Excellency! Didn't get a picture of me dancing, but he pointed right at me and told me to come dance in the middle, so I did! As one volunteer put it, it looked like I was dancing for my life.

At the beginning of this week, before the 50th anniversary festivities you will read about in my next post, Peace Corps, The Gambia completed our second HIV/AIDS education trek. This year it was done differently, without biking due to scheduling changes. I was on team Bansang, with 13 other volunteers. I was the curriculum coordinator. So most of us traveled in on Saturday and then Sunday we reviewed the curriculum together.

Reviewing the curriculum on Sunday

A big change from last year is now we had Gambian counterparts. It was so wonderful. We worked with a teacher and two students who were so motivated and helped facilitate and teach large parts of the curriculum. The peer health club had worked on a drama. The HIV/AIDS curriculum consisted of two days. The first day consisted of the same curriculum used last year, which was general education on transmission, prevention, etc. The second day was added, another volunteer and I, Lindsey Green, had developed the Life Skills curriculum. There were three components to the Life Skills curriculum: Values, Sharing Opinions, and Speaking Out. Preparing materials for teaching

PCV Steph teaching with our Gambian counterpart, Mariatou, an 8th Grader who taught parts of the lesson.

The peer health group preforming a drama

As we were in Bansang there were four other groups all in different villages in Upper River Region. The peer group also showed the drama about stigma at the assembly and we also went to the middle of the village, at the car park/garage to show to drama to the community in local language. After the two days commenced, we traveled in a gelli filled with Peace Corps volunteers to Basse where we had a large ceremony to thank our Gambian partners and have dinner together. It was a very memorable part of my service and I was so happy many of the new volunteers were excited and taking part.

Heading to Dinner after closing ceremony

Taking the small boat from Barra to Banjul (North to South Bank)

I am really enjoying my time in The Gambia, I am very sad already to think about all the memories and people I will have to say goodbye to, but I will never leave them behind.

Josh and I thought about doing a rendition of the song "you're going to miss this" Gambian/Peace Corps style because with less than 2 months to go I've really been thinking about all the things I am going to miss. And it's hard because I think around the one year mark reality sets in and PVC's start to get a little bit bitter and I was there too. But I just wish I could say... cherish these moments. Because we have our whole lives to be somewhere else but we only have this time to be here now, to do what we can here and now. Yesterday we practiced/taught the HIV/AIDS curriculum with a peer health class. And I really teared up when this one boy said, "Today I know HIV is caused by (insert fact about HIV I don't remember) and I believe all who have HIV should be loved." It just broke my heart into little pieces and I just thought this is so amazing. And even though I know some of the other volunteers were frustrated with the usual things, I'm finding that I am able to find joy in things I didn't find joy in before. The things that frustrated me I can just laugh because this country is absolutely and utterly absurd. When else am I going to see a grown man bicycling completely serious with a witches hat, fake gray hair flying behind him? I'll probably never get hit on again in my life so I might as well embrace a random man telling me I am beautiful instead of getting pissed and viewing it as sexual harassment. And feeling completely and utterly sick, like I am going to puke in the middle of the classroom, but still fulfilling my responsibilities/duties and not complaining about it (ok except to my husband). That's when I know I have become a strong person. And I think a lot of it is due to the fact that I'm leaving. Because 10 or so months ago, I was frustrated and was definitely feeling the side effects of "learned helplessness." But now, everything is endearing. I see it differently. I know people who are back in America and they miss this place. I want to enjoy it because I know it won't be much longer.

At first, it was a funeral. Next came a holiday. After that I think it was something about the weather and if not then it had to do with rice. After that, I had somewhat written it off. But today we made it happen and, by the Grace of God, it was worth the wait. What I’m referring to is my efforts to try and plant a moringa live-fence in Gunjur and some of the problems and delays I’ve faced. Delays and problems are common while working in The Gambia and after a while a person becomes accustomed to this and learns to work within the system. So, plans are never finalized, or are left up to Allah who will let the work happen if he wills it. For a long time I’ve been working with another Peace Corps to plant moringa at a women’s garden. About a week ago she called to say the women have been asking, quite seriously, about the “Moringa Man” and when he could bring them moringa seeds. For the past year I’ve been talking about moringa a lot, and by “a lot”, I mean at any given moment, so it was gratifying that the women had heard about it. We finally managed to arrange a time for me to travel to the garden so I woke up early (six AM!) and gathered my supplies (a bag of pre-soaked moringa seeds and a hand hoe) and caught the first gelli. I got to the garden, which had to have been the biggest garden I’ve ever seen, and after an hour of waiting around 50 serious-looking women had gathered under the large concrete shade structure. Another hour was spent taking a roll call of who was there and, more importantly, who wasn’t there. The acting leader is a tough woman of about 60 years and when I shook her hand it was as rough as sandpaper. Woe to those who don’t show up to a communal work event. Woe indeed! I did a brief demonstration of how to plant moringa and then passed out seeds to the various kafoo’s, or women’s groups, that run the garden. After that it went so quickly. I’m sure the women look at my attempts to hack the sandy soil with a mix of confusion and pity as once they start with the daba (hand hoe) they double my speed. One woman would dig a small hole next to the fence line and a woman would follow, drop the seed in, and cover it with soil. We finished two sides of the fence, as it got hot, and of the two remaining sides one bordered an orchard so was protected from animals and the other had yet to be weeded. The women were so grateful and so excited to plant a live fence. My greatest hope is that it is a success for them and they can reap the benefits. In a lot of ways, I am the smallest character in the story, and that’s the way I want it to be. They wanted to plant the live-fence and they did the work for it. All I did was facilitate, which is the way it should be. I hope to visit once more before I depart and see the tiny seedlings sprouting in the garden. But even more important I hope to see some planted ideas as well.

This week we had our "Close of Service" conference. This is to review all the paper work we have to complete, schedule our medical, and bring closure to our service. To close the conference, our group went out to a fancy dinner at Clay Oven, and then we had a Gambian Prom.our cos group (missing LRoe)

Gambian Prom

Lovely ladies with dresses made by our favorite tailor Jay

1. picking ripe limes off the tree on my way home

2. public transport & bicycles3. seeing random people that I know, that I don't normally see4. the idea of coats and socks5. looking at pictures6. swimming all up in that ocean7. lemongrass tea, planted by my husband8. making jokes, even if I am the only one laughing9. using my umbrella for shade (do people do this in the states?)10. yoga

Pretty In Pink... video made by volunteer Marta Rusek at the place I teach Life Skills with my counterpart Abdoulie Sarr

It is hard to believe… our close of service conference is in two weeks. Things are starting to get busy and settle down all at once. We are finishing projects, saying our goodbyes and doing the things we have always wanted to do before leaving this beautiful country. I’m sad to leave, but I am also looking forward to the new world in the U.S. When I got back from Basse, I looked in the mirror and thought- Oh no! My skin! Not to be so vain, but I am going to need a serious facial to get all the Gambian dirt out of my skin. It didn’t help that my entire ride back home the wind was filled with dust and blowing right into my face. Or that I sweat the whole day and it’s really humid so nothing is ever dry. And being in the hot sun does not help in my fight against the family history of skin cancer. Not even my hair had dried in the past 3 months (rainy season). I wash my hair, but it never dries and let’s say I can’t wait to use a hairdryer. My lotions and what I have of makeup are all just about run out and dried up and I can’t wait to be able to “take care of myself” and take hot showers, baths, etc. But, these last few months are busy. We have to pack up our things, and we also have a pretty full schedule.

Sept 29-30th: Peace Corps 50th Anniversary celebrations with Gambian GovernmentOctober 10-14: Close of Service ConferenceOctober 17th (ish): Visit Baboon Island and Wassu stone circles (finally!)October 24-28: HIV Bike TrekNovember 6-9: Tobaski, visit old siteNovember 16-18: Volunteer Support Network training (or around this time)November 20-27: National Elections, stay at siteDecember 5: Peace Corps Parade in downtown to celebrate 50th anniversaryDecember 11: COS date… flying home inshallah…we buy our tickets tomorrow…

It is so weird; I can’t grasp my head around it. Yesterday I sat next to a Gambian woman who had lived in America for ten years. She said the hardest part about moving to America was she missed the openness of Gambian culture. But then she said she started to like America, like the pot lucks at work and having days where you could stay in your pjs and watch tv. That got me thinking about how as humans, we are so adaptable. If she can do it I can do it and I am so excited to see family and friends. America, thanks for waiting for me…

Following the girls camp, their was a weekend workshop for the HIV/AIDS Bike Trek. Each peace corps volunteer was matched with a teacher or student from a school hat volunteers will visit and teach the curriculum at the October. Both the HIV and Life Skills curriculum were taught (4 hours each) and practiced by participants. Me and a couple other volunteers helped develop the curriculum titled, "Speaking Up and Speaking Out"which has three components: Values, Opinions, and Speaking Out. Each student at the end of the two days should have an informed statement about HIV and AIDS they can share with their communities.

(Again, pictures to come later)

Whew! Just got back from an awesome girls camp, organized by two awesome PCV's, Julia and Casey. It was a one week camp, with the mission of educating young girls about the environment. Thirty young girls from the Gambia were brought by fellow peace corps volunteers to the upcountry village of Basse. I helped teach some Life Skills classes and did a fun "make your own bug" activity. The last day, the girls put on a talent show to showcase the things they learned. The camp was sponsored by the Embassy and a Peace Corps Partnership (donations from people in America, Thank you!!). The girls learned a lot about littering, composting, environmental values, planting trees, and each girl created an environmental plan with their peace corps volunteer to bring back to their communities! What a success!!

Pictures to come... having some uploading difficulties

By Josh Johnson

We’re nearing the end of a rather disappointing ‘rainy season’ in The Gambia and I’ve been thinking about the different characteristics of rain and the emotional labels we apply to them. I thought I’d jot down some of the rains I’ve been caught in around the world. I’ll start with my current location.Rain in The Gambia – Rains here are so much more visceral than anywhere else. This might be because we have an aluminum roof that echoes the large raindrops making a steadily increasing sound like 10,000 tiny drums. And a defining feature of Gambian rains is the sharp contrast between the rainy season and dry season. This is how the calendar is defined, and probably has been defined, for thousands of years. Calendar months, fiscal years, academic semesters are all meaningless compared to the dry season, during which not a drop falls, and the rainy season in which a perpetual gloom pervades. Except this year when the rains have been few, far between and of a weak intensity.Rain in Portland – I grew up with the constant rain of Portland. But it’s different. We always said that you could spot a non-native because they were carrying an umbrella. The rain of Portland isn’t of a variety that falls directly down, it’s more like a pervading heavy mist that settles horizontally. That and it rains at anytime of day, morning, noon, afternoon. In Gambia it rains mostly at night and is accompanied by loud crashing thunder and lightening storms. Rains in DC – I spent a summer in DC and remember being caught in one serious downpour. Literally it was sheets of water and I thought I might drown as I ran for the subway entrance. I was just leaving work and was wearing a suit from Men’s Wearhouse (don’t believe the hype, they are still cheap suits) and was so drenched within a minute that I stopped trying to stay dry. The sheer intensity of the downpour was similar to Gambia’s but the difference was that when rain falls in Gambia it cools off everything instantly, like throwing water onto a hot pan. In DC it stayed hot.Michigan – More snow than rain but in the brief intercession between fall and winter a mean, hard rain falls. That’s really all I recall.In closing, although I’ve lived with rain my whole life I haven’t really considered its importance until this year when the rains just failed to arrive. Rain is the only irrigation method in Gambia besides physically filling a bucket and bringing it to the plants and for a large field that’s not practical. I don’t think I’ll ever think of rain in the same way again.

Thank you Smith Optics for offering Peace Corps Volunteers a 50% discount on your sunglasses!! Josh just received his today, here we are wearing ours. It is our first pair of polarized lens so I can say I see the world differently! Josh is going to wear his everyday because the sun makes him sneeze.

Us in our new shades. The bag handThis spider was on the kitchen ceiling. I saw one twice this big once in the bedroom!

Today in Life Skills we talked about love. How love is different when you are family vs. when you are in a relationship. I had them write five most important to them in their journals.These are some of the words the class came up with to describe what love is. Note: money came up as "what you look for in a relationship" but it was discussed as to why it was not necessarily , "love."

(Excuse my messy handwriting, my counterpart was sick)

Well, we are coming upon our last four months of service and I was looking through some notes I made about things I will miss. It is hard to know what I will when I get back to the U.S. but here is a start...

Food- The food itself and the culture around food. Food is one of the most symbolic things in this culture.Sitting- This doesn't happen so often in America, people are always coming and going. You can go anywhere with any person and just sit.Children- I've learned a lot about the joy of children. I think it's really good for children to be around other children and people. It makes me sad to think of children inside their rooms playing alone because of the amount of joy and life they have to share.Clothing/General Appearance- People here really care about their physical appearance. They don't let poverty stop them from looking nice and put a lot of effort into it.Sense of responsibility- Families take care of each other. Siblings make plans to care for their parents.

This weekend I went to visit our old site mate, Lroe aka Salley Sanneh in her Jola village. We translated a Jola speech about moringa with her counterpart and also planted two intensive beds for leaf harvesting to make moringa powder, a dense nutritionally supplement.

Lindseys Jola is so amazing! Her counterpart was just in awe by some of the words she knows now and we were even joking she is a genie (which is like a magic person).

It was pretty funny because when I told Josh he was like... wait... now you want to plant trees? Maybe yes, but I also just needed an excuse to visit Lroe, and get back to the quiet village life...

Lindsey by her garden fence... moringa line the inside, inshallah the future will bring a live fence!

Marking every 5 inches on cable wire for the distance between each seed we plant.

Lindsey and Ablie making the moringa holes to plant

Lindsey giving her moringa talk in perfect jola!

We had a fun time. Except when cooking potatoes I dropped her whole bottle of olive oil (don't worry, replacing that... also Josh wants me to note this is not the first time it has happened ) on the floor and it shattered. We found the Gambian solution and started shoveling dirt into her house (this is what they do when a baby poops or someone vomits on the floor). It magically absorbed all the oil, and her floor looked so clean and shiny afterwards. Sadly, I did not get a picture!

Josh, Caroline, Steve-O and I took a nice bike ride today, a Sunday afternoon. We went out on a bush road to check out a small village that has some awesome murals painted.

I’ve been reading a book about HIV/AIDS in Africa, “The Invisible Cure,” by Helen Epstien. What I find most interesting is not her discussion of the AIDS virus, but instead her observations of male-female relationships in South Africa and how applicable they are to what I observe in The Gambia. I often wonder if the way things are here are like the way things were in America or if the situation is something entirely different. Maybe it is not possible to compare them; maybe the context is just too complicated.

One of the observations Epstien makes is in regards to transactional relationships, something very common here in The Gambia. Transactional relationships involve the exchange of cash and other goods. It’s not prostitution, but more of an expectation in a committed sexual relationship. Epstien holds the West somewhat responsible for the rise of imported products and consumer goods in impoverished parts of the world. You find in Gambia, people have very little extra money to spend.

If a woman has a chance to be in a transactional relationship, she sees goods as an expression of love, whereas a man sees it as an exchange of sex. Unfortunately these men, according to Epstien, are more likely to be unfaithful, putting the women they are with at higher risk for HIV/AIDS. They are more likely to be violent (men feel more protective) and coercive (women constantly begging and pleading for objects).

This all comes back, Epstien states, to traditional gender norms and expectations. Apparently it goes back to precolonial African mens status relying on their ability to control women. When wives worked hard on the land, the men were able to form better alliances to other tribes and acquire more land. Women worked the fields and men did the negotiations. Here where polygamy is common, a man’s worth is often measured by the number of wives he has. In fact, a man has to even have a certain level of income or should, to acquire more wives (4 is the limit here).

Interestingly in South Africa in the 1970s, women’s expectations had changed to be similar with that of the west. Most women wanted a more modern family, where spouses share household responsibilities and friends. Most men, however, still valued the traditional arrangement, in which they live separate lives and rarely see each other. However, few men were willing to change as fear of looking weak to his peers or following the ways of the whites. Apparently this divide led to the marriage rates plummeting in the 70s.

Intimacy is not shown here in The Gambia. Men and women often live separate lives, oftentimes living in different villages. The women do all of the housework and child caring. They cook and get firewood. The men might have office jobs in the city and send money every once in a while. This is a common arrangement.

These relationships are complicated, with historical, cultural, religious and contextual roots. Maybe we in America are not the model to fight for. But we still have to ask ourselves, what do we see as progress for gender and development, and how is it possible? What kind of story do we want to tell?

One thing I love about the Gambia is I have a “guy” or a “gal” for everything. I’ve got my vegetable gal. My mandarin orange and apple guy. My chicken guy. My egg sandwich guy. My tailor (guy and gal). My printer guy (works at computer lab where I sometimes go to randomly print things). My shop guy that has an ongoing joke with the other staff about tricking me into believing he’s gone to mecca. I even have my fabric shop guy that I practice French with and watch tv in his shop sometimes (which is not weird at all in The Gambia. Note to self I cannot just sit in a store in America and watch tv…. That would be weird). I guess it’s like how things were in the olden days when people were specialized.

They know you by name. You know them by name. They know what you want, some time they give you a discount or throw in a little something extra.

I’m going to try to do that more in America. I guess I was just so frenzied about my life I never had the same hair dresser,same person I would go to at the farmers market… but I want to be more like that because you get these great connections with people. But in America, there are not as many opportunities for that type of relationship. I mean, you go into a grocery store and there are like 50 people working there, and they will all change shifts at different times.

(random side note)

It’s the little things… Josh and I speaking Mandinka in gelli, man turns around and says (in mandinka)- “You speak Mandinka? If I saw you in the bush, speaking this language, I would drop everything and just run, run, run. I would think you were a genie.”