So my time is winding down here. I have less than two months left in the Gambia and I can't believe how fast the time has gone! I feel like every blog post I apologize for not writing as many blogs, but eh, that's just the way it is.

So i figured i would do a bit of a summary on my favorite things I have done in the Gambia...sort of like a Letterman Top 10 list. So here goes:

Basse/Upcountry

The cows, they are many in Basse. My best friend Sarah lives up in Basse and this past year I have been up no less than 6 times. Bear in mind that it takes 12 hours to get there so its not an easy trip but its always a blast. Sarah has a basil and tomato garden (where i relentlessly ridicule her for her bushy tomatoes despite my never having planted any), a well in her compound (high livin!), a super cool family, etc. Also, Basse has a great Nigerian bar where the beers are ALWAYS cold (this is not a common occurrence here. the sun is very hot). They also have an amazing egg sandwich place where they give you Jimbo and potatoes AND beans with the most delicious Nescafe/condensed milk drink you will ever taste. In short, i heart Basse but lord, it is too hot up there!

Moving to Kombo

I loved my Brooklyn-like town of Brikama, but a lot of my work ended up being in Kombo so when I moved there, I was super psyched. Mainly, I was just happy to not have to live out of a bag like a hobo due to constant travel (which was what i did for the first 18 months of my service). Additionally, i can't lie...returning to the land of running water and electricity was pretty sweet. I even got a mini-fridge in my place! Of course, this was all before our compound went for 2 months without water and electricity maybe turned on for 2 hours out of the day. But luckily both were restored. Oh yeah, and living with 2 other volunteers in the same compound = extra sweet! Proximity to bars, restaurants, internet, beach, etc. is also a huge bonus. :-)

Bike riding to the Beach

Brikama was awesome. There were several other volunteers who lived in the city so once a month we would do a 20-25 km bike ride to one of the nearby beaches on the coast. Whether we went for the seclusion of Kartung or the resort-like feel of Sanyang, it was always super fun to ride down a highway with the iPod speakers playing OutKast, kids running after our troupe of 6 bikes, and passing under the cashew and mango trees. Once we got to the beach, we stripped off our clothes and ran into the ocean to enjoy!

HIV Bike Trek 2010

So last year, another PCV and I organized a bike trek around the Gambia to teach kids about HIV. We were completely flying by the seat of our pants. We had no idea what we were doing or proper procedures but we were willing to work hard for it. In the end, over a third of PCVs in the Gambia participated, we taught for 5 days in different schools in over half the country, reached over 2,000 young people, and biked more than we ever thought possible. It was the classic PC experience and one i will never forget (although the work load is something I am grateful to not do again!).

OVC Camp

This was my pet project. I come from a long line of camps (okay, just one) and I really wanted to do a camp in the Gambia, especially one kids with cancer or HIV. My organization got the funding through Peace Corps and off we went to Sanyang (the aforementioned beach resort area). We asked all the HIV support groups to send us young women (16-20 yrs old) whose parents were infected. We got 50 of them and plenty of logistical problems.

One of the groups sent us a 10 year old (we were going to talk a lot about sex...not appropriate for her), the lodge didn't have running water or electricity (even though they said they did), the food was consistently 4 hours late (because we only had one cook for 70 people), etc. BUT then a funny thing happened. We got through it. We accepted the 10 year old (who turned out to be super smart and funny and got adopted by all of us), the water started running again (still had probs with electricity), and we got the cook some help. It all turned out not just okay, but AMAZING. All the girls had a fantastic time and we have even started doing some life skills classes with a few of them. All in all, one of my favorite things i have done here.

Life Skills classes

I have already done a post on this but I just wanted to reiterate how much I have loved doing these classes. I spent most of my time doing Life Skills at MJ's Salon in Brikama but I have also started doing them with some of the girls from Mutapola (my women's HIV org), at workshops, trainings, etc. Whether we are talking about self esteem issues, gender roles in the Gambia, HIV/STIs, communication skills, etc, its always a fun time and the girls really take the messages to heart. This was recently evidenced by one of the girls calling me to schedule the next class so she could tell the other students (this never happens!). It warmed my little feminist heart to see how much they love taking the class as much as i love teaching it.

Peace Corps discounts

Okay this is random, i know. But a lot of restaurants, bars and grocery stores in the Kombo area will give you a discount JUST FOR BEING PEACE CORPS. I love it. All you have to do when you pay is ask "Do you offer a Peace Corps discount?" and they normally say "Yes." and then take 10-40% off the bill. This will not happen in America, I know.

Jokors in the Brik

To my favorite watering hole in Brikama...you were the greatest. With your bumster waiters who never bumstered me, to the never-ending parade of women in their wrap skirts about to take showers (they worked there), to the normally cold Julbrews, and the occasionally weird bumster who took pictures of us on his camera phone (ugh), Jokor's was the place to be! It was also where Peace Corps and VSO (a British version of PC) always met and hung out. Did i mention that this place was less than 2 blocks from my house? Oh yeah!

Scottish Embassy

And this was my other favorite watering hole in Kombo but for many different reasons. Its the place where i met my boyfriend (who ran the place) and where we hosted tons of Peace Corps parties. Its where my group (aka Best Group Ever) held our 1st year anniversary and where Kelsey mispronounced super-LA-tives. Its where we played pool while watching Senegalese wrestling matches on tv. Its where the best domoda AND cheeseburgers were made. Its where i spent my 29th birthday having a chicken bbq and dancing the night away with my friends. Oh Scottish Embassy...so sweet!

PC 50th Anniversary Stuff

So in case you haven't heard, Peace Corps is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Its been pretty awesome these past few months because we have been on a HUGE tv show here (the Fatou Show...like Gambian Oprah), met the President AND had a huge celebration in his village complete with the slaughtering of many animals and speeches commemorating our time here (45 yrs to be exact). Oh yeah, and we have one more big event in December where we will march down the main street of the capital and have a big party. YAY PC 50th!

PC Parties

PC likes to say that volunteers that go to Asia come back more spiritually enlightened. Those that come from Latin America are more politically conscious. And those that come back from Africa like to P-A-R-T-Y!!! So yeah, Gambian volunteers like to party. Hey, its not easy living in a village and you need to cut loose somehow. Also, Gambians like to party too so they never begrudge us a good time. My group likes to organize themed parties so we have done a booze cruise for the 4th of July, a scavenger hunt birthday party for all the 30 yr olds (Dirty Thirty), the Brewlympics (you can guess...beer + olympic style games + birthday parties = EPIC). Oh yeah and lets not forget all the partying in the Senegambia area. In short, its been fun. ;-)

Travel (Italy, Scotland, America)

I went to Italy for my best friend's wedding last year. I went to America and saw my family and friends. I went to Scotland to visit my boyfriend. I got all I needed for my time here: eating good food (Italy), being home (America), and partying (Scotland). Each of these trips served their purpose of rejuvenating me for returning to the Gambia because its not easy being here. I never thought I would get the opportunity to travel this much and for that, I am extremely thankful. Oh yeah, and thanks so my siblings for subsidizing my travels to Scotland. Capital One also thanks me for going there and spending my non-existent funds.

BEST GROUP EVER (EPIC)

So my group (Health and Environment 2010-12) is the bomb. There are 30 people in our group (used to be 35 but many medical issues put it down to 30). Frankly, we all are kind of in love with each other. We have had more epic journeys than most other groups (see: HIV Bike Trek 2010, Dirty 30 party, HIV trainings, GAD, Baby Mamas, North Bank HIV Football Tournament, LGBT trainings, Life Skills, Moringa tree plantings, Oyster harvesting, ETC, ETC, ETC). We are kind of known as the cocky mo-fos of the Gambia but after reading a tiny sampling of all the shiz we did, how could we not be?

We work well together. We party well together. We are excellent organizers. We like to get things done. We know the language (most of us, not me so much). In short, we freakin ROCK. Our COS (close of service) conference in October was a week of extreme fun and maybe a bit of over-the-top self-congratulation. We had a taco night, a jeopardy game about our life stories, a night at the Scottish Embassy, and oh yeah, GAMBIAN PROM! An epic two years? I'd say so!

Oh Brikama, my Brikama! For the past 18 months, this devilish city of wonders has seduced me with its bumster-filled bars, bumster-filled car parks, bumster-filled markets and ummm...small boys. I heart this city that has taken me in as one of their resident toubabs (white person). Its so nice when the kids just KNOW i want to give them mintys. That's why they ask so much, right?

Small girls asking for mintys!Oh Brikama, I am sorry to be leaving you for the big city of Fajara. But, work opportunities are making me move a whole HOUR up the road. But what an hour it is.

To be away from you will be painful. To not go to Jokors to drink cold Julbrews with the Hoff, C-dog (Caroline), Casey and Kels, will be tragic. Alas, I was that place's best Hispanic-toubab-from-DC customer. Louis, Lamin, Rose, i will miss you. And I will miss the women who walk around the back garden area topless because they are taking a shower in some non-existent place with a shower but from which they always emerge cleaner (and still topless) as they change in the back bar area.

And oh the bumsters, the lovely bumsters! How can i not miss the various musings of "Hiii, Hiiii, Hiii!" and "Hey pretty lady, your walk is so smart!" and "Can i please talk with you? Can we marry?" and my personal favorite "My beautiful African Princess! Beautiful flower!" All of these essentially translate to: So uhhh, can i get a visa to America?? No my Gambian princes, i cannot grant visas, but i do thank you for always making me feel amused. Really amused. Okay mostly annoying, but still, Brikama wouldn't be the same without you.

And the grilled CHICKEN! To the Number One Shop (yes, thats the name) and Mr. Amadou Bah (who we all know eats too much bread) - I sincerely thank you for the time you took to prepare those delicious cuts of grilled leg quarters slathered with moutarde (mustard), ketchup, and cani (hot sauce). You made many a dinner for me and for that, i will always be thankful.

Post-gettinCasey gettin her hair done at MJ'sAnd MJ's Salon!!! Oh, MJ's salon! A place where not only could i teach the students some life skills, but also hang out and watch Westlife videos or the Roots tv mini-series (based in the Gambia!!!) with Mariama. A place where she and i would walk to said Number One Shop, buy chicken and eat together while shootin the sh*t. A place where they all knew my name and i knew half of theirs. But still, it was one of my favorite places in the Brik and I will never forget it.

Jah Oil gas stationFinally, i thank you Jah Oil petrol station for simply existing. Not only do you serve as a destination point I can tell visiting friends to drop at so i could bring them to my house, but your mini-shop CONSISTENTLY had freezing cold drinks of many varieties such as Coke, Real Mango, Vimto, Fanta, juices AND ice. I was disappointed when you took the Onion Spring generic Ritz crackers off the shelves but you more than made up for it with your convenient stock of ketchup, cookies, and other cracker varieties. On top of that, you serve as a point where I can pick up geles going to Kombo (the big city) every 30 SECONDS!!!

So thank you Brikama. Thank you for your chicken. Thank you for the friends i have made here. Thank you for Jokors and Jah Oil. Thank you for giving me a fantastic host family that is always there for me but lets me do my own thing. Thank you for all the visitors i have gotten. But mostly, thank you for possessing the coolest Peace Corps volunteers in such close proximity so I can have consistently fun and amusing drinking buddies. Because isn't that what Peace Corps is all about ??? (No? Huh. Okay, i'll just stick with the whole "helping others" tagline...).

Peace Out Brikama!!!!

-->

Okay, so my last blog post was kind of a downer. HIV is never a fun topic to talk about but it’s such a huge part of my work, I needed to share it. In actuality, it’s not all ARV drugs, stigma and depression. Sometimes you have to look at the positive side to HIV! There are some really great mechanisms in place that provide support to PLHIV (people living with HIV) and ensure that they are not alone in their struggle. In short, having HIV does not mean your life is over.

My counterpart, who is HIV positive, has a really great perspective on things. He says that he thinks of HIV as a continuous condition that he handles with medication and not as a death sentence. He tells me “Would you be rude to a person because they have malaria? Because they have a skin condition? No. So why would you be mean to someone because they have this virus?” Huh. Well, I was kind of speechless. Such a simple argument and a great perspective, especially if people try to be rude against those with HIV. He is a consistent inspiration and source of strength to other PLHIV. He counsels them, encourages them, and provides opportunities for them to have jobs. When PLHIV have jobs, such as making soap or gardening, they have income and are able to have self-worth and dignity.

Another positive aspect is the incredible amount of support you get from support groups (duh, that’s their purpose!). Support groups in Gambia are not exactly what you think of in America. The picture you normally think of is a group of people in a circle of chairs sharing their latest struggles. That’s not the case here. Meetings are typically held once a month with a specific topic given by social workers on issues such as proper nutrition, treatment literacy, or dealing with stigma and discrimination. Because most people come from far away, they are given transportation refunds and lots of nutritional food at the meeting. They also come for the good time! Typical meetings have at least 60 people attending (mostly women) and they LOVE to dress in their best outfits, bring their babies, and socialize. When they see someone come in, they start shouting their names and singing songs about them. Normally that person will have to dance as they greet everyone (I have been subjected to this many times!). In short, these meetings serve as a space where PLHIV can cut loose, talk about their issues, dance with friends, eat good food, and just be free from their worries for a short time.

Additionally, all ARV medications are given to patients for free. They are given nutritional supplements like rice, peanut butter, and sugar so their children can eat. Their children’s school fees are covered. This is mainly due to the Global Fund grant to the Gambia. When implemented correctly, it can make a very big impact on the ground here. Global Fund and a lot of other grants came through for ARV medications thanks to President Bush’s initiative, PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Program For AIDS Relief) back in 2004. Now let me just preface this by saying that my opinion of the man was what you would call sub-par. Anyways, before I got here, I couldn’t name you one thing I liked about him until I talked to PLHIV. They constantly praised him for caring enough for Africa and the importance of getting ARV medications here when they felt like the world had turned its back on them. Now, it wasn’t a perfect program (emphasis on abstinence-only and not condoms = not cool) and they know it too, but PEPFAR funding has literally saved millions of lives. I can’t hate on him for that.

Anyways, getting off point now. The point of the story is that there is a positive side if you have HIV in the Gambia. Support is there and I am proud to have been a part of helping the cause. Okay, Natoma is outtie 5000…

So this is a topic i have been meaning to post about for awhile as its my main work. But its not an easy subject matter. 16 months into my service, I can start to talk about it here...

Recently, I went on a country-wide trek with a group for women living with HIV. The HIV rate in the Gambia is relatively low at 2% but the stigma against people living with HIV is extraordinarily high. People are afraid to disclose their status for fear of being shunned from their communities. Husbands have thrown out and divorced their wives when they find out their HIV positive status. Children are sent to live away from fathers who are infected. Husbands die and the wives are made to marry their husband’s brother, only to be thrown out when the brother finds out the status of the wife. People become so ill that they cannot work or provide for their families. They live in perpetual fear that someone will find out their secret and tell everyone else.

So it’s not a pretty situation. We have met and interviewed over 40 people in the rural provinces about various issues ranging from fear of disclosing their status to not being able to feed their children. One of the people who stood out to me the most was a man I could only describe as someone you would see in a 1996 Time magazine report on the ravages of the virus. I will call him Buba.

Buba is a man in his early 40’s but looks like he is in his 60’s. He was tested and diagnosed with HIV two months ago but the virus has already reached advanced stages. In other words, he clearly has full-blown AIDS. Buba is about 6 ft, 4 in and weighs about 140 pounds. I have never seen someone so big look so small, so thin and so…defeated. His two wives have died (presumably of AIDS-related complications). Another two of his children have died. He lives in a 7 foot round hut with his two sons. He can’t eat. He can’t work. He feels helpless because he can’t provide food, clothing or school fees for his children.

Buba. I have blotted out his eyes to protect his privacy.

Buba has extremely inflamed lymph nodes and two blackened fingers with a black vein reaching up his arm. This was due to an improper IV drip where the fluid leaked outside of the vein and burst. As I am a cancer survivor, I saw the inflamed lymph nodes and immediately thought “lymphoma or leukemia” or some other terrible disease. I asked the social worker that accompanied us to get his lymph nodes tested but the social worker looked a bit helpless and said that could only be done if Buba could get to the main hospital in Banjul. Banjul is over 300 km from where we were and we were deep into the bush. With no car and no money, it wasn’t going to happen. Buba has not started ARV treatment but he will soon. As we said our goodbyes, I feared that it would be my first and last time seeing him. I couldn’t help crying when we got to the car.

I have been incredibly frustrated by so many different things here. I work a lot, almost to the point of exhaustion. I travel back and forth between my site and the capital at least 3 times a week to work with this HIV group. I have been very frustrated at times because I feel like all I do is office work and grant writing. This country-wide trek with them changed that. Now I see where all these efforts go. I see the importance in the simplicity of getting rice and peanut butter to children of people living with HIV. Sometimes the most basic things are what is needed. I see who we are working for. People living with HIV deserve worth and dignity and to be at peace with their situation. This is my hope. I can only continue to work tirelessly for all the Bubas in the Gambia.

Hey there lovely peoples. Its been awhile, i know. You could try suing me in the Gambian court system but that might take you 6 or 7 years so accept me for who i am (which is a slacker to the Nth degree). I haven't had much to write about mainly because everything is so normal to me now that it doesn't feel worth writing about. Sure i could talk about getting toubabed all the day but that's a daily occurrence and i've written about that a few times already.

So i figured i might as well talk about the work i do because i haven't done too much of that. One of my main projects is working with a group of young women at a local hair salon doing a life skills class. Basically, life skills is a class that Peace Corps promotes to teach young people communication and relationship skills, role models, goal setting, confidence building, etc. all in the name of HIV prevention. Its pretty fun and once a week i get to teach two classes of girls about this stuff through skits, role plays, team building exercises, and so on.

Recently, I did a class about HIV prevention and we played lots of games to explain how it is transmitted and some myths and facts about the virus.

We also learn about how to use persuasion skills when someone is pressuring you.

And most recently we were learning about our bodies! Here some of my ladies are doing a model of the female anatomy, most specifically, the fallopian tubes.

So this is just a little slice of the things i do here. Its my favorite part of the week and one i will continue to do until the end of my service.

When I first arrived in the Gambia, I found a bunch of things strange and other things not so strange. Here's a bit of a rundown of the things I have gotten used to (10 months into my service) and things I still can't get a grip on...

Its all old news now...

- Breasts and the babies that love them!

So what if a mother whips out a boob in the middle of an executive board meeting? The baby is hungry so you need to feed it! Breasts are simply not seen as the sexual objects they are in America and frankly, that's kind of nice. Your ass however is another story...

- "Toubab! Toubab! Give me minti/dalasi/pen!"

It used to grate me to no end when kids ran up to me and asked for things but then I realized that hey, I'm really not that special and they will ask anyone for this stuff. So i just play with their heads and threaten to beat them (oh my god they love it when i threaten them!). Or ignore them. It just depends on my mood. Mainly i have realized they just want attention and you know...they are kids so they are pretty harmless.

- "Hey nice lady you are looking very smart! I love your walk!"

Yeah dude, thanks. Cuz i haven't heard that line 78,2042 times since I arrived here. Its become comical to see how batshit crazy guys go here trying to holler at you but then you realize you are really not that special. They don't just do it to white women, they do it to pretty much every woman! Also, you just ignore them and keep on listening to your iPod.

- Sharing is caring!

Okay, I admit that I didn't really like to share cups/silverware/household items when I first arrived. Its the American in me. I thought of germs and all that stuff. But then I lived here for awhile and now I think nothing of drinking from the same cup as my neighbor or taking some tomato paste from my mother. Score one for integration?

- Small-boying!

Small-boying is essentially sending someone younger than you to run an errand such as buying bread from the local bitik (neighborhood store) or pumping your water for you. I didn't like it at first but as I got lazier, I accepted child labor more and more. I mean, why shouldn't an 8 year old run out and buy you cell phone credit and juice if you give them the money? Everyone does it and it just gets ingrained in you and your host family LOVES seeing you do it. You can also send ANY child to do it. Any kid. Its wonderful.

I Still Care about...

- Child labor

This one was a big one for me to overcome."Kids shouldn't do work! They are too young!" The amount of labor children do here is considerably higher and more sophisticated than the ones in the U.S. (Gambia - working as a carpenter vs. America - making your bed). I actually have conflicted feelings about this. I feel like its good for kids to start learning a trade or learn how to do chores because its good to teach them responsibility (and it tends to keep them out of trouble). HOWEVER, starting kids so young on doing actual work also heavily influences gender roles and keeps them very rigid. Speaking of which...

-Gender Roles

Gender roles here are extremely defined and its very difficult to move past that. The women do the housework and the men do the heavy lifting. Its annoying but when I see things like men playing with their babies or women owning their own businesses, it makes my little feminist heart go pattering. There's still a long way to go but there has been a TON of progress in the past 15 years with more and more girls going to school and entering the workforce.

-Being white

I am Latina, Hispanic-American, whatever you want to call it. Point is, I'm not white and it still annoys me that I am considered white here. Or they say I look white but there's something not very white about me because I can dance with rhythm or I pronounce words in Mandinka with a Spanish accent. And the fact that Peace Corps is very white and I can't really relate to many people about my Latin heritage because they simply don't understand. I have gotten more used to it but I still haven't fully accepted it.

The sun is hot. The air is wet. The rains are heavy. The flies are many.The heat rash is starting.

Ugh. My body is covered in heat rash. Baby powder doesn’t do much and Gold Bond is missing from my life. I had no idea how bad it would get during rainy season but man, it is BAD. My skin constantly feels prickly and 15 seconds after I take a refreshing bucket bath, I am itchy and prickly again. ARGH!

To add to the fun, if I go outside to escape the stifling heat of my house, the mosquitoes attack me like a bumster asking for my number. But unlike the bumsters, the mosquitoes are quite successful in their pursuit of my flesh. The microbial-sized harbingers of malaria are everywhere this time of year. I doubt it has anything to do with the giant lakes of standing water populated by families of feces as a result of poor drainage systems. Am I right or what? (looks around for affirmation)

And the flies. Oh the flies! It’s like they all decided that Gambia was the new Hamptons and they just HAD to come here and see what it was like. But instead of paying $36 for a lobster roll, they got to feast on rotting mangoes and pit latrine feces. It ain’t pretty especially when umm…you’re trying to use aforementioned latrine. Moving on.

So the flies suck. The mosquitoes suck. The heat rash is whackness personified to the 38th degree. Isn’t there anything good about rainy season? Why funny you ask!

The fields have turned from barren dust bowls to dewy emerald fields that even a leprechaun would be proud to hide his pot o’gold in! Lush green grass has sprouted up and awoken the weeds to join them. Vegetable gardens are ripe with the fruits of all that the rains have bestowed upon them. Goats are humping each other in the streets just raring to reproduce.

And the rain. I can put my empty buckets under the roof to catch all the water (thus reducing trips to the water tap) to wash my clothes. Also, it is amazing to just sit under the porch and read a book as the skies open up and let down torrents of rain. No one goes anywhere or does anything. We all just watch. And for a short time, the world, seemingly at its most violent outrage, is suddenly peaceful.

Okay. Rainy reason does kind of rock.

Last summer my best friend got engaged to her most excellent boyfriend of 5 years. I love them together and knowing that I was going into the Peace Corps in Africa, I also loved the idea of them getting married in Italy (where my bff's dad is from) so I could have an excuse to go to Italy! Being a bridesmaid just made my commitment to attend that much stronger.

It worked out very well and I became a walking mass of gluttony. The food in Gambia isn't exactly the bees knees and fresh food can be a bit hard to come by. It was with great enthusiasm that I spent two weeks eating my way through every Italian stereotype I came across. Red wine? Check! Prosciutto with melon? Check! Pasta galore? Check! Fresh fruits and veggies? Check! Every cheese imaginable? Double check!

Here's a small sampling of the amazing food I ate:

Yes, I gained about 10 pounds but it was well worth it! I will lose it quickly enough with all the biking and walking I do. I could continue on and give you pictures of the wedding and all the sites I saw but that would just make you too jealous. ;) Ciao!

I have heard stories about this. When I arrived in November, they were just whispers. Then they got louder and louder as the months progressed...

"Juicy"

"Big"

"Whenever, Wherever."

Get your head out of the gutter! I'm talking about MANGOES!!!!! Mango season has officially arrived and they are EVERYWHERE. For a girl that has grown up eating mangoes all the time (thanks to her mother's addiction), this is a little taste of Nicaragua/America in Africa (how's that for cross-cultural exchange??). These mangoes are...dare I say...100x better than America or Nicaragua! They are amazing. I have mangoes off the tree, mangoes for breakfast, mangoes for dessert, mango salsa, mango and chicken salad...oh mangoes how I love thee!

Mangoes!!!!

Mangos before consumption...

Mangoes being consumed...

The Aftermath.

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack/

And you may find yourself in another part of the world/

And you may ask yourself…well…how did I get here?

And you may ask yourself, how do I work this?/

And you may ask yourself, am I right, am I wrong?/

And you may ask yourself, my God, what have I done?/

Same as it ever was…Same as it ever was...

– Talking Heads “Once in a lifetime”

Oh music. You can express so many emotions I feel in one song. Okay, so I don’t exactly live in a shotgun shack (unless you count my training village lodging… okay that might have been a bit shack-ish). My current place has electricity, an amazing host family and is pretty close to the city so it’s a pretty sweet deal.

But I digress. I’m feeling a bit…homesick. I just talked to my family on Skype the other night and it was simultaneously healing and hurtful. Don’t get me wrong. I am extremely happy I am in the Peace Corps and living a new life, but damnit if it isn’t hard being away from family. I am missing my niece and nephews as they grow up, I am not eating the same foods I am used to, and I kind of just miss hanging out with my siblings and friends.

However, this is what I wanted. Peace Corps gives us this little emotional flow chart of the typical highs and lows that a volunteer experiences throughout their service and as odd as it sounds, it’s sort of comforting to know that what I feel is normal and temporary. But this experience…wow. It’s different. I have been away from home for almost 7 months and I can feel the dip into the valley of homesickness. It’s that empty feeling in the pit of your stomach and it sucks. Shall I continue to wallow in self-pity? Ehhh…okay, I’ll stop now. Self-pity annoys me and I have to go to work.

(14 hours later…)

Okay, so its 14 hours later and I’m feeling much better. Phew…what a day! I think sometimes when you are feeling low, life shows you how awesome things really are.

So today, I:

• Presided over a fierce debate at my HIV support group between people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and people that have negative status but still work with PLWHA and what the role of the HIV-negative supporters should be (the issue was unresolved. I think I will expand on this in a later post)

• Visited the farm that the support group owns. Showed a local beekeeping NGO the hives we have (currently at 4 because the other 14 burned in a fire) to see if they could help us in production and proper methods (they said yes). Also checked on the construction of the honey storage/processing building/watchman house (made completely of mud bricks, straw and wood. Talk about sustainable!). Helped the men chop some wood using an awesome bam-bam club (yes, like in the Flintstones).

• Talked to my local internet café dudes. Found out the one whose name I thought was Yaya is really Lamin. I have been calling him Yaya for the past 5 months and was slightly miffed that he never actually corrected me. It’s going to take a lot of effort calling him Lamin from now on…

• Hung out with my Nene (mom) and other women – ate some mangoes and drank some ataaya (aka Gambian crack; aka super sugary green tea in highly concentrated form).

• Hung out with my Baba (father) at his general store. Discussed the meaning of Skype and then talked about possibly selling solar lamps that a former PC volunteer was marketing in the Gambia.

• Grabbed some water from the tap in our compound, washed dishes (while listening to Zeppelin…naturally) and watched an episode of Arrested Development.

Okay, so now I’m feeling a lot better. It’s weird how the highs and lows happen so quickly here. Sometimes I feel like I’m on a super emotional rollercoaster and other times its just smooth sailing. I guess that’s why they say this experience only happens once in a lifetime…

Care packages are a volunteer's version of a 4th grader having Cool Ranch Doritos, Hot Pockets and a Coke for lunch while everyone else eats a cold bologna sandwich with a 3-day old apple. Whenever someone gets one, it’s a huge rush to see what they got and if they are nice enough to share a bit of American goodness. Just one whiff of a Frito Lays chip or a peanut M&M is enough to give us involuntary heart palpitations.

We LOVE care packages. They are our crack. We can't get enough. It causes us to go a bit crazy (just ask my sister!).

Suddenly, everything we could get in America is a luxury item here. Sure, you can buy regular Dove soap at the store down the street but it’s so much more special when Mommy sends your favorite Dove Cucumber Melon soap that makes you feel all clean and American. Sure, you never cared about Parmesan cheese in the States because there were entire aisles dedicated to it, but here it costs a fifth of your monthly stipend so it becomes that much more desirable (supply and demand anyone?).

There is also a hierarchy of care package items listed below (with the first being the most popular):

· Books and Magazines!!! US Weekly, Time, Spin, Rolling Stone, Vogue, The Economist - we take it all! (It can get very lonely and boring in village and having something interesting to read can make time pass by much more quickly)· Candy + junk food (because when you can’t stand eating more rice with fishy green sauce, Cheetos can be a real life saver!)· Chocolate (technically chocolate is “candy” but I just can’t consider Ferrero Rocher chocolate as “candy”)· Spices (including the Holy Grail – Parmesan cheese!) · Coffee/French presses (they don’t sell those here) · Letters/pictures (need I say more???)· Knick knacks from home (anything from a toy car from your nephew to a co-worker’s teddy bear)· Alcohol (very rare to receive but always appreciated!) · Beauty supplies (easily accessible here but terrible quality and expensive)

Anyway, here are some highlights of the care packages I have received in the past few months:

1. COFFEE + FRENCH PRESS!!! My mornings have gotten that much brighter. When I took that first sip of organic, fair trade Cuban dark roast coffee, I nearly melted. Thank you Carmen for saving me from 2 years of Nescafe!

2. Laptop + External hard drive. I thought I wasn’t going to have electricity for the next two years so I didn’t bring a laptop with me to the Gambia. Turns out I got lucky and got placed at a site where I had it. And I got assigned to an office with only 2 computers for 5 people. Hmmm…okay, I guess I did need a laptop. But thanks to my Mom and brother, I got one! And they also sent an external hard drive with all my music that I couldn’t fit onto my iPod! Am I spoiled? Very much so. But you know…it works for me.

3. Magazines + Chocolate + Lip gloss + Knick Knacks! I heart my sister so much. She has been so supportive and has been my sounding board for so many of my frustrations/homesickness issues/etc. And she sends me amazing things like magazines and lip gloss and includes little presents from my niece and nephew that make me all verklempt! Okay, I’ll stop here before I start crying!

So thank you all for sending me these things! They are a little piece of home that make me feel not-so-disconnected when that’s exactly what I feel at times. Thank you for being so generous in sending these items. Thanks Ily, Mom, Carmen, Nancy and the rest of my familia! I love you all dearly!!!!

PS – I would happily post pictures of all the Doritos I have received but they were consumed within an hour of receipt. As well as all the chocolate. And Easter Peeps…

This is my typical ride on a Gambian rust tank. It looks roomy but only if you consider rollin in a Pinto with 17 of your closest neighbors "roomy."

But its kind of worth it to hang out in Gambia's own Pleasantville! Soooo beautiful and peaceful. All the streets are lined with palm trees and its laid out in a grid system. Love it!

And i get to hang out with my co-worker's adorable son who is always scared of me! Also, he is a fussy child. But its cool. I still hug him.

Raindrops on roses? Whiskers on kittens? Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens? No, these are not a few of my favorite things but I will tell you some other things that are on the list!

Lucia's Favorite Things re: The Gambia

1. Bean sandwiches - aka, street food. aka, the best thing to eat in the morning! For only 6 dalasi (about 25 cents), you can have a delicious, semi-nutritious bit of heaven. Smashed black eyed pea beans + Onion/Oil and Jimbo (MSG with Vitamin A!) sauce + french bread = AMAZEBALLS!!

2. 5/5's - Taxis that take you from pre-determined Point A to Point B for only 5 dalasi. To the unsuspecting tourist, they will charge 100 dalasi, but for everyone else in the know (pretty much everyone), its jut 5D.

3. Bargaining - Sure, the salesguy says that meter of fabric is 150 dalasi but you know it should only cost 15D/meter and tell him so. Then you accuse him of not being a good Muslim in Mandinka and he starts laughing and says you are funny and gives you the real price. Both parties leave satisfied.

4. Cell Phone Ringtones - Why put your phone on silent/vibrate when you can alert everyone that you are receiving a phone call with the latest reggae jam, a Rihanna song from 2 years ago or a recording of an Imam doing prayer call? It is Ringtone Central here. My personal favorite ringtone? A recording of a woman calling for a taxi. I was so confused when I heard it during a workshop. "Who the heck is calling for a taxi in the middle of an AIDS and poverty conference?!" I thought, "Oh, its just that guy's phone..."

5. GMT (Gambian Maybe Time) - So you think that meeting is going to start at 9 am huh? Ummm...how about 10:30 am? And when the meeting starts, let's all introduce ourselves and then break for breakfast. And then after a 45 minute breakfast we will get started. And then after that, we can get started. What's that? The power went out? Oh, okay no worries. Okay, power is restored, let's start. (One hour later). Okay, time for lunch! And that's a meeting here. Kind of frustrating and kind of cool. Depends on your mood!

Fresh coffee does not exist in the Gambia. I do not understand this phenomenon.

When I visited my family in Nicaragua this past summer, there was coffee everywhere! Want some coffee? What kind...organic, grown on the side of a volcano under banana leaf trees or organic, fair trade, grown by the sea with the salty sea breeze billowing over the plants? For a coffee addict like myself, it was pretty sweet! Not only did I get to hang with my family but I got to drink some amazing coffee! Fresh, dark, moist...it was truly my nectar of the gods.

For some reason, I was hoping for that same experience here. I figured if the climate was similar to Nicaragua (which it is), then access to fresh foods and amazing coffee would be available. Images of waking up to a gorgeous sunrise in a rural village while I sipped coffee and wrote in my journal danced in my head.

Alas, that was not to be. For one, I do not live in a rural village, I live in a city. Two, I am too lazy to wake up for the sunrise. Three, I do not write in my journal nearly enough. And four, the coffee here kind of sucks.

Its Nescafe Instant Coffee everywhere. EVERYWHERE. You want a cup of joe with your egg sandwich? Its Nescafe for you! Maybe something to give you a bit of a boost as you awake from your slumber? Here, drink some Nescafe! This bitter, uninspired, stale, pathetic excuse for caffeine makes me sad. I am becoming more worried about how I will survive the next 2 years without a proper brew!

In case you haven't figured it out by this point, I am a coffee snob and this lack of acceptable availability has gotten bad enough that it has necessitated this rant (and exceptional irritability in the morning).

Solution? Maybe send me some Starbucks Via instant coffee...that at least brings me back home for 5 minutes. Or maybe I can buy a French press and/or coffee maker and some lovely soul reading this will take pity on my state and send some AMAZING organic, fair trade coffee?

Do I sound desperate? I do? Sincerest apologies but withdrawl will do that to a gal...

So my Gambian name is Natoma Jallow. We are given Gambian names to help us integrate into the local culture and whatnot. Personally, I think they also do it so that our names are easier to pronounce for those around us and as a security measure so creepy peeps don't get all stalker-ish on us.

But it has had another, perhaps unintended, effect. I feel like Natoma is becoming my alter ego. How so? Let me count the ways...

Natoma:

- Learns how to ride a bike on an unpaved Gambian highways after never riding in her life

- Puts a snake around her neck even though Lucia hates snakes

- Carries a bucket of water on her head like a typical Gambian woman

- Says "Iyoo" (= okay) and clicks her tongue after every sentence (again, like a good Gambian)

- Wears long skirts and covers her shoulders in public

- Is okay with mayonaise on her egg sandwiches and potatoes sandwiches and...well shoot, its just natural to have mayo in everything here

- Can't go inside a shop without saying "Salaam Maaleekum" and then immediately launch into a series of greetings in a quick, dull voice like most people here do

- Eats with her hands and can ball rice/sauce/meat in three quick rolls of her hand

- Sleeps through the first prayer call of the morning when it used to wake her up every morning at 5:30 am

- Distinguish the different types of animal poop, including cows, sheep, goats, chickens, cats and dogs

- Squeeze into the back of a gele gele (aka Gambian rust tanks, aka an acceptable mode of transport here) and sit next to 7 people and STILL work on a budget proposal on her way to the capital city

-Oh yes...Natoma also has sworn in as a PCV!!!!

Yes, that is an actual pick-up line here. Others include "Hey boss lady!" "Hey pretty lady, do you need husband?" "Hi, hello, how are you? Hello? Hi!" and various forms of kissing noises, hissing, lip smacking, etc. Really, its not so different from walking in Wheaton, MD where I am from.

At home, my main source of street harassment is Latin construction workers in their 1994 Toyota Celicas who like to curb crawl you as they slowly undress you with their eyes. I have always hated it and took it very personally when that would happen. My siblings were a bit unsympathetic and told me to buck up cuz it wasn't going to end anytime soon. Very true, but it still bothered me greatly.

Here, I don't feel bothered by it for some reason. I'm not entirely sure why but I brush it off and don't take it personally here like I did at home. I think it has something to do with the fact that I know I am viewed as different and "the other" and therefore an object of curiosity.

Also, its not hard to ignore them here. I just do my usual "bitchface + confident stride" walk and that works well. When it doesn't work, I talk to the guys and politely ask them to leave me alone or tell them to have a nice day. That typically works but not always!

Yesterday night, I went out to Senegambia, which is a hotspot for clubs/bars. Its basically a Gambian Adams Morgan! I was with a fellow PCV and her two friends visiting from America. When we were walking outside of a bar to head home, we had 10 guys swarm us and walk with us asking us various questions and offering marriage. We managed to get rid of the majority of them but when we stopped to get some food, a couple of them would not leave us alone. So I started talking to one of the guys and explained that my friends were visiting from America and that I just wanted to spend time with them and was that okay? I said I appreciated him walking us to the food cart but that I had limited time with my friends and would it be okay if I spoke with only them? The guy said yes and he was sorry for disturbing us and went away.

I realized that when you couch your "screw you, go away" request as asking for permission here, the guys don't get as aggressive and are flattered that you are polite in your request. So...score one for cross-cultural learning! We shall see if this tactic continues to work. I suspect it won't always!

As David Bowie said, "Time may change me, but I can't trace time." I feel like I'm going through so many changes in such a short amount of time.

Some changes are nice - my skin has carmelized to a golden bronze, my frame is getting slimmer, my skin is clearer and I'm feeling much more relaxed about everything. I'm happy to be out of the rat race that is Washington, DC for a couple of years. I love my hometown area so much but DC/MD is a tough place to live. Tons of traffic, lots of work, lots of meetings/events. Its exhausting!

My Peace Corps experience is also exhausting but in a different way. I am tired after learning language all day, everyday but its challenging and I'm getting better. Its only been two months but I know I will only get better and people here are always willing to help you along with your learning. As long as you can laugh at yourself, you can learn a language. You WILL make idiotic mistakes (one of the trainees mimed a camera clicking and asked the village head that for a "foto" of him not realizing that "foto" was the word for "penis!" No worries, nothing bad happened). Haha...love it!

I feel like I am also happier in general. I never thought that hauling water from the local pump and writing by candlelight could make me take a chill pill, but it definitely has. I have a new appreciation for the resources I take for granted in the U.S., especially hot showers, but still enjoy my bucket bath under the African stars at night!

This is only the beginning of all the changes I will undergo. I hope I do not end up being all crunchy-granola, super-hippie chick with dreds but I fear that I might embrace this in a year or so! Haha...no that's not me. I'm too much of a rock chick to let it go that far. I do wear long African skirts now and I speak the local language but I will NOT get dreds*!

*(no offense to those that do have dreds...unless you're a dirty hippie. then yes, i do hope to cause you offense. i'm assuming you don't know me so you might actually be offended but know that i'm just joking...sort of.)

Its very hard to summarize the past two months without writing a novella? I'll go over the highlights:

1. Naming Ceremony!

I have a new name - Natoma Jallow! The person in the photo is the Imam of the village "shaving" my head (no they didn't actually shave it, just mimicked it!). In Gambia, naming ceremonies are normally held for babies about a week after they are born. The babies heads are shaven and they are named. There is a big party afterwards with panketos (fried doughnuts) and mango juice as well as lots of dancing! When Peace Corps volunteers come, they are typically given a Gambian name to help integrate into the culture so they give us the naming ceremony to welcome us.

2. Food!

I have two words to describe Gambian food: Peanuts and delicious! Peanuts grow like weeds here so its put in pretty much everything. Remember that scene in Forrest Gump where Bubba describes all the ways you can make shrimp (shrimp pasta, fried shrimp, baked shrimp, shrimp scampi...)? Yeah, that's pretty much it.

I also eat out of a food bowl with my hands and its freakin awesome. I know it sounds super hippie-dippy but I feel a lot more connected to my food when I physically touch it. Also, you typically see the chickens running in front of you before they are put in your food bowl. Yummy! The picture below are my two teachers, Kunta and Bakari. The girl in the purple is Rachelle and Danielle is in the khaki pants.

3. Family

While in training village, I lived with a family of 13 people. It included aunts, grandmothers, lots of kids, my father and my two moms (yes, this is a polygamous society). I thought I would have a problem with it but it hasn't been as bad as i thought. Here is me and my little sister Caddy. She's a bundle of energy and so freakin adorable! I am done with training village now so i probably won't see her for awhile since my permanent site is so far away but i love her all the same.

4. Learning Mandinka + Culture

I am learning Mandinka which is one of the dominant languages of Gambia. They say that you speak like a baby when you first start (very true!) but with each month of speaking you gain a year so by the end of my 27 months, i will be speaking like a 27 year old. My daily classes were held under a mango tree and i couldn't help but feel like a brochure sometimes! Oh well, there are worse things in life! Here's what it looked like.

Okay the computer is being really slow so i'm out for now. As they say in Mandinka, Foonato (later!).

Oh lord, please help me. Learning a new language is hard enough but having to learn greetings in three languages that you're completely unfamiliar with is just a weeeee bit more difficult! So as we say in Mandinka (the language i will be focusing on) - Domanding, domanding! (Slowly, slowly!). I've used that phrase with my instructors MANY times already!

So in one week, i've learned the following:

- Gambians hate snakes/lizards/salamanders and will avoid them at all costs!

- I share the Gambian sense of humor which = loud, lots of laughing and teasing for those people you like

- Dancing in class while trying to learn a phrase is not only acceptable, but highly encouraged!

- Group building activities include: profusely sweating together, avoiding rubber-band assassinations, eating potatoes 34 different ways by Omar the Peace Corps cook who owns a rocket ship "restaurant" by the side of the road, and comparing pain levels after your 16th immunization shot of the week!

- Owning a watch does not = actually using a watch!

- Drinking attaya (the local tea that everyone drinks all day/everyday) on the way to the bathroom will delay your trip by 15 minutes because you spend the time greeting everyone and sitting under the shade in the heat of the afternoon

- You get a LOT of medicines in your medical kit. A TON! I feel like i could open my own pharmacy to supplant my income right now (haha, Peace Corps people, i won't do that...no...of course not...).

- Its sunny. I mean really, really sunny. Beautifully sunny. There is not a cloud in the sky right now but that's because i arrived right in time for the dry season so i have 7 more months before i see rain!

- The beach has a lot of bumsters on it and they looove to talk to you. Wikipedia it, and ask me more by email if you want!

Of course that doesn't capture every awesome thing that's happened this week, but its a start. I move to my training village on Friday where i will be learning Mandinka from morning to night as well as going through cultural and technical training. I will be planting a garden and learning techniques for teaching disease prevention as well.

After my 9 week training, I will have to pass some tests and then will officially swear in as a Peace Corps volunteer in January. Then i get placed at my permanent site. So if you don't hear from me for awhile, then no worries, i am in my training village learning the basics so i can get off to a good start!

These next couple of months will be extremely intense so wish me luck!

PHEW!!! I finally made it! I'm so disoriented to time here...after a 30 hour trip involving a bus ride from Philly to Newark and plane rides from Newark to Brussels to Senegal to Gambia, I finally arrived on Thursday evening (i think it was Thursday...?). I think there needs to be a new word for how intense the jet lag was!

In either case, The Gambia is one beautiful country! The weather is ridiculously gorgeous, the people are really nice, and my fellow PC trainees are very cool. I don't think I could have asked for a better group of people to train with - there are 35 of us; half are Health volunteers (myself included) and the other half are Environmental volunteers. We are all connecting really well and we are bonding through sweating together in hot rooms learning about Gambian culture, eating dinner by LED lamp (the lights went out one night!), and having dance parties in the kitchen (guess who was in the middle of that one!). :)

We are learning typical Gambian greetings in Mandinka, Wolof and Pulaar as those are the main languages spoken here. Greetings are extremely important in the culture and can take up to 20 minutes. Sooooo things move a little more slowly around here ('ndanka ndanka' is a common phrase around here - it means 'slowly slowly'). That's fine by me! As anyone who knows me can tell you, I tend to run on Latin time and generally run late. So i feel like this part of the adjustment might actually be pretty easy for me!

Oh! And guess what? I get a bike! I've never owned a bike before (actually i really don't even know how to ride one!) so i guess that's something i'll be learning how to do here!

Today, we also went to the beach (BEAUTIFUL!) for some R&R and then headed to the reptile farm to learn all about the little critters that run around the country. Luckily there aren't many snakes in Gambia and actually, Gambians really HATE snakes and will either run away or beat them to death if they see one! I can't blame them cuz i feel the same way (although i'm not sure about the beating them with the stick part...).

Anyways, at the end of the Reptile Farm tour, we got to hold snakes and i held one around my neck! AHHH! I have such a huge fear of snakes but this visit really helped to quell my terror. I can't say i'd go out and buy one for a pet or anything, but i think i'm getting a bit more comfortable now.

So two things i'm conquering here: my fear of snakes and riding a bike! HECK YEAH! :)

Until next time...

This is it folks.

I've done the going away party, I've packed and repacked my bags, said goodbye to a bunch of great friends and family. I'm really gonna miss everyone (especially my siblings and mama!) but I'm ready to go. (pic below is me and the rest of the siblings!)

I've been ready to go into the Peace Corps for awhile now and I'm really excited that the fun part is about to begin (although, months of filling out government paperwork might be considered fun to some people...?). I'm apprehensive about what will come, but am even more ridiculously excited about being able to live in a different country AND getting to help others help themselves. It really is the best of both worlds for me (travel + volunteering) and I truly feel like I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing.

Someone said the other night that I was really lucky to be able do this but I don't think luck played such a huge role. I realized that I made this work because I worked at it. I wanted to do this and although it took some years to make my dream a reality, I'm really proud that I made it through the process. Joining the Peace Corps is no walk in the park, make no mistake about that. I know its not their intention, but they put you through the ringer and you have to prove that you want it through emails, phone calls, and general harassment. I hope this is their way of saying "Oh you think it's tough dealing with the U.S. government beauracracy??? This is just a test for what to do when dealing with where you're going!"

I think I passed that test and I'm looking forward to being put through the ringer for the next 27 months!

In the meantime, I have this to say to you...

I love Philadelphia. One of my best friends went to school in Philly and I used to go up and visit her. From the Rocky statue to the river running next to the Art museum to the delicious cheesesteaks to the funky thrift shops to the BYOB policies at restaurants, Philadelphia is one cool city (in addition to the super-nice people and the uber-cool murals that adorn the sides of many buildings!).

So it was with great enthusiasm that I received my official staging information to arrive in Philadelphia on Tuesday, November 3 to report for PC duty! YAY!

So what's the awkward part to all of this? It just so happens that in my former life, I was a meeting planner (among other things) and last March I made a little field trip to Philly to...you guessed it, the exact hotel I'm staying at for staging.

Why is this awkward? Well, this particular hotel (Hotel A) was vying for my organization's business to hold a 300-person meeting and it was between them and Hotel B. Hotel B won because it was modern, well-priced and had some very beautiful views of the river. Hotel A was a bit run-down even though they had a huge renovation and their food was kinda terrible. The salesperson at Hotel A was really nice (albeit a little pushy) but now I'm kind of worried that I will run into him and...well i'm not sure what but I feel like it would just be kind of weird, wouldn't it?

Whatever, I'll be leaving for another country the next day so I guess it doesn't really matter huh?

Reasons Lucia is joining the Peace Corps:

10. I like to travel.

9. I like to meet new people.

8. I've always volunteered and can't imagine my life without it.

7. I want to travel, meet new people and volunteer with the "safety net" that the Peace Corps provides (i'm too chicken to just go off with a backpack and a pocketknife to survive).

6. I like being silly and laughing at myself (i'm told this is an important trait for survival in the Peace Corps)

5. I want to challenge myself to see the world in a different light (i.e. life without running water/electricity is not the end of the world. not all of Africa is a desolate wasteland like the news seems to portray).

4. I want to make a difference in the world (how ridiculously idealistic).

3. I don't mind if that difference is considered very small in the grand scheme of things. You never know how that small ripple can affect someone else in a big way.

2. I want to witness the universal humanity that resides in all of us but learn about the individual differences that make each culture unique.

1. They accepted me!!! (sorry i know that's really obvious but its true!)

I just realized that I received my invitation to serve exactly one year to the date that I received my nomination (Sept 11, 2008). Of course, I was originally slated to leave mid-Sept '09 (i.e. now!) but a little delay never caused any harm.

Here's a quick recap of the past year in preparation for my departure:

September '08

*Yay! Interview and then nomination to Africa for Sept '09!

*Boo, can't get rid of ex-boyfriend (my fault as well as his).

*Yay! Amsterdam (for fun) and France (for work)!

*Boo, my car gets hit and causes me all sorts of headaches

October '08

*Look for new place to live (boo)

*Get back together with ex-bf and decide to move in together in Nov.

*Go to Long Beach/L.A. for conference and realize I can't move in with said bf after seeing so many eligible, stable men

*Break up with boyfriend for good, thus giving me a year to get over it and go back to single life (YAY!)

*Delay the start of Peace Corps medical review due to work travel, car troubles, moving issues, etc.

November - December '08

*Move back in with mother to save money

*Yay, Obama wins! Party on U St. in DC.

*Go out a lot. Get mad at guys that hit on me. Decide I'm not ready to meet guys yet. Hang out at friends' places instead. Recover from bf.

*Holidays! Shopping, shopping, shopping.

*Work! Prepare for major conference in January in Seattle. Pissed that conference starts the day of Obama's inaguaration (i live right outside of DC) and i'll be on the other side of the country. Go figure!

*Start to feel anxious about delaying Peace Corps medical review and paralyze myself a bit.

*Start to feel better when I make Lasik (eye laser surgery) appointment for end of December.

January - March '09

*Problems with financing Lasik. Problems with insurance approving Lasik requirement that I get Kaiser doctor to approve. Go to eye doctor more times in one month than past 7 years combined.

*Go to Seattle for major work conference. Kick conference's ass. Enjoy fine Seattle cuisine/beverages. Go to Space Needle and realize its a heck of a lot smaller in person but the view is still pretty cool. Annoyed I am not able to get to local indie club and rock my flannel and ripped jeans.

*Get promotion at work to temporarily take over Exec Assistant job to the President. Very happy! More money = more beer & out-of-pocket medical co-pays

*Start the ball rolling on my exams. Miss lots of work due to various pockings/proddings. Lots of sitting and waiting for doctors. Start wondering if there will ever be a time when I will not sitting and waiting for various doctors.

*Start going out again to my fav dive bars, clubs and concerts. Enjoy myself immensely.

*Get Lasik! Yay I can actually see without glasses/contacts! World looks a little brighter.

*End of March: 85% done with medical review stuff

April - May '09

*Finish my medical review in mid-April. Make two massive 75-page copies and send originals to Peace Corps office with many prayers for safe receipt. Annoyed that the headquarters is a 7 minute walk from my office in DC and I am not allowed to drop it off (thus depriving me of $2 in stamps that could have been effectively used at happy hour).

*Wrap up working for the President. Fun yet stressful is how I would describe it. :)

*Dive back into old position. Start working on meeting in Miami with some co-workers.

*Get dental clearance in late April. Yay!

*Anxiously await word from Peace Corps medical office. No one heeds my silent petition.

*Go to Miami for short meeting. Enjoy the warmth even though DC had the exact same weather.

*Continue attending concerts in DC (my favorite activity).

June - July '09

*Hmmm...what's going on? Why haven't I heard anything? (Start to get anxious about not hearing from medical office)

*Start contacting everyone and their mother for information on my application. Get the run-around from the office saying its a busy time and to be patient.

*Medical office calls and says its too bad I didn't submit everything earlier because that is what's causing my delay. Apparently April is the busiest time of the year for them and if SOMEBODY had turned in their stuff in the winter, this wouldn't be a problem. Thanks Medical office, I had a couple things going on but fine, I'll wait.

*Early July - YAY! I'm medically cleared!!!!

*Finalize my last day with work. All set for leaving last day of July. All of August will be used for packing for September (or so I think...)

*Two weeks in July - NICARAGUA for vacation and to visit family (my mother is from there)!!! Have tons of fun. Visit lots of volcanoes. Drink lots of Flor de Caña (national rum). Get scared of the crazy Sandinistas and keep my opinions to myself (even though I'm pretty liberal). Thank the Good Lord that I'm able to speak my views in the U.S. without fear of government

reproach.

*Return to US in late July. Finish last day of work. Have amazing going away party at work (Led Zeppelin/Africa-themed!)

*Still no word from Peace Corps. Frustrated. Call the placement office a lot to let them know that I'm still here! Please place me!!!

August '09

*Go to NYC to visit Ground Zero...of Hipsters (aka Williamsburg, Brooklyn). Explore various museums, parks, dive bars, beers, bridges, Highline walk, neighborhoods, etc. Meet up with various friends from different parts of my life. Enjoy myself immensely.

*Home again. Start harassing Peace Corps again. Finally get a person on the phone. Doesn't look like September will work. NOOOOO!!!!

*Go to Camp Fantastic for a week to serve as counselor for kids with cancer for the 7th time. Wear pink wig and other costumes, ride motorcycle, meet Erik Estrada, go canoing, pet a goat, get a flower painted on my arm, wear a cowboy hat, get reprimanded by lady wearing Red Hat at farm for wanting more than one hot dog for dinner, hang out with two awesome 13/14 yr old girls, take lots of pictures with adorable children, gossip with other counselors and pack up kiddies on bus to go back to their lives.

*Speak again with Peace Corps placement officer while at camp. Am told my assignment has changed from doing health promotion to being an English teacher. Yay! That's awesome! Supposed to leave in late October.

*Return home. Obsessively check Peace Corps Wiki for more details on possible countries/dates of departure.

*Go to Virginia Beach with my mother to return a camper's luggage that was supposed to go to there and instead ended up in Bethesda, MD. We take the time to hit the beach after dropping off baggage. Crabs are devoured, beer is consumed, and body is sun-tanned. Stay with fellow counselor who takes me out for sushi. Good times had by all.

*Return home. My room is a disaster. I realize I have been travelling at least once a month since May. There are four different suitcases/travel bags strewn about. Laundry needs to be done. Still haven't heard official word from the Peace Corps and my frustration level has reached an all-time high!

September '09 (early)

*Really getting irritated with the Peace Corps. People keep asking me when I'm going to know my official placement. Takes a lot of effort to stay positive. Not sure if they still want me. Start looking into other options for my life as I am uncurrently unemployed from a stable job. Kick myself in the head for quitting when I didn't have to.

*Peace Corps calls! Sorry, no teaching for you (boo!) but how about doing health education for women and children? YAY!!! I was a women's studies major in college and work with kids with cancer - duh, this is right up my alley!!!

*Am told I need to start volunteering with HIV/AIDS outreach before departure. Okay, I sign up in DC and start two days a week. Pass out condoms and literature. Realize how crazy our health care system is when multiple people approach me about dental problems and if we offer any services. Have to turn them away because not only do we not offer it but if they don't have insurance, there is literally NOWHERE for them to go. Heart breaks a little...

*September 9 - Email arrives telling me that I have been placed!

*September 11 - Get official invitation from Peace Corps!!!! YAY Gambia! Yay Health and Community Development! YAY for finally starting my journey!

And that was my year in a nutshell.

My first blog post ever and I get to announce that I'm heading to The Gambia for my Peace Corps assignment!

Some quick facts about Gambia are found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambia

I'll be leaving November 2 from Philadelphia, PA. My official assignment will be as a Health and Community Development Extensionist (my focus will be on women and children's health education).

So there you have it! More to come