Salaamaleekum!

Hope all is well in the States. It’s april, should be rainy there right? Well we have another 2-months until we see even a dew drop.  Man I miss playing in the rain, splashing in puddles; this year I have rain boots!  It’s really hot here right now, it was 91 today and that was the coolest it’s been in a few weeks now.  From 2pm-5pm, I sit in tree eating ripe mangoes and writing in my journal and/or reading books.  It’s JUST too hot to do anything during the day.  People are starting to prepare their fields for the farming season which will last from june-october.

my new toubab baby

The health school just finished its 4^th month, completing Reproductive & Child Health month!  We even painted a whole health mural on the village clinic – it’s beautiful!  Now we move onto Environmental Sanitation, talking about open defecation in the bush, pit latrine maintenance/sanitation, waste water, trash dumping, etc.  It’ll be a dirty dirty topic but oh so necessary!  The last month will be on Malaria in June.  After that, I’ll have to make some more work. 

Time is flying by.

completed health mural in my village

i got a place in the mural! check out the pit hair haha

Every month for the rest of my time here, there is something planned.  I cannot believe in the blink of an eye that my time here will be finished, or will it be ;) I might try to stay here for some time.  I love the simple village life and can’t imagine my life otherwise right now.  A new group of Peace Corps health/environment came into the Gambia just this month, and I want to help them out with adjusting, learning language and creating work.  They spent the last 2-months training in Senegal, and are now officially Gambian volunteers!  With this group coming, it is not only a significant time for THEM, but also for me.  I remember this time last year I was doing the same thing as them – swearing into the United States Peace Corps, with my right hand raised, reciting lines that promise to promote peace and prosperity among Gambians in the hopes of progress and positive change (there’s a lot of P’s in that sentence).  It’s beautiful to take this time to reflect on the last year and look to my future.  I am very happy right now with my service I am just radiating energy.  All of those around me will feel these vibrations – it’s inevitable!

i wish i could look as fly as her! wedding day

I am in a significant time in my life right now, living abroad.  I now have a solid grasp of the Wolof language (well… I’m trying anyways).  I feel COMFORTABLE in my environment. I absolutely love my village and family – I have FRIENDS here and people to infect me with happiness.  I have meaningful work and hopes for more in the near future.  I feel like I am growing a lot, learning as much as possible in my Peace Corps experience.  This is also a personal experience.  I’m taking time to try new things, like crocheting, farming, etc.  I’m happy.

the village painter and a good friend of mine

Well I’ll keep this one short.  Just know, all is well on the smiling coast of West Africa.

Busy Busy is the Working Bee!

Salaamaleekum! Peace be upon you all.

Apologies for the time it takes to write these things.  There’s always much to be said, but when I sit down, I feel like a blog just can’t do this experience justice; but as I always say, I’ll try my best!

Updates:1. Geoff came and went.  Most visitors don’t stay more than 2-weeks – Geoff stayed for a month in West Africa.  Granted 2-weeks were spent travelling to Cape Verde, but there were 2-more awesome weeks spent in my village.  He’ll be the first to tell you that he fell in love with the slow, village life; it’s easy to do when your biggest worries are “I wonder if I’ll have diarrhea today”.  LOL!  Geoff cracked groundnuts, took bucket baths, explored the Gambian bush, and much much more.  OH YEAH, we had a wedding!  It was a playground wedding, filled with drummers and asobes (matching outfits with Geoff and my family).   It was an amazing learning experience to have a guest from America, for him and myself.  I hope it’s not the only time I’ll have a visitor.  I’ll post just a few pictures here:

Geoff running down the side of an ACTIVE VOLCANO!

On FOGO, one of the islands in Cape Verde off the coast of W. Africa



Wedding day matching tye-dye outfits! How Peace Corps lol



My Gambian family and our "asobe"s (matching outfits) for the wedding!



And you thought YOU get dirty on the dance floor!
Wolof women do it right.

"Malick Ceesay" dancing with my wife Jamma Ceesay!

The slow village life, cracking groundnuts - beautiful!



2. HEALTH SCHOOL is more than I could have ever imagined!  We are officially halfway complete, and the women are just getting warmed up.  This past month we focused on nutrition, filled with: weaning foods, cooking demonstrations, dramas, and fun activities.  This past month and next month are dedicated to RCH – Reproductive and Child Health.  March had 2-classes: the importance of RCH & female anatomy (see pictures below).  This next month (April), we are holding 2-more classes on RCH: pregnancy and menstruation & family planning.  In some villages, these would be considered “taboo” to teach, but the women have shown a great interest in these subjects, which make the lessons that much more wonderful.  Lastly, in two weeks, a few of my Peace Corps co-volunteers, as well as the women enrolled in the health school, will paint HEALTH MURALS on the hospital!  We got permission from the village leader to paint, so no need to hesitate.  I will post pictures later!



My host mom showing off her anatomy apron and model!



Teaching about exclusive breastfeeding!
It looks like I'm doing it haha!



weening foods cooking demonstration



"and here is the PENIS"
Anatomy lesson in a muslim country #score



RANDOM UPDATES:

      I got to watch my first Gambian tattoo be done by a woman in my village.  So allow me to explain!  The pictures below are somehow disturbing, but they’re for “cultural purposes” haha, or my sick infatuation with body alterations.  Anyhow, getting your gums (yes, in your mouth) tattooed is seen as a sign of beauty.  I don’t know when they chose that place, of all places, but it is done pretty regularly here.  The only other kind of “tattooing” that is done is called “fula scarring”.  FULA is a tribe here in the Gambia, but the scarring is done by all tribes.  I have done this type of tattooing (see picture below), and it is very common for Peace Corps Volunteers to get these done before they return to America.  Have a look!

she was a bleeder.





stayyyy still, squueeze my hand!

One of my family members doing a "touch-up" on her gum-tattoos

Well, that’s pretty much it.  I’ve been busy busy busy these past few months, with Geoff visiting, travelling, the health school and a few other side-projects.  The time is flying by too fast, which makes me want to stay longer; we’ll have to see if I’m allowed!  Oh, by the way, it’s officially the HOT SEASON.  This means I spend most of my afternoons sitting under a tree, usually doing one of the following: WRITING LETTERS HOME, learning wolof, reading, braiding hair/getting my hair braided, panting like a dog, sipping attaya and juice, and napping.  I would love love love some letters.  It seems people (including myself) have begun to slack off, but please remember that I really really look forward to handwritten love.  You don’t have to write about anything of importance, but write me darnit!  The address is somewhere on the side of this blog.



I miss you all, but I’ve made this place a second home.  I have a family here, friends, and meaningful work.  Peace Corps has been an amazing, life-changing experience for me, and I hope this blog has inspired some of you to go off and explore, have adventures of your own, even if into the woods of your backyard or into a local state park.  This earth was created for exploring and appreciating all the beauty it has to offer.  NOW GO!!

SA LIGEEY BI RAFET NA!

Salaamaleekum! I hope all is well, and each and every one of you rang in the New Year surrounded by positive energy, friends and family.  I missed celebrating the holidays with everyone back home, but this year was still spent in good company.Updates:
1. GEOFF IS COMING IN LIKE 20-SOMETHING DAYS!  I’m in “prepare” mode, cleaning everything, buying stuff, etc.  I’m so excited he is making this trip.  He also will visit my family in SC before he flies East to West Africa!  I will pick him up from the airport, here in Banjul, on February 3^rd.  I’ve been waiting for this moment since I got here.  It will be here before I know it.  It will be over before I can say “Hey, babe, I’ve missed you...”  It’s the way of the world.



Demba handing out health cards to the women! The whole village came out!

2.  The Bati Njol Health School for Women is in full swing!!  The opening ceremony was at the end of December.  The women danced, did some health dramas, ate plenty of food, drank attaya, milk & juice, and ate watermelon.  I just sat in a corner most of the time, trying to take it all in.  This was planned by the women of Bati, and I was witnessing a “Peace Corps Project” in full view.  As I blended into the wall, the women were laughing, joking, dancing, with not a negative vibe in the world.  For one afternoon they could forget about fetching water, cooking all day, wiping snotty noses, etc. etc. etc.  This day was a day to celebrate.  These women were elected by their families to spend the next 6-months learning about essential health topics.  We even took a class photo and the women were given their health cards with a huge self-portrait on each one.  

Enjoying Attaya at the party with the ladies!



Our class photo (I'm there, just taking the picture)..

I cannot even explain how beautiful it was!  At the end of the day, I was full of love & compassion for these women, and I couldn’t wait for the first class...

Grubbin on some local Wolof dish, called "benechin" meaning "one dish"

Dancing the day away.. CRAZY wolof women!

3.  We had our first class!  Of course I was a worry-wart before hand thinking “nobody will show up,” blah blah blah, spiraling pessimism.  I had reason to believe that nobody would come because all the men were telling me so.  On this day, a huge naming ceremony was going on – one of my family members had a baby the week before.  So, naturally, as I am setting up for class, everyone says, “Mariama, today is Ami’s naming ceremony, and it is sweet/nice.”  Some were saying “this ceremony is more important than learning/class.”  My blood was boiling!  This goes back to one of my first blogs about balancing culture and progress... it’s not easy DEH!

So after I say “yes, well, the women know class is today, and they can go to both the ceremony and class.”  Still, I got the ::psh, yeah right, toubab... we’ll see about that:: looks  Not to mention, I was working my butt off to set up so the first class would be ballin!  I told myself, “I’ve done ALL I possibly can, now I wait and see...”

2:30pm rolls around and I ring the village gong.  BONG. BONG. BONG. The men lazed around the Bantaba (meeting place) – their looks said ::we’ll see NOW how many women come::  I kept myself busy sweeping, hanging things up, pacing.



Demba teaching about preventing illnesses!

One woman shows, then a group of three, then ten more.  I collected their health cards, anxiously saying “THANK YOU for coming,” and I really, truly meant it.  I wanted to stick my tongue out to everyone who doubted me or these women!  39 out of 40 women came, and the 1 woman had a legit excuse; she was delivering a baby... wow.

The students learning about hand washing!



Jay Sowe receiving her kettle and soap!



Donated by Sally Reader of FR.O.G.S (google it)



The class went so well.  The teacher (Community Health Nurse), was so easy to follow and kept the enthusiasm high.  Once again, I sat, like one of the women in class, in awe of what was happening in that moment.  They were asking questions, engaging.  They were so excited to be there.  They’ve never been to school and now they were students in health school!  They also had activities and group works like learning how to hand wash, setting up hand washing stations, and making an oral rehydration drink for “runny tummies.”  At the end of class, each women (who represents each compound) was able to take home a brand new kettle and soap to set up a hand washing station.  You can imagine the smiles stretched wide across their faces.

This morning I was on my way to the next village on my bike.  A woman says to me, “Mariama!  Ah sa ligeey bi rafet na.”  This means “your work is beautiful.”  Then, she told me that this morning, her family all washed their hands before breakfast, and she put her hands together in a sign of appreciation and happiness.   I’d like to think I have a check on my ego, but I could feel it swelling up as I strolled away on my bike, a huge smile stretched across my face, saying “thank you... thank you Jainaba!”

THIS IS WHY I AM HERE. Aum. Peace. Amin.