Dealing

There have been a lot of ups and downs these last couple weeks in the capital. My group and I had our in-service training, which made for some long days. Yet we worked hard during our training sessions, for we knew that once it was all over we would get to enjoy a nice Christmas break!

Christmas Eve was a lot of fun! The US Ambassador invited all the volunteers to his house for dinner. We also watched A Christmas Story on a large, inflatable screen. That made for a fun night. On Christmas morning we had a large breakfast at the transit house. Some of the volunteers worked hard to prepare it, and they did a wonderful job. We also had a gift exchange game that we played. Later in the afternoon some of us decided to go down to the beach. This I really enjoyed, for I never thought that I would be swimming in the ocean on Christmas day. We ended the day with an open mic night. For this event some of the volunteers prepared certain acts to perform for everyone else. Some played guitar, performed skits, or recited poetry. I decided to tell a story, which everyone seemed to enjoy. All this made for a wonderful Christmas in The Gambia.

Two days later I received bad news. I found out that my grandfather had passed away. This was hard to hear, and the fact that I was thousands of miles away made it all the more difficult. However, I received a tremendous amount of support from the other volunteers. I was really glad that they were around when I heard the news, rather than being alone in my village. There were other circumstances that I was thankful for as well. My grandfather was at his farm and had loved ones around him, he also went peacefully. I miss him, and I do kind of dislike that fact that he will not be there to welcome me home in a couple years. However, I believe he is in Heaven now, and I will get to share everything with him some day. I know he would want me to stay strong and keep on doing what I am doing here. So I will do just that.

Now I will be returning to my village soon, which I am actually really looking forward to. I will be able to get back to my routine and continue with my work. The last couple weeks have been very eventful, in both good and bad ways. It has left me feeling somewhat exhausted, but I do have a renewed focus and determination. The new year is upon us, and I intend to accomplish much throughout it.

Rest in Peace Grandpa, I love you very much!

It's That Time of Year

I find it hard to believe that I have been in The Gambia for over five months now. Time seems to go by so fast here.  Now the holiday season is upon us. I thought it would be difficult at first to be halfway around the world from my family when the holidays came around. However, this is not a new thing for me. When I was in the Marine Corps, there were times when I was not able to go home to see my family for Thanksgiving or Christmas. So being away seems much easier this time around. So here is how I spent some of the recent holidays.

For Halloween my original plan was to watch some scary movies and enjoy some of the candy that was sent from home. However, this plan fell through quickly because I was unable to charge my laptop to watch movies. So I ended up going to a place in the village to watch a football match. After returning to my house, I decided that the next best thing from watching scary movies was to read some scary stories. So I read some short stories by H.P. Lovecraft.

I also spent Thanksgiving Day in my village, which was uneventful to say the least. However, the real celebration was that Saturday in Basse. Some of the other volunteers came and we had our own Thanksgiving feast. We all prepared a dish to contribute. I teamed up with another volunteer and we made fruit salads. We first cut a watermelon in half and cut up the insides into chunks. Then we filled our now made watermelon bowls with oranges, apples, pineapple, bananas, and of course the watermelon chunks. Other prepared dishes included yams, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, dibbled eggs, fried okra, garlic bread, pasta salad, and corn. And for dessert we had no-bake cheesecake and peanut butter and chocolate pie. All of this along with the company of the other volunteers made for a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration!

My birthday also passed recently. Two volunteers from nearby villages rode their bikes in to celebrate it with me. My language partner was one of them and she surprised me with a poster that she made. It said “Happy First Gambian Birthday, Bakary!” and it had some of her artwork on it. The three of us made lunch and visited for a while. We also went to a nearby bitik and got some cold sodas. It was great having them both there for my birthday. I also received a call from my mother and father, wishing me a happy birthday. It was brief, but it felt great to hear from them.

Next up is Christmas, which I have no definite plans for at the moment. I will be in the capital with the group of volunteers that I came to The Gambia with. So I am sure that we will be putting together something spectacular to celebrate.

Not a day goes by where I do not think about my family and friends back home. Yet I cannot really say that I have had any feelings of homesickness. I think a lot of it is because of the other volunteers. In a way we have become our own family. We do things together and we look out for each other. They are wonderful people and it is great to celebrate holidays with them. I cannot wait until our next celebration together.

Happy Holidays Everyone!