It has been quite some time since I submitted a post on
here, which goes without saying. Lately I have been having a hard time finding
things to write about. At this point in my service, it seems like nothing
really comes as a surprise to my anymore. Everything around me just feels
normal now, and I have been able to call this place home. However, there have
been a few noteworthy moments that I do want to share, some good and some bad.
First off, I will start with some of the good things. I have
been able to make considerable progress on some of my projects that I have been
working on here. The library at my school has come a long way. The books have
been cataloged and neatly shelved according to genre and reading level and will
soon be ready for the students. I also collected letters from my 7th
and 8th grades students here that they wrote to their American pen pals.
I will be mailing them out once I return to the Capitol in the coming week. One
of my counterparts and I also held a Scout weekend campfire for our Scouts.
There we did various activities to promote teamwork, discipline, fitness, and
other life skills. They seemed to really enjoy it, as did I. Other exciting
things that happened recently were climbing to the top of a cellular tower,
eating a bush rat, diving into the Gambia river, watching Gambian wrestling,
encountering a warthog, and having one of my photos get chosen to be featured
in a publication at my college. (Shown below)
Now for the not so good part. Last month a fire broke out in my
village. It was a Sunday night and I had just finished eating dinner and was
getting ready to settle in for the night. Then I heard agonizing screams coming
from somewhere in my village. When I stepped outside my house I saw flames
coming from nearby. I quickly put on my shoes and headed in that direction. When I got there I saw a building was on fire and the villagers were in
a frenzy trying to get bowls and buckets of sand and water to try and put the
fire out. I jumped in as well trying to collect sand and water to contribute. I
also got a chain started with some teenagers and we were able to quickly pass
sand up to the people nearest the flames. After about an hour we were able to
get the fire under control. I walked back to my compound covered in dirt and
feeling exhausted. My host mother gave me a jug of water so I could wash up.
That night I had a hard time falling asleep. Even though I was physically
exhausted from the ordeal, my mind was flooded with too many unanswered
question. I was wondering, how did the fire start? Whose building was that? Was
anyone hurt? How much damage was done? The lack of information made it
difficult to sleep. The next morning I met up with one of the village elders to try and
get some answers. It turned out that it was a shop that caught fire when a gas
stove went haywire and took the building. Thankfully, no one lost their lives
that night. Also the fire did not spread to anyone’s homes. So that was a rough
night, but things have gone back to normal and adequate repairs have been done
on the building.
So that is a summary of the last few months. I will make a
conscious effort to post on here more regularly. I am a third of the way done
with my Peace Corps service, so I should have plenty of new and exciting
experiences to share along the way!
I also want to take this moment to thank a few people. I
first want to thank everyone who has sent me something, and you know who you
are. Your gifts has been a Godsend! Also I would like to thank the
students and staff at Saint Stephen School for their participation and
continued patience during our pen pal project. The letters from your Gambian pen
pals will be sent out soon! Lastly I would like to thank my mother and the
students and staff at North Branch Elementary School for their generous book donations.
They are a great addition to the school library here, and the teachers and
students are very happy to have them. Pictures to come soon! Thank you again
everyone and God bless!
