Meds

I have every malarone side effect possible. This has to be worse than actually having malaria. 

Curb Sitting

We got evicted last night. The husband of the lady I was renting from passed away. Then his family took her to court. The judge decided that all the property should go to her husband's family. Right after I got out of the shower last night, about 10 men showed up, one in super police regalia. They told us to pack our stuff immediately because the woman no longer owned the houses in the compound. Some of her family members came over right away and they started carting out her clothes and kitchen items in wheelbarrows. All the women were crying. My friend and I packed our things and sat on the curb for hours with the other renters, waiting to see if we would get our money back, salt in the wound for her, but now I need to find another place to stay. An uncle came to pick us up after a couple of hours, and we stayed the night in his house. They are doing construction though, so the room consisted of a mattress and a mosquito net. Still no power. Brought my stuff to my friends house at 7:30am this morning.  Probably coming home early because of all this craziness. 

NORMAL: The recurring theme to my life here is that it's really hot and there's no electricity. 

SCARY: I experienced my first Gambian thunderstorm. It was one of the most terrifying things I've ever had to sit through. I've never seen lightning so bright or heard thunder that loud. The thunder explosions were so loud I actually had to cover my ears. The next morning my friend told me he buried himself under the pillows. "Thunder buddies for life." 

SCARIER: I went to a club that played only Jamaican dancehall, essentially I entered the birthplace of twerking. The girls were either naked or wearing full length glitzed out prom dresses. Overwhelming for many reasons.

GREAT: I went to the market with my friends and bought a mean looking fish with teeth so that they could teach me how to cook. We bought 4 cups of rice, vinegar, a portion of mustard, salt, pepper, tomatoes, onions, three fish, red peppers, and some MSG based flavor enhancer, all for less than $4. Made an awesome fried fish, stew type thing.

ALSO GREAT: People giving you food and drink even when you don't have money on you because they trust you'll come back to pay.

I'm writing this in the dark, hoping that I can post it tomorrow. So to pass the time while I sweat off my remaining body fat, here's a list of good things that have happened so far: 

- finding laughing cow type cheeses in the shops for 5D (10 cents?) a triangle. 

- reconnecting with people I never thought I'd see again 

- having a mango tree in my yard

- mango season

- $3 pizzas 

- the monkeys are cooperating 

- chicken & egg printed fabric 

- when there is power, Arabic TV = hilarious 

- finding books in random places

- finally reading In Cold Blood

- strangers letting me borrow their cellphones 

- goats 

- playing pool and not being the worst player

- seeing hornbills aka Zazu everyday 

- MTV Arabia. Yup. 

Work

Grooooom me!

Life Experience You Only Want to Have Once

You spend your free time washing your clothes in a bucket, hang them up on the clothes line, and then come back the next day to find that a bird pooped all over your clothes. 

There is no electricity = no fans = melting & Mosquitos = no sleep 

Like rolling blackout lack of electricity. Everywhere. For days. Everything is running on generators.

The only thing that's changed is that instead of 25 dalasi to $1, it's now 38 to $1. And everything is 2 dalasis more expensive. 

Bah the infamous WWF

    Tomorrow I get on a plane and head back to The Gambia for the first time in three years. While it's hard to travel solo to a country you've never visited before, I think it's just as complicated to revisit a place you love so much and haven't seen in a long time. Not visiting Maryland for a while is much different than being away from a developing country for years. I'm worried I won't remember how to get around, or recognize where I am, or that people I've thought about for a long time won't recognize me. Although I'm scared that the country itself won't live up to the mythology that I've created in my head, I get to spend three weeks with my amazing friends...and some kickass wildlife.