Crayons + Rum = Magic

I was very productive while drinking, I made them all beautiful cards...

5 days left. I'm dreading the trip to Senegal. Hauling my drum around is going to be a pain in the a**.

bye bye sheep

My Tobaski outfit. Hard to walk up stairs in it, I did a lot more shuffling than usual.
Making french fries.
...blooood...Most people work really hard before Tobaski to get one sheep to sacrifice, Musa's house had four.

She was the one that clothed me.

Tobaski Time

Sorry for the TMI but this is all I can think about right now:

I will personally slaughter three rams today if Allah let's me poop soon.

My friend's mom had a formal Gambian outfit made for me so I can wear proper clothing on Tobaski. I didn't know she was doing that for me and I have no idea what to give her as a gift. And all the stores are closed today. Oops. I'm being picked up very soon so I can go to Musa's house and watch 4 sheep be slaughtered. Then I'm going to sit around and talk for many many hours and feel bad because I can't speak Wolof.

My outfit.

Let sorrowful longing dwell in your heart.

never give up, never lose hope.

Allah says, "The broken ones are my beloved."

Crush your heart. Be broken.

-Shaikh Abu Saeed Abil Kheir

Cookies.

Balti and me on the balcony at Wow, watching the President. At about 2:00 AM the presidential convey started driving down Senegambia. It took about 20 - 25 minutes for all the cars, vans, trucks, and hummers to pass. Even though it was so late the president still stood up out of his sunroof and threw entire boxes of cookies into the street. I'm sure the tourists were bemused. A guy almost got hit by a car running out into the street trying to get one of the packages. One of Musa's friends came into the club about 10 minutes later with a huge roll of vanilla cookies. They were actually pretty good.
The best 40 cent sandwich you will ever eat. Tapalapa, spicy beans, and noodles.

Abraham and Isaac

Friday is Tobaski, a Muslim holiday. In preparation for Friday most families are purchasing sheep, which means sheep with X's spraypainted on their backs are EVERYWHERE. They are being herded up and down Kairaba Ave. I'm going to be hearing a lot of screaming sheep in three days.

http://www.accessgambia.com/information/tobaski-feast-festival.html:

Tobaski Day - Sacrificial Feast
The public holiday is also known Eid Al Adha when families throughout the Gambia slaughter mostly sheep in ritual sacrifice. Tobaski is to commemorate Abrahams willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac, to God. It coincides with the end of the annual Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca.

"Every married man or head of household is expected to buy a sheep or other suitable animal such as a cow, goat or even chicken if they can. After the animal is slaughtered large portions of the meat should be given to the needy so that nobody misses out on the celebrations to follow. The rest of the meat is given as gifts to friends and relatives and the rest is reserved for the family. Indeed, the idea of sharing is the essence of feast.

What follows is essentially one nationwide massive barbecue and celebrations throughout the day. Gambians should wear their finest clothes and if possible brand new. You are also expected to do a thorough spring clean throughout your compound. You are expected at sometime during the day to visit your parents, other family members and friends."

Where I eat most of my meals. Sultan Sweet.
Aysha, my club buddy.

It's the African Boy Sickness

Lamin made us dinner! I didn't believe he actually cooked because he's a boy but I was wrong. He made beans, cassava, and fish.

Eating Gambian style.
My dinner.

you are my miss

I only have 14 days left in the Gambia. As Hatab would say "Sucks mannn."

But then I do get to see some of these peoples:

I'm going to miss a lot of things...

1. Beef shwarmas from Nada's Fast Food.

2. Being handed strangers' babies on public transportation.

3. Knowing people in the Senegambia craft market, taking home what I want even if I don't have money, and having them trust me enough to believe I'll pay later.

4. Having the Monkey Man give me ataya before and after work at Bijilo.

5. The ocean.

6. 20 cent taxi rides.

7. Walking into Sultan Sweet and not having to order because they already know I want a vegetarian pizza and a coke.

8. Watching bumsters have push-up competitions on the beach for the viewing pleasure of old tubabs.

9. Listening to A LOT of Busy Signal, Akon, and Vybz Kartel.

10. The fact that food is communal.

11. Benachin & wonjo juice.

12. Baby goats.

13. Seeing kingfishers, hornbills, and bee-eaters at work.

14. Watching monkeys wrassle.

15. Tormenting Christy with "bad" music choices/ Having her make me watch Lost.

16. Having it take half an hour to walk down one street because so many people know/recognize me and want to talk.

17. Climbing trees at Abuko when I can't find monkeys.

18. Listening to Christy and Lamin say "Sheezy Breeze" and "Umsicleeee."

19. The shrimp guys.

20. My ongoing battle with the night guards.

21. Looking at all the beautiful outfits on Fridays.

22. "Yangi kuul?" "Boi, Mangi kuul."

23. The community center school in Bakau.

24. Saying, "I'm not Peace Corps! I'm a biologist."

25. The students. My friends. Everyone.

what i'm listening to while i read about baboons and crop raiding:

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

Bob Dylan

It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
It don't matter, anyhow
An' it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If you don't know by now
When your rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and I'll be gone
You're the reason I'm trav'lin' on
Don't think twice, it's all right

It ain't no use in turnin' on your light, babe
That light I never knowed
An' it ain't no use in turnin' on your light, babe
I'm on the dark side of the road
Still I wish there was somethin' you would do or say
To try and make me change my mind and stay
We never did too much talkin' anyway
So don't think twice, it's all right

It ain't no use in callin' out my name, gal
Like you never did before
It ain't no use in callin' out my name, gal
I can't hear you any more
I'm a-thinkin' and a-wond'rin' all the way down the road
I once loved a woman, a child I'm told
I give her my heart but she wanted my soul
But don't think twice, it's all right

I'm walkin' down that long, lonesome road, babe
Where I'm bound, I can't tell
But goodbye's too good a word, gal
So I'll just say fare thee well
I ain't sayin' you treated me unkind
You could have done better but I don't mind
You just kinda wasted my precious time
But don't think twice, it's all right

the best hat ever.

"Bling Bling"

Africa has turned me into a G.

Ballin.

WWF

YAY! I got a package full of crossword puzzles. Jerrejeff Mom!

Yesterday, Christy and I walked into the WWF, World Wildlife Fund, office right next to our house and she basically said, 'We are highly trained biologists that don't want to go back to the States. What can we do.' She told the boss about our primate research and he talked about how they need people to do baboon censuses in Kiang West and work on the primate/human conflict out there. Then he said "Can we pay you?" UM YES please. And they are finalizing a mangrove project with the Ministry of Forestry that I would love to work on. Every day something wacky takes place and I don't have time to process it before something cooler happens.

Family Photos.

Double trouble.
Huzzah.
It's his juju baby.
We love Lamin.
Smoosh.
B*tch please.
La familia.

A little bit of sheezy breeze

The couple, the mom, the tubab, and the sister. (Lamin, Christy, Mrs. Sanyang, & Yai)
Hilarity.
Banjul soccer.
Reggae night at Pope John Paul II Parish Hall. Yes that is an aerosol can torch in front of the God mural.

Marcus Garvey

I finally saw a swallow tailed bee eater! I've been waiting so long to see one and yesterday during lab I saw a bunch diving in and out of a cabbage tree.

The soccer game on saturday was such a bizarre experience. I traveled with three guys to Banjul by bushtaxi and walked into a madhouse. There's no way I can really describe what goes on at a gambian soccer match, because I would get in trouble and because you really just have to be there. It was the final game so everyone was extra excited. When our team finally made a goal everyone rushed the field in the middle of the game to celebrate. We ended up winning and people started flooding the streets, shouting, dancing, jumping on moving cars. Everyone in the neighborhood was out all night partying. Musa made me eat dinner during all of this and bought a corn beef sandwich from one of the shops. It was tapalapa bread, mayo, and canned corn beef, but somehow it was one of the most delicious sandwiches I've ever had.

Lamin and Christy showed up in Banjul when everyone was outside celebrating the win and after an impromtu DJ booth had been setup. We all went down the road to the Pope John Paul II Parish Hall that had been turned into a temporary reggae night club. I was dancing on the stage and behind me there was a mural of a really mean looking white God looking down on all of his black followers. It was strange...

Yesterday night we went to meet Christy's fiance's family for the first time. She is a vegetarian atheist and when we asked our friend what we should bring her future mother-in-law they said to bring meat or a prayer scarf. I laughed for a very very long time.

Balah Balah Balah

We found this at Bijilo and don't know what it is!
Having fun at Abuko, I love carrying that recorder....
I don't remember if I put this picture up but it's the view from my apartment. Kanifing.

* Going to a soccer game in Banjul today. I'll probably be the only female there. And the only white person. This should be interesting.

* Christy: "For such a little person you eat an impressive amount of food."

I'm always hungry here. I need an IV of food straight to my stomach.

text from last night:

(847): so i am drinking whiskey and watching home alone 2 by myself. it turns out moving to a foreign country isn't all that different after all.

...aahhahaaaa...this may have happened to me too

You mean my visa doesn't renew itself?

Remember that time I went to bed at 6:30 AM and then got a phone call at 9:30 AM telling me to come to Banjul immediately because I had forgotten to renew my visa and the people at the State House wanted to see me in person. Gotta love traveling dehydrated in the blinding sun on three hours of sleep to go meet with official peoples. Poor Christy had to go with me because I've never been to Banjul before. It's all good though, I'm not getting kicked out.

Reggae night. The DJ on the left used to live in Wheaton! We talked about Georgia Ave.

I love that Reggae really does = Weed

Coming home at 5 AM, after five hours of dancing, to a cold lemon fanta in the fridge is the best thing in the entire world.

My Gambian name is Umi and Christy turned it into "Umsicle." I like it.

Gambian women are gorgeous. The end.

Pictures from Bob & Mary's visit

In the field
Class
Katchikali

uh huh uh huh; uh huh uh huh

Tried to get a tattoo last night and today. Yeah, I know it probably sounds like a horrible idea. And it was a horrible idea last night because Easy Time Tattoos consisted of a doctor's chair, a sheet hanging from the ceiling, a tray, and that's about it. Today we went to the tattoo shop in the tourist strip and the place looked straight until I started looking at picture's of the tattoos and I realized that they freehand all the tattoos; even though I had been told they have stencils. SOooooo then they told me that the girl who draws the tattoos on people left at 6 even though my appointment was at 9pm because she can't be out after dark..... It's just crazy. They also wanted to charge me a buttload so I'll probably just wait to get it at home not because I'm scared of African tattoos but because I'm cheap. Actually the place isn't sketchy at all, the woman is from Germany and splits her year between there and here. She did give me the name and place of an American embassy school that needs American teachers for kindergarten to 8th grade and I'm going to the school this week to check it out. I need a paying job.

this pic is terrible but really encompasses every aspect of our relationship.

lupa lupa lab

Garab

Goat in a tree! Tendaba
Me carrying a baby gambian style at Baro's compound
Giant tree at Tendaba

Phalanges!

Me shaking a croc's hand at Katchikali.

I went to Tendaba Camp for the weekend and loved it! Chirsty brought the UTG and SMCM students there so that they could do a butterfly mark and recapture lab, get field experience and just mingle. Tendaba Camp is upcountry in a village right on the water near Kiang National Park. The camp was beautiful with docks, gazebos, mangroves, mudskippers, golden orioles, starlings, and of course lupa lupas. Everyone got a swanky room with their own shower. And for one night I didn't have to sleep on the floor. I had such a great time with the UTG students- drinking ataya with them, listening to music, talking about religion as usual, watching a really terrible Nigerian movie...My favorite thing is that one of the guys high fives me now by shouting "PHALANGES!"

At night Christy, the Abuko guys, the UTG students, and I went on a walk in the bush at Kiang Park. It was so dark at night in the country so the stars were beautiful. A lot of the students hadn't walked in the bush at night before and were scared; one of them was even carrying around a log so he could defend himself from hyenas. We didn't see the animals because they heard us coming but we heard the hyenas calling and the guinea baboons throwing a fit. I think they were mad that we bothering them so they were SCREAMING. It was such a crazy sound to hear while you are standing in the dark. When we got back on the bus to go back to camp they all thanked Christy for the wonderful experience and said that they have been learning so much. <3>

A lot of the students would like us to stay and they told me that they are going to find me a job and a place to live = ) One boy even told me he's going to get me a goat.

Went to Senegambia last night with some people after we got back from the field trip. Hung out on the beach, went to Reggae night, stood in the ocean at 1 AM with all the stars out and thought about how awesome Africa is.

Hi Mary & Bob aka Maryama & Babukar

Mary and Bob (from Switzerland) are here visiting for work but Bob got to come drumming with us yesterday. -And Bob you caught on quite quickly. After drumming we went to Katchikali ("sacred place") Crocodile Pond where I got to pet and shake hands with a crocodile. People go to Katchikali to bathe in the water of the crocodile pond because they believe if women do this they will be blessed with a baby or if you are a man you will have success in your business.....I did not want to go anywhere near that water.

"A sacred pool in Gambia's tourist town of Bakau has become a major attraction for foreign visitors to the West African country. The pool, discovered hundreds of years ago by the natives of Bakau some 14km (8 miles) from the capital Banjul, is home to more than 100 crocodiles"

http://www.odyssei.com/travel-tips/3276.html

I told their driver, Baro, that they should try ataya so we went to his friend's compound along the coastal road and he brewed ataya on the roof. The stars were out. Of course he told me that his ataya was the best - he is a supporter of adding the sugar off of the heat. He added a lot of mint and it was really good. One of the women there had an adorable baby, Binta, and I asked if I could try carrying her gambian-style. You lean forward, put the baby on your upper back and tie a knot under the arms and under the butt. The babies here always look really happy and peaceful tied back there, and it WAS really comfy. Strollers seem ridiculous now.

yangi kuul?

Just hangin' around Abuko, hard at work.

woot

The best pizza in the Gambia. Made by Danielo.

Vampire monkey.

That's why I get it in 'til the sun rise

Yesterday, Christy continued to use the story that we were from Bhutan and I was dating the prince. Therefore my favorite part of last night was walking around Senegambia and having guys call me Princess.

We were very productive last night and went to

The Green Mamba (I cheered Christy on while she played pool.)

The Wild Monkey (Drumming & free vodka!)

Joanna's (French fries.)

and Wow (Dancing, DJ friend, dancing......)

^ Christy, Lamin & Me in Wow

At the Wild Monkey there were some guys drumming and doing traditional dances for the tourists. I really really wanted to drum so I walked up to the guys during a lull and they gave me a drum, showed me the beats, and then I played with them.
^ A really blurry picture of me learning the rhythm before everyone performed.

I just got free pistachio ice cream. YAY

Bhutan is for lovers

Creepy guys in the Gambia usually keep talking to us if they find out we are from the US. So Christy and I have started telling guys who yell out "Where are you from" that we are from Bhutan. More specifically, the royal mountain kingdom of Bhutan. They have no idea where or what Bhutan is, so it pretty much ends the conversation and it amuses me EVERY time. Chirsty and I have attempted to learn as much as possible about this country and everything we learn makes us want to go there even more. First of all, it looks like Rivendell (the elf city), it has snow leopards, it's pretty much untouched by the outside world, and the people draw 6 foot penises on their houses to keep evil spirits away. AND it's the Land of the Thunder Dragons.

We went to Happy Camp's Halloween party last night and Christy convinced a guy that we were visiting from Bhutan and that I was actually dating the prince but we were having problems at the moment because the king didn't approve of me. The guy got really upset and said something like "How can the king not like her!? She's very pretty!" I laughed. A lot.

Me, Musa, Hady, and some guy in my space invader headgear.
Me as a stegosaurus.