The far side of Ramadan

The past few days have been great, as we have been eating during the daytime as well as enjoying the cultural festivities that are Koriteh. I list them in that order because that’s the order of importance to my life. I guess it’s telling that the cultural stuff takes a back seat, but I feel it’s accurate, because it’s my life and not a vacation I am considering. It just makes for a slightly different perspective on events for me. Like today, I was hanging out around the house, trying to get some projects done and enjoying another day with breakfast and lunch out of doors, with the people. And then I decided I needed to go to the lumo (weekly market), to check for an adjustable wrench. So, I got on my bike, went to one of the biggest weekly markets in the country, and searched around for a while. It was late afternoon, hot but not as humid as it used to be, and pretty much an amazing experience. I didn’t find the wrench, there or in the subsequent “hardware stores” I visited, but I got something that will work for now, and had the kind of time that once motivated me to come to this continent.
On Friday, the first day of Koriteh, I went with some people from my compound to the big prayer event. I even put on the gloki ba (big shirt) I bought in Mali, which is similar enough to the “kafitano”s that the Gambians wear that I got away with it. It was a good thing to do, though it meant waiting in the mid day sun for about half an hour, something I usually avoid at all costs. And I stood up and knelt down when they were doing their prayers, and tried to be as inconspicuous as a six and a half foot, red-bearded white guy can be at a big Islamic event in West Africa.
That day we also took a lot of pictures. It was basically a free fire day for anyone who wanted to ask me to take a picture for them, and some wanted quite a few. I haven’t seen the pictures yet, as I haven’t gotten out my computer, but maybe I will check them out tomorrow and see if there are any worth posting.
Besides all that, I have been focused on eating and taking care of my house. Last week when I came back from the party at the island, I found that I had three new houseguests. Mice, termites, and biting ants. It has taken a week, nearly, but I think I have turned the battle on all three. Wax in the holes where the termites and ants enter, along with vigilance to clean up their messes and mine, has seemed to get them under control. The mice are the bigger problem, but I cut their number yesterday by one. I caught him under a running shoe and did him in, an experience that moved me more than I hoped it might, but in the end I justified as him or me. There is at least one more mouse, which kept me awake for a few hours in the middle of the night last night, perhaps in revenge for a fallen comrade. I hope to turn the corner this evening, and get uninterrupted sleep tonight. And some point soon I am going to put actual cement into the various holes that they have chewed in the “Gambian concrete” used to make my house. If you are wondering about the quotes, come visit me and we can crush the stuff with our earlobes.
Thanksgiving is rushing up to meet us, some of the volunteers are missing fall weather – though the drier air is sweet stuff to me, especially as it means cool nights and mornings; Sheets! – and I am getting that Christmas list ready to post. I hope some of you sent packages in the last few weeks, as mailrun is coming in ten days or so, and it’s now probably too late to get anything to me this month. That and I’m greedy.
Sometime soon I am going to post a list of all the great books I have been reading. It is getting to be a good list.
Love to you all, Zac