Adventures in Living

how Bing travel search lies

2010-03-07T17:05:00.002-05:00

So, I was just trying to buy airplane tickets to fly to England for spring break, and thought to use Bing.com, having read an article about how they are trying to beat Google in certain types of searches as a way to get a toehold on greater market share. Really, they are competing with Kayak and other meta-flight search websites. And Bing's functionality seemed to be better, easily filterable and a pretty good interface. But, the first time I used it, the flight I wanted to buy was unavailable - and I had to search for it all over again once Bing referred me to Orbitz or wherever to make the purchase. How stupid is that? Bing has all the flight details, date, number of passengers, etc, but they refer me to the beginning of the search so I can put all that in again by hand? And then, when I do that, the flight doesn't exist? Crappy user experience, but something I can let slide if it happens once.

So, when I went back to look at flights again today, I gave Bing another shot. I should have thought: "fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice, .... won't get fooled again" like our most recent former president. Same problems with flights not existing, after getting great prices for them from Bing. And they still aren't referring me to the actual location on websites where I can find that info, I have to put it all in again. So, I will be avoiding Bing like I do most Microsoft products, and for pretty much the same reasons - inferior quality with too much marketing shine.

I guess you could be mad about this

2009-03-02T11:25:00.002-05:00

So, the economy is cratering. And banks seem to be mostly to blame. This piece helped me understand a little more about credit default swaps, and why we keep sinking money into AIG. Also, Planet Money is a good, ongoing resource - and I found the above link here. I figure it's better to understand some of this, that way we can know if things ever start to look less bleak.

Yay!

Colin Powell is still an American Statesman

2008-10-20T11:55:00.003-04:00

Listening to Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama for president reminded me of why I felt so badly about how the Bush administration abused this national hero, and how I hope there will be a chance for him to redeem his record on the world stage.

In my opinion the most important part of what he said was about the suggestions that Obama is a Muslim:

"He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America," Powell said. "Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?"

How did our country, founded on the idea of religious freedom, come so far down this path of hatred and xenophobia? I had never thought the word Islamophobia before this weekend, but that's a symptom of our current sickness. Our country has big, serious problems, and we have allowed ourselves to be distracted from them with fear and selfishness. I could write about it for hours, but really I just wanted to express some small joy about what Colin Powell said, and hope that it doesn't slip past our collective attention as just another part of this far too long election process.

For a much better written essay on the same point, Abed Z. Bhuyan wrote one.

Hate

2008-09-05T08:17:00.003-04:00

I know I haven't posted in a long time, and no one checks here anymore, but I found this essay valuable, and thought that I'd link to it. It talks about a part of the American democratic process that I also find disturbing.

The empire is at an end, may we please shift to being a good citizen without collapse and chaos?

Also, this is hilarious.

I'm a geek and I find this funny

2007-12-22T14:39:00.000-05:00

Just found this xkcd website, and it's great

Back again

2007-12-19T18:40:00.000-05:00

So I've been away from the blogging thing for a long while. Since coming back to the U.S, it hasn't really been on my "list of things to do". It's occasionally been on the "list of things I should do", but mostly on the "list of things to ignore". That list gets very long here at times.

To catch up with everything I've been doing, check out Sarah. She's been good, maybe because she's the one away from her home and I'm the one back in familiar places, feeling like everything I do is familiar to the point of contempt for anyone reading. But, I still feel like I should write about stuff.

This is the stuff I find interesting about my life now: issues in America. Our country has so many problems, so many things that make me abuse all around me with rants - and I think it's almost entirely because we could be doing so much better. I almost went all caps there for a moment.

I love the U.S. of A. I love the potential of this country. But I am enraged by so much of what goes on here, what passes for "normal".

Until next time,

This is just cool

2007-09-13T18:37:00.000-04:00

Very good water filter bottle for cleaning any water. The British military already bought all of them.

Buscando España

2007-09-13T13:29:00.001-04:00

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral

Somehow the visiting of foreign places makes the here and now a little more dull when I return, even if the "here and now" is itself foreign to me. I guess every place is less foreign when you return to it, perhaps by definition. In any case, I loved the food, the language, the lifestyle, the weather and most of all the people of Spain. Even packed into six days of zooming around.

We arrived in Santiago de Compostela a week ago today, less hard working than most of the pilgrims who visit this purported burial place of Saint James. I could never quite work out the name Santiago until Miguel broke it down for me - and gave a bit of a push to connect Iago with James. In any case, a stunning town/city full of history and beautiful architecture to go along with all the pilgrims. I would love to do one of the journeys - ideally from the Pyrenees, by bicycle - at some point. English people don't seem to visit the north of Spain nearly so much as the south, but I found it
wonderful, not so hot and full-to-bursting with great food. I'm not the first to "discover" it, but it was almost perfect enough to believe I was.

After that first day, we spent a couple of days exploring the Galician coastline both north and south of A Coruña, swimming at great beaches, eating ridiculously good food (my friend Polly would have called it repulsive, disgusting, or nauseating, it was so good), and generally enjoying ourselves too much. Over the weekend we went down to the area where Miguel's wife Rosa grew up, where her family still lives. It's beautiful seaside fishing and farming villages, framed by small but spectacular hills and filled with lovely Spanish people. I'm gushing so much I've used the hated expression "lovely" to describe someone. Thank heaven I'm returning to the US next week, my American vocabulary is nearly dead.

We spent a last day in town, seeing the sights and, one last time, eating an incapacitating amount of food, this time with Miguel's family at a little place they have in the hills above town. Some obscene amount of grilled meat(>3kg for seven people), all locally raised and organic so that the colon cancer will be slower. I love Spain.

p.s. Does anybody know of a way to link from the web to Google Earth? I wanted to give locations of the beaches and whatnot, but can't be bothered to play with it more than superficially. If not, can you contact Google and have them get on this? I mean, I figure they already have a ridiculous amount about me in those databases...

Walking in the Lake District

2007-08-30T13:49:00.001-04:00

Red Screes to the East
Originally uploaded by zacshepherd

I have just returned from another trip north to Lancaster, which included a few nights of partying with Sarah's friends and a few days of walking in the lakes. We also went walking a few times on a first trip, including the trip up Red Screes where I took this shot. I put a few more photos from England, plus some of the end of my time in Gambia up on the flickr site.

Besides going to Lancaster, I've been busy with odd projects, plus a bit of going around and meeting Sarah's people. We've managed to see a couple of friends from The Gambia, plus a lot of her family. We are staying in a tent in the garden of her sister Rachel's house. At least there is running water inside the house.

I've also been getting back into geek mode - I spent a bunch of time last week re-installing operating systems and getting broadband working at Rachel's, which makes it possible for me to geek out just that much more. Something tells me I should think about doing this professionally again, even if just to get restarted in our wonderful money economy.

I'm flying to the US on September 20th, so I hope to be able to catch up with people after that.

While I'm in England

2007-08-01T12:03:00.000-04:00

Here I am in Lancaster, enjoying the cold weather and rain - to be honest it's barely rained in three days, but I've seen plenty - and the wonderful variety of food. I miss many things about Gambia, and I know I will be for a long time, but one thing I am loving in particular is getting back in touch with the wonderful thing that broadband internet access is. Ah, to surf again.

And while I'm surfing, and generally catching up with the vast and varied media of our society, I've been paying attention to one of my favorite sporting events, the Tour de France. And, for the second year in a row, it's fallen badly under the shadow of doping, performance enhancers and generally unclean behavior. And while I hate that it's happening the way that it is, and can't wait for it to be a clean sport, I just saw an article that put it into perspective a bit. Jemele Hill writes about how American sports could never survive the scrutiny that professional cyclists undergo. I love the NFL, but...

The newest way I know I'm not in Africa anymore: I'm surfing both the internet and the t.v. channels at the same time. And I still have the attention span of a juvenile gnat.

Our Last Dinner Together

2007-07-22T11:00:00.001-04:00

Our Last Dinner Together
Originally uploaded by zacshepherd

So now I'm in England, with broadband internet and reliable power. And I don't have a laptop to make use of it all. Soon enough, I suppose, I'll forget all about these problems and wish for the simplicity of the "good old days". Until then, I'm in an in-between, living-out-of-a-bag sort of life. But I'm okay with that.

My group got together one last time, and Sarah took a great picture. A whole gang of miscreants, missing a third of our number for one reason or another. I'll miss these guys, and those times. C'est la vie.

End of this adventure

2007-07-11T09:53:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow morning I leave for England. We are travelling overland to Dakar, departing first thing in the morning and then flying from there at eleven p.m.

I have a lot to write and pictures and it all, but life is just too crazy and the Peace Corps installed a new computer system that has screwed up all of my tools. So, a brief farewell post and then I hope to send updates from the UK.

It's been an amazing thing, this two year process. Life rolls along, change and hopefully learning happen. What else?

Love to everyone,
Zac

Looking around

2007-05-19T14:23:00.000-04:00

After all this time here, where in some ways life seems slower, it now completely feels to be rushing. Not that time hasn't flown by, but now things are changing and I need to be more active in choosing the direction of my own life again. As all of that dawns on me, how I have to go back to what I probably used to consider a normal amount of decision making, I also realize that my chances to look around this crazy place where I live are not for long, that opportunity is ending.

And, as I struggle to write, I understand that there are trade-offs for all these things. I miss reading the New York Times now. In four months or whenever, I will miss the endless greetings that are the start of every day in Fara Fenni. It's my favorite part of the day - the early time, before the heat is too oppresive, before everyone is fully awake and into their day. I even want to get up early so that I have plenty of time to take a couple of buckets to the water tap. I greet the women, some as they wait around the tap for their own buckets to have a chance to fill, some as they sweep the compound or do whatever they are busy doing. I also sweep my hut, and often clean my solar panel. Sometimes I carry water for the women, or do some washing if I have a few things. The most important part is just checking in with everyone, asking if they had a peaceful night, if they slept well. Questions that we might ask back home, but not of every person we saw in the morning. The simple routines, the daily beauty of this life, that's what I will miss the most.

I put up a few new pictures (from Amy's trip) on the flickr page. Hope everyone is well and having good adventures of their own...

Language test, airplane tickets, taxes

2007-05-07T07:28:00.000-04:00

Signs that I'm leaving here soon. Departure seems to be the big theme of my life, as I bid farewell to friends who have left just now (I think I've taken on some of the Gambian sense of time, meaning that "now" means the time from the recent past into the near future, with those recent and near adjectives being extremely flexible), and prepare for what's next.

And even though I'd have to deal with my yearly IRS burden if I weren't leaving, somehow it reminds me of the awful relative complexity of life in the US, as compared to this life here. And, all of my efforts of late have been down here in Kombo, which is not the simple thing that life in Fara Fenni is. Hrmmm...

I have put up a couple of pictures, and intend to put up a few more just as soon as I remember to bring my flash drive with me. I'm a forgetful geek today.

The language test consisted of a half hour conversation in Mandinka with one of the instructors and a tape recorder. Sort of fun, except for the ongoing voice in the back of my head saying that I should be serious and all that as it was my final evaluation. But, it's there, completed and on record. If I'm happy with my score, maybe I'll report it. So that all future employers can know of my precise proficiency in a language of which they've never heard.

Goodbyes

2007-05-03T10:02:00.000-04:00

So my last guest has gone - Amy caught a flight on Tuesday night, and as far as I know is now back in Chicago. I know I promised pictures from her trip and particularly Makasutu, and I have them, but they aren't resized so uploading them is a bear. I'm putting up one that in some way symbolizing a lot of what Amy talked about when she was here, and perhaps my mother as well...

Two of my best friends here are departing today, one after three years of service. And my close of service conference starts on Monday. The group of people I arrived and trained with are going down the coast to Kartong for the weekend to begin the end. I guess it's a bit sad, but it seems so long, the whole process, that I don't really feel much at the moment.

We get to stay in a nice hotel for the conference, so I'll not complain...

stop the worry

2007-04-30T17:26:00.000-04:00

Amy has found a ticket that saves her having to swim home - for a reasonable price. All achieved with the magic of skype. And a good 24 hours of worrying back and forth how to get it done. So, there's that.

We spent the day at beautiful Makasutu, a nature reserve to which we won tickets in a raffle where Sarah's friend (also called Sarah) paid for the tickets with dalasi she was leaving behind here. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Must go drink beer now. And eat.

Oh Africa

2007-04-29T11:17:00.000-04:00

My great friend Amy has been visiting me for the last almost three weeks, ever since I got up from my sickness. Which I realize I've never written about here, but I'll get to that later. Anyway, Amy came for three weeks and she leaves on Tuesday. And she just found out that her flight has been postponed
for about 14 hours, so that she will likely miss the connection in Barcelona which she bought separately. When she realized the implications of all of this, she turned to me and said,
"Oh, Africa."

It's quite apt, telling about so much of both her three week trip and my two years here. So much of the experiences are unique and memorable because of the chaos, the diversity, and the utter unpredictability of almost everything here. We've been having a great time, mostly playing with and off of that theme.

Today we went to Serekunda market, probably the busiest in the country, to shop for fabric in order for Amy and Sarah to have wrapper skirts made. The best way to buy fabric there is to hunt through the piles of small pieces of fabric that are outside of the shops, instead of the big pieces on sale inside, which they usually won't cut from the standard six meter lengths. So, Amy and Sarah demonstrated womankind's worldwide capacity to shop for much longer than mankind feels physically capable of,
and dove into countless piles of fabric in order to each buy more than twice as much as they came to buy. Good times.

After that we went to a tailor that a friend recommended, and the end result is that Amy is taking home a small pile of skirts for less than $5 each, hopefully some of which will be in a style that works in Chicago this summer.

So, the sick thing. My last post was from Dakar, where I went to have my arm looked at when it was all a mess. When I got back, I had been running nice high fevers for a few days and only marginally conscious most of the time. I went to the nurse, she gave me some ibuprofen and told me to return on Monday. I spent the weekend soaking the sheets of my bed and taking lots of the ibuprofen, having the worst headaches of me life, and when I went back on Monday morning they wouldn't let me leave again - the other nurse saw me and realized it was bad, I guess. I spent the next week in bed, lost about 15 pounds, and generally wasn't much fun. Sarah came down to help, get me food and make sure I took all the pills they were pumping into me. They never did come to a conclusive diagnosis, I was treated for malaria even though three blood tests came back negative (I take mephloquin as a prophyalaxis and it tends to hide malaria in samples, and the clinic here is known to return all negative results some days or weeks), and tested for mononucleosis, but the one nurse thought it was dengue fever. Which I guess my symptoms lined up with the most closely. In any case, I got up out of bed and went to Fara Fenni, but then stayed in my house for a week except to eat lunch and dinner. Then I came back down to the coast and slept for a few more days before Amy showed up. It was about three weeks of next to no activity, but now I'm getting stronger, and have been doing a bit of bombing around with Amy, so I think I'm definitely getting well. Somehow slowly.

The arm that was falling off the bone is now basically back into the shape of a muscle, albeit one that is smaller than before and with a bit of a funky look to it. Hopefully some yoga and good food will put it to right, whenever I can get those.

Upcountry these days is hot. Hot like a hairdryer in the face. Hot like hoofprints in the road as it melts back into liquid tar. Hot like the water in a bottle is closer to tea. Which we still boil water for and drink, even though it's hot as it is. I guess we're just idiots. The mornings are still cool most days, and the humidity is still low, so I'm not miserable yet, but it's been hard work for Amy I think. Sarah had guests come just before Amy arrived, they had a three day overlap and perhaps got Amy a bit scared (after our people in America had done the same) about the heat. When they went upcountry, they got swollen ankles and heat exhaustion for a few days, just enough to feel like they'd been tested and tell stories about how hot it is. In any case, we had more than a week of it, and she survived just fine. Even if the occasional curse slipped from our lips when we had to walk anywhere during the daytime. Now, back down on the coast, there was some moaning about how cool the wind was yesterday as we sat by the ocean. It can never be perfect, I suppose.

So, life here continues, even as it starts to feel that the end has arrived. Two months from now I will probably be back down in Kombo, wrapping up my paperwork and saying last goodbyes. It seems so short. And so long, so full of events and learning. It's always Africa, always its own place with its own rules and ways of going along. Oh, Africa.

Politics

2007-03-17T07:39:00.000-04:00

I'm here in Dakar, on medical hold without too much to do as it's the weekend, so I'm reading a lot - currently working through A Prayer for Owen Meany, and also catching up a bit on the news. Things like this make me think that we haven't changed at all from everything that John Irving was ranting about in the 1980's. But, maybe it's naive to expect any change.

Ah, well, it's nice to be away from the U.S. while all of the nonsense of the current administration goes on and comes to light.

I'll try to put up pictures and not get worked up about things beyond my control next time. Until then...

Dakar, again

2007-03-15T15:03:00.000-04:00

So, I'm back in Dakar.

Peace Corps flew me up here today - I was medevac'd(!) - so that the doctor here can examine my arm, which may have a ruptured tendon on the short head of the bicep. It's a long story that I don't find interesting, so I'll not write about it, except that there is some internal swelling which has pressed against the nerve so there isn't much pain, and as an extra bonus, there are numb sections of the forearm. I suppose I'm in some sort of denial or I don't know what, but the whole thing seems a bit run of the mill and not so exciting.

In other news, the weather is rather confused these days. Fara Fenni is getting warm warm during the days, but some nights are still deliciously cool, and it seems to be just the same thing again - I know I miss the four seasons, but a part of me is adjusted to the fluctuations here and I don't seem to mind. Yet. It's still all dry heat, so I'm happy. And on the coast, it's gotten colder. Colder. Africa has upset my internal thermostat, as I'm now sitting with a long sleeve shirt on over a t-shirt, and was actually cold walking around Dakar earlier.

As you can see, things don't feel very exciting at the moment. I find myself watching things a little more closely as the sense of time drawing short develops, but it's still four or so months away, and I want to be present for that time. Not in Dakar with something out of place in my arm. Life, it's good at providing challenges on its own time.

The college basketball tournament started. I know it would be exciting if I could watch some of it, but I had forgotten about the whole thing until I saw the headlines. Ah, America.

photos and posts

2007-03-05T10:48:00.000-05:00

A monday in Kombo - I came down to try to look down the road at life after Peace Corps a bit, and to get some rest. I'm getting a bit run down and having trouble with fibromyalgia and just generally trying to pull it together for the stretch run, as it's starting to feel around here. The heat is coming back, work plows on with highlights and struggles, and life continues.

I have put some photos up on the flickr site, so check there, and also posted little blurbs I wrote the last two times I've thought I was going to be able to use the internet.

Maybe I'll get to write again when my mood is a bit brighter. Cheers to all,

attempt two

2007-03-04T10:46:00.000-05:00

Now I’m at ILink, one of the premier internet cafes in the Kombos and by extension, the country. There is no internet connection. The one person working seems to be trying to get it working, which may be more than his counterpart in Fara Fenni would have once done – that business seems to have closed down in the last couple of months – but still no connection. Ah well, it’s not home and I don’t expect it to be. But, I’d love to see email, see what’s going on with a few little things, to what I can be looking forward.

Maybe I’ll try to go to the office and see if there is a connection there….

[which there was, but the office was busy and I didn't get to blog or do much besides see what email I'd recieved]

Today at the high school.

2007-02-27T11:09:00.000-05:00

Still working to try to get the internet back at the high school - Gamtel goes away, then I'm never sure if we should be able to connect again or what. We often get the error message "error 678 remote computer did not respond." but I don't know if that's a problem here or along the way or with the Quantum Net servers in Kombo. So, we stumble along blindly.

Yesterday I went to Kaur to visit a friend who is building a house in a nearby village. It's a great project, one of the things that I thought I'd be doing here, and I was excited to help out. I'm hoping to have some pictures ready to put up if I ever get an internet connection again. Fun with dirt, mud, and sweat.

In Kombo, doing business

2007-02-12T06:53:00.001-05:00

I'm in Kombo for the day, got up before five this morning so that I could be at Barra for seven AM first ferry - missed it as the crowd was huge waiting and pushing and being generally very bad at queueing. I commended Sarah on the English being the world's best queuers, which she accepted gracefully. I've never even been to England. Why couldn't they teach the Gambians to queue better, she wondered? If there was anything they should have taken from their former colonial oppressors, it was skill at efficiently lining up and moving through choke points. But, alas.

I put up a post that I wrote last week, so there's that to read. Life is good, busy with work and doing projects - I now have a reading light over my bed and soon hope to have an outdoor light to go with it. Such fun in paradise!

Off to Dakar again on Friday, for the West African Invitation Softball Tournament and one more tour around the Paris of Africa. Should be fun, hope to get online again from there.

a new one

2007-02-06T21:45:00.000-05:00

As I sat outside, after dinner in the quiet of a simple evening, I thought about what I wanted to write. The old man of the compound - the head by virtue of his being the only man past his school years, and one of my favorite Gambians - sat down next to me, talking about how the cool part of the year has already passed, and the heat is back. I agreed, not that it's actually hot yet, but it's what one does about the heat here. He told me about his trip home today - he'd been visiting relatives in Kiang, where someone had died. He got on a vehicle at 3:30 this morning to get to the paved road there, which is paved in name only, and spent about seven and a half hours getting the sixty or seventy kilometers to Soma, before crossing the river and getting back. Mostly I just thought how glad I am that it wasn't me.

When I leave this place, which sometimes doesn't seem to be coming soon enough, I know I will miss the simplicity. The absurdity, the hassle and the frustration will fade, but I can almost feel already the longing that I'll one day have for the simplicity of this life. Ah, well, hopefully complexity and not having time to just sit in stillness, hopefully the trade off is worth it.

Coming back from all of my adventures, all of the excitement has been a challenge. Since Ramadan I don't know how many times I've posted, but it's fewer than I'd like, and fewer than I hope to put up this month. I've loved the madness - bouncing around, having my parents visit and see my life, seeing this country from the perspective of a white person with enough money to solve some of the annoyances (which, of course, caused all new annoyances), and watching the entire caper come off brilliantly, words will never describe how great it was.

And then, I had what felt like a single day and night before disappearing again - off to a place that wasn't Africa for the first time since coming here. And not just any place, but JFK airport. Many times I thought about how it would feel to arrive in the US again - it just felt like JFK. Same comfortless industrial carpet with the same chewing gum ground into it, same airplane fatigue and ugh feeling about baggage claim. I enjoy being in foreign airports where I have to decipher how they work. JFK is almost comforting in its lack of enjoyability. There must be irony there.

America... two weeks I think. A blur without snow, but a tank full of family and friends and beer and chex mix and all the good wonderfulness of home. Like a crazy drug high, and then I'm suddenly leaving. The trip back here was amazing - drive to Buffalo, go out to dinner with Jon and Liz and Polly and Kenny and my mom and Toby and four Dutch women who showed up to visit him. Then get up early, go to the airport with Mom, fly to NYC and hang out with my sister for a few hours. In a random neighborhood in Queens that she read about somewhere. Fun. Then fly to Chicago, and on to Paris, arriving in the morning. Call Perrine, arrange to meet her, run into some security situation that prevented me from going to the train terminal, figure out my way around that - I really need to learn French, I realize along about then - have lunch with Perrine, get excellent directions to her parents' house along with ideas for how to spend the rest of the day. Follow her plan almost to the letter, really enjoy myself, and wind up the day having dinner with the Jegous, happy and in love with the serendipity of life. Get up in the morning, fly to Frankfurt, and then to Banjul - where the badness happens and I forget my iPod on the plane. Only realize this the next morning. I have a clear picture in my head of the pillow I glanced at, thinking I should check under it, and not for some reason. Bye bye, iPod, I appreciated you many many times. Hopefully somebody else does now.

Since then, I had a four day trip to the Chimpanzee Rehabilitation project in Baboon Island to fill in as host - a great treat to be invited and a fun few days of hanging out with guests there. And then my brother came to visit. The hits just keep on coming. It was a complete blast, he rolled with every little African thing, we ran around like we seem to always do, without much of a plan or a clue, and it was ridiculous fun. He got my little host sister to teach him Mandinka, fetched water and swept for me, got all excited about eating rice (for at least the first six or seven times in a row), and generally was wonderfully positive and just easy to have here. Then we biked around for nine days, got up to Basse and back - along the south bank including another visit to Baboon Island and a rough day riding through the heat and remnants of that road. God it was fun. And Toby learned enough Mandinka to get through greetings and get his name out at the appropriate time, which everyone thought was pretty rad.

It's been an amazing time. My family, I knew I missed them, but it's only now that I realize how much, and why. They are a lot of fun, thoughtful, flexible and ready to have adventures. I am very lucky, especially to have had two visits and all of this fun. And now that I'm back on my own, I get to figure it out again. How to be here, feel okay, have a rudder and a tiller and a chance to stay upright. At the moment, that's enough - not going to worry about the rest of it, the future or being alone or whatever. Because, in all honesty, everyone knows I'll not be here in five months. And it colors everything. The thought keeps bouncing into my brain - why stay? Just to finish it? Is life not more valuable than that - biding my time for five months? I love it here at times, it has been a fantastic adventure, but all of the sudden, I realize that I'm going back soon, and this will end. It will end in a fashion different from other endings - long and drawn out and inevitable. I've left other things, moved on, but never has something been so certain so far out. If I just sit in my house and put forth no effort for the next five months, I'll leave here just the same as anything else I do. And that is, in a way, more disheartening than all of the other heartbreaks about The Gambia.

So: big joys, running around fun for nearly three months, and now it's over and of course I'm looking around with a little less than complete enthusiasm. My strategy: do three things everyday. Make a short list, get it done, and let the rest take care of itself. I know there are so many things from this life that I'll miss, and hope that I realize how to get as much of that as I can while I'm still here. My sentences are falling apart, that's my cue to exit.

A trip too far

2007-01-07T13:14:00.000-05:00

The worst part of going to America is the dislocation, the tremendous shift in mind, attitude, and real-life location involved. I'm sure this reads as completely simplistic, but it's a head-job, for sure. In any case, I'm back, having received the love of my family and friends, gotten a little fatter on good food, beer, and chex mix, and now I'm off to have more adventures in my lovely little country over here.

I wanted to write about all my feelings, experiences, and musings at length, but I'm late for dinner so you'll be spared. I'm safely back, looking forward to whatever comes, even as I'm homesick all over again, in a new way.

Life!

Madly Preparing to go home.

2006-12-18T08:37:00.000-05:00

And running around Kombo like an idiot – today was declared a national holiday by the president last night at concert with Youssou Ndour to celebrate the re-election. So, banks are closed, I need to do things that require money, life goes on.

Or, as we said when my parents were here – it’s always Africa, all the time. Third public holiday in four days – and the other day was Sunday. Enough.

I’m swamped with thoughts of what it will be like at home, and missing the time here, and everything else. I’m sure it will be a blur, and then I’ll be back, but I’m going to try to blog when I’m there, for kicks and because I want to have some regular scheduled things to do, give life some structure.

So, hope to see people, and have a Merry Christmas!

Love,
Z

long time without posting

2006-12-13T07:55:00.000-05:00

I wrote this about a week ago, but am posting it on the 18th. I'll use the date I wrote it on the entry, to confuse the matter as much as possible...

So, it takes me a rant to actually sit down to write these days. I’ve been running around doing too many things of late, including a great visit from my parents and trying to get everything else done before going home for Christmas. I keep thinking that I should write, but haven’t made the time until now, when I have something annoying to write about.

The national phone company, Gamtel, is perhaps the most non-functional monopoly I’ve ever conceived, some stereotypical third world. I spent three hours standing in their office the other day, increasing considering the possibility of starting my own phone company here, trying to get some handle on the concept that we had to pay for service for the roughly six to nine months when we didn't have any. They acknowledge that the didn't fix the lines for all that time, but say that we pay for the rental, and not service. And they are inventing charges or something, because the bill was still three or fours times what we would have paid if we'd been keeping up the payment while we didn't have a working line. In any case, it's working again as of today, and I've been able to finally check email. Yesterday was the first time I saw email in a long time, and I'm not even sure when I last posted. I want to get this up before I leave, so that people know I haven’t given up.

My parents trip was great, truly a highlight of my life here – we got to do every cool thing I wanted to do, we powered through a lot of turf and sights and managed a good time right along. The visit to Badi Mayo was, by itself, a life-highlight, enough for a whole post of it's own. Images, too. It was a singular event in my recent life simply because I was able to make a plan, execute the steps, and things worked out well. It took me a while to realize that could even happen, I've gotten so accustomed to back-up back-up plans. Shoestrings and deep fly balls. Ah, life.

I can't wait for the cold, the strangeness of snow and crisp air that doesn't feel blow dryer. It rained last night, an almost real rain storm that they say always happens around Christmas. Enough to settle the dust for a part of the morning, enough so that I noticed some extra sweat at one point during the day. And it's gotten me thinking about snowy nights in Western New York. Living with the cold, instead of with the heat. Almost feels so distant as to be laughable, but this time next week will be just that. Ha!

Listening to a cd from my great friend that also brings me back to home, if not exactly home in Lakewood as home of my people. This hut that I sit in, this shack as my mother calls it, is my home at the moment, it feels like home, a project, a place where I'm me. But it never makes up for all my people that I miss, and that's probably the best reason I know for working on problems closer at hand. Africa is wonderful, amazing and makes me a richer person, but these people are not my first people, and that is enough for me to know that this isn't permanent for me.

So, contact me between Christmas and New Years while I visit the other world, especially if you need sums of money moved to West Africa...

Here's the trouble

2006-10-13T20:19:00.000-04:00

I uploaded photos from my recent goings on. See them

update with no energy

2006-10-13T11:51:00.000-04:00

Today is the third Friday of Ramadan. Friday is a big prayer day at any time of year, and especially so right now. Next Friday will be the last one, there will be a big party here in town, with drinking and everything, as we are such good muslims. After that, I will start searching the skies for the new moon, for with it comes the prayers of Koriteh, eating during the daytime, hydration, sleep at night, and all sorts of fun things that I used to think of as normal.
I've just finished buying my tickets to fly home for the holidays. A trial of a process, intensified by being here in just about every way that it could be, but I'm happy to have it done and managed to do go from here to NYC for about $1700, which was well within my price range. It will take me about three and a half days of travelling - including an overnight in Paris - but that too should be fun. Airplanes!
My parents are home from their latest adventure (to the UK, walking Hadrien's Wall, and more?) and are now getting ready to come here. It almost seems unbelievable, that they will be here, and then that I will go home. This reality has become too real, and that one too far away, for the other to make sense. And so many volunteers have said after they return that this reality slips away, into dream-like memories. And it's all just one planet!
I'm wiped out from too much staring at the computer monitor - something for which I once had a nearly infinite capacity - and the fasting melts my brain around this time of day (3:30ish). I posted something I wrote the other night, perhaps between the two there are a pair of good sentences to enjoy.
Cheers.

Tuesday, 10 October

2006-10-10T11:35:00.000-04:00

We just had what will perhaps be the last big rain of the season. It's already the tenth of October, we'd not had more than sprinklings for a few weeks until last night, and I was already starting to notice the humidity falling. I think I'm more sensitive to the shifts this year - last go-round it seemed more monochromatically hot and humid, but having gone through the cycle of seasons once, I notice the coming aridity, the wide open skies, the coolness when taking a bath at night. I've been looking forward to November for so long, I can almost taste it already.
Last night my gutter project finally did what I'd been hoping for all along - filled the bathing bucket without any effort on my part. Ironic that it was in all likelihood the last rain, and the Harmattan winds will almost certainly play havoc with the whole thing. Ah, life.
Another project went into high gear yesterday, as I got fully into pushing the mice out. I put down a series of glue traps on Sunday, and exiled five mice in the thirty six hours following. It's not a nice business, but I try to be pragmatic and not feel too much about it, just the reality of living closer to the earth and not wanting to have mice run all over me. I'm also fighting termites throughout my house, and hoping that the end of the rains will sap them of their energy.
Ramadan continues, the past couple of days have been easier with cloudy skies and not being too busy. I suffered a bit last week, trying to travel, work, entertain guests and generally do too much to be fasting. We are now past the halfway mark, and people are looking forward to Koriteh and eating during daylight hours. I know now that I'll make it through, my body isn't cannibalizing itself or anything, and I'm just anxious to know how I'll recover afterwards, if I'll react strongly to having more food around. I am hopeful that I'll get back to regular exercise - I've been sporadic to say the least over the past week.
Obviously by the nature of this post, nothing is too dramatic here these days. Trying to inch forward, get people to listen to me and act in spite of Ramadan lethargy. And very much looking forward to a visit from my parents in mid-November! Maybe I'll be able to post this in the next couple of days.

A Day in Ramadan

2006-10-04T09:53:00.000-04:00

So I'm thinking to try to write a series of snapshots of my day during Ramadan, as it's very different from a "normal" day. It's now 5:24 AM on Tuesday, I've just eaten breakfast and come up with a new way to define when it's hot. If I'm sitting still inside my house at five in the morning and starting to sweat, it's hot. Which is okay, because I just plugged in a fan to my solar system - public electricity is off - and I'm doing fine now. Ah, life! Peace Corps is certainly not the challenges that I expected it to be, sometimes.
Breakfast this morning was something I've been eating a lot of - sardine salad. A can of sardines here costs D13-16, and is known as "bachelor food" as so many single men (who naturally are completely unable to cook) survive on them. It's still an expensive item for a family, but reasonable for me here. I add some chopped onion, tomatoe, mayonaise and some sweet thai chili and mix it all into a tuna salad looking yummy-ness. When we got here, Woman definitely turned her nose up this sort of thing, and I imagine my mother will be doing so as well whenever she reads this, but I fell in love with canned sardines on rivers in Canada, and have been relishing the protein.
I woke up early today - about twenty minutes to five, usually it's five or just after - and will go back to bed after morning prayers go. I'm sitting up drinking water, trying to make sure that every nook and cranny is hydrated before the day begins.
Yesterday I went shopping for supplies to keep healthy during Ramadan. I try to focus on protein and nutrition - sardines, canned chicken, a couple of eggs, onions, limes, and tomatoes. I also got a can of fava and garbanzo beans and some dates as treats. It's pretty cool how much more comfortable I am buying things, dealing with the market and knowing how to thrive here compared to this time last year, when it was all new, frustrating and intimidating.
The morning prayer call during Ramadan seems to last at least an hour. I can hear at least three mosques laying in my bed (me laying, not the mosques), one being the main mosque in town with it's very-functional pa system that always, Ramadan or no, seems to go on for an hour at morning prayer call, punctuated with exortations to get up and start one's day in Mandinka. These days I love the sound of the Arabic prayer calls, the rhythm it creates in the day, the way the imams sing it. Another thing that was more of a challenge a year ago. I still haven't figured out exactly when one is supposed to prayer during the prayer call, which often seems to last much longer than the actual praying. I suppose that's a symptom of my lingering Western sense of time.
Now it's about quarter to six, which is when I was told everyone officially stops eating and drinking until sunset, so I'm going to go back to bed and improve on the four hours of sleep I've had thus far. God willing, more to come at a more human hour...
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10:39 - I slept for a couple of hours, got up and felt that sluggishness that comes with a long nap, where you slept long enough to really be asleep, but not long enough to feel really rested. A doctor once told me that rem sleep cycles are about four hours long on average, so people need to sleep in blocks at least that long to get properly rested. I don't think he was a Muslim.
I did my normal morning chores - sweeping, getting water (the tap stopped less than a quarter of the way into filling my water can, but I have plenty at the moment), cleaning then started planning my day. What needs to get done around the house - I am going to do some more wiring soon, need to buy the parts, what needs to get done with my schools - tomorrow I am going to make a quick trip to Kombo and want to coordinate with them anything that needs to get accomplished there, and sending messages to various people about upcoming events and projects. Did a bit more organizing and suddenly it's ten thirty, time to get going to meetings and such. I wanted to write before taking off, hopefully will again later on.
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5:47 - Late in the fast, it is hard to do much but think about food and water. I also feel tired, limp, overcooked spaghetti. Sarah just called me (a treat!), she is also keeping the fast, and said at this time of day, she doesn't feel like a person any more. Today is much worse for me than yesterday was. We had relatively low heat and a bit of breeze yesterday, and I was lucky in the way my schedule worked out. Today, not so much. Hot hot, I spent most of the day biking here and there and sweating, not getting home until after three, flat and not looking forward to the time before breaking fast. But, I enjoy the challenge of Ramadan, and I enjoyed getting things done today.
I visited Nawec (national water and electricity company), in an attempt to push them along in connecting the high school to the public power. Most of the time I was there was just sitting, chatting with guys who were around in Mandinka - fun for both them and me, and waiting for someone to appear who knew anything about the situation at the school. I've learned that just sitting is a fairly effective tactic for accomplishing any number of things here, and was rewarded with a more complete picture of their operations and schedule - they said they will be connecting the school tomorrow, or Thursday, or Friday. I'll go back next week and hopefully be able to get a firmer promise.
I also bought some more wiring materials, and this afternoon wired a light for my bedroom. I am excited about it, in an extremely mellow way. I also got parts for a 12 volt dc light that I'd bought a bulb for in Kombo recently. So, I should have light at my fingertips, any time. And I get to play with wiring, which is the best part of it for me. I've grown up from legos to electrical plugs and sockets.
I also got tasks from two headmasters to accomplish in Kombo, as I thought I would. It's an odd feature of the layout of this country, how so many people have business of all varieties that they can only accomplish in the capital region, in a way reminding me of an old farming area and trips to "town". Which is suppose is apt in a few different ways.
Quick trips to Kombo are always jarring, as the pace of life is greater and it takes different energy to get anything done. Oddly, it reminds me of New York City in the way that I have to bring it, have my game face on in order to check of the items on my task list. Obviously, it's relative in the extreme. With that said, I'm hoping to get there tomorrow before ten, and perhaps be at the office by noon. If I'm lucky, I can get everything done and get going on Thursday morning after breakfast. Ramadan is the time of two breakfasts - early morning and breaking fast. Can you tell what's on my mind?
Maybe I'll write more in an hour when I'm less preoccupied.
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WEDNESDAY - Didn't get to write again, posting this now.

Another Sunday

2006-10-01T09:49:00.000-04:00

Another Sunday, with my computer going, power on in Fara Fenni, waiting for the fasting to be over for the day. A friend came up from Pakalinding, where Woman lives, today to work on his computer - he had the same virus that had me unhappy a few weeks ago. Still has, in fact, as it was unable to be dislodged by the anti-virus program, and has infected my flash drive again in the process of installation. Fun in west african computing.
The fasting has gotten more difficult as the weather has turned back to hot hot. We're definitely into the October heat by now, and I'm happy in a way that it's finally here so that I can stop worrying about it and just get through it. But, it intensifies the no-water aspect of fasting, and I've spent the last couple of days pretty inactively, especially in the afternoons.
Fast breaking is in twenty minutes or so, a fact that sharpens my inability to concentrate on much besides thoughts of food and drink. Can an inability be sharpened? Or could it before, because it certainly can be now. Ramadan sharpens my inabilities.
But, all in all, I have little about which to complain. My fan has been working through most of the day, I have been listening to a lot of music, and soon I'll be in the heaven of eating and drinking as much as I can until I go to sleep. I keep waiting for "the other shoe to drop" - it's the wrong metaphor, as a first shoe hasn't dropped to my knowledge - and the electricity to start to slip, have problems, or something. It's almost too nice to have as much power as I do right now. Not that I'm complaining. Am I?
Really, things are great these days. I have mice again, but other than that, my house is doing pretty well. My health, aside from the fasting, is good. It looks like work is going to come together a lot more easily this year, as though people are leaning forward with the computer programs, and maybe I'll have more luck with making forward progress. I'm a happy man.

Last Friday

2006-09-29T09:47:00.000-04:00

So I visited the NAWEC office this week. Nawec is the NAtional Water and Electrical Company, I think, and is responsible for a good number of the frustrations felt by citizens of our fair town. They said that the operating schedule for the public electricity is eight a.m. to two p.m, and five p.m. until three a.m. It's done on Gambian time, so those are very rough numbers, but has been remarkably reliable - within an hour or so - most days.
Today I'm back at my local internet cafe, trying to get some emailing done through a thick web of delays and problems. Now, though, perhaps it's working. I have written a couple of other entries, which I'll upload today, god and network willing.
It's a strange feature of volunteer service, how most of us lose touch with people back home to a significant degree. When I'm in the volunteer computer lab, we often comment about how we love to get emails, but don't write back enough to justify many people writing to us. It's probably a combination of the frustration of the internet here, the difficulties in relating this experience, and in relating to what's going on at home in the same way. All of which is a long sort of apology for not writing to all of you who I should be writing to. It's just such a pain in the ass to do at the moment. With a more regular internet connection, even if it weren't fast, I'd be better. I promise.
The fasting continues. It's gotten harder the last couple of days, the heat is back - we haven't had any rain in maybe a week now - and I'm starting to suffer a bit. Yesterday I played basketball, which seemed like a bad idea and probably was. It's hard to drink more than three or four liters of water and eat enough food in the time before going to bed. Tonight I might stay up late just so that I get super hydrated and full - two full meals I'm hoping. Yippee, to stay up late! And eat!
Two of my schools are hoping to re-connect to the public electricity next week. They both had connections when there was power previously (two years and some back), and just need to be upgraded to whatever Nawec is doing now. The other school is also hoping, but a bit unrealistically in my opinion, as it will likely cost them about 20,000 dalasis that they don't have. But, the world works in mysterious ways.
The internet is as flaky as ever, and I have little confidence this will actually get posted today. I should write an entry that is just a blow by blow saga of connecting here. It'd be interesting to me at least.
Now the lab "technician" is using a hand vacuum to blow air (into the server??), and I'm recognizing that I'm getting a little too caustic to be near human beings. It's time to break fast in a few minutes, and I have to go home. One post published in the two plus hours, so I'll consider that success and come back soon.

Another one I wrote before and couldn't post

2006-09-27T09:42:00.000-04:00

It's so much easier being back at this as a second year volunteer. Having gone through the cycle of seasons once, knowing what to expect, and knowing what range of unexpected things are likely to appear - a wide one, that, but still somehow comforting. And probably I'm more comfortable with the unknown these days. I'm certainly more comfortable here, more comfortable with myself. And that was one of the big reasons to do this adventure, to be away from everyone again. The chance to be forced to be myself, on my own, and figure it out. So, I'll put a check in that box, and realize it will uncheck itself over time, need more attention down the road.
Some of the things that are easier: 1. knowing that after the rains end, as they seem to be doing, October will be hot but then it's gone, and we are back to the beautiful cool and dry. Only hot for a few hours a day, and not sticky very often at all. Heaven, in other words. 2. Knowing that I can take care of myself, nutritionally, healthfully, and mentally. It wasn't something that I particularly worried about (on a conscious level, at least) before coming here, but I realize now that I wasn't sure I'd be able to thrive here. 3. Having established relationships in town, in my compound, and with other volunteers. I have a big group of friends here - different groups really, Gambians, Peace Corps, and other people - and that certainly makes it more fun. It's certainly easier to do things, even though I find myself busier than I'd like most of the time. A good problem to have.
I am keeping the Ramadan fast, which entails not eating or drinking from the morning prayer until the evening prayer. I get up at five to eat something and have water, then go back to sleep a bit before starting my day in earnest. The hard part is in the evening, from fiveish until half past seven or so when we break fast. It's a thirsty and supine time of day, makes me wish we were farther north so that the sun would set earlier. In any case, tea and bread with a bit of something is what the compound people eat then, followed by dinner between nine and half past. I think I prefer breaking fast with just water and less food, otherwise I can't eat dinner. Really, it's the water that I miss - I am forcing myself to drink about four liters between dusk and going to bed. But, so far (this is my third day fasting), the most bothersome part is the sleep cycle disruption. I'm not sleepy after eating a big meal, or perhaps know that I shouldn't just sleep, and then to get up at five is a bit rough. I'm enjoying it though - it feels like a good connection with the community, some insight into how they are getting on, and makes me more understanding when a headmaster falls asleep while we're meeting - even while he's talking.
Our electricity continues to come on regularly - it seems to be two cycles of between five and seven hours each - which makes my life a lot nicer. I've recently started trying to organize a bunch of music on my hard drive, and having power to run my laptop whenever I choose is sweet. It makes me realize how many steps there are between no electricity and what we have back home, though. Like having a single water tap in the compound, the Gambia is taking small steps forward, with a lot of sliding back going on as well. Development is a strange animal.
Thinking of home a lot these days - Henderson Harbor seems to have infected my brain, this is the first time I've ever not been there for a year straight - and hoping to buy tickets soon to fly home for the holidays. Hope everyone is well, and be in touch soon.

Sunday Afternoon

2006-09-24T14:43:00.000-04:00

The rainy season is still hot most days, but there are the occasional cool days, and that unpredictability is delicious. We are near at the end of the rains, probably going to end in two or three weeks, with fewer and fewer storms as it goes along. Just when my gutter has gotten on track.
Soon it will be the hard heat of October, humid and hot in one last sweaty blast. It's not that the heat is as hard as I thought it would be, but it's more tiring than anything else, and it's also Ramadan. No one from my compound saw the moon last night, but today was the official start in most places, so the fasting has begun without us. I'm planning to join in this year, we'll see for how long. Perhaps after a week I'll be hating it and start eating on my own. But it's an interesting time to be here, and a good point in my service to do it - as adjusted as I'm going to be, and in relative fitness from a summer spent eating well. Food and nutrition are such a part of life here, I enjoy the basic-ness of it.
Two days ago was the presidential election. Yesterday it was announced that Dr. Alh. Something or other Yaya J. J. Jammeh won again, probably by a ridiculously huge margin. I'll not discuss that, but both days were peaceful to my knowledge, and people were excited about the process. Hopefully schools will open tomorrow, perhaps (probably) the day will be declared a national holiday in celebration of the victory. It would be a good time to really get started with the school year, which opened almost a month ago.
One great benefit of the election, to me at least, is that we now have public electricity in Fara Fenni. It has been on every day I've been home, usually for more than twelve hours at a time. So, I'm able to have my computer on a lot more, and thus write during the middle of the day, at home, more easily. The solar panel is good, but not strong enough to charge my batteries very quickly if I run them all the way down. The public electricity, however, is great at charging them, and if it keeps staying on so much, I have as much power as I could want. All sorts of new ideas spring to mind!

it's way too long, maybe read it in parts

2006-09-19T12:00:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time - the eleventh and twelfth of August actually - the trainees came to visit me in my house in Farafenni. They were on "volunteer visit", where a trainee stays with a volunteer for a few days, ostensibly in order to see their work and life, but in effect as a break from the training program and a chance to see how volunteers are at home. It's tradition to take good care of the trainees, have a party or something, get them good food, etc. My site is uniquely suited to this as it’s the biggest town around, and I have friends with actual paying jobs, generators, etc. So, when the trainees showed up, I had made some plans.

A volunteer in Kaur, about 37 km down the road, was also hosting a trainee, and I asked him to come over, and I think some other people showed up from somewhere as well, so we had a rowdy gang of nearly ten of us drinking and carrying on in the best ex-patriot gone wild fashion. For the second consecutive training, we returned someone worse for the wear, but happy enough, I hope. We also visited the lumo (weekly market) in Farafenni, as a group of about seven, which was enough for two horse carts. Thus, of course, we got them to race. It was good times, not quite Ben Hur, but suspenseful navigating various kinds of traffic (pedestrian, taxi, truck, goat, donkey, etc.) over the two km route, and ended in a neck-and-neck slow trot finish. The horses here are visible rib skinny, so one feels a bit cautious asking for more than very slow progress.

After that I packed up my bike for my two-week trip to Kiang for model school and the end of technical training. I decided that I would rather bike the fifty? something kilometers instead of using gele-geles over that road, it is nearly as fast, involves much less waiting, and seems to be easier on my back somehow. This trip was ill-fated, though, as I didn’t get an early start (adventures at the lumo) and waited for lunch at my compound, then it was hot hot, so I waited a bit longer, got away around 3:30 or so.

A fun ride to the ferry was followed by an hour of watching the single ferry running be unable to make it into the landing canal because the current was stronger than the engine. They would find a line, try to steer in, and get pushed out of the way – it happened a few times before they got it sorted. Then, when they landed, the ferry got wedged behind one of the two new, big, beautiful ferries tied up next to the shore. Not in use, those two. So, after they finally unloaded – a process that included inching a huge and massively overloaded Senegalese truck down with me fully ready to run when the thing toppled over and applause when it didn’t – the boat was stuck for another half an hour before they worked it back out and to the main river. We made good time across, I was thinking that my trip was not in jeopardy, and they must have been trying to make up for the screw-ups. Which they accomplished by running hard aground less than one hundred meters from the landing, along the side of some mangroves. By this time I had had a chance to get to know my fellow passengers a bit, and was chatting with three Italians who were traveling in Senegal and transiting the Gambia on their way to Casamance. So, we hung out in the late afternoon sun – it was around six thirty at this point, if memory serves – sweating and pondering if we could get through the mangroves somehow, and trying to communicate with any words we could find in common. One of them knew a touch of English, helpful. I had packed everything into a series of plastic bags, so thought I could somehow just throw my bike onto a mangrove branch, hope for the best, and drown on my way to shore. So, I didn’t do that, and finally the ferry crew got us unstuck – perhaps the tide came in a bit farther.

Getting away from the ferry terminal is always a joyful moment, back to the freedom of my bike and the less diesel-y air of the road. This time, however, the terminal was completely flooded so that whenever a vehicle drove through, it sent a wave washing over everyone’s feet. I usually travel in Chaco sandals, great for everything. This time, I was wearing my running shoes as I was hoping to do some training. So, feet soaked with water foul in ways I don’t want to remember, I walked away from the ferry, feeling quite defeated. Good times!

I made it to Soma about the time the sun was setting, and had to figure out if I would rather stay there, sweaty, dirty and everything, or try to cross the Kiang road in the dark to get to Tendaba. Naturally, being a class A idiot, I continued on. It was a breathtakingly beautiful ride into the sunset, gorgeous cloud formations coming in – and predicting rain. Which was the only thing I hadn’t had go awry on this trip, so of course, it rained. I bounced through the potholes and splashed through the puddles for a couple of hours, getting to camp around nine, tired but somehow happy that I’d fought it out and knowing I had a good story for someday.

The next two weeks were the high point of education technical training, as the trainees taught model school in the mornings, with students from the surrounding villages coming in to sit as training dummies – but real, live, surly, and uncooperative ones – and tried to focus through talking head sessions in the afternoons. It’s good experience, the only way to really understand the various problems endemic in the school system here, but painful and tiring at the same time. I went through it last year, and was able to commiserate with them and pick up their spirits when they were too low down. This included helping them to coordinate a couple of parties while they were there, and the group proved themselves much more ready to let loose than others have. More good times.

After all of that, I biked to Bambako, the village where I spent training last year. The next morning a group of about eight of us went across to Sare Samba, a wollof training village that is seven or so km from the road and consequently hadn’t gotten visits from other trainees. It’s a beautiful spot, a nice village surrounded by millet and corn fields in a very gently rolling countryside. I spent two days there, studying some wollof and enjoying village life. Then I went back over to Bambako for a big soccer match amongst the boys – little kids mostly – played with a ball that I’d bought for them. They also had a “program”, which consisted of a rented/borrowed generator, a speaker, and someone playing some tapes at highest possible volume in an unused classroom at the tiny school there. I stuck around for three minutes longer than absolutely required by etiquette, then went home to sleep and biked back to Farafenni in the morning.

It was a great trip, good to see so much of Kiang again – it’s the least developed area in some ways, and where I first came to love this country. And good to feel strong and healthy enough to spend some time biking around in the heat that is our constant companion for another month. But just one more now!

After that, I spent nearly a week at home, fixing up things and generally getting back to square one. After that I came down to Kombo to get about my business, and to meet up with Sarah as she flew back from her two month trip. We went to an odd resort near Kartong, about thirty (?) km south of here, where we didn’t pay anything for lodging, but bought all of our meals there and had a great couple of days on an isolated beach. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but a cool idea. I think it is in the process of being built by a group that participates in the annual Amsterdam-Dakar rally race, who come to the Gambia after the race to donate their cars in an auction for the schools. Pretty cool, really.

I returned to the Kombo area for the last week of training, culminating with the swearing-in ceremony for my new pals last Friday and a big party that night. Working on training was a great experience, has helped me rediscover some motivation and given me a lot to think about and look forward to in the next year. My time is already growing too short! I feel as though I’ve just gotten settled, gotten my feet and shoulders squared, and I know that very soon I’m going to be facing my end of service conference and what comes next. Perhaps that’s the biggest difference between the first and second year – two years seems like a longer time as you try to adjust, deal with all of the seasons and events and transitions, but once you’ve gone through all of that once, you realize that you have less than a year left, and with the way that projects and time unfold here, you will be gone before you know it. African time, long afternoons and brief months, somehow it’s at the heart of the difference between this continent and other places I’ve been.

In any case, this post is way too long, but it’s an attempt to catch up, to make up for so many weeks I haven’t posted in the last few months. I am hoping to change that, to get back to weekly posting. I would love to hear from people – I know I’ve been bad at emailing but hope to also fix that.

reasons why I miss the internet

2006-09-19T09:30:00.000-04:00

Music

Understanding

Stuff - twice, because that story is too good to only read one time

Holy Biscotti

2006-09-14T07:44:00.000-04:00

So I just looked at this site, and considered the excuse that I was going to post*, and then realized that I've become such a stereotypical "blogger". And I'm sheepish about that. Just realized and became sheepish, that's all I'm saying.

Things here are tearing along, and I have a long post in the making, but not complete. It will be soon, and then here it will appear. Until then, you get the news that I bought a box-load of supplies to send with the mail truck that leaves in the morning. Mostly food for surviving the upcoming Ramadan. I'm planning to fast some, but probably not the whole time, and I want to always have food available so I can snack at night and whenever if the urge strikes.

Also, how freaking cool is this? That's one of the things I miss most about the world (apart from my people) - reading about all sorts of cool ideas and happenings. Here I just have to read books and ponder life in its own pace, without the overstimulation of the internet.

* - the national telecom monopoly has been having massive problems and was preventing any sane person from connecting to email. PC volunteers could still sort of get it, but only by waiting an ungodly amount of time and performing small ritual blood sacrifices. And stuff. The rest of the internet was basically unavailable.

Argh! Viruses and me

2006-09-06T13:53:00.000-04:00

So I know I am supposed to know this stuff, and be prepared. And I sort of am - I backup important data and keep things in secure configurations. Sort of. But this one I picked up has ruined a lot of data and applications I keep on my usb drive - not permanently crippling, just annoying as anything and time consuming to counter. So, I may be doing that instead of writing the post I meant to put up.

Like I said, argh.

photos

2006-08-09T10:21:00.000-04:00

I put up a few photos, including a series about loading boats. Check it out!

Life, all the time

2006-08-06T15:36:00.000-04:00

I came back down to Kombo yesterday, have work and meetings and have to deal with all the what-what of it. I think passing the year mark has made an interesting shift - I no longer feel at all like I have to guard against any unimaginable trials. I have confidence in my ability to handle whatever this place dishes out, good or bad, and I think it's making me a lot more able to truly appreciate the good things. It's amazing how the time has passed, and what a constant factor 'time' is for this experience. Or maybe that's just aging....

Laundry list of current projects: get everything backed up again on external hard drive, as crashes here are too easily catastrophic in nature; do improvements of solar installation at home; pursue funding for solar at one of my schools; host a trainee in Fara Fenni on volunteer visit; fix "gutters" on my house; it goes on, but it isn't very interesting. It just strikes me as a list that I can live with. It's more the person who I want to be than I ever may have been. That's why I love this place, this job. I don't get paid much, I deal with a lot of different challenges, haven't seen my friends and family in a long time, but I have a good list of things to do. And a tropical lagoon of chances, choices and opportunities, adventures and catastrophes in which to do it. How could I not love it?

My health is getting better again. I took my sweet time bouncing back with the heat and rains and my immune system needs the humidity to go away eventually, but I have started feeling stronger of late, and think that getting back to exercising is going to keep me on the right track. Last week I biked to Kaur, about 37 km, and played basketball with my pal who lives there. I biked back the next morning, and was tired, but happy about the condition I was in, and since then I've been glad to keep feeling better. It's not quite training for a triathalon, but it's a start and I don't need to go crazy here.

Last night we even went out dancing - Woman, some other friends and I. She's down here working for the Gambia College, doing training with me, generally kicking ass, and writing about it at the link to the right. And putting up lots of photos on flickr, she's so cool that I'm giving her a shout out, so go read that too... You know, when you have time and stuff.

I think I violate a major principle of writing when starting off a paragraph with one sentence, and then redirecting the paragraph to actually be about something else completely. I also never finished that response about the people I meet here. My fellow PCVs - the Peace Corps, like too many government organizations, is overfond of letter soup - are a good but mixed bunch. Some are just out of college, here for an array of reasons with the occasional "didn't know what else to do" and the "think it will look good on my resume", plus the "loved travelling, wanted to live abroad", etc. Then there are a big-ish group of us who worked for some amount of time before coming here, and generally want some sort of change in our lives. Whether from a dead-end type job or into a new path, or whatever. These are the people I tend to find the most interesting, the most with commonalities. Is that a word? There are a couple of post-mid-life-crisis, or maybe having-late-mid-life-crisis volunteers as well, just as a note of completeness.

Other foreign nationals who I know here tend to be working on projects for foreign companies, either on the road construction or resort something, or working for Non Governmental Organizations. The true rulers of our fair Babylon. Gambia is impacted by NGOs more than any country I've heard of, but that is probably mostly due to its small size and official language. So, NGO workers have a pretty good set-up for the most part, and jobs for locals working with them are coveted. I could rant about this for a long time.

I have a couple of friends in Farafenni who don't work for NGOs, though. They work for two companies that do the road building, and aren't so happy to be here, in the Gambia. To them, it's an undeveloped mess, with no electricity or decent television/internet/food/entertainment/etc. But, they get paid well enough, don't have much in the way of expenses in town, and they stick it out. One of them is South African, the other is Lebanese. He is a really cool guy, speaks English, Arabic, French, and told me that he understands what Israel is doing in his country. I know too little of the details, don't understand the dynamics and details of the situation, but it frustrates and saddens me that it is happening. It makes me glad to have the excuse to bury my head in the sand, and sad when I see the news. I feel a responsibility as a citizen of the world to know what goes on, most of the time, but here I'm able to escape that and it certainly is a blessing. Bad news and the world falling apart is older than the various media to report it, but it's still no fun.

Enough of this for now. I'm around for a few more days, and hope to come back with some photos.

From Fara Fenni

2006-08-01T15:22:00.000-04:00

I'm in my usual internet place, with the slower than dirt internet, and trying to "get it all done", but it is, of course, impossible. I posted a bit of a piece that I was writing in response to questions when I requested them, but now I'm out of time to finish it. So, here's a promise that I will soon - like when I'm in Kombo for meetings in less than a week.

Now I'm in my town, doing my thing, and rushing around like I still live in New York. Can anyone help me???

A few days back

2006-07-27T15:07:00.000-04:00

I am on a computer at Tendaba Camp, in Kiang, where we do the technical portion of Peace Corps training. I am here both in my role as one of the volunteer "guides" to the trainees, and as an ICT volunteer, teaching what it's like to be an ICT volunteer, challenges to expect and the tools to resolve them. It's a lot of fun, long days full of activity, and great to hang out with the new folks as they settle into life here. I've just finished my last teaching session, and had some extra time with the computer, so I thought I would write some.

Life is, as always and doubly true in Peace Corps, full of ups and downs. Ups of being able to chat a bit in Mandinka, downs of not having the language skills after a year that I expected. Ups of buying fabric for another very loud shirt, downs of paying a little too much for it because I just didn't feel like arguing with the vendor. Ups of having interesting work and opportunities, downs of being away from my house and people and the simple joys of that life. All in all, I know that I'm having an amazing experience here because I already am worried that the next year will pass too quickly and that I'll miss this place. I can't wait to go home, see everybody, and be in a "normal" place again, but it will be painful to depart from here and leave behind all of this. So, it's a good set of ups and downs...

My friend Joselin asked me to write about the people I meet, both Peace Corps and Gambians. In my mind, there are many other categories of people here - other NGO workers, other foreign nationals, Gambians who work with Peace Corps, Gambians who have lots of experience with foreigners, Gambians who make a living off of tourists (two categories there, scrupulous and not-so-scrupulous), and then the urban and rural Gambians. Peace Corps volunteers are the group with whom I spend the largest percentage of my free time, which I say because I am "working" to one degree or another whenever I am in my compound with my people. I am always representing America to them, and am dealt with first as an American and second as a man in most cases. The people closest to me in Fara Fenni don't act that way, but they are few in number. I also see a lot of other foreigners lately, because I've become friends with some guys who live in town and work on the road project. That may be ending soon, as I'm hoping the road will be complete when I get back.

response and a rush

2006-07-24T04:36:00.000-04:00

How about the people you are meeting both in the PC and Gambians? What is the political climate like? Is tourism as big as they say it is?

So, three questions asked: people in Peace Corps and Gambian people, what is the political climate, and how big is tourism here?

In reverse order, tourism is a big thing here, but only on the coast, and it contributes almost nothing to the upcountry economy. In fact, I'm not sure what happens upcountry can even be called an economy. It doesn't really function as I think an economy is supposed to function, but I don't know much about that. Tourism is a source for jobs for people in the Kombo region, but almost entirely low skill jobs without real chances to advance. All the resorts are owned by foreign companies, and they are generally run and staffed at the management level by foreigners too. That's about all I know - tourism does bring people upcountry occasionally, mostly on buses and sometimes only for the day, and they try to return as quickly as possible. In that way, the road project should be a huge gain for the North Bank, as it will make it easier for tourists to come up and see the rest of the place. Hopefully by November the road will start to be paved, and then we'll see....

The second question I'll skip and answer in person.

The third has the longest and most interesting answer, but at the moment I have a ride waiting to take me back upcountry to continue training. Life rolls on....

I'll try to be back a.s.a.p, perhaps from Farafenni.

Work!

2006-07-21T10:14:00.000-04:00

Today is about work, it seems, as I try to get ready for next week's training and had to sit through the all-volunteer meeting today. I got a couple of suggestions on topics, and will write responses to those, but would love some more ideas if any one else is motivated.

I have to go get some lunch before my next meeting.... I'm clearly working too much.

fo nyaato,

photos

2006-07-21T09:40:00.000-04:00

I put seven new photos on the flickr page - here - from my recent life. I will hopefully write more today, just needed to get this up...

Another thing & food

2006-07-19T10:30:00.000-04:00

The reason I came to Africa, if I had to choose only one, could be a feeling I had in my New York City days. Life was often "too easy" there. I didn't have to do enough to earn my daily survival and comfort. I could drift and be at ease. Here, it's not like that. I still like to do the same sorts of things - tonight I'm planning to make dinner with my pal Woman - but it takes more doing to get there. It's not quite swing by the super-market on the way home and call on your cell phone if you wonder about something. Although here in Kombo it's just a variation of that theme, in the case of making dinner. But Peace Corps volunteers world-wide seem to be obsessed with food and making yummy things when together. Big sections of my days can sometimes revolve around pulling together the pieces for a dinner.

On the other side of the food spectrum, I have a loaf of bread - basically a local style baguette - in front of me that I've been gnawing on for the last couple of hours. I bought two of them and three eggs as my food for today/this morning. It's now two thirty and I'm still working on it. Hard boiled the eggs and brought them to the office, efficiency of comestibles... Soon I'll leave and get a plate of rice and sauce, because I'm capable of eating rice every day, sometimes thrice, without getting sick of it. Perhaps I owe to time spent in Japan?

I'm babbling, too long in front of this screen. Please read the other post and respond. Cheers,

New Faces

2006-07-19T09:46:00.000-04:00

I've started working with new education (my sector) volunteers, who arrived on the sixth of July, and just returned from travelling to the training villages with them. I got to spend nearly four days in Bambako, my home last year and the place where I fell in love with this country. It was a great time, to be able to help the trainees get settled, to have a chance to see how much I've learned in a year and what has become "normal, and also to have a chance to communicate with the people who knew me when I first came here. It is a wonderful little village, and in a way I'm jealous of the trainees for the time they will spend there. But, like so much in life, I wouldn't want to have to go through the process again of learning all the lessons that now make me appreciate that place so much.

As I reflect a little on the last year, I realize that I haven't been posting as much as I'd like recently. One reason was probably identified by a trainee when he said that I seemed "so normal here". I'm adjusted to this life, and fewer things cry out to be written down. One of the new folks, on the evening of his first day in village said that he really felt that he had a lot to write in his journal that night, after not quite feeling so motivated during the first week - spent here in Kombo. This experience has become more "normal" than I realized it would. I'm used to the harassment and hassles, the heat and humidity, the greetings and food bowls, and all the other things that used to provoke journal and blog entries. So, I'm asking for new topics.

What do you want to read more about? I don't get (m)any comments, but I've changed the submission process to make it quicker and easier, and I'm hoping people will submit their ideas so I can fill out the picture. I can tell you all about the buttock-mangling ride down the south bank road that defined yesterday, but I feel I might have written enough about transport for now. I could rant about the education system, or my job stresses, but it doesn't strike me as fresh these days. So, what's it going to be?

I'm in Kombo until Sunday or Monday, getting ready for a week of training sessions and going to an All Volunteer meeting on Friday. It's very exciting stuff, but I'm going to try to post as often as I can while I'm down here, to make up for the recent lack of activity here. And pictures. We'll get some of those up too...

Fourth of July and One Year away

2006-07-06T10:30:00.000-04:00

Well, today is the one year mark on this adventure, and I'm going to the airport to pick up the new education group. I have been asked to work with them as they learn the ropes and get through the training process, which for me was a lot of fun, but for others was the hardest part of service. It's odd to realize that I'm now a veteran in Peace Corps standards, but the education group ahead of mine is mostly gone, and when I look around, I realize again that this experience has a lot of changes and turnover as a central part of it.

Last year I spent the 4th of July in Philadelphia, where it couldn't have been more obviously Independence Day. This time, I was travelling from Farafenni to Kombo, and mostly didn't notice except when a fellow American said something about it. All holidays seem to lose their meaning with distance from home. But, I'll be spending much time over the next few months with fresh-off-the-boat trainees, and I'm hoping they will inject some energy into things here.

I also hope to have more chances to write and post - I did upload a couple of photos the other day - so be on the lookout for more updates within the next weeks. Either that or noticable silence. Meaningless but possible. Hope all is well on the home front, things keep rolling along here...

things I hear

2006-06-19T17:14:00.000-04:00

So, as I sat down to this (very nice for this country) computer this evening, the shop operator said "but the internet is very slow today". And I agreed with a hm-hmmm. I didn't even think anything particularly of it at first, except maybe "well, I hope I can still connect to my email server to see who's sent me anything." But, then, I realized what he'd actually said. The INTERNET is slow. And I wanted to tell him that the internet doesn't have a speed, or at least it always has the same speed, but I didn't. Because here, what we have is a dialup connection over 120 plus kilometers of nearly the worst phone lines I can imagine. So, in this reality, the internet does have a speed - slow - and there are certainly varying intensities of that slowness.
A month or so ago, the data backbone into the country from Senegal was improved from 9mb/s to 45mb/s. I think at home you can easily get about 2mb/s into your house, so we had the equivalent of about five broadband homes for the whole country. It was slow. It's still slow, but now more of that problem is due to the aforementioned dial-up, so we're seeing progress. That progress was rumored to be going into place when I arrived in this country, more than eleven months ago, so it was a surprise when it finally happened. But, the summit meeting of the leaders of the African Union - all the kings, despots, elected dictators, and other fairly and unfairly men in power here - is happening over the next couple of weeks down in Kombo. This is a huge deal here, the AU, and serious work is actually happening on a few things. Like painting the streets that the delegations will use. Or improving one of the intersections they will pass by. Of course, all the major infrastructure issues upcountry are ignored, but one has to pay attention to what's important. Am I being cynical?

I haven't written in nearly a month. I've been sick. I almost feel like I need a note from the doctor or something, I've had to tell so many people this. Gambians are very good at noticing when you've been out of your routine. Like spies, I think. I hear "it's been a long time, did you travel?" so often that I wonder if there are locator beacons on my shoes so that everyone can ask when anything different happens. I did have to travel, down to the capital region, where the nurse decided that I didn't have malaria or any of the exciting famous diseases, and that perhaps something was infected in my throat and causing all the mess. I'll spare you the details of that mess. In any case, I've been trying to rest and get back on my feet, and hopefully I'm back at full strength now.
In my absence, the rains have arrived! We had our first storm right around the first of the month, and have had two more since then. It's too early for the every day rains, but I can wait on those as they tend to turn the air into a swamp and clothes into mildew. It's not as hot as I remember last year's rainy season - I guess a definite sign that my cold weather blood has thinned, and none too soon. I still sweat like a racehorse on the back stretch, but not in quite such a constant flood. So that's nice.
In other news, I'll soon be away from Fara Fenni for most of my time, as the new Education training group arrives in a few weeks and I'm going to be helping them get settled and learn the ropes. That should last into September, when the new school year theoretically starts. I'm not sure what will happen, as Ramadan (the Muslim month of fasting) will coincide almost exactly with the start of the term, which by itself is always an exercise in building up slloooowly. The teachers don't all arrive for the first month, so the students don't feel any need to be there, causing the teachers to be even slower, repeat until you want to knock yourself out with the nearest hard object. There are many problems in the Gambian school system, but one of the most frustrating can be the issues with attendance and truancy. I'm being cynical again, I think.

The good news! The road building project is nearly complete in town. This entire calendar year has been an exercise in how to bike through construction sites, but there are finally new black bits of road, and cement drainage structures, and all sorts of exciting details. In a few weeks, the whole thing could be done. Of course, my friend who builds the road has been saying that since February, but all of the sudden it's believable, or nearly so. I predict my first serious bike accident will be because the road is too nice and fast. Not to be cynical.

So, things continue to go along, I haven't quite gotten to a totally smooth experience here, but it continues to be interesting. And the change of scenery for the summer holidays (we still think of them that way, even with no summer here) will be a good one.

Oh yeah, and I'm thirty now! And I weigh less than when I turn twenty! Go Peace Corps!

Back again

2006-05-22T16:10:00.000-04:00

So, the internet was away on vacation. It took a couple of weeks off because it was tired of the bad generators and phone lines and wackiness that is computing in Fara Fenni. During its leave, I had many friends come to town in attempts to get online, which made the time seem much longer than not quite two weeks. But, I'm back now and emailing and catching up.

Life is good these days, with plenty of challenges but my basic resources and needs under control. My health continues to be good, which is a big help in dealing with the heat and everything else. Projects are very busy, which is great and makes the time go by faster than I'd wish. Except for the hot season, that can get done with itself any day now. We have at least another month, I'd say, and I'm not holding my breath.

Don't have much time to write, wanted to get something up and will hopefully be back before too long...

Lunchtime Sun

2006-05-11T16:02:00.000-04:00

Today I was taking a poop in the lunchtime sun.

It was hot, obviously. It is hot here almost all of the time. Unexpectedly, the mornings
are still cool until about 8:30. I usually start to stir around six, and recently have been
letting myself lay about for a long while in the cool. Actually, it's not so ridiculously
hot here. Perhaps I've acclimatized or I don't know what, but I'm not as floored by the
heat as I expected to be. And I'm getting used to being sweaty all the time - which isn't
actually true because there are usually ten minutes or so after a bath, and then the middle
of the night, when I'm not sweating at all. AND, on my recent trip to Kombo, I bought a
little fan, which I can run on my solar setup and be very nearly comfortable at any time of
day. It's amazing!

Anyway, back to where I started. Squatted over my pit latrine, I thought about how hot the
sun was on my running-with-sweat back, but how I didn't mind it, I was even enjoying it a
little. I knew that I could just have a bucket bath right away, and it just seem to be that
big of a deal - I am staying well hydrated, I know how to handle the heat, and even as I
type this, sweat rolls down my chin and is almost a comfort, if it weren't a little
embarrassing to be dripping with sweat. But, I am doing well, I'd say. May was supposed to
be a boogey man of a month, the one that broke one's back, but I am hanging in there and
getting a laugh about how afraid of it I was.

The hard thing is probably going to be the long haul, the constant sweatiness once the rains
come, and just dealing with it until mid-November. But, bring it on! At least today. I
well remember being in this same computer room writing a couple posts back and being
bitterly unhappy with the sweat and it all. Ups and downs, life and all of it.

Every few days a thought passes through my head: "in X days, I'll be thirty years old."
Thirty is a new number, one that had important connotations for most of my life. My brother
and I both said we could feel justified doing anything until we were thirty, then we should
settle down and get serious about the future. Or something. Now I realize that life just
keeps going, and I'll keep being me on May 30 just like I am on May 11. But, it still seems
to be more important than any random birthday - it's not 22, when I didn't even know it was
my birthday until I was writing in my journal and put down the date. So, I'll be thirty.

And I'm so ready for it. I'm realizing why so many people said that they would never trade
what they have learned about themselves for the years it took to learn it. It's much easier
to get through life now - not easy but easier - that I've spent the time doing it for a
while. And I don't waste so much time with the unimportant stuff.

Maybe that's the best part about Peace Corps. I have the time to realize what's important
to me, and the freedom to make up my own mind about how to pursue those things. Freedom and time are things that I have perhaps valued too lightly in the past, and things that I'm sure
I'll not have enough of in the future. But for right now, I'm in a sweet spot. In Africa,
sweating and dirty. Life couldn't be better.

love,
Zac

pictures

2006-05-06T11:42:00.000-04:00

I posted pictures from Ghana and of my solar stuff to the flickr site. Things are good, busy and rewarding at the moment. It's late and I've been sitting here for far too long. Hope everyone is well, I should be back online soon from Fara Fenni.

what I want for my birthday:

2006-05-04T11:10:00.000-04:00

"Vivir Para Contarla" (Living to Tell the Tale) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The third book in the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson

tuna in a pouch

dried fruits/nuts - Fisher Nut and Fruit mixes are yummy

letters

an old cellphone from Europe that uses sim cards

any homemade food you think will make it through the journey

any clif bar type thing without chocolate, which just turns into a melty mess now

scotch (but I think I'm buying this one for myself, so don't worry about it)

a skype connection in Fara Fenni (I am now zacshepherd on skype, but don't get a chance to use it ever)

more time.

I thought I came to Peace Corps to find out what life would be like with more time than I knew what to do with. It turns out that even here, I am able to overschedule and do too much. I just talked to some guys about the jazz festival in St. Louis, Senegal, at the end of the month. It was something I had very much wanted to attend, but then decided against because of the trip to Ghana and work being so busy. Now I am all excited about it again - I know it would be a lot of fun, one of those once-in-a-lifetime type experiences, and I miss seeing live music. But I just don't think it can work out, time wise. Argh.

Things have greatly improved since I last posted. I should be sure to put that on the record, as I know my rant wasn't well received in all corners. (I got a couple of worried emails). Today I am back in Kombo for a quick trip to get some bits and pieces - the solar is up and running (!!) but the charge controller had a broken display, which I've managed to get replaced. The weather at home is more manageable - a combination of less humidity and me acclimatizing - and life is better overall. So, please don't get too concerned.

A great friend of mine is struggling with loss right now, and, again, I feel too far away. On the vehicle across to Barra (where I catch a ferry to Banjul), I was thinking about my living situation here, reflecting on what a woman said to me the other day. She said that I should just find a wife and stay in Fara Fenni forever, they liked me and I do good work and I am happy. I couldn't explain to her some of the challenges that I face, but I did say that I would be more able to stay here forever if my people weren't so far away all the time. That's really the hardest thing on a consistent basis. To not be there for all the good times and the bad times. I always wish I could somehow make things all better for people, but at some point in the last few years I realized that's not possible, and all one can really do is be present. So, it sucks when I can't be. And this is another one of those things that is equally true throughout my life, but is put into sharper relief by this experience.

Frustrations, Life

2006-04-25T15:31:00.000-04:00

Today has been an exercise in patience, more so than most days here, which I think is saying a lot. This morning I went to the Anglican mission school – an upper basic (middle school) – where I am trying to get their computer lab up and going. I arrived expecting to have a chance to check out their machines and get things ready to start lessons next week, but found some Nigerians working there. I had met these guys before, when they came to the high school computer lab and charged D60,000 – maybe $2400 – for maintenance and “cleaning”, which more or less entailed blowing through the machines with a dust buster. I am not their biggest fan.

This morning I not only had to watch them work on a machine that I had just been checking out the day before, but then the headmaster was rude, ordering me around and being condescending, I think just because they were there. He’s usually a very cool fellow, and I don’t have problems with him, so it was a shock. I nearly told him that I wasn’t getting paid and walked out, but got it together and focused on what I was there to do. After I was well into my work, the headmaster came to say that they had to shut down the generator because it was out of fuel. The Nigerians had seemed to fix what they were working on, so I just bailed on my stuff and said I would finish tomorrow. Then he asked them if they had suggestions, which I disagreed with, out loud, and basically let them know that I didn’t want them trying to take advantage of this school for their pocketbooks. I admit I was a little bit frustrated by the fact that they fixed something that I had started on, and probably felt a little upstaged by them, but in doing it they just sacrificed another computer that we had been planning to fix, and also lost all the data that had been in the original machine.

After that, I was probably just in the wrong mood, but I seemed to get ordered around all day, and not appreciated at all. Clearly, most of it was in my attitude. And it’s getting humid to go along with the baking temperatures, so I’m starting to have the constant sweat that makes everything chafe just a little bit more. Not to bitch to excess, but then I loaned my mobile phone (actually, a friend’s mobile, as mine abandoned me when I was in Kombo last) to a girl in my compound so that she could put her simcard in and make a call, as her battery was flat. While all that was going on, I read a bit and fell asleep, only to wake up and find her gone, along with my phone. Since the phone needed charging, I didn’t want to leave it behind for the night, while I’m here and then teaching at the hospital. So, I waited to run my errands until after she got back. Which was unfortunately two hours later, pretty well blowing up my plans. I was actually on my way into town when I saw her to get the thing back, so frustrated and angry that I couldn’t really be myself. It’s gotta be the heat, or the sweating, or something, but it’s just been like that today.

The good news is that the solar project is coming right along. It’s been a lot of details, and some very informative emails from Craig Colburn, but I think I have the whole thing in my head, and I’m close to having all the parts in my hands. I had a bracket mounted on a metal pole for the panel, with a hinge and lock so that it doesn’t walk off in some “needy” person’s hands. I have a new table for the batteries and inverter so that they are off the ground and will be easy to keep clean. And I have the whole project planned out, so that I just need to get the pole up, mount some things, and do the wiring. I will also have to put in a ground, as that sort of thing doesn’t really exist here, but I think that will be a follow-on, after-launch piece. I still think of projects as “launching” even though those web building days seem a lifetime ago.

Well, this has been a downer of a post, but I guess that’s a part of the whole game. There are some days when Africa just gets the best of me. It’s happened many times before, will happen many times again, and I hope I’m getting better at writing it off, learning something, and bouncing back. That, and acclimatizing to the humidity. I was dealing with the heat fairly well, and it doesn’t seem to be much hotter, but the humidity is no fun. It actually sprinkled rain the other morning, a surprise and foreshadowing of things to come. We may get a real rain sometime next month, and then by late June the rainy season could be upon us. I’m anticipating it with mixed emotions – May will probably be hot and sweaty enough to make me long for the cool rainy days, but the air will be soup until late October, and there are plenty of downsides to that. But, first, the present! April is in its last days, and I’m still here, doing what I do and having my adventures.

I want to promise pictures from Ghana and of the solar for next time, but my laptop may have breathed its last, so I may be at the mercy of other systems. We’ll see. Perhaps another trip to Kombo is in my near future, as little as I want to go.

Love to everyone, Zac

Ghana recap

2006-04-12T04:43:00.000-04:00

Busua was gorgeous, great food, beer, and company. I’m not sure if I got a picture of it, but there was an island out in the middle of the cove that provided a perfect focal point when sitting on the beachside, drinking a beer. It was pretty much the tropical paradise I dreamt about on too many frozen Western New York nights.

The eclipse was magical, the type of thing that forces me to recognize how small I am, how lucky I am, and how important it is to have my eyes open to the wonders of life. There’s another one in Canada somewhere in 2008, perhaps the focus of another adventure.

After that we accompanied our guide (Abby! She is a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana, we lucked into meeting her at the house of another wonderful volunteer, Erica, who hosted us one night. Abby was responsible for many of the good bits and free of blame for any struggles we had. Except maybe Elubo, but that’s getting ahead of myself…) to Axim for a party with a great crowd of volunteers – I mention some but I’ll fail to mention others who were every bit as important – Robert was the host and John brought a yearling goat for dinner, fantastic.

Then we peeled ourselves off the floor (a bit too literally in my case), readied and dragged back on the road, headed for Ankasa National Park. We made it to Elubo, the cab driver told us to get out, we were next door to Cote d’Ivoire, and I was a little bit of a blinking turtle emerging slowly from his shell, without knowing quite where the world was. We wandered over to a hotel we had seen on the way into town, but it was a little … disappointing, to be kind. I’m not sure if it was the arms and ammunition shop on the way over, the faded “elegance”, or just our general attitude, but we had a little pity party / lunch meeting and decided that, as the national park was 20 plus km away, and not the six that we had thought, and since we were on vacation and not too thrilled about our location, we’d just chalk it up as a learning experience and high tail it back to Busua. Intrepid travelers might have stuck it out, we were just a few tired volunteers.

So, back to Busua, more sun, surf, beer, great food, and quality time with Dave, a PCV working there. I moved very little from my chair that first day back, just to the water a few times to play in the very fun waves – the tides were big, the ocean doing just enough to remind me of fun times in Hawaii, I was in heaven – and back to my chair, book, and happiness. Vacation is a great thing.

We ended up spending three more days in Busua, not all as inert as the first, but not too strenuous either. Lots of swimming, reading, talking, fruit juice and joy. I read three books in the twelve days we were gone. Our last night in town we celebrated with a lobster dinner at a local spot called Nana’s, a one-table shack, where we ate with some Italians and had a great time. It was just about perfect.

On our way back to Accra, we spent two nights in Cape Coast, toured the castle there (it was centrally involved in the slave trade, a sobering tour of the dungeons and apparatus included) and took a hike through rain forest canopy on a 30m-high suspended walkway. In Accra we ate cheeseburgers at Frankie’s and spent a day in Aburi (in the mountains nearby), visiting botanical gardens and walking around a woodworking crafts area, seeing the men carve some great pieces and hearing a lot of sales pitches.

After one more night of great sandwiches and beer, we were off to the airport, back home via Monrovia and Freetown to our still cool Kombo region. There are quite a few volunteers around at the moment, and while I won’t say we are all hiding out from the heat, it does make one appreciate chilly nights when I know I’m going back to real heat very soon.

Thanks so much to all we met in Ghana, we’d love the chance to repay you here (or anywhere else) one day.

Back in The Gambia, doing my thing

2006-04-12T04:08:00.000-04:00

I am going to write about my trip, life and all, but this got my attention: Right Trial, Wrong Defendant

Going political again, I recognize, but I think the view of our country from abroad is colored more strongly by something like this than many Americans realize.

Ghana pt 2

2006-03-28T07:12:00.000-05:00

I'm online again while on vacation, this time from Takaoradi, down the coast from Accra. I'm putting some more photos up that were hanging on my flash drive, just because the speed is so much better here. Things are good, we are having some adventures with PC Volunteers here in Ghana, and they are taking care of us. It's a lot of fun to compare our experiences and observations about the countries and cultures. And, they are a kick ass group for the most part. It's interesting how much of the experience here can be as much about Peace Corps as it is about Africa, but that is an obvious over-simplification - the two are much too interwoven to be able to say which is what.
Today we are heading to Busua, where Amy thinks the center of the eclipse's path will pass over us. We have just acquired some glasses to view it safely (I hope), and now just need to nail down a place to stay tonight. Then, pray for a cloudless morning tomorrow...

I'm running out of internet time, may post again before too long.

Ghana

2006-03-27T02:57:00.000-05:00

So, now I'm here in Accra. We flew over yesterday after a couple days of Kombo trying to get things ready. When we arrived we realized that maybe we were a little too Peace Corps in our attitude - none of us brought a guide book, we didn't have any clear picture of what we were doing, and we were, in short, completely disorganized. But, my few travels with Toby have served me well and I was happy to be having adventures without structure. I am travelling with Amy Poff and Wendy Portman, they are both older than me, Wendy is pretty laid back within her comfort range, and Amy is not quite laid back about much. Flying, for example, is a real problem for her. I finally made a connection of who it reminded me - B.A. Barracus from the A Team. So, the hops down here - stops in Freetown and Monrovia - were adventures just in watching her white knuckle the takeoffs and landings. And, we saw a wrecked plane just off the runway in Freetown, which did wonders for her confidence.
So, after an afternoon and evening roaming around a bit of Accra, we are going to try to get our bearings a bit more solidly and then head west down the coast today. The roads are so much nicer, and transport seems to be a bit more organized, so it may only be a two or three hour trip, instead of the six or eight the distance would take back in Gambia.
The internet seems to be fairly available here, so I may try to make regular posts. And, it's faster! Whooo! So, we'll see.
Love you all, having a blast and doing my thing...

solar!

2006-03-16T10:42:00.000-05:00

Well, I just spent a big chunk of change on the pieces to get solar power running in my hut. After a good deal of discussion and figuring, I got two 100 amp hour batteries, a 25 amp charge controller and a 35 watt panel. The panel is small, and I will probably upgrade to having a pair of them soon, but that's the easiest part of the system to grow, and the rest is designed with growth in mind, so if feels like a smart way to start off. And, I managed to not spend all of the money I got out, so I have some more cash to play with as I get this or other projects rolling. And, the big deal is that I managed to get all of it together and on the mail run packing list, so they are taking it to Farafenni for me - hopefully without breaking the panel! It's a lot of gear, the batteries are big and heavy, so it's a huge help.

I've been down here just over one day now, and I feel like I've gotten more done than in all my other trips. I decided that I simply had to approach Kombo more like a New Yorker, get all ramped up to deal with the different way of business here, and kick butt. So, I've been on a mission since arriving, and have been successful for the first time in "getting junk done". The Greater Banjul area may not feel like New York to many people, but that attitude has helped me enjoy it more here, and not get lost with my Africa style, which seems perfect in Fara Fenni but not so much here.

I've finally started missing American media - March Madness to be specific. My Dukies have done well for themselves this year, and I might have some Muslims praying to Allah for J.J. and Shelden and the gang. And if they win it all, I'm going to ask somebody to buy me the games from iTunes. Because this is just too much to pass up. And, those smart people at Apple have now removed the final obstacle to me never owning a television again - I can just buy one of their video iPods and want hour long commutes so I can watch basketball. Ah, life...

I'm a road warrior these days - got up at six yesterday to get a vehicle here, up at six today to get my work done, up at six tomorrow to get on a vehicle back up-country to a party at Lamin Koto (next to Jangjanbureh Island to you map watchers). St. Patrick's Day party with Irish people! (And Brits) One of my remaining tasks is to find some draft Guinness in cans to lug up. Probably not going to get too many, but one or two will be winning party gifts. Irish whiskey is a more intelligent gift in terms of portability, but this was requested and a touch more affordable.

And then next weekend I'm back down here on my way to Ghana! That's starting to feel very soon, I'm looking forward too much (another one of those Gambian English expressions), and the vacation time will be very welcome. I never expected to have a Peace Corps experience where I couldn't find enough time to sleep, but here I am, running on a sleep deficit for ten days or so. Insomnia is back with me, and though I've started figuring out tools for getting past it, they tend to require a few long, uninterrupted nights consecutively, which I haven't had. So, I'm in bed for short hours, I don't sleep much, and I actually remembered those grand sleepless days at Duke yesterday. Who knew West Africa could be so busy? It has to be some commentary on my lifestyle that I can't find a consistently slow pace, even here. But, I love my life at the moment, and I'm certainly not complaining about being "the busy volunteer". And, most of my good friends here are similarly busy - Haji, Woman, Sarah, all have as much work as they can handle.

One of the aspects of Peace Corps that comes into sharp focus is that people are always leaving. They are always arriving as well, but now it's starting to be people I've become close friends with on their way home, and it's sad. Happy for them to have completed service and be going on to another adventure, but sad for us to lose their company. So, we make new friends, we miss our departing friends, and hopefully learn something about the impermanence of all things. To all of you who I met here and have now gone on, we miss you, and leave comments or send email or, you know, telepathy or something.

I am officially declaring myself cured of parasites. Now, I get to rebuild my digestive tract from all of the firebombing chemicals I have been ingesting. So, another thanks to those of you who included friendly helping pro-biotics in your care packages!

This is officially complete ramble now, so I'm done. Trying to upload photos to flickr, so check there if you've got time. Love you all,
Zac

Great things

2006-03-13T16:08:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time! That's something that people here say even if you saw them last week. I'm not sure exactly what the cultural basis is for it, but I'm always hearing it.

I don’t think I really got nearly effusive enough about what happened for me with Christmas, so I’m making up for it. To all of you who sent anything, you are why I’m able to get up and charge through every day now. You are why I didn’t wilt after five months living with parasites. (I feel a little more free to discuss now that it’s over, and it very much seems to be over. What an experience.) You are the reason that I get to live large and have adventures. And to all of you who spent half of my monthly stipend on postage (I get ~D4200, more or less equal to $150), jeez louise do I owe you big time.

It’s now early March, and I’m still sitting on a trunk and a half worth of goodies. Scrubbers, soaps, batteries, clif bars, snack foods, I’m a volunteer king here. When my pals come to visit, they come to love each and every one of you almost as much as I do. I never have to face bread and peanut paste if I don’t want to. Actually, peanut paste, my staple all through Ramadan, hasn’t been found in my diet since January. Seriously, it was way too much stuff, especially after I just got a package from Charles and Diane! So, please know how much I appreciate it even though I’ve failed to harp on it sufficiently until now.

The internet is a perishable commodity here, and it has been spoiled by generator issues at the internet cafe and by a failure to pay the bills at the high school. When I first asked them, they said that it was the phone company's fault, and now we are struggling to establish what happened and who can fix it. Well, I am struggling to get anything to happen, the people here at the high school are struggling to do something, and Gamtel (the phone company) is apparently struggling to get to work at all. C'est la vie.

Life here is grand right now. I'm healthy again, seem to feel stronger and need to eat less, and have more margin for dealing with the various events here. For example, yesterday I played in a basketball tournament (we won, due mostly to my precision passing and failure to run across half-court for offense more often than not) but it was during the afternoon, and probably over 100 degrees the whole time. I'm a bit lost on temperature in degrees these days. It's hot enough so that if you sit on a metal bench that's been in the shade all day, it feels hot through your clothes. But, it's completely managable these days. May and June may be a different story.

Saturday night we were even out partying until late, and I drank too much beer, then we went to the lumo in the morning and got a bit dehydrated. This past weekend was the volunteer visit for the group that's currently in training, and I had one guy with me and Woman and her site mate in Soma each had one as well. The four of them came up with a pair of German volunteers who work for the World Food Program, and we hung out with a Lebanese man and a South African who work on the road building projects. It was an ex-pat weekend, and we had a great time.

Wednesday I'm headed down to Kombo to work on my solar project, to get details for my upcoming trip to Ghana nailed down, and to say goodbye to the woman from Korean who’s been living in my compound. She’s been here about two months, and she’s due to go back to the UK, graduate from her program and head home after two years away. It’s been great having another true English speaker in the compound, and someone who sees the culture from the outside. I have a lot of respect for her and her ability to come here and work and learn so much. Thankfully, she’s leaving before the heat gets to kill us, and she’s invited me to Korea, so maybe I’ll go see where Toby used to live and the Lee family and all of that. Who knows?

I just put up the first post I had ready to go, so hopefully this will get up as well. It’s gotten to be fun to use the internet this way, where it’s more of a crapshoot if things will happen and it’s like winning the lottery when you get everything done.

I’ve moved outside more and more recently, especially at night. Today I woke up on my outdoor bamboo bed for morning prayer – a first – and was cold! I only took a sheet to sleep with, and may need a towel or something tonight. It’s great! I’m already thinking about getting a bigger bed out there (this one is a single, and I hang off a little much). That and more baths are central features of the return of the heat. But, I’m doing well with it so far, and like I said, May and June are going to be a different story.

There are rumors of electricity floating around. Bansang – a town between Brikama Ba and Basse for those of you with maps and affinities for the letter B – now has electricity for a couple hours one out of every three days. According to the rumor mill. It’s the only place outside of Kombo like that. (Except for our dear leader’s village, which always has 24-hour electricity). (Not that he lives there.) And there was a minute of electricity in Pakalinding, where Woman lives, last week. All the lights turned on in her house for the first time in two plus years. She thought it was on fire at first. Hers is one of two or three Peace Corps houses that I know are wired for power but don’t have it any more. I have installed a light and outlet that get power from the generator and potentially would get it from Nawek (power/water utility) if they turned on. Speaking of Nawek, I haven’t been able to get clean water for three days, due to them running for a briefer time than usual or, as of today, not running at all. Apparently they ran out of diesel. Insert sarcasm…

And speaking of running out of stuff, the generator here has apparently run out of life. Actually, they say it’s overheating, and is going to have to be shut down for the night in five minutes. So, I probably won’t get to post this today.

But maybe I will!

Dakar and Everything After

2006-03-08T15:23:00.000-05:00

So I went to Dakar for a softball tournament. I’m not much on softball, so I really went to see Dakar and hang out with Peace Corps Volunteers from around West Africa. It was a great time, truly wonderful to be in a proper city again after seven months of Gambia, where even the Kombo region is an overblown farm town. Senegambia is one area of a lot of resorts, nightclubs, restaurants and all that, but it’s too touristy for Peace Corps blood, at least that which runs through my veins.

And then I spent a few days in and out of the Peace Corps medical office, trying to get them to figure out what’s wrong with my intestines. Or, hopefully, what WAS wrong with them, as today I finished a long, nasty course of medicine designed to kill more parasites than humans, though by a closer measure than I cared for.

I’m starting to learn that even in Kombo one can’t expect this place to run like the Western world, and everything takes four times longer. So, I will only try to do a couple of things when I go down, and not get sucked into life there, which can be easier in many ways but more irritating in many others – most “up-country” volunteers generally feel that Kombo sucks, even though we all go down sometimes to deal with the business of life and interfacing with the outside world.

And, with that knowledge hopefully comes the ability to get my solar project off the ground, now two full months later than I wanted. I’m planning to go down next week Wednesday, with a short list of tasks (though it grows longer every minute) and leave again on Friday. Quick trip, get my things done, submit paperwork for upcoming trip to Ghana to see the solar eclipse there! I’m leaving at the end of the month, truly quite excited about it, and perhaps I’ve even figured out how to pay for it. Life is different without access to an ATM.

In the past month, work has been in a new phase, as I try to require more out of my various counterparts than words, but it’s slowly been coming around, and they are adjusting to me as I’ve been adjusting to them. I feel very good about the ways that I’ve found to work with people – not too central, not allowing myself to do too much, and trying to get them to talk and think things through with me so that I can try to see their point of view. It’s challenging, with the cultural differences, different approaches to communication and intensity of work, but I have some very good days when I “get it” and they seem to as well.

It’s starting to get hot here.

I remember my trip to Mali to visit Charles, and how hot it was there around this time of year, and I don’t think it’s that bad yet, but we’ve had a couple of days where sweating was a constant activity for me from noon to eight, except while I was bathing. The great news is that it’s still dry heat. The un-great news is that some days the wind feels like a hairdryer. Today we had Harmattan winds, so the air was full of dust and sand particles. I used to dislike the Harmattan, but today it had the effect of preventing the sun from getting ungodly hot. Which I’m in favor of.

This weekend a trainee is coming to visit me here in Fara Fenni. The new health trainees are about halfway finished with training, have most of the tough things under their belt, and it will be a lot of fun to show him (I’m assuming) around the “big town” with our bars, internet café, market and all that. After living in Kiang, I remember what a mind blower it was to move here, and I suspect it will be a great relief. I’m even trying to organize a party for Saturday night. I’m still my mother’s son.

I realize I’ve written almost nothing about Dakar, except that it’s not here. There is a Club Med there. There are restaurants with French food. There are nightclubs where the DJ’s can mix one song with the next, instead of the ipod-on-shuffle effect that we get at the “clubs” here. There are endless hordes of hustlers trying to sell you anything. There are more than three kinds of beer. (Here we have JulBrew, the Gambian beer, Gazelle, a Senegalese beer, and Ghanaian Guinness, not to be confused with the nectar of the gods brewed in Ireland). And, it showed me that this country is really truly poor. Senegal may be a third world country, but here is ten degrees poorer. And ten degrees hotter. Crossing the border back into The Gambia, one immediately notices that the fences and walls are more run down, there is more trash, and you are harassed differently. And you start sweating again. Even with all that, I was glad to come back. This is home now, for the next 14 months, and I like what I’m doing here.

Maybe that’s a good spot to end for now. Things are great, I’m hoping my health is finally on a long climb back to where it was when I arrived, and I’m looking forward to a whole host of things. Just a bit trembling in fear of the heat.

Love to you all, more when I can, Zac

a Friday night

2006-02-10T17:43:00.000-05:00

The internet is a crazy thing. It's almost like running, where you have to build up your endurance or suffer fatigue and diminishing returns. It used to be that I could sit in front of a computer, bang out code and surf for four or five hours straight if I needed to. Now, my tolerance seems to be an hour. I wonder how much of that has to do with the fact that it's painfully slow here, and how much of it is due to my fading computer skills. In any case, I'm pretty well spent less than an hour and a quarter into this evolution, and haven't gotten it all done.

Life since Basse has been a flurry of events and motion. I saw an amazing sun rise as I walked to get a vehicle out of Basse - it's remote enough that one has to get to the garage before dawn to guarantee getting to Soma that same day. They call them garages, or car parks, but what it really reminds me of is an anarchist's circus. Chaos is inadequate when describing the process of trying to make transport work in this country, and I only wish I had the energy to go on a proper rant. But I haven't, so I will leave it be.

One thing worth mentioning is that yesterday was the Muslim New Year. No school, and a cool recitation ceremony early in the morning with chanting in Arabic and a very communal feel. It was the first time I felt "I'm a normal Peace Corps Volunteer, trying to blend in or something", and a great experience under the "cultural" umbrella.

Another thing worth mentioning: A Korean woman has moved into our compound. She is volunteering at the high school for two months, working in the computer lab and trying to learn about The Gambia. She was at university in the UK with the husband of a woman who used to live in the compound, and he talked her into coming down here to check it out. Her English is pretty strong but she didn't even know the names of the local languages before she arrived. She's a trooper though, and has been doing very well adapting and taking care of herself. It's fun to have another gai-jin around (to borrow a word from another trip out of my comfort zone), and we're headed to Soma tomorrow for a little adventure.

Next week I'm headed to Kombo and then to Dakar for a softball tournament and some sightseeing. I will be doing the latter while some of my colleagues handle the former, if all goes well, and it should be a great time.

The second term is flying by, especially with surprise holidays and special events sprinkled liberally throughout. Soon it will be hot again and I will be typing with one hand as the other tries to funnel the sweat away from the keyboard.

That's it for now.

Christmas

2006-02-10T17:10:00.000-05:00

So, last time I posted, I mentioned that I had put up this post about Christmas. But, apparently it didn't happen. So, delayed but still worth putting up (in my mind at least):
-----------------------------------

Jesus was an only son as he walked up Calvary Hill...
It's the start of a Bruce Springsteen song that came on a cd Toby sent me while I was in training. I was listening to it a couple weeks ago, really hearing the words for the first time and focussing on the story as a story again after so many many years of "knowing" it, without hearing. I was weeping, amazed by the power and depth of the tale of a prophet that started a religion and the path to much of today's society. Today I have been reading New York Times Week in Review sections, catching up on the news from home now over a month old. One of the stories that I gladly missed was about the "War on Christmas" as made famous by Fox News and their group of marketers of entertainment that they would try to disguise as news. I would weep again now at the comparison of the story of a great prophet and the celebration of his birth to the crap and commercialization that some elements of our society would have it become, but it isn't worth my tears or energy. Christmas for me this year was something infinitely bigger, more important, than the shopping season and the advertising.
I was flooded with more love than the Peace Corps mail truck could handle. I got eight big - BIG - packages, two padded envelopes, and a half a dozen or more pieces of flat mail. I haven't tallied up all the postage (out of embarassment as much as anything) but it easily reaches four or five hundred dollars. If I had known about all this ahead of time, I probably would have been much more reticent in asking for things. Certainly Clif Bars have been addressed as a need beyond my reckoning - three whole boxes of bars, plus a few dozen other assorted bars, enough to eat one every day and not worry about them running out any time soon. Chex mix, snack mixes, dried fruits, granola, seemingly half of Whole Foods, a good portion of some Army PX in Afganistan, books, cds, and a great new pair of sandals. The list is probably not even half complete, but I am on battery power and time runs short.
I need to mention one other thing - soap. I know people want me to be clean here, and I did well to mention Lever 2000 apparently. I am hopefully able to upload a picture to show you what I mean. Seemingly I need to remember to bathe more often at home, because now I am cleaner than I usually was there, and people want me to stay that way.
I love you all, thank you so much for a truly amazing Christmas. The fact that it came in bursts and lasted all the way until the end of January makes it even better. Maybe I'll start a new tradition...

Today

2006-01-28T17:23:00.000-05:00

Today was a bit of a buzz – overstimulated or worn out, I was feeling a bit like I had been in “performance mode” for too long, so here is a series of factoids.
• In the morning was a naming ceremony – nyambo (meaning small, limited ceremony instead of all day party type naming ceremony) – for Ndey Njie’s new baby girl. Her name is Awa, like one of the mothers I live with.
• One of the boys – youngish, maybe six or so – was crying for at least two or three hours straight when Awa Njie – the aforementioned mother, though not his biological mother – left for Kombo around lunchtime. Nobody did anything in particular to comfort him, and people just sort of complained about the noise and his “craziness” as far as I could tell.
• We had a number of beatings in the compound – a toddler was spanked for pooping on a mat, I think because she’s sick, a boy (pre-school age) was beaten with a very thin branch because he didn’t wash himself properly (or something, didn’t quite understand), another boy of perhaps 13 was beaten with a slightly bigger stick for going too far away during the day – they said he traveled out into the bush or something. Two high school boys held him while his mother hit him.
• I had a return of amoebas – I am pretty sure that’s what’s wrong with me – and spent the morning pretty worn out and close to the “backyard”.
• It was “clean the nation day”. I didn’t even leave the compound before dinner, because this day just sort of frustrates me to a degree not justified by the inconvenience of it. Although I had been planning to go to Kaur to visit an environment volunteer who moved in in early December. I’ve been trying to visit him since then, without results. And now tomorrow is out as I prepare to leave for a trip up country.
• I worked on my bike for a long time – it had been needing attention – fixing the front derailleur, cleaning the gears and mechanisms, oiling and cleaning the chain – and generally giving it some loving.
• I took a nap in the morning, when aforementioned amoebas allowed. Deliciously cool morning, irresistible for sleeping a bit.
• It was laundry day – Ami Njie does my washing, and irons shirts and pants. Fresh clothes are great.
• My domain move is complete. This is a big success that resulted in less malfunction than I anticipated, but about the right amount of agony, as we were without internet here for a week or ten days in the middle of the sensitive part of the process. I am putting up a post I wrote at the beginning of that outage that I overlooked last time I was posting. Oddly, the only headache in reality is because I had to reinstall my portable email client after one of the supporting files got corrupted, and then my archive got deleted in the process of setting up the client again. All of which is to say that I made a fairly silly mistake and lost a bunch of email that I had saved. None of it is fatal, just inconvenient and I hope you all will send me mail to make up for the loss.
That’s all for now – they are getting ready to close up shop!

un-victory

2006-01-23T15:55:00.000-05:00

So today I lost. I know it’s sounds competitive, and I am that. We all are, at least in my family, in our ways, but today just wasn’t what I consider to be a successful day as a Peace Corps Volunteer, or even as a human being. Whether it was fibromyalgia, amoebas, the flu, or just Africa, today I was aching from the minute I woke up, and almost couldn’t get myself to go to the high school to do work that I had been looking forward to doing a few days ago. But, I went. It wasn’t particularly happy times, but I did fix the main problem we were having, and though there wasn’t internet available, we made some decisions and progress, something that I should value more when it shows its face at all.
After being there for a few hours, I realized just how poorly I felt, and decided to call it a day. I just went home, barely greeted my people, and went inside my house. Which, mercifully, is cool and wonderful for much of the day during the beloved “cold” season. I pretty much just bailed from there on out, reading and sleeping until four except for a brief appearance at lunch. I recently have been improving my hut’s creature comforts, and it’s now possible to lounge/read/sleep during the daytime in some measure of comfort. I took full advantage, and enjoyed it as much as possible. Now I’m hoping to bounce back tomorrow and get back on the horse.
Work is pretty much full on these days, as full on as it gets here at least, now that everyone is agreeing that the holidays are finally over and work can resume. I am sure that I’m overly influenced by puritanical, driven-to-make-money American culture, but if this is the opposite end of the spectrum, I will take New York City and the rush and bustle for the long haul. And this is a good education in taking it easy, even though I can’t quite seem to do that when I need to, and have to cool my heels more than I need when it’s culturally required.
I got a lot of packages on Saturday!! This really merits its own post, it was such a big deal, and I hope to write it and put it up soon. But, really, I got so much love that my colleagues were giving me grief. It arrived on Saturday because the mail was a bit of a fiasco, and they were between three and four hours late getting to Fara Fenni. So, they delivered it in the morning. Thanks so much to all of you who sent packages, I will be writing more about it and sending notes and all of that – but probably in Africa time. I think I got all the packages I was expecting, amazingly.
Looking back at the first line of this entry, it’s more negative than I really feel. I guess that’s something else I’m working on learning – break downs come, break downs go, what are you gonna do about it, that’s what I wanna know – in the immortal words of Paul Simon. I know I am here to get experience relying on myself, and figuring out how to live a good life. Learn to appreciate the little things, and not get too worked up or beat myself about the head and shoulders too much for not living up to my own often-unrealistic expectations. So, perhaps this Peace Corps thing is working out for me, and I’m not really losing after all…

last week Thursday

2006-01-19T15:44:00.000-05:00

Another entry pulled from the email bag: (actually excerpted I guess, but it's a touch late and I'm not going to split hairs)
“The landscape looks like tropical forest converted into farmland - and not converted too gracefully or happily at times. [...] We are currently experiencing a internet blackout here in Fara Fenni, but obviously that will be over by the time you get this - unless I make it to the capital before it gets resolved. I am writing on my laptop, plugged into power at the hospital, and using a portable email client on my usb drive. I am such a dork.

“My friend is pursuing a PHD in Economics, and I asked if they were going to have to do groundbreaking research in order to get out with letters after her name. I suggested doing it on how economies don't function in the third world - I know a teeny little west african place where they have an apparently disfunctional economy to study. What are the requirements for something to be called an economy anyway? Maybe we don't even qualify for that...

“I still get wound up thinking about trekking through places, dealing with all the unknowns and oddities. Life is sort of like that here, just pulled out slow and twisted like taffy a little. Today a friend of mine was in a car accident about 85km away, got dropped off at the hospital here in town, where I met here and took her (on a horse cart) to my house, so we could hang for a few hours while I worked on improving the stability of my bed (carpentry) and she waited for a Peace Corps vehicle to come pick her up and take her to Kombo for x-rays and whatnot. It was odd, but many days tend towards that, and life just seems a little on its ear. “

Life has started up again after the long holiday break – one of the members of my training group actually had four consecutive weeks off, between travel, the Christmas and New Years break, then the immediately following Tobaski (though technically there was more than a week of school in between, very few teachers or students went, and no classroom work happened), and then more travel time. I wish it were an exceptional case, for a ten day between-term break to turn into a four week vacation, but it is probably closer to the rule. Life in the Gambia.

And then this week, the high school had a chance to get back to work, but guests from a Rotary club in the U.K. visited. The club has been supporting the computer lab on a two year project – paying some operating costs and other bits, and this is at least the second time the chairman and his wife have come to see the school. The principal really pulls out the stops, and no classes have been held all week (not to say that the two are completely correlated, but they are not unrelated either.) In my compound, people are saying “maybe next week learning will start”. I try not to be discouraged.

In other news, my domain was up for renewal, and I decided to change hosting providers, knowing full well it would be a headache to accomplish from here. I think, after all was said and done, I handled all the details except figuring out how to tell the domain registrar (company that actually relates the name to ip address / host) a credit card number to bill me. Their web site was amazingly unusable, and I don't think that was overly due to the fact that I am on the far end of the internet. So, perhaps I've lost the domain for a bit, very very slight possibility forever. And I will have lost any email sent while it's gone. Fantastically, we are experiencing that aforementioned internet blackout – two providers are having separate issues and so I can't do anything to fix this freaking problem. It doesn't keep me awake at night, but it does irk me during the daytime. Only when I actually need to do something online and urgent does this happen. Well, in reality I am just more sanguine about it the rest of the time.

Another reason I came to West Africa – develop patience. That and the serenity to accept those things I cannot change. Not happening yet...

domain

2006-01-13T17:16:00.000-05:00

I have been working on moving a web domain that I own to a new hosting provider, a project that I knew would be quite a bit more complicated than it is in the US, but it has proven to be even more interesting than I thought it would be. At any rate, I think I may have gotten the heavy lifting done – on my end at least, since I have foisted off the actual moving of data from the old domain onto my father, bless his willingness to follow me down rabbit holes – and now I’m just waiting for what’s going to happen when the actual switch happens. I suppose my email will just bounce for a bit, and I should send a message to that effect. But, I am going to try to get online one more time between now and the cutoff date, as I have the feeling that it will go as most substantial changes have gone in my internet career – a bit bumpy at first. It’s lovely to try to handle it from here.
There is loads of other news – Tobaski has been filling my days since Wednesday, and I have been enjoying the cultural education. Mostly, people eat meat like the most carnivorous Americans do, and some give themselves stomach aches or worse because they aren’t used to it. We had three rams, and have been eating mutton at every meal since before lunch on Wednesday. Supposedly even tomorrow we will still have it all day, but I think we are finally getting to the end. I’m not sure how much detail I should go into, but let me mention that I will be posting a picture soon with a skull featured as part of the meal. They don’t waste very much of anything, it’s pretty cool to watch if you can divorce a part of your mind from considering the situation too fully.
Other interesting news is that I was working with a pair of researchers from a university in the States who are coming here this summer to conduct a survey of behaviors and attitudes of grade ten students across The Gambia. One of them was a PCV here from ’79 to ’81, and has been back to do graduate level research and then to teach at University of The Gambia a number of times since. We had some interesting conversation about the state of this country, both then and now, and his impressions of the people and the situation. Twenty-five years is a very long time for this little place, but I don’t think much has changed substantively for many of the citizens, despite promises from probably dozens of aid and development organizations, and the overthrow of one (mostly useless) government for our current (…) one.
I believe that the internet here has reached the cut my losses stage – actually it probably did over a half an hour ago – and so this may be another entry that is saved and filed another day. Perhaps just as well, as I don’t think I’m in such a positive mood to be able to write glowingly of things here. They are actually pretty good, and I will try to relate that the next time I write…

Back in Fara Fenni Again

2006-01-07T16:41:00.000-05:00

So loads has happened, as it always does when times passes, but now I am “home” again here in Fara Fenni town. Back with the super slow internet, the toubabing*, and the home people. I actually got a hug when I came into the compound. Fun stuff.
So the most comment worthy portion of the journey from Fajara (the area of Kombo in which I was staying) back here was the leg from Brikama to Soma. My journey was in a number of legs: Fajara to Westfield to Brikama (all of which took much longer than they should, due to the fact that we were a group of four toubabs with luggage trying to get Gambian prices and do Gambian things instead of being ripped off), then on to Soma and Pakalinding, where I spent a couple days hanging with Woman, and then north to the river crossing and home. The car park in Brikama is the gateway to the “Trans-Gambia Highway”, which has taken over the title from the road on the North Bank as “Worst Road in the Nation” – truly a distinction in this world capital of bad roads. The car park is also a sprawling, messy place that apparently is a big improvement on what was there a few years ago, when they built a new facility. In any case, getting a car to Soma involves waiting, fending off lots of begging and offers of various sketchy natures, and eventually getting taken for all that the skilled operators can take from you to get on a vehicle that may or may not get to your destination that day. We – I was now only traveling with Robert, our other two companions having sought other transport in another section of the car park – hadn’t exactly done it all right that day, as the trip is generally considered to be difficult enough to merit getting up before dawn and finding the first batch of vehicles to leave town, so as to avoid a lot of the headaches we had. But, we did it anyway, and after paying two or three times too much for our luggage, as well as a 25 dalasi premium for the ride so late in the day, we joined a vehicle that I lovingly referred to as a “shit box”. I was in the far back corner, the ceiling low enough that I couldn’t sit up, the row of seats in front of me close enough to touch with my finger tips when my elbow was against my own seat back, and luggage wedging my feet into place so that any adjustment was nearly impossible. The one saving grace was that my left leg was in the “aisle”, so that it wasn’t bent at a yoga-like angle underneath the seat in front. The other passengers took turns leaning, or spilling food, or sneezing, on it. True bliss was only discovered after we passed the good stretch of the road – about 40 of the 150 kilometer journey – and we started bouncing and jolting and careening through the minefields of potholes and stretches where the “road” had apparently been removed by an act of god, to be replaced by areas where bad shocks are tortured to death by Satan. Robert and I took turns laughing, moaning, and crying “ow” to pass the time.
It was a good reminder of why people get up early in the morning to catch the good vehicles. We were lucky and didn’t have a single break down – a feat unachieved by volunteers who have traveled the road many times – and made it to Soma by seven PM. Six hours to travel 150 kilometers, and that counted as a fast, easy trip. I think I have officially started a series of rants about transport in this country. I hope you enjoy them, as I apparently am compelled to write about it.

*”toubab” is the name West Africans use to refer to whiteys. I’m not sure if I’ve covered this before, so footnoting.

Kombo has stickiness

2006-01-02T11:42:00.000-05:00

Somewhere I remember reading about websites, or perhaps in this information age, all media, and how they tried to be "sticky" - hold people attention. Kombo is like that for volunteers in the Gambia. It's functionally a different reality than up country where most of us live. Power every day. Hot showers occasionally. Banking. Internet. Variety in our diets. Chances to spend all of our money. Alcohol. American friends. Freedom from Gambians tracking our schedules, making comments about our habits.
So it's not such a surprise that we get stuck here occasionally. Even when people want to leave, they find that they have one more piece of business that has to happen before they can leave. In my case, it's banking. And now I am 72 hours into my wait to be able to get it done. Tomorrow morning is my big shot, I think. And then I hope to depart tomorrow around lunch time. God willing.
Not that I plan to go far. School is officially reopening after the holiday break tomorrow, but because Tobaski is so close, no one will be there. So, I am going to revisit Brikama (at least that's my current plan, could be modified a dozen times between now and whenever then is) - where I went for volunteer visit during training, and got on the internet for the first time during training. A few friends live there, and I am hoping to play some basketball. And maybe find some kana, a spirit made from cashew juice. ...The things that motivate a man...
It's been a great holiday season, I've had a lot of fun with my pals, and gotten done some of my work here. Now I am hoping to get back to Fara Fenni for some good work, cultural experiences, and more fun. And some rest, this vacation has taken a toll on my sleep patterns. All worth it, especially when I can go home to Fara Fenni and sleep in the beautiful cool season nights.
The best part of my life right now may just be that I refer to Fara Fenni as "home". It is never going to be home like Lakewood, but it's enough to think of it that way a little bit.

Clean The Nation Day

2005-12-31T07:18:00.000-05:00

Well, I wish it was more like Japan sometimes. There, the new year is the biggest celebration of the year, and everyone cleans their homes and pretty much everything with great ferocity beforehand, so that you start the year off fresh and new. Here, Clean the Nation Day happens (almost) monthly, and doesn't really seem to make much of a difference. At least to the cleanliness of the streets and whatnot. It certainly does make a difference to the ability to get things done on a Saturday morning, if you are a Peace Corps volunteer wanting to take care of banking, or anything else. Ah well, learning patience is one of the reasons I am here.
And I am sure they get things cleaner, if only because I saw piles of leaves and swept dirt on my way to the office. Sweeping dirt. When I visited Mali, I didn't really get it, why people swept the dirt. I mean, they are sweeping dirt off of ... dirt. But, now I believe in it, even if I don't understand it. Dirt looks better if it's swept up. And so, we "Clean the Nation". I am sure if this were the U.S, it would be "Clean the Nation Day, sponsored by Pinesol" or something horrid. At least I don't have to watch the Alamo Rent A Car Bowl, sponsored by Exxon, or anything, this year.
One of my projects this week has been getting my website moved to a different host. This is only really important now because I want to still use it for email, and I like having it out there for when I need to do something. But I have been paying too much, and so I have done some research on better providers. It is so much more complicated when I have to be here, using slow internet and no phones, rather than there, in the circumstance for which the system was designed. Ah well, Africa's not easy.
That's a very common saying here. People will always tell you "Africa is not easy", or "The Gambia is not easy". It is said so much that now it's a joke amongst volunteers - any trouble and someone (usually Robert) is likely to say "Africa isn't easy." Can't find any ketchup at the market? It's not easy here. The bank is closed for the forth time in a row when you go to get money? Africa isn't easy. Clean the Nation Day closes all businesses for the bulk of Saturday? You get the picture.
I have also linked to another blog - from Chris in my training group - and I hope people check out the other sites when you have a chance.

Happy New Year!

Love to you all,
Zac

A couple photos

2005-12-30T07:24:00.000-05:00

I feel a little lame for not being better at putting at least a little nonsense up over the past however many days, but I really have nothing. Working and being in front of the computer as much as I am recently in pursuit of other aims seems to have hurt my ability to make time to write here. But, new photos! And I will be putting many more up as soon as I get some editing software.

There should be, and was, software on this machine, but it gets deleted by the IT administrator, because the US Govt is a bit of a stickler about its IT procedures, and he likes to follow rules.

So, adaptability! That and New Year's Eve! Should be good times.

gone political again

2005-12-28T05:14:00.000-05:00

So one reason that I haven't been posting much recently is that the internet actually WORKS here. I can click on links, and they pages load before I have to go eat dinner. Also, it's free. Another result of me being able to read articles is finding this one:
Fear Destroys What Bin Laden Could Not

I am sure some of you won't agree with everything he has to say, but I was weeping because I think he is too right. Part of the reason I wanted to leave, to be in another place. But even here, everyone who knows anything about the US government thinks our regent is a bad person, because he "likes fighting". One of the things I tell people when they say that America is so great is that we have lots of problems too. They always ask what they are, and I usually start off with the war. Except in Mandinka there is no word for war, just fighting. Which is actually kind of beautiful, for a language to lack the concept for organized mass killing. So, I am still a flaming liberal over here, even though I try not to talk politics, and I obviously love my country very much.

We just have to figure out a way to get better people to be leading it.

New Photos and edits to the page

2005-12-24T10:50:00.000-05:00

So, as a geek with some rust but finally a bit of time on my hands with an internet connection, I spent some time making tweaks to the page instead of writing a proper post or some other things. But, I feel gratified for having done it, and I put up a couple images on the flickr side as well.

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season, and to be in touch with all of you soon.

Merry Christmas!

Cool map my Dad emailed me

2005-12-21T11:48:00.000-05:00

This is a map from someone at Univ. of Virginia (I think, based on the link) that I made a tiny edit to and put here because I felt remiss in not putting together a real post.
Thanks Dad!
Original link below: http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/SlaveTrade/collection/large/2-158.JPG

So many things

2005-12-21T10:39:00.000-05:00

Wow,
Life once again tries to overwhelm me. I am in Kombo, having come down from Fara Fenni this morning. Things are crazy, I want to post a bunch while I'm down, and be in touch with everyone. Until then, I am too busy to write a proper post, but I added a photo widget dealie, and some new photos to the flickr site.

Working

2005-12-15T06:05:00.000-05:00

Today I am back in the Senior Secondary School computer lab, on day two of a project to install new computers. Six came in a shipment from the UK, coordinated and perhaps put together by an NGO called Schools for The Gambia. Five more – four for the lab and one that seems to have gone to one of the schools officers as a sign of respect, not that he can use it – were bought by the school out of funds that I am not sure I understand. One thing I do understand is that the principal here (who seems to be hard working and have the interests of the school at heart, if not necessarily the interests of the students) is more concerned with having a large number of computers than having a financially healthy lab. The biggest problem is electricity, and the fuel that the generator uses, and the solution is to buy a generator that is closer to the correct size to power the lab. However, the principal is more interested in adding computers, and inflating the lab beyond what it can realistically use or support. The reality is that this is one of the best labs in any school outside of Kombo, and adding a few older computers doesn’t really add much. However, a generator of the correct size would allow it to run profitably as an internet café, with only a few computers running and a reasonable fee to use them. Currently the generator is 125 kva, uses about three liters of diesel per hour, and requires that the lab be full of users to not run at a loss. And the internet connection is dial-up, and relies on a connection to Banjul, which is then painfully slow from there as well. So, it’s unrealistic to think that more than five or six people can use the net at once, even if they are used to the unbelievably slow connection here.
At any rate, it’s a bit of a mess, and it’s my work. Trying to get anything done is further complicated by having to operate with and through my counterparts, not having the authority to make any decisions on my own. I don’t really want that responsibility, I don’t want to be central here because then they will come to depend on me, and then what happens when I leave? So, it’s always a struggle of doing things sustainably and getting anything done. And on top of all that, there are plenty of egos to massage, because these people all think of themselves as experts – and they are locally expert in the technologies. But none of them are capable of doing more than the bare basics in the overall sense of computing. So, I have to treat them as experts even if they don’t know what they are doing. And then the language barrier, where I can’t use much technical language. I am lucky that everyone I am working with today has a high level of basic English, so we can at least communicate at some reasonable level.
I am going to try to post this and get out of here, the atmosphere is turning a bit toxic, and I don’t want to be responsible for causing any heartache.
Until next time, love to you all, Zac

Monday's writing

2005-12-12T08:23:00.000-05:00

The best part of my day today was definitely as I rode away from the ferry, north to Fara Fenni, and I up to a group of monkeys hanging out on the side of the road. Is it a herd? A flock? A pod? What is a group of monkeys called? Anyway, it was pretty cool as they hung out without too much fear as I rolled up, got fairly close and a few of them weren’t even provoked to take off when I stopped there. They didn’t stay long, but I think if I did it right, I could get some pictures of them chilling on the side of the road. And then I might be able to get somebody to identify them.

Will one of you people blessed with broadband and a minute of googling please leave a comment with what a group of monkeys is called? Unless one of you just knows, you smart folks. I certainly can’t remember.

I spent the weekend in Pakalinding, hanging out with my good friends Woman and E-lizabeth. She left this morning for the US, via Kombo and Dakar, and will be there a whole month! I am hoping she checks out the blog and leaves snarky comments during that time. What else is she going to be doing? I would certainly be spending some serious time reuniting with my lost limb, google, and all the world out there in cyber-land.

We ate a lot of great food – Woman is an all star, I will leave it there for now – and I got two (2!) calls from home, one from my parents and one from Polly and Kenny. It was great to talk to all of them, but extra special to talk to the McHamptons, as I’ve heard they are now known, because I hadn’t been able to yet. Fun to catch up on things, realize how fast time is passing (although I seem to say that at least ten times a week), and just be in touch. Email is great, letters are fantastic, but the phone rules for an emotional connection. So that was a highlight.

Another sign of how fast the world moves – Friday is mail day again! I am hoping, but trying to be a little bit tempered, for an iPod in this mail, which would be pretty kick ass. Music is always present here, but I would love to have some of my own music in my house.

The internet is being as flaky as ever today, but I am beginning to really appreciate my opportunities to use it, because it’s not a given here by any stretch. And it’s extra sweet that some little tricks of mine have made it easier, and faster, to use.

So, with that, I make promises of photos to come, and many interesting stories as well. If I can just make some up….

travel

2005-12-05T14:00:00.000-05:00

Something else I have been meaning to write about was the process of getting to Basse for Thanksgiving. It was a memorable trip in a place where almost every experience travelling is a story. I somehow didn't take the trip quite seriously enough, didn't get to the car park before dawn as I should have to catch a vehicle down the road as early as possible. I was probably just lazy, and I hadn't had a long journey in a while. I was there by eight ish, though, and got a vehicle going to Kaur by nine or so. Amazingly, the last three passengers on board were Japanese. I spoke to them in English, timid about my Japanese after so long (plus every time I started to form a sentence in Japanese in my head, it came out in Mandinka grammar, with Mandinka pronouns), and discovered they were just going to Kaur, no where else. I couldn't think of any reason for any one to go to Kaur, it's a dumpy little town that's only noticed because someone thought it was a good idea to put a car park there, and thus make vehicles stop on their way upcountry. I eventually found out that one of them was a master's candidate, wanting to do her research there. She spoke English haltingly, and no local languages, so I thought she would have a tough time of it, but still, it's a pretty cool thing to do. And I got to suprise her by finally breaking out some rusty Nihongo - the only reason she spoke at all, being the timid type of Japanese woman.

After that, I got lucky and the same vehicle continued on to Wassu, without too much delay. Maybe a half an hour or so. That ride was as normal as they get - dusty, hot, bumpy, and me the only foreigner. Wassu, though, is a crappy place. It has even less claim to its car park than Kaur does - except it supposedly has a great lumo (weekly market) on Mondays. I doubt you'll ever find me there. There wonderful Wassu atmosphere just isn't quite compelling enough.

What got me so turned off on Wassu? Well, it wasn't that when I got there, the vehicle they told me was next to leave was not only no where near full, it didn't have four wheels. Apparently Wassu is so famous for getting vehicles stuck, a thriving industry in repairing wheels has sprung up, and vehicles have their wheels removed and new tires (or more likely old, old tires that have been repaired somehow) put on them. After waiting two hours or so, not unexpected or particularly unpleasant, a vehicle came into town and stopped on the other side of the road. I thought, let's just see where they are going, just in case. Because at that time it was well after two, and my getting to Basse was no longer a certainty. The vehicle, though, was going there! What luck! I told the driver I'd come with him, and he responded with something that seemed like hedging and sounded like more Mandinka than I could understand. So, he got someone else to explain it. That someone turned out to be the driver of the other vehicle, the one without four wheels. He said I could go on this vehicle if I paid him the fare he would have been paid to take me the 20km down the road he said he could take me. I explained that the vehicle was going ALL THE WAY TO BASSE, and I would prefer to take it, please. He said I should pay him. I didn't understand, and I told him so. The conversation drifted away. Later, as we all waited for the grass to grow, or something else that was happening slower, he asked me if I still didn't understand. I said, yes, I still didn't understand. Later again, he tried to explain it all again, including that the driver of the vehicle going to Basse would have to pay 200 dalasi if I didn't pay. He wanted 20 dalasi for this trip I wasn't going to take. I began to sense that I wasn't going to get on the vehicle going to Basse by ignoring this guy. But, stubborn like I am, I didn't want to pay him for having less than a full load of wheels, or passengers. Especially because by this point, if I waited for him, I might not make it any farther along the road that day, much less to Basse.

Eventually, an old man came up, everything was explained in poor English again, and I relented. I would pay the D20, then pay the other driver the D65 to get to Basse. As I came to understand it, once a person arrives in a town with a car park, if they are continuing their trip but the vehicle they came in is not, they become the property of the next vehicle in the queue to leave. And, if a vehicle comes through town, continuing onward, it cannot pick up those new passengers unless they have bought their freedom from the car to which they were enslaved. This may in fact be written down somewhere, and enforced strictly on big, dumb white people who should just expect to get hustled by the system. That's why I don't really care for Wassu. Because it's a stupid little village that causes travellers grief by having a car park. The car parks in big towns aren't a problem, because those towns are logical midpoints or transfers for journeys, and the vehicles in the queue fill up faster than the Marianas Trench. And there aren't many vehicles passing through on their way to actual destinations. And I don't really like Wassu because almost the same thing happened to me there once before, for crying out loud.

The vehicle I left there in, bless it and it's driver, was like a big minivan of sorts. We went down the road to Lamin Koto, the farthest East I had been in the Gambia until then, and the crossing point to Janjanbureh Island, and then turned onto a bush road to go up and cross at Bansang. This was a true bush road - never had a road crew touched it, never had a surveyor considered it, and never would a passenger vehicle travel it. Well, that last one probably isn't true in this country, but I wouldn't suggest it. It was basically a cart path, and reinforced for me the line about superhighways being old game trails. We were on the early side of that spectrum. But, the driver was fantastic, almost never losing control in the sand, and never needing us to get out and push. (My personal standard of success here - that and not smashing anything) We drove along paths with three or four meter high grasses on each side of the car, through bits that I would never want to try in the rainy season, and into a few towns. In one village, where the compound walls were close enough that you could hit them if you opened the door too far, we stopped. I sheepishly enquired for what reason, and was told we would be going again soon. About ten minutes later, I was invited into a compound and brought to the lunch food bowl. So, I ate some rice and cayenne pepper, thanked them profusely, and waited around. Had a pretty cool conversation with the young guys of the compound - my age, all married and fathers and underemployed. Eventually we got going again, and I was pretty psyched about the encounter.

We got to the river crossing to Bansang and discovered the duck had died. One of the passengers had been travelling with a duck in a box - the duck's head poked out of the box, and the rest of the box was more snug than it should have been. When we stopped in the village for lunch, at one point the duck made some very unhealthy noises, and there was general concern for its wellbeing. It died between there and getting to the river. I think the Gambians were most disappointed because if they had killed it, it could have been used for food, but now it was just trash. They probably all regretted not killing it when it made the unhealthy noises.

After that the ferry came across the river and we all got on. Then I realized why it was so much quieter than the ferry at the crossing down here - there was no motor. There was just a thick cable that the passengers used to pull the ferry back and forth. I actually got into it after a bit, and was pulling away, glad for the exercise. The sucky part was the frayed metal strands, how they would stick you or cut your hand if you hit them wrong. Besides that, it was a cool trip across the river.

We were now on the right side of the river, and supposedly the road was good the rest of the way. Nobody had mentioned to me that the police in this area were collecting “donations” at every police stop. And those seemed more dense than in any other area. I don’t know that it was graft for certain, but they definitely took money. So that was interesting. And the last cop that stopped us found something else interesting – the front left tire was going flat. He didn’t even collect anything as the driver decided to try to race the hole to Basse. Which was exciting, going at top speed in that over-laden, under-powered, glorified smartcar packed with a dozen souls. But, it didn’t work, and we had to stop and change the tire about four km from town. The thing that blew my mind, though, the thing that really baked my noodle, was that after that race, we then stopped LESS THAN A KILOMETER FROM OUR DESTINATION and waited for the original tire to be repaired and put back on the car. For almost an hour. Truly, that was the thing that just put it over the top.

After that, we got into town, I jumped out near the police station and eventually was able to get a hold of someone who met me and took me to the PC transit house, where it all became a good story instead of a saga I was living through. That’s a great part of living here, it all becomes another good story so easily.

a normal day

2005-12-05T13:48:00.000-05:00

There are so many things I want to write about, I feel like they are blocking each other out and making me go blank. It reminds me of the Simpson's, where Mr. Burns goes to a clinic and they tell him he has so many diseases trying to kill him, he is being saved by The Three Stooges Effect, I believe it was called. All jammed in the door so none can pass. I defeat the Three Stooges Effect by writing about what's closest at hand: today.

It's pretty much a normal day, a Monday, I was here for the weekend and have a full day of work planned. I got up around seven, having dozed fitfully for most of the night, and slept restfully little. It was cool enough so that when we got together over morning foodbowl - mono in Mandinka, something they want to call pap in English (little balls of rice powder, like very large cous-cous, in a sweet sauce/porridge) - one of the boys was wearing a no kidding winter jacket, in camo print, with the hood and it's fake fur fringe up. Hilarious. I was comfortable in my scrub pants* and a short sleeve shirt. People wrap themselves in towels, extra skirts, anything to keep out the "cold".

The water tap wasn't behaving very well in its daily performance. Mostly just drooling out an unconvincing trickle, not filling the twenty liter bidong (in a former life it was a twenty liter jug of cooking oil, as are almost all the big water jugs {TWENTY LITERS of cooking oil - that should tell you something about how we stay nourished here}) at anything resembling reasonable speed. I was half minding the tap, as I have appointed myself occasional second assistant to the water commander, and hoping to get some water myself. I suppose I could get as much from the tap as I wanted, I have some secret priority that even I don't really know about, but it seems greedy to fill up more than one bidong in the morning, and most days I don't even use the twenty liters. When I want to wash anything that doesn't go to the laundry service (aka the powerhouse washer woman in the compound), I will usually use more, but I keep a spare bidong full of water for those days. Anyway, the tap worked itself out and the various basins, buckets, and bidongs all got filled, or close enough for Gambians.

I went to Anglican Upper Basic School around ten, my first stop of the day, to check on the state of their various computers. This was the big day they were going to turn the generator on for me to actually use the computers, and find out what was actually there in working order. It turned out better than I had hoped in many cases, they have at least seven fully workable computers, some that you might not raise an eyebrow at if you saw them in America. Well, one or two like that. The issue we ran into, as I knew must happen, is that the generator isn't strong enough to power them all at once. They have a dedicated generator for the lab, but it's only 2.2 kva, and when I turned on a fifth computer, the biggest power hog of the ones already running restarted. It was only a few weeks ago that I learned that is the expected behavior when a computer isn't getting enough juice, but it makes sense. I learn all sorts of new things about computers here, just not many I expect to be able to apply back in the States, unless a Bush is elected in 2008.

Regardless, that was a problem I fully expected going into the day, and it's better to have it out in the open so we can discuss what to do next. Anglican visit counts as a big success.

Next, I went to Fara Fenni Senior Secondary School, the big dog in town, with its massive generator and stable computer lab with ongoing classes. They are not as regular as I would like, having been cancelled more weeks recently than they've been held, but it's something. We have been working to get their internet connection working again, for the past two months. It's been out since the end of May, but things don't happen quickly here. Unless my boss comes to town. She was here last week on Tuesday, and basically dropped action bombs everywhere she went. I actually heard her say to the principal of the high school, "Sometimes, Mr. Morong, you just have to sit on their heads." And I couldn't have agreed more. She spoke to the deputy managing director of the national phone monopoly - Gamtel - and got him to agree to put pressure on the Fara Fenni branch to do its job and fix the phone line. I had been going to the local office for about six weeks with the lab manager / computer instructor, and we had nothing. But, Friday the technicians were calling back and forth, sending faxes and acting like they could do work, and today they came by - before I got there - and declared it to be working. I don't necessarily believe that means anything, but maybe it does.

The good news was that the school's whopping 125 kva generator was suddenly incapable of producing the current to run the lab. It would run, just produce the steady voltage the ups's (uninteruptable power supply) would need to protect the computers. This from a generator that's about big enough to power half this town. The generator that provides light for the houses in my compound is 0.62 kva. It's rinky dink and dependable for nothing, but they get lights, and television. Sometimes or television. Regardless, the school principal, or someone with him, had "touched something" that suddenly made the generator unreliable. So, just when Gamtel says we have a telephone line again, something else blows in. Nawec, the national electricity monopoly, whose rural electrification project is about ten years late but might be finished for the presidential election next year, is supposed to send someone over tomorrow morning to make the generator right. We'll see.

The other hilarity at the high school is exam time. The end of first term is nearly upon us, and all the high school students are taking tests. And FF Senior Secondary is a big time school, so they can afford to give each student a copy of the test, instead of them copying it down from the blackboard. The only problem with that is that approximately 0% of the teachers can type, so they haven't printed a single exam by this time last week. Most of them are hand written, but have to be typed, printed and then copied. I spent a few hours last Friday typing in exams for them, but they still had a big number to get through. And their copying machine is out of toner. So, even if the generator was working, they couldn't copy them. The copying machine at the hospital is also out of toner. They are using the machine at MRC (a British medical research organization) but it's a private facility and they can't do all the copying they need to there. So, yesterday they sent someone to Kerewan, about a three hour drive away, to the regional education office, to make the copies. And they sent someone else today. They are also trying to get a new toner cartridge, but that is only available in Kombo, a minimum 14 hour round trip. I think they sent someone though. 14 hours. For toner. Almost certainly to get one cartridge. He'll probably stay a couple days, do some other business, come back and say they were issues, perhaps with or perhaps without toner. Working with "technology" is wonderful here.

call to prayer

2005-11-30T17:49:00.000-05:00

The sounds of evening call to prayer can be quite beautiful. Morning call to prayer, at five ish, are a little bit less inspiring, but taking a bath in the deepening night, as I am serenaded by imams (in a fashion), is pretty cool. Especially when the weather is as dry and relatively cool as tonight.

Life has been a blur lately – no posts in a while are the result. Two Fridays ago I had an experience with a mason that maybe shouldn’t be recorded, but was very “instructive”. That night Woman came up and we went out with two friends who were on the monthly mail run – so I got some letters and packages! Very much appreciated. Then I spent the weekend vaguely recovering from the mason, talking to Woman on Saturday, and seeing some other friends on Sunday. Monday was my last day of work before the trip to Basse, which was a smashing success.

I told myself I would write about the trip up there, which had some classic travel in Gambia moments, but maybe this isn’t the time.

Thanksgiving, though, was a home run; no body missed turkey, the chicken was so good, and almost everybody contributed something to making it a great time. I was there all day Wednesday getting ready for the storm, which blew in that night and lasted through Saturday. We did lots of story telling, reminiscing from training, and hanging out, a great group of people happy to be reunited after a couple big months.

There were board games played, there was wine consumed, and there was lots of recognition of growth in a group which had seemed pretty young when I met them in Philadelphia five months ago. It’s starting to feel like we’ve been here a while – soon we won’t be “the new guys” anymore, as the Environment volunteers are about to swear in and take over that role. There have been many times when I wasn’t sure this was the experience I wanted, that my life was headed in a different direction, but recently things seem to be better, more often. It’s still hard plenty of the time, and it’s still Africa all of the time, but slowly slowly things evolve.

Work is busy, which may be a part of it. I am getting a handle on some projects, and getting people warmed up to working with me. And the one project with a principal who really isn’t bringing anything to the table has officially gone back burner. Yesterday my boss came through, on her trek around to see all the education volunteers. She basically focused my work, cajoled some people, and made other things official that I had been doing on the side. Made my life easier, in other words. The best kind of boss, I have been lucky to work with one or two in the past, and always appreciate them.

Today I played basketball for the first time since mid-Ramadan, and apparently there is a tournament or something on Saturday. I will have to check that out, and let you know.

I wrote a little bit last night, but I was pretty wiped out and it’s a bit sloppy. Enjoy!

yesterday's news

2005-11-29T17:47:00.000-05:00

So I jumped ship in Hong Kong, made my way to Tibet. Told em I was a looper, you know, a caddy...

One of my favorite movie quotes

Tonight is a beautiful night, and I am inside a fluorescent lit room, in front of a bunch of computer monitors. How did this happen in Africa? I suppose I will never quite escape geekdom. Tonight it's only more noticeable because I am worn out from my trip to Basse, smashing success that it was, and from waking before five this morning to finally get my ride back to the mighty FF. So I am a little loopy. A little more than usual. FF sounds so much mightier than Fara Fenni to me. I should put up a poll to see what the consensus is, among the seven different readers of this mess.

The hospital has its power back in order, and it seems that these classes with teachers from the middle school are going well. It's certainly an experience for me, working with people who know so little about typing, mousing, word processing, all things that I learned without remembered effort. I am trying to allow them to just figure it out, to find their own way. The problem is confidence – they don't have any, and they don't have enough of a baseline knowledge for me to have much to build on. Gambians mostly “learn” by rote memorization exclusively, and aren't given tools to teach themselves new skills very readily. I am constantly trying to figure out ways to break them out these habits, any suggestions highly welcome…

Mailbag and Christmas! list

2005-11-16T13:29:00.000-05:00

For today we are going back to the mailbag... Well, really I have just always wanted to write that. But Polly did send some questions that are useful as a starting place or have been commonly asked. So, here are her questions:
When is the coolest time to visit? ... Also, do you guys have stage houses like Charles did in Segou? Do you have opportunities to gather and have American holidays or just a beer weekend? Do you have ice? Do you eat it? What is the biggest treat you get to eat? Is there any air conditioning in the city? In your house? What do you sleep on?
And my answers:
*The coolest time to visit me here is December and January. Now through mid/late February is the "cool" season. It is still hot by Lakewood standards during the middle of the day, but nights are delightfully cool - I had a blanket of sorts on for a bit of last night, and it will be getting cooler for a while still. The Harmattan winds are a concern, but I have yet to have any first hand experience.
*Yes, we have two houses right now - one in the capital region which is managed by the Peace Corps administration to some degree, and one in Basse, at the far end of the country, run by volunteers. I am going to the Basse house next week for Thanksgiving. We are supposedly getting a third house in Soma - a hour's journey south of here - some time in the next three to six months. Mostly because Soma is a transport hub, and people frequently get stuck there.
*We are getting together for Thanksgiving in Basse because my training group is on "Three Month Challenge" and are not welcome in the Kombo area until that's finished. Beer weekends also happen.
*There is often ice available here in Fara Fenni. I don't eat it, but I do drink cold water that it makes possible. Probably some risk of sickness, but a trade off I am willing to take.
*My biggest treat is often Woman's cooking - she is great at making yummy stuff from local ingredients, and somehow it never tastes like local food. Besides that, I don't have a single thing that I rely on, though the dried fruit my mom has sent is pretty fantastic.
*There is air conditioning in some of the Kombo hotels. Also, here the high school has it in the computer lab, though it doesn't really work. This time of year is dry enough so that I almost never need it, and can sit inside my hut without sweating, except in the hottest part of the day. And nights, like I said before, are cool and delicious.
*No. Not a chance of that.
*I sleep on a foam mattress, on a bed about three and a half feet off the floor. Right at the level of the windows. I am going to try to put some photos of it up soon, though not today.

The other item I wanted to post today is my Christmas List, which I have been considering for weeks if not months, but somehow feel certain that I am still forgetting many important things: (the highest priority items are marked)
#6mm and 7mm hex wrenches - to fix my bike
tabasco sauce
Dr. Bronner's liquid Peppermint soap
#a natural bristle body brush - exfoliating is heaven and very necessary to keep away skin fungus / infections
acidofolus (sp?) - my digestive system needs some good news
"green" multivitamins - I don't know how else to describe them in less than three paragraphs
radio/cassette player OR satellite radio
lever 2000 soap
#Arm & Hammer baking soda toothpaste - yummy
q-tips
philosophy/religion books - Buddhist, eastern, socialist, anything to stir brain cells
#Gabriel Garcia Marquez's autobiography - forget the title, but I am longing to read it
good batteries - AAA in particular
#water bottle cage and water bottle for my bike
speakers for my iPod, so I can shake my booty in my hut
music
letters
pictures - digital is good, film better
Borsari salt
food - dried fruit, energy bars, the usual, or anything unusual
a journal - I have one, or four, right now, but they are filling up
#promises to visit!

Things here are good in general - I wrote a long post the other day which I just put up, with details of my recent activities and thoughts. I have had the good fortune to speak with my parents twice in the past three days, today via Skype, which was a decent price and not much hassle (for me at least!). Next week is my trip to Basse, for a touch of work and a bunch of Thanksgiving, so much eagerness is in the air. And, on Friday, mail! The third Friday has come around again, sweet news. So, life is good and preparing to be better. I will be online again before I depart, and maybe from Basse as well, inshallah.

Love to everyone, and the new email thing is great!
Zac

Monday

2005-11-14T13:08:00.000-05:00

Today I am writing from Tahir Senior Secondary School, on Mansakonko Road, in Pakalinding, just north of Soma in the Lower River Division. I am here visiting Ani, a second year ICT volunteer, to try to get some work done on two projects. One with his school and one with mine – both done in “African time”, as I am increasingly recognizing and getting a feel for its attributes. I will save this onto my usb drive – my favorite computer tool thus far in this country, and then hope to post it in a couple days at my (somewhat) trusty internet café in Fara Fenni.

Things here are good – I have been visiting friends in Njau last week Friday / Saturday, and then last night and today here in Pakalinding. The Soma is a transit hub for the south bank, and there are often people here passing through on their way to or from the Kombo region. This Friday is mail run, and then a week from tomorrow, Tuesday, I am heading to Basse, to do some work and have Thanksgiving. My training group is all gathering there – it will be a fun reunion of just us, as the rest of the volunteers are in Kombo for an All Volunteer meeting and Thanksgiving celebrations.

After the fun and excitement of Koriteh, and about two weeks consecutively in Fara Fenni, I was ready for a change of scenery. I think I appreciate the place most when I am not there all the time. Especially when I go to places like Njau, a small village in the North Bank area of Central River Division. Two friends are there, one on the Wollof side of the village, and one on the Fula side. She speaks great Fula, and Chris – my colleague from training – speaks very good Wollof. And no one in town really speaks Mandinka. So, I am the useless third wheel of languages, and a bit fish out of water with the village lifestyle to boot. It was good practice, and I’ll go back, but I was happy to be able to get more food that I like, or just have some variety in the day, when I came back to Fara Fenni. Life here is definitely not like it is in the village, and though I thought I would be missing out, I am coming to capitalize on the benefits of being here, and taking the opportunities I have to get out to other spots as well. I think I want to try to do it every month, go somewhere smaller, and hang out for a couple days.

Then, a trip down to Pakalinding, to catch up with my people there. Colleen (aka Woman), Elizabeth, and Ani are the closest people I have to sitemates, both in travel time and in face time. We went to a birthday party Sunday night for a German woman who was here with the World Food Program. She actually works – as does her Italian colleague (who made yummy pasta that I fear was a bit lost on the hordes of Gambian kids plowing through it, but it was food to them too) – for a European shipping company – like FedEx, I think – whose name I have forgotten. They are allowed to go work for the WFP for three months, keeping their salary and returning to their jobs afterwards. The company actually donates most of the money for their WFP projects, and so is more or less sending along its own labor to distribute the donations. It’s a great program from their side of it. Unfortunately, they end up doing marginally useful things, and spending too much money doing them, in some cases. I don’t really think I am doing much that’s more useful, but I have a better idea about how things could be accomplished. And it’s so rarely one-size fits all. I mean, it might actually be possible to help fix a lot of this country’s problems, if we were willing to spend huge amounts of money and resources and build a lot from the ground up, with people in situations like mine given big budgets after about six to twelve months immersion. But even then, they would have to be trained civic architects, and lots of technical specialists, and all willing to listen and live with the people. We could certainly ease some of the major problems – the roads and the electricity among them – if we did that. But then, eventually, “We” leave, and then what? How do we make ourselves obsolete in that scenario? That’s what I bang me head into at every point – why are we here if what is most needed is for this country to get down to the business of taking care of itself? Or changing so that it can?

And, I think the answer to that question is that we see the people that are a part of that equation. Because life really isn’t about countries and economies and infrastructure and development. It’s really about people, relationships, living. And perhaps we can build better lives in smaller ways, help out in little things, learn to be better citizens of the world by being decent people here. That, and it’s a great chance to get to know ourselves and each other – the volunteers I have met are almost exclusively very good people, some with their issues and approaches, but good people. And it’s a treat to be able to get to know a big group of people who share a big experience and some sort of outlook on life. It’s about both the people that live here and the people with whom we have come.

I think I am done sermonizing now. Mostly, I think it’s written for myself, as I try to figure out some sense from this experience. I know I am lucky to have the chance to do this – both the living in Africa and the exploration itself. Hope you all are well,

Love, Zac

The far side of Ramadan

2005-11-06T13:20:00.000-05:00

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

A post from Tuesday

2005-11-01T13:00:00.000-05:00

A bit rushed and out of sorts today, but want to post something if I can. Ramadan is wrapping up, and either Thursday or Friday is Koriteh, a day of prayers and feasting. Many people travel to their family homes for it, so school is out this whole week. And might be next week for many teachers and students who just don’t make the effort to get back. This is one of the problems with the Gambian education system, where teachers are placed in schools by the central government, and can be sent far away from where ever they call home. Then, when they travel for important holidays, they spend more time on the road, and their returns often do not conform to any official school calendar. So, the breaks drag on, and students don’t want to be in school if the teachers aren’t there, and then a vicious cycle ensues.
But, that feels a little bit like whining, and things have been good. I went to a gathering of volunteers on Georgetown island last weekend, for Halloween and to send off the departing environment sector volunteers, leaving at the end of the month. It was fun, a bit crazed and perhaps too much like college for me, but great to meet other volunteers, discuss work or life with them, and have a new experience. I got lots of pictures, and will hopefully have some ready next week sometime.
I also had a meeting with two people who have come from the Peace Corps Office of the Inspector General to do an audit of the program here. There were nine volunteers at the meeting, one of a half dozen they are conducting around the country, and we had an honest discussion of Peace Corps The Gambia, without too much bitching and with lots of suggestions and give and take. The inspectors were both former volunteers, and were familiar with a lot of the gripes that were expressed. From that meeting, I have come away with a stronger feeling that some of my impressions are true, such as the fact that there are too many NGOs and “development” groups at work here. And that many Gambians are actually dis-empowered by the overabundance of people here giving away money. It is a topic I spent much of my first month at site considering, whether “white people” are doing more harm than good by being here, and by allowing, or encouraging, locals to take back seats in their own country’s development. There aren’t easy answers to this type of question, and I have stayed here mainly because I think the development part of my job is the least important of the three goals.
It doesn’t look like I will be able to post this today, as the internet is bewilderingly slow. But, I think I will post it at some point, as it’s an honest look into one day here...

photos!

2005-10-26T14:28:00.000-04:00

I have figured out how to put photos up from Fara Fenni... so now there are four new ones. Hope you enjoy:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/69931133@N00/

life as a process

2005-10-26T13:31:00.000-04:00

Of course, as time passes, more things begin to take shape. It’s a process that reminds me of getting night vision after spending time in a brightly lit room. Things look very different once you have taken the time to let yourself settle down and get your bearings. I suppose this is an admission, to myself at least, that I was overly anxious to be finished with the moving-in process and onto what is next. Now I see that it takes time, and even if this were an American city I would still be figuring out the best grocery stores and hardware stores, not to mention growing a group of friends. So, I suppose I should allow time to take its course here, and have faith that good things will happen if I let them.
Work is certainly picking up – I have another school to work with now, and I am tackling actual problems at the high school, and it generally feels like there are things for me to do. I have met with all the major players in town – representatives at least – and I think I have a good feeling for who is interested in playing ball any time soon. The new school I am working with is supported by the Anglican mission, in a relationship I don’t yet fully understand. They are a small school with only nine total classes (but nearly 450 students), and have resources behind them for things like a computer lab. They even have a separate generator for it, and nine working computers. It’s very promising, and hopefully I can figure out how to clear the last hurdles to get the lab functioning.
I am also getting to know the community a bit better, and have been playing basketball with some kids / young adults at a youth center. I just realized I am old enough so that males who seem like kids to me might object to being called that. Oh well, it had to happen sometime.
Other details from the past week… went on a quick trip to Kalagi, which is on the south bank, about twenty kilometers, and more than an hour’s travel, west of Bambako (my training village). I got to hang out with three other volunteers and a German undergraduate who is volunteering with a Catholic mission. I even have some pictures that I am going to try to upload. I also visited another IT volunteer in Soma, and saw some of his problems. It was fun to work together, and good to see another set of issues from the ones I run into every day up here. Other than that, it’s been a lot of groundnut (peanut) paste sandwiches and sweaty cooking as Ramadan grinds toward an end.
I’m going to a party on Georgetown Island this weekend – a combination of Halloween and send-off for the environment group that departs at the end of next month. We will be celebrating on a boat on the mighty River Gambia, and hopefully there will be much fun and hilarity involved. It doesn’t quite feel like Halloween here, no trees are losing their leaves and the temperature is stuck at hot, but hopefully a big group of volunteers getting together will provide the ambience. Or at least an interesting day trip…
Love to all, Zac

Busy Beaver

2005-10-21T13:32:00.000-04:00

At the end of another week, I am busier and more full of comings and goings than I thought I would be. Last weekend I went to Pakalinding to visit Woman, and then on to Bambako to see my host family there, the villagers, and the new trainees. We rode there in a gele-gele (passenger bus thing), with our bikes on the top of the vehicle, and then came back on them. It was a great day, gorgeous nighttime ride back – we took longer than we thought and spent most of the ride under a full moon.
Sunday there were a couple of other visitors in Pakalinding, and the three volunteers who lived there gathered us all up for a great dinner – lentil soup, cucumber salad, bread, and some wine. It was great to hang out with everyone and have a good dinner. I came home Monday morning feeling refreshed, recharged, ready to take on this challenge with a new assertiveness.
The week has been good – one of the guys who had been in Pakalinding swung through town and helped me with my bike; he got all the kinks worked back out and it’s a pleasure to ride again. And I have been busy digging up work for myself. The senior secondary school (like high school) has some problems with the internet connection that I am helping to iron out. There is a small junior high school in town that is affiliated with the Anglican church which has some computers and wants me to work with them to get a program going. And there are other things going on.
Besides all that, I think I am getting better at not doing too much. Taking care of myself, getting my health in order, and making a life here. It’s a good project, and one that I am enjoying more and more. Besides the heat, which turned up a level of intensity for five days or so earlier this week, I am very happy. And the heat is only a problem when I don’t take steps to manage it, when I don’t factor it in correctly. Well, that and sleeping can be a problem sometimes when going to bed is a sweaty affair. But, that’s one of the tasks I live with, and it’s just life.
Tomorrow I am going on a whirlwind trip to Kalagi, hopefully coming back on Sunday. Then next weekend I am planning to go to Jangjang Burre / Georgetown for a boat party for Halloween. So there should be some fun on the way, and enough moving around to keep me from being bored. And then Ramadan ends the next week, which will be a relief to my peanut butter supply.
Things are good, I feel like I am making progress in the right directions, almost in spite of myself at times, and I enjoy a lot of the hours and days tremendously. And some others of them are there to cut the sweetness, like pickles at sugar on snow…

Love to all, Zac

life goes on

2005-10-13T14:50:00.000-04:00

Week Four here in Fara Fenni is some how more of the same, and yet, things roll along in their way. There are so many things but none of them stand out... I talked to my parents for the second time, as their lives have slowed down enough to catch hold of them. In fairness, they called me, and it was great to talk to them. Hearing about details of the world back there is always a double edged sword, and it brings into sharp contrast both the things that are not available here and the length of time stretched out in front of me. But, after a bit of melancholy, I came to see what an opportunity that time is, and how many things I can look forward to learning and experiencing in this vastly different setting.
One of the main tasks I work on these days is trying to get a feel for what resources exist here, and who might be willing to share those resources in exchange for my help. So far, I have found three places that have anything going on: the hospital, Karafi (a company who is building roads here), and MRC (a British medical research group). From my recent meetings with them, only the hospital is willing to play ball at this point, and they to a very limited extent. Other than that, I am hoping that I can build on what the high school has. The computer lab there consists of 18 computers, two air conditioners, and a massive generator that consumes 20 liters of diesel every three hours. It’s one of the best computer labs of any school in the country, and hopefully I can figure out some ways to extend its benefits. One of the problems right now is the cost of running the huge generator. It causes the classes to be priced out of a reasonable range for most students. Solutions to this problem are varied, but the first thing that strikes me is that the power company is promising the return of electricity to Fara Fenni within a couple months. I need to make a contact at Nawek – the power utility – in order to evaluate their progress, which certainly is far behind what has been promised, but might get finished in time for next year’s elections. That’s a rumor at least.
I am not sure how much I have written about the border being closed, but it was “supposed” to open up on Monday of this week. It hasn’t opened, and the list of things that are available only through black market channels is getting distressing long. Perhaps the rumors were based on some fact, and it may open soon. The road projects are all stalled, the power project must be as well, and the mouse’s holes in my house are unfixable. And those are just due to cement not being available. I would also like to see the border open just so I can know what Fara Fenni is like at full bore. I first came here a few weeks after it closed, and have only seen the dried up version. And with Ramadan, things are almost like a town in the old west at times during the day.
Speaking of Ramadan, it’s now seven, and the place has emptied for prayers and fast breaking. I feel great not having fasted all day, but the water thing catches up with me, as I don’t like to even carry water around during the day time. I will go home and drink a few liters. Until next time…

Ramadan! It's a party for the whole digestive system

2005-10-08T13:21:00.000-04:00

Here I am again in Quantum Associates, the fine purveyor of internet access along the Senegal road in Fara Fenni. My good friend Colleen, who I refer to as Woman most of the time, is up visiting today, and we are taking advantage of the early opening time of the café due to Ramadan. No one eats until sundown, so more could get done during the day. I say could instead of can because very little actually gets done, especially as the day wears on and people are exhausted from hunger and thirst. Woman and I were discussing what seems like a good idea in theory – eating less and valuing food more – turns out to be disastrous in practice because everyone just falls asleep all the time.
Ramadan for me has been about bread. I eat a lot of it. I usually eat a small baguette like piece of bread for breakfast most days, but since Ramadan started, I find myself eating two, or two and a half loaves a day. They eat bread to break the fast, just after seven p.m. prayer, with some tea. I eat bread during the day to keep from losing more weight and floating away in the breeze. Then I have more bread when I get back from work, because they don’t serve me any lunch. Today I took a break from bread, and made some terrible cornmeal and flour pancake disasters for breakfast. I inherited the ingredients from the two volunteers who quit the day I got here (not my fault), and not enough else to make them taste very yummy. But, for lunch we made beans and some sautéed vegetables, which was entirely yummy, and didn’t include rice or bread. And tonight the plan is to go to a restaurant, so no bread all day! A victory of epic proportions.
Besides that, Ramadan is annoying because everyone, EVERYone, asks “are you fasting?” I have decided to alternate my answers daily, so I “fasted” two days so far, and haven’t two others. I really do want to fast at some point, and see how it all is, but I need to get my feet back under me health wise, and do it for the right reasons. Not because every person I might on the street asks about it. And they scold me if I am not, and are incredulous if I say I am. And, to top it off, some people in the compound where I live want me to pray with them if I fast. Which just feels a little further than I am willing to go right now. But, it makes for interesting times.
Ramadan is good as a marker of the passing of time – when it is over, I will have been at site for six weeks, half of our initial “three month challenge” to stay away from the capital region for three months. And it’s good because it’s a way to get another glance into the culture. But mostly so far it has been more another lesson in patience and flexibility. Which is one of the reasons I am here – to have those lessons, so I should appreciate it more than I do.
The other news is slim: my bike is still reeling from the trip to Njaba Kunda, functional but just barely; I have been meeting more people in the area from other international organizations, mostly as a way to build a network for resources and ideas; and the rains haven’t quite ended, as we enjoyed a couple of midweek rainy days that kept the temperatures quite livable.
That’s the news at the moment, hope you are all well, enjoying fall and all that.

Week two, recap

2005-10-03T16:21:00.000-04:00

Here I am trying to make the internet work for me again in Fara Fenni. At some point I hope to find a better place, but for now, this hot, strange spot – weird hours and policies – and its slowness are what I have. I wrote a long post a week ago, and was just able to post it – with the date I wrote it – so there will be two entries today.
Today is Monday, yesterday was the lumo here, and Maalik came down from Njau to go. We went with Wuli, a friend of Stacy and Jade, who were the two volunteers that left the day after I arrived. It was useful to have him there, translating and helping out, but made for a bit of a buffer compared to my first trip there, which was quite overwhelming in its intensity. Anyway, it’s fun to have a friend visit, he got supplies he needed, and I got food for my family’s foodbowl, and some for myself this time. Tonight I cooked pasta with sardines in tomato sauce, was very good as variety and would certainly pass as a good dinner on the river. Maybe not in the finer kitchens of Lakewood, but I am just getting started here.
The past week has been a doozy – the trip to Njaba Kunda started it off with a bang indeed. Actually, the trip there was great: early morning bike ride, a bit cloudy, the road was dry and I made it in two and a half hours, only a bit tired. I got there, cleaned my bike, had a shower, had the meeting I had gone for, saw the computer lab, checked out what needed to happen before we could get to work, and generally was productive. Then I saw the school, which would be a great school but for the absolute lack of maintenance or even seemingly concern about the facility. But, it’s The Gambia, and I am learning that is standard. Depressingly so. But, I hung out, had lunch with a Nigerian who is also a volunteer there – and a good cook, and then also with the principal and some teachers. It had started raining by then, and it continued to rain. I read a book – “The Power and the Glory” by Graham Greene – and it rained. All day. At night they turned on the tv (the principal lives on the school grounds, in a house built for him, and there are ten other housing units for teachers, one of which may shelter me at some point), using the solar powered batteries. Wonderful facility. The tv didn’t really get any reception, but the teachers there pretended to watch a Champion’s League match – Ajax and Arsenal, I think – through the static. The book was great, loved it through and through, and want to read more of his stuff.
All that rain wasn’t kind to the road though. I left the next morning before dawn, and once I got to the road, realized it was a complete mess. The section from Njaba Kunda to Minteh Kunda (6km) is likely the worst along that stretch of road, and after I finally got through it, I thought I was done with the worst. Not so lucky. I spent almost four hours slogging through mud and water up to my knees (feet on the pedals) at times, getting mud everywhere on the bike and myself. I got back to Fara Fenni thoroughly exhausted and dehydrated, but I was home. The bike clean up took a long time, and in fact is not really complete, and both front and rear derailuers failed from the abuse, and the chain seized. I have gotten the front gears working again, and the chain is better, but the bike will never be as good again.
After getting cleaned up, I was starving as I hadn’t eaten anything, so I went out and got a meat sandwich at the market. At the time I thought, this is one of those things that I would only do because I am living here, and need the protein. I didn’t need whatever was in that meat, as I found out 12 hours later. I wasn’t so worried – a little stomach bug is something I have dealt with already a few times here – until around noon the next day, when my temperature started going up. I took some Tylenol, but by four o’clock or so, it was 104. I called the Peace Corps medical staff, to see what they thought. I got my least favorite of the nurses, and she said to wait, “and if you feel like it, take Cipro”. Cipro is a very powerful antibiotic that I took in Peru (I was told it was Cipro at least), and it did kill the alien that was in my intestine, along with the rest of my digestive capability. So, her advice to take it “if I want” wasn’t so helpful. I took more Tylenol, drank fluids, hobbled back and forth to the latrine, and eventually lost lucidity. It was a special day. One of the boys who lives in the compound had just come down with malaria, and I was worried that I had too. But, by the morning, my fever had broken, and I was feeling somewhat in control of myself, if not my bowels.
I went to school, told them what had been going on, then decided to keep my planned trip to Pakalinding to see Woman. I rode the bike down to the ferry, and on the way, to add insult to injury of a broken bike, the bolt holding the seat on snapped. I got to the ferry terminal with the seat tied on, and not really support any weight. As I arrived, the ferry left, so I had a long wait that turned fortuitous when one of the other passengers took an interest and got a local boy to find a bolt of the same diameter – the seat was fixed, and better than it had been, since I didn’t have the right size hex wrench to tighten it and it had been more or less loose since I got it. Likely why it broke. I had a great time in Pakalinding, good for the soul, and then came home Saturday evening. That was the week.
Life continues to be interesting; I find my motivation for some things wanes, while my interest in others waxes. I have more doubts about the nature of development work in this country, if it is helpful at all in the larger scheme, and think I would be better as a pure cultural tourist / representative than with any sort of purported work to do. Not that I actually have any work to do in Fara Fenni yet. But theoretically I will be working for someone at some point, and I am not sure if that will be good for much. Probably the answer to this question is patience and humility, something I always need to work on anyway.
Love to all, drop me a line sometime - or call!

Here I am

2005-09-26T16:17:00.000-04:00

Hello again from Fara Fenni! 26 Sept 2005
I am here at Quantum Associates - the internet cafe I have been using, writing into a blank document because they won't connect to the ISP without a third customer. Ah yes, life here has its charms.
But, being the industrious Peace Corps volunteer that I am, I have spent some of the time writing text messages to my friends, and now I am trying to write to all of you.
Things here are great, and show lots of potential to continue to be that way. Life is so much about attitude, and doing the little things well, and I feel like I am learning how to stay afloat here without too much splashing or clawing to the surface.
Not that the challenges I hoped to find aren't here, they are just somehow easier when expected, and when the days other pieces aren't too demanding. Yesterday was the day of the big lumo (weekly market) here in town, and I went with Woman, who came up Saturday afternoon. It was the biggest weekly market I have ever seen, located nearly halfway to Senegal on the outskirts of town (the border is that close). I think all the vendors did as much or more business in CFA (the currency of most if not all of former French West Africa) as dalasi, and there was certainly a lot of business being done. I had gotten a shopping list of sorts from Awa Ndie, who is in the role of my host mother, so had some work to do instead of just taking it all in. I was able to find all the items, and didn't get overcharged for them too badly. The meat was the biggest challenge. I probably got overcharged there, but I almost lost my breakfast as well. The butcher had quite a bit of meat around, including a hanging side of mutton in the sun, and quite a few different bits of viscera that he was willing to include. I had a choice of steak or meat and bone, and since we always eat meat and bone, and since it was less expensive, I got that. The whole process involved quite a bit of whacking and smashing and very little in the way of sanitary concerns. I had gladly left the meat for last on my list, because I was in little shape to do anything but trek home afterwards.
So I have a new goal - to be able to go to the lumo comfortably, get all of the things I need and not be exhausted by the project. It's an amazing confusion of trucks, donkey and horse carts, 50 kg bags of all sorts of vegetables, vendors of every sort, and people from the two countries piled on top of each other. It's the kind of thing that I came here to experience, get my fill of, and also the kind of thing that makes me appreciate Wegman's that much more.
I am starting to think I will not get on the net today, so I have found a spot to save this file, and hopefully I can retrieve it later on.
In the sporting news, Gambia was doing brilliantly in the Under 17 World Cup, in Peru, until Friday night, when they played disastrously again the Dutch and fell 0-2. That, coupled with a rout by the Brazilians of Qatar, left them out of the quarterfinals. Sadness befell a nation that had been held rapt by their Scorpions - the team's nickname. It is a lot of fun to be in a place that appreciates football/soccer so much.
Saturday night Woman and I cooked dinner together, making a vegetable stirfry on top of rice noodles – a brilliant change of fare from the Gambian diet, and made a bit more local by the addition of fresh groundnuts (the local term for peanuts). The groundnut crop is just starting to come in, and eating them so fresh is a treat. Sunday morning we made scrambled egg sandwiches – a combination of one of my favorite morning foods with the local idea of how to serve eggs. They were two great meals, and having Woman up to visit really made the weekend.
Tomorrow morning I am planning to bike to Njaba Kunda – I think I mentioned it the last time I wrote. It will be a challenging morning, I hope to leave around dawn, and get there before 9AM.
As I wait for the internet connection, which is extra slow today, I search around for more topics. The mail service from here has proved to be a challenge. Rates are tripling on the first of the month, which might be met with some outcry, but I have seen very few Gambians have anything to do with the mail system. I have also been trying without success to mail a letter for almost a week now – Pen Pal, if you are reading this, I will get it sent somehow! – but the post office here reminds me of something straight out of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. They have an outer room with all the vaguely familiar booths for dealing with customers, but they are empty and may never have been used. There is only a sign saying ‘No Entrance’ ‘Official Staff Only’ – but when I call out a greeting, a man replies from some room, and comes out to tell me to come back there. His office is bewilderingly hot, covered in papers and parcels, with a scale in the corner where he told me to weigh the package I wanted to send. I think he charged me the rate that goes into effect at the end of this week, though this happened a week ago today. And since then I have been unable to find the place open. All in all, the sort of thing I expected here, but that doesn’t remove all the frustration I am finding.
On Saturday morning I took my bike out for a first ride – went north to the border, and then south to the ferry and back home, all in about 75 minutes. It was great to get some exercise, and also to realize that both are so close. In a few months, once things are settled down, I may seek permission to go to Senegal for shopping and general exploration. We will see. And next weekend I am planning to bike to the ferry, cross the river, and go to Soma to hang out with Woman, Ani, and their other site mate. Ani is a second year education volunteer, also doing ICT, and I am interested in seeing what he does that I can learn to do here. All in all, things go very well. I haven’t run into any snags of particular venom, and I am happily sweating away here in Fara Fenni. I would love to hear from people, and now – 30 minutes after connecting – I see that I have email! Cheers everyone, Zac

Fara Fenni again

2005-09-22T15:48:00.000-04:00

So here I am in my second experience with the Fara Fenni internet connectivity (at Quantum Associates), and this time I have been here for more than an hour and a half before the connection was even available. Gamtel - the national phone monopoly - is having a problem with their dial-up server. So this place connected to another, better, isp called QuantumNet. We visited the QuantumNet headquarters last week when we were wrapping up training, and it is a breath of fresh air. A properly run (by my American standards, at least) company, with real profits and potential. And they seem to be trying to do their part for the country as well. Their biggest problem is Gamtel, which is unresponsive, abusive of power, and probably everyone's biggest problem in the arena of communications. Anyway, my education continues...
Things here have been going well as I settle in and get my feet wet with work. I am taking things as slowly as I can, trying to meet people, assess capacity, etc. Basically I don't want to commit to anything to involved before I know what it is I am getting into. The principal at the upper basic school (middle school) is also new, and seems like a good guy. The vice principal is a little more demanding, and I am not sure how I feel about him quite yet. I have yet to have another meeting with the principal at Njaba Kunda Senior Secondary (high school), because he couldn't get transportation into town yesterday for our meeting. I am planning to go over to Njaba Kunda next week, to see what's up and have an official visit as a volunteer / work thing. I also want to test out how feasible it is to bike there, and enjoy that challenge. It should be a fun, muddy 27km. [If I haven't ranted about the road, and the issues with transport, between here and there, then here it is: The roads in this country flat out suck. That should probably be all capitals. And the road between here and Kerewan (halfway to Barra, where I can get a ferry to Banjul) is the worst in the whole country. If you took a very bad dirt road in America, made it three times wider, and then drove heavy trucks on it for 15 or 20 years through big rainstorms and whatnot, it would still be better than this road. I think if there were ever a war with Senegal, they should schedule all the battles on this road, as a way to improve it. I could rant for hours about it. I spent nine hours trying to get back from Njaba Kunda last time - those same 27 km. Snails crawl back faster than that. I am done ranting.]
Things with my family are going very well, my Mandinka is recovering from the time in Kombo, and I am adjusting to the dialect here. I cooked my own dinner last night for the first time, a treat but not necessarily one I will do as frequently as I thought I might. It's just hot to do and a little wierd to not eat with the family when I am there alone. Saturday night Woman (aka Colleen, or Mariama) is coming up, and we will cook something. Sunday is the big lumo (weekly market) here in town, which is a big deal. I should get some more supplies, see what's happening, etc.
One of the biggest benefits of having a phone now that I am at my site is text messaging. I never really thought that would be a part of my Peace Corps experience, but life is what happens when I'm making plans. For example, I was planning on having two other volunteers here in Fara Fenni with me, a married couple, but the day I came here, I found out they had decided to early terminate (after having been here only three months). That took a day or two to get used to, but now I am fine with it. Not that I don't get lonely, but I keep busy, try to get out to practice language and meet people, and do my thing. Actually, I have more things to do than time to do them at the moment, and I am not even reading very much. (That's one of the issues some volunteers face - they slip into books and don't interact with human beings for months at a time.) Anyway, this paragraph is all scattered, but I think it conveys some of what it's like as I settle here.
I think I am going to be able to post this finally, so I will take my leave. Love to you all, unless you are a random person I haven't met, and then only kindness.

photos

2005-09-17T21:02:00.000-04:00

uploaded some photos:
http://flickr.com/photos/69931133@N00/

ramble on

2005-09-17T18:49:00.000-04:00

I am tired tired tired, and wrote another email that I thought would be able to stand in for a normal post. Some of the prompting questions were comparing this to when I lived in Japan, asking about diet and amenities, asking about music, and talking about technical work that we had discussed in the past...
===========================================

I am about to move to Fara Fenni permanently - I officially became a volunteer yesterday - and go away from the office and fast internet and all that. Not that the internet is fast here, just that it's not mind killingly slow.

This is easier than Japan in terms of mental whiplash / culture shock - because I did that first, because I have been to West Africa before, and because I am older and better equipped. But, the lack of amenities is hard in a whole different way. I have to figure out how hard keeping some balance in my diet will be - big picture things like protein and fiber.

At our swearing in ceremony, we had a Gambian musician called Joliba, which felt like the first real exposure to great live music here. He is probably the most famous player around, singing and playing the kora.

[...]

As far as what I am doing with the schools, it is much more at the level of getting electricity working for the labs, then training them to be able to turn on the machines, and nothing fun at the level of programming or thinking about applications. I am alternately excited to get to work on some of these issues, anxious about trying to settle into the community and make my life livable, and hoping to learn more language and culture and do the immersion thing. But money is a bit of an issue right now - I haven't been able to get to any of my funds in the US, and after buying a cell phone, I am going to be scraping the bottom of the barrel by late November when I can get access to my paycheck again. But, I am a Peace Corps volunteer (!) - some part of it has to be dealing with a bit of financial pressure. I am glad to be able to call myself that finally - it has been a long road getting here.

I am completely rambling, and so will be done.

===========================================
I would like to post more details about swearing in, but that may have to wait for another time.

my mailing address

2005-09-17T18:19:00.000-04:00

Zac Shepherd, PCV
c/o Peace Corps
PO Box 582
Banjul, The Gambia, West Africa

So you can send stuff there if you want.

Me, an adult again

2005-09-14T14:36:00.000-04:00

That's the feeling I begin to have as I approach swearing in, the end of training, and having my life in some sort of order. I bought a cell phone today. Suddenly, I realized I am carrying a wallet with money and identification, a cellphone, and on the way to the office earlier, my computer. I had stepped back six months, into adulthood and out of the trainee / high school student state that had defined most of my time here. Not that it was inappropriate for us to be treated as babes, only frustrating. So, here's hoping that I can be a functioning adult in a small developing country with some success. It certainly won't quite be the experience I thought it would, but it is amazing and rewarding none the less.

I have added a couple other volunteers' blogs to the links list at the right, so maybe check them out for some other words on what happens in this occasionally insane part of the world. A few other members of my group have websites, so I will add those as I find them.

The post following this I wrote a couple nights ago, on my laptop, and posted it today with a different date. So that's that.

Money is suddenly spent on a different scale, and my budget needs to be within the edges of reason. One issue is that I know that I have money in dollars somewhere, and if I want to use them, I only have to figure out how. But so far, I have been trying to keep on the Peace Corps budget, and not blow it up too much with personal contributions. But that may change as I try to implement solar, we will see.

I have been futzing around in the computer lab for a while now, and dinner is served, so I am going to go eat.

the other night I was ranting

2005-09-12T21:05:00.000-04:00

So I feel like I have nothing to write about - a problem I was worried about some time ago, the potential for this place to become "normal" to me to the degree that nothing jumped out as a subject to describe to people far from this reality. We - the trainees - are staying at Gambia Pastoral Institute again. Soon we will no longer have the title 'trainee', and will probably be the 'new education volunteers'. Then that will change in its time. GPI, as it tends to be called, has a generator that they run in the evening from around dinner time to 10:30, or earlier if it has an issue like it does tonight. So, I write on my laptop and its battery. Before the generator died, it had some fits and starts - one of the reasons I spent 550 dalasi on a voltage stabilizer yesterday. Another was that I saw two computers have their motherboards blown at our model school training, due to spikes in the generator's output, allegedly. So, electricity is a constant consideration - in a way it reminds me of the surf in Hawaii. There are times when the electricity is on, people (well, geeks at least) get excited to make use of it, and there are times when it's off and people go about their normal lives. Generators, solar, batteries, and the rest can extend the metaphor in a way - attempts to balance the power, to surf on the vagaries of electrons' flow through the grid, and be able to get where we want to go. It's a limited analogy, but I can't think of another way to describe what it's like to have random electricity.
In Fara Fenni, the family I will be living with has just purchased and started using a small generator for running lights and a tv with vcr. “Maria” tops the list of desired programming – a soap opera from some Latin American country, poorly dubbed into English, which has already been shown in its entirety to this country a few years ago. I can't really convey how bad the quality is, but it's worse than anything I ever recorded with a vhs camera in my youth. Especially anything starring Amos the cat. But, the upside is that I may at some point have a wire coming into my house, which would allow me to charge a battery and run my laptop with some regularity. So, I won't complain about Maria too much.
Gambians want electricity in their homes for three main reasons that I have seen so far: lights, fans, and tvs. The first two make total sense to me, the last very little. Increasingly, they want to charge their cellphones, which is more the type of thing I will be wanting to do – juice for battery operated gadgets.

more photos

2005-09-11T20:53:00.000-04:00

I am too tired to write a proper post, but I put some more photos up:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/69931133@N00/

One set from the naming ceremony, one photo from a hike we did.

Pics of me included by popular demand. Ha!