Etown in The Gambia Day 1
After 33 hours of planes, no trains, automobiles, and a couple terminal buses we have arrived at MEHDA in Pirang.
During our lengthy Chicago layover, we took the opportunity to learn the Gambian version of Crazy 8’s. You have to love the love card. Are you strong?
On the last bus from the plane to the terminal in Banjul, we talked with a man wearing a Philadelphia Eagles cap. His brother lives in Philly and he has been to a game.
All are doing well. Nyamo’s wife Binta prepared chicken bennechin for our arrival. We are settling in. Our rooms in the guest house are set up nicely for us and the PV solar system is working well.
Kayira be (peace only) – Kurt
Etown in The Gambia Day 2
Our first full day in The Gambia started off with a light breakfast of papaya and bread. Shortly after that, we took off for a walk through the Pirang jungle, going on a bird watch tour led by our MEHDA friends Omar, Alieu, and Nyamo. Got to spot some exotic birds and heard some jungle gangsters (baboons) make their way through the woods.
At midday, we made our way back to MEHDA. During our walk back we met several Pirang residents and did our best to learn the native language(s) from them. When Kurt and Marc took off on a short run two young MEHDA boys eagerly joined a short portion of the run as well. At the same time, Lauren and Naomi enjoyed some leisure time in the warm and peaceful Gambian weather.
At about 4, we had our second meal of the day, Domada. Marc, Lauren, and Naomi were taught by Nyamo the Gambian way of eating an orange for the first time. At 5 we left with our MEHDA friends to watch two Pirang club football teams go head to head in a highly competitive matchup. The game was not short on spectators, with dozens of children standing on outside structures trying to get a peek at the nail-biter. Unfortunately the team we and our MEHDA friends were rooting for lost in overtime penalty kicks.
We are now sharing a light dinner of bread after our very eventful day.
All is well. Marc
Day 3 – Thursday, January 5 (which I note more for myself than for any of you receiving this! Ha!)
Today we got out and about and traveled up to Brikama by gelleh, a van that stops and picks up travelers along the way. Often the gelleh is full, but there is always room for one more! Finding room for six more passengers is not always possible, though. 😉 So there was a bit of a wait until a gelleh arrived that could accommodate us. Nyamo and Omar accompanied us and are always happy to answer our questions and make us feel welcome and well-guided.
Brikama was extremely busy and crowded in the market area, but we found Binta, a close family friend of Kurt’s, wove our way through the market, and traveled with her by taxi back to her home in Marakissa. We sat together and chatted for quite a while, about religion and education and a little politics in both The Gambia and the US. Her mother (also a close family friend of Kurt) and sisters and some other local village neighbors greeted us as well, and we toured their new home, which is currently mid-construction. We traveled back to Brikama and met with another of Kurt’s friends, Brewer, and his wife and three young children.
It was a long and hot day, with lots of gelleh and taxi rides, punctuated at the beginning and ending with lovely meals prepared by Anna and Nyamo at the MEHDA center, and shared with Omar and Alieu, and Nyamo. We are quickly learning to go with the flow!
We are looking forward to a good rest tonight and a very unique adventure tomorrow. More on that soon. 😊
For now, we will play a couple rounds of Crazy 8s, Gambia style, before heading to bed. We can teach you when we get home!
Peace and love to all –
Naomi (for the group)
Day 4 in “The Smiling Coast”
This morning we had breakfast of potato, onion, and spice omelet which was delicious. I’m not an egg person, but if we had omelets like this in the US, I’d eat them more frequently. Then we went on a walking tour of Pirang to see the market, some of the shops, and different compounds (houses). Around 2, we made our way to Farato for our very unique adventure: a wedding.
The wedding was wonderful. This was my first time ever being in a mosque let alone being witness to a wedding. The ceremony was enlightening as it was filled with prayers, laughter, and smiling. I could not understand anything that they were saying, but by the laughter and the smiles, they were having a great time. After the wedding, we went to the house of the bride’s father for a celebration in Serrekunda. At the house, we had bennechin (a rice dish with cabbage, hot pepper, chicken or fish, eggplant, and whatever other vegetables they want to throw in), domada (a seasoned rice with earthy seasoned chicken or lamb), and a rice pudding type thing.
On our way back, we passed by the new bypass construction. It was very dusty and bumpy. The rainy season creates potholes and small rifts in the dirt roads. I am more appreciative of the roads in PA because of this. Additionally, we learned that there are lots of sleeping police (speed bumps) in the road to keep the cars from speeding.
Once we got back to MEHDA, David serenaded us with his voice. We ate the supper the wedding sent home, and now we are playing the nightly set of Crazy 8s.
Peace,
~Lauren
Today, day 5,
Kor Tanante (is it all well)? It is for us (Tanante). We enjoyed a pleasant Saturday. For most of the day, we were in Pirang. Marc and I went out for a run again this morning, but today one of our hosts Omar joined us. I just went 8 miles, but Marc and Omar went 13.1 (a half-marathon). Omar impressed us with his smooth efficient gait. During the run, we discovered that he and I both ran the Brufut marathon (15-mile race) in 2010 before we knew each other. The distance running community is small but dedicated in The Gambia – sprints (and soccer) are more popular.
We took a long walk out toward the river, seeing several of the savannah, including a Senegalese parrot and long-tailed parakeet, and wetland birds (kingfisher, egrets, and herons) and weavers with their beautiful and delicate nests.
Coming back from the river we came back through Pirang. First, and probably the highlight of the day the Great Imam of the village welcomed us into his home. He is a very wise teacher and we spoke at length. He insightfully reflected on the peaceful and loving relations between the Muslims and Christians in his community and The Gambia: We are one. We are a community first and need to take care of each other. Also, toward us as visitors, he formally welcomed us into the community, vowing that we would be cared for and looked after, “I was once a stranger, and I know how important it is to care for the stranger.” It was a very moving visit.
Next up we stopped to see what is likely the largest, oldest tree in West Africa, est. over 1000 years old. This silk cotton tree has ‘out-rigger’ root formations standing over 10′ tall at the main trunk descending to the ground forming a massive circumference.
After a 3:00 lunch of chicken yassa – a Senegalese dish featuring an onion and lemon sauce, we drove up river a bit to visit Ansu. He is a wood carver who sells his art in the tourist craft market in Senegambia near the tourist hotels. It has been hard for the last several years with few tourists visiting during the pandemic, but things have been better this year. He and Nyamo grew up together and shared a few stories from their youth – such as hunting rabbits with dogs and sticks.
This evening we are enjoying drumming and singing carrying over from across the village.
Kayira durong,
Kurt
Day 6
Today started with team MEHDA’s typical morning routine, getting up and having a nice breakfast in the compound. Around 10 am we took off for Yusapha, a friend of ours’ farm. A quarter mile out from the farm, our gelleh got stuck in the sand. The driver, the driver’s assistant, Omar, Alieu, Nyamo, Kurt and Marc all jumped out of the van, digging and pushing to get some more traction under the wheels. In typical Gambian fashion, many children and nearby residents came over to help with pushing and digging.
Once at Yusapha’s farm, we were taken on a tour. We were shown an abundance of banana trees, grape vines, and orange trees as well as an assortment of goats. Two very small and very cute baby goats made our day. On the far corner of Yusapha’s farm, along the fence, a few monkeys could be seen scaling the walls, probably looking to loot his delicious fruits.
We then sat down for a wonderful conversation, talking about religious life in the Gambia, as well as Gambian culture. The conversation was paired with Team MEHDA eating probably about 60 oranges (not exaggerating). All Gambian style of course. We took a self-guided tour of Yusapha’s building that was under construction. Tallest building that we have seen in the Gambia so far, a four-story building that provided a beautiful view of the horizon. We couldn’t stay too long because the driver had arrived. We all left with handfuls of oranges to take to the driver, probably another 60 oranges or so.
On to the beach! We stopped along the way to pick up a tire. Or was it attire? Ah no! It was attaya, the tea! After the short drive, we walked along the beach to paradise beach, where we talked, relaxed, swam, and drank the attaya tea that we picked up; tea that was so generously and carefully brewed by Omar. After a couple of hours, we enjoyed Mama’s world-renowned fish and chips (in our world at least). Some Gambian musicians offered their talents to those at Paradise Beach. Omar knew the lyrics and joined in. We took our last opportunity to dip our feet in this side of the Atlantic (at least for now) and grabbed two to-go plates of fish and chips for the driver and assistant. We all laughed and learned on the hour trip back to MEHDA that felt like 10 minutes ( time flies when you’re having fun!). We are now back at MEHDA. I predict we’re going to play another night of crazy 8’s, I don’t think Alieu would be able to sleep tonight if we didn’t.
-Marc
Ps. Since we mentioned the half marathon yesterday, I would like to point out that Omar joined me in 800 repeats today and was pushing the pace on a few. Maybe Coach Falk has some room on the roster?
Day 7 – Monday, Jan. 9
No running today, and no vehicles stuck in the sand! We were up early this morning for a longer drive, with lots of traffic, to Serrekunda, where Kurt led a climate change simulation with students at the GREAT Institute. You can check it out if you Google En-ROADS. It is a tool created by MIT students, and the Gambian students (with Marc and Lauren) worked in small groups to represent a particular role, such as developed or developing countries, traditional energy corporations (like oil or gas companies), and grassroots activists.
After that, we went to another area of the city to meet up with some leaders from The Gambia Scouts. It took a bit of doing to find their location, including asking some very young children if they could tell our driver where the school was located, and they did so with enthusiasm and accuracy! As has been the case almost everywhere we have gone, chairs were set up for us to chat under a tree or in a shady, breezy location. Lauren is very active in the Boy Scouts in the US, so this was a special experience for her and Marc, who is also a Boy Scout. We enjoyed the conversation about the remarkable similarities between scouting in the two countries, sang some songs, and headed back to Pirang for another delicious meal – domada (my favorite).
Lots of sights to see as we drive from place to place and catch glimpses of Gambian life. We are all so grateful for this opportunity to step out of our usual lives and activities and expand our understanding and appreciation for the diversity that the world has to offer. Soaking it in for a few more days.
Naomi, for all…
Day 8 – Tuesday, Jan 10
Today has been a continuation of everything awesome The Gambia has to offer. We met with the Startup Incubator Gambia, and then Dr. Momodou Jain from The University of The Gambia (UTG).
We started the day with a long drive to the Startup Incubator Gambia with our driver, Pa, I think. The drive is long due to the construction of the new road and the high volume of cars. The drive allowed us to look into some of the daily life happening around us. We saw the school children walking or gelleh riding to school, businesses opening up their shops, and the patience it takes for drivers to go anywhere. Once we arrived, we learned all about the Startup Incubator. This project started in 2015 to address the problem of youth (18-35) leaving The Gambia due to a lack of jobs. A startling statistic stuck with me: 64% under the age of 24 are unemployed or underemployed. This sticks with me because these are people my age that have little or no way of supporting themselves or a family. Their solution to this is to offer technical support (coaching, mentorship, & industry consultations), capacity building (tailored hands-on training), access to resources (co-working space & help with finances), and networking opportunities to 20 people each time they run it which lasts 6 months. Many times they can get up to 180 more applications that aren’t quite ready to be incubated, so they help them through the design process. As an engineering major, I know how tedious and difficult this process can be! The Startup Incubator has 3 other programs: Accelerator (for agriculture or fashion-based companies providing them with mentorship & training), Design Thinking (innovative human-centered design providing them a way to solidify their business model or products), and Scale Up (for businesses to identify and develop a scale-up plan & gradually scale up their businesses). This was a fantastic experience as we learned some of the reasons why and how The Gambia is trying hard to build its economy and help people who stay have happy and balanced lives. A quote from Muhammed (our contact person), “when a business profits and supports the community, the community also supports the business more. It’s a win-win.”
We also visited with Dr. Momodou Jain from the University of The Gambia (UTG). We talked about the education system (and how they can build an engineering program) to support the economy. Engineers are used in many different aspects of the economy: Civil (road building and building construction), Environmental (water management and wastewater solutions), mechanical (any application you can think of), electrical (designing and maintaining the electrical grid to support the growing need for lights, AC, and technology), etc. We also talked a little bit about the school he supports too. While Naomi and Kurt continued to talk to Dr. Jain, Marc and I looked at some newspapers in the room. Some of the headlines caught my eye: “Access Bank donates 10 wheelchairs to [National Organization for Disabled and Orphans]” where the local bank donated the wheelchairs and pledged to continue working with the organization, “Direct Aid, Sharab Hospital operates on 40 patients” where Direct Aid, a charitable organization, donated money in cooperation with Sharab Hospital to operate at cost-free to the patients, and “Mayor Lowe supports KoliKunda community with D36K” where the mayor of Banjul donated 36k dalasi (≈$600) to a different village so their water pump can be replaced so everyone in the village can have access to water. These headings continue to echo the repeated phrase “we are one” that we hear every day so far.
After meeting with Dr. Jain, we grabbed pizza (yes you read that correctly) at La Parisienne where Kurt’s kids loved to go because of the pizza and the ice cream. We agreed the pizza was good. Marc and I tried Malta for the first time. Marc liked it (or didn’t dislike it. I think it grew on him the more he drank it), and I did not like it. If you like black licorice, you’d probably like this. Kurt describes it as tasting similar to cream of wheat, and I would describe it as biting directly into anise. We then had the long ride back to MEHDA, where were again observed daily life. The billboards advertise many similar things (businesses, cell companies, etc.), the welding shops with sparks flying, gellehs picking up & dropping off, and the friendly (not even joking) beeps of a horn telling someone that it’s okay to merge or to be careful because we are passing them. Once we got back, we had a second to enjoy the weather, and then we had supper. Tonight we played a different game: Phase 10 which Alieu, Nyamo, and Omar seemed to enjoy as well, but it was quieter than playing Crazy 8s. We will see what we play tomorrow night. As for the Crazy 8 standings, Marc has won 7, Alieu and I won 3, Nyamo won 2, Naomi and Kurt won 1, and Omar has yet to win (but we are sure he’ll surprise us out of nowhere!).
I feel very grateful to be on this trip, meeting all of these people, and getting little glimpses of what daily life and daily challenges are like in a developing country. I am continually surprised by little things (for example their steadfast community-first attitude or how good baobab tastes), and I have become appreciative of their efforts to make everyone’s lives better not just their own, and their laid-back attitude about time (You get here when you get here. Your presence is what matters). These experiences have surely changed my perception, and I’m sure these realizations will stick with me my whole life.
Peace,
~Lauren
Day 8 – Market Day!
Our visit is winding down. It is hard to believe we will be saying goodbyes in a couple of days.
Today was a relaxed day, we had a later breakfast of rice and peanut powder porridge, along with papayas and oranges, and of course tapalapa (thin stick) bread with dege (locally produced peanut paste [butter]). Lauren, not a fan of peanut butter at home enjoys dege.
Next up, Pa drove us to a couple of stops for souvenir and gift shopping. I don’t want to spoil any surprises, so no word from me on the other’s purchases. We all had fun shopping and haggling. For my part, Brewer insisted on meeting us at the craft market to find a couple of small gifts for my family. His brother Sam has a stall at the craft market and together we found a few gifts from his collection.
Back in 2010, Sam introduced me to Abdou, a Rastafarian drummer, who also has a shop at the craft market. I took drumming lessons from Abdou every Thursday afternoon out at the craft market during the 2010-11 academic year. Today I had a test of my skill retention and everyone else had a first lesson in djembe drumming – The ABCs.
We also stopped by the old neighborhood where my family stayed in Brikama before heading back out the Pirang for a peaceful late afternoon relaxing in the shade of the palms on the porch of the guest house.
After another delicious feast of chicken yassa prepared by Anna, we walked over to one of the two community gardens east of Pirang. We carefully estimated that it was many acres of beautiful onions, bitter tomato, tomato tomato, eggplant, peppers,…
Of course, no day at MEHDA is complete without several rounds of Crazy 8.
Best wishes from the smiling coast,
Kurt
Day 9 – Our last full day in Pirang 🙁 ! We miss our families (and probably some other things back home) but we will surely miss our friends that we have made here.
The men started off with their typical morning run. I think both Marc and Kurt were okay with skipping today, but they were both up so off they went. On their way down the trail, they were surprised to spot Lauren and Naomi, who woke up early to catch a glimpse of the bright red sunrise as it illuminated the Gambian skyline (the Gambian skyline is made up of mostly palm trees). They greeted each other with a typical Gambian greeting that we have got quite used to at this point in the trip.
On the run, a young Gambian male student decided to join the men on their run, making it an impressive 500 meters or so (A record so far for our impromptu guests).
After that we were given a puzzle to solve. Lauren locked the key inside of the Women’s guest house. Kurt thought maybe we could pry a butter knife between the door and the frame and release the latch. Marc thought maybe it would be possible to reach a long branch through one of the bars on the window, across the room, and use it as a hook to retrieve the key. Omar thought the best way to get the key would be to find a small child and “smush” and “turn” them through the window bars and direct them to get the key for us. We will miss Omar’s sense of humor, although we aren’t fully sure if he was joking.
Alieu simply got the spare key.
We then sat down with the rest of Team MEHDA for breakfast and spent some time chatting about typical stuff: US and Gambian culture and experience. Omar and Alieu had never heard of a rollercoaster before so Lauren used her phone to show them some videos.
Nyamo’s childhood friend, Ansu, then came to visit MEHDA, bringing his young daughter along. His daughter sat on Lauren’s lap as we all gathered around to watch Ansu impressively do artistic woodworking.
At around noon we took off to see Yusapha’s (the same guy that owned the farm) brother. We stopped for a quick bite to eat while we waited for a text back from him to arrange plans to meet. Unfortunately, Yusapha’s brother’s car broke down, and wasn’t able to make the meeting, so we had to make our way back to Pirang. Maybe next time! We’ll connect through email in the meantime.
Back in Pirang we enjoyed some more attaya tea (not at tire) while we watched Ansu finish his wood carving. That took us to dinner (or lunch as any meal before sundown is called here in The Gambia) at around 5. Ansu and his daughter stayed to eat with us and to enjoy more of each other’s company.
After some more downtime, Naomi, Nyamo, Marc, and Omar got a glimpse at the last sunset that we will see on our trip. On the same road that the sunrise was seen from, they simply faced the opposite direction. Very peaceful. If tonight is anything like last night we will see every star in the sky.
More crazy 8’s! Today is the craziest and most vibrant night of them all. Some jumping and shouting is involved. There was a ton on the line as we closed our trip; we’ve been keeping track of all of our victories, so everyone wanted to become this year’s ultimate champion. Unfortunately for everyone else, Marc is too far ahead for anyone else to even have a chance. It’s not even worth trying. The score for now is:
- Marc: 7
- Alieu: 5
- Lauren: 4
- Kurt: 3
- Omar: 2
- Naomi: 2
- Nyamo: nil
It’s an ongoing game, we will have final scores tomorrow.
It’s been an amazing experience here in The Gambia. I have so many thoughts about this beautiful country, and I will be sure to share them as time goes by. If I was forced to summarize it in a sentence at this moment it would be: The Gambia is a country full of smiling faces, hearts full of humanity, and rich culture; America can learn a lot of positive virtues from it, if it chooses to.
~MR
Day 10
We had a slow, relaxing day to conclude our visit in The Gambia. Breakfast was a tasty mix of beans and onions and smoked fish, and of course citrus fruits and tapalapa. After some chatting and relaxing, we walked into the village to visit with and give our gratitude to Anna, who has been cooking dinners for us every day. We saw her kitchen setup on the porch of her compound, met many family members and local friends, and learned about some of the spices she uses – spice packets and bouillon cubes made by companies like Maggi or Jumbo.
We headed back to our rooms to finish packing, and then had a final meal of bennechin before starting to load up to head to the airport. Along the way we stopped at the Brikama craft market once more. As we arrived at the airport, we met up quickly with the Gambian scout representative that we had met earlier this week, and Lauren received some special items, including a Gambian scout uniform.
We said our final goodbyes to our wonderful hosts, Nyamo, Alieu, and Omar. Binta also came to the airport to bid us farewell. We navigated check-in and security without much difficulty, and now we are sitting on the outdoor patio waiting for our flight to begin to board, enjoying our last warm January Gambian breezes.
Next stop: Brussels! (Well, after a brief stop without plane change in Dakar, that is…)
Farewell, Gambia! We all agree that we hope to be back.
Peace –
Naomi
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