If only there was a Starbucks...

Sadly, I must confess that I find myself thinking that from time to time. I really haven't been craving anything during my month in The Gambia except for a clean, quiet, climate controlled space to hang out in now and then. I think it has sometime to do with the "feels like" status in the picture below. 


That and the language learning. It's tough! I need to study a lot! It's hard not to think how much more pleasant it could be with AC and a grande cold brew. Instead, we hold class under the mango tree in our teacher's compound and shift things around every hour or so to stay in the shade. 

After class I go home and sit in front of my little USB-powered fan and hope the sweat evaporates at a roughly equal rate to which it forms. 

Alas, we're promised that the "cold" season is soon to arrive, and in fact it looks like we may see about a 10 degree drop in temperature over the next week or so. Looking forward to that! 

And I'm trying to stay focused on the "long game" re: language learning. Most Gambians speak at 2 or 3 tribal languages fluently and have varying levels of proficiency in English. My placement is a little less than ideal because my current host family and my host-family-to-be speak different languages amongst themselves (Mandinka and Seerer, respectively). So while they converse with me in Wolof, I don't have the advantage of learning through abosorption just by being around them. But it will all work out just fine. The way it is meant to be, or as Gambians and other Muslims might say, "inshallah." 


Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 10, 2018 at 1:20 AM

    Sending you ice cold vibes and coffee aromas. Hang in there. The mango tree option seems pretty wonderful from here... inshallah, indeed.

    ReplyDelete

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