The views and perspectives presented in this blog are mine personally and do not represent the US government or US Peace Corps.
Tour of My Home in The Gambia
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Welcome to my Peace Corps crib!
At last! A glimpse into my home in The Gambia. I found a rare moment when no (human) family members were in the compound and decided to shoot a video. But first, to clear a couple things up. First, I don't normally wear "african" attire as shown in the photo above, although I always get many nice complements when I do. I prefer capris/yoga pants and lightweight T-shirts and tanks, like this.
The groundnut harvest has begun! Here I'm removing groundnuts from the roots of the plants. We shell them all one-by-one and when we have a good amount we'll roast the nuts and take them to the machine to be ground into peanut butter. Peanut butter is an ingredient in several of the typical local dishes.
Second, I don't have a parquet wood floor in my room. What you'll see in the video is an inexpensive flooring material that is a little heavier than shelf paper. Much easier to keep clean than the cement floor. Hope you enjoy the video!
Just a few pics of typical activities in my family’s compound. My Ba (short for Baay or father) slaughtering a goat with helping hands from Hassan, Dembu and Sarjeko. This pregnant goat was slaughtered after Ba determined that its babies had died in the womb. The goat was otherwise healthy as far as could be determined. If the goat had been sick or injured it would have been hauled to the field for the vultures to eat. My understanding is that it is contrary to Muslim teachings to eat a sick or injured animal. It is also their practice that men conduct the slaughter. The women may undertake butchering but the men ( or boys) kill the animal. Ah, the cycle of life! A few weeks later here is the two day old offspring of another goat in my family’s menagerie. Mam Hoja doing laundry. This is how I do mine as well, although I sit on a short stool. I can’t fathom how these women can so easily maintain this position for hours at a time - doing laundry, weeding...
Heading home after a day in the groundnut field I've been in village for 2.5 weeks and am settling into the groove. Our first three months in village are a time for integrating into our community rather than focusing on projects/work. Our success ultimately depends on our relationships in the community, so integration is job #1. It is also a time for figuring out our own rhythms for food, sleep, exercise and generally taking care of ourselves. I've been cooking my own breakfast over a single burner propane stove (omelet with onion and shaved sweet potato) and taking lunch and dinner with my family. I've also started a 3x per week routine of doing an out-and-back bike ride along the one and only paved road for about 20-25 miles. It is dark from about 7 PM to 7 AM and that doesn't change much with the seasons since we are close to the equator, so it works well with my preferred early to bed/early to rise schedule. And I've been spending a good bit of...
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