Well, another week has nearly come and gone! It has actually been quite a busy week; I was kind of dreading going to work on Monday because I figured that it would be another week of me sitting around playing cards, begging people for something to do but it actually turned out to be quite the opposite. When I arrived on Monday there was actually work to do!! And it took me almost all day to complete; I did sit around for the last two hours or so randomly helping staple presentations but by that time it was soooo hot in the office that it was virtually impossible to get much done anyway. Musu, one of the program officers, had a training for Local Government Administrators and Officials that started on Tuesday and finished today so I've been there at the training for the last three days. It was an enlightening experience to say the least!! The training was supposed to start at 9am on Tuesday and having been in The Gambia for 3 weeks now, I should know by now that everyone is always late; but they were 2 hours late!! Most people finally showed up around 11am with people trickling in until about 11:30; I could not believe it! Apparently that is always the way it goes with government officials...they always show up when they are good and ready! The Secretary of State was supposed to be delievering the Key note speech and he arrived at about 9:15 but no one was there so he went back to Banjul and came back when people finally arrived at 11am!
But probably my favorite part of the workshop was people's cellphones...they are constantly ringing and people actually answer them right there in the middle of the workshop!! So not only do people have the audacity to show up 2 hours late but when they do finally arrive they sit on the phone while someone is trying to present!! I have not really experienced any culture shock...i never really do but i have to admit, this style of working is extrememly hard to get used to and is VERY frustrating at times! But i guess something I will get used to with time. Other than that, the workshop was a really great experience; it got me out of the office for 3 days, it gave me something to do, i finally feel like i have a purpose and I ended up getting paid for going; $1500 dalasi!! Now in real money, that works out to be about $65 CND, but in The Gambia is ALOT of money! And I learnt alot; the presenters were all really good so all in all it was a really good experience.
Tomorrow is the Children's Bantaba; the Bantaba is a event that CPA and Voice of the Young organize bi-annually. Voice of the Young is a youth group, with all members under the age of 18, sponsored by CPA; they put on events and do radio broadcastes to create awareness about issues that are facing the children of The Gambia. This Bantaba will include a March down one of the main streets followed by a series of presentations on this years chosen topic; the theme for this Bantaba is "Children and Communities Unite to Fight Child Sex Tourism". It should be a good day, all the major media houses will be there but it will definately be a long day so I should probably wrap up my rambling.
But before I go, I think I should inform you all that I have a new name. People have been telling me that I need a Gambian name; it will differentiate me from the tourists and it keeps me from having to give random people my real name. So today I let Lamin, the president for Voice of the Young, give me a Gambian name; he decided on Sukai. Ahmad (Amat) decided that I should not be given just any family name so he has given me his; so I am now Sukai Dibba. I feel a bit like a have an alter-ego but i like it!
Well that is all for now...from Sukai Dibba
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Life in The Gambia
Well, once again things changed from the last time I wrote. I have now moved houses; I live much closer to work now, it is only a 5-10 minute walk so that is definately nice! The new place is nice; only one bedroom but it has a nice sitting room, the kitchen is inside the house and the shower/tub is interesting to say the least! The place needs a little work but now that I know I am not moving again I can finally start to settle in. The compound is very nice, they have a maid who will apparently clean my house on occassion and she does my laundry which is very convienent! But I think my favorite part about the house is how close I am to the beach! It is a little bit of a walk but I always go with Ahmad, my landlords son, so we go through all the back roads which is nice to see because I would never walk them myself for fear of getting lost. The beach is definately my favorite place so far; we have gone twice in the last couple of days and I would probably spend every waking minute there if I could. It is soo beautiful; not like any other beach I have ever seen and if you walk in the opposite direction of the hotels which are further down the beach, it is soo quiet. You might see one or two people walking along but for a long time we were the only ones there; I'm not sure I've ever seen a beach like that before. Definately a good place to go and relax; I got some good pictures yesterday so I will possibly try and post them on facebook soon...but we'll see...no promises.
Things on the work front are not too exciting at the moment; I spend a good portion of my day playing cards on the computer; I'm sure that's not what they intended the computer for but when you won't give me anything else to do, what else can you expect. Apparently I arrived during the slow time of year so there isn't much going on and people have been out of the office alot, especially this week. People occassionly give me things to do when I harass them but it usually doesn't take very long and they are always amazed at how quickly I finish. Let's just say the Gambian work ethic is MUCH slower than in North America; everything must be democratic, 12 people have to approve everything that goes out and if one thing related to a project cannot be completed, all other work seems to stop but I have been told that they are much more efficient than many other NGOs in The Gambia so I guess that is just something I will have to get used to. I also love how everyone just shows up when they please; the work day is supposed to start at 8am and finish around 4, people usually show up around 9ish, something that would NEVER fly in Canada! Apparently there is a VSO volunteer that will be coming at the end of September so it will be nice to have some company around the office and I guess we will be able to start some of the joint projects when she arrives.
It's been kind of a slow week; it's been raining alot and the power keeps going out which is why I haven't been bothering with the internet. But it's sunny today so hopefully that is a sign of good things to come! Well I guess that's about it for me.
From the Smiling Coast of Africa,
Things on the work front are not too exciting at the moment; I spend a good portion of my day playing cards on the computer; I'm sure that's not what they intended the computer for but when you won't give me anything else to do, what else can you expect. Apparently I arrived during the slow time of year so there isn't much going on and people have been out of the office alot, especially this week. People occassionly give me things to do when I harass them but it usually doesn't take very long and they are always amazed at how quickly I finish. Let's just say the Gambian work ethic is MUCH slower than in North America; everything must be democratic, 12 people have to approve everything that goes out and if one thing related to a project cannot be completed, all other work seems to stop but I have been told that they are much more efficient than many other NGOs in The Gambia so I guess that is just something I will have to get used to. I also love how everyone just shows up when they please; the work day is supposed to start at 8am and finish around 4, people usually show up around 9ish, something that would NEVER fly in Canada! Apparently there is a VSO volunteer that will be coming at the end of September so it will be nice to have some company around the office and I guess we will be able to start some of the joint projects when she arrives.
It's been kind of a slow week; it's been raining alot and the power keeps going out which is why I haven't been bothering with the internet. But it's sunny today so hopefully that is a sign of good things to come! Well I guess that's about it for me.
From the Smiling Coast of Africa,
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Salaam Alaykum
Well I guess it has been a couple of days since I have last written...the last few days have been crazy to say the least! Well I guess I will start by saying that I am moving yet again! My landlord is being quite ridiculous in wanting 6 months rent up front; at first I thought maybe that was normal because I had just arrived so I had no idea! After speaking with my boss (who wasn't too sure about the arrangement) and some friends that I have met through last year's intern, I have decided that I will not pay him all that money up front and he is totally unwilling to negotiate so I am moving out. It is somewhat unfortunate because I really like the place and it is very spacious but it did take them nearly a week to fix the plumbing in my bathroom and it STILL doesn't even work properly. But the good news is that I have a new place to live!! I found it today through a friend of a friend. It is still a very nice place; fully furnished with only one bedroom but a nice big sitting room and quite a large kitchen. The landlord will put a tv in if I want it and it has an internet hook up; unfortunately I didn't bring my laptop with me but still nice to know it's there. The landlord is very friendly and is very flexible so I feel very good about the arrangment we have come to.
The family in my compound also have a son who is probably about my age and he is very nice and his English is excellent so he is going to teach me Wolof. I really want to learn some of the language and the people at the office have been teaching me some but it will be nice to learn more.
As for friends, I was finally able to meet up with one of the girls, Louise, who worked for CPA last year. I met up with her and one of her friends Charlie, who lives upcountry but is down visiting for the month, on Friday for drinks which was definately needed after my banking meltdown (so irritating I will rant about it later). It was really nice to get out an meet some people, especially after the frustrations of the week. On Saturday Louise took me around so I could get a mobile phone and showed me one of the big markets. In the afternoon I had to attend a meeting at CPA; what I thought would be a bit of a slow day ended up being quite a busy and exhausting day! Today I've been helping Louise move houses, I checked out the place I am now moving into and then Louise, Charlie and I spent the day at Safari Gardens; it is a guesthouse that has a restaurant and pool and Louise has made friends with the people who work there so they let us hang out and use the pool. Now I am at the internet cafe watching the rain come down. So I'd say all and all it was a pretty good weekend but back to work tomorrow; hopefully there will be more going on this week and not just me sitting around the office twidiling my thumbs hoping that someone will soon find something for me to do!
So now, quickly with the rant about the banks. The banking systems in communist countries are better run than those here in The Gambia. You cannot go to a bank teller here with your debt card nor your visa card and get money. You can ONLY get money from international cards through the ATMs; the only bank I have seen that has ATMs is Standard Charter which I'm sure you all know. However, at Standard Charter, the ATMs are constantly down; they are either without money or their international system is down. So you cannot get money from the teller and the ATMs are down; how are tourists, let alone expats who live here supposed to get money...especially if you need a large sum (like I did)?!?! So one of the girls at the office suggested that I open a bank account with one of the banks here and have money transfered from my account at home. I thought, great! So she took me to the bank and they tell me that I cannot open that type of account if I do not know anyone else who has that type of account at that specific bank...WHAT KIND OF RULE IS THAT?!?!?! So anyway, the girl I was with had a different kind of account so I was able to open that account...finally! So that afternoon I call my bank and they refuse to transfer the money without a written note from me....LIKE I HAVE TIME TO WRITE YOU A NOTE FROM THE MIDDLE OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA!!! So...then I called my mommy and she wired me money from my account. So the problem has been resloved but I have never had such difficulties with banking anywhere in the world and here, people just tell you it can't be done but no one actually provides you with any possible solutions...bloody ridiculous!! Anyway, all is well and that is the end of my rant and my story for this week. Now I go to pack.
I bid you farewell for now, from the Smiling Coast of Africa!
The family in my compound also have a son who is probably about my age and he is very nice and his English is excellent so he is going to teach me Wolof. I really want to learn some of the language and the people at the office have been teaching me some but it will be nice to learn more.
As for friends, I was finally able to meet up with one of the girls, Louise, who worked for CPA last year. I met up with her and one of her friends Charlie, who lives upcountry but is down visiting for the month, on Friday for drinks which was definately needed after my banking meltdown (so irritating I will rant about it later). It was really nice to get out an meet some people, especially after the frustrations of the week. On Saturday Louise took me around so I could get a mobile phone and showed me one of the big markets. In the afternoon I had to attend a meeting at CPA; what I thought would be a bit of a slow day ended up being quite a busy and exhausting day! Today I've been helping Louise move houses, I checked out the place I am now moving into and then Louise, Charlie and I spent the day at Safari Gardens; it is a guesthouse that has a restaurant and pool and Louise has made friends with the people who work there so they let us hang out and use the pool. Now I am at the internet cafe watching the rain come down. So I'd say all and all it was a pretty good weekend but back to work tomorrow; hopefully there will be more going on this week and not just me sitting around the office twidiling my thumbs hoping that someone will soon find something for me to do!
So now, quickly with the rant about the banks. The banking systems in communist countries are better run than those here in The Gambia. You cannot go to a bank teller here with your debt card nor your visa card and get money. You can ONLY get money from international cards through the ATMs; the only bank I have seen that has ATMs is Standard Charter which I'm sure you all know. However, at Standard Charter, the ATMs are constantly down; they are either without money or their international system is down. So you cannot get money from the teller and the ATMs are down; how are tourists, let alone expats who live here supposed to get money...especially if you need a large sum (like I did)?!?! So one of the girls at the office suggested that I open a bank account with one of the banks here and have money transfered from my account at home. I thought, great! So she took me to the bank and they tell me that I cannot open that type of account if I do not know anyone else who has that type of account at that specific bank...WHAT KIND OF RULE IS THAT?!?!?! So anyway, the girl I was with had a different kind of account so I was able to open that account...finally! So that afternoon I call my bank and they refuse to transfer the money without a written note from me....LIKE I HAVE TIME TO WRITE YOU A NOTE FROM THE MIDDLE OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA!!! So...then I called my mommy and she wired me money from my account. So the problem has been resloved but I have never had such difficulties with banking anywhere in the world and here, people just tell you it can't be done but no one actually provides you with any possible solutions...bloody ridiculous!! Anyway, all is well and that is the end of my rant and my story for this week. Now I go to pack.
I bid you farewell for now, from the Smiling Coast of Africa!
Monday, August 6, 2007
Really hoping this works!!
Well, I am now in The Gambia; I arrived on Thursday after quite a journey. I spent a great deal of time waiting around in airports and when I arrived in Dakar, Senegal to catch another flight to Banjul, they had lost my luggage. So needless to say I arrived in Banjul, very tired and without all my stuff but the organization did remember to send someone to pick me up so that was a bonus!
Most of the people I'm working with were away on a training session up in the North when I arrived so Awa was in charge of taking care of me and she did a really good job! She took me everywhere with her on Thursday and Friday; we got the housing catastrophe sorted out. I now have a place to live; I live in a compound, my apartment is very nice, I have a kitchen, a sitting room, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms! More space than I will ever need but it was cheaper than the other places we saw, it is in an excellent location and quite safe.
As for the city itself, it is interesting to say the least. I don't even know how to begin to describe it. It is very dirty, most of the main roads are paved but anything off the side of the road is red dirt with enormous potholes! The side roads are mostly all dirt and when it rains that is an experience in itself!! Here, when it rains it RAINS and the roads change from once "driveable" roads to small lakes in the middle of the city. When I arrived I was wondering how the taxis managed until i realized that they simply just drive through the rivers...it is something that you cannot imagine until you are able to see it for yourself but I will do my best to try and get some good pictures.
There is no public transport here, only taxis but not taxis like we would imagine. They are sort of like buses; you must stand on the correct side of the road in order to go in the direction you want to go in...they will pile in several people all going to the same location and the taxis don't take you to your exact location. Generally you must transfer several times if the place you are going is not on the street where you caught the taxi. I am starting to get the hand of it now but I have to admit the first couple of days were astoundingly confusing! But I am now happy to report that I can get from my house to West Vill (the central main town closest to me) and to the office. I know that does not sound like much but trust me...especially since none of the streets have names. Well they have names but they are not actually labeled anywhere so getting around is a bit more difficult than it should be because if you forget the landmark you are homeless for the night!
Most of the people here are very friendly, the kids either find me terribly amusing or they are petrified of me. There are very few other white people living in this town so it is not often they see white people, especially off the main roads. I sometimes hope that they will get used to seeing me come and go so they will stop with the constant yelling, "tubab"! Tubab means white person...something I have lost count of hearing in only the five days I have been here.
The weather is extremely hot; it's actually the humidity that's worse than anything else. There is no air-conditioning anywhere you go but thankfully my house has fans so that helps a great deal. I'm just hoping that I will soon start to adjust! Not much to report on for work; today was just my first day so I will write more when there is more to tell.
Well, this has been quite lengthy already so I should probably stop; I apologize for spelling errors...this keyboard is terrible and the internet at this particular cafe is quite slow. I appreciate all the emails; please keep them coming, it's always nice to hear from people from home. I will respond to all emails but it may take me a few days as I don't have internet at work as I thought I would.
I hope this updated finds you all well...where ever you are in the world!
Most of the people I'm working with were away on a training session up in the North when I arrived so Awa was in charge of taking care of me and she did a really good job! She took me everywhere with her on Thursday and Friday; we got the housing catastrophe sorted out. I now have a place to live; I live in a compound, my apartment is very nice, I have a kitchen, a sitting room, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms! More space than I will ever need but it was cheaper than the other places we saw, it is in an excellent location and quite safe.
As for the city itself, it is interesting to say the least. I don't even know how to begin to describe it. It is very dirty, most of the main roads are paved but anything off the side of the road is red dirt with enormous potholes! The side roads are mostly all dirt and when it rains that is an experience in itself!! Here, when it rains it RAINS and the roads change from once "driveable" roads to small lakes in the middle of the city. When I arrived I was wondering how the taxis managed until i realized that they simply just drive through the rivers...it is something that you cannot imagine until you are able to see it for yourself but I will do my best to try and get some good pictures.
There is no public transport here, only taxis but not taxis like we would imagine. They are sort of like buses; you must stand on the correct side of the road in order to go in the direction you want to go in...they will pile in several people all going to the same location and the taxis don't take you to your exact location. Generally you must transfer several times if the place you are going is not on the street where you caught the taxi. I am starting to get the hand of it now but I have to admit the first couple of days were astoundingly confusing! But I am now happy to report that I can get from my house to West Vill (the central main town closest to me) and to the office. I know that does not sound like much but trust me...especially since none of the streets have names. Well they have names but they are not actually labeled anywhere so getting around is a bit more difficult than it should be because if you forget the landmark you are homeless for the night!
Most of the people here are very friendly, the kids either find me terribly amusing or they are petrified of me. There are very few other white people living in this town so it is not often they see white people, especially off the main roads. I sometimes hope that they will get used to seeing me come and go so they will stop with the constant yelling, "tubab"! Tubab means white person...something I have lost count of hearing in only the five days I have been here.
The weather is extremely hot; it's actually the humidity that's worse than anything else. There is no air-conditioning anywhere you go but thankfully my house has fans so that helps a great deal. I'm just hoping that I will soon start to adjust! Not much to report on for work; today was just my first day so I will write more when there is more to tell.
Well, this has been quite lengthy already so I should probably stop; I apologize for spelling errors...this keyboard is terrible and the internet at this particular cafe is quite slow. I appreciate all the emails; please keep them coming, it's always nice to hear from people from home. I will respond to all emails but it may take me a few days as I don't have internet at work as I thought I would.
I hope this updated finds you all well...where ever you are in the world!
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