Well here is my home for the next 12 months. It is is a rectangular shared compound with another 5 local teachers and 2 vsos. The house has two rooms, the front room is my living room/kitchen. It has a fridge, two burner gas top, table, 2 chairs . i have bought some beautiful material to use for table cloths and curtains. The back room is my bedroom.. double bed and mosquito net and a chest of draws. This leads to my pit latrine ... this is all my personal space and is enclosed by a grey brick wall. Here take be bucket showers and use the glorious pit latrine.. My house walls are a lovely blue wash and the floor is newly painted cement.. a red/maroon colour. It is nice to finally sort out all my things and have a place to call home. The back yard is a basically a large dirt and sand pit.....there is a porch which is essential because it is sooo hot.. and will only get hotter. Most places in the gambia are in compounds.. basically a group of attached flats.. You may be thinking...a fridge?? I have POWER!! Power was only connected i my town 2 months ago... so i am in luck.... the power is switched for a period of time each week..today it was on for about 4 hours.. but that is fine.. it might stay on long enough so i can have ice... cold drinks.. lights on at at night time..the luxury!!
I do not have running water, this is collected from a pump in the compound. water here is ok to drink.. probably better than adelaide water!! I have 3 plastic 20L jerry cans which I keep full of water. So there you have it... hope the photos/or vidoe whatever loaded.. give you some sense of my new house.
I have been busy getting my house looking like a homely by banging in nails all around.. this allows me to put up curtain wire.. i have used this to attach material for curtains.. photos, motorbike gear, towel.. mozzie net.. im very happy with how it is coming togther so far.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The motorbike journey to Soma – March 10th
What an adenture this turned out to be. The plan was to leave at 8am and then arrive by 11am to my house.. I was travelling with the instructor Lamin, we left 2 and half hours later than planned... so i just hung around waiting at the bike garage.. i also needed to carry 20L full jerry can on the back.. i was worried about the extra weight travelling through sand.. but i had no choice.. we crossed 3 ferrries in total. These are old and i needed to run up the ramp with my bike.. wasnt easy... especially when the ferry is packed with people and vehichles. After about 3 hours of travelling, Lamin stopped at a village, I was keen to get to soma.. I wanted to sort out my house..we ended up staying here for 2 hours!! Ahhhh!! Lamin siad the heat would not allow his bike to run sweet...it was over 40 degrees..Finaly we were off again.. arrived at my house at 7pm.. there was no key to get in.. the land lady was found after 30 min and I was then let into my house.. turned on the light but there was no light globes..i also needed to get my bike inside.. ended up crashing it on the porch.. and needed to lift it up.. very heavy.. the day couldnt get much better really... there was stuff all over my house the place.. ..managed to get light bulbs and began sorting out my furniture, unpacked fridge etc. went to bed exhausted... but looking forward to unpacking all my stuff the following day. I have bought so much.. pots, pan, glasses, mugs, sheets, pillows, towels, floor mat, plastic conatainers, food, cans, plates, bowls, cutlery, utencils, plastic shelf, lots of sealed buckets for storing water.. rubbish etc, At last I have a home!!!
Motorbike training March 5th - 9th
A Fillipino girl, Jorgi and I waved a fond farewell to our vso friends as they departed on their way back to Kombo and left the two of us.. the brave (or crazy!) up country volunteers to begin our motorbike training. We moved location to a town callled Bansang, another dry and dusty town. During our training we stayed at the ICT house, a vso house which can be used for all vsos in their up country visits. It has a generator which we learnt how to use for a few hours each evening. The house is away from the main town and has 5 homes surrrounding it. A night watch man greeted us as soon as we put the generator on,, he was about 70 years old, spoke mimimal english and wanted his phone charged.. another man soon appeared at the sound of the generator also wanting his phone charged.. when we turned the generaror off, they reappeared to collect their phones. This occurred each evening, and soon became quite the norm.
Jorgi and I arrived at the motorbike workshop eagerly awaiting to begin our training.. well i was eager.. Jorgi was terrified. Thank goodness I went through training before I arrived here, because they threw us in the deep end. I have a brand new bike, a Yamaha 100, bright red. Off i went on the bike following the instructor, straight onto dirt roads and to our first training location. This was a small rectangular sand pit, about 35m by 15m. Jorgi had only experienced riding a scooter and has never used a clutch or gears before and they expected her to start her first ride in sand... madness.. ahh we are in africa!! As you can imagine she crashed immediately. I did ok in the sand, only through having a bit of confidence and not being scared as I just slide all over the place, I only fell off once, which was pretty good.
We then went to a location, about the size of a soccer field. Jorgi hopped on the back of the instructors bike.. she is not yet able to start it. The field has sand in the centre and a pelethora of stones, rocks, cement, old cans etc around the outside. To reach the field we needed to go over 30cm dirt bridge.as their was a 1m deep ditch surroundig it.. best not to look at the ground whilst going over... just look straight ahead!!! AT the field I just zoomed around happily dodging stones etc... Jorgi basically crashed each time she stopped... not good.
On day 2 I was required to stand up and dodge a collection of cement markers, ride around standing up with one arm outstretched.. i think this exercise was used to show balance and throttle control. I then needed to go to a dirt hill and go up and down this in both sitting and standing positions then stop half way up and do a hill start. I did this about 35 times duriing the day wearing my black motorbike jacket in the heat, over 40 degrees. Lucky i still have a reasonable amount of fitness because it was hard work. I fell off once going up the hill, I gave the bike too much power on hill start.. no drama though. In the meantime, Jorgi is till falling off her bike each time she stops. Her day ended with a badly sprained ankle and bruises all over her legs, the instructor isnt accustomed to drivers with no experience and was impatient with her.. basically his instructon were move... grip... this in turn stressed her out more.
Day 3
The instructor left us to ourselves on the field for an hour. Here I gave gave Jorgi some training about how to stop and how to use the clutch and throttle smoothly during take off. She only fell off once today and is now stopping safely which is a relief.
We then left Jorgi to continue going around the field and the instructor and I went out into the bush for a two hour ride. I was fine but mentally tired after concentrating for so long. The terrain was mixed... stones, sandy, pot holes etc. He made me go through a deep sandy section.. I skidded all over the place. This was unavoidable, but managed not to fall off. Also rode through small mud brick and thatched roof villages. In each village I saw women pounding away on rice to remove the shell, children manoeuvrering donkey on dirt tracks, children collecting water using the village water pump and groups of men sitting under a meeting area called a bantabaa, which is a large shady tree. Rural areas are harsh and families need to make the most of limited resources.
Jorgi and I arrived at the motorbike workshop eagerly awaiting to begin our training.. well i was eager.. Jorgi was terrified. Thank goodness I went through training before I arrived here, because they threw us in the deep end. I have a brand new bike, a Yamaha 100, bright red. Off i went on the bike following the instructor, straight onto dirt roads and to our first training location. This was a small rectangular sand pit, about 35m by 15m. Jorgi had only experienced riding a scooter and has never used a clutch or gears before and they expected her to start her first ride in sand... madness.. ahh we are in africa!! As you can imagine she crashed immediately. I did ok in the sand, only through having a bit of confidence and not being scared as I just slide all over the place, I only fell off once, which was pretty good.
We then went to a location, about the size of a soccer field. Jorgi hopped on the back of the instructors bike.. she is not yet able to start it. The field has sand in the centre and a pelethora of stones, rocks, cement, old cans etc around the outside. To reach the field we needed to go over 30cm dirt bridge.as their was a 1m deep ditch surroundig it.. best not to look at the ground whilst going over... just look straight ahead!!! AT the field I just zoomed around happily dodging stones etc... Jorgi basically crashed each time she stopped... not good.
On day 2 I was required to stand up and dodge a collection of cement markers, ride around standing up with one arm outstretched.. i think this exercise was used to show balance and throttle control. I then needed to go to a dirt hill and go up and down this in both sitting and standing positions then stop half way up and do a hill start. I did this about 35 times duriing the day wearing my black motorbike jacket in the heat, over 40 degrees. Lucky i still have a reasonable amount of fitness because it was hard work. I fell off once going up the hill, I gave the bike too much power on hill start.. no drama though. In the meantime, Jorgi is till falling off her bike each time she stops. Her day ended with a badly sprained ankle and bruises all over her legs, the instructor isnt accustomed to drivers with no experience and was impatient with her.. basically his instructon were move... grip... this in turn stressed her out more.
Day 3
The instructor left us to ourselves on the field for an hour. Here I gave gave Jorgi some training about how to stop and how to use the clutch and throttle smoothly during take off. She only fell off once today and is now stopping safely which is a relief.
We then left Jorgi to continue going around the field and the instructor and I went out into the bush for a two hour ride. I was fine but mentally tired after concentrating for so long. The terrain was mixed... stones, sandy, pot holes etc. He made me go through a deep sandy section.. I skidded all over the place. This was unavoidable, but managed not to fall off. Also rode through small mud brick and thatched roof villages. In each village I saw women pounding away on rice to remove the shell, children manoeuvrering donkey on dirt tracks, children collecting water using the village water pump and groups of men sitting under a meeting area called a bantabaa, which is a large shady tree. Rural areas are harsh and families need to make the most of limited resources.
Janjanbureh- March 1st – March 4th
Hello everyone,
Im back from travelling to the East side of Gambia. Started the trip squashed in a mini van with other volunteers. Used the South bank road, it was extremely hot, dry and dusty. The road was a blend of dirt, bitumen, sand and river bank. Everything and everyone covered in brown dust. Landscape is grey, sandy and brown with a few trees and bushes. We stopped at my town of Soma and I saw my humble abode, which was not finished yet. They were digging out my own brand new pit latrine and still needed to put in doors, frames, mosquito proof windows and paint cement floor.. more about my house next blog with some photos.
We arrived in Janjanbureh after 10 hours of drivin and police check points. Janjanbureh is a small island, about 10km by 4km. Here we met the Governor of the Central River Region, whilst there had a really AFRICAN moment.. two chiefs arrived in the Governors office all dressed in their customary attire from their villlage. One wore white robes, white and red checkered material ov er the shoulders, a white and gold head piece made of a beautiful fabric, like a round hat together with a beautifully crafted wooden staff. The other wore blue robes and elaborate shawl and head piece......Even though I know im in Africa, it blew me away when they walked into the room, part of my brain thought they were dressing up (this is meant with no disrespect) whilst the other side of my brain thought.. wow!! Im in Africa.. this is real.
We then met the religious Islamic leader of the whole region at his house, this person is called an Iman. He has 4 wives and the town people consult him regarding Islamic issues. He presides over religious ceremonies like weddings, babynaming ceremonies, funerals and marriage disputes. He also teaches the koran to students on carved wooden plate with charcoal for students to write memorised text from the koran. He was a calm and gentle man.
Also met the Maribu of the town..the spiritual leader... what we commonly know as the witch doctor. His role is use herbs for medicine, give advice about the present and future.. a bit like a clairovoyant. Two vsos had their future read. This involved them blowing into 5 cowrie shells and thinking of questions they want to have answered. They then threw the shellls on the ground, the maribu then scattered another 10 shellls, all various colours. The position of the shells determined their future in regard to the questions asked. I did not feel comfortable having this done, clairovoyants freak me out, i dont wont to dabbble in the unknown.
The town was extremely dusty but the river surrounding it was beautiful. A lot like the murray river with green trees on the banks and about 100m in width. I went for a run/walk each morning and it was so tempting to go for a swim but the threat of crocodiles kept me firmly on the bank.
The birds here are amazing.. Im not much into birds but the brilliant colours and variety has definitely sparked my interest.
Im back from travelling to the East side of Gambia. Started the trip squashed in a mini van with other volunteers. Used the South bank road, it was extremely hot, dry and dusty. The road was a blend of dirt, bitumen, sand and river bank. Everything and everyone covered in brown dust. Landscape is grey, sandy and brown with a few trees and bushes. We stopped at my town of Soma and I saw my humble abode, which was not finished yet. They were digging out my own brand new pit latrine and still needed to put in doors, frames, mosquito proof windows and paint cement floor.. more about my house next blog with some photos.
We arrived in Janjanbureh after 10 hours of drivin and police check points. Janjanbureh is a small island, about 10km by 4km. Here we met the Governor of the Central River Region, whilst there had a really AFRICAN moment.. two chiefs arrived in the Governors office all dressed in their customary attire from their villlage. One wore white robes, white and red checkered material ov er the shoulders, a white and gold head piece made of a beautiful fabric, like a round hat together with a beautifully crafted wooden staff. The other wore blue robes and elaborate shawl and head piece......Even though I know im in Africa, it blew me away when they walked into the room, part of my brain thought they were dressing up (this is meant with no disrespect) whilst the other side of my brain thought.. wow!! Im in Africa.. this is real.
We then met the religious Islamic leader of the whole region at his house, this person is called an Iman. He has 4 wives and the town people consult him regarding Islamic issues. He presides over religious ceremonies like weddings, babynaming ceremonies, funerals and marriage disputes. He also teaches the koran to students on carved wooden plate with charcoal for students to write memorised text from the koran. He was a calm and gentle man.
Also met the Maribu of the town..the spiritual leader... what we commonly know as the witch doctor. His role is use herbs for medicine, give advice about the present and future.. a bit like a clairovoyant. Two vsos had their future read. This involved them blowing into 5 cowrie shells and thinking of questions they want to have answered. They then threw the shellls on the ground, the maribu then scattered another 10 shellls, all various colours. The position of the shells determined their future in regard to the questions asked. I did not feel comfortable having this done, clairovoyants freak me out, i dont wont to dabbble in the unknown.
The town was extremely dusty but the river surrounding it was beautiful. A lot like the murray river with green trees on the banks and about 100m in width. I went for a run/walk each morning and it was so tempting to go for a swim but the threat of crocodiles kept me firmly on the bank.
The birds here are amazing.. Im not much into birds but the brilliant colours and variety has definitely sparked my interest.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
I'm off to UP COUNTRY
Hi everyone,
The time has come for me to say farewell to cold showers, internet and sea breeze. I am going up country on Sunday 2nd March. Travelling to Janjanbureh which is about 300km away. Will take about 12 hours due to bad roads. We are staying on an island so will see quite a bit of wild life. I then have my motorbike training for 4 days and then ride my bike to Soma with my driving instructor following alongside and the VSO logistics manager behind in a 4 wd. I think it is about 75km. Will email when I can..
all going well but I am excited about seeing my new house and starting my job.. ciao for now julie
The time has come for me to say farewell to cold showers, internet and sea breeze. I am going up country on Sunday 2nd March. Travelling to Janjanbureh which is about 300km away. Will take about 12 hours due to bad roads. We are staying on an island so will see quite a bit of wild life. I then have my motorbike training for 4 days and then ride my bike to Soma with my driving instructor following alongside and the VSO logistics manager behind in a 4 wd. I think it is about 75km. Will email when I can..
all going well but I am excited about seeing my new house and starting my job.. ciao for now julie
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