The only stoplight in The Gambia at the time we arrived (I've been told there are more now). It also didn't work yet.
Crossroads
A rainy season walk with Joe, Kate, and Rebecca to Medina.
Mary Ann at the pump
Ice and Mus
The old man is acting like he's shaving my head after giving me my knew name, Musa, just like they do to newborns.
Sarjo Dumbuya, Mandinka teacher extrodinaire giving us a lesson on pronouns
Two compound women pounding
Lamin, Mamadou, and I at my school, Kalagi UBS. Little did I know at the time that Mamdou and Lamin would be two of my closer students.
Hamina. Reminds me of a bug with antennae.
My host brother Lamin, showing off some jump rope skills.
Boarding the Tendaba Queen. Not exactly the most seaworthy boat, but good enough for us.
A muddy hike.
Baboucarr, another language trainer, relaxing.
Demba, one of the cutest kids in The Gambia, demonstrating his mastery of the Eskimo yo-yo I brought. He caught on embarrassingly quickly.
Sharolyn and me with some of my host family.
Hyenas. Disney lies; these things are 10 times scarier than a lion.
Mamodou with coos
Musa with coos
The view from my shower
Study math(s) at night in my room
The mosque
Kids beside the main south bank "highway"
Another shot of the "highway." Note: this is actually a relatively smooth section of the highway.
Mamdou and Alaghi with the monitor lizard that they killed after it got into a classroom, moments before we started to cook it up.
My straw mattress bed - literally hitting the hay
A cloudy sunset
Baabunja
What a cheesy smile.
Sunrise from my "shower"
Tina and host family in front of her house.
Soccer by sunset
Football action shot
Ami caught eating
Noma helping Aja out with the pounding. Sadly, I bet she can pound better than I can.
One of many pictures of ram sacrifices I was forced to take pictures of during my first Tobaski. I actually kept this one since it was with my soon-to-be new host family.
Cleaning out the foodbowl
A gelhi-gelhi going over the bridge that marks the end of Kalagi and connects Foni Jarrol and Kiang
A dugout fishing canoe. Impossible to steer, easy to tip.
Goofing off with Ami and Baabulayi
A typical gelhi-gelhi (public transport)
Students on a donkey cart
Tug-o-war at the school interhouse sports competition
The intentionally started bush fire inside the school's compound. This "controlled" burn was done to prevent an accidental fire like would happen my second year and result in me burning my feet. The word "controlled" is used in the absolute loosest terms. I was amazed this fire didn't jump the wall and burn down the village.
Nyabs and students watching the fire
Baabulayi and Ami hanging out.
Our taxi stuck on the way to Dakar. I got yelled at a bit for taking a picture instead of helping too push from the start (I helped after the picture) but it was worth it. Besides, our driver was an idiot for thinking he could get through this at 10mph.
Mom and Dad at Gorée Island, Senegal.
The door of no return, Gorée Island
Alvin walking to the Sandplover, my favorite restaurant in all the The Gambia.
Ed, demonstrating the rough life that is Peace Corps
Baiting sacred crocodiles
Mom and Dad and a throng of people
Krissy and Kekuta do their best to dress like Mauritanian women
Sunset at Tendaba
One of my grade 9 classes
Sarja, studying and relaxing all at once
Kids playing like the kongkerong
Yummy leaf sauce
My pit latrine, after Ed did some decorating for me
Grade 9 examinations
The first clouds of the season. I was so excited to see them.
A stretch of the Kiang highway.
Giving a session to new PCVs with Mr. Jobe
Singing the UNESCO song at our cultural day
The culturally appropriate fashion show
The culturally less-appropriate fashion show
Rushing to sell to a gelhi
Two men playing draughts
Wrestling at Jammeh's birthday
Four cool cats at Kartong. Again, PC life isn't easy.
A new bride, Kaddy
Jon tying down all the mail for volunteers in January
A mountain of groundnut
Lovely boababs
Cow crossing
The river separating The Gambia and the Cassamance
Ani vs the infinite
Ed scores a goal...then has the ball bounce right back at his face.
Maggie in her Sunday...er...Friday's finest
Maggie, Erin and I dress to impress
Another Kongkerong dress-up day
Ebrima cleans up on draughts vs Bully
Omar's big head
Effo's bigger head
Oustass, the islamic teacher, back from somewhere. One of the teachers I respected most at my school and an all around good person.
Ami pounds rice
Sunset at a Sintet football match
Midday dance party - hats required
Omar breaks it down
Effo's out of control
Post-dance goofing around
Jalika and Faamaata roasting peanuts
Omar - B&W
Hamina and me - Tobaski Jan 2006
Ebrima
Ami approves
Jobarteh kunda - Tobaski Jan 2006
On the way to Sintet
The road to Chewel
Full moon over fields
Kalagi UBS library - fully renovated
Studying hard
Sunset after a nice game of basketball
The bolong (tributary)
Sunset behind the palms
Palm trees at the riverside
Marching for Independence day (Feb 14th)
The edge of Kalagi
CCF nursery school marching
What better way to celebrate Independence day than to sing your national anthem accompanied by a teacher playing a plastic recorder while you salute your country's flag - which is not only being flown sidewards but was also sewn in the wrong direction? Kudos to the wind for demonstrating this so well.
Mr. Bah with two of the jester women
The first mango of the season - about 2 months early for some reason. Definitely a momentous occasion.
The end of the brushfire where I burned my feet. Apparently I had enough time to grab my camera, but not change out of my flip-flops. Genius.
Ebrima and one of the many rats killed in my house. This was definitely the most fun though; it gave a good 30 minute chase.
Baabanding digging posts for a new goat house. He lived right next door to Camera Kunda and was my best friend in the village.
Joe on some backroad
Jalika hogging my hammock
Faamaata
Dinnertime!
Baabaading - dressed to find a wife. Which is exactly what he ended up doing, actually, finding his 5th.
Big old baobab
Collecting salt
Girls distance race - Interhouse 2006
Boys sprint - Interhouse 2006
Mrs Bah with the big spoon
Tapping palm trees
Post palm tapping
Enjoying some palm wine
Modou Lamin taking over my chair. This is right after he made himself a Modou Lamin sized hole in my screen door, explaining the shit-eating grin.
A fistfull of food
Watering the garden
Another Kalagi sunset
Easter beer pong with Liz, the deputy Alikalo - the way Easter was meant to be celebrated
Sharolyn and Joe get schooled by Liz
My favorite palm tapping picture
Trying my hand at climbing a palm tree. This stuff is not easy.
Josh enjoying some palm wine
No cell phones at the mosque, please. Nowhere is safe from mobiles.
My favorite baobab group at sunset
Omar being studious
Sarjo, off to sell mangoes at the crossroads
Kalagi UBS teachers
After school maths students
An empty classroom - 9 circle
I had to promise him that I would talk to someone in America to get him a powerboat and listen to him tell me all about America (a favorite Gambian pastime) for half an hour, but I got the picture. (Sticker says "Friends don't let friends eat farmed salmon.")
These boys have just come back after being circumcised and spending 2 weeks away from their families with older boys and men to learn traditional songs, etc.
This definitely reminded me of parties that are "for the kid" but are really for the parents. These poor kids had to just sit there for hours while everyone else danced and had a good time.
My lovely tent on the beach at Kartong - perhaps my favorite beach in all of The Gambia
Nyima Jarju and me. Nyima scared the piss out of me when I first got to Kalagi because she wouldn't let me melt into the background and insisted I never relax in learning Mandinka. She was always in my face, making a spectacle of me at the cross roads and yelling at me for doing things wrong (though I would eventually learn she was joking each time). She became one of my good friends and I was sad when she left a year into my service because of marital problems and was happy to hear that her husband had admitted he was wrong and she came back a few months before I had to leave. She never stopped yelling at me though...
FaaCeesay and her baby at Darboe Kunda.
One of these is not like the other... Baabanding, two of his four current wives, and me. (I'm the second from the left.)
A marabout at the crazy Jola party in Wasadung 3 days before I left Kalagi.
