Gambia is more than just a small country

Hello All!

It has been a long time since my last entry, I apologize. In any case I just got back from a three day beekeeping training in the Gambia! My expeactations for the Gambia were, to begin with, extremely low. I figured it would just be like the rest of Senegal, except that some people might speak English, however, the moment I crossed the border I noticed a distinctly different culture. On Monday, I was picked up in Fatick by a Peace Corps van and we picke dup 8 other volunteers on the way. The border crossing was a little hectic because the Gambian border officials wanteda bribe. Luckily, as Peace Corps Volunteers we know how to charm people in the local languages. So we pulled all the stops, I charmed the Wolof guard, and my friend worked on the Serere guard. We then found ouf that the head of the border post was Mandink, and I used the three greeting I knew. After about an hour we made it through bribeless!

The Gambia is a small country that basically outlines the Gambia river, so to get anywhere you have to cross the river. We arrived at the ferry post at about 4 PM and were at the back of the car line. We ended up spending 4 hours waiting to get on the ferry! In any other circumstance, it would have been miserable, but it was actually very pleasant. Gambians are extremely friendly! We spent these four hours talking to kids and adults in English or Wolof about the Gambia. Not one person asked us for money or insisted that we buy something from them! That was the first big difference between Gambia and Senegal. People were so polite and helpful, they helped us find a place to exchange Francs to Dallasi (Gambian currency), where to find food, and an entire market stall devoted to Obama merchandise (t-shirts, shoes, underwear, etc.) that would make the Obama Girl go crazy!

Finally at about 8 PM we crossed the Gambian river in pitch black and were driven straight to the PC Gambia transit house. The house is a beautiful old home in the middle of an amazing neighborhood, 5 blocks from the beach. So far, I am loving the Gambia. The Volunteers were also so nice and saved us pizza since they knew we would be arriving so late. The pizza was fantastic as well.

The next morning we got up early and headed to the village of Siffoe to learn all about bees. We spent the morning elarning about hives and baiting and then spent the afternoon learning about how to make bee products saleable in the African context. In the late evening we went to harvest honey. First of all, these are not the typical European honey bees, but the mythical African killer bees! I was pretty freaked out. So we put on our bee suits, seal up all our clothing, put on boots and gloves, and head out to the hives. We arrive at the hives int he forest, and it all seemed a little to calm. We uncovered the hives and minutes later we were completely swarmed by bees. Hundreds of bees came flying out to protect the hive and were all over our bee suits. Luckily, the suits protect from stinging. As soon as we started the actual honey harvesting is when it got crazy. The bees start getting reall aggressive and I got stung twice through my suit as I was extracting honey from the hive. After a couple hours of working the hive and reparing it, we were all ready to go home with a bucket of fresh honey. Eating a honeycomb straight from the hive was truly delightful! Bees are visual creatures so we walked away from the hives, brushed off the bees, shut of the lights and walked away in the dark to disorient them. We repeated this motion several times before heading back to the training center. All seemed clear, but as I was unstrapping my boots with my bare hand a bee that was caught in one of the folds in my suit gave me a nasty sting. IT HURT SO BAD! Ouch! The swelling also lasts a couple days. That evening we were so tired we went to bed so fast, but firsts we had some of our fresh honey on toast!

The next day we made beeswax lotion and purified the honey for sale. Since we were leaving the next day, we decided to explore the Gambian nightlife. Close to where we were staying there is a "strip" that looks just like any bar strip in the US, Europe, or Latin America. It was incredible. It marked another huge difference between Senegal and Gambia: They cater to tourists! There are people on the street helping you with IDs from the tourist board, and we got no harrassment at all on the street or in the bar. Incredible! Of course, liek Senegal, the country has a large amount of sex tourists and prostitutes, that is both uncomfortable and unsightly.

The next day, before we leaving we explored the area where the Peace Corps office was located and we ound a store where a man goes to America and buys lots of stuff at Costco and sells it in the Gambia! It took a lot of self control to not go shopping like crazy! That day we left to Senegal. It took two taxis, a boat, a van, and a station wagon to get back to Kaolack, but we made it! I am sure I will go back to the Gambia!

In other news...

It is extremely hot and dry this time of year, and the cool nights are slowly disappearing. It is about 105 during the day and 90 at night. I think I am getting used to it, because I only feel uncomfortable in the middle of the day, not all the time.

Next week I will be leaving to Egypt, and I am so excited!!!!!!