I’m back in Kombo for a few days so I wanted to get out a quick update on my life and work here with the Peace Corps.
First and foremost, Khiva is doing really well. She has been growing really fast! Whenever I leave for a few days and come back again I’m always surprised with how big she is getting when I don’t even realize it. And her appetite is matching her growth. She is now completely house trained and she doesn’t even chew on the furniture when I’m not there, but we are now working on keeping her from chasing the chickens. It may be all fun and games now, when she actually gets afraid of the chickens and ducks when they turn around and start chasing her. But soon enough her playful chasing of the family poultry could easily become her wanting to satisfy her appetite. So we are working on that.
She likes to wander all around the village and into the fields with me. Every morning when we go out to the fields for weeding she comes along and sits in the shade to watch us work, when she’s not chasing birds, bugs, butterflies, other dogs or digging holes. She really likes to dig holes. (It’s become a bit problematic in my backyard as I’m trying to grow things.)
And in the late afternoons when I take my daily walk around village to see what is all going on she likes to tag along. I consider that a part of my “cultural exchange,” since they really aren’t accustomed to having animals just hang out like that. And my host family thinks it’s hilarious when she tries to play with people who come into the compound by chasing them around. I was afraid at first that maybe that wouldn’t go over so well, the whole chasing people thing. But as it turns out, Lawo thinks it’s the funniest thing in the world when someone walks into the compound and Khiva runs up to them to greet them and lick them, but they in turn get freaked out and run away. Ok, so maybe it’s not the nicest thing in the world, but people get used to it, and it really is good comic relief to hot afternoons.
We are now about a month into the rainy season, and it’s amazing how quickly this land that I remember looking like a desert turned into a lush, green rainforest. It’s kind of scary, really. But it’s beautiful!
It tends to rain almost every other night, providing a very nice contrast to the hot humid days. The fields are now completely planted with coos (millet), corn, groundnuts and rice. Now the trick is keeping the weeds down. Basically we spend each morning weeding the various fields (by hand). It gets to be a bit tiring and really hot, but usually each day after we have been out there a few hours a conversation like this happens:
Them: Saikou, it is very hot. You must be very tired. You should go sit in the shade.
Me: Oh, no no. I’m not tired. If you can work out here I can work out here.
Them: No, Saikou. The sun is very hot today. You should go sit down.
Me: No no. If you can work in this, I can work in this.
Them: No. Go sit down.
Me: Ok.
Then I go sit under a near-by tree and wait for them to finish. Sometimes I feel like a wimp for not working longer. Other days I am realistic and know that for as much as my body has adjusted to much of the setting here, if I was to work much longer in that kind of heat and humidity I would be in really, really rough shape.
Other than weeding I’ve been working with some farmers to get some orchards going. I worked specifically with Lawo to plant cashew trees all around the parameter of his fields, and he is very excited about that. Additionally, the seeds we planted are supposedly an improved variety that grow from germination to fruiting in around nine months! That would be awesome, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
I’ve also helped a few other interested farmers get some orchards started with cashew and mango trees.
my hand next to a hippo print in the mud
At the skill center we surrounded the perimeter with a row of cashew trees and then planted some mango trees in the middle of its front yard. We then filled in the rest of the yard with coos and corn. It has good potential for income generation in a few months, and that could be great to get some new projects going with the center!
And the women’s garden is actually working! I mean, they are growing things and the goats aren’t eating everything. The fence still isn’t as good as I think it could be, but, things just happen at a different pace here than we are used to. One thing I’m interested in with the women’s garden is that all the women are basically growing the same thing. Red peppers, onions, and bitter tomato seem to be favorites. I tried talking with them about growing a variety of vegetables to add some more options for cooking and nutrition, but they just weren’t interested, (unless I wanted to just give them seeds, that would be OK).
But I’m not really into giving anything away because that just adds to their overdependence on aid money and free, un-sustainable projects. But that’s an entirely different blog entry... on another day.
What I’m hoping happens is that when the women harvest all their vegetables and take them to the market we started in village, they will realize they are all trying to sell the exact same stuff and maybe be a bit more interested in trying a variety of vegetables next time. Sometimes you just have to see it to believe it. Especially in this culture and setting.
a dung-beatle's view of a groundnut field
The school year is finished, so there really isn’t much going on there. But it was a good year and I’m excited to work with the agriculture teacher next year to get an Environmental Awareness club started. I figure many of the older students will come because I’m there and they always like to watch whatever I’m doing anyway. And it will be a great opportunity to talk with them about environmental issues to the Gambia, maybe sometimes current events, and really just anything I think is important and they should be discussing. And since they next school year will be starting towards the end of the US general election, there will definitely be issues to talk about.
The current events class is going well. Lately the main questions and discussions have focused around the US primary elections, and them wanting to learn how people get elected (in a primary) to try to get elected again (in the general election).
Other than that, site is basically the same old routine. I am having a great time and continue to learn new things about my setting, the culture I am in, and myself. By now I have definitely been stretched beyond measures of patience and understanding I knew I had. And I continue to be amazed when I think of just how bizarre this entire experience really is. But I am having a blast, most days, and really enjoying this incomparable experience.
I hope this email finds you all doing well and enjoying your summers! This time of year our settings are kind of the same.. It’s hot there and it’s hot here. It rains a lot there and it rains a lot here. Except where here the heat can become a bit much, you have air conditioning. But where your rains are a bit much, we love it!
Thanks, as always, for your prayers, letters and phone calls.
Until next time, take care and God bless.
