I’m currently back in Kombo for a few days for a Tree Nursery Competition meeting, and I’m excited to take this opportunity to fill you all in on a few updates with my life/work/experiences here in Gambia.
So…where to begin…
First off, as I talked about in one of my most previous blog posts, an aid organization was planning to host a three-day-long seminar on gender equality in Chargel. We had a very successful time organizing representatives from 10 different villages, some students from the school and even a few teachers and the headmaster to come be a part of the discussions. The topic definitely took interest with people who wondered what there could possibly be to talk about in regards to gender equality. Additionally, a few of my Peace Corps friends came to Chargel to help out with sparking conversations and supplying insight. Everything was looking on the up-and-up.
So then Monday came and the facilitators hosting the event were supposed to show up that evening, but didn’t. Typical enough, the roads can be pretty bad and transportation can be a constant headache. We tried calling them but didn’t get through. Also typical, as phone reception is a constant issue in my area. But then Tuesday morning rolled around, and when it became pretty clear that they weren’t going to be here in time to start the meeting we called them again. This time we got through, only to find out that they had postponed the meeting (until this week when I am currently here in Kombo and not at site) and the person responsible for informing us never did. Unfortunately, this too is also quite typical.
What was probably most unfortunate about this whole thing is that when my friends and I found out that the meeting had been postponed, all we could really do is laugh it off…because this happens so very often. And it’s not necessarily that meetings get planned and canceled/postponed often (although they do), but that communication between parties, in general, is always a problem in that it is rarely clear, consistent or followed-through. And that’s frustrating, sure. But, more so, it’s really just sad when you see the issue of consistently poor communication hold back potential development and progress.
So what did we do? Well, for the most part people just dispersed and headed home. And Alicia and I just hung out and had a great time. Some of our afternoon activities included…
Visiting the cooks at the school and helping with “quality control” for the school’s lunch.
Hanging out with my host family.
Strolling the village.
And going out to the bush and throwing sticks at baobab trees with some kids to try to get the fruit to come down. Despite how full the trees are with the baobab fruits, it’s actually pretty hard to get them to come down. But fun when they do!
All in all, despite the unexpected postponement of the gender and equality meetings, it was a good day!
And we topped off the next morning by enjoying pancakes and Starbucks coffee before Alicia headed back home.
So, lesson learned? Here’s a thought. In the end life isn’t all that predictable, no matter how much you think it should be or want it to be. But just because something doesn’t work out the way you think it should doesn’t mean that it can’t be productive, meaningful and fun. But now Mark, how, you ask, is just strolling around the village, eating the school’s lunch and throwing sticks at baobab trees meaningful? Well sure, those events in and of themselves aren’t all that insightful. But the moments you can have with people… the true happiness that comes to the ladies cooking when two young “toubabs” just show up and help them cook for the afternoon, or the laughter that accompanies the young boys when they watch “toubabs” throw sticks at baobab trees and the boys trying to teach us the “right way” to throw a stick…those moments are truly meaningful and irreplaceable.
And it’s amazing how many times I have to learn this lesson for it to actually sink in.
