Field Trip!

There are pictures, but they are on the camera and I don't know where it is so...pictures to be added...

Today was effectively a rest day. No official wake up time, breakfast was left out late, and the Peace Corps trainers planned two "field trips for us." Having not been on a field trip in a while this was a pretty exciting experience.

This morning we went a short walk to the beach. I am definitely not a beach person, but it was a beautiful beach! Warm water, hammocks, pavilions, and some beautiful cliffs. Played some frisbee and swam in the water - good times had by all.

There was one aspect to the beach that we were all expecting, thanks to a skit the night before by our trainers, but did not encounter. No one had a close encounter with a "bumster."

So... let me elaborate, by way of quoting another blog, on what a “bumster” is for those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of a personal encounter.

In the face of widespread tourism from the West, particularly as a result of the high amount of exploitative sex tourism perpetrated by Westerners in the country, young men from across the country flock to the beaches to appeal to the tourists. They loiter on the beaches with Rastafarian hair and mesh tank tops, doing push-ups and touting such lovely phrases as “it’s nice to be nice.” Yes, this is a stereotype, but it gives you an idea of what they look like. Many of them come to the coast to be a bumster because of the lack of opportunities in their own villages or elsewhere in the country. They see it is an opportunity to get support, maybe even to get out of Africa.

So they jog back and forth on the beaches, essentially fishing for a woman that will support them. Sometimes it involves sex, sometimes it just is walking around with them through town and showing them around. You’ll often see these young men with older white men, too, just escorting them around town as a local with local knowledge.

No one had that experience today, but I am glad I know a bit more about it.

This afternoon we went to a reptile farm and got a brief tour by a very knowledgeable young Gambian. He talked about many snakes, some geckos, and crocodiles.

Things to note:

• There are many snakes in Africa.
• Some of them are poisonous
• Thankfully snakes are scared of people
• Thus if we don't bother them, they won't bother us
• Apparently, crocodiles in West Africa are very different than crocodiles in East Africa (this is a recent discovery) and West African crocodiles are much more docile and don't really bother people.
  
• There is an insect that is sort of a cross between a scorpion and a spider - weird!!!

Beyond that, we went for our first run since we landed with a current volunteer....ouch...that is all...

Anyways, that's all for now so I hope everyone is enjoying reading our updates and I hope that all is well at home.