It pains me announce that my trusty camera has been retired. While not the best camera in the world, it served me well for the past year and a half. Part of me hoped it would last another year or so, until we get back to the States for good, but I’m not completely surprised that the heat, dust, bumpy roads, etc, here did it in. My parents generously offered to send me a replacement, but I won’t get it for over a month, so unless I can find some magical do-it-yourself fix, I’m going to have gap in my pictures. That being said, here are the last few pictures I took on the camera (with a few stolen from Kelsey mixed in):
Re-wearing our naming ceremony asobis at swear-in. A little on the sweaty side, but at least we look happy, right?
“No Mocking” sign on a geli geli we took back from Kombo after All-Vol (it was supposed to say “No Smoking,” but it was misspelled with an extra “c” and missing an “s”
Our friend Umi all gussied up and ready to go somewhere. Have I mentioned that sometimes being around Gambian women makes me feel seriously underdressed??
Sunrise over the river at Kalagi, getting ready to start our (mini) Lower River Region HIV Education Bike Trek. We went to three schools and taught a half-day curriculum to ~60 kids at each. I’m proud to say this was truly a cross-sectoral initiative…we had volunteers representing all three Peace Corps sectors in The Gambia!
One of The Gambia’s few bridges
Getting ready to roll out
Sheila came along for the first two days…she was a real trooper!
Baby Mangroves Josh, Kelsey, and many others helped plant on the river bank
Lindsay and Kelsey posting on the bridge with the mangroves seedlings in the background
Me in action
Look closely the names on this class list. This is not a joke. Thank god I’m not a teacher.
Done teaching, Travis and I heading off to bike 25k home on the worst section of main road in the country in the heat of the day. Probably not advisable, but we made it in less than 2 hours!
Back in Sankwia for Jacob’s birthday, Jacob and I went on an early morning bike ride in the bush
Birthday boy
Look Peace Corps, we’re such good little volunteers, we ALWAYS wear our helmets!
Our new sitemate Travis came over for Jacob’s birthday lunch. We decided to make popcorn as an appetizer, but none of us had ever done it in a pan before. We learned very quickly that it pops all over the place with surprising force!
The birthday boy making moo shu chicken
Moo shu chicken, complete with tortillas and plum sauce, and fresh mango pie for dessert. Yum!
Our friends Ida and Aminata in matching white outfits for Gamo (the village Koranic reading), posing with a friend
Birthday celebrations continued on Sunday. Jacob’s birthday brunch consisted of Middle Eastern egg sandwiches with chickpea spread and ramen noodle salad with cabbage.
My camera was on its dying breath, but by massively altering the picture, I managed salvage a group shot on our front porch. Seven other volunteers made the trek to our house for the brunch.
Jacob and ET with Jacob’s birthday cheesecakes (coffee on the left, chocolate strawberry on the right)
Finally, in my unsuccessful attempts to fix my camera, I ended up with some sorta cool messed-up pictures…
2 comments:
That class list is something else!
Debbie
ps, comment re Jacob's eating like an African child was from me also. We continue to enjoy your blog.
Thanks Debbie! Glad you're continuing to enjoy it.
As always, we welcome topic suggestions for future blog posts.
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