Continuation from 'tubab' post..

I'm going to try to remember everything that's happened since I've had no internet access during our up-country trip. Here goes...

After we learned about the government of the Gambia, we were then educated on women's health and cultural issues. A running nurse, Kumba Sabally, and Isatou Ceesay came to talk with us. This was to me, the most interesting lecture we had in the past couple days. Don't get me wrong, the other lectures were also informative and interesting since it is such a different culture from mine, but this one was mainly about pregnancy in the Gambia. Apparently, women try to hide the fact that they are pregnant. No one should touch a pregnant woman's belly because if anything is wrong with the baby, it is blamed on the person that touched her belly. It's considered bad juju. Some women, although the older generation, warn younger children bearing women that they shouldn't eat certain things such as eggs and certain types of vegetables because they believe that it will make their children not be able to speak or have some sort of health issue. Women also opt to receive injections instead of taking birth control. If their husbands see that they are taking the pill, they tend to think that the woman is cheating on him. It was so fascinating! I didn't want it to end as early as it did, but Sarah invited us to see the Jola tribe dance. We left around 5:40.

Sarah, Julia, Jevi, and I caught a taxi to take us to the usual junction. From there, we hopped a van to get to the fish market where we would meet Dr. Sidibe to drive with him into the compound. We arrived and a small group was forming. There were several drummers, a lot of children, and a variety of people hustling around cooking food, pouring water on the dirt so it wouldn't be as dusty, and grabbing more instruments in preparation. The dancing was wonderful! They were absolutely amazing...so much energy and the ability to sing well and dance that fast tells me that they're in really good shape. The main dancers consisted of 8 or 9 women and a small man (who was absolutely hilarious). At one point he climbed the tree right next to us and was dancing around. The group typically did the same dance in the very beginning, and then eventually one person would move into the center and really break it down. While that person was doing his/her thing, the rest of the group had wood sticks that they banged together extremely fast. I don't think I could ever do that personally...I was astounded that they were always together in rhythm and that they all started and ended at the same exact time. As we got further into the performance, they selected us and brought us up to dance one by one. This was extremely intimidating, but really fun. They really seemed to enjoy it as much as we did. At the end, all of the dancers came up and shook our hands and some gave us hugs. They seemed genuinely happy to have us there and we were equally happy to have been a part of that ritual.

We started leaving and all of the children started running up to us, holding our hands, shaking them, and saying goodbye. One little girl got down on one knee and bowed to me, which was really interesting. I didn't quite know how to feel about it...I was honored but I didn't know what for. We squeezed in the car (four of us in the back) and headed home. As we started leaving the little ones started chasing the car. We waved as we turned the corner. On our way out, we saw a bunch of people in a tiny building with their shoes placed outside. They were all kneeling. This was a part of their prayer call. About 5 times a day, there is a prayer call that can be heard across the country. All members that participate in the Islamic faith stop what they're doing to pray. It's pretty moving to see that many people in a building worshiping God. I would love to capture this, but doubt I will have the opportunity. If there's one thing that I've learned, it's that these people are extremely religious and have deep roots within their culture. I admire their culture and knowledge about their heritage.

After we got home, we had dinner, did some blogging/skyping and then went to bed. It was such a busy day!