"Hello my blue-eyed carrot..."

Friday:

So this weekend we were scheduled to take an upcountry trip. After dinner Thursday night, Baboucarr told us that we would be leaving at 8 am, an hour earlier than scheduled. He said that this was because a lot of streets in Banjul would be blocked because of Kim Jung-Il's presence in the city. We all woke up around 7:30 and the girls started making breakfast. We finished packing and went downstairs for our first breakfast all together. Baboucarr and the driver showed up around 8:30, you know, typical Gambian time. I did the dishes and then helped Baboucarr carry out bags of water to the van. There are about 30 bags of water (each 500 mL) per major bag, and we carried out 9 big bags for the trip. I knew it was going to be an intense journey.

Once we packed up the car, we all piled in. Molly, Megan, and Jen sat in the back seat, Jevi and I sat in the middle, Ana, Sarah, and Baboucarr sat in the front row, and Julia sat in the passenger seat. We were on our way. We made it past the arch and into the city, and then all of the sudden, horrific traffic, barricades everywhere, and police officers shouting directions. I was so happy that I was not driving. Baboucarr and Ana hopped out of the car to see if they could get us ahead in line. We all had our windows open and were sweating already, since around 9 am it was already in the 90's. Vendors and children were constantly coming up to the windows trying to sell us stuff and asking us for bottles and money. Megan wound up buying a pair of sunglasses for 100 dalasi ($4) and he continued to try to sell us belts, hats, and other knickknacks. At one point, he just threw something in our car, thinking that it would make us want to buy it. People were selling water, fruit, drinks, cloth, DVD's, bread...anything you can think of, they were definitely selling. Every time the car moved to a different street, it would just start all over again. If you buy something, you're dead in the water because other vendors will see it and will nag you nonstop. Kids were constantly yelling tubab and pointing, and I began to feel a bit irritated. It honestly does not stop..it's astounding. And just when you think the worst part is over, it just starts over again.

Baboucarr and Ana returned about an hour later, saying that we needed to move the car to a different street and that they were still working on getting us in. They left again to help our case, this time with Julia. Again, we were waiting. After what seemed to be an eternity (about an hour and a half later), our car finally started moving. We moved up to the front of the line, parked along a shopping area filled with even more vendors and the same hat guy. Seriously, this guy Megan bought sunglasses from followed us EVERYWHERE! He thought we were the funniest people that have ever lived. It got to the point where he didn't even want to sell us anything, he just wanted to hear what we had to say to him when he showed back up again. Again, vendors surrounded the car with everything imaginable. At one point, a woman approached the car attempting to sell us some sort of food. She poked her head in and began talking to us. Typically, people will come straight up to your window, say "hello my friend, what is your name?" Not this woman..she poked her head in, pointed at Jen (who's a redhead) and said "Hello my blue-eyed carrot. Would you like to buy?" We nearly died of laughter. It not only kept our sanity but it also scared the woman off. After waiting for a while more, we finally got through the huge gates into the loading area. We all took bets earlier on what time it would be that we actually would get on a ferry. I said 12, Jevi said 12:30 and a couple of the girls voted around 1, and Sarah voted 2. For a while, it looked like I was going to win. We got into the loading area around 11:30, and we could see a ferry pulling in. While we waited, people were still coming up to the car trying to sell us fabrics and asking us if we had husbands. Ana did a good job of telling them off so that they would leave us alone, but eventually (one man in particular) would make his way back around to a different window every time. Another man came straight up to my window and said "Hi. How are you? I am fine. How are you? I am fine..." and just kept talking in circles. We all burst out into laughter again, confused by what had just happened. The ferry finally pulled up and they started to load cars. Much to our dismay, this was a small ferry and we did not get on that one. So again, we sat. By the time we finally got loaded up, it was 1:30. Sarah won the bet. We were one of the last cars to load. After all of the cars were on the ferry, hundreds of people flooded the boat. They were running and pushing to get a seat in the shade. Some settled for a shadowed space under a huge truck that was diagonal from us. Our 45 minute journey across the river had begun.

When we got off of the ferry, it was slow moving at first to get through the crowded streets of Barra. Once we cleared though, it was pretty smooth sailing. The roads were nice and paved, and our driver really got rolling as we got further away from the city. There were several police stops and military checks along the way (and I mean each about 20 minutes from the previous). It seemed as though there was one every town. The definition of town here is very loose. It could mean a compound of mud huts in the middle of nowhere, a huge city/market at a large junction (like Ferrafenni), or a run down town that consisted of a few buildings that were in the middle of being built, and a dirt road that led to the 'center' of town. At one stop, I looked over and there was a little boy with a plate that held a bunch of dirt and rocks. He looked right at our car, pointed and said "banana?" The women sitting under the shade laughed so hard. We did as well. He just kept repeating it, over and over again as we waited to pass inspection. As we drove off, we all waived goodbye. It was a great reminder that children are the same everywhere...despite their heritage, language, and skin color, they all do and think in the same manner.

Africa is so flat! There was minimal water, and I noticed that a lot of the landscape was straight black, which told me that wildfires had happened there. Around 5:30, we stopped for lunch at a women's compound that helped women become literate. It also helped them learn skills to create crafts and harvest food that they could sell at the market to raise money to send their kids to school. As we pulled up, kids ran outside of the gate and began clapping, chanting 'welcome, welcome, welcome!" We wandered in the school building and found a long table with several chairs. Outside, women were playing the drums and the little ones were dancing around. The 'lunch' (which really was dinner in terms of time) was very good. After we finished, the head of the compound introduced himself and his role. He then told us how a peace core volunteer started this project and how he is helping to carry on this project. The compound consists of about 70 women and 4 men. The women sundry fruit and other foods in a solar drier to sell at the market. They also create hand bags and purses out of plastic bags that are found on the ground everywhere. They also make key chains and lizards out of beads, as well as tie dye fabric for table cloths, skirts, and handbags. He took us over to the store to show us their goods. We purchased a bunch of items in order to support what they're doing at the compound. Their items were really awesome and we all really enjoyed their company. Afterwards, we went outside and were told that the women would like to perform for us. Of course performing never means watching for the audience..it means participation! Before we knew it, they had each one of us up and dancing around one by one. Towards the end they pulled up a group. I was taking pictures of the whole thing, watching it unfold. I also took some amazing pictures of children. They loved seeing themselves on camera..almost so much that they were ripping the camera out of my hands. Luckily, the women went to my rescue. They pulled me back into the circle to dance with them twice more before letting us head back to the van. We piled in yet again and headed down the dirt road back towards the 'highway' (aka the only paved road from Barra to the eastern part of the country).

We passed through more flat land and it began to grow dark. Around 8:00 we arrived at a river and waited for another ferry that would take us to Jangjanbureh, an island with a ton of history. This ferry was a lot smaller than any other one we've taken, and it didn't take as long to cross the river to come get us. We all got out of the van to stretch, and immediately guys ran over. One man started talking to me and asking me my name. He then moved into asking for my phone number..I told him I didn't own one that worked in the Gambia. I then also told him that I was married, and that my husband wouldn't like it if I was contacted by another man. I then jumped back in the van and pretended that I had fallen asleep, so I wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. He left me alone.

After we crossed the small Gambian river, we then drove about 5 minutes around the island to find our hotel. We saw a bunch of other tubab's and we pulled into an area with buildings that were painted white and green. We unloaded the van, and a man showed us to our rooms. Jevi and I got a room to ourselves. It had three beds - one full size and two twins. We took the two twins towards the back. The beds looked pretty comfy, but the pillows were HORRIBLE! They were like rocks. We peeked into the bathroom to find a shower head poking from the wall, right next to the toilet. No sides, no curtain, just the shower head and a drain. The bathroom was so small that you couldn't shower without getting everything soaked. After we washed up, we went outside for dinner around 9 pm. We ate some delicious pasta with tomato sauce and then attended a drumming performance. A younger guy started talking to me about his schooling. He was a dancer for the group. He's 19 and attending the university. He is planning on becoming a doctor. He then went down the path of asking me for money to help him pay for his books. I didn't know if I had felt relieved that he wasn't hitting on me, or angered by the fact that they always want something. I basically turned my head, thinking that since I would be tipping the group, he would be receiving some of that profit, so I would be helping both causes. Jevi and I made it back to our rooms, attempted the figure out the mosquito netting as best as possible, and called it a night. Luckily the drumming stopped just after we had laid down.