Follow Our COS Trip #COSTrip

Dan and I are off on our post-Peace Corps travels! Our plan? Guinea,  Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Mauritania, Western Sahara, Morocco, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany! Then home in May(?)

Follow along on Instagram where Dan will be posting photos throughout.

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The Most ExTreme of the Team

Our cohort, Education PCVs 2013-2015, was called Team ExTreme.  At first, because we had an alarming number of ETs (early terminations).  At our COS (close-of-service) conference 13 volunteers remained and 5 extended.  Now who’s ExTreme?!  Today, Dan and I will “gong out” and close our service.  Which will leave ONE PCV from Team ExTreme…

THE MOST ExTREME OF THE TEAM!

Cara has been a site-mate, friend, confidante, and inspiration to me during my service.  Cara (or Sali as she is known in the Gambia) has extended a full year to be the PCVL (Peace Corps Volunteer Leader) for the Education sector.  I will miss the snarky texts and thoughtful, critical perspective on… everything.  Keep an eye out for Cara’s posts, photos, and videos as she continues her service in the Gambia.

Good luck Cara!  Team ExTreme is behind you… or ahead of you?  Anyways, see you in America.

Last Videos at Site

Videos from my last week at site

 

The teachers and students had a small program at the school to say goodbye.  Here are a few videos from the event.

A Christmas Poem

‘Twas three days before Christmas and the Sallah Family
All had their hearts set on finding the perfect tree.
Just a walk in the bush, it didn’t take long
The tree was small but mighty, scrawny yet strong
Machete in hand, it only took a few whacks
Before the children were toting it home on their backs

Without snow, holly, or nog for the usual decoration
The Sallah children set to work with their odd ornamentation
Tinsel, garland, and lights were not close at hand
So pipe-cleaners and streamers made their tree grand

The work was all done, now the children sat to admire
While mom cooked Christmas rice over the open fire
Soon Jerreh arrived with his host-father, what a guy!
Whose gift made Christmas dinner a cheery shrimp fry

Shelling shrimp and chatting while the sun, it did creep
Soon evening came and the children started to sleep
Yassin slipped away to her hut with a curious smile
And returned with duplos and toy animals heaped in a pile

To our small country in Africa, Santa had found his way
How lucky we were that the package arrived before this day!
Thanks to Ma Bambi and Ba Juka, Christmas reached the Sallah compound
And every year will fond memories of the Bowmans come ‘round

This Christmas night, every person was given gifts and well fed
Whispering prayers and “Santa, a jarama!” on their way off to bed

Though Christmas was over, our spirits did not fall
Each day toys a plenty, plus a New Year’s Day ball

So from our Gambian family to all who may hear,
Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!

Pageant Comes to Misera

Recently, Pageant (you may remember them as the sponsor for our library committee’s excursion) came to Misera to train our science teachers on using microscopes with students.  After the visit, Pageant left the microscopes with the school and the science teachers have been using them with the Grade 7 and 8 students.

First, Pageant came to the school to train the teachers.

Then the teachers used the magnifying glasses and microscopes with the students.

Thanks Pageant!

Check out Misera featured on Pageant’s Website!

How to Train a Teacher

Lessons for a Teacher Trainer in the Gambia

It wasn’t always easy, but I tried to stick to my primary mission in the Gambia, which was to train teachers. I learned a lot in my ongoing attempts at conducting school-based teacher trainings.  The trainings I deliver today look and feel drastically different than the trainings I conducted in November of 2013.  Here are the lessons that I have learned make the best teacher trainings in the Gambia.

My first teacher training in November 2013.

1. Make the trainings a regular occurrence. Having weekly trainings or trainings twice a month means teachers know what to expect and are prepared to dedicate their time.  Spring a training on a teacher and the training becomes the reason why he or she can’t do this or that.  Make the trainings regular and teachers ask, “Hey! Where’s the training?” if you miss even a week.
2. Make the training short. Most trainings in the Gambia are not short and the time is not used effectively.  Promise your teachers a morning training and they will roll their eyes, knowing that “morning trainings” often last past two o’clock prayer.  Release teachers by noon and they don’t know what to do with their suddenly free day.  Usually they settle on brewing attaya.
3. Always provide food. I think this one is universal.  Food, especially good food, makes people happy.  Plus, the teachers at my school usually eat sparse breakfasts on their meager salaries.  Show them a decent meal and they’re yours.
4. Make the training optional (but not really). The trainings I held were always optional.  But, having the administration “strongly encourage” teachers to attend and taking attendance, meant teachers felt a lot of pressure to show up.  But, since the training was optional, didn’t they make a good choice, sacrificing their free time to better themselves? And the teachers who really didn’t want to be there? They would probably make the training miserable for the rest of us, so good riddance.
5. Invite VIPs. Having the head of the school there to deliver a long-winded speech about the importance of ongoing professional development is good.  Having the School Management Committee Chair, the Village Development Committee Chair, the Cluster Monitor, or any person from the Ministry of Education there to endorse the workshop is even better.  I think teachers feel as though they are being recognized for their efforts by someone outside of the immediate school community.
   

   Jobarteh, the Deputy Head Teacher officially opens a literacy training at Peter’s school.

6. Start with a greeting. Surprisingly enough, teachers at my school will go an entire year without knowing the other teachers who work (and live!) at the school.  Starting with a greeting allows teachers to get to know each other, acknowledge every member of the staff, and loosen up a bit so they feel comfortable and ready to participate.
7. Share something silly. Teaching the teachers a silly song with actions or a fun game under the guise of something they can do with their students is actually a way for them to just be silly and have fun together.  Songs can liven up the driest training and are sometimes the only thing a teacher remembers weeks later.
   

   
8. Make the training their idea. My approach to getting the school’s administration on board with a training, was making it their idea.  I would present my administration with a problem or, even better, with the Ministry’s book of standards (in order to point out where the school fell short).  I delicately sought the administration’s help and ideas for solving the problem (not wanting to put them on the defensive.)  If the administration didn’t arrive at “training teachers” on their own, I would share what a few other schools had done to address the problem.  As soon as they latch on, they begin budgeting and delegating tasks to make their training possible.  At this point, I become a tool for them, someone who is willing and ready to train their teachers.
   

   We got this huge shipment of books… if only we could train the teachers to categorize, label, and use the books in our school library. But wait!  We have a Peace Corps Volunteer!

9. Do as little training as possible. This was maybe the hardest lesson for me to learn.  I don’t like relinquishing control of my lessons or my pupils.  But experience taught me that Gambians learn better from Gambians than they do from the Peace Corps Volunteer.  Part of it was my accent and way of communicating, part of it was an unfamiliar teaching style, and part of it was my lack of trust and credibility. So, I swallowed my pride and, as much as possible, I encouraged the teachers themselves to train the other teachers.  I would support the trainers by helping with session planning, providing materials, and co-teaching.  And always, the sessions went on too long, in my opinion. But the teachers being trained connected to the content in a way that they wouldn’t have with me.  And isn’t it nice to sit back and watch my work being done by other, perfectly competent teachers?
   

   Giving teachers a chance to be the trainer resulted in some of my best school trainings.

10. Provide Certificates. This one, I think, is not universal.  My view on certificates is that they make good scratch paper for kids in my compound to practice writing or drawing or they catch the grease when I make french fries.  Gambians treasure certificates, often get them laminated, and display them prominently if they have the office or wall space to do so.  Being presented a certificate at a training is a huge bonus.
    

    My host-father proudly displays his certificate from a Gender and Development workshop we attended.

11. Tomato vs. Tom-aaah-to. Be sure to know what to call your training.  I learned halfway through my service the difference between a training and a workshop.  A workshop, my friend Isatou informed me, implied that teachers would be paid per diem and transport and provided with lunch.  Until that point, I had used the terms interchangeably.  I learned the importance of learning the local terminology and connotations that English words hold for my Gambian counterparts.

While some of these revelations will be totally useless returning to the US, others I think are good rules for training, teaching, and even interacting with people in general. I’m not ready to reenter the Western world with my elevated status of Teacher Trainer. I looking forward to being a lowly teacher again and learning from others for a while.  But the experience has prepared me, inevitably, for the time in my life when I once again am valued for my superior education and experience and will have to step into the role of trainer.  Mostly, I hope I remember that the goal is for teachers to connect and communicate about their profession in a positive and constructive way.

Them’s Fightin’ Words

Having been privy to the exchange of more than a few harsh words during my service, I’ve picked up some of the jabs that carry significant hurting power for Gambians. You’ll hear the same insults for casually referring to the short-comings of small children as you’ll hear being hurled in a fit of anger at a village rival. Certain Western insults and curse words have cropped up in the vernacular, but for the most part, I prefer the classic Gambian insults  which are much more colorful and seem to carry more weight.

“Your head!”

“Your (insert body part here)!”

“Your father!”

“Your father’s head!”

“Your father’s (insert body part here)!”

“Your father doesn’t have a head!”

“You aren’t a praying one!”

“You aren’t a human!”

“You’re the offspring of a donkey!”

“You’re a dog!”

“You’re a red monkey!”

“’You have a (insert body party here) like a monkey!”

“You’re a hyena!”

“You eat hyena!”

“You eat too much!”

“There’s no food left at your compound!”

“You’re a thief!”

“You like money too much!”

“You’re not ripe yet!”

“Your head is like an unripe squash!”

“You farted!”

“You farted!” (as a euphemism for saying ‘you lied’)

“You lied!”

This last statement is really serious.  A volunteer once explained to her family that telling someone they lied carries the equivalent power of offense as calling someone fat in the US.  Say it to someone older to you?  You’re in trouble.  Even my ever forgiving Gambian host family doesn’t let that one slide.

Ma Bambi does not tolerate anyone calling her a liar!

We Are Having the Best Country

During my Peace Corps service, I’ve been fortunate to have opportunities to meet Peace Corps Volunteers from all over the world. Inevitably, when we’re together, we start asking questions about our countries of service and the work that we do.  What I have learned from these conversations is that, without a doubt, the Gambia is the best Peace Corps country.  Here’s why:

1. West African Muslims: it’s hard to know whether to attribute the hospitality, tolerance, and friendliness of most Gambians to Islam or to West African culture. The two are so intertwined.  But after traveling to countries where drinking and proselytizing happens unabashedly, I’m grateful for the (mostly) sober and (for the most part) accepting people in the Gambia.
   

   Being invited to share in family prayer and traditions, but not pressured to participate or convert.

2. Host Families: Family is everything in West Africa. If you don’t have the support and guidance of your family, people pity you or think you strange.  So host families are a necessary step to integration in the Gambia.  Beyond the necessity though, I find value in the role I play in my adopted family.  I am taught the family tree, expected to follow the social protocols dictated by my role in the family, and invited to family events.  I am given responsibilities, I care for the children like my own brothers and sisters, and I feel safe and valued.  People will miss me when I’m gone.
   

   Being “big sister” carrying Lamin Baby on my back.

3. Geographically unexceptional: besides its small size and the river that runs the length of the country, there aren’t a lot of interesting or beautiful geographical features in the Gambia. This is important because everything is relative and it’s hard to appreciate what you have when you have it.  If I lived in the Swiss Alps, pristine and majestic, I’d guess that I would eventually become numb to the beautfy.  I’d have to find one heck of a scenic location to justify leaving my little chalet and being impressed elsewhere.  Instead, I live in the Gambia and am impressed when the elevation climbs slightly and I can get a glimpse of a rice field or bushy copse.  And vacations to places like Ghana and Uganda take my breath away.  I don’t take a mountain climb, a cliff overlooking the Nile, or seaside escarpments for granted.
   

   The Gambian landscape is best described as scrubland. But we find the beauty in it.

4. Volunteer Community: I was prepared to be isolated and completely immersed in “other” during my Peace Corps experience. During the site placement process, I even requested to be far from other volunteers so I could be more integrated and learn the language better.  Well, that didn’t happen.  I have four volunteers currently within 10 km from me.  And it turns out, I love this unexpected community.  Peace Corps the Gambia is a relatively small post – around 90 volunteers (though we’re expanding).  And the small size of the country means we see each other often.  Everyone knows everyone.  And we reach out to each other to collaboarate, for support, or to enjoy a Julbrew after a successful project or particularly trying time in village.  I knew I would develop strong relationships in Peace Corps.  I never thought they would be with so many amazing Americans.  One things for sure, I can now take one awesome roadtrip visiting my new friends across the US.
   

   Celebrating my friend Stephanie’s wedding with other volunteers.

5. Peace Corps the Gambia Staff – Like our close knit volunteer community, we also get to know our staff. The staff, likewise, learns our American and Gambian names, shows interest in our lives at site and projects, and go out of their way to help us when we need it (and even when we don’t).   When one of us is overly grateful or apologetic for taking up their time, staff often remind us – we’re here because of you.  They are receptive to the whims and ideas of the ever changing volunteer population. Thank you PCTG Staff!
   

   Our awesome Program Manager, Muhammed, on our trip to Uganda for a Literacy Conference.

6. It’s Not Easy, deh! : As much as I tried not to have expectations for Peace Corps, I have to admit to having bought into the clichéd image of a Peace Corps volunteer in a mud hut somewhere with no electricity or running water. Though I would’ve taken wherever I was posted in stride, I cringe a little to think of a post where I’d live in an apartment in the city with not only electricity, but a fridge, internet, and satellite television.  In other words, the fact that I live in a rural village with few amenities somehow fulfills my dreams, however cliché or romantic, of what Peace Corps would be. Other volunteers at this post claim that we get more of a real “Peace Corps Experience.” I’m not so sure that my work or service is anymore meaningful or real than a PCV’s experience in metropolitan Peru or Morocco.  And I certainly think that PCVs from 1961 would argue that THEY had the authentic “Peace Corps Experience.” For me, I’m just happy to be living my dream.  I relish taking my bucket bath, my battles with rodents, and the creativity required to cook with limited ingredients and no refrigeration. You know how I feel about the internet.  The Gambia is not easy, deh! But that’s kind of what I love about it.
   

   And sometimes you can’t bathe because there is a rat in your water bucket!

Well, I never!

Before coming to the Gambia, but sometime after receiving news that I’d be placed somewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, I began to imagine what my service might be like.  Mostly I pictured the Peace Corps stock photos showing a tan, smiling Caucasian female surrounded by beaming African children in various states of undress.

It actually didn’t occur to me that I would be bucket bathing until I arrived in country, which shows how limited my imaginings had been.  My service being full of surprises was thus, inevitable.  Here is a list of just a few of the things I never imagined I would do during my Peace Corps service.

1. Eat under ripe mangoes like apples, skin and all.
2. Opt for a splash of water in place of toilet paper when doing my, er… business.
3. Go by the name Yassin Sallah.
4. Clean a child’s bottom with my bare (LEFT) hand and water.
5. Carry a bundle of coos on my head.
   
6. Squeeze a fly larva out of my armpit.
7. Fix a bike tire in fancy African dress.
8. Trade in underwear for… well, freedom.
9. Crave fish.
10. Make Thanksgiving-food-filled pies.
11. Spell words that should have z’s with s’s (organize=organise)
12. Cut down a branch and decorate it like a Christmas tree.
13. Ride my bike across an African country. (In just half a day! (North-South))
14. Plant a field of beans with my bare feet.
15. Go a week or more between hair washing.
16. Ride a bike in a wrap skirt.
17. Appreciate and even crave a crappy light beer.
    
18. Think, “It’s cold!”
19. Stow my bag on a bus on top of some live chickens.
20. Learn to go through the motions of Muslim prayer.
21. Shoot snot rockets.
22. Drink palm wine or cashew liquor.
23. Fall in love. With a family.  With a village. With a fellow PCV.
    

See How They Grow

On Tobaski, I take lots of posed shots of my family members in their new holiday clothes.  Here are some pictures comparing my first Tobaski with the Sallah Family in 2013 to our Tobaski this year.  Look how they’ve grown!

 

My Brother Lamin

 

 

My Cousin Kaddijatou

 

The Men

 

My Cousin Jaila

 

My Brother Modika

 

My Sister Kaja

 

Ba Alpha and Ba Lamin

 

My Sister Faddy

 

My Brother Sheikh

 

My Cousin Fawura

 

My Sister Jabou and Cousin Koroja

 

Ma Bambi and the Kids