School is still in session for a month and the temperature has been in the hundreds for a while now. My thoughts fly to the US. I think about how exciting this time of year is. School is out and summer is here, full of green plants, sunshine, and possibilities. Summer in Michigan makes me think of gardening, lawn mowing, trips to the lake, and, of course, camping. Though I haven’t been able to mow lawns or spend my birthday at Lake Michigan in two years, my whole Peace Corps experience is reminiscent of the summer camping trips I loved growing up. In the Gambia, we live life close to nature, with very few luxuries, exposed to the elements, and we have to be resourceful, much like spending a week at Ludington State Park, right? I’ve been thinking for some time of a way to share the Gambian way of life with my mom’s daycare kids and the families that have shown interest in my Peace Corps service and the Gambia. So, I came up with a Gambian camping trip guide for those families that are keen on roughing it and looking to add an extra challenge to this summer’s camping experience. Let me know how it goes! (And send pictures!)
Fetch Firewood
Carrying cous on my head like everyone else…notice all the stares.
I know you will spend your camping trip cooking over a fire, the way that every meal is cooked here in the Gambia. Fetch firewood the Gambian way. Head out into the bush, collect your kindling and tinder, tie them into a neat bundle, and balance it on your head all the way back to the campsite. Gambians often put a piece of cloth under the wood to protect their heads.
Fetch Water
Bring a bucket or water container to your water source. Carry the water back to your site by balancing it on your head. Gambians often use a piece of cloth on their heads to make it more comfortable. Don’t worry about spills, it’s refreshing and part of the fun!
Bucket Bathe
For a bucket bath, you need a large bucket full of water, some soap, and a plastic cup. Splash water on yourself and then soap up. When you are good and sudsy, use the cup to pour water over your body and rinse off. During the hot season, we take bucket baths multiple times a day to cool off.
Bucket Launder
This one is a challenge! Use two buckets, one wash (with powder laundry detergent) and one rinse. Scrub your laundry with your hands, rinse it well, and hang it on a clothesline to dry. Our clothes dry in less than an hour during the hottest part of the day!
Food Bowl
Lunch! Rice with peanut-sauce. No surprise there.
Make “Domoda” or peanut sauce over rice. Serve it in one big bowl on the ground. Sitting on a mat, squatting, or in chairs around the bowl, eat with your hands! Gambians eat with their right hand only, forming little balls out of the rice and sauce and popping it into their mouths. This takes some getting used to, but is fun. Wash your hands with soap! (This activity may be followed by a bucket bath.)
Snacks!
I visitor brought oranges (they’re green, I know). I help peel them for my brothers.
Snack on whatever is in season. Foods that are plentiful to snack on at various times of year in the Gambia are watermelon, oranges, peanuts, corn, and mangoes. Right now is mango season, they’re everywhere! During peanut season, people spend all afternoon sitting on mats, shelling peanuts, and munching on them while they chat. During corn season, we eat corn right off the cob after cooking it over coals until a few kernels pop!
Drink Attaya
They start brewing young
Make green tea and add generous amounts of sugar. Attaya is shared throughout the day, but especially in the afternoon when it is too hot to do anything but sit in the shade of a mango tree. Gambians drink attaya out of small, shot-glass sized glasses. And even on the hottest day of the year, it is served hot!
Football and Braiding
Check out my style!
Young boys in the Gambia spend their free time playing football (soccer). No ball, goal, or field? Improvise with some balled up socks and sticks for goal posts. Girls spend lazy afternoons plaiting (braiding) their hair. Have a hair braiding afternoon or practice braiding with string, corn husks, or whatever you can find.
Dance Circle
Have a dance party! Gambians love dance programs with big sound systems that boom into the wee hours of the night. But children have impromptu dance parties all the time by clapping loud, fast beats or beating sticks on plastic buckets used as drums. Pump those arms to the side and stomp your feet to the beat.
Family Time Under the Stars
My favorite part of the day is in the evening after dinner when it has finally cooled down some. The entire family sits outside in the dark, under the stars. It is too hot to go inside yet, so we just relax, chat, lie down, and even sleep. Spend an evening stretched out on a mat, enjoying the sounds of nature and the people around you. Share news about your day, share gossip from the campsite on the other side of the loop, or just sit comfortably in the presence of your family. The day was hot and you worked hard. Life isn’t always easy, but we’re in it together.
The Gambia Files 
We sure do miss camping with you! We’re going to plan a Michigan camping trip with you as soon as we can! I’ll encourage the camping daycare families to try some Gambian camping and we’ll do some practising at Rose’s Buds!
Seikh brewing attaya! So cute!
I’ve been plaiting my hair a lot and think of aunt haja very time I do. I can’t do more than two braids though. Superkanja hair is just too slippery!