Wednesday, 25 February 2015

Sunday 8th February 2015

Sunday 8th February 2015
Got up at 6ish. Got ready then went out to van with our luggage. AH and I lost phone/tablet/key in the space of ten minutes- why on earth are we sharing a room?! Found all again though, thank goodness. Strapped luggage to the roof and off we went! 
Lots and lots of travelling. I wrote a little, played on phone and read part of the Da Vinci Code. Was difficult to be in the van for so long, and felt quite rough unfortunately- was very grateful that I had my headphones and could hide away a bit.
After almost 4 hours, we got to the ferry port. On the ferry I sat with MW, SL and AA. The ferry crossing was quick and uneventful, aside from realising that some random people were taking pictures of us- as you do!
At the other side, it took us about 15 minutes on the van to get to Farafenni. It was so weird being back- it's all so familiar. Realised as we drove through that I've dreamt about it more than I realised. We got to the AMRC very quickly- everyone was very desperate for the loo! The AMRC is very much the same whilst also very different- things like the lounges and courtyard haven't changed one bit, and parts of the rooms haven't- but many of the rooms now have en suites! No more sharing two bathrooms between ten students!!Luggage was unloaded and we were all assigned rooms; AH and I are in the one that EG and I were in last time (albeit with the addition of an en suite!).
Unpacked and put the mosquito net up. Bit difficult- we had to get GS to give us a hand as he's tall. Then had lunch- I had noodles. Chatted to BA and WS, which was nice (though they somewhat gave me the 3rd degree!!).
After lunch we played a 10 person, 2 pack game of cheat. Lots of fun!! Then we sorted out donation stuff. AH and I have got the hospital stuff in our room (pictured below). I had an awful headache, which was frustrating. After we'd sorted all the stuff, we had a race to pump up the footballs. Our team didn't win :(
AH and I have a dodgy door handle, which is annoying, especially when we seem to be constantly in and out of our room!! However, aside from that minor inconvenience the afternoon passed nicely- chilled in the lounge, and had a bit of a nap, which speaks volumes for how tired I was- I never nap!
Dinner was amazing- exactly like I remember! Met Kubara again. She's very heavily pregnant, but I think there's maybe a month to go? After dinner, we spent time making puzzle pieces for our project, during which time we realised that my life/interests are not very Gambia-friendly!
Turned all the lights off and everyone lay down on the floor outside to look at the stars. They're so bright and incredible out here. Definitely my highlight for the day! I want to see stars more. And I want to see the bear star. The main constellation we could pick out was Orion's Belt.
Bed at around 10- so tired!! School tomorrow- exciting!!