Gambia: Day Seven

Wednesday 13^th February

Normal morning; breakfast at 8 etc. Then all our donations (and us!) were piled onto the van, ready for a busy morning!

First stop was the military nursery, where we watched the Sports Day. All the children were aged 2-4(ish?). Some of them are connected to the military camp (where the nursery is based) but some are civilians. The nursery itself is huge; there are so many children! Fairly few teachers as well. I was chatting to one of the teachers, who told me that he works half the time as a soldier and half the time as a nursery teacher, though he would like to work in the English army. He said they need a lot of patience with the children, but that it's rewarding.

Military Nursery

 We were divided up into their teams; I was with Ben, Daisy and Miss A. We thought we were with Green team, but we're not sure. The kids were more than happy to cheer for whatever colour they felt like!

Our Team

One girl in our group was particularly cute; Miss A was very pleased that the girl had 'chosen' her as her favourite. However, she then worked her way around Daisy, Ben and I- and when she moved on to the next person, she'd look behind at the person she'd just left. Very cheeky!
The Cheeky Little Monkey

 They All Loved The Cameras!
 
 Sack Race- This Was Adorable
 
At the end of Sports Day, we had a 'teachers race', which we all joined in with. I came last, but no-one noticed, which was good for me or I'd have been teased mercilessly about it!

It was hard saying bye to the kids :( A couple of the (male) older teachers wanted me to keep in contact, which was a bit awkward.

The second stop on our list was Mae's Nursery. Before we went in, we rad the rules listed on the outside. Some of them seem a little superfluous- especially the ones pertaining to older children, when it's a nursery school! They also had a couple of slightly funny rules...
We Think Number 13 Is Misspelt- But No Tying Kanye West To Your Uniform!

Green Tea Rules

We had a tour, then did some singing with a few of the classes.
One Of The Classes

Classroom Displays

We also took them outside to play games. I ended up in a game of Pat-A-Cake with around six or seven children.

Again, it was really sad leaving the school. It's a shame we couldn't spend any longer; you have just enough time to start seeing glimpses of personalities, then you have to go again, onto the next group. I really hope all the children we met are okay in the future, and I wish there was more I could do to ensure that. They're so so happy, all of them, you forget that you're in a place where people are starving and can be unable to make a living.

This message was further reinforced on our third stop, at the hospital, where we left most of our donations. We were allowed to look in a couple of the kids wards, and hand out some of the items. One of the babies we saw was a tiny baby, only a few months old, sleeping next to her grand-mother; her mother had died in childbirth and we were told later that her father was unlikely to be around so much. The whole hospital trip was incredibly moving.
Hospital Courtyard

The last stop was happier, however. We went to the fire station- which is twinned with the Avon fire service, meaning that all of the fire engines were once used around Avon! Very surreal, but good. We got to sit in one of the fire engines and they put the blues and twos on ^.^ Miss A also had fun ringing the bell, which caused several fire-fighters to come rushing out, convinced there really was a fire!
It's Literally Just One Fairly Open Building

 Avon And Farafenni
 
 Inside The Fire Engine!

Fire Engine

Shop stop, then back to the guest house. Lunch here consists of what we can get in the shop- so largely just crisps, biscuits and fizzy drinks. I did get some cornflakes, but I've not eaten much, as they're not so nice. Other people have been eating noodles; I have four packets, but can't bring myself to cook them (too much effort!) or eat something hot (I'm overheated enough as it is!).

Spent the chill time relaxing and snacking. I also did some clothes washing whilst chatting to Miss W. Now we're all sat in the lounge. Going to the 'Culture Show' at the school in a bit. Everyone was fairly grumpy earlier, but the break's helped, and people are happier. Except we've just found a fairly large preying mantis on the the curtain to go outside (I had an encounter with it last night as well).
Preying Mantis (Nicole Asked If It Prays)
 

(LATER)

Went to the school for a 'Culture Show', put on by the students of the school. When we got there, we fond that they'd set up seats for us in the best spot (very shady!). The students, parents, children etc. stood (or sat on floor) elsewhere, so that we were all gathered around the hard court.
Starting To Gather

A Little Later On

First in the programme was a sort-of courting dance, which was quite interesting. Then we were shown representations of the marriage rituals of the three main Gambian tribes (Fula, Wolof and Mandinka). They were similar in parts- for example, each ritual involves covering the brides face- but some were very different. 
Wolof Wedding Drummers (Including Kardo And Amie)

Fula Wedding

The Mandinkan wedding had seven brides and one groom, which we've been told is very typical! The more brides you have, the richer you have to be- so it's a status symbol. Things are so different here!
Mandinkan Wedding- The Girls Sat Down Are All Brides

Interestingly, we couldn't see the whole Wolof ritual- they said it went against tradition, and that if we watched the whole thing it would mean that the actors were married!

There was some great music to accompany the ceremonies; I recorded a bit purely for that. After the Mandinka ritual there was also lots of dancing.
The Kora Being Played

One Of The Dancers; Check Out Her Jewellery!

Throughout the day, Miss A had said that there was likely to be a circumcision man, which scared everyone- though Will overheard her saying to one of the other teachers that she doubted it and was only saying it to scare us. However, she was wrong (and right in her joke!).

There was a show involving two circumsicion men along with a man dressed up as a tree. Well, all of them looked like trees, to be honest. There was no actual circumcision involved, just the two men running around with (hopefully blunt!!) machetes, and the tree man dancing, occasionally in Miss A's face.
Circumcision Man

 Tree Guy Dancing With Mr M

Knowing that there was no actual circumcision involved made watching that part of the programme a lot better; it's just funny then, and you know no-one's going to be hurt. Everyone knows they're not in danger, but they all have to play along and run away and scream etc.

Next there was some singing, then a dance-off that became a free-for-all on the dancefloor. Good times!!! Eventually it was time to go, though getting out was difficult- we lost Anju, then when we found her we couldn't find Mr B or Mr M. It took ages to get everyone together! 
One Of The Dancers- People Kept Giving Her Stuff, But She Gave It All Back At The End

 Dance Off!

Back to the guest house for dinner. I told Miss W the story of 'The Princess And The Pea', which she hadn't heard before. We also all chose a picture to upload to the school blog- mine was the one of most of the group in the pool on the first day. I like it because everyone in it is looking at the camera and smiling, which is unusual in a group picture!

Rang mum, and had a chance to speak to Dad and Roo as well. Got a bit of bad news as cousin is ill, but everything else alright. Also rang Ruth and Mollie, but Mollie was out, so I just passed on a message to say happy birthday.

More chill time, mini-Olympics planning and to bed. I can't believe how much we're doing each day. I swear time goes slower in Gambia!