LAST Move! (March 14h entry)

I was hesitant on going to my new place and new family. The transition period from western dormitory lifestyle in Senegambia to the alone village life was going to be about a quarter of an hour. I was far from ready to make this change in such short period of time. So I decided and got okey’ed by Souleiman (the driver) to be dropped off the last after Jen and Mike were left at their places. It was en excellent decision! I got to see their homes and villages, the country and postpone the start of three month challenge. It was challenging again to let go the comforts of western life and settle in the village without the main amenities.   

Prior to swear-in/ departure our group stayed in PC transit house for almost two weeks. We shared the common space of four rooms filled with bunk beds and two bathrooms. The transit house has a running water, electricity and Internet. None of these services are reliable and continuous. The Internet failed when many people tried to reconnect with the world or electricity was interrupted. The water also disappeared several times during the stay. The disappearance of electricity and water does not surprise me anymore – it became a part of the daily life here. The PC transit house is located in so called Senegambia, a tourist area with different types of entertainment offered: hotels, restaurants, night clubs, and a beach. I had several opportunities to jump in the ocean! AmazingJ Nearly every night the sleep was interrupted by the 80-90s songs that were screaming from the bar next door. The louder - the better and the music is played until 3-4 am in the morning. The only choice was to get used to sleeping to this loud lullaby.

Back to where I started…my home. I spent all first day unpacking. It was very satisfying to finally get situated in my place after living from the luggage for three months. I still need to get a shelf for my clothes and few other furniture pieces – the masterpieces of the local carpenter. The already made furniture is not usually sold here and if it is, it is usually used one and/or very expensive. So far I have: an expensive used table which was shipped here from Netherlands, a locally made armchair for reading, a bamboo bed, a mattress and a single burner, some kitchen stuff and gardening tools. It was enough to start the two years here.

My family is very nice and seems very large – my host dad has two wives. The family tree is still to be figured out. I wonder if it ever will be… The language barrier is a big problem and makes it hard to communicate with the family and others in the village. I feel silly when they talk with me and/or about me and I do not understand a thing. I just stare with blank eyes and they stare back at me with questioning eyes: ‘you learned Mandinka for two months. How can’t you understand this?!’ Therefore, the main goal now will be to learn the language so I can hold a conversation with local people.