Palm Grove Hotel Banjul

... minority. Nine different tribes are represented in this tiny state of just 1.5m people. "There is no tribalism here", Lamin assured us, "No religious strife either. Everbody celebrates muslim festivals and everbody celebrates christian festivals too. People from different tribes intermarry; people from different religions intermarry". I don;t know how Gambians achieve this blissful ...

... fish and rice, egg & bread & lashings of mayonnaise(ii) Fish and rice, more fish and rice, egg & bread (sans mayo, which was non-existant)(iii) Occasionally fish, occasionally rice, quite often mayonnaise  Who's your ...

well ive now finished at Empire, which I cannot believe at all and am partly refusing to believe because I do not want to leave one tiny little bit! I am really attached to the kids and just love the way of life there and everything I was doing. Watching the circus shows was really fun, especially as I got to do all the kids face paint and ofcourse haad my face painted and went to the shops with it done, which cheereed up the shopkeepers! But the last ...

... they seemed very used to foreign volunteers who were eager to help, but maybe not too committed in the long run. For our own part, Jennie and I realized that even if we had some experience with similar activities in the past, organizing them in a developing country is entirely different. The CPA office didn't have internet or a copier, for example. Contacting the students is near-impossible. Students, especially girls don't have the kind of free afternoons that we do. And if you're ...

... had lived in The Gambia for a number of years and filled me in on the present situation. I planned and read-up on possible routes. I decided to cycle south from The Gambia and cross into Senegal. Then head south through Casamance to Ziguinchor, then follow the Guinea-Bissau border to Valingara. At this point and depending on progress, a number of different options presented themselves, to be decided on the spot. On arrival I ...

... parts of the country that need it most if those who really know what they need are blocked from government? Sadly, the people from these areas, and Gambia as a whole for that matter, are not likely to protest the political set up (if, with only poor education systems, they are able to see past propaganda and a controlled press) because they are too focused on desperately trying to get out of the poverty gap, not seeing that their struggles are actually directly linked with the political system.

... from the pain and pass the time was laughing about the medical care, so I guess we can't be too critical of it. When the doctor decided to grace us quickly with his presence again we convinced him to let Bryan go home between shots and even to remove the bloody IV from his hand. But it was back to the hospital that evening. When 3am, the time for Bryan's final shot, rolled around the nurses were not punctual. And when Shane, who had taken over hospital duty because he didn't have ...

... almost all of us found something we loved, even though the calm browsing style we were used to when shopping was completely impossible (the second you show indecision people tend to jump on you - either the shopkeeper themselves, or, even worse, bumsters who try to act as intermediaries and bump up the prices). Personally, I was quite proud of myself for bartering a vendor from 375 dalasi to 150 dalasi for a very pretty floor length skirt. One of the Peace Corps volunteers we met here ...

... also provided an opportunity for my parents to basically see my life here - we did a whistle-stop tour of VSO, my office, my house etc. Star performer of the above was Frog. Frog is a feline of kitten- sized proportions who has of late taken over occupancy of my house. She (or possibly He - I have no idea what I'm looking for) pays no rent but has assumed responsibility for Cockroach-Torturer-In-Chief and Attacking-The-Sofa-Until-It-Shines duties. She is ...

... was so reality and stressfull with people who have **** all. We waited anoth** 5 Gambian minutes (=appr. an hour) and then th**e was anoth** minibus. On the way to the Jangjangbureh Camp we stopped off for a pick-nick in the bush, a surprise visit to a tribe and the stonecircle at Wassu. These are sev**al circles each consisting of between 10 and 24 reddish brown stones. Excavations have unearthed ...