African Village Hotel Bakau

... due to Mr R's increased need for luxury.  It is linked to the relaive strength of the Euro now compared to then (many of the countires we have been travelling to have their currencies linked ot the Euro).  Mr R blames the French ...

Gender divisions are strong in The Gambia. As a Muslim country, the Gambia combines both civil and Sharia law in a polygamous society where men can take up to 4 concurrent wives. Over recent years, there have been significant steps towards securing legal equality for Gambian women; for example, women can vote and there are women in high ranking positions within the government. In 2006 the National Assembly dropped exclusions to an international protocol they had signed, meaning ...

... world of Tungbun. We made it to the nearby fishing village of Tanji, where the horizon to open up into a long, blue shore dotted with small fishing boats, just in time to see the large, burning orange sun sink into the ocean. It was dark when we arrived, and we passed a slow night stargazing and chatting with Etu and some passing visitors. We wanted to get a good nights sleep to prepare for an amazing favor Etu had asked of us: painting one of the new huts he had built. In a normal ...

... of my daily life here will suddenly become far-away and foreign once again -fading memories at best. I haven't lost the acute appreciation (often humorous) I have for peculiarities of this place, like herds of adorable roaming goats, or women whose highly held heads support heavy loads of food and tools with dresses that know the true meaning of color, or smiling circles of people (often young men around an attaya pot), shouting greetings to everyone that passes by. But now I do expect ...

... my plans and my need to rest for one night. A few phone calls later he announced his brother owned a guest house and he could put me up for the one night. Abdoul, the softly spoke young man who lead me to the hotel offered to take me there and showed me how to navigate using the system of shared taxis that ply the main routes around town. Each trip costing 5 dalasi (13p) We got one of the junctions where we were due ...

... a kind of cultural schizophrenia. Isatu is a friendly chatty neighbour who sings greetings at all she meets whilst walking down the street. Louise is still a stroppy wench who is best not crossed early in the morning. So I start filling out paperwork and automatically use the name Isatu, before I realize that my insurance company are unlikely to be impressed with this, and have to ask for a new form. The sergeant is himself distinctly unamused and highly ...

... people expect different standards than my own. How can I simply acquiesce that women be denied rights that are necessary for their basic equality? Not surprisingly, I didn't keep my mouth shut. But instead of the intellectual approach, since the Gambian student really didn't seem to support academic debate of his opinion, I used a more personal, tentative tone. I wanted to respect differences, I tried to communicate to him, but could he, and the others who nodded ...

... been conned. It was almost as if we had been under a spell, and as it slowly lifted we became frustratingly aware of our own stupidity and this man's art. He did not work at the compound even, but had guessed (well) that we lived in Kanifing, overheard Shane's name, and used this to convince Bryan that he knew Shane, Shane that he knew Bryan...and from there Maya and I were easily taken in. Still, though, there were SO MANY things that should have tipped us off, that should have ...

... hours, a dozen flushes and several slugs of whiskey later and my new companion and I were still unwilling co-residents. Neither of us were happy about the situation. Pleading phone calls to friends elicited only hysterical laughter. Finally a suggestion was made that poking a branch down there would enable the lizard to climb out to freedom. Willing to try anything at this stage, I gave it a go, much to the disgust of the lizard who pointedly ignored it. Great, now I had ...

... police, journalists etc. The workshop will provide a forum for them to begin discussing the issue and agree on the role they can play in tackling the problem in their own community. The topic will be a specific child protection issue that is affecting children in The Gambia. These include: - Sexual Exploitation - particually in relation to tourism - Corporal Punishment - children may be beaten so hard in ...