Summer Grove Villa Banjul

... of affairs, but I wish that they could bottle it and sell it - they would be deservedly rich and the world would be noticably happier! In the end, our trip was far too short - just five days squeezed in between work commitments, but we were wonderfully relaxed in the chic boutique hotel, Ngala Lodge soaking up the rays, swimming in the cool pool, and strolling along the beautiful coastline.

... premiership English football team (i) Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd(ii) Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal(iii)  Premiership-shlemiership  Slashing the cash - average nightly accommodation cost (i) 9 quid(ii) 6 quid [price increase is not ...

... at the Sweedish residence (when we finally made it there after 10 billion taxis taking us to the wrong place) watching Modou and Youssou just made me so so proud of them I was almost in tears and everybody there could tell. The last few beach outngs and alphabetisation went really well. The kids generally really wanted to learn which was so nice to see and Amadou wrote his name correctly for the first time ever with no upside down letters, it was the ...

... to run to a store for a last minute errand, expect everything to go wrong just as quickly. The fact that the day of our event was at 1:30 on a sort of national cleaning holiday, called Setsital, where the whole country shuts down and people stay inside until 1pm added plenty of difficulties for us. To account for these things we didn't have activities actually starting until 2pm on the schedule. This schedule became little more than a rough suggestion when the CPA representative didn't ...

... nowhere to go. No hotel and plenty of time. I strolled out the airport passed the coaches loading up with the sun worshippers on their was to the luxury resorts. I found a series of eateries and stalls where the airport workers congregated and treated myself to my first dish of benechin, a fish and rice dish. It filled quite a hole as there were no meals on the long flight. At this point I was joined by Jonathan and Chris ...

... that time is precious and efficiency is necessary has slipped in, and greetings will not last too long. To be on time yet still keep with the relaxed Gambian conception of time it is best to leave very early. It is a struggle to keep your shoes clean while maneuvering your way around puddles, goats, sleeping stray dogs, trash, and cars that decide to swerve randomly off the road, but you are more than used to this. Once at school you will take your seat in a classroom ...

... until 3pm the next day, went to go find the nurse he made the slightly terrifying discovery that there were none. The entire hospital was empty. He retreated back to the glorified cell and went back to sleep, sure that some nurses would arrive early in the morning to give him his shot. But when they did finally arrive they had no shot. They assured Bryan and Shane every time they asked that someone would be coming soon, very soon. "Ndanka, Ndanka," they told themselves, all the ...

... the Serekunda Market a perfect manifestation of West Africa, and I think that's exactly why we're all so excited to go back, even though it was a bit overwhelming. We're all just dying to get rid of that feeling we had watching this culture from a bus, to actually be in this place that is so crazy and colorful and intimidating and interesting. Bakary Sidibeh came with a Griot friend of his, BaKoyo Suso, who he identified as one of the last Gambian griots with a wide knowledge of oral ...

... short, a vandal. And a ferocious vandal at that, who takes great delight in terrorizing any guests who venture into the house until they run screaming from the house whilst they can still salvage their ankles. But enter Hart Seniors and suddenly Demon Cat is transformed into a cuddly fluffball, content to lie purring in loving arms as she is coddled and cooed over. Watching this performance and the ensuing gifts of Whiskers cat food and catnip toys, I ...

... bones and artifacts at the centre of many circles, indicating that they w**e burial sites, although dating techniques indicate that bodies may have been buried some time aft** the circles w**e constructed. The circles are nice but nothing like Stonehenge or the stonecircles at the Orkney Islands... The roads (or should I say: road.. it's a v**y long, long, long, v**y long muddy red road) w**e bad ...