Sunset Beach Hotel Kotu

... 16 months, and have in the interim, let's face it, been a rubbish correspondent. I did some really cool stuff. There were moments (when I was at a concert in the Millennium Dome for example, wandering around modern art exhibitions, or supping afternoon tea in front of a roaring fire in a stately home - that's RIGHT people, I AM a lady of culture and sophistication) that my mind would just splinter and I found it ...

... sustainable progress in child rights. But I have to acknowledge that this approval comes from my decidedly Western perspective, and that it is attracted to an idea that came from other Westerners and was then transplanted to the Gambia. On top of this, we also observed that it was Western volunteers (one from Canada, another from Britain) who were taking charge of the activities of the group, "training" the Gambian staff (often with a decidedly patronizing tone) who were not as ...

... as their teachers do with them. Just listening to the way these students talk you can begin to see traces of this training. They tend to speak in a formal, structured format: addressing their audience, introducing themselves, listing their topics , and ending with a very general, prescriptive statement. In many ways these ca be very valuable, and there have been many times that I've been quite impressed by the presence some Gambian students have when they talk. But at the same time, I ...

... drum and hordes of women bashing two halves of wood together. The middle aged women took it in turn to strut their stuff in the centre while the rest slapped sticks together in time with the dancer. There was lots of hopping and flapping of arms. There was acres of gold cloth material on show with jewellery to go with it. Presents were loaded into the back of a me cadies. Motel Kent, Diouloulou Breakfast with Laye and Family ...

... 30 to 40 other students and wait for your teacher begin to lecture. Your classes follow Western education styles, taught strictly in English, and you'll take the same core subjects -- math, history, English, science - that American students are used to, including more specialized classes as you get older, The Qu'ran will also be taught, and while most students take part in this class, it is not compulsory. You have breaks throughout the day, during this month you won't be ...

... it as an explanation for why he didn't feel confident enough to try to get the TV in the waiting room to work. Apparently being the only nurse in the entire hospital that morning and holding Bryan's life in his hands was one thing, touching a TV was another. If only we had known what was to come the next night, we would have been grateful for this one doctor. The next day was a slow painful one (especially without the TV), though one of the few successful ways we found to distract ...

... 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 ...

... and every evening I would feed them bananas and peanuts! I've always been greatly fascinated by primates but I was in absolute awe watching them sit so close to me and gently take my offerings from the palm of my hand. Of course, far from being gentle, monkeys are extremely agile and strong, as I discovered one day. There was some kind of territotial establishment going on as a pregnant female was encroaching the family's trees. The mother of the resident family with ...

... laughter from the drummers until they decided to take pity on us and turn our miserable embers in to a blaze of glory. There nearly was no fire at all as we'd forgotten to buy any timber and by the time we rocked up at the roadside woodseller's pitch, he'd long departed, leaving his bundles of twigs neatly stacked up ready for the next day's trading. Having decided to take some and leave him the cash, I suddenly hesitated as it struck me that there was something ...

... can one family have?! Dad disappeared, Mum blind, both sons disabled. Sanna grins and laughs, insisting on a photo with Adam. When we make our goodbyes, waving as Sanna grins his way down the beach, I can't help but start to cry. My attepts to be tough, distance myself through objectivity and cynicism have been completely floored by the grins and gleeful laughs of this smiling lad. It's time to bid goodbye to Africa, and onto the next tour.