Senegal & Gambia Winter 2009-2010

I was invited again to be assistant trip leader on the Sene-Gambia Winter 2009-2010 by Dr. Emil Nagengast, but as part of my acceptance I negotiated that Ange could come with me on her very first trip to Africa! He agreed and we were off!

Now last year I when I went I did some more extensive blogging, but since this is my second trip I don't have as much to say. I'll go through the highlights and if you want more detailed info, and if my darling partner Ange does any personal blogging I'll link to her site.

We got up early on December 30th and set off on our trip. Ange was over the moon with excitement and anticipation! After a quick layover in Detroit we landed in New York and met up with the rest of the Juniata crew. We set out that evening for Madrid where we would have a 12 hour layover. Ange was not able to sleep on the 8+ hour flight and was pretty tired when we got to Madrid. We metroed to downtown, but unfortunately it was raining and a little chilly (50's maybe?) and since Ange was exhausted from not sleeping we pondered what to do. We hit a little cafe to plan our attack and have a nice warm coffee and croissant. We decided that we wanted to see Madrid but were tired and didn't want to be wet so we decided to expend a little of our funds and hop on one of the sightseeing buses. It was a little crowded because apparently others had the same idea but eventually we got some seats by the fogged up windows. After riding around for an hour and listening to the city tour we decided we'd hop off, grab lunch and head back to the airport so Ange could lay down and hopefully sleep. Even through her delirium she spied a sign that said "Vegetarian" and we walked over to check it out. Turned out it was a yummy little vegetarian falafel place! With full bellies we headed back to the airport where Ange was able to crash out a bit on the floor and catch a little nap. The funniest part was how many people stared at her sleeping on the floor. This happened again on the way back so I think that Spaniards just aren't used to seeing people crashed out sleeping in airports. Apparently Americans are slovenly and the Europeans are much better able to remain composed. Whatevs.

We finally boarded our flight and arrived in Dakar a short 5 hours later! Arriving in Dakar always seems to be chaotic and this time was no exception. I told everyone not to let "porters" take their bags because they were just people who were hanging out looking for tips but as I suspected might happen they were not forceful enough in their "No thank yous" and I looked back and every single one of them had someone pushing their luggage cart. Sigh. When we got to the bus an airport security dude came out and scared them all away so they didn't get their tips anyway. We loaded up the bus, headed to The Fana Hotel and checked in. We got a nice fireworks show on the roof of the hotel and then headed to bed.

The next morning we loaded up early and hit the road for The Gambia. Luckily since it was early and New Year's Day there was no traffic leaving Dakar (a rarity) and we zipped along for a few hours. Then the usual: a blown our tire. We spent about 45 minutes on the side of a road near a little village. Within 10 minutes nearly the entire village was standing there staring at us. I mean, how often do you think a bus full of foreigners break down near this village? The kids of course loved it and thought it was the best thing ever. We finally got back on the road, stopped in disgusting Kaolack (dirtiest city ever) for lunch, and finally got to The Gambia that evening. We got the students settled at Mohamed's house (Nigerian guy who lives in The Gambia and has basically turned his house into a guest house that Juniata uses for students) and headed to Emil's apartment. Emil is spending the entire spring semester on sabbatical in The Gambia and his wife and son are coming over for the semester as well so he had to find a nice place for them. Wow, was it nice! We got there and no joke, one of the nicest places I've ever stayed in Africa. It was a very gorgeous and modern 2 bedroom apartment. We were so lucky! Although I have to say, this set a standard for the trip that really made it "Africa-Lite" for Ange. But since I plan to drag her all over the world we'll have plenty of time to rough it later and she'll be able to place it in perspective later.

The next day we did a city tour of Banjul, including their insane market, had lunch and then spent some free time in the afternoon at the beach.

On the 3rd we went to the Bijilo Monkey Forest in the morning. Very cool with lots of monkeys running around. One of the students was ill when we left the US and couldn't seem to shake it. But, unlike some students, she didn't want to miss out so she kept pushing herself to join in the activities. About 20 minutes into the monkey walk she started feeling really bad so we broke off from the group and ended up walking back to the van. She rested and eventually the other students caught up with us. We then headed to the crocodile pond (Katchikally), the Bakau Market (my favorite shopping & craft market), and then had some more free time. Ange and I broke off from the group and headed off to sneak in to the fancy resort hotels and spent some time pretending we're fancy schmancy. Headed back to clean up at the apartment and have dinner with the students.

On Monday we went to the Embassy in the morning and then to GAMCOTRAP. We then had lunch and the afternoon off. Ange had a touch of "Banjul Belly" so we decided to take the afternoon off and she napped while I set up the internet in the apartment and surfed the web. This is when I found out my cousin had died and we decided to spend the rest of the night in because I just didn't feel like socializing that evening.

The next day we went to the Gambian Press Union to talk about press freedom and visited The Point newspaper. We had lunch and then had some free time. Ange still wasn't feeling that great so we did some wandering around and then just took it easy back at the apartment.

The next day (6th) we went back to the Gambia is Good Farm, which is my favorite place in The Gambia. It took us about a thousand years to get there because the President of Senegal was in town and President Jammeh was taking him back to the airport (which is just past GIG Farm) and we got stopped by the insane motorcade forever. Finally got there, had the tour, and ate delicious lunch. I had a few hours to rest and then my big lecture sponsored by the US embassy. The lecture went very well, had a number of people attending and several press representatives.

On Thursday we headed up-country to Tendaba Nature Camp. On the way we got to stop at this really awesome hospital (my second favorite thing to do in Africa) that was all solar powered. I was in heaven looking at their awesome technology. We got to Tendaba, took a nap and had a lovely dinner. During the middle of dinner my lecture was featured on the Gambian national news (they only have one television station) for several minutes. It was pretty cool. All the students were like "LINDSAY! You're on tv!!!" and the other tourists there were all looking at me and were like "Seriously, that's you?" probably wondering how the hell I was on tv and also in this random nature camp the next day. Funny stuff.

The next day we went on a walking tour of Tendaba, Ange had a bowel attack in the middle of the walk and had to have a moment out in the bushes, we took a nap that afternoon, watched the locals challenge the JC students to a soccer match (ended in a 3-3 tie--not too shabby!), had dinner and went to bed.

On Saturday we got up at a leisurely time while many of the students went on a nature walk or fishing. We headed out and stopped at our driver Yabo's family home and then at a school that a Gambian ex-pat living in the UK was fixing up with money and volunteers from his foundation. We drove back to Banjul after a quick stop at Kanilai (where I was recognized by a hotel staffer--"Hey! Were you on tv the other night???"). We had some free time at the beach when we got back, grabbed dinner and headed back to the luxury apartment.

Sunday was our last day in Banjul before we headed back to Senegal for a few days before we left. Ange and I decided to camp out at the beach. We woke up around 9, got ready, headed to the beach, had tapalapas for breakfast, laid on the beach for hours, played in the surf a few times, had some fresh squeezed juice, ate lunch and eventually headed back to the apartment to start packing stuff up. Took a break for dinner and then finished packing and went to bed.

The next day we packed everything up and headed to Senegal. 12 hours later and a few stops we finally arrived at Pink Lake. Students hung out and smoked hookah and we went to bed early.

On Tuesday we got up and went on the WW2 jeeps for a tour of Pink Lake, a visit to a Fulani village, rough and tumble over the sand dunes, a stop at the beach, then back to the resort for lunch. We then spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool and watched the students ride camels. Had dinner at the resort and headed back to Dakar for the night.

Got up fairly early, took a driving tour of Dakar, stopped at the lighthouse and saw the nearly finished Statue to the African Renaissance, headed to the ferry and waited for a little over an hour in a very crowded waiting area, took the ferry to Gorree Island, bombarded by the aggressive sellers on Goree, found the tapestry we were looking for, had lunch, nearly got in a fight with some bitchy market lady, got back to Dakar, relaxed and showered at the hotel and headed to the airport!

Flew at night and landed in Madrid at 5 am. Decided to not go in to Madrid and sleep in the airport instead. More staring. Felt much more rested. Got on the never-ending flight home, arrived NYC in the evening, headed to our hotel, slept well.

Friday the 15th we wandered around NYC doing nothing much. Almost missed our flight because we got slightly lost and traffic, made it home.

So I know that was the express version, but even that took me over an hour to write. If you want a pictorial of the trip we loaded all of our pics of the trip on Shutterfly.com and Shutterfly lets you build a little webshare site for all your pics. We have them all uploaded and are working on captioning all of the photos. Wait a few more days if you want to read all the captions, or if you are impatient you can check them out now: http://angeandlindsaystriptoafrica.shutterfly.com/

Things that make you pause...

Ange and I are going to Senegal & The Gambia over the holidays. I was invited back to the trip that I assisted on this summer with Emil and as part of my signing back on I was able to negotiate Ange coming with us. Sweet huh?

Now Ange has never been to Africa, or anywhere outside of the US besides the Bahamas, so she needed to get a long list of vaccines that are required for travel in most developing countries. That whole process is not as easy as it may sound. First there is finding out what vaccines you need. Then there is figuring out which ones may be covered by insurance (if you have it), then figuring out what doctor's offices or clinics have the vaccines you need, then you have to figure out how far in advance you need to get the vaccines (and if they are multi-series vaccines how many times you have to visit and how that factors into the timeline), then there is the budgeting for the tremendous amount of money you have to spend, and finally you make all of your appointments to the (likely) many places you need go to get said vaccines. So Ange did all that (with some assistance from her well traveled partner :)) and started making her rounds. She went to her primary care physician to get her first dose of HepA and meningitis. She had an appointment to see the travel doc and get her typhoid and yellow fever, but in the midst of that the H1N1 vaccine came out and Ange's employer was only giving out the nasal mist to its employees, which if you didn't know, is a live vaccine. Sometimes live vaccines can't be given in conjunction with other vaccines so I suggested she call the travel doc and check. I was correct and she had to reschedule the travel appointment for one month after the H1N1 mist.

That month finally rolls around last Wednesday (day before Thanksgiving--this is important) and because it is Thanksgiving week I am home from Bloomington so I decide to go with Ange to her appointment. One for moral support (I've been through it all and know the doc she was going to see--he's done all my travel stuff), and two, I actually love going to doctor's appointments because I'm attentive (and probably annoying) and I always learn something new and useful. When people ask me why I know so many random health things this is why.

So we get to the doctor's office and fill out some paperwork and whatnot and then go back to his office. Now this doctor is really and truly the best travel doc in Indy. He is the only specialist in his practice (but shares office space with another practice that has a different specialty) so it's very personal and one-on-one. He has a really cool office with a big comfy couch and a giant map of the world on one side. He schedules new patients for an hour long session to go over A to Z info with you, prepares a little info packet with a ton of info on the country/countries you are visiting and generally reminds me of an "old school" doctor that is now very rare. He answers any question you ask in a thoughtful and very explanatory way and generally makes you feel very prepared for your trip (from a health perspective anyway).

So we sit down and the doc starts doing a little health assessment questionnaire with Ange that covers basic health and limited health history. After all the standard questions about current health status comes the biggie question that I've learned to anticipate and take in stride, "Are there any other medical conditions that I haven't listed that are important?" I think I've mentioned before but Ange had leukemia as a child, and not just any leukemia, an extremely rare form of leukemia, rare as in there were only 3 people in the US that had the same kind when she was diagnosed. It was also a very aggressive cancer that had to be treated very aggressively. This question always makes the doctors pause for a minute, they sometimes ask a few more questions about it, but generally it is noted and not mentioned again.

This time was different.

Apparently cancer and vaccines aren't the best of friends. The doc was very hesitant about treating Ange with any live vaccine without the consent of her oncologist. For the adult polio booster she was also going to get, no biggie. It's a dead vaccine. For typhoid, we could get around that. Typhoid comes in a live vaccine (lasts longer) and a dead vaccine. So she could get the dead one. But for yellow fever there is only a live vaccine. And it's a pretty potent one apparently. The doc relays this info to us and tells us that even in people who have not had cancer in a very long time, there is some evidence that shows that their immune systems are not 100%. Under normal conditions you don't even know this. Your body just operates like normal and no one is the wiser. However, because the yellow fever vaccine is so potent he was afraid that if he immune system was not 100% it would not be able to fight off the live virus and she could either have some very gnarly side effects (like Encephalitis) or even get a full blown case of yellow fever. Another random health fact: there is no cure or treatment for yellow fever, and there is a 50% chance of dying if you get it. Yikes.

So the doc asks her how tied to this trip she is and would she consider not going. Um, no way. So we talk some more about the risks involved and related issues and decide that the best plan of action would be for her to call her oncologist and check out the situation. If they say no prob then great, if they say no way then she is going to go into a yellow fever endemic area basically unprotected. Yikes again. Now, yellow fever is spread through the mosquito. Luckily she can protect herself by using lots of bug spray. Secondly, there are not that many mosquitos in the areas we go. Finally, the doc pulled up some fancy data system and looked at the rates of yellow fever in Senegal and The Gambia and determined that the last outbreak of yellow fever in Senegal was 2005 and in the 1970's for The Gambia. We are spending nearly all of the time in The Gambia so that was good news. But the other thing that was concerning for us was that you have to show proof of yellow fever vaccination to enter most yellow fever endemic countries and to return to the US (technically). I have never had anyone ask me for my yellow fever card in my entire history of traveling, but knowing our luck, it will happen this time. You can get a waiver certificate and the doc would also provide a letter of support to say she couldn't get the vaccine but there is no guarantee that the countries we are entering would accept it. Sometimes, they don't. Just depends who is asking at the moment. SO, not the best case scenario.

The doc tells Ange to contact her oncologist and then follow up with him. Here's the major issue. Ange was diagnosed when she was 4, was treated for 18 months, went in to remission, received periodic appointments to make sure she was ok and hasn't seen an oncologist since she was 12. She's 28 now. So who the hell is she supposed to call? A random oncologist? Her oncologist, who we don't even know if he is still in practice? The doc suggested we start with a call to Riley (where she was treated) and see if they could make some recommendations. So we finished up there and went to lunch with a lot on our minds.

I swear when we got in the car I thought Ange was going to cry. The whole news was so overwhelming and unexpected I think we were both in shock. I mean, traveling to Senegal and The Gambia are no big deal. Really, there were so few mosquitos in comparison to Nigeria it was incredible. But Nigeria? Forget about it! There is no way that I would even allow Ange to come and visit me in Nigeria if she were unvaccinated. I mean, we talked about it and it came down to this: if it were something that were treatable and she just might get really sick then that's one thing. But the fact that it isn't treatable and there is a 50% chance she could DIE? That's nothing to mess around with. So of course that is problematic since I intend to work in Africa and most of Africa is yellow fever endemic. So that means either I will have to travel alone for a majority of my career or I'd have to change research locations. Both huge things.

So Ange is still upset and is feeling very overwhelmed. So she asks me to start with the calling. Now here is where the whole Thanksgiving this is important. Ange has to have the vaccine by December 20th at the very latest for it to be effective. Additionally, if there is a chance that it's going to make her really sick we want to make sure we are still near good medical care and not on a plane or halfway around the world. So with Thanksgiving falling late this year, we knew that if we had to wait until after the break things were going to get tight, especially if she needed to get tests and whatever else might come along with making sure your immune system is normal. So as we are driving to lunch I find the number for Riley's Pediatric Oncology Clinic and go through this long spiel of why I am calling. Luckily the lady in the clinic was SOOOO NICE! Which I should have expected from Riley, but you know, these days customer service generally blows so I'm just used to talking to idiots on the phone. She gets all the info and tells me that she'll call me back before the end of the day with an update. She knows she may not get a lot of info being that it's the day before Thanksgiving, but she wanted to get the ball rolling.

We go in and have a very morose lunch, drive home feeling more depressed, and try to do some internet research. The internet research was actually helpful to me, although not to Ange who really looked like she wanted to throw herself off a bridge for the rest of the day. I found out a lot of more reassuring info via the net, but unfortunately for every piece of good news, there still seemed to linger some bad news. For instance, since the 1970's only 9 unvaccinated travelers have gotten yellow fever in all of West Africa. That's pretty good, right? BUT, 8 out of those 9 DIED. Scary.

The lady from Riley did call us back a few hours later to let us know that she had tried to find Ange's file but since it was so long ago it had probably been archived and it would take a request to get it out of the archives which make take a few days. She had also emailed the Infectious Disease specialist at Riley as well as one of the pediatric oncologists. She told us she'd update us after the break. Swear, such a nice lady.

The rest of the break we tried not to dwell on the issue and did a good job of keeping out of the focus of our minds. Luckily Ange bounces back quickly so I didn't have to worry about her sanity. We decided to just keep the what ifs until later after we had a definitive decision.

Well wouldn't you know, our wonderful friend of Riley tracked down the right people and on Monday Ange got a call from a doc at Riley giving her the go-ahead for the vaccine! He actually said there was NO REASON to hesitate about it. We had already discussed the fact that we thought our travel doc was just being extra cautious and that since he wasn't an oncologist he could just be way off on the real danger. Turns out, we were right about that! This is not to say we are angry or upset by the whole fiasco. We think it's excellent that the doc was able to be informed (even if overly cautious) and really and truly had Ange's health as the focus. Luckily it was patched up very quickly, it just sucked that we had to worry over the holiday.

Anyway, Ange gets the vaccine tomorrow. Yay! So happy that my little love bug gets to travel the world with me and we don't have to worry about her dying from yellow fever! Just one more thing to be thankful for this holiday.

We're going to Africa!!!

As you know, I went to Senegal & The Gambia this past summer with my former prof/mentor/advisor Emil Nagengast and some crazy kids from Juniata College. I had a blast and think that Emil & I worked well together as a team. It was lightly alluded to that I may be asked to act as a team leader/faculty sponsor for the trip again. I mentioned it to Ange who pretty much said "YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME AGAIN SO SOON!" In addition, I will be doing my dissertation research in Nigeria next year which will mean I will be living in Nigeria for about 6 months. We flirted with the possibility of her coming with me on the Sene-Gambia trip if asked, but since no concrete offers had been made, we didn't delve too much into the topic.

So about a month or so ago, Emil sent me an email to see if I would be interested. There were some logistics to work out so it wasn't 100%, but he wanted to see if I was on board should everything work out. I said I was, but that Ange wasn't going to let me go without her and would it be possible for her to tag along? He said he didn't think it would be a problem, again, we could work out the details regarding additional cost, etc. but that basically if I was a go, she was a go. We were both brimming with anticipation, but trying to not get too excited just in case it didn't happen.

Well we finally got a hard confirmation that everything is a go! And now we're dying with excitement! I won't say who, but someone who may be a Sally Sensitive did get a little teary eyed over the news!

So we will be off to Senegal & The Gambia on December 30th and will return on January 14th. It's in the winter and slightly shorter due to Emil being on sabbatical in The Gambia for the spring semester. We'll all go together, and then I'll bring them back while he stays and waits for his family and the spring semester students to join him.

Also, did I mention we are flying through Madrid and that we have like a 10 hour layover? Which means we get to explore Madrid for a few hours between flights! How awesome is that??? We are just over the moon about this whole trip! Not only do I get to go back to Africa this year, but Ange gets to have her first international experience with me by her side! Awesome!

And I always feel like adding...this is why I've been working my butt off for so many years. Sometimes people say "Ooooh! You're so lucky!" and while I do admit that I *feel* lucky, it has taken a lot more than luck to get where I am. I busted my butt through school my whole life, went after opportunities like a crazy person, and volunteered and networked and did all that I could to get myself into the position I am now. So morale of the story to anyone out there who still has life in them...it's not too late! You can still work hard and achieve awesome, fun, cool things! Whether you are in college or much later, you can still work hard to improve your life circumstances so that you can do cool things too. You just need to be determined and work really hard. Just another Life Lesson brought to you by Lindsay. Enjoy!

Trip Summary

(Meant to get this out earlier...been working on it since Saturday, but 2 migraines and a sinus infection/flu later...here we are)

Let's see...how do you blog about 3 weeks of activities in an efficient way? I'm gonna go with bullet points and random pics!

Monday May 18th

• Left the house around 1 pm. Chaotic as usual. I can never leave the house like a sane person. Got to the airport, kissed my love good-bye and headed in to haggle with the United people about their lame-o baggage fees. Got a deal on the luggage fees if they checked my luggage all the way to Dakar (had two separate tickets). Took the risk. Left Indy at 2:43 pm. Arrived in Dulles, met up with the JC kids & Emil, went through security and left at 10 pm.
  

Tuesday May 19th

• Arrived Paris at some ungodly hour in the morning. With all the time changes I can't say exactly when this was. Paris is 6 hours ahead of Indy, but 2 hours ahead of Dakar. Crashed out and slept for 2.5 hours on the benches in the waiting area for our flight. Realized I didn't pack a toothbrush. Bought a piece of shit toothbrush at one of the shops for $5.83. Got on to our flight to Dakar and slept some more. Arrived in Dakar around 7 pm. Made our way through immigration and customs. Loaded the tour bus, bought SIM cards for our phones, traded some money, headed to the Fana Hotel. Helped students get checked in, took a shower, ate dinner, called my love, fell into bed.

Wednesday May 20th

• Woke up fairly early. Had breakfast, loaded on the tour bus, took city tour of Dakar. Climbed a hill to look at a lighthouse and see a cool view of Dakar from the top, climbed back down. Drove downtown, saw a church, the President's house, and Independence Square. Went to the ferry depot, got on the ferry, went to Goree Island. Had lunch on Goree Island. Visited the slave house. Walked to the top of Goree Island to look at cannons. Had an hour to be accosted by merchants. Loaded back on the ferry. Took the tour bus to Pink Lake. Stopped at world's worst bathroom. Almost ran over and killed someone in the parking lot. Got to Pink Lake, checked in, ate dinner, had first group discussion, watched Emil treat the students to hookah (gross!), laughed at some of them, went to bed.

Thursday May 21st

• Got up, had breakfast, loaded into WW2 Jeeps to take a tour of the Pink Lake area. Drove around Pink Lake oogling the salt workers taking salt from the lake, visited a Fulani village, jeeped around the sand dunes, stopped at the beach, headed back to the hotel. Ate lunch, lounged at the pool, watched students take camel rides, laughed at their reactions to the camel rides, took a nap, ate dinner, watched the students smoke a hookah again, went to bed.

Friday May 22nd

• Got up at the ass crack, loaded the bus, ate breakfast, started on our long ass journey. Drove and drove and drove to The Gambia. Stopped at a bathroom that almost made Emil and the other guys throw up. Nearly hit and killed a pedestrian. Stopped in Kaolack, grossest city on the planet. Got to the border, got our visas, changed money, entered The Gambia. Drove on some bumpy ass roads, got to the ferry depot, crossed The Gambian River, rolled into the Hotel Fajara. Checked in, realized the hotel had some issues, worked on said issues, headed to dinner at Francisco's. Pleasantly surprised by the restaurant. Ate dinner, went to bed.

Saturday May 23rd

• Woke up and had breakfast. Went to our first official appointment at GAMCOTRAP. Saw a very interesting presentation on FGM. I knew that it was not something that I didn't agree with in the first place, but feel even more strongly so now. We then went to lunch. Emil took some students to an afternoon soccer match where he thought it would be a good idea to spring for homemade mango pops served out of BAGS. When everyone came back and reported that to me, I knew we'd have some sick people soon. I hate sports so I stayed at the hotel to straighten out all remaining issues and worked with a few students to inventory the donated medical supplies they had collected. Went to dinner, went to bed.

Sunday May 24th

• As predicted had several sick students in the morning. Diarrhea galore. Told a couple students to stay behind and rest and try and get the bowels under control. The rest of of went to the Women's Botanical Garden & Kachikally. Another student barfed as soon as we got to Kachikally. Sent her back to the hotel. Went to lunch. Visited the Bakau Craft Market. Took students to Wish You Were Here Theater Performance (in conjunction with The Gambia Performing Arts Summer Intensive). Down time before dinner. Dinner. Bed.

Monday May 25th

• Today was President Jammeh's birthday. Lots of stuff closed. Decided to visit downtown Banjul for a few hours. Went to giant market. Watched one of the students hoop it up with a very tall Gambia. We did something in the afternoon I'm sure, but for the life of me, it escapes me. That evening we attended a party at the home of one of the semester program director's home hosted by the semester students. Had lots of good food and fun.

Tuesday May 26th

• After breakfast we took off for a long day of appointments. First stop was the US Embassy, where one of our Juniata Alum works. Very cool and informative tour. From there we took a quick walk down the street to visit the Peace Corps Office. Found out that The Gambia has the most PC Volunteers per square mile in the world. Learned a lot more about PC. Went to lunch. After lunch we visited The Point newspaper, which is the leading anti-government daily paper. After the tour we met with with Aloa Ahmed Alota who is both a Point Journalist and one of the authors of A Living Mirror: The Life of Deyda Hydara. Felt bad because it was hot and students were tired. Cut the visit a bit short to save everyone from being tortured. Went back to the hotel to collect the two sickest students for their doctor's visit. Had a good visit at the Doctor. Got students their meds, tucked them in to bed, went to dinner.

Wednesday May 27th

• Got the two sick students on the mend so they could come with us for the day. Visited the Gambia Is Good Farm. Had a great time looking at sustainable agriculture and eating yummy food. In the afternoon we went to visit our driver Yabo's house & family. Danced with the local ladies, laughed and had fun. Visited a Soccer Academy in the town and donated lots of soccer gear. Emil took some students to the ritzy part of town to watch the Champions Game (some soccer thing). I held down the fort for the people who did not go. That night we went out to the Club. Had fun watching students drink and make out with each other. Collapsed into bed about 3.

Thursday May 28th

• Slept in. Visited the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital. Pretty nice by African standards. Students were slightly appalled. Had lunch. Some students went back to hotel, took others to the Batik Market. Went back to the Bakau Craft Market. Got some cool wraps. Went back to the hotel to relax before dinner.

Friday May 29th

• Had a "Free Day." Some students went with Emil on a tour of University of The Gambia. They were underwhelmed. Some students went to the beach. I went to have tea at one of the Juniata Alum's house (Emily). Emil joined us and then I started feeling like I was coming down with something. Went back to the hotel and realized I was coming down with a respiratory infection. Yuck, hate being sick. Loaded up on antibiotics. Ate dinner, went to bed.

Saturday May 30th

• Woke up at a leisurely time, packed up vans, killed time until 1 pm. Hit the road, stopped by Francisco's to pick up sandwiches, got on the road. Bumped along getting profusely more sweaty until we hit Kanilai, home of President Jammeh, stopped for a drink and to eat our sandwiches, got back on the road. Bumped along for several more hours, arrived in Tendaba, checked in to the nature camp. Took a nap, got up and ate dinner. Hung out on the dock enjoying the breeze. Nearly assaulted by creepster, tried to enjoy the village bonfire and dance, turned off by kids fighting to secure a toubab to beg for goods, went to bed.

Sunday May 31st

• Woke up, ate breakfast, went on guided walk through the town. Visited the primary school, some random man's hut where I had to give him 100 Dalasis (not sure why) visited the nursery school, went to a mango farm, went to a peanut factory, hiked through rice fields, returned to the camp. I took a nap while students went on a river ride. Got up, relaxed on the pier, watched students come back looking bored to death (they were warned), ate dinner, hung out and chatted, went to bed.

Monday June 1st

• Made the executive decision the night before to leave at the ass crack so we could avoid traveling in the heat as much as possible. Paid off. Drove and drove, sweated and sweated, crossed a ferry to the north road, enjoyed the north road much more (less bumpy!), fell asleep, awakened by Yabo screaming about a red monkey and nearly had a heart attack, arrived at JangJan Bureh for our second stay at a "nature camp." Monkeys everywhere. Ate lunch. Realized I might die in the 100 degree weather with no breeze, no electricity (hence no AC or fans) and poor water flow. Took a self-imposed time-out in my hot ass hut to pull myself back together. Sweated and felt miserable. Fed monkeys. Ate dinner. Walked back to my room and found a student waiting for me. Her roommate's birthday was that day and she was getting a happy birthday evening from another student on the trip. Let student crash in my room. Sweated all night, barely sleeping. Woke up to realize a) I had fallen asleep and b) some asshole was waking me up with the loudest music I'd ever heard. Somehow fell back asleep.

Tuesday June 2nd

• "Woke up" (not that I was deeply asleep). Realized blasting music was famous Gambian musician Jaliba who was giving a concert across the river. Sat pondering the injustice that across the river they had a sound system so powerful it could wake up an entire camp of people from sleep yet we couldn't get electricity to cool us down in our huts. Ate breakfast, loaded up two river boats to take our 7 hour round trip river trip to see the hippos. Relaxed and enjoyed the breeze made by our moving boats. Saw hippos. Ate lunch on boats. Returned to the camp. Sweated some more. Dropped off donated medical supplies at local clinic. Sweated more. Had another near-nervous breakdown. Ate dinner. Collapsed into bed for an unsatisfying night of sleep.

Wednesday June 3rd

• Got the hell out of dodge early in the morning. Stopped at Wassu Stone Circles. Dropped off school supplies at a school. Waited for Jethro to buy a bed then chase a man with a tire iron (more on this later), got to the ferry depot, got back to the Fajara Hotel, found our rooms in slightly better condition, took a nap, got 2 students medical attention for a rash and an eye infection, had dinner, went to bed.

Thursday June 4th

• Went to the Daily Observer, the pro-government newspaper. Went to local radio station. Cracked up that the on-air DJ now goes by "DJ Barack Obama" and laughed more when he played 4 Celine Dion songs in a row (he really liked "slow jams"). Stopped by an art cafe. Went to lunch. [Something here] That night was one of the student's 21st birthday. Threw a wild out of control party. Watched students drink themselves into oblivion.

Friday June 5th

• Woke up late-ish. Ate breakfast. Met with Student Union at U of The Gambia. One student threw up on the sidewalk on the way into the building. Helped student wash away puke with water bottle. Sat with him in the van until he felt better. Went back in with students. Went to lunch. Headed out to SOS Children's Village, an "orphanage" with a unique twist. Loved on babies, had fun. Went back to the hotel. Dinner, then bed.

Saturday June 6th

• Got up at a leisurely time. Discovered more mosquito bites. Cursed monster mosquito. Ate breakfast. Got on buses to go to the beach. Drove through extremely stinky fishing villages and nearly gagged to death. Got to beach around 11:30 am, ordered lunch, laid in sun for hours. Lunch finally ready around 3. Lounged in sun for a while longer. Split group in two. Emil went with students to reptile farm, I stayed with beach bums. Went back to the hotel around 5:45. Waited for other group. Other group returns to tell us that they got caught in traffic because Jammeh was dedicating a building. Jammeh saw the toubabs on the side of the road, stopped the caravan and shook all of their hands. Dealt with the crushing depression of those who didn't go to the reptiles and hence, did not meet Jammeh. Ate dinner, went to bed.

Sunday June 7th

• Had a "free day." Woke up leisurely. Worked on packing. Killed monster mosquito that had invaded my room for several days. Took pleasure in seeing the blood splatter. Met up with Emil and students. Drove into Banjul proper to visit market and get last minute goods. Came back to the hotel to drop off some students and pick up others. Had lunch. Went to Bakau market for last minute goods. Went back to the hotel, handed out presents to cleaning staff. Arranged for secret drop off point for other to be left behind items. Hung out in my room and finished most of packing. Went to dinner. Hung out and chatted, went to bed.

Monday June 8th

• Got up at the ass-crack and tried to bring left behind items to drop point. Scared to death by sketchy man sleeping in supposedly locked room. Hide items elsewhere. Ate breakfast, loaded bus and drove to the ferry depot. Got stuck at the depot for 4 hours. Drove like maniacs to try and catch up on time. Arrived at the Fana Hotel 12 hours after leaving Banjul. Took showers and ate dinner. Headed to the Dakar airport. Ripped my dress. Went through security. Realized my luggage tags had the wrong numbers on them. Went back to the check-in desk to argue that they put the wrong numbers down. Got my way. Hoped my luggage would make it. Went back through security. Boarded plane at 10:40pm. Flew to Paris.

Tuesday June 9th

• Arrived early in Paris. Said by to Emil (on his way to Berlin). Took a nap on the benches again. Got on flight to go home. Arrived DC. Excited to be on US soil. Excitement quickly died when I had a 4 hour delay because of hellacious storm. Finally got home around 11pm. Ahhh, love :)

Well that's it! 3 weeks, bullet point summary. Tada!