St Louis – in a word – I loved it!!!! Senegal is far more developed than the Gambia, although it is still clear to see that the people live in Poverty. St Louis was amazing because it had really come alive for a world class Jazz festival. There were plenty of Taubabs around (white people); some travelers, some Gambian or Senegalese volunteers. The streets were filled with music and markets and although there were plenty of street sellers I found the hassle to be far less than in Brikama (it may also be because I didn’t speak French and therefore didn’t understand what they were saying to me).
It struck me that St Louis was just what I imagined Spain to be and this was confirmed by someone who had visited Spain, and said it reminded them of it. The streets were gorgeous and the houses had a very rustic appeal, and were amazing to look at. I spent the majority of the three and a half days we were there making the most of the ‘real’ restaurants and shopping without hassle (the range of souvenirs was bigger than in the Gambia and they weren’t all wooden so I cashed in on it). I also took the time to explore the parts of the island – there was a bridge across to St Louis which seemed to be two islands. The first was fairly posh and where all the tourists were. The second had day to day living and it was here that the poverty of the people living there really hit me. The walk around the second island was an eye opener. People and animals were everywhere as was waste and animal dung. Flies swarmed everywhere. Along the beach it was a huge contrast from Australia. We generally have really posh coastal property near the beach, here along the beach was really run down. The beach itself was packed with kids.
One of the outstanding things about Senegal was the amount of street kids begging. In Gambia orphans are taken in by families and even when a family is really poor another family will take on a foster child. In Senegal there are many street children and they don’t necessarily lack a home. From what I understand some are sent to private boarding schools for an education, when the family is poor, and the schools need to send them out begging to pay the cost of accommodation and food. This is very brief but I don’t know enough and really don’t want to comment about it on a blog so don’t take these comments as fact.
One of the best bits of the Jazz festival was meeting up with other volunteers and finding about their jobs. We first met Paulina and Adriana who work for the UN and the European Union on developmental projects such as road building. Paulina’s boyfriend Nate is moving to the Gambia and they met him off the plane in Dakar. We met up with them again in St Louis as they stayed at the same hostel. We then met Sophie in a market who is from Belgium and volunteers with the Belgium Government. Sophie was ‘couch surfing’ which is where you can look up on the internet for people’s couches to sleep on when you are travelling.
In the compound where she was staying another two volunteers were also staying and one was an Australian!!!! I was so excited to finally find another Australian in West Africa – I gave Sophie my number and when AJ (Annali) rang I was amazed to hear the Australian accent for the first time in my life. I have officially been surrounded by Brits and Americans for too long!!! By the way our accent sounds cool (I had watched a movie with an Australian in it a few weeks before and had thought it was just the actor putting on an accent but now I think it may have been the real deal).
AJ flew to Senegal on her own steam and now volunteers with Allison in a village in Senegal working at an orphanage helping to teach young adolescents. Allison is from France and has now returned to France but will be heading to Australia soon (and hopefully to visit Edenhope when I come home!). We also met up with two girls who work on a Medical Research project for MRC which is opposite VSO in the Gambia.
The Jazz festival really comes alive at night and although there is an official concert there are live bands playing in all the pubs and nightclubs on the island. On the first two nights we just listened to bands in bars. One band was absolutely amazing so I spent the next day finding a cd shop with a person who spoke enough English for me to buy the cd. Eventually I found a guy who spoke a tiny bit of English and bought the cd with four words “cool, girl, bass player”. He knew his bands!!
The Jazz festival itself was amazing, we went for two nights. We saw a German school band (who were very impressive), a French Quartet (really high quality jazz), an African Jazz roots band (my favourite!) a Spanish Jazz band and Pharaoh Sanders, who was a really experiences Saxophone player and was worth watching just for the enjoyment he gets from his music.
It was a really nice break from work and mostly for me – the hassle in day to day life in Brikama. I met some amazing people – Sophie and AJ are coming to Gambia to visit in a couple of weeks and I will try to visit Sophie soon (she lives in Tambakunda which is near a wildlife reserve with lions!).
It struck me that St Louis was just what I imagined Spain to be and this was confirmed by someone who had visited Spain, and said it reminded them of it. The streets were gorgeous and the houses had a very rustic appeal, and were amazing to look at. I spent the majority of the three and a half days we were there making the most of the ‘real’ restaurants and shopping without hassle (the range of souvenirs was bigger than in the Gambia and they weren’t all wooden so I cashed in on it). I also took the time to explore the parts of the island – there was a bridge across to St Louis which seemed to be two islands. The first was fairly posh and where all the tourists were. The second had day to day living and it was here that the poverty of the people living there really hit me. The walk around the second island was an eye opener. People and animals were everywhere as was waste and animal dung. Flies swarmed everywhere. Along the beach it was a huge contrast from Australia. We generally have really posh coastal property near the beach, here along the beach was really run down. The beach itself was packed with kids.
One of the outstanding things about Senegal was the amount of street kids begging. In Gambia orphans are taken in by families and even when a family is really poor another family will take on a foster child. In Senegal there are many street children and they don’t necessarily lack a home. From what I understand some are sent to private boarding schools for an education, when the family is poor, and the schools need to send them out begging to pay the cost of accommodation and food. This is very brief but I don’t know enough and really don’t want to comment about it on a blog so don’t take these comments as fact.
One of the best bits of the Jazz festival was meeting up with other volunteers and finding about their jobs. We first met Paulina and Adriana who work for the UN and the European Union on developmental projects such as road building. Paulina’s boyfriend Nate is moving to the Gambia and they met him off the plane in Dakar. We met up with them again in St Louis as they stayed at the same hostel. We then met Sophie in a market who is from Belgium and volunteers with the Belgium Government. Sophie was ‘couch surfing’ which is where you can look up on the internet for people’s couches to sleep on when you are travelling.
In the compound where she was staying another two volunteers were also staying and one was an Australian!!!! I was so excited to finally find another Australian in West Africa – I gave Sophie my number and when AJ (Annali) rang I was amazed to hear the Australian accent for the first time in my life. I have officially been surrounded by Brits and Americans for too long!!! By the way our accent sounds cool (I had watched a movie with an Australian in it a few weeks before and had thought it was just the actor putting on an accent but now I think it may have been the real deal).
AJ flew to Senegal on her own steam and now volunteers with Allison in a village in Senegal working at an orphanage helping to teach young adolescents. Allison is from France and has now returned to France but will be heading to Australia soon (and hopefully to visit Edenhope when I come home!). We also met up with two girls who work on a Medical Research project for MRC which is opposite VSO in the Gambia.
The Jazz festival really comes alive at night and although there is an official concert there are live bands playing in all the pubs and nightclubs on the island. On the first two nights we just listened to bands in bars. One band was absolutely amazing so I spent the next day finding a cd shop with a person who spoke enough English for me to buy the cd. Eventually I found a guy who spoke a tiny bit of English and bought the cd with four words “cool, girl, bass player”. He knew his bands!!
The Jazz festival itself was amazing, we went for two nights. We saw a German school band (who were very impressive), a French Quartet (really high quality jazz), an African Jazz roots band (my favourite!) a Spanish Jazz band and Pharaoh Sanders, who was a really experiences Saxophone player and was worth watching just for the enjoyment he gets from his music.
It was a really nice break from work and mostly for me – the hassle in day to day life in Brikama. I met some amazing people – Sophie and AJ are coming to Gambia to visit in a couple of weeks and I will try to visit Sophie soon (she lives in Tambakunda which is near a wildlife reserve with lions!).
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