The day after ECD finished I had a call from one of the students, Burama, inviting me to come and visit his village (he is the same student who gave me the photo of himself). His village is the same one that Nic and I got stuck in, in the rain, for two and a half hours during a school visit. It is written up in the guide books as a hidden gem of the Gambia and I would have to say I agree. Ironically when I got the call I was sitting in an internet café getting frustrated with the connection and chatting to the guy on my left about our shared frustration. After the call he said, oh that is my village, and it turns out it was the principal of the school who I had met three times before, but I hadn’t realized while I had been talking to him.
I should fill you in on the background of Burama so you realize why I would ride off to a village to meet a random male student. Burama has got to be one of the most honest and amazing individuals you are likely to meet. I first heard of him when Anne told me she’d met one of her favourite PTC students signing up for ECD. He had completed the Primary Teaching Certificate, was one of the best students, and then decided to join the army. He then got involved in the nursery school at his Barracks and was being sponsored to do training in ECD.
I first met Burama outside of class on the way to school one day. I had stupidly strapped my umbrella to the back of my bike sideways and was trying to avoid spearing the pedestrians on my right, whilst avoiding being taken out by the cars on my left. Burama rode past and said ‘hey follow me’ and lead me on his bike through the traffic. I was worried that it was going to end in another ‘can I have your number’ event, but he said ‘you are my lecturer at the college’. A few days later we happened to be riding home at the same time when the rain came down in a very heavy way and we got stuck for half an hour and he told me his life story. He comes from a farming family but his father worked very hard so his children could get an education. He had always hoped to pay his father back but he had died at a young age. He now hopes to become very educated in ECD to become a great teacher and help his country.
Anyway so knowing Burama’s background, and that he was being friendly and not ‘asking me out’ by inviting me to his village, I asked June and Jane if they would like to ride to this pretty village. In the end I couldn’t call Burama to let him know we were definitely coming (his phone was flat and because not all houses have electricity it can take a while to get to charge it). But we rode out anyway because the Gambia works more efficiently on the spoken word than by phone most of the time.
The day we went out was the day before Korita, the feast that ends Ramadan. So on the way we went to the market to buy cola nuts and dates, which are appropriate gifts to take when you visit someone during Ramadan (the dates are for Ramadan, the cola nuts are to present to the head of the family at anytime). The market was so busy with people buying food and gifts for the feast. It was an amazing site – though not the best place to visit on a bicycle. The ride out to the village was also amazing – mostly because of the sun shine and the greenery – but also because of the amount of people walking and riding into Brikama to get supplies for the feast. Marakissa is six kilometers or so out but many of the women had to walk in to get their shopping and walk home with it on their heads (it was also threatening rain which is no small thing during rainy season). Many of the men were riding in on their bicycles and riding home with 20+kg bags of rice on the back wrapped in tarps or plastic table cloths.
The road was full of huge puddles so many of the men helped guide us around the puddles and also asked us about our journey – by the time we reached Marakissa we met three people who knew Burama already. One man had ridden in to go to the medical clinic because he had malaria – and he still rode home and chatted with us (it makes my taxi ride seem very easy!!).
We reached Marakissa and I was going to show June the school when a boy came out to see us and then showed us where Burama was. He had just got home from working on the farm. Burama was surprised to see us – I had got the wrong day, but he was still very pleased to see us. I think he was a little disappointed because it was still Ramadan and he couldn’t be a good host (they are fasting and in Gambia it is polite to offer visitors a meal). He rang after we left to apologise for forgetting to offer us a drink (which we had never considered because it was Ramadan) and to invite us back after the feast because all his family would be visiting.
It was a nice visit we just sat under a mango tree and chatted to his brothers who told us all about the Gambia and its culture. The benefits of sitting and chatting under a mango tree should never be underrated!!!! They are a very articulate family and so honest and humble that it was an honor to be able to sit and chat with them. Also an amazing learning experience, because often lots of things go on around me and no one stops to explain them so at times you have to sit ‘under a mango tree’ with someone to make sense of what is happening. It was a great experience for June too (Jane got a flat tyre and had to head back) as she has only just arrived.
On the way home we decided to stop and buy honey as a gift the family we are spending Korita with. We saw a honey sign on the way and rode to a village to buy honey. The road stopped at a compound where they were slaughtering a cow for the Korita feast. I was busy distracted by that when I heard ‘Awa Colley!’. Amazingly enough we had reached a compound with two more of the ECD students. It is a small country!!!
I should fill you in on the background of Burama so you realize why I would ride off to a village to meet a random male student. Burama has got to be one of the most honest and amazing individuals you are likely to meet. I first heard of him when Anne told me she’d met one of her favourite PTC students signing up for ECD. He had completed the Primary Teaching Certificate, was one of the best students, and then decided to join the army. He then got involved in the nursery school at his Barracks and was being sponsored to do training in ECD.
I first met Burama outside of class on the way to school one day. I had stupidly strapped my umbrella to the back of my bike sideways and was trying to avoid spearing the pedestrians on my right, whilst avoiding being taken out by the cars on my left. Burama rode past and said ‘hey follow me’ and lead me on his bike through the traffic. I was worried that it was going to end in another ‘can I have your number’ event, but he said ‘you are my lecturer at the college’. A few days later we happened to be riding home at the same time when the rain came down in a very heavy way and we got stuck for half an hour and he told me his life story. He comes from a farming family but his father worked very hard so his children could get an education. He had always hoped to pay his father back but he had died at a young age. He now hopes to become very educated in ECD to become a great teacher and help his country.
Anyway so knowing Burama’s background, and that he was being friendly and not ‘asking me out’ by inviting me to his village, I asked June and Jane if they would like to ride to this pretty village. In the end I couldn’t call Burama to let him know we were definitely coming (his phone was flat and because not all houses have electricity it can take a while to get to charge it). But we rode out anyway because the Gambia works more efficiently on the spoken word than by phone most of the time.
The day we went out was the day before Korita, the feast that ends Ramadan. So on the way we went to the market to buy cola nuts and dates, which are appropriate gifts to take when you visit someone during Ramadan (the dates are for Ramadan, the cola nuts are to present to the head of the family at anytime). The market was so busy with people buying food and gifts for the feast. It was an amazing site – though not the best place to visit on a bicycle. The ride out to the village was also amazing – mostly because of the sun shine and the greenery – but also because of the amount of people walking and riding into Brikama to get supplies for the feast. Marakissa is six kilometers or so out but many of the women had to walk in to get their shopping and walk home with it on their heads (it was also threatening rain which is no small thing during rainy season). Many of the men were riding in on their bicycles and riding home with 20+kg bags of rice on the back wrapped in tarps or plastic table cloths.
The road was full of huge puddles so many of the men helped guide us around the puddles and also asked us about our journey – by the time we reached Marakissa we met three people who knew Burama already. One man had ridden in to go to the medical clinic because he had malaria – and he still rode home and chatted with us (it makes my taxi ride seem very easy!!).
We reached Marakissa and I was going to show June the school when a boy came out to see us and then showed us where Burama was. He had just got home from working on the farm. Burama was surprised to see us – I had got the wrong day, but he was still very pleased to see us. I think he was a little disappointed because it was still Ramadan and he couldn’t be a good host (they are fasting and in Gambia it is polite to offer visitors a meal). He rang after we left to apologise for forgetting to offer us a drink (which we had never considered because it was Ramadan) and to invite us back after the feast because all his family would be visiting.
It was a nice visit we just sat under a mango tree and chatted to his brothers who told us all about the Gambia and its culture. The benefits of sitting and chatting under a mango tree should never be underrated!!!! They are a very articulate family and so honest and humble that it was an honor to be able to sit and chat with them. Also an amazing learning experience, because often lots of things go on around me and no one stops to explain them so at times you have to sit ‘under a mango tree’ with someone to make sense of what is happening. It was a great experience for June too (Jane got a flat tyre and had to head back) as she has only just arrived.
On the way home we decided to stop and buy honey as a gift the family we are spending Korita with. We saw a honey sign on the way and rode to a village to buy honey. The road stopped at a compound where they were slaughtering a cow for the Korita feast. I was busy distracted by that when I heard ‘Awa Colley!’. Amazingly enough we had reached a compound with two more of the ECD students. It is a small country!!!
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