October 24 2012
Jumping the waves in the Atlantic Ocean today was very exciting! I watched with anticipation at the height
of each new wave and waited for the crest. I was daring myself to catch the
wave before it caught me. I was trying
not to get swept under. I missed one and salt permeated every pore in my face.
What a cleansing that was! Great for the sinuses! Then Raymond joined me and we
were like two kids, frolicking in the sand and surf! Fun in our fifties, in the
Atlantic Ocean on the white beaches of The Gambia! Who would have thought that
I/we would be having this life experience!
The words “swept
under” are clinging to me right now. In the past 10 weeks, I have often felt
swept under by the demands of my new teaching job, mostly coping with an
exceptionally difficult group of kids. Thinking about a few of these kids kept
me awake at night. I worried what the next day would bring. I needed to stay
calm, be proactive and mostly always be on my toes. I had to be energetic yet
calm. Mostly I needed to be very grounded. I had to be steadfast, unwavering
and determined. For me to be in that state, I needed rest. I needed to arrive at school rested. It didn’t
always happen.
I felt swept
under by all “the new”. We arrived August 11 and started working August 20,
just 9 days after our arrival. In
retrospect, it was all too fast, not enough time to find myself in this new
place. Not enough time to find everything you need in this place: food, gas,
pots and pans etc. Not enough time to open a bank account and figure out the
value of the Dalasi compared to the US dollar. At school, there were books
missing, programs that had not been ordered and some challenging students right
from day 1. At home, some basic kitchen
utensils were non-existent which meant that I had to figure out where to buy
these items. Batteries were missing and light bulbs too. Normally I really enjoy
shopping, but there were time constraints and money constraints which made it
stressful to enjoy shopping for household materials. It took me 3 hours and
many stores to find the correct light bulbs to fit into fixtures. What a great
way to get to know a city…..on a light bulb mission!
Then there were
keys for every door in the house and out of the house as well…..at least 20
keys! These keys were not labeled which made getting out the door in the
morning more stressful. Then to add to all “the new” that was overwhelming, while
preparing dinner over the gas stove, we ran out of gas. Shortly after we ran out
of electricity so we needed to buy coupons called cash power. Who do we call
and how do we get this electricity going again? Whether you have cash power or
not, the city electricity cuts off several times a day. This is normal for
Africa, at least West Africa. To help
with the power outages, we have a generator in a shed beside our house. Not
everyone has the luxury of owning a generator. Certainly not my neighbourly
Gambian. We also have a security guard day and night that stays on alert and on
call for us. When the electricity shuts off, our security guard runs to the
shed, in complete darkness and starts the generator; this big furnace-like
machine sounds like an old beaten up tractor. After our first two weeks here, we
decided that when the electricity outages happen after midnight, we asked the
guard to ignore the start up of the generator. We did this in consideration to
our neighbours. The high level of noise coming from this generator can be very
annoying. Knowing that no electricity during the night means total darkness, no
whirling ceiling fan nor air conditioning, it was something to contend with.
That would not be so bad in Vancouver. In The Gambia however where humidity
levels reach 100% some days, breathing was an exercise in itself. It was horrible.
Every night in October, I went to bed hoping and praying that we would have
electricity through the night. My prayers were not always heard.
Keeping hydrated
has also been a challenge. Most of the time, wherever I am in the world, my
habits of drinking 7-8 glasses of water a day are a no-brainer. It is just a
habit I have. At first I was not always diligent about my water consumption. Hence,
one day, my body was completely dehydrated and I stayed home sick in bed,
unable to move, totally fatigued. I thought I had the flu. The humidity factor
is really something that can creep up on you without warning. I did not know
how important it is to stay VERY hydrated. In order to make sure that important
minerals and electrolytes are replenished, I’ve also learned to have Gatorade
on hand. We lose more than just water through perspiration… a lot more!
Grieving Conakry
and our little school with the big heart was also a huge factor in my
adjustment here. Somehow I carried all the wonderful people from AISC into my
heart. I was so sad the first weeks we were here and kept comparing this place
to Guinee. Raymond had created a slide show and we would watch it together, remembering
all the kids at school, our friends and all the places we had visited. Tears
ran down my face every time I looked at it. I had no idea to what extent the
people in Guinee had become so important to me. I had become very attached and
missed them all so much. I had invested myself personally in many relationships.
Now I was grieving.
I reread
everything I just wrote and it seems so petty, so unimportant. These are just
new things that I needed to adjust to in this new place called The Gambia. When
one has to adjust to living and working in a new country, so many “new things”
happen every day and all day long. One never gets a rest. When many “new
things” are thrown at you simultaneously, it can become overwhelming. Living overseas has taught me that it takes
time to get settled in, both physically and emotionally. Many studies have
found that there are milestones in cultural adaptation: the first 3 weeks, then
6 weeks, then 3 months and then 6 months. I guess I am in between some of these
milestones right now.
Alas, I lived
through it all and now the weather is cooling slightly, enough to say that we
are noticing the altering weather. The tourists are arriving and we see the
locals scurrying about selling their wares, hoping to get the best price from
the bright-eyed visitor. The taxi
drivers too have overtaken the streets. The rainy season is almost over and The
Gambia will soon be overpopulated with European visitors. Dutch, British, German and Spanish visitors
are all common visitors to The Smiling Coast and between now and next April,
they will be sunbathing en masse and
increasing the economy of our area. Great….this country needs the help, with
40% unemployment. Having all these visitors creates a momentum, a positive
energy and provides many jobs for the local people.
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