Two Months In

Happy New Year All!
Things are going well in the Gambia. The last 2 months have been so crazy with a lot going on. I'll do my best to condense it down to the highlights.
First and foremost, I'm safe healthy and happy. I feel very safe here and have host families that really value my safety and comfort. I have also somehow managed to avoid being sick. I did have a quick head cold, but it was much more mild than the ones I get this time of year in the states. My tummy has been very good to me. I also enjoy the place, the people and the work very much. Not everyday is perfect, when you're learning a crazy new language in a crazy new place, far away from your real "home people," you'll have that, but I've found lots of ways of coping, like enjoying the children, sweeping my floor and being proactively patient for various situations.
Since my last e-mail, we've been in our training villages with a few field trips here and there. My training village was wonderful. It was a medium sized village that embraced the 3 of us (Jo and Julia being the other 2 trainees with me-good ladies with whom I formed the "Debbo Clubagie" or "Girl's Club" since we were the only village with all girl trainees and we would get very gigglie on field trips). These gals are now like sisters to me - don't worry Karen, you will ALWAYS be my best and favorite and MOST real sister! The other trainees are really sweet too (sweet is the descriptive word for good, nice, pretty, and well, sweet). I have settled in a few really good friends but everyone has something really good to contribute and no one is unbearable.
My host family in training village was really amazing. It was a small family with a handful of children. My host father was very mild (like my real dad) and my host mother was a very busy lady and always made sure I had what I needed (ie water) (like auntie Eloise). I also had an old woman in the compound who was really a co-wife to the other mother, but she was older and sassie like a grandmother. I probably miss her the most, she'd talk to me a lot, I'd pretend to understand and when she realized I wasn't understanding she'd laugh at me in a sweet way. My youngest brother Ousman was my second favorite. One day he caught a pigeon and cooked it for me. It was yummy. He translated a lot for me - the kids know some English because of school, often Ousman would translate my bad Pulaar into better Pulaar so the family would know what the crazy Tubob (white person/stranger) was saying. I had an 8 yearold sister who would often come with a pack of girls and sadly no aderol (sp?). She would eat bags of sugar and her behavior reflected it. I enjoyed her in small doses. She helped with my laundry a lot but also peed on my house a few times in the process. It made for a funny story more than it was disgusting. This is a weird transitions, but leaving Jiroff was so sad. The Girl's Club all cried, as did some of the villagers, which crying Gambians is rare.
We went to our permanent sites for 4 days before coming back to Kombo (the capital region). My site is equally as wonderful as Jiroff. It's a cute medium sized village up country on the north side of the river. It's hotter there (the temp increases with your depth into the country) but I don't care. The family is really wonderful and the location is really ideal. My host father, Amadou, is about 40 and very well respected in the community. He's a hard worker and the fruits of his labor are obvious. I will probably work with him a lot since he is interested in progressive ideas which is also rare for Gambians. He has 2 wives, 2 mothers, (father deceased, thus why he is the head of the compound), maybe 8 children (counting them all is difficult) his brother who lives in the compound with his wife and several of their children. There are also other brothers and sisters that live all around and visit often. It's a BIG family but not overwhelming which is really nice. My host father also speaks very fluent English which is nice but I hope that makes ME learn Pular better. My neighbor, Omar, is a baker so I have convinent access to an oven and will be teaching Omar the finer arts of cookie and pizza baking. *By oven I mean more like a pottery kiln than a kitchen range. I also have a cat and dog in my compound. My first goal is to make the cat like affection and not just focus on mouse hunting all the time...which is just as fine really. I don't think she has a name, nor the dog. The dog does have ticks, fleas, and other malidies. I'm holding off on being too affectionate with him.
My house is small but cozey. I like it a lot. *See video of house tour.
The location of the village is ideal because it's on the north bank road (the GOOD road - it even has lines painted on it) but is very close to the river. There's also a major junction near by that attracts a lot of tourists so there is some "civilization" around without me having to make the 10 hour trip back to Kombo. I guess volunteers stop by there frequently for a cold drink and to finish the first leg of their trip to Kombo. I'm excited to host guests, I already had two stay the night before we made our way to Kombo yesterday. If you're looking on a map you might see JanJanbureh/McCarthy Island/Georgetown (one island/city - 3 names). That's the happin' place near me. It's only a motorized ferry away...not all ferries are motorized, unless you consider your HANDS to be motors! *see video.
The work will be good also. There's lots of tree planting to be done, perhaps a school garden and working with the school in general, maybe getting women mobilized, and lots of individual support and "skills transfer." I'm sure the list will grow as I get to know the village better, which is fine with me.
That's the basic run down of life here so far. If you have any more specific questions, send them my way and I'll be happy to satisfy your curiosity.
Here are a few general points of interest:
*the only wildlife I've seen are monkies, some babboons, and birds. The birds are really quite beauitful. I hear there are hyeneas in my area and hippos not too far away.
*my Gambian name is Fatumatou Jallow...Fatu for short, Koko to the PC crew (kong-kong is knock knock here, I thought my host mother was trying to say "katie, your dinner is here" but really she was saying "knock knock, your dinner is here" To mock me now, the PCt's like to call me Koko, to the point that they don't all know my real name anymore! Also, one of the most awkward moments happend when I met my Toma (namesake). She's about 11 and was sent to live with another woman near the capital when Fatu was still a baby. This happens a lot here and no one thinks anything of it. I went through all of the greetings and she was unresponsive. Soon my brother told me that she didn't speak Pulaar but Mandinka since she grew up in a Mandinka village. Everyone laughed at this. They had been saving up this joke through all of my training village experience. Typing about it can't do the real story justice, just know that it was reallly really awkward and funny. The other trainies liked the story.
*the food is ok. mostly rice. there's a lot of cous too which I like a lot less. My people (Fula's) have cows and drink a lot of milk. Good for me, although I've only had a few sips as niether of my host families have a lot of cattle. We eat with our RIGHT hands, if i break out a spoon I get laughed at! Freshly slaughtered ram tastes ok. I do miss red meat and bacon. I don't like fish as much as they serve it but it's growing on me.
*Thanksgiving, Christmas, My b-day, and New Years were all spent together with the training class. It didn't feel like we were missing the holiday at home quite so bad. The christmas boat ride (at sunrise) was really beautiful and a nice treat.
*Thank you everyone for cards and packages. It's nice to know I'm not forgotten already!
*Next up: Swear in on Jan 8th, then move in to Home on the 10th.
*I've gotten used to and like now the sounds of donekies, goats and chickens as well as the daily prayer calls to the point that they are comforting sounds and I miss them when I sleep somewhere not in village.

A Special List of Thank You's
*Grandmom: binoculars, they are small and easy to take on adventures with me
*Allen Lau: the flashlight for my birthday last year is VERY handy and a life saver
*Karrie Buttrick: the no slip hairties from my easter basket hold up better than any other hair ties i've ever used
*Erin Georgic: the journal, the kids like the buttons AND should i need buttons, i have extra!
*Pete Smyrl: floss, i've used it to hang my curtains (i am doing ok without duct tape though!)
*EVERY letter, Sarah, Peggy, Val, Chris, Dad, Barbie, Nick & Sarah, Cindy/Clarks, Ralph and Lois, and I'm sure I'm forgetting someone but thank you!

Mailing Information:
I've had some questions about mail. Here are some answers:
I will get mail delivered to me once a month, it takes about 2 weeks at quickest to receive a letter.
Care package details:
*since waste disposal is non existant here, it makes me feel better if you can remove as much packaging as possible. If you put things in ziplock baggies, they are very useful upon reuse. For example: I had some sour patch kids put in a ziplock baggie and then in a box and mailed. That is idea. Another example, I had some sunscreen sent that was in it's own plastic wrapping. I promptly scolder the mailer of that package and another small bottle was sent without the plastic. That is ideal and the mailer and I reconciled!
This is a list of things that if you're looking to fill a box, i would be happy to get! I'm not suggesting that I NEED or really WANT all of these things, this is just a list for the curious:
Items for the community
-books, children's books, coffee table books, gardening type books: less words, more pictures
-PENCILS
-colored pencils
-notebooks
-erasers
-pencil sharpeners
-decks of cards
-anything creative you can think of
Food
-food items that don't spoil. there are pouches of food out there on the market that are tuna and chicken and stuff that i add some water to i guess and it's real food!
-trail mix/granola bars
-beef jerkey
-food that can be made with hot water (oatmeal, beans, noodles...)
-candy (all the chocolate I've seen mailed has made it unmelty)
-cookie ingredients: i can get oil and eggs and milk, but i can't get brown sugar and chocolate chips
Household goods
-magazines of any variety
-pictures (gambians LOVE pictures)
-world maps
-scented candles (i don't suggest sending these in the same box as food, it will make the food taste like the candles)
-seeds for my garden: basil, tomatoes, garlic (does it come from seeds?) lettus, pretty much anything
-if someone is really ambitious, a french press and maybe some coffee