Mango Season!

7 months, it's hard to believe. One fourth of the way through. A lot of lifestyle changes from America have become second nature or normal by now and it's hard to find the events worth mentioning simply because they don't feel like big events anymore. This is a good thing. I did go back through my journal and found a few things to share...
The Ambassador
The American Ambassador to the Gambia came on trek to see some of the projects that American money is supporting. I was asked to meet with him and have lunch. I got really excited about the opportunity to hobnob and wore nice clothes, did my hair, and even washed my feet. My host family was so impressed that I could clean myself up! After a lot of confusion involving a meeting of all the regional cheifs, dancing celebrations, and the amount of time it takes to get from point A to point B around here, I finally met up with Ambassador Wells. We shook hands, discussed how hot it was and the next thing I knew I was eating lunch on the balcony with the drivers, NOT with the Ambassador. I was a little deflated. He's lucky he's a really nice guy who I could never be mad with! The day ended with me walking back to my village and passing my host mothers and some brothers. They insisted I return to the island to greet the family there who they were visiting. I mostly just sat there, but it was fun time with the gals. Situations like this happen all the time here, except the part about me looking nice.
The Wedding
"I always cry at weddings, especially when the bride is a good friend, moving to another village, not finished with school, and only getting married because her husband needs someone to cook for him" read a text message I sent to a good friend. My pal Hule had a surprise wedding that had maybe a week's worth of notice. She's smart as can be and has so much potential, but was yanked out of school to cook. As a PCV there are all these lines to straddle. I have to be supportive of the culture and traditions, I don't feel like it's my place to protest the way things have been done for hundreds of years, yet I have to encourage progress and development, I need to say something because this girl could be a doctor or a politician; I have to celebrate with the village, yet be sad for my friend. There's a lot of balance I'm still trying to figure out. So my solution was to go to the wedding, dance (everyone loves a dancing tubob) but NOT smile. Anytime the subject came up, I always explained that I was not happy about it and why. And then at the near end of festivities I found myself holding Hule's hand while her hair was being braided to send her out to her new village. There I was in the middle of a cirlce of 100 women who were singing, some happy, some as sad as me. It was a surreal moment that made me appriciative to have the opportunity to share in these lives, for better or for worse (wedding pun intended). Hule's new village is not far away and has a really good school. Soon I will go to visit her and hopefully talk to her husband about why it will be good for her to finish school. I talked to Hule's father about all of this the other day and he was just as livid, if not more, as I am. I was getting nervous as he was expressing his anger and dissappointment over the whole thing and waving around a big pair of scissors (the uncles of the bride are responsible for the marriage arrangements, not the father, and he's a tailor, a really good one actually, which is why he had the scissors). I bought him an icie to calm him down and then got an invitation to a really good lunch. Situations like this happen all the time here, especially the part about me buying icies.
The Bridge
Development is happening here. It's crazy to see. A bridge is being built on the south side of the island I live near. I was told it would be done last week, but it wasn't, of course, but it's still making quick progress. Roads are also being paved, but that's not as impressive as a bridge that will help people get to the nearest hospital faster. I report this because it's really exciting. I know, a bridge doesn't sound like a very big deal, but trust me, it's the FIRST bridge to go across the river here. Situations like this rarely happen here, especially the part about the bridge.
The Rains
...are not here yet. It's still hot and now it's also humid. Throw in some dust storms at night that leave so much dust in the air you almost can't see the sun the next day. Situations like this happen all the time here, especially the part about it being hot.
The Gorko
Chris arrives in a month! Everyone is very excited for his visit, me most of all, but the women in the village take a very close second in their excitement. Everyone wants to meet my gorko (man/husban) and they want to make sure he has a big party in honor of his arrival. I always protest that they didn't even do that when I came to town! Every morning, the children gather around my door waiting for me to wake up so they can fight over who gets to put a sticker on our calander that counts down until Chris is here. The sounds of the kids naming the figures on the drawing that accompanys the calander have taken over the chickens as my alarm clock. "Fatoumata, Gorko Fatoumata, Bob, [house], mango [tree], [river]..." Situations like this will only happen once, maybe twice, especially the part about Chris going to Africa.
The Work
I'm now an "advisor" for the neighboring village's 4H club. They are really fun kids and the leaders are very motivated. We just wrote a proposal for a tye dye program to expand the skills and potentially funds of the club. Also in the work are meetings about cooking food, exercise, dog and cat care, horse and donkey care, local first aid, and nature walks, plus a bunch of local crafts and such. Lots of fun! I also hung out at the skills center at the village across the street. The women there are fabulous and I'm excited to define my work with them more. Our community garden is on standstill as we have no seeds because the seed man is really slow and not from the village. My plan is not to stress out about it. Beyond that, it's just little things here and there. I did some batik tye dye with some village ladies which was a lot of fun. The ladies were sassy with each other and kept undoing each other's work or disagreeing about the next steps. But the end result was really pretty. I made mosquito repellant with my one granny. She's always looking for something she can sell and was really into this process. I think she's great and I enjoy her enthusiasm. Situations like this happen all the time here, especially the part about the women being amazing.
The Odds and Ends
Other than that, everything is good. I'm safe, healthy and happy. I had some small stomach issues, but they passed quickly, thank goodness. I'm not sure the cause, but it didn't hold me down. Bob is doing well and getting bigger still! He's gotten really muscular the last month and is really heavy for his size. My one host mother is pregnat which will be really special to welcome a new baby in the compound. She has 2 boys now, one who is adorable and one who is the definition of a little shit. Maybe this time it will be a sweet little girl! I'm hoping to get her enrolled in an adult education class. She made it to grade 6 and then stopped going to school. She's always trying to read and loves it when I give her a magazine to go through all the words. She also has a lot of potential. I found out today that one of my host sister's birthday is the day before mine, and the other a week later. We will have to be sure to celebrate, but first explain birthdays....
I hope everyone's summer is off to a good start! Does anyone have any exciting summer adventures planned? There are many successes back in America to celebrate too, engagements, graduations, grad school acceptance, new babies, a year of med school down....I love hearing about all of these things! Don't forget to keep sharing, it makes those moments of mental escape all the more sweet!
Much love to you all!