What We Did On Our Winter Vacation

Written on April 1st, 2011 A special guest blog by Mam Lamin Cham aka David Green aka My Dad Most importantly, we made it. Three months and three attempts, but it worked. It did actually snow the morning we left but only flurries and we arrived on schedule to find Lindsey at the airport. We were all too excited for words. Then the fun really started. What does one do in the Gambia--The Smiling Coast of Africa? Settling In PCVs are given a chance to "settle in" so that's what we did. Three nights at Mama's--a typical local hotel run by a expatriate, with lots of walking and talking and meeting friends, and visiting Lindsey's haunts, both professional (the Peace Corps office, the bank) and personal (a local bar called with great irony, The Scottish Embassy). It was great fun to be a PCV again. Within 24 hours we were drinking beer (Julbrew) and talking about Gambian customs, digestion and food. From there we moved up country, local transport, to Lindsey's village--Kerr Jarga Jobe. Language and Culture In KJJ we were at Lindsey's mercy. There, she is Ramatoulie, and she speaks Wolof 24/7. It's amazing. She waggles her finger, shakes her pony tail and her butt , and makes jokes. The kids giggle as she tickles them, the teenagers demand to borrow her lotions and ointments, the old ladies joke about everything, and the moms correct her. Everyone chatters and joke. We spend hours--literally--walking about the dusty village, greeting everyone. Lindsey patiently explains culture, custom, language, good, agriculture and trades, while translating. We are in awe. Its hot, really hot, from 11 to 5 so we sit and chase spots of shade around the compound, drinking "attaya", green tea boiled, reboiled, and poured over and over again so it gets foamy and cool. Everyone welcomes us very warmly and naturally. They are honored to have us but treat us like family, just like they treat Ramatoulie. They take care of her in every way and she reciprocates. The kids are great--handsome and fun--and the Dad, Baay Waly, watches out for her and respects her at the same time. The whole trip is great but the four days in KJJ are really amazing. Culture and Development Being in KJJ with Lindsey we are reminded of so much, including the difficulties of cross-cultural understanding. She tells us of how she works with the skills center on planning, meetings, agendas, and organization. Then she walked in one day to find the staff cutting the meeting tables in half so they could use them for the sewing machines. She went home to read a book. A sensible reaction from all parties. This isn't easy stuff, but we keep trying to understand one another and that's what counts. Moving and Waiting Patience is key--we move, and wait, and wait and move. Everything is late and takes longer than anticipated. We leave KJJ to ride boats up and down the river. We look at birds which are incredible even for non-birders like us. Peggy and Lindsey catch up on girl time, which poor Peggy has surely missed for a year and a half. And we all think about Casey and we're sorry it didn't work out for him to come, but we think about him tearing it up in Peru and we know he'd be happy for us. Then She Ate What??? We spend quite a bit of time talking about, planning for, and eating food. Lindsey is decidedly no longer a vegetarian. She now renounces it completely and totally. She eats great quantities of everything and with great relish. She has dreams about bacon. Day-old goat is not an issue. She claims to have a super amoeba that trumps all the lesser amoebas. Even David blanches at the story about the monitor lizard--we are not making this up. And We Laughed and Laughed Most importantly, we had fun, and we laughed because ultimately that's what its all about. We got a brief but telling glimpse into another world and it was a lot of fun. We are grateful. The Gambians say good things are "nice-nice" and "its nice to be nice." Healthy sentiments. Jerejef--Thank you!

"Meaningful Work"

Written on March 19th, 2011 I spent last week at a Peace Corps The Gambia All Volunteer conference. We spent a lot of time talking about being a "high performance post," volunteers needing to have "meaningful work" and Peace Corps 50th Anniversary. All this talk, and an article from the New Yorker, written by Paul Hesser (just sent to me by my Dad) have caused me to pause and consider what the legacy of Peace Corps service is in Peace Corps countries, like the Gambia. I know it is probably a bit self-important to assume that my personal experience at one post can speak for the Peace Corps legacy as a whole. But in the spirit of 50th anniversary generalization I am going to take a risk and try my hand at answering the question--"What is the legacy of Peace Corps?" Since I cam to PC The Gambia I have heard a lot about PCV performance. When you research the Peace Corps you come across a handful of books and articles. These tell the stories of a small proportion of PCVs who, due to a combination of charisma, intelligence, infrastructure, resources and sheer good luck have served their communities in amazing ways and created visible change (they build schools, dig wells, start health centers) that they, or someone else, has been able to document and publicize. These volunteers are 1) amazing and 2) offer a great image of the Peace Corps to the world. But for every one volunteer who publish a book highlighting their amazing service there are hundreds whose service is not marked by measurable work or achievements but whose service and impact is no less important. I think PC has been around for 50 years because of both types of volunteers. One really cannot exist without the other. In my post alone we have volunteers with 9 to 5 jobs and projects to bring clean water to entire villages, we also have volunteers who spend their days socializing, go to sell milk at the local market with friends, play with babies and one volunteer who spent a large part of their service hanging out with one women, becoming such close friends that they were able to come out to the women before they left, in a country where homosexuality is extremely taboo. It is these stories of service that I most relate to and that I more and more am coming to see as Peace Corps 5o year legacy. I recognize the importance of meaningful work and a measurable impact as a way to ensure US taxpayer dollars are being spent effectively and that the talents of PCVs are being used but the reality is, often, we need to focus on the personal relationships we establish and see this as our legacy. I read somewhere recently that PCVs often get disillusioned with tradition notions of development and down play their impact, claiming "the people I served impacted me more than I changed them"--the author claimed that this all came from a place of unfounded modesty--I however can related to both these sentiments. And rather than coming from a place of modesty I think it all comes from a place which seeks to recognize the equality between the PCV and those they serve. I have an incredibly hard time receiving praise here because I feel my community members deserve equal (if not greater praise) everyday. So....taking all this into account, what is the 50 year legacy of Peace Corps according to Lindsey Green? As hippy-dippy as it may sound it is love and equality. If I leave anything behind I hope my family and community knows that I love and care for them. Despite the fact that I won some cosmic jackpot and was born an American it doesn't make me any better or worse than anyone else. By living in and becoming a member of a community PCVs attempt to serve from a place of equality rather than a place of outsider-ness or superiority. If the legacy of PC is anything it is that America is a country that produces many people who want to spread love and understanding through service. I would love to write a book about fundamentally changing the access to health care in my community but I would also be OK if my entire service could be summed up by simply drawing a big heart.