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School trip to the Gambia. It was, of course, fairly different to the school trips I have been on in the past - not least because this time Zoe and I had swapped to the dark side...The Teachers.
The trip is an annual twinning between the English Club of the Lycée and a Gambian school, to forge links within Africa and improve the students english. How much english was actually spoken between the students is debatable because both countries speak wolof...
The bus was supposed to get on the road at 10 o'clock however, this being Senegal, the bus was nowhere to be seen at 11 and we left Ziguinchor about 1 o'clock. The students were highly excited as many of them had never been to a foreign country before and the bus was the noisiest one I have ever been on: an Akon album blaring out, senegalese singing and screams of encouragement and clapping for those who decided to dance in the aisles.
We arrived at our accomodation(the hotel opposite the Independance Stadium) and were welcomed by the gambians. The speeches were mainly welcoming and a reminder of the importance of strengthening links between african countries and a reminder that gambians and senegalese are "basically the same people, separated only by colonial boundaries". The headteacher of the Gambian school then elaborated on this theme, telling us that, looking around the room, it was impossible to tell who was senegalese and who was gambian, there were of course, two fairly CONSPICUOUS looking people... he then went on to offer a peice of advice to the assembled students: if they should ever find themselves in Europe(without papers, I assume), they should not be surprised if the border officials look confused when you tell them the country you come is Africa because europeans do not understand this mentality. Then, when they put you on a plane back to Africa, they will drop you on any old part of West Africa, eg the Ivory Coast because they think "It's all Africa!" Embarassed silence... The same teacher later "joked" that Zoe and I were "Colonial masters" when we told him we came from Scotland and England. Strained smiles.
The trip was fun though - it included two trips to the beach! We also visited the capital, Banjul and the market at Serrekunda but did not manage to actually visit the school because of local elections. One evening there was a 'cultural party' where the students presented sketches and paraded in the traditional dress of their different ethnic groups. Zoe and I were again called upon to demonstrate the Gay Gordons and won first prize, without even knowing that it was a competition!
The food was fairly similar to Senegal but much spicier! We were eating with our hands for the whole trip but I'm not sure how much our technique has improved.
When the time came to say goodbye many of the students were in tears and the melancholy atmosphere was added to by the dj's choice of song - Celine Dion 'Goodbye is the Saddest Word'.
It was great seeing a school trip from the other side as the students change so much when they are let loose - we had a good laugh thinking about how embarassing we must have been on school trips.
Yesterday we went to a kermesse(a sort of church party) and ate monkey or "cousin" as they call it here! It tasted nice and had a similar texture to beef.
- comments
Margo MacDonald Pie and chips will never be the same after Cousin. Thanks for my birthday card...you got the age wrong. 58 is the new 70. Love the full-length frock: it's not a Sengalese wedding dress, is it? Heard about the proposal..stick out for 2nd wife, at least.