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We're just back from a school trip in the Gambia with the English Club. We went there for a twinning with a Gambian high school. We were told that we were going to be in charge of groups of girls during the four days but luckily we weren't- we found it tiring enough like that! This school trip was very different to the ones I've been on- much more relaxed. Lena and I realised how entertaining it must have been for our teachers because we certainly found it very amusing being on the other side.
We met at 10 on Thursday and left at 12. We hadn't even left Senegal when Lena and I exchanged a look which we both knew meant "this is going to be WILD!" as our students were very noisy and were having a dance off in the aisle- front of the bus VS the back. At the boarder a guy approached us asking for money for Gambia, we told him to go and ask a Senegalese, all of a sudden he seemed less keen!
Once we arrived we were greeted with a welcoming speech which went along the lines of "Senegal and Gambia are the same, we were only separated by colonisation. Skin colour doesn't matter, however there are two very conspicuous people amongst us. We want all the African boarders to be broken so that we can be one. If you tell a westerner that you're from Africa they'll get confused and tell you that it's a continent. However when they send you back they'll dump you anywhere, for example in Ivory Coast, because they think it's all Africa anyways." No need to say that Lena and I felt very welcome. When the same guy found out that we were from England and Scotland, all he had to say "ah, colonial masters" bitterly. We then went to bed for the worst night's sleep of our lives. With there being three people in a bed, it was extremly hot. As well as that, I've never seen so many mosquitoes in one place! We were woken up by our stinging hands and we were really swollen. Luckily it went down by the morning but it looked like we had realy bad acne scars on our faces. We managed to get two hours sleep before finding out that we had front row seats for the neighbouring mosque's 5 o'clock call to prayer...
The next day was much better. Bass came up to us out of the blue to tell us that we were off to visit Banjul in an hour. Amee, one of the Joal girls, was also in Gambia with her family so we rang her up and she came to meet us there. In Banjul, we went up a tower to visit a cool museum. Then the students had some free time in the market, not being great fans of getting hassled all the time Amee, Lena and I went for a coke and a catch up. After lunch, we all set off to the beach. Before leaving they're was a strict rule on "no swimming" but the students managed to negociate "paddling". We were often asked why weren't be swimming and where our bikinis were... When we left, the whole bus dropped Amee off at her hotel because the coordinator didn't want her taking public transport. In the evening, we had a cultural party. Our students paraded dressed up in Senegal ethnic groups' traditionnal clothes. Some people sang songs, and there were three sketchs. Lena and I are very proud of our students as they did very well in theirs. Bass got us to demonstrate the Gay Gordons, for which we won first prize!
On Saturday we couldn't do anything until one because in Gambia the first Saturday of the month is dedicated to cleaning the country and no one can drive until one! I'm not sure how many people get out and clean up but that's the rule. After we went to the beach again, this time for the picnic. Eating rice with your hands on the beach is difficult! In the evening Amee's family invited us out for dinner, it was lovely meeting them. The restaurant was really nice: we went from eating with our hands for the past few days to individual plates with two knives and forks! After saying good bye to Amee and family, we went to the club with the students. I thought that the Senegalese were good dancers but the Gambians take it to another level!
Sunday was the last day. In the morning we went to Serrekunda's market so that the students could buy a present for their Gambian twin. Seeing as we already had our gifts, Lena and I walked around with Bass, the Gambian coordinator and a student. We ended up leaving the market with a wheelbarrow with 50kg of sugar and 30kg of chicken in it! Sugar is cheaper in the Gambia and Bass just really likes chicken. After lunch it was time for the goodbyes which our students found very emotionnal, only to be made worse by the crazy DJ playing "the saddest word is good bye"
We arrived back in Zig on Sunday and were all really tired- Lena and I bought a giant Fataya (the closest thing to fast food here) and hopped into bed. A few days later, Ybrahima our friend, came to our house to announce that Flag the kitten had died during our absence... WHY WHY WHY WASN'T IT THE PARROT?
Je traduirais cet article au plus vite.
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