I'm really not good at updating this......

So I guess I haven't written anything in a while....I blame it on Gambian time.

So what has happened?...
Well to start with I started my internship. Kind of. I first went last Tuesday and I really didn't do anything. I left the house at around 8 in the morning and stood waiting for a bush taxi to go into Banjul for a good 45 minutes. Finally a taxi pulled over and took me there which was more expensive, but it was a last resort. When I got there I was introduced to everyone and then told to read while I waited for the person in charge of aquaculture to talk to me. So I sat in the conference room and read fisheries journals from the 70's and 80's. Fun. After two hours went by I could finally talk to the person in charge of aquaculture. He told me he was very busy and then told me all about where and what he studied. He wasn't really sure why I was there and thought that I was from The Peace Corps. He then told me a little bit about aquaculture in Gambia and then corrected me for not taking any notes even though I had it all on a paper in front of me. I then returned to the "library" to read some more until it was time to leave. Lets just say I was glad I didn't have to go back on Wednesday because it was Independence Day here in the Gambia. A parade and the beach was a lot more fun.
I went to the Fisheries Department again this week. Both today and yesterday. It was really hard to get a bush taxi again and today I ended up riding in one of the cars that will randomly pull over to where everyone is standing. At fist I walked away, but the girl next to me got in and then they called me over so I got in. Probably not one of my best decisions, but I wasn't going to get a taxi anytime soon. So that ended up okay and they just dropped me off in Banjul and didn't make me pay anything. I guess people going into the city just give rides if they have space. If only I were a boy then I could climb onto one of the dumptrucks, tractors, or tractor trailers that carry loads of people to Banjul. I really have to take a picture of it because people just climb up the ladders on the back of the truck and pile in. They will all stand in the back of the dumptruck like sardines in a can while it goes down the highway all the way to Banjul. It is kind of ironic how they just made it a law that you have to wear a seatbelt in the front seat (and they make checkpoints for this), but you can pile 60 people onto the back of a truck and you are good to go. None the less I made it to my internship today, and pretty much just waited for a meeting to start. I was supposed to sit in on it, but instead of starting at 10, it started at 11 (African time again!) and I had to go to class. Yesterday I only stayed for an hour because there was a new fish market opening and most of the employees were at that. Hopefully I will have something to do next week. It sounded like I would and when I started they said that I would get to go out into the field some weeks so that could be fun.
Hmmmmm so besides the internship the past few weeks have been fun. A few of us went to a concert that featured a Senagalese band. That was pretty fun. We also went to an art village where we tie dyed and the owner invited us back to stay whenever we want at no charge. We have been to the beach a few times. On the most recent trip a Gambian guy named Bob came up to us and starting talking. He wasn't really a bumster and wasn't really looking for money, I just think he had nothing to do with himself and filled his time by searching for an American girlfriend. So of course he approaches us, sits down on my towel, and tells our group that he likes all of us, but me specifically. He was not very good at English but he manages to tell me that he wants me to be his girlfriend. I decided to make something up and told him that I was married and he responded with "No, don't do that to me." Oh god. So we all told him to go away a few times and he wasn't being mean or harming us, just being annoying. After about five more minutes I just walked away with Becca and left him with Seth and Lucy while we went to get something to drink. We were hoping he would just leave, but we could see him from where we were standing and he was still sitting there. Then Becca and I see a cop come over and grab him. The cop started kneeing him and smacking him and took him behind the dunes where Seth said he saw him punching Bob in the face. So that was pretty horrible, but there wasn't anything any of us could do. Seth said the cop and Bob exchanged words in another language, and I am sure that isn't the first time they had met. The cops here don't like the bumsters because they think they bother the tourists, and they do sometimes but they aren't harmful or mean. Just annoying. Nothing that calls for getting beat. We all felt pretty bad after that, but no one could really have argued with the cop. If only Bob had left when we told him to. :/ So after that horrible experience we all walked down the beach and went to the Senegambia craft market where Lucy and I picked out fabric and got fitted for dresses to be made. The tailor measured my butt and yelled "oooo Gambian woman." That was nice. Supposedly that's a compliment here.
I also got food poisoning over the weekend which was not fun at all. I ate fish one night when we went out for dinner and it was overcooked, so I am sure someone just didn't wash their hands. Gross, but I guess it happens. So Saturday night and Sunday I pretty much just spent throwing up and dying. The only way to not puke was to sleep so that's what I did during the day and thankfully it didn't last any longer than Sunday. I didn't go to classes on Monday though because I still felt kinda gross and the thought of walking in the heat wasn't really that appealing.
So I finally got classes figured out and those seem to be going pretty well. Physics isn't that great though and I am going to have to figure out a way to teach it to myself because the teacher's accent is so strong I really can't understand anything he says. He also writes horribly so I can't read any of the notes. Hmmm. Hopefully I will figure that one out.
So besides the food poisoning and beating of Bob things seem to be pretty good. This weekend Andrea, Anna, and I went to our friend Modou's house to have lunch. He invited us to have Superkanja which is a Gambian dish of rice, okra, fish, greens, and some other stuff. It is really spicy and has a sauce on top. It sounds really gross but it was actually very good.
I don't really know what else has happened, but I will really try to update this blog more regularly! It would probably be a lot better if I could remember all that had happened. I will try to post before the weekend!
Be ci kanam! --until later

Our tie dye drying at the art village


Eating Domoda at the art village

Valentine's day party with the cultural club-on our balcony