Things I love about this country so far:

1) Wonjo Juice- made from boiling hibiscus flowers. Girls usually sometimes sell frozen wonjo on the side of the street which they call icies and they are one of the most delicious things i have ever had (especially good when mixed with Gin, which they sell in packet form here, btw)

2) Tailoring. To get clothes here, you have to do it the old fashioned way. You buy fabric, go to a tailor, tell him what you want, and he makes it. Very fortunately, my host father in training village was a tailor and made things for me for free. The down side is that the usually tailor has something different in mind, and so did my host father. Therefore, all of the dresses I have had made make me look like I own 30 cats...we're talking covered from clavicle to ankle and everything in-between.

3) The beach. Apparently all you have to do to get onto a tourist hotel private beach is buy a drink at their bar and they will let you sit out there all day. But battling the flexing, strutting, "boss-lady" shouting bumsters is annoying as hell.

4) The way Gambians say "thirsty" in English. Kind of like Thuuuuuuursty with a huge emphasis on the uuu. Cannot figure it out.

5) Bartering. Its fun and I'm getting really good at it. The market in Brikama is huge, crowded, muddy, and reeks of rotting fish, but going there once made me feel like a Mandinka genius. I have made sure I know all of the market terms so I was actually able to barter in Mandinka and get a price down to where it was supposed to be (not the toubab price).

6) Bin-bin. So bin-bin are kind of like the equivalent to American lingerie, but completely different. They are strings of beads that sit low on your waist under your clothes. When women walk you can sometimes hear the beads clacking and they supposedly drive the men here wild. That was not my intention, i have been getting harassed enough as it is without the bin-bin mating call so mine are noiseless. But what woman wouldn't get excited about a new kind of jewelry to spend all of her money on??

7) Juu-juus. They are Gambian charms made from the pieces of the Koran that ward off witches, snakes, and the like. I think it is a strange combination of Islam and Animism, which is still very strong among the villagers here. I've been trying to get one for spiders since I got here but its proved pretty difficult considering the Gambians don't really understand why I am afraid of them. Also, the marabous (witch-doctors who make them) freak me the fuck out.

8)Football!! Not that boring American kind. On my site-visit, my site-mate Katie showed me the giant football field in Brikama where they hold huge games. It's only 5 Dalasi (about 20 cent) to get in and she said they sell icies inside. I cant wait to get rowdy with the Gambians!

9) The dancing and drumming, which I have done plenty of since I have been here, and have been laughed at every time. But that's ok...I just tell myself they are laughing WITH me. The drumming almost always on old bright yellow oil jugs which they call bedongs. It's what people usually fetch their water in, also used for drumming, and sitting on. Anytime they feel moved, you will see a woman whip out a bedong from under her and start drumming and random women and children will start dancing away. This can happen any time of the day, anywhere.

10)Greetings. A lot of Americans don't like the way Gambians extensively greet each-other. Every person you see wants to know how the morning is, how your family is, how you are, if you are in peace, how your children are, how is the work, etc etc, and then they may ask you all of the same questions again...and again. One of my language teachers made a good point that changed my opinion on the greetings. He said that people greet each other so often and lengthy primarily to recognize one another as human beings, to kind of take some time out of your day to focus on another person which I do not think we do enough in America. BUT also, I enjoy it because since I greet people a million times a day, I know all of the greetings perfectly and can talk nonstop with someone for 5-7 minutes sounding like a real Mandinka speaker (and again feeling like a genius)

11) Eating. No matter what, if you walk past people eating, they will invite you to come eat with them. Walking around village during lunch time (during the non-Ramadan months) i would have to turn down sometimes 7 or 8 families because I had already eaten, and they do get pretty offended. BUT if I did want to, I could eat with them. Eating food is completely communal here. Gambians eat out of one giant food bowl with their hands. I ate this way every day during training village at lunch with the other trainees and my language teachers and I loved it. Eating with your hands is fun, but much harder than you would think. Gambians do it with grace I have been trying for the past two months, and have failed miserably. But at night, with my family, I usually ate out of my own smaller bowl, next to them eating in their big food bowl. I saw where my little sisters hands had been and i wanted them no where near what I was putting in my mouth...

12) You can tell anyone younger than you to do something and they will do it, no questions asked. Sometimes I would see 4 year olds at the Bitik buying cigarettes for their older brother or father, of course something I have never done...but good to know there is the option.