Holidays in The Gambia are very different from the US for many reasons. First of all, it’s hard to relate to seasonal holidays when the difference from one season to the next here is minimal. There are some Christmas decorations in Kombo, but nothing up country. The commercialization so prevalent in the western world is absent here, which is one aspect I do enjoy.  Even though about ten percent of the population is Christian, their influence is not culturally significant in this Muslim majority country. Gambians tend to assume all PCVs are Christians, which of course is not true, but they don’t seem to understand there are other religions such as Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, or not being religious at all. They expect we all celebrate Christmas, and we do oblige them by having holiday parties and giving out gifts.

NBR Party

On December 23rd I hosted a holiday party for nineteen PCVs from the North Bank Region (NBR). Ten had recently been sworn in as official PCVs, after completing their PST (pre-service training), and were experiencing their three month community entry period. During the community entry period, it is expected a PCV will spend every night at their new site, which can be a challenge during the holiday season. This party was designed to welcome these new PCVs into the NBR community, with a festive day long event, and allow them enough time to return to their permanent sites by nightfall.

Many holiday decorations arrived with the guests, and my home was decked out with blinking colored lights, fake snow, Christmas music played throughout the day, and white elephant gifts under a felt tree. Several PCVs wore holiday hats and shirts, and a very festive atmosphere was created for our communal brunch.

I am fortunate to have a well appointed kitchen, something most PCVs don’t have, and everyone had fun preparing pancakes with real maple syrup and butter, cheese omelettes, and brewing up coffee ground from fresh beans. Instant Nescafe or tea, is the caffeinated morning beverage available here, and if you are a coffee connoisseur it can be a treat to have fresh brewed coffee.

My US family has the tradition of playing the white elephant gift exchange game, so I wanted to have that for this party. Each person brought a wrapped gift to contribute, with the suggestion it could be something they already had they no longer wanted or needed. Some very interesting gifts were brought – a coloring book with some pre-colored pages, a bar of soap, and a bag of condoms, and a bottle of gin from an airline – but the most popular gift was the battery operated fan.

It was a pleasure hosting a holiday party for the NBR PCVs who were in country during the holiday season. I am blessed with a large comfortable home, that is centrally located in a city with lots of shopping opportunities, and love spending time with my government issued friends.

Christmas with My Host Family

I had fun purchasing small gifts when I was in Kombo the week before Christmas for my host families. There was candy for everyone, and the boys received a soccer ball to share, and trucks with rolls of candy for cargo. The girls received a jump rope to share, and coloring books with colored markers, pencils or crayons. The adult women were given bracelets I had brought from the US, and I purchased kola nuts for the two men living in my compound. Baby Fatima received a washable hippo that is very sturdy and can be chewed on as a teething toy.

I didn’t wrap any of the gifts, because Gambians just throw their trash on the ground. They do keep their compounds clean with daily sweeping, but the refuge is then swept out into the streets. Personally, I have not been able to throw my trash on the ground here, and after one year I have two large rice bags full of trash. There are dump sites outside of town, and eventually I will haul my trash there, but they are just open fields that the livestock rummage around in, and the wind blows everywhere. Trash disposal is definitely a countrywide problem that needs a better solution.

I have noticed that most of the girls really enjoy drawing pictures on the blackboard I made in the compound. I provide them with colored chalk, and often see them copying from books or magazines to create their artwork. I was thrilled that I was able to find coloring books for their gifts. I was actually pleasantly surprised I was able to find fun gifts in Kombo that aren’t available locally.

It is a blessing to be able to spend my two years of service in a compound with these wonderful people, giving me the opportunity to concentrate on my Peace Corps goals. I am especially happy I am allowed to be “mamamusso” = grandmother in Mandinka, to the two babies born this past year:  Fatima now eleven months old, and Omar now three months old.

New Years Eve Day Party Boat

On new years eve some of my NBR cohorts reserved the party boat Lady Sue for the day – just another reason the North Bank is called the “best bank” because fun stuff is always happening. About twenty PCVs signed up to spend the afternoon on the River Gambia saying goodbye to 2018 while playing in the water, listening to music, eating junk funk and imbibing their favorite drinks. The weather was perfect with a slight breeze all day and the temperature never reaching above 85 – the Gambian cool season.

Unfortunately, I was late to the dock, because I missed the early ferry and the party boat needed to leave without me. Fortunately, I was able to hire a private water taxi to where the Lady Sue was moored at a sandbar. I thoroughly enjoyed lazily cruising up the river, watching the pelicans and egrets fishing from the mangrove forest lining the shore.

Upon my arrival to the sandbar, I was welcomed with a chant of “Susan-Susan-Susan-Susan” validating my decision to spend the extra money to arrive by personal water taxi. I am continually honored to be included in the activities of my younger cohorts, even though drinking, dancing or staying up late at night is not for me – a daytime party is more my style.

It was a treat for all of us to be able to experience an non-PCV day – pretending to be tourists. November through February is the West African tourist season, and we were treated like royalty by the three Gambian boatman making sure everyone was having a great time.

In the late afternoon we cruised back to the dock as the sky was turning golden. It felt like a magical time – suspended between a first world experience and our current third world reality.

After returning to the transit house it was fun to watch everyone get all dressed up for a night on the town in the tourist area of SeneGambia. After a year or more of living the “simple” life up country, they were looking forward to ringing in 2019 in style. I was perfectly content to have the house to myself and be asleep long before midnight.

New Years Day 2019

The transit house, where PCVs stay while in Kombo, is a short walk to the beach. Since I am an early riser, I enjoyed a deserted beach New Years Day Morning. I walked the shoreline looking for shells, read my book in the soft morning sun, and reflected on the sixteen months I have been in The Gambia. I look forward to working on my PC projects in the coming year, and have a trip planned in March to join my granddaughter, Hazel, in  Spain. I will be returning to Portland Oregon for the 2019 holiday season to be with my US family.