Just chillen.

Hello everyone:) I hope all is well with you all. Miss everyone! I know its been a while but there is nothing really going on. The end of September will mark a year here in The Gambia, which is crazy to think about. It is a down time. People are working in the fields and Ramadan is starting in a few days. During this month long Islam holiday, Muslims will fast (no food or water) from sunrise to sunset. This is a time of reflection and forgiveness. I have decided to do a little fasting so I can see what my fellow Gambians are going through also to understand how hard it is to do it for a month (people get very grumpy). Plus I think is cruel to ask my family to cook for me when they are fasting and hungry.




I am still doing smashing. I'm excited for school to get back in session (on Sept. 15th) so I can start the Environmental Club again, its sooo much fun. The kids love it and I feel like I'm doing some real work. I'm helping plan and establish a school orchard. Also helping out on "perfecting" the school garden.














Work at the park is slow due to dysfunctional and politics. Its really hard to put energy into something that is uneventful and pointless (sorry to say). So I'm waiting to see how some things go. I'm going to start a tree nursery and grow Moringa trees which have nutritional value and want to start some bee hives. Also I'm collaborating with another PCV and trying to develop wildlife survey protocol and schedule for all the National Parks in The Gambia. They do flora and fauna surveying but the records are few are fare between. So we want to prefect it and get it rolling for now and the future.

I've excepted some positions within PC so I can keep busy until things get rollen again in a month or three.

Other that every things is great. I have a friend coming to visit me in December for Christmas which I'm ecstatic about. The rainy season is still in full swing so everything is green and lush and beautiful. Plus the storms and sunsets are amazing. I have also adopted two kittens that I'm raising until they are big enough to defend for themselves, they will probably become my outdoor cats, but they are super cute and very entertaining. Reading lots o books, doing lots o yoga, playing lots o guitar, playing with my garden/growing some good stuff and doing lots of exploring. I have realized that my picture taking has slowed down quite a bit so I'm going to remedy that.


So... to close (for now) I'm going to include some of my favorite photos, most are artsy; all have a story.

Will write more soon. sending hugs to you all. Amber