The Gambia is in a period of change. I am struck by how great a potential this country has to help itself, and also by the history and the traditions that have brought this country to where it is now.

The current situation seems to be extremely frustrating-- poverty, corruption, a breakdown of democracy, etc. Most people are apathetic about politics, and those who care enough to speak out are strongly discouraged from continuing to do so.

However, in learning about the history and the culture of this place, we have learned about so many of the traditional ways of life that can make things better. Everyone who has come to speak to us so far has expressed frustration, yes, but also a very powerful hope. The speakers have an enormous faith in the people of this country. It's very inspiring.

In other news, I broke off from the group today. When the tubab parade went to the beach, I hung out with Lauren to explore Kanifing. I met some of her friends and drank atayya with them. I don't know how to spell it, but it's a type of green tea. It's supposed to have lots of sugar in it, but one of her friends is diabetic so there was less than usual. It could have done with more sweet, but it was still pretty good. The primary language here in Banjul is Wolof, so my Mandinka won't help me much until we get into more rural areas. It was rather frustrating to have all this language stuff floating around in my head and still have no idea what these people were talking about whenever they weren't speaking English.

We went to O Li Fi to order a skirt from the fabric I bought yesterday. Again, I have no idea how to spell things here. The O in his name is very soft, and the Li and Fi both rhyme with "rye." He is evidently one of Lauren's best friends here, and he was very nice. His English was great. He is going to make me a skirt and a bag for 150 dalasis, which is about $7.50, and says it should be ready by Wednesday. Lauren says that "Wednesday" means something more like Friday. As long as I get it before we go upcountry, I'm happy. While we were there, we had some baobab ice, which is sort of a frozen dessert made from the fruit of the baobab tree. It was delicious!

The baobab ice got us thinking about food, so we decided to make a dish. I keep forgetting its name, but it's a rice and peanut porridge with sugar. We bought rice and peanuts ("ground nuts" here) at the Kanifing market and brought them back to Happy Camp to pound them, which is pretty hard work. Mohammad helped us out, or I think it would have taken us twice as long. It turned out pretty well, which meant that the lack of vegetarian options at dinner was less of a blow. I talked to Bill about the veggie-unfriendliness of the meals, and he expressed an intention of improving the situation.

While Lauren and I were cooking, she talked to me about how fascinating food preparation is here. I am considering doing something with food for my research. I am interested in women and community life. Women cook, and food holds a community together. Food can also tell a story-- how ingredients are measured, how people decide the food is done, when food is prepared, who prepares it, which foods are appropriate for which occasions and times of day, etc. People are built on food. I need to think about this more, but it's at least something I'm interested in. It's a good thing I don't have to decide on a topic for two weeks yet.