The Gambian Method of Teaching aka My Driving Lessons

Hey, hey, new year…and a very late posting for anyone that is following lol.

Things were just so funny today that I was prompted to write about it. I am currently receiving instruction under the “Gambian” method of teaching. I call it this because obv, I’ve only witnessed it here but feel free to contradict me. I am relearning to drive all over again- this time with the manual or stick shift aka the REAL way to drive since well, it is you in control of every jerk of the car. And I’ve had more than my fair share of the jerks. Anyway, this method I am enjoying is the way of yelling about any mistake I made. I will outline some instances that happened during some of our driving sessions- the italicized text was what went through my mind after the instructions I receive as I am too “respectful” to say them out loud... lol

Him: You were supposed to turn into that street.

I have suddenly developed psychic powers and can now read your mind.

Him: Turn left…HERE

Ummm, the only road is on the right.

Him: Turn left. You need to turn EXACTLY where I told you to turn.

There was a big pot hole in that particular section.

Him: You’re supposed to switch gears when turning.

This is the first I’m hearing about it.

Me checking my rearview mirror every so often: Him: You don’t need to always check those. It is what is happening in front of you that’s important!

They must have installed that mirror by accident then. (on this point and with the hulabaloo that is in front, I guess it makes sense)

After tackling a speed bump the wrong way: Him: You always drive over those too fast.

I guess the other 15 I cleared perfectly were just a fluke. Oh well.

Him: To the right. I told you to the RIGHT.

*Exasperated* Yes, but there is a PERSON right there…

Coming up to a main road: Him: Go! <> When I say go, you need to go. You need to listen to me and not mind the other drivers.

Yes, because you shall be beside me anytime I will be driving…

Him: Traffickate here.

Indicate, traffickate. Potatoe, Potahto.

Him: You’re always too slow to traffickate!

Now, usually I traffickate sometimes even more than 200 yards away when driving with him as that’s how he likes it. On this one occasion, I had the nerve to do it less than 100 yards to the intersection. My bad.

Other important things to take note of whilst the shrill instructions are being doled out:

1.       The continuous obstacle course- the PEOPLE!!!

OMG- the near heart attacks I’ve experience with the kids that dart across the front of the vehicle. Lord knows, I’m praying fervently on most of these roads that I don’t come in contact with any person. In three short days, I’ve come across:

·         the nonchalant pedestrian that is walking in the MIDDLE of the road (Bakau with vehicles approaching on both sides!);

·         the kid with the bicycle on the tight road riding straight for the vehicle (!);

·         the group of friends coming from football still creating a wall of defence- ya’know, since they are clearly still on the playing field;

·         the two cheppehs that see that the traffic is about to go as the road is finally clear, and even with your jerking (as I forgot to change back to gear 1 on that first day), they slooooowly strut across.

·         At a fairly busy intersection coming from Bakau New Town, another girl shaking her thang as vehicles were turning on that road. It was mine closest to her as I turned that I couldn’t help but “jangha, yow tamit” followed by a chipu (a kmt).

·         A child in the middle of those tight streets. A beep from far off could not shake her from her daydream. Someone had to physically move her as I kept beeping coming forward. Needless to say, I always keep my foot on the clutch ready to brake.

2.       The omnipresent yellow and green vehicles- the taxi drivers and the passenger vans (these can be any color) that suddenly stop in front of you, those that suddenly pull out of the road without any prior indicating. According to my instructor, they each follow their individual traffic code and I agree this is definitely the case.

3.       The people with the wheelbarrows, those on wheelchairs, the bicyclists, the motorcyclists-I guess all this still falls under people.

4.       The small potholes and the giant potholes. The craters on the side of some of the roads

5.       The tiny roads where only one car can fit at a time

6.       The really sandy roads where I thank my lucky stars that I’m in a 4 x 4. I’m glad the only time we got stuck in a sandy ditch was when he was driving on the first day.

7.       Did I mention the people?!

Serrekunda market is really no joke. This was an important area to tackle in my crash course (maybe another word should be used here) and we did it several times.

We also went on one of the minor roads in Bakau. Following directions, I then turned into one street at a tight intersection. I was then instructed to reverse into the road that was to the back and right of me. My instructor had exited the vehicle at this point and was directing me from outside the vehicle. Keep in mind, the tightness of these roads. I reversed fine and kinda got into the road on my right. Now I had to drive forward as I could not reverse any more. Except…this was my second day and I hadn’t quite gotten the hang of it yet. I shifted to gear one and slowly pressed the accelerator. The engine switched off. If the clutch and the first gear are not coordinated correctly, this is what happens. I freed up the gear box and turned the key to restart the engine. I shifted to gear one and pressed again slowly. The same thing happened…and the car rolls backwards each time I try to get it going as I was on a slight elevation. Did I mention there was a wall behind me?

A middle-aged lady with her grandchild (?) on her back came to the open passenger window to tell me how to “jogg” or correctly get up. Now, I am 99.99% sure that this lady doesn’t know how to drive. This is just the reality and I’m willing to accept the .01 percent chance of error. I could feel the beads of sweat forming on my forehead. Each time, I released the brake so that I could move my foot to the accelerator, the car crept closer to the wall. My instructor appeared on the window to the right and he proceeded to add his voice to the melee. For the fifth time I tried, I pressed harder to get the car out of that position and I started to move forward (a child passed in front of the car) and I was able to get going- yay me! I stopped as I couldn’t leave my instructor behind. At least, that wouldn’t be a nice thing to do.

Well, my quick course was over and I almost enjoyed it at times.

PS He gave me a positive review at the end of it all J

“What happens in Afghanistan stays in Afghanistan”

Being one with a moderate political stance, I like to keep my political opinions, if any, limited. But this is something else. Reading “The Kill Team” from the Rolling Stone magazine, (http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-kill-team-20110327?page=3), it is sad to picture the depths to which these soldiers sunk.

It reminds me of an episode of CSI:Miami where the perps hunted humans as game-hard to believe and harder to watch. “The soldiers were bored and shellshocked and angry” (pg. 4)- wow enough reason to hunt down ppl as if they were animals?! Is that is the reason needed to do that to a fellow human being?

And talk about lack of accountability. At every step of the way, it seemed superiors just shrugged it off- no one taking into account the stressful conditions of war. I don’t even really know where to end or begin on this topic. Execution of an unarmed man. Inhumane, despicable doesn’t even begin to cover what happened.

Check Gender: Male…Female…Neither?!

Well, because it’s important for everyone to be politically correct these days (i.e., make the most ambiguous status there is), now, no one even has to declare a gender! What is so hard about deciding which one you are? And what’s WRONG with it? I came across this on a form for Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
Having gone to a very liberal school, I consider myself to be open-minded even before I went there. And I don’t subscribe to the traditional gender roles and don’t see why I can’t do some of the same things as my male counterparts. One thing I did in Gambia that got me glances was take guitar lessons from a friend of mine. Just the instrument I wanted to learn was something unusual and especially for [gasp] a female. Another friend (that I had thought was progressive) told me he took it as a joke that I was doing this and if I had to learn an instrument, why not the piano? And oh, the glances I got carrying it around…

I digress. I see the argument that having to choose male or female is very restricting as its and either/or choice and one does not want to subscribe to prescribed societal labels. Yes, I don’t like being told I have to cook and clean the house because of the parts I was born with but having some of these labels help us to know the basics of members of our society.

Hey, if you choose to not self-identity at all, who am I to tell you different? You can label yourself as a hybrid leprechaun and cheetah if you want but the rest of us (not speaking for everyone else outside this grp wither) would at least like to know if we should address you as a he, a she, or something else you chose…
PS- another possible title for this piece was: he…she…it?!

All-time fave song!

Here is my all-time fave song from the timeless Beres Hammond! If Only I Knew from 1985. I love his smooooth voice and the lyrics he brings to the table. He was actually in The Gambia in 2007 but I missed it :-(. one day soon...

Gaw-jus Fall Colors!

Well, as much as I hate the cold and do my best to hibernate all winter, the Fall colors in Southern Maryland are to DIE FOR! It's God's paint brush and I made a special effort this fall to take pictures cos it's my last year at school (both :-D and :-( ). My college is located right on the river so we have a lot of rural (a.k.a countryside a.k.a not much else lol) scenery to admire. Here is a taste of it or as much as can be captured in images, that is cos what I see is definitely a 100 times better. Enjoy!

L’Afrique dans les yeux des autres

Title: Africa in the eyes of others

I’m sitting in my francophone class watching a video on Cameroon where cultural dances and yelling is going on. I hear a few snickers (a black American girl at a white man dancing) and most of what is being shown is life in the village in Yaoundé so the usual smattering of dust, huts, and people in a half state of undress (but of course) and basically where the contrasts are greater with life in the western world.
I want to ask but I do not think that I will like the responses cos I think that what they are seeing on the screen right now reflects their preconceptions of nothing/very little existing in Africa (and yes, the continent as if it were a country). Right now, the white man on the screen is taking photos of the kids in the village and showing the captured image back to their mystified faces (objectification?). Another girl in the class is dawdling away in her book, having glanced at it at the beginning and barely since then (boredom?). I think this reinforces my notion that you either have a passion for Africa or you don’t. There are those seeking the safari experience, those who want to aid humanity in making a difference, those who end up there by chance, and those just learning as part of a course. The last being what I think is happening now. And then those with no interest whatsoever like I’ve heard expressed (Teeyah’s coupe decale is playing right now on the screen amongst screen shots of a red landscape).
Part of me wants others to know of the Real Africa but what is that exactly? It’s the conceptions and visuals captured by others that allow us to view places we’re never gonna go (the same reasons why I want to go to Gabon, Iceland, and the other gazillion places) but it is definitely that the negative outweighs the good- of children clueless about technology, of the man bringing the riches… has colonization ended?
My answer is no. And one of the things that gets to me the most is the idea of the ENTIRE continent as a child; it’s not given respect as an adult in the room, even though it has its own children it is bringing into the world and nurturing. Certainly a lot of the continent and my country, in particular, are late bloomers- I don’t deny that. So the question is that for how much longer does our hand have to be held? We can’t do it all by ourselves cos of the lack of resources (I speak of Gambia directly) but then that directly perpetuates and reinforces the benefactor/beneficiary relationship...
I’ve been part of a tourist group that went to James Island and a site before my eyes (and in plenty of places) upon the arrival of the tourist group is the site of children running towards the group, hands outstretched. Outstretched to receive another hand perhaps but mostly with the hope of receiving that which they have to offer. My opinion is that we have to start teaching our children to not expect handouts. One could argue that I’ve been born into opportunity so of course I don’t really know what it’s like to be without, that I have the luxury of pride… perhaps to be continued on another note. The video is over and we are about to start discussing so yeah, pretty disjointed (but definitely not new thoughts here) but feel free to comment on anything I’ve said.

A chance to know me better

1. I love my friends and family a lot. I didn’t realize how much I missed my family since I have been here. I have some here as well, which is great but a larger number are out there and so don’t get to see them often.

2. If I don’t seem excited or REALLY happy to see you sometimes, it doesn’t mean that I am not. I am not excessively expressive so it may seem like I don’t care that much but that is not the case

3. I love people and learning about other cultures and places. I’m looking forward to being able to help those less fortunate than myself and help them maintain a better standard of living and have simple things like shoes for going to school. This is why I would like to work for an international NGO- yes this all sounds cheesy but it’s true.

4. I am a walking contradiction- like I have just said I love people, I am also at the other end of the spectrum, which is that I’m afraid of people. Not afraid-afraid but that I don’t always know what to say. There are times that I will be with people and I don’t have anything to say at all and other times, you can’t get me to shut up!!

5. It takes a while for me to warm up to people in general- that’s just the way I am but I try to be more sociable

6. Another contradiction is don’t like tomatoes but I eat ketchup and can eat a sandwich with a thinly-sliced tomato

7. I’m driven and ambitious and would say I have a one track mind cos I focus on my goals. Sometimes it seems I don’t care about much else but I do- read no. 8

8. I love life and all the simple things in it. I love warm (not hot) weather, love it when it rains, thunders, snows, when the sun shines, when there’s a cool breeze or the sky is blue. I love landscapes, sunsets, when there are clouds & u can see the sun’s rays coming thru, doing nothing, doing a lot, NAPS!, MUSIC!, the beach, desserts esp cheesecake, dancing til the early hours, yoghurt, reading, a good workout, etc.

9. I wish I could travel the world RIGHT NOW!!. Not even gonna name all the places I wanna go to cos the question would be- where DON’T I wanna go??!! But I will work through this education thing first and then the rest will work itself out

10. I really want to play the guitar! It is fun and a chill thing to do when u want to do nothing. I took a few lessons b4 and boy, ur fingers hurt after a while. it may be my next b-day pressie to myself so we’ll see

11. I don’t understand why it’s hard to call me Marie- not Mary, not Maria, not MaryRose, not Rosemarie, not Rosemary, etc

12. Some of the nicknames I have are Maz, Mazzabella (Rach), Mazimamoto (certain people), Rose, one beginning with A and some others that I won’t put here.

13. I love red hair and would have different shades all the time but have black sometimes just to look “normal”- lol

14. My favorite all-time song is Lovely day by Beres Hammond. Then there’s also Everybody knows- John Legend, circle of life- Lion King, One moment in time (grammys) Whitney Houston, I can only imagine- MercyMe

15. I do not like plastic bags- yes, I use them but they are just so bad and trust me, if you’ve seen how they can really spoil a landscape and be just EVERYWHERE, u would hate them too. I wish we could get rid of them

16. Animated movies are one of my faves- Incredibles, anyone?? And Disney movies (with all their stereotypes- it’s just entertainment). And musicals are pretty great- loved the Lion King on stage and would see it again in a heartbeat!

17. I’m blunt to the point of rudeness cos don’t beat around the bush. I am realistic about things but also eternally hopeful!

18. Can’t stand mayo! Smell, taste or anything about it. I eat fish or tuna sandwiches with either ketchup or butter

19. I write fairly well and used to write for myself, only a few people have seen stuff I’ve written. I haven’t done it for a while now but who knows, I’m trying to pick it up again and may get published one fine day… don’t know what the book will actually be about lol

20. Sometimes I don’t say anything and will simply sit with you guys and listen to what is going on. I just don’t feel like talking and just want to listen

21. Based on the last one, I’m a good listener

22. I am a fairly active and get up and go person. I like things like hiking, kayaking, going to the gym, swimming, bowling, whatever gets you moving

23. I can be very sarcastic or very silly- depends on the mood

24. I don’t drink soda/fizzy drinks because it hurts my stomach. This has been for about 3 yrs now.

25. I am very opinionated and know where I stand on a lot of things. Sometimes when we are deciding what to do and I don’t have a particular opinion or say whatever, it’s cos I’ll be happy whatever we decide to do as you should not knock something til you’ve tried it. But I would like to know what we are going to do so that I’m not caught off guard, only a lil spontaneous

:-)