ten things I won't miss

Dear friend,

It's seven in the morning and I have just said good-bye to my amazing friend who is off to one of the MRC rural field stations upcountry. I have known her just three weeks, yet those three weeks have been the best three weeks of my entire elective. I really cannot believe the incredible fun we've had together. She will be there for a while before coming back to the coast where the main compound/I am based... and I am almost heartbroken to see her go. Kindred spirits. But we have a plan for me to visit London next year, to relive our glory days.

There is a cool breeze outside right now, so foreign but most welcomed, with surprisingly no humidity. As I was seeing my friend off and I realised I WASN'T caked in sweat despite standing outside with long trousers and a long-sleeve shirt, I ached to be home and our perfectly mild NZ climate. Even Auckland's 'humidity' will be nothing compared to what I've experienced here.

Though I have acclimatize, feeling completely settled and unfazed, there are definitely some things which I will be glad to free of for a good long while. And, with that...


Ten things I WON'T miss about living in The Gambia:

1. The effort it takes to run a simple errand like going to the grocery store: dripping with sweat, dirt in my mouth, fending off bumpsters, the mosquito bite potential... and then needing the most massive shower and lie-down afterwards because that small venture has taken so much out of you.

2. Being caked with sweat regardless of how many showers I have had and how unactive I'm being.

3. The constantly being 'on guard' for bugs/spiders/ants anywhere and everywhere -- the ants in my room, resident spiders always coming and going, geckos/lizards in the toilet bowel (which has happened to a few of my friends here), rinsing off bowels and spoons and anything else from the kitchen before use in order to wash off the bugs... what sweet relief it will be to be able to head to the kitchen or head into bed WITHOUT having to make a conscious nanosecond effort to check for creepy crawlies.

4. The mosquito bites. Although, actually, it really doesn't bother me much anymore. And my immune system has done so well that now instead of 10cm swellings that last for a week, they're only 3cm swellings gone within a day. Good job, immune system, good job.

5. Uninhibited eating and lack of exercise -- bad combination. I NEED to get home, lol.

6. The male-female dynamics. I've been meaning to write about this for a while now. There is a real dichotomy in the way men interact with 'foreign' women -- either with a religious reticence or an almost aggressive forwardness. So utterly different from what we are used to. The latter is especially hard to deal with, always been bombarded with empty compliments that can range from the seemingly sweet to the obtrusively violating. Being trapped sitting shotgun in a taxi for ten minutes while the driver tells you how he wants to be with you, to be your 'special friend,' how he likes the colour of your skin, and asking how can he see you again... it's not a nice feeling at all. The power of a situation like that in making you feel truly violated is something I can do without experiencing again. Don't get me wrong, not everyone here is like that at all. I have met some amazingly kind and generous Gambian locals, men and women. And I know that there is complexity in the situation. Sadly, the male (and female) sex industry is quite a substantial one here, one of the big draws for European tourists. To quote what a friend of mine wrote: 'People fly in just to get a bit of attention, some maybe to feel pretty (since they are not really fulfilling the western beauty standards), some just because it is possible, and the locals will give this attention, just to survive or maybe also just to hang around pubs and bars to get some sort of western life style (a beer is a third/half of what an average Gambian person makes on a day).' But I will welcome being back home where lines are drawn and the social interactions are governed by a familiar sense of appropriate-ness.

7. The work I've been doing here... which, I don't regret signing up for because despite it not being 'my thing,' I have come to realise my time here was definitely not about the work. But I won't miss the lab... and, once back home, I will be thankful every morning to be heading to a job that I love, a job that, despite it being tough at times, brings me so much joy. A lack of passion for my work... I definitely won't miss that.

8. The lack of freedom in getting around places -- I cannot wait to be reunited with my little 90s three door Toyota Corolla hatchback. Windy, I'm coming home!!!

9. Living out of two suitcases.

10. Being so far from Home.


Ten days -- the official countdown.

Always,
-A