The Animal Beauty Contest

One of the teachers at my school has been spending some of his weekends collecting traditional Fula stories from the nearby villages. He refused to tell us the story of the Elephant and the Cock because he is afraid of piracy (he is hoping to publish the stories at a later time). Possibly he would be mad if he knew I was about to share one of the stories with you, but if he ever publishes the book, I'll make it up to him by convincing you all to buy it.

Here is the story of the animal beauty contest, in its entirety:

So the animals decided to hold a beauty contest, and they all came. The wolves, the guinea fowl...even the rats. And they all made themselves look so nice and they put on make-ups. The warthog was walking to the beauty contest when he met the rabbit. And the rabbit said, "You have made your hairs look so nice and glossy, but your face...this beauty contest is not for your type." So the warthog turned around and went home. The End.

Thanksgiving!

I had written down in my notebook that I would write a post about Thanksgiving, but I can't remember what I was going to write about. I didn't eat a lot of tasty delicious food, but I did talk to lots of relatives, who all told me how awful I sounded (my sore throat is better now, by the way).


Also, in the evening I had the following amusing conversation with my host family, in a combination of English and Pulaar:

Amadou: Neene is happy because you always eat the food she gives you. Even if it is not sweet, you will eat it.
Me: It's true, even in America I will always eat all foods.
Neene: But you won't eat a cat.
Me: Ah! No, I won't eat a cat.
Neene: Also, you won't eat a dog.
Me: No, I won't eat a dog!
Neene: Me too, I will not eat a cat, I will not eat a dog.
Me: Good...But when I went to China, I ate a frog.
Neene, Amadou, and Bubacarr: A FROG?!
Me: Yes.
Neene: But you did not know it was a frog?
Me: No, I knew.
Amadou: You knew?
Me: Yes, and it was sweet.
Bubacarr: Sweet?
Me: The frog was with a sauce and the sauce was sweet. I did not eat the frog only.
[Sellu, my host dad, joins us. He sits down on the hammock]
Neene: Did you hear? When Binta went to China, she ate a frog!

This post will become even more amusing in the context of another story you will read about later...

What I find most interesting about this converesation is that all the other "bizarre" foods I was so proud of eating in Hong Kong would not have elicited this sort of excitement. If I had mentioned fish head casserole, they would wonder wonder why I mentioned it; obviously the head will be eaten along with the rest of the fish. Ditto for pig brain omelet. Most Gambians wouldn't eat a pig brain omelet, but the pig, not the brains, would be the problem. For Tobaski Julia's family cooked sheep's brain soup...

British English?

At least, I think the problem is with me not understanding British English. It might be a problem with me not understanding English, period. I've gotten used to some differences, like "zed" and "full stop," but I can't for the life of me figure out what "whizzing" means. One afternoon Cherno, one of the boys in an adjacent compound, asked me if I was whizzing. I thought the miscommunication was happening on his end, because the only other English I've ever heard him say is "chicken." However, a few days later I was flipping through the grade 12 textbook (Comprehensive Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools) and came upon the following passage in the chapter on probability:


"Can you whiz with your mouth and blow your nose at the same time? Throw a die to score a three and a four at the same throw with the die (single dice)...From these little experiments, it will be discovered that each of those events cannot happen at the same time. When you are whizzing with your mouth, it is impossible to blow your nose. The performance of the whizzing will prevent that of blowing the nose."

D.I.Y. Make your shoe like new!

Materials: Plastic flip-flop with a detached strap, sewing needle, thick thread, hot coals


Step 1: Place the end of the strap in the hot coals for a little bit.

Step 2: Thread the sewing needle and knot the end of the thread.

Step 3: Use the sewing needle to poke a hole in the strap and also in the sole of the flip flop in the place where the strap has detached from.

Step 4: Bring the needle and thread through the holes a few more times so the strap and the sole are securely fastened together.

Step 5: Break the excess thread off with your teeth.

Step 6: Try on your shoe--it's just like new!


There is also a method of repairing plastic shoes that are not flip flops that involves melting on bits from other, presumably beyond repair, plastic shoes. I have only witnessed the final result, however, so I cannot provide the steps for you to do this type of repair by yourself. Sorry.

Test messages!

Messages written on the test papers of my students:

"Every day looking good is my hobby"

"In the name of Allah the most merciful the most gracious!!!"

"Rooney boy"

"Cherno Jallow or Chey Boy"

"Good luck may Allah be with me for us for every"

"Forward ever Backward never!!"