Mites!

Velvet Ground Mite

For the longest time I could only refer to the arthropod pictured above as "that red fuzzy bug, do you know the one I mean?" Then Julia told me they were her favorite, so I started referring to them as "Julia's favorite bugs, the ones that are red and fuzzy, do you know the ones I mean?"

Eventually I learned their name in Pulaar. This is a more difficult task than you'd think, because they only come out after a heavy rain, sometimes. I was walking through the village one day when the little girl walking next to me gave a happy shout and yelled, "Sampulu has come!" At first I thought Sampulu was some dear friend she hadn't seen in forever, but when she pointed to the red bug on the ground I realized "sampulu" is Pulaar for "Julia's favorite bugs, the ones that are red and fuzzy, do you know the ones I mean?"

So the kids and I stopped to watch Sampulu crawling along the ground. I asked a kid if it would bite me and when he said no, I went to pick one up. I wanted to know if they felt as soft and cuddly as they looked. But the girl shouted, “Stop! Don’t kill it! If you kill it, tomorrow…” Here, the ellipsis does not represent the girl's voice trailing off, it represents her using Pulaar words I didn't know the meaning of. However, I could tell from her tone that it was something bad.

You may have noticed the caption to my picture. Yes, "Julia's favorite bugs, the ones that are red and fuzzy, do you know the ones I mean?" are also known as velvet ground mites. I learned this as I was browsing a bookstore one day (this was during a trip to Kombo, where there is actually a bookstore) and came across a guide to Insects and Arthopods of The Gambia. Unfortunately, not many people have heard of velvet ground mites, so I will probably continue to refer to them as "Julia's favorite bugs, the ones that are red and fuzzy, do you know the ones I mean?"

"Africa cannot develop without European influence"

I attended another school debate; the topic was, as you may have guessed, "Africa cannot develop without European influence." I pretended I took notes to better score the participants.

For:

• a girl chewing gum and a cow chewing cud; I see the intelligence of the cow
• Europeans brought Christianity, built roofs, and they gave us what they call colonialism
• similarity of products: Gambia produces groundnuts, Senegal produces groundnuts; without Europe there would be no one to sell these products to
• Europeans taught us how to prevent back injuries when lifting heavy objects
•  Europeans brought tiles for the auditorium floor
• how many youths are dying in Libya today?
• we don’t have the materials but we know how to construct
•  the books and the clothes you are wearing, you feel proud that you are wearing European clothes “Made in America” or “Made in Europe;” if you see “Made in Senegal” you will not want to wear that
• some medicines we are using they import them so that we can cure ourselves
• supplies of electricity
• must depend on Europe for processing our materials
• who here would like to drink their tea without putting in sugar?
• mobiles
• Europeans discovered transport that makes travel very easy
• Africans depend on Europeans to manufacture and distribute the materials
• Mr. Chairman, I want to ask a question: “Why are we here?” I think it is to recite knowledge. Europeans brought this.
• have you ever heard of an African going to Europe to supervise their elections? Many African countries need Europe for transparent elections
• Europe is a backboard to Africa. Can anything stand without a backboard? We cannot stand without European support
• Africa in those days of the Europeans, many died of diseases which they know nothing about
• Africans knew nothing about agriculture; it was only hunting and gathering
• most outstanding development is in the field of education
• "Are we speaking local language?" [Audience response: “NO.”]

Against:

• will a good citizen of Africa wait for people from another country to develop them?
• today is more favorable than yesterday
• Libya was one of the riches countries but since Europeans entered what happened? [Audience response: “They destroyed everything!”]
• the Europeans who came here did not give Africans a chance to develop themselves
• our religion—it is fifty percent worse since the Europeans came
• destruction of many African countries
• Gambians enjoying more now than before when the Europeans were here
• anyone who is civilized is acting like a European
• most countries were colonized by Europea, it could be said that they brought civilization. "Example: America-- is it not more developed than any other country in the world? By developed I mean science and technology." [Audience response: “Yes!”]
• People can bear me witness, before in our culture the tradition was respect. Is Africa developing or un-developing? Boys are putting in earrings, girls are putting on trousers...
• Africa is one of the richest countries in the world
• blessed with natural resources that we are transferring them into finished products, even a blind person can say that Africa can be developed without European influence
•  Europeans are playing a game with us
•  now we are educated can develop without European influence
• Europeans put together groups of different ethnic groups, traditions and religions, caused a lot of problems, just look at Somalia
• brain drain is one of the biggest problems, Europe is taking African intellectuals; Europe is a killer parasite, they are ecto-parasites

Conversations with Mamadou: Later!

It is early morning; I am reading in my backyard. Mamadou calls to me from the other side of the fence.

Mamadou: Binta!
Me: Naam!
Mamadou: Bring your cards, let’s play!
Another boy, whose voice I don’t recognize: Binta, bring your cards!
Me: Later!

Thirty seconds later….

Mamadou: Binta!
Me: Naam.
Mamadou: Bring your cards.
Me: Later!

Ten seconds later….

Mamadou: Binta!
Me: NAAM.
Mamadou: Come.
Me: Later. I will come later.
Mamadou: Come eat bread.
Me: Come eat what?
Mamadou: Bread.
Unidentified boy: Bread.
Me: Okay.

I am extremely suspicious, but what if it actually is time to eat bread and what if we’re also drinking Nescafe, which is beverage I now enjoy?

I decide to compromise and prepare to step outside, but take my time doing so.

Mamadou: Binta, come.
Me: I’m coming! Wait a little!

I go outside. Mamadou tears a small piece of bread off of the already small chunk he’s holding in his hand and gives it to me. I sigh and pop it in my mouth.

Sauce!

I was using sandwiches to illustrate an example of proportions (you wouldn't put the same amount of beans on a full bread as you would on a half bread, etc). I mentioned bread with sardines, bread with beans and bread with sauce.
For some reason the students loved the way I pronounced “sauce.” At least, I interpreted their laughter as love. When I asked them why they were laughing and smiling, one student replied, “Even your mouth loves sauce.”

So I said “sauce” a few more times and then we returned to maths.

He followed her to school one day...

Back in June, during a rainy morning, Levi followed me to school. I let him stay because

1. I didn’t have to teach any classes
2. I didn’t feel like walking back in the rain
3. He pushed the gate open after I closed it in his face
4. The principal didn’t seem alarmed or even mildly bothered by his presence

Levi didn’t do much other than sit by my side and whine softly if I forgot to pet him. A couple of times he wandered away to sniff the premises and once he provoked a goat into charging at him, at which point Levi scampered away whimpering with his ears flat against his head and his tail tucked between his legs. Around break time his whining got louder and more persistent, however, and since the rain had stopped, I brought him home.

That night, Fatou Sowe told everyone the story of Levi following me to school: “Today Levi tired Binta! He followed her to the school and she could not teach. She returned him to the compound; she went to Njie Kunda and said, ‘Neene, help me, Levi wants to go to school and learn.’ Aye, Binta.”