Our New Home: Bakau

I should preface this post by stating that I am writing it from my mobile phone, since we do have Wi-Fi (slow, but existent) at our new location. Also I should say that our new home is called the Cape Point Hotel. I think I gave some of you the wrong name by accident.

Our new home is fantastic. We all have our own beds and we have a nice balcony overlooking the hotel grounds. We also have a small kitchen so we can still cook traditional Gambian dishes and some of our own creations, thus saving a lot of money by not eating out every night. We are very happy in our new location, and still can easily fulfill our main obligation to the health center via two short van rides to Banjulunding. It is truly the best of both worlds--we have a comfortable place to stay all our own, and we can still perform our volunteer duties at the hospital where we are needed.

I apologize for not keeping up this blog more frequently, but of course the last week has been quite hectic. Now, a little more about the past few days:

We moved out yesterday at noon. A few members of the village stopped by to bid us a temporary farewell, but I think overall their emotion was apathy. This disappointed me slightly, as I thought we had made enough strong friendships with our neighbors to warrant a bigger and more emotional departure from our house. But we left anyways, Austin and I riding in the bed of a pickup truck piled high with all of our belongings. We spent the rest of the day getting to know our new surroundings, giving much appreciation to the hot water and internet access. We dined out that night, and shared a little joy amongst ourselves to make up for the bittersweet occasion earlier.

This morning, since it was not our shift for the health center, Austin and I ventured into town to buy supplies for the group, including food for cooking, cleaning supplies, and some green tea to make ataya. After this, we went looking for the nearest gym facility. We walked a probable distance of five miles, even though the gym was only about 1.5 miles away (we like to think we received poor directions). One of the positives of this extra walk, however, was that we got to pass the US Embassy. Since there were no signs telling me otherwise, I snapped a photo of the flag and the building in front. Of course, right when I took the picture, three Gambian security guards employed by the Embassy came out to talk to us. They made me delete my photo, and took my information and photo. They explained, extremely cordially, that the renovations to the embassy have caused the "no photographs" sign to be removed, and that they are simply following protocol by taking our information. Actually, it made Austin and I proud that America takes its security so seriously, even in a country as small as The Gambia. The guards let us go right after that, and we were on our way to the gym.

The gym is located in a big stadium in Bakau, and resembles a shoddy middle-school gym. However, it had everything to meet our needs, and so we bought a one-month membership for 100 Dalasis (3 dollars). We got a great lift in, and are extremely excited to return tomorrow.

I'm very much looking forward to the beach at sunset tonight, and to eating the dinner of pasta and vegetables that the girls are cooking for us tonight. Tomorrow I return to the health center to work, and I am anxious to see all of my friends and help to the fullest extent of my capabilities.

The attached picture is the view from our hotel balcony following an intense rainfall earlier today.

God Bless!