TALES FROM A PEACEFUL PLACE IN THE WORLD, BUT FORGET ABOUT CONVENIENCE I am presently in Gambia, having first come here to research the lies told by Alex Haley, in Roots, and decided to start my journey on a positive note, in Africa. Well, kind of a positive note. There is practically no crime in Gambia, the streets are perfectly safe, and no one is walking down the streets doing any knockouts. Here you dont have to profile, but if you dont think I am going to profile when I get back to the United States, well, have a nice day. Here, I am profiling, however, as well. The profiling I do is that I expect the people I meet to be helpful, friendly, and to want to talk to you, provided you are not looking down your nose at them, condemning them for their poverty. The poverty here is incredible, and you have to discipline yourself, because you can not solve the poverty problem here, although, as Americans we have a tendency to try. This is also true of Europeans, who are here in droves. It is tourist season in Gambia, which takes place from around October 15 to April 15. A lot of the Europeans that are here, are from Holland. In fact, I had made reservations for a place to stay, only to come here, and find my room had been given to someone else. It seems the people were traveling in a group, and needed one more room, so I was the sacrificial lamb. In Africa, the logic is a bit different form the logic in the United States. The group had rented a number of room, and needed one more, whereas I was a single renter, and paying only so much, so your boy was out of luck. When I inquired about the room, the woman told me that I could have the room in two days, which I kindly rejected since I have a habit of sleeping on a daily basis, and the offer appeared to involve an awful lot of standing on my feet. It was no problem. I have friends here, and they found another place for me, which I would never have known existed. The place is in the alley, of an alley, as many of these places are. The one where I originally wanted to stay was on the main street, very convenient, which is why it was taken. Everybody knows this place, but not some of the others. I am now living in an alley, of an alley, but the place is nice, no frills, however, and dont even think elevator, when in Gambia, but do think of walking. I am tired just thinking of my itinerary for tomorrow. When you understand the thinking in Gambia, and in other parts of Africa, you can really appreciate the people more. Their system of doing things is not logical from Western points of view, but Western points of view are not always agreeable to the logic here either. You grow to appreciate both realities. Everywhere people are selling things. I went to one stand where a 12-year-old was selling oranges. They didnt look like oranges, and I need to tell you why. The oranges were green, and they were green because they were not ripe. So, why was the girl selling them? Simple. She needed the money today, not tomorrow, or the next day when the oranges had ripened. Makes sense to me, which is why I bought two. And how did they taste? They werent sweet, but I already knew this, but I also knew the little girl was out there selling for her mom, who was probably at home taking care of her other children. I fought through the bitterness, to arrive at a point of satisfaction. It only cost me 10 dalasis, about $.30...and the lost of my appetite. Here, I find myself always conserving, not wanting to use too much of the countrys resources. When I shower, I wet the soap, wet my body, then turn the water off, while I lather with some orange soap, sold in blocks, no wrapping. After I have done that, I turn the water back on to rinse off the soap. You do things like that because of your respect for the limited resources. This place is not America, where the limitation is on people acting like they dont have any sense. Let me say one other word before getting out of here, which is at the internet cafe, where you are charged by the time you use for internet service. If anyone see Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates before I do, tell him I am going t punch him when I see him, bringing everybody and their grandmothers over here, looking for their roots. Black peoples roots are in Mississippi, and Alabama. Anybody looking for their roots over here, after being off this continent for 300 years, is a lunatic, and that includes Professor Gates. And dont get me started on Alex Haley, please. I went to Haleys so-called village in 2007, and I am still mad that I went across those bumpy roads, where my backside aches for a week, only to be confronted with more nonsense. Well, the woman is signalling that my time is up, and the guy who expects to ride with me tothe next desitnation has come to the door to signal that I should shut down, for now. More next time,if the internet cafe is working. Smile. P.S. I didnt proofread, so please look over the typos. I am paying for this.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 12:58:04 +0000
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