Upcountry trip to villages of Gambia

Mungo Park
Seene, Idiboy, Usman, Myself













This is another famous historical site in the upcountry of Gambia, where Scottish explorer Mungo Park began his journey across West Africa in the 14th century. He started at approximately this location. The goal of his journey was to track the course of the Niger river and he was successful. He came back a second time and was attacked and killed by locals during his second journey.



I actually went to this location twice. The first time I had told my friends I wanted to ride the canoe up the river. So one of the locals offered to take me. We went for a mile or so up the river. We stopped and began walking through the woods. I was barefoot but enjoyed seeing the nature. We walked for about a mile through the woods till we reached this monument. On the way back we passed some rice farmers. They were all women, and they were interested to see a foriegner coming through, they playfully asked me to join them in their work. Maybe if I hadn't been barefoot I would have joined them for a little while to see what it was like. On the way back the guide who took me there explained to me life on the farm, as he was a farmer himself. He also asked me if there "was anything I could do for him" and "not to tell the others that he had asked me". But I mentioned it to my friend as soon as we got back and he advised me "not to give him anything" because there were not available ATM's in the upcountry and we needed all the money to make sure we got back okay. The jeep was leeking oil and we had spent more than we expected. We even spent time at a mechanic shop in the upcountry. Here are a couple pictures of the upcountry shop where we received maintenance for our jeep...



No child labor laws here....


That's our jeep behind us being repaired...

Anyway...so as I was saying I went canoeing up the river to visit Mungo Park. Then after reaching back to the location where we were staying that night. My friends also said they wanted to see Mungo Park. So this time we went by land taking a donkey ride through the villlages out to see it. The donkey carried about 6 of us on a wooden board with wheels.

This is the means of transportation for many living in the villages. The night before I had passed through a local village but it was pitch black, as there is no electricity. So I couldn't see anything, I was just following the others. But that day I passed through a few villages in route to Mungo Park, now in the daylight. On the computer I have seen old drawings by Mungo Park of 14th century Gambia, then called "Mandingo". The drawings in his travel journals are nearly identical to the way that it still looks today in those villages.














School in the upcountry of Georgetown... The name Georgetown comes as this place was the first English colony in the Gambia, attracting many historians who document the slave trade; slave dungeons can be found here.
















No.. the pic below is not me inside a slave dungeon, it is actually me at inside a home in Farefeen, this is the home of hospital staff, as the countries main hospital is in Farefeen. Farafeen is a crossroads in the Gambia's upcountry.
















Here we are at the home of Mouroba Shiek, his home is on the outskirts of the tendabba village, and his place attracts many people during the Gambian holidays. Their was some mystery surrounding this part of the trip, as the Mouraba Shiek's practice a brand of Sufi Islam, in which mystical or even "magical" practices that have been a part of the region for many centuries still exist. There are secrets here. You hear things in these parts like, "Gambian families are peaceful, we do not fight in the open, but there are secret unseen battles that go on amongst opposing families, tribes, where curses may be placed on a rival family, and Shiek's are often sought out for the purpose of having these curses lifted."
















There is a famous place in Senegal called Touba where a few Sufi Shieks I came in contact with had studied. Many Westerners and Orthodox Muslims may write off what they are doing as mere superstition. I tried to maintain a respect for the culture, and for the people that who follow it there is a use, purpose and meaning to what they do.














A poem I wrote at the time:

"A valuable custom is gold in one land..
useless trash in another
a tradition is vibrant in one time
old and dirty in a new time."


















When you believe something it puts energy towards it's attainment. For example, a Sufi might give you a long list of activities to partake in to obtain what it is you desire. Like, "wear this ring, then go to this man in this city and buy such and such garment, wear it for such and such days and no harm will afflict you or you will get this or that thing you desire". Some involve very elaborate agenda's that can take, days, weeks, and years. In America, life never slows down enough where such practices could ever take root, but here in Western Africa time moves about much differently; it is an unhassled life, and often achieving something great can take years or even generations to achieve, and people accept this as part of life.

















This was our dining room where I was staying in the upcountry. Those yellow things that look like gasoline canisters are now used to carry our water. My friend Seeni had slaughtered a goat for his Uncle. They washed it off in the river, cooked it and we were soon about to enjoy.
















Seene's car had a leak, so we had to take it to an upcountry mechanic. In the picture I look to still be enjoying myself, but I know at the time I was not. I knew we would make it back eventually, it was just the type of thing where I was somewhat reluctant about the upcountry trip to begin with, and then just like the year before, one thing after another seems to go wrong in the upcountry. All plans quickly go by the wayside. You really have to forget time, and forget about expectations and just learn to experience what is happening the way African's do.
















Breakfast at the hotel.

A long long day waiting for the ferry....

We were on a trip from Gambia to Senegal, you have to cross the River Gambia to get to Senegal, and therefore you must use the government serviced ferry to accomplish this. We were supposed to cross around 8am in the morning, so we awoke very early and set out on our journey... we ended up spending the whole day trying to accomplish this great feat, and it took much maneuvering and manipulating of cars, people, and officials to accomplish this. It wasn't until nightfall that we finally crossed. This set of video's details the days events, and how things can sometimes go wrong when traveling abroad.

My guesthouse in Gambia

The process for finding this chill spot wasn't completely easy. Our first stop was actually at a distant cousins of Idiboy's. It seemed like a nice place and Idiboy was saying we may even be able to stay for free if we made a good impression on his cousin. So there I was just having arrived, took my first shower in 3 days in a makeshift shower outside the home. The home was locked so we could only get inside this small little guest unit that was just outside. I took a quick shower and threw on some boxers, I think I was still waiting for a towel before I would put on the rest of my clothes. I had not ate in a long time, and Idiboy had picked up some food at a stop along the way. So I sat down in the driveway in just my boxers eating the food (their was a gate so I wasn't in plain site of cars passing by, but still I felt somewhat uncomfortable awaiting my clothes). Just then his cousin came in, I was still just in my boxers, and having to explain myself, who I was, shake his hand, all while soaking wet in nothing but underwear. Probably didn't make the best impression. He did go ahead and move out all his things from his room so that I could use his room. But the funny thing was his room was all American style, Eminem, Britney Spears posters, all American music like Usher or Kanye West at the stereo system. In the room I really felt like I was not in Africa at all, like I was in America. Which it was kind of a bummer to travel so far and feel like you never left. After a day or two there, Idiboy and I agreed it wasn't our style, and his cousin was going to charge us quite a bit of money anyway... so we looked for a spot that was more our style and came up with this one.



Video of my guesthouse in the Gambia. All the essentials are there, nice shower, toilet (which is not always available, some places you have to take bath with buckets of water or use restroom that's just whole in the ground).
















Also I have nice view outside of palmtree's...
















View of the outer exterior...















Some kids came to do a show inside the property, some traditional drumming...















...the outside of my guesthouse...















This is the owner Sidi...















Sidi also stayed on the property and lived right here...















A kitchen in my guesthouse...















pic of my bedroom...















...and even living room area.















...Small rooms though, but everything I needed was there. Sometimes the owner of the guesthouse had to go refill the water from uptop they had this watertower supplying the 4 guesthouses.

ganja in Africa

As I explained before, the Rasta culture is huge in Gambia. And they don't call Gambia "the smiling coast" for nothing. Marijuana is a part of daily life in the country. It goes along with battling the elements such as digesting the food, the hot weather, mosquitoes, crowded streets and hustle of city life. Somehow the ganja blends beautifully with the life there. They have adopted Jamaica's Rasta culture in Gambia and ofcourse ganja is a big part of the Rasta way. Even strict Muslims and proffesionals engage in it's use in Gambia. People may pass by, see friends, have a seat, drink some tea, and pass around some ganja with their tea. The most popular song in my time in Gambia was a song called "Ganja Farmer". The songs lyrics go like this...

"Some ganja plant-a...
call me the ganja farmer...
it's a million ways (somethin somethin) ganja
Babylon comes to put my farm on fire....

...I'm a ganja planter....
...Call me the ganja farmer!"

I took this article about marijauna from a travel website about Gambia

http://www.accessgambia.com/information/ganja-drug.html

Ganja is the name for Marijuana (Pot), and seems to be more prevalent than liquor given the Islamic restrictions on alcohol consumption. Be aware that partaking and possessing Ganja is illegal in The Gambia. "Cannabis" is also used to describe the substance.

WARNING:
Never engage in illegal drugs. Penalties and prisons in Gambia are harsh.

Cannabis grows naturally in The Gambia and other parts of Africa and has been used as a recreational drug for centuries but its abuse is now widespread in both rural and urban populations in Africa (United Nations, 1989). The potency of cannabis varies widely geographically, with reduced levels of the major active principal, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in plants grown in cold climates; cannabis in West Africa is likely, therefore, to be highly potent. In The Gambia there are three cannabis harvests per year and its low cost, and ready availability favour its widespread use. The cannabinoids are highly lipophilic and accumulate in body fat, leading to a long half-life in chronic users (Harvey, 1985).

British Journal of Psychiatry (1993) 163, 798-801

This is one of my friends houses in the Gambia. This give you an idea of what many of the homes are like in the Gambia, both inside out outside the home.




That's my friends step-father in the picture. I think around 5 young men and women, 4 kids, 3 elderly people live in this house. As the family expands they build onto the house little by little. As you see behind the man sitting there is a house made up of about 3 -4 seperate rooms. Then across from him there is another small home made up of a couple of rooms. The bathroom is outside the two homes towards the edge of the property and is similar to what outhouses were like in America. The taxi's in the driveway are no longer in working condition. Idiboy's brother Adam is a mechanic and I think he had been working on the two taxi's, but no luck.



You see pictures on his walls of Reggae artists, along with a picture of a famous Islamic Sufi Shiek named Ibrahim Nayass. His branch of Sufism known as Tijani is the most popular practice of Islam I found in Senegal and Gambia. Although my friend wasn't really practicing Tijani himself, his mother and some other family members were more into it. Traditional Tijani Sufi's will gather on Friday's for "wassifa" where they will form circles and call out the names of Allah in unison till the energy biulds into a euphoria that is said to bring them closer to Allah.

Another picture you may notice is actually of Muammar Quadafi. I had to ask who it was because I couldn't tell just by looking at the poster. It appears to be a younger version of Kadafi. Kadafi tried to form the African United States and unite the whole continent of Africa, so he has one favor amongst black African's for being a Pan-African, African pride symbol-figure. Although ofcourse he is very controversial in other parts of the world, but regular locals in the Gambia seem to like him.



Along with the Reggae/Rasta posters you can also see a poster of 50 Cent. Not only do Gambians love hip-hop and American culture, but I think it is also a source of pride and inspiration for Africans to see blacks in the US achieve such levels of fame. Anybody from 2pac, Suge Knight, to Barack Obama, Snoop, Michael Jackson, these are all inspirational figures for them. Although part of it has less to do with black pride, and America's cultural influence in general, because you will even see Eminem t-shirts and posters around the region.


These videos below shows me eating in the house, it looks like it was a bowl of rice and maybe some chicken or fish, and patatoes, carots maybe.. very good, and even more blessings because it was shared with others.

Time to "Breathe"

My thoughts are deep
I speak and watch words fall from clouds
They beat upon the bottom of the ocean beneathe
Travelling the Earths crust
the daily hustle of life
the uncomfortable stress
everyone has to take a moment to breathe
to see thoughts slowly
to heal the disease
the dis-eases of the heart
I'm always aiming to please
but sometimes my needs
may be in conflict with yours
so we start wars
and find closed doors
when we try to move towards
each other
...so just let me pass
and just move along
by myself
and be one
until the day these gray clouds roll away and I can see the sun

A shortcut on the way to the beach

This video was taken walking the back roads to a Gambian beach. My friend Idiboy would brag to me "people don't know these ways, you have to be a real local to know these back routes to get places". It wasn't really bragging though, becaue my first trip I spent time with a lot of different people, and I would be suprised how little they knew about the Gambia, and how much trouble they would have getting around. You take for granted that just because someone is Gambian that they will comunicate well with other Gambians and get around easily in their own country. This is not the case. Idiboy explained once that the wealthier Gambians with ties to Western countries spend most time around the home and don't know their way around. He told me a story of how happy he was when he used to have a bike as a kid, and he started learning his way around the whole Gambia, and mingling with tourists at the beach. We spent one evening talking about old times when we were young kids, and one thing we both shard in common was that we enjoyed just being kids and riding around our city, and learning about spots other people didn't know about.

I spent a lot of my trip walking. It was great for me because I felt like I was able to see more of the country. Also it was the perfect mental break from the monotony of American life. Yet, constantly walking on backroads, sand and uneven ground of unpaved roads hardens the body and makes the mind supple. I remember being tired the whole trip.

This is at a traditional African drumming show in Gambia my first night. Basically there style is that they come out, and start slow, just smiling and playing in a free-flowing freestyle kind of way that just looks like they are warming up, practicing; but by the end of the set it reaches a fever pitch, with the drums pounding at full speed, and somebody dancing intensely with dreadlocks flying to the beat.. until a feeling of euphoria comes over the crowd.

Pics from my first day in Senegal on Goree Island. Goree Island was one of the first settlements built by the Europeans in West Africa. The Porteguese were the first to make use of the island in the 14th century. Later the Dutch captured it, and gave it its name. But over the last few hundred years it has mainly been a possession of the colonial power of Senegal, the French.

Slavery is dramatized in great detail on the island. Although it has been disputed that the tales are greatly exaggerated by the 1,000 or so locals who live on the island and benefit off its tourism. Studies have shown that it was a major settlement and trading post, however human slaves were only a minor commodity on the island compared to the other goods being transported, such as beeswax, hides and grain.

However it has been so well-preserved over the years, in comparison to other European settlements in Africa, that it is still considered one of the best locations to visit for people seeking to better understand the history of the slave trade. The slave house located on the island is very well-preserved as you can see in the following picture...



^^^The top floor is said to be where the slave masters lived, while the bottom level is said to be where the blacks were divided up by groups. Then in the back is the place they call "point of no return" where they say the slaves were tragically shipped off to America, and "goodbye Africa".



This is the ferry ride over to Goree island, behind me you can see the whole width of the island off the coast of Senegal, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean.



This is one of the beautiful local girls on the island. The locals are known as some of the nicest people you will find, many of them have lived their whole life and never even been off of the island. The small island has it's own economy, some people have homes deep inside bunkers that were originally built by the European slave masters to defend the island from other competing European Nations.



Here is just some of the beautiful artwork they create for sale on Goree island.

This is a canon that was built around the 17th Century and used by the slave traders in defending the island from other European rivals.



Here's a Rasta spot we found on the island where we sat down for some tea (ataya).


.



...The first day I was just happy to be there, and get as far away as I could from the stress and monotony of American life. Even after an 11 hour plane ride I still couldn't sleep for the first day and a half in Africa. I was just so eager to get out and start seeing a different life. I was pretty close to euphoria during my first couple days in Senegal.

The first thing I did was went for a walk. I walked to the beach and I looked off into the ocean and tried to realize how far I was from America. At the time it felt America was still very close, but with every day that passed America became farther and farther away as I looked off into the ocean

This is a video taken at a friends house in Senegal on my first day in Senegal. I have a good friend in America, my first year I went to Africa I went alone not knowing anyone there. So my friend linked me up with his family in Senegal. After arriving in Gambia I started to make my own movements and make my own friends un-related to people in America. Idiboy for example, is a friend I met during my trip in 07 in this way.

So on my first day in Senegal, I told Idiboy I'd like to visit my friends from the last year, so this is us going over to their house to visit all of them. Once there we all ate together around one big, huge plate of rice.
















There is a salon business there, and many people come in and out to visit throughout the day. I remember my first year I loved to just sit outside, listen to music and watch all the people go buy. Because the city is really on the move, you see life in abundance. So much activity and interactions amongst people. In America you see movement without interactions; like hundreds of people passing eachother and not saying a word.. in Africa all is intermingled.





This is a picture of my friend Idiboy (and below is a video) at our hotel in Senegal on the day I arrived, Nov. 2nd, 2008.
















I got off the plane just after midnight. I was nervous because I learned from my last trip that they like to rush the tourists coming out of the airport. They want to offer their taxi to you, or offer to let you use their phone, anything they can do to earn a little money off a tourist. Most of them are speaking in French so I can not understand them, and they rush you all at once which of course makes a person feel nervous.

My friend was traveling all the way from Gambia to Senegal so I was worried he may not be there on time. He had called me while I was still in America and let me know he had reached Senegal, that he was waiting for me, and gave me his new telephone number he would be using in Senegal. This put me somewhat at ease the night before leaving. But I was still overjoyed when I saw him picking in calling my name before I had even fully exited the airport.

We rode to our hotel, and discussed our e-mails we had sent to each other throughout the year. I asked him if he had any problems with e-mailing me, he explained sometimes the weather was too rainy for him to respond back to me, or that he'd travel all the way to an internet shop and the computers would be down for one reason or another. He thanked me though for keeping up the communications while I was away, and likewise I thanked him.

He was with his cousin Dawda who was a Senegalese. It was my first time meeting him. On this day Dawda was quiet and reserved, but later he would become very talkative and outgoing. My friend Idiboy was very dissapointed I had not brung the pictures from my last trip. I told him I e-mailed them to him, but he explained that he needed the actual pictures so he could make a photo album. He was quite dissapointed but I tried to comfort him by telling him maybe we could print them off at a photo shop, and showed him some of the gifts I had brought for him. I went shopping a couple weeks before and picked up some clothes he told me he wanted me to buy for him in America. It was a pair of basketball shoes, and a couple pairs of clothes.

This video shows a glimpse of our hotel. I was so excited to be in Africa that I could not sleep at all that night. I wanted to go out for a walk, so as soon as the sun had risen slightly, I talked Idiboy into going out with me for breakfast and walking around the beach to do some sight-seeing.

Recap of my 2007 Trip To Gambia

Before I begin blogging about my 2008 trip to Gambia I want to make a recap of my trip from 2007.

......

This is from my journal at the time....

Abdul-Infinite... coming to live from the motherland, the historical lands of the great Muslim King Mansa Musa the outer extensions of his Islamic Mali Empire. The history here is deep. They used to be the wealthiest in the world. But the white man changed all that when he came here 400 years ago, and on my first day I tried to breathe in the history of the land and people.

I left on Nov. 1rst, and my plane ticket going back to America is on Dec. 1rst. So that gives me one month. I'm a broke dude, that lives on small means in America, but I tried to come up with just enough for this 1 month trip, Allah protect.

First stop is Senegal. You all might know it as the home of Akon. Akon is so huge here, he's a source of national pride. They also love hip-hop here, it's nice to see how much love the African's have for 2pac. He's a legend here, as big or bigger than Bob Marley.

My first day I visited Goree. It's the most famous and historical slave island in the world. The white man started coming to Africa around 400 years ago, and this slave house island was origionally biult and developed by the Porteguese. Later it was used by, and fought over, by a few European countries such as the Dutch.

You get to physically go inside the 400 year old slave houses and see what the life was like inside... I went myself deep into the solitary confinement hole, where the tour giude said they used to stuff 15 people at a time. Then there is one room, where they said they used to keep the "Yoruba" people, who are mostly the strongest Nigerians who were breaded to be the most physically brute slaves, and the tour giude, who was a local who lives in an undeground cave that used to be a military bunker, told us that's why America has the best athletes in football and basketball.

You see the upper deck where the white slave masters traded, and watched over the slaves. Then, if you go out the back it is the Ocean, which they call the "point of no return"... bye, bye Africa, seperated from family and never to return. This part brought tears to my eyes.

Anyway, I'm only in Senegal for a short time cause it's where I got the cheapest plane ticket. Then it's off to the country next door, Gambia, and I'm am looking forward to it, cause the US dollar is stronger in Gambia, and that's the only hope I have to make it on what little money I have. Also, they speak English there. Here in Senegal, it's hard to communicate because they speak French, and their traditional language wolof. I've been trying to learn Wolof from the friends I've met here.

So far I feel much more comfortable here than the Arab countries I've been too. They love foriegners here, and they know how to make you feel at home. Also, for a Muslim country they are very open in mixing with men and women, the society is a very open, loving, and beautiful people.

Senegal exceeded my expectations (and took most of my money) but so far I am dissapointed with Gambia (although it is much cheaper and less expensive here).

Everywhere you turn in Senegal it is visually stimulating, the way people interact, the way the women do the hair, the fashions, the styles, the scenary, the music and dance is everywhere in Senegal, and I heard alot of great music I'd never heard before.......

....but here in Gambia it is dirty, dirt poor, the place I was staying at when I first got here, they didn't even have soap (I know they use soap themselves when they wash, so I don't know why it wasn't in there) when I asked for it, but they sent one of their maids to go buy me some. The electricity can sometimes go out for a period of time during the day. I can give other examples of stuff later. And the shower wasn't workign so they gave me buckets of water to wash up with. Someone in the streets tried to act like he knew me and was a customs officer I passed coming in, and said he was in an emergency, to loan him some money, and trick me and all this stuff. Also, the people have a depressed look and aren't smiling and laughing with one another like senegal. It's loud, noisy, busy, and smelly here.

I just got here, so this is all an early assesment.



Peace to Everyone... here's my latest update....

I'm a week in Africa now. Yesterday was one of the most dynamic days of my entire life. I was starting to worry that I had made the wrong decision coming to Gambia. I had just spent a whole day, doing nothing, just sweating in my room, waiting for this one person to come by that had planned to take me around, but I hadn't heard from them. I was starting to contemplate leaving Gambia and going back to Senegal, and I was worried about my money situation, and all the sudden the worries started snowballing and I started distrusting my own judgements for coming here on not enough cash, or even coming here at all.

Then everything suddenly changed. The next thing I knew I was chilling at the beach with some beautiful company. I made some good friends. And later that night I was chillin at these Rasta Muslim dudes house, and meeting all the family, and we bumped Lucky Dube's music for four hours. Back in America, most people don't know Lucky Dube, but I've been a fan of him for a while... but Lucky Dube is huge in Gambia, the Gambians love Reggae, he used to come here for concerts, and the guys I was with said it was the best concert Gambia has ever seen. They played me some exclusive joints of his, the last songs he ever recorded. These were people like I've never seen before, they used the name Jah and Allah interchangeably, and they were all about peace and love. We chatted about everything from remembrance of Allah, to 2pac Shakur, to love, peace, justice.... they were some real cats.














They took me out that night to the clubs. The clubs were playing some of the tightest music I'd never heard before, European hits I'd never heard, tomarrow is reggae night, and they want me to come for that. But the thing is, in America I never go to clubs. I only went last night cause I was curious what the African club scene was like. But ultimately, places with smoking and drinking, and fake, dirty women aren't really my kind of places. I love the music and the dancing was cool too, but I'm looking to go upcountry for more authentically African people and experiences. The crowd last night was kind of international style.

Anyway, I haven't gotten with the really religious cats, and may not for another week, because the curious nature inside me wants to know all aspects of Africa, so I will experience more of what African have to offer Islamically maybe next week.

I visit and stay with a new family the next few days so I will see if they have anything planned for me.

Assalamualaikum...

It's both. I have friends here in the states that are from Gambia and Senegal, so they connected me with their family members... then at the same time you meet people while you are over here.

But it's not always easy, cause there is a big communication gap from the United States to here. Like, let's say one of my friends in America says, "Visit my family, because they can do this and that and take you here and there", but then when you actually get here, they may or may not do anything for you. Or, they may do something, but they are also expecting something in return. Which is okay... I don't expect people to do things for me for free, but at the same time... I'm kind of a poor brother these days... so the situation can be complex.

Let me give another update........

Things aren't going great or bad right now, things are kind of just going... I spent a couple days exercising, running, jogging, doing push-ups and swimming, and even praying along the Atlantic Ocean. The Ocean has it's own energy so alot of people run and train along it's shores.

I spent some time at the tourist spots where alot of Europeans come. Some of them come every year to this place. The locals are poor, so every wear you walk along the tourist area's, you have local people trying to get money from you. Atleast they usually offer something in return. They offer anything from music, ganga, food, drinks, art work, custom made jewelry, fresh fruit, bikes, etc., etc... Some want you to find an American wife for them cause they think that might be a ticket to aquiring some money for their family.....

Anyway.. just some miscelanous stuff... about the trip between Gambia and Senegal.... Alot of the roads aren't paved here... so there's so much offroad driving, the trip from Senegal to Gambia was mostly offroad, the car kept breaking down, and somehow the driver was able to mess with the engine to get it starting again every time... miraculously... people really do get by just by at times the will of Allah here.... along the way, sometimes people were just going to the bathroom openly on the sides of the road, you see women breastfeeding in public here, and animals just roaming about... when I was crossing the Gambia river they crammed so many people onto this boat, it was filled way above compacity.... but some people make this trip from Gambia to Senegal regularly... anyway... it is something I would definitely avoid when I have more money in the future.


That's about all for now.. I hope to have more interesting things to say next time... things are just "going" right now.... like the rasta's say, just "takin it easy, eazy does it".

It's not just about being white. It's true that they tend to think that white people have money, and the people here are poor, so because of that they can be very friendly and easy going with white folks here, because many people survive off the tourism.

However... being Muslim also takes you a long way. The people here love it when I greet them with "Assalamualaikum" or "Walakumusalaam"... it's like a code word here that means your one of them... they say, "no matter where your from, we believe the same thing, it's the same heart"... that's what they say, they love Muslims and love Islam here.

But whether Muslim or non-Muslim here, the people are not out to harm anybody. They may be out to get your money, or sell you something, but they are peaceful people not out to harm anyone.

Yet another update..

I want to look back over all this to remember things later.......

...I'm really soaking it all up now. My trip had some blessings in it, and right when things were going in the wrong direction, you can meet that one person that turns things around for you. I've been running around with this Rasta style Muslim dude who really knows his way around the country. We are going upcountry tomarrow, deeper into what he calls "the real Africa", away from the tourist places.

Yesterday we went to see some live bands, some traditional drumming and traditional dance, it was absolutely amazing and magnificent. Nothing like it.

I'm really staying in the flow now. These dudes are really cool. I keep hearing Lucky Dube's music everywhere I go along with other Reggae tunes. I really feel like the stuff Lucky Dube is saying in his music, is so deep and profound... his music is timeless. He's an African legend. If you want to know the best of what African music has to offer, ya'll really need to check out Lucky Dube.

Other popular Senegalese artists like Viviane are cool, and she's even iller than Beyonce... but if you really want to know the heart of African music ya'll got to check out Lucky Dube.

Like the Rasta's say... "Who feels it knows it... we Muslim man.. but that's just how we flex!"

That's all for today... peace to everyone.





I went upcountry, and saw what people would describe as the real Africa, the countryside, where they have houses "huts" and more of what people might picture in their mind when they think of Africa. It was very beautiful, and at the same time it was a difficult and strange journey for me. I spent too much money going upcountry, but some friends from back home have saved me and sent me some money. The people there have a way of life, standard of living, and technology that hasn't changed much over the years. Sometimes missionaries go through there and pass out pencils, pens, candy, small money, and books.. I saw some kids in a village reading "A Christmas Carol". The people there are all very devout Muslims... and even when I went to get my immunizations they asked me if I was going for missionary work. They usually assume American go there for missionary work. So anyway.. because I was a white face travelling through there the kids come running at the car all the time, because they think I am giong to pass something out.. it was kind of strange.














Here we are visiting Coconut Island. The "blessed island" as the Rasta's say because the people live purely on the herb that grows on the small island. It is the primary resource of this small island. As you see the baby ganja plants are growing freely all around us.














I also visited James Island, site of the movie "Roots" by Alex Haley. To be honest I was a little dissapointed, because I was expecting much more, the island in senegal called Goree was much more interestings. James Island has erroded over the years and there is not hardly anything left of it, and I had to pay quite a big of money to see it. But atleast now, I can go back and watch the movie and have a deeper understanding of the region.














Yesterday, I went to a "naming ceremony". After a baby is born, they wait for a few days, and then they have a large gathering of family and friends and they will read Qu'ran, and they will choose a name for the baby... they believe the name is very important because the naming of a child adds energy towards their destiny.

Also, I went to a wedding, African style. It was really cool and at the same time all done with love and respect... they had a the traditional dance and music and everything, and every woman and girl that comes spends hours getting dressed up and every one of them looks fine.

About 10 more days.. peace.

Just some random notes on Senegal and Gambia, for my own remembrance and in case any of ya'll might find them interesting.......


-The people here love Farakhan. Farakhan visits here every once in a while, and he's welcomed by everyone from the President and heads of government to the poorest man on the streets... they all love him. They don't see him as being a leader of some small, isolated "sect" of Islam in America. They see him as an international figure. They view him as an orthodox, universal Muslim brother.. They love him for bringing so many people to Islam in America, and they love him for teaching American's about their righteous African history. Some of them said they even cried listening to him talk when he came here.

-Africa moves with it's own time. You can't insist on anything here. Like for example, it would be very difficult for someone to have a daily schedule of appointments and insist on themselves or others being on time. There's many reasons for this. The traffic is bad. People don't have their own cars, and even when you take taxi's, you take group taxi's with other people. People don't rush here, they play it cool, and even when you go somewhere or ask for something... nobody ever says, "5 minutes"... or "I'll be there in 10 minutes"... they just say... "coming soon". This can be annoying, but it also teaches you to be patient and play it cool. Also, they have problems with power going out here, and other things that can disrupt your plans throughout the day, all the little things add up...... They call it "African time".

-The Rasta/Reggae culture in Gambia reminds me of the Five Percent Nation of Islam/Hip-Hop culture in America. It's kind of underground, rebellious, it's very anti-imperialism, and righteous, and hip and has it's own language and philosophy that is more about feeling it and interacting with others rather than existing in a Text. ....I want to write much more on this later.

-Unlike African American black people who can at times be paranoid and suspicious, the Africans are very open and unsuspecting people. They don't interrogate and ask alot of questions of people. They want to get to know who people are, and may even want something from you, but they aren't interested so much in where you work, where you go to school, who you hang out with, what you do in private.... and so on.

-Africans love music of course. But many of them have beat up stereo's, and somehow it's like they all end up playing the same song over and over, no matter who's car your in or what taxi you take. It's funny, this one dude's car who was driving me upcountry had a tape player that would stop about halfway through the second song on any tape he would play... so he just came playing the same two songs over and over all day. And then, somehow I end up hearing the same songs everywhere I go. One Reggae artist named Capleton (I think) I keep hearing his track it says something like.. "The Day Will Come" and that song is banging, and somehow I keep ending up hearing Lucky Dube "Prisoner" wherever I go.

-The Rasta's like to say that, "The Only Problem In Gambia Is No Problem"... but you here others say.. "the only problem in Gambia is money".. and others say... "As long as you have money Gambia is a good place". Well... there is reason for all this. When you have disparities in wealth, that contributes to what gives the country both it's good and bad qualities. Because the poor people are willing to go above and beyond to satisfy people and provide goods and services just to get a few dollars... so the people with money end up benefitting in this way.

... more later... I'm upset I'm forgetting stuff, because I haven't been able to write things down or record them in my phone like I wanted to... cause I've yet to find a converter that works in the outlets here to charge my sidekick.

Another update, a lot has happened since I last updated this thread.....

-I went and saw a couple of shows I forgot to mention in my previous update. One of them was a Senegalese band, and there was alot of dancing and interaction between the people. Some of the tourists were drinking alchohol, and a big fight broke out between some locals, because one of the tourists that was drinking was getting in the way of the show and interrupting things, and one security gaurd was trying to restrain him while the other people were saying to "Let him be" and the I don't know what else they were saying or what was happening exactly because they were speaking in Wolof but a huge fight broke out, but it didn't last long.

-The other show I went to was spectacular, it was a traditional tribal dance and drumming, the tribe is known as the Jawlah people and the president of Gambia is from this tribe. They had a man who was playing with fire, putting it in his mouth, rolling around in it, and rubbing it on his body and he never got burned... then they had somebody come in on stiltz dancing along to the music.. it was a real show you can't find anything truly like it unless you come here.

-In many of the places I go here, the kids call me "too-bob" which means white guy. They call me it like it's my name, and if I turn around they smile or laugh. I'll be walking down the streets and just keep hearing "too-bob", "too-bob".

-I finally met up with some Muslim brothers here that are a part of an international Islamic effort known as Jammat Tabligh. Which is something I'm familiar with from back home in America. I spent three days with them out in the "path of Allah" as they say. The man who took me out was a cousin of one of my friends from back in America. In America all the mosque's have air conditioning and carpets and usually have nice showers, toilets, whatever you want. But these 3 days I spent with them in Gambia was truly unique....

....The bathroom for the mosque we stayed in was just a little concrete area, where you were mostly exposed to the people as you went to the bathroom.. this is where we did our number 1... if you wanted more privacy to take a number 2... we actually went to the local people who lived around the mosque, and we would ask to use their bathroom, and it was also just a concrete area, but this one would have a makeshift door, but you are actually just sitting on two concrete slabs, if you even have a place to sit at all. I asked one of the members of the "Jammat" who was staying with us where I could take a shower and he just said "this is Africa"... I said... "What is that supposed to mean?..." and he said, "the mosques here don't have showers like in America"... and I said.. "I know, but I know you all take your baths somewhere"... anyway... we got some buckets of water, went to a neighbors house, went into a concrete corner for privacy, and that's how they take bathes here. Just some buckets of water, soap, and go in a corner concreted area....

....Also, it was too hot in the mosque, so I was sleeping outside underneathe a mosquito net. It would have actually been kind of peaceful, because I was stearing at the stars and the sky's full moon roof.. but for some reason they had some kind of Qu'ran recitation or music, or radio show playing over a loud speaker all night long in a nearby recording studio. This made no sense to me, and I tried to ask the members of my group what that was all about, and I never really understood the answer they gave me...

...anyway, aside from the conditions, my 3 days with them had some special moments. We went to the state house mosque or presidents mosque as they call it in Gambia for the Friday (jummah) prayers. I almost got to see and meet the president, but right before he came in, his security guards advised him not to enter cause the situation did not look totally secure to them and they were suspicious. The brothers I was with told me, that they are paranoid these days cause around a year or so ago there was a failed coup attempt against him. Anyway, we met the Imam for the president and some of the other people. The Imam gave us all some advice, he basically said that any hardship we face in the path of Allah, will surely pass, that any hardship in life is temporary and gave us encouragement to just keep moving forward in our lives.....

....Another special visit we made was to the Uncle of the man who gave me dawah (invitation) to become a Muslim when I was just 18 years old. This was a very special moment for me. I can remember clearly being 18 years old and not knowing anything about the outside world, and listening to this Muslim guy at work tell me about Africa and Islam in Africa, and his Uncle there who was like a father to him and took care of him and worked for the United Nations Islamic Affairs in Gambia, etc. And now, here I was 7 years later seeing all this for myself. We went to his house to visit him, and he did not dissapoint. He was a very wise and proud man. He was so happy to see me and meet me and here about his nephew in America and how he had influenced me many years ago into becoming a Muslim. Afterwards, he expressed his gratitude for us coming to visit him. He explained to me that Islam had taken me very far, so far that now it had taken me all the way to Africa to see him. And that with Islam a person always keeps moving forward, never backward. He told me that he was just a simple man, but that Islam had elevated him and gave him much dignity, and taken him to a high position in the United Nations even though he doesn't speak any English. He told me about his marriage and about having a "wife who you love like you love Islam". He talked about the way my friend in America was raised in the family to have good character, and that they are proud of him, and that that is the way they raised him. And that many Gambians are the same way....

....the next day we went to visit the Islamic school of which he is the principal. It was probably the biggest school in the whole country. It was poor, but still very organized and very impressive. They teach many subjects there, from Islamic jurispudence, Arabic, English, history, and so on. He took us around to all the classrooms to visit the students and explained that a Muslim from America had come all the way to meet them, and that they were happy to meet a brother in Islam, and that all Muslims from all races and parts of the world share the same belief and the same heart. I was very shy visiting all those classrooms, because the students were all stearing at me, but still it was a great experience.



That's all for now. Peace.

I left Senegal last Sunday and arrived back in the Kansas City on Monday.

I want to continue adding to this thread as I remember and reflect on my trip. Everyones questions, comments, and input is appreciated and it has helped me in descibing the details of my trip.

More details about my trip...







-One of the other historical sites/museams that I visited was a crocodile cove in Bakou. I'm not really big on animals and wildlife, I don't know much about crocodiles, but I think the crocodiles at this site were unusual because I could touch them and interact with them and they were not aggressive with humans. This site also had hsitorical information on the city of Bakou about its music, history and traditions, I took pictures with a disposable there so I can remember more once the pics are developed.





-Even though the people in Gambia are Muslim they still carry some traditional beleifs that date way back. Like for example, at the museams I saw amulets and "ju-ju's" displayed that they believe ward off all kinds of evils. I was even talking to a rasta in Gambia, and I was trying to explain to him that ganga was peace and love in Gambia, but selling it in America could possibly bring violence your way from other dealers... and he told me he would be safe cause he would wear specific "ju-ju" that would ward off guns.

-Also, these West Africans were convinced that Micheal Jackson has converted to Islam. They insisted that they had proof. And they all had these Islamic songs on their cel phones and they were convinced that the voice in the songs was Micheal Jackson. The voice did sound a lot like Michael, but I know it's a a South African singer cause they have his cd at Islamic/African shop in my city. But they told me they cry when they hear his voice and when they heard Micheal moved to Bahrain and accepted Islam. They were so happy I didn't want to argue with them... they said the American media didn't want to talk about Michael anymore because they wanted Islam hidden from the people.



-I got an oppurtunity to speak in front of a full masjid of people in Senegal. I gave a lecture for about 15 minutes on Islam and how a West African brother had taught me about Islam when I was just 18, and what it was about him that inspired me, and other basics of the religion like unity and belief in One God. They really loved my lecture, they said they were very happy to hear from me. So I told them that I was a mirror, a reflection... because I was equally happy to meet all of them and that I was honored to be asked to speak to them. Many of them told me their favorite part of my speach was when I told them that most foriegners come to America and try to act like Americans and that this makes Americans automatically assume superiority, but that the first time I met a West African Muslim practicing Islam, I felt internally that right away he was the most sincere, generous, and virtuous person I had ever met... and that I wanted to learn from him and learn about his people, religion and way of life.

-The young West African's love 2pac and think that he's still alive. They pass rumors around about 2pac "alive theories" like we used to back in the late 90's.

...more later... peace

The People- Everyone did seem to have an innocence about them, almost regardless of who they were or what they were doing. Infact, the people I met who appeared not to have that innocence were the ones who had travelled abroad. Like as if they had lost something that was pure and innocent inside of them by travelling West. The people are all so eager for an oppurtunity to go to the West and make some money but when I look at some of them I know they wouldn't be happy is US or Europe. I even met some young men in Gambia who were in their late 20's and who seemed to be mentally ill... it was explained to me about them that they used to be the smartest in their class, but that they went to Europe and got involved in selling drugs and came back mentally ill.

The Homes- The whole time I was there I only felt stayed in one home that I actually felt comfortable. It was either too hot, or too many mosquitoes, or the water wasn't running in the bathrooms. Not always having soap around, or a trashcan or tissues. This is all stuff I had to get used to. The fact that I was living better than others around me helped me to overcome these conditions. Even the people I was staying with would sleep on the floor and let me stay in their beds. For example, in Senegal my friend who is a Gambian, had us stay at his wives family home for two days. So I got to actually stay in his wife's room, sleep in her bed, and he took the floor. She went upstairs and shared a room with her sisters and father. I have never received such genorosity as I experienced in Africa.

Family structure- It's a "respect culture" there, is what they call it. The young people say that if one of their elders like a mother, father, or aunt, uncle, grandmother... if one of their elders tells them to do something, especially when it's their mother, they better do it. Even if their mom tells them to go from one end of the city to another and back to get something small and insignificant, they have to try their best to get it done as quickly as possible. The families mostly live together there. They just keep building and adding on to their homes, so that homes almost resemble miniature apartment complexes.