A couple of anecdotes about my trip...

One time I was out by myself during the middle of the day in the city of Kololi, Gambia. There was a junction point that I was supposed to meet a friend at and I was having trouble finding it. It was somewhat busy around mid-day with many people out walking around going place to place on the dusty interconnected roads. I had gotten turned around a few times walking, to the point where I was totally lost.

Somewhat frustrated and slightly irritable at the time, I asked a lady passing with her daughter, "Do you known where the Tavan junction is?"

---She immediately went off on me, as she was visibly upset---

"I am a human being!! If you want to ask me a question, you have to greet me first, and ask me how I am doing, first!!"

Before I could think of a response, she turned to her daughter and said, "Come on let's go!"

...For at least the next few hours I was bothered by this encounter. I tried to explain to my friends when I finally reached back to my place later that day. I wanted to explain, in part to justify it and redeem it to myself. Maybe to hear them say that I had done nothing wrong.

I explained, "See in America everybody is busy and rushing, so if I stop someone I don't on there way and start going on there way when they are busy, they may be upset with me if I take up to much of their time with greetings; so we usually get quick and to the point, cause everyone is in a rush there."

My friend Sidia replied, "No... No... that is not the way in Gambia. Anytime you want anything from somebody, you have to first exchange greetings with them, ask them how they are doing...then you can tell them your problem, hey, where is such and such, or I need this or I need that, can you help me, and so on".

So my friend offered little comfort, and mostly reiterated the point of the angry woman earlier in that day; although my friend did it in much softer and helpful tone of course.

But the point was clear, and this incident serves as a much larger representation of Gambian life in contrast to American life. In America, people really are in a greater rush, and people don't generally introduce themselves to strangers. People are weary of taking up others times. Whereas, in the Gambia, Africa; time moves much slower. Time is not so much fixed with exact appointment times. People meet and greet strangers frequently, and many go about with a problem or question for others and there is a system in place for how you are to go about explaining your problem to others. This is part of the social fabric for greeting others, and questioning them about their condition.

In fact when Gambians meet they may go through a serious of questions and answers before getting to the point, such as, "How are you... How is your family... How is your health... how is your day... how is everything... please give my greetings to your family..."

The answer is usually simple, just stating that they are fine, that their family is fine... but still a bond is made through this questioning and greeting that is an important part of their daily lives.


...............

An anecdote about an incident that happened in a restaurant in Senegal.

While eating inside a restaurant in Senegal, this one poor fellow from the streets kept coming in and asking us for money and food. He came in several times, and finally without much being said, he ended up sitting beside my friend and eating right along with us, the food off of our plates. He was a little persistent and eventually he was welcomed to join.

Now imagine this in a nice American restaurant. A stranger coming in off the street to join you at your side at lunch, and even eating from off of your plate. You would never find that in America, yet such things are actually common in that part of Africa.

This speaks to the openness to strangers that exists in Africa, and also the intense sharing that goes on between people in the region.