A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TERRY!
This week has been a busy week for Paul on Monday he stayed overnight at Sanyang beach resort as he was at an education workshop with the other volunteers. He took along his swimming trunks however the workshops started around 10 o’clock and didn’t finish until 6 o’clock on the evening so they didn’t get any time for a dip in the sea. He arrived home on Tuesday evening ate his dinner and fell a sleep.
I have had another enjoyable week at school with no fights erupting from the children. On Monday the children were all set to go swimming at a local pool, 11 o’clock came and went and we were then told it had been cancelled until Tuesday due to transport issues. On Tuesday morning we still had no time set for the swimming trip I had visions of the children being herded out of the classroom and onto a bus in the middle of a lesson. When I left at 1 o’clock they were still waiting however I was told they did go later on afternoon. This week the children have been practising drama and songs as a local TV channel is coming in on Thursday afternoon to film them performing. Apparently it is to do with the rights of children’s act so they are going around a number of schools filming.
On Thursday Bradley went on his school trip, this didn’t go down very well as he complained of being bored. The children had been taken to the Calypso restaurant (this is where we booked our Jinack Island excursion) and given drinks and cake whilst the teachers sat and ate a meal. I asked him if he was taught anything by the teachers whilst they were there his answer was no they just sat about. The restaurant is situated on the beach however they were not even taken onto the beach to look for shells or sea life. This left me most annoyed as the trips form part of the term payments.
Friday was spent getting pampered at the only European hair salon in The Gambia. Suelle runs the Yok Art Centre and Café as well as the salon downstairs. He is a Lebanese guy who trained with Vidal Sassoon in London and New York back in the sixties before returning home to The Gambia. He was a very interesting guy who when he is not hairdressing or running the Art Centre Café he spends time doing interior design for business people including the president. He also likes to paint and dye fabric many of these are displayed in the Art Centre upstairs. We had an interesting conversation about his life whilst he set about highlighting my hair. Before my hair was cut it was washed and then I had the most amazing head and neck massage by a Gambian lady. I was very pleased with the end results even if it did cost me two weeks wages about the same price I would pay back in the UK.
I have had another enjoyable week at school with no fights erupting from the children. On Monday the children were all set to go swimming at a local pool, 11 o’clock came and went and we were then told it had been cancelled until Tuesday due to transport issues. On Tuesday morning we still had no time set for the swimming trip I had visions of the children being herded out of the classroom and onto a bus in the middle of a lesson. When I left at 1 o’clock they were still waiting however I was told they did go later on afternoon. This week the children have been practising drama and songs as a local TV channel is coming in on Thursday afternoon to film them performing. Apparently it is to do with the rights of children’s act so they are going around a number of schools filming.
On Thursday Bradley went on his school trip, this didn’t go down very well as he complained of being bored. The children had been taken to the Calypso restaurant (this is where we booked our Jinack Island excursion) and given drinks and cake whilst the teachers sat and ate a meal. I asked him if he was taught anything by the teachers whilst they were there his answer was no they just sat about. The restaurant is situated on the beach however they were not even taken onto the beach to look for shells or sea life. This left me most annoyed as the trips form part of the term payments.
Friday was spent getting pampered at the only European hair salon in The Gambia. Suelle runs the Yok Art Centre and Café as well as the salon downstairs. He is a Lebanese guy who trained with Vidal Sassoon in London and New York back in the sixties before returning home to The Gambia. He was a very interesting guy who when he is not hairdressing or running the Art Centre Café he spends time doing interior design for business people including the president. He also likes to paint and dye fabric many of these are displayed in the Art Centre upstairs. We had an interesting conversation about his life whilst he set about highlighting my hair. Before my hair was cut it was washed and then I had the most amazing head and neck massage by a Gambian lady. I was very pleased with the end results even if it did cost me two weeks wages about the same price I would pay back in the UK.
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