A Day In The Life of a Gambian girl

I love to workout. In fact, while adventuring in The Gambia I am simultaneously attempting to train for my upcoming cross country season. That being said, I would like to say I am somewhat in shape. But, man I am exhasuted after spending a day in the life of one of my students, Mariama. I never thought doing chores: like fetching water, doing laundry, and preparing lunch from scratch would make me so sore and tired. Being here for a month, I have observed people throughout the day doing their daily chores, so I have seen how hard Gambians work. But, after personally spending a full day engaged in physical work around Mariama’s house, or compund as they call it here, I can confidently say Gambians are some of the strongest (physically, emotionally, and mentally) and hardworking people I have met.

I started my day at 7am when I was graciously welcomed into Mariama’s home. Her mother, aunt, little sister, and cousins were all there to welcome me in. We began our day by fetching water. We walked to the nearest well, which was about two streets over from her compound, and filled two buckets of water. We then each put a bucket on head and carried back to her house.

Boy, was that a struggle! I wanted to quit so many times on that walk back to her house, my neck felt like it was going to snap in half and my back was starting to cramp. But, wanted to show Mariama that I was equipped for the job. The Starfish motto is “don’t quit,” so I was not about to quit infront of one of my students. Next, we used some of the water we fetched to wash her laundry and dishes from the previous day.

After that, it was time to walk to the local market to buy spices, vegetables, and fish for lunch.

Once we got back to Mariama’s compound, we gutted the fish, washed the vegetables, and grounded the spcies all while getting to know one another. I couldn’t help smile the entire time, it was so beautiful to connect with Mariama on a deeper level about our childhoods and future dreams, despite the very different environments we grew up in.

I also loved getting to know Mariama’s family and her neighbors. One of my favorite parts about the Gambian culture is their amazing hospitality towards visitors. Everytime I have visited a home here, I have been welcomed in, offered a place to sit, and offered a beverage or something to eat.