Hello!

Hello from Gambia!

Thanks for taking a moment to check out my blog for this trip. All of my friends and family know how much it means to me to be back in Gambia again and I truly thank each and every one of you that put up with me the last year as I attempted to figure out what to do with my life.

Well, I'm finally back and I couldn't be happier. I arrived in Dakar, Senegal last Thursday morning and then made the glorious trip down to Gambia via a rickety old station wagon that thankfully only broke down a couple of times.

I'm back living in Jambanjelly and attempting to set up shop: buying beds, propane, buckets, and whatever else I can think of to make life a bit easier. I am so excited for this year for both professional and personal reasons.

Professionally, I am very excited that I received a teaching position at a high school in Brikama. I will likely teach English and should be receiving futher information about my assignment within the next few days. The school has about 200 students and is within biking distance from Jambanjelly village. Although the position does not pay too much, it should be enough to cover my basic expenses while I am here. Furthermore, I have been toying with the possibility of going back to school to get my teaching credential when I return to the states and I think this experience will give valuable insight into the profession and my possible place within it.

Personally, I am so happy to be back in the village. As many of you know, I met someone last summer while working on the library. We stayed in touch throughout the past year and I am so excited to see how things pan out now that I am in the village fulltime.

I have already begun working with the current Crossroads group on the library. They have completed an enormous amount of work this summer already and I am happy to come alongside them and help in whatever way I can. But, the most exciting news of all: THE BOOKS ARE HERE! They are in the Gambia as we speak and the Crossroads group is finding a way to get them to the village. Then comes the huge task of organizing them and coming up with some sort of system of operation for the library. I am happy to be here to help with that and I am excited to see how things develop.

Alas, I am already running out of time on the internet. I thank you all for your emails. I miss you all already and, once again, I thank you for your encouragement, advice, and patience throughout the past year.