The Gambia: First Impressions

So, I live in The Gambia now. The capital city is Banjul, a tiny town formerly known as Bathurst. But I technically live in the “Greater Banjul Area” in a district called Kanifing, in Fajara. Diplomatic life seems to be centred in Fajara. There’s a beach, a social club, and a nice supermarket. It’s a decent place!

First impression? That I’m definitely back in West Africa. Even though it’s been 16 years since I left Nigeria, it made a huge impression on me. I remember the smells, the reddish color of the earth, the wet/dry seasons, the tropical foliage, the boxy white buildings, the beautiful way people dress, the hand-painted letters on everything, the bumpy roads, the exotic birds, and everything else that makes West Africa so… West Africa.

The house

Our house is enormous but, thankfully, in an elegant way. Arches over the window, marble inlays in the floor and round walls in all the bedrooms make it feel special. I still plan to paint it to make it cozier, but I’m pretty happy with how it is already. And that says a lot. Usually I have a bit of a breakdown when faced with so much emptiness and ugly embassy furniture, but this time around I’m actually fine. It helps that we have a magnificent garden full of huge tropical trees and a nice pool.

The staff

We immediately hired a cook-housekeeper combo that came highly recommended. The first days are always a little awkward, but after one week we’re definitely heading in the right direction. The cook is a very decent chef and, even better, comes up with ideas on what to cook herself. And even better than that: she makes terrific salads. So basically I’m set. The housekeeper is a friendly woman who seems okay picking my daughter’s stuff off the floor. They clearly get along great. They also speak really good English and write well, which isn’t always a given, though they speak Mandinka together and are of Jola and Fula descent, respectively.

Ladyboss

It’s definitely a West African thing to use titles for white people, but I wasn’t prepared for “ladyboss” being mine this time around. In Nigeria, the housekeeper insisted on calling my husband “master,” which we really hated. The guards went with the Nigerian Pidgin word “Oga,” which was funnier. I didn’t have a title at the time, being merely the 24-year old girlfriend. They just took a lot of liberties with my name (“Christian” being the most common name they called me), to the point where I officially shortened it to Chris.

Small beach town

Banjul, or Fajara at least, feels very small. It seems like everything is within walking distance. Only problem is that there are no sidewalks, so you have to either walk on the road and face off with the motorised traffic, or walk in the powdery sand. It’s really interesting to me that the roads are lined by sand, as if the town is actually a beach. I’m delighted that it’s not dirty at all. Even though it’s rainy season, it’s not particularly muddy either.

Running

Beforehand, I was really concerned about running because I’m training for a marathon and run about 50k per week. I knew the heat and the humidity were going to be a major challenge, but I was used to that in Mumbai. What I really worried about were the dogs. I read somewhere that the president’s son died from a rabid dog’s bite. So imagine my dismay when, 5km into my run, I started being followed by two skinny street dogs. They followed me for another 18km all the way home! On the bright side: they were pretty friendly and I didn’t see many other dogs. So maybe, hopefully, I’m fine.

The other thing I worried about were the road conditions. Lucky for me, along with all Gambians (except the ones who lost their houses in the process, of course), there is a paved road now. It’s pretty nice and the traffic isn’t particularly busy—compared to Mumbai, anyway.

Expat community

It’s too early to tell how good the social life is here, and the school, but I’ve got a good feeling about the morale in this place. It seems expats are generally happy to be here, and like to congregate regularly, and that’s the most important thing. People come and go, and there isn’t always someone with the same hobbies or work schedule as you, but as long as there is a generally positive vibe you can’t really get lonely or depressed.

Also, because it’s rainy season, it’s pretty dead at the moment, which means that the place will become much more lively starting October/November, with all the beach bars opening and putting on live music and other events, so that’s something to look forward to!