Monday, May 13, 2013

Hello everyone!
We are happy to report that we have safely arrived in Africa! We began our day bright and early packing tons of luggage and supplies into the bus, and headed to JFK. After what seemed to be a thousand hours in two airplanes (actually, only 12 hours collectively). The pilots and crew received a round of applause for the flawless flights! Upon our arrival in The Gambia, we were informed by the airline that there was a strike among the baggage claim employees and we would not receive our luggage until Wednesday. Oh dear, we will prevail! We have already started creatively thinking about ways to make due with what we all have in our carry on luggage.

Upon arriving, we were treated to a very warm welcome at the local beach! We drew quite the crowd and the locals brought their horses down to show, as well as local musicians who broke out their drums, singing with us and encouraging us to dance. And dance and sing we did! It was truly an extraordinary experience. Following this wonderful day, we were treated to a delicious dinner organized by Nyillan! Today is a day of rest and relaxation before starting our work here.

Some of us who did not go to the beach went to the local market to pick up necessities. Here they are:



Here is a photo of us at the beach.

One of the local horses, Romeo, was present during our photo shoot and graciously allowed our faculty member Tamara Blake and others to have pictures. 

Lastly, here is a picture of all the luggage we had brought with us! Wow!!!!

We are all incredibly blessed and grateful to be in The Gambia. This is a dream come true. Upon reflecting this evening the best parts of our day as a team, it was astounding to see all of the wonderful memories already made. Here are a few other photos from our journey. This one is all of us enjoying our first delicious Gambian meal (yum)!

Here is another photo of Courtney Baker, Sarah Azevedo and Tamara Blake enjoying the beautiful scenery!

We are heading to the village tomorrow morning! We will finally head to Sajuka School in Barra. We cannot wait to see the children and teachers who have so deeply touched our hearts back in the United States. We expect this week to be no exception! Our love and dedication to this village is continuing to grow.

We hope you will continue to follow us in our journey here. Please feel free to leave comments =)

With warm wishes,

Bay Path College Gambian Team 


1 comment:

  1. Lovely! Thanks for such detailed posts. Looks like a wonderful experience already. My son and I can't wait to hear more about the school and kids there once you've settled in.

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