The Gambia: Crazy traffic

I got up early (5:30) to join EM at the market in Serrekunda. First, we had a walk on sandy “roads” for about 30 minutes and then take a local ”taxi” for about another 30 minutes, which actually was a very old and shabby van. I counted the passengers, 15 of us were squeezed in tight and close to each other. The van stopped every now and then to let either people jump off or on.

At the market you could find different types of vegetables, fish, meat, chicken and rice. Thousands of flees were buzzing around the baskets of food. The smell was very intense from all the merchandises. In a corner I found a man selling shampoo which I had forgotten to bring. He also sold a cream he called conditioner for hair, so I bought that one too plus batteries for my flashlight and a towel. Before leaving the market, we stopped by a tailor to fix my broken handbag in leather. He fixed it in a couple of minutes, and I only had to pay him 100 (GMD) Gambian dalasi which is less than 20SEK. On the way back it was difficult to find a taxi because of the lively traffic. We had to change taxi or van twice and the last part of the trip, we had a small tuk-tuk with already another passenger inside, so we were four, the driver included. As we almost reached our compound the tuk-tuk was very close to get hit by another car! The tuk-tuk that drives on only three wheels almost rolled over on the side as the driver had to quickly maneuver the tuk-tuk to the opposite side. I was shaking a bit during the last walk towards the compound and thinking how lucky we were not to get hurt!


At home I washed my hair in the shampoo from the market. It was more like some dish liquid and the “conditioner” was a kind of grease that I hardly managed to get rid off, even for many days. Before bedtime I tried to phone the teacher, I had contacted earlier from Sweden. Unfortunately, without any luck.

The Gambia: Many new impressions first days

In Dakar (the town very close to Banjul, my final destination), the plane made a short stop. Over the speakers I could hear one of the cabin crew from Turkish Airline thanking the passengers for a pleasant journey. I felt a bit unsure if I was to get off the plane here but sat still and watched about half of the passengers disembark. A great number of new passengers arrived shortly after, and it felt more like a big “Air bus”, the way passengers were going and coming, rather than the giant jumbo jet it was. Luckily, I didn’t get off the plane and arrived in the wrong country. When I arrived in The Gambia it took me two hours in a long narrow crowded line to get through Security Check and Passport Control. An amount of 20 USD plus money for Customs had to be paid directly. Outside Security the taxi driver who was supposed to pick me up, was waiting with a sign in his hands with my name printed on it. What a relief!

After a very long and hot trip in the car I arrived at the compound where I was going to stay for my two months in The Gambia. The landlord OB and his wife EM welcomed me and showed me my room in a small annex behind the house. I was totally exhausted after more than 20 hours of travel. I quickly unpacked all my things and tried to get a shower but only a few drops of water came out the tap in the bathroom. I laid down on my bed under the mosquito net and fell immediately to sleep. A few hours later when I woke up from my nap, I was served a vegetarian stew with rice. Outside I heard goats running around in the yard of the compound. The extreme heat, the new sounds, the spicy food, and smell of animals – it was overwhelming!

I hardly slept a minute during the night. So many sounds outside as there are no windows to the annex, only holes with a mosquito net attached. I could hear cats meowing, insects buzzing and dogs barking all night long. EM forgot to tell me that during the nights they let out two big dogs to guard the compound. They went crazy, chasing the monkeys that were running on my roof (made of tin so the sound of steps was extremely loud).
In the morning I got Wi-Fi connection so I could talk through WhatsApp with my family. It was a marvelous feeling! The hostess EM works very hard every day as she runs a small restaurant business in her house and by the street outside. This afternoon I helped her with the dishes.


I usually get vegetables with different spicy sauces and rice. Mostly dishes like Stew, Benechin, Yassa or Domoda. In the evening I went on a walk with EM on the beach and we also visited her cousin at a Craft Market. She had nice tablecloths that I might buy later for presents to bring home. There was not much to see or do in the neighborhood, so EM took me to the one and only hotel where we had a pineapple juice to drink.

The Gambia: New Year’s Eve, 31 December 2022, Malmö

Finally, it’s the day of my departure. I will be leaving my home in Sweden in about an hour and cannot believe it’s actually happening! My family will all be in Copenhagen Airport to say the final goodbye to me before my journey. There will definitely be tears shed and a hard goodbye, but as Winnie-the-Pooh said: How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. I will be bringing two big suitcases filled with important paperwork, literature, and my computer. Lots of presents and clothes to give away for both my host family and our former foster child. We met her many years ago through the organization SOS Children’s Village, and now she is a grown woman with two children of her own. I wish 2023 will be a good year for as many as possible in many ways. I will be “celebrating” New Years Eve by myself and lots of other travelers at Istanbul Airport. From Istanbul I will continue to Dakar, Senegal and then my final destination, The Gambia!

Looking back – Before the trip

(8 October 2021, Malmö)

In October 2021, I was fortunate to receive a travel-scholarship, through Malmö University, for a Minor Field Study (MFS) to do fieldwork in The Gambia. Unfortunately, the whole world was in the middle of a Pandemic. When I finally got the good news that the travel restrictions had lifted, even though I was extremely excited and anxious to get started, I started doubting myself if it would be a good idea to travel so far and remote while the Pandemic still wasn’t over.

At the time vaccinations were hardly available in Africa. The airline tickets were incredible high as not many were travelling, which made it hard to plan for any booking. It was also at the time very difficult to get any confirmation form any of the schools I tried to contact, to do my classroom observations for my fieldwork. I also had doubts about the value of my observations in the middle of a Pandemic. Suddenly things started changing rapidly with an opportunity to travel again – despite the world situation. I still had my doubts if I was making an irresponsible decision to go at this time.
Would it be fair to leave Sweden, my job in Malmö and more important my family, knowing that the pandemic still was in place and to live so remote?

(27 October 2021, Malmö)

I’ve been waiting for a month to get a positive response from Schools in The Gambia. Unfortunately, no answer yet but my contact-person/assistant in The Gambia is doing all she can to help me. I had a zoom-meeting with my mentor about my coming essay. I was hoping she would understand why I sent such a short draft and text to her.
I do not feel prepared at all to do my writing, but at least I have started planning my work in a notebook. I also contacted the staff at the library to help me find earlier research on the chosen field. As I read the literature it opened my horizon as I found the new literature very interesting, and the more I read the more I wanted to change my original question for my research. I felt a stronger wish to examine the teachers didactive approach in teaching a subject and delivering the material, rather than looking at the material itself. I also found it interesting to understand what methods are chosen to develop students’ language skills.

(9 November 2021, Zoom)

MFS held a preparation meeting on Zoom, and it was quite learning full and exciting to hear about the others’ scholarships in South Africa, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The energy to plan for my journey suddenly hit me! Although my energy level and excitement about my coming journey was at its highest, I was still a bit hesitant. Would it really be possible to put it all together and leave within a couple of months?

(9 December 2021, Malmö)

MFS arranged a compulsory workshop together with the Global School. My departure was meant to be in the beginning of 2022 but still no answer from the schools in The Gambia! In the meantime, a new variation of Covid had shown up, Omicron, but mainly in Africa. All the News reports showed a clear sign of upcoming changes in rules and restriction for travelling especially outside Europe. With these new predictions, I came to my decision of extending my departure to January 2023.

(28 November 2022, Malmö)

At last!……almost a year later.
The situation with the pandemic is now more stable and something we have to live with. On top of that the whole situation in the world is kind of chaotic, both regarding politics and economically. Insecurity is felt throughout the world, extremely high rates for electricity and climate threat, all adding a concern for peace in the world. Despite all the other concerns I may have, I have now decided to move forward with my field study, that I have been looking forward to for so long. Flight tickets were bought last week, and with help from my colleague, arrangements were made to live in The Gambia at her friend’s compound. I have received confirmation from Bakoteh Schools in The Gambia and insurance in place. Although there are still a lot left on my To-Do List before my departure, I feel very grateful and fortunate to be able to start my journey.

A warm welcome to Mexico!

Hi there!

It has been a long flight but here I am! Enjoying the beauty of this country, its food, people and an amazing weather…

I’m finally in Veracruz, the city where I’m conducting my research. The city is located in the southeast of the country, next to the Gulf of Mexico.

Exploring the downtown of Veracruz.
Exploring the downtown of Veracruz.

Food has been the best welcome to this city: picadas, gorditas, empanadas, tamales… everything is delicious!

The temperature during this season is quite warm comparing to Sweden, it is around 28°C . So I couldn’t miss visiting the beach and the Aquarium of Veracruz.

My best picture so far! Aquarium of Veracruz.
Aquarium of Veracruz.

I’ll post more pictures of the fieldwork very soon!

Please feel free to comment… I’ll be happy to hear from you all!

Best,

Ana.