Chris, the Acting Law Clinic Director, recommended this local restaurant to me. It’s behind the billboards (picture on right), just back from “the traffic light” corner. The “traffic light” is the first traffic light that was installed in The Gambia. There are not a lot of other traffic lights here.

At Omar’s, you get a choice of a couple of local African dishes. Typically chicken or fish. Yassa (a spicy sauce with sauteed onions) or domoda (a delicious, spicy peanut butter sauce).

You get get lunch and a drink for 75 Dalasi. Less than $2. Why cook?

This is Backary’s community garden. His family shares this space with several neighbors. I recognized the tomatoes. There were greens too. Herbs had been planted for use during Ramadan. They will use what they need and sell the rest to others who do not have a garden.

They have to have a well. This is the end of the dry season and the ground has turned to dust. The well is quite deep to get to water this time of year.

Backary’s wife and her sister cooked a delicious dinner for us all. Fried rice, fish, shrimp and vegetables. Mangoes for dessert. It’s the best meal I have had in The Gambia so far. And the most enjoyable. It felt good to spend time with a family, especially since it was Mother’s Day back home.

Backary invited us into his home for Sunday dinner. It was a great opportunity to meet his family and see how they live. He is building the home as time and money permit. It is in a new housing tract near the airport. Here he is with two of his children, sister, wife and her sister. They all made us feel welcome in their home and country.

The Beauty of The Gambia

This is Backary. He drives me to and from work every day. He is friendly to everyone, loves his family and country and is a devout Muslim.

Backary wanted to show me a piece of his country. So he picked me up Sunday to take me around a bit and then out to his home for dinner. So nice of him.

He explained that this is a courting tree. If I saw this tree in Disneyland I would have thought they could have done a better job making it look real.

There is a saying that GMT here stands for Gambia Maybe Time. This is not true with Backary. He is always early. I have learned to be ready by 8:30 for my 9 a.m. pick up. Backary also gives people he knows rides when he can. He will be one of my fondest memories of The Gambia.

I learned that a tall, impenetrable wall is not always a good thing. You can compare my wall here to the one in the picture below. My wall is not as high or imposing as some of the barbed wire walls in my neighborhood. But when my lock froze on the gate. Even I could get over this wall to get to work on time Friday morning, May 5. So it made me wonder, who is this wall really going to keep out? A fair question to ask about any wall.

I live in a quiet neighborhood. These guys keep the grass along the street trimmed free of charge. Some neighbors have more security than others. Fortunately for me the other day, my wall is less secure than this.

After over 24 hours of driving, flying and sleeping in airports I landed in The Gambia on May 3. The customs agent inspected my “suspicious” luggage (mostly books), asked for my tennis shoes (which I kept) and offered his competent assistant to accompany me when he learned I was here alone (which I declined). Fortunately, the University was there to pick me up. After getting a sim card for my phone they brought me to my summer house here. The porch makes a great office on breezy days, which is every day. The beach is not far  as the crow flies, but the crow can get through the resort security easier than I can. I had a great dinner with Chris, the Acting Clinic Director, to catch up on what’s to be done while I am here. I am looking forward to it.