I said Hello to 2024 sound asleep in my mosquito net-wrapped bed. There was no holiday hustle and bustle, no outfit to figure out, no party, no picture to take, no ball drop. There was no catchy new year motto. Like Christmas, it was just another night in the life. After dinner I hung out with my host family under the stars around a bonfire and then went to bed. It was simple and serene.

The first month of my Integration period has been really peaceful. I feel bad that I have rarely reached out to anyone in my cohort, but I have really been enjoying my little quiet corner of the world so much.

I have a very small host family: a mom, a dad, an 18 year old brother and an 8 year old little brother.

the host families in my training village were very large: 4-5 extended families all living in one compound together. It is very common for men to have multiple wives and for many children to be everywhere. I got used to it in my training village and here at my permanent site I am adjusting to the quiet.

My teenage brother Famara is the most responsible and kind young man that i have ever met. He’s thoughtful and upright and always helps the family. I hope my son one day is just like him.

meanwhile, My little brother Mustapha is the most quintessential little brother. He barely speaks english and I barely speak Mandinka, but we spend a lot of time together. He’s wild and ornery and goofy. his legs are always covered in dirt and he’s always climbing on something. Every morning he slips into my house and plays solitaire that i taught him on my ipad while i make our family breakfast and tea (tea for him is mostly sugar which he spills all over my house). My favorite thing about him is that despite his boyish quirks, he goes out of his way to always share with me. Whatever he has he will come find me and share with me; whether it is a single Biscuit or a slice of papaya or some minties (candy) or a sugar cane stick. He runs to me and says my name with a big smile. I just love him. I overheard him argue with one of his little friends the other day who mentioned that I am from america. He yelled at him and told him that I, in fact, am from my training village in The lower river region of the gambia. He’s not wrong, I had come from there but me being all the way from america just didn’t sit right with him.

The biggest hit of Integration so far has been UNO. I taught Mustapha UNO one quiet night before bed and before I knew it I have started a whole UNO gang here in my village. I have created UNO-addicted little people who all day and night come to my house to play. from teenage girls to my little brother’s little friends, UNO is life here. Even grown adults will pull up a chair and want to learn how to play. As you can imagine, the one pack of UNO cards that I brought are now crusted in sticky finger prints and dirt.

All that said, I don’t have any real sense of sadness over this holiday season being so nonexistent. i miss my family at home and that comes with immense sadness. But I feel almost a sense of relief over not feeling any particular pressure to exist in a specific way for the holidays and new year. I don’t feel like I have to make 2024 “mean” something. So far I have spent it being present; playing a lot of Uno and eating a lot of papaya.

(THE CONTENT OF THIS WEBSITE IS MINE ALONE AND DOES NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, THE PEACE CORPS, OR THE GAMBIAN GOVERNMENT.)