visitors from toubabadou

My odds are looking good. I've had two visitors from Homer already and I haven't even been here four months! Who's next? Actually, it's been a fun week of Alaska connections. Some of my Peace Corps volunteers are working on a film project (celebrating Peace Corps' 50th Anniversary) and collecting oral histories of past and present volunteers and staff in-country. Coincidentally, a free Smithsonian oral history webinar popped up on my trusty Museums Alaska list-serve this week, so I signed us up, thinking a little training for them wouldn't hurt. The session turned out to be even more relevant than I expected and it was a real treat to see all my Alaska museum peeps chatting on the side bar and even interacting with my volunteer here -- not knowing of their mutual connection (it was all I could do not to pipe up and turn the session into an Alaska reunion).

Kachemak Bay and Homer, Alaska (for those readers not from paradise)

Small world. Even smaller when another Homerite showed up this week for a couple days in The Gambia (my first Homer visitor was a college kid in April). What could it be that draws people from a very small town in AK to a very small country in Africa? I don't know, but it's alaskafrically cosmic! You know I'm not in the habit of naming people on the site, but I'll let familiar Homerites guess this week's visitor.... elder son of famous homer couple known for their trail work (from Kachemak Bay to Lake Baikal) and endless energy for the nordic ski club, among many other community hats... I'm sure you don't need any more clues. Anyway, the coastal management project he was consulting on overlapped with a couple of my volunteers' work with the same organization, so we had a good time connecting all the random dots that seem to unite Homerites abroad.

But let me tell you about the rain storm that day! We're easing into the rainy season with a weekly deluge that turns the Peace Corps parking lot into a virtual lake (along with the rest of Kairaba Ave). The photo above shows the task ahead of me when I went to pick up my Homer guest Wednesday morning...  My little toy car is of course the one at the far side of the parking lot with tires slowly being swallowed by the rising waters. (And it's no optical illusion: those Peace Corps Land Cruisers really are over twice as big as my Barbie Safari car.) Ready for a quick shower (and bath), I rolled up my pants and was ready to run for it when some chivalrous staff offered to come to my rescue and fetch the car. Well, Alhagie was ready to run when Momodou came from behind and darted for it first. Unfortunately he misunderstood that I was actually leaving with my car and just thought I wanted to save it from drowning...

As we all stood ooh-ing and aah-ing at the rising waters, we missed that my car somehow disappeared... slowly we pieced together that Momodou had driven it to higher ground... and no one could reach him. Then knight in shining armor #2, Sheriff, stepped up to also soak himself for the cause, running to find my disappearing car. I begged him not to in his nice shirt and tie, but he insisted (just like when he pulled my car out of a sink hole two days after the rain).  He was off and not a moment later returned, drenched, but with my little Binta Barbie car. I half-soaked my clothes just leaping 5 feet to the door so I fully appreciate their sacrifice. Of course, after negotiating the rather dangerous lake of Kairaba Avenue, an obstacle course of stalled-out cars who had run-ins with underwater road debris, the rains completely stopped after driving only 10 minutes south. Murphy's Law. I had a little explaining to do for my soaked pants, but a good rain and that much fun with my staff was worth it!

In other news, I chopped my hair again. Heat & humidity is picking up so I gotta keep pace. For those not on facebook, here's the damage. It'll grow. Other than that, I'm learning new rules of the road (like when it's safer to run a red light than not), new ways to peel a mango, and how to say "my car is stuck in a hole" in Wolof. I'm happy for the Alaska connections that keep me from missing Toubabadou (the land where the white people come from), but can't wait for the next surprise (though I'm already excited to see a couple Homerites in Spain in October). Speaking of Toubabadou, here is a cute half-hour flick made in the Casamance region of Senegal (south of The Gambia and quite similar, though they spell toubab differently). Enjoy the tale of another Binta! (courtesy of my Dad googling my new name)

Binta and the Great Idea
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