Salut ici. Ca fait un bail. Je m’excuse for going M.I.A. Linguere must be wondering what kind of mama it has. Oh well, this is what happens when I’m trying to make the best use of every single minute of my holidays, which are coming to a close pretty soon. Now, when I was in school, time decided to keep it real and go at a very slow pace. Then the holidays come in and I’m having fun with family and friends, time decides to do an Usain Bolt on me. You agree that it’s not fair, right. Then I’ve been deprived of Internet for my laptop since Saturday. All I’ve got is mobile Internet and it’s not very convenient for blogging. Twitter is all I enjoy using mobile Internet for. Yhh, excuses! Genuine ones too 🙂

De toute facon, I have every reason to be thankful to mon Dieu who has been really good to me. I know I deserve it(wink) but then He has done even more than I expected. First off, I get an extension on my holidays. Yes baby!!! 9 days added to my holidays. Here I say thanks 2 my mom too. Technically, I’ve now got 15 days to pack up and head to Le Maroc pour une autre annee of studies and stress and all what not. We leave that for later.

Last weekend, I went on an outing with about a hundred kids. Before leaving for Morocco in 2009, I used to do this show with Peter Braima (PJ) on WestCoast Radio 2. Show was called the Kids’ Breakfast , and we had kids call in and sing, recite poetry, give stories, send shouts and all that stuff kids do. We also had them come to the studio every Saturday, and eventually the Kids’ Breakfast family was born. We went on an excursion to Banjul and Kartong. The kids also visited an art gallery, but I couldn’t see that because I had to wait at Westcoast for the bunch of latecomers. I’m not even going to start talking about ‘respecting time’, ‘african time’ etc. Donc, the National Museum was my first stop. Interesting stuff there, but I think it could do with a little renovation. Yeah, it’s a museum and all that, but then you don’t want a roof falling in on visitors, right? Okay, I exaggerate, but it really wouldn’t hurt to see a better building with proper painting and all. We know it’s supposed to contain archaic stuff but then again….umm, I digress… I took a couple of pictures and the kids took down notes based on the tour guide’s explanations and the inscriptions on the various items in the museum. I got to sign the guestbook, so you can look out for that whenever you go to the National Museum :-).  I got to play the Balafong too. Yes, you guessed right: I definitely had a picture taken.  From the museum, we went over to Arch 22. We climbed all 150 steps to the top balcony of the Arch and it was worth it. Whoooo, I’m losing my breath just thinking about it. The view of Banjul from the top was amazing though. Click, click!! I had to have a picture, for I do not know if I’ll ever go up there again. 150 steps, I wouldn’t joke with.

The Kartong Reptile Farm was the final spot we visited. Boy, did I see reptiles? Snakes, lizards, tortoises, turtles, crocodiles, snakes and snakes again. I was very much alert while there. The place is covered with shrubs and trees and leaves and … . Now every tree branch looked like a snake to me and you wouldn’t blame me, would you?. The kids were so brave though. Some of them had a python around their necks and posed for photos. Not me! There’s no way I’m going that close to a python. I really wanted a photo too, so I could talk about my bravery to everyone that would listen. Oh well, I’ll save that for another day. At the end of the day, everyone was tired but glad to have been a part of the outing. Great food was provided by The Butcher’s Shop and yours truly could only think of sleep after devouring that meal. I made it back to the Kombos awake tho. I’ve got more pictures on my Facebook page.

Tomorrow, I’m off to Farafenni on a mission. My mission came with a vision which is fuelled by great ambition to bring about a positive change in the nation. Alright, I should cut the crap already(lol). Bon, I’m off with other members of Lend A Hand Society on a community outreach campaign on HIV/AIDS. We are going to focus our sensitisation on the Basic facts on HIV/AIDS, Stigma and Discrimination against PLHIVs, Violence against women( linked with HIV) and Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT). I am head of the Stigma and Discrimination team, and those who watched Face of Africell2 would know why.  It’s my first time in Farafenni and I hope it’s going to be a great one. I know there is work to do and all, but then we can always squeeze in some fun after and even during work. It’s Lend A Hand afterall.

Now La Linguere has got a suitcase to pack( don’t worry, it’s a small one). I need to catch some sleep too, if I want to be early tomorrow. We return on Sunday and I might have something for you Linguerites and Linguerians. Until then, prenez soin de vous. A tres bientot!