Gambia tallies

No. of Days in Africa: 22
No. of Guildhall Students on Gambia trip: 10
No. of tribes taught by: 5
No. of Mandinka songs we learned: 5
No. of Mandinka songs I remember without listening to someone else sing them: 5
No. of Mandinka phrases learned: 5
No. of Fula songs we learned: 5
No. of Fula songs I remember without listening to someone else sing them: 1
No. of Wollof songs we learned: 2
No. of controversies Wollof songs caused: 1
No. of Wollof phrases learned: 1
No. of Susu songs learned: 1
No. of Jolla songs learned: 1
No. of Susu/Jolla ballets learned: 1 or 3 depending on how you count
No. of hours audio recorded in The Gambia: 7
No. of people in the van on the way to the airport: 18
No. of instruments purchased and brought back to the UK: 25
No. of individual pieces of checked luggage for group: 29
No. of Kilos over the weight limit: 38
Cost per kilo over weight limit: 800D
Amount we paid for going over the weight limit: 0D
No. of Koras: 5
No. of Wollof drums: 5
No. of Djembes: 3
No. of Ballafons: 4 (3 small, 1 large)
No. of Talking drums: 2
No. of Fula flutes: 1
No. of Calabash drums: 1
No. of Calabash Rattles: 4 (2 large, 2 small)
Average price of instrument: 2000 Delasi (range: 400-3000)
Average monthly wage for Gambians: 1000D/month
37D=1GBP, 18.5D=$1
Rate of inflation in The Gambia: ruthless
Average weekly drinks bill for Tara: 1,150D
Average weekly drinks bill for Caroline: 450D
Cost 1.5L bottle of water: 35D
Cost bottle of beer: 40D
Cost bottle of soda: 30D
Taste of African Fanta: delicious
Average wake up time: Me-7:30am, everyone else-8:15
Average bed time: Me- 9:30pm, everyone else- 12Midnight
No. of days practiced yoga in the morning: 10
No. of days sick enough to warrant missing class: 1
No. of monkeys seen: 10
No. of marriage proposals to group members: 3
No. of van breakdowns: 3
No. of hours waiting for the ferry between Njawara and Berefet: 4
No. of instruments damaged in the flights: 2 (the G string broke on my electric bass on the way over and Emma’s Kora’s bridge broke on the way back)
No. of hours Jorge had between flights from Gambia and to Portugal: 2
No. of Mosquito bites: countless- but 5 on my left pinky finger alone.
No. of Mosquito bites before Wednesday April 30: 5 total.
No. of Malarone pills left for me to take: 6
No. of People taking Lariam: 1
No. of People Doxycycline: 2
No. of People Malarone: 7
No. conversations about bowel movements: countless, at least two a day.
No. of Gambians now being sponsored by GSMD students to go to school: 1
Average No. mangoes consumed each day: 1.5
No. of comments on how happy I seemed to be going back to London: 4