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Browse: Home   /   Peace Corps blog   /   Page 10
Video: Murals in the Making

Video: Murals in the Making

May 6, 2015
Jessica Fryman
Blog, The Gambia Files

Health volunteers in The Gambia often paint murals in their communities to help teach various concepts, like good nutrition or proper hand washing. After painting the…

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Foni (not to be confused with phony) Friends

Foni (not to be confused with phony) Friends

May 2, 2015
Jessica Fryman
Blog, The Gambia Files

I am lucky enough to live in the Fonis with this group of people. We like to believe we are special because our region is known for better electricity than the city (sorry AgFos) and it’s not nearly as hot as upcountry. Our section of the river is even salty so we won’t be getting shisto anytime soon. Did I mention we are only a short gelly ride away from the city (no eight-hour travel days here!)? It’s great to live just a bike ride away from these lovely people so we can coordinate projects and take a break from village life together every now and then!

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Mango season is on its way coming

Mango season is on its way coming

April 25, 2015
Jessica Fryman
Blog, The Gambia Files

Every morning, I walk out to my back patio and look up at the mangoes dangling in the tree and am barely able to contain my excitement. You don’t know happiness until you bite into a perfectly-ripe mango, its hot juices dripping down to your elbows and staining your clothes.

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Ridin' bikes and readin' books

Ridin’ bikes and readin’ books

April 18, 2015
Jessica Fryman
Blog, The Gambia Files

I would that you can still recall the title of your favorite bedtime story, the one you begged your parents to read you night after night. Or maybe it’s storytime when you sat in a circle with your classmates that you remember best. Perhaps you have a memory of checking out a book with your first library card or staying up all night to finish a novel that was too good to put down. Reading is a big part of growing up for nearly every child in America. But in The Gambia, that is just not the case

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Photos: Jumping for Joy

Photos: Jumping for Joy

April 11, 2015
Jessica Fryman
Blog, The Gambia Files

Photo gallery: Students at Sibanor Lower Basic School compete in the long and high jump events in their annual Interhouse sports contest.

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Photo: The Fat Camara Gang

Photo: The Fat Camara Gang

April 8, 2015
Jessica Fryman
Blog, The Gambia Files

I never thought being called “fat” would be the thing to bring a smile to my face. But “fat” has a whole new ring to…

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Support Sama

Support Sama

April 3, 2015
Jessica Fryman
Blog, The Gambia Files

Sama, a deaf boy in my village, quickly stole my heart. I would love more than anything to give him a chance at a future other than gathering wood. Please help me send him to the deaf school so he can get an education.

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Disclaimer

The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the
U.S. government or Peace Corps.

Just a little about me

My name is Jessica Danielle Fryman, but I also answer to Fatoumata Camara.

I know three languages, the third being a tribal tongue less than one percent of the world speaks. I like to run even though I’m not that good at it. I read a lot. And I once published a book I wrote, setting all the type by hand on an old-fashioned printing press. I’m an avid traveler and amateur photographer. I’m also a master spider-killer and possess the ability to stalk my prey without the squeamish screams of my former urban life.

I’m originally from Las Vegas, a city with more people than the entire country where I currently live. I now reside in a two-room concrete house with a tin roof and a ceiling made of rice bags. I eat with my hand out of a shared food bowl. I walk down a dirt road to fetch my water and carry it home in a bucket on my head. And yes, I even poop in a hole in the ground.

Read more about me here.

About The Gambia


The Gambia, known as "The Smiling Coast of Africa," is the smallest country on the continent's mainland. Just 210 miles long and no more than 30 miles at its widest point, The Gambia carves out a space in Senegal on either side of the picturesque Gambia River.
Although many regional languages are spoken, the official language is English. A majority of the 1.8 million people are Muslim. About a third of the population lives below the international poverty line on less than US $1.25 per day.

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