Similar Differences

One thing that has been pretty interesting so far is that the four of us who were in my training village are all Americans. We are each very different from each other, an older male from Seattle, a 22 year old female from Michigan and a 24 year old guy from upstate New York (in addition to myself). We didnt know each other until we all met in Philadelphia  and bonded on our plane ride over to Gambia. For all of our inherent differences, once we  got to Gambia we were all just considered Americans. It was a little hard at first, because we place so much difference on being from our different parts of the country. We also all have our own interests and attitudes and reasons for coming to Gambia. but to the people in Kaif and to most of the other Gambians  we have met we we are all just the same- Americans. We don't get a chance to tell them that the Southwest is dry and hot and your living in what used to be Mexico. The guy from upstate New York didn't really get to explain that his home is in the Adirondack's and not the huge city. People asked if we all knew each other before we came to Gambia, and although it was frustrating not to be able to explain how different we all are, they do have a point in that we are all American. Its the same for the people here in Gambia, though. There are many ethnic groups including Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, Serahuli, and many more that  Im not writing because I don't know how to spell them. Each group is as different as we all are, if not more so. In my Mandinka village we eat rice and peanut sauce, called durango a lot. Five minutes down the road though, the next village is eating something completely different like coos and fresh milk. When I went to Sami Koto the rice and peanut sauce was totally different from the way its made in Kaif, but it still had the same name. Its like ordering green chile and expecting them chopped, but getting some creamy enchilada sauce instead. I guess the point is Im from America, or the United States but all I really know about is life in the El Paso-Las Cruces area. I am looking forward to knowing not the entire country of Gambia, but one small village named Sami Koto.