1. Introductions / intro to Culture / using the Flip cameras
   
2. Presentations: Deaf people’s lives and challenges in the Gambia / Deaf Culture / Gambian Sign Language (GSL) as a developing language.
   
3. Why communicate?  Why interpret?  What is the main purpose for an interpreter?
   
4. Meeting with GADHOH trustees.
   
5. Meeting with local Deaf people - what do Deaf people want from interpreters?
   
6. GSL as a Visual language / SL to English continuum.  (This has been their favourite session so far).
   
7. Why need linguistic knowledge?  What is an interpreter?  How do you get the interpreters’ role, principles / code of ethics / code of practice to reflect Deaf & hearing people and interpreter views?
   
8. GSL and interpreting – what Deaf people would like interpreters to know. 
   
9. English Linguistics / Text analysis / Register & Language style.
   
10. Sign Language Linguistics
    

We also now have 40+ videos of 20+ Deaf people using GSL, a number of those videos also having live simultaneous interpreting, and video of the interpreters working into GSL.

And this is the gecko climbing up the outside of the fly screen on my window before dawn this morning.

Just before I left England we had a request from the interpreters for more laptops.  

In just three days the request to interpreters yielded two older MacBooks, one Asus PC, and several offers to pay for second hand lap tops for me to take.

The problem now was that I had three lap tops to take, with a 20kg cargo and 5kg hand luggage allowance, tops.  Just one of the Macs weighed 4kg! 

I thought I’d try and see what I could get away with, packed a 21kg suitcase, 7kg hand luggage, a shoulder bag weighing 6kg, and a MacBook in a case in my hand.  A total of 34kg, 9kg over.

Given that excess luggage is £15 a kg, it would have cost £135 extra.  Just not affordable.

I explained about the project and the laptops to the woman at the flight desk.  She called the supervisor who said I could take two but not three of the laptops.

After the supervisor left, the lady at the flight desk whispered to me, “quick, take all three laptops in your shoulder bag, I’ll check both suitcase in to cargo, and will write a note on your boarding pass saying ‘laptops allowed charity’ in case they stop you.”  Which she did.  (Top right hand corner).

All I had to do was carry my 9kg shoulder bag so as not to draw attention!  

And so, 9 hours later I was in Gambia with the three laptops.  The interpreters are absolutely chuffed.  That’s one laptop for permanent use at GADHOH, for editing videos, and for the senior interpreter to use.  One for the other interpreters to borrow as needed.  And one for the interpreter in Basse so he can access the internet, and record / edit films of GSL.

small kindnesses big appreciation

The seven students introduce themselves.  You can read more about them below:

• Yahya Sanneh - working in Base region, a day’s drive from the capital Banjul.  Limited GSL skills, this is his first interpreter training.
  
• Yahya Jabbi - Senior Interpreter GADHOH.
  
• Amodou Bah - Nurse, President of the National Youth Parliament of the Gambia, worked with the Rural Support Organisation for the Disabled RSOD  Experience of Deaf patients, working with Deaf and disabled people, but no GSL skills (yet).
  
• Bai Nyuss, Nurse.  Some experience of Deaf patients, no GSL skills.
  
• Mansata Dampha - Interpreter.  Salary and travel paid for by the UK Interpreters’ fund.
  
• Lamin Sonko - Interpreter.  Salary and travel paid for by the UK Interpreters’ fund.
  
• Bakary Sanneh - Interpreter based at GTTI college.
  

Adama Jammeh and Lamin Ceesay came to do a presentation with us about life for Deaf people in The Gambia.  This is the tiniest clip of Adama introducing herself and her name sign.  It is interpreted by Bakery, one of the interpreters on the course.

The whole presentation was filmed, and will now be used as a training resource on the course and for professional development after.

I have to confess to being a little in love with Adama’s beautiful rich GSL, and the passion that fuels it.  

Adam is studying Information Technology at GTTI, where Bakery works, and is chair of the Banjul branch and a national board member of GADHOH.

Deaf people localish to GADHOH who came to meet me, and each other :)

They were really impressed with how easy they are to use, both to film and upload video, and with the amazing quality of the film :)

After warm greetings we took the opportunity to film many of them introducing themselves.  These will become some of the training clips we use on the course. The videos have captured a huge range of signing styles, examples of placement, role-shift, characterisation, directional gaze, and directional verbs.  I'm very happy.

We also discussed their priorities for interpreting, they included: MANY MORE INTERPRETERS, especially in colleges (gateway to employment), health settings, presidential announcements (as that is how impromptu bank holidays etc. are announced), the TV news (they want to know what's happening in the world), and around voting (so they know who to vote for and why).

And then discussed interpreter's roles and 'rules'.  Evidential fuel for our session later looking at developing a collaborative code of ethics between interpreters and Deaf people.

they went out into the bush, hunted and killed a deer.  They dragged the deer back to their home, and threw it into their cooking pot.  Hyena lit the fire, threw in wild herbs, and rabbit stirred.  After some while the stew was ready, but just at that time another deer ran out of the bush, bounded straight into the pot and out again, and was off into the bush.

Hyena looked at the departing deer, and then at the stew.  He continued to look  between the direction the deer had run and the stew, until he shouted to rabbit, "I've got to catch that deer, and once I've caught it and licked the stew off her foot I'll come back for dinner" and was off into the bush.

Many hours later, tired and hungry hyena returned to find that rabbit had eaten all of the stew, and was fast asleep.

I write this 8:45pm on my second day here, in the 95% humidity with sweat dipping off me.  It's cooled down to to a mere 27 degrees, which is as cool as it will get tonight.

Below, internet connection permitting, you'll find some highlights, photos, and possibly even a video of the students.

And the story above is a joke, shared as part of a fabulous student's teach the teacher session.  We had presentations on various aspects of cultural life in The Gambia including: religion, gender, differences in rural and urban life, perspectives on Deafness and disability, and being an interpreter.

I learned loads, but have to confess, I have no idea what the joke tells me about the culture here.  Feel free to speculate ...