From 2004 to 2006 I was in The Gambia, Africa, working as a Peace Corps Forestry Volunteer. Like many outsiders, I was initially frustrated by the pace of life and work in West Africa. Almost every culture in the region, from the Mandinka of Mali, Gambia, and Guinea, to the Wolof of Senegal, to the far-ranging Fulani, have a common saying that translates as "I am on it, slowly slowly." One of the quintessential pieces of West African advice offered to those seeking to understand life in Africa is, "Domang domang ka suulo muta" - Slowly slowly catches the monkey. Whether they are catching a monkey or catching a cab, everyone in West Africa it seems, is on it, slowly slowly.
This slowly slowly approach to life can be a source of constant surprise and frustration to the outsider.
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Nathan Brouwer (2004 Krista Colleague) After completion of his Peace Corps assignment in The Gambia, Nathan was awarded the distinguished National Science Foundation Fellowship and began graduate study at Michigan State University in conservation biology and ornithology.
