The only white person on the bus...

I caught the first ferry out of Banjul, at 7am, with my giant blue suitcase and my green bag. On the ferry I was save from having my cell phone stolen by a nice women who spotted the would-be thief and alerted me to his intentions!
Firmly in possession of my, er, possessions, I exited the ferry and made my way toward the bus to Senegal and Dakar. As I walked up it was clear to me that there was no way I would get on. It was over full and people were yelling and pushing to get on. But, a young man approached me and asked if I wanted to take the bus. ‘Sure’ and then I was being shoved on the bus with my giant suitcase. People yelled and the boy was getting angry at people. I was plunked in a seat and told to stay there, no matter what. So I did. The bus eventually started for the border.
At the border I was cleared by immigration (shockingly, I was the only white person on the bus!). Then 50 ft later I was cleared by Senegal immigration.
As we neared Dakar my seatmate asked where I was going in Dakar. This was an interesting exchange, since she didn’t speak any of the languages I speak. With the help of some other passengers they figured out where I was going. Another kind woman took me under her wing and rode in the taxi with me to the Peace Corps Transit house.
Although the experience was hectic and a little scary, kind and gracious people helped me all along the way! Both Gambians and Senegalese were great! Thank you to everyone who got me where I was supposed to go!