Tim James's Talk

Yesterday at lunch, I went to Martin to see Tim James talk. He spoke about his voyage to West Africa over the summer. What he said was fascinating. He spoke a little about colonization.He visited Senegal, a previous French colony, and Gambia, a previous British colony. Senegal forms a backwards C around Gambia. Tim said that the the fastest way to get across Senegal is to go through Gambia. He needed a separate VISA to get through Gambia. Without it, he would have had to drive all the way around. One thing I thought was particularly interesting was that there were no bridges across the Gambia River. They had to use fairies instead. Being a big fan of food, I was intrigued when he said that some of the food he had at some patisseries were up there with those of Paris. When I think of good patisseries, I think of Paris and France, not West Africa. I guess West Africa was more foreign to me, and I knew very little about it. It was also interesting when Tim said that most flights to Senegal went through it's previous colonizer, France. And how most flight to the Gambia went through it's previous colonizer, England. Why is this? So that the old colonizers can still make a profit? Or does it involve language? I learned so much from this talk. I knew very little about West Africa, and now feel I have slightly better knowledge about it.