more ramblings

Yesterday after class, 17:00, I salue’d my friend Madame AMOU and there happened to be another teacher standing there too. And as always I had my helmet with me. Back in May, I was at the market and there was a sticker guy there with an Obama sticker. So I bought it and stuck it on my helmet. Well, the other teacher commented on the sticker and told me he was my president. I feel as though Beninese really like to state the obvious. Anyways, I told him how I recently found out Obama won the Nobel Prize. He asked, “for what? What did he do?” And to be honest, I don’t know why. Dad mentioned it was for a political reason. The teacher then asked me what he could do to win the Nobel. And I said to get people to stop using the word “yovo.” I was half joking-half not.

Then we got into a little discussion over the use of “yovo” and the derogatory words used for black people in “Yovo”—Land. I had to explain to him that in America at least, the vast majority of people would not just yell out the n-word (well, these days anyways). Yes, it’s still used, but there certainly are not children who delightfully sing an n-word song to every black person.

His response was that the children are amused by white people and get excited to sing the song.

And I told him that that would not be acceptable in America. Then he said some stuff about France and how children supposedly rub black people’s skin to see if the color comes off….blah, blah, blah…and I tried to assure him that’s not how it is. And finally, I said, “well, when you go to America or to France…let me know how it really is, because you do not believe me.”

And then he went on about how he’ll never be able to go to France or to America cause he doesn’t have the money nor any connections with people in high places to help him get there. And on that note, I agreed, felt bad, shut up, and walked away.

And then as I started to leave school, I heard claps of thunder and saw big black clouds. Halfway home it started to sprinkle. And I could hear the rain chasing me from behind. More claps of thunder and a few bolts of lightning. I was ¾ the ay home when it started pouring and I was invited in to a courterier shop to sit and wait for the rain to lighten up a bit. People are nice.