saying bye is hard to do.
as i make my way to different friends' houses, i keep telling them and myself that i will see them once again in my last week before i leave for Cotonou. maybe it's some kind of defence mechanism so that i won't start bawling. but i am gonna have to face the truth very soon. i will have to start saying my final goodbyes. and that may be one of the top three hardest things i have had to do since leaving home once upon a time in 2008.
this afternoon, one of my very first friends in Lokossa stopped by to say thank you for all that i have done, for putting up with a different culture for two years, to say sorry and to excuse the actions of his fellow countrymen, etc, etc. it was all very sweet and very touching. i started crying. and i think i made him uncomfortable, hahaha, but i said excuse me and i think he got it. but i really couldn't help the tears. it got me thinking about how in this last week in Lokossa, i might be hearing a lot of these sweet words. and i am getting choked up just thinking about it.
it's amazing to me how much i have come to love benin. i knew that it was going to be tough leaving. but i don't think i knew just how difficult it was going to be until now.
my heart is slowly breaking into a million little pieces. but maybe that is a good thing because i am leaving them here with the people i have grown to love.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
where did june go?
Seriously. Where did June go? I didn't post a single post during June!
Anyhow, I guess it was a busy month. The beginning of June we were still at school; wrapping things up; devoirs and grading devoirs. I had a couple of photo shoots with my kids, which was super fun and i have some good memories of that and pics to go with it. Then it was time for Camp GLOW!
Camp was a lot like last year; only I brought with me 5 girls: Volonté, Erbine, Adèle, Rose and Odile. Volonté is like my smartest and most put together student I have had these past two years. She's our schools pride and joy. Erbine and Adèle are sisters. Erbine is the smart and shy one; Adèle is less smart but outgoing and loves to dance. Rose was the shy girl of our group and the one who i think enjoyed herself the most. everytime i checked in with her; she spoke to me a mile a minute with the biggest smile on her face. And Odile was the girl who let me down. She was attached at the hip to Volonté and was anti-social and hardly participated. Booo! When camp was over; our chaffeur who brought us to Porto-Novo picked us up; and he wasn't even that late! On the way home; we made a pit stop at Erevan; the grande supermarché. It was an awesome experience for them i am sure; but for me as well to see a supermarket through the eyes of a true villager. Amazing!
At the moment, I am at my cyber. I came here to continue computer lessons with my favorite student. and now we are caught in the rain! can't walk home in the rain! i've taught him how to use microsoft word; paint, and the internet/gmail. because he's a smartie he has picked up on this whole computer thing quite quickly.
it's amazing to think that i only have 4 weeks or so left in Benin!
the newbies arrive tomorrow night! and i will be going to the bureau to do some work. and somewhat unfortunately, ALL 61 of them plus the trainers will be there too! yuck! but at the same time, i look forward to answering their questions and feeling like a know it all, which i am not.
Rosie is doing well. i am super pumped about bringing her home with me. i think she'll like america. though she won't be as free to run like the wind like she does here, on my road. but by that same token, she won't have people hurling humongo rocks at her. m-effers.
lastly, i am sad because my camera has kicked the bucket. it turns on but refuses to take pictures! so unless my friend lends me her camera, there will be no more benin pics for me or you!
Anyhow, I guess it was a busy month. The beginning of June we were still at school; wrapping things up; devoirs and grading devoirs. I had a couple of photo shoots with my kids, which was super fun and i have some good memories of that and pics to go with it. Then it was time for Camp GLOW!
Camp was a lot like last year; only I brought with me 5 girls: Volonté, Erbine, Adèle, Rose and Odile. Volonté is like my smartest and most put together student I have had these past two years. She's our schools pride and joy. Erbine and Adèle are sisters. Erbine is the smart and shy one; Adèle is less smart but outgoing and loves to dance. Rose was the shy girl of our group and the one who i think enjoyed herself the most. everytime i checked in with her; she spoke to me a mile a minute with the biggest smile on her face. And Odile was the girl who let me down. She was attached at the hip to Volonté and was anti-social and hardly participated. Booo! When camp was over; our chaffeur who brought us to Porto-Novo picked us up; and he wasn't even that late! On the way home; we made a pit stop at Erevan; the grande supermarché. It was an awesome experience for them i am sure; but for me as well to see a supermarket through the eyes of a true villager. Amazing!
At the moment, I am at my cyber. I came here to continue computer lessons with my favorite student. and now we are caught in the rain! can't walk home in the rain! i've taught him how to use microsoft word; paint, and the internet/gmail. because he's a smartie he has picked up on this whole computer thing quite quickly.
it's amazing to think that i only have 4 weeks or so left in Benin!
the newbies arrive tomorrow night! and i will be going to the bureau to do some work. and somewhat unfortunately, ALL 61 of them plus the trainers will be there too! yuck! but at the same time, i look forward to answering their questions and feeling like a know it all, which i am not.
Rosie is doing well. i am super pumped about bringing her home with me. i think she'll like america. though she won't be as free to run like the wind like she does here, on my road. but by that same token, she won't have people hurling humongo rocks at her. m-effers.
lastly, i am sad because my camera has kicked the bucket. it turns on but refuses to take pictures! so unless my friend lends me her camera, there will be no more benin pics for me or you!
Monday, May 31, 2010
To Rain or Not to Rain; That is THE Question
We are on the cusp of rainy season!
This morning I awoke to a gray sky and it reminded me of home. Not too long after I woke up I watched as the clouds were moving swiftly across the sky. Moments later, the wind picked up and swirled leaves around on the ground that I just had cleaned yesterday. It was strong enough that it blew open my front gate, which I thought was firmly closed! And I could hear the quick patter and flop-flops of little feet running home, mixed in with the excited/nervous screaming of small people voices. And then slowly but surely came the rain. Single sounding fat drops that plopped against my tin roof. More and more drops fell and I retreated into the house and picked up a book, Angels and Demons and waited till the bulk of the storm had passed.
Then I decided I was hungry…and now I am in the process of making bagels. This will be my first ever batch of bagels. I will eat them with a packet of Lachs, (yes Lachs, not Lox; though I am fairly certain they are the same thing) that Catherine cadeau-ed me before she left. ***Thanks Catherine!*** I am currently waiting for the dough to double in size before making them into bagel shapes.
The rain this morning reminded me of a story. A couple weeks ago, Monday morning I was teaching my 6eme M3 class. It was just about 9 o’clock. I was quite irritated with some kids in class because they were causing me trouble and I was ready to cut out of class 20 minutes early. And as I was gathering my things together, I looked outside to see the blackest 9 o’clock sky I had ever seen! The humongous black cloud looked like it was ten feet off the ground and it was slowly making its way toward us. The air became quite chilly. The boys were pulling their arms into their sleeves and the girls were wrapping themselves up with the pieces of cloth they usually use to block the sun from their heads and faces. Everyone was rubbing their hands and arms to generate some heat. I felt nothing but bliss.
The big black cloud all heavy with rain made all the colors so bright and vivid! There is one particular type of bush that my school utilizes as a wall-perimeter around the school grounds. The flowers of this bush are a bright lemon yellow color. With the black monster as a background, I thought to myself that bush has never looked so green nor those flowers so yellow! How beautiful! And then moments later the wind was picking up. This was no little breeze. This was like hurricane wind, like The Wizard of Oz wind that picked up Dorothy and Toto and the Wicked Witch of the West. My students all at once ran to the other side of the room all the while screaming like four year old little girls. The rain was now pounding and the wind in full force. The roof in corner of the room where the teacher’s “desk” is, was lifting up! I for sure thought that the entire portion of the roof that covers our classroom was going to lift up. And it made such a terrible sound; quite the opposite lovely sound rain makes as it hits the tin roof. And then I found myself among my students huddled outside the classroom behind the safety of the wall. And I thought of myself as a mother hen huddled with her chicks caught in a rainstorm.
In other news, this past Thursday, I left the house perhaps a quarter to seven for my 7am class. I had let the dog out around 7:30am thinking that she would have come back before I left. But that dog is one clever little gal. She has a knack for knowing when I am in a hurry to leave. I figured she would be okay outside, running around, causing mischief while I was at school. I thought that I was out of her sight; and I hopped onto a zem. As we got to the highway, the zems waiting for customers all pointed behind us and said “eh, regarde…tchuku!” which translates to “hey, look…they dog!” Practically everyone in the neighborhood knows my dog and sometimes her name. I told the zem to stop. But most likely, he doesn’t know French and didn’t stop even though he saw that my dog was following us. JERK! I finally got him to stop after we were on the highway and Rosie was still following. She was a panting and looked a little disoriented (she’s never been to this part of the neighborhood) and a little excited and happy with herself. I managed to nab her and made the zem take us back to my house where I locked her in. Stupid dog! I ended up paying a little extra for my ride to school because of her.
And later in the morning, Basile, a kid from 6eme M3 who’s been absent from class recently came into my other class—6eme M2 to say hello. All of a sudden kids in M2 were all in an uproar of laughter as they told me to look at what Basile was wearing. Sure enough, I look down at his feet and he is wearing REAL wooden clogs! How in the world and where in the world did this kid get these shoes?!
Au Benin!
This morning I awoke to a gray sky and it reminded me of home. Not too long after I woke up I watched as the clouds were moving swiftly across the sky. Moments later, the wind picked up and swirled leaves around on the ground that I just had cleaned yesterday. It was strong enough that it blew open my front gate, which I thought was firmly closed! And I could hear the quick patter and flop-flops of little feet running home, mixed in with the excited/nervous screaming of small people voices. And then slowly but surely came the rain. Single sounding fat drops that plopped against my tin roof. More and more drops fell and I retreated into the house and picked up a book, Angels and Demons and waited till the bulk of the storm had passed.
Then I decided I was hungry…and now I am in the process of making bagels. This will be my first ever batch of bagels. I will eat them with a packet of Lachs, (yes Lachs, not Lox; though I am fairly certain they are the same thing) that Catherine cadeau-ed me before she left. ***Thanks Catherine!*** I am currently waiting for the dough to double in size before making them into bagel shapes.
The rain this morning reminded me of a story. A couple weeks ago, Monday morning I was teaching my 6eme M3 class. It was just about 9 o’clock. I was quite irritated with some kids in class because they were causing me trouble and I was ready to cut out of class 20 minutes early. And as I was gathering my things together, I looked outside to see the blackest 9 o’clock sky I had ever seen! The humongous black cloud looked like it was ten feet off the ground and it was slowly making its way toward us. The air became quite chilly. The boys were pulling their arms into their sleeves and the girls were wrapping themselves up with the pieces of cloth they usually use to block the sun from their heads and faces. Everyone was rubbing their hands and arms to generate some heat. I felt nothing but bliss.
The big black cloud all heavy with rain made all the colors so bright and vivid! There is one particular type of bush that my school utilizes as a wall-perimeter around the school grounds. The flowers of this bush are a bright lemon yellow color. With the black monster as a background, I thought to myself that bush has never looked so green nor those flowers so yellow! How beautiful! And then moments later the wind was picking up. This was no little breeze. This was like hurricane wind, like The Wizard of Oz wind that picked up Dorothy and Toto and the Wicked Witch of the West. My students all at once ran to the other side of the room all the while screaming like four year old little girls. The rain was now pounding and the wind in full force. The roof in corner of the room where the teacher’s “desk” is, was lifting up! I for sure thought that the entire portion of the roof that covers our classroom was going to lift up. And it made such a terrible sound; quite the opposite lovely sound rain makes as it hits the tin roof. And then I found myself among my students huddled outside the classroom behind the safety of the wall. And I thought of myself as a mother hen huddled with her chicks caught in a rainstorm.
In other news, this past Thursday, I left the house perhaps a quarter to seven for my 7am class. I had let the dog out around 7:30am thinking that she would have come back before I left. But that dog is one clever little gal. She has a knack for knowing when I am in a hurry to leave. I figured she would be okay outside, running around, causing mischief while I was at school. I thought that I was out of her sight; and I hopped onto a zem. As we got to the highway, the zems waiting for customers all pointed behind us and said “eh, regarde…tchuku!” which translates to “hey, look…they dog!” Practically everyone in the neighborhood knows my dog and sometimes her name. I told the zem to stop. But most likely, he doesn’t know French and didn’t stop even though he saw that my dog was following us. JERK! I finally got him to stop after we were on the highway and Rosie was still following. She was a panting and looked a little disoriented (she’s never been to this part of the neighborhood) and a little excited and happy with herself. I managed to nab her and made the zem take us back to my house where I locked her in. Stupid dog! I ended up paying a little extra for my ride to school because of her.
And later in the morning, Basile, a kid from 6eme M3 who’s been absent from class recently came into my other class—6eme M2 to say hello. All of a sudden kids in M2 were all in an uproar of laughter as they told me to look at what Basile was wearing. Sure enough, I look down at his feet and he is wearing REAL wooden clogs! How in the world and where in the world did this kid get these shoes?!
Au Benin!
Friday, May 7, 2010
old skool pics!
my favorite class.
class in a paillote. it's got a great breeze!
no powerpoints here. it looks like a chalkboard, but it's really some plywood painted black.
groupwork.
workin' on a wordsearch (that i made up myself)
not everyone likes to work together.
next to a cornfield. 
building to the right is what my predecessor built. the building in the back is where the other 5eme classes are.
football (aka soccer field) on the other side. and latrines is what that little building in next to board is.
my bad ass bike
Rosie hiding in my closet.
up close.
i made this. mmmm, it was real good! watch out pagliacci's!
burning out
Be careful for what you wish for…because usually, it comes true!
You may recall that at the beginning of the school year, I was struggling and lost the battle to take a class that I had last year. And then my colleague who was their teacher had her baby, back in January/February…and I was able to take over her class. And it was super exciting at first.
And then the 18 hour work week was really starting to get to me; especially the waking up super early for the 7 am classes three times a week! Eeew! I know you all know that I am NOT a morning person; so this had been kinda like torture. And mix that with the SUPER hot days were having and you get one grumpy girl, also known as Michelle.
So, at our weekly English staff meetings I had been trying to figure out if Madame was going to come back…and it turns out she did! And she came back when she said she was! My standards have been lowered :-/ And as a result, I told the 5eme class (the non-favorite class) that I was letting them go, that they’d be getting their old teacher back…ahhh, the tears I caused! No, not really, but the majority were outspokenly opposed. Oh the little cuties…So I think it’s gonna be a smidge awkward as I make my way out to their class. 5m4 is in the paillote (sp?) classroom. A paillote is a nice-ish stick shack, flimsy, sometimes a thatched roof—we have tin roofs instead; thatched ones are cooler, and breezy! I wish we had paillotes back home. But I don’t think that the weather is very conducive to them.
I have to admit that I am starting to burn out. Every day is something new. And whether I plan it out or not, every day is a busy day. And that sucks, especially when I don’t have a car, the sun is punching you in the face, you sweat more than a fat man in a sauna, and there’s no time to take a nap.
Today was a market day. I met up with my post mate Nathaniel and Sarah to pick out même tissue = same fabric for our Mono (department) hoodies! We’ll be showing some solidarity at our COS conference, which is coming up sooner than I wish it would. I feel like there is much to do before then, and it’s getting in the way of what I need to do…but I am also looking forward to it a lot.
Peace Corps is putting us up in a really nice hotel with air conditioning, a nice pool, and WI-FI and CNN (satellite TV) in our rooms!!!!!!!!!!
That’s all for now. I am super tired and going to sleep.
PS
I finished up two books this week:
The Red Tent—A really good book about Jacob’s one and only daughter, Dinah. I highly recommend this book.
and
The Sex Lives of Cannibals—An entertaining travelogue about this guy and his fiancé who move to the Equitorial Pacific island nation, of Kiribati (did you know it’s pronounced “Keer-E-bas?”). It’s one of those cross-cultural books. It’s good, not as good as I heard it built up to be, but entertaining.
You may recall that at the beginning of the school year, I was struggling and lost the battle to take a class that I had last year. And then my colleague who was their teacher had her baby, back in January/February…and I was able to take over her class. And it was super exciting at first.
And then the 18 hour work week was really starting to get to me; especially the waking up super early for the 7 am classes three times a week! Eeew! I know you all know that I am NOT a morning person; so this had been kinda like torture. And mix that with the SUPER hot days were having and you get one grumpy girl, also known as Michelle.
So, at our weekly English staff meetings I had been trying to figure out if Madame was going to come back…and it turns out she did! And she came back when she said she was! My standards have been lowered :-/ And as a result, I told the 5eme class (the non-favorite class) that I was letting them go, that they’d be getting their old teacher back…ahhh, the tears I caused! No, not really, but the majority were outspokenly opposed. Oh the little cuties…So I think it’s gonna be a smidge awkward as I make my way out to their class. 5m4 is in the paillote (sp?) classroom. A paillote is a nice-ish stick shack, flimsy, sometimes a thatched roof—we have tin roofs instead; thatched ones are cooler, and breezy! I wish we had paillotes back home. But I don’t think that the weather is very conducive to them.
I have to admit that I am starting to burn out. Every day is something new. And whether I plan it out or not, every day is a busy day. And that sucks, especially when I don’t have a car, the sun is punching you in the face, you sweat more than a fat man in a sauna, and there’s no time to take a nap.
Today was a market day. I met up with my post mate Nathaniel and Sarah to pick out même tissue = same fabric for our Mono (department) hoodies! We’ll be showing some solidarity at our COS conference, which is coming up sooner than I wish it would. I feel like there is much to do before then, and it’s getting in the way of what I need to do…but I am also looking forward to it a lot.
Peace Corps is putting us up in a really nice hotel with air conditioning, a nice pool, and WI-FI and CNN (satellite TV) in our rooms!!!!!!!!!!
That’s all for now. I am super tired and going to sleep.
PS
I finished up two books this week:
The Red Tent—A really good book about Jacob’s one and only daughter, Dinah. I highly recommend this book.
and
The Sex Lives of Cannibals—An entertaining travelogue about this guy and his fiancé who move to the Equitorial Pacific island nation, of Kiribati (did you know it’s pronounced “Keer-E-bas?”). It’s one of those cross-cultural books. It’s good, not as good as I heard it built up to be, but entertaining.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Agoué
Yesterday I had an awesome adventure. (sorry, no photos)
My friend and colleague at another school, Romain, took me to visit his village, Agoué. This village is on the highway on the road to Togo. In fact, it’s only 2k away from the official border crossing. But, in reality it’s a tweener village. The Mono River is what separates Togo from Benin. And Agoué is nestled on a narrowish strip of land, probably less than 1k wide. The Atlantic Ocean is on one side and the Mono River is on the other.
I really wish that I had brought along my camera. But it’s hard to remember.
We left Lokossa around 8am and moto-ed all the way to Agoué. It didn’t take as nearly as long as I thought it would, probably an hour and fifteen minutes. However, my rear end couldn’t have been happier to get off the moto and walk around the rest of the day.
We visited Romain’s friend and parked his moto and my helmet at this house. Then we set off. We walked through a cemetery just meters away. And he showed me where his grandmother and uncle are buried. I later found out this cemetery was for the animists of the village. It is just out there, next to the beach, in the sand, not affiliated with any church.
We walked a little ways and found the beach. Houses are literally next to the shores of the water. The shoreline is probably less than 10 meters away! Romain remembers the water being a lot further away when he was a little boy 18 years ago. And we continued walking along the beach till we found someone who knew where his uncle and cousin lived. We sat and he chatted with his uncle; in Mina, a local language, of course and I didn’t understand a lick of words said. But I assumed they talked about what our plans for the day were.
After visiting his uncle, we went over to the Catholic mission. I think I was told that this is the oldest mission in Benin, it’s a little over 150 years old. And we walked in and looked around in the cemetery but couldn’t find Romain’s grandfather’s grave. I asked how deep the graves were and I think he said a couple meters deep. And to that I replied, that chez moi, people are buried 6 feet under (great show, btw) or about 3 meters. And here, they like to put a big, long cement or cement covered with tiles, block over the grave. Though, I am not sure if people are entombed in this cement chunk, or if it’s there as some kind of cover or marker. Also, the first president of Togo and his wife are buried in this cemetery. By the way, it was REALLY, really hot.
Lunch was next. And it was really hot and I was super hungry. So food and a cold drink were a great relief.
After lunch, we made our way towards the Mono River. As we were walking the sky was getting a bit darker and the wind was really picking up, blowing sand everywhere. I knew that it was going to rain. Houses here are built up off the ground; really high, actually. And this is to prevent the houses from getting flooded during the rainy season when the Mono rises. We stopped in at a couple of houses. The first was the house of his deceased grandmother, so I assumed the people still living there are his relatives. There was the cutest little girl there, who took to me like fly on honey. By the time we left (and we were there only 10 minutes or so) she was sitting in my lap, head on my shoulder. SO cute!!
And then we went over to Romain’s aunt’s house. Once we sat down, the rain started coming down. Not hard or anything, but more like Seattle rain, like when it rains continuously for an hour or so. So there we sat, for longer than I liked, but whatever. Only, it’s not fun to sit and listen to people speak a language you don’t understand. I felt like a child because here, people don’t really talk to children; they talk at them. So I just sat there, watching them talk. Every now and then they’d all glance at me, and I could tell they were talking something about me, but it never seemed negative, it usually doesn’t, so I didn’t and don’t mind too much.
When the rain finally let up, we walked to the river bank and stepped into a pirogue and a teenage boy ferried us across the river. On the other side, the boat stopped in the sand bank meters from the shore and the water looked gross and there were plants and I didn’t feel like walking in it. So Romain offered to carry me, piggy back to the shore. hahaha, thank god because I did not want to step in that part of the water. So now we were in Togo!
We meandered into the village. The purpose of going to Togo and the village of Agouégan was to go to Romain’s grandfather’s village and get/eat some coconuts. We walked through the empty market, where apparently nothing has changed in the past 18 years! The rain started up again and we sat and sat at an old lady’s house for a while till the rain stopped. She offered me/us something to drink, but I refused at first. And then she asked/told me that I was refusing her, so I broke down and accepted a drink. LionKiller. That’s what it’s called, it’s “sparkling lemonade” but tasted like a 7up. (My bladder was getting full.) Naturally conversation was in Mina, and again I just watched them talk.
As the rain slowed we continued to the more village-y part of town where, grandpére lived. And this was the most beautiful walk I’ve ever had. Walking out there, the scenery was gorgeous. It was everything I ever imagined a village in Africa to look like (minus some elephants :P). There were coconut palm trees every where, a red sand/dirt path, tall grass, wide open fields, etc. Since it had rained, it was easy to walk in the sand, and the air was filled with a clean Earthy, grassy smell. We finally arrived at the grandfather’s land. There were coconut palm trees 30+ feet high everywhere and plots of sprouting corn shoots underneath. In the back of this area was a little family compound with several little huts, all with thatched roofs, and one more modern building made of cement bricks and a tin roof. Children were all around, mostly inside because of the rain.
There was one coconut tree that wasn’t as tall as the rest, so Romain and his older cousin that was with us took down several young coconuts and we drank them (I really only had room for one), and there was hardly any meat in them, which was sad, cause I love eating the young, tender coconut meat from the green coconuts.
And then we were on our way back to the old lady’s house. And I immediately had to use her latrine. This time we didn’t stick around too long. Before we left, she insisted I take 10 coconuts back with me! 10! What am I gonna do with 10 coconuts?! I’ll have a few, but I think I am gonna have to gift people with the rest!
Crossing back into Benin was simple. We had to greet the gendarmes. Romain’s cousin told them we had made a visit to the champs (fields). And he made some funny comment about bringing Madame into the fields. I thought for a split second he was gonna give us trouble, but that was it. And there was a big pirogue ready to go back across the river. I rolled up my jeans, pulled off my flip-flops and had minor difficulty climbing into the boat. I really rocked it! Hahaha, but a helping hand let me in. And we were off.
And that’s it. That was my adventure. We got home just after dark. And once again my rear end was happy to be off the moto.
And I was super tired and chilled kinda to the bone because the air was crispy-ish because of the rain. So I boiled some water and took a hot bucket shower and went to sleep, without the fan I might add. Though it was turned on at 1 in the morning when it got too stuffy.
So all in all, it was an awesome day.
My friend and colleague at another school, Romain, took me to visit his village, Agoué. This village is on the highway on the road to Togo. In fact, it’s only 2k away from the official border crossing. But, in reality it’s a tweener village. The Mono River is what separates Togo from Benin. And Agoué is nestled on a narrowish strip of land, probably less than 1k wide. The Atlantic Ocean is on one side and the Mono River is on the other.
I really wish that I had brought along my camera. But it’s hard to remember.
We left Lokossa around 8am and moto-ed all the way to Agoué. It didn’t take as nearly as long as I thought it would, probably an hour and fifteen minutes. However, my rear end couldn’t have been happier to get off the moto and walk around the rest of the day.
We visited Romain’s friend and parked his moto and my helmet at this house. Then we set off. We walked through a cemetery just meters away. And he showed me where his grandmother and uncle are buried. I later found out this cemetery was for the animists of the village. It is just out there, next to the beach, in the sand, not affiliated with any church.
We walked a little ways and found the beach. Houses are literally next to the shores of the water. The shoreline is probably less than 10 meters away! Romain remembers the water being a lot further away when he was a little boy 18 years ago. And we continued walking along the beach till we found someone who knew where his uncle and cousin lived. We sat and he chatted with his uncle; in Mina, a local language, of course and I didn’t understand a lick of words said. But I assumed they talked about what our plans for the day were.
After visiting his uncle, we went over to the Catholic mission. I think I was told that this is the oldest mission in Benin, it’s a little over 150 years old. And we walked in and looked around in the cemetery but couldn’t find Romain’s grandfather’s grave. I asked how deep the graves were and I think he said a couple meters deep. And to that I replied, that chez moi, people are buried 6 feet under (great show, btw) or about 3 meters. And here, they like to put a big, long cement or cement covered with tiles, block over the grave. Though, I am not sure if people are entombed in this cement chunk, or if it’s there as some kind of cover or marker. Also, the first president of Togo and his wife are buried in this cemetery. By the way, it was REALLY, really hot.
Lunch was next. And it was really hot and I was super hungry. So food and a cold drink were a great relief.
After lunch, we made our way towards the Mono River. As we were walking the sky was getting a bit darker and the wind was really picking up, blowing sand everywhere. I knew that it was going to rain. Houses here are built up off the ground; really high, actually. And this is to prevent the houses from getting flooded during the rainy season when the Mono rises. We stopped in at a couple of houses. The first was the house of his deceased grandmother, so I assumed the people still living there are his relatives. There was the cutest little girl there, who took to me like fly on honey. By the time we left (and we were there only 10 minutes or so) she was sitting in my lap, head on my shoulder. SO cute!!
And then we went over to Romain’s aunt’s house. Once we sat down, the rain started coming down. Not hard or anything, but more like Seattle rain, like when it rains continuously for an hour or so. So there we sat, for longer than I liked, but whatever. Only, it’s not fun to sit and listen to people speak a language you don’t understand. I felt like a child because here, people don’t really talk to children; they talk at them. So I just sat there, watching them talk. Every now and then they’d all glance at me, and I could tell they were talking something about me, but it never seemed negative, it usually doesn’t, so I didn’t and don’t mind too much.
When the rain finally let up, we walked to the river bank and stepped into a pirogue and a teenage boy ferried us across the river. On the other side, the boat stopped in the sand bank meters from the shore and the water looked gross and there were plants and I didn’t feel like walking in it. So Romain offered to carry me, piggy back to the shore. hahaha, thank god because I did not want to step in that part of the water. So now we were in Togo!
We meandered into the village. The purpose of going to Togo and the village of Agouégan was to go to Romain’s grandfather’s village and get/eat some coconuts. We walked through the empty market, where apparently nothing has changed in the past 18 years! The rain started up again and we sat and sat at an old lady’s house for a while till the rain stopped. She offered me/us something to drink, but I refused at first. And then she asked/told me that I was refusing her, so I broke down and accepted a drink. LionKiller. That’s what it’s called, it’s “sparkling lemonade” but tasted like a 7up. (My bladder was getting full.) Naturally conversation was in Mina, and again I just watched them talk.
As the rain slowed we continued to the more village-y part of town where, grandpére lived. And this was the most beautiful walk I’ve ever had. Walking out there, the scenery was gorgeous. It was everything I ever imagined a village in Africa to look like (minus some elephants :P). There were coconut palm trees every where, a red sand/dirt path, tall grass, wide open fields, etc. Since it had rained, it was easy to walk in the sand, and the air was filled with a clean Earthy, grassy smell. We finally arrived at the grandfather’s land. There were coconut palm trees 30+ feet high everywhere and plots of sprouting corn shoots underneath. In the back of this area was a little family compound with several little huts, all with thatched roofs, and one more modern building made of cement bricks and a tin roof. Children were all around, mostly inside because of the rain.
There was one coconut tree that wasn’t as tall as the rest, so Romain and his older cousin that was with us took down several young coconuts and we drank them (I really only had room for one), and there was hardly any meat in them, which was sad, cause I love eating the young, tender coconut meat from the green coconuts.
And then we were on our way back to the old lady’s house. And I immediately had to use her latrine. This time we didn’t stick around too long. Before we left, she insisted I take 10 coconuts back with me! 10! What am I gonna do with 10 coconuts?! I’ll have a few, but I think I am gonna have to gift people with the rest!
Crossing back into Benin was simple. We had to greet the gendarmes. Romain’s cousin told them we had made a visit to the champs (fields). And he made some funny comment about bringing Madame into the fields. I thought for a split second he was gonna give us trouble, but that was it. And there was a big pirogue ready to go back across the river. I rolled up my jeans, pulled off my flip-flops and had minor difficulty climbing into the boat. I really rocked it! Hahaha, but a helping hand let me in. And we were off.
And that’s it. That was my adventure. We got home just after dark. And once again my rear end was happy to be off the moto.
And I was super tired and chilled kinda to the bone because the air was crispy-ish because of the rain. So I boiled some water and took a hot bucket shower and went to sleep, without the fan I might add. Though it was turned on at 1 in the morning when it got too stuffy.
So all in all, it was an awesome day.
rollercoaster
Thursday, April 15th, 2010
Today was one of those classic Peace Corps “rollercoaster” days. And it was also one of the longest days of my life!
It all started with me waking up at 6:15 am (for the 3rd time this week) and laying in bed, thinking about how long the day would be. Needless to say I was hesitant to get out of bed. But I did, and put on my best Beninese outfit. A model. A form fitting top and a long skirt that hugs the butt and hips and flares out at the knees all the way down to the floor. It’s actually quite flattering, I think, for women’s bodies. But then again, I may have perma-Benin-goggles on. Kinda like beer-goggles, but Benin-goggles—because my sense of style is probably out of sync!
Then I was out the door and at school for my first of four classes. 7am to 8am. No biggie. Then came my 8am to 10am class. Right off the bat I gave them a quiz. That ate up nearly 45 minutes of our time. That meant nearly an hour left to teach. So I gave the kids a reading comprehension. There was a big text (16 sentences!), it’s called Earth and Pollution. I thought I would work on a little bit of pronunciation; so I wrote out the text on flashcards in pretty colored markers. They were very pleasing to the eye, and I thought that the kids would get a kick out of them, and the chance to read a text aloud to practice their reading skills. Well, I was wrong. They were complete little jerks and wouldn’t be quiet enough for me to hear the kids reading. So I angrily took back all the cards and made them answer questions on the text. This took up the rest of our time. Not to mention, at “10am” the Best English Students Awards awards ceremony was going to start. So I left and took a zem into town.
I was really hungry since I hadn’t had anything to eat. So when I got off the zem, I walked on over to CEG1 (College d’Enseigment General)= middle/highschool and grabbed a sandwich. 10am is when all schools have a 25 minute break so that kids can eat, and whatever before going back to class at 10:15 (the break starts at 9:50). So needless to say, I was battling kids to get something to eat. Usually, at my school, I send a kid to get me whatever it is that they have that I want to eat. Easy! But at CEG1 I had to wait in line and since I got there around 10, or a little after, all the good stuff was done!
Then I walked back over to the “Maison de Peuple” (The People’s House). It’s a big venue that is rented out to whoever wants it for various gatherings, ceremonies, etc. The Mayor of Lokossa, Mr Dakpe SOSSOU rented out the venue as a donation to the BESA competition. And I saw my other PCV buddies had arrived in Peace Corps’ newest vehicle with Brownie, our country director. I looked up and saw my bicycle! Yay! I was really happy, it has been waiting for me for nearly a month in Cotonou after being repaired. I asked Brownie right then if we could take the bike back to my place, and we did! Ahhh, I love riding around in PC vehicles (air conditioning!). And it’s such a novelty to be able to ride around in a nice vehicle, a SUV nonetheless, at post, where my transportation usually consists of riding a moto(rcycle), walking, or riding my bike. Or if I am going out of town—I am in a beat up 1970’s Peugot with no seatbelts. These cars have seriously gone to hell and back, I think. 95% or more of the time the speedometer is broken, the gas gauge, the radio is broke or flat out missing, the window spinner thingys are missing, etc, I could go on forever about these cars! It’s really amazing how they still run!!!!
So, yeah, I got my bike back and then we went back to the ceremony, which still hadn’t begun.
I dunno what time it actually started, but it did and it was awesome. Very entertaining, compared to last year. Everyone, well, the important people gave speeches. And when it was Brownie’s turn, she invited up all the kids and spoke directly to them. Oh, how they loved it! And so did I! All the big wigs talked and talked and most of it was good, but I loved how Brownie got the kids up to the podium with her to literally share the spotlight (on TV—two news stations showed up!) with the kids and interacted with them and really made it about them, the kids, the participants, the winners of the Best English Students Awards. Awesome. And before the general prize giving went under way, there was a special prize and RECOGNITION to a blind girl, who made it to the second round of BESA, but was beat out. But the organizers wanted to give recognition to this girl, who despite her handicap, is somehow the top English student of her commune, and at her school. I almost started crying it was so moving!
At the end of the ceremony, there are refreshments, but Brownie says that we are going to a restaurant. As I am literally climbing into the SUV, I see my girl from last year who was a finalist and winner this year. She’s there with her momma and papa and littlist brother. Perquiste is her name, and she wanted to introduce me to her mom! And I tell her mom congratualtions. And that her daughter is very bright. And told Perquiste to continue the great work. And then her mom tells Perquiste that her Madame was very pretty! And then I said hello to papa. And I congratulated him too. And he said “Non, c’est a cause de toi!” (No, it’s because of you!) Well, in reality this girl was very bright, I dunno how much I helped last year, but nonetheless, it made me feel 1000% awesome.
FINALLY around 1ish things wrapped up and Brownie and Maria, my APCD invited us all out to lunch at a nice restaurant, where I ate akassa (fermented, jello-y, sour-ish, molded, boiled corn mush—most, like 90% of volunteers do not like it, especially at first!) and rabbit! Yum rabbit!
And after lunch I was dropped off by Maria and the PC car! Yay!!
I finished prepping a lesson, in the 25 or so minutes I had before I had to leave for work. And then I get to school and walk into class. I pulled out a text I had written out on a big khaki piece of paper (the same paper I use to write quizzes on) and told the kids: QUIZ! And right then there were like 30 “eh?? Madame!”s. Ohhh, how I love joking with my children. It makes it all worth it! So I put up the text and tell them to all read it quietly. And then I begin circulating the room. And this is where the lowest point of my day comes in. I am standing in the back between the awesome group of girls and the awesome group of boys, when I look up and see an entire class running into the class next door. Moments later, Judith, a girl I had last year get to the door, looks me right in the eye and says in a loud and clear voice “BON SOIR YOVO!” UUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHH! I immediately storm out of my class and pull her out of hers and ask her what she said. And she said “Non, je juste vous saluez” (no, I was just saying hello.) And I send her off to the vice-principals office.
Omigod, that made me furious. I walked back to my class and almost started to cry. How could she say that to me? Her former teacher. And then I got to looking around at the my favorite class of students and thought about if that girl, Judith, could call me YOVO, what about these guys? And that really broke my heart. Words can’t fully express the pain of those words that cut my heart so deep. I must admit that I sulked in class for a good hour after that. But my favorite kids, 5M2, somehow found a way to make me smile again. I really, truly love that class.
After class, I had my little guy, Sylvain buy me water. When he came back I told him to tell his parents that we’re making plans to talk on Wednesday. I am going to tell them that I am paying for his education. I then turned to my favorite colleague and told her about the YOVO incident and she just shrugged her shoulders. And that was just as painful. It’s painful because they don’t understand how this YOVO word can be malicious and be used to mock me, and make me feel like crap.
The bell rang for the next class to start. But instead of walking straight to class, I stopped by the vice-principal’s. I wanted to make sure that Judith had paid him a visit, which she did. And she was punished and seriously talked to. But I still was upset and I let my v-p know. And he kinda, made me feel better after a little talk. He said that the Beninese love white people, (le peau bland) and that people essentially use it because they love us so much, that it’s a term of endearment. True, but I find that it’s endearing when it’s used by a toddler whose parents don’t speak French, nor know any better. But I guess, in essence, people really do get excited and happy to see me when I am near. Conversation drifted to other matters and I had to excuse myself to get to class.
Last class of the day! A sizeable chunk of kids were missing because they haven’t finished paying for school fees and were as a result, sent home and told not to come back till it’s paid. We did a reading comprehension here too, in 6eme. And it was awesome. There were pictures I redrew and colored to go along with the text. It was amazing how interested and interactive the kids were today. I have been working on calling the shyer kids to participate and it’s paying off. I have girls (and boys) who never said a single PEEP raising their hands, wanting to participate! It’s such an amazing feeling to have these kids turn around like this. It warms my heart.
So there you go. A rollercoaster ride. And I am glad that today is done. I am thankful for today. It will surely be one that sticks in my mind forever, but I am happy for tomorrow and look forward to what it will bring.
Today was one of those classic Peace Corps “rollercoaster” days. And it was also one of the longest days of my life!
It all started with me waking up at 6:15 am (for the 3rd time this week) and laying in bed, thinking about how long the day would be. Needless to say I was hesitant to get out of bed. But I did, and put on my best Beninese outfit. A model. A form fitting top and a long skirt that hugs the butt and hips and flares out at the knees all the way down to the floor. It’s actually quite flattering, I think, for women’s bodies. But then again, I may have perma-Benin-goggles on. Kinda like beer-goggles, but Benin-goggles—because my sense of style is probably out of sync!
Then I was out the door and at school for my first of four classes. 7am to 8am. No biggie. Then came my 8am to 10am class. Right off the bat I gave them a quiz. That ate up nearly 45 minutes of our time. That meant nearly an hour left to teach. So I gave the kids a reading comprehension. There was a big text (16 sentences!), it’s called Earth and Pollution. I thought I would work on a little bit of pronunciation; so I wrote out the text on flashcards in pretty colored markers. They were very pleasing to the eye, and I thought that the kids would get a kick out of them, and the chance to read a text aloud to practice their reading skills. Well, I was wrong. They were complete little jerks and wouldn’t be quiet enough for me to hear the kids reading. So I angrily took back all the cards and made them answer questions on the text. This took up the rest of our time. Not to mention, at “10am” the Best English Students Awards awards ceremony was going to start. So I left and took a zem into town.
I was really hungry since I hadn’t had anything to eat. So when I got off the zem, I walked on over to CEG1 (College d’Enseigment General)= middle/highschool and grabbed a sandwich. 10am is when all schools have a 25 minute break so that kids can eat, and whatever before going back to class at 10:15 (the break starts at 9:50). So needless to say, I was battling kids to get something to eat. Usually, at my school, I send a kid to get me whatever it is that they have that I want to eat. Easy! But at CEG1 I had to wait in line and since I got there around 10, or a little after, all the good stuff was done!
Then I walked back over to the “Maison de Peuple” (The People’s House). It’s a big venue that is rented out to whoever wants it for various gatherings, ceremonies, etc. The Mayor of Lokossa, Mr Dakpe SOSSOU rented out the venue as a donation to the BESA competition. And I saw my other PCV buddies had arrived in Peace Corps’ newest vehicle with Brownie, our country director. I looked up and saw my bicycle! Yay! I was really happy, it has been waiting for me for nearly a month in Cotonou after being repaired. I asked Brownie right then if we could take the bike back to my place, and we did! Ahhh, I love riding around in PC vehicles (air conditioning!). And it’s such a novelty to be able to ride around in a nice vehicle, a SUV nonetheless, at post, where my transportation usually consists of riding a moto(rcycle), walking, or riding my bike. Or if I am going out of town—I am in a beat up 1970’s Peugot with no seatbelts. These cars have seriously gone to hell and back, I think. 95% or more of the time the speedometer is broken, the gas gauge, the radio is broke or flat out missing, the window spinner thingys are missing, etc, I could go on forever about these cars! It’s really amazing how they still run!!!!
So, yeah, I got my bike back and then we went back to the ceremony, which still hadn’t begun.
I dunno what time it actually started, but it did and it was awesome. Very entertaining, compared to last year. Everyone, well, the important people gave speeches. And when it was Brownie’s turn, she invited up all the kids and spoke directly to them. Oh, how they loved it! And so did I! All the big wigs talked and talked and most of it was good, but I loved how Brownie got the kids up to the podium with her to literally share the spotlight (on TV—two news stations showed up!) with the kids and interacted with them and really made it about them, the kids, the participants, the winners of the Best English Students Awards. Awesome. And before the general prize giving went under way, there was a special prize and RECOGNITION to a blind girl, who made it to the second round of BESA, but was beat out. But the organizers wanted to give recognition to this girl, who despite her handicap, is somehow the top English student of her commune, and at her school. I almost started crying it was so moving!
At the end of the ceremony, there are refreshments, but Brownie says that we are going to a restaurant. As I am literally climbing into the SUV, I see my girl from last year who was a finalist and winner this year. She’s there with her momma and papa and littlist brother. Perquiste is her name, and she wanted to introduce me to her mom! And I tell her mom congratualtions. And that her daughter is very bright. And told Perquiste to continue the great work. And then her mom tells Perquiste that her Madame was very pretty! And then I said hello to papa. And I congratulated him too. And he said “Non, c’est a cause de toi!” (No, it’s because of you!) Well, in reality this girl was very bright, I dunno how much I helped last year, but nonetheless, it made me feel 1000% awesome.
FINALLY around 1ish things wrapped up and Brownie and Maria, my APCD invited us all out to lunch at a nice restaurant, where I ate akassa (fermented, jello-y, sour-ish, molded, boiled corn mush—most, like 90% of volunteers do not like it, especially at first!) and rabbit! Yum rabbit!
And after lunch I was dropped off by Maria and the PC car! Yay!!
I finished prepping a lesson, in the 25 or so minutes I had before I had to leave for work. And then I get to school and walk into class. I pulled out a text I had written out on a big khaki piece of paper (the same paper I use to write quizzes on) and told the kids: QUIZ! And right then there were like 30 “eh?? Madame!”s. Ohhh, how I love joking with my children. It makes it all worth it! So I put up the text and tell them to all read it quietly. And then I begin circulating the room. And this is where the lowest point of my day comes in. I am standing in the back between the awesome group of girls and the awesome group of boys, when I look up and see an entire class running into the class next door. Moments later, Judith, a girl I had last year get to the door, looks me right in the eye and says in a loud and clear voice “BON SOIR YOVO!” UUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHH! I immediately storm out of my class and pull her out of hers and ask her what she said. And she said “Non, je juste vous saluez” (no, I was just saying hello.) And I send her off to the vice-principals office.
Omigod, that made me furious. I walked back to my class and almost started to cry. How could she say that to me? Her former teacher. And then I got to looking around at the my favorite class of students and thought about if that girl, Judith, could call me YOVO, what about these guys? And that really broke my heart. Words can’t fully express the pain of those words that cut my heart so deep. I must admit that I sulked in class for a good hour after that. But my favorite kids, 5M2, somehow found a way to make me smile again. I really, truly love that class.
After class, I had my little guy, Sylvain buy me water. When he came back I told him to tell his parents that we’re making plans to talk on Wednesday. I am going to tell them that I am paying for his education. I then turned to my favorite colleague and told her about the YOVO incident and she just shrugged her shoulders. And that was just as painful. It’s painful because they don’t understand how this YOVO word can be malicious and be used to mock me, and make me feel like crap.
The bell rang for the next class to start. But instead of walking straight to class, I stopped by the vice-principal’s. I wanted to make sure that Judith had paid him a visit, which she did. And she was punished and seriously talked to. But I still was upset and I let my v-p know. And he kinda, made me feel better after a little talk. He said that the Beninese love white people, (le peau bland) and that people essentially use it because they love us so much, that it’s a term of endearment. True, but I find that it’s endearing when it’s used by a toddler whose parents don’t speak French, nor know any better. But I guess, in essence, people really do get excited and happy to see me when I am near. Conversation drifted to other matters and I had to excuse myself to get to class.
Last class of the day! A sizeable chunk of kids were missing because they haven’t finished paying for school fees and were as a result, sent home and told not to come back till it’s paid. We did a reading comprehension here too, in 6eme. And it was awesome. There were pictures I redrew and colored to go along with the text. It was amazing how interested and interactive the kids were today. I have been working on calling the shyer kids to participate and it’s paying off. I have girls (and boys) who never said a single PEEP raising their hands, wanting to participate! It’s such an amazing feeling to have these kids turn around like this. It warms my heart.
So there you go. A rollercoaster ride. And I am glad that today is done. I am thankful for today. It will surely be one that sticks in my mind forever, but I am happy for tomorrow and look forward to what it will bring.
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