Leaving Post

My last week in Kouandé was spent packing making sure that my main project (working with the women’s gardening groups) would be taken care of after my departure. My NGO and the Mayor’s office threw me a going away party. My contribution was two goats. Since I knew how the typical Beninese fetes go, I took at a nap at 7pm had a light dinner at 9pm, read till about 11pm and then took a shower at it was about time they picked me up to go. Upon arriving I counted 2 cars and 12 motorcycles. I was seated with ‘les importants’ and we were served various types of hard alcohol and cookies. Once more or less everyone was there, the speeches started with the local radio personality as the MC. The interim Director of the NGO spoke first followed by the old director who was interrupted by the MC to give the following words to the Mayor, who are the same person. At this point I was glad that I had already written a speech anticipating them asking me to say something. This was the speech I gave:

Je voudrai remercie tout le monde chi a acceptée d’être ici pour la manifestation de mon départ. Sur tout les agents de PELCA et la marie d’avoir l’organise. Pendent mon séjour de deux ans ici au Bénin, particulerment dans la ville historique de Kouandé. J’ai fiat beaucoup de connesence et j’ai aussi appris beaucoup de chose. J’ai appris comment vivre sans curent et réseau, mais plus important j’ai pouvais regarde et l’apricie la tradition traditionnel Batonou. Je suis très content de mon séjour que nous avons passe ensemble. La population de Kouandé m’a réserve une très bonne hospitalité. Quand je serai aux Payée Bas et je commencerai a réfléchi de mon séjour ici, je serai un peu triste, mai je sait que la population de Kouandé vont continue a develope et si Dieu veut je retournerai a voir cette transformation.

Na be siara, becca kiru. Becca tonu. Giussunu son gbinna sia. Tonbakka ton werra.

After my speech the mayor presented me with traditional Bariba clothing and everyone was served beers and Akassa with goat. When the importants had finished their meal they were informed that it was time for the presentation of the prizes at the ‘Podium Vacances’ or talent show. They invited me to come along and present some myself. We were driven to the Maison des Jeunes which was absolutely packed, with mainly children. It should also be noted that this was around 2am. Once the prizes were distributed we continued back to the party to dance and drink. I made it home just about the time the Muezzin started the call to prayer (5:30am).

A couple days later I invited the pétanque club to my house for some tan pica (local hard alcohol a.k.a. sodabe) fish and Akassa.

On my last day I had just about finished packing and started finding myself thinking that this was the last time that I would do many of the things that had become routine in my life in Kouandé. It really hit home when my best friend Chabi was at my house and asked me if he could get me some dinner, and I replied ‘yes, for the last time’ and we both became sad and choked up. In the morning my taxi came and I said goodbye to my neighbors, Chabi, Kabirou and Mora the people that I would really miss the most… Of course the taxi broke down in the short leg to Natitingou and it was my leatherman that saved the say with a Philips head screwdriver. I did however learn a lot watching the driver take apart the car engine.

I spent two days in Natitingou from where I was able to go to Perma to visit my host family one last time. It was really nice to see them and just spent some time sitting in the place where I adjusted to Benin.

I rented a taxi on Sunday to take me down to Cotonou with my bags and the Peace Corps items (gas bottles, mattress, bicycle, lockbox, and books)

As of right now I am about a third way though the COS checkout procedure. I have seen the doctors a last time, returned my books and Peace Corps equipment, and closed my bank account (half of today was spend waiting in line at two different banks). The biggest things that are left are to have exit interviews with my APCD and CD… The next 3 days will be spent running around getting ready for my departure from Benin.

Wrapping up and reflections on my service

The end of my service is well within sight. Whether it is the steady deletion of numbers from my phonebook of COSing (Closing of Service) volunteers, the two year mark (July 21st) or the penultimate trip to the capital for the first part of the medical clearance I am reminded of how close the end of my time here is. Here they say: ‘time flies when you have your health’ and I would agree.

I have fairly mixed feeling about leaving. I mean I am ready to go but I will definitely miss some aspects of my life here. Riding on Zemidjans in the city, spending time with the friends in Kouandé, listening to crazy stories about gris-gris, drinking tchouck (millet beer), amazing people with my Bariba phrases (asking the pantless children: “Where are your pants?”), wearing même tissue (clothing), eating Ignam pile with my hands, eating mangos right off the tree, finally understanding how to make a joke in French with Beninese people, avocado sandwiches at the Boicon bus stop, wearing ‘joli’ clothing, freshly cut pineapple in Cotonou, the amazing waterfalls…

The questions arise of exactly what did I do for two years and what will I do after. The latter is easier to answer for me since I have already been accepted by Wageningen University in the Netherlands for a Masters program in Environmental Science. I decided to start the program Jan ‘09 to give myself time to visit friends and readjust. This leaves me with the harder question of what did I do here in Benin. The official version can be read in my DOS (Description of Service) and with 4 pages I can see (as much as it felt like it sometimes) I did do something. I have seen progress in Kouandé (not just because of me) the town went from having 5 hours of electricity to none, to 24 hours, back to none, then to 10. This last development is due to the rationing of diesel. The increased availability of salad and vegetables and over a longer period of time (I take some credit for this), and from having no cell phone coverage to have 3! The rest of my ‘activities’ can be found in the DOS, Girls Camps, World maps, Moringa promotion etc. Where I think volunteers do the most work is with the second and third goals of Peace Corps. In particular the interaction you have with people on a daily basis, exchanging ideas and information, specifically with regard to my culture and how things are ‘chez moi’. These are the things that are hard to put into words and write down. These are the things I will miss the most. I also feel that what they have given me far outweighs what I have given them.

p.s. The new weight is 144 lbs. (65kg for our European fans)

Putting a Map on Kouande

So this might have been the longest and most productive week of my service in Benin, with the least amount of sleep. We had our second annual girls camp in Ouassa, then worked for 3 days on putting up a world map at the CEG in Kouande. (I painted the red and purple countries) pictures from for mentioned events can be found HERE. In local political news; the director of my NGO became the Mayor of Kouande, so now it is yet harder to get a hold of him. Also I am on my 90th book, trying to make it to that 100 mark with only have 2 months left. Still waiting on getting cement, however the director should have some more pull being the mayor and all. In local weather it looks like the the rainy season is just about to start with mangoes all over the place.
Hope everything is going well on that side of the ocean/sea. Also et me know your plans to welcome me when i travel near to (insert your town/village/city)

Niasara bani (reply is: Ami)
Michael

COS

This week we had our COS (Close of Service) Conference. We spend 3 days on the beach in Ouidah. It looks like the final day i will be a Peace Corps Volunteer will be August 21st!

ORTB

Its funny how when people come into my house the first thing they do is look around with puzzlement. At first I thought they were just looking at how I had chosen to decorate my house, but their following question points to the heart of the perplexity: ‘Don’t you like television?’ Since anyone with enough money should have a television. I do like television but the only channel that you can pick up without a satellite dish is ORTB, the public Beninese one. This is a station that for an hour each night displays photographs of dead people with their names and the number of years that they have been dead for. The first thirty minutes is for Christians then the following half hour for Muslims. People pay a hundred dollars to commemorate the anniversary of a dead family member for decades. This is one reason I do not have a television set. However I wouldn’t be surprised is you start seeing this show in the new fall lineup. Writers not needed.

Mali Babi!

I have been putting off taking notes and writing this entry for far too long and have decided that the only way to do it is just to start. (obvious I know.)

When we were in Ouagadougou I managed to write a quick post about Banfora and our elephant sighting. This side trip was not really planned but was recommended by a Canadian we met on our way up to Ouagadougou, it was also needed to pass the three days it would take to get Lizzy the Niger visa. To Banfora we had the best bus ride in West Africa; it was air conditioned, on time, and they even sold sodas. There were only two downsides. One was that a bucket of paint spilled onto a bag. So I was called off the bus to examine it. The only distinguishable feature about it, now being covered in white paint, was that it was a Jansport. By asking my fellow travel mates which one of them had a Jansport is how I found out that Lizzy was the lucky one to have her bag whitewashed. It should be mentioned that in Ouagadougou you can buy strawberries off the street. There are also people selling various magazines including the current weeks Economist.

From Ouagadougou we headed north to the Dogon region of Mali. We met up with our guide Omar in Koporo-Kenie-Na. Finding Omar turned out to be much easier than we thought it would be, first off he was waiting at the bus stop asking for Tara, and secondly he was wearing a shirt that said: “Omar: Dogon Guide Mali. Peace Corps Approved” He took us to get something to eat and drink. He warned us that beer was expensive in Mali (1,000cfa, twice the price of that in Benin). After eating and getting the vague plan for the next 4 days he put us in a van heading back from the market to Bankass where our trek would start the next day. It has to be said that Omar knows Peace Corps very well. He has been touring them around Dogon for 5 years. He speaks English well with a British accent with American slang, curse words included). After meeting Omar we were pumped and couldn’t believe that we got to spend 4 days with this guy!

The next morning we headed off towards the town of Teli with the first escarpments by horse cart. After visiting the cliffs where once the Dogon people lived to escape from animals and invading tribes we continued on foot to the next town, Enndé (Omar’s hometown) where we benefited from more expensive beer and a shower.

We spent the next three days walking in the morning, having lunch in a small town and continuing on to sleep in the next. We would spend the night in mud houses or just sleep up on the roof.

When we were hiking from Gimini to Dourou we had to decent from the top of the cliffs to the bottom where the next town was. Being with full packs and not wanting to sustain any injuries we were taking out time this also let us soak up the amazing views. Suddenly one by one then a dozen kids started bounding down the bounders asking us for candy and saying hello to us in French. The speed and agility they were moving was astounding. We just had to move aside and watch them, and then it occurred to us that they were heading to school. This ‘hike’ we were doing was their daily walk to school in the neighboring town. We just continued walking down and used the little Dogon we picked up on the way.

Uwanna – Good afternoon

Omarsayou – Hows your family

And the applicable: Dege dede – Carefully!

After Dogon we headed north to Mopti a city on the convergence of the Bani and Niger rivers. This is where we found out that there had been some civil unrest in the town of Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina just days after we had passed though. People there were generally ‘unhappy with life’ as the Peace Corps safety and security officer put it. People were unhappy with the increase in taxes and they rioted, looted and burned shops. “The town hall has no memory now. All our archives have been destroyed, from births and marriages to property records.” Mayor Moustapha Tinto told Reuters. Peace Corps Burkina was put on stand fast. Our plans to travel back through Burkina to go to Niger would not hold. After sending a couple of relaxing days in Mopti and taking a day trip to Djenné; home of the worlds largest mud building which happens to be a mosque, we took a night bus to the sleepy town of Gao at the entrance of the desert. This bus ride was a whole story in itself. We left 3 hours late due to repairs being made to the bus (not unusual) however when I asked what was going on I got the cryptic reply: “We are waiting for a part but its not important”. The bus was the most packed I have ever seen a bus. Luggage was covering the entire isleway and the spaces Lizzy managed to find for us was in the back above the motor next to a family who had placed some of their belongings where our feet would normally go. The man whose family this was refused to move next to his family with their luggage for some unknown reason. Arguing with him and explaining that he should sit with his family and let Lizzy and I sit together just did not work. We ended up sitting in the seats that turned would have easily been converted into a kiln. As soon as some other seats in the front opened up we moved. Just as we were enjoying the migration to a cooler climate Tara was telling us how hot is was in the front and that you can barely get a breeze. We gave her a look and then tried to get some sleep.

Driving though the night was somewhat surreal. Glimpses of desert and the slowing of the bus to let a camel cross really emphasized how far we were from Benin. There also was an armed gendarme on the bus. When Lizzy and I spoke about him later she was surprised to find out that he was for our security and was not just another passenger going to Gao. Maybe it was better she thought that.

In Gao we were able to stay with some Peace Corps volunteers and it was interesting to see how different Peace Corps can be from country to country. For example a majority of Mali volunteers learn one of the few local languages and hardly speak French. We also found out that they do not use toilet paper but rather the water tea pot as locals do. The one main attraction in Gao is the sand dune you can take a river boat to and walk up. Since northern Niger is closed to Peace Corps volunteers this was our taste of the desert.

After two days we continued the next morning to Niamey the capital of Niger. Again we had a long bus ride. To cover a distance of 460km it took us about 13 hours. Niamey is a very cool city. It is very vast and open with large streets and has many things you just can’t find in Benin.

In Niamey we met our country directors husband who is the Minister for Restoration of Peace in Niger. He took us out for dinner and he answered our questions about the Tuareg rebellion in the north. He was very nice and welcoming and helped get us a car so we could go see the giraffes on the way south back to Benin. In the town of Koro you have to stop and pick up a guide who will take you though these dirt roads where you just stumble upon herds of giraffes. We

Little stories that don’t belong anywhere

On the way to Natitingou from Kouandé as we were passing the town of Oroukayou I saw a very pregnant goat standing in front of the maternity ward. I wonder what she was thinking.

On the road from Natitingou to Ouagadougou when we stopped to see the roadside elephant the driver of the car put two big pieces of elephant shit in the trunk of the car. When asked why he said he wanted to show the kids how big the elephant’s ass was.

4 countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger)

A dozen camels

30 giraffes (They have really long necks)

A few intestinal parasite hitchhikers

8 hippos (best guess)

1 roadside elephant

Some of the most amazing sights in West Africa

The world largest mud building

A special 30^th birthday (Tara’s)

Travel in the form of walking, horse cart, bush taxi, private car, bus (both old and new), truck, van, 18 wheeler, bicycle, and pirogue.

and finally to explain the title of this entry:

Tara: "Mali Babi"
Lizzy: "Write it with an i"
Tara: "Why?"
Lizzy: "I don't know, I just pictured it that way"

Elephants, Hippos in Burkina. Oh My!

Hello everyone,
Right now we are in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (Lizzy,Tara and Taras friend Jen) . We just got back from Banfora (south western Burkina) where we spent 2 nights. On the 7 hour bus ride to Banfora we made a friend who decided to hang out with us the whole next day and take us to the amazing waterfalls and the lake where we went hippo watching. We also had lunch at a McDonalds. Funny enough they were out of ketchup. Tomorrow we will get back on a bus to take us north to the Dogon region of Mali where we will go on a four day trek.

p.s. On the road to Ouaga from Benin we saw an elephant on the side of the road and got to stop and take pictures. pretty cool.

more as it develops.

Return to the North – New and Improved with Monkeys!

The title pretty much sums it up. Today I took the 8.5 hour bus ride back up to Natitingou in the Atacora/Donga region (read: home). It seems that the heat from the south followed me; however I did manage to lose the humidity in transit. The VAC meeting went well and now I just need to check up on the gardening groups and try to hurry along the construction of a well for the school, since a garden with no water, well won’t produce much of anything. On the 11^th Feb. begins my second vacation in as many months. Four of us are traveling via Burkina Faso as a means to get to Mali (and to get visas) where we will take a four day trek in the Dogon region. We will then travel via Niamey (Niger) to get back to Benin on the 26^th of February. So that’s pretty much it. Oh yeah the title; four monkeys ran in front of the bus on the way up here. It was a real Africa moment; they come less and less frequently. So there you go.

N’kua sosi

Michael

p.s. For those of you that are keeping score out there my weight it at 152 lbs. (69kg for our European fans)

also... I think it should be noted that i just posted this email from a field in Natitangou. Yes a field. There is a NGO that has a unsecured wireless connection. I wonder what the guard was thinking.

Janvier/Février 2008

January 30th 8:00 I get a phone call from my homologue telling me that he got a call from the director of my NGO and that I need to write up the invitations for the importants. Being half asleep I agree and wait for him to pick me up. The absurdity of this occurs to me as my brain boots up. The invitations are for a ceremony in an hour. The ceremony is for la remise or presentation of materials for the women’s groups and high school group. Not only this but I have the lowest level of French among the members of my NGO, so why I need to write the invitations is beyond my comprehension. In any case the invitations get written after hunting around the French keyboard for the correct characters (to get to a period you have to shift). The invitations were delivered sometime after 9:30. This however was not a problem because no one had arrived yet. This gave me time to set up the materials (machetes, wheelbarrows, treatment tools, boots, hoes, rakes, watering cans, seeds, shovels, and chicken wire) in some kind of order. At around 10:30 the women’s and importants showed up and the ceremony could begin. This involved everyone thanking everyone one by one and saying a few kind words. Each respective president from each group came up and signed a document of the received materials. Then came the fun part where we got the groups to stand in front of their newly acquired swag and pose for some pictures. We then told them that they were free to take the stuff back with them, this is when they started singing and dancing. I posted some pictures from this event on my flickr account.
So the good news is that most of the needed materials are finally in the hands of the groups and this will require me to help and check up on them regularly (i.e. keep my busy).
My NGO – PELCA had a soirée for the members of the NGO. This event which I was told would involve dancing, food and drink did not start until 12:30pm. The food was not brought out till at least 1am. After which the dancing started. This continued till the call to prayer at 5am. I have to say I still have not found a great appreciation for the Beninese style fête or party. I think it is worth noting the picture of the DJ booth.

Currently I am in Cotonou for the National VAC meeting. (We bring complaints from our region to the attention of the Peace Corps administration) I will be using my time here to get a visa for Niger. Mid February we have a trip planned to go to Mali traveling through Burkina Faso and returning through Niger. I am excited for the trip and especially for our trek through the Dogon country part of Mali.
On a sadder note Benin preformed terribly in the Africa Cup losing to Mali, Ivory Coast and Nigeria; scoring only 1 goal total. It is pretty fun to watch the games on random television sets throughout Kouandé though. With Benin being out I will be looking forward watching the Ivory Coast play the host country Ghana in a thrilling final ending with an Ivorian victory 3-1 to take the Cup.

Back in Benin

After a fairly uneventful but very long trip I finally made it back to Benin with mixed feelings I have to say. The temperature in the south is fantastic right now, since it’s the cold season or l’harmattan. When I was taking a Zemidjan around Cotonou getting some errands done I felt very much back at home and comfortable. The traffic even seemed somewhat subdued in comparison to the chaos that is Roman traffic. I spend 2 days in Cotonou (always a good idea before the harsh transition to village life) where Lizzy surprised me at the airport, what a great birthday present! I also was cornered into getting the flu shot at the bureau and managed to turn in my next vacation form a trip to Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. After the 8 hour bus ride (leaving at 7am) I finally arrived in the North, Natitingou to be exact. From here is just the little, if not cramped bush taxi ride to Kouandé. Overall I am happy to be back, however on the down side I found out that there has been no work done on the gardening project. That is 3 weeks where absolutely nothing has been done. I wasn’t expecting very much but at least something would have been nice to come back to. Oh well.

n'kua sosi

Rome Again

I have been home for 8 days already. I have to say I have gotten used and started taking for granted most things fairly fast, such as having a bathroom only feet from your bedroom, or being able to enjoy a cold glass of milk. One thing however that is just as amazing at the first time is a hot shower. Checking email from my bedroom on my laptop with the wireless is pretty awesome too. Lest not forget how crazy the drivers are here, it’s a shock every time.

The weather has been ranging from close to 0 ºC to 17ºC. So it’s hard to tell if I’m getting used to that too, or it just has been warmer than the day I arrived. I did go shopping with my mom for new clothes on the second day here. Since I only had one pair of jeans and no jacket. We made several tactical strikes on an outlet mall. Mission Accomplished … and I’m looking good.

When I start speaking Itlaian I have to consciously battle to keep French suppressed. If I don’t think before I speak my Italian will turn into French. The first couple of days were bad but slowing its coming back. This is the longest since we moved to Rome in 1990 that I have been away from the Eternal City.

In closing; happy holidays to everyone. I hope that you are able to spend time with your family and the people closest to you.

Auguri!

Rome again...

The exciting new news is that I am going to be home for the holidays! 3 weeks in Rome with my family. Being there for my sisters birthday, Christmas, New years and my birthday.

Currently I am sitting in the airport in Paris, waiting for my connecting flight to Rome. Being here is not only amazing but it also is a different world from the one I came from. There (Benin) is a land of heat, colorful clothing and bad French. Here (France) is a land of -3 degree weather (26ºF), black clothing and mean French. I am the only person that I can see with a short sleeved shirt, not only a short sleeve shirt but also a lighter color than charcoal. I feel very dirty and unstylish here. More as it develops.

Soyez dans le Moov!

As of 18:27 November 20th 2007 Kouande now has cell phone reception!
my number is +229 (Benin Country Code) 95.29.07.95
people are really excited and calling each other left and right.
happy thanksgiving everyone.
Michael

Dindon

Happy thanksgiving everyone!

I will be spending the holiday in Natitingou with about 30 other volunteers. There will be pit roasted turkey (locally grown) some much needed time at the pool and the best local beers Benin, Togo and Ghana has to offer. I hope everyone is doing well.

Michael

Even the Spirits don't know...

Update, update. Well not too much new in the world of this Peace Corps volunteer. Work as usual is progressing slowly. Lesson to anyone working in development, things will not always go as smoothly and as according to plan as you might want them to. Specifically I am running into bureaucratic blockage with getting the money from Cotonou up here to Kouandé. My English club is on its way to asking permission and picking the students to at least start with. I have some other things on my plate that require more research but are possible projects for the future. These include; water filtering and packaging, photocopier installation, and working with the local informatique (computers you can use for money).

I'm not sure if I have already said this before but Benin is considered the home of Voodoo. The practice of animism, spells and charms is alive and well not only in Benin but many parts of Africa. People believe various things for example to cure certain diseases they will do scarification on a certain part of the body and this should cure it. Another conmen type of gris-gris (read: charms or magic) are special herbs you eat for certain effects, for example there is one that if someone shoots you with a gun you will disappear and after the bullet passes you will reappear. I have talked to people who swear by this and said that they have seen it happen. It is really interesting and very much a part of the culture here. There are also things called fetishes, these are spirits that are usually in a large rock or old tree. People will come to ask for things with a ceremony wherein they will pour sodabe (moonshine), palm oil, and chicken blood on the fetish after sacrificing a cock. My friend went to a woman who is supposedly can channel demons and will answer any question for you (for a price of course). He asked her what he should do after Peace Corps, if he should go back to school or travel etcetera. She went into a room where he heard what he said sounded like Beaker from the Muppets talking; this was the spirits talking to her. When she reemerged she told him that the sprits had no idea. That since he was from so far away, they had no idea. Haha so even the spirits have no clue as to what we should do after Peace Corps.

Oh yeah and the pictures I have most recently added are of a artisan and agricultural fair they had in Kouandé a couple days ago. It was interesting to see what is actually locally produced. We all wore the same tshirts and has a parade through the town. It was a real socal event and really excited the town for a couple days.

VAC, PONG, OUEME, BASQUIAT

I don’t remember if I had already said that the Telefood funding had been approved for my women’s groups in Kouandé. In any case it has been, and we have been getting them ready for it. In domestic news my neighbor died. He had a fatal motorcycle accident. He is survived by his wife, two children and a baby. They moved back south before I returned from working stage. Dead here is so matter of fact. It really reminds you that you can go at any time; there is no guarantee, not for anyone. I did however get a new neighbor, the CBA (The second in charge at the Gendarmes) He is very nice and so is his very large family. They have only been there for a week and have already made me food. It doesn’t take much to win me over. I left post for the regional VAC (Volunteer Advisory Committee) meeting and on the way south for the national VAC meeting I stopped in Parakou for Annie’s going away party. This involved a hired covered truck to take us to the auberge, where there was a pool table, beer on tap, dancing and beer pong (with real solo cups) it was a good time. We also took a zemidjan ride through little villages to see the Oueme river, the largest river in Benin (it runs 310 miles or 500km). Another surprise was that in Cotonou we found an exhibition of Jean-Michel Basquiat which was amazing. The art center itself was air conditioned, modern, clean and free! It was nice to do something that you would be able to do back home. Overall it has been a good week and I look forward to getting the money from Telefood to actually start buying things. Hope all is well with you and yours.

-Michael the Dutchman Deep in Bariba Territory

ps- enjoy the new pictures.

My Peugeot 405

You try and remember especially terrible taxis by color or a particular sticker. Usually something like ‘God willing’ or ‘Lazy Man Is a Hungry Man’ or the inexplicable ‘Stop, Don’t Kiss Me’. Sometimes these cars actually have names; names such as ‘Never late’ and ‘God Will Provide II’. The actualization you make is that all the taxis are in all such terrible disrepair that they simply become indistinguishable from one another. These factors could include having a blue car with most of the paint scraped off; or the inside door panel missing with the door handle replaced by a coat hanger like piece of metal. These things simply are not rare enough to be able to tell them apart, and only once on the road and the car breaks down or the driver makes forty stops do you realize why you marked this car for the ‘never ride in again’ one.

Mid Service Medical Checkup and the 52 new volunteers

My check up with the doctors went relatively well. The information learned can and will be summarized in bullet point form:

• I have lost 10 pounds (4.5kg)
• I have a low resting heart rate
• I have giardia
  

I have the medication to treat giardia and will take it when I get back to post. The med unit is nice mainly by having unlimited access to internet and hot showers. There is a 8:00pm curfew though. I have also had some time to think about what makes hot showers so great and it comes down to one word… solubility.

Big News! The cell providers have finally reached agreements with the government and have resumed service. This means my phone is now working I can be reached at

+229 (Benin country code) 95 29 07 95 (Télécel now called Moov)
or
+229 (Benin country code) 97 01 62 95 (was called areeba but now bought by MTN)

depending on is I am within coverage. I am not sure if the two towers have been turned on in Kouandé as of yet. One way to find out…

Tara met me in Cotonou and together we took the shuttle up to Aplahoue to work the final two weeks of stage (stage is French for training or internship). It was good to be back in Aplahoue and see the EA crew. They are all doing well. The biggest surprise was that 2 more PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees) had decided that Peace Corps Benin was not for them. The other surprise was the level of French achieved for the people coming in with very low French. It is amazing to think that only 6 weeks ago some people spoke very little to no French and now are able to communicate all by themselves. I think the group as a whole is ready and pumped to go to post and graduate from Peace Corps High. The other thing I noticed was how much more mellow the group is now. I had said in an earlier post how it was really tiring working because they all had so many questions and need a lot of hand holding. That is completely normal and I chose to work because of those reasons. It is great to see that now they are more confident and comfortable (I think they are also tired). The last two weeks are programmed based on specific needs; since they already found out where they will be posted and have made a 2 day visit. We also had a trip to Grand Popo which is a beach about 2 hours away. All the sectors met there and spend a very nice sunny day at the beach.
Swearing in will be held at the American ambassadors house the 21st of Sept.

I will now leave you with an interesting fact:
“The seed of the Mediterranean Carob tree (ceratonia siliqua) is so regular in size it was originally used as the measurement for gold, the carat.”
Trees: Their Natural History – Peter Tomas

-DutchOut

Being at Post for 2 weeks, My Garden and a Road Trip

After working with the new volunteers for a week in the south I decided to make my way back up north stopping in a town called Ouéssé; Lizzy a TEFL volunteers post. It always is nice to see what other people’s towns and houses are like. Ouéssé is nice and Lizzy’s house is very nice. They are replacing an old volunteer so we went to look at the new house and the CEG (High School) where Lizzy teaches. The classrooms are wood and thatch and at the beginning of each rainy season they fall down and have to be remade for the new school year. The paillote as they are called does not provide much in the way of protection from the elements. The teachers also have to use a propped up chalkboards, which some students can’t see because they are behind the wood poles. It goes without saying that there is no lighting in these paillote. So Lizzy has started a PCPP (yes, I know more Peace Corps acronyms. PCPP = Peace Corps Partnership Program) they are projects in which the funding comes from anyone that wants to donate. You could for example visit the Peace Corps website and find her project and donate some money for the construction of new classrooms.

READ MORE and DONATE HERE

I’ll wait till you are done donating to continue…

Ok. So after my visit I went back to post and spent a good two weeks there. The rains have started and this means not too much leaving the house. The Beninese don’t like being out in the rain and meetings are not a good enough reason to leave the house. I guess I don’t blame them and at least everyone knows that’s how it works so no one leaves the house. This is a good time for gardening. I had started a garden before I left for stage but upon my arrival found it to be a garden of weeds. I decided to give the garden another go. I planted basil, tomatoes, ruggetta salad, carrots, parsley, corn and both green and dark beans. So far the tomatoes, ruggetta, corn and beans have been showing some progress. I have some pictures posted of my garden and will continue do post them showing the progress.

Off topic I thought I would share a funny story. I was at home when a man and woman came to my door asking me if they knew what these were, handing me $6 dollars. (A $5 and a single) I said yes that they were American dollars. They asked me how much they were worth and I told them that about $1 = 500CFA. They asked me if I could exchange them, I decided that eventually I could use those dollars and these people could use the money. I asked them where they got them from, they said that they found the money in a pair of pants they bought at the market. Don’t you love it when you find money in your pants?

Later I realized that the rate is $1=480CFA and I had lost money on this deal. I had to laugh like hell.

The Moringa, Terminalia and Gmelina tree nursery is doing well; we even reseeded some of the sacks that didn’t grow, with the rains they should be able to grow in time for the planting.

I also took a day motorcycle trip with my friend Chabi (see Gallivant). We had been planning to visit his hometown of Birni and since he is on summer vacation we decided it would be a good time to do it. We took the moto from Kouandé to Birni on a more direct dirt road with not one but two broken bridges. The first was passable with getting a little wet, the second as my pictures show is passable by a 30cm strip. You pay someone 200CFA (40 cents) to walk the moto across the river. The ride was quite pleasant through millet, sorghum, corn and cotton fields. We also were lucky with the weather and didn’t get rained on. Just as we arrive at Chabi’s concession in Birni his sister starts screaming and crying hysterically and collapses into her family’s arms. Chabi pulls out two chairs for us and his aunt and other sister are talking to him he also explains that his sister has some kind of mental illness and will have these episodes from time to time. Before I can yell at him for not giving me some kind of warming beforehand he starts crying and says to me; look at my situation. I ask what situation and that just his sister is sick. He said that his cousin also has the same illness. It’s very sad because there really is no mental healthcare in Benin. They think that these things are caused by voodoo and that the treatment can be done by sending them to a traditional healer. Chabi was very quite and I got the feeling he wasn’t very happy to be home, maybe he was embarrassed. He did cheer up when he saw a high school friend and we chatted a while, including a heated soccer debate. (Will Benin make it in the Africa Cup in Ghana this wear, and will they win? Not to mention that the Dutch national teach is the best team not to have won a World Cup)

The next stop on our little trip was Perma to visit my host family. This is where Environmental Education sector had training for 9 weeks. It was really great to see my family, they all happen to be there because the kids come home during summer vacation. (Three of them go to school in Natitingou) I got to see Tara’s family as well. Everyone was doing well and they were genuinely happy to see me. I brought them wagashi. (Fulani cheese) Also my little brother doesn’t want to be a bandit anymore he wants to be an actor. So hopefully there will be more than just one famous Beninese Actor

Then we make the trip back to Kouandé. As I am typing this I am in Cotonou for my Mid-service (can you believe I have been here a year, because I can’t) medical check-up.

Stay tuned for my next adventure – Stool samples and getting a physical. What a cliffhanger that is…

James Bond Drinking Game!

James Bond Drinking Game

Drink every time:

• James Bond orders a martini
• James says something now considered to be sexist or racist
• He wins at a card game
• Double for anything other than Baccarat
• He goes SCUBA diving
• He goes sky diving
• He goes skiing
• He makes love to a woman
• Double when he does so forcefully
• He loses or someone takes away his PPK (gun)
• You see James topless
• A woman says: “Oh James”
• The villain reveals his plans to James prematurely
  

Note: I write this after watching the first 17 James Bonds...