I'm officially on "winter" break. Ha, yea right. It's hotter than ever right now, and I wish I could just touch some snow. But they tell me we'll have about 15 days of cool Harmattan winds in January before the long hot season kicks in. Harmattan has actually already started up North (where I'll be travelling for Christmas and safari!!), so I guess I'll get a little break for the holidays.
So, two weeks before the break we had a week long of exams. All classes are cancelled and students take one of two tests per semester in every subject which will count for 1/3 of their grade. While there are no classes, professors are still expected to come in to "proctor" exams. I put the word proctor in quotes here because in the Beninese context it's a very loose term really only obliging the professor to pass out and collect the tests. I often saw professors standing outside of adjoining classes chit-chatting or walking 10 mintes to the admin building if they were one copy short and had already passed out the tests. Not exactly a strict no-cheating policy.
Given this set of circumstances you can imagine the incredible resistance and disrespect I received when I went in there and actually demanded quiet and watched them like a hawk for 2 hours. There's no pre-assigned proctor schedule (you just show up and take the set of tests at the top of the stack), so I proctored classes from 1st to 4th year. The older they got the more infuriated they were with me. When I told them they couldn't turn the test over until everyone had one they started screaming. I explained that's what's fair and some of them actually agreed and calmed down, but the others just kept protesting. Then I wouldn't even start passing them out until I had silence which just got them screaming again. Twice another (male) professor stopped in asking if I wanted help to which I replied "no", knowing they'd just take the stack and tell the chatty kids to take one and pass it, thus undermining all of my efforts.
Despite immense frustrations, the week turned out to be incredibly rewarding because I realized that my own students do actually respect me more than I thought they did. For both levels that I teach (1st and 2nd) I was tasked with writing the exams that all students in that level would take simultaneously. Given that the school's secretary doesn't speak English, she typed up my handwritten copy with numerous errors and so I had to go into each class and write and explain corrections on the board during the exam. I can't even describe how refreshing it was to walk into my own classes! For one, their faces all lit up and they seemed encouraged by me stopping by. But even better, in my own classes I actually got quiet when I reminded them talking was cheating, whereas elsewhere I was only greeted with laughter. Other classes wouldn't be quiet (nor would their proctors make them) and often would ask me ridiculous questions just so others could keep chatting.
Beyond the fact that my classes do actually moderately behave for me (respectively, anyway), the average grade in all of my classes was above the passing grade of 10 out of 20! In Benin, this is considered a success. Three classes had an average between 10 and 11, and the fourth was 12.6 (clearly an exceptionally bad proctor, there's no way that's feasible...). Generally, I was really happy and I'll admit pleasantly surprised with how it all turned out. Right after break we'll have to hit the ground running, though, because the 2nd set of big exams is in 3 weeks and then it's the end of the semester. Crazy how time flies! January 1st I will have been gone 6 months already!
Anyway, another cute story- this past week I taught all of me classes Jingle Bells and all about our Santa Claus. It was hilarious when I asked them where Père Noel (Santa in French) lives, because they all started naming the bigger cities of Benin and then arguing over who was right. Then some of them said he comes the day of Dec 25, while others said he visited the night of the 24th. So clearly there isn't really a solid story around his existence here in Benin, and I don't know if children ever actually think he's real. Anyway, when I explained that he lives at the North Pole with children-like elves with pointed ears I know at least half of them thought I was serious. Then I told them how he flies around the world and lands on everybody's rooftops (which led me to have to explain what a chimney is). I think (and hope) that by the end they knew it's just a story, but I guess you never know... Then they all asked for Christmas presents to which I explained that in the US it's the students who give the teachers presents. A couple offered to bring me some moonshine but the rest just said no.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Me blowing out my birthday candle at our awesome 80s bash! (note the sweet prom dress in the background)
AHHHH I'm so frustrated...I had this plan to upload a couple of random pictures but one takes so long that it turns out to be only one because I have to go now.
So instead of another random pic, I'll give you a random piece of information about Beninese culture- It is completely culturally acceptable to pick your nose. More than a few times I've been in a conversation with another adult and they totally stick their finger right up their nose. When I call on kids in class they always stand to answer, and sometimes they stand up and start picking their nose right in front of everyone. At first I was so tempted to laugh, but little by little I'm getting used to it. It's still so funny to think about in general though, and if I start picking my nose all the time when I get home you'll know why...:-)
Monday, December 8, 2008
goats & turkeys
So...I've realized that most of the pictures on my camera from the last three months are of my puppy, haha...so here are two of the most recent. The second one is of Jasper and my adopted goat. My neighbors bought this little goat right before I got there, and because it's from outside, the other goats shun it and they leave it out of the goat pen (I also think my neighbors dont really feed it as much). Anyway, when I first got Jasper he was half the size of the goat and I was terrified whenever he went near it. Well, as you can see now he's about the same size and we've all become great friends, I even named him "our friend the goat". When Jasper gets hyper he 
loves to run and jump on the goat, although goats play by ramming their heads together, so then Jasper tries to get away before the goat gets him in the stomach. It's hilarious. Jasper's food comes wrapped in manioc leaves, which I've started feeding the goat, so he's not so shabby anymore. They even take naps together on the stoop! It occurred to me last week that the holidays are coming up though, and I'm gonna be really depressed if my neighbors feast on our friend the goat!! I'm sure they appreciate how I'm helping to fatten him up though...I'll keep my fingers crossed...In other news, my birthday and Thanksgiving were fantastic. I was up north for a week long training with all the other English teachers, so I got to celebrate with a lot of people. The night of my birthday we cooked a delicious Mexican feast (brownie cake for dessert!) and had an 80s power hour, complete with the best 80s wardrobe you've ever seen. You cannot believe what you can find in the markets hear that people threw away in the states. Not only did we have leg warmers and off the shoulder sweatshirts, but full on prom dresses and very official looking shoulder-padded business suits. It was classic.
Thanksgiving was just as fantastic, complete with giant turkey legs, stuffing, mashed potatoes (made by yours truly), sweet potatoes, and so so much more. All 19 of us sang amazing grace beforehand and after we went around the table and said what our experience in Benin has made us most thankful for. I said it was my education, but not just my formal education, more so the overwhelming amount of knowledge we have that we don't even realize and the fact that more is available at out fingertips (thank you google). The average Beninese person can't afford a newspaper or a book, or even read a map, let alone use a computer or time at an internet cafe. Anyway, after giving thanks we played a really fun get to-know-you-better game by pulling questions out of our watermelon cornucopia...good times!
Friday, November 21, 2008
Not Your Typical Sunday Morning...
About two weeks ago my postmate and I were invited to a Voodun Sunday mass by a young girl we know. It turns out it was in her concession and her father is one of the leaders of the group (like a priest basically). We arrived around 10:30 to find about 50 other people there. All of the women and many, many children were seated on rows of benches watching two fairly young men giving the sermon and leading the ceremony. Not more than 30 years old, the two men were wearing white and blue robes and standing/sitting at a long table. Behind them sat all of the men very calmly and rather uninvolved in the ceremony. By the end of the mass at 12:30 there were well over 100 women crammed onto the benches and probably about 30 men in total.
Upon our arrival they were in the middle of telling a story, which they then translated into French just because Katherine and I were there. The tale was as follows...There once was a king and a small group of his followers wanted to kill him. So they went to his cook and offered him money to kill the king, which he accepted. But, when he went to kill the king he couldn't do it, and instead he apologized to the king and told him everything. The first moral of the story was presented here-- if you are good and true in life (like the king) all evils will be made known to you by Voodun spirits and no harm will come to pass. Well, then the king had a big party, and again the evildoers approached the cook to kill the king and again he accepted. But once again, the cook couldn't do it and apologized to the king, telling the king to kill him and the evildoers. But the king didn't harm any of them or even seek out the people trying to kill him, because Voodoo will sort everything out in this world. All those with bad "gri gri" will get what they deserve in the end.
Next, they passed out a cola nut to everyone, which we had to hold only in our left hand. After a few minutes of standing while they praised the spirit to which we were about to pray (Tron), we all knelt down in the sand and spoke our prayers or fears or hopes or worries to our cola nut. It was so awesome to hear the loud murmur of everyone whispering into their left hands. After about a minute we returned to our seats and they collected the cola nuts so that they could be offered at the altar of the spirit to hear our prayers.
A few minutes later someone invited Katherine and me inside to see the altar and learn more about the religion. So... the spirit they worship is Tron, coming from the word "strong". Supposedly a white man came many many years ago and whispered his hope to a cola nut, which then came true. He deemed the nut "strong!" and I guess somehow it stuck? Not sure...anyway, Tron lives in the sea, so the colors of the "church" are blue and white. They offer him cola nuts because humans are too dirty to talk to hm directly. Because he lives in the sea, they also offer him water and a big hole in the ceiling above the altar allows rain water (from the sea) to reach it. The symbols of the church are also the star and crescent of Islam. This is because stars are bright, and where there is light, Voodun spirits are there and evil spirits cannot go.
As we returned to the service we found all of the women basically taking communion. They lined up down the middle aisle and moved forward to eat a small piece of cola nut and have a brown dot of crushed cola nut placed on their foreheads. This was no quiet procession, however. Loud drums and a choir led everyone in vibrant songs and all were dancing in sync as they moved forward down the aisle. Soon after taking their seats the procession began again (twice) with more songs and dance so that people could give donations to the church in a box at the front.
Somewhere in the break of all this one woman began sort of violently flailing with her eyes closed. She was escorted out by two women. We were told it was "the femme of Voodun", which could mean either wife or woman. Eitherway, she apparently "makes a scene" at every service, and this week chose that woman to temporarily possess. Not sure what happened to her after she was escorted into the building though.
After that lots of random people would go up to the front a few at a time to dance a little as everyone cheered them on. A few men joined in this dancing, but it was the only time I ever saw any of them participate in the festivities. Then an older man spoke for about 15 minutes and it was finished.
Overall, it was remarkable how the mass had so much in common with a Christian service yet so many differences at the same time. There was even something very similar to crossing oneself. The truth is of course that many of them also believe in God and likely accept some, if not all, Biblical practices. I'm not even sure if the spirit Tron is worshipped outside of Dogbo, which all just goes to show the fluidity and flexibility of religion here in Benin.
Upon our arrival they were in the middle of telling a story, which they then translated into French just because Katherine and I were there. The tale was as follows...There once was a king and a small group of his followers wanted to kill him. So they went to his cook and offered him money to kill the king, which he accepted. But, when he went to kill the king he couldn't do it, and instead he apologized to the king and told him everything. The first moral of the story was presented here-- if you are good and true in life (like the king) all evils will be made known to you by Voodun spirits and no harm will come to pass. Well, then the king had a big party, and again the evildoers approached the cook to kill the king and again he accepted. But once again, the cook couldn't do it and apologized to the king, telling the king to kill him and the evildoers. But the king didn't harm any of them or even seek out the people trying to kill him, because Voodoo will sort everything out in this world. All those with bad "gri gri" will get what they deserve in the end.
Next, they passed out a cola nut to everyone, which we had to hold only in our left hand. After a few minutes of standing while they praised the spirit to which we were about to pray (Tron), we all knelt down in the sand and spoke our prayers or fears or hopes or worries to our cola nut. It was so awesome to hear the loud murmur of everyone whispering into their left hands. After about a minute we returned to our seats and they collected the cola nuts so that they could be offered at the altar of the spirit to hear our prayers.
A few minutes later someone invited Katherine and me inside to see the altar and learn more about the religion. So... the spirit they worship is Tron, coming from the word "strong". Supposedly a white man came many many years ago and whispered his hope to a cola nut, which then came true. He deemed the nut "strong!" and I guess somehow it stuck? Not sure...anyway, Tron lives in the sea, so the colors of the "church" are blue and white. They offer him cola nuts because humans are too dirty to talk to hm directly. Because he lives in the sea, they also offer him water and a big hole in the ceiling above the altar allows rain water (from the sea) to reach it. The symbols of the church are also the star and crescent of Islam. This is because stars are bright, and where there is light, Voodun spirits are there and evil spirits cannot go.
As we returned to the service we found all of the women basically taking communion. They lined up down the middle aisle and moved forward to eat a small piece of cola nut and have a brown dot of crushed cola nut placed on their foreheads. This was no quiet procession, however. Loud drums and a choir led everyone in vibrant songs and all were dancing in sync as they moved forward down the aisle. Soon after taking their seats the procession began again (twice) with more songs and dance so that people could give donations to the church in a box at the front.
Somewhere in the break of all this one woman began sort of violently flailing with her eyes closed. She was escorted out by two women. We were told it was "the femme of Voodun", which could mean either wife or woman. Eitherway, she apparently "makes a scene" at every service, and this week chose that woman to temporarily possess. Not sure what happened to her after she was escorted into the building though.
After that lots of random people would go up to the front a few at a time to dance a little as everyone cheered them on. A few men joined in this dancing, but it was the only time I ever saw any of them participate in the festivities. Then an older man spoke for about 15 minutes and it was finished.
Overall, it was remarkable how the mass had so much in common with a Christian service yet so many differences at the same time. There was even something very similar to crossing oneself. The truth is of course that many of them also believe in God and likely accept some, if not all, Biblical practices. I'm not even sure if the spirit Tron is worshipped outside of Dogbo, which all just goes to show the fluidity and flexibility of religion here in Benin.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
"The New President of the World"
That's what my fellow Beninese professors were calling Barack Obama. "You will have peace now, you'll see," they assured me, "the terrorists, everyone, everyone will have peace. He is everyone's President and the world is happy!" While I doubt everyone in the world is suddenly pro-America, it's still amazing to think how in one day the international perspectives of so many can be transformed to optimism and activism. Not that the Beninese people are confrontational (they constantly remind me that they do not like fighting), but based on huge celebrations in countries across Africa and I'm sure the world, it's clear that many have found such hope in Obama's election. It's a little scary because it's a tall order for him and the U.S. to live up to, but it also shows the power of ideas. I've always liked the quote, "We can change things by simply believing them to be different". I think this is a perfect example. Obama hasn't done anything as president yet, but just the idea of him has inspired people to imagine and expect a better world. Even if he never did a thing, I think that inspiration could potentially lead to great things both at home and abroad.
While we'll have to wait and see what's in store for the world in the next 4 (and hopefully 8) years, for now it's amazing enough that the election is finally over and he won! Crazy that I met him over a year ago while volunteering at an early primary rally. That was so long ago! And although I was so sad not be with all my James Madison political junkies at MSU, I was lucky enough to watch 8 straight hours of CNN on satellite television. By chance I was in Cotonou (the capitol) on Tuesday for a PC conference and one volunteer arranged for about 12 of us in town to spend the night watching at the house of one of PC's administrators. Not only was it awesome for the TV, but also because her house was gorgeous, she had AC, and we had tons of delicious food to pig out on. I even used her oven to make Duncan Hines brownies...mmm!
It was also really great because she had some of her own friends over, including some fellow ex-pats but also Beninese people from the PC Bureau. One of our two PC doctors is from Ghana and lives right next door, so she showed up around 12:30 am to watch with us in her PJs. I spent a lot of time talking to her actually as I explained what all the different numbers meant and why NY, IL, and CA could be projected blue before a single vote was counted. She decided to go home in the middle of the night, but then came back 15 minutes later because she couldn't bear to miss it.
When it was finally announced at 5:30 am the Beninese were all cheering/crying as much as we were and during his speech I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. All day before on Tuesday strangers in Cotonou kept asking me if I had voted and I'd say, "yes, of course, who do you think I chose?" They all said Obama, but one volunteer told me she always got McCain because she is white. Well anyway, they were all just as eager as I was to stay up all Tuesday night to find out. I'm told that all of the major stations were giving very frequent updates in French and there were even some with continuous coverage. Since the elections people all over Dogbo have been giving me congratulations, and my host sister even called from Porto Novo to say "felicitations!" Of course it's all so exciting, but I'm also so relieved that I don't have to explain why he lost, because that's a conversation that would have come up a LOT!
Besides all the election festivities, my first trip down to Cotonou was fantastic. Everything is sooo expensive, but for a trip every month and a half or so, it's definitely worth it. The supermarchés are like Christmas. Too expensive to buy much, but nice to know it's there if I crack and absolutely need it! From Snickers to tortilla chips to mozzarella cheese (I bought a big piece!), they've even got packaged cake mixes, fajita sauces, and Bacardi rum :-). Like I said, super expensive, but I did buy a dark chocolate kit-kat, raisins, pringles, and thai sweet chili sauce. The restaurants in Cotonou are obviously fantastic as well. One day I had delicious chicken schwarma and hummus, then Tuesday night we got amazing pizza with real mozzarella cheese. Honestly I need to keep myself away becuase I'll spend all my money, but now that I've been there once I want to go back and try all the other PCV-frequented restaurants!
While we'll have to wait and see what's in store for the world in the next 4 (and hopefully 8) years, for now it's amazing enough that the election is finally over and he won! Crazy that I met him over a year ago while volunteering at an early primary rally. That was so long ago! And although I was so sad not be with all my James Madison political junkies at MSU, I was lucky enough to watch 8 straight hours of CNN on satellite television. By chance I was in Cotonou (the capitol) on Tuesday for a PC conference and one volunteer arranged for about 12 of us in town to spend the night watching at the house of one of PC's administrators. Not only was it awesome for the TV, but also because her house was gorgeous, she had AC, and we had tons of delicious food to pig out on. I even used her oven to make Duncan Hines brownies...mmm!
It was also really great because she had some of her own friends over, including some fellow ex-pats but also Beninese people from the PC Bureau. One of our two PC doctors is from Ghana and lives right next door, so she showed up around 12:30 am to watch with us in her PJs. I spent a lot of time talking to her actually as I explained what all the different numbers meant and why NY, IL, and CA could be projected blue before a single vote was counted. She decided to go home in the middle of the night, but then came back 15 minutes later because she couldn't bear to miss it.
When it was finally announced at 5:30 am the Beninese were all cheering/crying as much as we were and during his speech I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. All day before on Tuesday strangers in Cotonou kept asking me if I had voted and I'd say, "yes, of course, who do you think I chose?" They all said Obama, but one volunteer told me she always got McCain because she is white. Well anyway, they were all just as eager as I was to stay up all Tuesday night to find out. I'm told that all of the major stations were giving very frequent updates in French and there were even some with continuous coverage. Since the elections people all over Dogbo have been giving me congratulations, and my host sister even called from Porto Novo to say "felicitations!" Of course it's all so exciting, but I'm also so relieved that I don't have to explain why he lost, because that's a conversation that would have come up a LOT!
Besides all the election festivities, my first trip down to Cotonou was fantastic. Everything is sooo expensive, but for a trip every month and a half or so, it's definitely worth it. The supermarchés are like Christmas. Too expensive to buy much, but nice to know it's there if I crack and absolutely need it! From Snickers to tortilla chips to mozzarella cheese (I bought a big piece!), they've even got packaged cake mixes, fajita sauces, and Bacardi rum :-). Like I said, super expensive, but I did buy a dark chocolate kit-kat, raisins, pringles, and thai sweet chili sauce. The restaurants in Cotonou are obviously fantastic as well. One day I had delicious chicken schwarma and hummus, then Tuesday night we got amazing pizza with real mozzarella cheese. Honestly I need to keep myself away becuase I'll spend all my money, but now that I've been there once I want to go back and try all the other PCV-frequented restaurants!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Finally!
They showed up! This week each of my classes had atleast 55 kids and I was able to really get started. I have two classes of 6ème (first level) and two classes of 5ème (second level) and there's such a difference between the two! The 6ème kids are brand new to the school and English, so their mostly just scared right now. Most seem really engaged though and we've actually gone through all of my lessons faster than expected.
The 5ème kids, on the other hand, are much more difficult to handle for a variety of reasons. My first 5ème class on Tuesday started protesting in French when I was speaking and giving all directions in English. Then they were mocking me and talking so much I made them stand until they were silent and ended up waiting 20 minutes. After that things went much smoother, and much to my surprise my second 5ème class that afternoon was actually very respectful and well behaved. Another challenge I face with my 5èmès is that they only got halfway through the 6ème book, and I'm finding that review exercises are turning into re-teaching exercises. I'm hoping this week might move a little quicker and hopefully we can begin with some new stuff next week.
A very interesting challenge is a Nigerian boy in one 5ème class. Since they speak English in Nigeria, my class is basically useless for him. While he doesn't need the basics of 5ème, I know his more advanced English does need work, and although it's nice to have my own personal helper when nobody else understands, I want him to be challenged. So I'm really going to sit down and think about what types of things I can do with him. I asked him to think about it as well and whether he might like to write stories or read books or work on more advanced exercises. It's a fun opportunity to do something a little outside the box and I'm pretty excited to see what we come up with. I asked the other English profs if they've ever faced this and/or if they had any ideas. They didn't seem to understand the problem and so I left it at that.
This week was also the first meeting of the English dept. It's scheduled weekly from 10-12 on Thursdays (so we started at 10:45) in the "teacher's lounge". The teacher's lounge is an open cement platform covered by a tin roof in the middle of the school grounds. There is a large table and about 8 chairs. During breaks, teachers sitting here send female students to buy them food from the Mama's selling food at the school's entrance (I fully intend to do this with male students on occasion). Anyway, so at the meeting I found out there is a new female English teacher. This is her first year teaching and they told me I was in charge of teaching her how to teach the material. Now, this is ironic not only because I myself am a first year teacher, but also because we had just finished a discussion about how I won't be using the English book and they were a little upset by that. (Peace Corps encourages us not to use the book because they find that volunteers often create more dynamic and effective lessons on their own, and kids don't have books anyway). I'm pretty sure there is no experience or certification necessary to be a teacher in Benin, so I'm happy to help her get started, but it won't be at all helpful in explaining the rigid structures that profs here feel bound to follow. She'll also be teaching another 5ème class, so it'll be interesting to see how the two of us progress.
In other exciting news...word around town is "la lancée" (the tall one) speaks Aja! The French doctor who I take Aja classes with every week told me that someone at her church told her that, and I'm so excited! For one, it's nice that people are so happy with me for trying to speak and practice Aja, and for two, it's nice to know that people are saying good things. Dogbo is also in no way a village, so the fact that my Aja is getting around the town is a little surprising. I've still got a long, long way to go, but so far just practicing little by little has made me lots of friends and is a fun addition to marché visits.
The 5ème kids, on the other hand, are much more difficult to handle for a variety of reasons. My first 5ème class on Tuesday started protesting in French when I was speaking and giving all directions in English. Then they were mocking me and talking so much I made them stand until they were silent and ended up waiting 20 minutes. After that things went much smoother, and much to my surprise my second 5ème class that afternoon was actually very respectful and well behaved. Another challenge I face with my 5èmès is that they only got halfway through the 6ème book, and I'm finding that review exercises are turning into re-teaching exercises. I'm hoping this week might move a little quicker and hopefully we can begin with some new stuff next week.
A very interesting challenge is a Nigerian boy in one 5ème class. Since they speak English in Nigeria, my class is basically useless for him. While he doesn't need the basics of 5ème, I know his more advanced English does need work, and although it's nice to have my own personal helper when nobody else understands, I want him to be challenged. So I'm really going to sit down and think about what types of things I can do with him. I asked him to think about it as well and whether he might like to write stories or read books or work on more advanced exercises. It's a fun opportunity to do something a little outside the box and I'm pretty excited to see what we come up with. I asked the other English profs if they've ever faced this and/or if they had any ideas. They didn't seem to understand the problem and so I left it at that.
This week was also the first meeting of the English dept. It's scheduled weekly from 10-12 on Thursdays (so we started at 10:45) in the "teacher's lounge". The teacher's lounge is an open cement platform covered by a tin roof in the middle of the school grounds. There is a large table and about 8 chairs. During breaks, teachers sitting here send female students to buy them food from the Mama's selling food at the school's entrance (I fully intend to do this with male students on occasion). Anyway, so at the meeting I found out there is a new female English teacher. This is her first year teaching and they told me I was in charge of teaching her how to teach the material. Now, this is ironic not only because I myself am a first year teacher, but also because we had just finished a discussion about how I won't be using the English book and they were a little upset by that. (Peace Corps encourages us not to use the book because they find that volunteers often create more dynamic and effective lessons on their own, and kids don't have books anyway). I'm pretty sure there is no experience or certification necessary to be a teacher in Benin, so I'm happy to help her get started, but it won't be at all helpful in explaining the rigid structures that profs here feel bound to follow. She'll also be teaching another 5ème class, so it'll be interesting to see how the two of us progress.
In other exciting news...word around town is "la lancée" (the tall one) speaks Aja! The French doctor who I take Aja classes with every week told me that someone at her church told her that, and I'm so excited! For one, it's nice that people are so happy with me for trying to speak and practice Aja, and for two, it's nice to know that people are saying good things. Dogbo is also in no way a village, so the fact that my Aja is getting around the town is a little surprising. I've still got a long, long way to go, but so far just practicing little by little has made me lots of friends and is a fun addition to marché visits.
Friday, October 17, 2008
My "First Week of School"...
Or should I say my first week of school?
The national school year officially began on Monday, October 6th, but as of yet, I'm the only professor at school to be holding classes. I showed up the first day at 8 am just to see what was going on to find the school yard empty. Over the next 2 hours, most professors showed up to pick up their schedules and mingle. As for students, there were about 15 around to check if they'd passed into the next grade (a good portion of kids can't predict if they'll pass or not after exams, and they find out the next year). Turns out the students are smart not to show up because the first week of school is reserved completely for manual labor. About 3 feet of brush has grown across the entire school yard (about 3 acres) and the youngest students are expected to clear it. The older students are smart not to show up because their professors aren't there anyway.
In the following days more and more kids were hanging around to clean but mostly to get their schedules. Tuesday morning I walked around to each of my rooms to write on the board when English class would be held. During the first week, profs write when they will be there and then the students must come to figure out their schedules. I asked the head of the English department when we would start and he replied, "Don't be in such a hurry! Next week maybe..."
The delay in the start is very much a self-fulfilling prophecy because the professors say, "well, the students won't come" and the students say, "the professors haven't started." So, I showed up Wednesday at 8 am w/a novel prepared to sit alone in my class just to get the ball rolling. Much to my surprise (I didn't have a lesson planned!), about 12 kids (out of 70) showed up to each of my two classes. After my initial shock and terror, my impromptu lessons on basic greetings went well, and I welcomed the chance to memorize a few faces and gauge their abilities. I was better prepared for my classes on Thursday, and again only had between 12 and 16 students. Even w/so few students, after an eight hour day I was so exhausted I didn't think I'd make the bike ride home!
After my classes I'd run into another prof or two sitting in the school yard and they'd say, "Oh, you began your classes?" Some with a slight smirk, others with a surprised but approving nod. I wonder if they think I'm being snooty or stubborn or just stupid. Regardless, the first few classes were an interesting test run and I really looked forward to 40 or 50 kids come week two.
Much to my dismay, I showed up this past Tuesday to find 2 students. Turns out the all the profs were having regional "formations" all this week to learn how to teach the material and nobody ever told me. That was extra obnoxious because I was incredibly sick but went to school anyway because I thought more kids would be there. :-(
So, the rest of this week I spent at the formation, which turned out to be really interesting. We practiced writing plans for different types of lessons (writing, listening, reading, etc.). We also discussed the fundamental goals of the lessons and how to build such skills in students. I found it very enlightening not just for the actual information I learned about skills development, but also to realize how such skills are often taken for granted as obvious in our own system and yet are very new to teaching and education here. For example, we spent four hours discussing and designing lessons to teach children how to identify a topic sentence. My foreign language teachers at home would never have done such a thing, because that was already done as a basic and essential part of English class. I realized that a big difference here is that every language in school is a foreign language. They are slightly more advanced in French, but French is still usually only begun in grammar school. Because most Americans already know how to speak English long before we enter an English class, we can move onto writing and reading skills much earlier.
Besides all the formal discussions and work, the formation was worthwhile because during our downtime (which was overly abundant), I got to start getting to know the other English profs at my school and in my region. In our boredom I taught some of them tic-tac-toe and dots, and during one short morning break the facilitator invited me up to teach a song. I offered a tongue twister instead, and it was pretty hilarious to hear 45 African men trying to say "How much wood would a wood chuck chuck..."
As for class, I've been assured they'll show up next week........
The national school year officially began on Monday, October 6th, but as of yet, I'm the only professor at school to be holding classes. I showed up the first day at 8 am just to see what was going on to find the school yard empty. Over the next 2 hours, most professors showed up to pick up their schedules and mingle. As for students, there were about 15 around to check if they'd passed into the next grade (a good portion of kids can't predict if they'll pass or not after exams, and they find out the next year). Turns out the students are smart not to show up because the first week of school is reserved completely for manual labor. About 3 feet of brush has grown across the entire school yard (about 3 acres) and the youngest students are expected to clear it. The older students are smart not to show up because their professors aren't there anyway.
In the following days more and more kids were hanging around to clean but mostly to get their schedules. Tuesday morning I walked around to each of my rooms to write on the board when English class would be held. During the first week, profs write when they will be there and then the students must come to figure out their schedules. I asked the head of the English department when we would start and he replied, "Don't be in such a hurry! Next week maybe..."
The delay in the start is very much a self-fulfilling prophecy because the professors say, "well, the students won't come" and the students say, "the professors haven't started." So, I showed up Wednesday at 8 am w/a novel prepared to sit alone in my class just to get the ball rolling. Much to my surprise (I didn't have a lesson planned!), about 12 kids (out of 70) showed up to each of my two classes. After my initial shock and terror, my impromptu lessons on basic greetings went well, and I welcomed the chance to memorize a few faces and gauge their abilities. I was better prepared for my classes on Thursday, and again only had between 12 and 16 students. Even w/so few students, after an eight hour day I was so exhausted I didn't think I'd make the bike ride home!
After my classes I'd run into another prof or two sitting in the school yard and they'd say, "Oh, you began your classes?" Some with a slight smirk, others with a surprised but approving nod. I wonder if they think I'm being snooty or stubborn or just stupid. Regardless, the first few classes were an interesting test run and I really looked forward to 40 or 50 kids come week two.
Much to my dismay, I showed up this past Tuesday to find 2 students. Turns out the all the profs were having regional "formations" all this week to learn how to teach the material and nobody ever told me. That was extra obnoxious because I was incredibly sick but went to school anyway because I thought more kids would be there. :-(
So, the rest of this week I spent at the formation, which turned out to be really interesting. We practiced writing plans for different types of lessons (writing, listening, reading, etc.). We also discussed the fundamental goals of the lessons and how to build such skills in students. I found it very enlightening not just for the actual information I learned about skills development, but also to realize how such skills are often taken for granted as obvious in our own system and yet are very new to teaching and education here. For example, we spent four hours discussing and designing lessons to teach children how to identify a topic sentence. My foreign language teachers at home would never have done such a thing, because that was already done as a basic and essential part of English class. I realized that a big difference here is that every language in school is a foreign language. They are slightly more advanced in French, but French is still usually only begun in grammar school. Because most Americans already know how to speak English long before we enter an English class, we can move onto writing and reading skills much earlier.
Besides all the formal discussions and work, the formation was worthwhile because during our downtime (which was overly abundant), I got to start getting to know the other English profs at my school and in my region. In our boredom I taught some of them tic-tac-toe and dots, and during one short morning break the facilitator invited me up to teach a song. I offered a tongue twister instead, and it was pretty hilarious to hear 45 African men trying to say "How much wood would a wood chuck chuck..."
As for class, I've been assured they'll show up next week........
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Ohhh Benin...
And now for the perfect story to sum it all up...
School starts on Monday, so this past Friday all of the teachers from two regions were brought together at a high school for a Journée Pédagogique- a day to reflect on a certain topic (chosen by the national education system) related to teaching and education. This year's topic was time management-- a very very fitting choice given that the school year was nationally extended a month last year due to strikes and teachers not effectively covering enough of the material in time.
So, as it was scheduled to begin at 8 am, I arrived at 9:15 and we began around 10:30. If you can believe it, thats a fairly good job on their part of getting things started. I moved into a classroom with all of the other (male) English and Physics professors, about 120 in all. We squeezed in three to a desk and began to work on small group activities. Our first small group activity was to read a short story about 4 professors working in a group to get things done for a deadline. One didn't show up, the other two didn't have their work done from the previous meeting, and the 4th needed them to finish their work on Tuesday because he had a tennis tournament on the weekend he couldn't miss. The groups were to discuss why tension might be rising in the group, what the causes of it were, and how it might be fixed. Although the activity took forever, I was bored to death, and you might think it completely pointless and obvious, the truth is that this was a very good idea for an exercise. I was slightly encouraged that the moral of the story- respect your group members and get your work done- might actually stick with a few of the professors in the room. If you're wondering why I might say such a thing, keep reading...
So...here comes the best part...Activity 2. Question 1- "what is time?" (weird question, but ok). Question 2-"What is time management?" Question 3- "Are you capable or incapable of managing your time? Why?" Now, when I read this question to myself, a perfect résumé response came to my mind that I'm sure we've all repeated at job interviews many times- "Yes, I have very good time management skills as can be seen by my work schedule and extracurricular activities." So, you can imagine my slight astonishment when a man stood up and announced that he is incapable of managing his time. It took me a second to realize that in fact he said we are all incapable of managing our time due to constraints and unexpected circumstances. Here again, I was a little surprised, and was slightly relieved when a man stood up to object. His objection, however, was that constraints and unexpected circumstances are not really different and one is merely the subcategory of the other. A 15 minute argument ensued, involving all 100+ men in the room. After that was finally settled (they can be different, but don't have to be), everyone was content to move on to question 4.
Now, when I entered this room and began working on this I had resigned myself to stay quiet, observant, and overall, patient. The one other woman in the room had spoken during activity 1 and although the room would not stop talking to listen to her, you could barely hear her speak anyway. I also didn't see the need to draw even further attention to myself, it was already clear to everyone that I was there. That being said, I couldn't let it go, and I had to raise my hand. The moderator had a huge grin on his face and asked me if I had a question. In the loudest, most calm, cool, and collected French I could muster, I said that I merely wanted to point out that we have all come here today to talk about our problems with time management and how we should work to fix them, thus I do not understand why everyone is content to say that we are completely incapable of managing our time. We wouldn't be here if we couldn't work to fix it, and therefore, I am not in agreement with the response."
The entire room erupted in laughter. I don't know if it's because they thought it was an idiotic and naive response, if they were just laughing because I'm a woman who voiced her opposition, or if because a white woman just told an entire room of men they were wrong and was correct in doing so. I like to think it's a mixture of the three. Anyway, after about a minute of laughter and chatter, the moderator calmed everyone down enough to address me. "Madame, madame, of course in the West, you are fully capable of managing your time. But here, of course you do not know, things are very different, and we cannot manage our time in the same way." (laughter and chatter). Much to his surprise I raised my hand again to respond. "I understand, Monseiur, that time is different here, I get it. I myself arrived at 9:15 this morning, not 8 am. I just want to say that the point of today is to talk about how we can better manage our time, and if you think we are incapable of doing so, we should all just go home." (laughter and chatter).
"Ok, Ok," he announced to the group, "listen, listen...you do not give a child an egg and tell them not to break it...you give a child an egg and tell them to be careful with it..." I have absolutely no idea if he meant that I'm the naive child with the egg of culture, or if they are the children slowly learning how to take care of the egg of time. I really wish I knew. Anywho, they ended up changing the response on the blackboard to "we are not completely capable of managing our time due to constraints and unexpected circumstances." As the group moved on I sat there completely content with myself and my response and even highly amused at the ordeal, regardless of its outcome. Not until later that night did I become infuriated at the entire situation and their willingness to sit in a professional setting (if you could call it that) and admit that it's beyond their control when they can't get their work done. Now I'm back to amusement. Overall, I think it was quite the quintessential Beninese experience and it's a lesson I'll always remember as I begin what is sure to be quite an interesting school year.
School starts on Monday, so this past Friday all of the teachers from two regions were brought together at a high school for a Journée Pédagogique- a day to reflect on a certain topic (chosen by the national education system) related to teaching and education. This year's topic was time management-- a very very fitting choice given that the school year was nationally extended a month last year due to strikes and teachers not effectively covering enough of the material in time.
So, as it was scheduled to begin at 8 am, I arrived at 9:15 and we began around 10:30. If you can believe it, thats a fairly good job on their part of getting things started. I moved into a classroom with all of the other (male) English and Physics professors, about 120 in all. We squeezed in three to a desk and began to work on small group activities. Our first small group activity was to read a short story about 4 professors working in a group to get things done for a deadline. One didn't show up, the other two didn't have their work done from the previous meeting, and the 4th needed them to finish their work on Tuesday because he had a tennis tournament on the weekend he couldn't miss. The groups were to discuss why tension might be rising in the group, what the causes of it were, and how it might be fixed. Although the activity took forever, I was bored to death, and you might think it completely pointless and obvious, the truth is that this was a very good idea for an exercise. I was slightly encouraged that the moral of the story- respect your group members and get your work done- might actually stick with a few of the professors in the room. If you're wondering why I might say such a thing, keep reading...
So...here comes the best part...Activity 2. Question 1- "what is time?" (weird question, but ok). Question 2-"What is time management?" Question 3- "Are you capable or incapable of managing your time? Why?" Now, when I read this question to myself, a perfect résumé response came to my mind that I'm sure we've all repeated at job interviews many times- "Yes, I have very good time management skills as can be seen by my work schedule and extracurricular activities." So, you can imagine my slight astonishment when a man stood up and announced that he is incapable of managing his time. It took me a second to realize that in fact he said we are all incapable of managing our time due to constraints and unexpected circumstances. Here again, I was a little surprised, and was slightly relieved when a man stood up to object. His objection, however, was that constraints and unexpected circumstances are not really different and one is merely the subcategory of the other. A 15 minute argument ensued, involving all 100+ men in the room. After that was finally settled (they can be different, but don't have to be), everyone was content to move on to question 4.
Now, when I entered this room and began working on this I had resigned myself to stay quiet, observant, and overall, patient. The one other woman in the room had spoken during activity 1 and although the room would not stop talking to listen to her, you could barely hear her speak anyway. I also didn't see the need to draw even further attention to myself, it was already clear to everyone that I was there. That being said, I couldn't let it go, and I had to raise my hand. The moderator had a huge grin on his face and asked me if I had a question. In the loudest, most calm, cool, and collected French I could muster, I said that I merely wanted to point out that we have all come here today to talk about our problems with time management and how we should work to fix them, thus I do not understand why everyone is content to say that we are completely incapable of managing our time. We wouldn't be here if we couldn't work to fix it, and therefore, I am not in agreement with the response."
The entire room erupted in laughter. I don't know if it's because they thought it was an idiotic and naive response, if they were just laughing because I'm a woman who voiced her opposition, or if because a white woman just told an entire room of men they were wrong and was correct in doing so. I like to think it's a mixture of the three. Anyway, after about a minute of laughter and chatter, the moderator calmed everyone down enough to address me. "Madame, madame, of course in the West, you are fully capable of managing your time. But here, of course you do not know, things are very different, and we cannot manage our time in the same way." (laughter and chatter). Much to his surprise I raised my hand again to respond. "I understand, Monseiur, that time is different here, I get it. I myself arrived at 9:15 this morning, not 8 am. I just want to say that the point of today is to talk about how we can better manage our time, and if you think we are incapable of doing so, we should all just go home." (laughter and chatter).
"Ok, Ok," he announced to the group, "listen, listen...you do not give a child an egg and tell them not to break it...you give a child an egg and tell them to be careful with it..." I have absolutely no idea if he meant that I'm the naive child with the egg of culture, or if they are the children slowly learning how to take care of the egg of time. I really wish I knew. Anywho, they ended up changing the response on the blackboard to "we are not completely capable of managing our time due to constraints and unexpected circumstances." As the group moved on I sat there completely content with myself and my response and even highly amused at the ordeal, regardless of its outcome. Not until later that night did I become infuriated at the entire situation and their willingness to sit in a professional setting (if you could call it that) and admit that it's beyond their control when they can't get their work done. Now I'm back to amusement. Overall, I think it was quite the quintessential Beninese experience and it's a lesson I'll always remember as I begin what is sure to be quite an interesting school year.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
3 months...
Wow, where does the time go? It's pretty incredible that I left home 3 months ago today, because I feel like I just said goodbye at the airport. Time's a funny thing here though -- the days are never-ending, but the weeks fly by. On the Air France flight to Benin we received a Toblerone bar, and I just ate mine last night. I never ate it because everyday I just thought it could wait until tomorrow, but then I realized that all those tomorrows have added up to three months! Not sure if it was out of a sense of accomplishment or stress, but I felt like I'd saved it long enough (and I'm hoping for packages with a replacement of chocolate supplies soon :-) ).
Looking back it's amazing how far I've come since those first five days in Cotonou when they wouldn't let us out of the building. Haggling the price for everything, riding taxi-motos, and even boiling our water seemed so overwhelming. Even though that all comes so easily now, moving to post really reinforces what the real challenges are and will continue to be. Among these are trying to find people genuinely interested in being your friend rather than just marrying you, trying to learn the local language, and just trying to get half an idea about how everything really functions around here. Existing here is not altogether that difficult, but really living here is going to take much longer than I thought. I don't know if that's because Dogbo is a bigger town, or because of the Aja culture that exists here, or maybe a lot of volunteers have the same sort of feelings. Not that I'm discouraged at all, but navigating the culture and society is just such a challenge that really can only be overcome with a lot of time, observation, and patience I think.
I was talking to the veterinarian the other day and found it strangely refreshing. I couldn't pinpoint why but later realized that for the first time I felt like I was talking to an equal. On a daily basis I feel like everyone is either looking up to me or down on me because of the color of my skin -- never is it a person addressing a fellow human being. They all think I'm rich, and atleast 5 men a day ask me if I'm "Madame" or "Mademoiselle" in the hopes that I'll marry them and take them home with me. "Madame," I say, "he's still 'la-bas' (there in my country), but he's coming soon." 1 in 10 people asks for either my money, something out of my purse, my jewelry, or just says "what did you bring me today?" There are people I say hi to who don't respond and many who mock my voice by speaking in an excessively high pitch. On the other hand, I can't wait anywhere more than 5 minutes before someone gives up a chair for me, I'm always given a fork and napkin even if everyone else is eating with their right hand, and I've already been on national television 3 times. So I don't know what it was about the veterinarian that day, something in the way he spoke to me, I guess. I just hope that with time and a better understanding of the local language I can hope to have these regular conversations with more and more people here and not have to constantly be reminded that they think of me as an altogether different type of human being.
The first three months being over, the next three will be filled with one of the biggest challenges of all -- school! Classes start on Monday and I'll be teaching 4 classes of roughly 7th and 8th graders (although ages will vary). Each class will have about 70 students dressed head to toe in khaki, which means I'm going to have lots of fun learning all 280 names and faces in the first few weeks. The upside is that I only teach Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, giving me weekends to relax, prep, and take short trips to big cities and to see friends. Currently I'm extremely nervous, but anxious to get started because I know it'll go just fine once we get rolling. It'll also be nice to have something to do! Of course I haven't started preparing my classes yet, but in traditional Beninese fashion, there's really no rush ;-).
Love you and miss you all...don't forget those letters and packages!!
Looking back it's amazing how far I've come since those first five days in Cotonou when they wouldn't let us out of the building. Haggling the price for everything, riding taxi-motos, and even boiling our water seemed so overwhelming. Even though that all comes so easily now, moving to post really reinforces what the real challenges are and will continue to be. Among these are trying to find people genuinely interested in being your friend rather than just marrying you, trying to learn the local language, and just trying to get half an idea about how everything really functions around here. Existing here is not altogether that difficult, but really living here is going to take much longer than I thought. I don't know if that's because Dogbo is a bigger town, or because of the Aja culture that exists here, or maybe a lot of volunteers have the same sort of feelings. Not that I'm discouraged at all, but navigating the culture and society is just such a challenge that really can only be overcome with a lot of time, observation, and patience I think.
I was talking to the veterinarian the other day and found it strangely refreshing. I couldn't pinpoint why but later realized that for the first time I felt like I was talking to an equal. On a daily basis I feel like everyone is either looking up to me or down on me because of the color of my skin -- never is it a person addressing a fellow human being. They all think I'm rich, and atleast 5 men a day ask me if I'm "Madame" or "Mademoiselle" in the hopes that I'll marry them and take them home with me. "Madame," I say, "he's still 'la-bas' (there in my country), but he's coming soon." 1 in 10 people asks for either my money, something out of my purse, my jewelry, or just says "what did you bring me today?" There are people I say hi to who don't respond and many who mock my voice by speaking in an excessively high pitch. On the other hand, I can't wait anywhere more than 5 minutes before someone gives up a chair for me, I'm always given a fork and napkin even if everyone else is eating with their right hand, and I've already been on national television 3 times. So I don't know what it was about the veterinarian that day, something in the way he spoke to me, I guess. I just hope that with time and a better understanding of the local language I can hope to have these regular conversations with more and more people here and not have to constantly be reminded that they think of me as an altogether different type of human being.
The first three months being over, the next three will be filled with one of the biggest challenges of all -- school! Classes start on Monday and I'll be teaching 4 classes of roughly 7th and 8th graders (although ages will vary). Each class will have about 70 students dressed head to toe in khaki, which means I'm going to have lots of fun learning all 280 names and faces in the first few weeks. The upside is that I only teach Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, giving me weekends to relax, prep, and take short trips to big cities and to see friends. Currently I'm extremely nervous, but anxious to get started because I know it'll go just fine once we get rolling. It'll also be nice to have something to do! Of course I haven't started preparing my classes yet, but in traditional Beninese fashion, there's really no rush ;-).
Love you and miss you all...don't forget those letters and packages!!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Pictures!
Me and my puppy!!
The neighbors, Jueslin, Gloria, and Gladys with Jasper
A couple of the TEFL girls in our meme tissue at swear-in! They had special tissue designed to celebrate the 40th anniversary, and then each sector had its own color. It's really fun to see the self-expression that comes out when everyone takes the same fabric and comes up with something different.
Last night with the host fam in Porto Novo
Sunday, September 21, 2008
The Newest Addition to the Sulewski Family...
I got a puppy! His name is Jasper and I bought him at the marché last Tuesday. They randomly sell kittens and puppies in the chicken section, actually, and their usually cramped in cages with them too. Jasper was in a small cage piled on all of his brothers and sisters, but the only one up and active. He is mostly brown (better to hide the dirt I think), with white paws and tail, and a black snout. The vet says he's about 8 weeks old, which is comparatively pretty old for the dogs and cats sold there (my friend Dennis in a nearby village bought a puppy that can't be more than 5 weeks old). I paid extra because he is older actually, but it was definitely worth it. He can already eat food and learn commands. He's so smart- after 4 days he already knows his name, "leave it", "sit", "come", and is basically house trained!
The first 48 hours were horrible. I was so back and forth about getting him in the first place. A lot of new volunteers around me have gotten kittens or dogs, so I was kind of peer-pressured into it. I was at the marché with Katherine (the other PCV in Dogbo), who has a kitten, and she really encouraged me to do it. Well, that first night as I lay awake for 8 hours straight as he cried, all I could think of was how I could get rid of him and all the problems I'd have if I kept him. My neighbors hated me the next day, the neighbor's kids pestered me even more (as if that could be possible), and he would not stop peeing. Well, luckily for him he's a quick learner, he no longer cries at night, he sleeps most of the day anyway, and he's so darn cute! He loves to curl up at my feet and sleep, which of course gets me everytime. I let him sleep inside last night and he actually didn't get into anything, so I'm feeling hopeful he's gonna stay! I also can't really bear to think about what his life will be like if I gave him away. It's so sad but so true that my dog will likely have more vaccines, more toys, and eat more protein than the average Beninese child. While I have mixed feelings about that, I also feel like the least I can do is suck it up and keep him.
Despite the first few days I was tied down w/ Jasper this week I've still just been trying to meet more people in Dogbo and explore little by little. A fellow English prof took me to 2 orphanages neary my house and I'd really like to work with them in the future, even just to drop by from time to time to play games with the kids. We also toured the surroundings village areas, which were breathtaking. Despite my pretty modern amenities in my own home, I've only got to go a few blocks off the main road to find all mud huts and people performing back-breaking work all day long. Quite often only children could respond to my French because older generations didnt go to school to learn it. There are such huge differences between ways of life here, my host family in Porto-Novo, for example, compared to the villagers of Dogbo, but there is also avery strog mutual respect between them. City people are very aware oftheir village of origin and often return to visit family still living there. I hope I can spend some valuable time in the villages on some sort of project, just to get better understanding of how that major portion of Beninese society lives.
The first 48 hours were horrible. I was so back and forth about getting him in the first place. A lot of new volunteers around me have gotten kittens or dogs, so I was kind of peer-pressured into it. I was at the marché with Katherine (the other PCV in Dogbo), who has a kitten, and she really encouraged me to do it. Well, that first night as I lay awake for 8 hours straight as he cried, all I could think of was how I could get rid of him and all the problems I'd have if I kept him. My neighbors hated me the next day, the neighbor's kids pestered me even more (as if that could be possible), and he would not stop peeing. Well, luckily for him he's a quick learner, he no longer cries at night, he sleeps most of the day anyway, and he's so darn cute! He loves to curl up at my feet and sleep, which of course gets me everytime. I let him sleep inside last night and he actually didn't get into anything, so I'm feeling hopeful he's gonna stay! I also can't really bear to think about what his life will be like if I gave him away. It's so sad but so true that my dog will likely have more vaccines, more toys, and eat more protein than the average Beninese child. While I have mixed feelings about that, I also feel like the least I can do is suck it up and keep him.
Despite the first few days I was tied down w/ Jasper this week I've still just been trying to meet more people in Dogbo and explore little by little. A fellow English prof took me to 2 orphanages neary my house and I'd really like to work with them in the future, even just to drop by from time to time to play games with the kids. We also toured the surroundings village areas, which were breathtaking. Despite my pretty modern amenities in my own home, I've only got to go a few blocks off the main road to find all mud huts and people performing back-breaking work all day long. Quite often only children could respond to my French because older generations didnt go to school to learn it. There are such huge differences between ways of life here, my host family in Porto-Novo, for example, compared to the villagers of Dogbo, but there is also avery strog mutual respect between them. City people are very aware oftheir village of origin and often return to visit family still living there. I hope I can spend some valuable time in the villages on some sort of project, just to get better understanding of how that major portion of Beninese society lives.
Monday, September 15, 2008
First Week at Post!
I arrived in Dogbo on Monday, September 8th, which also happened to be marché day and thus a sign of good luck. After driving through the hectic marché and dodging all the Mamas walking around with baskets on their heads, the taxi headed up & up through Dogbo to my house. I've come to learn that my house is literally the last house on the outskirts of Dogbo, and when I take a right turn in the morning to go on my run, all there is the jungle, and people walking from who knows how far to buy/sell things in the market.
Anyway, so as the taxi pulled up my neighbors all excitedly ran out to greet me and help carry in all of my things. As soon as I unlocked the door, Mama from next door sent two girls in to frantically sweep all the dust that has accumulated in the 3 weeks since the last volunteer had been here. Then Mama and the kids started bringing all of my stuff inside. I think the kids were half trying to be helpful and half just trying to get a glimpse of all the complicated and exotic stuff the Yovo brought with her. It's amazing how leaving home with 80 pounds in the US means you're leaving your life behind, but when a 9 year old Beninese boy looks at your open suitcase, all he can say is that you brought so much with you, what could it all be for? It's also weird that my house is attached to two identical houses on either side, both with 5 people in them, and both with less furniture than mine (they do both have TVs though, which is an occasional special treat for me).
Yet, despite what one might consider my more privileged position from a more materialistic viewpoint, my neighbors help me out more than I could ever possibly repay them for, and its only been a week! When they hear me sweeping every morning (which one must do to keep up with all the dust and cobwebs that come w/having screens for windows), either a child or mama will come over and insist to do it themselves. "I need to practice!" I tell them, but they explain that this is their work, they are very good at it, and it's not hard for them. Mama also says she refuses to let me find someone to pay for my laundry because she can help me do it. I remind her that she has so much work of her own, but she kindly reminds me that I can't very well do it myself if I actually want it to get decently clean. Although I am determined to do it myself, I'm still so impressed by their willingness to help and it provides such a new perspective. Americans are so accustommed to thinking of these things as chores, rather than just the natural flow of the day. These are skills they are justifiably proud of, and while they're teaching me how to shop at the marché or sweep my dirt, it's also a big lesson on humility.
Mama has also been very helpful in the way of occasionally providing me with something delicious to eat. Now, at home, I consider myself pretty confident in the kitchen, but let's just say that my culinary skills in Beninese cuisine could use quite a bit of work. After 3 pretty horrible meals in a row --> thanks to too much boullion, undercooked lentils, and wayyy too much cayenne pepper, Mama cadeau-ed (gave me a gift) of delicious rice and beans that lasted for both lunch and dinner on Thursday. I was in heaven. I know I won't starve because there are plenty of places to buy street food and I brought lots of peanut butter :-), but I'm still pushing myself to cook every meal just so I can learn little by little. I've had much more luck recently, including a delicious okra and tomato stir fry last night!
I've still got lots to learn in the way of portion sizes, though, and even more to learn about how long fruits and veggies last unrefrigerated. I definitely threw out more than a few rotten things this week! I also threw out a tomato, an orange, and a wild apple when I cut them open to find worms inside. Sick! I'm hoping it was an unlucky streak, but I'll definitely be very attentive for the rest of my time here! While it's disgusting and a big inconvenience, I guess it's the tradeoff for getting completely fresh and organic produce. I watched a gardener pull my carrots right out of the ground and I ate them 30 minutes later. It was probably one of the most delicious salads of my life.
Well, other than trying to figure out how to maintain a house and a life on a daily basis, I've just been out every day exploring Dogbo and introducing myself to people. I defintely see why others consider this area a little tougher to deal with relative to other cultural areas in Benin. I'm constantly mocked and laughed at, which isn't really typical of most more rural areas here based on what I've heard. Although it can get frustrating, I've also met some really nice people, and my neighbors more than make up for it. I really look forward to finding some great friends here. School should be starting in a few weeks and I look forward to meeting the other professors. Hopefully a few of them will help me get more acquainted.
Lastly...since I'm writing on my blog right now, it's clear that I've found internet in Dogbo! It's a tiny cyber and I don't know that the connection is working all that often, but hopefully it'll be at least fairly reliable.
Anyway, so as the taxi pulled up my neighbors all excitedly ran out to greet me and help carry in all of my things. As soon as I unlocked the door, Mama from next door sent two girls in to frantically sweep all the dust that has accumulated in the 3 weeks since the last volunteer had been here. Then Mama and the kids started bringing all of my stuff inside. I think the kids were half trying to be helpful and half just trying to get a glimpse of all the complicated and exotic stuff the Yovo brought with her. It's amazing how leaving home with 80 pounds in the US means you're leaving your life behind, but when a 9 year old Beninese boy looks at your open suitcase, all he can say is that you brought so much with you, what could it all be for? It's also weird that my house is attached to two identical houses on either side, both with 5 people in them, and both with less furniture than mine (they do both have TVs though, which is an occasional special treat for me).
Yet, despite what one might consider my more privileged position from a more materialistic viewpoint, my neighbors help me out more than I could ever possibly repay them for, and its only been a week! When they hear me sweeping every morning (which one must do to keep up with all the dust and cobwebs that come w/having screens for windows), either a child or mama will come over and insist to do it themselves. "I need to practice!" I tell them, but they explain that this is their work, they are very good at it, and it's not hard for them. Mama also says she refuses to let me find someone to pay for my laundry because she can help me do it. I remind her that she has so much work of her own, but she kindly reminds me that I can't very well do it myself if I actually want it to get decently clean. Although I am determined to do it myself, I'm still so impressed by their willingness to help and it provides such a new perspective. Americans are so accustommed to thinking of these things as chores, rather than just the natural flow of the day. These are skills they are justifiably proud of, and while they're teaching me how to shop at the marché or sweep my dirt, it's also a big lesson on humility.
Mama has also been very helpful in the way of occasionally providing me with something delicious to eat. Now, at home, I consider myself pretty confident in the kitchen, but let's just say that my culinary skills in Beninese cuisine could use quite a bit of work. After 3 pretty horrible meals in a row --> thanks to too much boullion, undercooked lentils, and wayyy too much cayenne pepper, Mama cadeau-ed (gave me a gift) of delicious rice and beans that lasted for both lunch and dinner on Thursday. I was in heaven. I know I won't starve because there are plenty of places to buy street food and I brought lots of peanut butter :-), but I'm still pushing myself to cook every meal just so I can learn little by little. I've had much more luck recently, including a delicious okra and tomato stir fry last night!
I've still got lots to learn in the way of portion sizes, though, and even more to learn about how long fruits and veggies last unrefrigerated. I definitely threw out more than a few rotten things this week! I also threw out a tomato, an orange, and a wild apple when I cut them open to find worms inside. Sick! I'm hoping it was an unlucky streak, but I'll definitely be very attentive for the rest of my time here! While it's disgusting and a big inconvenience, I guess it's the tradeoff for getting completely fresh and organic produce. I watched a gardener pull my carrots right out of the ground and I ate them 30 minutes later. It was probably one of the most delicious salads of my life.
Well, other than trying to figure out how to maintain a house and a life on a daily basis, I've just been out every day exploring Dogbo and introducing myself to people. I defintely see why others consider this area a little tougher to deal with relative to other cultural areas in Benin. I'm constantly mocked and laughed at, which isn't really typical of most more rural areas here based on what I've heard. Although it can get frustrating, I've also met some really nice people, and my neighbors more than make up for it. I really look forward to finding some great friends here. School should be starting in a few weeks and I look forward to meeting the other professors. Hopefully a few of them will help me get more acquainted.
Lastly...since I'm writing on my blog right now, it's clear that I've found internet in Dogbo! It's a tiny cyber and I don't know that the connection is working all that often, but hopefully it'll be at least fairly reliable.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Le Bebe-Foot
Every once in a while, you see a random foosball table sitting outside of somebody's house that you can play for 25 Cfa (about 7 cents). So yesterday I was out with 2 Beninese friends and, being the foosball competitor that I am, nonchalantly asked what they called it. They informed me that it's called "le bebe-foot" and asked if I wanted to play. It was kind of crazy because it was all made of wood and then the little men are actually steel. The table was kind of falling apart too, but I still managed to beat my friend 5-0.
Well after this little fun match, the two teenage boys from the house that owned the table got interested that a white woman actually beat an African man at something. So the two of them came out and both decided to take a turn against me, which really took no more than 30 seconds for the both of them before I scored twice. Wellll...let me tell you...they were shocked. So then of course, Papa has to come out to teach this yovo woman a lesson. He was actually pretty good and a formidable opponent, but I still managed to outscore him by quite a bit. By now there was definitely a crowd of about 12 people standing around, and as I continued on to beat Papa all of their laughter was just making him angrier and angrier. So then he demanded that we switch sides of the table. The other side was actually much worse, so he finally starting scoring more, but he also starting cheating by picking up the ball and moving it under his man whenever it was stuck somewhere and the men couldn't reach it. After he did it about 5 times I finally told him he couldn't do it and that it's cheating. Well everyone just starting laughing hysterically that this woman was calling out Papa on cheating and beating him at the same time. When he finally finished he just turned around and walked away, and everyone else was just eager to get to the table. In the end I have no idea what the final score was, but it was probably the proudest moment of my foosball career (except maybe for the first time I beat my brother Andrew :-) ).
Well after this little fun match, the two teenage boys from the house that owned the table got interested that a white woman actually beat an African man at something. So the two of them came out and both decided to take a turn against me, which really took no more than 30 seconds for the both of them before I scored twice. Wellll...let me tell you...they were shocked. So then of course, Papa has to come out to teach this yovo woman a lesson. He was actually pretty good and a formidable opponent, but I still managed to outscore him by quite a bit. By now there was definitely a crowd of about 12 people standing around, and as I continued on to beat Papa all of their laughter was just making him angrier and angrier. So then he demanded that we switch sides of the table. The other side was actually much worse, so he finally starting scoring more, but he also starting cheating by picking up the ball and moving it under his man whenever it was stuck somewhere and the men couldn't reach it. After he did it about 5 times I finally told him he couldn't do it and that it's cheating. Well everyone just starting laughing hysterically that this woman was calling out Papa on cheating and beating him at the same time. When he finally finished he just turned around and walked away, and everyone else was just eager to get to the table. In the end I have no idea what the final score was, but it was probably the proudest moment of my foosball career (except maybe for the first time I beat my brother Andrew :-) ).
Friday, August 29, 2008
Fa
So, I completely forgot to post about my "Fa" reading a few weeks ago. I got it during a visit to a traditional medicine center. The center was basically a mini-hospital, with a few rooms for housing sick patients, a consultation room, and then a pharmacy containing hundreds of powders, liquids, and gels for any health problem you can think of. The system was actually really formal and you can't get the medicine without consulting with a doctor (and maybe Fa) first. All the medicines are made locally from plants, and every traditional medicine center has completely different medicines created from local ingredients and practices. The doctors there aren't opposed to Western medicine necessarily (they send all urgent and surgical cases to the hospital), they just recognize this as another option. We watched a paralyzed man getting his legs massaged with a special gel. The doctors told us twice a day and he'll eventually walk again...Whether or not it works for everything, it was cool to see. The only thing that really disturbed me was when they said that they've got a cure for AIDS that only takes 10 months. We all just sort of sat there awkwardly at that point and shifted in our chairs...
This is a picture of Monica and me in meme tissue! Meme means same in French, and they call all the fabric here tissue. I've already got three tissue outfits made and I'm waiting for 3 more from the tailor, including my fancy dress for the swear-in ceremony next week! Going tissue shopping and designing outfits is one of my new favorite pastimes. In this picture Monica and I are both wearing modeles, which consist of a shirt and a long skirt, and are the most popular type of formal outfit for females. The skirts are sooo tight though, and tissue can get really hot. I've gotten a few Western style dresses made though, too...and I can't wait to have a full tissue wardrobe!
Anyway, so in addition to the plant remedies to treat physical problems, people can consult Fa to learn of bigger spiritual problems. I don't completely understand Fa, but it's not a religion. My host family explained that it's more of a science, and the doctor explained to one group that "at the top there is God, and after him is Fa." I think the best description actually came from my dad in the U.S. when I tried to explain it to him- it's kind of like the force in the Star Wars movies. I think it's like the forces of the universe mixed with an idea of destiny.
Anyway, so you consult Fa by asking a yes or no question. I began by whispering this question (which I can't tell anyone) to 8 small seashells cupped in my hands. Then I dropped the
shells onto a small wooden board and the reader interpreted them. Fa's first response to my question was that I am too independent from my mother and that she misses me, and that I should make more of an effort to be close to her (which of course she was very happy to hear). Then, I had to whisper to the shells again and ask the four cardinal directions if that was the complete answer to my question. Turns out it wasn't so I shook the shells again and the reader told me that I'll have much happiness in my life brought about by twins, so I should always be extra nice to any twins I come across :-). After I asked the four cardinal directions again, 4 shells came out face up and 4 face down, meaning that that was all. It's kinda crazy, because technically you could just go on and on for a pretty long time before you get the "that is all". Overall, it was really interesting to see, and I'm glad all my advice was positive (the girl before me wasn't so lucky :-( ).
shells onto a small wooden board and the reader interpreted them. Fa's first response to my question was that I am too independent from my mother and that she misses me, and that I should make more of an effort to be close to her (which of course she was very happy to hear). Then, I had to whisper to the shells again and ask the four cardinal directions if that was the complete answer to my question. Turns out it wasn't so I shook the shells again and the reader told me that I'll have much happiness in my life brought about by twins, so I should always be extra nice to any twins I come across :-). After I asked the four cardinal directions again, 4 shells came out face up and 4 face down, meaning that that was all. It's kinda crazy, because technically you could just go on and on for a pretty long time before you get the "that is all". Overall, it was really interesting to see, and I'm glad all my advice was positive (the girl before me wasn't so lucky :-( ).This is a picture of Monica and me in meme tissue! Meme means same in French, and they call all the fabric here tissue. I've already got three tissue outfits made and I'm waiting for 3 more from the tailor, including my fancy dress for the swear-in ceremony next week! Going tissue shopping and designing outfits is one of my new favorite pastimes. In this picture Monica and I are both wearing modeles, which consist of a shirt and a long skirt, and are the most popular type of formal outfit for females. The skirts are sooo tight though, and tissue can get really hot. I've gotten a few Western style dresses made though, too...and I can't wait to have a full tissue wardrobe!Also, as of today model school is officially over! We went over the test they took yesterday and then we had a day of games and songs. We taught 4 of the classes the song "joy to the world, all the boys and girls, joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea, joy to you and me", then had a competition singing it in the school yard...so cute! Monday is our last day with them actually, we're having a big ceremony to give out prizes for the best students and good attendance. I'm so glad it's over because it has been exhausting, but I'm definitely going to miss the kids!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Where does the time go?
Life has been busy. We just finished our third week of model school and our schedule is really demanding- 3 hours of model school every morning plus our own language classes and lesson planning in the afternoon and evenings. The first two weeks I taught the equivalents of 7th and 8th grade and this week I was with the 9th graders in their 3rd year of English. In every class there's a wide variety of ages, sizes, and skill levels though. For example, in my class now there is one boy almost as tall as me and one who can only reach half way up the board. I feel so bad when I call on someone to answer #1 and then they can't reach it! Overall, model school has been fun and really helpful, and we share a lot of creative ideas. We teach the kids lots of fun games like hangman and simon says and so many random songs with the day's grammar lesson in them. From Mr. Postman to Rihanna's Umbrella to the Itsy Bitsy Spider, songs are always a great way to end the class when the kids have been good enough to deserve it. I can't wait to get to post and really start getting to know my own students!
In other news...we killed a chicken! Two weeks ago during our cooking class we killed, boiled, plucked, cleaned, and cooked a chicken to eat with peanut sauce- delicious!! I wasn't the one to kill it, our fellow trainee Claire did the honors, but I did help pluck and clean it. This past Saturday's cooking class was an Iron Chef competition between all the English teaching trainees. The secret ingredient was coconut and our protein was turkey. In two hours my team made coconut milk basted pulled turkey, garlic cheese mashed potatoes, and sauteed veggies. Our dessert was a coconut pineapple cake covered in banana chocolate frosting (made by yours truly). While that might sound mildly normal to you, after 8 weeks of Beninese food it was amazing! It was also actually really reassuring that I'll be able to come up with some great recipes out of nowhere.
This past Sunday I visited a stilted village just ouside of Porto Novo. It was so much bigger than I thought it would be, complete with a hospital, a mosque, and a couple of different churches. There must have been hundreds of houses as well. Most were constructed with straw and wood, but some (like the hospital and mosque) were made of concrete on concrete stilts with really nice wooden doors and shutters. Pretty crazy to see...
It's amazing how people keep all sorts of animals in their stilted huts. They've got goats suspended in little 4 x 4 pens carpeted with straw and even dogs and cats laying around in their huts. I honestly don't see the point in the dogs and cats since it's just another mouth to feed and they wouldn't kill them to eat. We were kind of confused about what they do eat, but obviously a lot of fish and boats from shore probably bring in a lot of flour. I took a ton of pictures but I forgot my camera cord at home today...I know you want pictures but they take soooo long to upload!
In other news...we killed a chicken! Two weeks ago during our cooking class we killed, boiled, plucked, cleaned, and cooked a chicken to eat with peanut sauce- delicious!! I wasn't the one to kill it, our fellow trainee Claire did the honors, but I did help pluck and clean it. This past Saturday's cooking class was an Iron Chef competition between all the English teaching trainees. The secret ingredient was coconut and our protein was turkey. In two hours my team made coconut milk basted pulled turkey, garlic cheese mashed potatoes, and sauteed veggies. Our dessert was a coconut pineapple cake covered in banana chocolate frosting (made by yours truly). While that might sound mildly normal to you, after 8 weeks of Beninese food it was amazing! It was also actually really reassuring that I'll be able to come up with some great recipes out of nowhere.
This past Sunday I visited a stilted village just ouside of Porto Novo. It was so much bigger than I thought it would be, complete with a hospital, a mosque, and a couple of different churches. There must have been hundreds of houses as well. Most were constructed with straw and wood, but some (like the hospital and mosque) were made of concrete on concrete stilts with really nice wooden doors and shutters. Pretty crazy to see...
It's amazing how people keep all sorts of animals in their stilted huts. They've got goats suspended in little 4 x 4 pens carpeted with straw and even dogs and cats laying around in their huts. I honestly don't see the point in the dogs and cats since it's just another mouth to feed and they wouldn't kill them to eat. We were kind of confused about what they do eat, but obviously a lot of fish and boats from shore probably bring in a lot of flour. I took a ton of pictures but I forgot my camera cord at home today...I know you want pictures but they take soooo long to upload!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Some sweet random pics...
Done by my sister, Nora. Only took about an hour and a half!
Yes, that's a python. They are considered sacred in Voodoo. We were at the sacred temple of the pythons in Ouidah, which was also the major slave port of Benin.Post Visit to My New Home in Dogbo
Early last Wednesday morning I left Porto Novo w/my directeur (principal of my school) for a 3.5 hour taxi ride to Dogbo. After my first round trip taxi ride to Dogbo and back, let me say that I will never complain about being uncomfortable in a car at home again! I don't think I've ever even been in a car at home as old as the ones here. Yet, despite rain pouring through the roof and having 4 people in the back seat for 3 hours, the rides were generally pleasant because I was travelling with other peace corps trainees.
Anyway, overall, Dogbo seems pretty great and I can't wait for the next 4 weeks to go by so I can move to post and get started. Lauren is switching posts and moving to replace a different volunteer in a furnished apartment, so shes leaving almost everything behind. As you can see, it's a lot of furniture and shes leaving most kitchen stuff behind. It's so lucky for me because it makes moving that much easier, and maybe I'll use some of my move-in money to buy a couch!
Upon arrival in Dogbo I was greeted by the administration and the board of the parent's association. The volunteer currently posted there (who I'll be replacing) was also there, as well as one of the two other female professors out of a faculty of 55. She is a French professor, and I'm really hoping we can become good friends. To maintain my professionalism, I can't really spend a lot of time with my male colleagues outside of school, so I'm looking forward to seeking out the few other females.
After taking a tour of my school and going out for lunch, everybody accompanied me to meet the mayor and the chiefs of the local and state police. I also had the good fortune of arriving on marché day (market day), which happens only once every five days. Although there is a small market everyday where I can buy stuff, the big market is just huge and chaotic with lots of variety! Lauren (the current volunteer) and I spent some time walking around the marché and I asked her the fair prices for just about every single thing I could see. I'll need to learn the local language of Aja quickly so I can more easily discutez prices w/the mama's at market!
The next two days were mostly just spent with Lauren walking around town and hanging out. She pointed out some important places- like her tailor and the pharmacy, as well as who will give me a fair price on toilet paper and which mama to stop at for good beans and rice. She also introduced me to a French family working at a local hospital and a Dutch couple in town with an NGO.
Friday was actually Benin's independence day, so we watched a ceremony with the mayor at a local moument and then a cute little parade. Actually, the only people in the parade were the state police, local women's organizations, and then all the local taxi/moto drivers. Quite the interesting assortment....hehe...
The parade ended by mid-morning and we spent the rest of the day relaxing and cooking cornbread for both of my neighbors. As you can see from the picture, I live in a concession, which is basically one building with a walled in yard. I have the middle house of the concession (so the 
middle door in the picture), and the people on both sides are so nice. Lauren said they always help her with anything/everything, so that's reassuring. Apparently both families love cornbread. Peace Corps gives us a cookbook and Lauren has prepared them other things like chocolate cake and peanut butter cookies, but I guess they don't really like it. The cornbread is such an easy recipe, but apparently they are baffled by it. They were so happy to hear that I know how to make it! I'm actually really excited to start experimenting with a Dutch oven and work out some good recipes. If anybody has any good recipes please send them along!
middle door in the picture), and the people on both sides are so nice. Lauren said they always help her with anything/everything, so that's reassuring. Apparently both families love cornbread. Peace Corps gives us a cookbook and Lauren has prepared them other things like chocolate cake and peanut butter cookies, but I guess they don't really like it. The cornbread is such an easy recipe, but apparently they are baffled by it. They were so happy to hear that I know how to make it! I'm actually really excited to start experimenting with a Dutch oven and work out some good recipes. If anybody has any good recipes please send them along!Anyway, overall, Dogbo seems pretty great and I can't wait for the next 4 weeks to go by so I can move to post and get started. Lauren is switching posts and moving to replace a different volunteer in a furnished apartment, so shes leaving almost everything behind. As you can see, it's a lot of furniture and shes leaving most kitchen stuff behind. It's so lucky for me because it makes moving that much easier, and maybe I'll use some of my move-in money to buy a couch!As for the next 4 weeks...we just started model school this week, so I'm officially Madame Kristin!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
My Post!
At the beginning of September I will be moving to the town of Dogbo! It's in the southwestern part of the country, about 3 hours or so from the largest city of Cotonou (so pretty close). I'm also very close to the border of Togo, so I'll be able to easily make a few trips there. Dogbo has about 4,000 people, so it's not really the small village I was hoping for, but oh well. The fact that it is in the South and a larger town means I will have relatively regular access to fruits and vegetables, whereas some people in the North wont at all in some seasons. I'll also be able to easily travel to larger towns and cities to buy basically anything. I don't think there is internet in Dogbo yet, but the nearby city of Lokossa has internet, and I think its about 45 minutes away by taxi, so not bad. I'll be expecting letters from everyone though!!!!!
I'll actually be replacing another English teaching volunteer in Dogbo, which is both exciting and a little sad. Exciting because I will inherit her house and most of her stuff hopefully (which I hear includes couches!) But its also a little sad, because I'll have to deal with peoples' expectations based on what her and other volunteers have done. Ooooh...also, I'll have electricity, running water, and even a toilet! Not gonna lie, definitely a little dissapointed about that...not the all-out rural I expected, but I have plenty of friends to visit around the country with those conditions, so I'm feeling pretty grateful :-) .
I'll be meeting my school principal tomorrow and traveling with him to Dogbo from Wednesday to Sunday, so I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!
I'll actually be replacing another English teaching volunteer in Dogbo, which is both exciting and a little sad. Exciting because I will inherit her house and most of her stuff hopefully (which I hear includes couches!) But its also a little sad, because I'll have to deal with peoples' expectations based on what her and other volunteers have done. Ooooh...also, I'll have electricity, running water, and even a toilet! Not gonna lie, definitely a little dissapointed about that...not the all-out rural I expected, but I have plenty of friends to visit around the country with those conditions, so I'm feeling pretty grateful :-) .
I'll be meeting my school principal tomorrow and traveling with him to Dogbo from Wednesday to Sunday, so I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!
Ma Famille!
I live with Maman, Papa, Nora, and 3 of my nieces, who are the three oldest girls in the picture below. They've been so patient teaching me how to wash my laundry, cook over a charcoal fire, and wrap my bumbahs...Which is the traditional dress that most of them wear-- basically just a large rectangular piece of cloth that you wrap around to form a skirt, then you wear a matching top to go with (I'm wearing one in the picture with the kids, but its kind of hard to see). Anyway, they've been so generous already, and they promised to come visit me at post! My dad is a printer, and I got to visit his workshop the other day. He literally creates copies by taking metal letters and arranging them in frames and then uses a large machine to press ink on the print and then onto papers. It's just like something you'd see in an old-fashioned printers shop from long long ago. It really was amazing to see, and after 25 years, he still loves it.
This morning I read french fairy tales to my nieces for like 2 hours! The youngest one hasn't started school, so she doesn't even speak french, but she was still so excited. They call me "tata kristin" meaning aunt, and gives me lots of hugs whenever I come home from class. For my techincal training we're actully recruiting local kids on summer vacation to come to english class so we can practice, and I'll be bringing my oldest niece. Shes actually a year too young, but shes the top of her class, so I know she'll do great!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The Streets of Porto Novo
I was walking down my street today on the way to class when it suddenly occurred to me that there were goats and chickens randomly wandering around. Funny how after only 3 weeks that seems so normal. If a goat doesn't come up to my mid-thigh in height, it definitely does not even get noticed anymore. I'm still puzzled as to why they don't wander too far from home, but yesterday I did see a goat dodging motos on a main street. I didn't stick around to see what happened though...
The word road or street sort of begins to take on a new meaning here. Most of the main roads (what we might call busy streets) are either paved or bricked, but all of the side streets are just a red dirt/sand substance. Some are smooth (ish), but most are very bumpy with frequent rocks and puddles acting as barriers to both walking and driving. It's amazing to watch motos and cars figure out how to navigate them. It took me about 4 or 5 days to find the flattest, least rocky, least muddy streets around my neighborhood for my morning run.
I wake up around 5:30 or 5:45 everyday to hear the first call to prayer. It was so new to me that it woke me up the first few weeks, but now I generally rely on my alarm clock. If it didn't pour during the night (which it frequently does now that we're in a short rainy season), I try to head out at around 6:15 for my morning run. At 6:15 its still dark outside and it's actually quiet -- trust me, calm and empty streets are a rarity here, even at midnight. There are no goats or chickens or children out yet, just about one or two early risers outside sweeping their dirt.
Beyond the lack of usual commotion, this morning calm is also so precious becuase I don't have people shouting the word "Yovo" at me. The word "Yovo" is one I've already heard thousands of times and it's what they call white foreigners. All of the children know a little song that goes "Yovo, yovo, bon soir! ça va bien, merci!" (Yovo, yovo, good evening, I'm good, thank you!) Many older people also use yovo to address me on the street or to try to get my attention. I've been working on teaching the older kids on my block my actual name, so now I get "Bonjour Madame Kristin!" instead of yovo! It always makes me smile, and I can't wait to teach the kids in my village.
By the end of my run at 6:45 it's already completely light outside and the streets are filling up. Vendors are setting up their tomato or bread or candy stands outside of their homes and motos are starting to take people to work. It's always towards the end of my run that I get the first "yovo!" of the day. With that I know my little time for peace and quiet is over, and I get charged up for the day. Overall I'm so happy that I've been able to take these runs fairly regularly. Beyond enjoying the exercise, it's nice to just have the place to myself for those first few minutes. It makes me feel like I'm not such a foreigner, and like I have some time to really connect with this place, rather than be incredibly overwhelmed by it.
P.S. post assignments tomorrow!! and ill try to post pictures as soon as i can figure out how to do it!!
The word road or street sort of begins to take on a new meaning here. Most of the main roads (what we might call busy streets) are either paved or bricked, but all of the side streets are just a red dirt/sand substance. Some are smooth (ish), but most are very bumpy with frequent rocks and puddles acting as barriers to both walking and driving. It's amazing to watch motos and cars figure out how to navigate them. It took me about 4 or 5 days to find the flattest, least rocky, least muddy streets around my neighborhood for my morning run.
I wake up around 5:30 or 5:45 everyday to hear the first call to prayer. It was so new to me that it woke me up the first few weeks, but now I generally rely on my alarm clock. If it didn't pour during the night (which it frequently does now that we're in a short rainy season), I try to head out at around 6:15 for my morning run. At 6:15 its still dark outside and it's actually quiet -- trust me, calm and empty streets are a rarity here, even at midnight. There are no goats or chickens or children out yet, just about one or two early risers outside sweeping their dirt.
Beyond the lack of usual commotion, this morning calm is also so precious becuase I don't have people shouting the word "Yovo" at me. The word "Yovo" is one I've already heard thousands of times and it's what they call white foreigners. All of the children know a little song that goes "Yovo, yovo, bon soir! ça va bien, merci!" (Yovo, yovo, good evening, I'm good, thank you!) Many older people also use yovo to address me on the street or to try to get my attention. I've been working on teaching the older kids on my block my actual name, so now I get "Bonjour Madame Kristin!" instead of yovo! It always makes me smile, and I can't wait to teach the kids in my village.
By the end of my run at 6:45 it's already completely light outside and the streets are filling up. Vendors are setting up their tomato or bread or candy stands outside of their homes and motos are starting to take people to work. It's always towards the end of my run that I get the first "yovo!" of the day. With that I know my little time for peace and quiet is over, and I get charged up for the day. Overall I'm so happy that I've been able to take these runs fairly regularly. Beyond enjoying the exercise, it's nice to just have the place to myself for those first few minutes. It makes me feel like I'm not such a foreigner, and like I have some time to really connect with this place, rather than be incredibly overwhelmed by it.
P.S. post assignments tomorrow!! and ill try to post pictures as soon as i can figure out how to do it!!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Finally a post!!
I know, I know, I'm a horrible blogger! In addition to being very busy without much time for internet cafes, the truth is really that it's impossible to know what to say. At first, everything was just so new and overwhelming that I couldn't even express it in words to myself let alone on my blog. Now that I've been here over two weeks I've been able to sit back and process this new environment a little.
When we first arrived, we spent five days in the largest city of Cotonou and since July 10th we've been living with host families in the smaller capital city of Porto Novo. I am the newest member of la famille Agossou, living with Maman, Papa, my 20 year old sister Nora and my three young nieces. I also have 2 older brothers and an older sister who no longer live at home, not to mention tons of cousins and aunts and uncles who randomly drop by all the time to meet me.
Here in Benin, there is custom called "saluer", which in French means to saluate, or give a salutation to someone. It is common practice to receive an unexpected visitor or even random quick phone calls and text messages. "Hello, Kristin?" "Yes, hello..." " Oh good, how are you?" "Good, and you?" "Good, just calling to say hello, goodbye!" The same goes for saying goodnight and good morning and everything. It can be a little overwhelming, but I think it's very telling about how kind and generous the Beninese people are. My host family have been so generous already, and although sometimes it's hard for us trainees to not have our usual amount of freedom, I think I'm beginning to establish a good balance with my own family. They even let me come to the internet alone by myself today!!
For the most part, we're all really lucky and happy with our host families despite some small frustrations. We've already lost 5 people out of the 64 who came, :-( but for a wide variety of reasons, none really having to do with our current living situation. In fact, we're being quite spoiled by training in a city. I'm pretty sure we all have electricity and the majority of us have toilets (including me!) and running water. While post will almost certainly have a latrine and a well, I think this is sort of a nice transition into it.
I get my post assignment on Friday, then next week we go for a 4 day post visit! I'm so excited to find out where I'll be posted in country, but of course anxious to know as well! All the current volunteers say that you end up loving your post, no matter where it is, so I'm not too worried about it;
Overall, things here have been great so far and quite an adventure. I haven't gotten sick yet (although of course its only a matter of time :-) ) and I'm learning so much everyday! I'll post again soon with more details of my daily life and of course my post assignment!
p.s. these keyboards are different, so please tolerate weird and random typos!!
When we first arrived, we spent five days in the largest city of Cotonou and since July 10th we've been living with host families in the smaller capital city of Porto Novo. I am the newest member of la famille Agossou, living with Maman, Papa, my 20 year old sister Nora and my three young nieces. I also have 2 older brothers and an older sister who no longer live at home, not to mention tons of cousins and aunts and uncles who randomly drop by all the time to meet me.
Here in Benin, there is custom called "saluer", which in French means to saluate, or give a salutation to someone. It is common practice to receive an unexpected visitor or even random quick phone calls and text messages. "Hello, Kristin?" "Yes, hello..." " Oh good, how are you?" "Good, and you?" "Good, just calling to say hello, goodbye!" The same goes for saying goodnight and good morning and everything. It can be a little overwhelming, but I think it's very telling about how kind and generous the Beninese people are. My host family have been so generous already, and although sometimes it's hard for us trainees to not have our usual amount of freedom, I think I'm beginning to establish a good balance with my own family. They even let me come to the internet alone by myself today!!
For the most part, we're all really lucky and happy with our host families despite some small frustrations. We've already lost 5 people out of the 64 who came, :-( but for a wide variety of reasons, none really having to do with our current living situation. In fact, we're being quite spoiled by training in a city. I'm pretty sure we all have electricity and the majority of us have toilets (including me!) and running water. While post will almost certainly have a latrine and a well, I think this is sort of a nice transition into it.
I get my post assignment on Friday, then next week we go for a 4 day post visit! I'm so excited to find out where I'll be posted in country, but of course anxious to know as well! All the current volunteers say that you end up loving your post, no matter where it is, so I'm not too worried about it;
Overall, things here have been great so far and quite an adventure. I haven't gotten sick yet (although of course its only a matter of time :-) ) and I'm learning so much everyday! I'll post again soon with more details of my daily life and of course my post assignment!
p.s. these keyboards are different, so please tolerate weird and random typos!!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Loving It!!
Well, I've officially been in Benin for 2.5 days now, and loving every minute! Right now we haven't really seen very much, because we are staying in a large walled in compound just outside the city and we travel everywhere on big buses. There are about 10 current volunteers staying with us to help throughout training, and we aren't allowed to go outside anywhere without them. It's actually kind of reassuring that they don't just let us wander around until we get more information and guidance about how to handle ourselves and where to go. There are also a lot of other volunteers who keep stopping by to meet us and just talk to us about their experiences.
I know this isn't a really long post, but I've gotta be going because a long line is forming here. Once we can get out and head to a internet cafe I'll definitely write more and post pictures! I just wanted to let everyone know I arrived safely and everything is going great so far! Don't forget to check out my address posted on the sidebar and send me lots of letters and packages!! E-mail also works too, atleast until September!
Love you and miss you!
I know this isn't a really long post, but I've gotta be going because a long line is forming here. Once we can get out and head to a internet cafe I'll definitely write more and post pictures! I just wanted to let everyone know I arrived safely and everything is going great so far! Don't forget to check out my address posted on the sidebar and send me lots of letters and packages!! E-mail also works too, atleast until September!
Love you and miss you!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
20 days!
Well, after months and months of waiting, I found out about 3 weeks ago that I am going to be a Peace Corps Volunteer in Benin!!! It's a small country in West Africa on the Atlantic Coast located between Togo and Nigeria. I leave for staging in Philadelphia on July 1st, where I'll meet with about 60 other Peace Corps volunteers (PCVs) to get some basic info and vaccinations. Then on the 4th we'll all fly to Cotonou, Benin together.
For the first two months, we'll all be placed in homestays in the southern capital of Porto Novo and recieve time intensive training for language, culture, health and safety, and of course our jobs. In September we'll move to our official posts and I'll begin my two years as a secondary education English teacher!
The past few weeks since graduation I've been very busy at home in Chicago preparing to head to Africa. Although I'm leaving basically all of possessions behind, turns out I've had to spend lots of money buying new things to take with me. While it's exciting to get lots of new and interesting stuff and I definitely want to be prepared, it still feels weird to be spending so much money to move somewhere where I won't really have much at all, and my neighbors will probably have even less.
Packing has been made easier through facebook and other online communication with PCVs currently in Benin and West Africa. They say not to stress about it too much, and that most people overthink it, but I think focusing on packing and buying a bunch of random things is also a useful distraction from the things that will really be hard- like saying goodbye and how I'm going to have to change myself to fit into a new culture. Oh well...I'll deal with all of that in time, and figuring out how I'm going to fit 2 years into 80 pounds of luggage is enough to keep my mind occupied for now!
On an AMAZING note- while attending the MI-ACE Annual Conference in East Lansing this week, it was my job to shuttle two of our guest speakers back and forth from the airport. Turns out, one of them was a founding sponsor of an NGO in Benin that works to promote education and provide student scholarships!!! Her friend married a Beninese man and they started this foundation together. She called her friend for me, who was absolutely delighted to hear about me and can't wait to work together! She said their organization is already working with a PCV in Benin, and they'd be happy to help me out with whatever I might need!! I've got her contact information and I plan on calling her tomorrow to learn more about her organization and how we might be able to work together in the future. Basically, I think it's just a sign of the stars aligning and that I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing with my life :-). That's cheesy...but it's reassuring.
For the first two months, we'll all be placed in homestays in the southern capital of Porto Novo and recieve time intensive training for language, culture, health and safety, and of course our jobs. In September we'll move to our official posts and I'll begin my two years as a secondary education English teacher!
The past few weeks since graduation I've been very busy at home in Chicago preparing to head to Africa. Although I'm leaving basically all of possessions behind, turns out I've had to spend lots of money buying new things to take with me. While it's exciting to get lots of new and interesting stuff and I definitely want to be prepared, it still feels weird to be spending so much money to move somewhere where I won't really have much at all, and my neighbors will probably have even less.
Packing has been made easier through facebook and other online communication with PCVs currently in Benin and West Africa. They say not to stress about it too much, and that most people overthink it, but I think focusing on packing and buying a bunch of random things is also a useful distraction from the things that will really be hard- like saying goodbye and how I'm going to have to change myself to fit into a new culture. Oh well...I'll deal with all of that in time, and figuring out how I'm going to fit 2 years into 80 pounds of luggage is enough to keep my mind occupied for now!
On an AMAZING note- while attending the MI-ACE Annual Conference in East Lansing this week, it was my job to shuttle two of our guest speakers back and forth from the airport. Turns out, one of them was a founding sponsor of an NGO in Benin that works to promote education and provide student scholarships!!! Her friend married a Beninese man and they started this foundation together. She called her friend for me, who was absolutely delighted to hear about me and can't wait to work together! She said their organization is already working with a PCV in Benin, and they'd be happy to help me out with whatever I might need!! I've got her contact information and I plan on calling her tomorrow to learn more about her organization and how we might be able to work together in the future. Basically, I think it's just a sign of the stars aligning and that I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing with my life :-). That's cheesy...but it's reassuring.
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