Last day of model school!

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...

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 :-( ).

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!

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!

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.

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!

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!