Teach a bunch of 10th graders how to use if clauses and then ask them to write a paragraph about what they would do if they had 5,000,000 cfa (approx a million dollars). Then, explain to them what it means to 'be creative' and remind them that a paragraph is not a list. Then remind them that this is not group homework and that I should be receiving 50 different paragraphs, not the same one copied 50 times. Wait until the next class, collect their papers, and among all the randomness about buying motos and calling parents this is what you might get:
"If I had 5,000,000, I would had visited Mme Kristin house in USA and I would have got in mariage her sister. After The mariage I would not have let her suffer from any danger. Arrive to our country she would not have returned to USA and I would have taken her the audience to see our president of republic." (authentically replicated with typos and grammatical errors intact for your reading pleasure)
Hilarious. Luckily for him I was too pleasantly surprised while reading this that it wasn't until later that I got mad at him for obviously NOT following my lesson about the correct tenses to use in if clauses. I let my sister know about the proposal right away but she declined. Too bad, it would have been nice to have a sister in Benin so I could come back and visit often ;-).
P.S. Post office is still closed...Turns out the "replacement" for the normal lady took about 50,000,000 cfa and ran. Great. After trying for 2 days to see the mayor who keeps going out of town, I threw enough of a fit this morning that they were like "oh, well there is the deputy mayor"...So I went to see him and although the mayor's office is next door to the post, nobody at the office had any idea of this closure. He was actually really nice and made some phone calls right in front of me although of course he didn't have any number for any kind of post office. What he did learn was that the post does actually know of this closure and they are doing an investigation. I said I just wanted to open the door and get my packages and he said that's not possible because the justice officials are involved and I have to wait until they complete their investigation. So, I'm assuming I'll get the packages sometime around July.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
mr. the post of dogbo is not high on my list of favorite people right now...
So, even after that long letter I had to write to get the post box in the first place, and even after all the sucking up I've done in the last 7 months to the lady who works at the post office so she wouldn't steal my mail (I bake her banana cake all the time), turns out that all means nothing now that 3 boxes are waiting in a back room with my name on them. Normal post lady is on a 3 month vacation in the North and she introduced me to her replacement a week and a half ago. Turns out he came to work last Monday morning to put a note in P.O. box saying 3 new packages had arrived, and then he put up a sign saying he would return at 3 pm. Well...over a week later the sign is still there and he hasn't been back. Oh Benin.
Because it's Benin there really isn't anyone to get in contact with about it. I stopped at a phone station next door and asked if they knew and the guy told me to be patient and wait out this week, "surely they'll send someone eventually," he said. So, my Dutch friend gave me the post lady's cell number and today I went to talk ask my friend who is the mayor's secretary about it. They hadn't heard a thing (even though all of the hospitals, NGOs, and schools in town have a PO box, I guess none of them have noticed or seem to care). So, if the man doesn't come by tomorrow I have an "appointment" with the mayor in the afternoon to inform him in hopes that he can talk to somebody. If not, I'll have to interrupt the post lady's vacation and possibly head to the regional capital on Friday to talk to the post office people there. If it's my thanksgiving package I need it!!!!!!
In other news...things are good. I've officially got 2 kids out 40 to send e-mails to their new US penpals. I'm basically going to be spending every afternoon for the next 4 or 5 weeks at the cyber teaching them how to use computers. So far so good though...
Because it's Benin there really isn't anyone to get in contact with about it. I stopped at a phone station next door and asked if they knew and the guy told me to be patient and wait out this week, "surely they'll send someone eventually," he said. So, my Dutch friend gave me the post lady's cell number and today I went to talk ask my friend who is the mayor's secretary about it. They hadn't heard a thing (even though all of the hospitals, NGOs, and schools in town have a PO box, I guess none of them have noticed or seem to care). So, if the man doesn't come by tomorrow I have an "appointment" with the mayor in the afternoon to inform him in hopes that he can talk to somebody. If not, I'll have to interrupt the post lady's vacation and possibly head to the regional capital on Friday to talk to the post office people there. If it's my thanksgiving package I need it!!!!!!
In other news...things are good. I've officially got 2 kids out 40 to send e-mails to their new US penpals. I'm basically going to be spending every afternoon for the next 4 or 5 weeks at the cyber teaching them how to use computers. So far so good though...
Saturday, November 7, 2009
It's nice to get a little positive feedback now and again...
So, the government of Benin has this law that being a "full time" teacher at any public school is limited to 18 hours of work a week. 16 hours of class time (4 classes for 4 hours a week) plus 2 hours of the weekly teacher meeting. So, the full work week is considered 18 hours and they are NOT allowed to work more than this at one school. While they are happy to consider an 18-hour week a full time job, they are definitely not happy with the amount of money that gets them. So what all of the teachers do is take 1 or 2 classes from multiple other schools in the area where they are considered "part-timers". The results being as follows: my school has only myself and 2 other full-time English teachers, and between us we cover 12 of the 36 classes that need teachers. Every other teacher that 'works' there only has 1 or 2 classes.
In actually a great jump forward this year, however, the government now requires that both part-timers and full-timers attend the weekly teacher meetings. (Last year it was just me and my two colleagues discussing our few couple of classes and I never even met most of the others). It's really encouraging that they are demanding this, and this year they also limited the number of schools a professor can work at.
So, this past week we had a bunch of these new part-timers attend our weekly English meeting for the first time. These meetings have been really productive so far this year, and next week I'm leading a session on visual aids. It seems like they want me to be leading most of the sessions, but I'm trying to get them to present their ideas and strategies as well. Anyway, this past Thursday we were just getting the newbies up to speed and I told them that we already discussed how important it is for us to only speak English in the classroom, and not give in to students' demands to speak in French. Of course the responses were mixed.
It's easy to look at them and see based on their comfort level if they really can speak English or not. One man (who didn't look so comfortable) raised his hand and responded (in French), "please, I respect what Madame has said, but when I talk to my second level class they refuse and refuse and refuse." Then we asked him what class specifically and it turns out it is a class I had last year as complete beginners, and all they got from me was English!! Immediately I said, "no no no!! That is impossible, those kids follow directions very well in English and understand perfectly." Then he went on to say that when they pronounce the verb "to be" they incorrectly say "I'm, you're, he's...etc" and I was like..."Of course they do! I teach them that in reality we speak in contractions, and they learned from listening to me". I then went on to explain to all of the teachers that speaking in English to their classes does not mean giving 15 minute monologues, but rather, short, quick instructions- "copy! finish! listen! repeat!"
Anyway, so after all of this I was still a little sad about my previous class now demanding French and refusing English. But that afternoon, as I was preparing for class with a first year group I'm teaching this year, about 15 of the now second years walked up outside my door. I walked over and said hello, and then joked with them (in French) that I was very mad! "How can you refuse English?" I scolded. "Madame, Madame, no!! He can't speak! He makes no sense and we need you to come back and teach us!" Then they asked me why I didn't follow them to year 2 and asked if I could switch. Then, to my crazy surprise, they told me they would come in every Saturday if I would do make-up classes with them. Since I'm in the capital this weekend, I told them that couldn't work, but that occasionally I'd be happy to work with them, and especially right before exams.
Then, just to reassure myself that I did a good job, I made them all stand there and repeat the conjugation of "to be" for me. Indeed...they do still remember it correctly...thank god! Then I promised them that I'd come visit their class this Monday morning and watch their new teacher. Afterwards I'll hopefully be able to give him some pointers about communicating better with them in English and hopefully seeing me will encourage the students as well.
All in all my students' little visit made my day...and while I do sort of feel like I abandoned them this year, I'm also having lots of fun with my new first years. I don't necessarily regret it because I'm glad I can get another group of kids off to a good start...even if I can't control who will come in the years to follow me...
In actually a great jump forward this year, however, the government now requires that both part-timers and full-timers attend the weekly teacher meetings. (Last year it was just me and my two colleagues discussing our few couple of classes and I never even met most of the others). It's really encouraging that they are demanding this, and this year they also limited the number of schools a professor can work at.
So, this past week we had a bunch of these new part-timers attend our weekly English meeting for the first time. These meetings have been really productive so far this year, and next week I'm leading a session on visual aids. It seems like they want me to be leading most of the sessions, but I'm trying to get them to present their ideas and strategies as well. Anyway, this past Thursday we were just getting the newbies up to speed and I told them that we already discussed how important it is for us to only speak English in the classroom, and not give in to students' demands to speak in French. Of course the responses were mixed.
It's easy to look at them and see based on their comfort level if they really can speak English or not. One man (who didn't look so comfortable) raised his hand and responded (in French), "please, I respect what Madame has said, but when I talk to my second level class they refuse and refuse and refuse." Then we asked him what class specifically and it turns out it is a class I had last year as complete beginners, and all they got from me was English!! Immediately I said, "no no no!! That is impossible, those kids follow directions very well in English and understand perfectly." Then he went on to say that when they pronounce the verb "to be" they incorrectly say "I'm, you're, he's...etc" and I was like..."Of course they do! I teach them that in reality we speak in contractions, and they learned from listening to me". I then went on to explain to all of the teachers that speaking in English to their classes does not mean giving 15 minute monologues, but rather, short, quick instructions- "copy! finish! listen! repeat!"
Anyway, so after all of this I was still a little sad about my previous class now demanding French and refusing English. But that afternoon, as I was preparing for class with a first year group I'm teaching this year, about 15 of the now second years walked up outside my door. I walked over and said hello, and then joked with them (in French) that I was very mad! "How can you refuse English?" I scolded. "Madame, Madame, no!! He can't speak! He makes no sense and we need you to come back and teach us!" Then they asked me why I didn't follow them to year 2 and asked if I could switch. Then, to my crazy surprise, they told me they would come in every Saturday if I would do make-up classes with them. Since I'm in the capital this weekend, I told them that couldn't work, but that occasionally I'd be happy to work with them, and especially right before exams.
Then, just to reassure myself that I did a good job, I made them all stand there and repeat the conjugation of "to be" for me. Indeed...they do still remember it correctly...thank god! Then I promised them that I'd come visit their class this Monday morning and watch their new teacher. Afterwards I'll hopefully be able to give him some pointers about communicating better with them in English and hopefully seeing me will encourage the students as well.
All in all my students' little visit made my day...and while I do sort of feel like I abandoned them this year, I'm also having lots of fun with my new first years. I don't necessarily regret it because I'm glad I can get another group of kids off to a good start...even if I can't control who will come in the years to follow me...
Friday, October 23, 2009
look at me writing again already!
Just a quick update...the short hot season, papaya season, and cockroach season are all beginning...
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
And so it begins...
With the new school year I will TRY to write more often!! I apologize to everyone and especially my mother, since she's been bugged by so many of you about it for months! Believe me, she reminds me your waiting and has told me to write every week. (Lana, too!)
Anyway...I titled the first lesson in my lesson planning book this year "and so it begins..." And so it has. Last week was my first full week of class and it's already soooo much easier than last time! I'm teaching two classes of first years (6eme) and one class of 5th years (2e). For the 6emes I've already got all my lessons from last year and they're still so shy and unsure since secondary school is new to them. Those two classes each only had about 35 kids last week though, so I'm hoping that this week they should be up their normal levels of about 65. One if my 6emes even has 8 of my kids who failed from last year, which is absolutely fantastic. Of course they already understand all of my instructions and all of the others are catching on very quickly. I feel like it will be a real advantage that we can hit the ground running and move quickly past technicalities. It's also so exciting to see these 8 who were so shy and unsure last year being so engaged and proud of themselves for not being the slow ones anymore.
The 5th years will be the real challenge this year. Although they are only in the 5th level of high school, most are probably 19 or 20 years old and my cutesy baby techniques of 6eme obviously won't be so applicable. In some ways it is nice that they are more serious about their studies- 67 showed up the first day, 69 the second, and over 75 yesterday. I have also been very impressed by the amount of English some of them know. The real struggle, I think, is that some are great or right where they need to be, and others need a complete return to my first level class because they haven't got a clue (and/or don't really want one).
The other really interesting thing about teaching this class is that I'm not doing it alone. I'm "team-teaching" with one of my English colleagues. It's a process that Peace Corps urges us to try in order to share strategies and teaching techniques. As of right now, things have been going well with my colleague while still of course necessitating LOTS of patience. I'm perfectly aware that I am just as dependent on him as he is on me, and since it's the beginning I'm really the fish out of water. Until last week I didn't have any idea what the present perfect, present perfect progressive, past perfect, etc. etc. etc. were! He has his lessons from previous years to help guide us through our tense review right now, and I've been studying!!!
Yesterday was the first day I really led a lesson (although it was review), and although I was really nervous about how the students would react to me, I was overall really pleased and felt respected. I also felt like they responded well to my activities. I'm starting to envision technicalities as his specialty and activities and applications as mine. It's difficult for both Beninese teachers and students to think outside of the box in terms of creative activites and critical thinking in the classroom, so I'm looking forward to the challenge of tapping into some of that dormant creativity.
In other news, I've got big plans for year 2!! I'm going to be starting up a geography club at school for the younger kids. We'll begin talking about Dogbo and Benin, but quickly move onto geography of the world (most people here have never seen a map). Then every week we'll learn about a different country, which will be awesome because it means guest speakers! Between my Peace Corps friends and other volunteers in Dogbo I've already got people to talk about France, the Netherlands, Germany, Korea, Greece, Peru, China, Japan, and obviously I might be able to say a thing or two about the U.S., hehe. So yea, I'm hoping to start next week...I'll keep you posted!
Also this year I'm establishing an e-mail correspondace program between older students here and a 4th grade class of a friend back home. They have about the same level of writing skills and it will be great to teach kids here about computers and the internet.
Outside of school, I've recently become involved with helping a local orphanage build a water resevoir with funds from the US embassy. I'm also in charge of planning a large annual fundraising dinner for Peace Corps Benin's gender and development (GAD) program. It will be taking place in May down in the capital of Cotonou. We generally invite a lot of ex-pats and Cotonou professionals to come to our dinner/silent auction to help out and learn about our GAD initiatives. Our kick-off meeting is in 2 weeks and we've already got a lot of interest from other PCVs to help out, so hopefully all will go well!
Last, but DEFINITELY not least, I'm going home for Christmas!!!! I'll be arriving Dec 17th and leaving Jan 6th, and I hope to see everyone in those three short weeks!!
Love and miss you all! And I'll write again soon!!
Anyway...I titled the first lesson in my lesson planning book this year "and so it begins..." And so it has. Last week was my first full week of class and it's already soooo much easier than last time! I'm teaching two classes of first years (6eme) and one class of 5th years (2e). For the 6emes I've already got all my lessons from last year and they're still so shy and unsure since secondary school is new to them. Those two classes each only had about 35 kids last week though, so I'm hoping that this week they should be up their normal levels of about 65. One if my 6emes even has 8 of my kids who failed from last year, which is absolutely fantastic. Of course they already understand all of my instructions and all of the others are catching on very quickly. I feel like it will be a real advantage that we can hit the ground running and move quickly past technicalities. It's also so exciting to see these 8 who were so shy and unsure last year being so engaged and proud of themselves for not being the slow ones anymore.
The 5th years will be the real challenge this year. Although they are only in the 5th level of high school, most are probably 19 or 20 years old and my cutesy baby techniques of 6eme obviously won't be so applicable. In some ways it is nice that they are more serious about their studies- 67 showed up the first day, 69 the second, and over 75 yesterday. I have also been very impressed by the amount of English some of them know. The real struggle, I think, is that some are great or right where they need to be, and others need a complete return to my first level class because they haven't got a clue (and/or don't really want one).
The other really interesting thing about teaching this class is that I'm not doing it alone. I'm "team-teaching" with one of my English colleagues. It's a process that Peace Corps urges us to try in order to share strategies and teaching techniques. As of right now, things have been going well with my colleague while still of course necessitating LOTS of patience. I'm perfectly aware that I am just as dependent on him as he is on me, and since it's the beginning I'm really the fish out of water. Until last week I didn't have any idea what the present perfect, present perfect progressive, past perfect, etc. etc. etc. were! He has his lessons from previous years to help guide us through our tense review right now, and I've been studying!!!
Yesterday was the first day I really led a lesson (although it was review), and although I was really nervous about how the students would react to me, I was overall really pleased and felt respected. I also felt like they responded well to my activities. I'm starting to envision technicalities as his specialty and activities and applications as mine. It's difficult for both Beninese teachers and students to think outside of the box in terms of creative activites and critical thinking in the classroom, so I'm looking forward to the challenge of tapping into some of that dormant creativity.
In other news, I've got big plans for year 2!! I'm going to be starting up a geography club at school for the younger kids. We'll begin talking about Dogbo and Benin, but quickly move onto geography of the world (most people here have never seen a map). Then every week we'll learn about a different country, which will be awesome because it means guest speakers! Between my Peace Corps friends and other volunteers in Dogbo I've already got people to talk about France, the Netherlands, Germany, Korea, Greece, Peru, China, Japan, and obviously I might be able to say a thing or two about the U.S., hehe. So yea, I'm hoping to start next week...I'll keep you posted!
Also this year I'm establishing an e-mail correspondace program between older students here and a 4th grade class of a friend back home. They have about the same level of writing skills and it will be great to teach kids here about computers and the internet.
Outside of school, I've recently become involved with helping a local orphanage build a water resevoir with funds from the US embassy. I'm also in charge of planning a large annual fundraising dinner for Peace Corps Benin's gender and development (GAD) program. It will be taking place in May down in the capital of Cotonou. We generally invite a lot of ex-pats and Cotonou professionals to come to our dinner/silent auction to help out and learn about our GAD initiatives. Our kick-off meeting is in 2 weeks and we've already got a lot of interest from other PCVs to help out, so hopefully all will go well!
Last, but DEFINITELY not least, I'm going home for Christmas!!!! I'll be arriving Dec 17th and leaving Jan 6th, and I hope to see everyone in those three short weeks!!
Love and miss you all! And I'll write again soon!!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
School's Out!! (well...it has been...)
** this was supposed to be posted about 3 weeks ago when I wrote it, but internet has been down in Dogbo, so it's been a little delayed**
Well, I made it! Part of me is so proud and relieved I made it through my first year but another part of me wishes we had 3 months left because there's so much material left to cover. In the last few days of school I did smile when I realized how far my first years have come since the very beginning. They were writing full sentences with subjects and verbs and compliments and everything! Not all of them of course, hehe, but many! I don't feel anywhere near such progress with my second years, but I think that's a combination of poor and unuseful curriculum along with their behavioral problems. Oh well, I already talked to my counterparts and administration and I don't have to take that level next year!
In other news, since internet has been down in Dogbo I haven't been able to update as often as I would have liked. One fun adventure recently has been visiting some of my students' parents. I'm taking 10 girls to a summer camp we're organizing at the end of June and I needed to get permission slips signed. Of course for some parents I also needed to convince them to let their daughters leave with me. Unfortunately, one of my brightest girls refused my invitation and wouldn't even let me try to convince her parents because she thought they'd never accept.
The visits to the other 10 girls' houses were really varied in a lot of different ways. Some were a 2 minute walk from school, most about 10 or 15, and for one we had to walk down the "highway" for 45 minutes to get to her village 7 km away. Amazing that she walks it 4 times a day in extreme heat or pouring rain with taxis, motos, and trucks flying by. Some of the parents were young but some were very old. Most of them (especially the older ones) spoke no French at all and we used another family member as a translator. Some invited me into concrete houses to sit on a couch, while others pulled out a wooden bench from a mud hut. Interestingly, the younger they were and the more French they spoke the more questions they pressed me with and the more worried they seemed. I think the very old ones were just amazed to see a foreigner in their homes and willing to trust me with anything. One man got confused for a bit and thought I was taking his daughter all the way to the US. He seemed a little disappointed after that, hehe.
Overall, it was really fun and I feel like I understand each of my girls a little bit better. On the walks out to their houses we also passed lots of my other students' houses, who were both shocked and excited to see me. I think next year I'm going to encourage my students to invite me over to meet their families. I'm not sure how yet, but I'll figure something out.
On a sadder note, I learned a few weeks ago that one of my students died. His name was Doris. I had missed several weeks of school in April due to sickness and other Peace Corps obligations. My first day back, the kids were working quietly on an activity and I was silently taking attendance. When I said aloud, "Doris is absent," one of the boys closest to me just said "No, he died." So non-chalant, like as if he was saying, no, he's with the principal, or yea, he went to visit his uncle for the week. I kind of just paused and stared at them with my mouth wide open. "What??" I said. "Yea," a few replied, "he died." Most of them didn't even look up from their activity to partake in the conversation, but I think some who did were a little surprised by my response (as I was by theirs). It was as if they didn't know whay this was so hard for me to understand. I asked how and a few merely replied "mal au tete", which is basically "his head hurt." Hellloooo....that could mean 5 million things! I mean I guess I know it wasn't an accident or something. But yea, I think in my moment of shock someone was trying to comfort me by saying, "Yea, he was here Monday and Tuesday, and then never came Wednesday because he died."
I mean, really. It was just crazy. In truth I wasn't completely shocked by the death because Peace Corps warns us that students often die. I've even heard others talk about losing students this year (one had a "sick finger"). But of course it was/is still sad nonetheless and just as much shock comes from the students' response as from the death itself. I don't even know if the school officially announced it to them or if it just got around by word of mouth. But yea, I guess now I understand why at the professors' meeting at the end of every semester they announce for each class how many started, how many passed, how many failed, and how many died. What a different world.
Well, I made it! Part of me is so proud and relieved I made it through my first year but another part of me wishes we had 3 months left because there's so much material left to cover. In the last few days of school I did smile when I realized how far my first years have come since the very beginning. They were writing full sentences with subjects and verbs and compliments and everything! Not all of them of course, hehe, but many! I don't feel anywhere near such progress with my second years, but I think that's a combination of poor and unuseful curriculum along with their behavioral problems. Oh well, I already talked to my counterparts and administration and I don't have to take that level next year!
In other news, since internet has been down in Dogbo I haven't been able to update as often as I would have liked. One fun adventure recently has been visiting some of my students' parents. I'm taking 10 girls to a summer camp we're organizing at the end of June and I needed to get permission slips signed. Of course for some parents I also needed to convince them to let their daughters leave with me. Unfortunately, one of my brightest girls refused my invitation and wouldn't even let me try to convince her parents because she thought they'd never accept.
The visits to the other 10 girls' houses were really varied in a lot of different ways. Some were a 2 minute walk from school, most about 10 or 15, and for one we had to walk down the "highway" for 45 minutes to get to her village 7 km away. Amazing that she walks it 4 times a day in extreme heat or pouring rain with taxis, motos, and trucks flying by. Some of the parents were young but some were very old. Most of them (especially the older ones) spoke no French at all and we used another family member as a translator. Some invited me into concrete houses to sit on a couch, while others pulled out a wooden bench from a mud hut. Interestingly, the younger they were and the more French they spoke the more questions they pressed me with and the more worried they seemed. I think the very old ones were just amazed to see a foreigner in their homes and willing to trust me with anything. One man got confused for a bit and thought I was taking his daughter all the way to the US. He seemed a little disappointed after that, hehe.
Overall, it was really fun and I feel like I understand each of my girls a little bit better. On the walks out to their houses we also passed lots of my other students' houses, who were both shocked and excited to see me. I think next year I'm going to encourage my students to invite me over to meet their families. I'm not sure how yet, but I'll figure something out.
On a sadder note, I learned a few weeks ago that one of my students died. His name was Doris. I had missed several weeks of school in April due to sickness and other Peace Corps obligations. My first day back, the kids were working quietly on an activity and I was silently taking attendance. When I said aloud, "Doris is absent," one of the boys closest to me just said "No, he died." So non-chalant, like as if he was saying, no, he's with the principal, or yea, he went to visit his uncle for the week. I kind of just paused and stared at them with my mouth wide open. "What??" I said. "Yea," a few replied, "he died." Most of them didn't even look up from their activity to partake in the conversation, but I think some who did were a little surprised by my response (as I was by theirs). It was as if they didn't know whay this was so hard for me to understand. I asked how and a few merely replied "mal au tete", which is basically "his head hurt." Hellloooo....that could mean 5 million things! I mean I guess I know it wasn't an accident or something. But yea, I think in my moment of shock someone was trying to comfort me by saying, "Yea, he was here Monday and Tuesday, and then never came Wednesday because he died."
I mean, really. It was just crazy. In truth I wasn't completely shocked by the death because Peace Corps warns us that students often die. I've even heard others talk about losing students this year (one had a "sick finger"). But of course it was/is still sad nonetheless and just as much shock comes from the students' response as from the death itself. I don't even know if the school officially announced it to them or if it just got around by word of mouth. But yea, I guess now I understand why at the professors' meeting at the end of every semester they announce for each class how many started, how many passed, how many failed, and how many died. What a different world.
Friday, May 8, 2009
I need a vacation!
It’s been a busy few weeks. About 3 weeks ago I had the most exhausting and arduous Peace Corps workshop I’ll ever have, with 3 very full days of English textbook revision and re-writing. As I mentioned before, myself and 3 other English teaching volunteers were chosen by our boss to work with inspectors from the Ministry of Education to revise the current English books.
A few years ago, the Ministry abandoned the externally published books they were using and wrote new English books from scratch. They sought to make the program more student-based and less strictly structured with grammar and vocabulary. They never had native speakers edit the books, however, nor had any of the writers (Ministry of Ed inspectors) ever been taught in a classroom based on student practice and critical thinking. Additionally, we learned by working with the inspectors in Porto Novo that they can’t decide on any particular pedagogical ideology and there is no authority among them to develop and enforce one. As you can imagine, the books that were developed have huge inconsistencies, curriculum gaps, and typographical/spelling errors galore. They’ll have a dialogue presenting “can/can’t”, but no explanation or activity following to help students understand and practice. On the few occasions where a vocabulary list is actually given (rather than just random words dispersed in texts throughout the chapter), one often finds the word “etc…” at the end of it…meaning what, exactly?!? No idea. Good news though, we took those out.
The group at the workshop consisted of the 4 volunteers, 2 Beninese Peace Corps Education staff, and 3 inspectors (rather than the 7 who were supposed to come). Us four volunteers arrived in Porto Novo with no clue how much liberty we’d be given to basically re-write the books rather than just edit the abundant spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Well, since the four of us were the majority, the native speakers, the ones who have used real language textbooks, and the ones with real teaching experience in the nation’s villages with the current books, we kind of just took over and got to do much more than we expected. (Not to mention that our boss purposely chose four of the most opinionated young women volunteers unwilling to be disrespected or ignored any Beninese man). There were many discussions trying to discern and clarify exactly what approach the books were trying to take in the classroom and we really tried to understand and respect the original intents of the authors.
Then we split into 3 groups one PCV paired with one inspector to take and revise each of the three levels we were trying to edit. After nine hours my counterpart and I covered less than 30 pages. On day two, we abandoned the first and third levels to focus solely on finishing the second level because it hasn’t gone to press yet (the other two levels went to press last year full of errors). So, then each group worked on parts of the level and we decided to group edit at the end and allow for only major changes to be discussed. Then each editing group was given final say on its section (basically meaning that all was up for quick discussion, but we couldn’t allow the inspectors to get into a 30 minute discussion about everything and in the end we could veto it anyway). I say we took over, but the truth is that we actually proved ourselves to be pretty culturally adapted by being able to talk them into what we wanted. The key – make them think it’s all their idea and what they meant to say in the first place. Some individuals and topics proved more stubborn than others, of course, which is where my amazing boss stepped in and worked her magic. It’s an art really, and it took me a whole day and a half to realize that even if she pretended to be angrily shutting up one of the volunteers in an argument, she’d then just go on to calmly argue their point in different words and the inspector would agree every time. She’d show that she was deferring to the inspectors’ authority and in that she/we would no longer have to defer to their opinions.
Anyway, so by the end of the three pain-staking days we were all stir-crazy and slap-happy, but we mostly got the job done. If the files hadn’t been so corrupted and in Microsoft 95 format we could have finished completely. But since we’d lose 10 pages of updated changes at a time, it took until Monday to get all of our edits into the computer. But it’s done!! And hopefully next year all Beninese schools will have 50 copies of our revised manuals. The truth is that they still have light years to go and we’d need 6 months and experienced writers, but it’s still a huge step and I’m honored I got to participate.
As for the other two levels, yours truly has until the end of June to finish level 1 all by myself and then submit it to others for edits. Not gonna lie, really excited I can have the time, liberty, and access to my own lesson plans to do a major overhaul. But at the same time I can’t help but feel underqualified and overwhelmed. They just decided to end the school year over 2 weeks early (ridiculous Benin) so I’ll have time to get working soon. Only 1 week of class left!
A few years ago, the Ministry abandoned the externally published books they were using and wrote new English books from scratch. They sought to make the program more student-based and less strictly structured with grammar and vocabulary. They never had native speakers edit the books, however, nor had any of the writers (Ministry of Ed inspectors) ever been taught in a classroom based on student practice and critical thinking. Additionally, we learned by working with the inspectors in Porto Novo that they can’t decide on any particular pedagogical ideology and there is no authority among them to develop and enforce one. As you can imagine, the books that were developed have huge inconsistencies, curriculum gaps, and typographical/spelling errors galore. They’ll have a dialogue presenting “can/can’t”, but no explanation or activity following to help students understand and practice. On the few occasions where a vocabulary list is actually given (rather than just random words dispersed in texts throughout the chapter), one often finds the word “etc…” at the end of it…meaning what, exactly?!? No idea. Good news though, we took those out.
The group at the workshop consisted of the 4 volunteers, 2 Beninese Peace Corps Education staff, and 3 inspectors (rather than the 7 who were supposed to come). Us four volunteers arrived in Porto Novo with no clue how much liberty we’d be given to basically re-write the books rather than just edit the abundant spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Well, since the four of us were the majority, the native speakers, the ones who have used real language textbooks, and the ones with real teaching experience in the nation’s villages with the current books, we kind of just took over and got to do much more than we expected. (Not to mention that our boss purposely chose four of the most opinionated young women volunteers unwilling to be disrespected or ignored any Beninese man). There were many discussions trying to discern and clarify exactly what approach the books were trying to take in the classroom and we really tried to understand and respect the original intents of the authors.
Then we split into 3 groups one PCV paired with one inspector to take and revise each of the three levels we were trying to edit. After nine hours my counterpart and I covered less than 30 pages. On day two, we abandoned the first and third levels to focus solely on finishing the second level because it hasn’t gone to press yet (the other two levels went to press last year full of errors). So, then each group worked on parts of the level and we decided to group edit at the end and allow for only major changes to be discussed. Then each editing group was given final say on its section (basically meaning that all was up for quick discussion, but we couldn’t allow the inspectors to get into a 30 minute discussion about everything and in the end we could veto it anyway). I say we took over, but the truth is that we actually proved ourselves to be pretty culturally adapted by being able to talk them into what we wanted. The key – make them think it’s all their idea and what they meant to say in the first place. Some individuals and topics proved more stubborn than others, of course, which is where my amazing boss stepped in and worked her magic. It’s an art really, and it took me a whole day and a half to realize that even if she pretended to be angrily shutting up one of the volunteers in an argument, she’d then just go on to calmly argue their point in different words and the inspector would agree every time. She’d show that she was deferring to the inspectors’ authority and in that she/we would no longer have to defer to their opinions.
Anyway, so by the end of the three pain-staking days we were all stir-crazy and slap-happy, but we mostly got the job done. If the files hadn’t been so corrupted and in Microsoft 95 format we could have finished completely. But since we’d lose 10 pages of updated changes at a time, it took until Monday to get all of our edits into the computer. But it’s done!! And hopefully next year all Beninese schools will have 50 copies of our revised manuals. The truth is that they still have light years to go and we’d need 6 months and experienced writers, but it’s still a huge step and I’m honored I got to participate.
As for the other two levels, yours truly has until the end of June to finish level 1 all by myself and then submit it to others for edits. Not gonna lie, really excited I can have the time, liberty, and access to my own lesson plans to do a major overhaul. But at the same time I can’t help but feel underqualified and overwhelmed. They just decided to end the school year over 2 weeks early (ridiculous Benin) so I’ll have time to get working soon. Only 1 week of class left!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Baby Royale
She's basically the cutest (and cleanest!) Beninese baby ever
p.s. notice Jasper's friend the goat in the background, I'm happy to say he also made it through Easter and is still with us
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Easter Bunny Comes to Dogbo
Every Sunday morning that I'm out walking somewhere in Dogbo I always disappoint someone when they ask if I'm going to mass and I say no. Of course I don't know how they really feel about that response, but sometimes if they're going to or from mass themselves I feel I've especially let them down. When I feel really bad I explain that I'm Orthodox and they don't have my church here. I don't know if they've ever heard of it (probably not for most), but they understand the idea and accept the excuse. (Good thing I'm not posted in Eastern Europe or else that wouldn't work so well...hehe...)
But even though this past Sunday wasn't my Easter (which was also very interesting to explain to people), I thought it would be fun to bring a little bit of American tradition to my Catholic neighbors. So, the kids and I decorated Easter eggs and then they went on an Easter egg hunt in the front yard! The idea just came into my head a few days ago an I'm so glad it did because it was both easy and fun. Of course I had no egg dye so I spent Saturday trying to creatively come up with colored water to dye them. Well, neither colored frosting diluted in water nor bled markers did the trick, plus the eggs are brown, making it harder. So, in the end I just invited the 4 kids in to sit around my table (which would have been enough since I've never even done that before) and we drew on the eggs with markers.
At first they thought I was crazy but then they really got into it. The 9 year old boy, Jueslin, drew a great chicken and egg on one while the other kids were mostly just randomly scribbling. I even asked the 15 year old boy who was over doing my laundry if he wanted to join and he got so excited. He took a good 15 minutes to decorate his egg. I myself had forgotten how fun egg decorating can be, and I must say, some of mine came out super cute :-).
Anyway, so then I sent them home and told them the next activity would be in half an hour. Their mom knew I was going to hide the eggs, so she shut the windows and locked the door. I hid some in plants, others behind rocks or boards, and then others I sort of left in more plain sight. When I was finished they eagerly came to my door awaiting instructions. As they walked up, the 6 year old girl spotted one and pointing to it she said, "Kristin, it has fallen!!" "No!" I said, "it's not fallen, you found it!" Then I explained that Gloria had found the first one and they had to find 11 more. Jueslin is the only one who clearly understood I think, and the others just followed him for most of the hunt. Gloria found a few as well. Papa picked up 3 and I had to yell at him to stop because this was for the kids! As it began my other neighbors came out and were eager to watch and help count down as more were found. They even helped their 1 year old baby girl find one by their door. After about 20 minutes all the eggs were found and everyone had had a good time. Then I sent Jueslin to give all the eggs to his mother, which was actually a very big gift because eggs are quite expensive.
Well, after the hunt I explained to the kids that a big bunny had come and delivered me gifts for all of them. I received an Easter package about a week ago with a little pink bunny basket, fake green grass stuff, and jelly beans. So I stuffed that full and let each of the kids take a big handful of jelly beans and other candy. Then I sort of tried to show them the book of Peter Rabbit (which also came in the package), but since only Jueslin speaks basic French, they just sort of looked at the pictures and didn't say much. Either way, I know they enjoyed it all because a few hours later Jueslin excitedly asked if there were more Easter activities I had to share. Sadly I said no, but I can't wait to do it again next year!
But even though this past Sunday wasn't my Easter (which was also very interesting to explain to people), I thought it would be fun to bring a little bit of American tradition to my Catholic neighbors. So, the kids and I decorated Easter eggs and then they went on an Easter egg hunt in the front yard! The idea just came into my head a few days ago an I'm so glad it did because it was both easy and fun. Of course I had no egg dye so I spent Saturday trying to creatively come up with colored water to dye them. Well, neither colored frosting diluted in water nor bled markers did the trick, plus the eggs are brown, making it harder. So, in the end I just invited the 4 kids in to sit around my table (which would have been enough since I've never even done that before) and we drew on the eggs with markers.
At first they thought I was crazy but then they really got into it. The 9 year old boy, Jueslin, drew a great chicken and egg on one while the other kids were mostly just randomly scribbling. I even asked the 15 year old boy who was over doing my laundry if he wanted to join and he got so excited. He took a good 15 minutes to decorate his egg. I myself had forgotten how fun egg decorating can be, and I must say, some of mine came out super cute :-).
Anyway, so then I sent them home and told them the next activity would be in half an hour. Their mom knew I was going to hide the eggs, so she shut the windows and locked the door. I hid some in plants, others behind rocks or boards, and then others I sort of left in more plain sight. When I was finished they eagerly came to my door awaiting instructions. As they walked up, the 6 year old girl spotted one and pointing to it she said, "Kristin, it has fallen!!" "No!" I said, "it's not fallen, you found it!" Then I explained that Gloria had found the first one and they had to find 11 more. Jueslin is the only one who clearly understood I think, and the others just followed him for most of the hunt. Gloria found a few as well. Papa picked up 3 and I had to yell at him to stop because this was for the kids! As it began my other neighbors came out and were eager to watch and help count down as more were found. They even helped their 1 year old baby girl find one by their door. After about 20 minutes all the eggs were found and everyone had had a good time. Then I sent Jueslin to give all the eggs to his mother, which was actually a very big gift because eggs are quite expensive.
Well, after the hunt I explained to the kids that a big bunny had come and delivered me gifts for all of them. I received an Easter package about a week ago with a little pink bunny basket, fake green grass stuff, and jelly beans. So I stuffed that full and let each of the kids take a big handful of jelly beans and other candy. Then I sort of tried to show them the book of Peter Rabbit (which also came in the package), but since only Jueslin speaks basic French, they just sort of looked at the pictures and didn't say much. Either way, I know they enjoyed it all because a few hours later Jueslin excitedly asked if there were more Easter activities I had to share. Sadly I said no, but I can't wait to do it again next year!
In other news, life's been pretty alright. Jasper has been sick for 2 weeks now which has been exhausting, frustrating, and expensive. He seems to get a little better everyday, but he's still far from his old self. I'm also a horrible mother, because I left him at the vet tied to a tree for 2 weeks while I travel to the capital to attend 2 different Peace Corps workshops. The first one this week is myself and three other volunteers working with people from the ministry of education to rewrite the national English books. It's actually a big privilege and opportunity, and I know it's going to be a week full of hard work and likely quite a bit of frustration. To reward ourselves at the end we're going swimming on Saturday at the ambassador's pool and then I'll be in an eco-tourist village called Possotome visiting a fellow volunteer until Monday. He's actually Greek Orthodox too, so we've got plans to pull out some Easter traditions and have a big midnight feast! Then next week is a big workshop to plan summer training for the new volunteers. I can't believe they're coming in 3.5 months! Anyway, by the time I get back to post I'll have only 3 days of teaching in April and then just through May til the end of the school year. Crazy how time flies!
Monday, March 23, 2009
there really are no words...
It's been a rough week and a half. As most of you have probably heard through the grapevine or seen in the news, a volunteer was killed last week here in Benin. It was a shock in so many ways that it left me numb for days, and of course confusion and fear and anger still linger on.
The first shock came of course just with the new that she had died, without any details about how or when. Kate was honestly one of the most inspiring, genuine, and loving people I have ever met. She was an English teacher who arrived the year before me and she spent 5 out of 8 weeks working with our group during training. For 3 of those weeks she was assigned to watch and guide me in model school. It was Kate who taught me how to be a teacher. Her compassion, patience, and wisdom were immeasurable, and of all my fellow volunteers here, I looked to her as the one who I could always rely on for an empathetic ear, a calming smile, and encouraging advice. Along with the recent, unexpected deaths of two close family friends at home, it's been hard for me to cope with the fact that people so full of love and life can so quickly disappear.
Beyond the grieving and sense of loss, the second shock came 24 hours later, when it was announced to us that her death was not an illness or traffic accident (as most of us had expected). Rather, we learned that she had been intentionally killed in her home. I still struggle to bring myself to use the word murder.
It was and is a shock because Benin is not a dangerous place. Dogbo is safer at night than the streets of Chicago, and I do feel very protected by my neighbors and community. As much as white foreigners might sometimes be high targets for pick-pockets in bigger cities, the truth is that 99% of people really watch out for us. I constantly even get childish warnings about crossing the street or eating random street food. Of course now I'm a little uneasy as I take my morning jogs or have my door open in the evenings, but I think it's only natural -- like getting back into a car after a bad accident.
We've been given permission to travel as we'd like to be with other volunteers or even interrupt our service to go home to the U.S. for a while, but I only wish to be at post and return to daily life in Dogbo. Yes, our trust has been broken and our sense of security deeply shaken, but I think for me personally the choice is to start rebuilding it as soon as possible. Many of us will never be the same, but if Kate were here and we'd lost someone else, she'd be the first to inspire hope and understanding, and the last to harbor anger or blame.
In an article posted on ABC.com, Kate's parents commented that Kate loved it here and they don't want anyone to look at West Africa as violent or dangerous. I admire them so much for the wisdom and courage it took to make such a statement, despite their tragic loss. But then, I would expect nothing less from the parents of such a wise and amazing young woman. My heart goes out to them, and all of her loved ones around the world. Please know that we grieve with you and I'll never forget how her eyes twinkled with her joy for living.
I'd also like to say thank you to everyone who has sent myself and the other PCVs in Benin so much support. Current and former volunteers all over the world have contacted myself and others to let them know that we are in their thoughts and prayers, and it's nice to know that although our Benin Peace Corps community is so hurt, the rest of the Peace Corps community is right there with us.
The first shock came of course just with the new that she had died, without any details about how or when. Kate was honestly one of the most inspiring, genuine, and loving people I have ever met. She was an English teacher who arrived the year before me and she spent 5 out of 8 weeks working with our group during training. For 3 of those weeks she was assigned to watch and guide me in model school. It was Kate who taught me how to be a teacher. Her compassion, patience, and wisdom were immeasurable, and of all my fellow volunteers here, I looked to her as the one who I could always rely on for an empathetic ear, a calming smile, and encouraging advice. Along with the recent, unexpected deaths of two close family friends at home, it's been hard for me to cope with the fact that people so full of love and life can so quickly disappear.
Beyond the grieving and sense of loss, the second shock came 24 hours later, when it was announced to us that her death was not an illness or traffic accident (as most of us had expected). Rather, we learned that she had been intentionally killed in her home. I still struggle to bring myself to use the word murder.
It was and is a shock because Benin is not a dangerous place. Dogbo is safer at night than the streets of Chicago, and I do feel very protected by my neighbors and community. As much as white foreigners might sometimes be high targets for pick-pockets in bigger cities, the truth is that 99% of people really watch out for us. I constantly even get childish warnings about crossing the street or eating random street food. Of course now I'm a little uneasy as I take my morning jogs or have my door open in the evenings, but I think it's only natural -- like getting back into a car after a bad accident.
We've been given permission to travel as we'd like to be with other volunteers or even interrupt our service to go home to the U.S. for a while, but I only wish to be at post and return to daily life in Dogbo. Yes, our trust has been broken and our sense of security deeply shaken, but I think for me personally the choice is to start rebuilding it as soon as possible. Many of us will never be the same, but if Kate were here and we'd lost someone else, she'd be the first to inspire hope and understanding, and the last to harbor anger or blame.
In an article posted on ABC.com, Kate's parents commented that Kate loved it here and they don't want anyone to look at West Africa as violent or dangerous. I admire them so much for the wisdom and courage it took to make such a statement, despite their tragic loss. But then, I would expect nothing less from the parents of such a wise and amazing young woman. My heart goes out to them, and all of her loved ones around the world. Please know that we grieve with you and I'll never forget how her eyes twinkled with her joy for living.
I'd also like to say thank you to everyone who has sent myself and the other PCVs in Benin so much support. Current and former volunteers all over the world have contacted myself and others to let them know that we are in their thoughts and prayers, and it's nice to know that although our Benin Peace Corps community is so hurt, the rest of the Peace Corps community is right there with us.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Kitten surprise!
No....I didn't get a kitten...but I did find a suuuupppeerrr cute one in the back area of my postmate's house while she was on vacation. I went over to water the plants and when I opened the back door I almost had a heartattack when the little thing tried to hop into the house. I have no idea how it got there, because she has 8 feet high concrete walls and the kitten is literally so small I really doubt it could have gotten there itself. Especially since I went around asking all the neighbors if they had a cat or kittens and they all said No. So I think someone might have thrown it there knowing she has another cat and might keep it.It fits in the palm of my hand and as you can see from the picture with Jasper it's tiny (and Jasper's gotten so big!) I'm not gonna lie, it's so cute that it took a lot of strength for me not to take it home and call it my own. But then I came to my senses and realized I've never had a cat and wouldn't have a clue what to do, and I also just had to remember how horribly stressful a new puppy was and then I got Jasper. Sooo....no kitten for me! I just kept visiting it everyday, bringing it food and water and I even gave it a bath. Kind of sad I won't be keeping it, but thank goodness she asked me to water her plants!
Sorry, I know that's not very interesting in terms of Benin and another culture and stuff...but it was the highlight of my week for sure :-). And the pictures of it with Jasper are just toooo cute!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Send mail!
Friday, February 21st, 2009
To: Mr. Receiver of the Post of Dogbo
Object: Request for a Post Box
Mr. Receiver,
I have the honor of coming very respectfully to solicit from your high benevelonce, a post box in Dogbo.
In the hopes of a favorable follow-up, I want you to receive, Mr. Receiver, the expression of my distinguished sentiments.
Sincerely,
Kristin Sulewski
US Peace Corps Volunteer
This has been translated for your reading pleasure because when the lady at the post office told me I had to write a letter requesting a box, she gave me one from another man to copy and this is what I wrote. Of course I just copied and handed her the paper and she handed me right back a key. No clue who this "Mr. Receiver" is.
Anyway, the bigger news is that I got a post box in Dogbo! Here is my new address:
Kristin Sulewski
B.P. 124
Dogbo, Benin
Afrique de L'Ouest/ West Africa
Some people have already sent me stuff to my friend's box and it seems to work just as quickly as mail that goes to the capitol (both letters and packages...*hint hint*). Can't wait to hear from you!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
long time no write...
I know, I know. Long time no write. A combination of writer's block, power outages, faulty internet connections, and bad moods is to blame. Coming back to Dogbo after the holidays was especially difficult. Two weeks filled with fun and lots of companionship made the return to post seem especially lonely and isolated. Moreover, I've been at post 5 months now and the truth is that the novelty is most definitely wearing off. The month of January was the realization that this is not some adventurous extended vacation. This is my life for the next 20 months. I don't mean that in a negative way, just that it's all pretty routine and mediocre nowadays. The big difference between here and home is not the 3 inch cockroaches or the 100 degree heat, it's the fact that I'm basically just alone -- a fact reinforced by my neighbors deciding to hate me and scream at me because of my dog. There hasn't been screaming in a few weeks, but now it's mostly the silent treatment. As awkward and unforunate as it is, Jasper is fantastic and he's not going anywhere.
Now that that major storm has passed, I'm in better spirits and able to sit down and write a non-angry or pessimistic blog for you :-) . Interestingly, life at school has really helped me get through my funk, both because it got me into a routine again and also because the kids actually seemed to be much better behaved after the holiday break. I'm happy to report that I feel like classes are going really well (well, 3 out of 4 anyway...one class continues to be uncontrollable and uninterested and they are quickly falling behind :-( ). As of this week the first semester is officially over, and the averages in all but the worst class were well above passing. I can't believe the year's half over!
And now for a blog worthy story- about two weeks ago, my first years were learning family vocabulary and I decided to bring in pictures of my own family. Not only was it a great reinforcing activity, but of course they were jumping out of their seats to catch a glimpse. I purposely started with the basics and moved up to what I knew would bring a big response. The parents were simple of course, and then many boys commented how they are going to marry my sister. On to the picture of the 4 siblings- my sister and my 3 brothers. Well, of course me standing next to a grown man..."Madame!!! Madame your husband?!?!?! Ooooooh" They were all yelling. As soon as I calmed them down and explained to their disappointment that these were my brothers, I brought out a picture of me and my nephew Michael. Uproar again. "Madame!!! Your son?!?!?!" No, no, no, I explained. Disappointed again. All in all they loved it and I enjoyed sharing with them.
Just as I was putting my pictures away, a very lovely boy by the name of Léonce raised his hand. Without any hesitation he said (in french), "Madame, madame, how come in all of your pictures from over there, you're so fat, and here you're so skinny?" He even used hand gestures to get his point across. Well, I just lost it and started laughing like crazy. The rest of the kids were laughing too, probably more at my reaction rather than his question. "You can't say that!!! You can't ever, ever, ever say that!!" I said, shaking my finger at him and still laughing. I explained that in our society thinner is considered better and it's very impolite to call someone fat. Of course being thin is the norm here in Benin due to diet and physical work, but being bigger is considered just as beautiful, if not more so. So, I explained that it's just due to a change in my food and because I exercise so much, and then I reminded all of them never to call a white person fat!!
(**note- while I didn't consider myself fat before, Léonce indeed is a very observant boy because I have lost over 20 lbs since arrival in Dogbo. I'm even shocked myself when I come across a mirror...)
Now that that major storm has passed, I'm in better spirits and able to sit down and write a non-angry or pessimistic blog for you :-) . Interestingly, life at school has really helped me get through my funk, both because it got me into a routine again and also because the kids actually seemed to be much better behaved after the holiday break. I'm happy to report that I feel like classes are going really well (well, 3 out of 4 anyway...one class continues to be uncontrollable and uninterested and they are quickly falling behind :-( ). As of this week the first semester is officially over, and the averages in all but the worst class were well above passing. I can't believe the year's half over!
And now for a blog worthy story- about two weeks ago, my first years were learning family vocabulary and I decided to bring in pictures of my own family. Not only was it a great reinforcing activity, but of course they were jumping out of their seats to catch a glimpse. I purposely started with the basics and moved up to what I knew would bring a big response. The parents were simple of course, and then many boys commented how they are going to marry my sister. On to the picture of the 4 siblings- my sister and my 3 brothers. Well, of course me standing next to a grown man..."Madame!!! Madame your husband?!?!?! Ooooooh" They were all yelling. As soon as I calmed them down and explained to their disappointment that these were my brothers, I brought out a picture of me and my nephew Michael. Uproar again. "Madame!!! Your son?!?!?!" No, no, no, I explained. Disappointed again. All in all they loved it and I enjoyed sharing with them.
Just as I was putting my pictures away, a very lovely boy by the name of Léonce raised his hand. Without any hesitation he said (in french), "Madame, madame, how come in all of your pictures from over there, you're so fat, and here you're so skinny?" He even used hand gestures to get his point across. Well, I just lost it and started laughing like crazy. The rest of the kids were laughing too, probably more at my reaction rather than his question. "You can't say that!!! You can't ever, ever, ever say that!!" I said, shaking my finger at him and still laughing. I explained that in our society thinner is considered better and it's very impolite to call someone fat. Of course being thin is the norm here in Benin due to diet and physical work, but being bigger is considered just as beautiful, if not more so. So, I explained that it's just due to a change in my food and because I exercise so much, and then I reminded all of them never to call a white person fat!!
(**note- while I didn't consider myself fat before, Léonce indeed is a very observant boy because I have lost over 20 lbs since arrival in Dogbo. I'm even shocked myself when I come across a mirror...)
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Happy New Year!
OK...I know I haven't posted about Christmas and safari yet (which was amazing!!!), but since New Years was fresh on my mind I decided to write this one first!
After spending the week of Christmas surrounded by a bunch of yovos (white folks) I decided to celebrate New Years with my Beninese host family. It also provided me with an opportunity to go back and visit them for the first time since I left for post 4 months ago. Not really knowing what to expect, I mentally prepared myself for a potential 36 hours of boredom. Living with them for 2 months taught me that visiting extended family often means quietly sitting in front of the TV watching music videos with minimal conversation. Much to my pleasant surprise, this celebration was nothing like what I expected.
I arrived at my host sister's house around 8:30 pm on the 31st to find her and Maman busy in the kitchen and I anxiously began awaiting the arrival of the other guests. I assumed we'd have a big feast around 10 or 11 and then prepare for the big change at midnight. Turns out the other guests arrived at 2 and we started eating at about 4 am. Maman didn't even shower and change into her nice outfit until after 1.
In Benin, the entire celebration comes after midnight. Everyone stays at home with their more immedite family members until 12, and then they travel around visiting friends and family until the early hours of the morning. There is nothing resembling our anxious countdown clocks and huge parties before midnight (which makes so much sense now that I think about it, because time is such a fluid thing here and "being on time" at a certain hour doesn't really matter). At about quarter to 12 my sister passed out sparklers to the kids (there were about 6 including some visiting cousins), and much to my delight I got to play with them too!! I don't think I've touched a sparkler in about 10 years, but all the kids made sure that my hands were never empty. Shouting "Tata Kristin! Tata Kristin!" they sometimes were handing me two or three at a time. We were all so focused on the sparklers that I didn't even know when the clock changed to 12. A minute or two later someone said it and then a few fireworks started going off randomly around the city (no colors, just the big bang ones with white sparks). At some point my sister passed out sparkly masquerade masks and a few goofy hats, making for cute pictures and fun with the kids. One uncle even wore my sister's long-haired wig all night with goofy sunglasses. It made me smile to see the same type of family goofy-ness you see at home during the holidays.
Although I was beyond exhausted, all the playing with the kids helped pass the time until the guests arrived. Around 1:30 am Tata Kristin also had to take a little nap because I was so tired and of course the kids were not too happy about that. Anyway, our most important guest (Maman's big sister) did not arrive until about 3 am, so we had to wait for her to begin the feast. Before anything was ate or drank, her and Maman said a prayer for their ancestors and poured them a drink of alcohol into the ground. Then we had a pretty typical Beninese meal and when I headed to bed at 5:30 everyone was still hanging out on the patio.
While I may have been the first in bed, I was still the last to get up at 9 am. Of course there was another day long party to attend! We got the kids up and out, and I headed over with my sister around noon. It was at a cousin's house, and it was definitely the nicest house I've been in since I've been to Benin. Complete with a big kitchen, oven, fridge, and multiple bathrooms! I even got to ride in their new toyota to help pick up the whole roasted goat she had catered. Well, basically the whole afternoon was spent eating tons and tons of delicious food (including the delish chocolate cake I baked at home and brought along for them), dancing to everything from American hip-hop to traditional Beninese drums, blowing up crazy huge balloons, wearing more goofy sunglasses, and of course drinking plenty of alcohol. One of my favorite parts was just after dusk when the little girls invited me up to the balcony to tell stories. They told all sorts of things and I told the Little Mermaid. (Note- when you start telling a story in Benin, instead of "once upon a time", you say "my story rolls, rolls, rolls, and lands on..." and then you say the name of the main character). All in all it was pretty fantastic and it really made me feel like part of the family. When it comes down to it, the Beninese know how to party, and when I was ready to leave the morning of the 2nd at 9 am to head back to post, they were all still sleeping...
After spending the week of Christmas surrounded by a bunch of yovos (white folks) I decided to celebrate New Years with my Beninese host family. It also provided me with an opportunity to go back and visit them for the first time since I left for post 4 months ago. Not really knowing what to expect, I mentally prepared myself for a potential 36 hours of boredom. Living with them for 2 months taught me that visiting extended family often means quietly sitting in front of the TV watching music videos with minimal conversation. Much to my pleasant surprise, this celebration was nothing like what I expected.
I arrived at my host sister's house around 8:30 pm on the 31st to find her and Maman busy in the kitchen and I anxiously began awaiting the arrival of the other guests. I assumed we'd have a big feast around 10 or 11 and then prepare for the big change at midnight. Turns out the other guests arrived at 2 and we started eating at about 4 am. Maman didn't even shower and change into her nice outfit until after 1.
In Benin, the entire celebration comes after midnight. Everyone stays at home with their more immedite family members until 12, and then they travel around visiting friends and family until the early hours of the morning. There is nothing resembling our anxious countdown clocks and huge parties before midnight (which makes so much sense now that I think about it, because time is such a fluid thing here and "being on time" at a certain hour doesn't really matter). At about quarter to 12 my sister passed out sparklers to the kids (there were about 6 including some visiting cousins), and much to my delight I got to play with them too!! I don't think I've touched a sparkler in about 10 years, but all the kids made sure that my hands were never empty. Shouting "Tata Kristin! Tata Kristin!" they sometimes were handing me two or three at a time. We were all so focused on the sparklers that I didn't even know when the clock changed to 12. A minute or two later someone said it and then a few fireworks started going off randomly around the city (no colors, just the big bang ones with white sparks). At some point my sister passed out sparkly masquerade masks and a few goofy hats, making for cute pictures and fun with the kids. One uncle even wore my sister's long-haired wig all night with goofy sunglasses. It made me smile to see the same type of family goofy-ness you see at home during the holidays.
Although I was beyond exhausted, all the playing with the kids helped pass the time until the guests arrived. Around 1:30 am Tata Kristin also had to take a little nap because I was so tired and of course the kids were not too happy about that. Anyway, our most important guest (Maman's big sister) did not arrive until about 3 am, so we had to wait for her to begin the feast. Before anything was ate or drank, her and Maman said a prayer for their ancestors and poured them a drink of alcohol into the ground. Then we had a pretty typical Beninese meal and when I headed to bed at 5:30 everyone was still hanging out on the patio.
While I may have been the first in bed, I was still the last to get up at 9 am. Of course there was another day long party to attend! We got the kids up and out, and I headed over with my sister around noon. It was at a cousin's house, and it was definitely the nicest house I've been in since I've been to Benin. Complete with a big kitchen, oven, fridge, and multiple bathrooms! I even got to ride in their new toyota to help pick up the whole roasted goat she had catered. Well, basically the whole afternoon was spent eating tons and tons of delicious food (including the delish chocolate cake I baked at home and brought along for them), dancing to everything from American hip-hop to traditional Beninese drums, blowing up crazy huge balloons, wearing more goofy sunglasses, and of course drinking plenty of alcohol. One of my favorite parts was just after dusk when the little girls invited me up to the balcony to tell stories. They told all sorts of things and I told the Little Mermaid. (Note- when you start telling a story in Benin, instead of "once upon a time", you say "my story rolls, rolls, rolls, and lands on..." and then you say the name of the main character). All in all it was pretty fantastic and it really made me feel like part of the family. When it comes down to it, the Beninese know how to party, and when I was ready to leave the morning of the 2nd at 9 am to head back to post, they were all still sleeping...
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