Time for our second round of Camp GLOW! Sunday morning I left Dogbo with my 5 best and brightest girl students and we crossed the south of Benin to arrive in Porto Novo for our one week of Camp GLOW (Girls Leading our World). So far, so great! The ambassador came to our opening ceremony on Monday morning and all the speakers so far have been really interesting. Yesterday and today are packed full with field trips to the National Assembly, a sustainable agriculture center, and an internet cafe to learn about computers. In between the learning, we've got arts and crafts and of course the girls can never get enough of singing, dancing, playing, and just laughing and smiling. My five girls have been great so far and I'm really proud of all of them. Everyone is pretty much in agreement that my littelest one, Edwige, is the cutest one of them all, and she's such a little firecracker! Students like that are reasons I hate to think of leaving Benin.
Ugh...I wanted to post pictures, but this computer wont let me!! boooo
Anyway, while camp is going great I just got some potentially bad news that I might not be replaced in Dogbo. This is devastating for a number of reasons. The biggest reason is that I've already told my school administration and all of my colleagues that I am being replaced, as well as neighbors and friends. Everyone was looking forward to having a new volunteer, and I know especially my colleagues will be very disappointed. I think the school administration and definitely my counterpart, Mr. Michael, will probably feel ashamed as if they did something wrong, which they absolutely did not.
The second reason it's horrible is because it means I have to empty my house, which is filled with lots of furniture and other things. Not only will it be time consuming, but the idea of giving things away is more exhausting than words can describe. I honestly don't think anyone who hasn't been here can understand me when I say giving things away is a horrible experience here and in general PCVs hate the thought of doing it, especially on such a large scale. The greediness and sense of entitlement with which people often approach a white person giving gifts is disheartening and angering. I'm already sad that my last few weeks will likely be tainted by such circumstances.
This news has come as a complete shock to me and I feel a little insulted that my boss told me I would be replaced and never actually informed me when she changed her mind. Luckily I heard it through the rumor mill, but even when I directly inquired I got a vague response. Of course there is still a chance they'll decide to use Dogbo, but based on their indecisiveness, I'm inclined to think no. For now, I'll just have to wait and see.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Take a deep breath, now where are you?
Well, I’ve got some time and a computer in front of me, so it’s time to write one of those thousands of blog entries that always ran through my head but never got to a computer to write. So I think it’s a pretty common random fact that scent is the sense strongest tied to memory. When I lived at home, the only scent that ever did it to me was Raspberry Rain Skintimate shower shave gel- the basement bathroom of Spanish summer camp every time. After living in a place completely new to all of my senses, I can say that it is absolutely true and always a very comforting surprise (almost right up there with the excitement and comfort of mail, almost). For a strange, inexplicable split second, I could be a thousand miles away 20 years ago. I even see the images of the place in my head.
Some are a little more common. Deodorant has brought me to Walgreens more than once, more the smell of the bottle though, not the actual deodorant. At the beginning I often went to my Dad’s cousins’ house (Jeff and Lynn) in Florida when I ran past the carpenter in the morning and had a particularly strong whiff of the sawdust. Sometimes it was my own dad’s handyman workshop though. Maybe that depended on the wood? Sometimes when I’m cooking I’ll be with my mom in the kitchen, but if it’s roasted onions it’s usually my aunt’s cooking, at her old house though, for Christmas or some other holiday. Disney World comes to me sort of frequently too, I think, though I can’t remember what has ever triggered it.
One extremely memorable time I was showering and out of nowhere for one second came something like grape juice, and I was suddenly in my old babysitter’s living room. I only went there until I was three. I hadn’t even remembered what the living room looked like, until that day in the shower. They sell dill or pickle flavoured Pringles here in Benin, and PCVs are unanimously in agreement that the inside of the can smells EXACTLY like Home Depot. Sawdust and plastic. The smell is fun, but as I’m sure you could imagine, they taste horrendous.
The best ones are so random, like my babysitter’s house, and they come and leave as quick as a dream. I even had one so super random this morning, but like a dream, it has escaped my memory now. I don’t remember where it was, but I thought, really?!? Where on Earth did that come from?? Sometimes it’s a random day in 1st grade, or maybe 10th. Sometimes it’s a birthday party or hiking trip. I can never duplicate it or predict it, and sometimes I can’t even detect any change in the smells around me that could have prompted it.
Whatever it is, I’ll surely miss it when I go. I don’t think it will happen so much at home, being back in a place so familiar to my senses. I only hope that every once in while my nose will catch something and I’ll be brought back here to Benin :-).
Some are a little more common. Deodorant has brought me to Walgreens more than once, more the smell of the bottle though, not the actual deodorant. At the beginning I often went to my Dad’s cousins’ house (Jeff and Lynn) in Florida when I ran past the carpenter in the morning and had a particularly strong whiff of the sawdust. Sometimes it was my own dad’s handyman workshop though. Maybe that depended on the wood? Sometimes when I’m cooking I’ll be with my mom in the kitchen, but if it’s roasted onions it’s usually my aunt’s cooking, at her old house though, for Christmas or some other holiday. Disney World comes to me sort of frequently too, I think, though I can’t remember what has ever triggered it.
One extremely memorable time I was showering and out of nowhere for one second came something like grape juice, and I was suddenly in my old babysitter’s living room. I only went there until I was three. I hadn’t even remembered what the living room looked like, until that day in the shower. They sell dill or pickle flavoured Pringles here in Benin, and PCVs are unanimously in agreement that the inside of the can smells EXACTLY like Home Depot. Sawdust and plastic. The smell is fun, but as I’m sure you could imagine, they taste horrendous.
The best ones are so random, like my babysitter’s house, and they come and leave as quick as a dream. I even had one so super random this morning, but like a dream, it has escaped my memory now. I don’t remember where it was, but I thought, really?!? Where on Earth did that come from?? Sometimes it’s a random day in 1st grade, or maybe 10th. Sometimes it’s a birthday party or hiking trip. I can never duplicate it or predict it, and sometimes I can’t even detect any change in the smells around me that could have prompted it.
Whatever it is, I’ll surely miss it when I go. I don’t think it will happen so much at home, being back in a place so familiar to my senses. I only hope that every once in while my nose will catch something and I’ll be brought back here to Benin :-).
Friday, June 4, 2010
The final countdown...
Well, it's official. I'm leaving Benin on August 11th and flying home to Chicago! In order to get all the administrative stuff done and also see my host family in Porto Novo before I go, I'll be moving out of my home in Dogbo on August 5th. Exactly 2 months from tomorrow. Funny how we were all so excited to get our dates at our close of service conference, but as soon as we got them, the terror and panic creeped in right next to the excitement and anticipation.
Now it's all just wrapping up and saying my goodbyes. I've already started informing my colleagues, neighbors, and friends of the date. I've even starting telling my marché mamas, even though none of the speak french and I don't know how to say I'm leaving August 5th in Aja. Do they even have calendars? haha, oh well, I can tell by their sad expressions that they understand. It's really sad, but really sort of fulfilling at the same time, to realize that I do actually have people I really want to say goodbye to and will be sad to leave behind. A year ago at this time I asked a 2nd year volunteer if she was ready to go, and she said no because she still had so many people to say goodbye to. "You actually have people to say goodbye to??" I couldn't believe it, at that point I wouldn't have. It's amazing how it hasn't been until my second year that I feel like I've really made real connections with people.
Yesterday was my last day of class. School isn't over because we've still got exams and giving grades, but my last lesson as an English teacher in Benin is over and done. I can't say that I'll be sad to leave many school frustrations behind, but I will be sad to leave the students behind. I'll never know which few of them will continue and graduate and go onto university. And I don't even want to think of the rest of their English education!!!! haha...
Despite all the goodbyes it is still of course a very exciting time, and I've got to start job hunting and then looking into grad schools. I've also got our girls summer camp, Camp GLOW to look forward to in a few weeks!
Well, it has been raining for the last 8 hours and I think it just let up so I can walk home to make dinner. It is officially rainy season because we've had cloud cover for the last 4 days and I can actually leave my house in the afternoons :-).
Lastly- I DO plan on bringing Jasper home if he can manage to stay alive and healthy until then. It's hard to imagine re-adjusting without him. I hope he likes the snow :-)
Now it's all just wrapping up and saying my goodbyes. I've already started informing my colleagues, neighbors, and friends of the date. I've even starting telling my marché mamas, even though none of the speak french and I don't know how to say I'm leaving August 5th in Aja. Do they even have calendars? haha, oh well, I can tell by their sad expressions that they understand. It's really sad, but really sort of fulfilling at the same time, to realize that I do actually have people I really want to say goodbye to and will be sad to leave behind. A year ago at this time I asked a 2nd year volunteer if she was ready to go, and she said no because she still had so many people to say goodbye to. "You actually have people to say goodbye to??" I couldn't believe it, at that point I wouldn't have. It's amazing how it hasn't been until my second year that I feel like I've really made real connections with people.
Yesterday was my last day of class. School isn't over because we've still got exams and giving grades, but my last lesson as an English teacher in Benin is over and done. I can't say that I'll be sad to leave many school frustrations behind, but I will be sad to leave the students behind. I'll never know which few of them will continue and graduate and go onto university. And I don't even want to think of the rest of their English education!!!! haha...
Despite all the goodbyes it is still of course a very exciting time, and I've got to start job hunting and then looking into grad schools. I've also got our girls summer camp, Camp GLOW to look forward to in a few weeks!
Well, it has been raining for the last 8 hours and I think it just let up so I can walk home to make dinner. It is officially rainy season because we've had cloud cover for the last 4 days and I can actually leave my house in the afternoons :-).
Lastly- I DO plan on bringing Jasper home if he can manage to stay alive and healthy until then. It's hard to imagine re-adjusting without him. I hope he likes the snow :-)
Happy Holiday
So apparently Tuesday was Arbor Day. How, you ask, did I know it was Arbor Day? I knew it was Arbor Day because I showed up to school to find that they had sent all the students home. Why, you ask, did they send all the students home on Arbor Day? Well, they sent all the students home to go plant trees. Right, because any child sent home from school is going to go home and plant trees. Right.
I just smiled, chuckled, and went home. Look how far I've come.
I just smiled, chuckled, and went home. Look how far I've come.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Photos!
I finally finished uploading my Mali pictures to facebook, and I also put up other pictures since January, including some Take Our Daughters to Work Day. Check 'em out-
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=193572&id=507819223&l=fa724468a4
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=214367&id=507819223&l=c4c81c043c
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=193572&id=507819223&l=fa724468a4
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=214367&id=507819223&l=c4c81c043c
Friday, April 23, 2010
Evil Leprechauns
Last week I began my 3 pm class on Thursday afternoon with menacing clouds in the distance. Luckily they hadn’t arrived yet or else my students definitely wouldn’t have. Anyway, I began my lesson and hurried to get through as much as possible before the clouds broke and rain on the tin roof drowned out any hope of the students hearing me. Even though the rain would halt my lesson I was still excited for it to come and wash away the oppressive heat. Unfortunately, the once black and menacing clouds arrived a dull gray and didn’t treat us to much rain, just a small drizzle for while.
When the rain started, the sun was still brightly shining from the other side of the sky. So as my students quietly copied down clothes vocabulary (trousers, NOT pants of course, for British English) I started scrambling across the room trying to look out the holes between the straw walls and cement beams for a rainbow in the sky. I couldn’t find one but figured I ought to explain to the kids what I was doing. Luckily just the week before I had given them color-by-number rainbow worksheets (thanks mom!) to teach them colors. I had a student pull theirs out to explain that’s what I was looking for and asked if they knew what it was. “Ah hah!! Oui, oui, Madame, we know, we know.” I was about to explain the pot of gold and all when one boy said quite loudly, “Le serpent!! Sorcerie!!” All the kids laughed at the shock on my face and when I emphatically replied “What?? No!!!” I explained that we believe there is a pot of gold at the end of it and it’s very good luck. He just kept saying, no no, it’s bad, it’s sorcery. He wasn’t arguing with me, he just continued with his work and quietly repeated, no no no. Eventually I knew it was a battle I’d never win if the discussion was between good and evil, so I just said “ugh, it’s all science anyway and none of these stories are real!!!” I doubt they had any clue what this science was I was talking about, and I know the other students enjoyed my story, but my bet is at the end of the day they still all believed in his.
When the rain started, the sun was still brightly shining from the other side of the sky. So as my students quietly copied down clothes vocabulary (trousers, NOT pants of course, for British English) I started scrambling across the room trying to look out the holes between the straw walls and cement beams for a rainbow in the sky. I couldn’t find one but figured I ought to explain to the kids what I was doing. Luckily just the week before I had given them color-by-number rainbow worksheets (thanks mom!) to teach them colors. I had a student pull theirs out to explain that’s what I was looking for and asked if they knew what it was. “Ah hah!! Oui, oui, Madame, we know, we know.” I was about to explain the pot of gold and all when one boy said quite loudly, “Le serpent!! Sorcerie!!” All the kids laughed at the shock on my face and when I emphatically replied “What?? No!!!” I explained that we believe there is a pot of gold at the end of it and it’s very good luck. He just kept saying, no no, it’s bad, it’s sorcery. He wasn’t arguing with me, he just continued with his work and quietly repeated, no no no. Eventually I knew it was a battle I’d never win if the discussion was between good and evil, so I just said “ugh, it’s all science anyway and none of these stories are real!!!” I doubt they had any clue what this science was I was talking about, and I know the other students enjoyed my story, but my bet is at the end of the day they still all believed in his.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Too much Cotonou!
I'm down in the capital right now and unfortunately I'll have to be coming down every weekend for 5 out of the next 6 weeks for work and meetings. Boo to so much travel! But I suppose it's good I'll be keeping myself busy and passing the time.
One big reason for so much time here is to prepare my project "Take Our Daughters to Work Day". In conjunction with a big fundraiser dinner I'm helping to organize for Saturday, May 8th, we decided to invite some girls down from our villages to accompany professional Beninese women to work on Friday the 7th. Then, I'll be running a seminar for the girls to talk about career and education planning on the 8th and they'll give a short presentation about their experience to the dinner guests on Saturday night. The dinner is to raise awareness and funds for our Gender and Development Program and I'm excited that attendees will actually get to meet some women and girls who have benefitted from one of our projects.
It's all very exciting, actually. The whole project is in partnership with an NGO called Maman Modeles. It's comprised of professional woman located around the country and its been fun to meet some of them and see how much enthusiasm and energy they have for the project. Take Our Daughters to Work used to be a huge project for over 50 girls funded by USAID and run by Peace Corps Volunteers, but when USAID cut funding the project ended in 2003. My boss and the Maman Modeles were very excited and willing when I approached them with the idea of restarting it on a smaller scale (we'll have 8 girls this year). We held essay competitions for 3rd year secondary school girls in which they had to write about what woman they admire and why. Just yesterday I met with a Maman Modele to choose our 8 winners from amongst 38 entries. I've spent the rest of my time here writing up permission slips, grant proposals, and schedules, and I think it's already to go now until our big event! I'll be bringing 3 girls from Dogbo so I'll have to notify them and visit their parents for permission this week.
One of the most encouraging (and easy) things about this project is the history of the project itself. I found out from my boss that multiple girls who participated in 1999 and 2000 actually kept in touch with their Maman Modeles, finished their educations through university, and then their Maman Modeles helped them find professional jobs and relocate here to Cotonou. One of our Maman Modeles this year was actually a participating girl herself in 1999. Now she's a popular news reporter on one of the 3 major channels here in Benin. I'm jealous of whatever girls gets to spend Friday with her and the news crew!!
So, lots of time in Cotonou devoted to that, but also planning for our summer camps, a regional rep meeting with admin, and then, maybe the most exciting thing is 19th-22nd of May we have our official Close of Service Conference. It's at one of the nicest hotels in Cotonou with a full pool, AC, and CNN! I'll also be getting my official date for home at that point and then it'll be less than 3 months til the end. Crazy how time flies and it's all almost over! On the other hand, at this point I'm starting to look for and apply for jobs and I'm just getting anxious to get home to friends and family. Luckily all this weekend business will help the time fly by even faster and hopefully all of our projects will work out great in the meantime!
One big reason for so much time here is to prepare my project "Take Our Daughters to Work Day". In conjunction with a big fundraiser dinner I'm helping to organize for Saturday, May 8th, we decided to invite some girls down from our villages to accompany professional Beninese women to work on Friday the 7th. Then, I'll be running a seminar for the girls to talk about career and education planning on the 8th and they'll give a short presentation about their experience to the dinner guests on Saturday night. The dinner is to raise awareness and funds for our Gender and Development Program and I'm excited that attendees will actually get to meet some women and girls who have benefitted from one of our projects.
It's all very exciting, actually. The whole project is in partnership with an NGO called Maman Modeles. It's comprised of professional woman located around the country and its been fun to meet some of them and see how much enthusiasm and energy they have for the project. Take Our Daughters to Work used to be a huge project for over 50 girls funded by USAID and run by Peace Corps Volunteers, but when USAID cut funding the project ended in 2003. My boss and the Maman Modeles were very excited and willing when I approached them with the idea of restarting it on a smaller scale (we'll have 8 girls this year). We held essay competitions for 3rd year secondary school girls in which they had to write about what woman they admire and why. Just yesterday I met with a Maman Modele to choose our 8 winners from amongst 38 entries. I've spent the rest of my time here writing up permission slips, grant proposals, and schedules, and I think it's already to go now until our big event! I'll be bringing 3 girls from Dogbo so I'll have to notify them and visit their parents for permission this week.
One of the most encouraging (and easy) things about this project is the history of the project itself. I found out from my boss that multiple girls who participated in 1999 and 2000 actually kept in touch with their Maman Modeles, finished their educations through university, and then their Maman Modeles helped them find professional jobs and relocate here to Cotonou. One of our Maman Modeles this year was actually a participating girl herself in 1999. Now she's a popular news reporter on one of the 3 major channels here in Benin. I'm jealous of whatever girls gets to spend Friday with her and the news crew!!
So, lots of time in Cotonou devoted to that, but also planning for our summer camps, a regional rep meeting with admin, and then, maybe the most exciting thing is 19th-22nd of May we have our official Close of Service Conference. It's at one of the nicest hotels in Cotonou with a full pool, AC, and CNN! I'll also be getting my official date for home at that point and then it'll be less than 3 months til the end. Crazy how time flies and it's all almost over! On the other hand, at this point I'm starting to look for and apply for jobs and I'm just getting anxious to get home to friends and family. Luckily all this weekend business will help the time fly by even faster and hopefully all of our projects will work out great in the meantime!
Monday, March 22, 2010
As time goes by...
Hello, hello. Sorry it’s been a while, but electricity and internet continue to be in and out in Dogbo. As for the newest school drama, last week a first year boy grabbed his professor by the collar and then all the teachers decided to leave their classes in the middle of class and have a meeting. I didn’t go immediately when I was summoned because I was in the middle of a quiz. When I arrived 20 minutes later they had already drafted a letter to the administration declaring a 2 day strike against the students. Just as I walked up we began our group march to the administration building to present the letter in solidarity. We even “stood in the sun to show them our suffering!!” All I could do was roll my eyes and chuckle. As Peace Corps Volunteers, we are not allowed to go on strike, since its usually about pay and benefits we don’t receive (some fellow volunteers have been the only profs teaching at their schools for over 6 weeks due to strikes in the North). But, seeing as how I myself also think students at my school are out of control and the administration is not as strict as it should be, I decided to join in (and also just for amusement).
Even though I joined in, I did still feel torn about the situation. I definitely agree that something needs to be done, but I couldn’t help but see their behavior as totally juvenile. It reminded me of my own students striking against me just 2 weeks before. Granted it was much quieter and “official” in their eyes, but it offered no real solution or suggestion for improvement. It also lacks the self-reflection necessary to really confront such a problem. Unfortunately I didn’t (and still don’t) have any other option to present to these 30 professors at the time. It’s just part of a much bigger problem that I wouldn’t even know where to start, and nobody would have been willing to listen to.
I must admit that my general attitude towards life here has not been fantastic lately. My friend Dennis made a really interesting observation that our outlook as volunteers seems to come full circle during our time here. I think in a lot of ways he’s right. We arrive to find so much confusing, frustrating, and often non-sensical. But as time goes on we work so hard to become understanding of their culture and ways of life. We have no choice but to accept what we find and do our best to affect change within these systems. But now as the clock ticks on and we’ve become so comfortable here, it’s starting to become frustrating all over again. After accepting things and trying to work with them sometimes you just want to yell and say…”I know you do it that way, but that’s just ridiculous!!” Beninese people love to say “this is Africa” whenever anything goes wrong, they are resigned to accept it, and tell each other to do the same. As volunteers of course we know we’re here to affect change, if only so small, but all too often, the people themselves don’t even believe it’s possible, or worth it.
Even though I joined in, I did still feel torn about the situation. I definitely agree that something needs to be done, but I couldn’t help but see their behavior as totally juvenile. It reminded me of my own students striking against me just 2 weeks before. Granted it was much quieter and “official” in their eyes, but it offered no real solution or suggestion for improvement. It also lacks the self-reflection necessary to really confront such a problem. Unfortunately I didn’t (and still don’t) have any other option to present to these 30 professors at the time. It’s just part of a much bigger problem that I wouldn’t even know where to start, and nobody would have been willing to listen to.
I must admit that my general attitude towards life here has not been fantastic lately. My friend Dennis made a really interesting observation that our outlook as volunteers seems to come full circle during our time here. I think in a lot of ways he’s right. We arrive to find so much confusing, frustrating, and often non-sensical. But as time goes on we work so hard to become understanding of their culture and ways of life. We have no choice but to accept what we find and do our best to affect change within these systems. But now as the clock ticks on and we’ve become so comfortable here, it’s starting to become frustrating all over again. After accepting things and trying to work with them sometimes you just want to yell and say…”I know you do it that way, but that’s just ridiculous!!” Beninese people love to say “this is Africa” whenever anything goes wrong, they are resigned to accept it, and tell each other to do the same. As volunteers of course we know we’re here to affect change, if only so small, but all too often, the people themselves don’t even believe it’s possible, or worth it.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Ryan's visit!!
So, my great friend Ryan from Michigan State is quite the adventurer and ever since I applied he always promised, and I always knew, that he was coming to visit wherever I was headed. Well...after much waiting and lots of vaccinations, he finally made it! He arrived the 12th of February and then our adventures began... Unfortunately right after his arrival we were robbed (the emotional ramifications will no doubt come up in future blogs, but for right now, lets focus on the rest of the trip!). Luckily they just grabbed my phone and a bit of my money and by that time lots of people came running to help us and the guys fled. So, no real harm done, and we headed on to Dogbo the same day.
It was market day when we arrived, so I took him around and made him taste all the delicious snacks and he picked out tissue to have an outfit made. We spent the next few days just hanging out in Dogbo. He was able to come to class and geography club with me. We also had a big dinner with the other Yovos of Dogbo and perhaps one of the biggest highlights was the time we spent with some of my English colleagues. I invited all of them over, but really only my best friends showed up, which I preferred. I had told them before hand, only English!!! So they were so excited and we had a lot of fun just chatting for a bit and talking about the States. Other than that, we mostly just spent the days relaxing and doing what I do, going to the market, going on walks with Jasper, and saying hi to people. Oh! One other huge highlight was the buying, killing, and cooking of chickens for dinner. Ryan really wanted to say he'd killed a chicken for dinner, so I enlisted my student friend Winnie (the girl who watches Jasper) to help us. We went with her to buy the chickens and then we watched as her and her friends killed, cleaned, and cut them up. Ryan wanted to kill one, but at the moment of truth couldn't bring himself to do it, so we just laughed and watched and he took lots of pictures, haha. He was also so so impressed that Winnie is only 14 years old and prepared our entire meal all by herself without her mom around (her mom fries food on the corner nearby every afternoon and evening, so Winnie does the cooking). We had to go home to pack, but returned later to eat the full meal with the family, which was lots of fun and I'm glad I got to spend that time with them. And Ryan got to wear his new tissue (African fabric) suit to dinner!
After our escapades in Dogbo we headed North to Burkina Faso and Mali! Our destination was Dogon Valley in Southern Mali. The Dogon people have lived among the cliffs of the plateau since the 14th century. They used to literally live on the cliffs, but now there are many villages scattered on the desert floor next to them and also on top of the plateau. We went on a trekking trip, which basically means we backpacked our away along the edge of the plateau staying at different villages along the way. We departed for the Dogon region from the town of Bankass by horsecart. After about 2.5 hrs moving through the semi-desert with strong winds, hot hot sun, and sands blowing like crazy we reached a village at the base of the plateau. We had lunch there and then waited out the afternoon heat until about 4 or so. We then climbed up to see ancient ruins of a village that once existed on the cliff side. It's actually a UNESCO site now, so they have paid the villagers to repair many of the huts and graineries to their original condition. While they have repaired the huts, it was still amazing to hear that these mud bricks have been standing for centuries. The cliff hangs over the location of the village, so no rain was able to reach the houses and slowly wash away the mud.
After we climbed back down we trekked on flat sand to the next village and our shelter for the night. They have a developed system of guides and "campements" which are basically little "authentic" hotels. They prepare all your food and you get a little hut for the night. The most awesome part is that you get to sleep on the flat roofs under the stars. The first night on the bottom of the plateau the wind was crazy and we were basically eating sand though, haha, so I had to descend and sleep inside.
The next morning we trekked flat across the sand again and after a 6 hour rest to escape the sun, we climbed up the plateau! It was such an awesome hike and exactly what I had hoped for. The Dogon people have been there so long and are so accustomed to going up and down themselves that they have laid out paths of rocks all the way up. There are some places where you have to climb over crevices in the rock hundreds of feet deep with wooden ladders that they have resting from one side to another. It was intense, but awesome!
Our climb up would definitely be rated as difficult, but once we reached the top of the plateau it was such a different world. In valleys on the top they cultivate lush green gardens with tons of vegetables and herbs. You'll be hiking up all this rock and suddenly come into flat valley and see people watering their plants with calabashes filled with water. It must be tedious work, and they do it twice a day, but seeing how green they were made it seem so worth it.
On our third day we made the hike down and took a horse cart back out into Bankass and from there began our long journey back to Cotonou, Benin. Dogon Valley was absolutely amazing, but unfortunately the 3 days of bush taxi to arrive in Mali and the 3 days back were incredibly exhausting and of course trying at times. Luckily, we met up with some Burkina and Benin PCVs on the way down which made it easier and more enjoyable. It was fun to have more people to talk to, but more people also means more people to fill up a mini bus so we could leave sooner. And since we were on a tight schedule to make Ryan's flight on Saturday night, we couldn't afford to wait another day for any taxi to fill.
Despite some setbacks and annoyances along the way, overall it was a great adventure. I had lots of fun with Ryan and he most definitely got the intense experience he was looking for! haha...I also have returned to Benin much more thankful for many things here. One thing is the existence of taxi motos that are everywhere and can get you somewhere cheap and fast. Ouagadougou (the capital of Burkina Faso) had no such thing and made getting around the city difficult, time consuming, and expensive. Even our inter-city taxi system is much busier and thus I'm not used to waiting 6 hours for a taxi to fill up and go. Another thing to love about Benin is its food! Food up north was much less spicy and street snacks were much more difficult to come by. A bag of water is also half the price here! (not surprising since Mali is practically desert, but still).
I know there are 5,000 more details to give, but unfortunately I've got to be getting back to post. After getting halfway there yesterday afternoon I realized that my keys were in the office and I had to come back :-(. I just want to be with my puppy, but atleast you've all now gotten a few blog updates! Continue reading below to hear about school...
It was market day when we arrived, so I took him around and made him taste all the delicious snacks and he picked out tissue to have an outfit made. We spent the next few days just hanging out in Dogbo. He was able to come to class and geography club with me. We also had a big dinner with the other Yovos of Dogbo and perhaps one of the biggest highlights was the time we spent with some of my English colleagues. I invited all of them over, but really only my best friends showed up, which I preferred. I had told them before hand, only English!!! So they were so excited and we had a lot of fun just chatting for a bit and talking about the States. Other than that, we mostly just spent the days relaxing and doing what I do, going to the market, going on walks with Jasper, and saying hi to people. Oh! One other huge highlight was the buying, killing, and cooking of chickens for dinner. Ryan really wanted to say he'd killed a chicken for dinner, so I enlisted my student friend Winnie (the girl who watches Jasper) to help us. We went with her to buy the chickens and then we watched as her and her friends killed, cleaned, and cut them up. Ryan wanted to kill one, but at the moment of truth couldn't bring himself to do it, so we just laughed and watched and he took lots of pictures, haha. He was also so so impressed that Winnie is only 14 years old and prepared our entire meal all by herself without her mom around (her mom fries food on the corner nearby every afternoon and evening, so Winnie does the cooking). We had to go home to pack, but returned later to eat the full meal with the family, which was lots of fun and I'm glad I got to spend that time with them. And Ryan got to wear his new tissue (African fabric) suit to dinner!
After our escapades in Dogbo we headed North to Burkina Faso and Mali! Our destination was Dogon Valley in Southern Mali. The Dogon people have lived among the cliffs of the plateau since the 14th century. They used to literally live on the cliffs, but now there are many villages scattered on the desert floor next to them and also on top of the plateau. We went on a trekking trip, which basically means we backpacked our away along the edge of the plateau staying at different villages along the way. We departed for the Dogon region from the town of Bankass by horsecart. After about 2.5 hrs moving through the semi-desert with strong winds, hot hot sun, and sands blowing like crazy we reached a village at the base of the plateau. We had lunch there and then waited out the afternoon heat until about 4 or so. We then climbed up to see ancient ruins of a village that once existed on the cliff side. It's actually a UNESCO site now, so they have paid the villagers to repair many of the huts and graineries to their original condition. While they have repaired the huts, it was still amazing to hear that these mud bricks have been standing for centuries. The cliff hangs over the location of the village, so no rain was able to reach the houses and slowly wash away the mud.
After we climbed back down we trekked on flat sand to the next village and our shelter for the night. They have a developed system of guides and "campements" which are basically little "authentic" hotels. They prepare all your food and you get a little hut for the night. The most awesome part is that you get to sleep on the flat roofs under the stars. The first night on the bottom of the plateau the wind was crazy and we were basically eating sand though, haha, so I had to descend and sleep inside.
The next morning we trekked flat across the sand again and after a 6 hour rest to escape the sun, we climbed up the plateau! It was such an awesome hike and exactly what I had hoped for. The Dogon people have been there so long and are so accustomed to going up and down themselves that they have laid out paths of rocks all the way up. There are some places where you have to climb over crevices in the rock hundreds of feet deep with wooden ladders that they have resting from one side to another. It was intense, but awesome!
Our climb up would definitely be rated as difficult, but once we reached the top of the plateau it was such a different world. In valleys on the top they cultivate lush green gardens with tons of vegetables and herbs. You'll be hiking up all this rock and suddenly come into flat valley and see people watering their plants with calabashes filled with water. It must be tedious work, and they do it twice a day, but seeing how green they were made it seem so worth it.
On our third day we made the hike down and took a horse cart back out into Bankass and from there began our long journey back to Cotonou, Benin. Dogon Valley was absolutely amazing, but unfortunately the 3 days of bush taxi to arrive in Mali and the 3 days back were incredibly exhausting and of course trying at times. Luckily, we met up with some Burkina and Benin PCVs on the way down which made it easier and more enjoyable. It was fun to have more people to talk to, but more people also means more people to fill up a mini bus so we could leave sooner. And since we were on a tight schedule to make Ryan's flight on Saturday night, we couldn't afford to wait another day for any taxi to fill.
Despite some setbacks and annoyances along the way, overall it was a great adventure. I had lots of fun with Ryan and he most definitely got the intense experience he was looking for! haha...I also have returned to Benin much more thankful for many things here. One thing is the existence of taxi motos that are everywhere and can get you somewhere cheap and fast. Ouagadougou (the capital of Burkina Faso) had no such thing and made getting around the city difficult, time consuming, and expensive. Even our inter-city taxi system is much busier and thus I'm not used to waiting 6 hours for a taxi to fill up and go. Another thing to love about Benin is its food! Food up north was much less spicy and street snacks were much more difficult to come by. A bag of water is also half the price here! (not surprising since Mali is practically desert, but still).
I know there are 5,000 more details to give, but unfortunately I've got to be getting back to post. After getting halfway there yesterday afternoon I realized that my keys were in the office and I had to come back :-(. I just want to be with my puppy, but atleast you've all now gotten a few blog updates! Continue reading below to hear about school...
goings on at school...
As for my students on strike, the administration took their time dealing with the problem since classes technically weren't in session when their strike and series of shananagans happened (it was grade calculating time). I unfortunately did not attend (nor was I invited) to the meeting my counterpart had with admin to discuss their punishments, but he later explained it all to me. Unfortunately none of the punishments are directed just at the troublemakers, but rather the entire group of 45 must endure them. I feel really horrible about that, but of course there is nothing I can do. And so here they are- 1- The first week classes resume (this week), the class will not spend anytime in class, but will spend 8-12 and 3-7 everyday doing physical labor around the school yard. 2- The first schoolwide flag raising ceremony after the break (which was yesterday), the class must spend the entire ceremony kneeling on the rocky ground to show their shame to the rest of the school. 3- The class' conduct grade for both semesters of the school year is 10. The conduct grade is averaged in with all other subjects and counts as a subject in itself. It usually begins at 18 and sometimes is lowered to 16 or 15 for troublesome classes. A 10 is basically unheard of. 4- The entire set of upper-level classes also has a larger conduct grade they share, and this grade for all other upper-level classes will be lowered as well. 5- All parents were informed that if their students cause further problems this year they will be expelled. Unfortunately the school doesn't actually have the power to do that, but hopefully the parents and students don't know that? I think there was another thing or two, but I can't remember right now. Overall, I know these are really harsh punishments but I wish they were actually targeting the troublesome students.
As for me, my counterpart informed me how lucky we are that the students blocked the class and refused to enter the day of the strike. Apparently later in the week they attacked their philosophy teacher with some sort of itchy/stinging powder blown all over his arms. He had to leave immediately and go pour oil over it to sooth it. The powder comes from a local plant, and while for me that sounds annoying and bad enough, for them it is also seen as a voodoo spiritual attack. My administration decided to immediately remove me from this class for my own security and safety, but my counterpart will continue with them. During the strike they were calling for him to leave and me to stay, so admin and my counterpart are in agreement that he must stay to teach the students a lesson and not give them what they want. Furthermore, he explained to me that its better now, because "its black on black now". He comes from Ouidah, the birthplace of Voodoo in Benin, and he informed me that he is not afraid of them and knows how to protect himself.
Not only does the voodoo leave much of this out of my realm of comprehension, but my Peace Corps boss (who is also Beninese) also enlightened me to the fact that this is likely a highly politically charged situation. She said that some other teachers probably encouraged the students to act in this way in order to get my counterpart fired. When she told me that, it made so much sense based on comments he had been making. So really all of this has just been way over my head, which is probably why admin didn't really talk to me that much about it. Well...I'm happy to leave them behind and focus on my first years and helping my other colleagues!
In geography club news- When I was home over xmas I found $1 globes at Target and had my friend Ryan fly them over from the states. He got here a few weeks ago and when he came to the club with me we handed them out. The kids were so excited!! Stupid Target though, about 5 of the globes were totally smashed up inside the boxes, even though the boxes themselves never got smashed and looked fine. I know they were only $1, but I flew them around the world and the kids who opened them were so sad :-(. Luckily I have just enough extra so that everyone can get a good one! With Ryan we did the US and they were so excited to see US money. This week will be Egypt and next week Mexico!
As for me, my counterpart informed me how lucky we are that the students blocked the class and refused to enter the day of the strike. Apparently later in the week they attacked their philosophy teacher with some sort of itchy/stinging powder blown all over his arms. He had to leave immediately and go pour oil over it to sooth it. The powder comes from a local plant, and while for me that sounds annoying and bad enough, for them it is also seen as a voodoo spiritual attack. My administration decided to immediately remove me from this class for my own security and safety, but my counterpart will continue with them. During the strike they were calling for him to leave and me to stay, so admin and my counterpart are in agreement that he must stay to teach the students a lesson and not give them what they want. Furthermore, he explained to me that its better now, because "its black on black now". He comes from Ouidah, the birthplace of Voodoo in Benin, and he informed me that he is not afraid of them and knows how to protect himself.
Not only does the voodoo leave much of this out of my realm of comprehension, but my Peace Corps boss (who is also Beninese) also enlightened me to the fact that this is likely a highly politically charged situation. She said that some other teachers probably encouraged the students to act in this way in order to get my counterpart fired. When she told me that, it made so much sense based on comments he had been making. So really all of this has just been way over my head, which is probably why admin didn't really talk to me that much about it. Well...I'm happy to leave them behind and focus on my first years and helping my other colleagues!
In geography club news- When I was home over xmas I found $1 globes at Target and had my friend Ryan fly them over from the states. He got here a few weeks ago and when he came to the club with me we handed them out. The kids were so excited!! Stupid Target though, about 5 of the globes were totally smashed up inside the boxes, even though the boxes themselves never got smashed and looked fine. I know they were only $1, but I flew them around the world and the kids who opened them were so sad :-(. Luckily I have just enough extra so that everyone can get a good one! With Ryan we did the US and they were so excited to see US money. This week will be Egypt and next week Mexico!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
A giant game of telephone, anybody?
Knowledge and fact are sort of subjective things here in Benin. I can ask 5 different people when the rainy season will start and one will tell me "oh, soon. it will come, it will come", one would say April, another May, and someone else would just say, oh well, a month or two after the heat starts. So much is based on personal opinion and perspective that it's often hard to get a true or concrete response to any question. This only becomes more frustrating when a real problem exists that needs to be solved, such as my issues in November with the post office being closed for over 2 weeks. Nobody even noticed or cared enough to find out why or tell any authorities about it (I'm the one who informed the mayor's office that sits just next door).
Well, this phenomenon has only become more amusing to me in the last 2 weeks because the entire South-Western part of Benin has been having huge issues with power outages. It's normal for the power to go out for maybe an hour or two at a time, but we've been having 12 to 16 hour outages with only a few hours of power in between. The first full day everyone was a little surprised and the giant game of telephone began! When I left school at the end of the day I started hearing all sorts of stories from colleagues and neighbors. One said we were being punished for political reasons. Another stated vehemently that it would remain out for 4 days straight (it came on about 4 hours later). There were reports of it out in all big neighboring towns on the highway, but then others said it was already out in Cotonou and the entire country. Some said power was cut from Ghana because our government didn't pay for it. Radio stations were apparently announcing all sorts of random things as well, just to add to the confusion.
Despite having been here for 19 months...we still totally fell for it! All the volunteers in my region were texting each other to complain about the outages and see if anyone knew why. Turns out we exchanged our local "theories" and none were even remotely similar! We also texted volunteers in Cotonou and the North and of course they all had plenty of electricity. So...here we are 2 weeks later and the outages continue! I have no idea why, but I think by now everyone is thinking it does have something to do with power coming from Ghana. I think it's basically like a rolling black-out situation. Anyway, it's really quite obnoxious and the hard part is that my part of Dogbo is on a hill and is mostly pump water (not wells), so once the power goes out, the water is cut an hour or two later because the water in the system runs out.
In other news, the first semester is officially over this week, I can't even believe it! Crazy how it's going so fast and quickly approaching the end :-(. I was looking at my lesson book from last year and realized that up until this point so far this year, I have given 27 lessons, but the ENTIRE second semester last year I only gave 9 lessons total. Due to the school breaks and exams it's really barely any class time, and it's pretty ridiculous. But then of course the 2nd semester grades count twice as much towards their final grade at the end of the year, even though they barely do even half the amount of work!
So we spent this last week giving the kids the final calculations of their semester grades. My two classes of first years did really fantastic, I'm so proud and it was so cute to see them light up when they saw their grades. Passing is 10, and I gave lots of 14s, 15s, and 16s. For most this is their first year of school and I saw that their grades in other classes are rarely above 10, and never above 12 if that. I'm happy to see that they all have been doing well even though I think I've been being harder on them recently.
Unfortunately I can't say the same for my 5th year students. Only about 8 of the 40 received passing grades, but even worse is--- get this--- they are on strike against me and the other professor I teach the class with. I give participations grades to all of my classes which get averaged in as quiz grade. For almost all of my students (including most of the 5th years), this grade increases their overall average and is often higher than one or both of their written quiz grades. Well, all of the students who received failing participation grades also happen to be the troublemakers (surprise, surprise), and the day of grade giving they started shouting and refusing to accept the grades. The system has been well explained and clear since the beginning and unfortunately they took it open themselves to try to "solve" this issue by then blocking the door with benches and desks the next day and declaring a strike. Since we aren't "technically" in class time (they stop class for 2 weeks for grade calculation), the administration hasn't sought fit to address the issue or the students at all. Honestly, I'm not too worried about it...the grades are in the book and the principal says they stay!!
In happier (and much less stressful) news, my friend Ryan is flying in tonight!! We're spending the week in Dogbo and starting our trip to Burkina Faso and Mali on Friday. It should be great!
Well, this phenomenon has only become more amusing to me in the last 2 weeks because the entire South-Western part of Benin has been having huge issues with power outages. It's normal for the power to go out for maybe an hour or two at a time, but we've been having 12 to 16 hour outages with only a few hours of power in between. The first full day everyone was a little surprised and the giant game of telephone began! When I left school at the end of the day I started hearing all sorts of stories from colleagues and neighbors. One said we were being punished for political reasons. Another stated vehemently that it would remain out for 4 days straight (it came on about 4 hours later). There were reports of it out in all big neighboring towns on the highway, but then others said it was already out in Cotonou and the entire country. Some said power was cut from Ghana because our government didn't pay for it. Radio stations were apparently announcing all sorts of random things as well, just to add to the confusion.
Despite having been here for 19 months...we still totally fell for it! All the volunteers in my region were texting each other to complain about the outages and see if anyone knew why. Turns out we exchanged our local "theories" and none were even remotely similar! We also texted volunteers in Cotonou and the North and of course they all had plenty of electricity. So...here we are 2 weeks later and the outages continue! I have no idea why, but I think by now everyone is thinking it does have something to do with power coming from Ghana. I think it's basically like a rolling black-out situation. Anyway, it's really quite obnoxious and the hard part is that my part of Dogbo is on a hill and is mostly pump water (not wells), so once the power goes out, the water is cut an hour or two later because the water in the system runs out.
In other news, the first semester is officially over this week, I can't even believe it! Crazy how it's going so fast and quickly approaching the end :-(. I was looking at my lesson book from last year and realized that up until this point so far this year, I have given 27 lessons, but the ENTIRE second semester last year I only gave 9 lessons total. Due to the school breaks and exams it's really barely any class time, and it's pretty ridiculous. But then of course the 2nd semester grades count twice as much towards their final grade at the end of the year, even though they barely do even half the amount of work!
So we spent this last week giving the kids the final calculations of their semester grades. My two classes of first years did really fantastic, I'm so proud and it was so cute to see them light up when they saw their grades. Passing is 10, and I gave lots of 14s, 15s, and 16s. For most this is their first year of school and I saw that their grades in other classes are rarely above 10, and never above 12 if that. I'm happy to see that they all have been doing well even though I think I've been being harder on them recently.
Unfortunately I can't say the same for my 5th year students. Only about 8 of the 40 received passing grades, but even worse is--- get this--- they are on strike against me and the other professor I teach the class with. I give participations grades to all of my classes which get averaged in as quiz grade. For almost all of my students (including most of the 5th years), this grade increases their overall average and is often higher than one or both of their written quiz grades. Well, all of the students who received failing participation grades also happen to be the troublemakers (surprise, surprise), and the day of grade giving they started shouting and refusing to accept the grades. The system has been well explained and clear since the beginning and unfortunately they took it open themselves to try to "solve" this issue by then blocking the door with benches and desks the next day and declaring a strike. Since we aren't "technically" in class time (they stop class for 2 weeks for grade calculation), the administration hasn't sought fit to address the issue or the students at all. Honestly, I'm not too worried about it...the grades are in the book and the principal says they stay!!
In happier (and much less stressful) news, my friend Ryan is flying in tonight!! We're spending the week in Dogbo and starting our trip to Burkina Faso and Mali on Friday. It should be great!
Monday, January 25, 2010
A few cute notes...
I brought back a baby wild animals calendar with me ($1 at Target) for 2010 and put it on the wall right by my front door. The picture for January is a lion cub and it even says in large letters- LION, which is the same word in French. So far, three people have seen it and asked if it's a picture of my dog from the states. Gets me every time.
***
My dad bought me a blow-up globe to use with my geography club and we used it for the first time last week. While one boy went to the road to get it pumped full of air I taped my world map to the chalkboard. We started naming the continents and oceans. Most of them didn't know them, but atleast everyone could find Africa right in the center and had an idea of where the Americas and Asia sort of were. Well, in comes the globe. First, I had a little boy stand up and act as my 'sun' and I explained that the world was round and rotated around it. I ran around him and said...this is one year! They were full of oohs and ahhs.
The thing that really struck me however, was that once we started playing with the globe, they lost all sense of direction and location of the continents. We stood up in a circle and played a game where you name a continent or ocean, throw it to a friend, and they have to find it on the globe. They ended up turning the globe every which way and in some cases even had trouble finding Africa. It was amazing to see how working hands-on with a 3D object was really a new sort of experience for them. Given that their classrooms have no walls and no floors, of course they have no blocks or legos or balls to ever get them use to spatial reasoning. But it was fun to watch them have fun with it anyway and get so excited just to hold and touch it.
While I was home I found mini-globes in the $1 section of Target!!! I bought about 25 and I'm having my friend Ryan bring them over to Benin next month when he comes to visit. I can't wait!!!! Especially now that I see how much they are going to learn from them just by being able to take them home and play with them all on their own.
***
We've all heard about the recent tragic earthquake in Haiti and even many Beninese people know about it from the TV. A lot of them think Haiti is in Africa though, maybe because they know it's French speaking and see darker colored people on TV. Anyway, another PCV said that people told him that lots of Beninese people in Cotonou and another big town of Bohicon are sleeping outside now because they think the earthquake is going to come here to Benin and they know they'll be safer outside. He explained it's far away, and they don't have to worry, and he even made the huge mistake of trying to get into plate tectonics. I told him he should have just told them the bad "gri gri" couldn't come this far :-).
***
My dad bought me a blow-up globe to use with my geography club and we used it for the first time last week. While one boy went to the road to get it pumped full of air I taped my world map to the chalkboard. We started naming the continents and oceans. Most of them didn't know them, but atleast everyone could find Africa right in the center and had an idea of where the Americas and Asia sort of were. Well, in comes the globe. First, I had a little boy stand up and act as my 'sun' and I explained that the world was round and rotated around it. I ran around him and said...this is one year! They were full of oohs and ahhs.
The thing that really struck me however, was that once we started playing with the globe, they lost all sense of direction and location of the continents. We stood up in a circle and played a game where you name a continent or ocean, throw it to a friend, and they have to find it on the globe. They ended up turning the globe every which way and in some cases even had trouble finding Africa. It was amazing to see how working hands-on with a 3D object was really a new sort of experience for them. Given that their classrooms have no walls and no floors, of course they have no blocks or legos or balls to ever get them use to spatial reasoning. But it was fun to watch them have fun with it anyway and get so excited just to hold and touch it.
While I was home I found mini-globes in the $1 section of Target!!! I bought about 25 and I'm having my friend Ryan bring them over to Benin next month when he comes to visit. I can't wait!!!! Especially now that I see how much they are going to learn from them just by being able to take them home and play with them all on their own.
***
We've all heard about the recent tragic earthquake in Haiti and even many Beninese people know about it from the TV. A lot of them think Haiti is in Africa though, maybe because they know it's French speaking and see darker colored people on TV. Anyway, another PCV said that people told him that lots of Beninese people in Cotonou and another big town of Bohicon are sleeping outside now because they think the earthquake is going to come here to Benin and they know they'll be safer outside. He explained it's far away, and they don't have to worry, and he even made the huge mistake of trying to get into plate tectonics. I told him he should have just told them the bad "gri gri" couldn't come this far :-).
Back to Benin!
So there are a couple of missing entries to fill in the past 2 months...most importantly...I went home!! Spending 3 weeks at home for Christmas and New Years was amazing, delicious, freeeeezing cold, and refreshing. Overall, the weirdest thing about being back was that it didn't feel that weird at all. The first time I approached the dishwasher and the washing machine I admit I was apprehensive for a split second about all the buttons, but all of a sudden my fingers knew exactly what they were doing. My first night home I did have a moment of wonderment at my parents "five fires" on their stovetop. I even said out loud to them, "Oh my god, do you realize you have five fires right here?" Of course it was the family joke for the rest of my stay. By the end I got to spend lots of time with my friends and family and I was so exhausted that all I could think about was getting back to my puppy and my couch in Dogbo!
For about 2 weeks now I have been back to Benin, and I couldn't have been happier when I got back. I was just so excited to realize that Dogbo really does feel like home to me, too. Sort of like returning to the dorms in college after break, I think. In the plane coming into Cotonou from Paris I looked up and saw the stars in the first time for 3 weeks and realized how much I missed them. When I arrived I also noticed a scab from a scratch on my foot- I didn't even know I had scratched it. In the cold winter weather I hadn't been able to pay any attention to my body because all I wanted to do was cover it with layer after layer of clothes!
Despite all of my joy for returning to my life here in Dogbo, this past week has been a lot more difficult due to 2 unfortunate events. The first being that last Sunday my postmate and one of my best friends here, Catherine, left for home for good. She has been in 3 moto accidents in the last 8 months and found transportation to be too difficult for her to continue her time here. We all already miss her, and it will be harder for me now that I won't have her in Dogbo to relax with on a bad day. At the same time, I know it was the right decision for her and I wish her all the luck with moving back!
The second unfortunate event happened last Sunday as well, the day of Catherine's departure. Three volunteers coming down from the North were in a huge bus accident when their bus collided with a semi-truck head on. Miraculously none of them were seriously hurt, but people in the rows directly in front of them were actually killed. Understandably this sort of event has all of the PCVs a bit shaken up, but truthfully there is nothing we can do. The bus is still undoubtedly the safest mode of transport and we all knew the risk existed- it's just a bit more real to us now.
So, this last week wasn't quiet as great as the first, but I'm trying to focus on the positive and remember why I was so excited to come back. I think that one of the biggest realizations I've had since going home is just that this experience is almost over. It's only a few months until the end, and those months are jam-packed with event after event. Right now it's a little exciting to think about what's next, but also scary and overwhelming and mostly just sad to think about leaving friends and life here. It is possible for us to extend a 3rd year in Benin or another country if we want, but I think I want to go back to apply for grad school next fall. Of course it's all still up in the air, but if I do decide to finish this year I will get my official date of departure in late May. So stay tuned for that!!
For about 2 weeks now I have been back to Benin, and I couldn't have been happier when I got back. I was just so excited to realize that Dogbo really does feel like home to me, too. Sort of like returning to the dorms in college after break, I think. In the plane coming into Cotonou from Paris I looked up and saw the stars in the first time for 3 weeks and realized how much I missed them. When I arrived I also noticed a scab from a scratch on my foot- I didn't even know I had scratched it. In the cold winter weather I hadn't been able to pay any attention to my body because all I wanted to do was cover it with layer after layer of clothes!
Despite all of my joy for returning to my life here in Dogbo, this past week has been a lot more difficult due to 2 unfortunate events. The first being that last Sunday my postmate and one of my best friends here, Catherine, left for home for good. She has been in 3 moto accidents in the last 8 months and found transportation to be too difficult for her to continue her time here. We all already miss her, and it will be harder for me now that I won't have her in Dogbo to relax with on a bad day. At the same time, I know it was the right decision for her and I wish her all the luck with moving back!
The second unfortunate event happened last Sunday as well, the day of Catherine's departure. Three volunteers coming down from the North were in a huge bus accident when their bus collided with a semi-truck head on. Miraculously none of them were seriously hurt, but people in the rows directly in front of them were actually killed. Understandably this sort of event has all of the PCVs a bit shaken up, but truthfully there is nothing we can do. The bus is still undoubtedly the safest mode of transport and we all knew the risk existed- it's just a bit more real to us now.
So, this last week wasn't quiet as great as the first, but I'm trying to focus on the positive and remember why I was so excited to come back. I think that one of the biggest realizations I've had since going home is just that this experience is almost over. It's only a few months until the end, and those months are jam-packed with event after event. Right now it's a little exciting to think about what's next, but also scary and overwhelming and mostly just sad to think about leaving friends and life here. It is possible for us to extend a 3rd year in Benin or another country if we want, but I think I want to go back to apply for grad school next fall. Of course it's all still up in the air, but if I do decide to finish this year I will get my official date of departure in late May. So stay tuned for that!!
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