August 9, 2010
Hard thing to deal with of the day…
What do you do when a girl is crying in the dark on your porch? Ask questions? Console? What if you don’t speak a common language? Sit there awkwardly? Give her back a gentle, hopefully commiserative and consoling, rub? Get her a peppermint stick?
The girl in question is Yvette, or “Yovo” as everyone else calls her, because her skin is a little lighter than most people. She is an “apprentice” to my neighbour, who sells alcohol. So apparently she is learning the business, but mostly, she is a slave. Not that this is at all unusual or illegal here, I just know how much work she does and how little anyone pays her any kindness at all. I attempt to be sympathetic, but when I don’t speak Gun and she doesn’t speak French how much can I do? Mostly I sneak her food, usually something tasty with some protein in it.
August 3, 2010
Hopefully the pictures upload with this…
So a lot has happened since my last post. Let’s start at the beginning.
The Peace Corps did eventually figure out what was wrong with me. It was my gall bladder. At the time I wondered what exactly my gall bladder was and why it made me think I was dying. Why did it make me up-chuck my very tasty (and expensive) lasagne all over the med unit? Well, it turns out that I had a very sizable stone hanging out in there. It took three days in what is (apparently) the best hospital in Benin to confirm what my friend Antonio diagnosed in about ten minutes. A note about Beninese hospitals: DON’T GO THERE! They don’t know how to put in an IV and as a result a month later I still have a bruise on my hand (that’s right- they put an IV in the back of my hand). You know how when you throw up a bunch you are supposed to get IV fluids? Well, they did that- but in Benin IV fluid comes in glass bottles. I thought that only happened in movies about the thirties, forties and fifties. The pain medication that they gave me (which didn’t work very well) also came in a glass bottle- but it was a powder that you had to add saline to and then shake up. I will say this, I did have round-the-clock observation, but with a few African twists. For example: one of the nurses that stayed overnight with me had some scrub pants. On the back pocket of these scrub pants it said “I danced my pants of at Alexandria’s Bat Mizpha”, oh Africa. I was also in the ‘Presidential’ Suite of the ER- it had a flat screen TV (that wasn’t plugged in) and an electric bed (also not plugged in). The Beninese doctors wanted to do surgery right there and then, but the Peace Corps doesn’t allow that (thank God!), so it was a question of where and when I would get medivaced (medically evacuated). I got sent to South Africa.
South Africa in the lead-up to the World Cup is a crazy thing. It’s also cold as hell (it’s winter in the southern hemisphere). My second thought (after damn its cold) was ‘Wow, this looks just like Southern California’. Not just the landscape, but also the highways and the houses and the shopping malls and, well, the first-worldliness of it. The Peace Corps puts medivacs in The Rose Guest House, which is pretty much the nicest place I’ve ever stayed in, even if there is a little too much chintz for my taste. One of the best things about being on medivac was that I got to meet and live with other PCVs from all over Africa. When I was there everyone was there for fairly urgent (read: surgical) things because the Peace Corps was holding back everyone else, if they could, because of the World Cup. It is so interesting to talk to everyone and compare and contrast the differences between region and country. For example it seems that West Africans are a lot more friendly and open than East Africans and that West Africa is a lot less developed than East Africa. Of course these are some gross generalizations, but from talking with the other girls that seems about right. It was also a happy accident that we all got along great (with one exception- and she wasn’t there long) and could break up into different groups whichever way and it was all good. This was also great when we did what little sightseeing that we could.
The most expensive (totally worth it!) thing that we did was go to Ukeltula (sp?) lion park. Since we were there a couple of weeks before the World Cup actually started, the 6 of us got our own (really adorable) tour guide and we got to get REALLY CLOSE to lions. We got to feed babies and pet adolescents and just generally see things that you could never see in the wild. There were tigers too. It was amazing. See the pictures they say everything. The other wild life thing that I got to do was go on a hike with Dr.Cedric (one of the Peace Crops docs). He took us all to a wildlife park, which reminded me of a big state park at home, and we hiked around and saw Zebras, Impala and Giraffes, which was really, really cool, again because we could get really close to the animals because we were on foot instead of in a car or even on a bike. The last thing that I got to see was the Apartide Museum, which was both sobering and really well done. We were there for about 5 hours and I probably could have spent another 5 there. I have known about apartide and what it was in an academic sense since I was in high school but to be there and really see what it meant to people in South Africa at that time and also just the absolute absurdity of all of it was really amazing. For example that everyone had an assigned race. Ok, not surprising but what is surprising is that there were over 60 racial classifications and a person could protest to a judge and have your race changed. I mean if that doesn’t tell you that race is a totally objective classification I don’t know what does. The section of the museum that I did scoff at was the part about “coloured” children’s education under apartide. 60 to 80 kids in a class, hardly trained and underpaid teachers, administrators who steal from the school funds, kids walking 30 miles to school, not enough desks/supplies/books/teachers/classrooms. I’m sure if you are a reader of my blog you can see why I scoffed. It pretty much sounds like the rest of Africa right now. The reason it is unacceptable in South Africa is that just a few mile away from these typically African schools there are American or European quality public schools where only the white kids were allowed to go. South Africa was an interesting place because even though aparthide is over now there is still that paradox of you can go from a place that looks like the US to a place that looks like Benin in about ten minutes. I mean I know that there are slums and projects and whatever at home, I’ve seen them, but I’ve never seen a true shanty town until I came to Benin and to think that there exists a country where all of that exists is really weird.
About the surgery: WARNING; NOT FOR THE WEAK STOMACHED Do you know what a gall bladder does? Yeah, I didn’t either. Here’s how my awesome doctor in South Africa explained it to me. So your liver makes bile (yeah- I didn’t know that either) to help you digest food. It squirts bile on food as it goes to your stomach. So, when your liver makes to much bile, it puts the extra in your gall bladder, so that when you eat something that is hard to digest (like something really greasy) both your gall bladder and you liver squirt bile all over it, the more bile the easier it is to go down. OK, so now that you know what it does I’m going to tell you what happened to mine. So the bile that was chillin’ in my gall bladder decided to crystallize. Now, everybody has some crystals in their gall bladder, but what happened to me was that the crystal got really, really big., mine was the size of a golf ball. I got to keep it. It’s pretty cool. I like to show it off. So when they took out the stone they also took out the whole gall bladder, because if you make a stone once then you will probably make another one, so…
South African hospitals (at least the private one that I was in) are awesome. I woke up from surgery and there was a tiny little woman with a tea trolley saying “Would you like some tea dear? And a biscuit?” (Me: “Yes, please!”) Of course she asked first in Afrikaans, which, when you are on morphine and also coming off anaesthetic can sound an awful lot like English with a funny accent. Pretoria, which is the capital of South Africa (not Johannesburg or Cape Town!), is in an Afrikaans part of South Africa, so the first language that everyone speaks to you is Afrikaans. I think that the Peace Corps should have a big rubber stamp to put on the forehead of every volunteer going into the hospital “I AM AMERICAN”, that way they know that you only speak English. Anyway, after my terrible 3 day stay in the hospital in Benin it was awesome to have a 2 day stay in the hospital in South Africa, with real beds that were comfortable and nurses in these crazy uniforms that make them look like flight attendants from the 80s and food that was actually good (and I got to pick what I wanted!). I’ve never stayed overnight in the hospital in America before but I suspect that it is similar.
I was very happy that even though I had a gastro-intestinal surgery that I could still pretty much eat whatever I wanted, because the food in South Africa was awesome. Not only did the guest house we stayed at have free (made to order) breakfast, but you can pretty much get any food that you can get in America in South Africa (with the exception of Mexican food). We ate well, everyday. I also went to 4 movies “Date Night”, which was hilarious, “Iron Man 2“, which I thought was better than the first one, “Sex and the City 2”, which had a negligible plot but I can forgive that because it was pretty, and “Killers”, which was far better than I expected it to be. I was really excited about the movies, because I love the movies. I love to watch movies in the theatre and have that connection, if only for a moment, of sharing laughter or sadness with total strangers. There is something wonderfully humanistic about it. Unfortunately, there is nary a movie theatre in Benin. I hear that there is one in Lagos, but I’m not allowed to go there so the closest movie theatre to me in in Ghana, on the other side of Togo. We also spent A LOT of time at the mall, like 13 year old girls. I didn’t buy much except a sweater, slippers that I could wear all the time, and a new hard drive because my other one was full, and groceries to bring back. One of my favourite things that I got was a full mani/pedi and a leg/bikini wax, I actually got down to the real colour of the skin on my feet! I’m not as tan as I think I am, it’s just that the dirt takes a while to come off (or in this case some paraffin wax).
For the third time in my life, I have “accidentally” found myself in a country that was having the World Cup, and once again, I did not go to any games. It was fun to be there for all the excitement though, even if I HATE those fucking vuvuzellas. (Those big horn things that they blow) I’m sure that I would be ok with them in a soccer stadium, but I was really no happy with people blowing them in enclosed spaced like shopping malls.
So, after 3 depressing weeks in Cotonou and 3 amazing weeks in South Africa I returned home, to Benin and to my village. I got back the week after my students had taken all their exams, so I had just enough time to calculate all of their grades before I took girls to Camp GLOW.
Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World), as I think most of you know, is a camp for girls to encourage them to be leaders in their communities and also to stay in school, and all that good stuff. Girls here fight for so much. They are not as encouraged in their studies as boys, and when I say not encouraged, I mean that the moment they get home from school they are working taking care of their younger siblings, cooking, cleaning, carrying water, everything you can think of. By the time they have the opportunity to get to their homework they often cant do it because there is no electricity and their parents wont let them us the expensive kerosene lanterns. They get hit on and put down by boys at school and even their professors and are often sexually active as soon as they hit puberty, sometimes sooner. So, Camp GLOW is much more than a summer camp. Yes, it’s the chance that for the girls to be kids and have fun for a week, but they also are given the ideas and incentive that there is something outside their village, something to aspire to. We brought in professional women to talk to the girls both about staying in school and about how to succeed. There were sessions about sexual health, contraception, gender roles in society, fiscal planning, malaria, health issues, and computers but also sports, arts and crafts, a trip to a museum and just the time to play and laugh and be with other girls. I have to say that I also had a really good time, playing games and singing songs that I learned at camp and also watching the girls become more and more active as the week went on.
After a week back at post, doing nothing, as I am on summer break, I went to Cotonou to meet the new incoming soon-to-be volunteers. Granted, they were a little shell-shocked and apparently some of them see “pain in [our] eyes” but mostly they seem like a good bunch and I cant wait to get to know them more during their training. I am not actually a trainer, but as the 2-month training is taking place in Porto-Novo and I live not even an hour outside Porto-Novo I can safely say that I will be there a few times while they are there. Also, when they get their post assignments (the 6th of August) I will be really excited to get to know my new post-mate. I know that my current post-mate is being replaced and I also believe that I am getting at least one more from TEFL and maybe another from another sector as well.
As I am on vacation, I took a little (12 hour) trip to Kandi. Kandi is way up north in Benin, about 4 hours from Niger. There was an English Camp that one of the volunteers there organized and I thought it was a good opportunity for me to get up north without taking vacation time. Kandi was really nice. At this time of year it is cool and it is always dry (unlike my village is which is always wet and humid) and the workstation there was really cozy, like a family home. It was nice to relax and hang out with other volunteers. We watched movies and cooked and read a bunch of books. They tell me that Nattitangu is even better, so I have to get there sometime. Camp was really great too, because there were not too many kids in our classes and the kids that were there wanted to be there and were generally the best students from the different CEGs in Kandi. It was a day camp, so in the morning we did English class and then in the afternoon health and environment volunteers would do sessions in the afternoon and then arts and crafts and games.
That about brings you all up to date on my life in Benin. Other than yesterday I got some shelves delivered, one big one with lots of little shelves for all my odds and ends in the kitchen and then one just one shelf in my shower area. Woo Hoo. No, really, I’m really excited about the ones in the kitchen especially because there really wasn’t a place for storage for anything where I could really see it. So I would forget that I had all these amazing things that got sent to me (thank you very much everyone who sends things to me!) so I wouldn’t use them. So getting shelves was like getting packages over again.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Many Things and Some Future Plans
Medical Update
Although there is nothing wrong with my tooth anymore, there is something very mysterious going on with my back. It keeps waking me up in middle of the night. This is why I have the internet and the time to write on a Monday morning, when I should by all rights be in class. I do hate missing class! Especially in the very, very short second semester. The semesters are not even at all. The first is October through February and the second is March through June. The reasoning is that because many teachers don't actually start teaching until mid or late November that the first one needs to be longer. This makes the second semester really stressful because there ends up being 2 exams that are only a month apart, because of the short semester and the week and a half Easter break. That means that it's really hard to teach the kids enough to put on a final exam in a month, especially when I am laid up in the med unit way too much.
School and Such
School is going really great. I have most of my kids' names down and I have gotten to know most of their families, those of them that live in my village anyway. One of my summer "maybes" is to go to some of the smaller villages around my larger village and meet the families of those students who board in town, but live in the "bush" or in many cases, the "valley", meaning the river valley that boarders the village. I am really looking forward to moving ahead with my students as they go to 4eme (8th grade) and I have been looking ahead to what is in that curricula. First, my mom is sending me a baby name book so that at the beginning of the year I can have them all pick out "American" names like I remember doing in French class. I am also very excited to continue corresponding with a French teacher and her students at home. I just got the letters that my students wrote and they were a riot to read. There is also a section about heath, and one about technology, both of which I want to do special projects about. I was thinking that because I am so close to Porto-Novo maybe I could take them (or some of them anyway) in to town just for a little bit of technology training. Just to show them. Many of them have never seen, much less touched a computer and I think that being computer literate is really important for students in an ever technology-saturated world. I know that I can't teach them to be really good at computers in one day, but I could give them some exposure to computers that they lack at the moment. I can also use the technology unit to get them to listen to the BBC World Service, which comes in very clearly in my village and listen to some honest to God British English for awhile. I also want to really hit on the health unit and I think I will have some of my friendly neighborhood health volunteers come to talk with them about things. This will also be good to get them hearing different American voices than mine (although they do still have problems with my accent from time to time).
General Notes...
I can't believe that the school year is almost over! It does not seem like I am winding down to the end of my first year. I will have Camp GLOW just after school finishes and then I have 3 months of, well, nothing. I don't know what I am going to do with myself! I will probably spend a lot of time traveling to other people's sights, as well as getting a visit to Camille in Senegal in sometime. I also what to work on a mural for the ugly wall that they just put up in front of my school. I should study for the GREs, which I think I will take during my February school break, and of course there are the new volunteers coming in!
All of us here are very, very excited about the new "stage" when we have internet, all of us are constantly stalking the internet trying to find out who is coming. And although it seems like most of them haven't gotten their invitations to Benin yet, we are sure that the flood will start soon and we can't wait to answer the endless questions about Benin (where is that anyway...?) and packing and what the first few months will be like here. Even though I am not working at stage, because I live near Porto-Novo I am really looking forward to getting to know the new stagiers before they get dispersed all over the country.
Easter Break
So because of my tooth issues I decided to spend my break in my village. I figured that out of the 3 weeks leading up to the break, I had been home for the grand total of 5 days- and I really just wanted to rest, hang out with my friends, and not spend any money. It is very easy to not spend money in village, because other than basic produce, there is not much to buy. It was also great to get to catch up on cleaning my house. You would not believe how dirty a house gets when you dont have windows, just wooden slats and screens. When I got back from GAD, there was so much dust on the floor that I left footprints. And that was only not sweeping for a week! I can't imagine what it will be like when I go to Senegal over the summer break or when I go to Europe for Christmas! It was really nice to be home, grade my exams, and not really do much else for a while. I did get a trip in to Porto-Novo and my friend Laura came to visit, so it was really enjoyable.
Parakou GAD Weekend
The GAD dinner is very amazing. It's basically an excuse for all the volunteers to get together, have more fun than should really be allowed, and spend way to much money for a good cause. I did the 10 hour trip to Parakou by my usual moto/taxi route to Cotonou plus an 8 hour bus ride from Cotonou up north. There were a bunch of us who took the same bus so it was as fun as an 8 hour bus ride can be, especially since there was air conditioning. We ended up staying with a PVC who lives in Parakou and has a huge house, there were probably about 20 of us staying there- others stayed at hotels, the Parakou workstation and with other volunteers who live in Parakou.
For me, one of the most fun things was getting ready with everyone. It very strongly reminded me of college, especially when I lived in the dorms, but later even at the Tower apartment, and we were getting ready to go out. Girls running all over the place, giving opinions, doing hair and makeup and borrowing everything that everyone else has. Then taking pictures of it all. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera with me, and it has been acting weird for awhile, so I dont have many pictures, but all of my friends do and I will try to get some from them.
The name "GAD Dinner" is a bit of a misnomer, as during the weekend there are actually 2 main events, and both include dinner. Friday night is the Date Auction and Talent Show. The talent show had a very small showing this year, which is planning on being remedied next year, but those who did perform were really great, there was one dance act and one singing act and we all thought they were great. The date auction, which is best kept toward the end of the evening when people are less attached to their living allowances, was very very interesting indeed. Basically, people auction themselves off and all the proceeds go to GAD. For example I bought 2 "dates"- one for an hour and a half of massage and one with a friend for a bike tour of Park W with a volunteer who lives right by it. I'm really looking forward to both, even if I did spend twice as much as I meant too... oops.
Saturday was the only real day that we had in Parakou and mostly it was great just to hang out with everyone, especially those who I dont get to see very often. And also, to eat. We made French toast that morning, and then in the afternoon we went to a place called Sunfoods and got cheeseburgers, milkshakes and fries. Umm. After all of that (and a nap) it was time to get ready for the GAD Dinner part of GAD weekend. This affair starts off as a very sedate (as sedate as PCVs get anyway) silent auction and dinner. I didn't have much money at this point, so even though I was in a little bit of a bidding war with another PCV over some little bronze giraffes, what I did end up winning were 2 woven bracelets and a huge number of seeds to plant. The seeds I am really excited to start with once I can afford to buy some planters for my porch. The dinner was very good, I had vegetarian lasagna, so good in fact that I felt the sting in the roof of my mouth for days after I tried to eat it too fast. Then, there was music and dancing, and the most important factor, a swimming pool. My memories get a little hazy here... I do remember being thrown in, some rather entertaining chicken fights and dancing until the wee smalls. Eventually though, I did get some sleep and then I did make it to the 6am bus back down to Cotonou. It was definitely some of the best times I have had thus far in Benin, and I can't wait to do it again next year!
Although there is nothing wrong with my tooth anymore, there is something very mysterious going on with my back. It keeps waking me up in middle of the night. This is why I have the internet and the time to write on a Monday morning, when I should by all rights be in class. I do hate missing class! Especially in the very, very short second semester. The semesters are not even at all. The first is October through February and the second is March through June. The reasoning is that because many teachers don't actually start teaching until mid or late November that the first one needs to be longer. This makes the second semester really stressful because there ends up being 2 exams that are only a month apart, because of the short semester and the week and a half Easter break. That means that it's really hard to teach the kids enough to put on a final exam in a month, especially when I am laid up in the med unit way too much.
School and Such
School is going really great. I have most of my kids' names down and I have gotten to know most of their families, those of them that live in my village anyway. One of my summer "maybes" is to go to some of the smaller villages around my larger village and meet the families of those students who board in town, but live in the "bush" or in many cases, the "valley", meaning the river valley that boarders the village. I am really looking forward to moving ahead with my students as they go to 4eme (8th grade) and I have been looking ahead to what is in that curricula. First, my mom is sending me a baby name book so that at the beginning of the year I can have them all pick out "American" names like I remember doing in French class. I am also very excited to continue corresponding with a French teacher and her students at home. I just got the letters that my students wrote and they were a riot to read. There is also a section about heath, and one about technology, both of which I want to do special projects about. I was thinking that because I am so close to Porto-Novo maybe I could take them (or some of them anyway) in to town just for a little bit of technology training. Just to show them. Many of them have never seen, much less touched a computer and I think that being computer literate is really important for students in an ever technology-saturated world. I know that I can't teach them to be really good at computers in one day, but I could give them some exposure to computers that they lack at the moment. I can also use the technology unit to get them to listen to the BBC World Service, which comes in very clearly in my village and listen to some honest to God British English for awhile. I also want to really hit on the health unit and I think I will have some of my friendly neighborhood health volunteers come to talk with them about things. This will also be good to get them hearing different American voices than mine (although they do still have problems with my accent from time to time).
General Notes...
I can't believe that the school year is almost over! It does not seem like I am winding down to the end of my first year. I will have Camp GLOW just after school finishes and then I have 3 months of, well, nothing. I don't know what I am going to do with myself! I will probably spend a lot of time traveling to other people's sights, as well as getting a visit to Camille in Senegal in sometime. I also what to work on a mural for the ugly wall that they just put up in front of my school. I should study for the GREs, which I think I will take during my February school break, and of course there are the new volunteers coming in!
All of us here are very, very excited about the new "stage" when we have internet, all of us are constantly stalking the internet trying to find out who is coming. And although it seems like most of them haven't gotten their invitations to Benin yet, we are sure that the flood will start soon and we can't wait to answer the endless questions about Benin (where is that anyway...?) and packing and what the first few months will be like here. Even though I am not working at stage, because I live near Porto-Novo I am really looking forward to getting to know the new stagiers before they get dispersed all over the country.
Easter Break
So because of my tooth issues I decided to spend my break in my village. I figured that out of the 3 weeks leading up to the break, I had been home for the grand total of 5 days- and I really just wanted to rest, hang out with my friends, and not spend any money. It is very easy to not spend money in village, because other than basic produce, there is not much to buy. It was also great to get to catch up on cleaning my house. You would not believe how dirty a house gets when you dont have windows, just wooden slats and screens. When I got back from GAD, there was so much dust on the floor that I left footprints. And that was only not sweeping for a week! I can't imagine what it will be like when I go to Senegal over the summer break or when I go to Europe for Christmas! It was really nice to be home, grade my exams, and not really do much else for a while. I did get a trip in to Porto-Novo and my friend Laura came to visit, so it was really enjoyable.
Parakou GAD Weekend
The GAD dinner is very amazing. It's basically an excuse for all the volunteers to get together, have more fun than should really be allowed, and spend way to much money for a good cause. I did the 10 hour trip to Parakou by my usual moto/taxi route to Cotonou plus an 8 hour bus ride from Cotonou up north. There were a bunch of us who took the same bus so it was as fun as an 8 hour bus ride can be, especially since there was air conditioning. We ended up staying with a PVC who lives in Parakou and has a huge house, there were probably about 20 of us staying there- others stayed at hotels, the Parakou workstation and with other volunteers who live in Parakou.
For me, one of the most fun things was getting ready with everyone. It very strongly reminded me of college, especially when I lived in the dorms, but later even at the Tower apartment, and we were getting ready to go out. Girls running all over the place, giving opinions, doing hair and makeup and borrowing everything that everyone else has. Then taking pictures of it all. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera with me, and it has been acting weird for awhile, so I dont have many pictures, but all of my friends do and I will try to get some from them.
The name "GAD Dinner" is a bit of a misnomer, as during the weekend there are actually 2 main events, and both include dinner. Friday night is the Date Auction and Talent Show. The talent show had a very small showing this year, which is planning on being remedied next year, but those who did perform were really great, there was one dance act and one singing act and we all thought they were great. The date auction, which is best kept toward the end of the evening when people are less attached to their living allowances, was very very interesting indeed. Basically, people auction themselves off and all the proceeds go to GAD. For example I bought 2 "dates"- one for an hour and a half of massage and one with a friend for a bike tour of Park W with a volunteer who lives right by it. I'm really looking forward to both, even if I did spend twice as much as I meant too... oops.
Saturday was the only real day that we had in Parakou and mostly it was great just to hang out with everyone, especially those who I dont get to see very often. And also, to eat. We made French toast that morning, and then in the afternoon we went to a place called Sunfoods and got cheeseburgers, milkshakes and fries. Umm. After all of that (and a nap) it was time to get ready for the GAD Dinner part of GAD weekend. This affair starts off as a very sedate (as sedate as PCVs get anyway) silent auction and dinner. I didn't have much money at this point, so even though I was in a little bit of a bidding war with another PCV over some little bronze giraffes, what I did end up winning were 2 woven bracelets and a huge number of seeds to plant. The seeds I am really excited to start with once I can afford to buy some planters for my porch. The dinner was very good, I had vegetarian lasagna, so good in fact that I felt the sting in the roof of my mouth for days after I tried to eat it too fast. Then, there was music and dancing, and the most important factor, a swimming pool. My memories get a little hazy here... I do remember being thrown in, some rather entertaining chicken fights and dancing until the wee smalls. Eventually though, I did get some sleep and then I did make it to the 6am bus back down to Cotonou. It was definitely some of the best times I have had thus far in Benin, and I can't wait to do it again next year!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
To make up for my last post...
Be sure to check out my new pictures on facebook!
In Cotonou on my way to GAD weekend! More about that later!
March 19, 2010
Lizard Wars
At about 2 am last night I woke up to this incredible noise coming from my ceiling. I’m pretty sure that there were two lizards having a turf war up there. I have seen this between lizards before. Mind you these are not the little house geckos that run up and down my walls, these are big, ugly lizards with orange, yellow or red heads and tails- if they have tails, many of them don’t (I assume battle wounds). The scratching, pounding noises made their own images to me in the dark. What happens is that both lizards do push-ups at each other, and then one of them lunges and either misses or grabs a hold of the neck of the other lizard and sakes, hard. This leads to a scuffle, until the unlucky lizard escapes and the process starts over again. Last night, this went on for about 2 hours, loud enough that even blasting my iPod I couldn’t block it out (not to mention with my iPod that loud I can’t sleep!). So it was a fun night.
The Rains Have Come!
In other news, the dry season is over! It has rained (REALLY RAINED, HARD) three times in the last week. The whole village and everything around has changed. My area is green year-round, but with the rain that green has gotten more lush and has added about 30 shades. The heavy rains have also increased my concern for the amount of erosion that is going on in my village. Because it is on a hill, slopping down to the river, every time it rains extreme amounts of water make all the “streets” into muddy rivers. Last week while I was walking to school after a rainstorm in the afternoon, I took a false step and ended up in a sink hole halfway to my knee. I had to fish for my sandal in the mud. Luckily, I found it! When I got to class my students told me “Madame, your foot is dirty!” I had tried to get most of the mud off at the pump at the school, but without something to scrub with, the tiny grains of dirt wouldn’t come out of my skin! Back to what I was actually talking about- erosion. The cure for erosion here is that after it rains, women go down to the river and put dirt in a huge basin (what they use to wash cloths and dishes and small children), then they carry the dirt back to where it had been before. I suppose this is better than doing nothing, but there has to be something more! So while I was stuck in Cotonou this week I talked to the APCD (department head- I forget what it stands for) for EA (Environmental Action) so that they can check out the situation here to get an EA volunteer when I leave. I thought about trying to get one for next year, but the more I think about it the more I want a PCV to end up with my awesome (and fully furnished) house. Also, I kind of like having my village to myself, even if during the first few months here I was dying for want of a post-mate.
Ironically, it just started raining again. Listening to the rain outside is so soothing, the sound, the smell, the cool, the wet, are all extremely comforting to me. The smell especially. You would think that Seattle rain and Benin rain would have a different smell, but they don’t. It still has that tinny smell that makes my teeth tingle and reminds me of eating caned tomatoes. I love to sit on my porch with a mug of tea and watch the rain, and to take a shower in it. The rain comes fast enough off the roof that it makes a real shower, even if it is freezing cold. And often now it also comes with thunder and lightening. When there is a storm at school it amazes me that my students here are also scared of thunder and lightening, just like kids at home. The reason this surprises me is that children here often seem so much like miniature adults. They work more than most of the adults around, as well as going to school. And because of how much they work it can be easy to forget that they really are children, until they show fear at a storm, or break into a joyous dance and song. That’s one of the reasons I love singing in class, it brings out the children that sometimes can disappear behind very adult eyes and faces.
To Future Benin Volunteers…
So I can’t help but remembering that at this time last year I was just learning that I was coming to Benin. Not only because its that time of year, but also because we have filled out our applications to work at the 2010 Stage (Training). I also very well remember the anxiety that went into planning, packing and saying good-by, especially the packing. Somewhere near the beginning of this blog there is an exhaustive packing list. I’m not going to say that you shouldn’t worry about packing (I was told that and it was really frustrating), instead I am going to tell you the things that I packed that I use the most that are not immediately obvious.
1. My iPod speakers. I got Sonic Impact iF3, which are a little pricy but totally worth it. Basically you want some with 3 basic requirements: 1.Battery power, I mean that they charge on AC/DC- that way when the power goes out your alarm clock still works, 2. Radio-I listen to the BBC all the time, I’m listening to it right now, I do wish I could get VOA though, 3. Decent sound quality- you don’t want to not be able to hear what your playing over, its also really fun to put on Western music and then dance African style with your neighbours.
2. Computer- this was a big discussion on our facebook page, but really, you want it. A lot of people have cheap netbooks (including me) and have no problems with them. I am at post, writing my blog, right now. This means I can type a blog in advance and save myself a ton of money in internet time. I can also calculate grades a lot faster. Not to mention I can download movies, music, and books as well as get them from everyone else. You also need an external hard-drive of a decent size. And virus protection, because internet cafes are VERY viral.
3. Lesson Plan Book- obviously just for TEFL volunteers, you can also get it sent!
4. Sony Reader- I can get new books! Its also really great for when the electricity goes out, because it has a built-in light, and for long trips, because I read really quickly. Its preferable to the Kindle because as long as you register it at home you have no problem downloading, whereas I have heard that Kindle has issues.
5. A Real Pillow- the ones here really suck and I’m pretty sure I never would have slept during stage if I hadn’t had it. Get a Space Bag, it won’t take up that much space.
6. A Real Towel- I just brought a swim towel with me and after a month and a half of using just that I almost cried when I got one in the mail. I should have just brought one. Besides, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” advises it, so you can’t go wrong.
I think that’s about it. Cloths, keep it light, tank tops are really fine, just don’t show your bra straps (really- that’s what the Beninese will judge you for), at least that’s how it is in the south, where you will be training. By the end of stage you will have a better idea, and you will have had cloths made here anyway. Long shorts are fine too- but girls should keep is below the knee. Leather flip-flops (Rainbows) are fine too, that‘s all I wear. Just remember when your packing that you can get sent pretty much anything (except electronics) and you can also get stuff sent (or send it to yourself before you leave). This is especially true for any household items, as your host family will take care of you for the first 2 months.
HOT TIP: I got away with overweight luggage by telling the airline that I had a government-bought ticket getting to Philadelphia and it wasn’t a problem after that. Apparently they are not supposed to charge you over if you work for the federal government (in most cases the military) but mostly I think it has to do with how sympathetic the desk agent is.
We look forward to meeting you, really! If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment. And someone please start a facebook group!
The World is Going Crazy, except Benin
Recently, West Africa has been in the news a bunch, at least on the BBC. Nigeria is having all sorts of problems (were not allowed to go there), Niger just had a coup, and Togo is having trouble during their elections (we’re not allowed to go there temporarily too). And those are just the countries that share boarders with Benin! There are other things going on in Guinea, the Gambia, and probably others that I haven/t heard about. You’d think with all of that that Benin would be a little crazy too, but not here. Benin just marches along, to its own drummer you might say. As far as I have seen, Christians and Muslims get along well, because everyone is a traditional animalist anyway. The military is too busy trying to control the totally porous Nigerian boarder to stage a coup. And people are generally just happy to put pate on the nat (the Beninese version of bread on the table) to care too much what happens in Cotonou and Porto-Novo.
The Problem With My Tooth
I have a problem. Since I got here I have discovered that I love bone marrow, mostly of chickens, but goat is good too. So last Saturday I was in Cotonou, having dinner at a place popularly called (by PCVs) “Fish and Chips”, when I bit on a chicken bone in an attempt to get at the marrow. I popped a filling. Now I need a root canal, says the Beninese dentist who has the nicest office I’ve ever been in. The problem with that (other than it really hurts) is that to get a root canal I have to go to South Africa. Now, I know what your thinking‘,” oh… poor Glenna, she has to have a free vacation of South Africa, boo hoo.” The thing is that I don’t want to miss school. Especially this close to the end of the year I really need to be around, because if I spend even 3 days in South Africa that’s 5 days I’d miss of school (one day for travel both ways) , and that’s basically a whole unit that I would miss. However, if this had to happen eventually it could not have happened at a better time. If I can get it taken care of in the next two weeks, I’m golden, but I have to get approval from D.C. first, so hopefully that will go well. Wish me luck!
In Cotonou on my way to GAD weekend! More about that later!
March 19, 2010
Lizard Wars
At about 2 am last night I woke up to this incredible noise coming from my ceiling. I’m pretty sure that there were two lizards having a turf war up there. I have seen this between lizards before. Mind you these are not the little house geckos that run up and down my walls, these are big, ugly lizards with orange, yellow or red heads and tails- if they have tails, many of them don’t (I assume battle wounds). The scratching, pounding noises made their own images to me in the dark. What happens is that both lizards do push-ups at each other, and then one of them lunges and either misses or grabs a hold of the neck of the other lizard and sakes, hard. This leads to a scuffle, until the unlucky lizard escapes and the process starts over again. Last night, this went on for about 2 hours, loud enough that even blasting my iPod I couldn’t block it out (not to mention with my iPod that loud I can’t sleep!). So it was a fun night.
The Rains Have Come!
In other news, the dry season is over! It has rained (REALLY RAINED, HARD) three times in the last week. The whole village and everything around has changed. My area is green year-round, but with the rain that green has gotten more lush and has added about 30 shades. The heavy rains have also increased my concern for the amount of erosion that is going on in my village. Because it is on a hill, slopping down to the river, every time it rains extreme amounts of water make all the “streets” into muddy rivers. Last week while I was walking to school after a rainstorm in the afternoon, I took a false step and ended up in a sink hole halfway to my knee. I had to fish for my sandal in the mud. Luckily, I found it! When I got to class my students told me “Madame, your foot is dirty!” I had tried to get most of the mud off at the pump at the school, but without something to scrub with, the tiny grains of dirt wouldn’t come out of my skin! Back to what I was actually talking about- erosion. The cure for erosion here is that after it rains, women go down to the river and put dirt in a huge basin (what they use to wash cloths and dishes and small children), then they carry the dirt back to where it had been before. I suppose this is better than doing nothing, but there has to be something more! So while I was stuck in Cotonou this week I talked to the APCD (department head- I forget what it stands for) for EA (Environmental Action) so that they can check out the situation here to get an EA volunteer when I leave. I thought about trying to get one for next year, but the more I think about it the more I want a PCV to end up with my awesome (and fully furnished) house. Also, I kind of like having my village to myself, even if during the first few months here I was dying for want of a post-mate.
Ironically, it just started raining again. Listening to the rain outside is so soothing, the sound, the smell, the cool, the wet, are all extremely comforting to me. The smell especially. You would think that Seattle rain and Benin rain would have a different smell, but they don’t. It still has that tinny smell that makes my teeth tingle and reminds me of eating caned tomatoes. I love to sit on my porch with a mug of tea and watch the rain, and to take a shower in it. The rain comes fast enough off the roof that it makes a real shower, even if it is freezing cold. And often now it also comes with thunder and lightening. When there is a storm at school it amazes me that my students here are also scared of thunder and lightening, just like kids at home. The reason this surprises me is that children here often seem so much like miniature adults. They work more than most of the adults around, as well as going to school. And because of how much they work it can be easy to forget that they really are children, until they show fear at a storm, or break into a joyous dance and song. That’s one of the reasons I love singing in class, it brings out the children that sometimes can disappear behind very adult eyes and faces.
To Future Benin Volunteers…
So I can’t help but remembering that at this time last year I was just learning that I was coming to Benin. Not only because its that time of year, but also because we have filled out our applications to work at the 2010 Stage (Training). I also very well remember the anxiety that went into planning, packing and saying good-by, especially the packing. Somewhere near the beginning of this blog there is an exhaustive packing list. I’m not going to say that you shouldn’t worry about packing (I was told that and it was really frustrating), instead I am going to tell you the things that I packed that I use the most that are not immediately obvious.
1. My iPod speakers. I got Sonic Impact iF3, which are a little pricy but totally worth it. Basically you want some with 3 basic requirements: 1.Battery power, I mean that they charge on AC/DC- that way when the power goes out your alarm clock still works, 2. Radio-I listen to the BBC all the time, I’m listening to it right now, I do wish I could get VOA though, 3. Decent sound quality- you don’t want to not be able to hear what your playing over, its also really fun to put on Western music and then dance African style with your neighbours.
2. Computer- this was a big discussion on our facebook page, but really, you want it. A lot of people have cheap netbooks (including me) and have no problems with them. I am at post, writing my blog, right now. This means I can type a blog in advance and save myself a ton of money in internet time. I can also calculate grades a lot faster. Not to mention I can download movies, music, and books as well as get them from everyone else. You also need an external hard-drive of a decent size. And virus protection, because internet cafes are VERY viral.
3. Lesson Plan Book- obviously just for TEFL volunteers, you can also get it sent!
4. Sony Reader- I can get new books! Its also really great for when the electricity goes out, because it has a built-in light, and for long trips, because I read really quickly. Its preferable to the Kindle because as long as you register it at home you have no problem downloading, whereas I have heard that Kindle has issues.
5. A Real Pillow- the ones here really suck and I’m pretty sure I never would have slept during stage if I hadn’t had it. Get a Space Bag, it won’t take up that much space.
6. A Real Towel- I just brought a swim towel with me and after a month and a half of using just that I almost cried when I got one in the mail. I should have just brought one. Besides, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” advises it, so you can’t go wrong.
I think that’s about it. Cloths, keep it light, tank tops are really fine, just don’t show your bra straps (really- that’s what the Beninese will judge you for), at least that’s how it is in the south, where you will be training. By the end of stage you will have a better idea, and you will have had cloths made here anyway. Long shorts are fine too- but girls should keep is below the knee. Leather flip-flops (Rainbows) are fine too, that‘s all I wear. Just remember when your packing that you can get sent pretty much anything (except electronics) and you can also get stuff sent (or send it to yourself before you leave). This is especially true for any household items, as your host family will take care of you for the first 2 months.
HOT TIP: I got away with overweight luggage by telling the airline that I had a government-bought ticket getting to Philadelphia and it wasn’t a problem after that. Apparently they are not supposed to charge you over if you work for the federal government (in most cases the military) but mostly I think it has to do with how sympathetic the desk agent is.
We look forward to meeting you, really! If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment. And someone please start a facebook group!
The World is Going Crazy, except Benin
Recently, West Africa has been in the news a bunch, at least on the BBC. Nigeria is having all sorts of problems (were not allowed to go there), Niger just had a coup, and Togo is having trouble during their elections (we’re not allowed to go there temporarily too). And those are just the countries that share boarders with Benin! There are other things going on in Guinea, the Gambia, and probably others that I haven/t heard about. You’d think with all of that that Benin would be a little crazy too, but not here. Benin just marches along, to its own drummer you might say. As far as I have seen, Christians and Muslims get along well, because everyone is a traditional animalist anyway. The military is too busy trying to control the totally porous Nigerian boarder to stage a coup. And people are generally just happy to put pate on the nat (the Beninese version of bread on the table) to care too much what happens in Cotonou and Porto-Novo.
The Problem With My Tooth
I have a problem. Since I got here I have discovered that I love bone marrow, mostly of chickens, but goat is good too. So last Saturday I was in Cotonou, having dinner at a place popularly called (by PCVs) “Fish and Chips”, when I bit on a chicken bone in an attempt to get at the marrow. I popped a filling. Now I need a root canal, says the Beninese dentist who has the nicest office I’ve ever been in. The problem with that (other than it really hurts) is that to get a root canal I have to go to South Africa. Now, I know what your thinking‘,” oh… poor Glenna, she has to have a free vacation of South Africa, boo hoo.” The thing is that I don’t want to miss school. Especially this close to the end of the year I really need to be around, because if I spend even 3 days in South Africa that’s 5 days I’d miss of school (one day for travel both ways) , and that’s basically a whole unit that I would miss. However, if this had to happen eventually it could not have happened at a better time. If I can get it taken care of in the next two weeks, I’m golden, but I have to get approval from D.C. first, so hopefully that will go well. Wish me luck!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Update...
Not so much going on here...
Its amazing how, well, normal and boring life is. In a good way. It's like home. I live my life, make food, go to work, hang out with my friends. The surroundings are different, but life is still life. I feel like I'm really hitting my stride with things and I feel really comfortable with my life here. Hope you all like the pictures of my kids! Next year, I think I am going to let them all pick out American names (now that I know there real names), I'm also laying the ground work to start a girl's club, so that girls can have a safe forum where they can talk about issues that are important to them, but can be a little taboo.
Anyway, all's well! And I'm excited for spring break when ill have some time to travel!
Love! -G
Its amazing how, well, normal and boring life is. In a good way. It's like home. I live my life, make food, go to work, hang out with my friends. The surroundings are different, but life is still life. I feel like I'm really hitting my stride with things and I feel really comfortable with my life here. Hope you all like the pictures of my kids! Next year, I think I am going to let them all pick out American names (now that I know there real names), I'm also laying the ground work to start a girl's club, so that girls can have a safe forum where they can talk about issues that are important to them, but can be a little taboo.
Anyway, all's well! And I'm excited for spring break when ill have some time to travel!
Love! -G
Friday, February 19, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The New Year...
January 30, 2009
Is the Super Bowl this weekend? Or was it last? Who played? Why do I care? Who had the best commercial? I have no idea why I need to know this, but it suddenly occurred to me that I want to know- and I also have an intense craving for cream cheese bean dip.
First of all, I really want to thank all of you for your donations for Camp GLOW. I know that the economy is not the best and that extra money is always scarce after Christmas, but I really, really appreciate it, and the girls that will benefit from the camp thank you too!
Anyway, the posting of this blog (the 4th or 5th) marks the end of my longest continuous stay at post. During “lock down” (the first three months at post) I made the mistake of calling the doctors whenever any little something health-wise. If I lived further from Cotonou this would not be a problem, but because it’s only 2 hours from Cotonou they would make me come in for things that either could have waited or they could have told me what to do on the phone. So during “lock-down”, while I stayed every night at post, there were several harried and hurried trips to town, which I hate doing, FYI. It’s so much nicer to be able to even stay one night and then come back.
So the last month has been interesting. Because I spent Christmas at the Med-Unit in Cotonou, I am super broke this month. (We got paid on the 23rd, because of the holiday). So I have been doing my own laundry and hauling my own water this month (yes, I’m that broke) and I have decided that I kinda like it. Not to mention that if I pull my own well water for 2 years, my arms will look amazingly toned when I get home!
The Oweme Festival was not what I thought it was, but it was fun! For one thing, we didn’t miss class, which was a blessing. The festival lasted for 5 days (Wed-Sun), there were speeches, music and dancing and some little booths where I wished I had money to by things. Its always fun to hang out with my students too. Especially when they convince me to dance, pretty much so they can laugh at me. (I’m pretty glad that there’s no photographic evidence).
The first weekend of the New Year, I bought a new cat. My friend Kara went to the marche with me. We were at Marche Ouando in Porto-Novo, which I hate. Its too big and everybody just screams “yovo, yovo, yovo” at you. Kara decided that I was a bad person when I splashed water on a beggar with no feet because he grabbed my arm while I was opening a water bottle. (Sorry, Mom) I was just pissed off at Ouando already and being forcefully grabbed just really pushed the wrong button. So we got to the live animals section (cats, dogs, chickens, turtles) and a woman there actually TOOK my water bottle from me. I had to pry it out of her hands (I paid for cold, clean water, I’m not just gonna give it to some woman because she thinks that because I’m white I can afford it- did I mention I hate Ouando?). The lady charged me too much (1500 CFA) for a very tiny, emaciated kitten. I don’t know why I didn’t barter better, but I think it had something to do with this woman shoving tiny, starving, dehydrated kittens in my face. I asked for a girl, because boy kittens spray. Kara and I went to get some soy milk at Songhi (a kind of teaching farm that sells the best produce around, and also makes things like soy milk, honey, jam and organic soaps) and I promptly named her “Eleanor Rigby”. However, by the next day, when the kitten was less emaciated and had sprayed all my furniture, I decided it was a boy. My vet seconded this opinion. So, I renamed him Rocky Raccoon. Rocky even had rings around his tale! So we were getting along great, I spent the 10,000 CFA to get him vaccinated, and a week later, he died. Yep, that’s right, number 2. Why do the Pet Gods hate me? My vet’s reaction? “Again! What happened this time?” Glenna’s Response: “Um, he was real little?”
School has been going really well. I am finally getting the names of kids down, in large part I think because I made them all nametags out of cardstock. Not only that, but when they are working hard during work time or do something difficult (read aloud, answer a tough question) they get stickers, but I will only put stickers on their nametags. This has two awesome effects, (a) it means that they don’t loose their nametags and (b) they are really excited to participate (they love stickers). So I am finally starting to get good at names. This month has been pretty fun anyway, I got to do music vocabulary! Yay! I love music vocab! Last Thursday was a little nerve wracking for me, as my APCD (I cant remember what the acronym is but she’s the boss of all the Education volunteers, her only boss is the CD- the Country Director) came to one of my classes. The lesson I did was a Jeopardy review game as exams are next week. She really liked the lesson, but she says I use French too much in class (which is totally true, I’ve just gotten lazy, so my students have too- no worries, I quit French cold turkey in my next class and it went really well). She also talked to my worst class (that was the one she saw- they were unnaturally quiet, especially for playing a game) and I’m really glad she did. I feel like this class might be a lot easier to handle from now on.
Is the Super Bowl this weekend? Or was it last? Who played? Why do I care? Who had the best commercial? I have no idea why I need to know this, but it suddenly occurred to me that I want to know- and I also have an intense craving for cream cheese bean dip.
First of all, I really want to thank all of you for your donations for Camp GLOW. I know that the economy is not the best and that extra money is always scarce after Christmas, but I really, really appreciate it, and the girls that will benefit from the camp thank you too!
Anyway, the posting of this blog (the 4th or 5th) marks the end of my longest continuous stay at post. During “lock down” (the first three months at post) I made the mistake of calling the doctors whenever any little something health-wise. If I lived further from Cotonou this would not be a problem, but because it’s only 2 hours from Cotonou they would make me come in for things that either could have waited or they could have told me what to do on the phone. So during “lock-down”, while I stayed every night at post, there were several harried and hurried trips to town, which I hate doing, FYI. It’s so much nicer to be able to even stay one night and then come back.
So the last month has been interesting. Because I spent Christmas at the Med-Unit in Cotonou, I am super broke this month. (We got paid on the 23rd, because of the holiday). So I have been doing my own laundry and hauling my own water this month (yes, I’m that broke) and I have decided that I kinda like it. Not to mention that if I pull my own well water for 2 years, my arms will look amazingly toned when I get home!
The Oweme Festival was not what I thought it was, but it was fun! For one thing, we didn’t miss class, which was a blessing. The festival lasted for 5 days (Wed-Sun), there were speeches, music and dancing and some little booths where I wished I had money to by things. Its always fun to hang out with my students too. Especially when they convince me to dance, pretty much so they can laugh at me. (I’m pretty glad that there’s no photographic evidence).
The first weekend of the New Year, I bought a new cat. My friend Kara went to the marche with me. We were at Marche Ouando in Porto-Novo, which I hate. Its too big and everybody just screams “yovo, yovo, yovo” at you. Kara decided that I was a bad person when I splashed water on a beggar with no feet because he grabbed my arm while I was opening a water bottle. (Sorry, Mom) I was just pissed off at Ouando already and being forcefully grabbed just really pushed the wrong button. So we got to the live animals section (cats, dogs, chickens, turtles) and a woman there actually TOOK my water bottle from me. I had to pry it out of her hands (I paid for cold, clean water, I’m not just gonna give it to some woman because she thinks that because I’m white I can afford it- did I mention I hate Ouando?). The lady charged me too much (1500 CFA) for a very tiny, emaciated kitten. I don’t know why I didn’t barter better, but I think it had something to do with this woman shoving tiny, starving, dehydrated kittens in my face. I asked for a girl, because boy kittens spray. Kara and I went to get some soy milk at Songhi (a kind of teaching farm that sells the best produce around, and also makes things like soy milk, honey, jam and organic soaps) and I promptly named her “Eleanor Rigby”. However, by the next day, when the kitten was less emaciated and had sprayed all my furniture, I decided it was a boy. My vet seconded this opinion. So, I renamed him Rocky Raccoon. Rocky even had rings around his tale! So we were getting along great, I spent the 10,000 CFA to get him vaccinated, and a week later, he died. Yep, that’s right, number 2. Why do the Pet Gods hate me? My vet’s reaction? “Again! What happened this time?” Glenna’s Response: “Um, he was real little?”
School has been going really well. I am finally getting the names of kids down, in large part I think because I made them all nametags out of cardstock. Not only that, but when they are working hard during work time or do something difficult (read aloud, answer a tough question) they get stickers, but I will only put stickers on their nametags. This has two awesome effects, (a) it means that they don’t loose their nametags and (b) they are really excited to participate (they love stickers). So I am finally starting to get good at names. This month has been pretty fun anyway, I got to do music vocabulary! Yay! I love music vocab! Last Thursday was a little nerve wracking for me, as my APCD (I cant remember what the acronym is but she’s the boss of all the Education volunteers, her only boss is the CD- the Country Director) came to one of my classes. The lesson I did was a Jeopardy review game as exams are next week. She really liked the lesson, but she says I use French too much in class (which is totally true, I’ve just gotten lazy, so my students have too- no worries, I quit French cold turkey in my next class and it went really well). She also talked to my worst class (that was the one she saw- they were unnaturally quiet, especially for playing a game) and I’m really glad she did. I feel like this class might be a lot easier to handle from now on.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Camp GLOW!
Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) is a really great camp for girls that PCVs have every year. Each volunteer who participates brings 1-4 girls to the camp. The whole idea behind it is that we show the girls what they can be and where they can go with an education. We run sessions on things like health and study skills, as well as just being an old-fashioned summer camp. The one for the southern region (where I am) is held in Porto Novo and I am really excited about participating so I hope everyone can donate a little!
Even $5 helps. Here is the process:
1. go to www.peacecorps.gov and click on "Donations"
2. at this point, you can search by the last name, "Hurst"(the girl who set it up), OR click on "view all volunteer projects" on the right side of the page
3. you can then search under "Benin" or "Michigan" (her home state)
4. click on the Camp GLOW PCPP. They can then read a short description of the project, see how much of the total has been raised, and make a donation.
Remember, all donations are tax deductible! Thank you everyone!
Even $5 helps. Here is the process:
1. go to www.peacecorps.gov and click on "Donations"
2. at this point, you can search by the last name, "Hurst"(the girl who set it up), OR click on "view all volunteer projects" on the right side of the page
3. you can then search under "Benin" or "Michigan" (her home state)
4. click on the Camp GLOW PCPP. They can then read a short description of the project, see how much of the total has been raised, and make a donation.
Remember, all donations are tax deductible! Thank you everyone!
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