Hello Everyone!
Wow. It’s been a while. There’s a saying here that goes,
“It’s been two days!” and it certainly has. I hope you all are doing well. I
think about you all back in the western world on a daily basis. Ok, we have a
lot of ground to cover and less than infinite time to cover it in. Let’s get
started.
Work:
My work as an Environmental Action volunteer is largely
unstructured. Major areas of focus include: working with the area schools to
teach about environmental awareness and also start/continue/assist with an
Environmental Club or Clubs, building and teaching about fuel-efficient
mudstoves, and generally gardening and planting trees with people.
For me personally the first three weeks have involved a lot
of meeting people and establishing connections. I met I man named Seidou
(SAY-doo) who works with the neighboring national park and will also be
recommencing with a tree nursery in November. I am planning to tag along with
him and at least pick up some local tips and insights on growing things here. I
also am particularly interested in organizing saving seeds (seeds are very
expensive) and planting fruit trees (which are woefully rare). If there’s
anything I can do to help Seidou and the tree nursery, I am interested!
Seidou also introduced me to Foussena (Foo-SAY-nah) who
would like to start a women’s group to raise rabbits, which would then be sold
for meat (very sorry rabbits!). This idea has been met with a lot of
enthusiasm. People in Founougo like rabbit and there isn’t really anyone who
sells it. Rabbits also grow very fast. I am interested to see how I can help
her. I have been networking with Summer’s old homologue to find interested
women. I think there may be some grant-application in the future, since
Foussena would like to build more cement rabbit hutches.
School is also /starting/ to start up this week. I was told
that it would take a while for the schedule to be published and lesson plans to
be subsequently written and for classes to actually start. When they do, I
would like to observe a couple, until I get a feel for the rhythm of classes
here. After that I am hoping to offer to teach a couple classes, at different
levels, on environmental topics (possibly with a nutrition tie-in). There also
is a vegetable garden started which I now believe is shared between the three
primary schools. I am eager to get working with kids on that. There is a lot
that is still growing from last year; carrots and tomatoes and cabbage…
However, since it’s the end of the rainy season, the fence around the garden is
breaking down and animals can get in. That’s kind of stressful, and not very
easy to fix immediately. I’m talking with people about the problem.
I’ve also gotten to see some of the mudstoves that already
exist in Founougo, many of which were made with the last volunteer. I’m hoping
to see more of them this coming week. Once the rainy season ends some people
will be repairing their stoves, and it will also be an ideal time to make new
ones!
There are other little bits and pieces but those are the
broad brush strokes. I am eager to tell you about daily life!
Non-work:
I am actually really living in a house with no running water
and no electricity. This provides a shifting scale of excitement and
contentment and anxiety. I will say I am missing the internet and movies. However
being able to call home has been a big, important lifeline. Not having running
water was tricky the first couple days. The first time I went to wash dishes
and had to think, “wait. Where… do I… put this.” But in a twister-like game of
one thing and then another, I’ve figured out a system, and the lack of running
water doesn’t really phase me, I just need to make sure I stay ahead of having
good water in the house. That is becoming more and more routine.
As for the house itself, I actually really love it. I
inherited a respectable amount of furniture (even after sharing some with
Camille, my post mate). The house has bright green walls and stays relatively
cool and well lit during the day. I have a porch with a garden and compost bin
already set up. I love the kitchen and am spending a lot of time there.
Lately, cooking has been my major creative outlet. I cooked
all my meals for myself while I was in Hawaii, and I am really enjoying getting
back to that. It is so nice to be in control of how my food is prepared, and to
be able to choose what I am going to eat, and it’s just so nice to get to
create things every day. I’ve been eating a lot of eggplant, both stir fried
and in tomato sauce. I’ve also had a lot of African yams – sweeter than
potatoes, but savorier than sweet-potatoes. I have been pleasantly surprised
that so far I have been able to find a constant supply of fruit – mostly guavas
with some bananas, oranges, limes and coconut mixed in there. Rice and beans have
also been a trusty staple. I haven’t branched out into meat and cheese too much
yet. I wanted to be sure I mastered safely cleaning and preparing my fruits and
vegetables, and also get to know the market a little, before I jumped into that
culinary deep end. I’m still taking my time.
I get out into the community every day and get lots of
practice speaking Bariba (the most common local language here). Salutations are
very important in this culture, so it’s easy to get to introduce myself to the
neighbors!
On that note let’s take a look at a slice of daily life in
Founougo.
Daily life:
I try to wake up right as the sun is coming up. The first
hour of the day is the coolest, and it feels like a good window of time to get
things done. I usually visit the latrine and then pull up water from the well
and water the garden. Then I usually draw up another bucket of water that is
split between water for dishes, boiled drinking water (if need be) and shower
water. After that I might take a bucket shower, but most days I proceed
straight to making breakfast.
I turn on the gas on the propane tank and light the gas stove.
I have a small metal teapot, and I either make tea or wonderful American coffee
(just like in Hawaii). The first two weeks I had oatmeal, and this last week I
had Honey bread (which I made! In a ‘dutch oven’) with an orange. I almost
always eat breakfast sitting in a wooden Adirondak (-esque) chair on my porch,
watching the day get brighter. After breakfast I wash the dishes, first in a
large plastic bowl with liquid dish soap, then rinse them in a second plastic
bowl that just has water.
After breakfast I get dressed for the day and put on
sunscreen. The window of time between about 8 and 10 is ideal if you have to do
any laundry (this requires three larger plastic bowls). It can also be a good
time to study Bariba a bit. If I’m not doing either of those things, I put on
my big sun hat and strap on my sandals or put on my rainboots to go visit
people.
I live across a dam/semi-flooded road, or “barrage” from
most of town. I have had impressively good luck at not falling in, so far. Then
I saluer (SAL-yoo-way), or greet people. I saluer the kid who is usually at the
butcher’s shop. I saluer the women who braid hair, I saluer the woman who is /always/ selling fried dough balls. I
saluer the woman who runs a small convenience store. Then the moto-taxi
drivers, the guy who owns the phone charging boutique, and the other women
selling streetfood, especially the one close to the school who loves to chat
with me a little. Most of the greetings (and more besides) happen while I’m
still walking. There are a good number
where I will just stop for a few seconds to exchange general questions about
health, and work, and family, before moving on.
From there I visit the schools, or practice Bariba with
Summer’s old homologue, Gnon Tori, or I say ‘Hi’ to Seidou or Foussena, and I
almost always visit my homologue’s house and catch up with him a bit.
Around noon I head home and make lunch. Sometimes this is
what I had for dinner, thoroughly reheated. In the afternoon I lie low and read
some technical manuals, or practice Bariba, or possibly cook a bit. Around 3 I
might venture out again. Every 4 days market comes to town and I pick up fresh
produce for then next couple days. I might also go drop my phone off at the
charging cabin, or go visit anyone I still need to after the morning round of
social-ness.
Around 6, I water the plants and pull up more water from the
well, if need be, especially for the shower. I take a bucket-bath and then
start preparing dinner. As it gets dark, I usually use a solar powered desk
lamp propped up on a shelf, and I can see very well to cook with that. I
usually do most of the dishes while dinner is cooling a little. After dinner I
wipe down the counter and put all my fresh food in a plastic container, to
discourage any interested bugs and animals. Then I read, or possibly listen to
the radio until bed.
That’s the basic idea of general life here. There will be
other random visits, and some calls and texts with other volunteers, some
sweating, some dozing, some adding a little more sugar. I have to say, in
general I am really enjoying the challenge and the adjustment. I’m excited to
see what work I get to do!
Anecdotes:
Now it’s time for some of the most important anecdotes over
the last three weeks. Moving up here was an important one.
Camille and I shared a station wagon taxi, and we set off
before it was light out. I was nervous we would never make it to Founougo
before it got dark, but the roads were clear, and amazingly, we got to Founougo
a little before 6! We went to Camille’s house first and as luck would (not)
have it, her landlord was traveling and there was no way to get into the house!
It was suggested that her stuff be taken to my house, but I pushed for it to be
left there, because our houses are kind of on opposite ends of town, and I
didn’t see another helpful station wagon being likely in our future. We wound
up leaving her things on the porch, believing the landlord would be back that
night.
Now it came time to cross the barrage. It was looking pretty
flooded, but I had seen the Peace Corps jeep cross it, so I was curious to see
if the driver would make it work if we asked him to. He wouldn’t make it work.
He tried edging out onto the barrage, but at the first sign of getting stuck in
the rocks, he refused and said he would take my stuff back to Camille’s. This
was not a very appealing option, since Camille hadn’t even gotten into her
house yet, never mind how far away it was.
By this point a small crowd had gathered around the car,
with several people offering their opinions. A couple able-bodied young men
offered to carry my stuff over the barrage to my house. I looked around. I
didn’t know any of these guys, but it seemed like they were going to be my new
neighbors. I thoughts about all my stuff, and trying to haul it piecemeal from
Camille’s house. I looked at the guys and thought, “lets do this.” So with one
moto, one bicycle, 7 guys, and Camille and I bravely and foolishly taking more
than either of us could carry, we set off across the barrage in the failing
light.
Amazingly, nothing fell in, and even though I was far and
away the last one to make it to my house, all my stuff was there waiting for
me. After getting in the door, one of my neighbors helpfully took me aside and
explained that it was expected that I pay them, and then recommended a price. I
was very grateful that she realized I didn’t know what was normal for men
carrying all your worldly possessions across a flooded road. All things
considered, I think it went amazingly well.
Camille, as it turns out, wound up spending that night and
the next one, at one of her neighbor’s houses. She was incredibly resilient and
easy going with the wait, and she is very happily moved in now.
Church:
The morning after I arrived was Sunday morning. So, as was
the logical thing to do, I stepped out my front door and said ‘hi’ to my
neighbors that were pulling up water, preparing breakfast, and generally
hanging around. I said, “is anyone going to church, and can I go too?” They
took me to the Catholic Church in town, which I had visited when I was in town
for two weeks in August. This time around I was more prepared to introduce
myself during the announcements and was even half waiting to be put on the
spot. Everything went smoothly, and afterwards I was able to say hi to my hosts
from the previous visit.
The next week, my homologue’s kids took me to the local
Evangelical Church. When we got there, there were about 10 adults all standing
up and praying out loud simultaneously. I had seen this in the Boston area, so
I wasn’t too thrown off. After some minutes of this a bell rang and one man
said, “Now we are going to have French inside, and Bariba outside”. I stayed
inside and everyone else went outside except for the man who had made the
announcement and one kindly old man. To this day I am still skeptical of his
level of French. As he and I sat there and listened to the man speak, I thought
“I like the tone of this church, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea to go to
a church that only has two people showing up on Sunday morning.” However, as
the man continued to talk another five or so people showed up. I was surprised
by how much the man who was talking would single people out and asked them for
examples. After about an hour the Bariba-speakers came back in and then church
started. I had been at Sunday School that whole time! The service itself was
well attended and had really lively music that was easy to sing along to. It
was a good experience.
Church also featured one of the best tee shirts I have seen
here. A lot of English tee shirts make their way to Benin, and people here
don’t really stress out about what the shirts say. I’ve seen a man with
California Kittens on his shirt (another favorite). In this case a young man
was wearing a brown tee shirt and it took me most of the service to finally be
able to read the whole thing. It said, “Good Boys go to Heaven/ Bad Boys go to
London” I couldn’t help smiling to myself. Does that take on a different
interpretation if you wear it to church? I don’t know. I thought about asking
him for it, but it wouldn’t fit me anyway!
Mail!
So with regards to sending mail: First off, emails are
great, and so are facebook messages. Thanks for those, and feel free to keep
‘em coming J
Large packages should always go to Cotonou:
Lauren Mawe
Corps de la Paix
BP 971
Cotonou, Benin
That stuff is sent to Cotonou where Peace Corps
Administration picks it up and delivers mail around to the work stations once a
month. This means it can take a long time for things to get to me, but it is
definitely the most secure means of sending something.
For letters and small package envelopes, the 5 Banikoara
volunteers are sharing a PO box, at least until the end of the year. That mailbox
is only 45 minutes away for me, so it’s easier to get to, and letters will
probably get to me faster than they would via Cotonou. The address for that is
Lauren Mawe
01 BP 37
Banikoara, Benin
West Africa
Also: Recieveing calls is free, so if you ever want to buy a
calling card, or figure out sSkype calls or Google voice, or any of that fun
stuff, email me and I will give you my phone number J
To Sum up:
Adjusting to life here is a daily (weekly, monthly) process.
However, the challnges have been so exciting. For the first time in my life I
really feel like the physical challenges put before me have made me strongerthan
I was before, and I have surprised myself. Not having he internet is tough, but
I am so grateful to have so much support from my friends and family.
I am glad to be getting to share this all with you. If all
goes according to plan I should be able to update, and get a long gulp of
internet, in three weeks time. Until then, keep being awesome. J
With much love,
Lauren
No comments:
Post a Comment