Hello everyone,
Happy May! This week has had a surprising number of
celebrations here in the commune of Banikoara, so it’s been a fun week.
On Sunday I was excited to get back to the church I attend
here, since I had missed the last couple Sundays because of travel. The service
was good, but surprisingly short. Afterwards people were talking a about a
party that would be held by the church in the town of Banikoara. They were
making up a list of people going and someone turned to me and asked if I would like
to go.
“Well, when is it?” I asked.
“Now!” they said.
With not much else planned for my Sunday afternoon, I said
yes and piled in to the truck that would take us to Banikoara. I was happy to
socialize with people from my church, but as soon as the bumpy, crowded truck
ride started, I began to regret my decision. It turned out to be worth the long
ride though, because the church service was very nice (I am jealous of the
guitar and bass that the Banikoara worship band has!) the food was good (fried
fish), and I even met two different people who had very good relationships with
previous Peace Corps volunteers. All of this was very encouraging at a time
when I was feeling a little homesick and lonely. By the time we were heading
back, even the truck breaking down didn’t sway me from thinking that I was
pretty lucky.
Tuesday was Camille’s birthday, and Suzanne and Josh were
able to come and visit. It was great to see them and catch up (and good
motivation to really clean my house too!). I got to surprise Camille with a homemade
vanilla-chocolate chip cake. It was a little crumbly, but she seemed very happy
about it. We had a great time walking around Founougo, sharing stories and work
tips, and celebrating Camille.
We ate birthday dinner and cake at my house, and my
neighbors teased that they hadn’t been invited. They don’t know Camille very
well, so I don’t think our small party was a major faux pas, but I did feel a
little bad. That was still on my mind when the lock on my front door, which is
often sticky, finally gave up the ghost and refused to turn. My neighbors got a
welder who, for four bucks, took the whole door off and replaced the lock.
That afternoon, my neighbor Pena was hanging around, so she
and I baked a cake together which I gave to my neighbors to thank them for
their help.
It was good to have all the cake ingredients out again
because… Thursday was Josh’s birthday! So as soon as my neighbor’s cake was out
of the Dutch oven, I put Josh’s cake in, completing my cake hat trick.
On Thursday Camille and I visited Josh’s village, Goumori,
for the first time. It was funny to see Josh and also Suzanne again so soon.
And I have to say, Josh knows how to throw a party! One of his neighbors had
given him a sparkly shirt in traditional fabric, and Josh had organized for a
donkey cart to drive us all around village. It was so much fun. That donkey can
move!
Aside from all the fun and festivities (“party-party-party”
as my Dad says) work does continue to move along apace. This week I got word
that the Director of Peace Corps Benin officially approved the Latrine project,
and the money is on its way! We have been getting green lights all the way
through, but it certainly is a proud moment to know that the grant really was
approved.
Besides that there has been some continued networking for
the rabbit-raising project and for summer camps. Unfortunately none of that
yielded any particular anecdotes this week. Stay tuned!
On Sunday the Director of Peace Corps Benin is coming to
visit Banikoara commune. Hopefully that will all go well. It is exciting to
have the opportunity to show him where we all live and work. Camille and I are
still working on the agenda for his visit to Founougo.
Those are the news items for this week. I hope you are all
doing well, I think of you very often.
Thanks for reading,
With love,
Lauren
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