Hello Everyone!
Time is marching on here in Benin as we head towards
thanksgiving. I hope everything is going well for all of you back home.
I’ve been getting to enjoy some time at post after a good
amount of traveling around the country for training sessions, mid service
medical, and camps. It’s good to be feeling settled in post, and to be getting
down to work on my projects! Latrine construction is moving along very nicely.
I am happy to report that there is not much to report there.
I have also been investing some time in an Environment Club
at the secondary school. I feel like I learned from the trials of last year,
and this year is going really well! One week we did tree identification and
learned the scientific names and origins of common trees. Another week we
learned about fuel efficient mud stoves (hopefully we will be building two
tomorrow)! This week we studied soil types. I brought bags of sand, silt, and
clay to class and we practiced different methods of testing the soil. After
getting the basics down we were able to scout around the court yard for a good
place for our garden next semester. That was educational for me too!
I got the clay sample from the ditches by the flooded road
that I cross to get into town. This lead to a moment where I realized people
were staring at me, and I almost wanted to say, “What? Haven’t you ever seen a
white person digging up clay for an environment club before??” I
guess they probably hadn’t…
The kids in my housing compound are back at school, but they
still want to cook and cake when they can. I’m a little burnt out on it, but
every once in a while I have to indulge them. The last two times we made a
chocolate cake that was really great and required no eggs! We were all happy
campers.
Besides the latrine construction project and the environment
club, the third thing that is taking up my time is the English Radio Show that
I do with Camille. It’s been a lot of fun, but power fluctuations at the radio
station have been giving me grief. I haven’t been able to charge my laptop (and
therefore record the show) a few times now. Fortunately I am currently charging
the laptop in Banikoara, the closest town. I am looking at different plans for
the future, but for now it is a little stressful. Still, tomorrow or the next
day, Camille and I should be able to finish I Thanksgiving episode!
That’s the news from Benin for this week. Again, I hope you
are all doing well, and as always, thanks for sharing in this adventure with
me!
With love,
Lauren
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