Biking through the bush!

**written on July 22^nd**

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all doing well. Things are good if a little weird here. As I have probably mentioned, it’s a weird time of year, since everyone is in the fields growing corn and cotton during the rainy season, and school is out, adding to the ghost-town feel you sometimes get.

Still, there are things to stay busy with. Plans are underway for an information/planning session with the latrine project. I am trying to plan ahead a little for work with students once the school year does start. I am trying to think now about any materials that will be helpful. I am working on developing plans on the solar light project. My post mate Camille and I have also gotten in some work related exercise!

As I mentioned before, a group of Kandi volunteers is hoping to do a malaria awareness bike tour at some point. Camille and I are both getting more excited about the Malaria Awareness aspect, but were a little apprehensive about the biking. We decided to do a test 20-kilometer ride, since that would probably be one of the longest stretches on the tour. We practiced doing a 10k ride and picked a date to set out. It rained the night before, so we were anxious that the roads would be too muddy, but we decided it was worth trying. I am happy to say that we were able to do the 20k ride without any major problems. We had to get of our bikes a handful of times because of mud, but made it through without a problem. I think we did a good job of taking turns leading, stopping for short breaks, and most of all just keeping on going. It really was very pretty to go by the cornfields and small villages. The trip was definitely an experience.

 When we finished the ride we got to say hi to the surveyant, or vice-principal of the secondary school in Founougo, and he was very friendly and gracious. He even fed us, which was especially generous since, as we came to find out, he was observing Ramadan and wasn’t eating during the day! Oops. Still, I think he was very happy to see us and was a wonderful host. I hope I get to drop by and say hi again sometime soon.

I have made a friend here named Vincent who worked closely with another Peace Corps volunteer back in 2008. He was trying to get some money together to work is own corn field and he solicited my help to get in touch with his friend. There was some confusion, and wrong types of IDs and failed trips to Banikoara, but at the end of the day (and the week) the returned volunteer was indeed able to help Vincent out, and I was able to mediate the exchange. I hope the cornfield is a big success!

I am trying to settle into the idea of being the only volunteer in Founougo for a little while, since Camille is taking a very much-deserved vacation, and getting to see some family. I can’t wait to hear her stories!

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading, hope you are all staying cool in the summer heat.

With love,

Lauren

Waterfalls and Project Supplies

Hello Everyone!

I hope that you are all recovering from a successful 4^th of July. I know there were some good times had, with the Mawe/Carney Luau, and a race in Dedham! We made a pretty strong showing here in Northern Benin. Josh and Bij did an excellent job seasoning and roasting a pig, and we complimented that with potato salad, deviled eggs, lentil burgers, chili, baked chips, apple pie and key lime pie. It is fun to try to make American food here, and some ingredients were a challenge. I would say we all rose to the occasion, had a good party, and everyone ate well.

After the Fourth of July, Camille and I continued our travels over to Natitangou, on the North West Side of Benin for the second Gender and Development fundraising date that I won back in March. (Another volunteer, Will organized the ‘date’ and we won it in an auction and the money goes to the gender ad development program). Natitangou is the last major area of Benin that I hadn’t visited yet. I have to say, it’s really beautiful. Calmer and less crowded than the south, but less dry than the North East, and (thanks to the National Park) not phased by foreigners. The falls themselves were wonderful. We got to swim and the water was the perfect refreshing cool temperature, and you could float on your back gazing at circle of tropical trees, high rocks, and cascading falls around you. It was wonderful. Thanks to the tourist population there was also an African arts gift shop, and I took advantage of that. In village I usually feel shy about buying souvenirs, but out of my element I felt free to do a little shopping. I bought some jewelry, and a medium sized carved elephant that I had seen before we climbed up to the falls for our swim. I was sad to leave Natitangou, and I hope I et to visit there again!

After the Falls Camille continued on, but I spent another night in Kandi so that I could buy materials for the latrine project. The funding has indeed arrived, and we are in the process of stocking up materials before construction begins. It was exciting to buy such large quantities of sheet metal, PVC piping, iron rebar, and gravel. I definitely have never carried so much money on me in Benin. Baron, my work counterpart, met me in Kandi and helped negotiate prices (read as: negotiated the prices). We got a free ride back to Founougo with our big dump truck full of gravel with other materials tied on top. All the stuff was then dumped at my house. I wanted to be able to keep an eye on it in the months to come. The PVC pipes and Sheet metal have required some re-arranging in my house. Fortunately the gravel and rebar are staying outside. It’s so exciting to have tangible construction materials in hand. It’s like a real project, haha.

Those are the updates for the moment. I’ve been traveling a lot, so I am hoping to spend some time at post for a while now. We will see how it all pans out.

As always, thanks for reading,

With love,

Lauren

Girls Camp!

Hello everyone,

Last week was a big week here in northern Benin. Eight other volunteers and I successfully ran a 5 day girls camp for secondary school students in the Alibori, our state. Our camp coordinator had o leave Benin two weeks before the camp for medical reasons, so we were all nervous about how things were going to go. I’m happy to say there were no train wrecks, no sessions that came grinding to a halt, no fights between volunteers or campers. We did have one camper who spiked a high fever on the second day of camp. We all agreed that the fact that she cried and asked not to be sent home was, if unfortunate, a sign that the girls were enjoying the camp!

I got to lead the craft session. Even though they weren’t the most important things the girls learned (I have to hand it to volunteers who led sessions on everything from study skills, to AIDS, to harassment) I think the craft sessions were some of the most well received. It’s always nice to get a break from listening and make something. We made friendship bracelets, origami, and recycled plastic bag purses. My second grade teacher, Mrs. Reagan, taught one of the origami hats we made to me. I took a moment to appreciate the strangeness that an American school teacher taught her second graders a Japanese craft and one of those students grew up to teach that to Beninese teenage girls. Funny world isn’t it?

All in all, the girls were very attentive and seemed very happy throughout the camp.

After the camp we got to do a test run for possible future Malaria bike tour. The idea is that we would bike to nearby towns and villages going house to house to point out mosquito breading sites, help put up existing mosquito nets, and generally gather information. Travel logistics and a midafternoon thunderstorm made for a little bit of a headache, but my group was able to visit 6 different concessions, or housing compounds. Personally, I found the work to be very practical and exciting. We got to set up one mosquito net for a woman who had one, and I really felt good about the idea that, without giving any gifts or money, we were helping encourage someone to protect themselves against malaria. It makes me look forward to the bike tour, whenever that comes to pass.

Those are the big updates for now. I hope you all have a good fourth. I am thinking especially of the Pittsburgh Mawes, and hoping you all have an excellent luau. You all are in my thoughts.

Thanks for reading, all.

With love,

Lauren

Baking in Benin

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Hello Everyone,

I hope you all are doing well as summer starts in America. The rainy season is starting here, bringing some cooler days. We are all pretty happy about that.

Last weekend I got to make a quick trip to the Peace Corps Workstation in Kandi to celebrate the end of service for our two second-year volunteers in our region, the Alibori. Nina, one of the two, held a party in her village and cooked up a huge amount of potato salad, Chinese noodles, and some pork, with the help of one of her work partners. I thought it was really touching, the way that people got so dressed up, as if it was a real Beninese party, like a wedding. It is always encouraging to see when a community gets to show thanks for a volunteer. The party was a lot of fun.

In the change over of odds-and-ends that happens when volunteers close service, I picked up, among other things, a one-a-day Origami calendar, which I have been using with the kids in my compound. So far we have made newspaper hats (thank you, Dedham Times) and flower like pendants (thanks for the colorful church pages, Aunt Gerry). Doing origami with kids makes me think of my second grade teacher, Mrs. Reagan. I still remember how to make the type of origami hat that she taught us how to make for Children’s Day. Lucky for me, the kids here seem to really like the origami too!

The yet greatest moment of culture sharing this week happened just yesterday. But it all started with a social blunder a few months back. Months ago, I mentioned on my blog that one of Founougo’s Delegates had suffered the tragedy of losing his adult son. Now I’m not very good on the phone in French, and I definitely wasn’t then. The Delegate called and said something like, “About the meeting for the day after tomorrow; my son has died.”

I said, “Oh, I am so sorry.      ….So. [just to be clear] We aren’t having the meeting?”

“My son is dead!”

Needless to say I felt awful. It was a moment of communication failure. So, I did what I think any culturally Irish Catholic girl (or Pennsylvanian for that matter) would do, and baked him some Peanut Butter Bread.

When I talked to the Delegate, he said he was sorry he was so curt on the phone. That was more than understandable, and I said I was sorry for the bad communication, and I gave him the peanut butter bread. He loved it! He shared some with a friend that was there, and with his wife. They later joked that he hid the rest of it so that he wouldn’t have to share. His wife (who I happen to go to church with) was really interested in learning to bake it, and said that other women at the church were too.

It was only this week that we got all of our ducks in a row, and Wednesday morning 10 church ladies and I met for a cake baking demonstration. We made peanut butter bread and mango bread on charcoal stoves. They both were big successes, disappearing in minutes. The women contributed key ingredients like eggs, flour and mangoes, while I brought the remaining ingredients and my cooking utensils (they provided the charcoal and stoves). I also wrote up a French copy of both of the recipes for each of them.

That baking demonstration was possibly the most fun thing I have done with Beninese people so far. I got to share something that I already enjoy doing, and teach them something new that they wanted to learn. It was so fun to sit with them and enjoy their banter. Looking around the circle of the ten women I realized that I knew at least a little bit about almost every one of them.

Of course, it wasn’t all picture perfect. Our second charcoal stove got too hot, and my cheaper, back-up metal pot actually cracked. I wasn’t very upset about the pot, but I was embarrassed. I did remind myself that it was an honest mistake. I don’t usually cook with charcoal, and I had seen that the stove was too hot, and tried to bring down the temperature. Apparently the adjustments were not enough and were too late. Still, the women seemed to understand all of this too, and they didn’t seem to hold it against me.

When all the crumbs had been eaten or tucked away for later, Mama Chanelle, Mama Dorcas and the others thanked me, calling me Mama too, and helped me wash down the cooking materials and pack up. It was hard for me to convey how much the pleasure really was mine. Who knows, maybe I will be eating peanut bread at one of their houses someday!

In work news, I am finally getting some good contacts that should be able to help me sustainably ship solar lights here. So that is moving forward.

Next week is Girls Camp in Kandi. Some 30 secondary school girls from around the Alibori region will be coming for 5 days of camp. I have volunteered to co-lead the craft sessions: friendship bracelets, recycled purses, and Papier Mache. In past weeks I have been nervous about the camp, but as I practice the crafts a little bit, I am getting more and more excited. It’s also good to have origami in my back pocket if all else fails! I look forward to letting you know how it goes.

I know that Father’s Day was last Sunday, and I would like to end this post by wishing a Happy Father’s Day to my Dad, my Granddad, and any and all other dads reading this blog. My thoughts are with my Dad, who has been an endless source of support, enthusiasm, encouragement, and copies of the Dedham Times, during these many months of my Peace Corps service. And my thoughts are with my Granddad who has been a generously enthusiastic follower of this blog, and another wonderful source of encouragement and support during my service. Your love and attentiveness has meant so much to me, and I am glad to get a moment to thank you for it. I love you guys!

The gratitude for support and interest goes out to all of you who are reading this post. I am so glad I get to share my experiences with you!

Thanks for reading,

With love,

Lauren

Sacred Monkey Forest

Hi guys,

I am writing to you from the Kandi Workstation, on the way back from an in-country excursion with my post mate Camille. Workstation wi-fi is not working, which is a drag, but it is probably curbing my facebook addiction, and helping me focus a little more. With any luck I will be able to use my internet key a little bit.

This week I replaced one of my Peace Corps issued gas tanks in Banikoara. Originally I let my little neighbor Gael (Guy-yel) do a lot of the planning, he seemed very sure of the options available, and he really wanted to go with me. I’ve always wanted to travel with my neighbors, so I was very open to this idea. However, when time came to get going, I slowly realized how faulty his plan was, and I had to go it alone. I did feel bad that we couldn’t go together. When the second gas tank is empty (which will probably be soon) I will make better plans that he can be a part of. I don’t usually buy ‘gifts’ for my neighbors when I travel (unless they take care of my cat Jack) but I felt bad for Gael, so I bought him his own small loaf of bread, a traditional Bariba travel gift. That did seem to brighten him up.

I had a meeting in Founougo about the Solar lights and all 30 were sold in the first week. Banni, the bike vendor, thinks this is just the tip of the iceberg and word isn’t even really out yet. It’s exciting that there is so much interest. Now we have to worry about the logistics of reliably getting lights here.  That should be interesting. Exciting challenges.

In the second half of the week Camille and I traveled to Bassila, a town directly west of Parakou in the center of Benin. I had won a Gender-and-Development Benefit Date with my friends Heidi and Bethany. We wound up needing a fourth person, and Camille happily umped in. It was very exciting to travel to another part of the country (if a little harrowing logisitically). Bassila seems like the jungle compared to the Sahelian north where Camille and I live. We got to visit with three other volunteers, Henry, Marjorie and Mary, and enjoy their company, hospitality and good food. In the morning they took us to the nearby sacred monkey forest. We got to walk pretty far into the jungle (lead by the local chief, dressed in basketball shorts and a sleeveless shirt). The monkeys were a little hard to spot at first, but so cool when we did see them. It was amazing to watch them jump from tree to tree – they are pretty big! There is something really exciting about seeing animals like that free in their natural habitat. The walk through the forest/jungle was beautiful too.

It was also great to travel with a fellow northerner like Camille. First, it’s fun to have a buddy to travel with, but we also had some similar priorities, namely food we don’t get at post! We ate really well on this trip, and really travel went very smoothly. The first leg of our return trip was an hour and a half long motorcycle ride cutting across the middle of Benin. There was a little bit of a cool breeze, I was listening to my ipod, and it was lovely to watch the scenery and the Collenes or low mountains roll by. All and all it’s been a very fun trip.

To follow up on the illness mentioned last month, I did start taking medicine and am feeling much better (quite a relief before traveling). The neighbors are all doing well, and they are actually taking care of my cat right now. Speaking of whom, my cat Jack is still growing and is doing great. He and the neighbor kids are getting along better and better.

I think those are all the updates for this week. Let’s go Bruins!!

Thanks for reading.

With love,

Lauren

Selling Solar Lights

**I wrote this June 3^rd, 2013**

Hello Everyone!

This week I got to really start working on a solar light project. Planning calls and meetings have been happening for months between my Dad and Unite to Light in America, and Baron-my-Counterpart, and a bike-selling businessman here in Founougo. This week we got to start selling the first 30 lights, and the results have been very exciting. People have been coming to my house and stopping me on the road asking if I was the one selling the lights, and where they could get them. It’s exciting that there is so much interest and that these first things seem to be settling into place. Banni, the bike seller has proven himself to be really willing to work and generally be open and available, which makes a big difference when I think about the future of this project. I am looking forward to telling all of you how well the lights sell, and what our next steps will be.

To assist the solar-light project, Baron and I went around to 26 households and surveyed them about their current lighting habits. On a personal level, it was heartening to see how much more confident and eloquent, and how much better of a team I felt that Baron and I are now, than when I did a mudstove survey back in October. I’m growing guys! Haha. The survey was also pretty helpful.

This week I also got to visit the home of my scholarship girl Adiza. I was relieved to get to find her house before the school year ends because she doesn’t have a cellphone and no one has a house phone, so getting in touch with her would be very tricky otherwise. I was able to give her a French teen wellness magazine, and she was excited about that.

In other news, I have been persevering some digestion related illness that has kind of put me in low gear. Nothing that forces me to spend the day in the house (or the latrine) but enough that my energy is a little low. There’s always something!

In other challenges to patience and fortitude, the kids who live close to me accidentally deleted all the photos I had on my camera. I knew it was an accident, and that they couldn’t have read the English on my camera, but I still was a little angry about it. The kids were very quiet and polite when they realized what had happened, and I was pretty quickly able to move past it. My Mom often quptes my paternal grandmother saying, “the only things in this house that aren’t replacable are the people.” Sharing my life and my stuff with new people has run the risk that something would get broken, and it was honestly good to remember that lesson and move on.

Well, I am excited to see what happens moving forward with these projects. In general it seems like things are clicking together more and more. I hope you are all doing well back in the States. I’m so proud of those Bruins. I’m glad to hear they are doing well. Maybe someday I will get to catch those Bruins/Penguins games, I’m sure they are something to see.

As always, thanks for reading.

With love,

Lauren

Jounrees Culturelles

Hello Everyone!

I hope things are going well for you and yours. Last night I got to talk to my Aunt Eileen, Uncle Gary, and my cousin Seamus who were all visiting Boston. It was so good to get to talk to them and hear how things are!

It’s been a good, if scattered week here. Tuesday and Wednesday I visited the workstation in Kandi. I got some work done, and got to visit with Alyssa, who also recently visited home. I also got to reunite with my second bag from my trip home. Taking two suitcases full of stuff (and a cat) back into Founougo seemed like too much, so I left one bap with Peace Corps for later. It was so exciting to finally get to that bag. I finally was able to enjoy the incredibly thoughtful birthday gift Megan made for me, in addition to treats from home like a shower bag and recent Time Magazines.

Inspired by my new winnings and some internet perusing, when I got back to my house in Founougo, I did a major reorganization session.  I finally set up a ‘bathroom sink area’ with my nice mirror, all my toiletries, and a large bowl for water, all on what used to be an entrance way table. I also hung up the pictures I got from Meg while at home. I’m really happy with the changes and the neighbors were pretty impressed too. They love the pictures Meg sent of the students and campers that she has worked with.

All that said, coolest thing that happened this week was yet to come. On Friday and Saturday the C.E.G. or secondary school held it’s annual ‘Jounees Culturelles’; which is a lot like field day. Friday morning a big procession of students paraded through town lead by a drummer and several students dressed as wise old men. Then there were games like Jeopardy and a game like ‘pin the tail on the donkey’ where students tried to pick prizes, and a game where you tried to kick a soccer ball through a tire. All the while there was music and dancing. In the afternoon there was a soccer game between the teachers and students, and Camille (who is my postmate, and and English teacher at the CEG) got to play in the game! She even got the honor of kicking the ball to start the game. I took pictures and was proud. It was really hot and sunny, I don’t know if I could do that! The teachers and students both played impressively well and it was fun and funny to be sitting at a high school sporting event again.

There was supposed to be dancing in the evening, but it looked like it was going to rain (and eventually it did) so things broke up a little early. The next day I was feeling a little sick and wound up spending the day resting at home.

I needed the rest, but I also knew I would thank myself on Sunday, when I hopped from my morning church service, to afternoon service at a friend’s church near Banikoara, with lots of food and visiting in between. All of it was really enjoyable, and I am glad I had a little rest going into it.

Those are the major news updates here this week. I hear exciting things are happening in hockey for Bruins and Pens fans. Enjoy those games, obviously they have the two best teams in them!

Thanks for reading, I am grateful to get to share this experience with you!

With Love,

Lauren