Sunday, 2 February 2014
So, I had an epiphany about what I want my first meal to be
upon returning to the US. I’ve had a really hard time coming up with it,
because I am pretty content with, say, rice and beans, and really thought I
missed nothing. Or, well, nothing that I could fit into a concept of a meal,
i.e. ALL THE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. And cheese.
Additionally I have become a really awesome cook lately, which means I’ve been
able to fix myself things from scratch, like pizza and tacos, (even making my
own guac, salsa, and queso fresco). But hanging out with Ryan and Allison—who
are great companions in being unabashed about food—I finally figured one of the
things out, and since then have actually managed to plan my whole first day of
food. The results:
Breakfast: I want
a bagel. Just a plain bagel, with loads of cream cheese, sliced cucumbers on
top, and dotted with Sriracha. STOP GIVING ME A WEIRD LOOK.
Morning Snack:
Kiwi and Strawberries.
Lunch: Salad. A
huge, colorful, fresh, gorgeous salad. With lots of fresh BROCCOLI, iceberg
lettuce, spinach, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado and apple. Onions,
mushrooms, and LOTS of RED PEPPERS (those three having been sautéed and then
cooled). All tossed in a tangy Catilina dressing. And Sriracha.
Dinner: I want to
go to the MAIN CUP and get cheesy crab dip appetizer, with extra pita slices,
and then a buffalo chicken sandwich (in a wrap, not on bread). With fries,
obviously.
This is my perfect food day. Madre, take notes. Have all of
this ready for me, thanks.
Monday, 3 February 2014
So yesterday, the plumber-guy for my irrigation system came
back. There were parts we needed to change, i.e. parts that would have been
fine if Hubert had helped me figure things out in the first place. We installed
a counter, which Hubert said was never needed. Then we installed new doohickeys
that changed the size of the PVC pipe where it exited into the hose, so as to
match the size of hose that Hubert finally decided on getting. Anyway, there’s
still a few more things that need to be done, all of which, again, Hubert said
we wouldn’t need.
Hubert, however, as usual, is nowhere to be found.
Apparently a huge delegation of important people (ministers?) arrived in Kérou,
and he’s showing them around. He promises to meet the plumber at his office at
8AM. When I roll up at 8:45 (I was not informed of the meeting until about 8)
Hubert is still not there. And his phone is out of service area. We finally get
a hold of him around 9:30, when he sends someone else to help him.
So we make it to Fétékou. The plumber stops by the garden,
while Issa (the guy Hubert sent) and I go to Fétékou to get digging tools and
bodies to dig.
This time, people are actually in village (the harvest
season is over). There is some music playing, and I wonder what sort of
ceremony it is, until I most unfortunately look over and see a row of women
holding their sons with bloody penises and realize it is a circumcision day of
sorts. (Also, the child that lives next door to me always wears a shirt but no
pants, so I got back from Ghana/Togo, and immediately noticed that he was
recently circumcised.) There are so many things in this country that I want to
un-see. As a sidenote, however, the guys I was working with discussed this
later, and mentioned that FGM, or female circumcision/excision, is non-existent
in this area. I don’t think that’s true, but they did say that parents were
definitely informed of the evils of such a practice. I haven’t really dealt
with this issue at all here. Never talked about it, or anything with locals. I
do know that it’s something that goes on here, more than those guys were
saying. But it’s good to hear the public feeling had, for the most part turned
against it.
So, anyway, I try to keep it together with this scene going
on around me. I convince some women to come to the garden, asap, although it
turned out the plumber just dug by himself anyway. The women investigated what
we’d already installed, and then watched the plumber work. He finally got the
pipe uncovered, then cut off the PVC plumbing that came out of the hole. He
turns the knob, and water shoots out briefly into the ground. This startles
Salimatou, the Vice President, and my favorite woman in Benin. I laugh at her,
and they she wags a finger at me playfully, laughs, and says “Batoori” a lot,
but Issa was too busy watching to plumber work to translate. After a while, the
women wander off, back into town. The plumber tells me that we need an
additional size of PVC plumbing, which Hubert told him was totally available in
Kérou. Plus, there is a problem with the nozzle-sprayer-things I had made,
namely that they’re not the right size for the hose.
So I suggest that while the plumber is doing his work that
doesn’t require the pieces we must go search for, then instead of staring at
him, Issa and I should go run errands related to the project. This takes some
time to motivate. (What? We should… multitask? Guys, it’s not multi-tasking if
it’s multiple people).
So anyway, we go see solder, and show him size the nozzle
attachment should be. He points out that this was exactly the size he showed
Hubert, but Hubert told him to go bigger. “I know,” I say sighing. I mean, I
didn’t know, but I believe it.
Then we go to the only place in town that I know sells
hardware-esque things. “It is finished,” I am told. “We had it, but no more.”
However, I discover that the boss is coming back to Kérou today. Possibly with
this very thing that I am looking for. But they’re not sure. “So…can you call
him?” I ask. But the guys working say, “Well, but what would we ask him? ‘Are
you bringing the black thing that looks like this?’ “ They don’t know what it’s
called. But, if I come back in two hours, the boss will be there.
I come back in two hours, and he is there. Without the thing
I needed. He can order it, but it won’t be here for a week. Defeated, I return
to the worksite.
The plumber and his coworker are lying in the shade. They
have finished the first part of the work, and the women brought them a meal.
They ate it and are just chilling now. I explain to them what has happened, and
I ask about the second set of parts they needed to install. “Yeah, we glued
them, and they were drying. We were JUST going to go start that.”
So while they are doing this I walk around the garden and
talk with the plumber. We decide that quite honestly, I could do the final
step. I’ve been watching the plumber work, and all this very last step would
require would be to cut up some plastic pipe, put glue on it, and stick it in
another piece of pipe.
After this, the women arrive, and we confirm that we’ll do a
little demonstration/training next Sunday. Then Issa and I leave to go back to
Kérou. Hubert finally sends a message that he’s in coverage area, so I call him
and explain what’s going on. When I get to the part about there not being a
final piece, he’s worried. He asks me if I checked this other place. “What
other place?” I wonder. Hubert seems very agitated.
The next morning, I meet up with Hubert, and he explains
that he found the missing piece, so he’s totally rushing in to save the day
(again). A day late. Apparently, he is holding the plumber hostage (the guy
wanted to go home last night, but Hubert refused to pay him, even though I was
already planning to do the final installation part.) Also, there is a few
things left that we must buy, almost all of which are things that I COULD HAVE
put in my original grant, except someone named Hubert either said they weren’t
needed, or just didn’t really help me figure the situation out at all. The
hoses are the only thing I claim responsibility for messing up. And I’ve
managed to figure out ways to reduce the price anyway, with a bit of finagling.
Plus I actually put some of my own money into the solder’s work, despite the
fact that Hubert was the one that actually told the guy the wrong size in the
first place.
Hubert: “So what are we going to do about the rest of this
money?”
Hubert: “So, you can help us find this money, right? I found
the $180 needed for the plumber today. You can find the remaining $130.”
Me: “I already helped you find $1,600. These are unforeseen
expenses. It’s just the way grants work. You can’t go back and ask for a little
more money”
Hubert: “Yes, but Peace Corps must understand that things
come up! Just apply for a new grant!”
Me: “Well, firstly, that isn’t really possible, and
secondly, it would take over two months.”
Hubert: “Well you have friends, right? Write to them and
explain. They will send you money.”
Me: “But Peace Corps forbids family and friends from sending
me money directly. It has to be done through PC.” (Plus, I fail to mention that
I’ve just asked you wonderful people for money for another cause, so…)
Hubert: “Well Peace Corps doesn’t have to know…”
So, anyways, that was a very productive conversation (not).
I’m still frustrated by the fact that Hubert made so many promises to me at the
beginning of this project that the mayors office and the Union of Women’s
Gardening Groups would help me out, if there were funds I couldn’t get from
Peace Corps. Maybe he needed more warning, but at this point he’s had a month.
The mayor’s office gets supplies for gardeners all the time. And furthermore,
if Hubert had answered my calls when I needed him, I would technically have the
money to give him, as I would have been able to finagle things more than I can
now.
I know Hubert is super busy. The man does not stop working
and schmoozing, trying to develop his part of the country. I mean, he spent all
day Sunday showing around some sort of “foreign” (although that could just mean
Beninese, but not from Kérou) dignitaries. But I feel like through a lot of
this, he has been unhelpful, and then blamed me. Also made some promises that
he doesn’t keep. It’s super frustrating. The good thing is, however, that the
project moves along. Hubert is really motivated to finish this (he’ll look
good, because he’ll tell the women it was all the mayor who did this). So I
just have to make him realize that I can’t find the funds, he’ll dig them up
somewhere, and then we’ll be done. Insha alla.
Onto other work… You remember the Savings and Loan group I
started (gave Mom and Bob matching outfits)? I’ve been trying to get them
together to elect an executive committee, but each week, only a few people show
up. Some people are low on cash, so they can’t pay their dues, or simply don’t
want to anymore. I keep telling people they can come and not pay, but to no
avail. So finally this week, after everyone shows up late, and we collect all
the dues, it’s been an hour. It’s only half of the registered members. The
By-laws say we have to have 2/3 there, but after a long discussion, we decide
we don’t care, and will go with it. So we elect the members by consensus. Or I
assume that was what happened. It was all in Bariba; all I did was start clapping
when everyone else did, and then later Dennis read to me the list of names of
people that had been elected. I am super happy too, because the President and
one other member of the committee are women. Which is actually about equal to
the female presence in the group, percentage-wise. Next week we are going to
start giving out loans, and hopefully once people hear we are giving out money,
they will start coming more (though, of course, they’ll have to prove they
truly can pay weekly dues before they get to take out a loan.) So that is
moving along, yay!
Monday, 17 February 2014
As usual, my experience continues to be ups and downs.
The irrigation system is complete, except for the encasement
of the water counter. This is necessary to prevent unauthorized people from
using the water and not paying for it. At this point, there really isn’t
anything I can do, except sit back and wait for Hubert to figure it out. I’m
pretty much avoiding him, though, because I don’t want him to ask me for money.
I know that not having the enclosing structure could wreak havoc on the
situation, mostly if someone decides to come by and steal the water, and then
there is a huge argument over who should pay for this. Hubert keeps insisting
the women will pay a flat rate. This, however, conflicts with the current
system where Dennis collects the money for the water usage in the name of some
elusive farmer. I’ve tried to explain to him that the system could still work,
just minus whatever the women use.
But somehow, this is unacceptable, and apparently there will be some conference
of all the people involved with water and gardening at the mayor’s office. I
probably won’t be invited, but that doesn’t matter, since it will most likely
all be in Bariba anyway.
I’ve been talking to Peace Corps about the situation, and
today the second-in-command of my “Community Economic Development” sector
(Tiburce) came by Kerou. We talked about the issues I’ve been facing, and then
he went off to a meeting with Hubert, and basically told him that Hubert was
responsible for finding all of the rest of the funds. I had checked with Peace
Corps policy, and found there was a very, very slim possibility of receiving
additional funding. This happens in very rare circumstances, I think usually
when there is a dramatic, unforseeable surge in prices between when the grant
was submitted and when the funding was received. I didn’t really want to give
Hubert the satisfaction of me finding the money for him, however, I really do
want this project to work out for the women. For the most part, however, Peace
Corps has been alarmed by the way that Hubert seems to view me (and my
friends/family by extension) as simply potentially limitless supply of money. I
mean, Hubert’s job is basically to schmooze with any and every NGO working in
Benin, and convince them to pay for a project in the gardens. So he’s just
trying to continue that with me.
The biggest problem was that when the plumber finished his
second round of work (for which Hubert—not I—had invited him), Hubert told him
that I would be the one paying him. So the plumber just asks me, “so, when do I
get my money?” This surprises me, and I have to explain that I have no such
money, that Hubert will be paying him. I feel bad, though, because this is a
project that I’ve started. And when it was in my control, I paid the plumbing
technician promptly. Now he has returned to Nati without even getting
reimbursed for the supplies that he paid for out of his own pocket. Tiburce,
however, has informed Hubert that the mayor’s office must find the rest of the
funding, and he will be following up to make sure this is done. So I am even
more hopeful that this will be complete, and soon.
Not that I am in a rush anymore. I had been working to start
a chicken-raising project as soon as this one was complete. You probably know;
I’ve been talking about it for over a year. However, I am now forbidden from
working with Pierre on any project at all.
This is a really, really crummy situation. Basically, the
Premier Adjoint has made it his mission that no one should even appear to be
giving Pierre a job, or working with him, or even talking to him. He saw Raili
walking down the street with Pierre, and soon after came up to her in a bar,
and yelled at her. Actually yelled at her. There is something about Pierre’s
uncle running for a mayor-related post (in elections that were, by the way,
supposed to have taken place months ago, but country-wide have been postponed
indefinitely). So the P.A. calls Pierre his “political assassin” even though
Pierre is doing nothing politically.
Anyway, this guy’s behavior is really out of control, but
Peace Corps wants to stay out of anything political, which I guess means
letting someone on a power trip get away with whatever he can yell about loudly
enough. I do get Peace Corp’s position. They want to keep me safe, and they
want to make sure that I can still be effective in my position. Seeing as what
this guy is doing to stonewall Pierre, he could possibly try to step in and do
that for anything I want to do. (Oh, wait, actually he is.) It’s weird because
I have never, ever met the guy, and I’m not sure if he’s ever seen me. He lives
in Raili’s village, Brignamaro, however, so she has to deal with him plenty.
But his temper-tantrums have apparently been effective enough so that
volunteers can no longer work with the one guy in the commune of Kérou that
actually goes out of his way to help us. It infuriates me that I have to give
into this guy. Again, I get Peace Corp’s position, but it just makes me feel
like we’re giving into evil, or something.
I missed the helpfulness of Pierre most the day that I was
showing the women how to use the irrigation system. They had promised to gather
everyone Sunday for the demonstration. It’s really hard to get people
organized, so I figured I only had one shot. I had been talking to Issa the
whole week about him helping me translate (even though he seemed to be miffed
about having to work on a Sunday). Saturday, however, he tells me that his moto
is broken, but he’s going to talk to Hubert about possibly borrowing one of
his. Sunday morning, Issa calls and says that Hubert’s moto is broken too. He
thinks that he can drive his moto, if it’s just him. So I should ride my bike
to Fétékou, and he’ll meet me there.
I arrive at 9AM, after a harrowing bike ride. (The road to
Fétékou is currently under repair, as I’ve mentioned before, which means there
are areas filled with sand, others with rocks, and other places where you
actually have to go off the path through the woods. Of course, no one is there.
And Fétékou does not have cell phone reception, so I can’t call Issa to demand
where he is, or anyone else. A little before 10, the women start trickling in.
They kind of sit around, waiting for the others to show up. I can greet them,
but that’s as far as our conversation goes. A group of guys arrive. They inform
me that they have been hired by the mayor’s office to build a well. Right in
the middle of the garden where I just built an irrigation system. At this point
I feel like stamping my feet in frustration. Hubert knows that I’m doing this.
Why wouldn’t he bring this up at whatever mayor-staff-meeting? (Do those things
even exist?) It is a waste of my time and everyone else’s just to put two
watering systems in the EXACT SAME PLACE.
I keep my calm, however, and chat with these guys. I explain
the work I’ve been doing, and ask them why the mayor wants them to build a well
here. One suggests that maybe it’s a back-up plan; like in case the system I’ve
brought here is broken. That’s stupid. If my system is broken, then you call
someone to fix it. But as we talk more, the guy explains that there are two
spots where the wells have been started, but they only are here to dig one of
them. One well is literally dead center of my irrigation system. The other,
however, is at the far edge. So I happily suggest that they choose the second
one. The garden is a 5-hectare plot, but what I’ve installed only covers 1/2
hectare. (The plan is for the women and the mayor’s office to expand it over
time). This well still falls within the garden area, but would cover space that
my irrigation system does not. I feel really, really lucky that I was here this
day, so we could work out this issue, and most importantly communicate so that
work didn’t get duplicated.
I still have the very pressing issue, however that I am here
to demonstrate this irrigation system, but I have no one to translate for me.
The guys that are here to install the well are from somewhere else, and
therefore don’t speak Bariba. However, apparently, someone decided I should
have at least some luck in this country, and up roles a guy (Igance, pronounced
“Yance”) that works with Hubert. He is showing a guy from some NGO around to
sites they might possibly invest in. So I casually approach Igance, and explain
to him about missing Issa, and suggest that maybe he can go to a coverage-area
and call Issa and/or Hubert and help me figure this out. The NGO guy, however,
is like, “well, if you need some help, we can just stick around for a little
bit.” I am so happy that this guy is willing to give up some of his time to
wait around. And he knows it may even mess up his later plans, but he just offers
to help me. Or, rather, sit by as Igance translates for me. So we round up all
the women who are wandering around the garden, and I begin my demonstration.
It’s mostly really simple. I just show them how to attach and detach the hose
from the PVC plumbing. Because of the water-pressure, they also have to use a
metal fastener to tighten the hose around the PVC pipes. I show them how to
work the valves, and then suddenly we have water.
The women start cheering, and one runs over to the end of
the hose, where water is spilling out. She immediately turns the hose on other
women who have run up after her, playfully spraying them with this fountain of
water. Then the other women demand the hose, and she drops it and sprints away,
laughing. I thought it was a cute moment, almost a indication to me that
apparently spraying-friends-with-hoses is a universal impulse. Raili later
joked however, “Yeah, it took them literally a millisecond to decide that now
that water just comes out with ease, they can waste it with impunity.” They’ve
spent their whole lives carrying water in buckets on their head, and now all it
takes is a turn of a valve.
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| Women spraying each other |
I think this day was definitely a highlight for me. It is
really great to see a project work out and for the women to be so excited about
it. There are still some minor details to finish up with, but I am working on
those.
 |
| Posing with some women from the Fetekou Gardening Group |
So moving on to other projects. I’m doing a really small one
with Constant that involves having a Track & Field competition among the
various high schools in the area. This is the same kind of thing I did last
year, with the handball tournament. Winning students will get school supplies,
plus they have a fun time getting to compete in sports.
 |
| High Jump |
 |
| Long Jump |
Also, my Savings and Loans group gave out their first round
of loans, which is really exciting. I want them to be thoroughly educated on
the accounting process for every step before I leave, and this is a really
important one.
And now, FINALLY, the project you’ve all been waiting to
hear about: the School Improvement project that you all have donated to.
I finally signed up to get electronic notices for my bank
account. It really makes sense, as I live so far away, so it’s always good to
know if there’s actually money in there. I’d been expecting the money for a
bit, and finally Tuesday I got a message that it had been deposited. So
Wednesday, I hopped on a zem and went to Nati. The next day I went to the bank,
and pulled out, well A LOT of cash (this grant, the track and field grant, and
my monthly allowance) I felt SO nervous walking around, especially because I
was carrying more cash than I even have in my personal bank account at home. I
spent some time at the workstation printing out papers for my work in Kerou,
etc. Then Friday I took the direct taxi back to Kerou (because I felt like this
was less exposed than a moto). We made it without incident, and I immediately
ran to my trunk and locked the money in there.
I really like this project, because it’s a lot of pressure
off me. Constant is the one organizing it, and running around getting supplies,
talking with people etc. It goes a lot smoother when I’m not fumbling around,
praying for the best, but when someone who actually has the full vision as well
as the plan for getting it all done is running the show. It’s so much better to
work with someone who actually invested and willing to contribute. Plus I think
back to the quote I posted over a year ago that “Our job is not to be a hero,
but to make heroes.” In the irrigation project, it was nice (in a self-serving
kind of way) plopping down an irrigation system for the women and having them
thank me. But in this case, Constant gets to be appreciated by the community in
which he’s working. Obviously, Constant knows that all this would be impossible
without me and my wonderful family and friends that I have told him about. But
I also have more confidence in the sustainability of this project, because the
whole community is involved, at Constant’s behest (the parents will be doing
this like gathering sand to mix with the cement, collecting wood for the tools
handles, building storage facilities for the corn, growing the corn, donating
the chickens, etc, etc). The community is making their own improvements, with
the help of some previously unavailable capital.
The first thing we did was to get copies of the teacher
manual made. Constant has said that teaching has been really hard for the other
teachers at the school, since they have never really taught, and therefore
don’t know the material, etc. Constant has taught for enough years that he kind
of has the concepts and order memorized.
Next Constant brought a carpenter to my house who is going
to make all the tables for the school. He’d already discussed some with the
carpenter, but I think wanted to discuss this in front of me. The carpenter
said it would take three weeks to make all the tables, but Constant is
pressuring him to make it happen sooner. We gave him the advance in order to
buy the wood he would need. Then, today, we went by his shop to check out the
progress. So far he’s just got some of the wood cut up, and was at the sawmill
getting the rest, but hopefully they will be turning into tables soon.
Also, we’ve bought cement to make the blackboards, and
Constant himself actually drove the cement bags to the school (which is quite
far). He’s kind of impatient for everything to be done (or in the case of the
garden, etc, at least started). We also walked around today to different shops
trying to find the supplies like rakes, shovels, watering cans, etc, for the
garden. But in Kérou, supplies can be so sporadic. Someone that had them months
when we were writing the grant may not have them today. Tomorrow we will go to
market and get everything we can only get on market days. We’re trying to get
as much as we can in Kérou, but we might have to go to Nati for some things.
Luckily Constant has a conference there next week, so we’ll be able to get
stuff in a timely manner.
In conclusion, we’re at the beginning stages, but everything
is ready just to take off. I’m so excited, and will definitely start posting
pictures as things start coming together.
Friday, 7 March 2014
I spent last weekend with volunteers, and had a fabulous
time. I don’t think I’ve laughed that much in ages. We drank and danced, and
spent an entire Sunday recovering. I invited my friend Mimi, who is also the
friend of a former volunteer. She is different from many of the women here, in
that she can actually hang out regularly. She is married, but her husband lives
in Cotonou, with their oldest daughter. She has a son that is buried apparently
not far from my house, and a young daughter. Mimi spends a lot of her time in
Oussa, where her mom works at the health center. But her grandmother lives in
Kérou, so that is how we know each other. Also, she is the niece of one of the
individual gardeners I’ve worked with, Ibe. Since she has a large family, she
can simply leave her child with a younger female relative, and go out and do
whatever. That is not to say Mimi is a bad mother; she is very attentive to her
child when she is at home, and her love is completely evident. She often brings
her child with her as she goes around town, but it is nice for her to have the
opportunity to let the child simply sleep at home. She wants to have one more
child—a son—and then she says she will be finished with the child-bearing.
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| Mimi and I |
So anyway, Mimi is awesome. I’m sad that she spends a lot of
time in Oussa, because that means I don’t get to see her that much. She is
always full of energy and positivity. As the other volunteers and I sat around
hungover and lacking in any motivation to even move, she entertained us, first
my drinking shots of some godawful Café Rum left over from the night before.
She would tell jokes, she would talk about the night before. She seemed to make
it her mission to entertain us, including pretending to “ride” the stuffed
camel I had bought for her daughter from Togo, and inviting us along for the “trip”.
In other words, she is absolutely crazy, as she just laughs and talks and
says/does outrageous things, but doesn’t care what we think, as long as we’re
laughing. It is absolutely terrifying, the amount of energy she can dispense,
but I am really glad to know her.
So, after that crazy weekend, it is now Lent. I have decided
to give up liquor. I think it will be
really good, but very hard because we’re going into the Hot Season [Chaleur]. I
have two exceptions: I can drink on my birthday, and also during my “Beat the
Heat: Southern Style” dinner party in which I will make fried chicken and mac n
cheese for friends, and I myself consume the entire bottle of Firefly Sweet Tea
Vodka that my mother was kind enough to bring for me for America. Anyway, I
think God will understand these two exceptions, and if not, oh well. Also, I am
allowing myself to have a glass of wine, but only after sunset. And that’s just
for the antioxidants, obviously.
I’m trying to get back into my workout regime [called
Insanity]. I was really good about doing it until I started going on these
vacations. But the other day, I was working out—not even a hard video, but a
“recovery” workout—and I had so much sweat drip down my body that my fingers
got wrinkled. Oops. I guess the problem was that the electricity was out, so I
didn’t have a fan to help out. Sidenote: I might actually be insane.
The project with the irrigation system is pretty much done,
except no one is actually using it yet. The fencing from the mayor’s office
finally arrived, so according to Hubert I’m supposed to organize the women
getting the fence set up, which is great because I understand so much Bariba,
especially when it comes to fence installing vocabulary. Anyway, I’ll probably
just end up kidnapping some random person to help translate. Or put Pierre in a
really, really good disguise… I’m really excited to see everything come
together. I feel bad, because the project could be so much better. I sincerely
hope the community will continue to expand it after I’m gone. It’s just that
other NGOs will have to see what I’m doing, and want to help out.
Unfortunately, I had to trade in my bike, because the seat
situation was getting out of control. If you will recall, a few months ago, I
mentioned that the seat-screw thing snapped in half. Since then, I got a new
screw, but it hasn’t been perfect, meaning my seat just slides around, and that
can get, well, uncomfortable, especially in the reproduction-area. So I’m in
limbo now, waiting for my new bike, but hopefully that should arrive in less
than a week. Then I will start going to Fétékou more, and seeing how all the
gardening is going there, even if it is just through a bunch of sign language.
My project with Constant is progressing nicely. In fact, the
vast majority of the money has been spent, so now we’re just waiting for things
to start growing. All that really remains is the funds for the cornfield, which
we can’t even start until June, when the rainy season begins. I just want to
reiterate how much I enjoy working with Constant. There were some things where
the price changed to be more expensive, and even though I eventually informed
him that I had extra money [I think due to the conversion rate into CFAs], he
insisted on getting the parents to contribute. He explains to me that he needs
to “train” the parents into parting with their money occasionally, to better
the school. That way, in the future, when I’m gone, he won’t have problems
getting help with further improvements.
One example of this was that firstly, because you wonderful
people gave me more money than I originally requested, we decided to cement the
inside of the school [walls and floor], which makes it sturdier and more easy
to clean, and thus more hygienic. However, we didn’t have enough money to pay
the mason, so Constant is getting the parents to contribute to that cause. But
for now, we have nice new walls, and an actual blackboard! The floor will be
coming shortly. Additionally, all of the school desks are finished; they are
simply awaiting to be transported [not exactly an easy feat].
We also got some simple supplies from market, such as
plastic containers for water. Now the kids can get drinks right in the
classroom.
We also went and got seeds for the garden, and we got the
supplies [rake, shovel, watering cans, etc] from Natitangou. The children
constructed a fence made of simple bamboo-like materials, and have started the
garden. It’s only in its beginning stages, obviously. I think it’s really cute
the way it’s been organized, which is that two children are each responsible
for one gardening bed, which contains one or two plants. They even have little
signs that mark their names.
 |
| Constant outside the garden |
 |
| The garden beds; freshly sown |
The chicken coop is under construction. Originally, we had
thought of making the entire enclosing wall of grillage, but now the community
has built the first meter height out of mud. This significantly cuts our cost
for the screen, so we’ll be able to use the extra money for other costs,
relating to the chickens or the garden or something.
I am really content with
how this project is going! It’s really progressing faster than I can imagine, and
I can’t wait to see how it keeps going in the upcoming months.
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone again for your
contributions. This has been an amazing project to work on, and it simply would
not have been possible without you.
I shall end with a little funny story for you. The other day
a guy comes by to collect my monthly water payment (guys, my water costs
$1/month, haha). As he’s standing there on the threshold, this huge mouse/rat
(probably 4-5 inches long) decides this is the perfect time to climb up the
side of my doorway. I scream, and this guy reacts instinctively and tries to
smash the little rodent. However, what he actually did was essentially spike
the rat to fly past my face and into my house. Luna, who is apparently entitled
to be sleeping at all hours because a) she’s a cat; and b) she’s pregnant.,
misses all this. However, the water-man and my neighbor both rush into my house
and start looking for it, ready to kill. I pick up Luna, because I’m afraid
she’ll see the mouse, try to go after it, and some death blow intended for the
mouse will hit her instead. However, the mouse escapes and streaks into my back
room. This room is currently a complete mess, and may or may not have dirty
underwear on the floor. In other words, no place for random Beninese men to
venture. However, since Luna’s interest is finally perked, I send her in after
it, and tell the guys thanks, but my cat will take it from here. Eventually she
does take care of it, and I move her outside to eat it. So that’s one less rat
bothering me, yay. I still laugh every time I remember the guy just swiping it
into my room. Oh, the life I lead.
Monday, 10 March 2014
The Universe is awesome. Magnificent. Ironic. Just. I don’t
even know all the words to describe it, I’m just so stoked. This feeling
probably won’t last. But I got advice once from a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer
that said to just embrace whatever you’re feeling. If you’re depressed, go with
it. Go home, cry, take a cold shower, pitter around in your pity for a day or
so until you realize you’re tired of it, and then it’s easier to move on. So
I’m just going to envelop myself in this feeling of validation and elation I
feel until life somehow manages to
knock me down a few pegs.
So it begins yesterday evening, when I attended a meeting
with Hubert and Raili. Of course, I was never informed of this meeting, as I
believe Hubert and I have adopted a little-as-possible contact policy with each
other. But Raili was dropped off at my house after her morning work, so she was
there to inform me, and we went to the meeting together.
I had heard recently that Hubert was talking badly about me
behind my back. He has said that I am lazy, and that I refuse to work. Plus I
don’t respect him. Okay, I will admit that last one is true. I have absolutely
zero respect for him. And I don’t pretend to have any when I’m around him.
Here, it’s really culturally inappropriate to be direct. For example, if you
have a problem with someone, you’re not supposed to approach them. You go to their
friends or supervisors, whatever, and the message will get back to them. For
me, I see that as very sneaky. Plus I have never been able to stop myself from
rolling my eyes or having a look of incredulity on my face when someone is
being an idiot. So Hubert is very aware of the fact that I
dislike him, and for that he dislikes me. I don’t exactly mind that Hubert
calls me lazy (HATERS GONNA HATE), because everyone else in village that I know
tells me I work TOO much. They come to my house and I’m surrounded by papers,
tapping away on my computer, or I’m off overseeing the installation of an
irrigation system…
So anyway, yesterday evening, Hubert starts off the meeting
saying he wants Raili and I to come up with a list of stuff that we’ve been
doing so it can go in the “archives” of the mayor’s office. In twenty years,
people will know that Peace Corps once upon a time did things in Kérou. So he
asks me to list everything I’ve done. I start, and it takes a long time. AND it
fills up an entire page in his notebook. He looks at it and says, “Wow, you’ve
done so much. If everyone in Kérou worked this much, we would already be
developed.”
At this point my inner self is punching the air and beating
my chest, thinking, “Yeah, that’s right! Tell
me I’m lazy to my face, I DARE YOU!” On the outside, I’m just trying to
suppress a smirk.
Then, the best part comes, as Hubert launches into a story.
Apparently he was in Kongorou the other day, when the Delegué (some sort of political
entity, but for a small village) stops and actually follows him to the edge of
the village, walking alongside his moto. This guy is asking what happened to
me, why haven’t I been back, and when am I going to be starting this
chicken-raising project? He wants this activity to happen, as obviously having
a huge chicken operation will be a boon to his community.
So now Hubert realizes that in order to keep this delegate’s
support and encourage, say the people of Kongorou, to vote for Hubert’s party,
he actually must help me see this project through. So now, suddenly, after
shutting down the project, he wants it to happen. And quickly. So now I’m back
to smirking at the irony of politics. And that maybe, just maybe the commune of
Kérou will be able to overlook politics to move forward. Then I realize, of
course it’s all politics. The delegate wants political support in his community
with a new chicken coop introduced under his reign. Hubert wants the support of
the Delegate and his constituents. Apparently someone needs to send me the
second season of House of Cards so I can learn all about this backhanded political
movements and such.
But anyway, politics seems to be working in my favor for the
time being, without me having ever raised a hand. I’m a little nervous as to
how this might play out, so I’m keeping Peace Corps updated, and seeing what
they recommend for Raili and I to do. In fact, it seems unlikely that I will
actually be the one to follow through on this project; it will probably be all
Raili. I am leaving too soon.
I didn’t have much time, because Hubert shows up at my house
this morning, and we go to Kongorou. There we meet up with Pierre (is this
awkward? I can’t tell), and two other guys from the group I’ve been working
with. We march to the site, write out the boundaries (i.e. to the north is the
Gbriboum family property). Hubert drops this paper off at the mayor’s office to
have the secretary type up an official property-deed thing. So maybe this is
really a thing?
Anyway, when I write my African version of Game of Thrones,
there will definitely be a scene where the Premier Adjoint of Brignimaro and
the Delegué of Kongorou duel. If the P.A. wins, Pierre gets being beaten to
death, and if the Delegué wins, then Pierre becomes a Knight, his title
including the gift of a farm that has goats, chickens, etc already installed, AND
he gets to keep sleeping with the P.A.’s neice. This is as far as my
understanding of politics goes.
Friday, 14 March 2014
Happy Birthday to me. I’m currently in a volunteer
workstation. This time in Kandi, a city that I have not mentioned before, as I
have never been here. It’s actually [slightly] closer to Kerou than Nati,
however, it is further north, and thus more out of the way. Plus Nati is a
prettier, more well-equipped city. But Kandi is nice, and the workstation is
cool. This weekend is an official relax/rejuvenate weekend put on by the “Peer
Support Network” for volunteers. Since it coincided perfectly with my birthday,
I thought I may as well take the opportunity to enjoy myself with other
volunteers. I got here and got some internet-requiring work done, plus of
course the obligatory binge on social media, but soon I will be off to enjoying
myself.
Update:
I did enjoy myself. Mostly I sat around with other
volunteers. We ate good food, listened to music, played games, and so on. At
one point, I ended up playing the “cup game” where you clap and pat the table
to a rhythm, while moving and banging on a cup, then pass it along. Raili
already knew the game too [I think we both learned it at different summer
camps]. We taught it to two other volunteers, and played that until our hands
got sore.
Additionally, I am planning a “girls’ camp” for July. This
is a mini-camp where we choose students from our local school to go. They do
activities just like one might do in a summer camp. I am working on it with
people from my area. This includes—obviously—Maria and Raili. Ally [the girl
who ALSO went to College of Charleston] lives not too far away. She has already
done a girls camp before. The four of us are the main ones planning it, even
through there are also two guys in our area that will hopefully be involved as
well. It’s funny how much my time spent as a counselor at Mar-Lu-Ridge prepared
me for Peace Corps. I mean, in general, it’s been helpful in dealing with worse
living conditions, as well as working with a group of idealists, learning to be
a leader, etc. And now I’m literally planning a mini-summer camp. Raili, Maria,
Ally and I spent some of our time together planning it this weekend, so I’m
really excited about it.
