holiday recap

I have so much to write about! Holidays are always a busy time but this year felt crazy. Last post was right after Christmas and I was in the middle of rushing down to Cotonou to get some shots and then trying to get back up for New Years. I did, in fact, make it back, with a bit of time to spare. New Years Eve was spent with my fat mama. She made pate and chicken (pate is the corn jello stuff). We ate and drank and about 10pm, we both said we were tired and needed a small siesta before the big midnight minute. I went back to my house, both of us knowing full well that I wasn’t coming back that evening. Holidays center around food in the States and it’s really no different here. New Years day was full of delicious village dishes and I swear, I ate 4 solid meals, all with meat. This is the time of year when everyone gets some protein. For most kids, it’s the only time of the year for that. My friend, whose name is also Rachelle, invited me over again for the nighttime fete. Last year I had another volunteer to share the parties with but this year I went solo as I feel 200x’s more comfortable just hanging out. I put on my green party dress and headed over around 6:30. It started with just her, her husband, and another friend from Guinagourou. The whiskey came out then a lovely spread of akassa (sour pate), chicken, rice, macaroni, all complimented nicely by her fantastic sauces. I was about ready to pop, party dress was a bit more snug. Then the generator came on and her husband announced it was time to dance; more a declarative statement than an invitation. The dance party started with just the four of us and after THREE HOURS of cha-cha-ing, the room was packed and everyone was screaming the songs’ words along. It was funny to see some students I know and other friends just letting loose. I finally said enough and wiped my brow thinking they’d give me permission to go home. Oh no, it was time to eat again; I sidestepped that only after I agreed to free beer all night long. My life is so difficult. A group of us sat around the table and had conversation about 2008. I was wished lots of money and few worries about a thousand times and of course, I reciprocated. Pretty much all conversations have a certain protocol here. After the second round of dance party, I excused myself and rolled home about midnight and collapsed into my bed. January kicked off with us continuing our garden and seeing the end of cucumber season and the flood of lettuce. I’ve had a salad everyday for a month! It has done wonders for my body and I haven’t felt this great since I left home 19 months ago. This may seem ridiculous to be so happy about but in my village, even tomatoes are hard to come by so green veggies daily is right up there with miracles. About this time, I finished a book by Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (mom sent it over). I highly recommend it to anyone curious about the economics and environmental impacts of our eating choices in the western world. Now, I’m not one to preach about lifestyle changes but as I was reading this, I realized that here in Benin, we can’t help but eat with the seasons and my body lets me know when it’s time to eat certain things. It would be magnified in the US due to the drastic changes between seasons. I’ve since passed this book around to friends and it’s led to some excellent conversations…as there is no reality tv to occupy our time.
I thought the parties were over until Easter but I was informed the fete of Dohn-Korou was approaching. Excuse me? Another feast day? This is strictly a Bariba fete, it’s their New Years day. It follows kind of the same idea as the winter Solstice we have every year at home, with burning the things we want to leave behind in the old year and welcoming a fresh start. However, instead of burning writings on paper and watching the ash float upwards to the powers that be…..the Bariba burn tires. That’s right, it’s an eco-friendly ceremony! The king lights the first fire and after that it’s a free for all. I walked to the schoolyard around 10 at night and as I turned the corner, my jaw dropped. It looked like Dante’s Inferno meets Lord of the Flies. Kids to young adults were all lighting tires and attaching them to ropes to swing around their heads; both bike and car ties. Once it had burned through enough, it would break off and you just hope that you’re not in the flight path. I kept my distance but my friends couldn’t help but laugh at my face and audible exclamations. “Those crazy Bariba” people not originally from there would say. “This is so dangerous!” Of course, these people are also failing to mention their own cultural groups’ ceremonies that could also inflict major pain, like the whipping fete coming of age ritual the Lokba group does annually. All the kids are cautioned every year about somebody who died a few years ago because the gasoline bottle he was keeping in his pocket blew up…this was of course explained to me matter-of-factly and even with a chuckle. Yup, so funny. Anyway, after an hour or so, I’d seen enough people being chased with burning rubber and headed home. That was the absolute end of parties and now we wait for Easter. I love the mix of cultures in my village, Muslim, Christian, or traditional believers, we all party together!
The rest of my January was spent at post, nursing the garden along, eating salad, and getting reports ready for this year’s Camp GLOW, AIDS bike tour, and the library for Guinagourou. This has taken so long because the community changed the piece of land 4 times and we had countless meetings just to describe to the elders what exactly a library is. I think the idea is finally taking off and people are asking about it almost daily. Fingers crossed everyone!
I also took a few days and biked to a town called Nikki, about 60 kilometers away and the head of Bariba kingdom. I missed out on saying what’s up to the king but did make contact with the health center to see about selling Moringa in that area, more to come on that later.
The season has moved from rainy to 100 % harmattan. This means the winds come down from the Sahara and everything gets covered in dust, everything. I sweep and clean every single day but I just can’t keep up. It also gets really dry and my lips, feet and hands are so cracked and calloused. It has been so cold! The volunteer community who has been here since July 2006 says this is the coldest we’ve seen it. The newbies tell us we’re crazy so maybe the body really can adjust to equatorial living. I sleep in a hooded sweatshirt and socks every night. Hot morning coffee is SO appreciated and for the first time I heated water up for my bucket shower. It’s so luxurious!!! Hot water really does get you cleaner. It’s my Sunday treat.
I’m in the northern town of Kandi for a few days then down to Cotonou for a national volunteer rep. meeting. If anyone is curious to see a video of what life is like here, a guy who was a volunteer 10 years ago came in September and make a 15 minute clip. He sent a copy to my family and over here but he also put it in YouTube for all to see. It’s totally free and it is actually a pretty good representation of how it is. I don’t know the site but just go to YouTube.com and search Benin, or Return to Benin. I know I promise every time but pictures should really, seriously be coming in a few days. The connection was fixed in Cotonou so I’ll keep trying. Patience and flexibility folks, the Peace Corps mantra.