done and done...almost
well, i did it. i left Guinagourou and wow, can we say whirlwind? i still have no idea exactly how i feel as i've been going nonstop since i left on the 31st. the night before, david, taylor, and our friend saka (my very own boys club) sat around until 10:30 just chatting and eating some amazing pounded yams (yam pilee) david's wife made. we also had a whole chicken to consume, my scholarship girl/best friend in village, Catharine, had given me her prize rooster the day before and absolutely refused money or even to come eat with us. at first she just opened my door and threw it in, so it crowed for a solid hour...inside my house. after my neighbor helped me chase it down i took it over to david's to prepare it. i'm a little worried that the catch and release concept has forever been removed from my reality.
they told me a bunch of old Bariba folk stories and we said good night but agreed to meet the next morning for the grande farewell. thank god i'd been packing in advance as this was the first time, i think in the history of Guinagourou that a taxi has been ready before 9am. the driver came and picked up all my peace corps stuff to be returned and i headed over to drag david out of church. waited around until the singing and drumming was done, soaked up all the sounds and sights i wanted to burn directly into my memory as i know those things fade, even if they seem incredibly intense at the moment.
david, saka, and catharine cut out early (those sinners) and my taxi rolled down the road to get me at the stop (a big mango tree) about the same time. we made the car wait a few extra minutes so we could take photos by the library. the roof is on, the doors and windows went in the day after i left and i have been replaced by a total rockstar who is super excited to manage this project. mailed the film rolls home to mom a bit ago so they should be circulating soon.
deep breath in, let it out, walk to the car. david had said he really didn't want to see me cry and i'd been feeling pretty solid about my decision to leave. of course that all went out the window when Catharine lost it, hugged me and took off down the road. david got all weepy but that smile never left his face. he gets that i'm excited to move on and is happy for me. suffice to say, i kept my sunglasses firmly on until we got to parakou, by which time i was totally distracted by the pain in my body. the rains have destroyed the road and my head slammed into the roof no less than 7 times. i kept trying to appreciate it as it was my last real bush taxi ride but i think i'm good for awhile on those. some friends were in parakou so we went out for celebratory drinks and it turned into a tour of the city, saying the big au revoir to the hot spots that have grown near and dear to me. went to lunch the next day and said goodbye to a really great volunteer friend who supported me a lot this last year. saying goodbye is hard! i know i'll foever be in contact with my group of folks here but this, what we're doing here, will never happen again. and i'm totally ok with that part. things end for a reason and life goes on, i feel extremely privileged to have been allowed this experience. Benin is a fantastic country, charming in its own right, equally as frustrating but i did it. i LIVED two years of this life and it wasn't always easy but that made it better. the people here have opened my mind and have earned a place in my heart that will be there forever. this is my home, i have real family here and real investments. discussing poetry with Catharine for the first time in her life (at the age of 25), watching david's baby girl Terese take her first steps, and then run to me, heckling the other women at the water pump, being the most ill i have ever been or hope to be, working a field all day with david and simultaneously solving all the problems of the world; this has been my peace corps. call us hippies is you want but we do make a difference. in our own lives even more than others. i am forever changed, who knows how much or in what ways just yet but i know whatever happened to me here made me better, stronger,and much more humble.
big thanks to everyone who has taken this journey with me, it's been nothing if not real.
they told me a bunch of old Bariba folk stories and we said good night but agreed to meet the next morning for the grande farewell. thank god i'd been packing in advance as this was the first time, i think in the history of Guinagourou that a taxi has been ready before 9am. the driver came and picked up all my peace corps stuff to be returned and i headed over to drag david out of church. waited around until the singing and drumming was done, soaked up all the sounds and sights i wanted to burn directly into my memory as i know those things fade, even if they seem incredibly intense at the moment.
david, saka, and catharine cut out early (those sinners) and my taxi rolled down the road to get me at the stop (a big mango tree) about the same time. we made the car wait a few extra minutes so we could take photos by the library. the roof is on, the doors and windows went in the day after i left and i have been replaced by a total rockstar who is super excited to manage this project. mailed the film rolls home to mom a bit ago so they should be circulating soon.
deep breath in, let it out, walk to the car. david had said he really didn't want to see me cry and i'd been feeling pretty solid about my decision to leave. of course that all went out the window when Catharine lost it, hugged me and took off down the road. david got all weepy but that smile never left his face. he gets that i'm excited to move on and is happy for me. suffice to say, i kept my sunglasses firmly on until we got to parakou, by which time i was totally distracted by the pain in my body. the rains have destroyed the road and my head slammed into the roof no less than 7 times. i kept trying to appreciate it as it was my last real bush taxi ride but i think i'm good for awhile on those. some friends were in parakou so we went out for celebratory drinks and it turned into a tour of the city, saying the big au revoir to the hot spots that have grown near and dear to me. went to lunch the next day and said goodbye to a really great volunteer friend who supported me a lot this last year. saying goodbye is hard! i know i'll foever be in contact with my group of folks here but this, what we're doing here, will never happen again. and i'm totally ok with that part. things end for a reason and life goes on, i feel extremely privileged to have been allowed this experience. Benin is a fantastic country, charming in its own right, equally as frustrating but i did it. i LIVED two years of this life and it wasn't always easy but that made it better. the people here have opened my mind and have earned a place in my heart that will be there forever. this is my home, i have real family here and real investments. discussing poetry with Catharine for the first time in her life (at the age of 25), watching david's baby girl Terese take her first steps, and then run to me, heckling the other women at the water pump, being the most ill i have ever been or hope to be, working a field all day with david and simultaneously solving all the problems of the world; this has been my peace corps. call us hippies is you want but we do make a difference. in our own lives even more than others. i am forever changed, who knows how much or in what ways just yet but i know whatever happened to me here made me better, stronger,and much more humble.
big thanks to everyone who has taken this journey with me, it's been nothing if not real.
posted by Rachael at 2:08 AM
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