Birthdays in Benin

Birthdays are not big celebrations in Benin. Most people don't even know when their birthday is. This makes teaching age in English class very difficult when you have children telling you that they are 18 years old and they look like they are 12. Most really have no idea how old they are!

A popular nightly TV show here is the "obituaries." They have a 15-20 minute segment of scrolling pictures (with really awful, mournful music) and the dates people died. Sounds dreadful, right? But people love it! It is common for people to have over 100 years of age when they died- 113 years old for example. We don't personally believe they were that old, but however they kept track of their age from the time they were born, that is what they believed!The oldest women in Lalo recently died and she was supposedly over 150 years old. I'm not kidding. People tell us this with a straight face. We have yet to figure out the secret to longevity in Benin!

However, our birthdays were still big celebrations! In October we celebrated Miranna's 31st and in January we celebrated Charlie's 33rd.
Below, a few pictures to document the celebrations!

1) The first of Miranna's two birthday celebration was at the village chief's house- with the 13 kids! We attempted to make a large rice krispy treat to share...it didn't turn out so hot. Considering the Beninese had never eaten a rice krispy treat before, they still thought it was good!
2) The second event was a smaller affair with our neighbors. The youngest daughter also has an October birthday. This is the preparation of the birthday meal at our neighbor's house. This is a typical Beninese kitchen- the open back area of the house with a mud stove or fire circle.
3) Friends and neighbors singing "Happy Birthday."
4) Dancing the night away! (sidenote: notice the 2 dads in their matching track suits!).
5) Last, but not least, Charlie ringing in his 33rd year with the local beer named "33!" How appropriate!

Holidays- American and Beninese Style!

Where as our "holiday season" is from Thanksgiving 'til New Years- the holiday season here pretty much lasts the whole 2 months of December and January! So, we have been doing a lot of celebrating!

It all started with a "traditional" American Thanksgiving meal- all made possible with the help of a package from home containing all the necessary ingredients. We didn't find a whole turkey to stuff, but we made grilled turkey wings, stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes and a homemade pumpkin pie!

Charlie enjoying a grilled turkey wing and Meredith (a volunteer that lives near us) displaying the green bean casserole.

Bon Appetit! We were joined by one of our neighbor kids, Moreau- he wasn't thrilled with the American food, but he did like the mashed potatoes!

Charlie and Erik (our closest volunteer) grilling the turkey wings. Andrea, one of my students and the daughter of our neighbors, supervising.

Meredith and Miranna doing the prep work: Chopping potatoes and rolling out pie crust!

They do celebrate Christmas in Benin- at least in the South where we live. The North is predominately Muslim so I’m not sure if is the same in the North. Christmas is often referred to as a "kids" holiday. However, they don't believe in Santa Clause- if you ask anyone they'll tell you he is dead so how could he leave you presents?! You can imagine how confused they were when we tried to explain that Santa comes down a chimney and leaves presents in stockings! Children make masks (called Kaletas) and go from house to house singing and dancing in exchange for a small donation or candy. Its kind of like Halloween!

Gifts are not exchanged between families- mostly because of the lack of money. Families spend their money on buying a lot of food and drinks with which to celebrate. Families typically kill a goat or a pig, which are too expensive to be everyday fare, and have that with rice- also not something typically eaten on a daily basis because it is also more expensive. They invite friends and family over to eat and drink. On Christmas Eve we had some neighborhood kids over to make Caletas and then that night went to midnight mass with our neighbors. On Christmas day we went to a mass that the Catholic Church had at the health center where Charlie works and then we went to 4 different people’s houses to eat, drink, and visit.

Below: 1) Kids in front of our house in their masks singing and dancing- one even on stilts! 2) Miranna with neighborhood kids in a mask making session we hosted at our house. We saved all the goodies from our packages (ribbons, wrapping paper, etc) and were able to make some great masks. 3)Charlie helping the kids whom live at the health center make Kaletas.

New Years Day is a bigger celebration in Benin than New Year's Eve- mainly because it isn't religiously based. However, it is very similar to Christmas because it also consists of visiting friends, eating, and drinking. All-in-all it was a pretty low-key holiday, but we were happy to spend it in Lalo with our friends.

Next entry...and the celebrations continue.

Back to School

Despite what you may be thinking, we have not abandoned our blog. Life has just been very busy- which by our standards is a very good thing (it makes you forget about the heat…kinda)! So, since we last wrote, what have we been up to?
At the end of September we went to Ghana for a week. It was a great vacation and a good break from Benin. Ghana is much more developed than Benin, so we were able to eat sushi and go to a real movie- what a treat! We spent most of the time travelling along the coast visiting historical European forts and slave trade sites- as well as enjoying the beach! (will post more on this later along with some pics)

School started at the beginning of October- and well, that is mainly why you haven’t heard from us (because I am the one that writes the blog posts)! The beginning of the school year is always interesting because it is a demonstration in the lack of efficiency of the Beninese government. So even thought the 1st day of school was set for October 4th, that didn’t mean much. The school administration showed up and started paper work, but teachers and students don’t actually start showing up until about a week later- and classes really start another week after that. So the beginning of this year was even more interesting because a week after the “official” start date, the government announced administration changes. Why they didn’t take the 3 month break to do this so that the new administration could be in place for the new school year, I am not sure. The top 3 people in my school administration were to be sent elsewhere. Even though this was good news (the Director was very dishonest), it meant a huge delay on the already delayed start to the school year. However, Madame Miranna ignored the confusion around her and started teaching. Another week later the government held a mandatory week-long training for all the teachers. Again, why didn’t they take any week in the 3 month break to do this? The new administration arrived at the end of October and it was at this point that teachers began receiving their class schedule. So, most teachers actually started teaching at the beginning of November- a full month later. It is now one week into December and exams are next week. After 1 month of classes (and not even a full month, depending on how often teachers actually show up for work) students are going to be tested.

All in all, I love teaching and am so glad this was my assignment. But, there are many frustrating moments- not just because of the structure of the system, but also because of attidues towards learning? By the time I am get the students in my classes they have already spent 7-8 years in the Beninese school system. This is a system that rewards those that can copy, memorize, and regurgitate. There is absolutely no creative thinking developed in these children. I push my students to try and think outside the box in multiple ways but it is a struggle because students don’t want to be pushed. They simple want the answer so they can memorize it. As long as they can get the passing average on the test, that is all they need. There are no rewards in this system for top students, no honor classes, no scholarships, etc. So, why does it matter if a student has the best grade in the class? There is no push for students to be the best and the brightest. To me this is really sad, because I have a few really talented students and I see them just getting lost in the system.

These are just some of the many problems with the Beninese educational system- I can’t even begin to write about them all. It is so frustrating to watch the inefficiency of the school system because it is just hurting the children- and subsequently the future of Benin. Since we’ve been here, I have concluded that this is the #1 problem in Benin. Granted, I might be a little biased in my view because I see the problems on a day to day basis- whereas an environmental or health volunteer might have a different opinion. However, until the education system is reformed Benin is never going to be able to develop. The lack of creative thinking permeates all levels of society here and this will take a long time to change.

I am only one person and I can’t change the system, but I do my best to be a positive role model for the other teachers to inspire them to change teaching methods and attitudes. I also devote a lot of time and energy to working with students- especially those that excel. On this end, I also hope that I have helped one or two students decide to stay in school, be creative thinkers, and be the best they can be.