Neighboring Niger

At the end of May we finally got a chance to take our first vacation OUTSIDE of Benin- to the neighboring country of Niger. It was fantastic!

We first traveled to the Northern part of Benin, where we met up with our friends Ryan and Kimberly (the other married couple that arrived when we did). They live near a larger town called Kandi, but their town is called Gogounou. After spending a night at their house we then went to the Northern most town in Benin and on the border of Niger, Malanville. Here we spent the night with another volunteer so that we could cross the border as early as possible and catch the bus to Niamey, the capital of Niger.

Even though we crossed the border (which involves a trek across the mighty river Niger) as early as possible, we somehow still managed to miss the bus to Niamey (though we aren't convinced that there really was one on that day). So, we got to cozy up with 25 of our best friends in a 19- passenger van for a 7+ hour ride. Did we mention that none of us speak the local language in Niger, nor do many Nigerians speak French! It made for quite an adventurous day, but we were relieved to finally arrive in Niamey.

Miranna and Ryan loading up for a cozy 7 hour "bus ride" from the border of Niger to Niamey.

As soon as we crossed the border into Niger, it was amazing how much the landscape changed. It was much drier, browner, and it was also evident that the people there are much poorer. The Muslim influence was also much more pronounced. However, Niamey is the complete opposite of Cotonou: the streets were quite and organized, there were taxis everywhere, instead of motos, and there weren't people always calling us "yovo." It was a very pleasant capital city to visit! However, it was HOT!!! Riding in a taxi with the windows down felt as if you had a hot hairdryer blowing on your face. Yes, it was hotter than Benin and we promised ourselves to never complain about the heat where we live again!

Our first night in Niamey was actually our 2nd Anniversary so we treated ourselves to a nice Italian restaurant. Niamey has some fantastic and diverse selections of restaurants so we had good eats all week- plus real ice cream! We did also try the local fare: pounded couscous and guinea-fowl meat mixed with bean, greens and sauce. It was yummy! A cold "Biere Niger" also couldn't be beat on those hot days!

Trying the local brew while overlooking the Niger River.

Our main purpose of going to Niger was to visit the last remaining herd of wild giraffes in West Africa. They are located in a village about an hour outside of Niamey, so we took a day trip to see them. Once your guide spots a heard, you follow them around for a couple of hours and can take as many pictures as you want. It was really amazing to be as close as we were to them and see the giraffes in their natural habitat. You can read more about them here: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/giraffe.html




The other highlight of the trip was riding, though ever so briefly, a camel. We never see camels in Benin, but they are abundant in Niger, so it was a must-do (especially for Charlie- he wouldn't leave Niger until he had ridden one).

Other than that we visited the Grand Mosque and the National Museum/Zoo, shopped at the central market, went swimming at the American Rec Center, and saw a concert at the French Cultural Center.

So that's about it for our travel log today. Stay tuned to hear about our recent trip to the North of Benin to see the 'Tata Sambas' and the waterfalls. We're planning on a trip to Ghana in the next few weeks before Miranna starts school again. Of course, you too can enjoy the sites with us if you plan your trip soon. Look forward to seeing you here!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

The last week of June we participated in a girl’s camp called Girls Leading Our World, or “Camp GLOW.” This is a week-long camp which is planned and led by Peace Corps Volunteers at the end of every school year. Volunteers select 50 leading girls in their communities and bring them to Porto-Novo. We were able to bring 7 girls from Lalo, as well as 1 “toutrice” (mentor) for the girls. Even though we were allowed to bring 7 from Lalo, which is a lot from one village, it was a pretty tough decision! In the end Miranna ended up selecting the top girl student from each of the 6eme classes (equivalent to 6th grade) at her school.

This camp is a great opportunity for the girls that are selected- not only because they have the opportunity to learn many new things, but they get to have a week full of fun- not work! In Benin women, but mostly the girls, do all the work- cooking, cleaning, laundry, getting water, working in the fields, etc. This is one of the reasons that girls aren’t able to stay in school. After primary school (which is free), there is a huge drop out in the number of girls that stay in school. Every year in secondary school (which is not free) there are less and less girls in each class. For example, in a 6eme class (6th grade) the students will be about half girls and half boys, but in a 2nd class (10th grade) in a class of about 40 students there will be less than 5 girls. There are many reasons for this attrition rate, but the main one is that families don’t have the money to keep all of their children in school, so they pay for the boys to stay in school since the girls are the ones that are responsible for most ALL of the work at home and in the fields. If girls are allowed to stay in school, it is very difficult for them to succeed because their work leaves them with very little time to study. Thus, it is a huge achievement for the girls that manage to be at the top of their class! Therefore, we choose the top girl from each class to participate not only to reward them for their hard work during the school year, but also to encourage them to continue working hard and stay in school.

It was a lot of fun travelling from Lalo to Porto Novo with all the girls- some of them had never left Lalo before so it was quite an experience for them! Every day was different at camp, but there was a good mix of fun activities as well as educational ones. The favorite session of most all of the girls was our visit to a cyber café where they were able to learn how to use a computer (most of them had never seen, much less typed on a computer before)- and the internet! They also visited local museums and the Benin National Assembly where they got to sit in the representative’s chairs and use their microphones. A panel of professional Beninese women came to speak about their careers, how they got to where they are today, and how they balance their family and professional life. Their stories were really inspiring for the girls to hear. We also invited guest speakers to talk about personal hygiene and sexual health, women’s rights, and study skills to help them stay in school. All the activities were not educational- there were also lots of fun things too: arts and crafts sessions (the girls loved making collages out of American magazines), soccer games, singing, dancing, and relay races. And the best part of the week for the girls: they didn’t have to do any work- the volunteers did it all! We really just wanted them to relax and have fun because this would be one of the only times in their lives that they would be free to do so.

All the volunteers involved agreed that his camp was one of the most rewarding experiences of their Peace Corps experience thus far and we are really looking forward to next year’s camp!

A few pics from the week….

The Lalo gals (and Charlie!)

The week ended with a dance party- Beninese style! This was really, really fun!

We've Benin Here For 1 Year!

One year ago today we left Tennessee for Philadelphia to board a plane bound for Benin! The new group of volunteers arrived this week- and we can't believe we were in their shoes just one year ago. Wow- time has flown! (for us anyway, maybe not so much for those of you at home)

A lot has been going on- hence the lack of recent blog posts, but just letting everyone know that we are alive and well. It is "rainy" season, so the weather here has been very pleasant- I actually think it is cooler here than for those of you at home. Miranna finished school about 3 weeks ago, so she is officially on "summer vacation." Charlie is still moving along making sure all the inhabitants of Lalo are happy and healthy! KoKoKo is doing well and keeping our house mouse, lizard and cockroach free!

We have a lot we want to write about, but haven't had the time (or internet access) so check back later to learn about:
- Our trip to Niger
- This year's girl's camp- Camp GLOW (Girl's Leading our World)
- Miranna's 1st year of teaching

Greetings, Greetings, and more Greetings

Greetings are a very important part of the Beninese culture. It can take much longer to get to your desired destination because it is necessary to greet most everyone that you see. The greetings used here are a bit more in-depth than the standard "Hi, How are you?" that we use in the US. So, we thought we'd share some examples of the local sayings and greetings with you to give you a taste of Beninese culture.

A typical morning conversation between Charlie and any neighbor:
Charlie: Good morning. How did you wake up?
Beninese: I woke up well. And you?
Charlie: I woke up well too. How are your children?
Beninese: They are well.
Charlie: How is your wife/husband?
Beninese: He is well. How is your wife?
Charlie: She is well. And your health?
Beninese: It is good.
Charlie: And your work?
Beninese: It is good. And your work?
Charlie: It is also good See you soon.
Charlie: See you later. Have a good day!

A conversation later in the day between Miranna and a Maman at the marche before actually attempting to buy something:
Miranna: Good Afternoon. Are you there?
Maman: Yes, I'm here.
Miranna: Have you done a little?
Maman: Yes, I've done a little. And you? Have you done a little, or a lot?
Miranna: I've done a little. Have you sold a little?
Maman: Yes, I've sold a little.
Miranna: And your children?
Maman: They are fine.
Miranna: That's good. I would like to buy 2 onions and some tomatoes.

Other interesting expressions:
If you haven't seen someone for a while you would start the conversation with "It's been three days!" and their response will be "And plus one more." Why the magic number is 3 days, even if it has been a week or month since you've seen someone, we are not sure.

When you are visiting with a group of people for a while you will get told "Good sitting" many times. This expression is used to fill time between conversations because it is impolite to just sit without having anything to say to someone.

Everybody is familiar with "Bon Appetite," which is a very common saying before every meal, but every meal is also followed by "Good Digestion."

In the evening you will wish people "Good Night" followed by "May God wake us up well." They respond: "Amen."

Most of this, while it could be said in French, is done in our local language Fon. For example, "Good Morning," or "Bonjour" in French," is translated as "Mi fon gangi a?" This is actually a question of "Did you wake up well?" Charlie can also do a series of greetings in Adja, another local language used in the villages around Lalo.

Some of these sayings seem silly but they have grown on us! It is going to be very hard for us to drop some of them from our vocabulary once we return!

Giving for the Girls

A few weeks ago the Peace Corps volunteers hosted a charity dinner in Cotonou to raise money for the Gender and Development programs. This was a similar event to the one in March (see previous post), except instead of only being for Peace Corps volunteers, it was more formal and open to the Beninese and American communities in Cotonou. With the money that was raised from these two events, volunteers are able to implement activities in their communities to promote gender equality and education.

Many of the activities that volunteers choose to pursue focus on girls' educaton. Beninese girls are seriously disadvantaged in terms of education and face many obstacles to stayng in school. Therefore, in conjunction with this event, Peace Corps had an essay contest for 8th grade level girls to win a trip to Cotonou. This was a great opportunity for the girls that won, as most of them had never even left their villages before. From Thursday- Sunday each girl stayed with a prominent Beninese woman (called "Maman Modeles"), went to work with her ("Bring your Daughter to Work Day"), and participated in a seminar about setting goals for themselves and how to achieve their career goals.

There were two girls, named Reine and Chantal, that were choosen from Lalo, so Miranna was able to escort them down to Cotonou. Reine stayed with a Maman that is the owner of a fine dining restuarant (she caters for the President of Benin!) and Chantal was paired with a Maman that is the director of a private school. Other girls were paired with famous journalists, doctors, and businesswomen. The girls were also invited to the dinner and gave a short presentation on what they had learned from their Mamans over the weekend. Our hope is that the girls will take back what they learned to their villages and choose to stay in school to pursue their dreams- no matter how big or small.

All-in- all it was a great weekend for the girls, the volunteers, and auction-attendees alike. I look forward to participating next year and giving other girls from Lalo the chance to as well!

A few pics from the event...


Us posing in front of artwork for the auction. Charlie used the event as an occasion to sport his Beninese flag bumba again!


Three of the girls modeling wooden Beninese masks that were available in the silent auction.


Miranna with Reine and Chantal, the girls from Lalo.

Chantal with her Maman Modele (in red) and her Maman's sister (in blue), who will also be Miranna's new Education Director for Peace Corps Benin.

A Beninese Family Photo

We thought everyone would enjoy a recent family photo. The matching tissue (or cloth) that we are wearing is called the the official "Family Tissue"- which is represented by the chickens and their baby chicks! So it was only a matter of time before we bought some, and we had to give KoKo some to wear as well since she is our official Beninese baby!

Chillin' in Sunny Benin

After about 8 months in country, we finally had time to take our first real vacation in Benin during Miranna's Easter break! We went to a beach resort area near the border of Benin/Togo called Grand Popo. It is really beautiful, and despite the fact that you can't swim in the ocean we had a really great and relaxing time! Now that we know it is only about 3 hours from Lalo, we know we will be returning!

A few pics from our trip (maybe these will tempt some of you to come visit us!):

One of the buildings at the hotel we stayed at- an old colonial plantation.

Every morning, the fishermen pull in the MASSIVE fisihing nets from the night before. It takes lots of men, women, and children for this job- Charlie and I helped too!

Taking a break to pose for a pic on the beach- note the net in the background- it is an all morning process to bring in the net.

A group of boys carrying the fisihing net back down the beach.

Charlie on our tour of the Mono River.

Enjoying a fresh cut coconut after a boat tour on the river!

Relaxing on the beach just before sunset!