tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-372151022024-02-18T19:27:38.316-08:00Jose in AfricaWelcome to Jose in Africa, through pictures and stories I am going to take you through an African adventureJosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14062699848212563746noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37215102.post-41923146679166615782007-10-20T16:00:00.001-07:002007-12-12T11:07:16.102-08:00<div><div><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div align="justify">Living in West Africa, there are a couple of things that are initially hard to get used to, but <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb7-666V4gRuQ-4N9C77K5lKsdm3ucb9NzmCavEZYQkVdYA6n2HuSUiT1hBYn_xuAoLlcHURwU6pXX0mgAr-6keyfuqG3ZEurd0mPBb3045neGk_oFXAoaNt7KVB_KOxb11GQi-Q/s1600-h/DSC01516+(Medium).JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143068960149828754" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb7-666V4gRuQ-4N9C77K5lKsdm3ucb9NzmCavEZYQkVdYA6n2HuSUiT1hBYn_xuAoLlcHURwU6pXX0mgAr-6keyfuqG3ZEurd0mPBb3045neGk_oFXAoaNt7KVB_KOxb11GQi-Q/s200/DSC01516+(Medium).JPG" border="0" /></a>afterwards it is hard to imagine your life without it. African cuisine is exactly one of those things. There is a reason you don’t see African restaurants next to Chinese, Indian or Mexican restaurants. At first, African cuisine seems very dull and flavorless with not to much to it. The favorite dish is Pate (pot) which combines corn flour and hot water to form a flavorless gelatin like mound that is served with different types of sauces. Next to that is<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLmzt6-K5n6U9jIpsUX8GaprwCxR91W0hGFjlNM9iDdZcxJo5UKhfTVaWv6Jg9nTF4EQreIhzhll16ds5pNLJf3oiyomJ4GPv7QbOFzdWUzcKnJ_e1D6qAa7tE6zr7DJAFYd6H0w/s1600-h/DSC01453+(Medium).JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143163805912626434" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLmzt6-K5n6U9jIpsUX8GaprwCxR91W0hGFjlNM9iDdZcxJo5UKhfTVaWv6Jg9nTF4EQreIhzhll16ds5pNLJf3oiyomJ4GPv7QbOFzdWUzcKnJ_e1D6qAa7tE6zr7DJAFYd6H0w/s200/DSC01453+(Medium).JPG" border="0" /></a> Akasa, which is fermented Pate with a bitter taste, here in the north of Benin and throughout West Africa the favorite dish is igyam pille or pounded yams, something like the texture and look of mashed potatoes, that is combined with sauces in order to give it a flavor. For snacks you can find fried greasy balls of dough just about in any corner. For meats the favorite is mouton, a sheep like animal that can be seen roaming just about anywhere scavenging for scraps, then there is pintard or guinea fowl, a weird looking relative of chickens that I have never seen till I was in Benin. Have I won you over yet? Probably not, but give it time. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143162388573418738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRUxLU8PP-2pACkQKIhFU6US1bEPWgewfkGkQqREtEWNS4n7gW1DM5LmrQO9sh0h-M5h9ao4efw9cyV-4gbzZSN3f-0dk310cBv_dL0VVD_YGkI5EhiEjVoh2I5DBn_NT-XTTcvA/s320/Marche+032.jpg" border="0" /><br />At first these things are hard to get used to, but you start to develop a taste for these things. For example, I now find pintard meat (guinea fowl) be better than chicken meat, given the option<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSRDZosPWmN72GliHA4fxhfxr7W3qiAcv0MBz9MXxC36xVsMG61gZ77JspYLuhOssqfT13Usn8b5_l18Kd8M-N1-d12ajLZbm6GtQXsxGNbk1m2i-UNLXdCwDUKZ4NEl0Ig3TkQ/s1600-h/Marche+031.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143161447975580898" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSRDZosPWmN72GliHA4fxhfxr7W3qiAcv0MBz9MXxC36xVsMG61gZ77JspYLuhOssqfT13Usn8b5_l18Kd8M-N1-d12ajLZbm6GtQXsxGNbk1m2i-UNLXdCwDUKZ4NEl0Ig3TkQ/s200/Marche+031.jpg" border="0" /></a> between the two, I would take the pintard meat over the chicken. The flavorless igyam pille has now become my favorite dish; there are weeks that all I want to eat is igyam pille morning and afternoon. It is all about the sauce, the sauces here are AMAZING; using simple ingredients like tomatoes, onions, piment (peppers), local spices and greens, women prepare the ingredients in a large pot and they slowly simmer the sauces in charcoal fire for hours, then they add cooked meat or cheese. The cheese here deserves a whole article to itself; the cheese is made by semi-<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCnTON1XCmqAGM36x5bK55R71w00KtDkkPMnm0e6o8UOddmxUd_e12a4AMAMQxARgD0bfSmUo_stkJkIUzx3kRYtGrW7OYNEefrECxsor_FruYNLmvbhpbFY7ATOb1TUN6ztPUQ/s1600-h/Picture1+046.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143160335579051218" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCnTON1XCmqAGM36x5bK55R71w00KtDkkPMnm0e6o8UOddmxUd_e12a4AMAMQxARgD0bfSmUo_stkJkIUzx3kRYtGrW7OYNEefrECxsor_FruYNLmvbhpbFY7ATOb1TUN6ztPUQ/s200/Picture1+046.jpg" border="0" /></a>nomadic cow herders that travel throughout West Africa. Their faces are heavy with scars or tattoos, they have similar thin, long facial features, they are tall and skinny, and they<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PWO8X7gI5z035-29UK732RiP2SYBqRWvn3tPGkpdOaMF1CELv09sJJisJZ_JfT04qLQJB4ZLCSbYaZcfymJD8xEQoZ8LiQcFr3JDWBZMiCD6uWQ8VtHS6I0UCakDeI7OdZQ8CA/s1600-h/Marche+036.jpg"></a> don’t really socialize with anybody outside their group, to say the least they are very mysterious. But they make the best damn cheese I ever had anywhere in the world. Known as wagasi, these strange red circular mounds that can <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGU1-Rmn2BQ5M7iSdC61i9IKnNBKBxK2SlldBi4Y-327FJaeD1DwhjSh2GboIFkSHC9_sGBEG-_LtcJ0jP4x4W5Y371v8gMFlv3JUYEIipg4DspUvYplWvSjFcD_AZA3169wbfQ/s1600-h/CIMG0346.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143159725693695170" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGU1-Rmn2BQ5M7iSdC61i9IKnNBKBxK2SlldBi4Y-327FJaeD1DwhjSh2GboIFkSHC9_sGBEG-_LtcJ0jP4x4W5Y371v8gMFlv3JUYEIipg4DspUvYplWvSjFcD_AZA3169wbfQ/s200/CIMG0346.JPG" border="0" /></a>be found on the side of the road infested with flies or on top of a woman’s head who walks around town selling cheese. There are so many ways to prepare the cheese and after placing it in a simmering sauce for an hour it is to lick your fingers for, literally. For a quick fix, rice and beans are staple foods that can be found just about in every corner, but taste and the way they are prepare greatly varies and of course every plate comes with a fiery red sauce. Fruit is seasonal, so when it is mango season the streets are littered with people selling huge, sweet, delicious mangoes, there are also papayas, oranges, melons and pineapples.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143164488812426514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1AkfmIwS7ft1um-_jches_oG-8skhaKl39aZ-fXcOOGgBjxLUGZeNHpfV6k13A_pgfszcljSfEnBF0KvGAjEa2k9rC-F9qegcZoW6QNO-98sx13VhgmbatzjjC44-Amukvgwoog/s320/Picture1+050.jpg" border="0" /><br />When I first got to Africa I thought I was going to loose weight being out in sun, riding my bike throughout town. Yea right, I have actually gained weight, do you know what some people started calling me? Le gros, the fat one.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143071640209421490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTf3kHIv3bMcJ8dIuQfz_gJ7GRBDB8oc7Ua8N_Enz307Naw2xVN-nvg5dpepD8ZLEvqM44DpE6aa5jAP5lK1giWzTqOsyNCpcFhPyyDvLvrKhOoeySBq6CLGoYQbIDB_6KGjy0g/s320/Picture+129.jpg" border="0" /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Josehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14062699848212563746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37215102.post-25200211936507519102007-10-20T15:57:00.000-07:002007-10-20T15:59:21.295-07:00The average American, who has never left the States or visited an underdeveloped country would be extremely culture shocked if they were suddenly transplanted in a village in Africa. The sight of crumbling mud homes, naked running babies playing alongside farm animals, lack of modern resources, the poverty and the struggle that people face on a daily is almost imaginable and like nothing that exist in the States. The same goes for the average African who has never been to a developed country. If we were to take an African villager and suddenly transplant him in New York City, Los Angeles or even in the suburbs of Main Town USA, he too would face extreme culture shock, but by how rich and abundant things are in the States. He would be amazed to see that everybody has a car; the sheer size of homes, all the roads are paved, how everybody dresses in nice new clothing, the sight of buildings, stores, the noise of downtown traffic. Without a doubt his senses would be on overload.<br /><br />After being in Africa over a year, I recently went home for my little sister’s quinceañera (Sweet 15 party). Anybody who is familiar with the Latin American culture knows that this is a big deal in a young girl’s life. In my family there are four boys and one girl; her name is Angelica, she is also the youngest, and so my family pulled all the stops to make her birthday party a huge event. Friends and family were coming from all over the States, Mexico and they wanted me to be present. So, we found some decent priced tickets and I was soon off to my adopted country (I was born in Mexico). After a long and tedious trip from Cotonou to Paris and then Dulles Virginia, I was back home. My younger brother Miguel and Andrea were waiting to welcome me at the airport. Immediately the vast contrasts between the two countries were seen. Once on the highway, I was amazed by how big and modern everything seemed to me, anybody who is familiar with D.C. area knows how fast building and houses go up. Everything seemed so big, new, huge and overwhelming, just about everybody was driving around in a new Mercedes, BMW or some nice expensive car; compared to small beat-up motor bikes and 25 year old rackety Peugeot cars that you will be surprised to see still running through the deplorable dirt roads. The highway was wide and fully paved with signs and lights indicating exits and towns, instead of a narrow dirt road with so many potholes that in the rainy season is incredibly bumpy to navigate. Office buildings and houses were everywhere; houses seemed extravagantly huge and modern for just one family with 2.5 kids and a dog to live in. I was so used to seeing small deteriorating houses made out of red mud, straw and faded-out rusty tin roofs that house various couples and uncountable number of naked or semi-naked kids that would be running around. People were dressed in nice cloths that cost more what the average Beninese would earn in three months. Polo, Banana Republic etc. replaced old raggedy worn-out clothing that has been donated, or semi dressed men and women. It was hard to imagine that these two completely distinct countries could exist in this world, reverse culture shock.<br /><br />I thought I was going to be more conscious and considerate about what I have and how I use it …NOPE… not at all, that only lasted for about a day or two, after that I was back to my old habits it was as I never left. I started spending what I had saved up by over indulging in whatever I wanted. Shopping for new expensive cloths, I ate whatever I wanted, used the car just to go down the street. I soon step of my soap box and acted as if I never left, although I was more grateful for what I had.<br /><br /><br />My mom wanted to surprise my sister; we had told Angelica that I was not going to her birthday party because the tickets were too expensive. The day before she spent the night at my cousins house, when I got inside a big box and Angelica was told it was a present, when she opened it up there I was inside of the box. There is nothing like family, I was really glad to see my mom, dad, my brothers; Luis and Miguel and of course my little sister Angelica, oh yea the dog too Koky. The days leading to the party were hectic and busy preparing and getting ready, finally the day arrived the party was great time, we saw friends and family we had not seen since years ago, there was so much food and dancing. Everybody had a good time. The next weekend my brothers, cousins and I went to New York City to Rock the Bells concert, we saw Wu Tang Rage Against the Machine, Cypress Hill and many more big names, we spent a couple of day in Brooklyn with a friend. After about three weeks of being home I started missing Benin, I was happy to be home but I missed my town of Natitingou, I missed those dirt roads and all those things I was complaining, I missed seeing the raggedy mud houses with the kids outside, I missed working with people. I was home sick for Africa.Josehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14062699848212563746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37215102.post-16075586271818548202007-07-22T19:54:00.000-07:002007-08-09T10:06:54.338-07:00How fast time goes by, a year ago this week I was stepping off an airplane and starting my Peace Corps service. The feelings of excitement and nervousness surged through my body as I discovered <st1:country-region st="on">Benin</st1:country-region> and got to know <st1:place st="on">Africa</st1:place> for the first time. I left a good job in the Department of State and I gave up a great relationship with a wonderful girl to pursue my crazy idea of joining Peace Corps. But since the day I arrived to <st1:place st="on">Africa</st1:place> I have been very lucky in everything that I have done. My host family with whom I lived with when I first arrived turned out to be wonderful, the town that I live in is very nice, clean, and scenic and in my opinion the best town in Benin. Peace Corps Admin in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Benin</st1:place></st1:country-region> is great, I have made many friends and I am very proud of the work that I have done.<p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifgmeKSNIYzQvig2ZbASq5rYtOtX3CDnwPZMAk972h9bUTSyI-Ft5QOu6BUXHKGEP6sDCL0EoCo57ZgolVPpawOzDLaDvnElqdooKMB6K_9tDvwORRUIDNSiSZYyMcxVaOIhfDpw/s1600-h/Picture+072.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifgmeKSNIYzQvig2ZbASq5rYtOtX3CDnwPZMAk972h9bUTSyI-Ft5QOu6BUXHKGEP6sDCL0EoCo57ZgolVPpawOzDLaDvnElqdooKMB6K_9tDvwORRUIDNSiSZYyMcxVaOIhfDpw/s400/Picture+072.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093550599969368834" border="0" /></a>I am very fortunate to have very ambitious work partner. Yacaobou Moussa,(pictured above) is a leather smith by trade with a simple 6 grade education but he is the most determined person that I have met. He is also the president of the handicap association of my town and together we have taken an old cargo container and turned it into a clean water production facility. As of June of 2007 we are employing three handicap people, by producing clean filtered water and selling water in small water bags at a very cheap price to the public, we have recently started producing flavored water such as tamarind, hibiscus, lemon, and local exotic fruits with the profits the handicap association is paying for health needs of handicap people in town. It is an amazing feeling to be part of this project and seeing an old container turned into a facility that produces clean water, employs handicap people and making money. <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-geBOr_MV2_0nYpzn3HPJAfv8323hoAVGKJ6KbgEE3ZNmhVBeIA7J8frLWq1pcxhyphenhyphen4WlxqgCUJzvO6jLrr13rEZpM1ZwpXtlkuVKzX0cFBmRGnZonyO7KGdcNVZfe0O91eujEw/s1600-h/Photo+056.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-geBOr_MV2_0nYpzn3HPJAfv8323hoAVGKJ6KbgEE3ZNmhVBeIA7J8frLWq1pcxhyphenhyphen4WlxqgCUJzvO6jLrr13rEZpM1ZwpXtlkuVKzX0cFBmRGnZonyO7KGdcNVZfe0O91eujEw/s400/Photo+056.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093549487572839090" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8AQkVo_8aSoZm1D65nDcGZnWmFIBq_3DbPcYL0v3gQ8Xpr6FhNAN_CTzh-k6txNoVS8ODUgAXSWPdjpKf_lQ3iI5dQffCezrrplaepAI63VtDAhUgGiDPBAc-oGhi4LjB7m9B2w/s1600-h/Photo+016.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8AQkVo_8aSoZm1D65nDcGZnWmFIBq_3DbPcYL0v3gQ8Xpr6FhNAN_CTzh-k6txNoVS8ODUgAXSWPdjpKf_lQ3iI5dQffCezrrplaepAI63VtDAhUgGiDPBAc-oGhi4LjB7m9B2w/s400/Photo+016.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093548332226636434" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjti78217aXnt8hxN_2VLo2biOxCwNZrvR5O2jwRMGp3-TMldcgLDGco-K-QBN9DBtZ8WtP_jklCWOZF71d5Ywj-cVFuqjfGZlB_-PukyToRmtKklFk8FS2ptZMUTL09BtD8F8I3Q/s1600-h/Water+Project+2+014.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjti78217aXnt8hxN_2VLo2biOxCwNZrvR5O2jwRMGp3-TMldcgLDGco-K-QBN9DBtZ8WtP_jklCWOZF71d5Ywj-cVFuqjfGZlB_-PukyToRmtKklFk8FS2ptZMUTL09BtD8F8I3Q/s400/Water+Project+2+014.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093583546663496674" border="0" /></a></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8X0EpfInwRw1np_71aAQJZ1h2fBnqkMjH8jgb5MV2ZObppa1OQ5o-XHeN6FJVxGv1XY6nluJ2qVXQcc2kARm7vPLf9gK-FT9u07ViTwlGWQtJDYLVdOqnBmeWr_fjuOc12lBz1g/s1600-h/Water+Project+2+020.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8X0EpfInwRw1np_71aAQJZ1h2fBnqkMjH8jgb5MV2ZObppa1OQ5o-XHeN6FJVxGv1XY6nluJ2qVXQcc2kARm7vPLf9gK-FT9u07ViTwlGWQtJDYLVdOqnBmeWr_fjuOc12lBz1g/s400/Water+Project+2+020.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093549500457740994" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2H5OSSgLxfh-hiB1NvmYpZEm7rRUslazm6Ad4RJQwDvO7xIOFoQpTGj7PUErvaviqFyrpe8Qq0aRty-8LpK9Td5wwW_n0ML3P7EizfF2zZDYWlmhFs7eDpN9AVyJmCpDG9PaGJA/s1600-h/Photo+006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2H5OSSgLxfh-hiB1NvmYpZEm7rRUslazm6Ad4RJQwDvO7xIOFoQpTGj7PUErvaviqFyrpe8Qq0aRty-8LpK9Td5wwW_n0ML3P7EizfF2zZDYWlmhFs7eDpN9AVyJmCpDG9PaGJA/s400/Photo+006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093548336521603746" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdhmwU6z7dKWfommu32Tz8ckUwY50-nQ8tDhCKbu6HAPwpDXKPHDKrk5AtIbfH1hrEkhyzLKpK25iwHAnYoqDrlibzyeMzpeZZKeEk9tDqFpX5aLaW1gPjfhLpYGd0pR87IOgyqQ/s1600-h/Photo+051.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdhmwU6z7dKWfommu32Tz8ckUwY50-nQ8tDhCKbu6HAPwpDXKPHDKrk5AtIbfH1hrEkhyzLKpK25iwHAnYoqDrlibzyeMzpeZZKeEk9tDqFpX5aLaW1gPjfhLpYGd0pR87IOgyqQ/s400/Photo+051.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093548323636701826" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcZus-k4Ow8GfaBKYs8zKjSOQ-IaI7xIkqtrpJnBqtgadeeyuFzRxWeSFKWMKhd_4fX_OssX23RpShBmB6_Drbrq4Eji8wmJMjm9vobGJkIwdHjBHZ5Nons9-ae4X8iH9p6DvVqg/s1600-h/Water+Project+2+021.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcZus-k4Ow8GfaBKYs8zKjSOQ-IaI7xIkqtrpJnBqtgadeeyuFzRxWeSFKWMKhd_4fX_OssX23RpShBmB6_Drbrq4Eji8wmJMjm9vobGJkIwdHjBHZ5Nons9-ae4X8iH9p6DvVqg/s400/Water+Project+2+021.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093549517637610210" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktzKgzdlEdGV7KkzxbM52FYqxMQx2otenhqH4JLqpGHY9mgZ9tQe6BcDG1cUi_4-7TLxLdPKWriNX_UHW0tDra4xjQaSA1WrDuBhHV_Me1kY4heXg6tYsMQQHhKhGddujwpH4uQ/s1600-h/Water+Project+2+025.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktzKgzdlEdGV7KkzxbM52FYqxMQx2otenhqH4JLqpGHY9mgZ9tQe6BcDG1cUi_4-7TLxLdPKWriNX_UHW0tDra4xjQaSA1WrDuBhHV_Me1kY4heXg6tYsMQQHhKhGddujwpH4uQ/s400/Water+Project+2+025.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093549526227544818" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktzKgzdlEdGV7KkzxbM52FYqxMQx2otenhqH4JLqpGHY9mgZ9tQe6BcDG1cUi_4-7TLxLdPKWriNX_UHW0tDra4xjQaSA1WrDuBhHV_Me1kY4heXg6tYsMQQHhKhGddujwpH4uQ/s1600-h/Water+Project+2+025.jpg"> </a><p class="MsoNormal">Another project that I am very proud of is having an English and Spanish club in the local high school. Students are very interested in learning English, so my postmate Richard and I applied for a small grant from USAID and with the assistance of Abel; a local English teacher we prepared a regional English competition that focused on HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness. With the money we received we gave out the test to over 250 students in 23 schools throughout the region, the top 80 students and top 7 teachers came to our town of Natitingou and we gave them another exam with the focus on HIV/AIDS and then had an awards ceremony with a play and presentation on HIV/AIDS prevention afterwards we gave the students, books, dictionaries, school material, money and paid for next school year’s fees. The English Competition was a huge success and the kids had a great time.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRK12G1H7VPcIutU6HOyh-oO-s_NgRnr1mzOSXnNm3I9DkfhuydgzT7tNwKcOqCILcoZqSYxSxtu7MqMRBqMixZqHCK7Iwtcz14bEElCN6UIYc1vm4Pgh2C89isAjsos7YGrv0gg/s1600-h/English+comp+pics+143.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRK12G1H7VPcIutU6HOyh-oO-s_NgRnr1mzOSXnNm3I9DkfhuydgzT7tNwKcOqCILcoZqSYxSxtu7MqMRBqMixZqHCK7Iwtcz14bEElCN6UIYc1vm4Pgh2C89isAjsos7YGrv0gg/s400/English+comp+pics+143.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093588528825560114" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5YvhuMd8UCz0MQyYHkQagTrOT3eC8rJwQLcpuFkYnSNFmbhAQxOE9JoWuO5dqqbrGrLYxzjnEVz4eN_W_T9YWM28ZJu-Fj2EMfJqubVh3SjMvIMzdOsiu0DBzsXZ2VB-P7l8Og/s1600-h/english+compet+pics+063.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5YvhuMd8UCz0MQyYHkQagTrOT3eC8rJwQLcpuFkYnSNFmbhAQxOE9JoWuO5dqqbrGrLYxzjnEVz4eN_W_T9YWM28ZJu-Fj2EMfJqubVh3SjMvIMzdOsiu0DBzsXZ2VB-P7l8Og/s400/english+compet+pics+063.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093588533120527426" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2OXOTUzJocQ840OqvJWSa3BW360GmmImltodPB6xfqegy_FMesyqc8vVnnnY9bfq-TY8r0RRKzBBYDVp4ezU68wCx_ionocKdkIi4ZUcixSnTbTMFmc4rmN7V56Jonhg9MhgzfQ/s1600-h/prizes+close+up.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2OXOTUzJocQ840OqvJWSa3BW360GmmImltodPB6xfqegy_FMesyqc8vVnnnY9bfq-TY8r0RRKzBBYDVp4ezU68wCx_ionocKdkIi4ZUcixSnTbTMFmc4rmN7V56Jonhg9MhgzfQ/s400/prizes+close+up.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093588103623797778" border="0" /></a></p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8xtYMdfoOhgjkPuR_7XaVtkYqrJkoURW5vW4xnb069q4YGhXTYtNf38sIizyWSIiGspL8_rL9ykSP7dLXMQV5JBOXnm-4ZnG_KKb2HqZVLdZlkHCOWVwEEJqwybkGiJE4rbiFw/s1600-h/banner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8xtYMdfoOhgjkPuR_7XaVtkYqrJkoURW5vW4xnb069q4YGhXTYtNf38sIizyWSIiGspL8_rL9ykSP7dLXMQV5JBOXnm-4ZnG_KKb2HqZVLdZlkHCOWVwEEJqwybkGiJE4rbiFw/s400/banner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093588095033863154" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcweA1t8h4tCTCNDviPlxySVv1IVek5f-VDvzYTIij65mMcmvHOTGo5mTFE77ZPrjMBiA4N4-ptGOgdh_ub4QrNZe440qKSud9FzTphSVY4ue2CWAGvcKMF1INhwhVVTYfHcxkkQ/s1600-h/audience.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcweA1t8h4tCTCNDviPlxySVv1IVek5f-VDvzYTIij65mMcmvHOTGo5mTFE77ZPrjMBiA4N4-ptGOgdh_ub4QrNZe440qKSud9FzTphSVY4ue2CWAGvcKMF1INhwhVVTYfHcxkkQ/s400/audience.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093588099328830466" border="0" /> </a><p class="MsoNormal">By far the greatest reward comes from working with the local orphanage and an NGO that helps children especially girls go to school. With a couple of dollars we have fed over 80 orphans for Christmas and bought clothing for them and with the NGO we have purchased books and uniforms to help underprivileged kids go to school and encourage the education of girls in small rural villages.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgORq6OV5_MPPW0XhYzebwSE0f_rVuFZqhFjn2oLo88a8EDQ7MSdcVR7LVO7__8q0RpCghmqDQ4sumzNKzv61EVtAw-JSwEUQVsQShnB5moxJC922QXz-6v4pwWScZ2EAKc7cAw/s1600-h/Photo+096.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgORq6OV5_MPPW0XhYzebwSE0f_rVuFZqhFjn2oLo88a8EDQ7MSdcVR7LVO7__8q0RpCghmqDQ4sumzNKzv61EVtAw-JSwEUQVsQShnB5moxJC922QXz-6v4pwWScZ2EAKc7cAw/s400/Photo+096.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093594211067292818" border="0" /> </a></p><p class="MsoNormal">At times things are a little difficult because if people see you do a project with somebody, some get jealous and expect the same attention and effort, many just want a handout because they think I have money to give away, others want me to do a project with them but they are not willing to put in the time and effort they expect all the work to be done for them. Overall I have been very blessed with everything I have done so far, I have already accomplished so much this year and I already have plans for my future projects, I am in the process of raising money to build an adult education classroom for my town, so expect an email from me asking you to please donate some money to my project or please check back in the near future for more info and details.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style=""> </span></p>Josehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14062699848212563746noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37215102.post-8151153302886731232007-07-17T05:21:00.001-07:002007-09-27T12:33:05.823-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVUoEMP_qUfsp876KvfEUGbI-H54In_U_Zhcq6bxjCyYDhhKFtA03rzg-FZeClVSk1Wzoh5WIqe83OcVSrMnrvnV5VuRB9lSzcjSqgf9NEKTVFxrGVNQM5UqtE1SDQix9EXNiZQ/s1600-h/IMG_0185.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088548315452060546" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVUoEMP_qUfsp876KvfEUGbI-H54In_U_Zhcq6bxjCyYDhhKFtA03rzg-FZeClVSk1Wzoh5WIqe83OcVSrMnrvnV5VuRB9lSzcjSqgf9NEKTVFxrGVNQM5UqtE1SDQix9EXNiZQ/s200/IMG_0185.JPG" border="0" /></a>Another popular tourist attraction in Benin is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ganvie</span>, a village built on a lake an hour from the capital. Think about it as Venice in<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimrGnuw_S9lnFuAZ2aJmqzL0745fMwGJDYS09Rn_y4BUpZ7cWCQPhbb6SIahrvSsCiZZPLLKUFvIcWkG__xdRTp-eVZRZviCUYt6zkuABSSZF6HKpSfpTMDmXcRThbKd5JlZixFQ/s1600-h/IMG_0193.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088551880274916306" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimrGnuw_S9lnFuAZ2aJmqzL0745fMwGJDYS09Rn_y4BUpZ7cWCQPhbb6SIahrvSsCiZZPLLKUFvIcWkG__xdRTp-eVZRZviCUYt6zkuABSSZF6HKpSfpTMDmXcRThbKd5JlZixFQ/s200/IMG_0193.JPG" border="0" /></a> Africa. Stories tell that in the 17<sup><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">th</span> </sup>century Kings of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Abomey</span> were waging war on their neighbors and capturing people to sale to the white men as slaves. Since the king’s soldiers could not swim, the people built themselves a village on the water, and they were thereby safe from the persecutors. Legend says that the people made a deal with the animals of the lake and they were helped by crocodiles to swim to the middle of the lake and other animals taught the people to build houses on the water to fish and farm in their new environment.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBigWmPZl-571w9_s9gjlpfOwzokZrGbVb7hvgAE-q6fOqfMCbqk4sbybVpK6IPf_YEl3ZT4VQP142kW0gUGatbXQkshNEzd88uMQV-wd4LVGxtOwri97gxMvXq-ZTe6u0IAJDQ/s1600-h/IMG_0187.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088550995511653314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBigWmPZl-571w9_s9gjlpfOwzokZrGbVb7hvgAE-q6fOqfMCbqk4sbybVpK6IPf_YEl3ZT4VQP142kW0gUGatbXQkshNEzd88uMQV-wd4LVGxtOwri97gxMvXq-ZTe6u0IAJDQ/s400/IMG_0187.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />I was recently in Cotonou, the pseudo capital of Benin when a couple of friends and I decided to go to the water village of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Ganvie</span>. Like I have ranted before Cotonou and the surrounding communes are some of the dirties<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGNo42eMXlYzG0qvI2qarf5XiYbrmegbgm23FySlT2Y5mEGbHP8UbEQGqzmHaPNj30_ZAregWGccbBWFfvVet1R79ZeDbfFzQImF37_5qTrEQ-4SpJ47IItIjfKeCHTZL1AtXCw/s1600-h/IMG_0206.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088551914634654706" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGNo42eMXlYzG0qvI2qarf5XiYbrmegbgm23FySlT2Y5mEGbHP8UbEQGqzmHaPNj30_ZAregWGccbBWFfvVet1R79ZeDbfFzQImF37_5qTrEQ-4SpJ47IItIjfKeCHTZL1AtXCw/s200/IMG_0206.JPG" border="0" /></a> and worst organized places that I have seen so far in Africa, and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Ganvie</span> was no exception, the place leading to the entrance was heavily polluted with trash, the road is in deplorable condition, the people come running up to tourist begging for money or to buy some incredibly over priced souvenir, and there was a horrible stench of trash and dead fish, for a popular tourist attraction this place is rundown and it seems as very little money is reinvest in the development of this national treasure, and this is sad cause it is probably the largest lake village in Africa and a very popular tourist attraction, I am sure that there is a lot of money being earned from this that locals are not seeing any benefit from.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw1F1cNbthWWkeYZOm_FwrZ51h8PbUg6BDR7Z04e4uiF19qZQwffnArD9EVqe5ScFx07XJnbrpSnXhCbqfF6z81bulP5KL2WeI1QZFAHpvcOf3IpTaPIlyMc2XT3L4dHgq1dV6LA/s1600-h/IMG_0157.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088383534736782162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw1F1cNbthWWkeYZOm_FwrZ51h8PbUg6BDR7Z04e4uiF19qZQwffnArD9EVqe5ScFx07XJnbrpSnXhCbqfF6z81bulP5KL2WeI1QZFAHpvcOf3IpTaPIlyMc2XT3L4dHgq1dV6LA/s400/IMG_0157.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLzBUm1XIVrIUsvjeETa7BMtQBfx_a6zALwpwwKh4__zgtQ1A_72RcjnZ0CY5B05Ekozy5YRVbJ70U546004n7w2VIHxJSoPUxhiDYUoqamD0nz8HgVJjA9gEmN_vJiXa8ulKsaw/s1600-h/IMG_0184.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088548328336962450" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLzBUm1XIVrIUsvjeETa7BMtQBfx_a6zALwpwwKh4__zgtQ1A_72RcjnZ0CY5B05Ekozy5YRVbJ70U546004n7w2VIHxJSoPUxhiDYUoqamD0nz8HgVJjA9gEmN_vJiXa8ulKsaw/s200/IMG_0184.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />That was just the entrance, after we payed for our boat we started our trip to the actual village, we started seeing little wooden fishing boats, most were aged and beat up cause while one person rowed another was responsible taking the water out of the boat, sometimes there was one person doing both. The sails were made from old blankets or from empty rice and corn sacks sown together. After about 30 minutes in a motorized boat we started seeing rough make-shift houses of old planks and straw on stilts, the closer we got we started seeing more and more till it looked like an actual village on water. The actual village of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Ganvie</span> is nice, very picturesque, with colorful wooden houses, people conducting everyday business but on boats, the market was a cluster of boats and people rowing to buy and sell, people transporting animals and random things to sell.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiehSab1YIDwixPobspCMZkJN8sVYTdxGsj-Gmg9Dnl12hOXXgmoYSFBJs16YVfVrzepssmBi8AUX8nBGPKRDqaLFq1BWIkmI7xsa0p93m7_1ewNEckbE4s5R-K8cSiS9mUehbRsA/s1600-h/IMG_0161.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088383539031749474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiehSab1YIDwixPobspCMZkJN8sVYTdxGsj-Gmg9Dnl12hOXXgmoYSFBJs16YVfVrzepssmBi8AUX8nBGPKRDqaLFq1BWIkmI7xsa0p93m7_1ewNEckbE4s5R-K8cSiS9mUehbRsA/s400/IMG_0161.JPG" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_W-8p45nG3daH0UYgWYGBS-tCIqFCM_Vxk0CTSQb0P5oDvNEIGMtYaNihfEW-Am_ieXgtwUuOBzfnb7rqKZDTx1CCVHgRKu5MAb7jZ8_FKCZz1YcTfNeEjNm3adSbq6T304raiA/s1600-h/IMG_0145.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088383526146847538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_W-8p45nG3daH0UYgWYGBS-tCIqFCM_Vxk0CTSQb0P5oDvNEIGMtYaNihfEW-Am_ieXgtwUuOBzfnb7rqKZDTx1CCVHgRKu5MAb7jZ8_FKCZz1YcTfNeEjNm3adSbq6T304raiA/s400/IMG_0145.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHoGmkTRfTDY_J7-OLvKOjfHyeCSu48pqO1HZK8Bq4DeNsEHeAkdB0NwHzjEaSrfKnprKzXg8wNrM8lgC-0Ck9gxAs9Ux1fIf2xAi1e-qzjC3Jdf9C2zZpPwnXXQQpVMrwVoHByw/s1600-h/IMG_0210.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088548336926897058" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHoGmkTRfTDY_J7-OLvKOjfHyeCSu48pqO1HZK8Bq4DeNsEHeAkdB0NwHzjEaSrfKnprKzXg8wNrM8lgC-0Ck9gxAs9Ux1fIf2xAi1e-qzjC3Jdf9C2zZpPwnXXQQpVMrwVoHByw/s200/IMG_0210.JPG" border="0" /></a>Aside of the people who sold stuff to tourist the people of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Ganvie</span> were very defense about not taking their pictures, the pictures I have of people I had to take very discreetly. Actually the people of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Ganvie</span> were not that nice to the tourist, kind of strange considering that this is one of Benin's most popular tourist attraction and the village lives of tourism and fishing. But after a couple of minuets of being in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Ganvie</span> I could completely<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxO_RE6cA0HU-_vZa2tZLwCpT0f8EBSkftQSFhzvcZs_GhDUtKRo1ZZxFWVHyBPtdmU7aWrl1cWdCrXJlrFKjMHcrXca_PfeGcwS1D45SBQrocpc_9Koeym0iVBt60EJrQ7pISsQ/s1600-h/IMG_0152.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088551897454785506" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxO_RE6cA0HU-_vZa2tZLwCpT0f8EBSkftQSFhzvcZs_GhDUtKRo1ZZxFWVHyBPtdmU7aWrl1cWdCrXJlrFKjMHcrXca_PfeGcwS1D45SBQrocpc_9Koeym0iVBt60EJrQ7pISsQ/s200/IMG_0152.JPG" border="0" /></a> understood why. Tourist come in in loud motor boats that scare the fish and create waves that unbalance their little boats, then tourist go around taking pictures and viewing people and the place as a zoo attraction and invade in their personal space and everyday lives, I too would get upset if people came to my town and treated me and my town like a zoo or tourist <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">attraction</span>, and like I previously mention the village does not see much of the profits that is earned from their town. But overall <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Ganvie</span> was very nice and I am glad I have the chance to see it.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhiqKlflU7U8VzjqaLWJWKcg6DEB-fbSDFrjBywcenZ4xcQfZXP15qDRTcP0uZhHdI9aR_4pA9u6u87ZQdhjD-iS-DDuEEjfuAttYmAGtiwKFLvqJKahKKbOF6u52qUBqnjYYRQ/s1600-h/IMG_0220.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5088383530441814850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhiqKlflU7U8VzjqaLWJWKcg6DEB-fbSDFrjBywcenZ4xcQfZXP15qDRTcP0uZhHdI9aR_4pA9u6u87ZQdhjD-iS-DDuEEjfuAttYmAGtiwKFLvqJKahKKbOF6u52qUBqnjYYRQ/s400/IMG_0220.JPG" border="0" /></a>Josehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14062699848212563746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37215102.post-75518542912355129912007-06-26T10:21:00.000-07:002007-09-27T13:01:20.278-07:00<div>Damn, I had a couple of articles and a bunch of pictures I was going to to post but I lost my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">USB</span> key with some work including a project for a grant to build an adult education center that I had been working on for days. But nothing I can't do over again, and I was able to salvage a couple of pics that I wanted to post. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5080428777952028178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_hLwhTvKX8swFOJc5NKdJXS-nvUYcee-IRFG3vXmOwgweQftMBQV3ezXCPWzLysj3quQzvUiq91mnZxva-XorIWqNkf-rejoX2tR9xsjpnVySKcyeGm7up9RJyAMjgW0a8qG07w/s400/Pendjari+124.jpg" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114976301294682482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSImuHr2Ro-ayJI1iUaFWQX6xG_Krq9QIZUWFmZvHkpi2MOew4dvBOCWStNFO7HImtTGMljYwjV3lDlRZg6BxdSoy_JBDHJZNshU8stUdg4d_IQr7At3R9EWj8V0hvfyqg_tcdGQ/s400/IMG_1637.JPG" border="0" /><br /></div><br /><div>I had written an article on the cultural diversity of Africa, on how many different languages, and the cultures that can be found in West Africa and the different types of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">scarifications</span> and tattoos that they use to distinguish each other or to represent what tribe they are from.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5080428769362093570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Qb1iCDBmE2kY6wXViG1SsusT-p-EQF4Js0f6dYjhCyAwCzokeTggeOlLM8nPKcReYmmjwEnd33v6aHRCTjc3dmsOweSRJVdkuFRJNPw7oMeZ9idT03C5WMnxLLbWEe8BlD7SLA/s400/DSC01298.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><div>Since I have arrived to Africa nothing has <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">fascinated</span> more than the faces I have seen, and these pictures are only but a few examples. The pictures will tell the story.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5080428765067126258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvc5wzzhy_WWuHuTpUDMEdMmiGXYh-w9AcaDZfmvINFrRe19Wj1YqK0YzC_mXdBTMjuiq_fqlz2201pfxRDoet-NfqDZTsIY_hmgkXFTcYrea05NIwFykhJC3DFvgVQmNgEq84_w/s400/IMG_0478.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><div></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5080428765067126242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggNxfqXBHO32qZ0MNTGZd6JuUqprFRBpVrMl_QYH_pbKsxYiyaE4Ix864jnDeoikGheGKJDl9eF1thLD7HcRNfhkA5b0iva1Ct9zhiJz9wvD2Afl3YVujpfoxSVUjvU5CFoBjAJQ/s400/Pendjari+126.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5080433330617361970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2oMKcGgaj2p0sbzoj2geHpNTEJXM5js_BEewkiK4HSRNxKdV2FM6nSJefkkfWNpKwGWHJtajTTKTiBLh-3lFuH0iSss5cqfqcgWGkEVuivLKIwF6KCu7RsCrjYD6Phu5QBxn9Q/s400/Pendjari+129.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5080433322027427362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRXh7eXgrZyHeX8e2Ica3rVRTE-0PP-xEamNZmrvQ8a_KY2598OZmKgpgQlQ-LBS-5NT0nfAnw9GzO5rI_7LbqtQNIVqFnbkc9WZieL0h-YElbXQy-efO2Rl2llTIbSp5NxO0b-g/s400/DSCF1954.JPG" border="0" />Josehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14062699848212563746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37215102.post-35404255582608463862007-06-06T15:04:00.000-07:002007-06-09T10:32:02.139-07:00<span style="font-size:180%;">Voodoo 101</span><br /><br />First off, forget about everything you ever learned about voodoo from Hollywood, sorry to disappoint and let you down but no zombies and living dead here. Benin is the region where Voodoo was born, during the slave trade many of the slaves that went to the New World such as Brazil, Haiti and the United States came from what is now known as Benin. Since Christianity was forced down their throats by Western colonizers, slaves merged their native believes and traditions with Christianity and along the way somethings changed and voodoo was born. From what I have learned, I am going to try to do the best to explain what voodoo is, I am sure I am going to get somethings wrong but it is hard to get this correct since there is no written history and stories change from region and according to people, so take what I say with a grain of salt.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5073092518543926578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8XrS6BkCjsT3OW6wjTwkDJVWvyCVEQR_9nRxBsaVmsM4o0yK6zFe9Tp1pqBhyphenhypheneXwPrH0MboyaZ4X5CsdKwDL0Sj8U5t2vGhh0TngrMEFqD1jM06pWVQs6SP2C9sAcyK_gN0h9IA/s400/greeting.JPG" border="0" />The best way I can explain voodoo is to compare it to the Native American religious believes, that the world is alive, that spirits are all around us, our dead ancestors are not dead but they are among us in different forms. Those spirits can protect us, bring good fortune and prosperity or the spirits can be vengeful and bring bad luck and hardship. We can contact the spirits through certain actions and rituals and there are certain people who have been given the gift of talking to spirits. These people will go into a trance and communicate with the spirits. There is a national holiday in January that celebrates voodoo and people gather in Ouida, the cradle of voodoo, where people dance in a trance and slash themselves with knives and brake bottles on their heads to prove that their body is in this world but their spirits are in another world.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5073082726018491650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCqCTYI9AYAIGovhR-rk2Hg2sZYYaG1cYiEjyudceB-J0KrFtNGCamAfeemcFrO7-flvoOQm8wK3N46fLBHLMf_K1fE3syABnwl3OTHMJnuO0coXfXQQvbdesgTBzMrQBY95kTg/s400/956433-R1-20-23+(Custom).jpg" border="0" /> Voodoo in Benin is known as <span style="font-size:130%;"><em>Grigri. Grigri </em></span><span style="font-size:100%;">is very present in the everyday lives and the people still hold a very strong believe that grigri plays a part of their lives, a large portion of Africans are animist and have combined Islam or Christianity to their believes but grigri is seen in the biggest to smallest details of their lives. For example certain hospitals in rural and medium size town will have grigri as a cause of death on their death certificate. It is common to see mud statues that represent deceased members of the family and depending the size and accessories that the statue has, you can tell how important the person was, but the actual purpose of the statue is to represent that the person is still among the living. Sweeping after sundown is seen as taboo, cause the spirits come out at night and sweeping might anger the spirits. Going to the outdoor markets is a very interesting experience, there are grigri sections where you can find monkey bones, animal skins, dried animals potions made of god knows what, and various types of strange roots and herbs, there are also markets that sell nothing but grigri objects.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5073092514248959266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVpfuDhAApWYskr6sTYidCSj0Ahr81BX-_gp1uLy3JnqTepNFQQr5x26j_-DpnZEr0tAuRoKK96r1VB9CuhU1b3iGj-NJOY5JFFZY9H5XtznOZxhZ2Q0KGjC2hO1_xNlJF4dfVjw/s400/sitting.JPG" border="0" /></span>Josehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14062699848212563746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37215102.post-88590289149468992912007-05-20T08:29:00.000-07:002007-07-19T07:57:13.348-07:00<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjhKUZh4Kp_Oj3spgRmvRmZzGS1897uHYnaMLqGqJy5gP9sVGPBT_uxk6z0i4561ZerfNWb29HAi_1cLWds_Pxn_k75lwkWPjcvtHkw6dcKl7Pb2JOgomU99TW29RjMy-bLSQLA/s1600-h/Pendjari+079.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066679603034079234" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjhKUZh4Kp_Oj3spgRmvRmZzGS1897uHYnaMLqGqJy5gP9sVGPBT_uxk6z0i4561ZerfNWb29HAi_1cLWds_Pxn_k75lwkWPjcvtHkw6dcKl7Pb2JOgomU99TW29RjMy-bLSQLA/s200/Pendjari+079.jpg" border="0" /></a>Peace Corps pays Benin volunteers more or less 220 dollars a month, this is practically nothing to the average American, but in contrast to the average Beninese salary we are making big money. We get paid every three months, and if you’re anything like me who loves to travel, blow money and have a good time, you will find yourself broke very soon and anxiously awaiting next pay<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066681866481844274" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq67sfQUrntKW46p8zhQLbAkf3mCAE1EvGLktqzKwYfvffjwr3iAISpdHv1B1E6OHoIHRiotQirbyRUKA339RyWEwAmY7w-ejC6cMYdvI9-oKu7QDSyyDpqlhQM2MDPstqn0cBfw/s200/Pendjari+042.jpg" border="0" /> check. When we were in Ghana and Togo I went all out and made sure I had a great time but as a consequence after our trip, I was broke and running on fumes.<br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074076766134379890" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggS8UFPHLO6MWN7OtaZHLMUMldzSrnTidz-VHwcPhtfEpwlasUzlIGrBRaP5CUPS4pnHu3dsubKPAYxykodrDVW6Np7u1b9JQoUpNft3KaaciME0jy6aAYKXX9Zp4r_pnv22Wwfw/s320/P1010903.JPG" border="0" /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnepirbojEvRUG6FKc1VeY0QZjWC86Ixs1SEGJm1ns5i_Usdd3hV7oZ8alpxY9fUc8lW036-3czX-k5EiZ3vzFyIUksXnAU6zG0XAG9gHtB7qtiE8zQ4h0F95Ntk1pnQWlnbFHsQ/s1600-h/Pendjari+114.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066668092521725826" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnepirbojEvRUG6FKc1VeY0QZjWC86Ixs1SEGJm1ns5i_Usdd3hV7oZ8alpxY9fUc8lW036-3czX-k5EiZ3vzFyIUksXnAU6zG0XAG9gHtB7qtiE8zQ4h0F95Ntk1pnQWlnbFHsQ/s200/Pendjari+114.jpg" border="0" /></a>Back in my town, a couple of days when a good friend; Sarah, calls me telling me that her parents are in Benin visiting her for a couple of days, and they want to go on safari at the national park Pendjari which is about 2 hours from my town, people from across the world come <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XR22prjpBC24le22xGTCgkIN42rnMfdVJY6hpvXoTzRyz-NCBu_zxYncGeZjBgth6EFEfHaopzdIrB5CCows9cvdOomyYImlQBX_YR467ULut1tM-WoMYzQidw7jyk8mRhkd1A/s1600-h/IMG_0467.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066672941539803058" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XR22prjpBC24le22xGTCgkIN42rnMfdVJY6hpvXoTzRyz-NCBu_zxYncGeZjBgth6EFEfHaopzdIrB5CCows9cvdOomyYImlQBX_YR467ULut1tM-WoMYzQidw7jyk8mRhkd1A/s200/IMG_0467.JPG" border="0" /></a>to go on safari, and I have not had the chance to go because its too expensive and I am always broke or we have also tried to go but for one reason or another things never workout. When Peace Corps Volunteers go on safari it is usually for half-a-day because rooms and guides are ridiculously expensive, since it is catered to tourist who can afford it. Sarah tells me that they are going to spend two nights and three day at the park, she offers that they will pay for everything all I have to pay is the entrance fee, which is around 20 dollars. How could I say no to that?<br />How lucky am I? Very. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074076109004383586" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioyqmPbw9nkq4u8va6Zzp3dvF-juLCMX5sraoShCayXc49tAUkkHwqT0nx9pyv4vldLOwQkszrXtlPltlATivlJ_ZYei_re5rv-t08t76GS-u8Xsu4kWemH415c4RcgbKys_V2PA/s320/P1010941.JPG" border="0" /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1BtAoL0Rs_EIljfW_M0MzNHSgislq5Cd1jV2sLceQgQe3CZiwFVXV1IaGv5VB5dnRhlWM-u-XnkxRQtYcUTuHyLJfXHyOPoSDOaPya7d_kV0Z8iFjvX6ufSt9wtysavPYfoaZbg/s1600-h/IMG_0483.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066681857891909666" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1BtAoL0Rs_EIljfW_M0MzNHSgislq5Cd1jV2sLceQgQe3CZiwFVXV1IaGv5VB5dnRhlWM-u-XnkxRQtYcUTuHyLJfXHyOPoSDOaPya7d_kV0Z8iFjvX6ufSt9wtysavPYfoaZbg/s200/IMG_0483.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Parc National de la Pendjari is a 275,000-hectare national wildlife park is par excellence in this part of West Africa for spotting lions, elephants, baboons, leopards and hippos. The best time to go is <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdaAeO_aXhHaCq3b2wJiPm-rKsWaFhSHw8P_479QT-osPy8k6KO38QY79Zc-zuDmJQxAGNRah3qwB0v48_7l_ruV0Wgi-ycoxtDHL2h7fwALzy-bu7ivkCVtJabSvo28TQWUUR3w/s1600-h/IMG_0440.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066668083931791218" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdaAeO_aXhHaCq3b2wJiPm-rKsWaFhSHw8P_479QT-osPy8k6KO38QY79Zc-zuDmJQxAGNRah3qwB0v48_7l_ruV0Wgi-ycoxtDHL2h7fwALzy-bu7ivkCVtJabSvo28TQWUUR3w/s200/IMG_0440.JPG" border="0" /></a>around the end of the dry season from November till April when animals start to hover around the water holes, but in May the rainy season starts and everything starts to get green, trees, shrubs and the vegetation starts to grow and animals are less likely venture out and be seen, so we were told that we might not get to see as many animals and at first we did not see too many but after a couple of hours of riding around on top of an uncomfortable Toyota 4-Runner that soon changed. We were also fortunate to spend three days in the park so we were able to see <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Xbzf12h_bBKwIz4MYsUwBwI4HbFLo596G7sus4-uy4ats-uYieBMlx_6BoRoqp3lq9vcxqkM9sPUsROhn11SeK2Ym6kS2yu5lWsSHJBcD-0OC3g2z2-W9IhMnZpsTDjU70MJ8Q/s1600-h/IMG_0538.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066672954424704962" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Xbzf12h_bBKwIz4MYsUwBwI4HbFLo596G7sus4-uy4ats-uYieBMlx_6BoRoqp3lq9vcxqkM9sPUsROhn11SeK2Ym6kS2yu5lWsSHJBcD-0OC3g2z2-W9IhMnZpsTDjU70MJ8Q/s200/IMG_0538.JPG" border="0" /></a>lions, elephants, warthogs, hippos, monkeys and baboons, various types of deer, caribou, antelope and birds of all sizes and colors. Since it is the beginning of the raining season, food and water are abundant so it is also the birth season for animals; we got the chance to see just about everything baby, baby warthogs, baby hippos, baby monkeys etc and no matter how fat and ugly the animals are as adults, as babies they are all cute. It was interesting to see baby monkeys come close to the car and look at us with such curiosity and then runaway. I was amazed by the diversity of birds there are, small birds to huge birds that were easily up to 5 feet tall, birds of all colors, from dull brown to the brightest blue and red with shades and combinations of various colors. The elephants were the highlight of the safari, African elephant are huge and fearless, while other animals ran or flew at our sight the elephants would <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQiQk02Vir48wAJvbqOMtIfG5mE9ZBHteJmVmsAn77JAAQEpiVt8gEgcKElRghD58qaOO7HcurPs2Fe1ZAX7QL_e7Cga_51NtcmS6vSD73yZQ7v0_9X1u-vOXvCMSajJOGBHoBA/s1600-h/IMG_0465.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066681849301975058" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQiQk02Vir48wAJvbqOMtIfG5mE9ZBHteJmVmsAn77JAAQEpiVt8gEgcKElRghD58qaOO7HcurPs2Fe1ZAX7QL_e7Cga_51NtcmS6vSD73yZQ7v0_9X1u-vOXvCMSajJOGBHoBA/s200/IMG_0465.JPG" border="0" /></a>walk right by us or continue what they were doing without even bothering to acknowledge us, we saw a herd of 4 elephants playing on a puddle and wrestling.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066669046004465554" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcRylg861D4mqJ15nKwyFqbXnLvu5kQnp1s7NbXwAOyriimPoZvRxX0pa_2aY06SEwknM9xV5ecgQN9gnecqVZHovVuhD2FWchpKApibDmPatKT65dgdJJI3yv3wgmrvOy2e77MA/s320/Pendjari+084.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br />The third and last day of our trip, we were all tired and ready to head back so we spent half the day on safari and then in the African heat of the afternoon we went swimming in the waterfalls that are at the entrance of the park. None of the pictures that I have posted or taken can justify actually seeing the animals and scenery of Africa.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074077964430255490" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghvibe0BsR41lKhlD2CRV_SojnhETUpkxTxzkjFCD58qfOoG42nq481Io8qePb1Buwp994WMhRD4nN7t2yfxuUafRJtwcdziOfRy-l_su2mDTojSJeVd77cLOV_Sb42IkQKnevLw/s320/P1010931.JPG" border="0" /><br />I would like to thank Mike and Fran Haskins for making this adventure possible.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066674809850576850" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLN1TYdbJs1Xhl2SxnKOZ23Tk-xkPC19-Bk78ERpbZlPbwwjqJyd3TjPjHWL1BKi4ElNSQizKi-R-nV3mEY200GStixUKLZnPewOOivob_UzpWg8e59Men6gzh4lVUldpEFaIaHQ/s400/Pendjari+097.jpg" border="0" />Josehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14062699848212563746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37215102.post-67078002579071140702007-04-28T08:09:00.000-07:002007-06-06T15:39:32.830-07:00<div>The life of an African is hard, but the life of African women is very tough.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ-7JPIXTd_lpEbV3sRb1z7F3GMhPkDHvEV2s0FWttnM9bmF565JVRAUUHHHXIlJUZnGjQ12iahj8SHTJ2az3_LguFRfakHPjjVkiLrg2W9uDkuXZsvZ31tecsQeavH7SYc3Lbag/s1600-h/DSCF1066.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066687759176974418" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ-7JPIXTd_lpEbV3sRb1z7F3GMhPkDHvEV2s0FWttnM9bmF565JVRAUUHHHXIlJUZnGjQ12iahj8SHTJ2az3_LguFRfakHPjjVkiLrg2W9uDkuXZsvZ31tecsQeavH7SYc3Lbag/s200/DSCF1066.JPG" border="0" /></a>Since I arrived to Africa one of the first things that I noticed was that the life of African women is very difficult, burdensome and faces many obstacles at any age. At a young age African girls have a hard life, around the age of 5, young girls are responsible for taking care of their younger siblings, cooking cleaning doing laundry or selling water or fruit on the streets. It is typical to see young girls with babies strapped to their back, while doing chores or walking down the street with a large heavy tray filled with fruit. The chores they do are not as simple as the chores we have in the States or the developed world. For example, most houses do not have running water, therefore the girls have to go to wells or water pumps that are usually far and carry large basins of water on their head <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpfss3nbLOL-w1a-HmkxZtda90ZsG4F0Ft3ebHgf9DrvaStpKoZ0FB-gFAFcenAMkTQTADOyo3vPHMVNBEmYAhyphenhyphenxk698hOmJr5t-WPxkc0ylmbIx28CJJFEjuuSFF7lC4jRx93Yw/s1600-h/CIMG0076.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066689863710949522" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpfss3nbLOL-w1a-HmkxZtda90ZsG4F0Ft3ebHgf9DrvaStpKoZ0FB-gFAFcenAMkTQTADOyo3vPHMVNBEmYAhyphenhyphenxk698hOmJr5t-WPxkc0ylmbIx28CJJFEjuuSFF7lC4jRx93Yw/s200/CIMG0076.JPG" border="0" /></a>on a daily basis. There are no supermarkets or refrigerators so everything they cook has to be made from scratch, if the family wants to eat chicken, they are going to buy it, kill it, clean it and cook it. Houses are made of mud that easily crumb, so sweeping and cleaning the house can taking all day, washing machines do not exist here, and washing cloths by hand is a tedious job that wears down your hands, people are too poor to afford gas stoves, so just getting a fire started with wood or charcoal takes effort and time, these are just a few examples of daily chores that girls are expected to do.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066691710546886866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoK2qjOyEv5o6LbPRgzP50lY4y_Q0SYrfcDFGJc1Q_xLSA2eU4mIHoklv0g770wNaUzKOUFlenhMdnm7er71wvS9DRjNF3If3YmOj-LXgH6E8tD9YJ4kYn3TO9Fyy0LK-HdNA6Pg/s320/IMG_0404.jpg" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5073084212077176082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXoZrG20RgtVhnBrTq5DPKXsbAK6FQ1sFLNo6kCsIo2oZHzcx6WxLnMYGiEYPo1FSfpTzFARuYGEw2otFauXqmXuX1JeD1r0P4gkQ4gUJCdaeosPMW1SV51GrFVLS-HunpmzSp8A/s400/DSCN0272.JPG" border="0" /><br />Education is not an option for most girls. Predominately families in villages do not send their <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7fzS0GlPI4CY7lFuCe39uElSV7kuxgOTu1CTv4mJTPKqOXHxZP7775H4ziZ0P6PfqmS_EZTk9SwdDADGCLqcHgTupPXXTJyYx1D-j4uRPOZqHG7aLkpAf2I2dDb5h5SeaRzNKcA/s1600-h/IMG_0392.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066686410557243458" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 207px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 187px" height="146" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7fzS0GlPI4CY7lFuCe39uElSV7kuxgOTu1CTv4mJTPKqOXHxZP7775H4ziZ0P6PfqmS_EZTk9SwdDADGCLqcHgTupPXXTJyYx1D-j4uRPOZqHG7aLkpAf2I2dDb5h5SeaRzNKcA/s320/IMG_0392.jpg" width="186" border="0" /></a>daughters to school, because spending money and time on their education is seen as a waste since girls are usually married off at a young age and start having children. Parents think that girls are more valuable working at home and learning the skills of a wife, mother and caretaker. Schools in the cities or bigger towns are more likely to have more girls go to school, but as the grade level goes up there are fewer girls present. For example from 1st grade to 5th grade there are likely to be an equal number of boys to girls but, from 6th grade to 10th grade there are a couple of girls and beyond that there is only a handful. Then girls also face problems like teachers sleeping with them, getting them pregnant and leaving them, I was very surprised to find out that this is a common occurrence throughout schools in Africa. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066690821488656562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDaIdriALt7mq1TEv3ibm55_s7bQ6LDUd8QLFJ9j30YspXLFZ9sigrmNfeajylDVyc1VDs-3Fq_muehYC3l-ZfsTJFiKlFn2AzmOCp1BygvcSrHwwzGRLEDDtvh8JUEyaFGLDHw/s320/Pendjari+027.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_AsFnfXEfnKbJkguVOeJWcVIpwrw5-tGNv3WuOKz1mvdDnwWUtqRxsu-yGcjqZGXByElZ7LY35BKYTXk9eoM5yynTdvX87rgtCgv_qXF2pDsZQqDCFvhfxRMzJanplRu5vG0zQ/s1600-h/IMG_0361.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066687763471941730" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_AsFnfXEfnKbJkguVOeJWcVIpwrw5-tGNv3WuOKz1mvdDnwWUtqRxsu-yGcjqZGXByElZ7LY35BKYTXk9eoM5yynTdvX87rgtCgv_qXF2pDsZQqDCFvhfxRMzJanplRu5vG0zQ/s200/IMG_0361.JPG" border="0" /></a>Life only gets harder for women, they marry willingly or by force by their early to late teens, and then they start having children. In villages men have up to 4 wives; usually the fourth is a young adolescent girl. Health volunteers have told me that African women cannot refuse their husbands, and their husbands do not want them on birth control so the consequence is that they will have one child after another and this takes a heavy toll on their <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheN_dcu4fyhL-ViMeR0DouoWoHp-QMZx_A6bNnBbQvDn7OGwcH-cBIdI-dKrG1LFtuDNx6RGHElPqKSnKgCLTyEWV57-xaxoZbIQh2WFlcYfTLrAIsSUB-2hyfOtLNAsmuEkYGiw/s1600-h/IMG_0586.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066689868005916834" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheN_dcu4fyhL-ViMeR0DouoWoHp-QMZx_A6bNnBbQvDn7OGwcH-cBIdI-dKrG1LFtuDNx6RGHElPqKSnKgCLTyEWV57-xaxoZbIQh2WFlcYfTLrAIsSUB-2hyfOtLNAsmuEkYGiw/s200/IMG_0586.JPG" border="0" /></a>bodies, but not even childbirth slows them down, they can have a baby one night and be back to cooking, chopping wood, doing chores and tending to their husband the next day. African women are incredibly strong in so many ways, they have the strength to strap a baby to their back and carry up to half their weight in coal, tree branches, logs, water, and other things on their head for long distances. On market days you can the parade of women with bright colourful clothing with incredible amounts of weight on their head to sale at the market. In bigger towns and cities girls can only find jobs at bars that pay minimum wage which is practically not a damn thing, tipping does not exist in Africa so they turn to prostitution or have to put up with the shit of stupid drunks hitting on them, because this is the only source of income to feed their children or family.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066690821488656578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVelRcJ0ZfliPz4uDJ9U2FWGazZYcuYxlHI0122HD2MnWbDijnXPfXmQSjKO_dCv4uhXKzuwhwkaFh78O_9cEg_nDCshzI8WF7dpB06DML_nBKDOWs-iPeUh13CKNyrcy8WYVUw/s320/Photo+046.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066688579515728002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmuauWP6DO-nNhjO6BPxnlMIF3yBAtlY-bulN2dyVoMSvYVDtSNQ1BZ5E7j-2Op0o5ZSP87MeehTbQNaQEgmpOPPV3dVUwCar2PvjH8u19WzqGyysIZcedLKF-t_fVIe3UElVqrg/s320/IMG_0374.JPG" border="0" /></div>Josehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14062699848212563746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37215102.post-49182399136846412652007-04-19T07:03:00.000-07:002007-05-21T10:14:20.226-07:00Since I <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4b3oXDESEAWl9YorFbaIoS7apN86vulUy5c8ozLQtJ-jM53fczf-AyV-Aaah5gCxa4lUh2qZ4J6oIv87h0DtD3sTAcL7vGIa-f5jUnEWnqCTCsBhlU-MQZ02SVCCwwZZYK5rvw/s1600-h/IMG_0129[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055150837830018498" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4b3oXDESEAWl9YorFbaIoS7apN86vulUy5c8ozLQtJ-jM53fczf-AyV-Aaah5gCxa4lUh2qZ4J6oIv87h0DtD3sTAcL7vGIa-f5jUnEWnqCTCsBhlU-MQZ02SVCCwwZZYK5rvw/s200/IMG_0129%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>arrived to Africa, I have heard everybody say that Ghana is the promised land of Africa. Peace Corps Volunteers always talk about how nice and developed it is, how you can find all the modern luxuries that the States has to offer, sports bars, malls, fast food, American television show etc. Honestly when I heard this, it was a turn off, because when I came<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNabvurGx3YXwpmfFfZicIcNGlG2tAKvwemDRW-ECCExQtMsmJqWZsJ_CWKbURZF2W1PNLBb0IdRpLgGf-6uxZ_5Lt70RpaptZfIhppagFxK8bDZpOWoCtfTz115kErteMNKXSXA/s1600-h/IMG_0128[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055453418276021794" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNabvurGx3YXwpmfFfZicIcNGlG2tAKvwemDRW-ECCExQtMsmJqWZsJ_CWKbURZF2W1PNLBb0IdRpLgGf-6uxZ_5Lt70RpaptZfIhppagFxK8bDZpOWoCtfTz115kErteMNKXSXA/s200/IMG_0128%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a> to Africa I wanted to see Timbuktu, villages made of mud huts, safari, the Sahara desert, jungles and wild animals, things that Africa is about, if I wanted sports bars and malls I would have stayed back in the States. But I still wanted to know what see the country for myself and like I previously said, I am going to travel and visit as many countries as I can. So Ben, a good friend and I got together and <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8mjvithSDUjIHwprKRAe4weEfDouGpudZOPwfsx7HJs3eLMYQSzwsQNda0nUEFRRUBn6y2EIZdtyF6IKaiEWH0XVpaO8f9hlqrtGbzCM-_lqqLo6INCtyxbn_QUHHdnQmzs45pQ/s1600-h/IMG_0153[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055449140488594946" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8mjvithSDUjIHwprKRAe4weEfDouGpudZOPwfsx7HJs3eLMYQSzwsQNda0nUEFRRUBn6y2EIZdtyF6IKaiEWH0XVpaO8f9hlqrtGbzCM-_lqqLo6INCtyxbn_QUHHdnQmzs45pQ/s200/IMG_0153%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>just decided to go, we picked the dates but made no plans, we were going to improvise the whole trip. After a Peace Corps event in the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">pseudo</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">capitol</span> of Cotonou, Ben and I embarked on our trip. We started North of Togo in the town of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Kara. We stayed a day exploring the city, following day we took a 5 hour bus ride to the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">capital</span> Lome, where we met some other Peace Corps Volunteers who invited us to go to a hip-hop concert that turned out to be a<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidpIFCK1jib_D9AXcdh_CzID6ZtlYuU3k8BZzxUXGluEY5HX6MlOuSZmRxCQlAlFZByB4v9OpAJJvqZtWJOjG_iqQxyUNMQx-g9edp2uh-YVKDHB_ixJYDm1QLLlvhHm9e8EX66w/s1600-h/IMG_0360[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055850208829662898" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidpIFCK1jib_D9AXcdh_CzID6ZtlYuU3k8BZzxUXGluEY5HX6MlOuSZmRxCQlAlFZByB4v9OpAJJvqZtWJOjG_iqQxyUNMQx-g9edp2uh-YVKDHB_ixJYDm1QLLlvhHm9e8EX66w/s200/IMG_0360%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a> really fun time and after a couple rounds of beers we were lit. Next day we spent the morning at the beach and then in a motorized rickshaw exploring the city of Lome. Togo is a small country that has gone through a lot shit, civil unrest and fighting among themselves so Lome is not as big and developed as other cities, but the highlight of the Lome had <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFjWiJJSfjIIjSMSecnJ5jVs_2nxMUk4Vj1yE8i3PU6PaD-FC864MlgAdqeNGinRma9P-CU34rPBmxJLFdNsj_E0L724UnFY2QU_QeW9dNgo8646KLv9EhicgrGCGWM1mTamicw/s1600-h/IMG_0116[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055146779085923730" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFjWiJJSfjIIjSMSecnJ5jVs_2nxMUk4Vj1yE8i3PU6PaD-FC864MlgAdqeNGinRma9P-CU34rPBmxJLFdNsj_E0L724UnFY2QU_QeW9dNgo8646KLv9EhicgrGCGWM1mTamicw/s200/IMG_0116%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>to be Al <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Donalds</span> a one <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">arched</span> fake-me-out <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">McDonald's</span>. </span><br /><br /><div><div><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5067060631057744098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLjfh-qf392XxmwQWQpwDLWpoo_L4wfEFueKYcNJ5c1r8EIw5lN2SqpYWogLS_cgRJmSCGgAZZNqmjqUNzJZYwApuOoU2Yw25KPuJlKmdBqoCnXL4kUAO6xt87_AMBRjqyTpGc3A/s320/Togo+Ghana+Picture+177.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><p>A couple of minutes on the road to Accra, we started seeing differences between Ghana and Togo. Cars were newer American models, unlike 30 year old beat-up <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Peugeots</span> that are falling<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotWpCJ7CM3XvKeJe09rshixlsO5utdoE260A-utkjIVuX80uWBYHgUp5f4jgqcLMm2uBjreL191848EwLR750r8hAS4Y4JiDZs4zNvZFoCjTfhbdP5TZRQKCNcAI29bNEOQQpcw/s1600-h/IMG_0178[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055850221714564802" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotWpCJ7CM3XvKeJe09rshixlsO5utdoE260A-utkjIVuX80uWBYHgUp5f4jgqcLMm2uBjreL191848EwLR750r8hAS4Y4JiDZs4zNvZFoCjTfhbdP5TZRQKCNcAI29bNEOQQpcw/s200/IMG_0178%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a> apart and surprisingly that are still running, village houses in Ghana where made of concrete bricks, tin roofs, electricity and the houses were bigger compared to the village houses that I have seen in Togo, Benin and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Burkina</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Faso</span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibO2h3cG2BPGol0H170YcHgY4LeqlNF898e-Ftwsx9s4Obv1z6yEq8rMbxcmxEzfiM8TYQWpTyoSUVpracZYg-ArEP3AbXUzHIPTQxr1HV6f7beAECc9Tm295oNlS1_zrHd4Pcqw/s1600-h/IMG_0206[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055456768350512738" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibO2h3cG2BPGol0H170YcHgY4LeqlNF898e-Ftwsx9s4Obv1z6yEq8rMbxcmxEzfiM8TYQWpTyoSUVpracZYg-ArEP3AbXUzHIPTQxr1HV6f7beAECc9Tm295oNlS1_zrHd4Pcqw/s200/IMG_0206%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>that are made out of mud, hay roofs, no electricity and consist of a single big room. At first the road was filled with giant potholes and crumbling apart, but after an hour the road was a new perfectly smoothed highway with six lanes, which is a rare sight in West Africa. When we were nearing Accra we started seeing huge house with backyards and pools, billboards for malls, brand spanking new Mercedes, Ford trucks, it felt like in an half hour we <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHEP4bDqqgRPHbBi32GF9VS7jTnveC9PdiIiqbNW2G7eWCRvhtGOwhOBWvhvY93P2bHuraFjgfKyblGKvDmJJqNCBroj9Enmc0gDdUlYZ88_WYEVRdJlDjLTrSSh-yCV2SCXNqxw/s1600-h/IMG_0162[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055453426865956418" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHEP4bDqqgRPHbBi32GF9VS7jTnveC9PdiIiqbNW2G7eWCRvhtGOwhOBWvhvY93P2bHuraFjgfKyblGKvDmJJqNCBroj9Enmc0gDdUlYZ88_WYEVRdJlDjLTrSSh-yCV2SCXNqxw/s200/IMG_0162%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>went from Africa to suburban town USA and after about a year in being in Africa that’s a hell of a change.<br /><br />After getting ripped off by the taxi driver we found a hotel had a couple Ghanaian beers that were better than anything I had in Africa and in the States for that matter. I am not joking; I have had some good beers in the States at micro breweries, or regional beers, but when I tasted a Castle Milk Stout, Golden Arrow beer and Club beer, I was in love. For mass produced beers these are some good freaking beers, and I am not even a big drinker.<br /><br />Like I said we did not come to Ghana to enjoy the American lifestyle, we came to Ghana to see <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vo_DUYUUFSdrKiCRpWkc7Xr4x6j-7xNCjfvDTTxjozG47XylMIYsSOdbYh23T6IfBWpd5mdtzaicvAV0zLMqtfHsi6qIevZhKEOUl6UVD-5yaFFfcDIu0uQpYDOD1UWg23GcoA/s1600-h/IMG_0237[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055146774790956418" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vo_DUYUUFSdrKiCRpWkc7Xr4x6j-7xNCjfvDTTxjozG47XylMIYsSOdbYh23T6IfBWpd5mdtzaicvAV0zLMqtfHsi6qIevZhKEOUl6UVD-5yaFFfcDIu0uQpYDOD1UWg23GcoA/s200/IMG_0237%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>Africa so early next day we set out to the old colonial capital of Cape Coast, about 2 hours from Accra. Cape Coast was the main port for the gold trade that then was replace by the slave trade <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzn-JhT2yc1twhxZtAxI0QkpAJVzq4yrMCbf-2bbnirQvk73TAifrrqwaWnPeWgzU9U2D-4MvmqiRYURWf4KkxNkFigYmo-jmLL5IKvWW5dFMjyr0V-7FIkaKWs2bVD2B5HAQ_lA/s1600-h/IMG_0222[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055143055349278050" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzn-JhT2yc1twhxZtAxI0QkpAJVzq4yrMCbf-2bbnirQvk73TAifrrqwaWnPeWgzU9U2D-4MvmqiRYURWf4KkxNkFigYmo-jmLL5IKvWW5dFMjyr0V-7FIkaKWs2bVD2B5HAQ_lA/s200/IMG_0222%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>so throughout the coastline you can see old forts and castles that date back over 500 years that were used for defense, for gold trade and then converted to dungeons for slaves that were going to be transported to the New World. We got a cheap shitty hostel room that was just fine for us, and for the next two days Ben and I visited the castles in the area. The best one was Cape Coast <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmRiOf6rjq6hi_ZPgnzP-Un86R_AwFAfYcYscVgp55vKkC0feX5C8VV9Hh9tRlRLfg0TV75waA6TYTw3hrjo1Y1aU8r-JSKVvSbiYW4s71sXSh8BnyMVPVTpWE3zJtVaAmK14s6A/s1600-h/IMG_0259[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055848593921959554" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmRiOf6rjq6hi_ZPgnzP-Un86R_AwFAfYcYscVgp55vKkC0feX5C8VV9Hh9tRlRLfg0TV75waA6TYTw3hrjo1Y1aU8r-JSKVvSbiYW4s71sXSh8BnyMVPVTpWE3zJtVaAmK14s6A/s200/IMG_0259%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>Castle that is now a huge tourist attraction and was used by just about every European power at the time, the castle was originally a small fort and throughout the years extended and converted to a castle for the slave trade. The castle is huge, filled with cannons, solders’ <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGRLBJoZIAGbdTwgZUcmbGvncDgyCQLmgJLd6ueMs9f89OtuGK2YALorWvTuIX9ccJyrIsSAVu5FUf_NEv68NXJmJKuXSq2l9NLbmunCIqYs5eR0aMsnwq9gyxgOY7tRBSg6CZzg/s1600-h/IMG_0263[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055453422570989106" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGRLBJoZIAGbdTwgZUcmbGvncDgyCQLmgJLd6ueMs9f89OtuGK2YALorWvTuIX9ccJyrIsSAVu5FUf_NEv68NXJmJKuXSq2l9NLbmunCIqYs5eR0aMsnwq9gyxgOY7tRBSg6CZzg/s200/IMG_0263%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>lodgings and slave dungeons. Walking into these dark, hot slave dungeons you get a chill just thinking thousands of African slaves that had to endure the horrible treatment and living conditions. After Cape Coast Castle we visited some other minor forts and castles that now serve as lighthouses or monuments that local <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDT-vnFiiFTF-dCeSnWLj1njBoWPh_AGKcevJ2RPd2g8aBOjGw_CbOnwSob2T97TjlmuchPpJwmyAkbw7mLVVpESjPbIivfDedf8e37n_w-nId2vPS-tauYBcdUcdekpx6g9KyVg/s1600-h/IMG_0339[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055456768350512754" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDT-vnFiiFTF-dCeSnWLj1njBoWPh_AGKcevJ2RPd2g8aBOjGw_CbOnwSob2T97TjlmuchPpJwmyAkbw7mLVVpESjPbIivfDedf8e37n_w-nId2vPS-tauYBcdUcdekpx6g9KyVg/s200/IMG_0339%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>people have invaded and turned them into make shift homes. My only qualm with Cape Coast was the ubiquitous smell of shit, from the open sewer system they use and the locals shit everywhere and throw trash to the ocean.<br /><br />After the castles tour, we went to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Kakum</span> National Park, which is a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">rain forest</span> were jungle elephants, monkeys, rhinos and other <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju5fZCiaBo_W9WYQ39zoAODUqKiz0xUczpeuOUqYWjgQ9FOd5ssGMJ5uVjTBxxOH61NYCaG9PBLk_s6KEUYUUs4RDR82IE-VOc0pvv714oRBT4mFWuErMpA8zhDQZ_zEpXJMxAnA/s1600-h/IMG_0325[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055850187354826402" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju5fZCiaBo_W9WYQ39zoAODUqKiz0xUczpeuOUqYWjgQ9FOd5ssGMJ5uVjTBxxOH61NYCaG9PBLk_s6KEUYUUs4RDR82IE-VOc0pvv714oRBT4mFWuErMpA8zhDQZ_zEpXJMxAnA/s200/IMG_0325%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>exotic animals live, it is also one out of four parks in the world that has a canopy walkway over the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">rain forest</span>.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3c5EHwFhZcvv-zTJkG3MtddiaR7dT-qj2LtDXoFpeMh2ryTdwx3grQP1AHkofFcEhewptErAfsDp3NzdyC4R-tkGeJFV1JqAW7V18S96WG_TsY80_jWSNqzg_-i45zWSRqRIxpw/s1600-h/IMG_0358[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055456759760578130" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 178px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 145px" height="193" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3c5EHwFhZcvv-zTJkG3MtddiaR7dT-qj2LtDXoFpeMh2ryTdwx3grQP1AHkofFcEhewptErAfsDp3NzdyC4R-tkGeJFV1JqAW7V18S96WG_TsY80_jWSNqzg_-i45zWSRqRIxpw/s200/IMG_0358%5B1%5D.jpg" width="229" border="0" /></a>We had done everything we wanted to see and do in Cape Coast, so Ben and I decided to head back to Accra and explore the big city. The next day and a half we spent the time walking around Accra seeing the sights, aside from a couple of monuments and tourist attractions there is not too much to say about it, exploring Accra was just like walking down town Main Street USA. Yea, there are malls, bars, food courts and stores but that did not interest us, we were also running low on cash so we decided to head back to Benin. So we spend the next day in taxis, from Accra, to Lome, then <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK4HAh1QWv1Wqt-zS6gjoO_jHD5XYQNPnFNSj7gEDPblC4rK5wHZmrbo1QX4WdpLj7u3pNXnyI89AWy-xn7oEI5iNiH1BCtLMNagV0WsPwhGCx_NnuTXqzW3pBzavZvxWzQkDxSw/s1600-h/IMG_0312[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055449144783562258" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK4HAh1QWv1Wqt-zS6gjoO_jHD5XYQNPnFNSj7gEDPblC4rK5wHZmrbo1QX4WdpLj7u3pNXnyI89AWy-xn7oEI5iNiH1BCtLMNagV0WsPwhGCx_NnuTXqzW3pBzavZvxWzQkDxSw/s200/IMG_0312%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>Cotonou. When we arrived to Cotonou it was about 10 at night, and upon arriving to Cotonou I said a couple of times “I fucking hate Cotonou” I really do, out of all the places I have seen in Africa so far, by far Cotonou is the most dirty, polluted, crowded and dangerous place I have been in. The water and electricity is almost always cut, the roads are small and in horrible deteriorating condition filled with massive cargo trucks and hundreds of <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4emIk1_9c9GX8IFT_jIRFGojnzn6uPjuAjT0o7C7P836oMQGsCtJpsrBKjvbiLxrMS0PR1zKBxSvWKTbgcxN1_I9ux9fxDpzF-0b01UPvEaYxmsn4a6TsXfWfZgRlWZwyWZRiQg/s1600-h/Togo+Ghana+Picture+172.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5067062838670934290" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4emIk1_9c9GX8IFT_jIRFGojnzn6uPjuAjT0o7C7P836oMQGsCtJpsrBKjvbiLxrMS0PR1zKBxSvWKTbgcxN1_I9ux9fxDpzF-0b01UPvEaYxmsn4a6TsXfWfZgRlWZwyWZRiQg/s200/Togo+Ghana+Picture+172.jpg" border="0" /></a>motorbikes swarming like roaches in and out of cars, the gasoline is not regulated so they throw out huge puffs of dark smog, Cotonou is a cluster fuck of a town. Back to my story, Ben and I got on a taxi-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">moto</span> or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">zemijons</span> like there called in Benin and Ben’s taxi supposedly broke down on a busy bridge and was mugged at knife point. Two robbers took his wallet, his <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">iPod</span>, passport, backpack, his digital camera with all the pics he had taken. I was lucky to have a taxi that was not in sync <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xrh58bX_Fq9tgWJcXNgAelgrIubKX0gpMJgtBSxYm9EGs7GMq9PMzRnEFWuLt1A-ViCBPrE4pQRdAMn7S3AzZzyyeTszLgb7cqMMwAPzoNBhEbGZcOTt_FlKPeImuP8FEIP6sQ/s1600-h/IMG_0327[1].jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055848611101828754" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xrh58bX_Fq9tgWJcXNgAelgrIubKX0gpMJgtBSxYm9EGs7GMq9PMzRnEFWuLt1A-ViCBPrE4pQRdAMn7S3AzZzyyeTszLgb7cqMMwAPzoNBhEbGZcOTt_FlKPeImuP8FEIP6sQ/s200/IMG_0327%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>so I was not robbed but Ben lost everything. Ben was actually calm through it all and was not mad; after all like he said the important thing was that he was safe, everything else is replaceable. Aside Ben being robbed, everything else went great.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5067060643942646002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWkxo0DhfWfLoCed8ykqnHUvM0IPt01sPxAPUWN75_1HtRatoGLgWFJkt4wFhaqyuEjWbF8rMV8svDuEHs3N6eJ7ofN7sGqrmwdxWKEhiXEnK7M4FdBR5DSQWWGGC_f5cKz5qpsA/s320/Togo+Ghana+Picture+202.jpg" border="0" /></p></div></div>Josehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14062699848212563746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37215102.post-47294256987116162622007-03-28T12:17:00.001-07:002007-05-28T13:32:17.674-07:00<div>What am I doing in Africa? Well, technically I am supposed to be helping the promotion of small <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9Xxaf926B3wAWugA2Paw8SJHZnpR48hMurikwO9YGlVn6i5oLa7Zdkt1J8rZwZv-DeX0HRiWfOWCFZZUKQ2I1QhXRETiDd8m_Q6aK8S8maYBo9mi12F0pNkcBkwsk1OGID1Cmw/s1600-h/Photo+086.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055110727130440962" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9Xxaf926B3wAWugA2Paw8SJHZnpR48hMurikwO9YGlVn6i5oLa7Zdkt1J8rZwZv-DeX0HRiWfOWCFZZUKQ2I1QhXRETiDd8m_Q6aK8S8maYBo9mi12F0pNkcBkwsk1OGID1Cmw/s200/Photo+086.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2DFnioVHEtsbKtzDmiaBI52Nu_6MvGGmoRhtPkOe71QEpK6XGpV4K638s0QTahT6HG6AtUo0ZTcsEHa1z5wIoNPvkwrOm7uvqZ1x4jy5BBO2pwFr00mvkJD8A5LHqzAaulu0fuQ/s1600-h/Photo+115.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055117431574390034" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2DFnioVHEtsbKtzDmiaBI52Nu_6MvGGmoRhtPkOe71QEpK6XGpV4K638s0QTahT6HG6AtUo0ZTcsEHa1z5wIoNPvkwrOm7uvqZ1x4jy5BBO2pwFr00mvkJD8A5LHqzAaulu0fuQ/s200/Photo+115.jpg" border="0" /></a>business development in the town that I am living in, Natitingou. I was assigned to work with the Artisan Association of Natitingou in helping the find solutions to their everyday problems, also for the first three months that I was in country I was trained to offer classes in accounting, book keeping, marketing, and business analysis, in other words I am supposed to be a business consultant to artisans and small business owners of my town. But really they just ask me for money, since I am coming<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCO0jU0dg_l4KSsdWICLGqlZ9f1qAaKqxaYi2r0xmH8uvinMj99Fe6wBLLDYy7Nn8TQO-c0DntLZdqa41sqRpOurFHP3lbd9UwtmJJ7tIsYtAYwyvkpMZjNR72GhQAT4ihdwtyqA/s1600-h/Photo+103.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047661360877035122" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCO0jU0dg_l4KSsdWICLGqlZ9f1qAaKqxaYi2r0xmH8uvinMj99Fe6wBLLDYy7Nn8TQO-c0DntLZdqa41sqRpOurFHP3lbd9UwtmJJ7tIsYtAYwyvkpMZjNR72GhQAT4ihdwtyqA/s200/Photo+103.jpg" border="0" /></a> from the States and I have nice things they automatically think that I am rich and have money to give away. So I started finding my own projects. Now I am working with an NGO that helps poor kids go to school and buy school books and materials. Africa is a poor place but these people are so poor that their school is made of mud and cow shit bricks that are falling apart, school has no electr<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPItjShiJ94hZhWA-DQo302TjC3c_9TyO3PIncYqMQcBY0GwkFHwfP5uS_tjPNNd-kjTwaLupTZsxRF1jucnHRqv5r3a9z718DBLOBrU9iyocMumolfxFcoU7Nl6hZ4e928aoHA/s1600-h/Photo+105.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055110722835473634" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPItjShiJ94hZhWA-DQo302TjC3c_9TyO3PIncYqMQcBY0GwkFHwfP5uS_tjPNNd-kjTwaLupTZsxRF1jucnHRqv5r3a9z718DBLOBrU9iyocMumolfxFcoU7Nl6hZ4e928aoHA/s200/Photo+105.jpg" border="0" /></a>icity, no bathrooms, no water, dark and dirty. These kids cannot afford the 4 dollars needed to buy school books for the entire school year. So what we do is that we pay for their books and they pay us back throughout the school year in monthly installments of about .50 cents. Than the money we collect will be used for school books and material next year, still some families find it hard to put in .50 cents a months, so far with the help of my parents and out of my own miserable wage we are able to send some kids to school and buy them books,. It also feels like your making a difference in this fucked up world and that is a priceless feeling. </div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaC4mdsp2XE2RV0tMz9qNsqHWB9iE61W9O492IeZOkYLZGlFZq1qwLLNPWpkoclTxZ9DJ3y7gzJwXszeXZBDqcDTlWycKzdmqJ8UHLd0VLAuPin3X4dWwuVgYainsnQPFVOyeT_A/s1600-h/Photo+096.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047661360877035106" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaC4mdsp2XE2RV0tMz9qNsqHWB9iE61W9O492IeZOkYLZGlFZq1qwLLNPWpkoclTxZ9DJ3y7gzJwXszeXZBDqcDTlWycKzdmqJ8UHLd0VLAuPin3X4dWwuVgYainsnQPFVOyeT_A/s200/Photo+096.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj995y0rhTGjSGnlClK9HMJvcPV2v1BxSHA2rTwV9xkrqIaaBruiZPlrC5g13iY98iFDksyqYuJp3YS9eoo4_hU-eVbr7QqgJhSwKj52C4v53uR0QuPi0qpoQkmElgq4qH_iKzMbg/s1600-h/Photo+109.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055110727130440946" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj995y0rhTGjSGnlClK9HMJvcPV2v1BxSHA2rTwV9xkrqIaaBruiZPlrC5g13iY98iFDksyqYuJp3YS9eoo4_hU-eVbr7QqgJhSwKj52C4v53uR0QuPi0qpoQkmElgq4qH_iKzMbg/s200/Photo+109.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJysGldf8wZI4d8M3F0XC06I0ZOy93aIwe_Ry8V7s51oOl9jPDUZzwPBDRKQih5oaTBv9IVDhQxycTgA7Uf9bdEnWS7GvgAEz0ajKmDrox3jLIXNnxNocSoYsRCiEELGRZu-j0cQ/s1600-h/Photo+089.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047661356582067794" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="160" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJysGldf8wZI4d8M3F0XC06I0ZOy93aIwe_Ry8V7s51oOl9jPDUZzwPBDRKQih5oaTBv9IVDhQxycTgA7Uf9bdEnWS7GvgAEz0ajKmDrox3jLIXNnxNocSoYsRCiEELGRZu-j0cQ/s200/Photo+089.jpg" width="208" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div align="left"><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_rKYpwDOeq_4/RgrPOJmKXhI/AAAAAAAAAFs/0awKy0z8G2o/s1600-h/Photo+097.jpg"></a></div><br /><div><br /><br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> </div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UgAeVuWuHHmRqlVUss6i_U2_4ltDz-p_zTyqU_jOSsRQZrSjfBfElSTG2Q_L8vSsST5bQvnNo4bgvPglq8vH4V7RNQYigtSDwz9JTsGSTF6NH701UlWyKrbPo-Tb5W3wO1TE3w/s1600-h/Photo+013.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047663383806631554" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UgAeVuWuHHmRqlVUss6i_U2_4ltDz-p_zTyqU_jOSsRQZrSjfBfElSTG2Q_L8vSsST5bQvnNo4bgvPglq8vH4V7RNQYigtSDwz9JTsGSTF6NH701UlWyKrbPo-Tb5W3wO1TE3w/s200/Photo+013.jpg" border="0" /></a>My second project here is working <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbi2NL9zuNiMVxySdlYoBTW6_QFTX8Uwkp_8ENZ95VXBeAM9e5sveC2qfB6d0Cjrb2THMdPr4Uvble6LpIhtIIDcrLOk5bMhh1E6YxHEcuSTMrgtSAmZ7o_sINDdbPa57PM0Sbog/s1600-h/Photo+050.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047664410303815346" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbi2NL9zuNiMVxySdlYoBTW6_QFTX8Uwkp_8ENZ95VXBeAM9e5sveC2qfB6d0Cjrb2THMdPr4Uvble6LpIhtIIDcrLOk5bMhh1E6YxHEcuSTMrgtSAmZ7o_sINDdbPa57PM0Sbog/s200/Photo+050.jpg" border="0" /></a>for the handicap association of my town. By far these are the most ambitious and the smartest people that I have worked with since I arrived in Africa. For the last three years the president of the handicap association has been working on starting a little company and factory that will produce clean drinking water and flavored water. At first I was hesitant to work with them because I thought that they wanted money like everybody else, but they made it clear that they wanted my advice and ideas. After about three months I saw that these <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEtPM2gfrfhuJvj9-0xrdUqjhyzfNI1Kz3ooVbxDqe6H2IcmWkOmvlEWsLprEJyPwaW3zec96N7SyKaAzkWYrSpU2Anj2glBppLuTcNC20GBj4wPNoehUqRTKVlmAo-rxHGqS8tQ/s1600-h/Photo+016.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047663388101598882" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEtPM2gfrfhuJvj9-0xrdUqjhyzfNI1Kz3ooVbxDqe6H2IcmWkOmvlEWsLprEJyPwaW3zec96N7SyKaAzkWYrSpU2Anj2glBppLuTcNC20GBj4wPNoehUqRTKVlmAo-rxHGqS8tQ/s200/Photo+016.jpg" border="0" /></a>people were serious and this project has great potential. We started thinking of ways to set up this business, Peace Corps paid for us to go halfway to another part of the country to see a similar project. Within a couple of weeks we had a clear idea and we were on our way. We found an old abandoned cargo container that was flipped, so we set up a concrete base, got a tractor trailer to turn it over and place it on the base, cleaned it out, then we customized the container by <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSNQHf63xm-j-IURwGn33lMtFF2noK9h9P4TF-6DytEI0XNnc5bw8ykZwcHfwt4Ya1lJJQSvvO5AyxXG-PlDGaY7qGZ8u5a_UqalwoSHHrQz6-C6z-0RIySeqgZIl8WuvbbHYGg/s1600-h/Photo+053.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047664414598782658" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSNQHf63xm-j-IURwGn33lMtFF2noK9h9P4TF-6DytEI0XNnc5bw8ykZwcHfwt4Ya1lJJQSvvO5AyxXG-PlDGaY7qGZ8u5a_UqalwoSHHrQz6-C6z-0RIySeqgZIl8WuvbbHYGg/s200/Photo+053.jpg" border="0" /></a>cutting out window and doors. This saved us money since it was much <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLxXhNI8Ps2id9A7U0-SkXFanvc8nAJpn5WDNRAD_hRTB3wOosYlPkHirjVuOgiQ236qQMbUYf7YKig1ElcGmDnkTXLsMNL9qckwpAmUPY_jllOjcOaD_dzCwudVpMKIuohrRD3w/s1600-h/Photo+014.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047663383806631570" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLxXhNI8Ps2id9A7U0-SkXFanvc8nAJpn5WDNRAD_hRTB3wOosYlPkHirjVuOgiQ236qQMbUYf7YKig1ElcGmDnkTXLsMNL9qckwpAmUPY_jllOjcOaD_dzCwudVpMKIuohrRD3w/s200/Photo+014.jpg" border="0" /></a>cheaper than building a whole new building.</div><br /><div>We have cleaned up the inside and installed a freezer, as of today we are employing on handicap person, who sales ice, cold water, flavored water. MORE TO COME...</div></div><br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_1bdRS4Vs_61fqIEzYTbbSu-uUgpE993ylL0mVJhG3VslTE7rSHGaDybsg6EnUsxN2eg9o1oSTLg2HNQ7em_HU7Af7uYaLCPcJOeY9PXR9_w9HzlxE5QHxokNRr1sX-Thc7T_UQ/s1600-h/Photo+030.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047823319798800082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_1bdRS4Vs_61fqIEzYTbbSu-uUgpE993ylL0mVJhG3VslTE7rSHGaDybsg6EnUsxN2eg9o1oSTLg2HNQ7em_HU7Af7uYaLCPcJOeY9PXR9_w9HzlxE5QHxokNRr1sX-Thc7T_UQ/s200/Photo+030.jpg" border="0" /></a>Other projects include teaching English to the artisans of my town <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilqzGjD49wbS3SPgGyYbpqo4KwTj5hlvj3ERlchmzpYYUfGTofwB0LACnTeeRE2bK5iyGWKXt9vthPPRpFyMzEoBiLxh9vjzWgshYbcIyMwM78qtvAAc_Oj_xe5Cd1763lqfNu-g/s1600-h/Photo+028.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055117431574390050" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilqzGjD49wbS3SPgGyYbpqo4KwTj5hlvj3ERlchmzpYYUfGTofwB0LACnTeeRE2bK5iyGWKXt9vthPPRpFyMzEoBiLxh9vjzWgshYbcIyMwM78qtvAAc_Oj_xe5Cd1763lqfNu-g/s200/Photo+028.jpg" border="0" /></a>and forming an English and Spanish club with the local high school. Some Peace Corps friends and I also work with the local orphanage, for Christmas we bought them a big fat pig, rice, vegetables, clothing, my mom sent a bunch of small gifts for the children and we spent the 26 of December playing with the orphans. We are also working on getting a doctor to come and see the kids, because these poor children suffer from simple aiglments that can be cured. It is really heart breaking to see these poor <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58k8ceguBHzwCqS7numSJO609hWQ9b5NEIYRqihyUReF55vTHhe-cdWxNcoNV6fX5M03JArHOYcKNA-Hp7VyvWYYGZz-IGzgm-0cSQaC_NH6nsaGYFthKsKPVpWJVSVXC1ehq2w/s1600-h/Photo+118.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047823324093767394" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58k8ceguBHzwCqS7numSJO609hWQ9b5NEIYRqihyUReF55vTHhe-cdWxNcoNV6fX5M03JArHOYcKNA-Hp7VyvWYYGZz-IGzgm-0cSQaC_NH6nsaGYFthKsKPVpWJVSVXC1ehq2w/s200/Photo+118.jpg" border="0" /></a>inocent kids who have <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmADyW2-mKw2RqAXA4mgOBSmzJ8nXc1j1THouvMTqbsdQ_xJNkSKDrZ0fmMxJmUxL7sqa5hMDU_L45GyJ6erwAbQ2MnXdG0NhDfhcfEMWICjRovkZmr0fOW97iu1t2_-5Y_rOZfQ/s1600-h/Photo+039.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055117435869357362" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmADyW2-mKw2RqAXA4mgOBSmzJ8nXc1j1THouvMTqbsdQ_xJNkSKDrZ0fmMxJmUxL7sqa5hMDU_L45GyJ6erwAbQ2MnXdG0NhDfhcfEMWICjRovkZmr0fOW97iu1t2_-5Y_rOZfQ/s200/Photo+039.jpg" border="0" /></a>been abondaned by their families due to AIDS, abusive husbands or just do not have the means of feeding another mouth.<br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div>Josehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14062699848212563746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37215102.post-1171621504964170332007-02-16T02:02:00.000-08:002007-06-09T02:24:03.130-07:00Next days after the whipping festival, I was back in my town ready to get some work done when my boss in the artisan association told me if I wanted to go to Ouagadougou, the capital of <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQ7MvlfVB5tmaFHPt1VU5wR7FipQrF6fQOydLdcQRJWjdsfccvoDnasxhnErrdV-9Qssv09K49T0acSGCWIdQdy37ZFYxWfRZan7jusvsjWro75yeYX-VZVN7vBY8yptbdDHhXg/s1600-h/IMG_0822.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044415151501265378" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQ7MvlfVB5tmaFHPt1VU5wR7FipQrF6fQOydLdcQRJWjdsfccvoDnasxhnErrdV-9Qssv09K49T0acSGCWIdQdy37ZFYxWfRZan7jusvsjWro75yeYX-VZVN7vBY8yptbdDHhXg/s200/IMG_0822.JPG" border="0" /></a>Burkina Faso? Ouagadougou pronounced Wagadugo holds one of the biggest artisans festivals in all of West Africa every two years. My boss wanted me to go to check it out and get some ideas to see how we can organize the artisans of my town, and just to get out check out Burkina Faso. Of course I was all for it and excited to go, so I call Peace Corps to ask permission to go and say that the trip is work related and in a way it kind of is, but I was in it more for the trip and to see a country that only a few months ago I did not know that existed. I talked to Peace Corps and flat-out they said its last minute and I need to tell them at least a week in advance so I can do all the paper work and get a Visa, with Peace Corps there are so many restrictions to what we can do and not do, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhIeU8ubnz4M57JtCvwTptHfk1jC9P8-wwP4YaZpFMXGH-RagKg1-DSBZhXas6-1j8se8vgRrqIGXEbGcYbv8oGwJTX2oaoHUrU_LJhY36wboXdL0F5X0hSNBuV6j3f6yBVDtZeg/s1600-h/IMG_0839.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044418613244906098" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhIeU8ubnz4M57JtCvwTptHfk1jC9P8-wwP4YaZpFMXGH-RagKg1-DSBZhXas6-1j8se8vgRrqIGXEbGcYbv8oGwJTX2oaoHUrU_LJhY36wboXdL0F5X0hSNBuV6j3f6yBVDtZeg/s200/IMG_0839.JPG" border="0" /></a>paperwork is needed for everything well in general its American bureaucracy. Well I did what any curious Peace Corps volunteer would do - I left the country without Peace Corps per<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-iBKYa7ZyLzYUpmAN4SwhokZKufp8hd54nQ1sY5ifzqZXNG6aJE_9WYLVJDYnwe33T8rh1oBVBiX9IjVu6sqszGbCdCprgtbdTq6Eea6dVGV93v4wrH3ADo1K0tEa11E1VF60Q/s1600-h/IMG_0813.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044419815835749026" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-iBKYa7ZyLzYUpmAN4SwhokZKufp8hd54nQ1sY5ifzqZXNG6aJE_9WYLVJDYnwe33T8rh1oBVBiX9IjVu6sqszGbCdCprgtbdTq6Eea6dVGV93v4wrH3ADo1K0tEa11E1VF60Q/s200/IMG_0813.JPG" border="0" /></a>mission- Since the beginning of the program we are told that these are very clear grounds to get kicked out the program and be sent back home. I was nervous because I had just started my service and did not want to get kick out of Peace Corps. So my boss told me that he would cover for me in case anything would go wrong and the other artisans really wanted me to go with them and had already reserved a seat for me in the van they rented out and the next time the event will be held I will be back in the States, so that was enough persuasion to go, even if I only needed a mere fraction to get me to go.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044427108690217730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQ3GiSRtVMuqGnHCGFugSNxFTKRnqOnAyZasDqwj9YeKVn5EWAtD3mw1WzusTSGJwjMlxicJ3_xsAeXOh8665iG0sKbxVT15bJECEBC2-OOsrONximPiyOurCZCPOPrlCaRsHzQ/s200/IMG_0771.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2kYWv96bjsOQd4BZGPe7ZWFXF-Q-rddm4uuR9JFScx5t_Ci5vcqpo5zMZcFpkpVLXfRnxb4hD8GxsS33UT_7t45Sg_-c9z2HaB4nLyiXzNoTLM6JmwMaU_G9d3y2niYK9-4oo1g/s1600-h/IMG_0723.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044415151501265394" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2kYWv96bjsOQd4BZGPe7ZWFXF-Q-rddm4uuR9JFScx5t_Ci5vcqpo5zMZcFpkpVLXfRnxb4hD8GxsS33UT_7t45Sg_-c9z2HaB4nLyiXzNoTLM6JmwMaU_G9d3y2niYK9-4oo1g/s200/IMG_0723.JPG" border="0" /></a>One the way to Burkina Faso we stopped for breakfast at a town<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbIad77Yx8dBHVv4tWcPFjcj8N068pmtR_0KMuQvbf07A6N3jQTEU9Ww1ZHyRrYRKTVerK73crA3MgLmdezmn7Hq3MyMaiwKghB1dUpH_Ipztq1291403QeBFhmekROHNXfCnpUw/s1600-h/IMG_0782.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044421508052863698" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbIad77Yx8dBHVv4tWcPFjcj8N068pmtR_0KMuQvbf07A6N3jQTEU9Ww1ZHyRrYRKTVerK73crA3MgLmdezmn7Hq3MyMaiwKghB1dUpH_Ipztq1291403QeBFhmekROHNXfCnpUw/s200/IMG_0782.JPG" border="0" /></a> near the border, were a good friend, Mike from Connecticut is living. Now, a couple a days ago when we were at the whipping festival Mike and I mentioned going a to Burkina, but dismissed the idea since we could not travel out of the country until three months of being volunteers. I asked my boss if we had enough room for one more person and there was room for him, I called Mike and before I even finished telling him he was already to go to Burkina Faso. So we were off, in a couple of minutes we were at <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH5mdbfZPUHFSQ6PghN3Ad36EF7PKvTYDoITsOtwripuN_nOwyHea2Nb_240gzN8C4T3XQO5CgWFChJ8_S3KUaLGpEjeFXB_s2y3UvpjHqvPWMUMsVzRee0E7c__rf-RhY-ypyWQ/s1600-h/IMG_0809.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044420936822213298" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="149" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH5mdbfZPUHFSQ6PghN3Ad36EF7PKvTYDoITsOtwripuN_nOwyHea2Nb_240gzN8C4T3XQO5CgWFChJ8_S3KUaLGpEjeFXB_s2y3UvpjHqvPWMUMsVzRee0E7c__rf-RhY-ypyWQ/s200/IMG_0809.JPG" width="178" border="0" /></a>the border and since we did not have the proper Visa and passport we got some shit from the border patrol which by the way were a bunch of fat men dressed in raggedy out uniforms napping under a shady tree snacking on some melons, but all they really wanted was some cash on the side so we gave them the equivalent of 20 dollars for each of us and we were on our way to Ouagadougou. Things changed from Benin to Burkina Faso, I thought Benin was poor until we got into Burkina and I saw that people here were even poorer, less infrastructure, less houses with electricity, natives rode around in donkey carts and a car or two was seldom seen, more people selling fruits, dead animals and little things on the side of the road, and when we stopped to refuel halfway to Ouagadougou we were swarmed with beggars and children asking for money. An hour to the capital out van breaks down in the middle of the road and while Mike and <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffDckf-oBSH2YrW6v-28v_7qj6q4wVeIidOtTtM6pbSnV261d0GBVBcniwc0aGdrJkAa3ezrRZ6frKtsNKEZyrNMhx1VfkWrmxJ8iSwJVCmbu2he_kf42YTgGMdaz8QjKCf01Ig/s1600-h/IMG_0769.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044419811540781714" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffDckf-oBSH2YrW6v-28v_7qj6q4wVeIidOtTtM6pbSnV261d0GBVBcniwc0aGdrJkAa3ezrRZ6frKtsNKEZyrNMhx1VfkWrmxJ8iSwJVCmbu2he_kf42YTgGMdaz8QjKCf01Ig/s200/IMG_0769.JPG" border="0" /></a>I stayed under the shady trees to escape the scorching heat of the morning the others are working on getting the van fixed. Three hours later we arrived in Ouagadougou. The contrasts were incredible, outside the capital the people are poor and the places are underdeveloped, Ouaga is no New York City, but for African standards, the city is modern. With people selling things and preparing food at every corner, on the streets there was either a beat-up old car that you are surprised that it is still running or either <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglFbEIyfCysKM6Y4pznTo1evW678olc9JCo69FZ27aui4NpsK4s6d9W6KzTACsavMFRlDH1B_oKYMrjd5I4Zy9L8-Dn4iOgKFWxT87Zy7MXEwe9ALynIAV_VsK6cM2UHyfLGiSGA/s1600-h/IMG_0794.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044417363409422882" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="125" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglFbEIyfCysKM6Y4pznTo1evW678olc9JCo69FZ27aui4NpsK4s6d9W6KzTACsavMFRlDH1B_oKYMrjd5I4Zy9L8-Dn4iOgKFWxT87Zy7MXEwe9ALynIAV_VsK6cM2UHyfLGiSGA/s200/IMG_0794.JPG" width="160" border="0" /></a>a phat new Mercedes-Benz or BMW, I rarely saw anything in between an old car and a brand new ride.<br /><br /><br />We found a place to stay, a university that was out on summer break, the place was very nice and the agricultural work very gothic with arches and domes. That night we were out talking about the day and planning for the next day when Mike said “Alright I am going to bed, I am passing out” and after that he says that he passes-out right in front of me, he hits his head on <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4frE_05BHo0fkc8h072oQwi70JBp-rFI-ssXzX6unXTYNqisb6g4-JsYCLPyMhkl8Bw2BssBO3qMRnpmeLLK_eV1AloiqDLu9FZNMen83uaXYPU54n6g_SS7Xkaap34W-xOFigg/s1600-h/IMG_0774.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044416100689037842" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4frE_05BHo0fkc8h072oQwi70JBp-rFI-ssXzX6unXTYNqisb6g4-JsYCLPyMhkl8Bw2BssBO3qMRnpmeLLK_eV1AloiqDLu9FZNMen83uaXYPU54n6g_SS7Xkaap34W-xOFigg/s200/IMG_0774.JPG" border="0" /></a>the hard concrete wall and I turn him around, then he starts convulsing and shaking. At this moment I am so scared because I<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDy8JKlZkfCJTBCeipJlhz8hTAuifpuvOMvxIedapNxH8ngkinl65JojJRnttvqReGfoAXBFAwPNd6lliyw63PQYzamq-Kx0gOEycf5P47rMzMLa_wAL9CAaQ8uHYY7k_VW1_CNQ/s1600-h/IMG_0787.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044421503757896386" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDy8JKlZkfCJTBCeipJlhz8hTAuifpuvOMvxIedapNxH8ngkinl65JojJRnttvqReGfoAXBFAwPNd6lliyw63PQYzamq-Kx0gOEycf5P47rMzMLa_wAL9CAaQ8uHYY7k_VW1_CNQ/s200/IMG_0787.JPG" border="0" /></a> had no idea if he is having a seizure, if he is diabetic, or he has any medical condition that I do not know about. A million things run through my head, “What are we going to do, how are we going to explain this? We are not supposed to be here, we can get kicked out for this. How I am going to explain this to Peace Corps? Is Mike going to need professional medical attention? My mind is racing with a million things at once and I am asking Mike if he is okay. About 2 or 3 minutes later that seemed like hours Mike gains consciousness and comes to, the first things he says is. “Yo, somebody just passed the fuck out” It was you, you dumb ass I said laughing and relieved. After a couple minutes he feels better and we come to the conclusion that he passed out from heat exhaustion. Since we were in the blazing car for 8 hours and outside when the car broke down without water.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044430278376082194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHIB_uF3qHdPZ3DP3CAQkX038Jo3Uj2pgCiSw26H2STxtkNoQ_RUChMc85iDnpYHI4T_g2gypI4bbpCCeH6mFVHkrfz_8o-bECyhAjtM8jJ3L6sPYzrX3QUl1Fo6VbMEvjw9tOvQ/s200/IMG_0816.JPG" border="0" /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOrGY72mrOLGUXeclhL-QgipqL6-ADAvMAM3KefMm1EWG6ha6Gl-g3uEalJSvibQ_IpMeAEo3T9rpWsFZvKTWUWgavoWvD5P-Ko06AzZuXpc-PC5P0rTx-LCdh53gj6Xb0Fj0Y1w/s1600-h/IMG_0848.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044419811540781698" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOrGY72mrOLGUXeclhL-QgipqL6-ADAvMAM3KefMm1EWG6ha6Gl-g3uEalJSvibQ_IpMeAEo3T9rpWsFZvKTWUWgavoWvD5P-Ko06AzZuXpc-PC5P0rTx-LCdh53gj6Xb0Fj0Y1w/s200/IMG_0848.JPG" border="0" /></a>Next day and for the following 2 days we went to the artisan festival and checked out the crafts, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-8Hd8jLg37UGWdxX4kK5YsvqeBOan-qjfqZOP9L6GQoNYx7z0O2Lz4X4OYlyFzLEPGytzty7g65FnzIy6eui3hEQoa80vK6md4mhZ_3ZNgHS5WsAVcQLpDUEVOT31lS5i29aGg/s1600-h/IMG_0805.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044417371999357506" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-8Hd8jLg37UGWdxX4kK5YsvqeBOan-qjfqZOP9L6GQoNYx7z0O2Lz4X4OYlyFzLEPGytzty7g65FnzIy6eui3hEQoa80vK6md4mhZ_3ZNgHS5WsAVcQLpDUEVOT31lS5i29aGg/s200/IMG_0805.JPG" border="0" /></a>events and things going on. There were expositions from countries all over Africa and some from Europe and the Middle East. It was very interesting looking at all these handmade crafts from all over the continent and outside of Africa. Bronze statues depicting African life, and tradition, there were amazing wood carven figures of animals, people and things for the house like chairs and tables etc, colorful woven tapestry that could have easily taken months to complete, there were paintings that were incredibly well done. There were so many expositions and so many nice things that we were very impressed with the ability of these people create such beautiful artworks. But after the second blazing hot day we were getting tired and the charm was wearing off because everything was too expensive to buy and big to be carrying around, although Mike did by a <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9z0OirZcU0-AulXLkHp7coMpL9eTjSauzY-vuj8Ih43M4upmYYHlSLSJFD22OwaMWc3kxRdpN4S4zRlhQTsvf_4Y9UmF7SkNJRmrI0nMDiOriW9JcOKERsjYMxHikRa9ENO0oZA/s1600-h/IMG_0726.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044416100689037826" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9z0OirZcU0-AulXLkHp7coMpL9eTjSauzY-vuj8Ih43M4upmYYHlSLSJFD22OwaMWc3kxRdpN4S4zRlhQTsvf_4Y9UmF7SkNJRmrI0nMDiOriW9JcOKERsjYMxHikRa9ENO0oZA/s200/IMG_0726.JPG" border="0" /></a>warrior spear that was cool. Also some vendors would be aggressive and grab you by your shoulder so you can go to their exposition and buy something, some vendors would not let us leave until we bought something from them or flat out started to get nasty with them, it was also brought to our attention that we also had a guy following us for about an hour, and he looked <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikAivgXKxr-2XGfhgQo3VRyD8mDMphlt_c-EA36dpp0qUKMjFJ3ozwV-NOT1zkaoeDfD-PG6SMSh7SI7qKm9TOo3kq0dG9V4Asmx_HlCUHUNO3vYT8r1A36yPO5lgf22RbKJpT_Q/s1600-h/IMG_0753.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044418613244906082" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikAivgXKxr-2XGfhgQo3VRyD8mDMphlt_c-EA36dpp0qUKMjFJ3ozwV-NOT1zkaoeDfD-PG6SMSh7SI7qKm9TOo3kq0dG9V4Asmx_HlCUHUNO3vYT8r1A36yPO5lgf22RbKJpT_Q/s200/IMG_0753.JPG" border="0" /></a>suspicious. So by the second day the charm of the event wore off and Mike and I dedicated the majority of our time eating street food. One night we ate between us two 60-meat brochettes, a huge watermelon and 4 beers. I puked all night long, I barely slept that night. The next day in Ouagadougou we went to the biggest outdoor market of Burkina that was incredibly large and dirty too, we also went to see the touristy sites like the presidential house and the congressional palace as well as other places of interest and t<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlx6a32aO5EOV3KKmpIJVx8GVN0dcmkfKHQxpvUHuxD-rEVVZyDeyqVJV037CAeEasD7g_DkeDwh0CUGrw6d6RGc6pvhOqxwXKBGYvTXi1ToBgAOVBBE8UQ67IJ3IpAnTe0DBo4w/s1600-h/IMG_0956.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044418608949938770" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="144" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlx6a32aO5EOV3KKmpIJVx8GVN0dcmkfKHQxpvUHuxD-rEVVZyDeyqVJV037CAeEasD7g_DkeDwh0CUGrw6d6RGc6pvhOqxwXKBGYvTXi1ToBgAOVBBE8UQ67IJ3IpAnTe0DBo4w/s200/IMG_0956.JPG" width="168" border="0" /></a>hen the next day early morning we were off to Benin again.. In all it was a really good timeJosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14062699848212563746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37215102.post-1164994725360041402006-12-01T08:57:00.000-08:002007-06-09T08:33:20.476-07:00<div><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7230/4175/1600/958331/DSCN1197.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 271px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 189px" height="211" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7230/4175/320/307579/DSCN1197.jpg" width="320" border="0" /></a><br />So far the craziest thing that I have seen in the last 5 months that I have been here is a festival that takes place in this little village in the middle of nowhere, where nobody has electricity or running water nor do most of the people speak French but their local languages, but this village is famous throughout Africa for their Whipping Festival that takes place the last days of October. The Whipping Festival is like a coming of age for young boys and where men prove their manly hood by whipping the hell out of each other, I guess that is along the lines of a quince añera in Latin American tradition, sweet sixteen or a Bar Mitzvah but with an interesting twist, whips. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5074087975999022482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib9PmF37Mgp3Sz6TUoWOFNYTE2GcL16P3ik7wlAufJvU0U3U_AIjzx-jBw-rl6q6E3MgHREcpcrmlWvy31DFyVqFO21j2VjI8JPT9H_GdqZe6QyeWHOnrI4Dpylf7TsIbK9PT09w/s320/IMG_0111.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7230/4175/1600/269883/IMG_0640.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7230/4175/200/173800/IMG_0640.jpg" border="0" /></a>Luckily there is a Peace Corps Volunteer in just about every other town in Benin, so a couple of us first year volunteers got together and set out to find this infamous event, we rented an old beat-up 1983 Peugeot, that broke down on us and later the door swung open and I almost fell out, but that did not slow us down, we were determined to find this festival. Every time we asked somebody where the festival was, we got a different response until we heard drums playing and whistles going off behind a large cornfield. When we got there, there where a lot of people dancing to the drums and the whistles, most of them were dressed in traditional elaborate costumes or funny outfits, a couple of them were even dressed as women from head to toe, kind of strange<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7230/4175/1600/324055/IMG_0664.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7230/4175/200/893659/IMG_0664.jpg" border="0" /></a> for a festival that proves manly hood. Well after about 10 minutes of dancing to the drums the music stops and the people started forming a circle, then two men jump out and they start whipping the fuck out of each other, I mean they go at it full force they hold nothing back, just the sound of the whips cracking on their skins sounds painful but they do not even flinch they just keep whipping each other then a couple seconds later 4 more men join the other 2 and it’s a freaking all out whipping party. Whips are flying everywhere and whistles are being blown and the crowd goes wild.<br /><br />After a couple minuets the drums start again and the whipping stops and they start dancing and this time everybody joins in the dancing even the kids and the older women. The music continues for another 15 minutes and once again they start<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7230/4175/1600/185624/IMG_0636.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 236px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 159px" height="200" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7230/4175/320/991423/IMG_0636.jpg" width="320" border="0" /></a> dancing, yelling, jumping and showing of their whips and battle wounds. After the music stops they form a circle and this time the gladiators in the circle are younger boys, ranging from about the age of 8 till 18 and they start whipping the shit out of each other just as hard as the older men, but I can tell they cannot tolerate the pain like the older men and I could see their eyes start to water, but crying is considered a sign of weakness so they hold in their tears the best they can. After about an hour of alternating from dancing and whipping I start to see bloody backs and arms, scars, their skins start blemishing and their wounds are very visible even at a <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7230/4175/1600/484951/IMG_0632.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7230/4175/200/1923/IMG_0632.jpg" border="0" /></a>distance you can see the marks that the whips have left. I can tell that some of these whippings they have received will leave permanent scars and disfigurement on their skin, because the wounds are so deep and they are not treated.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7230/4175/1600/355673/IMG_0634.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7230/4175/200/481519/IMG_0634.jpg" border="0" /></a>Although the whipping festival sounds like a savage and primitive event, things never got out of hand nor escalated to fights or hard feelings between the people who were whipping the shit out of each other. There were always people standing by making sure that things were not getting out of hand and jumping in between the contenders after a couple of minuets, just to make sure nobody was really hurt. I tried to figure out the origin of the festival, but figuring out the origin was like asking for directions, ask 20 people and you will get 20 completely different responses. The only thing I was able to figure out was that this is a weeklong event that starts in the neighboring country of Togo and everyday of the week it <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7230/4175/1600/436912/IMG_0660.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7230/4175/200/893298/IMG_0660.jpg" border="0" /></a>changes village.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5072949139650684130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2LkUsKIf0CRNNI0tQGjj1SsKnTXJZKB7W2ufbSkXMs_mSjOIwc9YSEL6TBxR5aVLvdheC5IPa81p4GebsZWZv9Bg4oBcWpyPa1ukOM6082j1r-8GMwyBQ_HuFRAI9d6PhiEkzw/s320/IMG_0110.jpg" border="0" /></div>Josehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14062699848212563746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37215102.post-1162803148908169172006-11-06T00:14:00.000-08:002007-06-09T02:21:11.816-07:00<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPxjxeIHzQxISnKpRPUHLA4Dm84iQ1J8az4Z8y8CGT0_b-cOrY_BjapQGZJFGmey2M51SYFzShBDnLRtXMvyiOOZwpshUngylvE_CRISTh4Pov_uu_Q9YN23lSwiqsZKJJ1gozA/s1600-h/Cyrille+178.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044435247653243714" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPxjxeIHzQxISnKpRPUHLA4Dm84iQ1J8az4Z8y8CGT0_b-cOrY_BjapQGZJFGmey2M51SYFzShBDnLRtXMvyiOOZwpshUngylvE_CRISTh4Pov_uu_Q9YN23lSwiqsZKJJ1gozA/s200/Cyrille+178.jpg" border="0" /></a>After a horrible combination of procrastination, laziness and actually being busy I decided to start this blog of my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Benin, West Africa. I thought it would be cool to give an idea to my family and friends back home or anybody else who happens to be interested on the projects that I am working on and<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6VX9zxDLiHwLFTeCpwosAGhwaFrBtFnSwLYCvc4UNqIIh8CUq0KzdretufpEuaEFxBgj8xPmfUVxI604AuzhcHn0sVhE6sOpoTN0Nk7QNxebAqX2vyfPl1f8C1P0gaecbqY-AAg/s1600-h/Cyrille+141.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044436961345194882" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6VX9zxDLiHwLFTeCpwosAGhwaFrBtFnSwLYCvc4UNqIIh8CUq0KzdretufpEuaEFxBgj8xPmfUVxI604AuzhcHn0sVhE6sOpoTN0Nk7QNxebAqX2vyfPl1f8C1P0gaecbqY-AAg/s200/Cyrille+141.jpg" border="0" /></a> what my life is like in West Africa. Aside from doing my job, I am going to travel as much as I possibly can in order to get to know Africa the next two years that I will be here so this blog will be my journal of my African adventures.<br /><br />So here is a little bit of background on me for those who do not know me, after giving up a pretty nice lifestyle, a good job and leaving my beautiful girlfriend of three years in order to pursue the crazy idea I had since I was in my second year of college of joining Peace Corps, after graduating from college in 2003 I got an internship in Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida for a year, I <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMJ88peOKtJ1tCuA-ltDC0Up-J3Eh83cXQ0zLWgQDXqxsJPeqvhCvZknfbqPhNiuPW4Q-P8yw1eX3JBHmo9SWUsl_mhbmPe5uJnyU3eD_zuEvLV4uZvA8dKBPvDAeqYp1ncV-Mg/s1600-h/Cyrille+099.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044436218315852642" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMJ88peOKtJ1tCuA-ltDC0Up-J3Eh83cXQ0zLWgQDXqxsJPeqvhCvZknfbqPhNiuPW4Q-P8yw1eX3JBHmo9SWUsl_mhbmPe5uJnyU3eD_zuEvLV4uZvA8dKBPvDAeqYp1ncV-Mg/s200/Cyrille+099.jpg" border="0" /></a>worked in EPCOT as a stocking/inventory assisting nothing glamorous and got paid below minimum wage, working for the Mouse sucked but it was the life outside work that was all worth it, I always liked Florida the night life is good, there is always something to do, the beaches are great, also got a chance to go into all the parks for free I also got my family in for free considering <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFl4_RkbkYqlvI4BEqUmQvYQ9EnstNugHsXbknrNdvuPwF-K6FSpxZwIT3WaevTcs_ZUYsKBl3xnb3HnSBwhyphenhyphenvpAB-WmrprwiDcOs19M2-4Iv2uYmH4ciASgegTwCYwAbsQbmHOw/s1600-h/Cyrille+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044434470264163122" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFl4_RkbkYqlvI4BEqUmQvYQ9EnstNugHsXbknrNdvuPwF-K6FSpxZwIT3WaevTcs_ZUYsKBl3xnb3HnSBwhyphenhyphenvpAB-WmrprwiDcOs19M2-4Iv2uYmH4ciASgegTwCYwAbsQbmHOw/s200/Cyrille+001.jpg" border="0" /></a>that its freaking expensive just to ride these suck ass rides and attractions. Yet, my biggest reward was finding my girlfriend. After my internship I returned to home base, Alexandria Virginia, and got a job working for the Department of State, Foreign Service Institute as a contractor employee, I really liked my job I got a chance to work with the coolest people who liked to party, met ambassadors from all over the world, important political figures and I also found my strengths and weaknesses, like my writing skills are atrocious. It also rekindled my interest in Peace Corps because a lot of Foreign Service Officers and State employees had done Peace Corps, I also could not imagine spending the next 60 years of my life as a paper pusher and not seeing the world like I also wanted. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5073986477331883330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0KEGX49Jw3d2t3xJ0lzaPaOsx6FO466FiExWzSAEr-RSwonxpRGFN087mUCH4EHU80JIPRhiFc-qfdJjiamSvlBwGT0sfxypzBvzZw0-LqgDebls_DXZobJeyQUoCVdcSBuEVfA/s400/IMG_0075.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4dteWZ4V3ow_wjEHwDXqTnFA4A0rXBNruSYbC7nkTj89Myp98fXPgW17Mwupl3lGyBoehMBSWDs70lfUsyqtGA8n80bZIDGHAs1BvwJmtY63zN-x_sg7TDy5KK4VIZSjXLspJg/s1600-h/Cyrille+248.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044434465969195810" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 237px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 178px" height="190" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4dteWZ4V3ow_wjEHwDXqTnFA4A0rXBNruSYbC7nkTj89Myp98fXPgW17Mwupl3lGyBoehMBSWDs70lfUsyqtGA8n80bZIDGHAs1BvwJmtY63zN-x_sg7TDy5KK4VIZSjXLspJg/s200/Cyrille+248.jpg" width="272" border="0" /></a>So I applied and I here I am. In Natitingou, Benin, serving as a Small Enterprise Development (S.E.D) Volunteer. It’s more complicated then that but whatever. So here is the break down of my post, Natitingou. I have Internet cafes, there are vendors in every corner where I can buy just about anything I want, I have a big house with 2 rooms running water a toilet and electricity, I have it good and its exactly what I wanted, there are other volunteers who have to take a shit in a stinky ass whole in the ground with roaches and flies, they have to get water from a watering hole half a mile away, or have no electricity, fuck that, they can keep that. After a couple of weeks when the excitement of Peace Corps dies down life starts to suck and get hard that is the reason we have lost so many volunteers in the last four months we have been here. We started as 60 now we are down to 51 and there are more leaving, I am here for the long run and I am going to make sure that I will confortable.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5073991425134208338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM-mP0yV_RaDzXqXEBmScQhEvGH_XOd9jB6ZvdVwkahrBPJxabSE_DAnN4QYmLpL93YeMK3jnKthW9S8lW1dB8FxL8G-m-Arl4Tueyr_Vg2ds_4nsAyg9brdfBVKxmd6pY014siQ/s400/Cyrille%252B272.jpg" border="0" /></div>Josehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14062699848212563746noreply@blogger.com0