Stateside

(Pics: the Songhai Center road up to our dorm; sunset in Porto-Novo)

Well,

I'm finally back on US soil. Granted, I'm on the wrong side of the country; I'm visiting my sister, brother, dad and step-mom for a couple of days. Today is laundry day while everyone is working. I can't even explain how joyful it is to have clean clothes to wear! It is just such a luxury really after the muggy weather of Africa and the dust. And of course, nothing felt better then my first warm shower in 2 weeks. Our rooms were great at Songhai, and had private showers, but alas, we were without a hot water heater.

So over the next few days, I thought I would blog some of my impressions post-Africa now that I'm home. To start with today though, I want to post some pictures now that I can load them without it taking an hour (I am planning on building a picture site to link up to as well). I'm hoping this will give you all a glimpse of the amazing people we got to spend time with. I hope you all enjoy.

Bert, a man who joined us to help with the Filtrons for Potters for Peace, asked me when he first arrived what surprised me about Benin. I thought that was actually a great question. There were a couple of things that caught me right away. The first thing that really surprised me was the amount of air pollution in Benin. I wasn't prepared for how many vehicles there were, especially motorcycles. It seemed everyone was driving one. After talking to one of the men at Songhai Center, we learned that people often rode motorcycles instead of drove cars because it allowed them to get around the crowded roads much more quickly. It was a bit surreal though to see women in beautiful dresses being carted around, or a bike carrying four or five people. Not to mention the craziest thing we saw, two guys carrying a plate glass window on a bike. The pollution has become a necessary evil in Benin because the vehicles allow people to get to work. One man I met commutes everyday to the Songhai Center in Porto-Novo from Cotonou. Trust me, after going to the airport three different times, it's not a short drive. One of the reasons the vehicles are creating so much pollution is because they are running on oil they buy off the street for cheap, which is probably the equivalent of crude oil. They buy it from stands on the and then pour it into their gas tanks using a cheese cloth to filter it. Not the best of means, but it is affordable for the Beninois. The first time we saw the gas being sold, we didn't know what it was because they sell it in random bottles. I wouldn't suggest taking a drink! Every time we left the center, the smell of exhaust was palpable. Interestingly, the air when we were in Songhai was incredibly clean. Crystal and my theory is that all the vegetation they are growing helps to clean the air. We found that when we were outside of the cities, the air was nice as well. Songhai was definitely an oasis for us!

The second thing that surprised me about Benin was how friendly people were. Taking the time to say hello or enter a shop you might have passed by because it wasn't what we were used to was always worth the time. One thing we noticed when walking about in Benin was that the people would rarely say hi to us Yovos, but once we said hi, they were quick to reply with a bonjour and a smile. Crystal and I went down one street almost every day we were in Porto Novo to a tailors to have clothes made for ourselves and for Crystal's family. We passed by quite a few street vendors everyday who were pretty weary of us at first, although they always said hello when we did. By the end of the second week though, they had started saying hi to us first, and talked to us a little bit. I think they got used to seeing us, and realized we weren't just passing through. It was especially fun to watch the little boys (probably around 3 or 4) go from being weary of us, to singing the Yovo song, to finally coming up and giving us 5. During the second week, when the kids had gotten brave, we asked their moms if we could take a picture of them. They said yes, as you can see, so the next day we brought copies of the picture for them to have too. It was such a treat for us to be able to do that. Our last trip over was a little bitter sweet in saying goodbyes to everyone. The ladies at the tailor shop wished us bon voyage, and gave us treats of gum for the flight and a couple of pictures. The women at the shop were amazing. I can't wait to show off my outfit they made me. Oh, and this is a random observation, but my favorite part of the shop was that Elsibeth,our tailor (far right) had all of these posters showing the different styles that you could have made being worn by African models. All of the ladies pictured were good sized women. No size one models in Africa! It was great to see healthy, regular sized women being held out as models of health on those posters.

OK, that's all for now, but keep checking back, I'm sure I'll get another post in before the family returns!

Wednesday, August 15

Well, we are on the home stretch now. Just two days left until we head home, or for me and Crystal to Paris. It doesn't quiet seem like we have been here for almost 2 weeks already. The pace of life here makes the days go by deceivingly slowly. If I didn't have my watch I'd have a hard time keeping track of the date.

I understand now why people fall in love with Africa and her people. Driving to Abomey and Ouidah, you see such beauty and richness here. There may be poverty, and a hard life, but the people are amazing! They live their lives so differently then we do. It is an open living: outdoors, with each other, very little is hidden away.The community supports its members, and works together.

One of the things we have noticed as Crystal and I have adventured into a bit of Porto-Novo is that the people we see will not initiate a hello with us Yovos (foreigners/whiteys). But when we great them with a bonjour, or a wave, or a smile, the reaction is almost always a huge smile or a greeting back! Though the people we have met in the town can be slow to trust, once you have earned it, the hospitality is amazing.

Crystal and I met a tailor just down the street from Songhai that we have seen numerous days- I think we are at 7 times now. She has done amazing work. She has made two, soon to be three, outfits for Crystal, and a bunch for her family, as well as a skirt and shirt for me that I can't wait to wear. Each day we came to her with more work brought not only a deepening friendship with her as we worked through the language barriers for measuring and ordering clothes, but with the women in the shop around her. We have even been back behind the shop to their home both by ourselves and with some classmates. It was such an honor for me to be welcomed into their home. Our taking the time to enter the shop once has led to some experiences like seeing the inside of a house that I didn't expect in Benin. Our frequent journeys to Elsibeth's have even led to the children that we pass on the street everyday getting brave enough to run up to us and give us high 5's. Yesterday, their moms let us take a picture of the kids, a little tricky because they were scared at first. We promised to bring them copies which we did today. The two mothers were so excited to have the pictures, as were the kids. It was clearly a treasure. We have learned here that a promise is so important. If you don't want to do something, don't promise something that you won't deliver. Keeping our word with the people we meet has built a trust that we would not have received through any other word or action.

This is all for now, since I'm almost out of Internet minutes, but I have added a link to some pictures that Dr. Streibig has taken (with some help from those of us who are brave enough to ask to use his camera). Follow the link to see some of what we've been up to. I will be creating a similar album when I get back stateside. Oh, and I know he's been updating soon. Love to you all!

Teaching Day 1

Hey all,

Well, today has been our first teaching day. It feels good to finally get to the part of the trip where I have some experience to offer! My group was assigned the beginning English learners. I was expecting to get an intermediate level group, so that threw me for a loop for a bit, but my group has been champions about it. We had 5 students today, 3 girls and 2 guys. They all speak varying levels of English, and I would say that they understand more orally then they are able to put into words. This is something I have been able to totally sympathize with after trying to speak French for a week and a half.

Our lesson this morning centered around food service and restaurants since that was an area that Songhai requested that we teach on. As always happens with teaching, we ended up adjusting our lesson on the fly as we discovered the lack of speaking vocabulary for our students. We spent our first hour this morning learning what different pieces of a place setting were called, and we had our servers in the group explain to everyone what utensils are used during different meals at the restaurant. It was really fun, and our servers got to show off their expertise for the other two students who work in other areas of Songhai (secretary and agriculture).

After a short break we decided to work on food names. We learned/reviewed the vocabulary using food we obtained from the restaurant and pictures. After we practiced for a little while, we taught our students how to play bingo for vocabulary practice. We had made game boards using the different foods we would be teaching. Once we figured out how to explain the rules, our students had lots of fun. We progressed the game from easy (we showed the word and said it, and our students matched it with the picture on the board), to difficult (they saw the picture and had to silently find the word without anyone pronouncing it). We had a ton of fun, and even our student with the least amount of English, Emilee, was winning games. After that we practiced using the words to order food, and then had time for them to ask us questions. Imelda and Diana wanted to know other animal words from the menu in English.

The lesson was great because our students learned some really useful vocabulary that they can use in the restaurant. They liked playing the game and winning our Tootsie-roll prizes. The girls reminded me of how important it is to learn vocabulary and content in fun ways when memorizing new things. By the end of our time, they could identify in English any of our foods using either the picture or the word.

I was also reminded again that you have to use all your language skills when working with students who may not be fluent in English. We drew, pantomimed, talked around a word, used sounds...all sorts of methods to get our students to understand what we were saying, and for us to understand what they had to say.

At the heart of our teaching is one of our purposes for being here: speaking English is a valuable skill. Africa is a changing economy. For Benin to be able to grow and be a part of the international world, they need to have English as well as French speaking skills. 30 percent of the people who come to Songhai Center speak English, African and European. Those who work here need English speaking skills. Emilee, our limited English speaker said it best, they need English because it is important for the center but it is also important for all of Benin. This is something that I will think more about tonight, and will write about again.

Off to afternoon class. I hope all of you are safe and well. I can't wait to be home with you all!

Ouidah

Yesterday, my class traveled to Ouidah, which is the port where slaves were transported out of Benin upon being sold to the European slave traders. The whole day brought some interesting experiences really.

We started off with another very long bus drive up to one of the Northern Songhai Centers. Thank goodness our buses are comfortable! We arrived around lunch time and ate our sandwiches at the administrative center before driving a little further on to see the farm itself (we went to a center dedicated to farming practices). There we saw crops like rice and corn being grown as well as another large fish hatchery. We met some of the workers and took their picture, leaving a few behind thanks to a Polaroid camera.

After Songhai North, we drove down to Ouidah. Our first stop was at the Temple of the Sacred Pythons, which is located directly across from a Catholic church. We learned a little about the Voodoo religion while we were there. At this temple, snakes were an integral part of the worship. We learned that the temple pythons were let free to go when they needed to feed, and that people from the community brought them back when they were found around the town. Our guide brought a python out that many of us wore around our neck. In the spirit of adventure, I allowed him to put it on me too. It was surprisingly cool to the touch, and a bit heavy, but not too scary. I have lived to tell the tale, although I'm not in too much of a hurry to return any snakes.


After the temple, we headed to the beach and to the monument of the slave trade. I wasn't really sure what I would feel there to be honest. Once at the site, I felt sorrow for those whose lives were given over to slavery, and sadness that so many people lost homes and families. But really, I mostly was overwhelmed by the simplicity of the monument. It wasn't all that lavish, which ended up speaking volumes. The monument is a carved stone archway that has reliefs depicting the African slaves on either side. Next to the archway are metal sculptures that are depictions of people in chains, I guess in a surreal style. There are also some small, painted stone sculptures around the platform. You walk up to the archway on a sandy path, and the arch frames the ocean. It really is quite beautiful.

After checking out the monument and getting Blythe Jane's promised picture, I headed to the beach to play with my friends. It was really fun down at the water. I put my toes in the Atlantic with my friend Sarah, but ended up wet to the thigh when I misjudged the wave. After rolling up the pants, I headed down the beach, and joined a Beninian named Coolio to dancing to some drummers. I figure when in Africa, you should jump at every opportunity! I had a great time being braver then usual, and then headed back to the road for a little shopping for some souvenirs. The bartering was a little better this time, and I got three really fun things.

OK, off to a meeting. I will post again soon!

Abomey

First of all, happy birthday Mom and Cara!!!! Sorry that I didn't get that in an earlier post. My days are a little off like this keyboard!

Second, I have a way to post pictures now, thanks to Brad, our engineering professor: I just need to find a good time to do it. The slow connection speed means I need a time when there are not a lot of people on the system. Keep checking back because when I do get some on, I will add pics to my other posts.
Yesterday was a trip right up my mom's alley- a museum and a long ride through the Benin countryside. We drove to a place called Abomey visit there museum. It is basically a preserved village and history of the Dahomey people of which Abomey was the capital or where the king lived. We were led through the vast complex that made up the village, including the reception area, throne room, the king's living quarters, his bedroom, and where his 41 wives were killed to join him in death, amongst other things. We were led around by a guide who spoke Fon, and our Songhai Guide Augustine who practiced his English by translating for us. The buildings and history were pretty fascinating as it told not only the story of Abomey, but also of the Dahomey-Benin region.

Abomey was one of the places where Africans were sold into slavery by the king- he could trade captured men and women from conquered tribes to the French for weapons- 15 men or 21 women for one cannon. Abomey was quite a bit north, so the king conquered tribes South of them to have a gateway to the coast and trade. The area that made up the kingdom of Dahomey was really quite big.

The most upsetting part of the tour for me was not the sacrificial rooms, or any of that, it was the building that represented the French conquering the people of Dahomey. When they beat the king, they built a house for the French commander in the heart of the village literally: they placed it in the king's private quarters to show who was really in charge. It was just such an overwhelming and offensive act to me because it showed quite visually that the king no longer had power, not even in his own household.

Our visit there also brought another opportunity for bartering. It was fun to haggle and feel more comfortable about it, even though it is still strange to barter over prices that are so much lower the what we pay in America. However, these vendors were ready to wheel and deal. I definitely ended up buying more then I had planned on, but I have some good presents to bring home for the fam now. Although, I'm still working on your picture Blythe- no cameras in the museum.

The trip to and from Abomey took us through some beautiful country and a different side of Benin- the agricultural parts. This is clearly a fertile country for growing all sorts of crops. On the way home we got to experience some rain and potholes that make me want to never complain about Spokane roads again! Literally the rain was carving little ditches that we had to get across; and at one point the road was more of a river. I can't even imagine what the rainy season must be like, but I was thankful for my shoes.

Which reminds me, I finally got my bag and my shoes from the airport! I had some happy feet yesterday! The airport experiences have been good learning opportunities for me in Benin. They have given me a chance to practice my French which is really rusty, and get comfortable trying to work out how to say things to non-English speaking people with a bit of French and a lot of working around what I'm trying to say by using French, body language and a bit of charades. I won't admit this to my TESL teacher Mary in person because it's too fun to tease her, but her forcing me to work out the language barrier by myself has sped up my learning the French a bit and has been pretty fun.

OK friends, this is all of the French keyboard I can handle today, which has been even harder, since I'm using an American keyboard but it still uses all the same French key placements... I hope you are all well, and I look forward to seeing you on-line. Oh, and if there is anything you want to know about, post a question in the comments section, and I'll answer what I can!
Pia

Wednesday in Benin

Water runoff next to the Songhai Center

One thing we have learned very quickly in Benin is to be adaptable. Nothing goes quite the way you expect it to. We were supposed to do water testing today, for instance, but our shipment has not arrived yet. So instead, today we get to explore a little and work a little. Our groups are taking turns doing a four activities: working with some men from the Songhai Center to make Filtrons, creating a lesson or activity to do with the rest of the groups, going to a pharmacy to see what types of medicine are available in Benin over-the-counter, and having some time on the Internet (hence this post). Even within this new plan, things have changed. We learned from the first group that the pharmacy is very small, so since that took less then 10 minutes, they went discovering and found a store that sells tissue (fabric). The rest of our groups will follow their changes and try some shopping as well. I am excited for my group to get a chance to barter, since I got to try it yesterday in Cotonou. It’s a very interesting experience.

My small group is also going to be teaching a lesson to the rest of our group tonight on numbers in French to use at the market tomorrow. We have also planned some key phrases for everyone to learn. Before dinner, we will teach our lesson in one of the outdoor classrooms and practice some bartering together in pairs. We thought it would be a good thing to teach because yesterday it was much easier to haggle if you knew the numbers in French. Also, the merchants loved it if you could speak a little French with them, although, they all knew English as well! My friend Sarah at the Market in Cotonou

Today might also finally bring about the return of my bag from the airport. Yesterday we returned home empty handed where luggage was concerned because the flight from Paris had not ever come. Today, we are smart enough to call ahead about the bag! I’m a bit torn about the whole thing. I really want my bag as I am dying for my other shoes, but today’s adventure should be so fun, I don’t want to miss any of it with my group. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

The people at Songhai Center are amazing. It feels a bit ridiculous to be helping them make the Filtrons right now because they are the ones who need to know how to do it, and I feel like I’m just taking up valuable space when I’m helping. They are amazing with how quickly they are absorbing the information and running with it. By the end of our two weeks, I am sure that they will be manufacturing faster then we had hoped for. Talking with Theodore yesterday about the Filtrons, has helped me to understand how important they are going to be. All of the staff knows what we are doing here, and are excited about the new technology. It will mean that they and their communities can drink water from the local sources safely instead of having to buy expensive bottled water. Theodore said that he never drinks water from the tap, and does most of his food shopping at the Songhai Center. It is clear that the Filtrons will have a great impact once they start production and marketing them. The goal seems to be to get the Filtrons into the schools and hospitals first, as well as do demonstrations and sell them at their store here at the center and their stands in the markets. I believe that when Gonzaga returns in a year, they will see the Filtrons all over the place.

Well, my Internet time is finished for today, but I will try to post some more tonight on the day.

Au revoir!

Pia

The Adventure Begins

Bonjour mes amis (Hello my friends)!

Well, my teacher Mary said to be open to knew experiences on this trip, and she was right! It has been an adventure already, starting with my shoe suitcase not making it on from Paris. I have been wearing the same pair of shoes for the last 2 days. Other then that, the trip has been amazing.

I didn't realize how big the Songhai Center really was; it's an amazing accomplishment. I can't believe how so much has come from the dream of one person. I can't wait to post some pictures to show everyone the beauty of this place. The Center is self-sufficient and gets no governmental aid. They have created a system which utilizes every bit of produce and waste to work into another aspect of the Center, including making biogas. The people who work here are amazing. Truly, we are very sheltered and well taken care of, so you can stop worrying mom! Right now, my biggest problem is that the key board is different, so I have to keep retyping things.

Today, I got to go back to Cotonou to try and recover my suitcase with a couple of classmates and a man named Teodore. He was wonderful, although I think he spent quite a bit of time laughing at us crazy, talkative women. Sarah (a classmate) and I tried a lot of French, with some success thanks mostly to Mary. Under

Teodore's watchful eye, we exchanged money at a bank and an ATM, learned to barter a little at a market, and ate some lunch at a restaurant in Cotonou! Bartering is an interesting practice; a difficult art, but really fun. I did OK. It felt weird to barter down prices when I knew it cost so little in American money, but I also knew it was expected. Lots of cultural lessons for the four of us today. Mary's was the funniest, she learned not to strike up a conversation with a street vender unless you are serious about buying. He was persistent and talked with her all the way to the bank, and followed us all the way back to the car; sadly, no sale for him.

OK, that's all the typing I can handle tonight. My fingers are sore trying to figure out where all the letters are! My love to you all. Pictures to come when I figure out a way to load them.
Pia

Departure

Well, today is the day! I can't believe that we are actually leaving for Benin tonight. I have been so busy with classes up to this point that I haven't really had time to realize that it was here. In fact I finished my last Ed paper Thursday night after I packed!

Part one of the trip is out of the way. My classmates Crystal, Sushil and I flew to Washington DC yesterday, and are spending the day with my family (dad, step mom Patty, brother Tony, and sister Cara). It was a nice bonus to fly to Africa out of DC since it means I get to see them. It has been about a year and a half since we were last together. Originally, we were going to go into DC and see the Capital mall and stuff, but a temp of 98 degrees, with humidity pushing it closer to 112 degrees, seems to be changing our mind about what a nice afternoon will include. The three of us are appreciating all the good cooking Patty is doing for us though. We're feeling a little spoiled before we eat African cuisine.

(Here is a picture of me, Sushil, and Crystal on our last day in Benin)

Our flight to Benin will take about 13 hours, with a layover in Paris, and about an 1.5 hour drive from the airport in Cotonou to Porto-Novo, where we are staying. We will be living at the Songhai Center for the next two weeks. It is an amazing place dedicated to researching and teaching sustainable technologies for Africa. Their focus is mainly on farming and sanitation related to that field. We were fortunate to receive a DVD that talked about the Songhai Center, which was pretty amazing!

The center is self-sufficient, and utilizes all waste products from its endeavors, leaving little to pollute the environment. The center teaches its students how to raise food using center made fertilizer and some African-appropriate irrigating techniques. They also have a thriving aquaculture, raising a variety of fish. They raise other livestock as well. They have a foundry where they create their own farming equipment to sell. They teach food processing and manufacturing techniques. They also make biogas using animal and vegetable byproducts to run the machinery. All waste product goes back into another area of the Center's projects, feeding animals, creating mulch, making biogas. In all of their projects, they remain focused on using and developing technologies and practices that are appropriate and sustainable for the people of Africa.

The Center's students return to their own homes upon graduation equipped to begin their own environmentally friendly farms. The Songhai Center also sells its products to the local community, again at affordable prices. They will be manufacturing the Filtrons to sell to their community after our visit. For more information on the Songhai Center, you can check out their site in English at http://www.songhai.org/songhai_en/.

I will talk to you all next from across the Atlantic! Hopefully, our Internet connection will be fast enough for me to post some pictures of our adventures.