tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24553669107535494682024-03-13T23:38:25.249-04:00Bisous from Benin!My adventures serving in the Peace CorpsAngelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-4681797670815101842013-11-07T14:03:00.000-05:002013-11-07T14:09:33.252-05:00Blog post for Social, Mobile, and Search Marketing<a href="http://nyti.ms/1fmE4WA">As Interest Fades in the Humanities, Colleges Worry</a>
I feel I have a unique perspective on this issue since I have a humanities degree but a career in IT. I don't think there's an easy resolution to this debate. In today's economy, how can you blame a student for pursuing a degree in a STEM field when that is where the jobs and money by and large exist? And since the recession, people are viewing college strictly as vocational training. While it is indeed training for a career, it is also training for how to be a good citizen, human being, and productive member of society.
I work with so many brilliant IT people, and what they are capable of doing with computers absolutely blows my mind. But sometimes I am astounded at the lack of communication skilld, both written and spoken, that they posses. It is one thing to create a brilliant piece of software, it is quite another to have the rhetorical skills to effectively sell that software to others. I run into issues like this on a daily basis.
My humanities degrees were to enriching for me, and helped land me a wonderful job where I know I am valued in no small part for my writing and communication skills. But I would be kidding myself if I thought my education was the only thing that landed me this job- Peace Corps, for one, certainly helped.
I don't have any easy answers, but I wish there was a way to marry the two fields, rather than making it one versus the other. What do you think?Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-41228942844421003472010-07-21T06:37:00.002-04:002010-07-21T06:46:05.254-04:00Three weeks.I fly outta here three weeks from today. And it couldn't come soon enough: as if enough crappy things hadn't been happening to me, I found out that one of the kittens I just gave away (to my vet) was eaten by his dog. He told me this in the market like it was nothing, including the gruesome detail that the dog was playing with it like it was a mouse and bit its head off. Then he had the audacity to ask me if he could have another kitten and if we could hang out before I leave. I know it's not really his fault, but still. I cried myself to sleep that night, and had to get out of Lobogo for a few days, hence my Internet access. It was nice, I hung out with two of my fellow PCVs, including one who had just lost her dog so she understood.<br />Anyway, I'll head back to post today and leave it for good exactly two weeks from today. MAN that's gonna be tough. I'm really not looking forward to it. I've been crying a lot lately, kinda on an emotional rollercoaster.<br />All that being said, I can't WAIT for America! I'll be down in Cotonou for the week before I leave; time for one last blog.Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-82284704536689102982010-07-13T08:35:00.002-04:002010-07-13T08:56:05.043-04:00The end is nearAs in, I fly out of Benin four weeks from tomorrow, and am about to head back to my village for the last time. It is seriously unbelieveable. I recently had my end of the year staff meeting (lasted 6 hours... for all the things I'll miss, that won't be one of them!!), and my Camp GLOW final report was turned in and approved, so I am officially done with my work. I've also finished most of my COS documents.<br />Now, all that's left is packing up some things in my house, and saying goodbye to people. For as excited as I am to be done and come home, I am REALLY not looking forward to the upcoming goodbyes and leaving my village. It is going to be so hard to leave some of these people, and oh lord, my cats. I get choked up just thinking about it. On the 30th I'm having a small goodbye party (which I have to pay for myself, even though other people TOLD me I was having it... gotta love Benin0, and I'll leave Lobogo sometime between the 4th and the 7th. I fly out of Benin the night of the 11th, and land in Detroit at 4:35 pm on Thursday the 12th! I'll have a day or two at home, then head to the west side of the state for four or five days of R&R.<br />I know you're still waiting for pictures from Camp GLOW, and of my last few weeks here; I've decided that I will load them all once I'm home, and I have Internet that is fast :)<br />I'll leave you with this lovely anecdote, another sure sign that it's time for me to get outta here:<br />Sunday, I was coming down to Cotonou with a kitten in a box on my lap: I was bringing it down for another volunteer who is taking it. All was well until we were in the suburbs of Cotonou and there was a detour since they were doing some road work on the main road. We turned off on the detour to see a huge line of cars in front of us at a standstill, so my driver decided to try and find another route rather than waiting. As we turned a corner, there was a small LAKE of standing water in front of us, one that had been there since May when the rainy season started, and contained many goodies such as dead chickens, feces, and trash. We all told the driver not to try it, but he did anyways. Our car was promptly inundated with the water that turned out to be 3 or 4 feet deep, and we all got SOAKED. The car immediately died, and the driver rushed off to find help. The other passengers and I had to basically swim through the sewer water to get to a shallow spot. Meanwhile, it's taking everything I have in my not to lose my lunch, and I still have a kitten in a box.<br />The kitten was getting restless, so I decided to take my things and go look for a zem somewhere. By some small miracle, my backpack was on top of all of the other luggage in the trunk, and it was the only thing that was not completely soaked. (Other things in the trunk included baskets of tomatoes and bread that some of my fellow passengers were hopeing to sell in the market...) As I started off, an old man saw me and offered to direct me to the road, and I gladly accepted. Unfortunately, the route to the road included a 25 foot stretch of path through a flooded city garbage heap, and the smell was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. I really don't think I have ever been so disgusted. To top things off, the old man harrassed me for money since he helped me, and then on the zemidjan, my dress flew up, exposing my entire thigh, probably the most sexualized part of the body here. The kitten was trying desperately to get out of the box, so I couldn't afford to move my hands and fix it. As we were pulling away from a stoplight, a man on the zem next to mine reached out an brushed my thigh. SO nasty. Absolutely made my skin crawl. Needless to say, it wasn't one of my better days here in Benin. (Don't worry, I saw the doctors and took about ten hot showers as soon as I got to the bureau)Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-56918113865038872732010-07-04T05:55:00.003-04:002010-07-04T09:02:29.191-04:00Camp GLOW!Here's the blog you've all been waiting for! I'll start by saying that camp was an enormous success. All the girls, volunteers, and tutrices left happy and empowered. So, here's a run-down of the week:<br />Sunday morning, I left my house at 9:15 to go and meet the girls and our taxi. Half of the girls were already there, and said they had been waiting since 8! I've taught them well: to be early is to be on time :) My homologue decided to go and look for the other three girls, who were apparently ready to go and just sitting calmly at their houses- I'll never understand some parts of this culture! Murphy's law, the taxi driver was about thirty minutes late and extremely casual about it. (He was one of those Beninese men who you can tell constantly congratulate themselves for being a man: he had his shirt rolled up above his pot belly for the whole ride down, spit out the window a lot, etc. Attractive, really.) All morning it was POURING, so the drive down was a bit scary. All of the massive potholes (like none you've ever seen before in America) were filled with water and therefore impossible to see, so I'm surprised we didn't lose a tire on the way down. Beninese people apparently don't find it necessary to do anything differently when driving in the rain; they don't use headlights, slow down, etc. Anyway, we stopped in Cotonou on the way down and I bought the girls some pounded yams for lunch (a northern food, so something most of them hadn't tried before). You could tell they loved sitting in the little restaurant like grown ups!<br />Upon arrival in Porto Novo, the chaos began. The driving rain made it difficult to move around a lot, and lots of people arrived late because of it. We had almost 60 mosquito nets to hang (and a few were stolen in the process), so that took some time. Girls arrived in big groups, and I had to remember every step involved in checking them in, giving them room assignments, telling them not to touch their newly-opened mosquito nets (they need time to air out because of the chemicals on them, if not they will sting your eyes and face), etc.<br />Let me back up quickly to the last three days before the camp: I was already back in village, obviously with no computer/Internet access. First, I got a call from the Peace Corps office, asking me many details about the Opening Ceremony for the camp. For as much as I think I understand Beninese culture now, I am still lost when it comes to the formalities of official events. Things have to be just so, and apparently whatever dignitaries you invite, it is YOUR responsibility to write their speeches for them. I also finally got the go-ahead from the NGO that donated soccer balls to the girls, though there was more paperwork to do for that. So, I was feeling pretty helpless and stressed in Lobogo. I also got calls from several volunteers saying that their girls couldn't make it, so I had to scramble around trying to find some replacements.<br />Now, back to the first night of camp, I was surprised to find we had 49 girls (as opposed to the original 50) since I had thought we had many cancellations the day before. Once all the girls were checked in and settled into their rooms, we had dinner and a welcome meeting. It was fun to show them how to use a toilet and shower, and to see how excited they all were about the week ahead. It was nice and cool all week because of the rain, and we didn't even have to use the ceiling fans in our rooms to sleep at night! I'm sure the girls were chilly, though :)<br />Monday morning was also high stress since we had the opening ceremony of the camp, and we had invited several dignitaries. The Peace Corps invitees showed up first, followed by the Ambassador. It was fun seeing the girls' faces when his motorcade drove into the center, American flags flying. We ended up having to wait nearly an hour for the Beninese dignitaries to show up (surprise surprise), but it was a good opportunity for me to chat with the Ambassador and tell him all about the camp. All in all, the people who arrived were: the Peace Corps Benin country director, the woman in charge of the education/gender sector of Peace Corps Benin, the Ambassador, and the second to the mayor of Porto Novo. The ceremony was nice and concise; I made a speech, as did the mayor's representative, the Ambassador, and the Country Director. We then took a really nice photo with everyone in it: girls, volunteers, invitees, and all. That day we then had sessions on the rights of women and children, how to deal with/avoid sexual harrassment (especially from teachers), and study skills/tips. After dinner, we did relay races, which the girls had never seen before and LOVED. It was really fun to watch the girls open up throughout the first day and lose all their shyness. Because these girls are the best from their respective schools and villages, they enjoyed and participated in the sessions, and had impeccable behavior.<br />The second day started with a craft session run by PCVs. They could choose between collage making and book binding, and both were a huge hit. We were originally nervous that the book binding might be too complicated/lengthy, but the girls were really perceptive and followed the instructions well, and made adorable fabric-covered journals. I helped with the collage session, and it was really interesting to see the pictures they chose to cut out of the magazines. It tended to be a lot of photos of people, along with fauna and commercial products. These sessions were great since the girls normally have to artistic outlet. We then had a session on puberty, reproduction, and hygiene, which the girls LOVED and asked tons of questions. That afternoon, half the group went to a local museum, and the other half went to Songhai, that organic farm/green technology center in Porto Novo. It is honestly one of the most innovative, self-sustaining places I've ever seen, and it's here in Benin. Crazy, huh? At Songhai, they took a tour of the farm and then learned how to use computers: Word and basic Internet searches. I could tell that the girls felt really empowered to be able to use a computer, especially since many of their peers have never even seen one. That night we watched Bend it like Beckham, which was particularly relevant, both because it was girls playing soccer and because of the World Cup going on right now. I have never seen a group of people be so invested in a film: they cheered everytime someone scored a goal! They absolutely loved it, especially since we projected it up onto a big screen just like a movie theater. This was a good ending to a not-so-good day for me personally: I had a man at Songhai refuse to take me as the camp director because I was a woman (then had the audacity to call me his wife), and a woman on the street completely ignored myself and some other volunteers because, we were told, she hates white people. We also were having some problems with the caterer (that unfortunately continued throughout the rest of the week): arriving late, giving us fish when we were supposed to have meat, claiming that there was no fruit to be found in the whole city even though that's what we paid for. (That being said, the girls still ate awesome food and a ton compared to what they are given at home. They actually got to eat meat!)<br />Wednesday morning, we visited the National Assembly, basically the Beninese equivalent to our House of Respresentatives. It was quite interesting, and the girls got to sit in the seats of the deputies and ask questions through their microphones. They asked tons of good questions, such as "If there are 83 deputies in the National Assembly, why are only 9 of them women?!" These girls are so lucky; most Beninese never get to visit a government building like this. That afternoon, the girls once again went to Songhai and the museum, visiting whichever one they had not seen the day before. That night, the girls had time in their teams to develop skits about any topic we'd discussed during the week.<br />Quick explanation of the team system: the girls were divided into 5 teams of ten girls each. Three or four volunteers were assigned to each team, along with one Beninese tutrice. At the end of each day, the teams met to discuss the themes touched upon that day. Teams also had a competition the whole week. Teams could win or lose points, depending on factors such as participation in sessions, behavior, helping out, etc. At the end of the week, all the points were tallied and each member of the winning team received some cool prizes: a dictionary, compass set, and nice notebook.<br />Thursday started out with a session all about soccer: how to play, rules of the game, strategies, how to inflate a ball. We then held a mini tournament. It was amazing to see how awesome some of these girls were at soccer! One of my girls in particular was fantastic. We then had two young Beninese people come in to do a sensibilisation on HIV/AIDS and malaria, which the girls really enjoyed. We even did a condom demonstration, which the girls were really mature about. (Side note: nearly all the sessions were run by Beninese people, not volunteers.) We also had a woman living with HIV come in to talk to the girls, to show them that she was a normal person and tell them her story. That afternoon, we had a really good session on nutrition. It's an important session for these girls since the Beninese diet is so full of carbs and void of nutrition. (These people aren't starving like a lot of people think, they just don't have enough vitamins.) That night was fantastic, we had a DJ come to do a dance party for these girls, and let me tell you, these girls can DANCE. They insisted we dance with them, but they just end up making us look silly :) They really let loose and got to shine since it's normally the boys who take over the dance floor. It was a lot of fun.<br />Now comes the craziest part of my week. One of the girls I brought, Elise, has a disease, one that her parents called a "bone" disease. I was told it flared up during the rainy season when it's cooler, so my homologue was hesitant to let her come in case her disease flared up. But, she really wanted to come and assured us that she would bring her medicine for it, and that ibpruofen helps it a lot. During the dance party, she came up to me crying and saying that it was flaring up and she hurt, so another volunteer gave her ibpruofen and took her to her room to lie down. When the night was finished and everyone else headed to bed, I went to check on her. She was in HORRIBLE pain, writhing and crying in her bed. It seemed as if the ibpruofen had done nothing. We were constantly massaging her back and making her drink water. We finally decided to move her into my room so that her roomates could get some sleep, and we sat up with her for hours. It was so hard to see this smart, adorable little girl in so much pain. At 3am, she told us she needed to go to the hospital, so I called the Peace Corps emergency line to ask what hospital we should go to. A nice man who worked at the center drive us (two other volunteers, myself, and the girl) there in his car. He also helped us once there. (We were first taken to a back-alley clinic that looked way too sketchy, so we told him we needed to go to the big regional hospital in Porto Novo). It was such a surreal place: people sleeping all over the hospital grounds, sewer water flooding certain areas, rats. There was no one to direct us where to go, so we finally found the pediatric emergency room. It was a really hard place to see. There were two or three kids to a bed, and really bad looking patients all around. The baby on the bed next to us convulsed with each beat of his heart, there was a little girl who couldn't blink, kids in comas, etc. There was a pool of blood on the floor next to Elise's bed. The nurse came to give her an IV, and did it in a really rough and irresponsible manner, constantly bumping and pulling on the needle. There is absolutely NO bedside manner here; it's as if the nurses are there to do their job and the patients shouldn't interfere. Since it was 4am, there was no doctor there (naturally...), so they were not authorized to give her any pain meds, only a rehydrating IV drip, so she was still in terrible pain. We called in for replacement volunteers at around 8:30am so that we could get some sleep. I haven't pulled an all-nighter like that since freshman year of college! Meanwhile we had not been able to get a hold of anyone in her family (though when we did, they weren't panicked; these pain attacks are fairly common). The doctor fianlly came with the lab results and it turns out that she has Sickle Cell Anemia, occassionally causing her these massive pain attacks. In the U.S., patients are given morphine to ease the pain. Shortly after we left her with the other volunteers, the pain started to subside and she was able to get some sleep, so she came home aroung 11am that day. Not only was the whole hospital experience depressing, jarring, and sad, but it was also backwards and dysfunctional. For instance, the hospital does not simply bring you the medicine you need. They write you a prescription, and YOU are respinsible for taking it to the cashier, paying, and then going out to the pharmacy to get it. I guess it is assumed that a family member will be there to help, but what if they're not? Nor does the hospital feed the patient, it's once again the responsibility of the patient or a family member to get food. I guess it's a product of the collectivist society here. All in all, it was one of the craziest nights I've ever had and one I'll not soon forget.<br />Friday morning, the campers did a session on gender roles that they got really passionate about- why can't a woman do that?! Of course she can! Men can cook, too! Etc. It was really neat to see them get fired up like that. Then a panel of four professional Beninese women came to talk to the girls about how they got into these high-profile jobs in this male-dominated society. That afternoon the girls learned about money management and how to create a budget, and then got to make beautiful bead necklaces with an artisan from Ouidah. The last night, the girls preformed their skits, and it was once again heartbreaking to see how accurately they portrayed the typical Beninese man. They were great actressses and clearly loved performing!<br />The last morning of the camp, we just held a quick session synthesizing everything we'd learned during the week and encouraging girls to share what they'd learned with their peers, and then gave awards. The winning team got the prizes I mentioned above, and every girl got a tshirt, certificate, Camp GLOW bracelet, group photo, and soccer ball. They also got to take home their mosquito net and the books, collages, and necklaces they had made. Needless to say, they left the camp very happy :) One of the girls even presented me with flowers during the ceremony, which was really sweet. It was then time for the girls to pack up and head out. Of course, my taxi driver promised he would be there no later than 11am, and didn't show up until 3. Every time I called him, he would lie and tell me he was around the corner, and he eventually stopped answering my calls. It's infuriating that they can get away with things like that here; my homologue told me that there was no way I could pay him less since the price was already negotiated. I was especially angry because Elise wasn't feeing well, and since he arrived so late we had no time to stop in Ouidah to show the girls the ocean like we had originally planned (none of these girls had ever seen the water before!) Once again, the driver didn't apologize, and was pretty rude the rest of the way home. We had another unfortunate event at the end of camp: we realized one of the tutrices had stolen a lot of things from us, such as extra camp tshirts, bowls, toilet paper, and soap. When we privately confronted her about it (we had proof that she had done it), she threw a big fit and started insulting the camp, campers, and volunteers before running off. It was really unfortunate.<br />All being said and done, I would call the camp a fantastic success. All of the girls were extremely bright and I know they will do something with the lessons they learned. Elise is feeling better now, and all in all only missed a half day of camp activities. (Once back in Lobogo, her parents and brother traveled all the way from their farm many kilometers away to my house to thank me profusely for taking care of her.) Being camp director was of course stressful, but extremely satisfying. My one complaint would be that because I was so busy taking care of logistics, I didn't have as much time to play with the girls this year.<br />Back in Lobogo, I couldn't even catch up on sleep the next day as it was Fifa's first communion and I had to go to the four hour long Mass for that :( We then had an all day long party for her in our concession which I had to attend, and even if I had wanted to nap I couldn't have because the music was blasting so loud. First communion fetes are a really big deal here: they set up a tent, rented chairs, hired a DJ, killed a goat and pig and chicken. They even had a photographer going around and snapping tons of pictures!<br />The next two days I spent at school, giving students their final grades and filling out school grade books and report cards. I can't believe I'm officially done with all my school duties! Saying goodbye to my students was as sad as I thought it might be, maybe because it just doesn't quite seem real yet. I told them to stop by and say goodbye to me at some point during the next few weeks. I'll see all my colleagues one more time at the end of the year staff meeting on Friday. On Tuesday night, I gave away one of the two kittens to my vet, the other one will go to another volunteer next week. (It's a good thing, too- they were starting to destroy my house! I'll miss them, though.)<br />On Wednesday I came down to Cotonou to write the final report for my camp and got that all wrapped up, and on Thursday I had my final medical exam/check out. Looks like I'm healthy! Friday a few of us headed to Dogbo for one last reginal cooking session; we made sandwiches and coleslaw for dinner and red, white, and blue pancakes (with dried blueberries and strawberries) for breakfast. We also watched the Ghana v. Uraguay game at a bar that night, and the energy was incredible. People were literally dancing in the streets when Ghana scored a goal! It was too bad that Ghana lost.<br />I'm now back down in Cotonou staying with my friends who work at the embassy here. They are about to go home for vacation, and since I'm leaving soon, I don't think I'll see them again. They are SO sweet, and they treated me to dinner last night. It's so nice staying in a house that feels just like America! We spent the morning watching CNN and Discovery channel, and made coffee and cinnamon roles for breakfast :) Tonight there is a big potluck at one of the embassy workers' houses, so it'll be a nice way to celebrate the 4th! I'll head back to village tomorrow. I think I'll only leave one more time before I leave for good, to give all the Camp GLOW paperwork to the person who is taking the camp over next year (a man!) By the way, if you're wondering why I haven't gotten mail or packages in a long time, it turns out it's because of the volcano! All the stopped up air traffic caused major back-ups in the mail system.<br />I arrive in America exactly 5.5 weeks from today, can you believe it?? I can't. I'm really, REALLY excited to come home, but am getting pretty sad about leaving some of my friends and especially my cats here. I'll have my last 3 weeks or so in village just to spend time with those people and pack up my house.<br />This is probably one of my last blogs! Sorry it was so long. I will post pictures from the camp when I get a chance.Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-58237272712288620982010-06-16T05:22:00.006-04:002010-06-16T09:13:52.462-04:004 days!Thought I'd do a quick update before my couple weeks of craziness start! I'm down in Cotonou, doing all of the last-minute things for Camp GLOW.<br />As far as school goes, the kids took their final exams last week and I've graded half of them (all the quatrieme exams, that I wrote). For whatever reason, they really bombed it. I thought it was a very reasonable test, and had my colleagues look over it to confirm that. When I asked some of the students why the test was difficult for them, they said it was because I wrote "do NOT copy sentences from the text" for their answers in the short answer section. Normally, this is exactly what they'll do, and get all up in arms when I give them partial or no credit for it; apparently Beninese teachers find this way of answering acceptable. It was a bummer, especially getting that from my favorite class.<br />I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my sixieme students did much better... the test was all on verbs in simple present form, which we worked on for over a month but they STILL were having a difficult time with. I even decided not to progress in the curriculum and instead stayed on verbs for a long time since they are so important (and I have quatrieme students who STILL can't conjugate well). So we'll see! I did a really good review session with one class, but got rained out when I was supposed to do it with my other sixieme class. (Life 100% STOPS here when it's raining. People don't leave their house, mostly because they really can't- the roads turn to mush and it's hard to see when driving a zem into the rain.) When I arranged a makeup review session, we got rained out again! It wasn't a total waste of the afternoon, though: several students happened to be walking by when the rain got really hard, so we all huddled under the porch at the front of my concession. They stayed with me for almost three hours and we talked about EVERYTHING, from weather patterns in America to Hollywood. (One asked, "When they kill someone in an American movie... is it real? Do they really die?") It was one of those classic Peace Corps moments that I'll never forget.<br />Life in Lobogo is going well, but little things keep coming up that remind me why I'm excited tohead home in August. An especially devastating one happened this week: a FOUR YEAR OLD girl in my concession told us that she's been having sex with teenage boys from the neighborhood. When she was telling Angele and the other gathered around... they were laughing. A lot. Laughing with intermittent heavy beatings of the poor girl. I'm not even going to try to analyze why they reacted this way, because I can't even begin to understand it. They made her show them the positions she had sex in, and then made her pull down her underwear for them to see. It was one of the most upsetting experiences I've had here, made even worse by the fact that I really didn't understand what was going on and I knew there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. Really, really sad.<br />The biggest news: Camp GLOW starts in four days!!! I have been working really hard the past few days to do all of the last minute things: supply shopping, printing out certificates, getting soccer balls for all the girls, etc. I'm feeling pretty good about the camp, and I think I've done just about all that I can for now. I found out that not only the ambassador and his wife will be at the opening ceremony, but so will tons of ministers,(probably) the mayor of Porto Novo, and lots of people from the Peace Corps' office. The news might even show up! Keep posted for updates about the camp in early July! This wouldn't have been possible without all your donations, so thank you :)<br />Last night I was invited to dinner at my friends' house, the ones we stayed with during Kate's memorial that work at the embassy. It was so nice! Lots of wine, pizza, salad... so nice to have a nice dinner in a nice home with nice people :) While there, I heard a hilarious pick-up line that white women often get in Benin: "Let's make an Obama." Wow.<br />I'll head back to post today for a few days before the camp. My girls and tutrice are getting really excited! We are going to rent a whole taxi to take us straight there which will be nice. I only have a bit more time to spend with my kittens, so I'm gonna try to soak them up these next few days. They taught themselves how to use the litter box and run around the house like they own the place :)<br />Wish me luck for GLOW!Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-39867940770484970292010-06-01T10:18:00.004-04:002010-06-01T10:45:04.462-04:00Bad dayI'm having a bad day and decided to rant about it. Here's why:<br />1. Remember the goat I wrote about in my last post, who was it by a moto? About two days ago, it just decided to give up on life (even though it had been eating and walking much better the day before). It laid down in the dirt and didn't move for almost 48 hours, refusing food or water. So, for as hard and sad as it was, we all decided to let it go. The thing is, it was taking FOREVER to die, just sitting there wheezing and moaning for two full days. As of last night it was still alive, and I woke up around 1am to the sound of pounding rain that lasted for at least an hour. The poor thing drowned in a puddle that formed around it. SO sad. And my neighbors just laughed at me the whole time it was dying when I would squat by it and pet it a bit. God forbid we show a little compassion.<br />2. AWFUL day teaching. The kids refused to sweep the class (as usual), so we started late. I reminded them that this was our last week together, so please leave me with good memories of them, and they proceeded to act worse than ever. I sent several kids home, changed many of their seats, and took points off their conduct grades, but to no avail. When I told them that I was sad they were acting this way during our second-to-last class together, they just laughed. It was horrible. After talking to some other TEFL volunteers, this seems to be the case across the board since the school year is extended and the kids are really antsy. I know it's a lot to hope for, but I just want this last bit of teaching to feel good and go smoothly.<br />3. As usual, I offered to help edit all of the English exams. However, the secretary has gotten bold and told me she wanted me to TYPE all of them, getting angry when I told her I didn't have time to do that, even though it's HER job.<br />4. I am in Lokossa to get money from the bank because I literally had none. Our taxi broke down about a mile outside the city, so I ended up having to walk the rest of the way, in the midday sun. I can't even count the number of "Bonjour cherie!"s I got en route, and one man actually became furious that I didn't respond to him.<br />5. Now, in the cybercafe, the man next to me is unabashedly looking at porn online and touching himself to boot. Fabulous.<br />I also tried to fete Angele for her birthday, i.e. I gave her some money to buy fish and rice. Well, she bought the things and prepared them, but her husband came home so we couldn't eat until about 6 hours later because he gave her somany things to do. By the time we ate, she only served me and her husband, and I don't think she got any even though it was HER birthday. The food was also cold and a litte rancid.<br />I went to the mayor's office yesterday to ask for money for the girls' transport to Camp GLOW, which he gave me, though the whole encounter was a bit uncomfortable after his advances towards me last year. Sigh. My house is also a disaster right now, plus all the stress getting ready for camp and the end of the year and COS.<br />So, needless to say I'm not the happiest camper today. The good news is that I'm now taking 6 girls to Camp GLOW, and when I informed the sixth girl, the BIGGEST smile spread across her face and she got really giddy. It's so good to see a reaction like that out of girls who are used to being so stoic around their superiors! Camp is coming up FAST- can you believe it's June now??- 19 days! The kittens are also helping keep me sane. Their ears have opened and they can walk pretty normally now. They have also become extremey playful... so cute!Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-28078896402392005102010-05-25T17:06:00.012-04:002010-05-25T20:25:54.005-04:00I'm still alive! (despite viscious goats and the sky falling)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7kXFnPev1r2-TFznYBVjQ24oV70z-oySgFSVxnFkA8W76AQsrJBtSVdWWeIFzrJwghU5pzsfMo0KYYW51sILffPIKEstPCVcRyKi9KQQHOMzh8qJGvOMk3wJPBawu8pTmEk2j0e4vNueX/s1600/100E1037%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7kXFnPev1r2-TFznYBVjQ24oV70z-oySgFSVxnFkA8W76AQsrJBtSVdWWeIFzrJwghU5pzsfMo0KYYW51sILffPIKEstPCVcRyKi9KQQHOMzh8qJGvOMk3wJPBawu8pTmEk2j0e4vNueX/s200/100E1037%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475365527363776978" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg506NfvggxTe8xUlzbXDFw7KESUGl9WOT4XE9JtpLKgIb8YOBwNfhuQxHF1MQH4m_yn_0LX7-Cn8LO0ebiQrCXGil6mfeL74Ct03t1ltdog8Ft6ohHT7d8TIcI0iXXaqIk2C0FN3CxqVgQ/s1600/100E1036%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg506NfvggxTe8xUlzbXDFw7KESUGl9WOT4XE9JtpLKgIb8YOBwNfhuQxHF1MQH4m_yn_0LX7-Cn8LO0ebiQrCXGil6mfeL74Ct03t1ltdog8Ft6ohHT7d8TIcI0iXXaqIk2C0FN3CxqVgQ/s200/100E1036%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475365522233997410" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf2V0B-mVQFAI3-rvHJroZv3-mKtq0mNKSCaUQjfvVxjbmFFo6j8BtAfU3LHbmkr8bJgB7qmu9HInSrpQBWKu-biOEOrAmti4iQhw98nHzqmKRnuat0UwNdTH8zQIKFHskXkU0Hk0BZ_-j/s1600/100E1035%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf2V0B-mVQFAI3-rvHJroZv3-mKtq0mNKSCaUQjfvVxjbmFFo6j8BtAfU3LHbmkr8bJgB7qmu9HInSrpQBWKu-biOEOrAmti4iQhw98nHzqmKRnuat0UwNdTH8zQIKFHskXkU0Hk0BZ_-j/s200/100E1035%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475365513437932642" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YTLbFccGGH-KBEmNx1a5O_cNcwgDuyVbvoayvP8ikygwZphIukGCIpa4ozSE7y2lhmvExZzTKBjBWOrmrwJWWh9KhW7v3pzpoZOSpMf5pLzTEtSF2kSVHOMSqDA3n2ybqZTaPOD4IoTa/s1600/100_1032%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YTLbFccGGH-KBEmNx1a5O_cNcwgDuyVbvoayvP8ikygwZphIukGCIpa4ozSE7y2lhmvExZzTKBjBWOrmrwJWWh9KhW7v3pzpoZOSpMf5pLzTEtSF2kSVHOMSqDA3n2ybqZTaPOD4IoTa/s200/100_1032%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475364092732094610" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZ02SlfSyKOSr37nRht67UEsJ50KTzrarGo-czbexAVeW0tHPazPWD4vvNrVzzPgkvKrCjw7KG0uLG-Ykih-eLhnt4lvIzH_2lQssOk2spa6L_XmwSQyIgrgyH8StNWMUgQC3UQMKjinL/s1600/100_1028%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZ02SlfSyKOSr37nRht67UEsJ50KTzrarGo-czbexAVeW0tHPazPWD4vvNrVzzPgkvKrCjw7KG0uLG-Ykih-eLhnt4lvIzH_2lQssOk2spa6L_XmwSQyIgrgyH8StNWMUgQC3UQMKjinL/s200/100_1028%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475364085982104642" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIh6AT2edVTDYQQHR2G0zbDNczO9EseWzw2-Id8hXI5pg58bNt3TIix88DQ0V0W5wKe_nxjG9h1snrhUoTUP9uw6q_TkunSEhMC0YyGqxSk3BoPZkoTUpqX9o1A6AwBQ1ugEK1-N0_QaYz/s1600/100_1025%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIh6AT2edVTDYQQHR2G0zbDNczO9EseWzw2-Id8hXI5pg58bNt3TIix88DQ0V0W5wKe_nxjG9h1snrhUoTUP9uw6q_TkunSEhMC0YyGqxSk3BoPZkoTUpqX9o1A6AwBQ1ugEK1-N0_QaYz/s200/100_1025%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475364078218714322" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK9YwyssHwZ1fgwxmqbhUgP0wukp3uWAlzainKoz9tp4pTiJ6DGNMRulq7O388SfAx08mvcrO6aht7mBw4ReY_bFV1iOPvLxjBS-QVAbb2EN7NKNpm5-F9raZz69Fy3mWfo99bEcq099fv/s1600/100_1023%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK9YwyssHwZ1fgwxmqbhUgP0wukp3uWAlzainKoz9tp4pTiJ6DGNMRulq7O388SfAx08mvcrO6aht7mBw4ReY_bFV1iOPvLxjBS-QVAbb2EN7NKNpm5-F9raZz69Fy3mWfo99bEcq099fv/s200/100_1023%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475364067308057234" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4JF8pouaeeejnDK-n4PrYf8Bhd5wBaUMRW6LZIQm9V2QDG_rmia-2C6m4W1jBJHLCbE9Rs-3n5_dWForhxKHL0lWxsXL6sEpx69x1XlrcL1nwkAZsxIZ4aCfbD7zO8yTl4L6nl2WR_V3x/s1600/100_1022%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4JF8pouaeeejnDK-n4PrYf8Bhd5wBaUMRW6LZIQm9V2QDG_rmia-2C6m4W1jBJHLCbE9Rs-3n5_dWForhxKHL0lWxsXL6sEpx69x1XlrcL1nwkAZsxIZ4aCfbD7zO8yTl4L6nl2WR_V3x/s200/100_1022%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475364058751941794" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXANcbAN-tYegXKNrWAxo-hfOj_9f1n3vzqyBag_3b8Lq2TXDJRiMpzt4BwyRZPsa5eQNcDDkSfJZFMjxmlGnNK1dxDiHv8BfYFZTthNxxJSVQHy9VNddybn_F538MsrTuhAvjV4oL7JFb/s1600/100_1021%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXANcbAN-tYegXKNrWAxo-hfOj_9f1n3vzqyBag_3b8Lq2TXDJRiMpzt4BwyRZPsa5eQNcDDkSfJZFMjxmlGnNK1dxDiHv8BfYFZTthNxxJSVQHy9VNddybn_F538MsrTuhAvjV4oL7JFb/s200/100_1021%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475362117438182386" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Qyu2jGO8t590sWf2qtpih8x5YOFHu5ssOULN1cp1-xj0F90-y85zlKHlsWNS2Fx1tVCiH8q_04GzddQxsLDPKKL066KXZgTqjY0Q2SSC0eTIKHDeF5dKKzBbC93-aYZD7ht1q3L3m-9N/s1600/100_1020%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Qyu2jGO8t590sWf2qtpih8x5YOFHu5ssOULN1cp1-xj0F90-y85zlKHlsWNS2Fx1tVCiH8q_04GzddQxsLDPKKL066KXZgTqjY0Q2SSC0eTIKHDeF5dKKzBbC93-aYZD7ht1q3L3m-9N/s200/100_1020%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475362112346757794" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtjikA0G6OTW3CuhS1wYvtEQTCftd45XIvskamCn8Ox7M6svC3vwfjgffZ7Gtvvfi0zyj4gEfHtvE3HPDkv0CfdXopfujA-g_yP2d-_xt4bSD1gFcC6_VEZoGlWgoGeYq6ABr5XUI2jA-Y/s1600/100_1019%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtjikA0G6OTW3CuhS1wYvtEQTCftd45XIvskamCn8Ox7M6svC3vwfjgffZ7Gtvvfi0zyj4gEfHtvE3HPDkv0CfdXopfujA-g_yP2d-_xt4bSD1gFcC6_VEZoGlWgoGeYq6ABr5XUI2jA-Y/s200/100_1019%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475362107196486562" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOnMtDRJPYDLzq3FPFD0lDs78X0lzywSkRzgpxOMvZhk29KbMYa5x2DR4PyhxcO4WQia9w68hIqSHWziJM0zsS8yY8OGt5MRJ9Cuypx7Yj2HAuZUkB3SJX6mS6m4jVRvzeVsCIQdFe0-cp/s1600/100_1018%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOnMtDRJPYDLzq3FPFD0lDs78X0lzywSkRzgpxOMvZhk29KbMYa5x2DR4PyhxcO4WQia9w68hIqSHWziJM0zsS8yY8OGt5MRJ9Cuypx7Yj2HAuZUkB3SJX6mS6m4jVRvzeVsCIQdFe0-cp/s200/100_1018%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475362102628030786" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggANuwJMsjPg7c4B3wEOIWYDavgnHYAgRMlk01vfvOlYmFd6UzslF9_a5cNS3ht7a6UY00fWgzYWal23zFM0y8cGlNTy3L-5Hv0SWVmivHisCP378lqyHe8liQHbLWjt-qJUjzBUfCO5S/s1600/100_1015%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggANuwJMsjPg7c4B3wEOIWYDavgnHYAgRMlk01vfvOlYmFd6UzslF9_a5cNS3ht7a6UY00fWgzYWal23zFM0y8cGlNTy3L-5Hv0SWVmivHisCP378lqyHe8liQHbLWjt-qJUjzBUfCO5S/s200/100_1015%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475362093391822786" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZtXByA_NcE5kTdnjNLwgteCkkNuzzr9m9-Vv3Wh40qbN7rQr7cmsYR0TVkU79BlFBYVORCvEID1Ros6dqMld1OB5jOFupuX-CVun-Z0AZnWDV16r8OmseJExmB9yXIsY76ISgth8fQt8q/s1600/100_1014%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZtXByA_NcE5kTdnjNLwgteCkkNuzzr9m9-Vv3Wh40qbN7rQr7cmsYR0TVkU79BlFBYVORCvEID1Ros6dqMld1OB5jOFupuX-CVun-Z0AZnWDV16r8OmseJExmB9yXIsY76ISgth8fQt8q/s200/100_1014%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475359824402187122" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqeNPciSR9zwdEq5Mmf_q9kGI1nnj3P_yMI6PUf2y51t9fVOmoYp5YZid1mB9XEfEfJZJP260x2obgVYXUlMehiCdl6zFNeFRYKvh0ct14we9EWMr2GEJI3wO90yHHNVJz3j0jDDFodg1k/s1600/100_1013%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqeNPciSR9zwdEq5Mmf_q9kGI1nnj3P_yMI6PUf2y51t9fVOmoYp5YZid1mB9XEfEfJZJP260x2obgVYXUlMehiCdl6zFNeFRYKvh0ct14we9EWMr2GEJI3wO90yHHNVJz3j0jDDFodg1k/s200/100_1013%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475359822932576274" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMYL2GMN8pKLZlVY3KtddW6SBakkYBihM8q12NpthY6qqzds5lSWEPzFe5zGAVx7Pm-MtiayoqhFXdoqJ_8Bhe9YDZ6WIOEgOeUucXhlEhR0gUrvZmqmTFTssejOh_YzeD1bm35NSP1d42/s1600/100_1012%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMYL2GMN8pKLZlVY3KtddW6SBakkYBihM8q12NpthY6qqzds5lSWEPzFe5zGAVx7Pm-MtiayoqhFXdoqJ_8Bhe9YDZ6WIOEgOeUucXhlEhR0gUrvZmqmTFTssejOh_YzeD1bm35NSP1d42/s200/100_1012%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475359814202655810" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCt0zwsunaXp6YPmOeVmEXG2fD-htK2OOuqoSaCYunk7oT96AZ5dYfppcaLrSIdfGJv09UP-Sse0UgZse8CJB1naDnFdx_eSH_L2fWxVmPE3ELvIODZxLX2RVZcX-T5FTuIKZ07FwCPxx/s1600/100_1011%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCt0zwsunaXp6YPmOeVmEXG2fD-htK2OOuqoSaCYunk7oT96AZ5dYfppcaLrSIdfGJv09UP-Sse0UgZse8CJB1naDnFdx_eSH_L2fWxVmPE3ELvIODZxLX2RVZcX-T5FTuIKZ07FwCPxx/s200/100_1011%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475359809346960754" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqyZtghixZ_lZUAcBFt2YERoce46APwX_1JNc8sMwGFwd1eeHTz1Dmfa8VJUqKs3AaADTjrMBLFHZEKqYzIQ117N3fc_YCaBcC-WJPh6mwfrtyQsd3jVFhpk6XRNq0ZFR6GBSeT-EvdEp/s1600/100_1008%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqyZtghixZ_lZUAcBFt2YERoce46APwX_1JNc8sMwGFwd1eeHTz1Dmfa8VJUqKs3AaADTjrMBLFHZEKqYzIQ117N3fc_YCaBcC-WJPh6mwfrtyQsd3jVFhpk6XRNq0ZFR6GBSeT-EvdEp/s200/100_1008%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475359802859001122" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjByoLSxcm73ySngvoHQFcWcvn0E6HzZupfXnEuskCuNrQFBua0qVqk7X-SZGMgM2pAtQ6NjsEaZXkUdSzqEel-f0SSbWMxwTmsA5q5puizDTZgOZ40ij5hlTyKC_5Q4GnWq_Mcy11RsDE3/s1600/100_1007%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjByoLSxcm73ySngvoHQFcWcvn0E6HzZupfXnEuskCuNrQFBua0qVqk7X-SZGMgM2pAtQ6NjsEaZXkUdSzqEel-f0SSbWMxwTmsA5q5puizDTZgOZ40ij5hlTyKC_5Q4GnWq_Mcy11RsDE3/s200/100_1007%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475357562122403090" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkV4PSLKuYYX7g_HdZOc320rouEnWfQOvmm0p4r7tAYTp3iiMOp1zilkbqr3HkRMvlcqGq8AbUtAs8J6aAGI8dHOvliPYa6UF71abuntB-yOvWtNyn-l2bpyp2h2uHC2VNhyphenhyphencqVshs4FPi/s1600/100_1005%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkV4PSLKuYYX7g_HdZOc320rouEnWfQOvmm0p4r7tAYTp3iiMOp1zilkbqr3HkRMvlcqGq8AbUtAs8J6aAGI8dHOvliPYa6UF71abuntB-yOvWtNyn-l2bpyp2h2uHC2VNhyphenhyphencqVshs4FPi/s200/100_1005%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475357554676733106" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWtEetvnb_GM7ocbp6ckyeCjvn5oa6vf8mGekMkthQxDbFsnJO4Ax_fNO_ohXqgHVWLWH99VwwNXtlBhjLLMUOUzQBk2TWNCQfEdgzcyAak8sDfhZcEEhlie960EfP7B12vg8ylbFrdM-/s1600/100_1000%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWtEetvnb_GM7ocbp6ckyeCjvn5oa6vf8mGekMkthQxDbFsnJO4Ax_fNO_ohXqgHVWLWH99VwwNXtlBhjLLMUOUzQBk2TWNCQfEdgzcyAak8sDfhZcEEhlie960EfP7B12vg8ylbFrdM-/s200/100_1000%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475357546310110898" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-563XdN5iHwU2hsc4WAHOB1eIEGG2JtLuHdgmGzOc-CsFg7os3wwHWhN5Px9BonglOqIuM9oHFCIWRNU1bXY9S-M8iFqgkgFcRjZHSSUFTueIa65x-Fj5l6zm-3DASQII-CMAsL5U3x8j/s1600/100_0999%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-563XdN5iHwU2hsc4WAHOB1eIEGG2JtLuHdgmGzOc-CsFg7os3wwHWhN5Px9BonglOqIuM9oHFCIWRNU1bXY9S-M8iFqgkgFcRjZHSSUFTueIa65x-Fj5l6zm-3DASQII-CMAsL5U3x8j/s200/100_0999%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475357535471852482" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgoF2NOgDmKawgWFB06RIL-qIY3BwrZQARPmtsC5m45WMb_SzkRXkMsml1G8VQ3_urgkMWj5GLiEHvrC3iYL66GjGz9CafDep4SilgPKbIgLulMSAAu6EggxLGJzwk_C5QoAnT0IFEh7uT/s1600/100_0996%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgoF2NOgDmKawgWFB06RIL-qIY3BwrZQARPmtsC5m45WMb_SzkRXkMsml1G8VQ3_urgkMWj5GLiEHvrC3iYL66GjGz9CafDep4SilgPKbIgLulMSAAu6EggxLGJzwk_C5QoAnT0IFEh7uT/s200/100_0996%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475357528856067906" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoB_M29ecKzjZKOHVEecOFIbPY2vMepvhlQaAIFqPgukj2jY0EHip_wsLHiDGZcuKl2l4lyMfp_lrspJlKlS4Idf_aEoSl643hsSupWRZN3fZckh-cJF21wF2RyUZE3tHqTugKy8kB9r-7/s1600/100_0995%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoB_M29ecKzjZKOHVEecOFIbPY2vMepvhlQaAIFqPgukj2jY0EHip_wsLHiDGZcuKl2l4lyMfp_lrspJlKlS4Idf_aEoSl643hsSupWRZN3fZckh-cJF21wF2RyUZE3tHqTugKy8kB9r-7/s200/100_0995%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475350294811013714" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ZkZL1Jivp7sBrWIUMgEyse9Ehygg_1yu17cCCishFIwWSz_BHWEl5TKaVZCbPxIqQqSC-ftdyFI_f3Q9Zv9hbiy16KxhcRJJcpDGiuR0a_L1jMBpM8xcG_ftxG-4mOWj33CA0sfLwMOE/s1600/100_0994%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ZkZL1Jivp7sBrWIUMgEyse9Ehygg_1yu17cCCishFIwWSz_BHWEl5TKaVZCbPxIqQqSC-ftdyFI_f3Q9Zv9hbiy16KxhcRJJcpDGiuR0a_L1jMBpM8xcG_ftxG-4mOWj33CA0sfLwMOE/s200/100_0994%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475350287894500018" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2MdHYshsf8DPZILi7kt0twFQiofTSWx-VtMI3Pi_g1ePBrWabvn4vQ0Noz5HKsswqw7BxZygGrnu6uELwTzs72g8LO6c-ju8xBkdCyCs8fuRRfYEV2Ji21PF1e2FetMwBYzevJMlo1FC/s1600/100_0992%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2MdHYshsf8DPZILi7kt0twFQiofTSWx-VtMI3Pi_g1ePBrWabvn4vQ0Noz5HKsswqw7BxZygGrnu6uELwTzs72g8LO6c-ju8xBkdCyCs8fuRRfYEV2Ji21PF1e2FetMwBYzevJMlo1FC/s200/100_0992%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475350268004317298" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1CiNOyoi_lRF9X5d20dX6ufocU5UBWuJ8nc7fdO2GBCmRNbsf2JiGWvmK2N-wa5MCBQBJEQKNfYLt_aL2PJjlGatsN_gv9C9TcmxonjbyeVPAJj2ffvli3ZqmtfFmJpFUGd_F2tn3V_VM/s1600/100_0991%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1CiNOyoi_lRF9X5d20dX6ufocU5UBWuJ8nc7fdO2GBCmRNbsf2JiGWvmK2N-wa5MCBQBJEQKNfYLt_aL2PJjlGatsN_gv9C9TcmxonjbyeVPAJj2ffvli3ZqmtfFmJpFUGd_F2tn3V_VM/s200/100_0991%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475350256682538002" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9P1HzI_APb2wIXYomY40nZVN3SmZW1EJbO3HORfZJeTR6ZAoRfcHYingwH3dkEGMSbDWB0u8lNGjug6QbmSBsVJp_i68l50Ayj0VM4lm_mHhOUui8VXQJ-m80YFiUF7jh_UfJQzzQRPPJ/s1600/100_0990%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9P1HzI_APb2wIXYomY40nZVN3SmZW1EJbO3HORfZJeTR6ZAoRfcHYingwH3dkEGMSbDWB0u8lNGjug6QbmSBsVJp_i68l50Ayj0VM4lm_mHhOUui8VXQJ-m80YFiUF7jh_UfJQzzQRPPJ/s200/100_0990%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475350241071996482" /></a><br />Wow, I can't believe that it's been over a month since my last post... and here I always bragged about how up-to-date my blog was :( sorry! I had absolutely no idea how crazy my last few months here in Benin were going to get. And there truly are only a few months left... And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: AUGUST 12! I will leave my village on August 4 or 5 and then fly out of Benin on the 11th. Just over two months, how crazy is that?? I feel like I've been waiting for so long to know an actual date.<br />I won't bore you with excruciating details of the last month of my life, but here's a taste:<br />-We had our last Camp GLOW meeting! We divvied up the number of girls that each volunteer gets to bring, and this year I am bringing 5! It was hard to choose, but I think I picked some really hard-working and driven girls, all from my sixieme classes. I have been visiting the girls' families with my homologue, and so far so good. No crazy bush-whacking moonlit experiences this year, but that's ok. Most of the work for Camp GLOW is done, or at least has been delegated. What I am having a hard time with now is just trusting that all of the delegated work will get done... I know it will! We have some great volunteers working on the camp this year. Camp starts in 26 days!<br />-On April 30, Andrew and I ran some camp errands in Porto Novo, mainly giving people down payments and trying (unsuccessfully) to meet with the mayor. We then headed to his post to hang out for the weekend and celebrate Labor day there. He lives north of Porto Novo in the Oueme river vally, which, believe it or not, is the second most fertile vally in all of AFRICA after the Nile. It really is just a beautiful, lush area, and his town is on a bit of a hill overlooking the river... which was beautiful until it rained. And rained. Than it kept raining. And rained some more. I literally got stuck there and extra day because of the rain that just wouldn't stop and the resulting quicksand/mud. The only time we ventured out of his house that day was to buy food to make some dinner, and it took us almost two hours of desperate sinking and sliding to walk a grand total of maybe a 1/4 mile. Sounds silly, but it made me REALLY appreciate drainage and sewer systems in the US!<br />-Belle and Baby had their kittens!! Belle had hers the morning of the Cotonou GAD fundraiser, so I didn't end up going to that. I got to watch the whole thing which was pretty fascinating. She had two adorable and healthy kittens, both white with brown and black spots. Honestly, they look a lot more like Baby! Speaking of Baby, she went into labor two days later just as I was on my way out the door. When I got back from class, there was a bit of liquid on the floor and Baby was definitely skinnier, but no sign of any kittens. My guess (hope) is the kitten(s) was stillborn and she ate it, in which case I'm sure glad I wasn't there to see it! Like before, she is acting like momma #2 for Belle's kittens, which is really cute.<br />-Sad story about kittens... sorry to retell this awful story, but it's fruitful to know the random and cruel way people treat animals here sometime. Brigitte, another PCV who took one of Belle's first kittens, was out of town for a training and left the kitten with her neighbors. One night while she was gone, the cat was outside in front of the house, when an old man with a walking stick started beating it mercilessly. It was able to jump into a well for safety ("safety") and the neighbors were able to get it out. Unfortunately, most of it's bones were broken and it could barely walk, and couldn't control its bladder or bowels. Brigitte called me crying, asking my permission to put the cat to sleep. Obviously I said yes, but the story just broke my heart. She said the hardest part about it all was the indifference of her Beninese friends and neighbors, just telling her to "get a new one." She has not yet told me if she ended up putting him down or not. I also recently witnessed one of the beby goats in my concession get hit by a moto and break one of it's legs pretty badly. Now it's mother refuses to nurse it and it is growing very weak. I have had a pretty thick skin so far when it comes to animals here, but both of those things have made me cry.<br />-Finally had a good old "hang out in Lokossa" weekend like I used to do ALL the time last year. We baked a pound cake and I learned how to make my favorite Beninese sauce. Can't wait to make it for some of you next year!<br />-Crazy weather. For a while, it seemed like the rain was pretty predictable, at least once every few days. Now, it seems to go a while with no rain, and it is SO hot. One day last week, I left my house for school and noticed that the sky was dark and looked like rain. I arrived at school just in time to see students and professors alike SPRINTING to take cover inside classrooms. I looked out over the soccer field to see that the sky was LITERALLY falling. It had turned black as tar and was rapidly lowering to the ground. The wind must have been blowing at 90mph, and suddenly the fiercest rain I have ever, EVER seen was falling. I was actually cold for a few minutes there! I now know that I had not experienced a real African rain until that moment.<br />-COS conference happened! It was at a really nice hotel in Cotonou right on the ocean (alongside the fishing tenements, lovely). Not only did we get to stay in air conditioned rooms with hot showers, but we had a HUGE swimming pool and were fed some pretty fabulous meals each day. It was really the first time we had been together as a group since training, and it's probably the last time a lot of us will see each other. The first day of the conference, we talked a lot about the logistics of COSing, picked our dates (which was SO painless... they basically let us decide amongst ourselves and there were plenty of slots available, so I basically had my pick from August 9 on... hence the 11th! I'm COSing with Michelle and Kristin, two of my best friends here in country, so that will be nice), and talked about honing our Peace Corps experiences into concrete skills. The second day was dedicated to resume writing and interview skills, along with giving feedback to PC Benin administration. We had a fancy luncheon that day during which we received certificates of thanks from the various Beninese ministries we serve... I was shown on national news accepting my award! That night, we had Kendra's bachelorette party! Please appreciate the veil made out of mosquito netting :) Her boyfriend proposed to her when he visited Benin last summer, and they are planning to get married in Atlanta in May 2011! Kendra is another TEFL volunteer. On the last day, we talked about readjusting to life in the US, how to share our experience with others back at home, and strategies for saying goodbye to our villages. We put together a really nice slideshow of our time here, too. You'll all have to be very patient with me when I come back home for good... it's gonna be a tough adjustment and I'll probably want to talk your ear off. On the way home from COS conference, I stopped at a nice bakery in Cotonou and got a slice of cake and lots of cookies for Mariam and the girls since it was her birthday. (She wanted me to bake her a cake; she had reminded me about 4 zillion times when her birthday was.) Turns out she was having a little birthday party, complete with a photographer (the hallmark of any Beninese celebration) and all! The cookies were a big hit with the kids :)<br />Now, the part about viscious goats. You might wonder why I'm down in Cotonou, during the school week and a whopping three days after COS conference ended. I'm in the med unit because- I kid you not (pun intended)- I was bit by a goat. On the hand. Quite hard. I had some bread in my hand and wasn't paying attention, and up snuck the goat and chomped down on my fingers. It broke the skin, and after washing it, reading the med book, and lots of deliberation, I decided to call the doctors to see if I needed any treatment. I woke up this morning with a red, sore, puffy finger, so I think I made the right choice. The good news is, goats can't carry rabies, so no risk there. I did, however, have to get a tetnus shot and am now on antibiotics. There are some things about Benin that I don't think I'll miss much!<br />I would say that I am overall quite happy right now, though I'm really stressed out. It's the end of the school year (last week teaching!), which means typing and grading exams and calculating year-end grades, and my end of the year report to Peace Corps. Camp GLOW is 3.5 weeks away. And now I have all my mountains of COS paperwork to fill out. So, I'll do my best to keep updating. Not sure when the next time I'll have internet access is, probably in two weeks or so when I'll come down to put the finishing touches on Camp GLOW. I'm going to try and spend as much time in Lobogo in these last few months as possible.<br />Quick explanation of the pictures: Mari's birthday party, the bachelorette party, the press crowding in front of the podium so the audience can't see a thing, as is usual here in Benin, the kittens!, a pink chicken (people dye them to identify which one is theirs), and one of my students who showed up as a Pink Lady one day!Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-47496937944079411312010-04-22T03:53:00.004-04:002010-04-22T04:38:43.861-04:00Check out my previous post!For tons of pictures and videos from Ghana and a few from my village. It would be impossible/impossibly time-consuming to caption each photo, so here's the basic order, from top to bottom:<br />-Some shots from the night I made palm oil and cooked crab and collard greens with my neighbors,<br />-the filthy beach in Togo and John Mark giving Togo a thumbs-down,<br />-Big Milly's Backyard, our beach resort in Kokrobite,<br />-Cape Coast: our hotel, fishermen reeling in their nets, and the slave castle,<br />-brass casting! Polishing the final product with rotten lemons, breaking the molds, melting the brass, shaping the wax, etc.<br />-beautiful, developed Ghana!<br />The videos are of shaping some wax during the casting process, pouring the melted brass into the molds, fishermen pulling in their latest catch (listen carefully for the chant they sing to keep their rhythm), and pounding palm nuts to make the oil.<br />It took me forever to upload all of these thanks to Benin's mighty slow internet, so I hope you enjoy them! :)<br />So I have just been hanging out in Lobogo since my last post. School has been rough- the kids are getting squirelly since the end of the year is coming up and it is SO hot. On my second day back from vacation, I had to just leave a class and go home since they were being so bad. Unfortunately, because of this, the kids were beat pretty badly (not at my request, obviously). They were really good for our next class, but the one after that they were right back to misbehaving.<br />We have also just been informed that they are extening the school year because of the long teachers' strike that we had a month or so ago. I'm not exactly sure what that means for me, since it mainly effects those in national exam-taking years. Last year, my last day of regular teaching was April 29; this year, it looks like it will be about a month later. That's alright I suppose, it will keep me busy and allow me to cover more of the curriculum (if my kids have the attention span to get through it...) As of now, it's looking like it shouldn't effect Camp GLOW since the girls who come to the camp are not taking national exams.<br />Another infuriating thing that happened at school: remember me ranting about the other teachers taking off in the curriculum and telling me how behind I was? Well, at our department meeting last week, we discovered that I am in fact AHEAD of them, and their students took a midterm on subjects that they hadn't even come close to covering in class (whereas my students did really well). A lot of this confusion was due to the strike, but that still doesn't make it ok. When I asked my colleagues why it happened and what they were planning on doing about it, they just shrugged. Great.<br />Once again, it's hotter than ever. I am pretty sure that these last few days have been some of the hottest ones I have yet to experience here. Power has been cutting a lot, and even when we have power at night it is still difficult to sleep inside since the fan is just blowing scorching hot air in my face.<br />Baby and Belle are massively pregnant; I'm pretty sure that Belle will have her kittens in about a week and Baby will follow soon after.<br />Last weekend, Michelle came to Lobogo for a night, it was a lot of fun! We made a cheddar ale soup mix that I had brought back from the States and baked a chocolate-vanilla swirl cake (which we were too full to eat more than a bite or two of- lucky neighbor kids!) We went on a walk at night when it was already pitch black, which was fun since I'd never done it before. Once again, it is truly amazing just how dark it gets here at night.<br />I'm now down in Cotonou (thank God for AC); we have our last big meeting before Camp GLOW tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it, we'll finally be deciding the number of girls each volunteer gets to bring. I am hoping for at least three, though I would love to be able to take more! I have already informed one girl of each sixieme class (one is at the top of her class!) and I showed the administration how hard they are working. I'm looking forward to once again going to meet with their families to inform them of this opportunity.<br />I'll head back to Lobogo tomorrow night and am pretty sure I will be there until the 7th, when I will come back down here for our big ex-pat fundraising dinner and Take Our Daughters to Work Day. COS (Completion of Service) conference is in a few weeks, during which we will choose our dates to come home! As usual, time flies...Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-84389491996268120442010-04-21T12:59:00.037-04:002010-04-21T17:24:00.669-04:00Lots and lots of pictures and videos!<A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv51vjbtp42449ZCPDcD1bY-vXy0X1jtJfFe0no-avFnPRjXxZinBODG3BgmrcyM4YYa33jaGgpDbrRb-x5gYBcd6gd_4bcvhcOl31c8pTiS9uaQmXLUD9tVrEQZVs6_MYqGVqKI2Rp2CN/s1600/100E0989.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462691252734731282 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv51vjbtp42449ZCPDcD1bY-vXy0X1jtJfFe0no-avFnPRjXxZinBODG3BgmrcyM4YYa33jaGgpDbrRb-x5gYBcd6gd_4bcvhcOl31c8pTiS9uaQmXLUD9tVrEQZVs6_MYqGVqKI2Rp2CN/s200/100E0989.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgllxCqt62iCSL_dB4jh6SJ2Xh77PXCa54Q8rAl7GiyRp4G9gWpLy99IksD-FAhVfHLGMonl39oYnrGSMrFrYtRUR6nNqanXSAZM1z72iNXH-VGRQqYz-llzZQRTn1gXDLuybJ5KNBois3p/s1600/100E0988.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462691240020214578 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgllxCqt62iCSL_dB4jh6SJ2Xh77PXCa54Q8rAl7GiyRp4G9gWpLy99IksD-FAhVfHLGMonl39oYnrGSMrFrYtRUR6nNqanXSAZM1z72iNXH-VGRQqYz-llzZQRTn1gXDLuybJ5KNBois3p/s200/100E0988.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUWchxqIctHpGElaFbIyvxSEMl0fOHE1Ka8OMJJyiWoGiVyldZ1vv02pXhM4Yqn-eE5elcf-B0bwxIDIDXU1Fc_d7r7_cei_J7zKpRuYHvt6Sihnb-nNbyIvHE-RXBfmnH39W7NNTKagr-/s1600/100E0899.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462691235716725682 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUWchxqIctHpGElaFbIyvxSEMl0fOHE1Ka8OMJJyiWoGiVyldZ1vv02pXhM4Yqn-eE5elcf-B0bwxIDIDXU1Fc_d7r7_cei_J7zKpRuYHvt6Sihnb-nNbyIvHE-RXBfmnH39W7NNTKagr-/s200/100E0899.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LXGdgocmJ3_OIaLAK_gNTN2CasqEy7-UkIy72fkBzeLe5p6ItaeKdNOwQ8afURcmMbAK0K0RCCInUmVRu0sUGNZyfY3yrg31Di-9ukjgj7AdkI-Cq6zq3EtNNazbwBf9i1ov7Dfj7Iou/s1600/100E0897.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462691227775074306 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 148px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LXGdgocmJ3_OIaLAK_gNTN2CasqEy7-UkIy72fkBzeLe5p6ItaeKdNOwQ8afURcmMbAK0K0RCCInUmVRu0sUGNZyfY3yrg31Di-9ukjgj7AdkI-Cq6zq3EtNNazbwBf9i1ov7Dfj7Iou/s200/100E0897.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYossktstQdmxwsFo63wNUA1yAiOjsKI9AokIEqWySDBqmnZdpxnPNTsJvaf62aYRZFQsYqnR26kwirmZLhyhHlQiu9X6qZJn4X9g0HaWmSqM_nqBQbYWofywZtjCmjSNLZQMsOVNuKYNk/s1600/100_0984.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462691223270606322 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYossktstQdmxwsFo63wNUA1yAiOjsKI9AokIEqWySDBqmnZdpxnPNTsJvaf62aYRZFQsYqnR26kwirmZLhyhHlQiu9X6qZJn4X9g0HaWmSqM_nqBQbYWofywZtjCmjSNLZQMsOVNuKYNk/s200/100_0984.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLwU7R3IyM0uH464JjasyPD2AX1IMbQUnNwnouNfeO0DTWxAc14wPq5AhPiBaxgzmfeZsU6VMjBvDxiGug9CYlJa5BebFNkA4lmDJBz9dWswHek5ShSx-VZWBtSey0ZY0NemIvR78qRvhyphenhyphen/s1600/100_0983.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462690097312577170 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLwU7R3IyM0uH464JjasyPD2AX1IMbQUnNwnouNfeO0DTWxAc14wPq5AhPiBaxgzmfeZsU6VMjBvDxiGug9CYlJa5BebFNkA4lmDJBz9dWswHek5ShSx-VZWBtSey0ZY0NemIvR78qRvhyphenhyphen/s200/100_0983.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtqjDlflrosy7MprxeHPhyphenhyphen227eSWbxWW-n5EAFXfRNkFvDPWB0C_-DS6LDfxmcB63wkTveS-7KR0uPfcVykT6I8XIUGKtJVaFPpsqTjYb-cU_-Mt7gq1DEttHSWkYuIcgLoiKuJPmPLIt/s1600/100_0981.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462690087834776834 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtqjDlflrosy7MprxeHPhyphenhyphen227eSWbxWW-n5EAFXfRNkFvDPWB0C_-DS6LDfxmcB63wkTveS-7KR0uPfcVykT6I8XIUGKtJVaFPpsqTjYb-cU_-Mt7gq1DEttHSWkYuIcgLoiKuJPmPLIt/s200/100_0981.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE6RZ65hzU799-Fy91ZUsRGXSNBm3dEOeX7zltdWUSI4Fp88CelOPywC3BV41jFJCM6P0ad8U6vTF2BWq8_OoTZtT4dGHlGwIy_ORbEt5aH37lvwnLRV7Kry939yGZ0WvmGhyphenhyphenn2e7hC0WY/s1600/100_0979.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462690081552341778 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE6RZ65hzU799-Fy91ZUsRGXSNBm3dEOeX7zltdWUSI4Fp88CelOPywC3BV41jFJCM6P0ad8U6vTF2BWq8_OoTZtT4dGHlGwIy_ORbEt5aH37lvwnLRV7Kry939yGZ0WvmGhyphenhyphenn2e7hC0WY/s200/100_0979.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF0OuowZ8anLiyMPuXv031WPKrZy7L5zVBsSU593ViV2tDCwhle9Oi95DMvgcmcYUZuK06n8v4SOqfPu0hO6VDwtGVS_da236a-5-U0XjzocHzthpuxn9vPlLw1Y4M5kdCP_UxEHE_E779/s1600/100_0978.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462690072665388722 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF0OuowZ8anLiyMPuXv031WPKrZy7L5zVBsSU593ViV2tDCwhle9Oi95DMvgcmcYUZuK06n8v4SOqfPu0hO6VDwtGVS_da236a-5-U0XjzocHzthpuxn9vPlLw1Y4M5kdCP_UxEHE_E779/s200/100_0978.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiubW_W6KLM1SmoUk1wgQ6BWA9MZo6_H_Q8ppWqQx0vwBFiSSY_chyphenhyphene1wFc9h-wQr2btk6RZ6iEa978ypBl2K30YhNA3fGx_WdB7y-eQZ0ErirP_wVWNHzn6Q8EGbvIgEwYmQYcfqV46aU2/s1600/100_0977.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462690052788802066 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiubW_W6KLM1SmoUk1wgQ6BWA9MZo6_H_Q8ppWqQx0vwBFiSSY_chyphenhyphene1wFc9h-wQr2btk6RZ6iEa978ypBl2K30YhNA3fGx_WdB7y-eQZ0ErirP_wVWNHzn6Q8EGbvIgEwYmQYcfqV46aU2/s200/100_0977.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigO7bMLJ8DufDT2cUMSP4jKuaPmLrjCmbfrYLh4ugs_ZdwVQcDnKHavXEgl0pjwpsiFkSqeMuoLm5DxOudXnza6-z1k3DE2VP6H4gmuheHQwwxmIvJ9Su2YP5tLpYMujwWW8wDLxXUxV9b/s1600/100_0976.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462688650947369746 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigO7bMLJ8DufDT2cUMSP4jKuaPmLrjCmbfrYLh4ugs_ZdwVQcDnKHavXEgl0pjwpsiFkSqeMuoLm5DxOudXnza6-z1k3DE2VP6H4gmuheHQwwxmIvJ9Su2YP5tLpYMujwWW8wDLxXUxV9b/s200/100_0976.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs5hxQFBl4o-4Cs67Xh2iIJZrnNzsoixKqE0bMN_nZLaBpy4TSlLssrfIWWbF7NCfGghthvyXYQxyHkGel6RWnXag_9x_uZXa6ueB9H7Nz7_0ETrR1i9-7CB7LBb_2_DgdkYnAOhHSWksz/s1600/100_0972.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462688645930422274 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs5hxQFBl4o-4Cs67Xh2iIJZrnNzsoixKqE0bMN_nZLaBpy4TSlLssrfIWWbF7NCfGghthvyXYQxyHkGel6RWnXag_9x_uZXa6ueB9H7Nz7_0ETrR1i9-7CB7LBb_2_DgdkYnAOhHSWksz/s200/100_0972.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRz1wjqqVca_FPLK0vvzLzoQA9bkV5ghDFHTwL0SMgLCNgWnhJt1B3hxs-QNJ2Tu4rs5CpMLbJh7WTCnSVeoYPoN7moTcsoR_fgNTQPLpdSTw05spK8uOqW6s3xfoFBXgmmq4ZM3aoY4cq/s1600/100_0971.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462688639399058018 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRz1wjqqVca_FPLK0vvzLzoQA9bkV5ghDFHTwL0SMgLCNgWnhJt1B3hxs-QNJ2Tu4rs5CpMLbJh7WTCnSVeoYPoN7moTcsoR_fgNTQPLpdSTw05spK8uOqW6s3xfoFBXgmmq4ZM3aoY4cq/s200/100_0971.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdRfKrtLchrhrLEKKQl69mxMRSguo7lCHBqwJdPWtqDc1qrygw3yMXZ0b4xyvhhuWsr941AEUO_ZUQWypFtKMJr735ezSAkp-zZ07lzThqH9CCMFQBXsvlrSbdWV-2uw08u4qtIOHtDlmL/s1600/100_0970.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462688631367667602 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdRfKrtLchrhrLEKKQl69mxMRSguo7lCHBqwJdPWtqDc1qrygw3yMXZ0b4xyvhhuWsr941AEUO_ZUQWypFtKMJr735ezSAkp-zZ07lzThqH9CCMFQBXsvlrSbdWV-2uw08u4qtIOHtDlmL/s200/100_0970.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoMgifC_tKW-3hk970MEzju28XRDmHsadAZotsfpRnKcs446ujm_27glRKo72HlX_iVFIr-08pG1q-wmTbyKgmwdjTlPPi0b7DVYiRQNWu2vJVaBpOVvvM0yulILQY6FNW1sf5APvc1MrU/s1600/100_0969.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462688618038641282 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoMgifC_tKW-3hk970MEzju28XRDmHsadAZotsfpRnKcs446ujm_27glRKo72HlX_iVFIr-08pG1q-wmTbyKgmwdjTlPPi0b7DVYiRQNWu2vJVaBpOVvvM0yulILQY6FNW1sf5APvc1MrU/s200/100_0969.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe82rOb5A8hEbtCcylpj3elAA6pN8gxUazdd720lnGrl6owA_1LW0BE_N5pS7Iw3pbEY0PreezuFMl1WeBTW8w7mi9PNdutGtC9WQwLcKEdWDl0LILXFwUVh0EWnu28EDmcRODl1jYnUQ0/s1600/100_0968.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462687097500078994 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe82rOb5A8hEbtCcylpj3elAA6pN8gxUazdd720lnGrl6owA_1LW0BE_N5pS7Iw3pbEY0PreezuFMl1WeBTW8w7mi9PNdutGtC9WQwLcKEdWDl0LILXFwUVh0EWnu28EDmcRODl1jYnUQ0/s200/100_0968.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0TFBF6yppUcTpHq-cf1ZM-lz2Jlb42l4MnOoEgev9ExXqhov15xx6qIiRi34yLfZs9JiLjXC2lJGxYr2qYAnNfIisyTDJBpETFlykimqcFcvyFPB5KHi4xgceCxGE-rOOKUyOgHhZzQu/s1600/100_0967.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462687083178589986 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0TFBF6yppUcTpHq-cf1ZM-lz2Jlb42l4MnOoEgev9ExXqhov15xx6qIiRi34yLfZs9JiLjXC2lJGxYr2qYAnNfIisyTDJBpETFlykimqcFcvyFPB5KHi4xgceCxGE-rOOKUyOgHhZzQu/s200/100_0967.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfR4vkK-F24GU-5-78qi5Cf9zShha6oyLY11B2OWVpsxYAGCiQBgWX1DGwPO52ZWRrD99Ji-eeGV-sn7W2YRRryVhFD1-tGn7pO-DRTZmP8iSiCAXIqGc_WhoAxba-BMFhoBDOFTbj7am/s1600/100_0966.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462687074534726306 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfR4vkK-F24GU-5-78qi5Cf9zShha6oyLY11B2OWVpsxYAGCiQBgWX1DGwPO52ZWRrD99Ji-eeGV-sn7W2YRRryVhFD1-tGn7pO-DRTZmP8iSiCAXIqGc_WhoAxba-BMFhoBDOFTbj7am/s200/100_0966.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNsqdYepNS4lA1jBnKLw8Vjx7x4OwCGDYNn7HwMcC86_m9urqQkWVI6Y7uXStjIAvXNIrf6NYvIYORPmqpgCyPN7Lm-dujnDSAHY7dN_e_J7EehxE5mMWs6QjBKTtEDKAXaiONa9ms5gxI/s1600/100_0965.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462687060379890754 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNsqdYepNS4lA1jBnKLw8Vjx7x4OwCGDYNn7HwMcC86_m9urqQkWVI6Y7uXStjIAvXNIrf6NYvIYORPmqpgCyPN7Lm-dujnDSAHY7dN_e_J7EehxE5mMWs6QjBKTtEDKAXaiONa9ms5gxI/s200/100_0965.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEEjpCRkLLPNiRYaMd1gH615NlSDvNb_xu1QgK53oPGO3nL1Dgp7E29x_FshPLpPbvtQrKa5pDhm7cDsLotscSMGgRhavC-Ly0M5ZwnIZFyQw-LrufgH5ybFBAnrxNVqOFhYrHqMWT4Klb/s1600/100_0964.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462687054071723538 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEEjpCRkLLPNiRYaMd1gH615NlSDvNb_xu1QgK53oPGO3nL1Dgp7E29x_FshPLpPbvtQrKa5pDhm7cDsLotscSMGgRhavC-Ly0M5ZwnIZFyQw-LrufgH5ybFBAnrxNVqOFhYrHqMWT4Klb/s200/100_0964.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcfA_1_dqq9xfXz_gahyphenhyphenuZKk5ohq5RlPxb6OCr5joPGGrHUiDAjUsD9yNQPmAokPRQP3hC-pPDJoTEsyTtWkwNiaqdgg4c5ctvI0C72fhQy95Xj0UnizjkHQTveKKBzvyyRpGgXTyugWfk/s1600/100_0963.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462685284882255778 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcfA_1_dqq9xfXz_gahyphenhyphenuZKk5ohq5RlPxb6OCr5joPGGrHUiDAjUsD9yNQPmAokPRQP3hC-pPDJoTEsyTtWkwNiaqdgg4c5ctvI0C72fhQy95Xj0UnizjkHQTveKKBzvyyRpGgXTyugWfk/s200/100_0963.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjViVzsQlAlultAOtgIO-jwc0AowJyIV1seN0dXXnNXXHeiLmGaztGs0RyXNg4ncyIjISPJep-tTX_Qf7ykixexzy7xaF8kFQC8J0wkl-6D7nfBTiM_1GRPh2Tl_egq6eJLsv-DMz7ohyPK/s1600/100_0962.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462685277313974610 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjViVzsQlAlultAOtgIO-jwc0AowJyIV1seN0dXXnNXXHeiLmGaztGs0RyXNg4ncyIjISPJep-tTX_Qf7ykixexzy7xaF8kFQC8J0wkl-6D7nfBTiM_1GRPh2Tl_egq6eJLsv-DMz7ohyPK/s200/100_0962.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKo0dJYxDzbuLSLEP7k8-nMQlOdOh2Da6RStoR2eerK39J1cFDamVUabem7EdPQTvYU1isw3jWk3HsncEh5t_JDpOAbw9qeMnH3i6IiMTZryui3xyH1CilqtvJa30vThX7DHqjhEm39HpA/s1600/100_0961.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462685263713231010 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKo0dJYxDzbuLSLEP7k8-nMQlOdOh2Da6RStoR2eerK39J1cFDamVUabem7EdPQTvYU1isw3jWk3HsncEh5t_JDpOAbw9qeMnH3i6IiMTZryui3xyH1CilqtvJa30vThX7DHqjhEm39HpA/s200/100_0961.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNtG_lU9NyTsPtEFlKjXQUzudyxN8LgTDCc0TFoTtlNL2gMVV15hy-zVgD3oRrLMuKeuOnS-qF1gJM1pdO-T-xdL7AWxIcPkFoENeostS0lC3gGYWPKfecZXEIExUg_dEauB1nxyBXFzm/s1600/100_0960.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462685254368552226 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNtG_lU9NyTsPtEFlKjXQUzudyxN8LgTDCc0TFoTtlNL2gMVV15hy-zVgD3oRrLMuKeuOnS-qF1gJM1pdO-T-xdL7AWxIcPkFoENeostS0lC3gGYWPKfecZXEIExUg_dEauB1nxyBXFzm/s200/100_0960.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPZ1X7b3V3SqpTcZYuQ3PHuDHDA2ba8EzqFwwj5irrJOLqRIblkysD6N4o6cxMN1gstvgygguJ1Zojqm7kIXALkeF30d-YY6awHnm4E68jeSgLOoo1Uq5OXm39QelPJgf4W-p8vTydgIa/s1600/100_0954.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462685243498200514 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPZ1X7b3V3SqpTcZYuQ3PHuDHDA2ba8EzqFwwj5irrJOLqRIblkysD6N4o6cxMN1gstvgygguJ1Zojqm7kIXALkeF30d-YY6awHnm4E68jeSgLOoo1Uq5OXm39QelPJgf4W-p8vTydgIa/s200/100_0954.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBU8WVtgHWWr_uUT1mm92dYZ1y7DGGm4sODhrgyvH3uR3kXu0F9W-qZ3V777hsDZHJHxuWfTu6rXGuUcirPBdS7Hkbrhq1NmxMuTOwGXoNKKXh1U_pxOeI9QW3VNHKopsq1T3ayOaEHmpw/s1600/100_0953.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462683214296121874 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBU8WVtgHWWr_uUT1mm92dYZ1y7DGGm4sODhrgyvH3uR3kXu0F9W-qZ3V777hsDZHJHxuWfTu6rXGuUcirPBdS7Hkbrhq1NmxMuTOwGXoNKKXh1U_pxOeI9QW3VNHKopsq1T3ayOaEHmpw/s200/100_0953.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMt1UjjGr8tjUgRhAjgckRvJrqb_ufeOXyLsLc_ia7kzCC66pX1ZO35FxJjuo1inTwimtd5ueATl0rUc1a6zPsUvtGBj_np8a49rELHMrNj8Tt1y9hIulggVC2eFw94pKpFI395bRzzkaz/s1600/100_0952.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462683209247597346 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMt1UjjGr8tjUgRhAjgckRvJrqb_ufeOXyLsLc_ia7kzCC66pX1ZO35FxJjuo1inTwimtd5ueATl0rUc1a6zPsUvtGBj_np8a49rELHMrNj8Tt1y9hIulggVC2eFw94pKpFI395bRzzkaz/s200/100_0952.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXgFMd257GCUGmX9ZasMOWEzuAeTT2BSElLi-h7EXcADmHtshaCA_f4hEl2HIIFEA28J0HHCxZGX7QDv0w7Hoq_aSw9sZleAaY6Pcea4f6ByiLYqmqcvRtanChwrZvXaMifzJsPtJ9qRc/s1600/100_0951.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462683197324133010 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXgFMd257GCUGmX9ZasMOWEzuAeTT2BSElLi-h7EXcADmHtshaCA_f4hEl2HIIFEA28J0HHCxZGX7QDv0w7Hoq_aSw9sZleAaY6Pcea4f6ByiLYqmqcvRtanChwrZvXaMifzJsPtJ9qRc/s200/100_0951.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbEoqJFJselYLFkLMOVl2wcV46Zl8JCKjbUEvdpTRq5iZMH-_qdgKPg8Pp_-_tmUNLJ_6kmw5yMSdFRaBuC2PleCPikN0y2eXZRd3Gh7pPHNLBbTaAQIXXCuvl-N8T45_xUJAdw30Kppfl/s1600/100_0950.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462683178664060370 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbEoqJFJselYLFkLMOVl2wcV46Zl8JCKjbUEvdpTRq5iZMH-_qdgKPg8Pp_-_tmUNLJ_6kmw5yMSdFRaBuC2PleCPikN0y2eXZRd3Gh7pPHNLBbTaAQIXXCuvl-N8T45_xUJAdw30Kppfl/s200/100_0950.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm37fUG3ahhrOe-xDmHVJhv9RvmzUz0x6DwIW6RItftG5ZbOx87hgrwyjgOUrY33o6HCH2OOOj5tA_8aAI9vNMBBnoFKxG78xp5MjKUGMIo7AZhAuZ9SGmXS3KwgRzKYPQCeTZjWj4PNx7/s1600/100_0949.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462683175589941746 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm37fUG3ahhrOe-xDmHVJhv9RvmzUz0x6DwIW6RItftG5ZbOx87hgrwyjgOUrY33o6HCH2OOOj5tA_8aAI9vNMBBnoFKxG78xp5MjKUGMIo7AZhAuZ9SGmXS3KwgRzKYPQCeTZjWj4PNx7/s200/100_0949.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCtvifm9eZWKRVAW0h0rAz6gbMw1n7r-OC7QLbOERuvGJsxA_XER77e3HCGoHxWxMbhRFpTyFrixyum1RpUuT5aKiGKoNx43xL-rk_xr7Wd899fT_YcwlNR_qR9NAQVp5ZWk0xV1SzDyeB/s1600/100_0948.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462681667323461794 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCtvifm9eZWKRVAW0h0rAz6gbMw1n7r-OC7QLbOERuvGJsxA_XER77e3HCGoHxWxMbhRFpTyFrixyum1RpUuT5aKiGKoNx43xL-rk_xr7Wd899fT_YcwlNR_qR9NAQVp5ZWk0xV1SzDyeB/s200/100_0948.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgftvSH8bGUxemQnnM91oY5WbS0Fjxg4mTT_kMAyH_DOmqPFk4-NCadv8Uqm_M1oxZgOI5Omc8Axuh35r1GWDxKx6DjExzKZuhZ191Rfislx5ZEUw2ozJgbs_WX4Ad-IHq55ni3Fz7wbwXv/s1600/100_0946.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462681663740719746 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgftvSH8bGUxemQnnM91oY5WbS0Fjxg4mTT_kMAyH_DOmqPFk4-NCadv8Uqm_M1oxZgOI5Omc8Axuh35r1GWDxKx6DjExzKZuhZ191Rfislx5ZEUw2ozJgbs_WX4Ad-IHq55ni3Fz7wbwXv/s200/100_0946.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzj3lqjk_sLymXTKT0TGmYYA9LihUkWgqKkmHo-Y5m1ENK2SzWryTiLSzsQhd1V9mldoxEN4s2rsTavQZdaeiXld67c9-ltfd-9PJ_Es3ORYuj4CUv8rZykwpg_vlc3AChihZPjAGNtBt/s1600/100_0945.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462681653370458834 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzj3lqjk_sLymXTKT0TGmYYA9LihUkWgqKkmHo-Y5m1ENK2SzWryTiLSzsQhd1V9mldoxEN4s2rsTavQZdaeiXld67c9-ltfd-9PJ_Es3ORYuj4CUv8rZykwpg_vlc3AChihZPjAGNtBt/s200/100_0945.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8GhzmeyMEZqDCw3S3nsNSpAi20yB_6CJrIDkYRMLFuCfiDGbOGP5j7oI0gGsaUwikccSguNyv_GWLMAHvykF5a8EFgmKhzWeHEgbLvMEtcqDE-Tl7yqCmUebRrClzi8axLgnqftgJKIr/s1600/100_0944.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462681645192512338 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8GhzmeyMEZqDCw3S3nsNSpAi20yB_6CJrIDkYRMLFuCfiDGbOGP5j7oI0gGsaUwikccSguNyv_GWLMAHvykF5a8EFgmKhzWeHEgbLvMEtcqDE-Tl7yqCmUebRrClzi8axLgnqftgJKIr/s200/100_0944.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOvBF6ZjKIIZ4eeq6ex3wDss5lkfRqgKDJF0P6tZGS2nooTAn0VZ8KJp4WHD_pYOxREqviw9BgerK8mK_E8rL7hFpPNEGJqgWIi_xB6DHMjmZJN4CjAS2IJZRHEk50nk34HZ09Gte8Y5y/s1600/100_0943.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462681640777796066 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOvBF6ZjKIIZ4eeq6ex3wDss5lkfRqgKDJF0P6tZGS2nooTAn0VZ8KJp4WHD_pYOxREqviw9BgerK8mK_E8rL7hFpPNEGJqgWIi_xB6DHMjmZJN4CjAS2IJZRHEk50nk34HZ09Gte8Y5y/s200/100_0943.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHO4xLykiM8f80JTVMdat_Psvx3ZbLIoLfQCM195SoTEwU0j9txJQVhNPSdrjbk4T35ukWGxYFwN1s2wOVfyyFkK6shFo-zYYfCR9I4XVvW86xRPM0elcdpfRYt33mYVhXgDzfOwzvHJEw/s1600/100_0942.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462679899444452946 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHO4xLykiM8f80JTVMdat_Psvx3ZbLIoLfQCM195SoTEwU0j9txJQVhNPSdrjbk4T35ukWGxYFwN1s2wOVfyyFkK6shFo-zYYfCR9I4XVvW86xRPM0elcdpfRYt33mYVhXgDzfOwzvHJEw/s200/100_0942.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib810Jk045xd0HmwDVLlt40xbkB9GpbH2KyziztKOo04FDF-UAyMvzwErmgeJnefhSmdmjtbkURMTtG4NO8KtbV_u8Z4M6ulrNx_0b7dXAbXiG3qTJWRcieANVhaMUdoKsJvJc0-z9YY09/s1600/100_0941.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462679891202614962 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib810Jk045xd0HmwDVLlt40xbkB9GpbH2KyziztKOo04FDF-UAyMvzwErmgeJnefhSmdmjtbkURMTtG4NO8KtbV_u8Z4M6ulrNx_0b7dXAbXiG3qTJWRcieANVhaMUdoKsJvJc0-z9YY09/s200/100_0941.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DG8r6jFLaLqoW_8fTlogU3NuX58JvPK8McH5ocqMuOK10oW6Lt5gsxlfU38F7O8j_yz4jlmfDEgQGf6J_LBQueUNLVufRzLGHeVobaaooiVYOZU4DqqhcxbTDMt7_FUgLlq3Y65odLir/s1600/100_0940.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462679879497079538 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DG8r6jFLaLqoW_8fTlogU3NuX58JvPK8McH5ocqMuOK10oW6Lt5gsxlfU38F7O8j_yz4jlmfDEgQGf6J_LBQueUNLVufRzLGHeVobaaooiVYOZU4DqqhcxbTDMt7_FUgLlq3Y65odLir/s200/100_0940.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWqHdBlv_zGaIJ4zscojM4aVoOLoQj0QwhO7-Q9ulXEEgMFO7CcNw3Y777UOUkvXctBQUXvoxkNsiWwZB_frpdDc3kL90MzcYuQ22wKtBt-3l8i8vrD7t4Xz9_D5LSJATwIVkSw2LC6hyK/s1600/100_0939.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462679866438983794 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWqHdBlv_zGaIJ4zscojM4aVoOLoQj0QwhO7-Q9ulXEEgMFO7CcNw3Y777UOUkvXctBQUXvoxkNsiWwZB_frpdDc3kL90MzcYuQ22wKtBt-3l8i8vrD7t4Xz9_D5LSJATwIVkSw2LC6hyK/s200/100_0939.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQvoLZW9AXUeOgOMC56y8WH083oNNwXPS1_u0ZPx_NTZnjLtMR65crPp-ti02vEi0isaFERF9JvQx18EshkGHyYgprAdCh0U-EoRVylNtgDr8ALDHZyZvwMUjGL_QwKPU7YWVPRolKJ5kq/s1600/100_0938.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462679853682343362 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQvoLZW9AXUeOgOMC56y8WH083oNNwXPS1_u0ZPx_NTZnjLtMR65crPp-ti02vEi0isaFERF9JvQx18EshkGHyYgprAdCh0U-EoRVylNtgDr8ALDHZyZvwMUjGL_QwKPU7YWVPRolKJ5kq/s200/100_0938.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoYDMSPE18WSgkVYGqvlxZTikB3RdQLJ5g4qVWAMQ6guAWrMXZMgVICySFM8e48D0f1LSJs8skr4WM4U9dfcgL2FjuY8Stt_pc5U2TNuardxKslpTU4rG1edW10KX9-jDR7aHARu4DQfE/s1600/100_0937.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462678359414449746 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoYDMSPE18WSgkVYGqvlxZTikB3RdQLJ5g4qVWAMQ6guAWrMXZMgVICySFM8e48D0f1LSJs8skr4WM4U9dfcgL2FjuY8Stt_pc5U2TNuardxKslpTU4rG1edW10KX9-jDR7aHARu4DQfE/s200/100_0937.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-K1z-9dsOtFQf43gmdh4SLu-882YPDox1mkV09xKsBNTN8IxMJWTSdEXxd-6yX83IZJPtMCEuuxJirTISh399wXjyllk1Qmp6Z1wni_LrolGINUqMJ_ZuS_YWb8sUoVK-ihMOZKYXPCR1/s1600/100_0936.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462678350797920978 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-K1z-9dsOtFQf43gmdh4SLu-882YPDox1mkV09xKsBNTN8IxMJWTSdEXxd-6yX83IZJPtMCEuuxJirTISh399wXjyllk1Qmp6Z1wni_LrolGINUqMJ_ZuS_YWb8sUoVK-ihMOZKYXPCR1/s200/100_0936.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkxZ5dQr9pM14jfw-3wqDLW7bJDjIcTxz6lhn-sHjYihJmdAoBQmC4Rx83_OvwS7MS9LqFSI4ERePuhAFiCMT3yfSXdQ6yjxTOpxMaoQHRcg18zRkq0CBHWKseO5NcDBEse2Jsy79a3uB/s1600/100_0933.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462678348407508594 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkxZ5dQr9pM14jfw-3wqDLW7bJDjIcTxz6lhn-sHjYihJmdAoBQmC4Rx83_OvwS7MS9LqFSI4ERePuhAFiCMT3yfSXdQ6yjxTOpxMaoQHRcg18zRkq0CBHWKseO5NcDBEse2Jsy79a3uB/s200/100_0933.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh5vJ9nf0c8IT2YWW2Ly7s7U_S3FvBDE63kZW_GiFI74cCxTs1ZfkYp1vdN-swm7ZochaJRQdMln-ao0MzCbQ9GXdicFzQ7pym-v_AAKZ0CKyo15cp__LUWTHeAyL1Mi62Tra60xnsRPYG/s1600/100_0932.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462678339823657506 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh5vJ9nf0c8IT2YWW2Ly7s7U_S3FvBDE63kZW_GiFI74cCxTs1ZfkYp1vdN-swm7ZochaJRQdMln-ao0MzCbQ9GXdicFzQ7pym-v_AAKZ0CKyo15cp__LUWTHeAyL1Mi62Tra60xnsRPYG/s200/100_0932.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7dwgZ7Gx1Q3NnBcyt_Do0p-xGWWO4UYm69hBOhQ_RPPF-FO-k1iM3GL90kbDW43qJFAw6wPPGBQiCm7u8C1qTX4cfMJhT-p8B8gUB36s4ydfDg5Vq3gN30VyOMn0ano1NbLABoToPjjV4/s1600/100_0931.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462678327296379682 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7dwgZ7Gx1Q3NnBcyt_Do0p-xGWWO4UYm69hBOhQ_RPPF-FO-k1iM3GL90kbDW43qJFAw6wPPGBQiCm7u8C1qTX4cfMJhT-p8B8gUB36s4ydfDg5Vq3gN30VyOMn0ano1NbLABoToPjjV4/s200/100_0931.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRXc2jXpBmUYYUPTWxH_hSpQvucl-a1XmsKa-onjZDRMHgI8NNdizzeKJp_7P-KGFQy8p5zyndmJedZ5oTMDKA4QxkHEXVw-6ItUh3xLAVyyvrOqdZA_3d38LMz3b830N58YUdAMYurBz/s1600/100_0930.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462676541301558418 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRXc2jXpBmUYYUPTWxH_hSpQvucl-a1XmsKa-onjZDRMHgI8NNdizzeKJp_7P-KGFQy8p5zyndmJedZ5oTMDKA4QxkHEXVw-6ItUh3xLAVyyvrOqdZA_3d38LMz3b830N58YUdAMYurBz/s200/100_0930.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_DBo1_gdgGhxdGXFeiVGEchTI-cCn_2gwUT_UCyDdutmRcbA0P8rBdDBl4iOTr1_RSLGgZL1YUlKSQ395ILVzACJG7RlLPP71HOM4I2wFug8RqOs6Pii3vhJeAX3e5BCWdFoIR0XCV6Vk/s1600/100_0929.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462676532076602450 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_DBo1_gdgGhxdGXFeiVGEchTI-cCn_2gwUT_UCyDdutmRcbA0P8rBdDBl4iOTr1_RSLGgZL1YUlKSQ395ILVzACJG7RlLPP71HOM4I2wFug8RqOs6Pii3vhJeAX3e5BCWdFoIR0XCV6Vk/s200/100_0929.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoNua-bkbA1wYOHR6JWYIVTn7-Ay9R4mav1-UtfWsjrlVvIJ88QtHV85RiJj8yJkwIgZw1VDUBj3I3tiANOKXmTaWo3n0Kaj2Ok09pJXgW5I2X5XDtSfArFbdksdmsvrq_HfRvN7vnlVbw/s1600/100_0928.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462676521379118626 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoNua-bkbA1wYOHR6JWYIVTn7-Ay9R4mav1-UtfWsjrlVvIJ88QtHV85RiJj8yJkwIgZw1VDUBj3I3tiANOKXmTaWo3n0Kaj2Ok09pJXgW5I2X5XDtSfArFbdksdmsvrq_HfRvN7vnlVbw/s200/100_0928.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTN13XP6OrA2DnA8JOGZdo1mYH39_z3hMUlVrlsywxO2BexcyXpo0TkQxQuGcgEm8MaGbpstbT-XqTqnHAnTZ5yyCKZPhBaZifdEMe5PS3JSKg9gRsy-6NtGrL_ii-h3WcliNBdukBieae/s1600/100_0927.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462676506229921522 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTN13XP6OrA2DnA8JOGZdo1mYH39_z3hMUlVrlsywxO2BexcyXpo0TkQxQuGcgEm8MaGbpstbT-XqTqnHAnTZ5yyCKZPhBaZifdEMe5PS3JSKg9gRsy-6NtGrL_ii-h3WcliNBdukBieae/s200/100_0927.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5zzeLw90ybcbhBskeSOjwhErbpIYN_zRpeIZMae-jkB1aOOR3-OkzgTXREgnsfoLCUdWZLioaUgDKTQ6Pnasljwy-DjZXj-MD4McDnaQSdt7CsHYiZqnOy1AG-3QzqcjaT70bL6ZJdmz9/s1600/100_0926.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462676505637785922 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5zzeLw90ybcbhBskeSOjwhErbpIYN_zRpeIZMae-jkB1aOOR3-OkzgTXREgnsfoLCUdWZLioaUgDKTQ6Pnasljwy-DjZXj-MD4McDnaQSdt7CsHYiZqnOy1AG-3QzqcjaT70bL6ZJdmz9/s200/100_0926.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mWsbVvOnqtWVzAZDZksChSv3N4KaNFX3ekxc19SZsbanElbdRYgN8fJG9BbZr-atPG3vV4ZSs2rWWZtRkpMSA3e07IqjoLWv4wSzZwsxeaHktSiodhM7dvJb7MDK_3jGP3vXFoxXBuFU/s1600/100_0925.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462675078292289058 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mWsbVvOnqtWVzAZDZksChSv3N4KaNFX3ekxc19SZsbanElbdRYgN8fJG9BbZr-atPG3vV4ZSs2rWWZtRkpMSA3e07IqjoLWv4wSzZwsxeaHktSiodhM7dvJb7MDK_3jGP3vXFoxXBuFU/s200/100_0925.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6e89emtdmKUOUb2-CFd-fRYkCqK7Syyn3uoQP68HBXROFo8ZplmSvbfC5ATalEBlwA2l4TzIIfKVLCEiD_K5FkN79LmYRH1e_X-amx6xH1aa6cu0ZoVYgBUD-TSFmRh8uLCXkKnoZ9-G/s1600/100_0924.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462675068139146210 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6e89emtdmKUOUb2-CFd-fRYkCqK7Syyn3uoQP68HBXROFo8ZplmSvbfC5ATalEBlwA2l4TzIIfKVLCEiD_K5FkN79LmYRH1e_X-amx6xH1aa6cu0ZoVYgBUD-TSFmRh8uLCXkKnoZ9-G/s200/100_0924.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHOLYWyZ9eNwOUgDymtZzZmhtSgaXMXmK30gFsf1HJWVYsOyHO4rsXA-CsDW60QgsAFXqA3fdwz049FjTf1FJ_twB4I6MJVmuQlQvyG5W1w2p9EpNuRx25Dtfqe4ZKgv1uptJbVoeieRH/s1600/100_0922.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462675060537103858 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHOLYWyZ9eNwOUgDymtZzZmhtSgaXMXmK30gFsf1HJWVYsOyHO4rsXA-CsDW60QgsAFXqA3fdwz049FjTf1FJ_twB4I6MJVmuQlQvyG5W1w2p9EpNuRx25Dtfqe4ZKgv1uptJbVoeieRH/s200/100_0922.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNoUGlklxJcpeZqbwvbUjmCnLohdYTdubScdChEAdI00IGOR0en4SlLCVtWUesvR-MIMP-ze7W4WC_zjo8hU1sovyKcTxgHGN4yzYPY5153ufyOB03O2MPW_o5_3TkddI_Ct7RqYcUnodZ/s1600/100_0921.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462675050510754146 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNoUGlklxJcpeZqbwvbUjmCnLohdYTdubScdChEAdI00IGOR0en4SlLCVtWUesvR-MIMP-ze7W4WC_zjo8hU1sovyKcTxgHGN4yzYPY5153ufyOB03O2MPW_o5_3TkddI_Ct7RqYcUnodZ/s200/100_0921.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1C0jMLr23p25lZpcsbjWD-16rVqhXR-lNUlTrp6QJqTyHPrIszIx3M-wSF3YN8HypV126opSYab_S-F_qnhix7NthCZa-mwWVgNBXDr8kWzUcQDJ-33XXNyml9Rg8ZiLIemByuDV7NXTx/s1600/100_0920.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462675039914496866 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1C0jMLr23p25lZpcsbjWD-16rVqhXR-lNUlTrp6QJqTyHPrIszIx3M-wSF3YN8HypV126opSYab_S-F_qnhix7NthCZa-mwWVgNBXDr8kWzUcQDJ-33XXNyml9Rg8ZiLIemByuDV7NXTx/s200/100_0920.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj3bLG3kZEqWjI_J5icFYfqaGVaMyWYCgRrnAbboLxF5A4UOBEuKhJEauNE0y6yBg5ST92ZV-gVbEzoYwrivZmkzENqjNyTBv3jNtjkPeaBG21bcEQkdc587wUoC1ApT_guL3hXM_o2zYK/s1600/100_0925.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462673362047084066 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj3bLG3kZEqWjI_J5icFYfqaGVaMyWYCgRrnAbboLxF5A4UOBEuKhJEauNE0y6yBg5ST92ZV-gVbEzoYwrivZmkzENqjNyTBv3jNtjkPeaBG21bcEQkdc587wUoC1ApT_guL3hXM_o2zYK/s200/100_0925.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPIFUZhCeQ6sDSP9r_lOTqOB7ya3No_A0WFyu04y4gu6ZlfnM8LoqzFFDmrFD8vUhb7nCc7uiwdxRKq0-yG2q7iX6d0BVU5biXqzQFNsclSj2xwf9AgM26rkbXQTj8QZg8hEoFxXUxrIe/s1600/100_0924.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462673341387392690 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPIFUZhCeQ6sDSP9r_lOTqOB7ya3No_A0WFyu04y4gu6ZlfnM8LoqzFFDmrFD8vUhb7nCc7uiwdxRKq0-yG2q7iX6d0BVU5biXqzQFNsclSj2xwf9AgM26rkbXQTj8QZg8hEoFxXUxrIe/s200/100_0924.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSL__vLbSGNTnFsEYjXUiULJ_7svHF52f8WhaD8RGRbUqAOJAEEIAyheCchc_yUgA8xEf2dCVwtlc3NVGr7IbjyYg7QI9FJ6Qo_5txPcOoe18Fp2K1k1ylVyCijpAmoNE2z1Wco3WYfdPF/s1600/100_0922.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462673323730392914 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSL__vLbSGNTnFsEYjXUiULJ_7svHF52f8WhaD8RGRbUqAOJAEEIAyheCchc_yUgA8xEf2dCVwtlc3NVGr7IbjyYg7QI9FJ6Qo_5txPcOoe18Fp2K1k1ylVyCijpAmoNE2z1Wco3WYfdPF/s200/100_0922.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiisXFo2jUjVTVUeGEGULeY8Ii3OYwwk1GXTAiSudCPKMKAHbM9fEHcZ3u6PDBnRzyAUOsgg7vCH14zXDO0ccNEkAz7NG65GCClog2HlqL_tdmUTXjywGWWgtYJ03Mvzpjp4BMxPtRIpEi_/s1600/100_0921.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462673321350411554 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiisXFo2jUjVTVUeGEGULeY8Ii3OYwwk1GXTAiSudCPKMKAHbM9fEHcZ3u6PDBnRzyAUOsgg7vCH14zXDO0ccNEkAz7NG65GCClog2HlqL_tdmUTXjywGWWgtYJ03Mvzpjp4BMxPtRIpEi_/s200/100_0921.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDfWCxmJov0OcK4GWA1a3NDPyX4H7ubWdZHTknqxrQwsJsdKbxkw3JCv826wZk_tn9SmLPJlS0uXgMD-LqYLD-we_wwli07tU7y4VbNp0nSJc4zSOdBHUBl09O2WT_qwstalOzon920La/s1600/100_0920.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462673311439827730 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDfWCxmJov0OcK4GWA1a3NDPyX4H7ubWdZHTknqxrQwsJsdKbxkw3JCv826wZk_tn9SmLPJlS0uXgMD-LqYLD-we_wwli07tU7y4VbNp0nSJc4zSOdBHUBl09O2WT_qwstalOzon920La/s200/100_0920.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nB81ugqLm31lRiVyvrKi-t0lc5cE-gTEy5G8nmrx1rYg0jqoxxGGMwoGIcjgFfXnMp8IB6mCW4Zi9as1k5tIyzhyphenhyphenLdQ1dcaiY4GCC8VQmSSGiIpmj4StsX2YaCMUTJoyEhEn4m8Ygt9A/s1600/100_0918.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462672002916477698 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8nB81ugqLm31lRiVyvrKi-t0lc5cE-gTEy5G8nmrx1rYg0jqoxxGGMwoGIcjgFfXnMp8IB6mCW4Zi9as1k5tIyzhyphenhyphenLdQ1dcaiY4GCC8VQmSSGiIpmj4StsX2YaCMUTJoyEhEn4m8Ygt9A/s200/100_0918.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigkGKD_Lg-KhcKhFTbHQiplA9f7YP4UBPT4N3XpARkaDibw-ShpS7tZfCKbBzGAa5Wenwi9kpV4chqyLBCR_D6B7WkSSg47sUi_8S5csbKwZsGLlee0fqc7OfkTOumqBxqxOi2Vdep-XAc/s1600/100_0917.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462671989712984210 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigkGKD_Lg-KhcKhFTbHQiplA9f7YP4UBPT4N3XpARkaDibw-ShpS7tZfCKbBzGAa5Wenwi9kpV4chqyLBCR_D6B7WkSSg47sUi_8S5csbKwZsGLlee0fqc7OfkTOumqBxqxOi2Vdep-XAc/s200/100_0917.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7M6BafmspcdvjUSwdvWbLbXCbzcrvECiCdCKQTQfgkPkqxkb5Y_Cl4nKk2WrlYkFxx33pUvY2afHASYcPa_IpXZB8XWG9zGebXeMTkD29wl0WrPB4uXBjvhlu6Lo6CmRkgqzSuyCGmzY/s1600/100_0916.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462671979509788754 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7M6BafmspcdvjUSwdvWbLbXCbzcrvECiCdCKQTQfgkPkqxkb5Y_Cl4nKk2WrlYkFxx33pUvY2afHASYcPa_IpXZB8XWG9zGebXeMTkD29wl0WrPB4uXBjvhlu6Lo6CmRkgqzSuyCGmzY/s200/100_0916.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwuo9I-nNi7fB8dmtkFxfiKZieN6GPS-aPOnSS7WB63sdKho_dyCtfe9nvtSV15mJkGW6lk1riMbI4WB4llc-urrVGiAb4dcE12646ggdzWYraBV3bQB6PsSUp1T3dXuMZ21olBxs0R4QF/s1600/100_0915.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462671972931902546 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwuo9I-nNi7fB8dmtkFxfiKZieN6GPS-aPOnSS7WB63sdKho_dyCtfe9nvtSV15mJkGW6lk1riMbI4WB4llc-urrVGiAb4dcE12646ggdzWYraBV3bQB6PsSUp1T3dXuMZ21olBxs0R4QF/s200/100_0915.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHuOMB7TQ0J1gBnDNZcGJH6n-25-Ju-FyRctO1pU_Jt5ayhJ-VHo82eGmPj_ddJMC0p2GcntJXqKiSZK4Zq-379tAHLU4QHgMG-0l6rEkjkUA9gEcdT2Hf92KqA81P17aazAsbzPOyppB9/s1600/100_0914.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462671961223767778 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHuOMB7TQ0J1gBnDNZcGJH6n-25-Ju-FyRctO1pU_Jt5ayhJ-VHo82eGmPj_ddJMC0p2GcntJXqKiSZK4Zq-379tAHLU4QHgMG-0l6rEkjkUA9gEcdT2Hf92KqA81P17aazAsbzPOyppB9/s200/100_0914.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7Gg8_FqtKV1UK2M4fTcVaZ51bKl1igDL1p6eSGJl_pZYAzR0DpOp3ofxysdwC38BxxyY_gfTqJJw2C5vegj_jo-0UdbuU2hg5KOWk3JneoMDmalxIO1kmLJfnLCwBaBlNElvd4LxuTKh/s1600/100_0913.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462670324704117762 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7Gg8_FqtKV1UK2M4fTcVaZ51bKl1igDL1p6eSGJl_pZYAzR0DpOp3ofxysdwC38BxxyY_gfTqJJw2C5vegj_jo-0UdbuU2hg5KOWk3JneoMDmalxIO1kmLJfnLCwBaBlNElvd4LxuTKh/s200/100_0913.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuu5wZzPWH32PLPgamc22ugGRd44dDZhGTOxPSKaCRClngE3m4U_OjqFL7ZqTHhB-LujUUDlfojyh7IFzNLJsRETlx83Hur7wMz1bWKeQHSk7VgpUB5wXpd1Yu4WU3Cm0XoXoVsbQ4ie76/s1600/100_0912.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462670308878854418 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuu5wZzPWH32PLPgamc22ugGRd44dDZhGTOxPSKaCRClngE3m4U_OjqFL7ZqTHhB-LujUUDlfojyh7IFzNLJsRETlx83Hur7wMz1bWKeQHSk7VgpUB5wXpd1Yu4WU3Cm0XoXoVsbQ4ie76/s200/100_0912.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ0wjgvOEGxw-LZDhHAJz30lt27_BWpXD-5bj0aD1BQLJb5wUmG2X5AHLgJeRhjlWIjDseaocWgYnVplB14ZcJSYuUfV_GoJM1chTRzTIYoSjjaeG3OptPZwKI46mRB4_0meLk4b0tHZIZ/s1600/100_0911.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462670293581867122 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ0wjgvOEGxw-LZDhHAJz30lt27_BWpXD-5bj0aD1BQLJb5wUmG2X5AHLgJeRhjlWIjDseaocWgYnVplB14ZcJSYuUfV_GoJM1chTRzTIYoSjjaeG3OptPZwKI46mRB4_0meLk4b0tHZIZ/s200/100_0911.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWRXrzcoidN2ZchdQe7vPydLOZG16R_d4v4nSIzf8KHkocvuNlTBSeqtVqg2n6tb2GyM1OybdcpV7BewGyKBC0UlsRXAwpRzW7ojGdqV_3xBGiwh5917LSTP_yvZwcMQOaHoUMC3cxjexa/s1600/100_0910.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462670289718711026 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWRXrzcoidN2ZchdQe7vPydLOZG16R_d4v4nSIzf8KHkocvuNlTBSeqtVqg2n6tb2GyM1OybdcpV7BewGyKBC0UlsRXAwpRzW7ojGdqV_3xBGiwh5917LSTP_yvZwcMQOaHoUMC3cxjexa/s200/100_0910.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwg13AepcNAbIn8OLV-Y_peFOxEvBy7RkSqSMeNnLfwv4j5gKH42TXEARKe1KbzQaIHaHArlkRgjgkNfocVikLPdMgWR1hjuUj73Yg-LUu5M-a1w1fFZbbTawnUOYEEgPEMp75-wIvNRkN/s1600/100_0908.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462670279038014354 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwg13AepcNAbIn8OLV-Y_peFOxEvBy7RkSqSMeNnLfwv4j5gKH42TXEARKe1KbzQaIHaHArlkRgjgkNfocVikLPdMgWR1hjuUj73Yg-LUu5M-a1w1fFZbbTawnUOYEEgPEMp75-wIvNRkN/s200/100_0908.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-JLH8xsW-cF2ugHoGcPF5qHbb44Xjjmbu-NyOCrv07j0lS1wY_NvtFPxyScvDzTqJWoMVX4pcV9UiG8TJtutfV8H5K_23qGYtwfcAFhBO4uHzQw_V7hJyxVptTf92-IvlHFxw1uITyNW/s1600/100_0907.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462668542917522066 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-JLH8xsW-cF2ugHoGcPF5qHbb44Xjjmbu-NyOCrv07j0lS1wY_NvtFPxyScvDzTqJWoMVX4pcV9UiG8TJtutfV8H5K_23qGYtwfcAFhBO4uHzQw_V7hJyxVptTf92-IvlHFxw1uITyNW/s200/100_0907.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvulepAq4viu0jcnnUtsQrdMtWIZtkbKNDjoxqJZwkpOtgF0Oh8LDFcgqGZVjkL_UReExEM-tU1_jXuCNGK0nfxcW_JxjA9yU-s01GNhfmtipjtBKhiN9dY76FmeGk_BIsVWeTTeFzEyu/s1600/100_0905.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462668524518252754 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvulepAq4viu0jcnnUtsQrdMtWIZtkbKNDjoxqJZwkpOtgF0Oh8LDFcgqGZVjkL_UReExEM-tU1_jXuCNGK0nfxcW_JxjA9yU-s01GNhfmtipjtBKhiN9dY76FmeGk_BIsVWeTTeFzEyu/s200/100_0905.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihuC1je0bIVdK7M4BxPbOdKQUpqCZKFM9y2ygo-mfgKAG6nXL0PCIJqRIPHZpliNYjJKc9gOYwGQXxBZU1OKWKCoq-sZhkLLdCbEUsIsMyzKYJAOob_p_tVLj9Kl6Z1XqBQQj1d9buswFg/s1600/100_0903.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462668517828978434 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihuC1je0bIVdK7M4BxPbOdKQUpqCZKFM9y2ygo-mfgKAG6nXL0PCIJqRIPHZpliNYjJKc9gOYwGQXxBZU1OKWKCoq-sZhkLLdCbEUsIsMyzKYJAOob_p_tVLj9Kl6Z1XqBQQj1d9buswFg/s200/100_0903.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ljcSXKUXdCGGj5GaB1DjPrDtTshTJcLIsVzqwG4padQDjQdwZ8CY1Z1FKX9vAHC6rRTVSRwWI67RxLBwlnyJYTiyp54CH15sZV3FfE9DU-iHdFDpYw3MaLHbOkBgsbRXRC57T47rvL6K/s1600/100_0902.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462668511732018338 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ljcSXKUXdCGGj5GaB1DjPrDtTshTJcLIsVzqwG4padQDjQdwZ8CY1Z1FKX9vAHC6rRTVSRwWI67RxLBwlnyJYTiyp54CH15sZV3FfE9DU-iHdFDpYw3MaLHbOkBgsbRXRC57T47rvL6K/s200/100_0902.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3vseGcxfN-CzsP33wFnXyYFvjsBwKkNOaTpCbuifmfAN7-eZp61AsouV4WzB91GvT7AaPrr49SNDImb-V9AIZgrxGcjmIgwbx47EW1ZAyYOffQeSTrajWKcSbJLe_hJDE8EqkSbhrZNDO/s1600/100_0901.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462668501844351474 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3vseGcxfN-CzsP33wFnXyYFvjsBwKkNOaTpCbuifmfAN7-eZp61AsouV4WzB91GvT7AaPrr49SNDImb-V9AIZgrxGcjmIgwbx47EW1ZAyYOffQeSTrajWKcSbJLe_hJDE8EqkSbhrZNDO/s200/100_0901.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZKCTsPBMpo83FWtxatvDhhk_nTvYOvrsF6ZifguyjhRNr-GfSbJegP3lebG0fXls9F5qsjZsZsYZOm3bPfxjsEWQGp20DGitEAsIraalU3Am6Fl9w7x86DJmlguUv4K6q9-935CME6YK1/s1600/100_0900.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462663047437471314 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZKCTsPBMpo83FWtxatvDhhk_nTvYOvrsF6ZifguyjhRNr-GfSbJegP3lebG0fXls9F5qsjZsZsYZOm3bPfxjsEWQGp20DGitEAsIraalU3Am6Fl9w7x86DJmlguUv4K6q9-935CME6YK1/s200/100_0900.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXfRRw5H4H3egJBRdcdWtVrUBpGF1eCf5ZlJVokWPtHHOUD9fhRlTX8IB_tXGZdOXVaKnAtDnwv8i7FOOiTdC0F_vT3LtB4WFLpiI2qma6TKSt0bhwPvdAj88dboPp5KkpyhRe30rI7_rt/s1600/100_0895.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462663034292246066 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXfRRw5H4H3egJBRdcdWtVrUBpGF1eCf5ZlJVokWPtHHOUD9fhRlTX8IB_tXGZdOXVaKnAtDnwv8i7FOOiTdC0F_vT3LtB4WFLpiI2qma6TKSt0bhwPvdAj88dboPp5KkpyhRe30rI7_rt/s200/100_0895.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtYpjIsOsA88qTpMDXtMOFwqkVoFxeybdHmQxGk3-BvwMblvrTMH0m7jsBM-oOqXG3XXo4n06apQlhNBNpWmYropr4KGir_XGc0iZBNMQ7ambEoga735p4B4G7fVwkMNIOfr6vqQGCIkZ/s1600/100_0894.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462663001519131522 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtYpjIsOsA88qTpMDXtMOFwqkVoFxeybdHmQxGk3-BvwMblvrTMH0m7jsBM-oOqXG3XXo4n06apQlhNBNpWmYropr4KGir_XGc0iZBNMQ7ambEoga735p4B4G7fVwkMNIOfr6vqQGCIkZ/s200/100_0894.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ2zECiBbpNsHJW0kqKmFFbFBRCFD_shZWamvXNCrsz7-Rx72UCaGz-B9A0kNFdSZOJT4opRVi6vpE1ig2-6dsYRZdU6EXZN5J76QgyKIY7rAPodBojs6dTII7j659sRfNlgkj1pSfth6T/s1600/100_0893.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462662970522312434 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ2zECiBbpNsHJW0kqKmFFbFBRCFD_shZWamvXNCrsz7-Rx72UCaGz-B9A0kNFdSZOJT4opRVi6vpE1ig2-6dsYRZdU6EXZN5J76QgyKIY7rAPodBojs6dTII7j659sRfNlgkj1pSfth6T/s200/100_0893.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWTZHRB-E6LfP9VqcoisQXGKOvNhpWhD9ABp6McUEyDXHELFIcReY7Y-Hu_tm1pP_075YHhGlpnux7Zjf0yQmtqy2ONZRNNasB5chDNhZJCfPCq0_-NvIku0k1c0CzsemH14W1lEgrNo1/s1600/100_0892.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462662958578847954 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWTZHRB-E6LfP9VqcoisQXGKOvNhpWhD9ABp6McUEyDXHELFIcReY7Y-Hu_tm1pP_075YHhGlpnux7Zjf0yQmtqy2ONZRNNasB5chDNhZJCfPCq0_-NvIku0k1c0CzsemH14W1lEgrNo1/s200/100_0892.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4wlBGBHMSuO3wGM9cGLApYPqLE9ZzDPnLgvRF6-pOXYqbZIfySgpZWNo1rv0MX4gWgitDGKmqLRKs29d_obLhi9hBjwTGO-_egIFPcb3cVwV4A0Hh_Fgbo_D7FXUhnq-S7EfKDs5EndE/s1600/100_0887.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462661226275637938 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4wlBGBHMSuO3wGM9cGLApYPqLE9ZzDPnLgvRF6-pOXYqbZIfySgpZWNo1rv0MX4gWgitDGKmqLRKs29d_obLhi9hBjwTGO-_egIFPcb3cVwV4A0Hh_Fgbo_D7FXUhnq-S7EfKDs5EndE/s200/100_0887.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUaHs4TG4D8JZ4P7e92OzK6lICfwI2RsjWLgi_TTzdvfJpUZ5eoXQVvrZq-Y9yPuGVP04OqWPaE5j7KKsO-yX2o4Y_Ib8cJBqSagQLvV36d-3VkWjzBTJlLAIR1_LjjiQh5XL7Y8jfzr8c/s1600/100_0883.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462661212446614418 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUaHs4TG4D8JZ4P7e92OzK6lICfwI2RsjWLgi_TTzdvfJpUZ5eoXQVvrZq-Y9yPuGVP04OqWPaE5j7KKsO-yX2o4Y_Ib8cJBqSagQLvV36d-3VkWjzBTJlLAIR1_LjjiQh5XL7Y8jfzr8c/s200/100_0883.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim_tidb3LawGhl-lR9nlVNkkZsMaKg4gAaiQ79ZIrwQyEshIRvRLFC10PKGZAVZ1yFxEdx4K4QukYmrW4DKtYU0aSD618Y3IBFXCyS80tjtHnQf2V0EFFp-HkXndazOZprIRWWcl5O1Fvg/s1600/100_0882.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462661199402202418 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim_tidb3LawGhl-lR9nlVNkkZsMaKg4gAaiQ79ZIrwQyEshIRvRLFC10PKGZAVZ1yFxEdx4K4QukYmrW4DKtYU0aSD618Y3IBFXCyS80tjtHnQf2V0EFFp-HkXndazOZprIRWWcl5O1Fvg/s200/100_0882.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqAug4Z7idsgQZ56pfmqYNhlVPob_EWCWC0RckxlKGUPez5ipN_L77D9OqrSgT5UWfxckXQ7hdypWUZ1AFAcZgZHJrWFq2e41mQr2fsuJd23lNUQVjI-AsXUmyuCZYSU_mrsbsGUFliJlR/s1600/100_0881.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462661191699996530 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqAug4Z7idsgQZ56pfmqYNhlVPob_EWCWC0RckxlKGUPez5ipN_L77D9OqrSgT5UWfxckXQ7hdypWUZ1AFAcZgZHJrWFq2e41mQr2fsuJd23lNUQVjI-AsXUmyuCZYSU_mrsbsGUFliJlR/s200/100_0881.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5DKP6TKU1TpeCMup9ZFYHN4FOV2XG1Fb2Oh_cpL05NasqzpNEROUvtrlaoOl2mlJaB-XC2Ry4szFjtaFFmTTibmGrubcAljmeUQqC50ZRYXo57jYD1sqLnPRPK7HA97O-xTwxcGvrXt8N/s1600/100_0880.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462661178120559602 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5DKP6TKU1TpeCMup9ZFYHN4FOV2XG1Fb2Oh_cpL05NasqzpNEROUvtrlaoOl2mlJaB-XC2Ry4szFjtaFFmTTibmGrubcAljmeUQqC50ZRYXo57jYD1sqLnPRPK7HA97O-xTwxcGvrXt8N/s200/100_0880.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxdSEmccPOhH2168truDQHtyZDZpf95NycRvs8mw1M__WXYXYHQN-FeTrxASTW-qauDkJ_0yzywmOYfGq5ibdP9dnG3YHGIAT5v-sHdRuwGyHucYd4qUQLW7pSCeUNfSdcocFlPxi8L9d_/s1600/100_0879.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462659360810246354 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxdSEmccPOhH2168truDQHtyZDZpf95NycRvs8mw1M__WXYXYHQN-FeTrxASTW-qauDkJ_0yzywmOYfGq5ibdP9dnG3YHGIAT5v-sHdRuwGyHucYd4qUQLW7pSCeUNfSdcocFlPxi8L9d_/s200/100_0879.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RGT4RjJdxQd5xt_mOkQXWcWMQFhqCMYnQWoQnDUvPtI5OY1Ik7O9zI0lAdhiacfeCx8wad2tYfzKU8wLGlyRDgI4efhyphenhyphenRI1rEBS9jhsq96IznwGT4Ixf0wo5JU-R7xh_C_9m_piuYyBK/s1600/100_0878.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462659352302163986 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RGT4RjJdxQd5xt_mOkQXWcWMQFhqCMYnQWoQnDUvPtI5OY1Ik7O9zI0lAdhiacfeCx8wad2tYfzKU8wLGlyRDgI4efhyphenhyphenRI1rEBS9jhsq96IznwGT4Ixf0wo5JU-R7xh_C_9m_piuYyBK/s200/100_0878.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCspT1x7y2e-SENJ2RX4hDQpP_RRH-1uiEUEpNTa8tFTAQh89-6rq0cz6lpXUj9mHXIikzrdtI-nPsOv6hZUkeGLWUTPKySqScdPREj23Ow054E8EGyncHO35i36ckfvzxrJXkCbBsKWG/s1600/100_0876.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462659344942429490 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCspT1x7y2e-SENJ2RX4hDQpP_RRH-1uiEUEpNTa8tFTAQh89-6rq0cz6lpXUj9mHXIikzrdtI-nPsOv6hZUkeGLWUTPKySqScdPREj23Ow054E8EGyncHO35i36ckfvzxrJXkCbBsKWG/s200/100_0876.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEmaBtQJqdCa1dGjD-hPfMpBGoLG6MV2rquf8vt7fEZ4VjducCgJgTUrRLbCDxBoPH5L7kCEbDxmtAD0pjdHJAPCkYdCp6lPUISDB5E9PBJdiJMX9YQvJWcY-C4_L8uq_9LdFmg5dLtH9a/s1600/100_0875.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462659337767549218 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEmaBtQJqdCa1dGjD-hPfMpBGoLG6MV2rquf8vt7fEZ4VjducCgJgTUrRLbCDxBoPH5L7kCEbDxmtAD0pjdHJAPCkYdCp6lPUISDB5E9PBJdiJMX9YQvJWcY-C4_L8uq_9LdFmg5dLtH9a/s200/100_0875.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTEpRmwUlbgmsZEYCYiOKiiv7MXuA3kYkCMxKwgZx8kmqPBV6XDf8yDT_DtbjqiyDdtG9r2l7MK31p7qPJQRPO7l96PdyGFd5Yj6riLasHhJyDhILrpmcnvV7zZtRUn7-SLqk1a0CJKwI/s1600/100_0874.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462659328333058178 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTEpRmwUlbgmsZEYCYiOKiiv7MXuA3kYkCMxKwgZx8kmqPBV6XDf8yDT_DtbjqiyDdtG9r2l7MK31p7qPJQRPO7l96PdyGFd5Yj6riLasHhJyDhILrpmcnvV7zZtRUn7-SLqk1a0CJKwI/s200/100_0874.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSnRKD29_0EzVPSwcaJG9-oFrDhHeVv98ZLcPmITdY160FObwite3hjldDn-Kx-jm1Yr7sS4pbD0pbjUHiccHjhu0dfkFi_b6vV33tU_MspFfWAJcNyUcI5MJLzA7XsNrdiv-gJ3EQ9eOh/s1600/100_0872.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462657626899940082 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSnRKD29_0EzVPSwcaJG9-oFrDhHeVv98ZLcPmITdY160FObwite3hjldDn-Kx-jm1Yr7sS4pbD0pbjUHiccHjhu0dfkFi_b6vV33tU_MspFfWAJcNyUcI5MJLzA7XsNrdiv-gJ3EQ9eOh/s200/100_0872.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjACMmyseYP2p2ZmMKkQ1oFh-9Hy0eZF5-r1YEBYFR3bX1roU7qyISpYIQCFhm5Era_YobWOSTcyyf3-aBIfTM6rU3FBVyGFNkgy9ykqSvK_omPERODiLDBA8lmhQak1kN9bDR1QIJ8fP/s1600/100_0868.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462657623336109186 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjACMmyseYP2p2ZmMKkQ1oFh-9Hy0eZF5-r1YEBYFR3bX1roU7qyISpYIQCFhm5Era_YobWOSTcyyf3-aBIfTM6rU3FBVyGFNkgy9ykqSvK_omPERODiLDBA8lmhQak1kN9bDR1QIJ8fP/s200/100_0868.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2oEv6ZHdod9v2IOa41lf9Y9wXRcgf4X5lMhtuZ6JjqLBqrS6rc1HTlA5dV5GHQYXKCiTBPT77lBcqiji3v9SZ3ScH2x47O22w2lDuMrbxC5dh3gN_7OOAXi8Ii6km_0KHx_myMWDZABu/s1600/100_0865.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462657611635145250 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2oEv6ZHdod9v2IOa41lf9Y9wXRcgf4X5lMhtuZ6JjqLBqrS6rc1HTlA5dV5GHQYXKCiTBPT77lBcqiji3v9SZ3ScH2x47O22w2lDuMrbxC5dh3gN_7OOAXi8Ii6km_0KHx_myMWDZABu/s200/100_0865.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDmEBe5DZtkY75Pw5NCkwj-cGrqbaGXonyyIv05OJMQ3PfjttuWwjo1gbDt0GcPJmCAYbL5Z45Sa7q-hws-6bYinf4DEXUOBvFUI1QK1m3jX02ffaAFwj6Nko0cD0GqBEVFmHURcxzS2lg/s1600/100_0864.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462657606827521554 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDmEBe5DZtkY75Pw5NCkwj-cGrqbaGXonyyIv05OJMQ3PfjttuWwjo1gbDt0GcPJmCAYbL5Z45Sa7q-hws-6bYinf4DEXUOBvFUI1QK1m3jX02ffaAFwj6Nko0cD0GqBEVFmHURcxzS2lg/s200/100_0864.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6QepNDBJF3S9i87ezgjCxj-G1Jq73bXerONCzBKNIaGGthDgi1YcaarR0TxI6q6sqYSmozLIqNqUSXowLmFniByPeB74YeOsWlLVKagSNx-tTgrI9yHPIWzFdp4mje7DAAWhImNkhvf1i/s1600/100_0863.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462657594124477570 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6QepNDBJF3S9i87ezgjCxj-G1Jq73bXerONCzBKNIaGGthDgi1YcaarR0TxI6q6sqYSmozLIqNqUSXowLmFniByPeB74YeOsWlLVKagSNx-tTgrI9yHPIWzFdp4mje7DAAWhImNkhvf1i/s200/100_0863.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4bKK4oeloLaKjwO6uCT1jDWlwIF-LeAQ5McsLzmBSrTLUbPeW5pY1bBmWbEMLhvT9RPBpGt6OOLk7DfFttdXvN-wsAhdo6poqK2YNTa6EhSZNZsS6OwD_4sFtDn57mowfV3aSqmZDRT-/s1600/100_0861.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462655843839592034 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4bKK4oeloLaKjwO6uCT1jDWlwIF-LeAQ5McsLzmBSrTLUbPeW5pY1bBmWbEMLhvT9RPBpGt6OOLk7DfFttdXvN-wsAhdo6poqK2YNTa6EhSZNZsS6OwD_4sFtDn57mowfV3aSqmZDRT-/s200/100_0861.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyrWxYznkWoq5FyaYH_kxg0oeRpgiv4ARgMjnon1uuUmLdwdisFO30lE7DCCz_ksFqtKIwPVFCDJi7eT-bvcmJWZH9iYGoy9KhjZWU7Klo11OTD2TAQRAO4Pd5WKrgxL9WNTcP4ElWvROK/s1600/100_0860.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462655838898657138 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyrWxYznkWoq5FyaYH_kxg0oeRpgiv4ARgMjnon1uuUmLdwdisFO30lE7DCCz_ksFqtKIwPVFCDJi7eT-bvcmJWZH9iYGoy9KhjZWU7Klo11OTD2TAQRAO4Pd5WKrgxL9WNTcP4ElWvROK/s200/100_0860.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNnIELeSR0rIZTsEEdJB5dEJTWmWSMcEkcHJiVNrN7xIPPkMRuwk2sfpg4PJ5EFP7DEKA-n_KqLER1DUuPL3BjshiOPivdGDe-KfIZFHfzANEZG83IoQTOYGrPvguG0CmJrTZY35uaY_0X/s1600/100_0859.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462655828739232370 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNnIELeSR0rIZTsEEdJB5dEJTWmWSMcEkcHJiVNrN7xIPPkMRuwk2sfpg4PJ5EFP7DEKA-n_KqLER1DUuPL3BjshiOPivdGDe-KfIZFHfzANEZG83IoQTOYGrPvguG0CmJrTZY35uaY_0X/s200/100_0859.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiea63IVOxDbTltMP_I2fR4fL_gXvNt6DUncjz9CmYgIl_23xWslyhX5B-8QoECZx5m_EJ0auhJZ1yI9IBXUAebqq4Fq9N6Bmm8MCjHsmuAA_cEe4u4ZFPhw_xEL5ZrjFjeatZSdC7GEjGv/s1600/100_0858.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462655814745630690 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiea63IVOxDbTltMP_I2fR4fL_gXvNt6DUncjz9CmYgIl_23xWslyhX5B-8QoECZx5m_EJ0auhJZ1yI9IBXUAebqq4Fq9N6Bmm8MCjHsmuAA_cEe4u4ZFPhw_xEL5ZrjFjeatZSdC7GEjGv/s200/100_0858.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPRwytUe_88dZzl8SxC7zLlQ6hQwZQCQQLcTU4Fu3Sex-RkUTN8a0NbiLHJ01kmaukxX5dAe0VOrDUtXADxowXF4tsOICPkgg9k4QnlC9_jr3MWxBJomRhDaCJgznww3b6yIEaug4H-7g_/s1600/100_0857.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462655801604988498 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPRwytUe_88dZzl8SxC7zLlQ6hQwZQCQQLcTU4Fu3Sex-RkUTN8a0NbiLHJ01kmaukxX5dAe0VOrDUtXADxowXF4tsOICPkgg9k4QnlC9_jr3MWxBJomRhDaCJgznww3b6yIEaug4H-7g_/s200/100_0857.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DGD7mFf7YxU5QVKfXsDvIespBKp-jRGrhRfH7w3Qg2PsM7UF1buNZpe4vRKJDh-ECZO8MqKTIomGuR-U8OdIpKWA3hBA3hUznyUCIa3d0hqVsNvGiiFrkEtW-fI47yFSNb7jaOitCa7X/s1600/100_0855.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462654007526255986 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DGD7mFf7YxU5QVKfXsDvIespBKp-jRGrhRfH7w3Qg2PsM7UF1buNZpe4vRKJDh-ECZO8MqKTIomGuR-U8OdIpKWA3hBA3hUznyUCIa3d0hqVsNvGiiFrkEtW-fI47yFSNb7jaOitCa7X/s200/100_0855.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqjxfYdL_hFz2jeGgqeVixaNDAJ7jPhfTAlvCJHQj0oG3rHRMgmgZIzklzj6ETv9cDVNLcZhEWfpwnZFP2RJLnNgSDRJ1vJj96eLFNPvx4a09taFJXDgPojAjYDSTNfEmKEBvM-5lB_9eB/s1600/100_0854.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462654000332924834 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqjxfYdL_hFz2jeGgqeVixaNDAJ7jPhfTAlvCJHQj0oG3rHRMgmgZIzklzj6ETv9cDVNLcZhEWfpwnZFP2RJLnNgSDRJ1vJj96eLFNPvx4a09taFJXDgPojAjYDSTNfEmKEBvM-5lB_9eB/s200/100_0854.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xhANlR826UhRoV6wHAbtmFiagRzjoGBgeFiuYzOoUfC7i1FPJl9WLBsfxqzW4Bq7XFkzu3w1jltUyKnG4Ebpqq_JPxoHPtneU8w-BlC2ZDm6bg6ElUn6uxERVtGZEroVWuaHzB-xh3_s/s1600/100_0853.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462653990633001122 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xhANlR826UhRoV6wHAbtmFiagRzjoGBgeFiuYzOoUfC7i1FPJl9WLBsfxqzW4Bq7XFkzu3w1jltUyKnG4Ebpqq_JPxoHPtneU8w-BlC2ZDm6bg6ElUn6uxERVtGZEroVWuaHzB-xh3_s/s200/100_0853.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOsCPimEyE4Hwyw2b8RbohGomc57LWJ2p8fleEpAPFdMqHQF87G1C0vvKuVEKQXrtm1Vzpi10sS5i5xLnPBNmnqbhE7mwE0PLfT20RKHeX2Y7RjzD1O6IjXdcEQTTIcpKucuBN39LBvbJF/s1600/100_0852.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462653980419035730 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOsCPimEyE4Hwyw2b8RbohGomc57LWJ2p8fleEpAPFdMqHQF87G1C0vvKuVEKQXrtm1Vzpi10sS5i5xLnPBNmnqbhE7mwE0PLfT20RKHeX2Y7RjzD1O6IjXdcEQTTIcpKucuBN39LBvbJF/s200/100_0852.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZXt1qlKdmODsfXamhPJZr8Rz3S2acx3uVM7suAZmYCzpPFvQKRmgtVAyozyzHJ7jjWg_aRaj3yzckMkwlGUer2wBb8RgmhXdKjT7mOTuTdxz_EYo43Gl7AYjrftRGIZjt7zmt8J_G6xQ/s1600/100_0851.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462653977161773570 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZXt1qlKdmODsfXamhPJZr8Rz3S2acx3uVM7suAZmYCzpPFvQKRmgtVAyozyzHJ7jjWg_aRaj3yzckMkwlGUer2wBb8RgmhXdKjT7mOTuTdxz_EYo43Gl7AYjrftRGIZjt7zmt8J_G6xQ/s200/100_0851.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmw-zZUqjAZoG39ABWmbaO4DLCqS65N5YHccTYdLZ_q8f6RSX07nNX8twWuzgQRN_f8rs2hG1_TddFjztlEEVEmRsHZmOXi2Xn6G5AMrVJtoSOYro3SZGqlLwkxXaxOpw8xPGr6JAmD9qr/s1600/100_0850.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462652218005850818 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmw-zZUqjAZoG39ABWmbaO4DLCqS65N5YHccTYdLZ_q8f6RSX07nNX8twWuzgQRN_f8rs2hG1_TddFjztlEEVEmRsHZmOXi2Xn6G5AMrVJtoSOYro3SZGqlLwkxXaxOpw8xPGr6JAmD9qr/s200/100_0850.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tG6UFl7moSJ1KpsEMBIXw0adVzMBM3Wx3UFnPNIfKEIrVJ8LOQmFizloimOoe-C6by-5te9fHGiRsdljnBnAqPUp0i5xiJQMRagDAMtmSHXLzEyAE4sapSEXyjKEWkNNMIUat7r_t5DO/s1600/100_0849.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462652210232845650 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tG6UFl7moSJ1KpsEMBIXw0adVzMBM3Wx3UFnPNIfKEIrVJ8LOQmFizloimOoe-C6by-5te9fHGiRsdljnBnAqPUp0i5xiJQMRagDAMtmSHXLzEyAE4sapSEXyjKEWkNNMIUat7r_t5DO/s200/100_0849.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_16fIGzhJolg7Z96oEyLCxgncxMttUCUVuNhiH1JjWpMEpfILNf3gGhUbxjIX77DLYJsrX0Aht_w1wODjXs2Fons282ntEiWgZWXfJD9G4ic91Yfv8VKXUw0ir_iKsx3VijoGshGLflm/s1600/100_0848.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462652199099826194 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_16fIGzhJolg7Z96oEyLCxgncxMttUCUVuNhiH1JjWpMEpfILNf3gGhUbxjIX77DLYJsrX0Aht_w1wODjXs2Fons282ntEiWgZWXfJD9G4ic91Yfv8VKXUw0ir_iKsx3VijoGshGLflm/s200/100_0848.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnoX_CrEMd9v8h2xrjXQhPkVyBILhTu13-eLwX5mM9Du_bge2R307R9Bdt8dddbeIMROW9prvWcI8OVTh9J1zOBmYuLxAnKTBtUwbcBZ0bznMK8JX3x_hubO-Gj9oX4DZ6Rt2asy0h6XL7/s1600/100_0846.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462652188067719026 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnoX_CrEMd9v8h2xrjXQhPkVyBILhTu13-eLwX5mM9Du_bge2R307R9Bdt8dddbeIMROW9prvWcI8OVTh9J1zOBmYuLxAnKTBtUwbcBZ0bznMK8JX3x_hubO-Gj9oX4DZ6Rt2asy0h6XL7/s200/100_0846.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWuSXGetjvQIgGIJBzhDYArHTH_b_dA-4Fht1LtiS0v1qdpd1Z5Q87R6nYv45L0-BgI5khptIE_Vscsy1CML02STUMwoWQm2g3THIgoqiKgyswzgNJ3OJjn1S0YcMoOdM0yJsU7AA-ilG-/s1600/100_0845.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462652186757945362 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWuSXGetjvQIgGIJBzhDYArHTH_b_dA-4Fht1LtiS0v1qdpd1Z5Q87R6nYv45L0-BgI5khptIE_Vscsy1CML02STUMwoWQm2g3THIgoqiKgyswzgNJ3OJjn1S0YcMoOdM0yJsU7AA-ilG-/s200/100_0845.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCAG7dJ1F93l0MLfzYke3dFJbUW-nltg36c7h9XsAtLzUPDN8hsAOYqdFEpoJphcFG9Gbd03vNify3y3coDUSZwKXebCc6UcUkwOQnP0U0jFIG17SPoz7AIJIne_0h4Ol2HVqOMPMsK79J/s1600/100_0844.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462650516185037810 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCAG7dJ1F93l0MLfzYke3dFJbUW-nltg36c7h9XsAtLzUPDN8hsAOYqdFEpoJphcFG9Gbd03vNify3y3coDUSZwKXebCc6UcUkwOQnP0U0jFIG17SPoz7AIJIne_0h4Ol2HVqOMPMsK79J/s200/100_0844.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrVeB2UIk7ls5Swb7LhUPK_YbyZcFfWx05qwOAhR3q3Fy5HmQSC3KIW-kzEdC087tNG_Gr-ypOHBoi1kICLXV770z34QfZTYC3fu_QHO2RDB7rQTf8m11iNnKLueBOYgUn3Ep-VPhTmvdg/s1600/100_0840.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462650507405313378 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrVeB2UIk7ls5Swb7LhUPK_YbyZcFfWx05qwOAhR3q3Fy5HmQSC3KIW-kzEdC087tNG_Gr-ypOHBoi1kICLXV770z34QfZTYC3fu_QHO2RDB7rQTf8m11iNnKLueBOYgUn3Ep-VPhTmvdg/s200/100_0840.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwe34pLtJYPkJiFBsHd45jukYNIlcdSvt6n4BnLQfstyjzGkLtrOkr8rIbEdidCyLYh2cK3G0Om_gpjqta9ntlIhz2xpQ0Ve7A_E3b4GR36YfbrBg2QjN_12yYx0d4dyNUv4JPOm3oK4lz/s1600/100_0839.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462650503441311698 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwe34pLtJYPkJiFBsHd45jukYNIlcdSvt6n4BnLQfstyjzGkLtrOkr8rIbEdidCyLYh2cK3G0Om_gpjqta9ntlIhz2xpQ0Ve7A_E3b4GR36YfbrBg2QjN_12yYx0d4dyNUv4JPOm3oK4lz/s200/100_0839.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU40QPa_XY1cNVTjJNoMnfBOCpNg-pDx8eMUF-isCzV6FlBJhPeoQqIlPsdhQVXgvlP_LJ3xlwXDdBiHT-4vON6csKpsfdOsv5PLq45WKgI8_YlgpVZuIVpAIegkbZbaAWp3MIOzUCE00h/s1600/100_0838.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462650489790916818 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU40QPa_XY1cNVTjJNoMnfBOCpNg-pDx8eMUF-isCzV6FlBJhPeoQqIlPsdhQVXgvlP_LJ3xlwXDdBiHT-4vON6csKpsfdOsv5PLq45WKgI8_YlgpVZuIVpAIegkbZbaAWp3MIOzUCE00h/s200/100_0838.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dt2ZSnUaAkURiM9LsC0iwIXI1ItNPCIlvbVgGMHo5YDTrcSkBW84OWfqtu4O64M8lkxfETdUXFrkEhToCII4jf4v12TuHuR3qIC-34bxU77UfqE60dTspnXscxbD1031l8KJeLo1laZU/s1600/100_0837.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462650478994386546 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dt2ZSnUaAkURiM9LsC0iwIXI1ItNPCIlvbVgGMHo5YDTrcSkBW84OWfqtu4O64M8lkxfETdUXFrkEhToCII4jf4v12TuHuR3qIC-34bxU77UfqE60dTspnXscxbD1031l8KJeLo1laZU/s200/100_0837.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdkhApGFPyq1RsZRqAOhLna4QoAEyIc3BFZUugzezTIPPTYn_fTW5opLMki-6kV6m7exQ5PlBMl5L6jrjkZzKyuu6IATxQozdVTuNHIwaDPGDmBvxGtmKL_rMwQaentvfhgMcAIMFMf0W/s1600/100_0836.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462648607035653154 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdkhApGFPyq1RsZRqAOhLna4QoAEyIc3BFZUugzezTIPPTYn_fTW5opLMki-6kV6m7exQ5PlBMl5L6jrjkZzKyuu6IATxQozdVTuNHIwaDPGDmBvxGtmKL_rMwQaentvfhgMcAIMFMf0W/s200/100_0836.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gAAOTKEAO9nQAbppIR9ie-C5pzQwyWtKtG3mT2E0SmYx0HXijI-by5ciMFWRqek-YG05-MHurmW78EsEBUMcqwYN6Fck21cQ8uqexqkaqcdpQvGz_Qo6jKWz3sh4pnyjfouOfjL7PlWT/s1600/100_0835.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462648595692845378 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gAAOTKEAO9nQAbppIR9ie-C5pzQwyWtKtG3mT2E0SmYx0HXijI-by5ciMFWRqek-YG05-MHurmW78EsEBUMcqwYN6Fck21cQ8uqexqkaqcdpQvGz_Qo6jKWz3sh4pnyjfouOfjL7PlWT/s200/100_0835.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYhQWTLqKcSoEV5Uhc8jv8OA9c0WHYis_7-rgQ_NQluSk4lZPuoZExakBIhsu-Q9UI4zIVfKidYC4AI1A7IFFMLQ-O27Qilb8Mb2Cq1BJitiigYn-_wq8xju32aL5qTK5-1aNGSTfq6vex/s1600/100_0834.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462648589120402450 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYhQWTLqKcSoEV5Uhc8jv8OA9c0WHYis_7-rgQ_NQluSk4lZPuoZExakBIhsu-Q9UI4zIVfKidYC4AI1A7IFFMLQ-O27Qilb8Mb2Cq1BJitiigYn-_wq8xju32aL5qTK5-1aNGSTfq6vex/s200/100_0834.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcDChDQBobiV1s7FHxxk6KRsgmXAvcYHj7VbAoMKctcB0iXXQAH17SlQS7-YpH40McEk_GrZ06FyRdb6m2x-3g6aLx-Wmf0vE5tVkOsHHRI-JuQRH2yEhYq-vDAqjaxEQYagvAGCZpUuco/s1600/100_0831.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462648583672261010 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcDChDQBobiV1s7FHxxk6KRsgmXAvcYHj7VbAoMKctcB0iXXQAH17SlQS7-YpH40McEk_GrZ06FyRdb6m2x-3g6aLx-Wmf0vE5tVkOsHHRI-JuQRH2yEhYq-vDAqjaxEQYagvAGCZpUuco/s200/100_0831.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXBbyld1CeVM9e_YvyZN1JLOqSMHPve-ncMtXxB0G9hnmErY_lsXAfGGbka-xdjNcfJ_QlfB0ubh6nTEdHDnySekBLF3jf7iuY9SNrWdBgAWZzZEPEiSw87UBePPdfvCS0Qn7JTsiRapXz/s1600/100_0829.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462648576220507730 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXBbyld1CeVM9e_YvyZN1JLOqSMHPve-ncMtXxB0G9hnmErY_lsXAfGGbka-xdjNcfJ_QlfB0ubh6nTEdHDnySekBLF3jf7iuY9SNrWdBgAWZzZEPEiSw87UBePPdfvCS0Qn7JTsiRapXz/s200/100_0829.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATgVhAj4O3IWs7N285HpjUdqaIkGe6oTKYdJQJD1OKRMwad7i0JvgU_xefYbEYUiLfqxZJIhHhyphenhyphenRP8Q96cJk2M3RclQRfFiscNh9jTgfyFv2AABNOCxIZTQmRHeAnadnVZyBliiLtpyvg/s1600/100_0827.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462647189880608226 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATgVhAj4O3IWs7N285HpjUdqaIkGe6oTKYdJQJD1OKRMwad7i0JvgU_xefYbEYUiLfqxZJIhHhyphenhyphenRP8Q96cJk2M3RclQRfFiscNh9jTgfyFv2AABNOCxIZTQmRHeAnadnVZyBliiLtpyvg/s200/100_0827.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpvbqkVBub9-ol0EIijN0W7sKV98xMaSQWRoS4puvnkrlw_-nBBPJn4Qqx3xey1HDGzGL688-GCJNbDXafoEeG5Fw04v5EbaRu6msbpzAnV-LO-8G59XyItxdU7QT8BzFW_LQC2ukwKuF/s1600/100_0826.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462647183378580194 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpvbqkVBub9-ol0EIijN0W7sKV98xMaSQWRoS4puvnkrlw_-nBBPJn4Qqx3xey1HDGzGL688-GCJNbDXafoEeG5Fw04v5EbaRu6msbpzAnV-LO-8G59XyItxdU7QT8BzFW_LQC2ukwKuF/s200/100_0826.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeYxnvPdppo7h6n8j3KsUyzaieeZgYSMTLnXRmGtJFY5gf1E9EFSRGDBjvn1bSeWHxz0jGM5p6ZAhlHfEd3HESKpPglwrrrgR4P5BjyMcZiyJNbFpPE6XQ9ryL8GrdKYYtrLTfzIeshCh/s1600/100_0825.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462647172800196690 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeYxnvPdppo7h6n8j3KsUyzaieeZgYSMTLnXRmGtJFY5gf1E9EFSRGDBjvn1bSeWHxz0jGM5p6ZAhlHfEd3HESKpPglwrrrgR4P5BjyMcZiyJNbFpPE6XQ9ryL8GrdKYYtrLTfzIeshCh/s200/100_0825.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkiWB-GbIuEeqwZBCMITmniQNUDGY_HWztq53fFYCtyoOiUVeqcV_zPjcDF48zdzHsz90QdOCuXiYGZ7JE3MIKz9ijF9PHLWOkOdiUEvdhfxVDy-1-Vb3ap4-WKCQRLbFTHm0Xc_Nrefm/s1600/100_0824.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462647170944184178 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkiWB-GbIuEeqwZBCMITmniQNUDGY_HWztq53fFYCtyoOiUVeqcV_zPjcDF48zdzHsz90QdOCuXiYGZ7JE3MIKz9ijF9PHLWOkOdiUEvdhfxVDy-1-Vb3ap4-WKCQRLbFTHm0Xc_Nrefm/s200/100_0824.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbnUEbK4GPav_Y9NBic53aMLt-qULojIu6bnqRmcFkd09PT-GOG6lyzpmhLnbE9smiaEco-ilXOfw9x1fiwDcPbG3_VF7B5ctw2VabkN9138r2dXp4m1F2-y2uvjwmoHBlClA660Ys2eWt/s1600/100_0823.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462647161139608482 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbnUEbK4GPav_Y9NBic53aMLt-qULojIu6bnqRmcFkd09PT-GOG6lyzpmhLnbE9smiaEco-ilXOfw9x1fiwDcPbG3_VF7B5ctw2VabkN9138r2dXp4m1F2-y2uvjwmoHBlClA660Ys2eWt/s200/100_0823.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0Ek74d4k5Xb6nCgULQHUJrCSk26QlqDvhC_4wdFrETXVbOAnd9ywwlC63BKQGN3SyAcKzBQc88E8SHG4-0_uW_YcgWR5rSix9NdJ9TxXUnga4r0vV4VMam2pxMP2NM4YR_x7MaZwCRek/s1600/100_0822.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462645658965543602 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0Ek74d4k5Xb6nCgULQHUJrCSk26QlqDvhC_4wdFrETXVbOAnd9ywwlC63BKQGN3SyAcKzBQc88E8SHG4-0_uW_YcgWR5rSix9NdJ9TxXUnga4r0vV4VMam2pxMP2NM4YR_x7MaZwCRek/s200/100_0822.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdO87liPXLwkmRaMBQaCex487n2VtitC7P02-kQBpraOWXfQAm2pGr_K3ZgUH45PHcHQfPgCl0Zzh8QUDLrO59rmZkQVwzqYhgfhT-_AcstyHAqZ2-zU4zRjXOI0cpvxOY189qSTsL7oG/s1600/100_0821.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462645653642110658 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdO87liPXLwkmRaMBQaCex487n2VtitC7P02-kQBpraOWXfQAm2pGr_K3ZgUH45PHcHQfPgCl0Zzh8QUDLrO59rmZkQVwzqYhgfhT-_AcstyHAqZ2-zU4zRjXOI0cpvxOY189qSTsL7oG/s200/100_0821.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXcyS2rPsw2jsIK1J1iy75GTC3kTAwylWzQjyOfCojchJD5QZ8fxfh4bRIXKswc_7jG5CQLjqLDHzGENJs0hzXKF7POrVfzu2B-at_y0iMwAmu67F9AU6KI3YRWMWhomhw5s71xRTlKgcN/s1600/100_0819.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462645645865587170 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXcyS2rPsw2jsIK1J1iy75GTC3kTAwylWzQjyOfCojchJD5QZ8fxfh4bRIXKswc_7jG5CQLjqLDHzGENJs0hzXKF7POrVfzu2B-at_y0iMwAmu67F9AU6KI3YRWMWhomhw5s71xRTlKgcN/s200/100_0819.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQ_xMvM3J4AvpHPuHLKvYRVbutFH6z6itWWdfodFer3fueVRv3hXLSt7E_VKDFz7Mvyr49W3ad6NeF0FB1Kt_ERzpTC3eipio-pG8zOQ6btnyF01oCp_K6ol9_fkAFUoc2fTm4_mVO2YT/s1600/100_0818.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462645636185352210 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQ_xMvM3J4AvpHPuHLKvYRVbutFH6z6itWWdfodFer3fueVRv3hXLSt7E_VKDFz7Mvyr49W3ad6NeF0FB1Kt_ERzpTC3eipio-pG8zOQ6btnyF01oCp_K6ol9_fkAFUoc2fTm4_mVO2YT/s200/100_0818.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQJNQ55Lcos9oj5Ddy_02y6vXJABz9b1b6LMjdEaRmWSEhEmQCui2gkEsaFtZTt7yCLPQRu0mrf2boKVskNBONlN52eWlriolrGG41STB-2R_bXaqVH7OG_jSKvNUsFXAhhm6ltIeOqyp/s1600/100_0817.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462645631047845730 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQJNQ55Lcos9oj5Ddy_02y6vXJABz9b1b6LMjdEaRmWSEhEmQCui2gkEsaFtZTt7yCLPQRu0mrf2boKVskNBONlN52eWlriolrGG41STB-2R_bXaqVH7OG_jSKvNUsFXAhhm6ltIeOqyp/s200/100_0817.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHSoKRUQVg54b_ibI4BKkA6z-Sb3Mmt7Ws5y8Zmr4TMfg0c0vLqKw6fkVV6erT4mbQaQM5QZeUAyisc-kmDyD5XolbpTfbgcyTbfGuZxflE03Bu4gj6PwYKLbx-mdWSiFVYBoD6V44M3F/s1600/100_0816.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462643691001775682 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHSoKRUQVg54b_ibI4BKkA6z-Sb3Mmt7Ws5y8Zmr4TMfg0c0vLqKw6fkVV6erT4mbQaQM5QZeUAyisc-kmDyD5XolbpTfbgcyTbfGuZxflE03Bu4gj6PwYKLbx-mdWSiFVYBoD6V44M3F/s200/100_0816.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4UB-ml7voF-pikqHIFCy7KU6fp1lBNS678_ySRzGpX237OinSYFg3QuC0nSVEAFns0B1CiNhXMJ838uS53e2pqfZy2NlKFaZ_MQSH8Ad0Py0qHS9mkAykTRkg-68UZPXalAiUPZ6KRLbE/s1600/100_0815.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462643679899102466 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4UB-ml7voF-pikqHIFCy7KU6fp1lBNS678_ySRzGpX237OinSYFg3QuC0nSVEAFns0B1CiNhXMJ838uS53e2pqfZy2NlKFaZ_MQSH8Ad0Py0qHS9mkAykTRkg-68UZPXalAiUPZ6KRLbE/s200/100_0815.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WZ8iNf1DhDYTPRgsjPJyCSDwQUIeP0as48Dh_YBx_1e0GOewlRUNAExWHFDndUrLXQKJgpfhILbdFsA3jpVDkziWYLxmCXBhlrP76jfcoz4VPQkiadXHTjEkKXjpa9qBJaOlEzt-UE5y/s1600/100_0814.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462643673377940962 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WZ8iNf1DhDYTPRgsjPJyCSDwQUIeP0as48Dh_YBx_1e0GOewlRUNAExWHFDndUrLXQKJgpfhILbdFsA3jpVDkziWYLxmCXBhlrP76jfcoz4VPQkiadXHTjEkKXjpa9qBJaOlEzt-UE5y/s200/100_0814.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcu9a1eJKzmM3DHfloMEY99PfLW8FkrRPAyKkF_zYfvLIKgFCTPZTDnva7gjV0farS6iRlkpBZOkst1TnoM1kZG7Wp_8R6MRDfe3rBlKY8JSwqcICbM8gACjJcFpWiqastGeIxNTSEbHym/s1600/100_0813.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462643664689137122 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcu9a1eJKzmM3DHfloMEY99PfLW8FkrRPAyKkF_zYfvLIKgFCTPZTDnva7gjV0farS6iRlkpBZOkst1TnoM1kZG7Wp_8R6MRDfe3rBlKY8JSwqcICbM8gACjJcFpWiqastGeIxNTSEbHym/s200/100_0813.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-bq_pxLBPyeOH6Vnv_dgfsZKU7Vbxec-KJqDmvV2T0oNVT0AwlasCa6Fi9Swwm0dP0yyXPjmnqx4lbBvxC83kRaADVnzSYmb0zCbxuVsx_FZ0o0h4zlqKEK90XV6C-Cik6JkmJ43cIv5Q/s1600/100_0812.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462643656268405826 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-bq_pxLBPyeOH6Vnv_dgfsZKU7Vbxec-KJqDmvV2T0oNVT0AwlasCa6Fi9Swwm0dP0yyXPjmnqx4lbBvxC83kRaADVnzSYmb0zCbxuVsx_FZ0o0h4zlqKEK90XV6C-Cik6JkmJ43cIv5Q/s200/100_0812.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8PDeDmL79XOeAO1fDV7PVw-MQYljUMHTccGx8ZBN27jYD9R9uB5yNAVYcEQiaplwUH9eV-_mbUu3nc4mFVvYimIMp2UTtPG7LpvRS2yPuxNJwVedG9lE68Sff5bXirh9M7uxssPp0GRS/s1600/100_0811.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462641759911900274 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8PDeDmL79XOeAO1fDV7PVw-MQYljUMHTccGx8ZBN27jYD9R9uB5yNAVYcEQiaplwUH9eV-_mbUu3nc4mFVvYimIMp2UTtPG7LpvRS2yPuxNJwVedG9lE68Sff5bXirh9M7uxssPp0GRS/s200/100_0811.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1r6nTvTi8Oa-So3ChWEM3lJzcwll4bNvGBZ-U4c-zwJ9YfudloVvo0EnZU-E0735vc7LnYJyzJcNUAnDMWN-IQHpo9NjeY62KjMz3g3JzjbEAjngHP9R0blw94JWMYMZGfRYBqzDVdk5R/s1600/100_0810.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462641754937483394 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1r6nTvTi8Oa-So3ChWEM3lJzcwll4bNvGBZ-U4c-zwJ9YfudloVvo0EnZU-E0735vc7LnYJyzJcNUAnDMWN-IQHpo9NjeY62KjMz3g3JzjbEAjngHP9R0blw94JWMYMZGfRYBqzDVdk5R/s200/100_0810.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSva0t1A1AD8n_2LWcznr8W3Y8OojjRfwVjNgqMf1aPZfr9F4iCf-ic7BK0li6rV83fGb75WX2sCsv2hvdi5yitaYA82xil8y1Nk5jeqAyBQdfnLS6IQQGbxNztcY0kdjgtU9wMqwy0wjB/s1600/100_0808.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462641740399121698 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSva0t1A1AD8n_2LWcznr8W3Y8OojjRfwVjNgqMf1aPZfr9F4iCf-ic7BK0li6rV83fGb75WX2sCsv2hvdi5yitaYA82xil8y1Nk5jeqAyBQdfnLS6IQQGbxNztcY0kdjgtU9wMqwy0wjB/s200/100_0808.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpWtpkMqomYwVu7V8WgRpRvKM25FQB1FjeZybi0LqVwD_lYIkcjKSqHv26i_E1nX_jXGjPv8gzv_cdGC7Gxjdx1bKmQVhJ3OabY0BzGZyh3iLDFRQHdDpS52gMc54NcV4FbntMZsCcx3p/s1600/100_0807.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462641738373114434 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpWtpkMqomYwVu7V8WgRpRvKM25FQB1FjeZybi0LqVwD_lYIkcjKSqHv26i_E1nX_jXGjPv8gzv_cdGC7Gxjdx1bKmQVhJ3OabY0BzGZyh3iLDFRQHdDpS52gMc54NcV4FbntMZsCcx3p/s200/100_0807.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8gKoT19Q-COVqMPvP1_wKgxHZo9K7aF2r8cjPT6SAxbmttBQywWRBBvm9XwFV2F90b_b72JwpPTlJQsEA_hhgOIdd2dXhmaKyB5lZoKIPFUpmGM-IUHUKxGqXBp_z5ITxdD0DZ28qApGK/s1600/100_0805.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462641727512306274 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8gKoT19Q-COVqMPvP1_wKgxHZo9K7aF2r8cjPT6SAxbmttBQywWRBBvm9XwFV2F90b_b72JwpPTlJQsEA_hhgOIdd2dXhmaKyB5lZoKIPFUpmGM-IUHUKxGqXBp_z5ITxdD0DZ28qApGK/s200/100_0805.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpFg5j6CS9GMbTXHPBjLfATq82MOMceF9QD1XKuq0KY3spyvlsufLggqg6eGiOkzshWw0k1an0OgPZyQZ4xakiK-rw25zLbdgqavWsB_tcNFaQWo3tVjzGItU9exr1wikiE-c7p7ep08a/s1600/100_0804.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462639828370950594 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpFg5j6CS9GMbTXHPBjLfATq82MOMceF9QD1XKuq0KY3spyvlsufLggqg6eGiOkzshWw0k1an0OgPZyQZ4xakiK-rw25zLbdgqavWsB_tcNFaQWo3tVjzGItU9exr1wikiE-c7p7ep08a/s200/100_0804.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Exw6Q-MAD4sS7DdQ3O5FlDPAGxCvNHt524dUOKHmycOWHIh1VTH9Qb5SuYWVUb0XiUFmwOiWpbFxgIa5OortDSujpiJd_deNRGRRvjoJD2TBBVYCl3Or_Q012Z10hggNYiQwcen0nXS0/s1600/100_0803.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462639820842964722 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Exw6Q-MAD4sS7DdQ3O5FlDPAGxCvNHt524dUOKHmycOWHIh1VTH9Qb5SuYWVUb0XiUFmwOiWpbFxgIa5OortDSujpiJd_deNRGRRvjoJD2TBBVYCl3Or_Q012Z10hggNYiQwcen0nXS0/s200/100_0803.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuROSH7z7h8PRZCXD0zrqPAAStUzfwU2vegW_ntLA-lSUANkovfliII3mHI9qscAfF5nspedVtYmWuN8EHY61i6L8NwlwmUBRB6FRycF4IgtdIUBDPgixW1HRleggJQ0p7C4n-25CzdLIG/s1600/100_0802.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462639817976376226 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuROSH7z7h8PRZCXD0zrqPAAStUzfwU2vegW_ntLA-lSUANkovfliII3mHI9qscAfF5nspedVtYmWuN8EHY61i6L8NwlwmUBRB6FRycF4IgtdIUBDPgixW1HRleggJQ0p7C4n-25CzdLIG/s200/100_0802.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5i0AbZUA7cP83DQczN-gCzhyphenhyphenxhYBTNTz-KgsyRK8fFLZkiFZ_at97HS-7OpVHbCFF_f1_VsGZFpO-vjiQl4e2S92WedxUBgiP72HlOfzBF3r1ar0IjA3I8OqlXBV6RbX7senREuvzfgyN/s1600/100_0800.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462639809365739186 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5i0AbZUA7cP83DQczN-gCzhyphenhyphenxhYBTNTz-KgsyRK8fFLZkiFZ_at97HS-7OpVHbCFF_f1_VsGZFpO-vjiQl4e2S92WedxUBgiP72HlOfzBF3r1ar0IjA3I8OqlXBV6RbX7senREuvzfgyN/s200/100_0800.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtxKldB2Kjv4qoZokkSm-EsoYdKUEZxoiWp34KW9DY_5wOdOLMfzB-5dv9Z3ptcKnGSvVkxZA085Op481oXy839inVojBcvcYIFalFQZoTjNujqPIVp-gpTxcspC6E2qQZAmA6qaJTV_ox/s1600/100_0799.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462639797483847010 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtxKldB2Kjv4qoZokkSm-EsoYdKUEZxoiWp34KW9DY_5wOdOLMfzB-5dv9Z3ptcKnGSvVkxZA085Op481oXy839inVojBcvcYIFalFQZoTjNujqPIVp-gpTxcspC6E2qQZAmA6qaJTV_ox/s200/100_0799.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyc7F434BuxSS1wzkE-RYqkdXSawIfzXY13Y7mKcdEfXezSGJYo4cZoLkq9sTesVscJRBaOj3CR4CGTBL4bPBYHXlp3BFb-9EUn1-lyim4hl1yFAbo0d7CWHY07qIAshoabCyeVcmDYyTG/s1600/100_0796.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462637948571132978 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyc7F434BuxSS1wzkE-RYqkdXSawIfzXY13Y7mKcdEfXezSGJYo4cZoLkq9sTesVscJRBaOj3CR4CGTBL4bPBYHXlp3BFb-9EUn1-lyim4hl1yFAbo0d7CWHY07qIAshoabCyeVcmDYyTG/s200/100_0796.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJST9NPR4Xd8S5mRZpF4ho4-FXck6HjWsr7VCo-dUv4tGk9m6uMSAzLL1bbUhClYohx-vpfX5uliE721zwkUpnaM7o3O6LAPp9ka1mFyxzE0OEzB02RwIPPGFjJCkiqgcMUVqgvhUA6BP/s1600/100_0788.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462637937167994850 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJST9NPR4Xd8S5mRZpF4ho4-FXck6HjWsr7VCo-dUv4tGk9m6uMSAzLL1bbUhClYohx-vpfX5uliE721zwkUpnaM7o3O6LAPp9ka1mFyxzE0OEzB02RwIPPGFjJCkiqgcMUVqgvhUA6BP/s200/100_0788.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCFkUHazQt00sK8DsWFzs4F9jazC-XZEz79KVZQgadzvtIRF21ngjUAKRGxD85absSU23VR0vGQv_WRJ88ulvOQs3U-ies_JshkCAg3ULtCirYPsTJ0-kpdRpJrsODlvtwFJzssLTg1ZTw/s1600/100_0787.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462637926116322882 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCFkUHazQt00sK8DsWFzs4F9jazC-XZEz79KVZQgadzvtIRF21ngjUAKRGxD85absSU23VR0vGQv_WRJ88ulvOQs3U-ies_JshkCAg3ULtCirYPsTJ0-kpdRpJrsODlvtwFJzssLTg1ZTw/s200/100_0787.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWh0qh8NJh95XXmW7aTJz0-JNmdRiXVMEU-wruTYED6D3B7NCakJmDERvNRU3IBzOZdBGMk-DsO5JmWsmmMInGR99U5fAAD0qd47lW5XeeH7yXVkhO9pUJJCYgCDzIOk66IA-JJ5vIusK/s1600/100_0786.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462637916407966466 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWh0qh8NJh95XXmW7aTJz0-JNmdRiXVMEU-wruTYED6D3B7NCakJmDERvNRU3IBzOZdBGMk-DsO5JmWsmmMInGR99U5fAAD0qd47lW5XeeH7yXVkhO9pUJJCYgCDzIOk66IA-JJ5vIusK/s200/100_0786.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jib59qlJeY8Mexc6ru8kg6nZcshs4C1uAfAHk7R6VzLa6hbLvMcYSxNXXLB5JMH3Kp1KixHTB1Sj2H-NmOtS9gp62zaXoImehyWHzxU3WTU8eppP1p2ZIsV5IyS8VLulFffl9534SrU2/s1600/100_0789.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462637938687891570 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jib59qlJeY8Mexc6ru8kg6nZcshs4C1uAfAHk7R6VzLa6hbLvMcYSxNXXLB5JMH3Kp1KixHTB1Sj2H-NmOtS9gp62zaXoImehyWHzxU3WTU8eppP1p2ZIsV5IyS8VLulFffl9534SrU2/s200/100_0789.JPG" border=0></A><br /><OBJECT class=BLOG_video_class id=BLOG_video-96d4d3bf6b47c66c height=266 width=320 contentId="96d4d3bf6b47c66c"></OBJECT><br /><OBJECT class=BLOG_video_class id=BLOG_video-606ff7878981a1ac height=266 width=320 contentId="606ff7878981a1ac"></OBJECT><br /><OBJECT class=BLOG_video_class id=BLOG_video-e641864fed4b51bd height=266 width=320 contentId="e641864fed4b51bd"></OBJECT><br /><OBJECT class=BLOG_video_class id=BLOG_video-4c3d0088b3c5ed95 height=266 width=320 contentId="4c3d0088b3c5ed95"></OBJECT>Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-48606338638186026732010-04-10T05:02:00.003-04:002010-04-10T06:38:20.104-04:00Ghana, part 2So, I left off right before we went to see the brass casters on Monday. Since we weren't meeting up with them until 11:30, we headed into Kumasi on Monday morning to check out the city for an hour or two. Getting into the city was much easier than we thought it would be: just hop on any old mini bus that is driving by. It is almost like a bus system in the US, without the hinderance of time tables. We got off at one of the city's major markets. Kumasi is basically a bigger, nicer version of Cotonou. The multi-story architecture is older than that in Cotonou, and the city has plenty of tree-lined streets. There are also sprawling highway overpasses and city parks to sit in. We decided that something about the slightly run-down feel of this charming city reminded us of a city in North Africa, although we don't know why we think this since neither of us has ever been to North Africa :)<br />After walking around for a while, we decided to try Ghana's version of cafeteria food (in Benin it's fried eggs, coffee/hot chocolate, spaghetti, and baguettes). Once again, since Ghana was a British colony, there are no baguettes there, so our omelette sandwich came on a choice of white or WHEAT soft bread. Not only do they fry the egg, but they toast both sides of the sandwich in the frying pan, too. They also make their hot chocolate with sugar and evaporated milk instead of sweetened condensed milk, so it was extra delicious. To finish our time in Kumasi, we went into a food market. They had any vegetable you can imagine, and whole street vendors dedicated to only spices. Both veggies and spices are sorely lacking in Benin. Benin's solution to lack of spice is simply to keep adding tons of blindingly hot peppers. On our way to meet the artisans, my camera ran out of batteries, so what did we do? Stop in to a gas station store and pick some up, naturally, along with some soda and snacks. Happens in Benin all the time...<br />The artisans, lead by George Kofi, live in a village on the outer limit of Kumasi. Quick history on this: Kumasi was the seat of the once powerful Ashanti kingdom. Since the chiefs needed crafts for themselves and to trade with other kingdoms, there are several villages around Kumasi, each dedicated to making a different craft. Krofrom, the village where we spent our day, is the brass casting village. (There is also a wood working village, a weaving village, etc.) Brass was used by the Ashanti mainly to cast scales to weigh gold dust (the kingdom's currency) and boxes to store the dust in. Brass beads were also used for decoration. In Krofrom, there are about five or six brass casting workshops, each with a few head artisans and lots of apprentices.<br />George has a large outdoor workshop. It is mainly him that sculpts the desired objects in wax, and the apprentices who perform the rest of the steps. Here is a brief summary of how the process works: objects, be them utilitarian or decorative, are sculpted in heated beeswax. The wax is then dipped in a mixture of clay and charcoal, and left in the sun to dry. This step is repeated several times, until the object is encased in a solid disk of hardened clay. More clay and palm fibers are then packed on. The vase-shaped container is then placed in a VERY hot fire (a fan is constantly blowing on the flames to keep them extra hot) where the wax melts out of the clay, leaving it's negative inside the hardened mold. While the mold is still hot, melted brass (usually metal scraps and knick knacks all melted together) is poured into it. After about 30 minutes, the brass has become completely hardened and the clay mold is broken, revealing the brass object inside. The object is then filed, and finally polished using rotten lemons (seriously. It works!) and a brush made out of old corn cobs and palm branches. And voila, you're left with beautiful brass objects! The day we visited the artists cast a porccupine, a symbol of power and royalty in the Ashanti kingdom, and they gave it to me! It's very cool. They also were making beads and some badges for a group of knights (?) in Nigeria. They had done a lot of extra work for us (they even let us make a few wax molds!), and so they asked for some money from us, which we were happy to give, since the process was so fascinating to see and they had been very hospitable to us. They ended up having to ask for more money, which unfortunately John Mark and I LITERALLY didn't have on us (we were under the impression that we were just going to watch them do a normal day's work), so I hope we didn't leave with any hard feelings. I think it was fine, though. We ended up buying quite a few brass objects from them (napkin rings, bottle openers, candle sticks), so at least we were able to support them that way. At the very end of our visit, the Ghanaian professor we had coordinated with came to meet up with us, and we had a nice dinner with him.<br />The next morning, he invited us to meet with the dean of international programs at KNUST, the technical university we had coordinated with when I was a student at Michigan. We reviewed photos of the exhibit on the brass casters that I helped to develop and install at Michigan, and discussed plans to show the exhibit at KNUST. It was so odd and so comfortable walking around this very typical college campus: students walking to class listeing to their ipod, students working in the library or coffee shop on their laptops, dorms and lecture halls. Once again, there really is nothing like this in Benin. There is only one major University here, and it has not evolved to KNUST's point yet. We had a quick breakfast with him, and then we were on our way to Cape Coast.<br />The drive to Cape Coast was pretty awful (Ghana has some of the worst roads I've seen as of yet), but getting to the town was beautiful. Cape Coast is on a bit of a bluff overlooking the ocean, so you can see why the British chose it as their colonial capital. We were able to get a room at a cute boutique hotel right on the ocean, where our room was just a little hut on the beach. They had a nice restaurant where we ate that night. The only aggrivating thing about this place was the intensity and pushiness of the people there, since they are so used to clueless white tourists. I can't tell you how many times we were approached and asked for money, and how outrageous the prices we were given were. Most of the people there have embraced this laid back, rasta culture, which is cool until everyone does it and it just gets really cliche.<br />In the morning we toured Cape Coast Castle, the slave and trading fort there. It has been well-preserved, and our brief tour of the slave dungeons and cells was very chilling. President Obama visited the castle last year, and there was a plaque commemorating his visit. In the afternoon, we took and air conditioned mini bus to Kokrobite, a small village on the ocean that happens to have a few nice resorts. Our hotel was called Big Milly's Backyard, and we once again stayed in a little hut with a private outdoor shower and toilet. The resort was filled with white people, and it was interesting to see the ways in which John Mark and I felt similar and yet different from them. For instance, we refused to pay for the rather expensive hotel breakfasts, so we ventured into the town and got street food for breakfast, obviously surprising the locals a bit. On the other hand, we enjoyed sipping cocktails on the beach and eating nice dinners as much as anyone else there. We spent all day Thursday swimming in the ocean (warm waters, just like Benin, though the riptide wasn't quite as strong as here in Benin, so that was nice), and reading under this second-story gazeebo they had overlooking the ocean.<br />One thing that struck us both was the borderline escort industry that went on there: plenty of young, handsome, and buff African men approaching any single-looking woman and offering to take her "to the beach" at night. More surprising than their offers was how many women seemed responsive to this.<br />Anyway, we had a long day of travel back to Benin yesterday. We first had to go into Accra, then find a car to the Togo border. We decided to opt for air conditioning, which turned out to be a bad choice since "air conditioning" meant a tiny stream of mildly cool air barely making the van any cooler. At least in non-AC vehicles, the windows are all open so there is constantly a breeze in your face. The ride went well until the last 40km, where the road turned so bad that 40km took us an hour and a half. Crossing the Ghana-Togo border was almsot comical: we went through exit customs on the Ghana side in a nice, air conditioned building filled with polite customs officers and fancy equipment. We literally walked over the border and into a tin shack, where the Togolese officers made us wait 20 minutes while they filled out someone else's forms when all we needed was a quick stamp in our passports. We saw someone bribing a custom's officer, and then as we emerged from customs, we were immediately being shouted at, "Yovo! Donne-moi de l'argent!" ("White person! Give me money!") When we ignored them or said something back, we were informed not to forget that "we're in Africa now", whatever that means. The beach where we waited for our taxi was absolutely filthy and the people were extremely pushy and rude. From my brief exposure to Togo, I have not been impressed and can see why people say Benin is quite a bit further along development-wise. We had to wait almost two hours for our taxi to fill up, so we didn't arrive to Cotonou until 8:30, well after dark. We made it back fine though, and the trip was amazing!<br />Now it really feels like I'm on the home stretch. People in my year start leaving Benin in less than 4 months! (Reminder: I won't know my return date until the end of May, though it's looking good that it will be sometime in August.) School is wrapping up and Camp GLOW is kicking into high gear, so I'm going to be quite busy for the next two or three months. I'll head back to Lobogo today or tomorrow, and will hopefully be there until the 22nd or 23rd, when we have our next GLOW meeting. On my next post I will put up pictures from Ghana!Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-6868825086577970512010-04-05T01:28:00.005-04:002010-04-05T17:47:03.826-04:00Ghana, part 1OMG, Ghana. For as much as I dislike those silly online acronyms, I feel that that is just about the only thing I can say to accurately describe my trip thus far. Here goes:<br />We left the Peace Corps bureau early Thursday morning, only to get to the taxi station and wait two solid hours for the car to leave. I can't complain, though: the taxi never had more than four passengers, so our ride was comfortable. The Benin/Togo border was relatively painless, though you have to get out of the car and walk across the border, and customs officers are often in hard-to-spot places. The short drive through Togo is beautiful since it hugs the beach the whole way, though Lome, their capital, is a pretty dismal industrial city that remided me a bit of Gary Indiana, yuck. There are also TONS of police checkpoints, way more than in Benin, where the taxi driver has to bribe the policemen. At one particular checkpoint, the police complained that they were thirsty and needed to buy a sachet of water (which costs 25 francs), to which the response of my driver was to coo how sorry he was and give them 500 FRANCS. How ridiculous!<br />Arrival at the Togo/Ghana border was a crazy whirlwind. You are literally dropped off ON the beach, amidst thousands of people trying to get you to ride in their car, let them be your luggage porter, change money, etc. After getting a bad deal on some currency exchange, we finally found what we thought was a man taking us to a car that was going to Accra, the Ghanaian capital. Turns out he was only a porter, and he had to stand around and wait for us while we went though a fairly thorogh customs process. Walking into the office was shocking: men and women in nice uniforms, sitting behind sleek computers, SPEAKING ENGLISH. (As opposed to the Benin/Togo border, where there were no computers, only a few men sitting in a dusty shack with a pad of paper.) And not the crappy, Nigerian English I am used to... flowery, grammatically correct British English. The women who dealt with John Mark and I were ironically having a discussion about how to say certain things in French, for when non-Ghanaians cross the border.<br />When we emerged from customs, we were immediately accosted by about 20 men, each trying to take our bags from us/our porter and physically dragging us towards thier cars. We're used to pushy people in Benin, but we've never experienced that level of physical force before. Finally, a Ghanaian police officer saw our predicament came to shoo away the men and directed us to an air conditioned bus that was soon departing for Accra. Before getting on the bus, we reluctantly tipped the porter, but he became enraged at the "small" amount (apparently he doesn't know that we live in Benin and that we know full well that we gave him a MORE than generous tip for the maybe twenty minutes of service he rendered us). Once again, the police officer had to shoo the man away.<br />The bus ride was beautiful, though very long and slow. Driving through Ghana was pretty incredible; we IMMEDIATELY started noticing the difference from Benin and Togo. First of all, there are no illegal gasoline stands in Ghana, but rather a real, legitimate gas station in almost every village. The roads were all paved and smooth, there were national lottery booths all around, and people were selling things like sliced watermelon and mushrooms everywhere you looked. It was evident when we started approaching Accra: we started seeing tall, modern-looking buildings, highway overpasses and cloverleaf interchanges, a mall/movie theater.<br />Driving to the bus station in the heart of the city was unbelievable. I kid you not, Accra looks like it could be any medium-large American city, complete with city parks, street signs, public trashcans... you name it. Upon getting off the bus, we realized we were absolutely terrified to ask non- French speakers for directions! How funny. We got into a taxi (nicer than most American taxis); there is no such thing as a zemidjan in Ghana. Indeed, I have seen a grand total of maybe five motos since I have been in Ghana, and all of their drivers have been wearing helmets. And 95% of the cars on the road are nice and less than ten years old! (Whereas your typical Beninese car is from roughly 1970 and is falling apart.) On our way to the hotel, we passed a beautiful public sculpture park, and no less than three artful fountains bubbling on the lawns of buiildings such as the National Theater of Ghana.<br />Our hostel was nice, on par with any hostel in Europe. We decided to shower and then head out to Monsoon, hailed as the nicest restaurant in Accra. It was a chic place and could have belonged in any city in America. We ordered cocktails, then sushi from the full sushi bar, and finally high-end Japanese dishes. It was DELICIOUS and super expensive for Peace Corps standards, though our total for the meal was $63.<br />We continued living it up the next day. After an odd English-style breakfast at the hostel (Ghana was formerly a British colony, so instead of the baguettes we are used to in Benin, you have red beans and wonder bread for breakfast) we headed to the mall.<br />This mall was as nice as any I have come across in America, and loaded with stores like the Apple store, Coach, and tons of high-end boutiques. There was also a movie theater showing current American films, and a food court. It was really good seeing so many Ghanaian people at the mall; in Benin, it is more or less only the expats who patronize high-end (though much less high-end than here in Ghana) stores. The people there were such a hodgepodge of ethnicities, it was really nice to see. We ate lunch at the food court (pizza and ice cream, naturally) and in the afternoon saw Clash of the Titans in a theater that would rival any of the nicest in America. We also walked through a market that day where ot ONE person gave a damn that we were white and left us alone, only talking to us if we approached their stall and had a question.<br />That night we chose a spotsbar for dinner. It had maybe five flat-screen TVs, broadcasting sporting events from all over the world, and we ordered a pitcher of beer and nachos! As we were finishing up our meal, the young couple that I stayed with the weekend of Kate's memorial walked into the bar!! It was SUCH a weird coincidence. They were in Ghana for a short vacation. They sat down with us and ordered us some more drinks, than paid for the whole tab at the end of the night! It was so nice of them, and really fun talking with them for a few hours. How can this wonderland of civilization be less than 150 miles away from Benin??<br />The first reminder that we were still in West Africa came that night when we complained to the front desk at our hostel that our air conditioning was barely working. The women simply shrugged and said "It's the fault of the white man who installed it." Yes, she really said that.<br />On Saturday we left our hostel in the morning and had our first experience on a tro-tro, the mini buses that Ghanaians use instead of bush taxis. And no, they don't pack them full of people, but rather only seat people where a full seat actually exists. For the first 20 minutes of the ride a preacher stood up and gave a sermon (though in local language), and then lead the whole bus in prayer. Of course, John Mark and I didn't relize this until we noticed we were the only ones talking and that everyone else had their heads bowed in prayer. Oops! The ride was beautiful. Not only was the road smooth and orderly, but the landscape turned mountainy and thickly forested. We once again noticed the lack of motos on the road, and also that taxis and tro-tros here don't stack billions of things on top of their cars.<br />We arrived in Kumasi mid-aternoon, where the PCVL (PC volunteer leader) met us and took us to the Peace Corps workstation here. It is really nice, and HUGE compared to the ones we have in Benin. We spent the rest of the night just hanging out and chatting with the Ghana volunteers, who are all really nice. Ironically enough, the one I've been talking to the most went to OSU! It has been funny talking to the Ghana volunteers, both because it is interesting to compare our two countries, and because John Mark and I realized just how many French/Beninese-isms we throw into our conversations!<br />Yesterday, Easter, was REALLY laid-back. We ate a typical Ghanaian breakfast of red beans and then watched the Godfather, which took up most of our day haha. We couldn't go into town to see any of the sights since it was Easter and everything was closed. For dinner we went to one of the few hotels we found that was open, only to be told that they had almost NOTHING that they listed on their menu, including basic things like soft drinks. Mind you, this was a nice, upscale hotel. We were finally informed that they had all of their pizzas available, so we ordered that and a salad. Our pizzas finally came about 45 minutes later, with no salad. We asked for the salad, the waitress apologized for forgetting, and presumably went to get it. In the mean time, we discovered that our extremely expensive pizzas had no cheese on them, and were so undercooked that most of the dough was still raw. When the waitress walked by again about 10 minutes later, she had STILL forgotten the salad, and when we complained about the cheese, she just said "Yeah, wer're out of cheese." We argued that we shouldn't have to pay so much money for a pizza with no cheese, but she just looked at us, bewildered. She also wrote the wrong amount on the bill, then proceeded to give us incorrect change (incorrect by a LOT). Turns out that our waitress was also doing all of the cooking. Once again, a reminder that we're STILL in Africa. It will be an Easter dinner I will never foget, that's for sure!<br />Today we're seeing the brass casters that I worked with, which I'm REALLY excited about. We're also going to check out Kumasi a bit, which is supposed to be a nicer version of Cotonou. Tomorrow we head to Cape Coast to see the slave castle there, than it's on to the beach for a few days before heading back to Benin. Overall, I'm having a GREAT time and don't want this vacation to end! More to come :)Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-46405406778117269922010-03-31T14:24:00.007-04:002010-03-31T16:27:10.973-04:00Peace Corps Prom<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR4NHh-IeMYZYjqd7DOCFnZh9wXMOLHRl1wXOg3KSOLWndb6sK8i7DbgXw1drfEFl8ZXP5Q5nhiLxmYXGMuHD4HJgYG28SKWVF8ypA6hHb7tMT0aJKQ7UN-Cxvne0rQLjoaYvq24X9Mt_5/s1600/100E0784.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR4NHh-IeMYZYjqd7DOCFnZh9wXMOLHRl1wXOg3KSOLWndb6sK8i7DbgXw1drfEFl8ZXP5Q5nhiLxmYXGMuHD4HJgYG28SKWVF8ypA6hHb7tMT0aJKQ7UN-Cxvne0rQLjoaYvq24X9Mt_5/s200/100E0784.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454892308794569266" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjumchH3bKDiU_lsKfyxO3J6DVkkpaSl6Wz00Pc2xZWzD-0BDMmcI5lTOLdU2E73WrIWJ5ewjcl-1Tt5rd4RtgQ3FZQ2Pm0XzyUKkrbfTZN096eJAeynUiSJk0VF6m4SdqTfYcyNaJfDUjK/s1600/100E0782.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjumchH3bKDiU_lsKfyxO3J6DVkkpaSl6Wz00Pc2xZWzD-0BDMmcI5lTOLdU2E73WrIWJ5ewjcl-1Tt5rd4RtgQ3FZQ2Pm0XzyUKkrbfTZN096eJAeynUiSJk0VF6m4SdqTfYcyNaJfDUjK/s200/100E0782.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454892300959072738" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9BqggDqpg7HpP3mCRTxkIpPBcAwLJY9zOkFrEjVarD-YfisIgGv0bXpBNa3vyqM1hhx5jfZRlyNdSN2RtWNwnhaych5QWp-aqm6LQehCWLMMKY0R9cbnoKwSFgKJDAoyUODT1ddMKsobw/s1600/100E0780.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9BqggDqpg7HpP3mCRTxkIpPBcAwLJY9zOkFrEjVarD-YfisIgGv0bXpBNa3vyqM1hhx5jfZRlyNdSN2RtWNwnhaych5QWp-aqm6LQehCWLMMKY0R9cbnoKwSFgKJDAoyUODT1ddMKsobw/s200/100E0780.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454890705455138146" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxabJ0HNDU3wzH5nJunba2AtL5sBCIhuus-02oZl17lvxpwIGHiBo5TYsUB_6DOm_o_nOEE8uh9CrRmOyuUcmOYNTRm6TRkMImJSmzOLFbYWmJ1is9ESJEKKvOEg8faVgyO14vx1dWhH0/s1600/100E0779.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxabJ0HNDU3wzH5nJunba2AtL5sBCIhuus-02oZl17lvxpwIGHiBo5TYsUB_6DOm_o_nOEE8uh9CrRmOyuUcmOYNTRm6TRkMImJSmzOLFbYWmJ1is9ESJEKKvOEg8faVgyO14vx1dWhH0/s200/100E0779.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454890699941159826" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirEdMvjO5LKKc2RNKezhSUixMOe-CSYdpaDWZBZR66JbgW_JALItgstFnbcYYODQYe_Kho3i2GbQVfmzMue5Md81RKpcs2lqq5ZWbMLXDrENnLAzY6VXO61zRNXEjmxqsD_g0MPG6Mj4d7/s1600/100_0778.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirEdMvjO5LKKc2RNKezhSUixMOe-CSYdpaDWZBZR66JbgW_JALItgstFnbcYYODQYe_Kho3i2GbQVfmzMue5Md81RKpcs2lqq5ZWbMLXDrENnLAzY6VXO61zRNXEjmxqsD_g0MPG6Mj4d7/s200/100_0778.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454890693526639186" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCnugHHQgM3ie7-dNjYSWx8Cbn-hYjLw8sofjIVGvBXE-24Du7-MYOZrXXMvVUrEgROwC62Yt5FCPKbhO63IhK0K36TepYSlDc44A67exCaFHd3Sko60M-HTfVDE2qI0wnhncxKhXl-bwW/s1600/100_0777.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCnugHHQgM3ie7-dNjYSWx8Cbn-hYjLw8sofjIVGvBXE-24Du7-MYOZrXXMvVUrEgROwC62Yt5FCPKbhO63IhK0K36TepYSlDc44A67exCaFHd3Sko60M-HTfVDE2qI0wnhncxKhXl-bwW/s200/100_0777.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454890684896619506" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPVJmD7zy_8FHRpGao8grOMVpphMCizV9kQ49Nx8EX4lNsAfMnNjuBXu_GO7GBKR8P0Pbm2qEoTVjwaqhmDp37X8Jmt_nrCyYuz65lIQTaggjS5OLtsc1_rNGrHBznIiejdRTE27E7hw6l/s1600/100_0775.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPVJmD7zy_8FHRpGao8grOMVpphMCizV9kQ49Nx8EX4lNsAfMnNjuBXu_GO7GBKR8P0Pbm2qEoTVjwaqhmDp37X8Jmt_nrCyYuz65lIQTaggjS5OLtsc1_rNGrHBznIiejdRTE27E7hw6l/s200/100_0775.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454890675615808770" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCMUAQC-yJ9UA04oYbY1G2xVD0Y_vdKqi3FcTj9bFoUf2UG2T24RDXzbbAdLPQXQgVmeKdeV-nTWPNkujxKbmQqmRgCLtx2zsOUIuwI-wGL2yYriQJmH1oNmuf_1mAHp-nyqcy-G8_THtW/s1600/100_0763.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCMUAQC-yJ9UA04oYbY1G2xVD0Y_vdKqi3FcTj9bFoUf2UG2T24RDXzbbAdLPQXQgVmeKdeV-nTWPNkujxKbmQqmRgCLtx2zsOUIuwI-wGL2yYriQJmH1oNmuf_1mAHp-nyqcy-G8_THtW/s200/100_0763.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454886797493517186" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8YJoxeh6f0IphbI8D48Da_0kIfhXkgSvbkd_47eONPEdM7DRHbppOI2RPrdt3bnhHW4m7MpO0VamJRfZD8428nG1dfCeLT5EJOQbZMTfraVdn_zNs5ovW2l8J2972UFfTfLmFeoEXX73l/s1600/100_0774.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8YJoxeh6f0IphbI8D48Da_0kIfhXkgSvbkd_47eONPEdM7DRHbppOI2RPrdt3bnhHW4m7MpO0VamJRfZD8428nG1dfCeLT5EJOQbZMTfraVdn_zNs5ovW2l8J2972UFfTfLmFeoEXX73l/s200/100_0774.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454886814874916834" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YyN3AtqiDpxMN4vIl1KVUnaLyg27CnwkZMNdQrMEACer2hnS0gaeK5FZFNRJ0QAu3kpYKJyzFsQle5cmJOyuvQG8ttt7kSV5F-QEBf9sq46gkHxjkyDlJEJH3GgX-PXXRSsYVXRPPMIH/s1600/100_0770.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YyN3AtqiDpxMN4vIl1KVUnaLyg27CnwkZMNdQrMEACer2hnS0gaeK5FZFNRJ0QAu3kpYKJyzFsQle5cmJOyuvQG8ttt7kSV5F-QEBf9sq46gkHxjkyDlJEJH3GgX-PXXRSsYVXRPPMIH/s200/100_0770.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454886804262869474" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsBQreLSM72Pn4k6VG_cgvm73CjxCtVfdNn_2cMXaOeFbEwPTmoXTDAX7n7opONKHHcjtP7LxHdt1z29LPMP4jytHWE1gEVuyZgvYwx86lORjpYjXz8Hr7uia4AcjK3Q1PLU6U9AcQoUQ2/s1600/100_0759.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsBQreLSM72Pn4k6VG_cgvm73CjxCtVfdNn_2cMXaOeFbEwPTmoXTDAX7n7opONKHHcjtP7LxHdt1z29LPMP4jytHWE1gEVuyZgvYwx86lORjpYjXz8Hr7uia4AcjK3Q1PLU6U9AcQoUQ2/s200/100_0759.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454886791599171250" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCLwliaCgQyGFb-vlwO6Ag54Q_ytgyFx2CLugHDHFSui2bw6n9zzEg383nq_ABhr3n5UhBqt98Kh9A_4OlFSTgNJeFDDT8Zy5NU_4AfCuE3tEDhC3JrlcC2aVzhO_X75Pb14qbOQzO2hFi/s1600/100_0756.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCLwliaCgQyGFb-vlwO6Ag54Q_ytgyFx2CLugHDHFSui2bw6n9zzEg383nq_ABhr3n5UhBqt98Kh9A_4OlFSTgNJeFDDT8Zy5NU_4AfCuE3tEDhC3JrlcC2aVzhO_X75Pb14qbOQzO2hFi/s200/100_0756.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454886778833841378" /></a><br />Leaving for Ghana tomorrow! Since I have a bit of time, I thought I'd do a quick blog on our GAD (gender and development) fundraising weekend, with pictures of course! There is a married couple with Beninese flag themed outfits, the four of us in the Mono region spelling it out our pile of helmets, and yes, that is a hamburger that was made in a waffle iron... oh Benin.<br />The shuttle ride up in the Peace Corps SUV wasn't nearly as awesome as I had hoped: I was in the back row where the air conditioning didn't hit and we were packed in like sardines, with no leg room. By the time we reached Parakou (after 7 hours) my butt was totally numb. We checked into our hotel, where we were told we had made reservations for the wrong night (we hadn't), and that they didn't have a second bed for us, only a matress for the floor. I guess if we were in America/were not Peace Corps volunteers we would have been enraged by this, but a matress is a matress, right? :)<br />Dinner Friday night was good. It was in a casual, club-like atmosphere. We had a short talent show and date auction, then people started dancing. The date auction is neat, people auction off things like "an all-American" weekend where you eat pizza and play football, or go hiking through a sacred monkey forest, or a full body massage, etc. So, 100% of the profits go to GAD! Unfortunately, I think I ate some not-so-sanitary street meat earlier in the day, so I left pretty early to go chill in our (air conditioned, thank god) hotel room.<br />On Saturday I was tired and still not feeling so hot, so I decided to take advantage of our air conditing and just hang out for most of the day. Getting ready with a bunch of girls was really fun- so nice getting cleaned up and pretty for once here! The night was really nice, everyone looked gorgeous and the silent auction was full of goodies, though I didn't bid since I wanted to save my money for Ghana! We had a nice pool-side dinner by candlelight, though instead of beef bourgognone on a bed of homemade noodles like they had promised we got beef stew on a bed of white rice :( People danced the rest of the night away, and there was the requisite throwing of everyone into the pool. All in all two good nights of fundraising, raising about $7000 for GAD small projects here in Benin!<br />Sunday was a pretty miserable day of travel. It started off with the man who worked at the hotel (and barely spoke a WORD of French) telling us that we needed to pay WAY more than I was told on the phone, and when I refused, he asked me if I would just give it to him as a "present". Then, we had paid for a nice air conditioned bus, and instead got an old bus with no AC, no shades to block out the sun, and no cargo hold, so we had to bring ALL of our baggage on the bus, making it super crowded and hot and uncomfortable. (Of course, no price reduction was offered because of these inconveniences...)When we arrived in Bohicon, the zems absolutely refused to give us the right price so we had to stand around in the baking midday sun waiting for some decent zems. When we finally took off, my zem was stopped by some village crazy where he promptly started yelling at me that I was going to marry him, spitting the soy cheese he was eating all over me, and of course my driver just thought it was funny. We once again had mean zems in Azove, topped off with a mean taxi and another long zem ride back to my village, all on a BAKING hot day. Then, as the icing on that cake of a day, there was no power in my village for the next 48 hours. That meant that none of the water pumps worked (let alone a fan), and since it is the end of the dry season, most of the wells were dry... meaning there was NO WATER in Lobogo. None. I'm serious. Even the Beninese people were starting to freak out. I mean, that is so dangerous! Nevermind all of the incredibly smelly people, we couldn't even drink water on a day where the temperature was easily over 105.<br />Another great Benin story: today there was a taxi that refused to stop at a police checkpoint (where they usually have to pay a bribe), and so the police shot at the car, making the car burst into flames, and many of the people in the car died. I have been in TONS of taxis that haven't stopped at checkpoints, so that's pretty scary. It's sad because it's not the fault of any of the passengers. I'm telling you, I love Benin, but I will be ready to COS when the time comes (only 4 months! Requested a date of early August today).<br />Now I'm in Cotonou and we leave early in the morning for GHANA! Ghana, the promised land of West Africa, complete with bowling, sushi, air conditioned taxis... amazing! I will take lots of pictures that should be on my next blog! Have a happy Easter everyone!Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-68839888316845818862010-03-25T07:25:00.008-04:002010-03-25T14:27:08.989-04:00I'm back!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMK-ywXyufvkt6tsxvKU2o-Jr-0gt8OBBSM5jdvmE-8BMEXBkqN1C7PIKvmusri1LirNI5qDeKa4UZPg2iVfgWd7GjfpscNVml4LuYlujPFWH8fG3F25Mt3w5-VDx_v5WcAqCjHvyGkyeY/s1600/100E0755.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMK-ywXyufvkt6tsxvKU2o-Jr-0gt8OBBSM5jdvmE-8BMEXBkqN1C7PIKvmusri1LirNI5qDeKa4UZPg2iVfgWd7GjfpscNVml4LuYlujPFWH8fG3F25Mt3w5-VDx_v5WcAqCjHvyGkyeY/s200/100E0755.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452633984586135650" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJHxvFo9Ci5dsI-Hfksqg0XqR1NMj8Lkc32bS8Sqmu0Klyw0ITjKNTpUthjCIYjUaHcvSkAMw2P489qNlO4OaklS4yVUeS9WNHlENbJ2weecEenoYvoUS_i05ejTIqflAw3WRe6eXWeXyL/s1600/100_0753.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJHxvFo9Ci5dsI-Hfksqg0XqR1NMj8Lkc32bS8Sqmu0Klyw0ITjKNTpUthjCIYjUaHcvSkAMw2P489qNlO4OaklS4yVUeS9WNHlENbJ2weecEenoYvoUS_i05ejTIqflAw3WRe6eXWeXyL/s200/100_0753.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452633983068225794" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDpcKRjU8Y7VImlgCm3DLEOk-fByuejv6xpcEhWE8YZdofrkrkWyLKtttrrsxBOFkQwP3uEOVQNWK_eAf1v2BQ67PbFc1NWinuCvzQpGEDH7A0hvCD2RzAxsQAIKdMRent7FjrS8hvyCj/s1600/100_0752.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDpcKRjU8Y7VImlgCm3DLEOk-fByuejv6xpcEhWE8YZdofrkrkWyLKtttrrsxBOFkQwP3uEOVQNWK_eAf1v2BQ67PbFc1NWinuCvzQpGEDH7A0hvCD2RzAxsQAIKdMRent7FjrS8hvyCj/s200/100_0752.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452633974448809906" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaqVgkjbyJqiWw8zUC6i_f-Oze_GYK4AsycWa3un6nko74RyN2df2V1uLsiNZfcbMkxFniDxA7VVfLxUGYstmF7ZdWe0kdE7a_XkyUbkdTyH29pRDmrceAzQx5GsNQ5HvAohkMqbb18hPS/s1600/100_0748.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaqVgkjbyJqiWw8zUC6i_f-Oze_GYK4AsycWa3un6nko74RyN2df2V1uLsiNZfcbMkxFniDxA7VVfLxUGYstmF7ZdWe0kdE7a_XkyUbkdTyH29pRDmrceAzQx5GsNQ5HvAohkMqbb18hPS/s200/100_0748.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452633966928139554" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9UBokG6LiRSyl3w8lDWrHfvefXn69d_sU98zBJ6nCye2n8hazj_p0DKz6JUxKlls37E3_pCDNv3wccVR9WHjDZTEMxBAMAnH5dfaIUeOP7Qdyve-r9L1v3uzv0ZIg6_-nzzd58BkV50Dr/s1600/100_0747.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9UBokG6LiRSyl3w8lDWrHfvefXn69d_sU98zBJ6nCye2n8hazj_p0DKz6JUxKlls37E3_pCDNv3wccVR9WHjDZTEMxBAMAnH5dfaIUeOP7Qdyve-r9L1v3uzv0ZIg6_-nzzd58BkV50Dr/s200/100_0747.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452633960326734658" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgthhG9oxjsnnzIO96fSCkFQn-pIhNe9lpPrbgXWe9sJRc87dzIqj6a23KiLKEdHtfjA1QwKnZkxcy1QvNAvs24L-wMQlXL-dkctVr4RpV5man_O7cBHIbQ7p7N8-l8bl_MMHOR_mRPqh2q/s1600/100_0743.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgthhG9oxjsnnzIO96fSCkFQn-pIhNe9lpPrbgXWe9sJRc87dzIqj6a23KiLKEdHtfjA1QwKnZkxcy1QvNAvs24L-wMQlXL-dkctVr4RpV5man_O7cBHIbQ7p7N8-l8bl_MMHOR_mRPqh2q/s200/100_0743.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452631911123562978" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCm0bt_AoLH604_xySWuNXDC1IXLaAMJnyt4ZxYB7atV4GixHfFNKV_2cPrQIKQzDANEeG6DHvzsRFsNfeL8lhk49tAiZRuqJCzClKeEnCfM4ESkxm84qaEWK-5Z5ycxY1Pn81CIb-By9/s1600/100_0742.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCm0bt_AoLH604_xySWuNXDC1IXLaAMJnyt4ZxYB7atV4GixHfFNKV_2cPrQIKQzDANEeG6DHvzsRFsNfeL8lhk49tAiZRuqJCzClKeEnCfM4ESkxm84qaEWK-5Z5ycxY1Pn81CIb-By9/s200/100_0742.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452631904512201154" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwTs_RCs8h2kbOj6G5zS9nzKtsR5rrZJ6kyzXbjJ7nqf7iuzByrc2L46B7n5aPDzK-e-G-4PYPfsl16Kr6HTS6x_odEmSqnSDa2nbAzf92Eb9XZGStB2kf2VTjwNA4twhiEyYqkAVhgdm/s1600/100_0740.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwTs_RCs8h2kbOj6G5zS9nzKtsR5rrZJ6kyzXbjJ7nqf7iuzByrc2L46B7n5aPDzK-e-G-4PYPfsl16Kr6HTS6x_odEmSqnSDa2nbAzf92Eb9XZGStB2kf2VTjwNA4twhiEyYqkAVhgdm/s200/100_0740.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452631898188737154" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwIne05TZwTU97xbPRumyU1eH8kq6wmw3MHr74t2b_p0KZSbSXkAkwycm82ZKJM1ZKypv2tcGVEFzWfzEnbuOevq_H-aIonSlDwctV8Kq6ZNcEl7LPoLIj4KjamxxzqWHc8leCpZMyYtiy/s1600/100_0739.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwIne05TZwTU97xbPRumyU1eH8kq6wmw3MHr74t2b_p0KZSbSXkAkwycm82ZKJM1ZKypv2tcGVEFzWfzEnbuOevq_H-aIonSlDwctV8Kq6ZNcEl7LPoLIj4KjamxxzqWHc8leCpZMyYtiy/s200/100_0739.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452631887753706946" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV55HF3qV5FQbEVCPJD2pMDNabb0ZvEBkcs7hU0RC8gby_AIjQqy4GeBebim71SBTvvJqHC2ymHb-xlXHQZcrsTmA0Q-XItGuMvnnk_ZCUrTfuUhfYxdDQ7gbGuqKK1uKrFFE0DSD2IxUH/s1600/100_0738.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV55HF3qV5FQbEVCPJD2pMDNabb0ZvEBkcs7hU0RC8gby_AIjQqy4GeBebim71SBTvvJqHC2ymHb-xlXHQZcrsTmA0Q-XItGuMvnnk_ZCUrTfuUhfYxdDQ7gbGuqKK1uKrFFE0DSD2IxUH/s200/100_0738.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452631879537011346" /></a><br />Sorry it's been a while since my last post. The only time I was at a computer since my last post was when I was down in Cotonou for Kate's memorial, and I wasn't much in the mood to spend time on the computer.<br />That weekend was really nice. Volunteers were housed with expat Americans that live in Cotonou, mostly people who work at the embassy. Myself and two other volunteers were housed with a young couple (and their adorable black lab!) in their beautiful house. Not only did we have a whole house full of airconditioning to ourselves, but we also had internet, satellite TV (read: the Travel channel, CNN, E!, etc.), and free reign over their whole kitchen and pantry, which included any kind of American food you can possibly imagine. They also had a housekeeper contantly making us quiches and other yummy things. So, it was a nice place to go back to and unwind after a few long, emotionally draining days.<br />The actual service for Kate was quite nice. Several volunteers read excerpts from her blog, and some read a short bio about her. Maria spoke a bit about the memorial that they were holding in Kate's village, and the US ambassador read a message from himself and the current Director of the Peace Corps. A RPCV from Kate's year played some music and our country director read some poems, and the service was capped off by a really nice slideshow. Afterwards, we all wrote in a book to Kate/her parents. Lots of tears were shed, but we laughed a lot too, and overall it was a really good and cathartic experience for all of us. The one picture is of the sort of altar we set up, and the other speaks for itself: things we'd like to say to Kate. (Other pictures are of some of my favorite concession girls, what a roadside boutique looks like, a sign denoting land ownership, how laundry is done here... jealous?, and my colleague in front of his new house.)<br />Life at post has been going really well. I have actually gotten to spend a decent amount of time at post lately, which has been a nice change of pace for me. School is absolutely flying now that it is second semester- we've already had semester midterms! Speaking of second semester and those midterms, I have been pretty angry with the other English teachers lately. When it came time to submit our proposals for the midterms, we all had to disciss where we were in the curriculum. (Preface to this story: for whatever reason, every class of the same level has to take the same exam, regardless of their teacher.) Now, all of first semester, I was significantly ahead of the other English teachers since I actually showed up to class every day and used time efficiently. Well, Beninese teachers get this syndrome where they panic when second semester hits and decide that it would be best to start covering material RIDICULOUSLY fast, literally cramming four lessons into one, without a care whether the kids are getting the material or not. So, magically, the other teachers are now a decent chunk ahead of me in the curriculum, and were "shocked" that I had "fallen behind". In fact, I was so far behind that I had to write a seperate exam for my students, which the other teachers were NOT happy about. I, on the other hand, was extatic because it meant that I could give my kids a well-written exam based on material that we have thoroughly covered in class. So far I have graded my quatrieme exams, and the kids did wonderfully! While this made me really happy and proud of my kids, the other teachers who saw some of my grades got huffy anf I could tell they thought that meant that my exam was just too easy. I don't care what anyone else says, I am really proud of my kids! They make me so happy this year; it's going to be hard leaving them! (Speaking of my favorite students, I proctored an exam for my favorite class from last year, and they all started cheering when I walked in! They also behaved perfectly during the exam, which was really nice.)<br />I also typed most of the English exams for this round of testing, and seeing the exams that some of the other teachers submitted was really disheartening. I won't go into details, but the texts were filled with grammatical errors, the questions on the text often barely even related to the texts, and some of the grammar points were so inticate that even I would fail. It's amazing to me that students who can barely greet me in English are asked to write en essay on combatting corruption in modern governments, all in English. When I pointed some of these errors out to my colleagues, they told me that those kind of errors are unavoidable since they don't get proper time to prepare the exams... apparently 2 weeks is not long enough. Hmm. I also noticed that a few nit-picky grammar rules are being taught incorrectly, but when I try to correct them, I am told that "I must not have been taught" that particular rule. No matter I'm a native speaker, right? All that being said, though, there are of course some really bright students and dedicated teachers who don't fall into those categories.<br />Speaking of those dedicated teachers, I did two neat things with one of my colleagues in the last few weeks. First, we went to his class at a different school and just had an open question and answer session, in English. It was fun answering questions like "Why would you LEAVE America to come live in Benin??" The kids asked some really insightful questions and their English was surprisingly advanced. I also participated in the broadcast of a weekly radio show where they translate a popular and meaningful English song into French, and listeners from all around the region can call in with questions and dedications. It was fun hearing some of my students call in! The songs we dealt with were "War" by Bob Marley and "We are the World".<br />Other than that, nothing major has gone on. I'm pretty sure both of my cats are pregnant again. Power cuts have still been a problem, but not nearly as bad as before. It has still been very hot, but raining a bit, which has cooled it down a little. I have been really busy with school and also Camp GLOW. I have finally received the money for the camp, so we're now in the process of making down payments and ordering things like the camp tshirts. Once again, thank you SO MUCH for all who donated! We also had a youth camp idea sharing session the weekend of Kate's memorial, where all volunteers who are planning camps came together to brainstorm and share ideas and best practices.<br />What else... oh! one to make your skin crawl: I visited my colleague's new house, which is quite nice but kind of in the middle of nowhere, so it has lots of bugs. He told me that recently, he was wrapping a towel around himself after a shower and hadn't shaken the towel first, and was promptly stung by a scorpion... on his penis! OUCH! He was able to get some injections though, so he was ok. On a total subject change, there is American woman living in a nearby village for a few months, so it's weird running into her periodically at my market- she's only the second white person I have ever seen in my village!<br />Anyway, tomorrow I'm heading up north for our huge volunteer fundraising weekend, aka "Peace Corps Prom". We all get dressed up and have a charity dinner and silent auction, all to raise money for gender-related projects here in Benin. We also have a date auction. It should be a really fun time! I will get back to post on Sunday, only to turn around and leave again on Wednesday, since one week from today I'm leaving for Ghana!! It's looking like this vacation is actually going to happen (knock on wood) :) We're also going to be able to meet up with those brasscasters I've mentioned for, and hopefully go to church (in English!) on Easter. We're also going to eat real sushi in Accra, go to a slave castle, and spend a few days at a beach resort. Should be amazing! So, my next post will probably be about my awesome trip! Happy Spring and see you 4-5 months...!Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-33973404560125570872010-03-02T10:18:00.002-05:002010-03-02T11:05:22.707-05:00Health updateAfter heaading back to Lobogo on Saturday, I saw absolutely no improvement in my condition. I'll spare you of the nasty details, but I more or less lived in my latrine over the weekend. I felt so-so other than these semi-frequent stomach cramps, during which I literally curled up in a ball and waited for it to pass. The heat, once again, really didn't help. I slept inside the first night, only getting fitful sleep due to the oven-like nature of my house; this is in spite of a fan running full-blast less than a foot away from my face. The next night they cut the power at 9pm, so all of my neighbors and I decided to sleep outside. Normally it is cool enough outside overnight to sleep quite comfortably, maybe even with a pagne thrown over your shoulders. Well, it has been so hot lately that not only could I barely sleep, but neither could all of my Beninese neighbors! We all were awake for a majority of the night, dripping sweat, fanning ourselves, and lamenting this outrageous heat wave. You KNOW it's bad when it's 3am and even a Beninese person is sweating.<br />I came back down to the med unit on Monday. After an exam and some more tests (still found no parasites), the doctor prescribed me some heavy-duty antibiotics that seem to be kicking in, thank goodness. I've been able to eat a little more, so that's good. I'm seeing the doctor again tomorrow and if all goes well I should be heading back to post. I'm not thrilled about leaving the air conditioning and toilet fortified bureau, but it's always good to go home. I should be there for about a week before heading down for Kate's memorial.<br />And great news that I forgot to mention in my last blog- Camp GLOW has been completely funded! So, if you've been looking for it on the website, it is no longer up. We're now waiting on the money and a list of donors from headquareters in DC. Thank you so, so much for all of you who donated and got the word out there. We've now booked the venue and the caterer, and are now working on guest speakers and other aspects of the camp. But the most important things are done! Later this week, we are sending official invitations to the US ambassador and some Beninese government officials to the opening and/or closing ceremonies of the camp, so I'm excited about that. I will keep you informed!Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-32709699924567313822010-02-26T05:11:00.003-05:002010-02-26T06:52:10.523-05:00It's unbelievablethat I'm not on vacation right now. After having to cancel the much-anticipated Ghana trip due to the upcoming Togolese presidential elections (that by the way got pushed back so far that it turns out we could have gone to Ghana), I had planned a 5-day trip to see some places in Benin that I hadn't yet. After no Christmas vacation and then canceling Ghana, I really needed this trip. Well, murphy's law, the day before I'm supposed to leave, I come down with a crazy fever, a rash on my arms and legs, and can't keep any food down. The fact that it's hot season (HOT HOT HOT season) and that we had no power so that I could run my fan really didn't help, so I spent the whole day laying miserable underneath my mango tree. After spending a miserable and sleepless night outside (I was still sweating the whole night, even though I was outside, just to give you an idea of how hot it was), I had to head down to the medical unit the next morning. (In addition to this illness, I have a NASTY heat rash on my neck and on my inner elbows. It must be even hotter this year than it was last.)<br />I had (and still have) a hunch that it is a parasite, but the tests found nothing. The doctors have no idea what I have/had. Since then, the rash has gone away and so has the fever/headache, but I'm still unable to keep down much in the way of food, and my stomach constantly hurts. I'm going to head back to post tomorrow, so I'm hoping it subsides before then.<br />Since my last post, I've just been hanging out at post. Wrapping up the semester went fine, though I missed a day of school that week due to some stomach issues, possibly a precursor to this yucky illness I have now :( Our power outages continued, although they seem to be cutting the power during the day more, and giving it starting at around 8:30pm, and the last few nights it stayed on until the morning. One night after a particularly scorching day, the power came on around 8pm and was still on when I went to bed, but went off right before 1am. Since I knew it was too late to see if my neighbors wanted to sleep outside, I stripped down to my underwear and laid flat on my cement floor to sleep and sweat the night away.<br />I went to a huge funural celebration with my neighbors the other night, which was basically just a bunch of free food and beer (warm beer since the power was not on to keep it cold) and music playing way too loud to have a conversation with anybody. At one point in the night, this large mama made me dance with her, prompting EVERYONE to whip out their cell phones and take a picture of it. Great.<br />In other news, I finally gave away the other kitten. When we tried to put it in a box for transport, it went absolutely crazy and we were unable to keep it in, so we had to put it in a durable bag instead :( It should be happy in it's new house, though, it's out in the middle of the jungle with plany of snacks to hunt for and trees to climb!<br />That's really about all for now. After heading back to post tomorrow, I should be there until the 11th or 12th when I head back to Cotonou for Kate's memorial service- can you believe it has been one year? We also have our gender and development funraising weekend in March, and if all goes well (and knowing my luck it probably won't) we should be heading to Ghana on March 30. One last cool snippet of information: just found out that an acquaintence of mine from college, Charlie White, and his partner, won a silver medal for the USA in the Olympics for ice dancing! How cool!Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-10582675563079356532010-02-13T10:40:00.004-05:002010-02-13T16:54:17.567-05:00No more Ghana, thanks to TogoYep, you read it right... vacation #2 that's been canceled! At least the first one was my choice. Here's the story: I heard a rumor that Togo's presidential elections were coming up, and that the border might be closed for a day or two around election time, so I called up Peace Corps to ask about it. After (and ONLY after) this inquiry did they tell us that the 2005 Togolese elections went badly and they fear that the same will happen again this year, possibly resulting in violence or civil unrest... so they are forbidding all travel to Togo from February 22 to March 14. (For those of you who are a bit fuzzy on the geography, Togo is a tiny country smushed in between Ghana and Benin, and one that you have to drive through for a grand total of about one hour in order to get to Ghana from here.) So, after having booked all the hotels and scheduling my visit to meet the brasscasters that I studied in college, I had to turn right back around and cancel it all. I have been feeling a bit claustrophobic in Benin lately and was really looking forward to this vacation, but c'est la vie I suppose. The good news is that we are probably able to reschedule our trip for the April school break, right around Easter. I'm still going to make the best out of this week off of school by going up north to visit Boukoumbe and the tata sombas, these cool multi-story houses that a certain ethnic group builds in the mountains. I'm also going to finally visit the palace of Abomey, which is one of the top ten west African tourist attractions and is less than two hours from my village, but for some reason I haven't visited yet. The palace was the seat of the kings of Dahomey, one of the most powerful kingdoms in west Africa for hundreds of years, and one of the kingdoms that willingly sold it's people into slavery. These kings were known for their brutality, and much of the palace is built out of the bones of people that they killed. Should be interesting!<br />So last Sunday Brigitte came back to post with me, and chose the striped brownish-greyish kitten to take home with her. The kittens were not at all afraid of her, so that was a good sign. It was sad putting the poor thing in a box, though, as it immediately started freaking out and crying, and it had a long journey ahead of it. I've spoken to her since, and she says that it's doing really well at her post now! I still have the second kitten, which my colleague will take in about a week. Though it's sad to give them away, I think my cats are both already in heat again, so I'm sure I'll have some more kittens before leaving Benin. The kitten that I still have has some intestinal worms (pretty normal for kittens), so I have to take care of that this week.<br />I guess the biggest news for the week is the continuation of these awful power outages. Sunday night, the power went off just before 7pm and didn't come back on for over 12 hours, so I slept outside with Angele the whole night. I thought that I would not feel at ease and would be uncomfortable sleeping on the cement all night, but it was really fine. Not to mention beautiful under the stars and almost a bit chilly! The same thing happened on Thursday night. The other nights the power would go off from about 7-10, but then would be on for most of the night, so I was able to sleep with a fan. For those of you reading this, don't worry! We lock the gate and my concession has a very high wall, and I feel completely safe doing it. I would never do it alone, either. Another obnoxious thing is that when they cut the electricity, the water pumps stop working too, so water is hard to come by, especially since many of the wells are dry now since it is dry season. It's also difficult to keep my phone and other electronics charged. On top of all of this fun stuff, I found another brown widow spider in my back area, joy. All in all making my life a lot more difficult than it already is and I really hope it ends soon!<br />Hilarious story about sleeping outside: so Thursday night, I woke up in the middle of the night to feel a warm body pressed up against me, and assumed it was Fifa or Mariam who had moved outside to sleep with us. When I reached out to put my arm around it, I discovered it was a goat! A full grown, hairy goat, literally spooning me. As cute as it was, I'm sure that these goats aren't the cleanest creatures, so I tried to shove it away, and it wouldn't budge! I was literally shaking it with all my might and smacking it hard, and it wouldn't move! I finally got it to move when I hit it over the head with a stick, poor thing. So, wake up and hour later... only to find it is there again, this time with one paw resting on my back! Shoved it away yet again. I woke up two more times during the night and it was STILL there, one time with its face nuzzled right into my shoulder! I finally gave up trying to move it and let it cuddle with me. Now THERE'S a problem that campers in America don't have...<br />School was fine this week, just gave the kids their grades and put them all in the gradebooks and report cards. Teachers were on strike, so I was one of the only teachers holding class, which I'm sure that my students just loved. I'm also holding class this coming week (the last one of the semester) while most other teachers are just fillng out grade books, so my students must be doubly happy :) We had a small but interesting English department meeting this week, during which the other teachers asked me many questions about American culture, including "How much does a girl cost?" (referring to a dowry), and "Since you are a woman, will you inherit your father's land one day? Surely not?" It was a good discussion, though. After all, that's why I'm here!<br />As I said, one more week of school, then I'll spend a few days at post before heading off on my mini vacation. Thanks for all the contributions to Camp GLOW, we only need about $1300 still! Good luck surviving the huge dumpings of snow you're getting and pray that my electricity will return to normal!Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-35539384106055221902010-02-06T11:56:00.007-05:002010-02-06T16:02:15.317-05:00Waffles and bacon with Mr. Secretary<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2IZJTXdKxohTYsWvEec5CvMg6OdXYhI08fxipy9K_lU8b-WqqXtCyZ8rGDZcIjtIghmSav4f5WopLehUUFhgE9W-Dfbq3dXFbgSaXPJCbgFP6TWDhTy8ldh1iBTLiqXpP_Y7rI0KenJsW/s1600-h/100E0734.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2IZJTXdKxohTYsWvEec5CvMg6OdXYhI08fxipy9K_lU8b-WqqXtCyZ8rGDZcIjtIghmSav4f5WopLehUUFhgE9W-Dfbq3dXFbgSaXPJCbgFP6TWDhTy8ldh1iBTLiqXpP_Y7rI0KenJsW/s200/100E0734.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435238542925475666" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhATflluPS7t2nM18uoL1gKvOmgvyqFvv6QqOcXrGQrw3AxZlu_n9snbdgv0AlwHL2bH2yuPR_Di46dcQ8LHAPHDhabukIosBzXp13vx13ElWwrtc4lXRInp6sz7l10bXu6EBiE9aPbQLOh/s1600-h/100_0731.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhATflluPS7t2nM18uoL1gKvOmgvyqFvv6QqOcXrGQrw3AxZlu_n9snbdgv0AlwHL2bH2yuPR_Di46dcQ8LHAPHDhabukIosBzXp13vx13ElWwrtc4lXRInp6sz7l10bXu6EBiE9aPbQLOh/s200/100_0731.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435238540788225074" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwgr1RN5J73_MoxRNnq8JwZNQnOf3dfa6PeCYN1x2LMTRbuTGUcZ_MBtUFZj1xEtmYPmIziXlVCQjMoEwUTVi_yrxaESNYuGvzp5lPGu_e8LuoIEdqHTff8hbTvReZuefc5wiXf3oceaO/s1600-h/100_0730.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwgr1RN5J73_MoxRNnq8JwZNQnOf3dfa6PeCYN1x2LMTRbuTGUcZ_MBtUFZj1xEtmYPmIziXlVCQjMoEwUTVi_yrxaESNYuGvzp5lPGu_e8LuoIEdqHTff8hbTvReZuefc5wiXf3oceaO/s200/100_0730.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435238531499374930" /></a><br />February! Here's an update on my life for the past week and a half:<br />Last Friday, the hot season began. You might be saying to yourself, "Hot season?? Isn't the whole year one giant hot season there? You do live in Africa..." Well, you're correct. It's always hot here. Stunningly hot. The kind of hot where you start to worry when there is a five minute period when you are not sweating. However, during the hot season, which lasts roughly February-April, Benin literally lights on fire. I am fairly certain that during this time of year, I live inside an oven. The thermometer inside of my house has not dipped below 90 degrees in the past week or so, and it only drops to 90 in the early morning. In the afternoon, temperatures in my house are in the upper 90s. The icing on the cake is the 100% humidity 100% of the time, making it feel more like a vat of boiling water than an oven.<br />Anyway, the hot season literally began overnight, and I'm really sad because I know it's not going to start getting any cooler until April when it will rain sporadically for two months. It won't start raining regularly until June, when the constant rain makes it almost cold (cold to us at least... temperatures in the 70s). So every time you're shivering on a bitter walk through the snow, think of me, sweating buckets here in Benin. My taxi ride to Dogbo last Friday was miserable because of the heat. Normally taxi rides aren't too bad because there is a constant wind blowing in your face, but now that the wind is blisteringly hot, it doesn't even really help.<br />When we got to Dogbo, though, we made probably the best meal I've had here in Benin: homemade veggie soup and sandwiches (with real ham and real cheddar cheese and Hellmans mayonnaise), grilled. And on homemade roasted garlic bread! So good! The next day we tried a new restaurant ("restaurant") in Dogbo for lunch which was awesome, complete with couches, ceiling fans, and burgers and fries, albeit the Beninese version of them, with weird toppings like chopped hot dogs (seriously).<br />After Dogbo, I stopped at the bank in Lokossa on my way home since I literally had the equivalent of $2 left in my pocket. The bank had already closed for the day since it was a Saturday and, surprise surprise, the ATM wasn't working. When I told the guards that I absolutely needed to get money out, they started telling me that they were calling so-and-so and they were in the process of fixing the problem. To make a long story short, it wasn't until three hours of sitting in the burning heat later that they told me that I was out of luck until Monday. To make matter worse, the whole time I was waiting there I was harassed by one of the guards who right off the bat asked me to marry him, and got pissy with me when I simply said no and refused to joke with him about it. He proceeded to spend the rest of the three hours telling me I was racist and how I clearly don't like Beninese people if I'm leaving the country after only two years. It was really disheartening. I try not to let encounters like that phase me any more, but the fact that I had to sit with it for three hours and it was so hot really didn't help. Anyway, I decided that I had JUST enough money to come back on Monday afternoon after class to get my money.<br />School was really good overall this week. As I mentioned in my last blog, my quatrieme students did really poorly on the semester's final exams, so we took two days going over the rough spots and on Monday they will take a quiz that is almost identical to the exam to see if they have improved. My sixieme (younger) students did pretty well on their exams, not to mention that the highest grade out of both classes was a perfect score achieved by a girl!<br />On Wednesday, I had one of those awesome days teaching that will stick with me for the rest of my life. The students in my favorite class of the year, who are really good in English and try hard for it, really got the lesson and I don't think I heard a word of French or local language come out of their mouths the whole time. They were even talking amongst each other and making fun of each other in English! One student came to write on on the board still wearing his backpack, to which the class exclaimed, "Hide your bag! Madam, he need to hide the bag!" They were really attentive to the lesson and still had tons of fun with it. I like that they are mature enough that I can joke with them, but then still pull them back into the lesson. At the end of class, we had about ten free minutes, during which I told them to ask me any questions about America. I was surprised by the intellect of the questions they asked, such as "If it is 12:00 here in Benin now, is it also 12:00 in America?" They also asked about my experience at university and for advice on how they can all make it to university, too. All in all, an awesome, feel-good day with my students.<br />Unfortunately, my high was brought down a bit on my ride home that day because of the conversation that I had with an English colleague of mine. I will preface this story by saying that aside from my work partner, this is probably the most forward-thinking Beninese man I know, who is getting his doctorate, has only one wife, and treats his two daughters like royalty. They were giving free HIV/AIDS testing to anyone who wanted it at my school (it was awesome, about 2/3 of the students had it done!) so to start a conversation, I asked if he had taken the test. He replied "No, I had it done a few years ago. Besides, I try my best to stay faithful to my wife." When I asked what he meant by trying his best, he replied that his friends have told him that when he travels for more than a week, he will be physically incapable of staying faithful. He quickly reassured me that "Don't worry, when the time comes, I will try and use protection." It was just disheartening to hear this from a colleague and friend who I thought to be so progressive. It just goes to show how deeply rooted that aspect of Beninese culture is.<br />Another bummer about this week was the major power outages we had, throughout the entire southwest corner of Benin. On Tuesday and Wednesday nights, the power was out from about 7:30 to 10:30, followed by brief cuts that continued until dawn. Then on Thursday morning, the power was cut at 7am and didn't come back on again all day. At 7pm when it was starting to get quite dark, there was still none, so I lit all my candles. When I asked my neighbors if they knew anything about the cut, they said that they had heard that the power would be cut off for a whole week, possibly up to a month! I honestly don't mind living by candle light, but especially now that it is hot season, I absolutely can not sleep without a fan. I also then have no way or charginf my cell phone or ipod (normally I would name my DVD player too, but that just randomly stopped working this week, so it's joining my computer in the ranks of nice electronics that Benin had managed to destroy.) When the power still wasn't on at 10:00, my neighbors suggested that we lock the gate to our compound and that we all sleep outside together. I thought I would be a bit apprehensive about this after what happened to Kate, but I honestly felt fine about it, and we spread our blankets under the stars to sleep. Just as I was drifting off, however, the power came back, and I was able to bask in the glory of my fan all night. Apparently power cuts become more frequent during the hot season because of a lack of water to run the dams combined with the higher rate of energy consumption. I have also heard rumors that the power cuts have to do with political disagreements in Ghana and the upcoming presidential election in Togo. Who knows... just keep your fingers crossed that they don't continue this badly, so I can get some decent sleep! (Yes, there are volunteers up north who don't have electricity and sleep withut a fan every night... but they're not also dealing with 100% humidity!)<br />I arrived in Cotonou yesterday morning for a day jam-packed with meetings. Our second Camp GLOW meeting went well, and we have made some progress on getting major things booked such as the venue. When I checked earlier today, we only have about $1600 left to raise for the camp, so THANK YOU so much if you have donated! After a long day of working hard, Michelle and I were craving fruit smoothies for dinner, and after we heard there was a blender in the kitchen, we headed to the supermarket to buy our ingredients. After getting back and putting all the ingredients into the blender... we find out it doesn't work. So sad, especially after having spent the money! I haven't had a fruit smoothie since before joining the Peace Corps. But, waste not want not, we ate the weird, watery concoction anyway.<br />This morning, I was part of a group selected to have breakfast at the ambassador's residence with the Assistant Secretary of State for Africa. It was fantastic! Not only were we the only Peace Corps volunteers on the entire CONTINENT that he met with, we got to eat real bacon and waffles with real butter and maple syrup on bone china plates with the gold-plated state department logo on them! And drink real coffee served to us by waiters wearing all white! It was great chatting with him, and he gave us an impromptu speech at the end that made us feel REALLY good about what we're doing here, saying that "we're the best face of America today." It was a neat opportunity and I'm really glad that I got to participate in it.<br />Tomorrow I will head back to post with the volunteer who is taking one of my kittens, and she will take it and continue on her way. It's going to be sad to part with the kittens, but they are going to good homes and I obivously can't have four cats in my tiny house. At this point, the cats are totally litter box trained, and eating a fair amount of solid food. They are also SO playful and are starting to climb everything and knock everything in my house over.<br />Ghana is coming up in less than two weeks now! Many of our reservations are made, and we may even get a ride back from Ghana in a Peace Corps vehicle because of a medical conference in Accra that is taking place at the same time as our trip. (Air conditioned SUV > bush taxi.) One possible hiccup that I just found out about yesterday: Togo, which we have to drive across to get to and from Ghana, is having their presidential election on February 28, a day or two after we are scheduled to pass through Togo on our way back to Benin. Now, all African nations close their borders at election time to prevent corruption, so, depending on how early they decide to close them... we might be stuck in Ghana for a few extra days! I wouldn't complain too much :) Honestly, though... I will be so sad if this messes up my trip somehow. I really need a vacation, especially after my Christmas one was cancelled! Also just happened to hear by word of mouth that you can no longer get Togo visas at the border, which PC wasn't even aware of yet, so now I have to come back down to Cotonou to get that visa. I'm hoping to just come down a day early for my trip and do it then, since I feel like I live in Cotonou lately. It would have really sucked if we got all the way to the border and had to turn back, though. Traveling is so complicated here!<br />Other than that, school this week should be good, just giving a quiz and then calulating and giving out semester grades, and filling out the official grade books. Other teachers take two full weeks to compute grades with the whole class, whereas I do it at home and invite each individual student to check my math, both to save time and do keep grades more private. (Students knowing each others' grades can cause huge problems... for instance, a girl went home crying from her class the other day. They had gotten their exams back and she had done very well, much better than most of the boys. The boys proceeded to tell her that it was only because she is sleeping with the professor.)<br />That's all for now. Until next time!Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-6568363426583881812010-01-28T05:10:00.007-05:002010-01-28T06:25:44.774-05:00Kittens, visas, and the end of January?!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tCReSF3XnTZIujj12ykVhfPszuAc3oKyNJSapsjPvsnf51DgsZjTRLCjTlKTuVnhHbw81k4Du75FSGYEh2-1-32JheoTStALmG5FOh1kEiHmTUD6lDUbCrHrnZU4mvGJJIS0qaT14dT8/s1600-h/100E0729.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tCReSF3XnTZIujj12ykVhfPszuAc3oKyNJSapsjPvsnf51DgsZjTRLCjTlKTuVnhHbw81k4Du75FSGYEh2-1-32JheoTStALmG5FOh1kEiHmTUD6lDUbCrHrnZU4mvGJJIS0qaT14dT8/s200/100E0729.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431750351115865010" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3YldF8ZPPbizxAYXYnNdqXTt0XCB_kRx8bLKscRNQuMx8t-ItXLya2E_3vtLvtO9iFx62xI3qGu68PjPOPqsWJQ-KiVr2QCAFFJNuxF4WdQrtPpj84dZXErv62WhglI0aBtJaU8grbSO9/s1600-h/100_0728.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3YldF8ZPPbizxAYXYnNdqXTt0XCB_kRx8bLKscRNQuMx8t-ItXLya2E_3vtLvtO9iFx62xI3qGu68PjPOPqsWJQ-KiVr2QCAFFJNuxF4WdQrtPpj84dZXErv62WhglI0aBtJaU8grbSO9/s200/100_0728.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431749517409608834" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs0W6FSmU4TsxFUcMbd2qGuLm56nVFNrt9ctNpfXFRqBA8xVn5zgaSGI50pYNkvlVeJNNLcWha-K4AfUvJoHPKL2XTOC01S-lU3dY8FKhF28G3lCDcsoepeDQP-cAOnVGK0QLYThR4-2CS/s1600-h/100_0725.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs0W6FSmU4TsxFUcMbd2qGuLm56nVFNrt9ctNpfXFRqBA8xVn5zgaSGI50pYNkvlVeJNNLcWha-K4AfUvJoHPKL2XTOC01S-lU3dY8FKhF28G3lCDcsoepeDQP-cAOnVGK0QLYThR4-2CS/s200/100_0725.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431749513140667570" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdy6RL0a6-n8K8H443XsDkMmh6josMe5VXgINP4V6z8RkjXsnv_Sn_pXpKsUuQ7VRYiVL4GWag2j5iDkwhoPq-UEs4vzRrM5Gtqva6l6ZGktwXd66VHOc7IWgayMA2PFyMquGNowp7MS8N/s1600-h/100_0724.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdy6RL0a6-n8K8H443XsDkMmh6josMe5VXgINP4V6z8RkjXsnv_Sn_pXpKsUuQ7VRYiVL4GWag2j5iDkwhoPq-UEs4vzRrM5Gtqva6l6ZGktwXd66VHOc7IWgayMA2PFyMquGNowp7MS8N/s200/100_0724.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431749505133952882" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfS4kir1zScouH0JVWvwszH2OJfEzpXxp2HVcIcpxtKRHpgCpblkAtIwu_QwwixLgGMyy4uqsWphjs7PmVtfV8cTgT8gdgwcorwiCU8sicaEYk6vImE016uV-aOG_96pEh-ComVq_eoljb/s1600-h/100_0716.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfS4kir1zScouH0JVWvwszH2OJfEzpXxp2HVcIcpxtKRHpgCpblkAtIwu_QwwixLgGMyy4uqsWphjs7PmVtfV8cTgT8gdgwcorwiCU8sicaEYk6vImE016uV-aOG_96pEh-ComVq_eoljb/s200/100_0716.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431749501688827378" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNIJ8MDvNLU1aR_lUyh_KZ4I2Lf6n-_VISIyrhtJ_VZLrOR6Wjy8nVCqPGOXFRS7UUhb44MYMmw1O7UedV-8KR0LLAQnwe5-mvTgREsic3UBlXKFQgsfN9pLVMqQ9UFSZvyWVIMu1lLIU/s1600-h/100_0715.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNIJ8MDvNLU1aR_lUyh_KZ4I2Lf6n-_VISIyrhtJ_VZLrOR6Wjy8nVCqPGOXFRS7UUhb44MYMmw1O7UedV-8KR0LLAQnwe5-mvTgREsic3UBlXKFQgsfN9pLVMqQ9UFSZvyWVIMu1lLIU/s200/100_0715.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431749493320646162" /></a><br />Where did January go?? Barely over 6 months of service remain.<br />A week ago today, at about 8pm, I was petting Baby when some fluid started dripping out of her and she started having contractions, so I knew she had gone into labor. I set up shop next to her and prepared everything to make her comfortable. After a full hour of contrations, nothing had happened, which I thought was odd. About an hour after that, the kitten started coming out, feet first, which for kittens is backwards. About thirty minutes later, she hadn't made any more progress, so I started to worry and called my parents for some help. After doing some research, we found that you are supposed to gently help pull the kitten out when the cat is having contractions (of course, using hot towels and vaseline and gloves and all of those other fancy things that I don't have at my disposal here). By the time we had figured this out, Baby had given up and stopped pushing, and the kitten was cold to the touch and hanging half way out of her. I was fairly certain that the kitten was dead, and was now worried about the danger this posed to Baby. Both Angele and I tried pulling it out, to no avail. Finally, an electrician stopped by (at almost midnight) and yanked the kitten out. It was horrible to watch and I was so scared that it was going to tear Baby's uterus or something, but I think she was ok. The kitten was indeed dead. The other cats ate the placenta but left the kitten alone, so I put it in a box and gave it to Angele to dispose of. Bless her heart, I think she buried it the next morning- I couldn't bear the thought of just throwing it down a latrine. Other than very minor bleeding for a day or two afterwards, Baby seems to be doing fine, and is now acting as mommy #2 for the other kittens! They immediately started feeding from her and letting her pick them up and give them baths. Enjoy the pictures of the kittens with their new momma! The two kittens are doing great, really healthy and active. I even litter-box trained them this week! In a week or two they will each go off to their new homes.<br />School has been a bit discouraging lately. Last week we had review sessions for the final exams this week, and in my older classes, my students really didn't know much. We've been working on these subjects for weeks, and they seemed to be getting it up until then. The exam (which I wrote) was neither easy nor hard, but the class which I have graded so far got an average of 7.76 out of 20! Really disappointing. Once again, it is clear to me that they simply didn't study.<br />This week I had to proctor exams, which you might recall from last year that I absolutely hate doing. The students don't respect me (you don't proctor for your own classes), and think that since I am different that I will be lax and they can goof off an talk during the exam. When I told one class to be quiet, they only laughed at me and continued talking, so I had to call in the surveillant who told me to give a zero to the next student who so much as coughed. In another class, I had one student get up and nearly run out of classroom before I could do anything about it. All of the students seemed shocked when I would make one of them change seats or antyhing like that. On the bright side, proctoring for other students makes me really appreciate how much my own students respect me!<br />Last weekend I went to Michelle's post for one night to plan out the agenda for the next GLOW meeting and work on writing some exams for the regional English competition. After getting our work done, we cooked an awesome dinner and stayed up until 2:30am playing Take Two, this game kind of like Scrabble but fast-paced. We joked that this was the latest we had stayed up in forever and what a fun Saturday night activity it was haha!<br />I am now down in Cotonou getting my visa for Ghana, since we are leaving on that trip three weeks from tomorrow! I'm also going to try to make our Ghana hotel reservations. The brass casters in a Ghanaian village that I helped design an exhibit about are willing to meet with me, so I'm really excited about that. We're also going to soak up the big city life in Accra (sushi and a movie theater!), check out the slave castel in Cape Coast, and spend a few days relaxing on the beach.<br />All of this traveling is a bit nerve-racking. Not only was Catherine recently in several moto accidents, and not only have I seen multiple dead bodies on the side of the road from accidents recently, but about two weeks ago, three volunteers were on a bus coming down to Cotonou when the bus brakes failed and they plowed head-on into a semi. All three people in the semi died, 10 people on the bus died, and several people who had been on the road side died too. Most of the people who weren't instantly killed had very bad injuries. By some miracle, all op the volunteers were ok, though very shooken up from what had happened and seeing all the carnage. Because they came into contact with so much blood, they all have to take the emergency anti-HIV drugs that make you really sick.<br />Death in Africa is a funny thing. It happens so much and can happen so quickly that people don't view even awful incidents like this as much of a tragedy. To them, it is all "God's will". You do become a bit desensitized from it; even I have gotten used to seeing dead bodies on the roadside after an accident. And, as morbid as this may sound, I have never been so aware of my own mortality as I am here. In America, we feel so far removed from deaths, especially tragic ones, but here, I am forced to think about it and pray silently every time I get onto a moto or into a taxi. Death really is just a part of life here. I don't mean to be morbid or depressing, it's just something to think about, and unfortunately something I'm forced to think about a lot here.<br />Tomorrow I will head to Dobgo for a cooking session with a few friends and to take some things from Catherine's house. I'll be back down in Cotonou a week from tomorrow for a Camp GLOW meeting (keep those donations coming!) and that breakfast with members of the State Department. Stay warm!Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-35597046568889480412010-01-17T03:32:00.003-05:002010-01-17T04:00:06.312-05:00Sad dayCatherine is leaving today; I came down to Cotonou for the weekend to spend some time with her and say goodbye. She seems to be in a really good place, though, and ready to go. I'm happy for her! Soon she will be in the good ol' USofA, enjoying all of the amenities there, while I still have seven months of sweating and intestinal parasites ahead of me.<br />The kittens are fine; they are incessantly curious now and since they can walk more or less normally, are running all around the house and I always have to be careful not to step on them! The vet came last week to give Belle and Baby their annual rabies shots, and also gave the kittens some deworming stuff. He seemed to think they were perfectly healthy. Still can't tell the gender of the cats. I will be giving the kittens away in the first part of February, one to another volunteer and one to a fellow English teacher at my school. I didn't have many pictures of them from this week- the camera just doesn't capture how cute they are! Hopefully next time I'll have some pictures to post.<br />School went pretty well this week. Exams start a week form tomorrow, so I had to submit my exams this past week. I have finally figured out why one of my quatrieme classes seem to get the lessons better than my other one: the other one has English class after three hours of exhausting gym class baking in the African sun and heat. Gym class here is nothing like what we have in America: the kids are FILTHY afterwards because they literally roll around in the dirt, do tons of tumbling and gymnastics. It's amazing how athletic and strong they are. They get so dirty that they even have burrs in their hair when they are finished! And it's not like they can take a shower afterwards like you can in the US. The two hours of English are hard for me, too- the kids stink!<br />Now that it's the new year, it's time for me to start really working on Camp GLOW. We're about to book the venue, and soon we will start contacting guest speakers, chauffers, etc. I've just checked the Peace Corps' website, we've raised about $1400 out of $6000 so far, so please tell people you know to think about donating!<br />Once again, I can't believe how fast time is moving. Only one semester left of school, then Camp GLOW, then I'm done! I still don't know when I'll be coming home. Depending on if we get early leave dates or not, I could be home as early as late July, or as late as late September. I'm hoping for sometime in August- I would really like to make it home for the first football game! Plus, once all of my work is finished by early July, I'm gonna be bored out of my mind and chomping at the bit to go home. I won't know an exact date until the end of May.<br />This past week I was informed that I was selected to particiate in a breakfast at the ambassador's house with some government members, though I don't have too much information on that yet. Pretty cool, though!<br />I came down to Cotonou on Friday morning, and have just been hanging out with Catherine and relaxing. The first night we made homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese and watched some old movies. Unfortunately, yesterday I felt AWFUL the entire day- mild fever, aches, chills, and horrible stomach cramps, so I stayed in bed most of the day. Knock on wood, but I'm feeling mostly better this morning. We'll say goodbye to Catherine and leave Cotonou in a few hours. I'm hoping that I stay well this week, my kids need to have class this last week before final exams! I really want them to do well.Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-42739967600489365182010-01-06T18:42:00.010-05:002010-01-07T04:46:46.250-05:00Guess who's back down in Cotonou?<A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUPbQekjjgsDOOi1vl0QbzJoJpO_NF8z_07f4fip7U3t3w0oVC-TCpgWIv04Zzu0dJa71CGmJkcz2xlCcfJbwXAelt8j-J9RHnMpWIMgC_yIeXWv7-Wc-NCl2YBisvtQqfhYQL_u6H_QR7/s1600-h/100E0678.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423784623294401538 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUPbQekjjgsDOOi1vl0QbzJoJpO_NF8z_07f4fip7U3t3w0oVC-TCpgWIv04Zzu0dJa71CGmJkcz2xlCcfJbwXAelt8j-J9RHnMpWIMgC_yIeXWv7-Wc-NCl2YBisvtQqfhYQL_u6H_QR7/s200/100E0678.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4aJqetfrlAYuW2vSs6BCL2lGG2qdiOSsP1JrZ6Ivlt_Z88zcwElFFaMbC6aEpSjFbqos1O90yGSFhQENTxai0_l-GtcLqjZheZ0TsZjYuIqGRyScoIcSBTFHR6LbnSmZ8HmHXzK-I4n4f/s1600-h/100E0663.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423784618484955746 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4aJqetfrlAYuW2vSs6BCL2lGG2qdiOSsP1JrZ6Ivlt_Z88zcwElFFaMbC6aEpSjFbqos1O90yGSFhQENTxai0_l-GtcLqjZheZ0TsZjYuIqGRyScoIcSBTFHR6LbnSmZ8HmHXzK-I4n4f/s200/100E0663.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2iF8n7pvankm6Et11_O5nt5u3RVpTOFMkfNXuikc6_OyqlfrY4WVpID4B8jRHua1g33IG_nXneciXlZeeSXiFVJektQqL18RTlwUeeEm5Wgj-6MRKDH40Gsl31NCIwF7NZc-zAg8qVqc/s1600-h/100E0662.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423784029912771778 style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 148px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2iF8n7pvankm6Et11_O5nt5u3RVpTOFMkfNXuikc6_OyqlfrY4WVpID4B8jRHua1g33IG_nXneciXlZeeSXiFVJektQqL18RTlwUeeEm5Wgj-6MRKDH40Gsl31NCIwF7NZc-zAg8qVqc/s200/100E0662.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLX8A6cMQDfP8A92P_rm8AMg0GK9kG_McHsO8X-lbQnyP2zbotMIULJY9s4Moi4roIEI5ajzokef232CrBuMj7e3jqPibDdWAdIOJkTNViJZB6iiFfsXx8YS_hGFhZ7PHAUKAeI29SBiZJ/s1600-h/100_0689.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423784026301939522 style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLX8A6cMQDfP8A92P_rm8AMg0GK9kG_McHsO8X-lbQnyP2zbotMIULJY9s4Moi4roIEI5ajzokef232CrBuMj7e3jqPibDdWAdIOJkTNViJZB6iiFfsXx8YS_hGFhZ7PHAUKAeI29SBiZJ/s200/100_0689.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMiSvTfh46VfiLyn6o-ZNI598ggLU3xA2PG1A_5mFh_rbpRvkqB4Vhhk8Vw8tSyetRheqPN944d-IXwOzmVBCbMPWguyz2yhlHDUqm8QR54uxP8_3Dvmxn5iDci6MX9HR6X-e3qc9XlUqf/s1600-h/100_0687.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423784022203907170 style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMiSvTfh46VfiLyn6o-ZNI598ggLU3xA2PG1A_5mFh_rbpRvkqB4Vhhk8Vw8tSyetRheqPN944d-IXwOzmVBCbMPWguyz2yhlHDUqm8QR54uxP8_3Dvmxn5iDci6MX9HR6X-e3qc9XlUqf/s200/100_0687.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfEuFjVbf9mWhhEBieNUz7fr39WIHvIV7pgPDNxkpemN-xOV5V8z2-Lbfqlz4wrDopArLW6AkoPIqNCw-TCk3qWrHRWXd3bhROlwc_rI-5OEGrrpH2gspvJ-fGcvqk3IK3667QQkYgoxXb/s1600-h/100_0683.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423784009810664354 style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfEuFjVbf9mWhhEBieNUz7fr39WIHvIV7pgPDNxkpemN-xOV5V8z2-Lbfqlz4wrDopArLW6AkoPIqNCw-TCk3qWrHRWXd3bhROlwc_rI-5OEGrrpH2gspvJ-fGcvqk3IK3667QQkYgoxXb/s200/100_0683.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7lBNPcyV735W_p8yC2bgJSll2AGuFJ8u32lOMldK1P9e-bz2zDdbGeSv_8eMH_BpaJ5G8wJQ_EC64bAcrSDCCvTAacxyqw_wwFe5s6PWYQnfOJ8u1zFN1_8uYv5IDWANJAv9mRBSpMbQ/s1600-h/100_0680.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423784007682642386 style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7lBNPcyV735W_p8yC2bgJSll2AGuFJ8u32lOMldK1P9e-bz2zDdbGeSv_8eMH_BpaJ5G8wJQ_EC64bAcrSDCCvTAacxyqw_wwFe5s6PWYQnfOJ8u1zFN1_8uYv5IDWANJAv9mRBSpMbQ/s200/100_0680.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcW3oyijH_b-LEDjjGEu0Ds94O7AI8XSRsjvvTeroSraIACwkr8gFSRfcfQ2MCt8qSYc9qqaok8RDvcqaacYo8f6WzYopl4RjzKM-QF46GdbQZJAbbtH2zFQ5NfOwhkv_CJki_gUYz9TzA/s1600-h/100_0679.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423782850134698034 style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcW3oyijH_b-LEDjjGEu0Ds94O7AI8XSRsjvvTeroSraIACwkr8gFSRfcfQ2MCt8qSYc9qqaok8RDvcqaacYo8f6WzYopl4RjzKM-QF46GdbQZJAbbtH2zFQ5NfOwhkv_CJki_gUYz9TzA/s200/100_0679.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMskhHBTZQyaBy4nG2CJqX99mNvYWHNQVrT-fyQ45g_1kPwGqR1VDm7wwVtGFABY7ctZayFJLh4FnkGDCBCa-jLPci92LqOgo_m6aQlAQqhoKDejohjOzPebJErbNwWz6tD99hIgIlNmW3/s1600-h/100_0671.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423782844951492818 style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMskhHBTZQyaBy4nG2CJqX99mNvYWHNQVrT-fyQ45g_1kPwGqR1VDm7wwVtGFABY7ctZayFJLh4FnkGDCBCa-jLPci92LqOgo_m6aQlAQqhoKDejohjOzPebJErbNwWz6tD99hIgIlNmW3/s200/100_0671.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3XG40rbMXhA2ztl62vx9_erlI5lGHrifgtXeveyQ0cOKnU-Lucxv35gC4A2iQrcxrdc4AtQ30v9M2Un7Ih37reDZ25LW96dohloy1TxWc9unJTN6Rr31ZeBL4cokxNmEDeYOFAWCwW3r/s1600-h/100_0661.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423782835751184130 style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3XG40rbMXhA2ztl62vx9_erlI5lGHrifgtXeveyQ0cOKnU-Lucxv35gC4A2iQrcxrdc4AtQ30v9M2Un7Ih37reDZ25LW96dohloy1TxWc9unJTN6Rr31ZeBL4cokxNmEDeYOFAWCwW3r/s200/100_0661.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifuqKj2HK4yPJM9i0n4HuSz5q7AYrPDaptMg-TE2-MUHHVCk47OdrFVVf8hyYO8A-riKirMGaRv7xnJ1_WkD8rrtl_TUbW88MBxDKuFjTsunBMG3omRFRXlXbFTZI8jBKi1m1tY3zySPGo/s1600-h/100_0660.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423782835052511058 style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifuqKj2HK4yPJM9i0n4HuSz5q7AYrPDaptMg-TE2-MUHHVCk47OdrFVVf8hyYO8A-riKirMGaRv7xnJ1_WkD8rrtl_TUbW88MBxDKuFjTsunBMG3omRFRXlXbFTZI8jBKi1m1tY3zySPGo/s200/100_0660.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9JNQ7W6O6hZF-iTk24uVAmIRCLuHq_0to9Dn5JRs1vuILW9YcFOL8G6xzYdq0I7VsFfBDFu2Wlp_QUHUWj3tQrDk5vHXNPWs-uBA53k2-v2f0QCXmCwYQ660zVcYCbXpSwNVI-d51mw62/s1600-h/100_0654.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423782827048282834 style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9JNQ7W6O6hZF-iTk24uVAmIRCLuHq_0to9Dn5JRs1vuILW9YcFOL8G6xzYdq0I7VsFfBDFu2Wlp_QUHUWj3tQrDk5vHXNPWs-uBA53k2-v2f0QCXmCwYQ660zVcYCbXpSwNVI-d51mw62/s200/100_0654.JPG" border=0></A> Yeah. This lucky girl thought she broke her thumb, so she had to come down here for the THIRD time in two weeks to get x-rays. Monday night I accidentally slammed the heavy metal lid of my lock box down onto my thumb. It immediately became swollen and hurt too much to move, so I called the doctors the next day and they told me to come down to get the x-rays. The clinic where I went to get the x-rays was pretty archaic; the x-ray machine was enormous and looked like some sort of crazy machine from the 1950s. Turns out that nothing was broken or fractured, I just have some crazy bruising going on and it still hurts pretty bad to move it. So obviously, nothing much happened since the last time I posted. Got back to school on Monday morning only to have the director tell us that all the teachers had a week-long training in a city south of here that started in one hour, so everyone left. (I didn't have to go, thank goodness) So all the kids showed up to class on their first day after break for nothing! I still held class, which I'm sure my students were just thrilled about. Though when I showed up on Tuesday morning to try and teach before I headed down for my x-rays, only about 10% of my students were there, so I cancelled class. The kittens are still doing fine. In fact, Belle has decided that it is time for them to become more mobile, so she drags them all around the house, much to their dismay :) She as started dragging them up into my bed at night, and tucking them right up under my chin to sleep!! It is so precious. I am hoping that when I go back tomorrow, they will have started walking normally and exploring on their own a bit more. So, enjoy the pictures and video of them! And quick explanation of other pictures: the jungle-like ones are the view from my walk through the brush every evening when the sun is setting, and the funny one of Michelle and I is a typical Beninese portrait! We realized that we were wearing the same outfit today (meme tissue shirt and jeans), so we did the typical marriage photo where sunglasses are hip and no one is smiling or looking at the camera. It looks ridiculous, but I'm telling you, this is pretty spot on. Cotonou has been fine, lazed around watching the Tudors all day today, and went out for Indian food. Unfortunately, Catherine has decided to leave Benin, so I will be back down here in just over a week to see her off. It's going to be really hard for me when she leaves. Not only was she one of my best friends here, but we were supposed to do our COS trip to Morocco together on the way home this summer. I totally support her decision, though, and think it was the right thing for her to do. I'll sure miss her, though :(<br /><OBJECT class=BLOG_video_class id=BLOG_video-fb3026394f64c130 height=266 width=320 contentId="fb3026394f64c130"></OBJECT>Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-6935036149648482972009-12-30T10:39:00.007-05:002009-12-30T11:40:25.335-05:002010?!<A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpMd1644_iUOCDo6Bbun_745VVOGaJzewUtkQw0eRJXAmkKG4Ghe6_cQzj3gJlfK8HlAB3B5DMfEVlPOx4Nr140Ckp57E62I24IqtalzIpF5lMz9wjCi2E-iGJMiJKcDQQH8DlwpeZR_Ov/s1600-h/100E0641.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421067305312766466 style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpMd1644_iUOCDo6Bbun_745VVOGaJzewUtkQw0eRJXAmkKG4Ghe6_cQzj3gJlfK8HlAB3B5DMfEVlPOx4Nr140Ckp57E62I24IqtalzIpF5lMz9wjCi2E-iGJMiJKcDQQH8DlwpeZR_Ov/s200/100E0641.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4tlPDLDyLwrrFPcenqehIMnFsTs872JU-1jxqLpBj3ZgYfox4A_5L3Y_mkj9tQ5aQBGlBQUF-3CvQgyymFsLgJzlcr3A1RaCvVOiX53L6iAI_SHownFyTA-BGsfj3Gg-wsDSsKwQTIgl/s1600-h/100E0612.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421067295000942914 style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 148px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4tlPDLDyLwrrFPcenqehIMnFsTs872JU-1jxqLpBj3ZgYfox4A_5L3Y_mkj9tQ5aQBGlBQUF-3CvQgyymFsLgJzlcr3A1RaCvVOiX53L6iAI_SHownFyTA-BGsfj3Gg-wsDSsKwQTIgl/s200/100E0612.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRlqpSV8l5sTb0mk57lIVIxbIMuUMtaIjzAQsHojQTaKabGBmTzE-SQcvttzX35ia60xLos_OQuMIfIVdV-Y1Quf-Nxh7JsustYGP8hWWI1vVvNju3Bpj8Bs9YNZOe0_QQjGvFMlZqkl32/s1600-h/100E0611.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421067294940508050 style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRlqpSV8l5sTb0mk57lIVIxbIMuUMtaIjzAQsHojQTaKabGBmTzE-SQcvttzX35ia60xLos_OQuMIfIVdV-Y1Quf-Nxh7JsustYGP8hWWI1vVvNju3Bpj8Bs9YNZOe0_QQjGvFMlZqkl32/s200/100E0611.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52EGhRgfGySku48c63N2s2P_024-ljCu8PqOhXsuLVAXSJBfQ5L0n-WaVRTDt8uKoFC99zjW-lUyujt0p21ioa3TJ78paC3euxsPTU7hU6AQnkmlvq8Qwx1y4IHwjT91iWEVnuZJ2iziC/s1600-h/100E0603.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421067283009435106 style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 151px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52EGhRgfGySku48c63N2s2P_024-ljCu8PqOhXsuLVAXSJBfQ5L0n-WaVRTDt8uKoFC99zjW-lUyujt0p21ioa3TJ78paC3euxsPTU7hU6AQnkmlvq8Qwx1y4IHwjT91iWEVnuZJ2iziC/s200/100E0603.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpslQP5UqjeVWRqpJAU9BEIKd2mbdiCDy15eaKnUdQ2vTgjh5yJCavCF-X6vjlRi6PCTR5Ogj_FYPnyBCoC3KuKsGsTY_sYHJhMjwbBJAnwwNvRS7jTtLyoBxKlDwhsNzfCUDXxA87UYL/s1600-h/100E0602.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421067278905496466 style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpslQP5UqjeVWRqpJAU9BEIKd2mbdiCDy15eaKnUdQ2vTgjh5yJCavCF-X6vjlRi6PCTR5Ogj_FYPnyBCoC3KuKsGsTY_sYHJhMjwbBJAnwwNvRS7jTtLyoBxKlDwhsNzfCUDXxA87UYL/s200/100E0602.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUBf_mzgoRFfT6D5b8kMNGV1nsIhv85dUDaOHe241pg72tuWWPARVVZ-OADlxAOsL4FWXwpQ5okDRQscSzAaTUDoMVzKlMSVDArEXBFW6qJcDsfyhaqcEmDuP_kUG-tL9D_8ZxIhRUUp5/s1600-h/100E0601.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421066392009102370 style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUBf_mzgoRFfT6D5b8kMNGV1nsIhv85dUDaOHe241pg72tuWWPARVVZ-OADlxAOsL4FWXwpQ5okDRQscSzAaTUDoMVzKlMSVDArEXBFW6qJcDsfyhaqcEmDuP_kUG-tL9D_8ZxIhRUUp5/s200/100E0601.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSigp2ESAZh-GiYPtFLN4LzHtApPWqqabptKCg-uhi4k_RA6naaj-JVW_nDK5DF_lNx3JWBTj42WxGqU-93_ms6BxlvA6ASEVn77lyApGnnj3hyphenhyphen5OCKL7UecOkW13mpCVcjzYztCbMmezO/s1600-h/100E0600.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421066389563451826 style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSigp2ESAZh-GiYPtFLN4LzHtApPWqqabptKCg-uhi4k_RA6naaj-JVW_nDK5DF_lNx3JWBTj42WxGqU-93_ms6BxlvA6ASEVn77lyApGnnj3hyphenhyphen5OCKL7UecOkW13mpCVcjzYztCbMmezO/s200/100E0600.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJE-1JWKYcAYTjJ08p-mKlZSpJ_WU_KH_mnrYDRpwkoEt2_qWZBOpLpvGPvHN4T9wIlMpkNhdCIbfmIjYuINJTzXMYAYUIo97dqKbzKFhlgtse8B8DTG3CNS412KxcJTuT2m_1nNWAqglk/s1600-h/100E0599.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421066384725963090 style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJE-1JWKYcAYTjJ08p-mKlZSpJ_WU_KH_mnrYDRpwkoEt2_qWZBOpLpvGPvHN4T9wIlMpkNhdCIbfmIjYuINJTzXMYAYUIo97dqKbzKFhlgtse8B8DTG3CNS412KxcJTuT2m_1nNWAqglk/s200/100E0599.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqn4P_WCmaQmPIJT47T0Ohj8CTE4aI0G_l_xIK2QryEPD-Ta_0eYhtPYEwzsSa5Ybgsa5lcgQPU1G0USWjo7_aONTgMaavh3S8OPIJLQ1QwVRViH1w3BrtXwoOaMpTB0RKNiHxIPd6tChf/s1600-h/100_0646.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421066377074889538 style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqn4P_WCmaQmPIJT47T0Ohj8CTE4aI0G_l_xIK2QryEPD-Ta_0eYhtPYEwzsSa5Ybgsa5lcgQPU1G0USWjo7_aONTgMaavh3S8OPIJLQ1QwVRViH1w3BrtXwoOaMpTB0RKNiHxIPd6tChf/s200/100_0646.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6HybM3Yz8G6ucoYTVcw8v3aNfUotTkqFNMJI41C9lkXNROWGeQWMxwo5pAU4kML5X1NEZRNLYLoUhVw_X4DVc1eANEJ6Vqb95eJteZluJbfTr9m79hd51eHWeSHQqKIIB-nb_EOw32B4R/s1600-h/100_0644.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421066369584797730 style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6HybM3Yz8G6ucoYTVcw8v3aNfUotTkqFNMJI41C9lkXNROWGeQWMxwo5pAU4kML5X1NEZRNLYLoUhVw_X4DVc1eANEJ6Vqb95eJteZluJbfTr9m79hd51eHWeSHQqKIIB-nb_EOw32B4R/s200/100_0644.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgld8VFC6D1QSvMWwziykaJybPH57UFO8YXLtB4LWNcUc-P2Q0G34ys8AoM-RvmMTyBe4OEFwsa12cYqZFlaA-8tpCCvXvAfblgLaFXIoGHQeynYyDDnT_nj3H8iW033SY44bCZcjMCOmIj/s1600-h/100_0636.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421065252009236210 style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgld8VFC6D1QSvMWwziykaJybPH57UFO8YXLtB4LWNcUc-P2Q0G34ys8AoM-RvmMTyBe4OEFwsa12cYqZFlaA-8tpCCvXvAfblgLaFXIoGHQeynYyDDnT_nj3H8iW033SY44bCZcjMCOmIj/s200/100_0636.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqX-LoykHsFno84AchA7sQ9C22jQEBvWdhu8z_4C9wQwxPx61gaXDTtQU6pbe3rL9kBDoi4v57tU00Wb7OBRTZyfVEwwWXkwnk7nHKNyYk0soHscxvWIFfJYTlI-k2HluFNX4a58OT1dmf/s1600-h/100_0630.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421065245220272482 style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqX-LoykHsFno84AchA7sQ9C22jQEBvWdhu8z_4C9wQwxPx61gaXDTtQU6pbe3rL9kBDoi4v57tU00Wb7OBRTZyfVEwwWXkwnk7nHKNyYk0soHscxvWIFfJYTlI-k2HluFNX4a58OT1dmf/s200/100_0630.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCBHIubZOrWUnxmx-Y1L0TDc09BtHjW0woTJa4rFZPyWk5Y5s6vk3by1cpwmMhez_DMx-E3zY51h0OXmT6VvRJKmhUYAbgOeJ_mXvrg6tLD-yUsWC7rrfdvGGWBZ7ANxAVpSt9I_vCbne/s1600-h/100_0628.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421065242493468386 style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCBHIubZOrWUnxmx-Y1L0TDc09BtHjW0woTJa4rFZPyWk5Y5s6vk3by1cpwmMhez_DMx-E3zY51h0OXmT6VvRJKmhUYAbgOeJ_mXvrg6tLD-yUsWC7rrfdvGGWBZ7ANxAVpSt9I_vCbne/s200/100_0628.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbM7J0Xv-CvGKhI2MBaTltt-6JnvEFWXPzc5SJ-Sd2KP3R74lGolfXIv7dulfp3HOQfXecY0UB8mIbbtQwUS7pmCp3r9_a2PsrX605QZYrwujAm1nr44SwN0iC_CxJrfKMvboyvvhiejS/s1600-h/100_0618.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421065236651263522 style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbM7J0Xv-CvGKhI2MBaTltt-6JnvEFWXPzc5SJ-Sd2KP3R74lGolfXIv7dulfp3HOQfXecY0UB8mIbbtQwUS7pmCp3r9_a2PsrX605QZYrwujAm1nr44SwN0iC_CxJrfKMvboyvvhiejS/s200/100_0618.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgEwKvSHHiZkHXKA3Z7DlYzsvrPNfjjcqNJGxJ5KeZzfsxmRZxu6hBQRooXsdfarCUxuU37IhqGLGLbdmNdxTPERKEt04QUmqa0OKo5aNoOMBuPHpV8kAxd93rINL2McxPqkFV6XZ5qeF/s1600-h/100_0615.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421065228400554946 style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgEwKvSHHiZkHXKA3Z7DlYzsvrPNfjjcqNJGxJ5KeZzfsxmRZxu6hBQRooXsdfarCUxuU37IhqGLGLbdmNdxTPERKEt04QUmqa0OKo5aNoOMBuPHpV8kAxd93rINL2McxPqkFV6XZ5qeF/s200/100_0615.JPG" border=0></A> Hard to believe that it's only two days away. 2010=the last year of my Peace Corps service=I'm coming home in less than eight months... wow. Nothing too sensational has happened since my last blog post, but I had to put another one up so you could see pictures of my kittens!!! They were alive and well when I got back to post, although I didn't discover this until a while after I had gotten home and searched for them to no avail and had started bawling! I eventually heard little sniffing sounds and found the kittens behind the books on my shelves. They looked healthy and happy; I think Belle had just hidden them there when she heard the door open. Belle has been really good about feeding them and cleaning them and laying with them; they are SO darling- enjoy the pictures and video! I left them in my house this time around for a few days, but I'm much less nervous about it now :) The rest of Christmas Eve and Christmas day were a lot of fun. On the 24th we went to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner and made gingerbread cookies, and spent most of Christmas day cooking an elaborate dinner that was basically Thanksgiving with steak instead of turkey- can't go wrong there! We lit Christmas-y candles, turned up the AC so we could wear sweatshirts and played Christmas music all day. I also got to talk to most of my family back home, which was really nice. All in all, a really nice time! Back at post, I mostly relaxed and spent time with the kittens. John Mark came to Lobogo last night and we just hung out and walked around the market. We headed down to Cotonou this afternoon, and we're gonna treat ourselves to some nice meals and possibly a swimming pool to celebrate New Years :) Saturday, it's back to post and back to the grind of teaching! Thanks for all of the help for Camp GLOW so far: we have raised almost $900. But, over $5000 to go, so please let your friends and coworkers know! Happy New Year!<br /><OBJECT class=BLOG_video_class id=BLOG_video-d30ce44bb85ec672 height=266 width=320 contentId="d30ce44bb85ec672"></OBJECT>Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-55358220540965027882009-12-24T06:13:00.008-05:002009-12-24T08:14:31.624-05:00Merry Christmas, round 2!<A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqgKSuZoXtJc-wkZuGxpnPqq2Ina5XintXZVQCM774zM2lBz_3XfoydlT394i6S2r3aQLUm_5s_JbBMvfJv0hfqQm9VSEnjWBkIqeN0r7BotKC7X_lY_RFmaP9yQYK6BUT2tiXnBC1lRDH/s1600-h/100_0580.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418777855627419554 style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqgKSuZoXtJc-wkZuGxpnPqq2Ina5XintXZVQCM774zM2lBz_3XfoydlT394i6S2r3aQLUm_5s_JbBMvfJv0hfqQm9VSEnjWBkIqeN0r7BotKC7X_lY_RFmaP9yQYK6BUT2tiXnBC1lRDH/s200/100_0580.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xrsq5d0Ta-NFs0C5m6zU6fQDee23LfLItL38TqPf1LG9WK6DgyxSmZbmFlqN1xqy08rHWdj4wQGr_OBkpsQ2_zKp4zUE3tCMeftF6zzXASUwYUla2jSnpSijDbTdpg72-_MEPAuBeVys/s1600-h/100_0578.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418777846386915810 style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xrsq5d0Ta-NFs0C5m6zU6fQDee23LfLItL38TqPf1LG9WK6DgyxSmZbmFlqN1xqy08rHWdj4wQGr_OBkpsQ2_zKp4zUE3tCMeftF6zzXASUwYUla2jSnpSijDbTdpg72-_MEPAuBeVys/s200/100_0578.JPG" border=0></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLJZPmto0wQoBpD_xWdYxSwUbFeVPl6z_PHVlCP_F6OUrx2EDh3-FWD7ovYsaAbFXss6eyQSm8fvSM51Ge0RhCIT3sMqsLFzj1x-TbBtXgvaUQiu3Wr3hEB7k6Ja0_tQDkuQ748l0ZrgTX/s1600-h/100_0572.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418777839463136146 style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLJZPmto0wQoBpD_xWdYxSwUbFeVPl6z_PHVlCP_F6OUrx2EDh3-FWD7ovYsaAbFXss6eyQSm8fvSM51Ge0RhCIT3sMqsLFzj1x-TbBtXgvaUQiu3Wr3hEB7k6Ja0_tQDkuQ748l0ZrgTX/s200/100_0572.JPG" border=0></A> I hope everyone is getting all set for the big day tomorrow! It is so hard to believe that this is my second Christmas away from home. The Christmas season this time around feels different than it did last year. I think that last December, I was so sad to be away from home for it that I tried my best to ignore the fact that it was Christmastime. I would say that last December, I was pretty down overall for the whole month. This year, I had a pretty good month of December, and enjoyed decorating with friends and listening to Christmas music. I noticed the subtle Christms decorations around Cotonou and even a few in my village. It has been an enjoyable month, save for the one night after a bad day at school, when I was sweating in my house and listening to Christmas music, and one song just triggered something in my brain and I got overwhelmingly homesick and called my parents, asking for them to share some Christmas memories with me. I have just returned from Cotonou after spending solid week and a half at post, and it was really nice. Honestly, I don't think I have spent a chunk of time that long at post since July, so I really enjoyed all of the reading, relaxing, playing with my cats, and catching up with my friends in village. School finished up well. I was pretty happy with the grades that all of my students got on their midterms (MUCH better than last year), although my quatrieme classes bombed their make-up quizzes which they begged me for after failing their last ones. I even told tham EXACTLY what would be on it, so it was evident that they simply didn't study. It is really frustrating the way students view English as opposed to their other classes. The last day of school was interesting: first, I taught my students how to sing "We Wish you a Merry Christmas"- enjoy the videos! Second, my director scolded the teachers after having many parents complain to him about male professors sleeping with/trying to sleep with female students. Really, really, sad... though I'm glad the director had the courage to say something. I also helped another English teacher at my school write some of the national exam students must pass to go on to University and recieve their high school degree, so that was pretty neat. For as comfortable as he is in English, it was filled with errors and odd sentences such as "Ms. Yomba is jealous of her sister's dense breasts." What does that even mean?! Last bit of exciting news from Lobogo- Belle had her kittens!!! She had two, a grey one and a white one with brown spots. She even did it in the lined box I had set up for her! Awful timing though... she had them while I was at school, the day I was leaving to come down to Cotonou. So, I saw them for a grand total of about ten minutes. They are literally the size of mice right now, can't even walk or open their eyes. I think that Belle is a little lost as to how to deal with them. She ran up to me when I called her name, and the poor things were still clamped on mer nipples, dangling from her belly! I put up a few pictures of Belle from a few days before she had the kittens, to show you her cute bloated belly :) However, here is why I'm incredibly nervous: Catherine's cat had kittens about a week before mine, while Catherine was in Cotonou for a few days. Several people went into her house while she was gone to feed Scout, and apparently they all saw her with the kittens. Well, when Catherine returned home, all of the kittens were gone, and Scout was clinging to Catherine, obviously not taking care of them... she had eaten them! Apparently, this is a quasi-common phenomenon when cats have their first litter, especially if they are feeling stressed and/or if humans have touched the kittens or gotten too close. Needless to say, I am really nervous about this, so I kept my distance from all three of them, though Belle seemed to trust me enough to let me get close. After much debate, I decided to leave Baby, Belle, and the kittens in my house for these four days, with tons of food and water. I know it will probably be stressful to Belle not to be able to go out, but hopefully she will want to stay close to the kittens. I figured that was safer than trying to move them outside. So, keep your fingers crossed that Saturday when I return to my post, there will still be two little kitties there! I will take pictures of them soon, once again didn't want to stress Belle out. It will be really hard for me if there aren't, especially since I got to see them when they were first born. So, I guess you're wondering why I'm not off in Mali right now, far away from any computer... Well, about a week before we were supposed to leave, Catherine was hit by a moto in Cotonou. For the THIRD time. That girl has the worst luck in the world. She was about to get on a zemidjan, when another moto came from behind, not paying attention, and ran over her foot, sending her sprawling accross the busy road. Luckily nothing was broken, but she did have awful cuts and bruising, resulting in stitches. The doctor told her that she could not travel, and she's not too keen on travel right now after all of the bad luck she has had on Beninese roads. So, we had to scramble and change all of our Christmas plans. Our Mali group ended up splitting up between some other groups that were going, and I decided to cancel my trip altogether and spend Christmas with Catherine here in Cotonou. She is one of my best friends in country and I couldn't let her spend it alone. We have managed to make it pretty jazzy, though- brie and apples and sausage and wine last night, listening to Christmas music and watching movies, decorating gingerbread cookies, a nice Christmas dinner tomorrow... all in all a nice and laid-back (and air-conditioned!) Christmas. Not to mention I am saving a ton of money by not going to Mali! One last thing: my Camp GLOW proposal is finally on the Peace Corps website-hooray! Please see my earlier blog post on how to donate (really easy, just go to www..peacecorps.gov and click on "Donations", then search my name). It is a great Christmas present to give to someone! The proposal has only been up for six days, and we have already raised about $500! I will head back to post the day after Christmas, and then come back down to Cotonou for a few days around New Years. I was planning on staying the whole time, but I want to go back and check on my kitties! I hope you all have a lovely Christmas, and I can't tell you how happy I am that I will be there for it next year. My group starts leaving Benin in just over 7 months, unbelieveable.<br /><OBJECT class=BLOG_video_class id=BLOG_video-59fbfc49c23e3d6f height=266 width=320 contentId="59fbfc49c23e3d6f"></OBJECT><br /><OBJECT class=BLOG_video_class id=BLOG_video-ffc2dd5190026460 height=266 width=320 contentId="ffc2dd5190026460"></OBJECT>Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-1806759144552962692009-12-10T16:28:00.002-05:002009-12-10T16:36:17.630-05:00Chaleur and spiders and PIRATES, oh my!So this happened a while ago, but I forgot to write about it until now. A few weeks ago, PIRATES attacked a ship 18 miles off the coast of Benin! Believed to be Nigerians, they boarded a Ukranian oil tanker and killed one crew member before- get ready- the BENINESE NAVY stepped in to save the day. The Beninese Navy?! I'm picturing a bunch of old men in fishing boats here. (No, in all fairness I do know that Benin has a Navy, it's just that you never hear of them being needed for anything.) Apparently pirate attacks off the coast of West Africa have grown much more frequent over the past year or two, and what makes these attacks different from the ones in Somalia is their close proximity to shore. Crazy! I still can't get over the fact that Benin was mentioned on the BBC!<br />I have been stuck in Cotonou for the past four days, mostly just lazing around. I did have two meetings with the president of the Mamans Modeles who are sponsoring Camp GLOW this year, both were at the restaurant that she owns and manages! Pretty cool to see a Beninese woman doing stuff like that. I just checked and the PCPP is still not up on the website, but I will be surprised if it is not up by the end of the work week. Hope you're all enduring the bitter cold over there; I am, I kid you not, sweating profusely as I type this.Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-67456697630198443232009-12-07T15:02:00.003-05:002009-12-07T15:11:09.382-05:00How to Donate to Camp GLOW!***CAVEAT***: you can't donate yet! It should be ready and on the website within the week, so keep checking back!<br />Simply go to the Peace Corps website (www.peacecorps.gov) and click on "Donations". That will lead you to a page where you can seach projects by volunteer last name. Or, you can click on "View all Volunteer Projects" on the right side of the page, and that will lead you to a place where you can search for PCPPs by country of service or home state. The page will show how much money is still needed for the project.<br />So, keep checking! It should be up soon! I will still send out an email the next time I have internet access and I know for sure that it is posted. Happy donating!Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2455366910753549468.post-73200280943855123132009-12-07T12:12:00.005-05:002009-12-07T14:27:18.481-05:00PCPP is approved!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqlErIj97LFC0eoCpA6LbSq9B7riTi5IrNsoouDmxgtQxdA9Bz6C1Lj6lbE_Ilu1uOlCG0KT0nABch1v80h9Mq15aI-FlpMCuUhzK_r45V57429O3fOHgGDj_E_4tS3BWTo9dAJS263nix/s1600-h/100_0570.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqlErIj97LFC0eoCpA6LbSq9B7riTi5IrNsoouDmxgtQxdA9Bz6C1Lj6lbE_Ilu1uOlCG0KT0nABch1v80h9Mq15aI-FlpMCuUhzK_r45V57429O3fOHgGDj_E_4tS3BWTo9dAJS263nix/s200/100_0570.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412577650687307618" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTd2C33MS54U3DYwXAGrOO2dLfIlEA6fA0puHrZAI2Gm5VNfp-UXxZ2FaM_7htHoxxyxb1iDE0JvZZJmumuVRP0c_bfw9qKSudGTvJnFoOQYl7epxfS9cMVlNhD4tI17KYgiRKZ7Cwuq-1/s1600-h/100_0565.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTd2C33MS54U3DYwXAGrOO2dLfIlEA6fA0puHrZAI2Gm5VNfp-UXxZ2FaM_7htHoxxyxb1iDE0JvZZJmumuVRP0c_bfw9qKSudGTvJnFoOQYl7epxfS9cMVlNhD4tI17KYgiRKZ7Cwuq-1/s200/100_0565.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412577649087932338" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_FM3UF6fUs9ED64RPVZ9u9k4UjBMCQL0bb4Tfxui_zRYlnyK01telMMrtDloYkOykDlUhNvaASYYEEmYaK-1OhtAecY_ei7EequDxqb8w-zit-TDGXWSDWPYSun6p2uPt0gZstA4aRAF/s1600-h/100_0564.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_FM3UF6fUs9ED64RPVZ9u9k4UjBMCQL0bb4Tfxui_zRYlnyK01telMMrtDloYkOykDlUhNvaASYYEEmYaK-1OhtAecY_ei7EequDxqb8w-zit-TDGXWSDWPYSun6p2uPt0gZstA4aRAF/s200/100_0564.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412577639936438226" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQKRUaRIxNO1OBBskv_b3l5lb4tyQ1RSRq3rBXvn6DgKsTpksZm6DBql8aG0PKFRXOZEaStnw1OBJojN09QhpPpGUld5PV961PynaWs0cOx3x5pQPTl-XWwC1bf-8rDaAtmq5J09r4u5I/s1600-h/100_0562.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQKRUaRIxNO1OBBskv_b3l5lb4tyQ1RSRq3rBXvn6DgKsTpksZm6DBql8aG0PKFRXOZEaStnw1OBJojN09QhpPpGUld5PV961PynaWs0cOx3x5pQPTl-XWwC1bf-8rDaAtmq5J09r4u5I/s200/100_0562.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412577635563484402" /></a><br />That means that within a few days' time (hopefully), you will be able to donate to Camp GLOW! It was approved this afternoon by the director of Peace Corps Benin, and will be sent on to Washington DC tomorrow. I'm told that when it reaches PC in Washington, it gets online within a few days. I'm still not exactly sure of the precise process for donating, but I will let you know as soon as I do.<br />Once again, I am back in Cotonou... I am beginning to feel like I live here! I returned to my village last Tuesday night and taught class on Wednesday and Thursday. We reviewed for the midterms that are taking place this week, and it was a lot of fun, especially with my older classes! I am really enjoying working with them. We reviewed adjectives we had learned like "afraid", "dizzy", "sick", etc and it was so much fun- I acted each one out. For "afraid", I cowered behind a students and said that there was a lion on the other side of the door; for "dizzy" I spun around in about ten circles and then stumbled around the classroom. The kids loved it, and they were actors as well when they had to do doctor-patient dialogues. I really hope they do well on the exams! I wrote the exams for both sixieme and quatrieme, so that should give my students a better chance at succeeding.<br />Friday morning, I headed to Dogbo to celebrate Catherine's birthday. I zemmed straight there again, but this week we took a different path than normal. It was seriously like driving through the enchanted forest/the most stereotypical image of rural Africa that you could imagine: dense jungle complete with vines and monkeys, topless women and scantily clad men, the tiniest mud-and-thatch villages you can imagine. I honestly believe that 75% of them had never seen a white person before, so driving though that area caused a huge shit storm. We were stopped multiple times en route by villagers blocking the road with a log, demanding money to pass. Can you imagine someone doing that in America?! Crazy.<br />Getting to Catherine's house was really nice- it is so Christmas-y! She had tons of decorations out, candles burning, and Christmas music playing. (Later in the weekend, we even made a homemade wreath- check out the picture! Other pictures are of more Harmattan dust in the air in my village.) That night, her, Michelle, and I made mexican food and brownies for dinner, and watched the Muppet Christmas Carol! It was also fun seeing her cat which is just as, if not more pregnant than mine.<br />We got up early the next morning to head to a small village where we were participating in a youth-oriented panel discussion. Once we got out of the taxi, we had to zem to the village, and I must say that I have never had a scarier zem experience here in Benin. The road to the village was a narrow and crowded sand path with lots of twists and turns, and I would estimate that our zems were taking it at about sixty mph. Not only were there other zems on the path and women walking to the market, but the dust was kicking up in our faces so much that we could hardly see and inch in front of our faces. We were screaming at our drivers to slow down, and they completely ignored us. When we got to our destination and I told him how dangerous he was being, he only laughed. It was awful and we were all really shaken up. Travel during the holiday season is not great: prices go up, and many drivers have had too much to drink, even at 8am.<br />The forum was not particularly great. It consisted of a huge group of young adults asking the five of us volunteers questions about life in America, mostly relating to women's rights. I suppose we planted seeds in their heads about the way things could be, but it really seemed like us just telling them how much better America is than Benin and them not being able to do a thing about it. The room was also boiling hot and the forum lasted about three hours, so those factors didn't help, either. One cool part about the day, though, was we got to see a library in the village that is exclusively for girls. Apparently of the 360 or so girls who used the library last year, only three of them didn't pass on to the next grade level, which is astounding for this country. To top off our not-so-great day, Catherine was describing the brown widow spiders (like black widows, only deadlier) she sometimes gets in her back area, and when she showed me what their egg sacks look like, I discovered that I, too, have them at my house. Great. At least we made yummy pad thai for dinner...<br />The next morning we made bacon (sent from home) and cinnamon rolls and watched The Nightmare Before Christmas, so the day definitely started off on a better foot! I then came down to Cotonou and got some work done, which has been easy to do as I have been the ONLY volunteer here this whole time. This literally NEVER happens, so I have been trying to make the most of it! Today I finalized my PCPP and met with the president of the organization who is co-sponsoring Camp GLOW- the Reseau des Mamans Modeles (model mamas). They are an awesome organization of Beninese women who are lawyers, entrepreneurs, doctors, etc. and do activities such as "take your daughter to work day", so they should be perfect to help out with Camp GLOW! I met with the woman at the restaurant she owns, and she treated me to a nice dinner.<br />I guess the last thing I will talk about is our trip to Mali that is coming up in a few weeks. In the past year or so, several westerners have been captured and ransomed by terrorists in the Sahel (the southern part of the Sahara). About a week and a half ago, a Frenchman was captured outside of his hotel in northeastern Mali, and back in June, a British man was captured and murdered there. The recent kidnapping, combined with the termination of Peace Corps in Niger, have resurrected concerns about safety in the area. That all being said, the area where my group is traveling is not near to any of these places- Mali is an enormous country. After much discussion and a slight modification of our itinterary, I think that our trip will still be a go. We have a large group, we won't be traveling with much money, and are going with a guide who has worked with Peace Corps for many years, so we all feel pretty safe about it. I don't want this to freak you out, I just thought that I should let you all know what is going on.<br />I think that I am returning to my post tomorrow, but there is a slight chance that it will not be until Thursday or Friday. Hopefully, I can just stay there until the 23rd when the trip begins!Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042626477249837208noreply@blogger.com2