Oh. My. Gosh.

I don't even know where to begin. Just got back from the best vacation ever!! The rest of Christmas day was pretty relaxing, just went out to get some cheese and pounded yam and talked to my family on the phone.
Friday, our guide picked us up at 7am and we were on our way. It was SUCH a beautiful drive! There are mountains up here and the lanscape is very rocky and brown. It is extremely rural and the few villages we passed were very small (as in, five to ten mud huts with thatched roofs in a cluster at the foot of the mountain). We arrived at the park at about 10am.
The park is HUGE, so it took us over an hour to drive from the entrance to our hotal which was on the north end of the park, at the border of Burkina Faso. About 15 minutes into the drive, we rounded a bend and nearly ran into a huge elephant smack dab in the middle of the road. Welcome to the sarafi! We were literally about 15 feet from it, which was both amazing and terrifying. We then got to the hotel and had a few hours rest there.
The hotel was really cool. It was in the middle of nowhere, but had a nice open-air restaurant and bar. The rooms were good for being miles and miles from any kind of civilization. There were eight people in our group... and we all shared a room that had two twin beds. So, we pushed the beds together and slept four there, and another four on the floor. (Welcome to the Peace Corps) Most of the other guests at the hotel were white, but I think we were the only non-Europeans. The hotel had a decent pool that we spent both afternoons lounging at and drinking ridiculously overpriced but cold beers. In terms of food, for breakfasts and lunches we brought food with us (ravioli and green beans that we ate cold out of tin cans, tuna fish, hard boiled eggs, bread, peanuts, etc. So luxurious, I know. Once again, welcome to the Peace Corps) and for dinner both nights we splurged and ate at the hotel restaurant, which was insanely overpriced but did serve us a three-course prix-fixe menu. I'm sure the French people were appalled by the fare, but to us it was like eating at a five-star restaurant! We even got wine the second night :) (And once again, I'm sure the French about died: it was served chilled.)
So the first night, we went on an evening safari. We went to a pond and saw tons of hippos and crocodiles in the water, then saw groups of elephants and gazelles. Soon after, a pack of about 100 monkeys ran into the road in front of us! We also drove to the border of the park and crossed into Burkina Faso just so we could say we had been there :) Then, just before we returned to the hotel that night, we saw the best thing EVER: LIONS! It was getting dark, and on the road ahead of us we saw several cars stopped with people standing on the roofs. We climbed up on our roof and saw two lions walking towards us in the grass! It was a male and a female. They walked very slowly towards our cars (which was REALLY scary but such a rush) and then slowly crossed the road right in front of our cars! It was probably one of the coolest things I have ever seen in my life. We finished the night off with a cucumber/tuna salad, pork and rice in mustard sauce, and chocolate swirl cake three-course dinner :)
The next morning, we did a sunrise safari that started at 6:30! It was freezing cold (for once! So I didn't complain), but it was my half of the group's turn to sit on top of the jeep. When I say on top, I mean ON TOP: just a few small bars to hold on to, and no seats or anything- just sat on the roof of the vehicle. It was quite a rush! It felt like you were flying, but also like you could fly off the car whenever we went over one of the zillion potholes! We saw a ton more elephants that morning. Elephants are incredible. They are generally in groups and are a lot more graceful than you might think. We watched one wrap his trunk around a tree and literally uproot it from the ground! Our guide told us there are about 800 elephants withing the park. We also saw some of the most beautiful birds that were colored sky blue, navy blue, lime green, and bright gold. Apparently West Africa is the best place in the world to go bird watching.
The neatest thing we saw that morning was a huge group of baboons cross the street and then run up into a huge baobab tree and jump from branch to branch. It was spooky how much they looked like humans. (In the picture I posted of the monkey climbing the trunk of the tree, how much does it looks like the creature that lands on the wing of the plane in that episode of The Twilight Zone??) We then went back to the hotel and spent an entire five hours napping by the pool and it was wonderful. There were many european families at the pool with small children and it was so odd to hear children speaking perfect French! That never happens in Benin since French is taught only formally in schools.
We did another evening safari that night. We didn't see quite the plethora of animals that we had seen before, but we DID cross a river in a very rickity dugout canoe into Burkina Faso to a small fishing camp! It was quite scary to cross a deep and fast moving river that was home to hippos and crocodiles in such a rickity boat but it was quite the experience too. Dinner wasn't quite as good that night because it took about two hours to bring us our dessert, but it was worth the wait- chocolate mousse. We also had a mexican salad and chicken and rice.
The last morning we got up quite early again because we had to be checked out of the hotel and in our vehicle by 6:30. We went on a short safari and saw herds of water buffalo and tons more gazelles and antelopes. We then left the park and went to a mountainous area that has waterfalls. We hiked up to the falls which was actually really scary (I fell in the mud and felt like a really hardcore outdoorsy Peace Corps volunteer), but totally worth it. There are three levels of falls, and the top one-which is the highest and coolest- we swam in! It was like a lagoon paradise hidden in the jungle/mountains. And it is in one of my best friends' vilage! The one and only male volunteer who came with us decided to climb the falls and jump from the top, which was really scary but very awesome in the end. On the way out of the village, a man tried to sell us a freshly decapitaed cow's head. Quite the adventures...
So, all in all, it was an amazing, amazing, amazing trip. We all got along really well and saw some of the most incredible animals ever, and in the wild to boot. NOTHING like seeing them in a zoo. I feel like this blog does absolutely no justice to the amazingness of what we saw and did, but hopefully the pictures will help. It was one of those life moments when I just kept saying to myself "I am sitting on top of a jeep on a safari in Africa, looking at an elephant. Holy crap." Most people only dream of going on safari in Africa, but we actually got to do it. It is hard to wrap my head around!
Another amazing thing was feeling much more like a Beninese than like the other caucasian tourists. They all had fancy cars and ate snobby food, whereas we had a crappy old car and ate cold ravioli out of a can and hung out with our driver while he cooked on some charcoal outside of the latrine. It really felt more natural to do that. It was really cool though when I met a Dutch couple who had no idea that the United States had a program like the Peace Corps and being able to explain that to them.
Now I'm back at the workstation in Natitingou and leaving bright and early tomorrow morning to head to Cotonou to do some shopping and check my mail, then going back to village on Tuesday to celebrate New Year's with them. I hope you all had a good Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

This is How I spent Christmas in Africa

For dinner last night, we climbed to the top of a small mountain, had cold beers and ate chicken and fries while we watched the dramatic sunset over the valley and city. We then came back to the workstation for a wine and cheese and Christmas cookie party, complete with Christmas music. This morning, I took a real shower, and had a breakfast of cinnamon spice coffee, potato pancakes, banana french toast, papaya, and quiche. The coffee tasted especially good since it was a chilly morning. We then all watched Love Actually together. For the rest of the day we will just be hanging out and watching more Christmas movies. We have to get a good night's sleep tonight bcause our safari guide is coming to pick us up at 7am tomorrow!
(On a side note, our day of traveling yesterday went just fine. The bus that we had made reservations for was full, so we got in a taxi with some Dutch tourists that we met. Not as comfortable of ride, but we made good time.)
Well, back at home right about now the kids are just waking up to see what Santa brought. Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!

Thought I'd sneak in one last post before Christmas :) I'm on the first leg of my two day journey up to Natitingou, and just briefly stopped at my favorite cyber cafe in Lokossa. Tonight I will the stay the night with a second-year volunteer in Azové, and bright and early tomorrow morning we'll taxi to Bohicon where we'll catch a bus to Natitingou. So, unfortunately, most of my Christmas Eve will be spent traveling. Oh well. The safari should make up for it!!!
Pictures in this post: my "stuff sent to me from home" wall, the view sitting on my couch, the views right and left out my back door, and my shower room. I know it is nothing exciting, but a lot of people have been telling my that they want a better idea of my house/concession/village. I will put more pictures up in later posts when I have more time.
The rest of my weekend in Lokossa after my last post was fun as usual. Instead of doing an Italian dinner, Michelle and I made guacamole and homemade tortilla chips! (It wasn't too hard! Imagine- you would never go to the trouble to make your own tortilla chips in the States) We miraculously found a mango in the market even though they don't come into season for almost four more months, so we ate that for breakfast along with banana pancakes.
Upon returning home, Angele informed me that I had to come to church the next morning. Well, I was exhausted from traveling and didn't much feel like getting up for 6:30am church, so I politely declined. She went on to essentially order me to come to church, and I think took it personally when I said that it was my decision, not hers. She must think I am either really boring or really nonreligious. To the Beninese, church is the one time a week to dress up and go out, but when it starts at 6:30am and is in a language that I completely don't understand, I just don't usually feel like going. I had another small fever on Monday, but it went away pretty quickly. I think if anything, I might have an intestinal parasite that isn't really affecting my digestive system. Apparently cyclic fevers, loss of appetite, and fatigue can be symptoms. If this continues I will make an appointment to go see the doctors after the holidays and give them a MIF kit (read: poop in a cup) to test. The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful, although I got phone calls from my parents, grandma and uncle, and the Holleys which was nice :)
It was the last week of school before break, and I think both teachers and students alike were quite happy about it! Since I always liked it when teachers did this before breaks when I was in school, we took it a bit easy this week: played some hangman, “telephone”, and I taught them how to sing Jingle Bells and Let it Snow! I will put up a video of the kids singing Jingle Bells when I have more time, although Let it Snow was a bit easier for them! The bad part about this week was that I received a pile of roughly 225 exams that I have to grade over break. So far I have done about 75, but I still have a ton more to plug through. It has been frustrating grading the exams because of all the little errors on the test. First, the test is hand-written by a teacher who is not fluent in English, and then the hand-written copy is given to a woman who can barely even speak French, let alone English, to type. Needless to say, it had quite a few errors on it that threw the kids off and I had to be careful deciding where to cut them slack. Some kids have done really well, but a majority haven't been doing as well as I would have hoped. I blame it equally as much on the test as I do on the students.
Thursday night my proprietor's sister from Nigeria came to visit, and even though I'd never met her before, she bought me three large beers, and then gave me a boumba (a traditional outfit) and a wine glass! It was very nice of her. Sometimes it amazes me how giving this culture is, and it reminds me to realize that when they ask me for things it is not as rude as I perceive it to be. That night Cameron also called me, and as usual, our call got cut off about 4578485724 times.
On Saturday my parent's called me and had me open my two Christmas packages from them while on the phone together. It was very sweet of them: they had put in my Christmas stocking and stuffed it with lots of goodies. That day I also heard from my grandma and grandpa and Mitch! The rest of my weekend was just spent relaxing, reading (I have read four books in the past week!), grading exams, and getting ready for this trip! Yesterday the vet came to finally give my kitties the rabies vaccine, so I was happy about that. They are staying with Angele and Quirin for the week. (Who, to celebrate Christmas, along with the rest of the village, are killing lots of animals, walking around the town in their best outfits, and getting drunk off of sodabe, the local moonshine- the ideal Beninese good time! Their two children were lucky and got to go to Nigeria to celebrate. Needless to say I am glad that at least this time around I am spending Christmas with other Americans.)
That's about all from this end. I hear you folks back at home are getting dumped on with snow. I must say that I'm jealous. I will never stop saying it: it is really disgustingly hot here. (In fact, my new habit is whenever I come home from school, stripping off my clothes, rinsing off in the shower, and then air drying in front of the fan!) At least you will have a white Christmas! I know I have said it before, but the holidays have been the hardest time so far for me to be away from home. I am not even consciously too sad, I have just been a little bit down over the past few weeks. My safari ought to cheer me up! Christmas day will be spent at the Peace Corps' workstation in Natitingou with lots of other volunteers, and then our safari guide is picking us up there at 7am the next morning! I will be sure and take lots of pictures! I love you all and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Again!

Only a week since my last post! I am one lucky girl with all this luxurious internet access :)
The rest of my weekend in Lokossa was really nice. Michelle and I went to a local orphanage for the evening and stood in a circle with the kids while they taught us various singing/clapping/dancing games, some of which involved us dancing solo in the middle of the circle. Peace Corps moment right there, folks. We also taught the kids some American songs like the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Surprisingly, many of their games were to American/European tunes, such as Old McDonald. We tried to teach them the Hokey Pokey, during which they excitedly exclaimed “Le Bougie Bougie!!” Apparently here it's the bougie bougie, not the hokey pokey. It was really good spending time with these kids. They ranged in age from newborns to probably fourteen or fifteen, but they all worked and played hard together.
After that, Michelle and I made ourselves some delicious mac and cheese for dinner. While cooking, my dad called me on his cell phone from the christmas tree farm telling me about the tree they had selected and making sure that one was ok with me, so I could be a part of the decision as usual. To my surprise, this made me start crying, and probably even more to his surprise, my dad cried a little too. It was very sweet of him. Apparently the Hurst family tree is beautiful this year :) The next morning I took a real shower because Michelle has running water, and we made some oatmeal/oat bran/muesli pancakes for breakfast that were really good. (I swear, I don't eat like this all the time here! Only when I get together with other volunteers :)
This week was “finals week” at my school so I just had to proctor exams. Though it was a nice break from teaching and lesson planning, it sure was boring! The kids definitely didn't take me as seriously as a Beninese (and male) proctoring teacher, which was frustrating. They tended to not take me seriously when I told them to stop talking or got angry. This is a constant frustration of mine in school here (though my own students, for whom I did not proctor, take me a bit more seriously). Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing how my students fare on the exams.
Biggest frustration of the week: I got sick, AGAIN. Seriously, I am at a loss for what to do about this. I didn't go to the med unit this time, but it did keep me from a day of school. Tuesday evening I felt quite fatigued and “out of it,” so I went to bed early thinking maybe I was just overly tired. Wednesday morning I felt so-so, so I popped some ibuprofen and went to school. After school, however, the feeling came back. I didn't have a headache or anything, but I felt extremely sluggish and down and I had a fever of close to 101. I took a cold bath before going to bed early and hoped for the best. Well, like magic, Thursday came and I felt just about 100% better. So, I have no idea what it was. Perhaps some sort of virus coming on that my Z-pack antibodies fought off? In any case, it was really, really frustrating. Obviously I am tired of being sick all the time, but I was even more worried that I would have to go to the doctor in Cotonou again. I know it is not this extreme yet, but lord knows I would not want them to send me home on account of my constant health problems here. It is also frustrating to constantly tell Beninese people I am sick. I am assaulted with offers of mysterious cures that I have to rudely turn down, the typical “ça va passer,” and the telltale look in their eyes that says “crazy white girl, why are you sick all the time??” What they don't understand is that I was plopped into this hot and humid germ-friendly environment and exposed to bacteria and germs that don't exist in the United States. My neighbor was also quite perplexed when he spotted that I had been crying and when I told him it was because I was sick and frustrated, he acted like that was about the strangest reason in the world that a person should cry. Oh, well. As the doctor says, at least I am lucky in that-and knock on wood- I haven't had too many stomach problems, all things considered.
Being sick here is also quite boring. No movies or TV or internet, so basically I had to choose between staring at the ceiling and reading, which can be hard to do while sick. Nonetheless, I read The Poisonwood Bible, which is about an American missionary family who goes to the Congo in the 1960s. It was an excellent book and I encourage you all to read it, especially if you want a glimpse into some of the finer points of life here in Africa. The details about how people dress, eat, and even walk were extremely accurate.
I am in Lokossa again this weekend for a Volunteer Advisory Counsel meeting, and I think tonight some of us are going to make an Italian dinner complete with lasagna and tiramisu :) Speaking of other volunteers, I still haven't figured out my exact plans for Christmas day. I'll be with other volunteers, somewhere. I am doing pretty well with the holidays, but I do miss home a bit more than usual. As Leah pointed out on the phone, it is probably harder for people back home who haven't changed environments like I have- they just have the same old Christmas, just without me. I have two packages from my parents that they want me to open while on the phone with them, as close to Christmas as possible. I also found out that Mr. Vess' French classes at Pioneer, with whom I am doing a correspondence program, are getting together some packages to send to my school! And I think I already mentioned that my cousin is sending me tons and tons of books from a closing-down library near her. Speaking of packages, could someone send me an extra pair of headphones? The really nice ones I bought before I came here only work in one ear now! Christmas cards and other goodies are welcome :) That's all for now. I hope your holidays continue to be joyful and filled with friends and family!

I am Happy Because...

-I got to eat pounded yam and cheese in peanut sauce for dinner last night
-I saw a good friend who is a volunteer waaay up north last night
-I baked a delicious chocolate pudding cake
-I stayed in my pajamas until noon today watching Lost
-I found cabbage, green beans, and carrots at the market today!
-I have had internet access two days in a row
-Though I'm sad I'm missing it, I know my parents and cousins and aunt and uncle are having a blast at the annual Christmas tree shopping excursion today
-It rained for the first time in a month yesterday and was borderline chilly last night
-I got an awesome Christmas package from my grandma D including Betty Crocker frosting, the Ann Arbor News from election day, and tons of granola bars and other goodies
:)

Happy Holidays!

Less than a week since my last post! Lucky me and my internet access :) I am in Lokossa to have dinner and watch a movie with Michelle, Christopher, and my friend Weihow who is down here from waaaaay up north.
Obviously, I don't have a whole lot to say since my last post. I ended up having to stay in Cotonou until Monday afternoon because the doctors wanted to see me again that morning. They gave me three different kinds of meds, including a Z-pack which is that really strong antibiotic that you only take three times. It seems to have worked, but Tuesday was definitely the peak of my illness. I came home for my school break at noon, and was so sick that I was shaking and moaning like a crazy person. I had to cancel my classes that afternoon and lie down for the rest of the day I felt so bad. Luckily, by the next morning I felt much better and was able to return to school. My kitties stayed with me the whole time which helped :) They did just fine with Angele taking care of them. I brought thank-you gifts for the whole family for watching the cats, and stupidly forgot to get anything for the second wife. I found something to give here, though, and I think she was happy. People go nuts when you give them gifts here, even if it something as mundane as the spiral notebooks I gave lots of people.
Next week is our version of “finals week,” so every class with my students counted this week. We did some review and I feel fairly confident that they will do well. I have some beefs with how they do exams here, though. Every class takes the exact same exam, even if five or six different professors teach that level. For example, since I spent time on basics such as pronouns and the verb “to be,” without which you can't even begin to teach English, I didn't get to the spelling of numbers one through twenty. I found out mid-week that this would be on the test, so I had to scramble to get it taught. There are also some classes that didn't have an English professor until two weeks ago, but they still have to take the same exam as the classes that have had English since October.
Each professor submits proposals for an exam for the grades he or she teaches, and then the head teacher for that department either chooses an exam in entirety or uses parts of all the exams. I was lucky enough to have my exam chosen for cinquième, so my students should know everything on it. I just really think it would be better if each professor could write their own exams. Exams last all week long, and professors proctor exams for subjects and grade levels that they don't teach. After exam week, there is one more week of school until winter break!
I still haven't figured out my exact plans for Christmas. I know that I will be in the north of Benin somewhere, but I don't know exactly where yet. If I go to Tchatchou with John Mark, they are having a Christmas party for local orphans that would probably be really nice to help with. If I go to Tanagou to visit my friend Jeremy, we could go swimming in the waterfalls there, or if I go to Nattitingou, I could spend Christmas with lots of other volunteers. Any of these things would be fun! People in my village are disappointed that I will not be here, and I feel bad about it, but I know I will be happier spending my first Christmas away from home with other Americans. Apparently here on Christmas you go to church until 4am! Many people here said I was welcome at their house for Christmas, which is very generous of them. I used the Christmas garland that my parents sent me to decorate the entrance to my concession! Pictures to come later :)
The real excitement comes after Christmas, though- I booked a three-day safari! For about $100, we get three days of safari time, two nights in an air-conditioned hotel, and transportation! I can't wait. After the safari, I will probably return to my village for New Years and the voodoo holiday on January 10. (Side Note: as I'm typing this, two chickens are mating about two feet in front of me. Gross.)
Speaking of voodoo, I totally felt like Indiana Jones the other day: I was taking a walk in my village, and came to a small clearing in the bush. I peeked in, and was face-to-face with a huge roaring lion! No, not a real lion, but the door of this voodoo temple was shaped like a gaping lion's mouth, complete with blood-stained fangs. It was so creepy! (Seriously, how Indiana Jones is that??) Also saw scorpion number three in my house this week :(
Well, that's about all that's new. Time continues to fly. I can't believe it's already full-swing holiday season back at home. I really, really, really love the holidays and it is hard for me to be away. I think it helps that it is so hot here, because it makes it not really feel like the holidays. I have been listening to Christmas music on my ipod and I told my mom to send me some vacuum-packed cinnamon bread! I am also reading a John Grisham novel called Skipping Christmas, which is about a couple whose only child is in the Peace Corps spending her first Christmas away from home, so they decide to skip all the fuss of the holidays and take a cruise instead.
After the holidays, I have my bosses visit to my village, then Sandy is coming, then a week of training all right in a row. We have another long break in April, and then Amanda comes in May. After that, it is a sprint to the end of the school year, then camp GLOW, then my trips to France and the States! My time here is really going to fly.
For those of you who sent Christmas packages and letters, I will hopefully make it back to Cotonou again soon to get them. Once again, I apologize if you have had trouble calling. Keep trying. I need it during this holiday season! I love you all and hope you appreciate what you have this holiday season. People here celebrate Christmas by maybe killing a chicken, where at home we decorate, gain ten pounds, spend so much money on presents, etc. I'm not at all saying this is a bad thing, but it's good to always keep things in perspective. Happy holidays and enjoy spending time with your loved ones!