Oh Benin and your day to day life!

Well, today is April 1st 2012 and Benin has a helmet law! Everyone is to wear helmets or they will pay the price, whatever that may be. But what about the babies that are carried on the backs of mothers or little toddlers who have to sit in between the motorcycle driver and parent? Are there helmets for them? Not that I know of! I do not know how long the “law” is going to last, but it’s a start. Okay, so there is a helmet law and all of the vendors are selling helmets or shall we say “something to put on your head.” People are wearing construction hats, fruit shells (like watermelon) with straps on them, old air force helmets/head covering, baseball and softball helmets, anything they can get their hands on. Also, there are people that actually bought decent helmets, but they wear them backwards because the plastic covering bothers their eyes, on their arms instead of their heads, and on their handle bars! Why buy a helmet if you aren’t going to wear it correctly. Now, we come to the problem of people who do not have enough money to buy a helmet. They have to worry about food in their children’s mouths before a helmet. That is the risk they are taking. I went to Cotonou the other day and funny questions run through my head. Why do people yell out “white person?” Do they find pleasure in seeing me turn and look at them? Is it a game to see who sees the “yovo” first like we do with deer in the woods on a hike or car ride? Why must everyone want to know what I eat and how I eat? You know, I am here in Benin, if I don’t eat your food then I would be hungry all of the time! Why don’t the taxi rides smell so bad anymore? Is it because I smell bad now and can’t tell the difference? Can my right arm get any tanner? I mean the sun’s rays beat down so hard on my arm? How long is that baby going to stare at me before his eyes pop out? If every taxi driver carried a trash bag in his car, how much less litter would there be? Everything is thrown out the window. How many times do I have to listen to the same song with the same beat in this taxi? I happened to have the same taxi driver going to AND from Cotonou today and we listened to the same 4 songs up and back! Are you serious? Is my head going to explode? Maybe one day. Well today is Thursday April 5th, 2012 and it is my last day of teaching before the big two week break! I need it! The kids and I are not collaborating very well these last couple of days. Oh CRUD, the President just said that there is to be NO Spring Break! Are you kidding me? Back to school on Tuesday for everyone. OH, the kids are going to be so happy! How are the teachers going to react? Can’t wait to see what is going to happen on Tuesday. That is really I’ve got; live for the drama in Lokossa! :p just kidding. But, the good thing about being an American is that we are allowed to take one week off to rest! God Bless the United States of America! So, the week after next, I am going to take the week off (Monday-Thursday). Today, I had a little Easter egg hunt with the neighbor kids! They were super excited! I put gum and little candies in the eggs. We took pictures with snot and drool running down our noses! EWWW!! So, we shared our candy and gum! It was all gone in 2 seconds! Three slices of gum and candies in the mouth all at once! Yummy right? Wrong! Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. There has been a church get together right outside my house since Friday night (6pm-11pm) Saturday (9am-11pm). They are speaking in French and a local language from Togo! How are people supposed to understand a language from Togo in Benin! Most of the older Beninese people can’t even understand French! Oh Lord, please help them! I guess if they are praising the Lord and saying Hallelujah a million and half times, they will get their prayers across. Until then, I keep my sanity at the radio with internet that is a little faster than at home. I am trying to upload videos again, drinking a Sprite from a glass bottle and some bread with a sauce inside! It is actually pretty delicious. Well, I didn’t get the videos to upload, but I started a movie with all the videos and pictures I have. It is going to take awhile, but it keeps me busy and is kind of fun!  I went to Agame village for Easter. We were all decked out in our “same cloth pattern” outfits while we sat outside of a jam packed church service and then we went to the local CEG (middle school/high school). There, we played cool games like “which box is the hamster going to hide in?” and a game like “pin the tail on the donkey” but it was a blindfolded child who had a pair of scissors in his hand walking towards a clothes line full of presents. His job was to cut the present down. It is not as easy as it sounds. We then sat down and watched some singers and dancers as well as the Zangbeto dancing and doing magic tricks! You see, the Zangbeto spins and dances, but is said to be a spirit and nothing else. So, when we tip the Zangbeto over, there is always a lovely surprise gift for the crowd such as a sacrificed animal, a sculpture with a really large and red male body part, etc. We never know what to expect. Okay, after that long day of excitement, I was able to come home and relax. I started reading a book. Go figure. Monday, there was no school, so I was able to relax some more. It rained Monday, but not too much! It cooled off for about 2 seconds. Bummer. Tuesday, I went to school, but hardly anyone was there, so I went home. Today is Wednesday and I wanted to go visit my post mate who is having a rough time at post at the moment! Ugh. I hate those times! Anyways, he happened to come to Lokossa with another PCV. They were at the BESA (Best English Student Award) award ceremony! I wasn’t invited! But, when I walked in, I was greeted with happy faces and handshakes. Thanks for coming, they said. Okay, so I have learned over the years (I can say that now because it has been years here in Benin for me) people don’t invite, they just assume you will know about it and come and enjoy the festivities. I actually was called up to give a student an award and speak in a microphone. I told the student congratulations and that I was proud of him. The crowds cheered! Oh life as a teacher, white person, female, young lady in Benin can be so entertaining! After a lot of dancing, skits, and singing by BESA students, we all gathered together to sing “We are the World” by Michael Jackson! The teachers were singing! We sang together and waved our hands in the air. It was quite the sight! I had fun. Now, I am home. I checked facebook and my emails on my phone, had a chocolate, protein bar, fed the dogs some fish and pate, read some more and wrote review sheets for my classes. Even though, I am on break for a few more days, I think I will give them the sheets to keep them working. You know no one has any idea when the next test is. Teachers are taking their breaks even though the President said no. The students are exhausted and can’t concentrate. Peace Corps is allowing us to take a week off since we have worked since day one. What to do is the very question? Keep on keeping on is what I hear is best! Haha I am sweating to death even though the sun is not out. It has been pretty gloomy lately-like it wants to rain-but the heat is still lingering, but I do get to enjoy an occasional breeze. Or maybe it is just me. Who knows!?