Peace Corps Journals / Benin / all updates

List of Amusing Crap

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:38:00 +0800

(Benin / From Green Mountains to the Birthplace of Voodoo)
A friend told me it would be a good idea to make a list of the strange crap that has happened to me since I arrived. Here we go:Medical AdventuresThe first day in Benin I stubbed my toe and then the n ...
4 reads

The Last Chaleur

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:13:00 +0800

(Benin / From Green Mountains to the Birthplace of Voodoo)
So my second and hopefully last chaleur I will ever experience in my life is coming to a close. I wouldn't say it's over but its' getting there. It's good to know that I don't have to go through this ...
13 reads

Roaches

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:24:00 +0800

(Benin / Ko Ko Ko! Life in Benin as a PCV)
Last night one of my worst fears came to life – a cockroach had made its way inside my mosquito net while I was sleeping. I’ve always envisioned my mosquito net like an impenetrable fortress aga ...
4 reads

Journée de la Jeune Fille

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:44:00 +0800

(Benin / Under African Skies)
Amis et chers invitées Friends and honored guests Lundi marquera le quatre-vingt dix-neuvième anniversaire de la Journée Internationale de la Femme. En mars 1911 plus d’un million des femmes ...
17 reads

Two baby anecdotes worth remembering

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:41:00 +0800

(Benin / Under African Skies)
Bébé au dos au motoA couple of weeks ago I had to go to Kikélé a small Nagot village 7 km away on a dirt road for a project. I was travelling there with a friend from the mayor’s office who ...
11 reads

You say it's your birthday?

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:30:00 +0800

(Benin / Under African Skies)
March 4 2010I’m sorry to everyone whose emails I have not responded to in the past few months. I no longer am comfortable using a USB stick to transfer files from my computer to the cyber café co ...
15 reads

Behavioral Change

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:22:00 +0800

(Benin / Ko Ko Ko! Life in Benin as a PCV)
I’ve done a fair number of sensibilizations on AIDS already and among the classes I’ve noticed a similar trend. I dunno the exact history of AIDS like how when or where it emerged but some o ...
2 reads

Rain rain... how I love thee.

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:20:00 +0800

(Benin / Krissy's latest adventure - Benin, West Africa)
It’s raining. I have NEVER been so excited to see rain. I’ve lived in Seattle for over 7 years trust me I know rain. I’ve always had a respect for rain of course that is how the Seattle are ...
12 reads

Browser statistics and Commentary for Be ...

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:28:09 +0800

(Benin / subjectverbobject)
People Online still guarantees IE6 compatibility for almost 100% of the sites we develop. We don’t even charge extra for it! And this is why: We’ve spent an awful lot of time in cybercafé ...
15 reads

Hallelujah!

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:05:00 +0800

(Benin / Ko Ko Ko! Life in Benin as a PCV)
It rained last night for about five hours – torrentially. Roads flooded and my electricity went out several times but I didn’t even care. I’ve never heard nor seen anything more beautiful in ...
2 reads

King

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:02:00 +0800

(Benin / Krissy's latest adventure - Benin, West Africa)
So this morning I was at the CEG (high school/Jr High) for the Monday morning flag ceremony – The king of the village was going to be there to say some words to the students and I was also going to ...
12 reads

FSOT and b-day wishes

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:37:00 +0800

(Benin / West Africa for a PCV)
Happy late-birthday to everyone who had February birthdays and my mother (her birthday was yesterday). I took the Foreign Service Officer Test a couple days ago and feel that I did pretty well on it. ...
13 reads

running water and cold beverages. heaven.

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:34:00 +0800

(Benin / Krissy's latest adventure - Benin, West Africa)
I ended up going to Natitingou this weekend to do some work and get some supplies I needed for my classes this week – and enjoy the luxury of running water and cold beverages. It was great. I didn ...
13 reads

Untitled

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 03:08:04 +0800

(Benin / DARE 2 LIVE vicariously)
I got my ticket to World Cup.
18 reads

Femmes Au Pouvoir!

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:36:42 +0800

(Benin / wanderlust imagery)
International Women's Day is March 8th 2010.In celebration we proudly present Fiydafrik's first music video: Femmes Au Pouvoir ("Women in Power")Fiydafrik - Femmes Au PouvoirHow 'bout that?Fiydafrik ...
12 reads

Untitled

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 09:33:00 +0800

(Benin / Apples and Beninese)
Random: http://buildabearblog.com/?p=603 0And new pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/kimb erly.r.sanders/ApplesAndBeninese ?feat=directlink
13 reads

Commando

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 08:02:00 +0800

(Benin / Ko Ko Ko! Life in Benin as a PCV)
I’m running out of ideas to combat the heat. I’ve even resorted to going commando whenever possible as the sweat will soak my underwear and will stink for hours later like laundry that hasn’t b ...
1 reads

Fete de Gaani

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:35:00 +0800

(Benin / Jeff in Benin)
Sorry it has been a while since I have posted anything but it has been a crazy year so far! The hot season has just started and it is only getting worse every day. My water and electricity is always ...
2 reads

Fete de Gaani

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:35:00 +0800

Fête de Ganni. . .

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:32:33 +0800

(Benin / RevolutionMe)
Last weekend I finished my February break by going to the Capitol of Bariba Country in northwest Benin. The town is called Nikki and getting there involves a few hours in bush taxis on dirt roads. S ...
8 reads

If I was in charge of Peace Corps - Benin

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:03:00 +0800

(Benin / My Peace Corps Experience in Benin, Africa)
So after being in Benin for seven months and at post for five I have already become an expert in developing a third world country. Just kidding. I realize that I still have a lot to learn but this wh ...
37 reads

Tiles

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:39:00 +0800

(Benin / Ko Ko Ko! Life in Benin as a PCV)
I got my bathroom tiled! Here are some before and after pics. My life in Benin just got a little better. As you can see it was pretty gross before and I was too lazy to clean it so I thought why n ...
1 reads

Deforestation... among other things.

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:04:00 +0800

(Benin / Krissy's latest adventure - Benin, West Africa)
This has been a BUSY week so far and it’s only Wednesday!! Monday I started the day at the high school at 7:30 after being up all night with the crying kitty. The students have a flag ceremony eve ...
12 reads

The cat chronicles

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:02:00 +0800

(Benin / Krissy's latest adventure - Benin, West Africa)
We never had cats growing up so I was never a real cat person but didn’t develop my current hatred for cats until about 5 years ago. Until that time I as impartial didn’t mind them but wasn’ ...
11 reads

Health update

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:18:00 +0800

(Benin / Bisous from Benin!)
After 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 o ...
16 reads

AIDS Sensibilization

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:26:00 +0800

(Benin / Ko Ko Ko! Life in Benin as a PCV)
AIDS isn’t that prevalent in Benin. It affects less than 3% of the population (as opposed to some other African countries with upwards of 30 or 40%). There are more people living with AIDS in Washin ...
2 reads

Untitled

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:15:00 +0800

(Benin / Apples and Beninese)
The heat is slowly killing me. If not actually taking my life certainly robbing me of brain function. Figured I should write a blog before the damage is done.It’s really unfortunate that Peace Corp ...
13 reads

Untitled

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:38:00 +0800

(Benin / While I've been in Benin...)
A picture of the cliffside ruins in DogonLooking down from the ruins to a current villageRyan crossing a crevice on a wooden ladder!!On top of the plateau- gorgeous!! Notice the village to the back left it's where we're headed for the night!
17 reads

Ryan's visit!!

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:42:00 +0800

(Benin / While I've been in Benin...)
So my great friend Ryan from Michigan State is quite the adventurer and ever since I applied he always promised and I always knew that he was coming to visit wherever I was headed. Well...after muc ...
11 reads

goings on at school...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:06:00 +0800

(Benin / While I've been in Benin...)
As for my students on strike the administration took their time dealing with the problem since classes technically weren't in session when their strike and series of shananagans happened (it was grad ...
7 reads

What Finance & Law Have to Say About ...

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:28:00 +0800

(Benin / Vroegin Benin, and now Mali)
I just finished reading two books which are very helpful about thinking about the "development problem" in a new light: The Mystery of Capital by Peruvian economist Hernando DeSoto (http://ild.org.pe ...
15 reads

Pictures from Kemon and Parakou Feb. 2010

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:06:00 +0800

(Benin / dpcTHEpcv)
Dad teaching English songs to class Claire facilitating a discussion group at in-service training Homologues and PCVs at inservice training Feb. 2010 Dad and me with my home stay family at Songhai ce ...
20 reads

Chickens Eat Trash

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:43:00 +0800

(Benin / I've Benin Everywhere, Man)
I just got back from my last In Service Training session in Porto Novo. It was a lot of fun my birthday got mixed in there as well and it was fun to be around a lot of volunteers. We had sessions eve ...
7 reads

I’m in love with the idea that the sec ...

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:41:07 +0800

(Benin / subjectverbobject)
Six months ago rumors began circulating about an orphan who could heal raise the dead and perform exorcisms. And what better place for a second coming than a region plagued by sorcery witches and ...
19 reads

the cat has come

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:15:00 +0800

(Benin / Krissy's latest adventure - Benin, West Africa)
I know you are thinking “Kris you HATE cats!!” Why yes I do!I had mentioned a few times to my neighbor that I was considering getting a cat because the mice have taken over my house – and it� ...
9 reads

A real photo!!!

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:10:00 +0800

(Benin / Krissy's latest adventure - Benin, West Africa)
This literally took almost two hours to load - but you will see it is ADORABLE! This is from the best pizza in the history of the world post.
134 reads

work work work

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:02:00 +0800

(Benin / Krissy's latest adventure - Benin, West Africa)
Today was an incredibly productive brainstorming day - wahoo! The last week I’ve been reading this ridiculously huge book “His Dark Materials” – The Golden Compass is the 1st in this trilogy ...
12 reads

Hugs

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:06:00 +0800

(Benin / Ko Ko Ko! Life in Benin as a PCV)
Human beings are tactile creatures – we constantly seek touch for comfort and support. It should be no surprise then that occasionally I want a hug. There doesn’t have to be a reason – I just ...
3 reads

hey everyone

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 10:40:00 +0800

(Benin / West Africa for a PCV)
Had a good trip to Mali. Am back in Benin and had to hit the ground running. When I got back to the WS I found that the power regulator had defaulted and a number of electrical devices in the WS wer ...
21 reads

... So Take Off All Your Clothes

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:49:00 +0800

(Benin / dpcTHEpcv)
It's hot. And it's not the heat most of you are used to. It's 100+-I-want-to-tear-out-my-sweat -glands-everyday type of heat. Ask my father for a more in-depth and pain-filled description. He keeps tel ...
14 reads

The best pizza in the history of the world.

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:38:00 +0800

(Benin / Krissy's latest adventure - Benin, West Africa)
A couple of weekends ago a friend of mine Sarah came over on Saturday and stayed the night. She lives in a village on the east side of the country and is part of PSN which stands for Peer Support ...
18 reads

It's unbelievable

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:11:00 +0800

(Benin / Bisous from Benin!)
that 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 ...
10 reads

Tooth Update

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:58:00 +0800

(Benin / From Green Mountains to the Birthplace of Voodoo)
If you don't know the full tooth story I suggest that you go back to the previous blog entry and catch up. Where we left off: the dentist has prescribed me toothpaste for what is most likely in my min ...
9 reads

How things are going. . .

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:03:38 +0800

(Benin / RevolutionMe)
I know I haven’t written as much lately about my life. I suppose the things that I used to think are interesting have become a little boring. The second year is like the first year only you underst ...
21 reads

5am

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:59:00 +0800

(Benin / Krissy's latest adventure - Benin, West Africa)
Well it’s 5am on the 24-month clock and I have been in Benin for 7 months. Wow it really does go quickly! Some moments are painfully slow while others seem to be flying by. It once again mak ...
6 reads

5am

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:59:00 +0800

Check it out!

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:40:00 +0800

(Benin / From Green Mountains to the Birthplace of Voodoo)
I wrote a new article for thisisdiversity.com about mud stoves and womens rights.Check it out!http://www.thisisdiversity.c om/articles/all/4280/mud-stoves- for-gender-equality
8 reads

Chaleur

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:20:00 +0800

(Benin / Ko Ko Ko! Life in Benin as a PCV)
Chaleur has begun and boy oh boy is it hot! As expected that one rainfall last week was a fluke. Although every night I can see lightning and hear thunder in the distance. I keep hoping the rain wi ...
3 reads

Banished (sort of)

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:18:00 +0800

(Benin / Ko Ko Ko! Life in Benin as a PCV)
So my banishment plan sorta failed as the kids showed up again last night around dinner time. I didn’t give them any food but I didn’t send them away either. Honestly it’s hard to be mad at t ...
3 reads

Melted candles.

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:31:00 +0800

(Benin / Krissy's latest adventure - Benin, West Africa)
1. It is hot. My candles are melting and they aren’t even lit. My chocolate is completely liquid. How do people live in this country? 2. I have parasites. I had some extremely mild symptoms las ...
14 reads