This Trip to Cotonou

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This last trip to Cotonou was much more enjoyable than any previous. I left Athieme the Tuesday before Easter to visit family in Aplahoue until Wednesday, when I went to the All-Volunteer conference in Cotonou. The 24 hours with Family Asse did not do a very good job of filling the space between then and Christmas, but I told them I would be better about going to visit.
I figured on two-three hours of travel to get to Cotonou by stop-and-go taxi from Aplahoue, so I planned on leaving by 15h. I anticipated my family’s reaction, so when asked, I said 16h. I left the house by 16h20, with Papa. We had a beer before he dropped me off on the side of the road and told me “see ya next time!” I left Azove, the town next to Aplahoue with more taxis, by 17h30. Hm. I arrived in Cotonou by 20h, immediately surrounded by zemidjans knowing by the helmet that I would go to the Peace Corps office. I found my hotel and some other volunteers and passed the evening pleasantly.
The next two days were the conference itself. Another two days similar to the conference in Porto Novo in that I felt, in comparison to the other volunteers, that I mostly play a lot at post. But, working with that, I am again motivated to do more projects by working with what I like; the other volunteers’ activities combined with some of my own thoughts might create a few projects that I will really enjoy. One might be basketball related…
We celebrated the 45th anniversary of the Peace Corps with some excellent cake. The administration did an excellent job feeding us lunch- we had ham and cheese sandwiches with a bag of chips and a canned pop the first day, and an entire pizza the second day. My goodness, it was strange to be sitting in air conditioning, eating an American meal with a bunch of Americans. My toes got cold, so I sat on the front steps outside with other sensitized volunteers and felt the effects of a non-pate meal. I am worried about myself on re-entering the United States. Food is important.
Saturday was beautiful- I had been talked into staying that night to go to the “Gender and Development” dinner/fundraiser, so a primary goal was to find an outfit in the yovo marché. I did pretty good, and even bought (and wore) high heels, due to lack of selection. I also made it to the supermarche and marché Ganxie, two places where I spend much more time and money than I ever plan. I really like Ganxie: peanut butter, dried thyme, fresh ground ginger (which helps when I forget to buy the fresh root at the marché), lentils, and in general lots of good fruits and veggies that I could buy in a supermarche, but would miss out on all the fun.
But the best was yet to come: the Ambassador of the United States to Benin had invited all of the volunteers to join him for a barbecue and pool party at his home. Oh. My. Gosh. The problem, though, is that during that same time of day, there is softball at the Sheraton with lots of other people! The solution: an hour of softball in the mid-day sun before tearing myself away to go swimming and eat a burger and potato salad. Oh. My. Gosh. Someone told me that there has never been a girl on the competitive team from Benin in the Senegal slow pitch softball tournament. Hello, my name is Erika Ever-a-sucker-for-a-challenge Kraus. It was hard to fit on the birth certificate, but my parents already knew me well. I have until February 2007 to prove my skills and- pause to buff nails- talents and join the team.
After swimming and eating and diving and racing and somersaulting without end, the pool party ended. I was an excellent friend and kept my promise of playing tennis before getting ready for the GAD party. We started late because somehow, as I was sitting under a tree across the street from the Peace Corps Office hoping to get my toes painted and looking up to search for the singing bird, the other volunteer walked into the office and proceeded to search for me for twenty minutes. Ooops. Pretty bird, nice friend.
Tennis was a lot of fun. We rented the rackets, balls, and small children and proceeded to laugh at each other and be laughed at by all parties involved. The owner of the court kept telling us to play “doucement,” or softly, so we would quit hitting balls out of the high-walled court. But things happened, after which I would say, “shucks,” and the little girl would mimic me. She was my fan club though, and would say, “Yovo, iss goo!!” meaning, “whitey, it’s good!” Thank you, small child. I was highly amused. Either due to the atmosphere or to lots of sun, I was rather silly that afternoon. In any case, I love ball sports. And running. And swimming.
So, needless to say I was late to the dinner, but so was the dinner. We drank beer and ate Indian food and danced until Easter. It was a lot of fun, and raised quite a bit of money for the program. About six hours later I was heading to Athieme in a taxi, hoping to make it on time to church. Luckily, church started at 10h. I finally ate normal food- a beautiful rabbit stew with rice. The Sisters are excellent cooks. We ate and drank and danced until naptime. I think my Sisters are cooler than Nancy’s. J
Later that afternoon, I watched Athieme’s Hippopotames, owned my Mathurin, lose their soccer match to Lokossa USL. So sad, like watching the Chiefs on Thanksgiving, or any day. Athieme was in the lead for so long, and then two quick goals at the end by Lokossa and we were goners. Dang.
But it rained, so the air was lovely and I was not hot.

This trip to Cotonou was more pleasant because I saw the opposite end of the big city life- an air conditioned meeting room in a nice part of town, the softball field at the Sheraton, the Ambassador’s home, the ex-pat (thought still an American patriot) home with luxuries like a microwave and American TV. (I saw the microwave and an Athletics game through the window!) Normally I see the usual and the majority of the population as everyday and all types of Beninese, selling food and wares at their stands or off their heads, all the while I am sweating and not bothering, yet again, to fix my hair after the helmeted zemi ride. It was strange to not only have cold toes, but to be cold, and to drink Dr. Pepper. But, you know, I lived.

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Photos

Mes Freres
My cute Beninese brothers.

Ma Famille
This is a very good picture: I helped Zelag wash her natty hair after the photo, and Darly did succeed in whapping Eva on the arm for making a face.

JUMP!
I love swimming!

Me and another Guy
Another volunteer and I grin at the GAD dinner.

Easter
With whom I celebrated Easter. I am the one with blond hair... :)

Comments

[Greta]

Cute Story
I loved this blog. It sounds like you were still feeling pretty silly when you wrote it! It's very 'Erika'! It looks like you had a fun weekend visiting family and friends. Love you, miss you LOTS.