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These were some of the nearest and dearest to me during my time in Zagnanado. They all saw me off the last morning I was there. They helped me load all my stuff in the car, and right before I drove off I asked them to wave goodbye to me so I could take this picture.

So there you have it, folks. It's just the tip of the iceburg, but at least it's something. I hope you liked what you saw.

French

I even learned a little French while I was over there. Here I am with my buddy, Archille. He absolutely loves cameras and so we were playing around with it one day and made this video. A quick, rough translation of what's being said:

Me: Hi. Here we are together. I'm with my friend, Archille. Do you want to say something?
Ar: thank you.

Me: what's something you like to eat?

Ar: I don't know!

Me: Yes you do. Do you like pate? Or acassa?

Ar: Acassa!

Me: What kind of sauce?

Ar: Spicey sauce....... and okra

Both: Okay. Okay.

Friends

I made great friends in Benin, both American and Beninese.

Sunday market

I loved to walk down to this market Sunday mornings. It was about a 10 minute walk to get there, but it turned into an hour and a half ordeal once you factored in the greetings with everyone I saw and of course the buying of whatever goods I found. Tomatoes and onions were my staple purchases, and when I was lucky a woman would have cabbage for me to buy.

Fete time

I can't leave out a picture of one of the many ceremonies I attended while over there! That would just be wrong. While each ceremony was sort of difficult to attend in their too long, too hot, too loud sort of way, they were also fascinating and enjoyable at the same time. Quite a cultural experience to say the least. This shot was taken at the Fete de la Population (a party for the common people, essentially....celebrating the population of Zagnanado). These two masked dancers were quite a sight.

DANI!

I was so lucky to have a visitor during my time in Benin. My best of friends, Dani, came over in January to spend 2 and a half weeks. Here we are visiting the waterfalls in northern Benin. This is just one of the many wonderful moments we shared while she was there. (A dip in the water ensued after the taking of this photograph. Such fun!)

Camp GLOW

Camp GLOW= Girls Leading Our World. In both years I participated, the weeks proved to be extremely rewarding. This is an opportunity that some of these girls may never have again. They met young women their own age from all over the southern part of Benin, they learned about children and women's rights, importance of education, study techniques, etc....and they had a lot of fun in the off-time by dancing, playing sports, and going on field trips. This picture is an end-of-the-week activity where each girl said one thing they learned from Camp GLOW then passed the ball of yarn to create a huge web.

Bike Tours

I worked with the kids in both tours that I rode on. They were always lots of fun. I mean, who doesn't like to sing songs and be goofy?? We gave a little educational message along the way too. The picture of the two bikes is me on the left, riding with my good friend, Rachelle, on the right.

Grand Opening

Just to give you an idea of the grand day. It was really special. After all of the speeches, the ribbon cutting, more speeches, the gift-giving, and the eating, we managed to get this shot.

The Gazebo!

The old........and the NEW!!

Nutritional Recuperation

Here were some typical scenes from the evenings of that week I met with women for the nutritional recuperation program. There's lots going on in the botton picture: women cooking the meal, getting their babies ready to be weighed, changing the "diapers," and more. I sat at that table while my work partner and I talked to the women about some nutrition topic for the day. The top picture shows a baby being weighed on the last day of the program.

English tutoring

Simon and Vic. I am proud to say these two boys were #1 and #2 in their class in English. ...I cannot take all the credit. They worked really hard at it. They were my neighbors and good friends.

Wellness Club

My club kids became great friends to me over my two years in Zagnanado. We created a wellness club where we met twice a week: Tuesdays we did art, Sunday evenings we exercised. My friend, Dani, came to visit me and she joined us one Sunday evening, shown here.

AIDS Awareness

For Worlds AIDS Day, December 2008, I completed my first successful project: an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign that included a peer-educated talent show and AIDS awareness march around the community. This picture captures the students and my work partner marching out of the school yard at the beginning of our march.

What I'm most proud of

The next few entries will be pictures of different work I did while I was there. These projects are what I'm the proudest of out of everything I did over there.

omelet stand

My omelet man, as I so dearly called him, is a great friend of mine. This is his stand, just two steps away from the social center where I worked, and only another 45 second walk from my house. My friend, Mel, is seated with him here. He and I sat there many evenings and talked.

Transport

Transport in Benin was either fun, a nightmare, or both at the same time, depending on which mode of transportation you decided to take. Riding a zem never got old, and on a good day, discussing the price to get to the destination was half the fun. The picture with a car was a typical scene right before the taxi was about to head out: pile everything on top!

Everything you need

In terms of American consumerism, you sure couldn't find much in Benin. But of what you could find, it turned out to everything you needed (and not a thing more). Here's a shelf in a boutique that housed all of your goods, from laundry soap to cans of tomato paste, from liquor to sweetened condensed milk. And there's a black sachet in the middle of it all. Where would Benin be without them? (Much cleaner.)

Rave Runs

Here are images of my favorite spots on the paths I used to run on a regular basis.

Homologue

I love this picture because of the memory. We were sitting on the steps talking, just like any girlfriends would, and a friend walked by and I asked them to snap a picture of us. This is Nadege, my work partner that Peace Corps assigned me. She also happens to be my best friend in village. I got pretty lucky. We worked together at the Social Promotion Center in Zagnanado for two years.

My Zagnanado family

The family portrait includes a little bit of everyone: some kids are neighbors, and others were just stopping by and wanted to be in the photo. It doesn't really matter because we all lived close by and they're all a part of my Beninese family anyway. (My neighbor's household includes the mother and father, four girls, five boys, a monkey, a dog, rabbits, and ducks.) Their yard, and others close by, was where all the neighborhood kids played together. Occasionally they found their way to my house, and I didn't mind that all too much. They're pretty darn cute, and we were buds.

Chez moi

First things first.... the house. It was extremely nice for the typical Peace Corps house. Running water AND electricity! Yes, I was spoiled. Below is a video tour. It's a bit long, and maybe too descriptive, but hopefully you'll get a great feel for the place.

The End

My hope is that this blog can act sort of like a book-end. ...You know, wrap things up nicely as my Peace Corps service has come to a close. I'm home now, and to summarize my service for you just seems like the last step. You've tracked me these past two years through all of the activities, cultural discoveries, and friendships. Now I intend to put faces and images to those names and places. Thanks for following. Enjoy.