New pictures!

The order goes from oldest to newest. Enjoy!

This picture was taken in a village that we visited in stag (training). This guy is in his 60s and he is the Magic Man of the village. The daiperesque thing he is wearing is actually made of monkey skin, and he received it when he became the magic man and he is not allowed to take it off or wear anything else. This is the guy who preforms ceremonies where chickens and other animals are sarcrificed to please a/the god(s).

This is my group of business and information technology volunteers that I swore in with. These are also the people I spent all the 2 months of stag (training) with. We are having our first conference/gathering this week, so maybe there will be more pictures of these people soon. We are wearing 'la meme tissue'. It's a tradition that sectors all by the same tissue (material), so everyone had these things made just for this celebration. That is a very Beninese thing to do. They love their fetes (celebrations)! All the African-looking people in the picture are... African.

These are some of my boyz after the swear in ceremony.... On the left is Ryan and on the right is Jose. Jose's my closest volunteer in Benin, so we've become pretty good friends. Ryan is down in the south, but equally fun!

This is me with most of my host family. A few of the kids left town before I finished stag (training), which is when this picture was taken. ...Just a note; I've since lost the chubbiness I gained in stag (and in this picture). Mama's (at least) daily serving of french fries definitely shows here.

This is a little isle at my local market (marche in french). You might call it the vegetable isle, but there are many more veggies than this. The brown pile of nut-looking things are an herbal medicine to help stop a runny nose. The marche mama to the left is my usual onion and garlic lady.

These are a group of volunteers swimming at a swimming hole (hopefully 'sans schista'). Notice how they are surrounded by locals? It's amazing how people come flocking to gawk at the whiteys. Even if no one were stripping down to a bikini they would still come to watch! ...I've got to say though, the bikinis might help. It just solidifies the images of us that they get from Hollywood. You can't see it in this picture, but behind the photographer (who shall remain un-named) there is actually a line of men, maybe 20 of them, just staring together. It seems like it might have been as interesting to watch the locals as it was for them to watch the whiteys.

Cultural note: Even black americans are seen as lighter than the locals, and therefor sometimes called half-white or white. All my asian-american friends usually get called Chinese, and even people with origins in Mexico or the middle east are considered white. Also, the lighter your skin is the more beautiful you are, so they think we are all beautiful. People here even by soap with bleach in it to make them look lighter.

Extra note (and just for my Dad): Yes, that is a volunteer in the background teaching the local kids to throw a football.

This is a road leading to a marche in a bigger town. This is a very typical street. All over Africa people drive moto's like the ones here, women balance things on their heads, and marche products, meaning anything from radios to veggies, are displayed on sheets of plastic on the ground. Some marche's have tables instead, but this is pretty typical. In case your taking notes, this is no where near the center of the market. This is like taking a picture of the Oklahoma State Fair from the parking lot... relatively speaking, that might as well be where this picture was taken from in Africa terms.

Okay, so the walls may still be blank, but the new, beautiful furniture makes it a little more of a home! This are what they call paigne chairs. They fold up, and everything is made from teak. Teak is cheap and disposable here. People burn it to cook with. Those curtains are also new and, though they may look ghetto, I'm actually fairly proud of them as well. Also, note the wood paneling on the ceiling; this is typical for a nicer beninese house, and I believe that's teak as well.

Sorry it's sideways, but I took this picture when I went hiking one day. This shows off some of the beautiful, untouched rock around Boukoumbe!!! This rock is only about 35km (22 miles) out of town. Now, If anyone's interested in exploring with me....

sarahinafrica@gmail.com



So, that's all for now. Maybe I'll load some more from this week, but don't count on it. I've stayed up all night just to load these pictures now, but luckily there is free internet at the Peace Corps building where I am now (Internet cafes are never open all night... which sucks.).
I hope all of you are doing well back at home! Things are going well here, and I have to say it's really starting to feel like home. I think I might actually belong here.
Anyway... bundle up, doctor your colds, and start searching for a plane ticket to visit me!

Sarah