Yesterday all of the stagiers took a field trip to Ouidah, which is Benin’s most historic town – it used to be the major port where all Beninese slaves left the country. Even though most of the places we saw were pretty sad, it was interesting to learn about and, I think, good to know if we’re going to be living here.
We visited a memorial where they used to put slaves in a dark room for days to get them ready for the voyage overseas, and another memorial where after the dark room they buried the sick/unfit slaves alive in a mass grave. We also saw the tree each slave walked around 9 times to make him forget his family, memories, and culture. Very moving and very sad, but I think good to have seen.
To perk us up a little, after all of the slave trade memorials we got to go to the sacred voodoo forest (full of statues of gods) and the voodoo temple of serpents, where there’s a whole room of pythons to be worshipped. The snakes are completely used to being manhandled, so we got to pick them up and take pictures with them. Sooo cool… I now want a pet python when I get back to the States (Dad, pleeeeease?).
Me wearing a python at the voodoo temple of serpents
Snake!
The Point of No Return
The bus driver's apprentice fixing the leak in the bus. It was raining and water was streaming in, so he stuffed an old rag in the crack between the door and the roof.
2 comments:
Ugh! snakes!
ugly and yucky.
Lissa,
I thought your the shrug/sweater you are wearing had black and white ruffles!! Then I read you had a snake around you. I couldn't find it! I was wondering why the shrug had black and white ruffles...LOL :)
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