Adventures of Mom & Auntie B in Benin

I think I bragged about this before, but did you know that my mom and my aunt flew all the way to Benin to visit me? They did. And they’ve got stories to prove it.


As a whole, the trip went really well – we got to see some culture (Ouidah and Cotonou), relax a little (Grand Popo), meet my fantastic host family (Porto Novo), and enjoy all that is my village (Daagbé). We stayed busy, took lots of naps, and met a huge number of really excited Beninese people. Highlights from my point of view:


- Auntie B at the Python Temple. The Python Temple, in Ouidah, is a voodoo temple where they keep a lot of snakes for powerful voodoo purposes. The snakes are tame and used to being handled, but I’ve never seen Auntie B so on edge – one wiggled near her foot, and she broke the sound barrier heading back to the door. The woman’s got some speed. And eyes the size of dinner plates.


- Hanging Out With My Host Family. My host family, the sweetest people in the world who spoke to me in mime for months while I learned French, met my visitors. Not only did they meet them, though, they fed them... really, really well. Maman Badarou made three types of meat, a giant bowl of fried plantains (my favorite), and even bought sparkling grape juice (they’re Muslim and don’t drink wine). And they sat and talked with Mom and Auntie B, and Papa was so excited to see them... it was fantastic. As we left, we took a bajillion pictures, and my host parents presented them with Beninese gift bags. It was amazing to see them all together, laughing and enjoying each other’s company despite different cultures and no common language.


- Pate. And More Pate. Part of being a good sport when visiting a country is eating the native food. Pate, or corn flour mush, is the native food here, and I commend both of my visitors for eating as much of it as they did. Various people fed them pate (which always comes in mountain-sized portions) like three or four times, and each time they tried their hardest to demolish the entire pile. They failed (like I usually do), but everyone here loved their effort.


- Playing with Children. Entertaining myself in village usually involves sitting for hours with the mamas or playing with children. So when Mom and Auntie B showed up, the kids were really, really excited: two new playmates! The visitors didn’t disappoint, and after teaching the petits to jump rope and throw a Frisbee, they played with them for hours. It was adorable, and I have photo proof that Auntie B is the best human tilt-a-whirl ever.


- Tissu! The Obsession is Contagious! Despite Auntie B’s professed disinterest in tissu when she got here, she left this country with three pairs of pants and two wrap skirts (I think), all made out of tissu. I looooove that! And Mom got a skirt and maybe pants... my couturiere was a very happy lady. :)


- People Loving Them For Visiting. The people here LOVED seeing my family. They treated them like queens, came out of their way to meet them, fed them tons, and complimented me endlessly on how beautiful and young they were. (Two people have told me how beautiful my mother is since she’s left, confirming suspicions I have had since childhood.) Since they went back to Yovotome (“city of the yovos”... meaning America), a bunch of people have stopped me to make sure they got back alright, including people who met them once and speak absolutely no French or English. Such nice people. And SO excited to meet my wonderful family.


- Just Having Them Here. At the risk of sounding sappy, it was amazing just to see my mama and my aunt. Getting to talk with them, hang out, sound smart while I answered questions, be spoiled a little bit... it was kinda great. And maybe even more importantly, having them see where I live and what I do makes me feel like I’ve made it, and like when I get home, at least two people will be able to talk to me about it. It’s like having proof of what’s happened so far, and a sounding board that’ll actually understand for everything yet to come.


All in all, pretty amazing. Thank you, Mom and Auntie B, for coming to the 26th (I think) poorest country in the world just to visit me. Thanks for being so interested and energetic and understanding, and thanks for making your trip such an adventure. Love you!