Trip to KandiLand!

Trip to KandiLand!

Way up north in Benin, where the humidity disappears in favor of lots of dust and most people are Muslim rather than voodoo or Catholic, there's a little city called Kandi. Kandi holds the smallest of Peace Corps's offices ("workstations") with only 8 people using it as their home base. Because their last building was kind of falling apart, PC just moved the workstation to a new place, and a few of us southerners made the very long trek up north to go to the housewarming. Noteworthy events:

- Thanks to a bus breakdown and several unnecessarily long stops, the bus ride took from 6:30 AM to 9:30 PM, 15 hours. It's just over 400 miles, so in America, that'd be like six and a half hours. Cool.

- We got out at one of the stops to go to the latrines, and the little boys manning the station (12ish, I'd guess) started telling us that we were going to go to bed with them. Sexually harassed at 10 AM by preteens. They start 'em young here, huh?*

- Menu: baked potatoes, pasta salad, chili, bread with BUTTER, and, as the centerpiece, and entire barbecued pig. Also, BBQ sauce and key lime pie. We ate at 2, and as I write this it's 7... I'm still uncomfortably full. Ughhh, but SO good... Later, cards and good company. :)

- Kidnapping Jenny! I'm kidnapping my friend Jenny from up north and taking her to my post for a few days. Yay! She's been to my post before, but this time she'll get to hang out and come to school, etc.  Visitors! My village must think I'm running a hostel.

- AMAZING NEWS! Mandee, my little sister,** just sent me her confirmation note from Air France... TO VISIT MEEEE! Aaaaaahhhhh! I'm so excited!!!!!!!x137327856853^4674!!!! June 20th can't come soon enough!!

*Don't worry, ladies, I told them in English with pretty clear hand gestures that their itty bitty penises were far too small and ineffectual to be of interest to us. That shut them up. 

**Mandee's the second out of three sisters in my family, is 21, and is awesome (obviously, both of my sisters are. It's just some weird genetic thing...). More importantly, we look a lot alike, especially to people who don't see a lot of white people. I'm totally going to convince people that we're twins (considered supremely lucky here) despite the fact that I've told them my actual family setup a bajillion times before. I'm pretty sure it'll work.