8.28.10
I have now survived my first bout of illness while in the Peace Corps. Today is my recovery day after a nasty case of food poisoning last night... I’m not positive, but I think it was the fried dough balls I bought from a lady on the side of the road yesterday. (Sigh.) They were so delicious, too.
I felt a little queasy at dinner last night, so I decided to go to sleep early because then I could just sleep it off and be fine today. False. I puked every hour on the hour between 8 and 1, and then a couple more times just for good measure. This was stupid, as there was no food left in my system after the first round. On the upside, I got to see my very own bile for the first time… it’s not one of my better features.
Anyway, so it was a rough, sleepless night, and I thought I was dying of malaria for about half of it. Then I looked up the symptoms of malaria and decided I was going to live. I’m skipping school today (Saturday) and spending all day resting, writing letters, and forcing large amounts of oral rehydration salt water down my throat… disgusting. I’ll be in fighting form by Monday – rested, healthy, and ready to take on yet another class of troublemaking teenagers.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Teaching Updates: Model School Week 2
8.26.10
In case you were wondering, there is no possible way to draw “leap frog” without it looking vaguely sexual.
Luckily, the students I’m teaching don’t think like college kids, so they learned that particular vocab word without giggling uncontrollably at my artwork. This week’s teaching was… well, it was full of highs and lows.
Two days, I was really on – I got silence when I demanded silence, the class was excited to participate, and they retained the grammar points well enough to ace that section on a quiz. Today I was off, though, and I got frustrated and flustered for a good chunk of my two-hour lesson. It was rough – I had to make them put their heads on their desks for 3 minutes just to get them to shut up – and at the end, I wanted to bury myself in a dark room and take a long nap. On the upside, today we got one of the really awful troublemakers kicked out of model school for good, so that’s one less for the next group to deal with.
Side note: always be suspicious of flattery from students. Conversation from today:
Girl: “Madame Melissa, you are so pretty. And good job! You taught a really good lesson.”
Me: “Thank you! That’s very nice of you.”
Girl: (without pausing) “That’s a beautiful pen. Will you give it to me?”
Me: “…What? No. My husband gave me this pen. It’s very important to me.”
Girl: “Oh, well, what will you give me, then?”
Me: “An education. Sit down.”
So that’s model school – lots of kids who don’t really want to be there because it’s summer, and who therefore are a minefield of discipline issues. Optimistically, I’m getting pretty good at my bitch face, and yesterday one of the volunteers gave me a stick to hold… You just smack it against your hand a couple of times and use it as a pointer, and they straighten up. It’s kind of morally ambiguous – kids here regularly get beatings with sticks when they’re bad in school, despite the fact that corporal punishment is illegal – but hey, it’s effective, and I’d never in a million years follow through on the threat.
After today, I have two more weeks and one more grade level to survive. Wish me luck!
In case you were wondering, there is no possible way to draw “leap frog” without it looking vaguely sexual.
Luckily, the students I’m teaching don’t think like college kids, so they learned that particular vocab word without giggling uncontrollably at my artwork. This week’s teaching was… well, it was full of highs and lows.
Two days, I was really on – I got silence when I demanded silence, the class was excited to participate, and they retained the grammar points well enough to ace that section on a quiz. Today I was off, though, and I got frustrated and flustered for a good chunk of my two-hour lesson. It was rough – I had to make them put their heads on their desks for 3 minutes just to get them to shut up – and at the end, I wanted to bury myself in a dark room and take a long nap. On the upside, today we got one of the really awful troublemakers kicked out of model school for good, so that’s one less for the next group to deal with.
Side note: always be suspicious of flattery from students. Conversation from today:
Girl: “Madame Melissa, you are so pretty. And good job! You taught a really good lesson.”
Me: “Thank you! That’s very nice of you.”
Girl: (without pausing) “That’s a beautiful pen. Will you give it to me?”
Me: “…What? No. My husband gave me this pen. It’s very important to me.”
Girl: “Oh, well, what will you give me, then?”
Me: “An education. Sit down.”
So that’s model school – lots of kids who don’t really want to be there because it’s summer, and who therefore are a minefield of discipline issues. Optimistically, I’m getting pretty good at my bitch face, and yesterday one of the volunteers gave me a stick to hold… You just smack it against your hand a couple of times and use it as a pointer, and they straighten up. It’s kind of morally ambiguous – kids here regularly get beatings with sticks when they’re bad in school, despite the fact that corporal punishment is illegal – but hey, it’s effective, and I’d never in a million years follow through on the threat.
After today, I have two more weeks and one more grade level to survive. Wish me luck!
Food Stuff
I may have been too harsh on Beninese food.
I think last time I posted, I’d eaten fish, bread, and tomato/onion sauce twice a day every day for two weeks. Beninese food is not actually as awful as I made it sound – it’s very, very carb-heavy, but it’s also entirely possible to avoid fish and bread for a whole week if you want to. Plus, there are some fairly awesome foods here. Five important points (I’ll probably expand on some of these later):
1. It’s actually possible to get protein sans fish! You can get meat and chicken (both of which are generally tough and very lean), but there are also a bajillion different bean ladies around, plus peanuts and even Beninese soy cheese. I will survive this country’s nutrition issues, and I will do so without frying fish every day.
2. There is actually dairy here. No gallons of milk or anything like that, but you can get milk powder and sweetened condensed milk, butter (expensive), wagasi (weird tofu-like cheese from the north of Benin), and Laughing Cow cheese. I have no idea why they choose to import so much Laughing Cow (Vache qui Rit), but I am sooo thankful that they do.
3. Ignam pilee. I haven’t had this yet, but all of the PCVs drool at the mention of it. It’s a northern specialty, I think. You take ignams (like big potatoes), boil them, mash them by hand using a giant pounder (women do this in groups of three with chants to keep them on rhythm – YouTube it), and then top it all off with a peanut sauce. I can’t wait to try it.
4. Fresh fruit. I have never had pineapples so sweet as they are here – you buy a whole one on the street for 100 CFA (20 cents USD), and the lady cuts it up into bite-sized chunks in front of you. Papayas are here, too, and I can’t wait for mango season.
5. They have fried plantains (my current favorite African food). There’s a place near model school where I can get a big plate full of rice, beans, spicy piment sauce, and fried plantains for 300 CFA (around 60 cents). That’s what I’ve eaten every day for 3 weeks, and I’m not even a little tired of it.
I think last time I posted, I’d eaten fish, bread, and tomato/onion sauce twice a day every day for two weeks. Beninese food is not actually as awful as I made it sound – it’s very, very carb-heavy, but it’s also entirely possible to avoid fish and bread for a whole week if you want to. Plus, there are some fairly awesome foods here. Five important points (I’ll probably expand on some of these later):
1. It’s actually possible to get protein sans fish! You can get meat and chicken (both of which are generally tough and very lean), but there are also a bajillion different bean ladies around, plus peanuts and even Beninese soy cheese. I will survive this country’s nutrition issues, and I will do so without frying fish every day.
2. There is actually dairy here. No gallons of milk or anything like that, but you can get milk powder and sweetened condensed milk, butter (expensive), wagasi (weird tofu-like cheese from the north of Benin), and Laughing Cow cheese. I have no idea why they choose to import so much Laughing Cow (Vache qui Rit), but I am sooo thankful that they do.
3. Ignam pilee. I haven’t had this yet, but all of the PCVs drool at the mention of it. It’s a northern specialty, I think. You take ignams (like big potatoes), boil them, mash them by hand using a giant pounder (women do this in groups of three with chants to keep them on rhythm – YouTube it), and then top it all off with a peanut sauce. I can’t wait to try it.
4. Fresh fruit. I have never had pineapples so sweet as they are here – you buy a whole one on the street for 100 CFA (20 cents USD), and the lady cuts it up into bite-sized chunks in front of you. Papayas are here, too, and I can’t wait for mango season.
5. They have fried plantains (my current favorite African food). There’s a place near model school where I can get a big plate full of rice, beans, spicy piment sauce, and fried plantains for 300 CFA (around 60 cents). That’s what I’ve eaten every day for 3 weeks, and I’m not even a little tired of it.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Pictures... again.
Me teaching... I don't know what I was teaching. Gerunds, maybe. This was a relatively good class, though, and they understood my lesson by the end - yay!
Close-up! Yep, gerunds.
At the marche. I was in a bus, and therefore safe enough to get the camera out.
I’m Getting a Kitten!
My friend Elyse’s host family’s cat just had kittens, and I think I’m going to buy one from them… the going rate is about 500 CFA, I think. That’s about a dollar. Shots are kind of expensive, and I don’t think it’s actually possible to get a female spayed here, but I think it’d be well worth the expense.
3 Reasons Why I Should Not Get A Cat:
1. I am allergic to cats. Minor detail.
2. I don’t know how to litter box train a cat.
3. I’ll have to buy more food to feed said cat.
4 Better Reasons Why I Should Absolutely Get A Cat:
1. Cats eat spiders and mice and all sorts of other little creatures. And there a lot of little creatures here.
2. I need company at post. Company I don’t have to speak French or Goun to.
3. If I get a dog, my neighbors might eat him when I leave.
4. Kittens are soooo CUTE!
3 Reasons Why I Should Not Get A Cat:
1. I am allergic to cats. Minor detail.
2. I don’t know how to litter box train a cat.
3. I’ll have to buy more food to feed said cat.
4 Better Reasons Why I Should Absolutely Get A Cat:
1. Cats eat spiders and mice and all sorts of other little creatures. And there a lot of little creatures here.
2. I need company at post. Company I don’t have to speak French or Goun to.
3. If I get a dog, my neighbors might eat him when I leave.
4. Kittens are soooo CUTE!
7 Reasons Why My Host Family Is Awesome
1. They feed me fried plantains all the time. I think I said at some point that I loved them, and while they’re awful for you (fried in palm oil), they are absolutely delicious. They also make me fresh-squeezed pineapple/grapefruit juice regularly.
2. They’re ridiculously patient with my French. They’ll sit there and wait for me to hammer out a sentence rather than just tell me what I want to say. My French was nonexistent when I moved in, but because they help me practice, it’s getting better quickly.
3. They think I’m endearingly hilarious. I can’t correctly wash my clothes by hand, I use a fork all the time, my French vocab is limited, and I get waaaay too excited about fried plantains. They look at me, laugh, and say, “Ah, Melissa…” about 30 times a day, and I laugh with them. Oh, Benin.
4. They gave me a sweet room with my own bathroom. Some of my friends live in teensy little houses with roach and rat problems, have to share the bathroom with gigantic (and not shy) families, and have families that constantly ask them for money/clothes/gifts. I have to deal with none of those things.
5. They don’t ask me for things. I can’t tell you how rare that is here.
6. They let me have alone time. In a culture where community is everything, the idea of free time is often lost. My host family asks me why I didn’t come down to chat (they want me here!), but they won’t come badger me. Amazing.
7. They care about my safety. Once, I got home at 7:30pm (just before dark), and Maman gave me a short lecture about being home on time so I don’t get hurt or lost. Kind of annoying to suddenly have a babysitter, and I wasn’t thrilled about the 7:15pm curfew, but it’s sweet that they’re so worried about me.
2. They’re ridiculously patient with my French. They’ll sit there and wait for me to hammer out a sentence rather than just tell me what I want to say. My French was nonexistent when I moved in, but because they help me practice, it’s getting better quickly.
3. They think I’m endearingly hilarious. I can’t correctly wash my clothes by hand, I use a fork all the time, my French vocab is limited, and I get waaaay too excited about fried plantains. They look at me, laugh, and say, “Ah, Melissa…” about 30 times a day, and I laugh with them. Oh, Benin.
4. They gave me a sweet room with my own bathroom. Some of my friends live in teensy little houses with roach and rat problems, have to share the bathroom with gigantic (and not shy) families, and have families that constantly ask them for money/clothes/gifts. I have to deal with none of those things.
5. They don’t ask me for things. I can’t tell you how rare that is here.
6. They let me have alone time. In a culture where community is everything, the idea of free time is often lost. My host family asks me why I didn’t come down to chat (they want me here!), but they won’t come badger me. Amazing.
7. They care about my safety. Once, I got home at 7:30pm (just before dark), and Maman gave me a short lecture about being home on time so I don’t get hurt or lost. Kind of annoying to suddenly have a babysitter, and I wasn’t thrilled about the 7:15pm curfew, but it’s sweet that they’re so worried about me.
Monday, August 23, 2010
So I decided to make hot tea in my Jones water bottle... guess what? Plastic melts. At least now I have a truly one-of-a-kind sealable goblet. Sweet.
Jenny in a tissu outfit... I don't know what that face is about.
Me in tissu! This is my first modelle, and I love it. That's Bevin, a friend and fellow TEFLer, also in tissu.
Five Random Observations About Benin
1. Everyone looks good, always. How you dress here is a symbol of how much respect you have for the people around you, so everyone takes a lot of time to wear pretty tissu and things. I like this idea. I might use it to justify my shoe collection when I get home.
2. Animals are absolutely free-range. I have seen goats, chickens, dogs, and even cows wandering freely down the main road, zems and trucks swerving to miss them.
3. The Beninese people do not like rain. When it rains, no one goes outside unless they have to – you can show up to a meeting (or school) two hours late if it’s sprinkling, and no one will be mad. Actually, everyone else probably will have skipped, also. Oh, and if it’s raining and a woman has to go outside, she wears a shower cap until it stops.
4. TV here is hilarious. For some reason, the tv companies take Brazilian soap operas and dub them in French. This makes the already-bizarre plotlines seem even more awesomely ridiculous than usual.
5. They think we’re dirty. We went over stereotypes of Americans and Beninese people recently, and I learned that each culture thinks the other is dirty. We think they’re unhygienic and don’t wash things (like food), and they think we don’t shower enough. Apparently they normally shower 2-3 times a day, and thus think we’re gross for only rinsing off once daily. Kinda makes sense.
2. Animals are absolutely free-range. I have seen goats, chickens, dogs, and even cows wandering freely down the main road, zems and trucks swerving to miss them.
3. The Beninese people do not like rain. When it rains, no one goes outside unless they have to – you can show up to a meeting (or school) two hours late if it’s sprinkling, and no one will be mad. Actually, everyone else probably will have skipped, also. Oh, and if it’s raining and a woman has to go outside, she wears a shower cap until it stops.
4. TV here is hilarious. For some reason, the tv companies take Brazilian soap operas and dub them in French. This makes the already-bizarre plotlines seem even more awesomely ridiculous than usual.
5. They think we’re dirty. We went over stereotypes of Americans and Beninese people recently, and I learned that each culture thinks the other is dirty. We think they’re unhygienic and don’t wash things (like food), and they think we don’t shower enough. Apparently they normally shower 2-3 times a day, and thus think we’re gross for only rinsing off once daily. Kinda makes sense.
Ponzi & Boni
8.21.2010
I’m not sure how much of this is on international news, but Google search “Boni Benin scandal” and see what comes up. I don’t know a whole lot, and I’m not really supposed to blog about anything political, but basically Benin might be impeaching President Yayi Boni sometime soon. The news about a gigantic Ponzi scheme broke a couple of weeks ago, and apparently they just found most of the money in the basement of the presidential palace. That’s about all I know – any updates would be spectacular, since I don’t have a radio to listen to BBCNews.
Anyway, so between that and the election this year, there’s probably going to be a couple of protests and things. Just so you know (and Mom, so you don’t worry too much), the Peace Corps has a really comprehensive plan for getting us out of danger. They actually send us text messages that tell us where to go and how to get there. Better yet, these texts are in code… I feel like a spy, but a significantly less-cool spy than, say, James Bond or Mata Hari.
So no worries: Benin may get a little fussy, but I’ll be safe.
I’m not sure how much of this is on international news, but Google search “Boni Benin scandal” and see what comes up. I don’t know a whole lot, and I’m not really supposed to blog about anything political, but basically Benin might be impeaching President Yayi Boni sometime soon. The news about a gigantic Ponzi scheme broke a couple of weeks ago, and apparently they just found most of the money in the basement of the presidential palace. That’s about all I know – any updates would be spectacular, since I don’t have a radio to listen to BBCNews.
Anyway, so between that and the election this year, there’s probably going to be a couple of protests and things. Just so you know (and Mom, so you don’t worry too much), the Peace Corps has a really comprehensive plan for getting us out of danger. They actually send us text messages that tell us where to go and how to get there. Better yet, these texts are in code… I feel like a spy, but a significantly less-cool spy than, say, James Bond or Mata Hari.
So no worries: Benin may get a little fussy, but I’ll be safe.
On the Rebound
8.20.2010
Not to brag or anything, but today I magically got waaaay better at teaching. Maybe it was the fact that I knew I couldn’t do much worse than Day 1, or maybe it was just that I broke out the coffee this morning, but I walked into class today with confidence and it stuck with me the whole way through.
After a rough start yesterday, I decided to focus on one or two things each class (easier to self-evaluate that way). Today’s goals: discipline and energy. Energy, I figured, would be easily fixed through caffeine and confidence, so I put on makeup and drank a cup of coffee. Discipline was tougher – I had to call out the troublemakers and keep the attention on my lesson.
I split the table of punks up first thing, so they were less trouble than usual. I also stood riiiiight next to the punkiest one the whole time I was teaching – I felt like an evil genius, because he couldn’t talk if I was close enough to hear him. I made the sentence “How old are you?” and responses into a sort of chant, and the kids got really into it. Quite simply, I felt awesomely in control for most of the day, which means that even if future classes don’t go this well, at least I know that I’m getting better every time I teach.
My favorite moment: I called everyone’s attention to the board after an activity, and they kept talking. I told them to be quiet, and they still muttered. I walked up to the chattiest table, wound up, and slammed my hand on the wooden table as hard as I possibly could. I have never seen 30 children jump so high in perfect unison, nor have I ever seen looks that said, “Ohhhh shit…” quite so clearly. It was a beautiful moment, and after that, the class was absolutely mine.
Not to brag or anything, but today I magically got waaaay better at teaching. Maybe it was the fact that I knew I couldn’t do much worse than Day 1, or maybe it was just that I broke out the coffee this morning, but I walked into class today with confidence and it stuck with me the whole way through.
After a rough start yesterday, I decided to focus on one or two things each class (easier to self-evaluate that way). Today’s goals: discipline and energy. Energy, I figured, would be easily fixed through caffeine and confidence, so I put on makeup and drank a cup of coffee. Discipline was tougher – I had to call out the troublemakers and keep the attention on my lesson.
I split the table of punks up first thing, so they were less trouble than usual. I also stood riiiiight next to the punkiest one the whole time I was teaching – I felt like an evil genius, because he couldn’t talk if I was close enough to hear him. I made the sentence “How old are you?” and responses into a sort of chant, and the kids got really into it. Quite simply, I felt awesomely in control for most of the day, which means that even if future classes don’t go this well, at least I know that I’m getting better every time I teach.
My favorite moment: I called everyone’s attention to the board after an activity, and they kept talking. I told them to be quiet, and they still muttered. I walked up to the chattiest table, wound up, and slammed my hand on the wooden table as hard as I possibly could. I have never seen 30 children jump so high in perfect unison, nor have I ever seen looks that said, “Ohhhh shit…” quite so clearly. It was a beautiful moment, and after that, the class was absolutely mine.
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