So this is what 111 degrees in the shade is like
Trip Start
Sep 22, 2003
1
22
62
Trip End
Dec 13, 2005
Materi,
Benin
Friday, April 2, 2004
We're down in the big city of Cotonou for a few days taking care of some work issues and doing some shopping. It's the first time we've been down here since swear in ceremony, and it's a little different after living in such a remote place. The people here seem so modern and well dressed and affluent. Many families in our village spend all day just staying alive, including fetching water (wells, pumps, or the resevoir), cooking, fetching wood for cooking, doing laundry, and just caring for all the children on top of farming or their occupation (if they have one). So down here in the big city we were sitting in this nice restaurant where they sell very delicious looking pastries and cakes and we saw a local man come in with his two young daughters (pre adolescent). They both had on mini skirts (unheard of in our village, a womens legs are never exposed above the knee, unless of course it's that crazy white girl out running around the resevoir in shorts with her husband...) and one of them had a lap top computer in her arms, carrying it around like it was a book or something. So kids in our village have toys made of used tin cans and their most used toy is a stick and tire (endless hours of fun rolling the old bike tire around pushing it with the stick) and these girls not only have a computer, but a very small lap top computer. Very amazing the difference. Absolutely no difference from a pre teen you would find in the states.
So, as you may have deciphered from the previous entry, its hot. Very hot. We don't do much from lunch to dinner time except read books and take naps. So we were sitting on our porch in the shade during lunch one day and our thermometer read 111. Our bodies were dripping with sweat and we knew it was hot, but it was nice to have the affirmation. So the locals say the hot season has not peaked yet and it's still going to get worse. They say that "actually, this season has been quite pleasant compared with last year". And we respond, "We're going to die." And they laugh at us. So we're sleeping outside which is necessary because it doesn't get below 100 in the house, even when the sun is down. So we drag out our cots and pillows and mosquito net and sheets and the kids watch with curiosity, since they only sleep on a straw mat.
Our cat left. Bad news, but we're getting used to the disappointment. She was doing great and the family loved her too, she would sleep with them sometimes and they fed her while we traveled and even the neighbors across the way were fond of her visits. Then one day she charged out the front door, like normal, and we never saw her again. We think someone probably took her. So we're alone with the mice once again. We caught one each night for 4 nights in a row, mango peel is very enticing bait for them. So hopefully this will continue to help until we decide whether we want to try again. Having a kitten is very time consuming and exhausting, we just want a grown cat!!!! One that is independent and will catch mice would be nice. So the next person thats sending a package, please include this. :)
So the chief of our village died. This was a huge ordeal. He was sick, and not very old, only 52. We went to the funeral, which was held 3 weeks after his death so that big plans could be made and people from all around could come. It was a catholic funeral, and the church was packed. Usually funerals are traditional, and the body is wrapped and carried on a board on peoples shoulders all around town while the people in the procession are singing and hooting and hollaring. They proceed to the cemetary, where the drums play and there is lots of dancing and drinking. But this one had a more christian influence, a mass in the church, and the body was driven in the back of a forest vehicle to the cemetary where it was lowered into a cement tomb and sealed. (For those of you who are wondering, the body was kept at the morgue in Natitingou during the 3 weeks betweent he death and the funeral.) Then there was a reception for all the higher-ups in the village and we were included in this. We were served a 2 course meal with unending sodas and beers. The courses were the local food, pate with sauce and beef and then a rice dish with fresh carrots and cabbage and green beens with chicken. The food was very impressive since this is more than is usually served at a public function. Then, we left and had other work to do, and coming home, we passed the home of the desceased and there was a HUGE crowd of people, blocking the street and drums drumming and sand in the air from all the dancing and just major chaos. So, despite the catholic influence, there was still a traditional party afterwards. It was amazing the size of the party. We didn't join in the fun (we're kinda getting our fill of big parties where people have often drank too much and enjoy picking on the white people; it's not very easy to just stand back and watch from the back everything thats going on, YOU are whats going on).
Well, thats really the biggest things that are happening right now. If you have questions about anything, please email. It helps us know what to right. We hope you all are doing well and enjoying the spring weather.
Love,
Rebecca and Jason
