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  Cotonou, Benin
Monday, June 19, 2006

Well, after having used a French keyboard on the hotel Internet keyboard the past couple days, I find myself having trouble typing on this computer! The keys aren't all in the same places!

Togo doesn't look too different from Ghana, although Togo is ruled by a dictator so things are much more corrupt there than Ghana. And they speak French in Togo instead of English. We spent a few days in Togo, mostly just visiting members. The rest of the time was spent lazing around the pool the hotel had, which I miss a lot! We arrived in Benin Tuesday afternoon, after a very rapid border crossing- we were waved through rapidly because everyone wanted to watch the World Cup which included an African team that day. That was very nice, as the border crossings can take up to several hours if the officials decide they want a donation from your pocket book! The past week in Benin has included many free hours, during which I find myself writing in my journal and working on my various school assignments. However, we did get to go to the market twice. The first time it was Tatiana and me only- without our parents!- with a local church member. Sylvie (the lady we went with) actually works at the market as a hair dresser. She took us around and showed us a large part of the market, since it is absolutely gigantic and seems to span for miles. Tatiana and I both ended up buying nice purses there, mine costing $9 and T's costing $10, and both good quality. That's one of the most fun things about the markets in Africa- you get to bargain everything. When you first ask for the price, the merchants always tell you an enormous price- by their standards, decent by ours. You are expected to bargain the price down because they are giving you an outrageous price. So you counter and offer ten percent of what they asked. You gradually work your way up and they work their way down, throwing in a couple "I've got kids to feed," and "Look, something's wrong with it," and "I'll just go look somewhere else," until you eventually get to a price that is a lot lower than the original. And it's an enormous amount of fun as well as a way of saving you some money. Anyway, we returned to the market a few days later, which was a scarier experience.

My mom had asked to spend part of the day with Mrs. Ougoudélé to see what a typical African lady's day was like. Mrs. O runs a small stand by her home that contains everything, similar to a 7/11 in the US. But she had to replenish the things she was missing first, so first they went to the market. T and I went with them for the market part, as well as Dad, who was filming things, and our taxi driver, who preferred coming with us to staying by the taxi. When you go anywhere in Africa, everyone stares and lots of people wave, being friendly and not seeing whites very often. They are very nice and you feel very comfortable. Some of the younger kids may also follow you a little while, but they mean no harm and simply watch you. Beggars sometimes follow for a while too, but we try to give them something if they're handicapped and then they leave. However, one guy started to follow us around and wouldn't leave. He was obviously not handicapped, but he did appear crazy, with matted hair and no shoes. We told him to go away and he wouldn't. Then later, he started talking out loud, mumbling and stuttering all kinds of things we couldn't understand. It was getting kinda scary; it was like he was possessed. Quite a wake-up call to how scary life can be. And the other thing that freaked me out was a certain part of the market we reached. The stalls consisted of many animal skins, as well as skulls and various animal parts. I saw a tiny monkey head, as well as a dog head which had been skinned, leaving the muscle and eyeball in plain view. The purpose of these items is for various voodoo rituals. Voodoo originated in a city close by, so it is quite popular here. Besides, many Africans are very superstitious. The site of all of that, especially that dog head with flies buzzing all around it, nearly made me sick. So that has been my experience in Benin. Monday we are flying to Cameroun, which should be another adventure. Miss you all!

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