Sunday, August 14, 2005 Looks like it's going to be another long one, sorry about that!

Well, this was an intersting week... I'm trying to remember it all as it happened. I think it was on Tuesday that I sat down to try and get some files from my hard-drive and make a backup of my pictures. The weird thing was that it wasn't mounting quite right, so I decided I should reboot. It was taking forever, so without thinking I powered my laptop manually... big mistake. I knew this already, as about a week before I left for Benin it did this. In essence once my laptop is powered down, it doesn't want to come back up. I'm not sure exactly what is causing it, because the button works fine once the computer is on. It seems like a loose connection, or something. I don't know. In any case, I didn't get it to power on until today, and that was after I opened it up to mess with the connection to the main-board. I'm going to have to be a little bit more mindful (and patient) when it comes to laptop power. Additionally I'll have to make sure I keep it charged at all times. Slightly annoying, but it'll do. Eventually I'll by some real tools here and actually be able to get to the real root of the problem, but with only a pocket knife it's hard to do any serious diagnosis...

Heh, but I'm sure you aren't hear to read about my laptop problems. In any case, the major event of the weeks class was a change in languange instructor and our second language test. Let me start by saying my last language teacher was freakin' awesome. I don't know exactly how are why, but I learned things with her and class really flew by. She was just fun to be around. She would crack up at the smallest things, and it was fun to joke around in class. That all changed with the introduction of our new instructor. He's no doubt competent in French grammar, and well versed in the difficulties of learning it... but class went from being one of the most fun thing about stage to just another drudgery. I mean it's not the worst thing ever, but there are times when I just want to be done and on to other things. I'm still learning, which is what is ultimately important... but I want my old instructor back!

The second language test went well for almost everybody. It was a mirror of the first test, which was pretty much just a 25 minute conversation with a tester. He or she would ask questions, and you'd respond. At some point you'd be given a task like "Give directions from here to where you live" or "Pretend you are meeting the village chiefs, greet them and explain your plans". My test went way better than I had hoped. I felt like I was actually communicating ideas more complex then "I am going to bed now" or "That dog is pretty". When I first came in country I couldn't even say those sentences, so after a month to be able to discuss my family situation here and say what things I noticed about Benin after coming here came as a surprise even to myself.

Ratings for the language test come in three levels for each novice, intermediate, and advanced. I believe when I came in to country I was novice-low (as low as you can go). After only a month I've raised up to intermediate-low! Most people not already near the top raised up 2 ranks, so I was pleased to have gotten 3. Of course it's also true that the tests were very different depending on who it was that you tested with. Even so, I'm pretty confident that I'll be more than capable by the time I leave stage.

Yesterday was a memorable day because we went to the Ouidah. Ouidah was the main slave trade point of West Africa, and an absolutely insane number of people were shipped off. It was a very surreal feeling being there. Although before I go on, I should say we first visited an archaeological dig of a palace complex. It was pretty interesting, because it was a real life site. It was not a touristy version with plexiglass barriers, or anything of the sort. I mean the archaeologist met us outisde of Ouidah and we drove behind him out into the bush and we hiked a little trail to where they'd been digging for 4 weeks or so. It was awesome, especially to have THE guy in charge telling you what was really going on. Any way, back to the Ouidah. We arrived and were given a guided tour of a museum in a converted Portuguese fort. It was interesting, but more interesting was going around the city. There are tons and tons of statues and memorials. Everything was interesting, but the most stunning was the "Point of No Return". It's a large arch-way on the beach flanked by art, and covered in depictions of slaves. It was the point where once slaves got to, there was no going back home. It was sobering to pass through, and look back knowing that 200 years ago those who did the same never got another look at where they were born and grew up.

All in all it was a really good week. I know I've been pretty much saying that since I got here, but in honesty for the past couple of weeks I've been a little bit moody. My perception of things here just went a little off, so I wasn't quite up to par. This week broke that, and I'm back to normal I'm happy to say. I'm glad to say that the group I'm with now is absolutely awesome, and I'm really happy that these are the 13 I'm stuck with for the next 5 weeks. Hm, actually now that I think about it we're about at the half-way point now. Just as much behind us as there is in front. Scary.

Today was the government announced the results of the large national test for students on the radio. I'm not entirely sure how everything works here, but I remember near the time I came hear my family told me my sister was taking a big test. I found out later that this national exam is somewhat difficult to pass, and further education is impossible until you've done so. As a result it's a bit of a bottle-neck in the school system. Or so I've heard. In any case, that's not the point. Today the entire family was in the living room today listening to the radio. I thought it was odd, and didn't quite get what was happening until I listened for about 15 minutes to the results. I finally figured it out, but still had 30 minutes or more until my sister Floriane (the 16 year old) got her results. Actually, I should say I never got to hear them because as soon as her name was announced (only those who passed the exam were announced) she, and everyone in the family was jumping up and down, screaming and hugging each other. Within minutes Mama and Papa's phones were ringing with congratulatory calls. It was pretty incredible to say the least. In any case, many congratulations to Floriane (whose name I'm hoping that I am spelling correctly).

Since I've already written a butt-load, I'll go ahead and write a little bit more. Specifially I'd like to talk a little bit about media in Benin. TV is a big deal here, a really big deal. There is one official station, ORTB which is government run. They play a fairly large variety of shows, both locally produced as well as some imported. During the day it's almost all music videos, although there is a local Beninese show on during repose (12-3) called Boomerang that is sort of like a bizzare version of The Twilight Zone. It's pretty strange. At night they show mostly soap-opera style things. Right now my family is really obsessed with this show called La Chacala, which I only have gotten the most basics of. I don't really care for it much, but I think it's more because it's hard to follow. My favorite right now is a redubbed-into-French Spanish novela called Muneca Brava. It's pretty awesome. Well, not really... but it's entertaining enough. In any case though, the TV is always on. Today I was reading in the salon, and Papa came in and wondered why I wasn't watching TV. It's like it was infathomable that I could take pleasure in any other activity. So, as a favor he went ahead and turned it on for me. (My siblings were surprised the other day when I turned the volume down on the TV using the remote... I think they might think that I don't know how to use the TV).

One particularly bizzare habit is watching TV and listening to the radio at the same time. I really don't understand how they can do it at all and absorb anything. It cracks me up even more when they are holding two simultaneous conversations at the same time as radio/tv listen-viewing. I thought Americans were bad at paying attention to the task at hand! I haven't really watched TV for so long that for me it's hard to be interested in it for more than a few minutes. I do have to admit that I pay attention to the commercials here. They are in general very bizzare, and often somewhat funny. The one nice thing about them here though is that they occur all at once between shows. Here shows play straight through generally, so it's easy to not watch them. My family does think it's weird though that I'll go to bed in the middle of a show, or even that I'll sometimes read while they are watching.

Speaking of reading, in the beginnning I didn't find I had much time to do so. Now though I've either budgeted better, or I actually have more free time. Ever since coming back from Kandi I've been fortunate enough to be able to read quite a bit. I finally read David Sedaris' Naked, and 1984. Both were awesome. Right now I'm trying to work through "Guns, Germs and Steel" but I think I may put that on the wayside to read some Tom Robbins (which Tim will no doubt support). The one awesome thing about the workstations (well one of the many awesome things no doubt) is the libraries. PCVs read like maniacs, so there are hundreds of book in every genre imaginable at the workstations. I mean consider PC has been here in Benin for a long time... there's been quite a few PCVs to pass through and everyone brings a few books. The libraries are well stocked with good books, so I think I'll not be going without. I do wish someone would get the new Harry Potter though... There was a copy up in Kandi, but I refrained from reading it in hopes that someone in Azove would get a copy I could borrow. I should have just blasted through it... oh well, no doubt sometime in the next 2 years it'll get done.

Oh, the most exciting thing that happened this week was I got care packages! Thank you Melanie, everyone is now officially jealous of my superiour lip protection. And Anti-Karen, the Legos are awesome. It was funny because the day before I received them we were talking about our childhood toys and legos were pretty much the de facto answer to most cherished. The fact that some came for me the next day was hillarious. The other Burt's Bees products were also greatly appreciated, although I have to confess I'm not sure if my cuticles need cleansing or not. I'm assuming they probably do, since to my knowledge they've never been cleansed... but in case thanks a bunch!