Yes! Progress! I managed to post one photo today, which I edited into my last blog entry. Right now I am trying to load more, but it is likely I won't get anything posted since it is peak internet hours now, and I will have to wait till I can get on the internet during non-peak hours.
-some minutes later-
yeay! pictures are working! The first three are the ones you were meant to see in the first blog of the back yard/kitchen, my room, and my street! Anyway...
Progress, also, in terms of my adjustment to life here. It is a lot to take in when everything from the climate and language to what you eat for breakfast is different than what you are used to. I will do my best to describe what I can while I wait for my photos to load. (Not as easy as it sounds since I feel like my own English skills are declining with lack of use!)
Lokossa is a village of around ten thousand people, in the south-western region of Mono. There are some paved or bricked roads here, but apart from those main roads everything else is dirt or sand. There is an unfortunate habit of littering in the streets here, though I suppose it is not as bad as it might be back home since there is generally less waste here. Even so, it still saddens me to see it and know that most people don't care. Many of the buildings might appear run down by western standards, though they generally do just fine for their intended use. There some like the bank the head office of a major mobile phone company which are kept a little nicer and even have air conditioning! (Heaven to visit for a whitey like me!)
It pretty much always hot here. I am not sure of the exact daily maximums but I would say high twenties is the average. And it is very humid. The schools break from noon to 3pm, and most other people siesta or tone down their activity level during that time - the streets are more lively in the evening and night than in early afternoon. Morning is the best time for a workout, and that is when I go to the track. It's nice to have somewhere to go, though I think I prefer weekdays when it s less busy... I stand out just a little, running around the track white legs flashing in the sun, not to mention dripping in sweat because even their "cool" mornings are hot for me. Nonetheless, it has been a good place to meet people, including some of the students from the schools I teach at. You can see pictures below of my new training facilities. Oh, and so as not to disappoint my former triathlon coaches, I did get some swimming in the other day when we visited the nearby village of Athiamé; in fact, I swam clear out of Benin and all the way to Togo! (Across the river Mono)
Meeting people is generally not a problem, as most people are interested to know where I come from and why I am here. Really young kids will call out "yo vo, yo vo!" when I go by, which is sort of like "Hey whitey!" but with a positive connotation. The one thing that I find the hardest to come by is female company of women my own age. My host parents, the D'almeidas, have two daughters and one son, but the daughters are away at university. Their son, Antonio, is in high school, and while I do really enjoy hanging out with him and his friends it is not quite the same. Also, it is usually only men who will introduce themselves out of the blue, and while it is nice to get to know new people, it becomes a little tiring when every other one would like me to help them emigrate to Canada, or marry them, or hook them up with a correspondent who would do likewise!
I also made some friends where I was not expecting it. Mr. D'almeida is the landlord of the two neighbouring houses, and right next door are two Americans and their little baby boy! Bill and Julie are missionaries, and they have been living in Africa for over a year, and their son, Paul, was born in Togo. In is interesting because if we were back home they likely would be considered a different culture from me (west coast Canada vs American heartland), but in contrast to the locals our similarities are obvious. I am really thankful for their presence, since it was a big help and comfort to talk to someone (in fluent English no less) who has been living here a while but who shares an outsider's perspective.
Everyday things become a little more familiar, though. I am getting to know my students, who vary in age from nine to possibly almost as old as I am. I had a great time teaching one of my younger classes a song I know by heart from my years at Camp Artaban. It turns out "Tree in the Hole" is great for teaching certain botanical and zoological vocabulary. I am also getting to know the other English teachers, though often English is their second language so we still speak in French. Understanding French with a West African accent has been a bit of a struggle for me, but I am becoming accustomed to that as well, and things get easier as vocabulary from the vaults of my elementary school memory slowly comes back to me.
It is time for me to get to dinner, though I almost hate to leave while I know the pictures are loading steadily, if not very speedily. To finish I will leave you with a view from my front door, taken one evening just as the sun was setting. It has been great to finally be able to share pictures, hopefully I will be able to do the same next time!
blogger out,
-Carla
