I had intended to do another posting on the blog from Paris, but could not get online for some reason. And here it is a couple of days later and we are both back safe and sound in Kona. I would like to share the last day with everyone though.
We went to the home of the Ambassodor to Benin from India, and had a lovely dinner. We were there for a couple of hours and enjoyed wonderful food and drink.
I knew that the trip home would be a challenge, however I was not quite prepared for what happened at the Benin Airport. We arrived there at 8:00, the time that Air France was to open their ticketing office. After loading our luggage onto a cart, we stood in line to get to the ticket counter. And waited. And waited. In the 85 degree heat, with 90% humidity, with no water to drink, and no place to buy water. Despite having two dedicated ticket counters for our group, the line moved very slowly. It took three hours to get through to the ticket counter and then through security - finally getting into the air conditioned waiting area about an hour before the plane was to leave. It was almost as challenging as the immunization day.
The plane did leave on time, and we arrived at the Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris at 6:00 am - not having slept much on the flight. Coming off of the plane, we had to show our passports - that is the first time I have been asked to show my passport leaving a plane. It appeared that the police were looking for someone specific.
The airport was all lit up with Christmas lights, and I was reminded that Christmas is just around the corner. I had not given it a single thought on the trip. Certainly there were no reminders of the season in Benin. We had several hours to wait in the airport, and the first thing we did was find a restaurant to have breakfast. We found a cafe, and I had a small piece of quiche and a small serving of fruit salad - it cost $20.00! Good thing I wasn't really hungry...
Most of the shops were open, despite it being only 6:30am. I wish that we would have had time to tour the city - who knows when I will ever get there again.
The rest of the way home was uneventful. The flight from Paris to San Francisco was long - and we were both very happy to be back in the United States. An overnight stay in San Francisco, and we returned to Kona the next day. shortly after lunch.
I definetly felt the jet lag, and I'm sure that it will take a few days to get back to a normal routine.
Judy and I hope you enjoyed reading about our adventure. There are still plenty of stories to tell, and I'm sure there will be for some time. As I look back over the past two weeks, it still seem surreal. I know that I will look at the world now in a different way, and am very grateful for all the blessings in my life.
I regret that I can't share with you where all the school supplies went that we took with us at this point. As soon as I have all of the contact information for the rest of the group, I will find out. One of the groups did go to visit the schools, and I too am interested in hearing some of their stories.
For Dave Bateman, owner of Heavenly Hawaiian Coffee, thank you for providing the coffee to take as a gift. One of the packages went to the President of the Rotary Club of Cotonou, who said he was looking forward to sharing it with the club. (The coffee in Benin leaves much to be desired). The other package went to Ashook, the Ambassador from India. He had read all about Kona Coffee and was looking forward to sharing it with his family.
A special thanks also to Ray Woods for inspiring me to take the trip, and for being there at the airport to greet us when we arrived back in Kona. And a very special thanks to both Mike and Buzz, for supporting Judy and I in our endeavors, and allowing us to go on this adventure of a lifetime.
The trip may be over, but the stories will continue. As they come to mind, I may post them on this site from time to time. Stay tuned! There are also more pictures to be put on the picasa website.
Aloha from Bev and Judy
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Leaving Benin Today
Today is our very last day in Cotonou - we are heading to the airport in a couple of hours. All of our luggage is in the lobby of the hotel, and we have checked out of our rooms.
This morning was rather interesting - a group of us took a couple of taxis (car taxi's not motorcycle taxi's) to one of the main markets of Cotonou. Having very little overseas experience - I found it way overwhelming. I don't know how big it was, but I'm guessing at least a couple of miles, with back to back booths and people everywhere selling everything you can imagine. And,you have to bargain for everything which is something we are not used to doing. The taxi ride itself was interesting because it gave a whole different view from the bus, as you are at the same level as everyone else. When you stop, everyone comes running up to you trying to sell things - and anything can be bought. Judy ended up buying some material and a dress, and I bought a dress and a couple of bracelets. After an hour of that - I swear you could be in that market for a year and not possibly see everything - we went back to the artisan market that we visited the first day. It was another opportunity to spend money and pick up a few last minute gifts.
Checking out of the hotel went smoothly, which was a pleasant surprise. Staying here is not cheap. The only charges to our room was for my laundry (which my husband suggested would be cheap) and one meal, with soda's. The bill came to 38,000 CFA's. The current exchange rate is 440, so I think the bill was about US$80. Not cheap!
We have a couple of hours left before boarding the bus to the home of the Ambassador to Benin from India. He is going to provide us with refreshments and appetizers before we go to the airport. The flight leaves Cotonou at almost midnight and arrives in Paris at 6:00 am. We have a considerable layover in Paris before our flight to San Francisco.
We are both looking forward to getting back to Kona and eating some fresh vegetables and fruit. The one really good food here is the bread, and I for one will miss it.
I will try and do another post from Paris.
This morning was rather interesting - a group of us took a couple of taxis (car taxi's not motorcycle taxi's) to one of the main markets of Cotonou. Having very little overseas experience - I found it way overwhelming. I don't know how big it was, but I'm guessing at least a couple of miles, with back to back booths and people everywhere selling everything you can imagine. And,you have to bargain for everything which is something we are not used to doing. The taxi ride itself was interesting because it gave a whole different view from the bus, as you are at the same level as everyone else. When you stop, everyone comes running up to you trying to sell things - and anything can be bought. Judy ended up buying some material and a dress, and I bought a dress and a couple of bracelets. After an hour of that - I swear you could be in that market for a year and not possibly see everything - we went back to the artisan market that we visited the first day. It was another opportunity to spend money and pick up a few last minute gifts.
Checking out of the hotel went smoothly, which was a pleasant surprise. Staying here is not cheap. The only charges to our room was for my laundry (which my husband suggested would be cheap) and one meal, with soda's. The bill came to 38,000 CFA's. The current exchange rate is 440, so I think the bill was about US$80. Not cheap!
We have a couple of hours left before boarding the bus to the home of the Ambassador to Benin from India. He is going to provide us with refreshments and appetizers before we go to the airport. The flight leaves Cotonou at almost midnight and arrives in Paris at 6:00 am. We have a considerable layover in Paris before our flight to San Francisco.
We are both looking forward to getting back to Kona and eating some fresh vegetables and fruit. The one really good food here is the bread, and I for one will miss it.
I will try and do another post from Paris.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Last full Day in Benin
Today is our last day in Benin - we leave tonight at midnight for Paris. It is hard to believe that the trip is almost over.
Since our last posting we attended the West Africa Project Fair, which was another reason for this trip. The first day was seminars on the Rotary Foundation and the Future Vision Program. I'm not sure if it is a good thing we are not in the Pilot Districts for this new program or not.
After the seminars we were treated to a wonderful dinner and an outdoor restaurant right on the beach. It was a beautiful spot. There were two restaurants - one indoors and one outdoors. The interesting thing was that the food was cooked in the indoor restaurant and had to be taken across the street to the outdoor one. It was some distance between the two. The name of the restaurant, which we expected to be some fancy place, was actually called "The Beer Garden". You could tell it was expensive by the cars in the parking lot - we even saw a Hummer, which is unusual here.
At the Project Fair, which was held in a gymnasium, there were booths all around the perimeter, each representing a Rotary Project from one of the West African Clubs. I learned more about the needs here than I cared to. I have plenty of information to take back to our club to share what types of projects and the needs.
Yesterday we took a bus tour of Ouidan, the starting place of slavery, as well as an area where voodoo is practiced. We went to a sacred forest, but the hightlight of the day was the python exhibit. Judy and I both had our pictures taken with a Python wrapped around our neck, and neither one of us could believe we did it.
There were other interesting places to visit as well, but the highlight was definetly the python!
When returning to Benin, we took a tour of the Africa Mercy Ship. This ship is a hospital, where they do free surgeries for people in Benin. It was beyond incredible. We had a tour of the ship, including the operating rooms and wards. The President of Mercy Ships happened to be visiting, and he spoke to the group about the connection between Rotary and the ship. Someday, I want to volunteer to be on the ship - I felt the same way about the ship as I did about this trip - that it was meant to be.
Today we are having a down day as we leave tonight. Some of us will be going shopping, or at least try to. This afternoon we will be hosted by the Ambassador from India, Ashook. He is going to host us at his home, and we are interested to see what that will be like.
This likely will be the last posting before returning to San Francisco, where I hope to do another blog. I have been keeping a journal as well, and since the internet access has been limited, there is much more to share than what has been posted. I'm still trying to figure out the picture thing, and I suspect that I will just do a full album on Picasa and send out the link to everyone.
Bye for now
Since our last posting we attended the West Africa Project Fair, which was another reason for this trip. The first day was seminars on the Rotary Foundation and the Future Vision Program. I'm not sure if it is a good thing we are not in the Pilot Districts for this new program or not.
After the seminars we were treated to a wonderful dinner and an outdoor restaurant right on the beach. It was a beautiful spot. There were two restaurants - one indoors and one outdoors. The interesting thing was that the food was cooked in the indoor restaurant and had to be taken across the street to the outdoor one. It was some distance between the two. The name of the restaurant, which we expected to be some fancy place, was actually called "The Beer Garden". You could tell it was expensive by the cars in the parking lot - we even saw a Hummer, which is unusual here.
At the Project Fair, which was held in a gymnasium, there were booths all around the perimeter, each representing a Rotary Project from one of the West African Clubs. I learned more about the needs here than I cared to. I have plenty of information to take back to our club to share what types of projects and the needs.
Yesterday we took a bus tour of Ouidan, the starting place of slavery, as well as an area where voodoo is practiced. We went to a sacred forest, but the hightlight of the day was the python exhibit. Judy and I both had our pictures taken with a Python wrapped around our neck, and neither one of us could believe we did it.
There were other interesting places to visit as well, but the highlight was definetly the python!
When returning to Benin, we took a tour of the Africa Mercy Ship. This ship is a hospital, where they do free surgeries for people in Benin. It was beyond incredible. We had a tour of the ship, including the operating rooms and wards. The President of Mercy Ships happened to be visiting, and he spoke to the group about the connection between Rotary and the ship. Someday, I want to volunteer to be on the ship - I felt the same way about the ship as I did about this trip - that it was meant to be.
Today we are having a down day as we leave tonight. Some of us will be going shopping, or at least try to. This afternoon we will be hosted by the Ambassador from India, Ashook. He is going to host us at his home, and we are interested to see what that will be like.
This likely will be the last posting before returning to San Francisco, where I hope to do another blog. I have been keeping a journal as well, and since the internet access has been limited, there is much more to share than what has been posted. I'm still trying to figure out the picture thing, and I suspect that I will just do a full album on Picasa and send out the link to everyone.
Bye for now
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Still working on the photos
I'm hoping that I can figure out how to connect the blog with our photos on Picasa web. Doing a search of Kona Sunrise Rotary does not bring up the pictures like I thought it would. Since it is close to time to go for dinner, I will try again later. Sorry for all the confusion.
Photos now on Picasa
I did promise that we would post pictures, but doing it into the blog is challenging for me, so I have figured out how to do a picasa web album. I THINK that if you go to picasa, you can view the photos of kona sunrise rotary. I tried to create a link, but as most of you know I am slightly technically challenged, so forgive me for not doing so.
Website address is www.picasaweb.google.com
Website address is www.picasaweb.google.com
Visit to Rotary Club of Cotonou Benin completed projects
Yesterday, Judy visited Tuberculosis clinic where Cotonou Rotarians had paid for two buildings. She visited with the Doctors and Nurses of the clinic where they are treating TB, which they call the disease of the poor people. They do not do TB skin tests here the way they do in the US, because they don't have the facilities to skin test. The Doctors and Nurses were very appreciative what Rotary of Cotonou had already done for them.
On the way to the TC Clinic, Judy saw a man thrown off his motorcycle onto a car and the sidewalk. Unfortunately this is quite common here, with the number of motor bikes on the roads. After a few minutes he got up, so he was not too seriously injured.
After that, she visited a school for blind children, which was donated entirely by Cotonou Rotary. The school teaches blind children from elementary school through high school. There were no children there as it was Saturday. The property was impressive because it was so large and much of it was outside. Administrator of the school was a very kind woman, and told us what she needed next was a computer which could translate from English to French to Braille for her teachers, as only one teacher has such a computer so far. There were about 150 children enrolled in the school, and the cost was zero for the parents. It is not a live in facility, only used during the day.
Other Rotarians in our group did different types of things during the day. One group went out to a village to distribute mosquito nets, another group went out to see the Mercy Ship.
Last night several of us went to the Charter Night Celebration of two new Rotary Clubs - the Cotonou Airport Club, and the Rotary Club of Rive Gauche. It was a most interesting evening. To begin with we did not arrive until 8:30 - the event was held at a cultural pavilion that was built by the Chinese, and is just down the road from the hotel. There were at least 400 people there, in a beautiful room decorated with Rotary colors. They had a nine piece band, and one of the singers did an incredible imitation of Louis Armstrong, and he sang "What a Wonderful World". They played "Let It Be" by the Beatles with an African beat.
The African Rotarians were dressed to the nines, and it was really something to see all the amazing dresses, headpieces etc. The African men are not afraid to wear any color - there were men with pink shirts and red ties; pink shirt with pink bow tie; lots of different colored shirts.
We did not get served dinner until 11:30, and by then we were all very hungry. Dinner was a buffet with several interesting choices. At first they were only going to allow us to have the salad appetizers, until our group leader said "no - we do not want to have to come back to the buffet table" - so they relented and allowed us to fill our plates with both the appetizer and the main course. We have no idea what time the party went until, but I imagine it went well into the early morning. With the amount of time some of the women spent on being prepared for the festivities, we can't image them wanting to leave early. Overall, it was a very interesting event, with printed programs that contained all you ever wanted to know about Rotary. Speeches took three hours before we ate, as they translated each speech into English for our benefit. The cost of the event was 25,000 CFA'S or about $54.00 US, and included all the food and drink. We did not get back to the hotel until 12:30am, and it was very difficult to fall asleep after eating such a big meal.
This morning was the first day of the two day West African Project Fair, and the day did not start well as our alarm clock did not go off. We had to rush through breakfast in order to make the bus on time. The day was to be seminars on the Future Vision of TRF. The fair was held at Civic Center, and typically African, did not start on time. It was an interesting morning of learning about the changes coming to the Rotary Foundation funding.
As we write this, there is a gentleman playing "Bridge over Troubled Waters" on the grand piano in the lobby. Tonight we are going out for dinner as a group - no idea where. We have learned from experience to snack well before going out, as you never know what time dinner will be served!
Tomorrow we will again spend the day at the West Africa Project Fair, where there will be booths set up by Rotarians from other West African Countries. At lunch today we met a Doctor from Benin City, Nigeria who shared information about their club project of providing a library for men in prison. We also had an interesting conversation on the cost of medical care here vs the US.
It's hard to believe that the trip is more than half over - I knew the time would go fast, but this is going way too fast for us!
On the way to the TC Clinic, Judy saw a man thrown off his motorcycle onto a car and the sidewalk. Unfortunately this is quite common here, with the number of motor bikes on the roads. After a few minutes he got up, so he was not too seriously injured.
After that, she visited a school for blind children, which was donated entirely by Cotonou Rotary. The school teaches blind children from elementary school through high school. There were no children there as it was Saturday. The property was impressive because it was so large and much of it was outside. Administrator of the school was a very kind woman, and told us what she needed next was a computer which could translate from English to French to Braille for her teachers, as only one teacher has such a computer so far. There were about 150 children enrolled in the school, and the cost was zero for the parents. It is not a live in facility, only used during the day.
Other Rotarians in our group did different types of things during the day. One group went out to a village to distribute mosquito nets, another group went out to see the Mercy Ship.
Last night several of us went to the Charter Night Celebration of two new Rotary Clubs - the Cotonou Airport Club, and the Rotary Club of Rive Gauche. It was a most interesting evening. To begin with we did not arrive until 8:30 - the event was held at a cultural pavilion that was built by the Chinese, and is just down the road from the hotel. There were at least 400 people there, in a beautiful room decorated with Rotary colors. They had a nine piece band, and one of the singers did an incredible imitation of Louis Armstrong, and he sang "What a Wonderful World". They played "Let It Be" by the Beatles with an African beat.
The African Rotarians were dressed to the nines, and it was really something to see all the amazing dresses, headpieces etc. The African men are not afraid to wear any color - there were men with pink shirts and red ties; pink shirt with pink bow tie; lots of different colored shirts.
We did not get served dinner until 11:30, and by then we were all very hungry. Dinner was a buffet with several interesting choices. At first they were only going to allow us to have the salad appetizers, until our group leader said "no - we do not want to have to come back to the buffet table" - so they relented and allowed us to fill our plates with both the appetizer and the main course. We have no idea what time the party went until, but I imagine it went well into the early morning. With the amount of time some of the women spent on being prepared for the festivities, we can't image them wanting to leave early. Overall, it was a very interesting event, with printed programs that contained all you ever wanted to know about Rotary. Speeches took three hours before we ate, as they translated each speech into English for our benefit. The cost of the event was 25,000 CFA'S or about $54.00 US, and included all the food and drink. We did not get back to the hotel until 12:30am, and it was very difficult to fall asleep after eating such a big meal.
This morning was the first day of the two day West African Project Fair, and the day did not start well as our alarm clock did not go off. We had to rush through breakfast in order to make the bus on time. The day was to be seminars on the Future Vision of TRF. The fair was held at Civic Center, and typically African, did not start on time. It was an interesting morning of learning about the changes coming to the Rotary Foundation funding.
As we write this, there is a gentleman playing "Bridge over Troubled Waters" on the grand piano in the lobby. Tonight we are going out for dinner as a group - no idea where. We have learned from experience to snack well before going out, as you never know what time dinner will be served!
Tomorrow we will again spend the day at the West Africa Project Fair, where there will be booths set up by Rotarians from other West African Countries. At lunch today we met a Doctor from Benin City, Nigeria who shared information about their club project of providing a library for men in prison. We also had an interesting conversation on the cost of medical care here vs the US.
It's hard to believe that the trip is more than half over - I knew the time would go fast, but this is going way too fast for us!
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