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!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Cotonou - Saturday November 7, 2009
Saturday, November 7th, 2009.
For all of you who have been following this blog, our apologies for not doing any new posts the last few days. We literally have not had a moment of free time since landing here on Wednesday afternoon. It is only now that I have had a chance to sit down and do an update, and unfortunately I am doing so without my camera. I opted out of one of the tours this morning, feeling a bit out of sorts, but after a short rest I am feeling much better. Judy went out with the group and I gave her the camera - upon her return I will post all of the photos that have been taken to date. So, for now, this is only going to be a written account of what we have been doing and seeing on our trip to date.
The last post was from the Paris airport, which seems like so long ago, yet it was only a few days. We arrived in Benin in the evening about 8:00. After going through customs, which really was quite easy, we had to collect our bags - now that was interesting. Everyone was trying to collect their bags at the same time, so our tour leader suggested that we all step aside and let everyone else on the plane get their luggage so that we could move more easily. The area was very crowded, and very hot - then it seemed like all of a sudden everyone was gone, leaving only our group. Interestingly enough, there was a security guard at the door that checked to make sure that every bag on our cart belonged to us.
We finally loaded on to a air conditioned bus, which was heavenly. The temperature when we arrived was in the low 80's, but it is the humidity that makes if feel so much hotter. Between the baggage area and walking to the bus, we must have been approached by a least 1/2 dozen people selling everything you can imagine.
The checkin process at the hotel was very easy. We were all pre registered, so all we had to do was get our room key. After a short orientation with the tour leader, we finally made it up to our room, which I would describe as very small. The hotel itself is quite nice, a beautiful lobby area, with some very interesting woodwork. I would describe it as a four star hotel by our standards, however not when it comes to the rooms, which as I mentioned are very small. They do have a television in the room, a desk, two chair and a small round table, and two twin beds, which are only about 6'' apart. There is barely room to walk around in, but it is clean, we have hot water, and the shower works!
Onto our travels...Thursday we took a bus tour of the city of Cotonou. It is so different than anything I have seen before. There are merchants selling everything you can imagine on the sidewalks, although they are not really sidewalks. Although the main roads are paved, everything else is more like a dirt road. In some ways it reminds me of Mexico, although we did not really see many beggars - mostly everyone was trying to sell something. I saw one lady walking down the street with a huge basket on her head, attached to which were hangers with clothes on them. I don't think I have yet seen what we would call a regular store, although I'm sure there are some. Traffic is unbelievable - and the amazing thing to me is that there are far more motorcyles than there are cars. Not many people on regular pedal bikes though. You can hire a motorcycle taxi, recognizable by their yellow shirts, to take you anywhere. Most of the men we saw we were wearing what might be described as colorful pajamas - matching pants and shirts. Women are dressed in very colorful long dresses for the most part. For what were able to observe from the bus, people appear to be healthy and happy. We saw very few people over the age of maybe 40, which makes sense considering we learned that the life expectancy for men is 55 and for women it is 60.
For lunch we joined a Rotary meeting, where all 13 Cotonou clubs were represented. Lunch was delicious, and consisted of a salad made with cucumbers, tomatoes, and some type of spicy dressing. The main course was a type of beef in gravy, served with rice and plantain, which is really quite good. Dessert here is usually fruit.
We have been divided into teams, and Judy and I are in the "A" Team, and by some fluke, I am the team leader. There are nine of us in the group, three from Hawaii and six from California and Oregon. One of the ladies in our group fell on cement the day before coming here, and her face is stitched up and black and blue. I think there are about seven teams, and we will be in our team for the duration of the stay. Each team has a Rotary Club assigned to them, and we are partnered with the Rotary Club of Cotonou, the oldest club in Benin.
After lunch we were invited to the residence of the US Ambassador to Benin, who only arrived here 10 days ago. We spent the afternoon there, listening to all of the things that the Embassy does. It was hot, humid, and I'm afraid to say a bit boring, since I am a Canadian Citizen.
Dinner was an event outside of the hotel, which was really just heavy appetizers. Judy and I chose not to attend, as by that time jet lag was doing a number on us. We retired early, in preparation for Friday, which was our immunization day.
Again I must apologize for the boring monologue - but I did say I would write about what we are doing. I assure you that the pictures will be much more effective that what I can write.
Yesterday was a day that I will never, in my entire lifetime, forget. It was one of those rare days that happen in your life, and if you are really lucky, perhaps one of a few.
The day started early - we had to be in the hotel lobby with breakfast in our stomachs, by 7:30. We once again boarded the bus, and headed north to the villages where we were going to be doing the polio vaccinations. What was supposed to be a one hour bus ride, ended up being two, and that bus went on roads that were definetly not designed for buses. There were times when we were driving through trees that were touching both sides of the bus.
We arrived at what they describe as a medical clinic - a combination of several buildings, each serving a purpose. There we picked up two doctors and some health care workers, before heading out to the villages. The next stop was a small village with a one building clinic, which was to be our starting point. We were divided into groups of two, three or four and paired with one or two health workers from the local villages. In most cases, they spoke little or no English.
Four of us had asked that we be put in a group where there would be limit walking. One of the ladies in our group is a polio survivor, who walks with a defined limp; one had recent surgery; one has some arthritis; and I am simply not in good enough shape to be hiking through the jungle for hours. There was a definite lack of communication - we ended up being the group that walked the most!
At the start, we were told it was one kilometer to the village, which we thought would be fine. After walking in the 80 degree heat for about an hour - obviously further than one kilometer, we came upon a small hut on the side of the road, which provided us with some shade. Fortunately there was a small bench to sit on, and when we did realized that it was some type of community sewing center. One woman was sitting a table with a treddle sewing machine, and others had various pieces of material, either waiting for their turn, or for the seamstress to fix.
At that point we should have realized things were not what they said. By God's Grace, a pick up truck came by, and the health workers convinved him to drive the four of us to the next village which took about 10 minutes by car. I for one was very grateful, as I believe was the rest of the group.
At the village, we came across the first child to be vaccinated, only to have his father refuse. The African people, at least those that we have come across so far, have an interesting way of conversing. It is always loud, and seem argumentative. In any event, after about 10 minutes, the health care worker asked Sara (the woman who had polio as a child) to show the man her leg, which she did. That seemed to do the trick, as after another 5 minutes or so, the dad agreed to allow the drops. The boy however did not agree, and it was very difficult to get those two drops in his mouth in between the screams. After the two drops we marked the left hand pinky finger with a black marker to indicate the vaccination.
After that first vaccination, I lost count of the number of children. Judy counted the number of villages we went to, and there were 9, each of which were a fair distance apart. As we approached each village, one of the younger boys would appear with a bench and put it in the center hut for us to sit on. They really were quite respectful - and I'm sure they thought we all were really old. Each village has what appeared to be a common area, which was basically just a thatched roof held up by four posts. The huts themselves are basically mud huts with thatched roofs, and little else. I did not see any mattresses for children or adults to sleep on, or pillows, or any other comforts. There was no running water, no electricity, and most of the children wore little or no clothing. It was difficult to tell boys from girls, until someone said that the girls have pierced ears. It really is hard to describe - the pictures will do a much better job. However, they all appeared to be in reasonably good health - their diet seems to consist of corn, fruit and vegetables.
Despite our best efforts to tell the health workers we wanted to stop, they kept us going and going. Each village they would tell us was the last, then we would go to another. Finally Judy said STOP! I was very concerned for both her and Sara. I thought Judy was going to pass out, or worse, from heat stroke. It was quite scary at the time. She really was not well, and I feared that she was in danger. When they finally realized we were not going to go any further, all of a sudden motorcycles appeared out of nowhere to take us back to the meeting area. It was a bit ironic, since it was our refusal to go on the motorcycles in the first place that we ended up walking so far. One of the ladies had bad experiences on a motorcycle, and was rather fearful. However at that point we really had no choice. We had no idea where we were, and were completly at the mercy of the health care workers, and the men on the motorcycles.
In any other place, the last thing in the world I would ever do, would be to get on the back of a motorcycle, with no helmet, holding onto a black man whose name I did not know, in the middle of the African Jungle. As we were going down the dirt road, it hit me how surreal it was. And how trusting we all were that we would make it back to the meeting area safely. But we did. After sitting in the shade for a while, Judy started to feel better, but was still not well. We waited about two hours before the bus came back for us, and I cannot tell you how happy we were to get on that air conditioned bus.
While we were waiting, many of the local school children stopped by to see who we were. People were taking pictures, then showing them to the children, and it was just hilarious watching their reaction. I wonder if any of them had seen a camera before. I know we have lots of good photos and footage on video.
Needless to say, the day was probably one of the most exhausting I have had for a long time. The bus ride back to the hotel was even longer than the ride out, due to the Friday night traffic. We were supposed to be back at the hotel about 3, but we did not get back until 7:30. THEN, we had to go out with our host Rotarians for dinner. Out of our group of nine, I was impressed that eight of us were able to find the energy to go - including Judy. We were taken in two cars to a restaurant where there was a private room for us to dine in. It was a lovely meal, however the African people, similar to the French, take a long time to eat. And they like to eat late at night, as opposed to Americans. The meal went on and on, until finally I had to let our host know that we were all extremely tired. We didn't get back to the hotel until midnight! Some of the other groups were even later than we were - and each group had a different venue, and different experience. It is interesting to talk to others in the groups as to what they did.
Today is a bit of a down day for some of us. Our particular group left here at 9:00 to go and see some of the projects that the Rotary Club of Cotonou has done, and will be back around noon. However given that they seem to operate on their own time, it could be either earlier or later. Some of the groups have another full day, but we have been blessed with what is supposed to be a shorter day. It's a good thing, because it has allowed me to update this blog.
As I mentioned earlier, I did not go on the day trip because I was feeling a bit "off".One of our team members is out with something that she picked up yesterday. Fortunately, both Judy and I are still healthy and doing ok.
Tonight we are going to the Charter Night for two new Rotary Clubs. We do not leave here until 8:00, so it is going to be another late night. Tomorrow the West Africa Project Fair, the other reason for this trip, starts. It may be another couple of days before I get the opportunity to do another posting. However I do plan on posting the photos, as soon as Judy and the group return.
I'm sure I have bored some of you with my ramblings and for that I apologize. This is such an interesting and amazing place, with so much to see that putting it in words can take some time. Benin is a very safe place for Americans, as there is very little Anti American sentiment here. This certainly is a trip that did not at all disappoint, and it's not over yet!
From Benin,
Bev
For all of you who have been following this blog, our apologies for not doing any new posts the last few days. We literally have not had a moment of free time since landing here on Wednesday afternoon. It is only now that I have had a chance to sit down and do an update, and unfortunately I am doing so without my camera. I opted out of one of the tours this morning, feeling a bit out of sorts, but after a short rest I am feeling much better. Judy went out with the group and I gave her the camera - upon her return I will post all of the photos that have been taken to date. So, for now, this is only going to be a written account of what we have been doing and seeing on our trip to date.
The last post was from the Paris airport, which seems like so long ago, yet it was only a few days. We arrived in Benin in the evening about 8:00. After going through customs, which really was quite easy, we had to collect our bags - now that was interesting. Everyone was trying to collect their bags at the same time, so our tour leader suggested that we all step aside and let everyone else on the plane get their luggage so that we could move more easily. The area was very crowded, and very hot - then it seemed like all of a sudden everyone was gone, leaving only our group. Interestingly enough, there was a security guard at the door that checked to make sure that every bag on our cart belonged to us.
We finally loaded on to a air conditioned bus, which was heavenly. The temperature when we arrived was in the low 80's, but it is the humidity that makes if feel so much hotter. Between the baggage area and walking to the bus, we must have been approached by a least 1/2 dozen people selling everything you can imagine.
The checkin process at the hotel was very easy. We were all pre registered, so all we had to do was get our room key. After a short orientation with the tour leader, we finally made it up to our room, which I would describe as very small. The hotel itself is quite nice, a beautiful lobby area, with some very interesting woodwork. I would describe it as a four star hotel by our standards, however not when it comes to the rooms, which as I mentioned are very small. They do have a television in the room, a desk, two chair and a small round table, and two twin beds, which are only about 6'' apart. There is barely room to walk around in, but it is clean, we have hot water, and the shower works!
Onto our travels...Thursday we took a bus tour of the city of Cotonou. It is so different than anything I have seen before. There are merchants selling everything you can imagine on the sidewalks, although they are not really sidewalks. Although the main roads are paved, everything else is more like a dirt road. In some ways it reminds me of Mexico, although we did not really see many beggars - mostly everyone was trying to sell something. I saw one lady walking down the street with a huge basket on her head, attached to which were hangers with clothes on them. I don't think I have yet seen what we would call a regular store, although I'm sure there are some. Traffic is unbelievable - and the amazing thing to me is that there are far more motorcyles than there are cars. Not many people on regular pedal bikes though. You can hire a motorcycle taxi, recognizable by their yellow shirts, to take you anywhere. Most of the men we saw we were wearing what might be described as colorful pajamas - matching pants and shirts. Women are dressed in very colorful long dresses for the most part. For what were able to observe from the bus, people appear to be healthy and happy. We saw very few people over the age of maybe 40, which makes sense considering we learned that the life expectancy for men is 55 and for women it is 60.
For lunch we joined a Rotary meeting, where all 13 Cotonou clubs were represented. Lunch was delicious, and consisted of a salad made with cucumbers, tomatoes, and some type of spicy dressing. The main course was a type of beef in gravy, served with rice and plantain, which is really quite good. Dessert here is usually fruit.
We have been divided into teams, and Judy and I are in the "A" Team, and by some fluke, I am the team leader. There are nine of us in the group, three from Hawaii and six from California and Oregon. One of the ladies in our group fell on cement the day before coming here, and her face is stitched up and black and blue. I think there are about seven teams, and we will be in our team for the duration of the stay. Each team has a Rotary Club assigned to them, and we are partnered with the Rotary Club of Cotonou, the oldest club in Benin.
After lunch we were invited to the residence of the US Ambassador to Benin, who only arrived here 10 days ago. We spent the afternoon there, listening to all of the things that the Embassy does. It was hot, humid, and I'm afraid to say a bit boring, since I am a Canadian Citizen.
Dinner was an event outside of the hotel, which was really just heavy appetizers. Judy and I chose not to attend, as by that time jet lag was doing a number on us. We retired early, in preparation for Friday, which was our immunization day.
Again I must apologize for the boring monologue - but I did say I would write about what we are doing. I assure you that the pictures will be much more effective that what I can write.
Yesterday was a day that I will never, in my entire lifetime, forget. It was one of those rare days that happen in your life, and if you are really lucky, perhaps one of a few.
The day started early - we had to be in the hotel lobby with breakfast in our stomachs, by 7:30. We once again boarded the bus, and headed north to the villages where we were going to be doing the polio vaccinations. What was supposed to be a one hour bus ride, ended up being two, and that bus went on roads that were definetly not designed for buses. There were times when we were driving through trees that were touching both sides of the bus.
We arrived at what they describe as a medical clinic - a combination of several buildings, each serving a purpose. There we picked up two doctors and some health care workers, before heading out to the villages. The next stop was a small village with a one building clinic, which was to be our starting point. We were divided into groups of two, three or four and paired with one or two health workers from the local villages. In most cases, they spoke little or no English.
Four of us had asked that we be put in a group where there would be limit walking. One of the ladies in our group is a polio survivor, who walks with a defined limp; one had recent surgery; one has some arthritis; and I am simply not in good enough shape to be hiking through the jungle for hours. There was a definite lack of communication - we ended up being the group that walked the most!
At the start, we were told it was one kilometer to the village, which we thought would be fine. After walking in the 80 degree heat for about an hour - obviously further than one kilometer, we came upon a small hut on the side of the road, which provided us with some shade. Fortunately there was a small bench to sit on, and when we did realized that it was some type of community sewing center. One woman was sitting a table with a treddle sewing machine, and others had various pieces of material, either waiting for their turn, or for the seamstress to fix.
At that point we should have realized things were not what they said. By God's Grace, a pick up truck came by, and the health workers convinved him to drive the four of us to the next village which took about 10 minutes by car. I for one was very grateful, as I believe was the rest of the group.
At the village, we came across the first child to be vaccinated, only to have his father refuse. The African people, at least those that we have come across so far, have an interesting way of conversing. It is always loud, and seem argumentative. In any event, after about 10 minutes, the health care worker asked Sara (the woman who had polio as a child) to show the man her leg, which she did. That seemed to do the trick, as after another 5 minutes or so, the dad agreed to allow the drops. The boy however did not agree, and it was very difficult to get those two drops in his mouth in between the screams. After the two drops we marked the left hand pinky finger with a black marker to indicate the vaccination.
After that first vaccination, I lost count of the number of children. Judy counted the number of villages we went to, and there were 9, each of which were a fair distance apart. As we approached each village, one of the younger boys would appear with a bench and put it in the center hut for us to sit on. They really were quite respectful - and I'm sure they thought we all were really old. Each village has what appeared to be a common area, which was basically just a thatched roof held up by four posts. The huts themselves are basically mud huts with thatched roofs, and little else. I did not see any mattresses for children or adults to sleep on, or pillows, or any other comforts. There was no running water, no electricity, and most of the children wore little or no clothing. It was difficult to tell boys from girls, until someone said that the girls have pierced ears. It really is hard to describe - the pictures will do a much better job. However, they all appeared to be in reasonably good health - their diet seems to consist of corn, fruit and vegetables.
Despite our best efforts to tell the health workers we wanted to stop, they kept us going and going. Each village they would tell us was the last, then we would go to another. Finally Judy said STOP! I was very concerned for both her and Sara. I thought Judy was going to pass out, or worse, from heat stroke. It was quite scary at the time. She really was not well, and I feared that she was in danger. When they finally realized we were not going to go any further, all of a sudden motorcycles appeared out of nowhere to take us back to the meeting area. It was a bit ironic, since it was our refusal to go on the motorcycles in the first place that we ended up walking so far. One of the ladies had bad experiences on a motorcycle, and was rather fearful. However at that point we really had no choice. We had no idea where we were, and were completly at the mercy of the health care workers, and the men on the motorcycles.
In any other place, the last thing in the world I would ever do, would be to get on the back of a motorcycle, with no helmet, holding onto a black man whose name I did not know, in the middle of the African Jungle. As we were going down the dirt road, it hit me how surreal it was. And how trusting we all were that we would make it back to the meeting area safely. But we did. After sitting in the shade for a while, Judy started to feel better, but was still not well. We waited about two hours before the bus came back for us, and I cannot tell you how happy we were to get on that air conditioned bus.
While we were waiting, many of the local school children stopped by to see who we were. People were taking pictures, then showing them to the children, and it was just hilarious watching their reaction. I wonder if any of them had seen a camera before. I know we have lots of good photos and footage on video.
Needless to say, the day was probably one of the most exhausting I have had for a long time. The bus ride back to the hotel was even longer than the ride out, due to the Friday night traffic. We were supposed to be back at the hotel about 3, but we did not get back until 7:30. THEN, we had to go out with our host Rotarians for dinner. Out of our group of nine, I was impressed that eight of us were able to find the energy to go - including Judy. We were taken in two cars to a restaurant where there was a private room for us to dine in. It was a lovely meal, however the African people, similar to the French, take a long time to eat. And they like to eat late at night, as opposed to Americans. The meal went on and on, until finally I had to let our host know that we were all extremely tired. We didn't get back to the hotel until midnight! Some of the other groups were even later than we were - and each group had a different venue, and different experience. It is interesting to talk to others in the groups as to what they did.
Today is a bit of a down day for some of us. Our particular group left here at 9:00 to go and see some of the projects that the Rotary Club of Cotonou has done, and will be back around noon. However given that they seem to operate on their own time, it could be either earlier or later. Some of the groups have another full day, but we have been blessed with what is supposed to be a shorter day. It's a good thing, because it has allowed me to update this blog.
As I mentioned earlier, I did not go on the day trip because I was feeling a bit "off".One of our team members is out with something that she picked up yesterday. Fortunately, both Judy and I are still healthy and doing ok.
Tonight we are going to the Charter Night for two new Rotary Clubs. We do not leave here until 8:00, so it is going to be another late night. Tomorrow the West Africa Project Fair, the other reason for this trip, starts. It may be another couple of days before I get the opportunity to do another posting. However I do plan on posting the photos, as soon as Judy and the group return.
I'm sure I have bored some of you with my ramblings and for that I apologize. This is such an interesting and amazing place, with so much to see that putting it in words can take some time. Benin is a very safe place for Americans, as there is very little Anti American sentiment here. This certainly is a trip that did not at all disappoint, and it's not over yet!
From Benin,
Bev
Monday, November 2, 2009
In San Francisco
This really doesn't have much to do with our Africa trip, but I wanted to post this picture of my Mike's and my daughter Kim, with her boyfriend Joe. We spent all day with them, wandering around San Francisco looking at the sights. There were two highlights of the day - one was the cable car ride, and the other was the chocolate sundae in a waffle cone that we had at Ghiradelli's. It was the best I have ever had!
What a gorgeous day we had - beautiful clear blue sky (free of the vog!) and temperature in the mid 70's. We probably walked about 10 miles today, but it was well worth it. San Francisco is a very interesting place - walking down the street you probably encounter people speaking in at least four different languages. Lots of things to do and see, but with only one day we managed to do quite a bit. Tomorrow afternoon we board the plane for Paris, and the adventure really begins!
The other picture below if Judy standing in front of a interesting railing downtown somewhere...
What a gorgeous day we had - beautiful clear blue sky (free of the vog!) and temperature in the mid 70's. We probably walked about 10 miles today, but it was well worth it. San Francisco is a very interesting place - walking down the street you probably encounter people speaking in at least four different languages. Lots of things to do and see, but with only one day we managed to do quite a bit. Tomorrow afternoon we board the plane for Paris, and the adventure really begins!
The other picture below if Judy standing in front of a interesting railing downtown somewhere...
Sunday, November 1, 2009
We are on our way! Here is a picture of Judy and I at the Kona Airport with all of our luggage. Two of the suitcases are filled with school supplies for the children in Benin, and the other two are our personal bags. We are now in San Franciso, the first night of our trip, and are staying at the Best Western Tuscan Inn at Fisherman's Wharf. Nice cool evening, a definite change from Kona. Tomorrow we will venture around the area, taking in all there is to see. Until tomorrow..
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)