Showing posts with label 10 things I learned this week. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 10 things I learned this week. Show all posts

10 Things I Learned this Week, Edition 8

Posted by Gaurav On Monday, July 18, 2011 1 comments

Boy, have things ever flown by fast eh? Here we are in the middle of July, halfway through my 10th week in Benin and already the 8th edition of this post. For things I learned points 70 – 80, I was as not as stretched to find as you might think, there always seems to be something new to learn. So here is my collection from the past week:


1. Although locals might find it cute when you say hello in Fon, make sure you also know the term “I don’t speak much Fon” as well, because they usually revert to their more comfortable language otherwise.

2. Made my first trip to the police station, and it wasn’t a visit. A senior officer stopped me while I was walking to the orphanage around 8 in the morning, and demanded that I show my passport to prove my Canadian citizenship. After quizzing me on visa specifications he figured it was ok to let me go. Odd.

3. Staying on the subject of police, I saw my first up close and personal bribe when a policeman stopped us and saw that my host dad wasn’t wearing a seatbelt (no one here does). He refused to issue a ticket, instead insisting that we help him pay for a couple of beers tonight.

4. My leg hair is by far the most interesting thing about me to the Beninois. I wore shorts frequently last week and was fielding questions from the kids at the orphanage about it at work, and then at home when I returned.

5. As a result of personal observation: kids become sneaky around 2 and a half. Aristotle tries to convince Alberique to go eat with the rest of us so he can play with the Nintendo DS: “Rico, va manger no?”
Delicious slice of birthday cake for Mama's birthday. Iced cake is significantly more expensive here compared to other food, but they personalize the icing and it was scrumptious!

6. The Beninois generally don’t resent their socialist history as much as many other countries in the world. Many previously government owned farms that produced vegetables and livestock are now just overgrown patches of useless land.

7. A large portion of the Nigerians living in Benin are refugees of the Ogoni ethnic minority in the Niger Delta area. Read more about the conflict here.

8. The reason why using two hands to eat in Benin is frowned upon is because traditionally, one hand was used to eat, and the other used to wipe your butt.

9. The school system here, based on the French system, requires that the Beninois learn two languages in addition to French in school. That’s aiming for proficiency in 4 languages, including their local one!

10. The Beninois opinion of France is generally very low, but the country relies very strongly on France (as the most powerful Francophone country in the world), for everything from international news to financial aid, so it is an interesting love hate relationship.

And that’s all for this week! Hope you enjoyed and lease leave a comment or two of feedback, as always! Are these starting to get stale??


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Ten Things I Learned This Week: Malaria Edition

Posted by Gaurav On Saturday, July 16, 2011 1 comments

So, as some of you might already know, there’s been a combination of reasons why I haven’t posted a blog in more than a week now. Firstly, the internet connection has been down in Ouidah since that big storm about two weeks ago that I mentioned in my previous TTILTW post. The internet only returned yesterday. In the meantime, I had to make do with my cellphone internet, which is only reliable enough to use facebook and google (my previous posts I put up during a trip to Cotonou). Secondly, that trip I took to Cotonou was to the hospital because I was feeling sick. I had learned that I had malaria, along with, um, digestive track issues caused by a bacterial infection. Needless to say, it was tough, but I also learned a lot from the experience so let’s not delay:


1. Malaria is the tropical equivalent of the flu (the illnesses are very different, but I mean the local people’s perception of each). Annoying, happens often, and it is relatively harmless if identified and treated with medicine.

2. Likewise, The Flu would probably kill as many people as malaria does if it was present in the tropical areas of the world: the problem isn’t so much the disease as it is the lack of prevention, identification, and treatment.

3. Day trips are slightly less fun when you feel like crap. Malaria makes you feel dizzy and weak, aside from an occasional fever and painful gums, I didn’t show any other symptoms. It was a weird adjustment being sick without the customary cough or runny nose.

4. Malarone is an adept beast. It is a preventative medicine that can be used in the treatment of malaria as well, just by changing the dosage.

5. The local herbal remedy for malaria is called Tizan (tease-ann). It is a tea made with the leaves of a certain plant. After much pressure from my family, I decided it take it on the 4th day of my sickness. Does it work? Maybe... it might have been the Malarone finally kicking in or the Tizan, but I got better soon after.

6. Tizan is the most bitter tasting thing in the world. Honestly. I got some pineapple and grapefruit juice in mine to counter it, but I tried some of Yannick’s (he was also sick later on), and he wasn’t as lucky.  

7. I saw another government ad on TV: this time about how each family can pick up complimentary mosquito nets and how important they are for preventing malaria.

8. Middle class Beninois people are kind of resentful of the developed countries media portrayal of complete poverty in Benin (especially malaria and disease), as it glosses over their existence. It will be interesting to see how this impacts the culture as the middle class continues to grow.

9. Malaria (carried in your bloodstream), stays in your body for 6-7 days after the mosquito bite that carried it before showing any symptoms, so it’s not even possible to point to a mosquito bite and say, “This is where I got malaria”. I was looking forward to that.

10. The digestive problems turned out to be more of a pain than the malaria (they were unrelated). I didn’t really stop feeling those until a couple days ago whereas the malaria was gone by Monday.

And that’s all for this edition! I hope you were able to take a little bit away from this post, specifically how much the media has the power to warp our perception of things. I was mortified of getting malaria when I first got here because my only knowledge of it had been seeing headlines like “2 million die from malaria” in the news. Now, I know it is relatively harmless as long as you’ve got some medicine (the pharmacy has lots of medicine that has scientifically proven to work, and it’s actually cheaper than the stomach ache stuff I bought here just because of the high demand). Take care until next time!


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Ten things I learned this week, Edition 6

Posted by Gaurav On Thursday, July 7, 2011 2 comments

This week, I had to think hard about what to include and what not to include. It was a week full of travel and sightseeing, new experiences and lessons. I am now more than halfway through my trip to Benin. I hope you enjoy this edition!


1. How the dread feels when you eat a delicious mango, only to inspect the plate and see tens of tiny white worms wriggling around the inside of the peel.

2. Zangbeto, the Voodun god of the skies and thunder, has a cruel sense of humour. On the day I wanted to try my new swim shorts out at the beach, it rained for 7 hours straight and a pool of water formed inside my room.

3. Being caught in the middle of a mom – dad argument is significantly more awkward when they are not your mom and dad.

4. After about 50 days of setting up my mosquito net, it has become so routine that I can do it in pitch black darkness... that’s going on my CV.

5. How to say “no” in the local language, Fon (“EY-yooo”). It’s helpful for the market when people won’t understand “non, je ne veux pas ça”.

6. You pretty much have to walk through the market saying “EY-yooo” at regular 2 second intervals.

7. The largest university in Benin, Abomey-Calvari, has an absolutely dreamy main campus, tranquil off the side of a busy road. It is larger than any campus I’ve ever seen and is about 80% green space.

One of the roads in the expansive university campus.
8. University students are the same everywhere. Saw “Vive la revolution” spray painted on a couple of buildings on campus. Vive la revolution indeed.

9. The people of Ganvié, “The City on Stilts”, have to leave their homes for land every October because the water level rises about a metre and a half and floods their houses, about a metre deep. Every year.

10. The unlimited mobile internet that I’ve been lead to believe exists by the posters plastered across Cotonou doesn’t actually exist, it’s just false advertising, as calmly explained the service provider representative.

Here’s to hoping this week is just as active. It got off on the right foot: today when Aristotle and I were having lunch he looked at me and said, “Gaurav... c’est chaud” with wide eyes, as if to say be careful. (this coming from a guy who couldn’t speak a word of French when I arrived here in early May). The cutest thing this kid has ever done lol. Anyways, as always, leave one. Peace!


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10 Things I Learned this Week, Edition 5

Posted by Gaurav On Tuesday, June 28, 2011 0 comments

So! I didn’t get a chance to visit Parakou this weekend. Instead, I spent Saturday in the market at Cotonou and Sunday at home. Although I don’t have a summary of my trip to Parakou, I still did learn a lot over this past week. Here is a list of 10:


      1.       The worst sound in the world is the wailing of a handful of baby goats tied together by their legs to the top of a car. It’s literally disturbing – especially since their cries almost sound human.
      
      2 .      One of the shops in the airport at Cotonou has a photoshopped picture of Bob Marley holding a bottle of their sexual potency product in hand. Last minute souvenirs anyone?
    
      3.        Being alone at the beach after dark is scary as hell, and extremely dangerous. All of Ouidah becomes a ghost town past 8pm because you can’t see two feet in front of you most places.
     
      4.       Some massive eggs can have double yolks in them!!!
      
      5.       The Beninois government deserves some credit – they put together this commercial stressing the importance of wearing a helmet when driving motos. I was genuinely impressed.
     
      6.       The kids at the orphanage often use their vacation from school to spend time away from the orphanage living either with extended family, or with a host family. 
      
      7.       The rainy season means you might have to stick with dirty clothes for a while if the weather is not being particularly helpful.
    
      8.       For Beninois to get a visiting visa to Canada, it is about 3x more expensive than the same visa for the US. Bizarre, considering Canada is a French speaking country.

      9.       The grain that I have for breakfast (no idea how to spell the name), is usually only 2 spoonfuls per full bowl because it is expanded by the water added.
     
     10.   When a restaurant in Benin has air conditioning, you’re paying for it in the price of your meal. 

The eggstreme ends of the size spectrum for chicken eggs.
That’s all for this week! I know there wasn’t too much cultural stuff in there – if I head to Parakou next weekend you will definitely see more of that. If you have any other comments or feedback, please leave it, peace!


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Dix choses que j’ai appris cette semaine : édition 4.

Posted by Gaurav On Monday, June 20, 2011 0 comments

           Finalement, après une telle attente, je suis prêt donner vous ma première affiche en la belle langue de Français. Je connais il y aura beaucoup des erreurs, mais quand même, il n’y a pas mal en essayant. Si vous voir quelque erreurs flagrant, n’hésitez pas me dire dans les commentaires. 


1.       Il y a une 250 pièce de monnaie. C’est bizarre que je n’aie pas vu l’avant, considérer que j’aie été au Bénin pour plus qu’un mois.       

2.       « Aller à la plage » vraiment signifie, « Épiler sable de votre chevelu pour les 3 jours suivantes ». Et mes chevaux sont 1 cm long.

3.       Le marché, et presque tout en Cotonou ne va pas dimanche à cause de le présence religieux dans la cité. J’ai appris cet à propos un dimanche trop retard.  

4.       Bien que « Amélie » peut-être un gagnant Oscar, le n’est pas un film pour famille. Et l’est bizarre. Encore, j’ai appris ça par le difficile chemin.

5.       Alberique étudie des informatiques. Tout ça temps j’ai pensé il était étudier gestion… mon français devais vraiment mal !

6.       Mon ami au cyber (il a 10 ans), trouve mon photo sur Facebook être « super funny ». Merci mec… je suis en train de prendre ça comme un complément.

7.       « Tu as faire un peu ? » n’est pas vraiment une expression français, à vrai dire, c’est un résultat de la directe traduction de la même expression en Fon, la langue locale.

8.       Le jeu de dames est plus lourd en stratégie que j’ai pensée.

Un autre type de nourriture durée, le termite volant
   9.       Mange les épis des mais, peut te donner un mal de tête. Oui, c’est aussi duré.

  10.   Vous saviez ça était venir : écrire en français est un casse-pied !




Je sais j’ai dit il y aurait deux affiches aujourd’hui mais à part du fait que personne ne se souci, honnête, écrire un affiche en français est assez pour moi ! Jusqu’à la prochaine fois !


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10 Things I Learned this Week, Edition 3

Posted by Gaurav On Thursday, June 16, 2011 1 comments

So, I am aware that this edition is late, and that I haven’t posted on my blog in over a week. Let me assure you that this is not because I have given up on the blog. I`ve been shown so much support that every day that passed without me posting, I felt extremely guilty. Although I`ve just been busy in general, I also have been preparing a long post about dealing with failure. Hopefully I will get my act together and have it up tomorrow. But for now, here are the 10 things I learned this week:

A vendor at the market in Porto Novo.


      1.       TV here is really diverse. On the same channel, I`m watching a kung-fu movie from the 70s before I leave for the day, and watching CBC and Nollywood (Nigerian) movies by the time I’m home.

      2.       Papaya has the consistency of avocado.


      3.       Aristotle will stop at nothing to injure himself. Last week he swallowed a 10 FCFA coin. I saw the x-rays, and its hanging around in his stomach – the poor kid might need surgery.

      4.       Friends are actually really easy to make here, and if you hang around somewhere long enough people will ask for your number to hang out sometime later.

      5.       So that’s what salt water tastes like... and feels like in your cuts.

      6.       Don’t play in the sand if you’re wearing double layered track pants with a hole in one layer (L)

      7.       It’s possible to have more coconut milk than you can handle, with this realization coming halfway through only my second coconut.

      8.       The legal age for driving a moto is how long it takes you to grow tall enough for your feet to reach the pedals. Yannick is 12 and he drives like a veteran.

      9.       I’m lucky I didn’t do my schooling in Benin, because the biology exams here are all long answer. I don’t envision myself writing any “Long Answer Strategies” posts anytime soon.

     10.   The orphanage I’m working with is actually very well off in comparison to many orphanages in this country. Some of the kids even have family that takes them in when they are done the school year. Of course, the issue now is that the orphanage needs constant funding to remain at this level, and that’s why I’m helping look for funding to start a sustainable project at the orphanage.


Ok! That’s all for this week. I see that I kind of went on a bit of a rant on the last point there but oh well. Check back soon because I’m going to start making up for my week of missed posts!


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10 Things I Learned this Week, Edition 2

Posted by Gaurav On Monday, June 6, 2011 2 comments

Here comes the second edition of 10 things I learned this week. I learned plenty of lessons since the last post, with a weekend in Ouidah first, followed by another week or work and host family, culminating with a trip to Porto Novo (the capital of Benin) this past weekend. Hope you enjoy!


1. Next time I pay a guide a ton of money to show me around some places, I should make sure they can speak English.


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10 Things I Learned this Week, Edition 1.

Posted by Gaurav On Monday, May 30, 2011 4 comments

With Sunday rolling around, I wanted to start a feature that I hope to continue once a week here in Benin: ten things that I have learned this past week. I think this is important because it allows me to make light of the learning curve I’m having here, while giving readers an idea about my experiences during the week without boring them with too many details. So here we go, week 1!


Prince, my French teacher, takes care of my more orthodox lessons in Benin.
1) Even light rain can hurt when you are doing 80 on a moto down the highway.

2) Children will go as far as licking concrete walls to get attention, and no, it’s definitely not a cultural thing.

3) Not to pay for tours unless they are in both French AND English.

4) The bigger the roach, the fewer whacks it takes to kill.

5) In the “Yagbo yagbo bonsoir, ca va bien? Merci!” chant sung by children whenever I pass some of them, “yagbo” means “white person”.

6) I’m a yagbo.

7) Thunderstorms that would get “storm warning” notices on Ontario TV screens are the norm here.

8) The concept of a cell phone contract is perplexing to most people I’ve tried to explain it to.

9) The Portuguese were the first to establish the slave trade in Ouidah. 

10) Sitting in front of a DSLR stating your name and aspirations looks easier than it is on the other side.

Hope you enjoyed! Currently the internet is down but I hope I can get this post up sometime later tonight. Please don’t forget to leave comments, it is greatly appreciated! If you are reading this and you have your own blog about your summer program or for that matter anything to do with my website, please let me know so I can share the address in my links.

Not able to upload pics right now for whatever reason... really frustrating but I will figure it out tomorrow!  

Tout à l’heure!



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