Be in my head in Benin: Day 594: The Shire!

Michelle, Melissa, and I just got back from a quick trip to the northwest of Benin where another volunteer, Carlan, is posted. Near her village is a tourist location where one can see mud huts that are shaped much like a hobbit’s house. These structures are called ‘tata sombas’ and apparently fall apart every year due to the rain. The one we stayed at actually had a gaping hole on one part of the second floor/roof top, but our sleeping area seemed sturdy enough.

We had to hike for approximately two hours and fifteen minutes in the middle of the day, due to the time we arrived at Carlan’s post. Man, was it hot! I don’t think I’ve sweat like that since coming into the country. Actually, maybe I did sweat the same amount the very first night here where I ended up getting athlete’s foot. This time, I didn’t get any foot fungi, but I did manage to get two doses of blisters. I have come to believe that my feet were just not made for living life. Maybe I shouldn’t blame everything on my flat feet, but it is hard for me to think otherwise, since having flat feet has annoyed me since the third grade.

I think the best part of our trip was the fact that we had no real itinerary at the tata sombas and instead of being the tourist, we ended up becoming the evening’s entertainment. Upon our arrival, a mat was thrown out onto the floor of the people who would be cooking our dinner. As soon as we got comfortable on the mats a man came by with baby twins and gave a ‘husband’ for Melissa and Michelle. Once the babies started crying (they were probably less than six months old) we handed them off to their mother who immediately nursed them. We then went off to our sleeping building and were followed by the crowd of children who greeted us, trailed us to our mat, and would end up staring at us until we were finished with dinner.

There are a lot of things I’ve become used to in this country, like the list of stuff in the latter post, however, the amount of intrigue and sheer amusement these kids can get from more than one ‘yovo’ is incomprehensible. I’ve tried to think of equivalent scenarios in our lives back home, but I don’t think that is really possible. Of course, that is probably due to a cultural difference where staring at someone because they are different is frowned upon.

No matter. I had a great time and am sort of jealous that such awesome posts like that exist in this country. The grass always seems greener on the other side, but sometimes, it really is just greener. :P

Here we are on our way. We just traveled on this road for hours.

Unlike the south, the north can be very… arid… and sparse.

The twins I told you about. They ended up taking off the beanies soon after the picture because it was too hot. Haha. Plus, I don’t think they realized how dirty we were. Shhh.

Our guide and a big baobab tree. Oh, and the moon which lit up the sky like a 120kw bulb. It was hard to sleep having such a bright light turned on in the sky all night!