Scenes from My Backyard - 1

In the grand scheme of things, there are many people, places, and things that I'll miss about Benin. I'm already sentimental as I prepare to part in 5 months.  My backyard finds itself on that list. Since I've been in my current house, many friends from the states and elsewhere have passed through, and they've all experienced the same peace that I experience on a daily basis. 

The mosquitos and sandflies are awful, but the wandering poultry, happy dogs, trees waving in the wind, and the African stars make up for the itching and gallons of deet. 

I've decided to start sketching my backyard. Below you'll see my first. I have a bit of a scribble-sketch style. I'm no artist.  This was the view from my couch this morning. I drank my coffee and looked out the door. 

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5. Don't Sell Your Baby. . .

My frustrations with the school system here are many. There is much I want to share before I leave. I just ran into this charming text from the 3eme (sophomore year) English as a Foreign Language Document.  I've tried to deal with this text and students many time, and I can't help but laugh. I don't even understand much of the lingo. . .

Text:

If you’re a young person, you’re going to be faced with something that can change your life. You’ll have to decide whether to do it or not. And if others are around, it’ll be hard to “just say no.” If you say “yes” and you’re lucky, the rush will last 20 minutes, so if you’re not so lucky, the rush won’t stop. Your blood pressure could rise high. Your heart beat out of control. You may have a heart attack. You could get a seizure, a stroke, or lapse into a coma.

Or you may just stop breathing altogether. Cocaine is extremely addictive. Maybe more so than heroin. If you smoke coke-as freebase or crack – you could get hooked from the first hit.

Why? Every coke high is followed by a low. To bring yourself back up, you do more coke. The highs don’t get any better, but the lows just get worse. You become tired. Irritable. If you get hooked, you’ll plunge into depression, even paranoia. You might even end up committing suicide.

Cocaine can alter brain chemistry until you prefer it over everything – food – water – even sex.  It could also make you do things you wouldn’t normally do.

One woman sold her baby to buy coke. And a 14-year-old boy killed his mother when she tried to stop his crack habit. It might sound exaggerated. Unbelievable. You may even think it could never happen to you. However, nearly 700 people died of cocaine abuse last year. Two to three (2-3) million ar addcits. And all these victims have one thin in common. They didn’t think anything would happen to them, either. With cocaine, you never know whether you’ll get hooked or not. Or whether you’ll die or not. And no one in the world can tell you. No doctor. No expert. But when you face that first line, you may be hearing a lot of other things. Like coke’s a fantastic trip. Or that everybody who’s somebody does it. You might even hear that it’ll make a man. But now you know what cocaine can do to you. And if you really want to prove you’re a man, you’ll make your own decisions.

Adapted from Parnership for a Drug-Free America

Document d’Accompagnement d’Anglais, 3eme, Benin

4. Tchoukatou

The tree filled horizon was quickly turning grey. Clouds clashed together and flashes of lightening zapped through the dusty sky.  The downpour began, pounding the roof of the hundred some market stalls at the Marché Des Sombas in Parakou, Benin.  We sat there, squash bowl in hand, watching the waterfalls of water cascade off the roof of the stall. 

Somba, often considered a slander, is what many people call the 4 or five ethnic groups found in the northeastern Attacora region of Benin. This region is known for it’s old granite mountains, waterfalls, majestic wildlife, and its delicious booze.

Women work hard here.  “Meals from scratch” are a reality that few westerns would understand. For many women the closest thing to a food processor is a millstone coupled with significant forearm strength.  To add to their already labor-intense existence, women take on the task of brewing Tchoukatou. It’s not uncommon to walk into a compound in northern Benin and find a woman using a giant spoon to stir a 10-gallon caldron on a wood fire.

She’s already been on the project for three days. She dried the millet, soaked it, let it germinate, milled it, and now she’s boiling it. After, the fermentation will take place, and those who count themselves lucky will be sitting on a log in a market stall, sipping the beverage out of a calabash bowl.

The Marché des Sombas has about 100 different Tchoukatou stalls. You can’t try every brew so you have to discriminate.  Observe and assume that the most crowded stalls have the best booze.  Have a seat and count on quickly becoming friends with the crowd.  They will respect you for your bravo.

Just like a gourmet restaurant will offer you a taste of the wine before you accept, the Tchoukatou Tanti will give you a splash of Tchouk.  If it’s early in the day, the drink might be sweeter; later it might be sour. Ideally it should be somewhere in the middle, and taste a bit stronger than beer.   A bit of active fermentation bubbling up is a good sign. If it’s too strong, feel free to mix a little sucrerie, the sweet, non-fermented version of the drink. 

Don’t like the brew you chose?  This is your chance to walk. If you’re a fan,  it’s time to order up. Order for 100 francs, and you’ll fill up your bowl. This will give you a nice buzz. Another 100 francs, and you’re well on your way.  Another 100, and you might need help from one of your new Beninese friends to bring you back to your residence.