Uncategorized 7:28 am
Curious what we saw in the park? Here’s the list of mammals, as best as I can tell from the field guide I found at the workstation:
Uncategorized 6:40 pm
Well, expect to be underwhelmed. My digital photos from the park leave a lot to be desired. Not unexpected, given I was operating with two cameras (one film), neither of which had an appropriate zoom lens.
Uncategorized 2:30 pm
I (Jeff, seul, thanks to Phoebe having to work in Porto Novo this week) just got back to the Natitingou workstation from a trip with a few friends to the Pendjari National Park in northeastern Benin. Apart from a guide who was essentially an overpaid taxi driver, and no lions or hyenas, we had a great time.
We saw many, many antelope, buffalo, hippopotamus, baboons, crocodiles, birds, warthogs, and even elephants. Of course, unlike a zoo or even San Diego’s Wild Animal Park, it was pretty hard to see much of anything. Leaving the trails is, of course, not allowed. And — who knows. Luck, I guess.
At any rate, we stayed a night at the Hotel Tata Samba, in the park, which was pleasant. We packed our food in and our trash out; though, we could’ve eaten at the hotel had we liked.
Two game management practices that should not be allowed:
Pictures to come. I’ll post the link.
Uncategorized 9:41 am
I was ambushed the other day by my next door neighbor, Daniel, and his friend, Angelo. As I walked into our concession, the two of them asked me over to help them with their English. I acquiesced.
An hour or two later, I had to cut them off. After all, I hadn’t eaten yet, and neither had Phoebe.
That night, they came by and thanked me profusely – apparently my help had made them feel they did well on the exam they’d had that day. Since I was such a brilliant teacher, they asked me to tutor them twice per week.
We’ve had a couple sessions so far. The first was very English-oriented. The latest was mostly in French. After all, the Israeli-Palestinian situation is difficult enough to understand in one’s own tongue, let alone a third! What I’ve realized is that these sessions aren’t going to be so much about English, however, as they are about everything.
No matter how poor an education you think you received in the USA; no matter how little you think you pay attention to the news or know of the world; no matter how little you’ve read the Bible or anything else for that matter: you know more than a Beninese high schooler. Probably more than most Beninese – period.
We are blessed in the US to have access to education, to materials, to information. You can’t help but have some awareness of where things are in the world, no matter how bad your geography. You probably understand the US used to produce a lot of things, which made us rich, and doesn’t so much any more, which may be out economic downfall.
Through my English lessons, I’m learning that America’s greatness has largely come through the access to information we all have. From libraries to cable or satellite TV, from the Internet to schoolbooks, we take for granted the wealth of knowledge, information, wisdom, and news that is at our fingertips. Whether you want to or not, you probably know what’s going on in Gaza and which countries are considered “state sponsors of terrorism.” You probably know whether the job market is booming or if unemployment has skyrocketed. You know which country built your car, about how long it would take you to get there, and what language they speak.
In short, ours is indeed a society built on knowledge.
So, I’m trying to share what I know with my two new tutees. Peace Corps likes to call this the “Second Goal.” That is, Americans sharing info about America with “host country nationals.” I’m hoping to go beyond America, though, and show these kids a bit of the world.
In a globalized economy, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t.
