trying times

We had a tiring week last week. Over the weekend, Benjy had had vomiting, diarrhoea and a high temperature. A visit to our local clinic on Monday for some tests revealed that he had a bacterial infection. Antibiotics soon had him recovering, but after four very turbulent nights his parents needed to recuperate too!

Just as Benjy was on the mend, our fridge broke down. Everything in the freezer de-frosted and had to be thrown away or eaten, and we had to chuck a few things from the fridge too. Thankfully we found a fridge repair man who was able to get it up and running again. He warned us though that conditions here – the heat plus the unreliable electricity supply – aren't great for fridges, and ours isn't the best model either.

However, stressful and exhausting as our week may have been, it is nothing compared to the suffering of others in this country. We and our neighbours at least have not been hit by the floods affecting many people in Benin – see here.

The farmers around us are worried though, as the rains are continuing longer than usual, and crops are rotting in the fields. And “farmers” applies to most of the people in the village so it is a hard time for all.

mystery objects

Yes, it's time for some more guessing games! Though I'm afraid anyone who lives, or has lived, in Benin is not allowed to give the answers - that just spoils it for everyone else! So here we go ... I think it goes from easiest to hardest, but we'll see. The final photo is not exactly native to Benin, but is rather abstract!

can cook, will cook

Last weekend our church here in Pèdè held a youth rally – an event hosted each year by one of ten churches in the region. I wasn't able to go to the rally on the Saturday, as both boys were under the weather, so Marc went down on his own. But on the Friday the women of our church were preparing the food – for an estimated 100-200 people – and I went down to watch them. It was so different from the cooking I know that the only helpful thing I was able to do was to get the cellophane wrapping off a box of stock cubes which was giving them difficulty!

It was good to be there – so often I am put off going into the village by not knowing if anyone will be around, and this time I knew exactly where I would find people I know! I can't say I understood all that much of the conversation – which in a group of people who know each other extremely well is not that surprising – but I got the gist of things. I did manage to make a joke, at one point, and despite that being a risky thing to do when you're a language learner, it did appear to be understood and appreciated! I only understood on about the fifth telling when someone joked to me that if I ate their spicy sauce my skin would turn black like theirs!

It was interesting to see and have explained to me what they were doing. They were using enormous cooking pots over their three-stone cooking fires, using wood for fuel. When I was there they were making “akassa” - a starchy food made with fermented corn spooned into individual bags while it was hot (hygienic if not very environmentally friendly!). They were also making soy cheese, made with soya and the water taken from the fermented corn – when it becomes solid it is fried in oil. I tasted some of the akassa with the sauce they'd made (with beans and chilli peppers) – it was very good … and my skin isn't noticeably darker yet!

While it was a positive experience, it did bring back to me just how different my cultural background is to everyone here. They all knew what they were doing – they've grown up helping their mums do it – and for me it was all new. I already knew that I'll always be an outsider here, even though I am accepted and very welcome, but it really made me feel the fact that I am an oddity and that that won't change. It made me a bit sad, but that's just the way it is. It helped, the next morning, to be reminded in my Bible notes that as Christians we are all on a “journey of sacrifice”. And serving God here means sacrificing part of our identity and status. It is worth it!