lauren laughs

we had the most unusual weather in cotonou today… i think it must have been below 80 degrees! breezy and cloudy… i thought maybe if i sat on the deck with earphones, my eyes closed, and a shawl wrapped around me, maybe i could pretend i was sitting in the mountains on an autumn day. eh, no. couldn’t escape reality, despite my wild imagination. still, it was a welcome change in temperatures, which made me realize that part of my mind is convinced it’s still august.

since the weather has been consistently hot from the first day i arrived, it’s kinda like that movie “groundhog day,” i wake up to the same thing over and over. but as i was skyping with one of my friends this morning (skype lets you talk and see each other over the internet for free), i could see that he was wearing warm clothes. even the contents of his room gave evidence of cold weather. at which point i realized life goes on without me. part of me subconsciously has believed these past few months that my life is in “repeat play” (you know, when the same song plays over and over and over again) while everyone else’s lives are in “pause.” like people back home are just sitting still, waiting for me to get back. or maybe they’re watching my life on a movie, sometimes biting their nails and whispering, “no! don’t do that!” or “gosh, how’d she come out of that alive?” (like today when i got hit by a zemi jan (moped) while crossing the street… but it only barely brushed me!)

but, as it turns out, life goes on with and without me. the weather changes in other places, even if it stays the same here. and peeps back home aren’t waiting on standby, watching me live life… they’re living life too. of course i’ve known this all along, it just doesn’t feel that way.

speaking of skype, if you don’t have it, you should consider getting it. it’s free and easy. but friday is the last time i’ll have consistent internet access for a while. i’m moving to my new house, and it could take months to get internet set up!

tomorrow, december 1, is world AIDS day. according to the world health organization, in the parts of the world where HIV/AIDS is most prevalent, only one in ten people with HIV know they’re infected. knowledge is power. no, really, it is. you know about AIDS, so you have the power to do something to make a difference. what will you do?

i’ll be praying with a LOT of people from 7:00 to 17:00 (1-11 AM EST). you can join us if you want. don’t think prayer can make a difference? agree to disagree… then do something else. visit www.worldaidscampaign.info to learn more about what you can do.

tonight i took a bush van to porto novo (by myself! at night!) for class. i find that listening to my ipod shuffle on bush rides really helps to put things in perspective. odd. i know. but it’s like i have to have a backdrop of familiar music to remember just how unfamiliar my surroundings are. watching a woman walk down the road with a huge load on her head and a baby on her back… common enough… watching that same woman while listening to coldplay? or robert earl keen? or ani difranco? exotic and surreal.

so as i got comfy in my 6 inches of space this evening, i pressed play, wondering what the musical genius that is my shuffle would select for my listening pleasure. “all the trees of the field will clap their hands” by sufjan stevens. i closed my eyes, exhaled and smiled. here are the lyrics…

If I am alive this time next year,
will I have arrived in time to share?
And mine is about as good this far.
And I’m still applied to what you are.
And I am joining all my thoughts to you.
And I’m preparing every part for you.

And I heard from the trees a great parade.
And I heard from the hills a band was made.
And will I be invited to the sound?
And will I be a part of what you’ve made?
And I am throwing all my thoughts away.
And I’m destroying every bet I’ve made.
And I am joining all my thoughts to you.
And I’m preparing every part for you.

in the same way that the music colors my surroundings, my surroundings filter the music. words take on different or deeper meanings, songs become new again. i would discuss just how this song became new to me tonight, but i can’t write well enough to do so. and it wouldn’t mean the same to you anyhow. i mean, the lyrics are just one part of the entire experience. how can i possibly describe the effect of pitches, sound color, syncopation and repetition? and then all the memories that come with it… early mornings alone at MEA, contemplating preceptorial papers and fund raising while closing out grants… who was i then? who am i now? okay, enough already…

i’ve blogged about sufjan before. if you’re not already a fan, check him out.

one thing you learn quickly in africa, is that if someone asks how you’re doing, you always respond asking about their family…
“ça va?”
“oui, ça va. chez toi?”
literally, it’s asking about your home… up till now, i’ve felt silly saying “my home goes well.” i mean… what home?
until today.
today i can say, “chez moi va tres bien!!!!!!”
yes, after nearly 6 months of being a nomad (4 months in benin and 2 months in the states), i have found a home. and it’s perfect. it’s the best place ever, and no one can convince me otherwise.
i mean, it has a YARD! do you know how rare that is? very. in the smoggy city that is cotonou, i, lauren, will have trees. TREES! palm trees and banana trees!!!!!
it’s like my whole life just changed! TREES!

saturday’s english class was in porto novo, the political capital of benin. i teach in porto novo every wednesday night and every other saturday. to get there, i flag a “bush van” (as i like to call them… like a bush taxi, but bigger), which is essentially an astro van that has been equipped with 4 bench seats. 20 people (and their stuff) fit in a bush van. this is the standard number. there are no seat belts. it’s at least an hour’s ride each way, which costs about $2 roundtrip.

though bush vans are exceedingly hot, windy and cramped, they are fun. especially if you enjoy people watching. i would describe it, but fear some of my observations would seem irreverent to someone on the outside looking in… so ask me about it next time you see me.

anyway, the school where i teach in porto novo is partly a boarding school for girls. anyone can come to my classes, it’s just that we meet at the boarding school to accommodate the girls that board and are not allowed to leave. this technicality makes it difficult to do the fun things i get to do with the students in cotonou, but we make do…

so saturday we had a dance party in class. we talked about dance vocabulary (including body parts and movements… shake, twist, etc) and listened to african music. they tried to teach me african moves. then it was time for some american dance moves… my friend sarah was visiting, and we chose the tune “get down on it.” easy enough lyrics to teach the students, catchy tune, one of the best dance songs of all times. sarah and i totally “cut a rug” (that was a difficult expression to teach), and the students mimicked our every move… meaning they looked absolutely ridiculous. it was awesome.

ice cream!

saturday english classes are supposed to be especially fun. my goal is to get the students out of the classroom and into various settings to practice different kinds of vocabulary. i plan to take them to the market one day, to the beach, to my house (once i have one) etc. this past saturday in cotonou, i had a small group, only 8 students. so i “splurged” and took them to the ice cream shop around the corner.

we looked at the menu and discussed different items in english. we went to the ice cream counter to say all the different flavors in english. we discussed how we don’t “put” water in a glass, but “pour” it. i told the students they could each order one scoop of ice cream (800 cfa, or about $1.75 a pop), my treat. half the kids wanted to be like me, and ordered the exact same thing.

for the last 30 minutes of class i asked the “kids” to take 3 minutes to reflect on how God had blessed them in the past week, something they could share (in english) with the rest of the group. one student said, “God has blessed me this week with the opportunity to go where i have never gone and to eat what i have never eaten.” he had never had ice cream. wow.