We are still alive, just in case you were starting to wonder...
The last couple of weeks have gone by quickly as Michée and Elmire were away for just over a week at a pastoral conference in Possotome (south Benin) so we had more responsibilities at church than usual...
Etienne is currently leading the new church building project, along with a small committee of church members who have building experience. We've had several meetings but the whole process is proving to be a bit of a challenge as we don't know the procedures and order of doing things in Bénin when it comes to building, and we're discovering that the concept of 'giving clear explanations' is alien to this culture...
A couple of other recent incidents reminded us that we come from another culture with a different way of thinking. I'd had a particularly traumatic day at school (CEG1) last Thursday and so when Etienne arrived to pick me up, he suggested we go and buy some frozen juice lollies to make up for it. (The trauma: I had to call the discipline manager to come to the class because nearly all the kids were talking and they wouldn't stop. He gave them a speech which scared them a bit and then called the chattiest kids forward - one of my students had been making a list at my request. He then got out his whip and whipped them hard across their chests. One girl was crying softly for the rest of the lesson... After that, they didn't talk with their friends but they didn't participate in the lesson either. It was like they'd turned into zombies. I hope I won't have to witness that again.) Anyway, we knew of two places where we could buy frozen lollies. We drove to the first one and the door to the shop was locked. So we went to the second one, only to discover that it wasn't there anymore - all of the freezers had been removed and the shop was empty. There was a guy on a bike with two small kids so we assumed he would know where to buy lollies. We asked him and he didn't seem to know what we were talking about. After a few minutes of further descriptions, he said "Ahhh yes, you can get them behind." "Behind what?" "Behind you. [pointing down the road] Over there." We enquired about how far down the long road and he just kept pointing and saying "That way, behind you"... We asked if it was near the pharmacy or near the bank, before or after the roundabout, and he repeated "Behind you." Then he gave up, told us to follow him and started driving down the road. After a few hundred metres, he stopped at the supermarket, which was locked, told us the lady must have gone out but that she would be back in a few minutes. Well, we waited a couple of minutes and then gave up and went home!
Giving directions using distances and landmarks really doesn't seem to be part of this culture!! We'll just have to learn to ask people to take us to where we need to go in the first place!
Then today, we went to a fabric shop to buy some fabric for Elmire's birthday so she could have some new clothes. We saw something nice but weren't sure whether the fabric was for curtains or tablecloths or men's or women's clothes. We asked the shopkeeper, "Is this fabric for clothes?" He replied, "It's a set." We asked again, "Do you use this fabric to make curtains or clothes?" Again he replied, "It's all there. It's a set." We decided it was for clothes, asked the price, realised he was trying to rip us off and went to another shop. At the second shop, they seemed to have mostly fabric for men's clothes, so when we saw something nice, we asked "Is this for men's or women's clothes?" The guy there replied, "It's a 'bassin' [French for bowl..??]. It's a complete set." Déjà-vu ??!
It's amazing how impossible communication can be, even when you basically speak the same language!!
We did buy some fabric from the second guy in the end so Elmire did receive a present, despite our communication difficulties!
The last couple of weeks have gone by quickly as Michée and Elmire were away for just over a week at a pastoral conference in Possotome (south Benin) so we had more responsibilities at church than usual...
Etienne is currently leading the new church building project, along with a small committee of church members who have building experience. We've had several meetings but the whole process is proving to be a bit of a challenge as we don't know the procedures and order of doing things in Bénin when it comes to building, and we're discovering that the concept of 'giving clear explanations' is alien to this culture...
A couple of other recent incidents reminded us that we come from another culture with a different way of thinking. I'd had a particularly traumatic day at school (CEG1) last Thursday and so when Etienne arrived to pick me up, he suggested we go and buy some frozen juice lollies to make up for it. (The trauma: I had to call the discipline manager to come to the class because nearly all the kids were talking and they wouldn't stop. He gave them a speech which scared them a bit and then called the chattiest kids forward - one of my students had been making a list at my request. He then got out his whip and whipped them hard across their chests. One girl was crying softly for the rest of the lesson... After that, they didn't talk with their friends but they didn't participate in the lesson either. It was like they'd turned into zombies. I hope I won't have to witness that again.) Anyway, we knew of two places where we could buy frozen lollies. We drove to the first one and the door to the shop was locked. So we went to the second one, only to discover that it wasn't there anymore - all of the freezers had been removed and the shop was empty. There was a guy on a bike with two small kids so we assumed he would know where to buy lollies. We asked him and he didn't seem to know what we were talking about. After a few minutes of further descriptions, he said "Ahhh yes, you can get them behind." "Behind what?" "Behind you. [pointing down the road] Over there." We enquired about how far down the long road and he just kept pointing and saying "That way, behind you"... We asked if it was near the pharmacy or near the bank, before or after the roundabout, and he repeated "Behind you." Then he gave up, told us to follow him and started driving down the road. After a few hundred metres, he stopped at the supermarket, which was locked, told us the lady must have gone out but that she would be back in a few minutes. Well, we waited a couple of minutes and then gave up and went home!
Giving directions using distances and landmarks really doesn't seem to be part of this culture!! We'll just have to learn to ask people to take us to where we need to go in the first place!
Then today, we went to a fabric shop to buy some fabric for Elmire's birthday so she could have some new clothes. We saw something nice but weren't sure whether the fabric was for curtains or tablecloths or men's or women's clothes. We asked the shopkeeper, "Is this fabric for clothes?" He replied, "It's a set." We asked again, "Do you use this fabric to make curtains or clothes?" Again he replied, "It's all there. It's a set." We decided it was for clothes, asked the price, realised he was trying to rip us off and went to another shop. At the second shop, they seemed to have mostly fabric for men's clothes, so when we saw something nice, we asked "Is this for men's or women's clothes?" The guy there replied, "It's a 'bassin' [French for bowl..??]. It's a complete set." Déjà-vu ??!
It's amazing how impossible communication can be, even when you basically speak the same language!!
We did buy some fabric from the second guy in the end so Elmire did receive a present, despite our communication difficulties!
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