Tales from Rohan

I took a taxi with two of my post mates, Mark and Kyle, up to Parakou with all of our stuff. On the way, I had the opportunity to take some photos of this beautiful country out of the open window, that just would never come out through the window of a bus.

My host family was fantastic to me. Family who had been around during my first few weeks came in from Cotonou and they made a big dinner the night before I left. They gave me some of my favorite foods to take with me and gave me plenty of American-style hugs. Papa came for dinner, but unfortunately he was still pretty tired from fighting off a bout of malaria and anemia, so he didn’t see me off in the morning.

Once you get north of Bohicon, the landscape starts to open up and spread out a bit and the livestock gets bigger. Here are some cows being led to graze through land right on the edge of the road.

Houses in Benin are either mud walls with thatch roof, mud walls with tin roof, or cement with tin roof. This is a pretty representative portion of a small village on the main road.

As you get into the provinces of Zou and especially Collines, you start to see these very cool—well—collines (hills), which are basically piles of rock jutting out of the ground without warning and then surrounded by semi-tropical vegetation. They form the backdrop for some very pretty villages.

There is an area along the gadrone (the main paved North/South road) that specializes in growing and selling manioc. This is what you make tapioca from. It is also what you need to make gari, a kind of manioc flour about the consistency of corn meal. While it has a pleasant texture, and does a good job soaking up the copious amounts of oil present in many local dishes, unfortunately it doesn’t have a whole lot of nutritional value.

Bananas growing at the base of a colline, and some classic mud huts with thatch.

Cotonou is a major port, and the source of much of the gasoline in Niger to the North. Pineapples are a humid climate tropical fruit, but much appreciated in the North (I brought 6 pineapples as gifts to Parakou). All of the gas trucks I saw from Niger were loaded up with pineapples on the roof.

And remember folks: “The views expressed here are mine personally and not necessarily those of the Peace Corps or the US Government.

On Friday, fifty of us former stagiaires (trainees) swore in as Peace Corps volunteers. As is traditional in Benin, at a big fête you wear même tissus (the same fabric) among some group you are a part of. As the only Information and Communications Technology volunteer from this year, I didn’t really have anyone to pick tissus with, so I wore the fabric of the business volunteers, since I have been training with them almost nonstop for 9 weeks anyway. As another show of solidarity, most of the male stagiaires grew some sort of mustache for the occasion.

These are some group shots with nearly everyone accounted for.
Environment

Small Enterprise Development + ICT
Yves (the program director for SED and ICT) is to my right.

Rural Community Health

Teaching English as a Foreign Language

The folks from my host family who came. They are always smiling until someone says they are about to take a photo. It’s one cultural aspect that you get used to quickly, but I don’t think I will ever stop smiling.

Me with “Bak”, the coordinator for SED and ICT. Bak ran the SED technical training and still found time to arrange for me to give two 90 minute presentations in French at a local Cyber, and found the owner of a local computer store who was willing to talk to me about what is available. And he did most of this while he was fasting for Ramadan.

Lucie was in charge of stage this year. She is also the SED program director in Madagascar, but Madagascar evacuated earlier this year, so she was available. What she lacks in size, she more than makes up for in energy, intelligence and enthusiasm. She got the loudest applause of anyone during the ceremony.

And remember folks: “The views expressed here are mine personally and not necessarily those of the Peace Corps or the US Government.”

I am now a Peace Corps Trainee (PCT) or a “stageur” as we are known in country. When my staging group of 56 people arrived, we got a very warm and enthusiastic greeting from large portion of Benin’s current volunteers. We stayed for a few days in Cotonou (the biggest city and commercial capital) at a retreat center so they could give us the most essential training (including learning how to ride a zemijohn motorcycle taxi), figure out what French class we would be taking, and get our shots and our malaria meds. Then we hopped in a few minibuses to meet our families for the rest of our 9 weeks of training.

We are each staying with a host family in Porto Novo, the second largest city in the country and the administrative capital. My host family are great and I am settling in well and very happy, though a bit tired. Below are my host papa, my host sister Nora with a cousin, and my mama with the three granddaughters who are staying here over sumer vacation (Oceane, Orfrise, and Barbine), and my room. These pictures were taken on Saturday August 1st which was Benin’s Independence day, so everyone was already dressed up to party.

Perhaps the biggest adjustment here is the tempo of life. A very common phrase you hear here is “Doucement” which means literally gently or softly, but in Benin means “Take it easy” or even “chill out”. I was shaving getting ready to go out with the family on Independence Day when papa came in and said “Doucement Rohan. Il y a assez de temps.” Take it easy. There is plenty of time.

Of course, no good independence day celebration can be complete without a parade and speeches are appearances from various officials. I happened to get a decent picture of the king of Porto Novo (in the center under the umbrella) only to later have an audience with his majesty with my French class on Thursday. The statue below of King Toffa the first is in the main square and is visible from to bridge over the lagoon to Cotonou.

Below are mostly some photos of my fellow stageurs. By now many of have had time to either buy “tissus” (fabric) to have stuff made, or in the case of Mark and I (first photo) we borrowed some clothes from our papas. The second photo is one of our volunteer trainers with some local kids who were already hanging around.

Please don’t be upset if you get a letter from me with US Stamps and US postmark on it. I went to the post office yesterday and realized that enough stamps to mail one post card to the US costs half of my daily living allowance. US volunteers regularly hand carry letters to mail in the States, so I may be using that option a lot.

À la prochaine!

I am now a Peace Corps Trainee (PCT) or a “stageur” as we are known in country. When my staging group of 56 people arrived, we got a very warm and enthusiastic greeting from large portion of Benin’s current volunteers. We stayed for a few days in Cotonou (the biggest city and commercial captial) at a retreat center so they could give us the most essential training (including learning how to ride a zemijohn motorcycle taxi), figure out what French class we would be taking, and get our shots and our malaria meds. Then we hopped in a few minibuses to meet our families for the rest of our 9 weeks of training.

We are each staying with a host family in Porto Novo, the second largest city in the country and the administrative capital. My host family are great and I am settling in well and very happy, though a bit tired. I had prepared photos of my host papa, my host sister Nora with a cousin, and my mama with the three granddaughters who are staying here over sumer vacation (Oceane, Afrisse, and Barbine), and my room. These pictures were taken on Saturday which was Benin’s Independence day, so everyone was already dressed up to party. Unfortunately the upload speed here to the Internet is much slower than dialup, so I will need to save photos for overnight trips or maybe just use the mail.

Perhaps the biggest adjustment here is the tempo of life. A very common phrase you hear here is “Doucement” which means literally gently or softly, but in Benin means “Take it easy” or even “chill out”. I was shaving getting ready to go out with the family on Independence Day when papa came in and said “Doucement Rohan. Il y a assez de temps.” Take it easy. There is plenty of time.

Of course, no good independence day celebration can be complete without a parade and speeches are appearances from various officials. I happened to get a decent picture of the king of Porto Novo (in the center under the umbrella) only to later have an audience with his majesty with my French class on Thursday.

Please don’t be upset if you get a letter from me with US Stamps and US postmark on it. I went to the post office yesterday and realized that enough stamps to mail one post card to the US costs half of my daily living allowance. US volunteers regularly hand carry letters to mail in the States, so I may be using that option a lot.

À la prochaine!

Friday and Saturday I went to the beach to do some acroyoga.

Friday I went with my acro friends Frieda and Adie to the beach. Frieda showed us how to do some fun 3-person poses. On Saturday Anna (in “bird”), Adie (standing), and I went to the same beach and replicated one of my favorites and got it on camera:

Some other fun miscellaneous shots:

Also, I showed a few folks how to do the side flying flow my teacher Amy (in green) and I learned from the founder of Circus Yoga (in grey):

It’s official. After a very long application process, the US Peace Corps invited me to volunteer in Benin (West Africa) for 27 months.

Q: Wow! When do you leave?
I attend two days of “staging” in Philadelphia July 22-23 with a bunch of other Americans crazy enough to volunteer, then we get on a plane to Benin and arrive July 24.

I am leaving Santa Cruz on July 8th to go visit some family (my mom, my dad) before staging. I am renting out my house from July 1, 2009 until December 31, 2011 (to give me time to do some traveling in the region). I’ll probably do some camping and some rafting between the 1st and the 8th, but I may be on your couch instead!
Q: Where the heck is Benin?
Benin is in West Africa just west of Nigeria. (locator map courtesy of Wikipedia). It is entirely in the tropics. It might look small here, but it is actually about as big as Pennsylvania. From the Atlantic Ocean in the south (tropical lagoons) to the Niger River in the north (savannah) is about 700km. The capital, Cotonou, is at about 6º North latitude and almost on the Prime Meridian.

Q: Is it safe there?
Benin has been stable since multiparty elections in 1991. Wandering around on the beach in the biggest city Contonou isn’t recommended, but otherwise its quite safe.

Q: What will you do there? Where will you be exactly?
I will be an Information and Communication Technology volunteer and my title will be “Technology Development Advisor”. This means my primary program is doing stuff with computers / communications equipment. I’m not sure exactly what I will be doing or where I will be placed in country until after my first 3 months (we train in country for the first 3 months and learn a local language), but I will post an update here. The brochure I got said that I may:

• actively work with associations and small businesses at the grassroots level providing basic technology knowledge and skills.
• engage in activities that foster technological empowerment in women and youth.
• promote Benin (Beninese business, trade tourism, etc.) on the Internet.
• increase the effectiveness of Beninese communications technologies (Internet, radio, wireless, mobile, satellite, etc.)
• enhance the performance of institutions providing financial services by transferring relevant information technology knowledge and skills.

In addition, most Peace Corps volunteers take on several secondary programs once they get established, and everyone is trained in HIV/AIDS prevention.

Q: Where do you live and do you get paid?
Peace Corps volunteers are expected to live at the same living standard as their local country counterparts in their community. In rural areas volunteers often live in mud huts with thatched roofs. In the cities they can live in concrete multi-story apartment blocks. The community provides local housing (a private room to sleep in and a private room to wash in) and Peace Corps provides a stipend in local currency similar to what a middle-class person in country would have after paying taxes and housing expenses. Supplementing your living expenses with savings from home is frowned upon.

Q: What language will you be speaking?
French is the official language in Benin, so I am definitely brushing up on my French. In addition I will learn an indigenous language that you probably never heard of. I don’t know which one I will learn, since it depends on what part of the country I am placed in. Some of the languages there are Fongbe, Yoruba, Ge, Bariba, and Fulani.

Q: Where can I learn more about Benin?
Wikipedia and Lonely Planet are both a good start.

Q: Can I come visit?
Yes, but please be aware of a few things:

• I can’t have visitors for my first 6 months or last 3 months in country
• You need to be prepared to travel on local style transport: shared buses, zemi-johns (a motorcycle used as a taxi), walking, and perhaps bicycling. I will be getting around on a bicycle, zemis and busses and will not have access to a car. (Nor do I recommend renting a car.)
• You should also be prepared to eat local food, possibly from a communal bowl with your (right) hand.
• Locals don’t wear shorts or tank tops.
• There is not likely to be a western style hotel anywhere near where I am staying, but you are welcome to sleep on my bed or on a mat on the floor.
• I need to take vacation days each day someone visits me (including weekends) so please let me know before making travel plans if you would like to visit.

Q: When is the party?
Saturday June 20th I’ll have a big backyard barbeque and party 3pm to 3am at my house.
121 Ladera Dr
Santa Cruz CA 95060
408 307 1866

Q: When will you be back in the States?
I am planning to take some vacation time in September 2010. If everything goes well, I will be done with my service at the end of September 2011. I will probably take some time bumming around the rest of West Africa and then come home for Christmas 2011.

Q: How can I get in touch with you?
For now, send email to my gmail account (r o h a n DOT m a h y). For my first three months, you can get in touch with me at the address below. Letters generally take 3 weeks to a month to arrive from the US. Please don’t send any packages unless you talk to me first (I have to pay duty on incoming packages and they are much more likely to get stolen).
Rohan Mahy, PCT
Corps de la Paix Americain
01 B.P. 971
Cotonou, Benin
Afrique de l’Ouest (West Africa)

Most Wednesday nights in Santa Cruz there is a “Circus Jam” where folks can drop in and mess around with aerial acrobatics, AcroYoga, juggle, hula hoop, poi and generally act like circus freaks.

Here is a video of some really fun AcroYoga in foreground. However it shows the spirit of the whole jam because you can see three other pairs doing AcroYoga, some hula hoop action and aerial flying in the background. Enjoy!

Most Wednesday nights in Santa Cruz there is a “Circus Jam” where folks can drop in and mess around with aerial acrobatics, AcroYoga, juggle, hula hoop, poi and generally act like circus freaks.

Here is a video of some really fun AcroYoga in foreground. However it shows the spirit of the whole jam because you can see other pairs doing AcroYoga, some hula hoop action and aerial flying in the background. Enjoy!

I went to CES (the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas) last week. As usual there were way to many enormous TVs and not much substance. The coolest thing I saw last week was in the tiny section reserved for “green” products where a handful of companies showed off solar gadgets (mostly useless) or some very innovative stuff.

Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies really impressed me. These guys are doing exactly what I thought we should be doing when I first learned about PEM fuel cells in the early 90s. I rode in a fuel-cell powered hydrogen car with metal hydride storage at the 1991 Willits Solar Expo and Rally and I have been waiting for good quality commercially available fuel cells and credible hydrogen storage ever since.

Horizon has PEM fuel cells from 12w to 5kw. They have tiny 10 and 20 liter hydrogen storage containers for small applications and they talked to me about custom much larger storage they had done for their jet project and for a car-sized vehicle. Finally they have a sodium hydroxide based storage system with integrated fuel cell called HydroPak that they use as a portable power system.

They are doing interesting stuff in so many areas. I thought the hydrogen powered e-bike with a 300km range was another nice touch.

Finally the guy I spoke with mentioned a vehicle they were working on with another company that had all the elements I would have put in my spec sheet: carbon fiber body panels, PEM fuel cell, 3-phase inverter, in-hub electric motors, regenerative braking, etc.

Also nice to see was the flexible solar panel folks PowerFilm Solar that Google helped fund making commercial progress.

I’m finally getting around to posting photos from Thanksgiving.

This year I cooked dinner for Alex, my aunt, and my cousins (the Carpenters). Alex was enormously helpful getting ready. As you can see, we all had a good time.