Work and Bike Tour!

I just got back from my bike tour today. So yes, what is a bike tour? Well it is a volunteer led project where we ride our bikes from village to village over 4-5 days and give information sessions. This bike tour was for HIV/AIDS. There were 8 PCVs and then we had 2 other Beninese volunteers and translators. It was a great time, we did 8 sessions and biked from the village of Sakete to Porto Novo. I worked with the groups of women mostly, but it was hard to get them to understand that they could have a say in condom use. Here in Benin and throughout many countries in Africa it is difficult for women to have power in their relationships. Meaning...more bluntly...if men want to have sex, they have to have sex, with or without a condom. It was awesome having these older women in village put on condoms who had never even touched one before. Yesterday at one of the sessions I did a condom demonstration in front of the whole group--in French!!! It was a group of about 85 men and 5 women and they were all 30 and up I would say. It was crazy for them having this white girl do a condom demonstration for them, then of course I had to do the female condom. Then one of the men trying to be a trouble maker, says well I'm too big for that. Ha, then I put the condom over my hand and down my forearm and said oh really?! Haha, it was hilarious watching his face and the others. Anyway it was a fun few days and I think the volunteers that planned it did a great job, plus now I have two sweet new t-shirts!

I have been doing some good sensibilisations at work, my nutrition one last week was fantastic. And for the first time in Benin, every child I weighed from the village was a healthy weight. I must have said good work to the mom's like 5 times in local language. I was shocked, this village is so small and there isn't much there, which goes to show you can make it work even if you don't have much. Last Monday we celebrated the 2nd wedding anniversary of my French professor and his wife. It was such a tiring day. During the day my post mate and I took the two children who won the spelling bee in Zinvie to Cotonou to celebrate. We went out to lunch, to the beach, the market, we checked out the boats and fishing areas, then we took them to this little amusement park by the airport. I was exhausted by the end of it, not to mention sunburned and dehydrated...we were supposed to go to the art museum, but the exhibit was closed already so I didn't plan on walking around in the sun all day. The kids had a good time and the one girl had never left Zinvie before, so she was just amazed with everything we did. We got back and then made banana bread, salad, and cut up fruit for dinner. We didn't finish eating and everything until almost 11PM and by the time I got in my bed, I couldn't keep my eyes open. It was worth it though and I think my professor and his family and friends had a great time. I am still working on plans for my HIV/AIDS mural project and other things I have mentioned before. I leave for Burkina Faso tomorrow for the week for a little vacation. It is the Pan-African Film Festival, in Ouaga the capital of Burkina. A bunch of other volunteers are going and it should be an awesome time. Now I will be able to say that I have been to another country besides Benin!

I hope all is well, talk to you soon!