Day 3: Niamey to Malanville (and Giraffes!)
6am – Sam wakes up with eyes swollen shut from mysterious and invisible bugs. Dione: “Well, is it better now?” Bevin: “I don’t know, I didn’t put my glasses on to check.”
6:50am -- Man with bus who's taking us to Malanville is, confusingly, 10 minutes early. He's also brought 3 extra men with him, one of whom is wearing a ski mask. The van has bars on some of the windows. Briefly wonder aloud if we're being kidnapped, then get in the car anyway.
9:13am -- Arrive at entrance to giraffe park! Get cameras out and practice our action shots while taxi man negotiates with guide. Also buy omelette sandwiches -- you can't be a National Geographic-quality photographer on an empty stomach.
10:30am -- After driving around in the bush (like on sand and stuff -- we had to get out once or twice because the bus got stuck) for an hour plus, the taxi man tells us that there's a pretty good chance we won't see giraffes because of the season. The guide, who's riding on top of the van, talking fast in Hausa, and pointing at things with a stick agrees. Try to be tough and not cry, despite crushing disappointment.
10:36am -- Bevin, who is not riding on top of the van, speaking in a local language or carrying a stick, spots a giraffe on the horizon.
10:42am -- We get out of the van and take pictures of a pregnant giraffe! Trip is ruled an automatic success. Also, giraffes are determined to look/move a lot like dinosaurs, based on our highly qualified opinions.
11:37am -- Leave park. Super-professional taxi man announces that he'll leave us here, but we're in good hands with his driver. We depart for Malanville.
12:03pm -- Driver stops van on side of road to tell us that he won't take us to Malanville, but to a city in Niger on the border. He also tries to add more people to the van, which we've spent extra money to have all to ourselves . This begins a series of arguments over the next three hours that leaves everyone angry and headachy.
2:30pm -- Finally get to the border, pay the *$^&$% driver a reduced fee. Discover that it's actually easier to cross the border without the mandatory WHO Card than with it. Rosa is almost refused entry into Benin, thanks to the visa that the Nigerien embassy filled out incorrectly. Rosa sweet-talks the border guards, and we make it to Matt's house alive.
5:30pm -- Decide we're starving, make a massive pile of spicy eggs and breakfast potatoes for dinner. Share life plans (Lissa determines that she should probably have a life plan). Roll out mats on cement floor, and go to bed early, content to be "home" in Benin.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Day 2 in Niger!
Day 2: Niamey
8am – While eating breakfast in Niamey (Niger) Rosa receives phone call from Peace Corps vice head honcho Lauren: “Whatever you do, don’t go to Niger.” Um…
10am -- Go to Musee National, discover that the actual museum is closed. Vendors outside are, however, excited to see us. Buy Nigerien jewelry and gorgeous batiks. Find man to take us to Malanville tomorrow; are surprised and slightly suspicious about how professional he is.
10:15am -- Sam, Lissa and Rosa go to bank to see if we've been paid (we haven't), while Dione, Bridget and Bevin wander around the Musee grounds and zoo. The latter three spend 15-20 minutes blocking small children from playing on giant slide because they want to slide themselves.
Noon -- Meet at Grand Marché for rice, beans, and lots of talk about our lack of money (thank you, hotel). Calculate how much we need to get back to Benin, realize we're short by about 50 mille ($100). Brainstorm alternative sources of income, most of them legal.
1pm – Lissa calls her mother: “So… we may or may not be stranded in Niger. Can you Western Union me $50?” Two hours later, she receives $300. To the same question, another volunteer’s mother responds, “I am going to kill you.”
3pm – In order to be bien integré, we try crystallized slug “chewing gum.” Street urchin subsequently receives a cadeau (gift).
6:25 pm – Eat dinner/watch sunset at awesome buvette on the water. Bridget: “What is this weird, awesome sauce on my peas?? ...Oh my god, it’s butter!” (Everyone gasps.)
7pm – Bevin tells story about how father and brother make fun of her math skills.
7:30 pm – Spend 45 minutes trying to figure out dinner bill because 7 and 9 look similar. Determine that this is the fault of “Bevin Math.”
8am – While eating breakfast in Niamey (Niger) Rosa receives phone call from Peace Corps vice head honcho Lauren: “Whatever you do, don’t go to Niger.” Um…
10am -- Go to Musee National, discover that the actual museum is closed. Vendors outside are, however, excited to see us. Buy Nigerien jewelry and gorgeous batiks. Find man to take us to Malanville tomorrow; are surprised and slightly suspicious about how professional he is.
10:15am -- Sam, Lissa and Rosa go to bank to see if we've been paid (we haven't), while Dione, Bridget and Bevin wander around the Musee grounds and zoo. The latter three spend 15-20 minutes blocking small children from playing on giant slide because they want to slide themselves.
Noon -- Meet at Grand Marché for rice, beans, and lots of talk about our lack of money (thank you, hotel). Calculate how much we need to get back to Benin, realize we're short by about 50 mille ($100). Brainstorm alternative sources of income, most of them legal.
1pm – Lissa calls her mother: “So… we may or may not be stranded in Niger. Can you Western Union me $50?” Two hours later, she receives $300. To the same question, another volunteer’s mother responds, “I am going to kill you.”
3pm – In order to be bien integré, we try crystallized slug “chewing gum.” Street urchin subsequently receives a cadeau (gift).
6:25 pm – Eat dinner/watch sunset at awesome buvette on the water. Bridget: “What is this weird, awesome sauce on my peas?? ...Oh my god, it’s butter!” (Everyone gasps.)
7pm – Bevin tells story about how father and brother make fun of her math skills.
7:30 pm – Spend 45 minutes trying to figure out dinner bill because 7 and 9 look similar. Determine that this is the fault of “Bevin Math.”
Adventures in Niger: Day 1
The following is a log of important events from our trip to Niamey. Collectively written by Bevin Kloepper, Rosa Lehman, Bridget Kennedy, Dione Folmer, Lissa Glasgo, and Sam Speck.
Day 1: Malanville to Niamey
7am -- Leave our amazing friend Matt's house. Get zem to border, cross border, get taxi to Niamey. Cram four people into the back row of a poorly designed mini-bus... poorly designed because Rosa, who stands about four feet tall, could not sit up straight in her seat. The rest of us looked like pretzels.
9am -- After waiting for an hour in very uncomfortable seat (sans explanation, of course), we begin 6 hour hell ride to Niamey on a very very broken road. Are collectively amazed at how tiny Nigerien villages are. We live in tiny villages here, but at least the PCVs here are guaranteed a cement house...
4pm -- Arrive in Niamey! Our spines cry tears of joy. Find a buvette to grab a cold drink and a snack, and to call the Peace Corps Niger Safety & Security Officer, because we don't know how to get to their office (where we're planning to stay).
4:13pm -- Are told by S&S Officer that PC Benin wasn't supposed to allow more than 4 people into Niger over break. Including us, there are 11 PCVs in Niger. Are told not to come in or near any official PC Niger buildings.
4:47pm -- Finally find a hotel, which is nine times more expensive than staying at Peace Corps Niger would have been. Are angry on behalf of our damaged budgets.
4:52pm -- Check in, go to rooms. Discover hot water, decide that all is right with the world.
7ish pm -- Eat expensive but delicious meal at hotel (coconut chicken!), drink actually delicious Biere Niger. Toast to a wonderful vacation.
Day 1: Malanville to Niamey
7am -- Leave our amazing friend Matt's house. Get zem to border, cross border, get taxi to Niamey. Cram four people into the back row of a poorly designed mini-bus... poorly designed because Rosa, who stands about four feet tall, could not sit up straight in her seat. The rest of us looked like pretzels.
9am -- After waiting for an hour in very uncomfortable seat (sans explanation, of course), we begin 6 hour hell ride to Niamey on a very very broken road. Are collectively amazed at how tiny Nigerien villages are. We live in tiny villages here, but at least the PCVs here are guaranteed a cement house...
4pm -- Arrive in Niamey! Our spines cry tears of joy. Find a buvette to grab a cold drink and a snack, and to call the Peace Corps Niger Safety & Security Officer, because we don't know how to get to their office (where we're planning to stay).
4:13pm -- Are told by S&S Officer that PC Benin wasn't supposed to allow more than 4 people into Niger over break. Including us, there are 11 PCVs in Niger. Are told not to come in or near any official PC Niger buildings.
4:47pm -- Finally find a hotel, which is nine times more expensive than staying at Peace Corps Niger would have been. Are angry on behalf of our damaged budgets.
4:52pm -- Check in, go to rooms. Discover hot water, decide that all is right with the world.
7ish pm -- Eat expensive but delicious meal at hotel (coconut chicken!), drink actually delicious Biere Niger. Toast to a wonderful vacation.
Going North!
This is a commentary complied by me and my friends of our trip up to Parakou before Christmas. Travel in Benin is always an adventure!
5:47am -- Leave PC Office, get zems to bus place (Etoile Rouge)
6:03 -- Arrive at Etoile to mass chaos.
6:04-6:25 -- Attempt to make sense of chaos, are told to stand/sit/be in three places at once. Are subsequently ignored by four different bus officials when asking for clarification.
6:32 -- Get on bus that might be headed to Parakou. Maybe. Or Nigeria.
6:33 -- Get off of bus to put bags underneath (as instructed by angry bus man). Walk against tidal wave of angry Beninese men and Kleenex-selling Beninese women.
6:35 -- Back on bus, get settled.
6:48 -- Get yelled at to move to extreme back of bus so that it can leave on time.
6:49 -- Rumor spreads that something is wrong with bus. All other passengers get off of bus, decide that rumor is stupid, and get back on. Crisis averted.
7:03 -- Bus leaves, weirdly on time.
7:08 -- Realize that Official Bus Man is wearing a shirt that reads, in English, "Lazy and Proud."
7:13 --Someone throws a candy wrapper out of the window. It flies back into our window and hits Dione in the face.
7:18 -- Stop to pick up more people.
7:19 -- Same man throws another wrapper out window. It hits woman in front of us in the face.
7:48 -- Bus stops in the middle of main road for no known reason. No one gets on or off. Six minutes later, we go.
7:52 -- Feel strangely cold, thanks to the first moving air I've felt in a month. Use extra jeans as a shawl/mini blanket. Jeans were clearly not invented to be blankets.
9:07 -- Michael Jackson songs start playing from a mysterious source in the back of the bus. Mysterious, as the bus has no speakers.
9:52 -- Man falls asleep on Bridget. We giggle, take many pictures.
9:40 -- Start to get out of jungly south and into the drier Collines -- rolling hills, tall grass/scrub, and considerably worse roads.
10:12 -- We watch in horror as bus almost backs over three women and a giant pile of pineapples. The women make it out alive.
11:27 -- Pass 2 semis going up a steep hill, one of which is labeled "GAS." Surpisingly, do not die.
11:29 -- Road block: cows.
12:16 -- Dione gasps "OH. MY. GOD," next to me as I'm dozing. I wake up and, terrified, clutch the seat ahead of me, certain that I am about to meet Jehovah. It's more cows.
12:59 -- In the middle of nowhere, there's a bunch of logs on the road creating a kind of stunt driving course for all passing vehicles. Our driver zigzags through at minimum 80mph.
1:21 -- Woman in front of Dione literally just reaches up, tilts her hand back, and throws her garbage directly onto Dion. We die giggling (silently).
1:30 -- We have a mini dance party in the back of the bus. All other passengers fail to noties our genius on the improvised dance floor.
2:05 -- Another woman throws trash on Dione. We're not sure she even tried to find the window.
2:08 -- Drive into giant cloud of "ass-smelling" smoke. Wording courtesy of Bridget Kennedy.
2:56 -- Arrive at stop in Parakou, successfully avoid getting trampled in mass exodus from bus. Buy wine at nearest supermarche. We made it!
5:47am -- Leave PC Office, get zems to bus place (Etoile Rouge)
6:03 -- Arrive at Etoile to mass chaos.
6:04-6:25 -- Attempt to make sense of chaos, are told to stand/sit/be in three places at once. Are subsequently ignored by four different bus officials when asking for clarification.
6:32 -- Get on bus that might be headed to Parakou. Maybe. Or Nigeria.
6:33 -- Get off of bus to put bags underneath (as instructed by angry bus man). Walk against tidal wave of angry Beninese men and Kleenex-selling Beninese women.
6:35 -- Back on bus, get settled.
6:48 -- Get yelled at to move to extreme back of bus so that it can leave on time.
6:49 -- Rumor spreads that something is wrong with bus. All other passengers get off of bus, decide that rumor is stupid, and get back on. Crisis averted.
7:03 -- Bus leaves, weirdly on time.
7:08 -- Realize that Official Bus Man is wearing a shirt that reads, in English, "Lazy and Proud."
7:13 --Someone throws a candy wrapper out of the window. It flies back into our window and hits Dione in the face.
7:18 -- Stop to pick up more people.
7:19 -- Same man throws another wrapper out window. It hits woman in front of us in the face.
7:48 -- Bus stops in the middle of main road for no known reason. No one gets on or off. Six minutes later, we go.
7:52 -- Feel strangely cold, thanks to the first moving air I've felt in a month. Use extra jeans as a shawl/mini blanket. Jeans were clearly not invented to be blankets.
9:07 -- Michael Jackson songs start playing from a mysterious source in the back of the bus. Mysterious, as the bus has no speakers.
9:52 -- Man falls asleep on Bridget. We giggle, take many pictures.
9:40 -- Start to get out of jungly south and into the drier Collines -- rolling hills, tall grass/scrub, and considerably worse roads.
10:12 -- We watch in horror as bus almost backs over three women and a giant pile of pineapples. The women make it out alive.
11:27 -- Pass 2 semis going up a steep hill, one of which is labeled "GAS." Surpisingly, do not die.
11:29 -- Road block: cows.
12:16 -- Dione gasps "OH. MY. GOD," next to me as I'm dozing. I wake up and, terrified, clutch the seat ahead of me, certain that I am about to meet Jehovah. It's more cows.
12:59 -- In the middle of nowhere, there's a bunch of logs on the road creating a kind of stunt driving course for all passing vehicles. Our driver zigzags through at minimum 80mph.
1:21 -- Woman in front of Dione literally just reaches up, tilts her hand back, and throws her garbage directly onto Dion. We die giggling (silently).
1:30 -- We have a mini dance party in the back of the bus. All other passengers fail to noties our genius on the improvised dance floor.
2:05 -- Another woman throws trash on Dione. We're not sure she even tried to find the window.
2:08 -- Drive into giant cloud of "ass-smelling" smoke. Wording courtesy of Bridget Kennedy.
2:56 -- Arrive at stop in Parakou, successfully avoid getting trampled in mass exodus from bus. Buy wine at nearest supermarche. We made it!
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