Recent Work

I had spent the last two nights at Parakou University participating in discussions with students about American and Beninese culture. It was great to be able to hear the different opinions of young Beninese people who had somehow gotten out of the village way of life. Being 'au village' for almost all of my service, it was easy to forget that there is a small number of people in Benin who encourage their children to go to school or who want some life better for themselves and their country. The first night we talked a bit about the Millennium Challenge 8th goal (build a global partnership for development) and what type of activities the Beninese government was doing to attain this goal. The second night we talked about Valentines Day and the different ways Americans celebrate it compared to the Beninese.