after post announcement, we returned to cocotier for afternoon classes...since gardening was on the schedule, we changed into crappy clothes and headed to a plot of land within cocotier to start small gardens...our health trainer kontos showed us how to till the earth, composting and insecticide, planting, watering and maintenance...we had a great time creating our own gardens...the day ended at the buvette near cocotier where we usually ended up after classes...it started with a few of us at the buvette but soon enough everyone started showing up for my birthday celebration...we placed tables end to end that stretched out for quite a few feet...there were probably around 40 trainees...chadsey an environmental volunteer wiped out a candle, lit it and started singing happy birthday followed by everyone...it was sweet...
the next day we took a day trip to ouidah, the heart of the west african slave trade...it was a bit erie knowing that millions of africans were enslaved by the kingdom of abomey (one of the greatest kingdoms in benin), forced to live in dark rooms and walk around trees of forgetfulness before being placed on a slave ship to make the voyage across the atlantic with no food, basic sanitation, herded like cattle only to either die at sea (which millions did) or make it barely alive to the new world and forced into slave labor...many monuments, statues and the like litter the town of ouidah which has grown around this terrible history...
this monument stands on the very site of the mass grave that was found of the thousands that were massacared during the rigorious waiting period before being shipped to the new world..."the door of no return" on the beach at ouidah...the last thing the slaves ever saw of their homeland...although angry stayed with me the whole day i was glad to have seen the site where it all began...
the great week ended on sunday with a birthday party at my host family's house...since there were so many trainees i had invited only the trainees in the RCH sector...unfortunately i was not able to invite everyone...my host mom ordered a cake and cooked ground beef with vegetables for sandwiches...
as my friends arrived i ran downstairs to my host family's part of the house to put on my new beninese outfit that i had made for my birthday...i'm wearing it in the picture...it was perfect...everyone had a great time...we ate sandwiches, drank beers and sodas from the bar around the corner and gobbled down that awesome cake my host mom had ordered...we even had a small dance party that ended with a gorgegous sunset...i'm super excited that i finally reached the big 3-0!!!
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