Its Good To Be The King

Happy month long anniversary to Africa and me. I must admit that it seems ages ago that I left home. So much has been crammed into the past month, so many new sights and sounds, that it is hard to keep track of them all. One of the many benefits of keeping a journal I suppose. That being said, I can still clearly remember meeting everyone in Philadelphia when we all began this journey together.
Post visit has been the big news here. All of us TEFLers just returned this weekend from a quick little visit to our future homes here in Benin. It was nice to finally glimpse our houses for the next two years seeing as our African experience thus far has been relagated to two sprawling sores of urbanity within thirty miles of each other on the Beninese coast.
For all of those fans out there dreaming your stereotypical Peace Corps scenarios with me , i.e. me in a village with mud huts and straw roofs, your prayers have been answered as that is pretty close to what my village is like. Excuse me, my kingdom, the Kingdom of Aklampa. It is kind of a big deal with a real live king and everything.
I shall amend that a little bit. Aklampa, three small villages located close together, has its fair share of tin roofs and concrete. It even has a few of its own zemijohn drivers, how exciting. And I do enjoy the sights of the straw roofed buildings in town and the eroding structures made of mudbrick, it adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the village life.
After a riveting bus ride up the highway of the nation, Erin and I, directeurs in tow, got off at Glozoue. Our directeurs, by the way, are tantamount to principals over here, essentially our bosses. From Glozoue, Aklampa is a forty minute zem ride through beautiful countryside. To paint somewhat of a picture for you, the departement where Aklampa is has the name Collines, which in French means small hills.
No electricity, no running water, but tons of character. I would describe the Kingdom of Aklampa as an African Andy Griffith show, full of friendly people and goofy relatives. The highlight of my trip was definitely meeting the king, his royal majesty, the brovo to this yovo...unfortunately I do not know his name, but I am sure it is very royale sounding.
After removing my shoes and being ushered into a room with some of my fellow teachers we were all made to bow down on a rug in front of the suppine king. It was pretty intimidating, this was my first audience with a king mind you and I did not want to ruin this first impression. The walls were covered with tapestries of large men threateningly holding weapons and in other seats were older gentlemen eyeing these newcomers with a decidedly stoic look to them.
John, one of my future collegues, translated a rustic French greeting of mine into Mahi for the king and also translated back into French for me what the king had said. The king thanked me for being here and blessed me. The benediction involved me bowing down and the king tickling my head with his royal feather duster, for lack of a better term. We all drank a round of Sodabee to consecrate to deal, a tasty Beninese moonshine. Head spinning from my royal encounter, mayhaps enhanced by the Sodabee, I went out with my fellow teachers to take in the rest of the kingdom.
Needless to say, posting blogs in a village without electricity should turn out to be a bit tricky. Rest assured, however, that I shall pop up every once in a blue moon, if not for everyone back home, then for my amusement. Aklampa is extremely beautiful and nice and I cannot wait to get to know all of its inhabitants. With luck, my next post will be to bring news of my coronation as a knight of Aklampa, Long Live King...?