Every Day is Fair Day

Each fall in Charles County, where I grew up we have an annual fair. The fair is like most fairs I imagine, full of rides that have been assembled and reassembled many times over, food meant to put you in some sort of diabetic shock or perhaps effectively clog your arteries, and of course there are arts and crafts, and produce. But what I remember most about the fair is the livestock section. You know full of chickens, goats, sheep, pigs, and rabbits. There were areas where you could pet these animals and some were just for show. For some of us in Charles County, mainly those of us who did not live on a farm, this was the once a year chance to see these animals. But here in Benin, every day is fair day, and I am always buying a ticket for the show.

Donkeys
We have weekly meetings at my school within our departments. To be frank I'd rather count the grains of sand in the Sahara desert than go to these meetings. Needless to say I don't feel guilty when I let my eyes wander. I think my favorite time was when three donkeys wandered into the school yard. They walked in what I felt was a perfect line. I literally sat for maybe ten minutes watching these donkeys march by and go to the water pump in the center of the school yard.

Pigs
Wednesday evening, I hear children yelling outside the concessions, not unusual. The voices get more animated, not necessarily angry, and even though I don't understand what they are saying (they are speaking local language) I can tell insults are being said. This prompts my Maman to go outside and see what is going on. She comes back a minute later and starts explaining what is happening in local language to the zemi driver who has come over. All I understand is that there is stealing and pigs involved. Turns out the pig is missing and the kids were trying to find it and the neighbors said they were trying to steal their pig. Then the next 15 minutes is spent finding the correct pig and coaxing back home.

Chickens
Every night the young girl in my concession is in charge of trapping the chickens and putting them in their coop. I never thought two things about this, until one night I was on the phone with my mom and they shut the lights out and commotion was going on to catch one of the chickens. My mom asked what was going on, and I replied, "Oh they are just getting the chickens in for the night."

Goats
I love goats. There are goats everywhere in Materi and in Benin in general. They are what squirrels are to Maryland. My Maman had a goat this past winter and after I returned from Safari, my family told me the goat had been stolen. It has been returned, but whomever stole it had already killed it. My Maman was not home, but my older brother proceeded to launch a full out investigation to catch the culprit. He was successful and subsequently the three of us spent the whole next day at the police figuring out what to do. Eventually the man gave my Maman the money for the goat.

Animals and Transportation
I was waiting for a taxi in the town near my village, when I see a taxi go by. It looks empty, but as it passes I see it is filled with nothing but pigs. And to this end I have seen the following animals stacked on not just tops of cars, but motorcycles and bicycles: chickens, goats, pigs, cows, and guinea hens. I guess there needs to be some way to move the fair along.