^^
What kind of friend are you?

Ian booth. Find him on Facebook.

5/16/2013 9:58:22 PM

I don't have Facebook. The only Interneting I do is on here, and I don't know anybody's names.

Is everybody talking on Facebook? Is that where all the posts went?


Fhqwhgads, I'll throw in some loot for shipping and add some sour patch kids to the box.

5/16/2013 10:17:08 PM

I think I only know like 3 ppls names on TWW.

^^^
I may have missed it but how would I get something to you to have it make it to grumpygop?

[Edited on May 16, 2013 at 10:37 PM. Reason : ]

5/16/2013 10:36:48 PM

My name and address is, line by line:

Ian Booth
Corps de la Paix
01 BP 971
Cotonou, Benin
Afrique de l'louest

5/16/2013 10:44:34 PM

Quote :

"I may have missed it but how would I get something to you to have it make it to grumpygop?"

I'm basically taking up donations to help with the shipping costs...you can paypal me money at syleach1@gmail.com

I've been collecting stuff over the weeks to add to the box. If you have something you want to add to the box, you can stop by my place or I can meet you out somewhere (near Brier Creek if possible as I have a 6 m/o son)

5/17/2013 11:55:05 AM

Sweet, I'll PM you for deets. Somebody in Africa is going to be receiving candy from me!

I'm way too excited about this.

5/17/2013 1:08:02 PM

Quote :

"near Brier Creek if possible as I have a 6 m/o son"

My first response: if I had a 6 m/o kid, I'd be donating it to be sent

5/17/2013 1:11:36 PM

Got a package today from a buddy stationed in Kandahar. It included a hard drive with many shows, sent before my computer blew up.

5/17/2013 5:10:49 PM

haha, morale drive to the rescue!

[Edited on May 17, 2013 at 9:50 PM. Reason : you can raid crazy amounts of shit from the morale drive while deployed]

5/17/2013 9:50:03 PM

My friend is moving down there in about a month.

Supposed to be heading up construction on the embassy.

How far are you from that?

5/17/2013 10:09:28 PM

Any shows you're particularly interested in seeing?

5/17/2013 10:17:22 PM

Quote :

"My friend is moving down there in about a month. Supposed to be heading up construction on the embassy. How far are you from that?"

I've driven past the construction site several times. The embassy is in Cotonou, which is not the capitol, but because Benin doesn't give a shit about your silly "logic" all of their government stuff and all of the embassies are there, and it's the largest and most populous city.

It's funny, we were just talking yesterday about the new construction and whether Americans or Beninese would be heading it up. The current embassy is an absolute shit hole.

Quote :

"you can raid crazy amounts of shit from the morale drive while deployed"

Yeah, we have the same thing -- or did, until someone fried them the other day -- two hard drives full of movies and TV shows. My friend did a pretty good job of sending stuff we didn't already have, though.

Quote :

"Any shows you're particularly interested in seeing?"

I think other TWWers have this pretty well-covered, not that it matters since I no longer possess the means to watch movies.

5/18/2013 3:22:09 AM

Well, I'm going to double post because I'm in Africa.

I am now going to post some things that I can't put on the blog because Peace Corps admin may read them and my mom certainly does.

Beninese people are terrible at sex. I have mentioned hearing this from other volunteers who have had sex with them. Now I can confirm it because the nature of my living arrangements means that everyone can hear what is going on in everyone else's apartment. Normally I don't hear sex noises because they tend to play loud music to cover them up (not that the Beninese need an excuse to play loud music). The other night the power went out for many hours. This is not a rare occurence, but I guess normally the neighbors refrain from bumping uglies during outages. That night, though, the husband must have really wanted it. The noises implied some of the worst sex that was ever had, and this coming from people that have been married for years and have two kids. It was the night after the husband's father was buried. Most of his extended family was sleeping in the other room.

---

The other day I got my first "body mod" in the form of scarification. More specifically, a voodoo priest used a razor blade to put 48 scars on my body. (The blades were brand new, put into grain alcohol, and the alcohol was then set on fire.) Three rows of four vertical scars were placed on my chest, sides, and back. Then you rub ashes into the wounds so that they will be permanently visible. This was done to protect me from witchcraft. The three women I was with got 36 scars. (I got more because, as a man, I am "stronger.") I now possess a photo of three attractive women in their bras, kneeling with a voodoo priest.

The process was painless and it is pretty common for volunteers to have it done in some form or another. Sadly mine are fainter than many because it was even hotter and more humid than usual and I was sweating profusely, which washed out some of the ashes.

---

The next class of volunteers arrives later this month. Many people are already sizing them up for their potential bangability. I am not among this crowd because I already have my sights set. But it is entertaining to watch other people treat human beings like cuts of meat at the market. (Not that the markets here have cuts of meat. They cut up animals with a machete and sell them more or less at random. And it doesn't matter because every animal here looks like it just got out of Birkenau so there isn't any fat marbling or anything)

6/7/2013 1:20:04 PM

Read all of your posts since you arrived in Africa.

Just fucking crazy man. Couldn't imagine.

...

TWW posts that is. I'm looking at your blog now.

[Edited on June 7, 2013 at 1:58 PM. Reason : .]

6/7/2013 1:48:15 PM

Probably to most people West Africa seems pretty much the same, but we have a very specific breakdown of the countries.

There are a lot of Nigerians in Benin because Benin is like Nigeria's Mexico. They have a reputation for being criminals. PCVs aren't even allowed to go to Nigeria, and every single one who has gone after finishing their service ended up being robbed within hours. But let me repeat that first part: we are not allowed to go to Nigeria. PC put me in a village where a voodoo event occurs a few days over every summer, where if any woman or white person sees the fetish central to the event, they are murdered. I shit you not. I have to flee town or stay locked in my house those days. This, PC will lit me LIVE it. Nigeria, half an hour away, they will fire me if I VISIT. That's how fucked up it is.

Benin is poor even by regional standards and the food blows, but the people are nice, laid back, and peaceful. Bokor Haram couldn't find two willing recruits here to start a new cell.

Togo is similar, but for two things: 1) It is even poorer, 2) Because it was briefly a German colony, it has good beer.

Ghana...Ghana is just a giant pile of money and good things. Ghana has a goddamn KFC. A working, modern movie theater. Their street food includes things like spring rolls. And Ghanaian volunteers have the gaul to complain. We hate them. The one place that every PCV intends to visit at some point is Ghana. They ought to make us pass through their on our way home to ease the reverse culture shock.

6/8/2013 5:55:34 AM

hahaha i have friends that do the exact same thing and get paid like 50K/yr tax free. and they get posted to better locations. lern to TEFL.

oh and yea. you're gonna be teaching English.

oh and yea. yhose little kids know moar about Env. Sci than u ever will.

duck, i think this is a flying toilet zone

[Edited on June 10, 2013 at 10:44 AM. Reason : ignorant ]

6/8/2013 9:18:14 AM

I love this theead

6/8/2013 10:25:45 AM

I already did learn TEFL. TEFL is one of the sectors we have working here. They're currently going mad because school is out and they have nothing to do.

By the way, if I ever meet you in person I'm going to rip your tongue out of your asshole. Because of what you called the kids in my town.

I do not bluff. There are people on this website who can vouch.

"We take out the peace, and leave in the corpse, bitch."

6/9/2013 12:21:58 AM

i will pay you cash money for something that says NIGAZ on it.

with regard to your threat: if you're willing to do violence, why do you need the pretense? I can hook you up with some people that will fly you around the world doing "security" work. Doesn't pay as much as teaching English but you get free hard drugs.

6/9/2013 2:54:46 AM

EMCE, Africa can't exploit it's natural resources or people because they are too incompetent to build the prerequisite infrastructure to do so.

we are helping them as fast as we can though. good thing the place is kinda big.

6/9/2013 3:05:49 AM

^who do you think you are?

You"have friends" who do this? I don't even know this guy and you pissed me off with your bullshit.

6/9/2013 3:29:45 AM

^^

It's just so sad seeing this kind of presentation in a straight up adventuring thread. This dude is racking up major points on his score card and all you're doing is setting a sad mark to measure against.

I suppose Grumpy should thank you for your worthlessness.

[Edited on June 9, 2013 at 3:33 AM. Reason : .]

6/9/2013 3:32:50 AM

haha, I've done more adventuring than this fool. I just get paid for it. I always run to these attention whores whe i around the world. every god damn one of them has a blog and a shit ton of badly composed digital pics and hardly any hits.
it just a way for little brats to blackmail their familys into spending money on them longer because they weak ass degree can't land a job

6/9/2013 3:50:40 AM

well la-de-fucking-da

we're all interested in Grumpy's thing and give zero shits about what you have to say

seriously, it just comes off like you have whiny personal issues

6/9/2013 4:01:30 AM

*families

*their

What are you trying to prove? This thread is not about complaining, etc. not sure where your hate is coming from. If you need attention, start your own thread, I guess.

6/9/2013 4:03:09 AM

Peace Corps is no better than religious prosthyletizers or PETA. it exists to bring in more donation money. is a canned adventure for otherwise unemployable people who end up exporting the worst of western culture. the victims are the poor and uneducated as usual. They are destabilizing to traditional local societies and they displace homegrown social services and businesses.

6/9/2013 4:33:01 AM

Yeah well that's all real entertaining but I'm gonna move right the fuck on.

I'm about to go watch the Beninese national soccer team play against Algeria in a World Cup qualifier. The team is called "the squirrels." I have seen exactly one squirrel in Benin. It was in the national park. Benin will lose, but there will be alcohol and so yeah.

6/9/2013 6:46:13 AM

Have you been to Ganvie, Grumpy?

I saw some photos of it a while back, and it looked rather cool.

6/9/2013 7:07:59 AM

what is your daughter doing while you're on vacation spending your mommy's, tax-payers, and donation money?

what about the millions of starving politically displaced darkies in the USA with no access to education or healthcare?

United Way: a charity that actually DOES something.

6/9/2013 2:08:02 PM

Le sigh...

6/9/2013 4:30:36 PM

are you upset because you're politically displaced, EMCE?

6/9/2013 4:33:06 PM

jcgolden shitting up this thread as offensively as possible

6/9/2013 4:44:24 PM

I don't even know why my name was mentioned in this thread.

[Edited on June 9, 2013 at 5:05 PM. Reason : Whatever, I'm going to go read Cheerios commercial YouTube comments ]

6/9/2013 5:04:47 PM

jctrollden for the knock out

6/9/2013 5:12:42 PM

GrumpyGOP has a daughter?

6/9/2013 10:55:01 PM

I've been under the assumption he's conflating Grumpy with you. Regardless, his political positions towards NGO's and those who work for them, within this thread certainly, are inappropriate and tiresome.

You should ban his ass in a totally capricious manner.

[Edited on June 10, 2013 at 12:14 AM. Reason : .]

6/10/2013 12:11:42 AM

He's like an evil shoot.

6/10/2013 10:13:31 AM

Quote :

"You should ban his ass in a totally capricious manner."

theDuke866 would not do this

6/10/2013 4:18:51 PM

Went to a world cup qualifier game last weekend. Benin vs. Algeria. To nobody's surprise, Benin lost, 3-1. But we did get the first goal.

More exciting, after one apparently bad call (I can't judge, I know nothing of soccer) the locals in our section started throwing half-full beer cans and water bottles onto the field. This got our section surrounded by riot cops. I was sitting on the end of the row, and soon I hope to post a picture of me grinning foolishly with their shields and truncheons in the background.

It is noteworthy that all of the ads on the field were for the Algerian market -- nobody gives a fuck about Benin. Concessions consisted of ladies walking around with buckets on their heads that held beer or, if you were lucky, kebabs. The toilet facilities consisted of a walled-off area where you pee on the ground.

---

Finally getting cleared to do my first big project, going around teaching ladies how to can tomatoes during the rainy season (which is just starting) when tomatoes are cheap. They double or more in price during the dry season. Other volunteers have had a lot of luck helping women set up small preserving businesses, or at least storing stuff for their own families.

Latrines for a nearby village are also in the works, as is -- and this is my personal favorite -- a rabbit raising/gardening center for orphans and kids who aren't in school. Meat is scarce and expensive, so helping them with that can give them a marketable skill. And the rabbit shit will go into gardens, hopefully growing crops that aren't always available here. (The crops that are always available are: tomatoes, onions, peppers, okra, and manioc. There are a finite number of combinations of these that don't taste like shit)

---

Things I learned from this website, after the fact:

1) There was a new Iron Man movie
2) There was a new Star Trek movie
3) There was a new season of Arrested Development

I had no idea.

[Edited on June 14, 2013 at 10:22 AM. Reason : ]

6/14/2013 10:12:39 AM

Oh, and I want to add, I do not have any children. The Peace Corps doesn't let you join if you have minor children.

6/15/2013 6:11:23 AM

Just finished reading your entire blog. Highly entertaining.

6/15/2013 9:05:04 AM

grumpy. you are going to get to the same nowhere your superiors have by ignoring important questions. if you want to admit you are a fucking tourist, fine. Do it. then we can all have a laugh about roast beef pussy and warm beer. Don't think because you're willing to suffer hardship automatically makes you a force for good in the world.

6/15/2013 5:23:25 PM

You're putting way too much effort into subpar trolling.

6/15/2013 5:40:37 PM

just some current events: http://www.economist.com.hk/news/leaders/21579462-almost-unnoticed-un-about-fight-its-first-war-gamble-worth-taking-art

6/15/2013 6:05:45 PM

I'm not entirely sure what this guy is on about. I don't recall ever having interacted with him before he popped into this thread. Did some girl break up with him to join Peace Corps?

There is an element of tourism, as you put it, to what I do here. I like to see new shit in new places, and to report back home on it -- part of the job description, incidentally. But it's not a big element, and your assertion that PC is a "canned" foreign experience is laughable to me. "Canned" is a study abroad trip where your every move is planned or a vacation where you stay in the nice parts of the country and avoid the slums. The training part of Peace Corps is a canned experience, as it has to be if you're going to get any training done. After those first 2.5 months, though, they dump you in a rural village for two years and say "good luck." To me, that is the opposite of canned, but maybe I mistake your meaning.

And I don't think I'm a force for good because of hardships here or any other reason. It's a job, not a life mission, and it was chosen for pragmatic reasons: Peace Corps gives a big leg up for the jobs I want in the future. I hope that some of my projects will improve a few peoples' lives a little bit, but it's not the main reason I'm here.

I still have no idea where you got the idea that I have a daughter.

6/16/2013 7:35:20 AM

jcgolden is a piece of shit

6/16/2013 10:53:37 AM

^^ I feel like he thinks you're someone else or something.

That, or he just has Peace Corps rage.

Nope, looks like he's randomly attacking people in random threads. You ain't special. He's just nuts.

[Edited on June 16, 2013 at 11:23 AM. Reason : sss]

6/16/2013 11:07:12 AM

6/18/2013 1:47:23 PM

i'm going to suspend your stupid ass if you keep trying to derail this thread.

6/18/2013 2:07:32 PM

In the words of Steven 'Destiny' Bonnell II: You don't get to be an asshole and then say "but look at all this great charity I did"

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

6/18/2013 2:12:50 PM