Thanksgiving

Test run of new grill successful



The male turkey (price: $38)



Male and female turkey, plus rooster

Roasting pit

All the birds (2 turkeys, 2 guinea fowl, 4 chickens)

Chop chop





Down the street the neighbors start a controlled fire to clear brush. This happens regularly this time of year.

Peanut butter bars

Pumpkin pie











Apple pie

Plucking feathers

Plucking complete



Gutting birds



Guts



The power got cut all of a sudden. Fortunately we have to run a generator to keep the anti-venom and rabies vaccines cold. Props to the American taxpayer.



Roasting pit roasting



There is a mandatory helmet rule





Turkey stuffed with chicken and guinea fowl, wrapped in banana leaves and put inside two cement bags

Better late than never

Peeling potatoes











Making punch

AIDS Sensibilization

The volunteer who was doing all the cooking for Thanksgiving had planned to do an AIDS sensibilization on the same day, but since the holiday was overwhelming I did it for her while she cooked.

There were 15 boys and one teacher who came, with me and a Beninese woman doing the presentation. A short while in, a debate broke out about why the national brand of condoms were so cheap (4 for 22 cents). The big worry is that they have to be of poor quality, and that the condoms sold at the pharmacy (which are 40 times more expensive) are better. I explained that the government subsidizes them, but then the teacher started going on a rant about how they were uncomfortable and that women generally refuse the cheap brand.

Otherwise things went well, except for the part when the woman who was helping me just randomly started talking about how it wouldn’t be prudent to hire someone with AIDS to be your cook since they might cut themselves and get blood in the food, and then you could get AIDS. But since everything else she was saying was true I didn’t want to contradict her in front of the boys and ruin her credibility, so I just went along with it (it also was irrelevant since no one in the audience could even remotely afford to hire a cook).