 |
| Trash is discarded on the ground. The goats and chickens eat what they want before the courtyard is swept up and the trash is hauled off to a dump area. |
 |
| My host sister preparing a pineapple in her Sunday best |
 |
| My oldest host sister has just arrived home with vegetables for a sauce |
 |
| On the way to fetch water from the well with my host sisters |
 |
| My host brother-from-another-mother had told me a different day that cooking was women's work, so I challenged him to make dinner on Sunday. This photo is dim and smoky, just like cooking here is. Without my camera flash, he only had the light of the oil lamp. |
I love your host sister's "hat." It has got to be quite a trick to carry water in that tub. Challenging your host brother to cook makes me smile. Blurring the line of division of labor. You must have told him about that in the U.S. It's hard for me to imagine how anyone could get fattened up there with the amount of hard labor that's required to survive and certainly not on tapioca
ReplyDeletedessert. They can always try. Jean Ralley
I found it challenging to carry the water without spilling, especially since they filled my tub to the brim. It places quite the strain on the neck and back, and my arm muscles were working hard to keep it in place. No wonder everyone here is so strong.
ReplyDeleteI have told several Beninese men that my father, not my mother, cooks at home, and they were shocked. I discovered that these Beninese gender roles can come in handy when deterring would-be suitors. I ask if the would-be husband is prepared to cook for me, clean for me, and take care of the kids, and that sends them running.
As for fattening up, my host sister told me a few days ago that she hopes I will leave her house nice and fat so that everyone will know that she took care of me well.