LILLY'S WORLD STORIES: Countries presentation: Nigeria-Benin

On the first days of the interns' arrival we felt the need to organise our nights in Ghana. The activities were divided between the working days and the weekends were free for traveling. Movie night, Salsa or reggae night, inhouse party, barbecue, game night and my personal favorite countries presentation. They were all written formally in a paper and hanged on the living room wall.

The first presentation was about Nigeria. Two happy Nigerian boys were challenged to present their country in a romantic, dark atmosphere created by electricity shortage. They talked about the vast nigerian population, the expanding big cities, the different religions, the recent sad Boko haram incidents. But it couldn't end differently but by a big nigerian party. It is believed that Nigerians always attract the lights and they really know how to party. The dances did not differ much from the Ghanaians, like many other cultural elements such us food and fashion. The similarities are explained by the proximity of the two countries.

Second in a row came Benin, a small African country near Ghana. They were much luckier than the Nigerians, as the electricity paid its tribute to their night. Three girls and three boys had prepared a power point presentation. Although their mothertongue was French and some were not very fluent in English, their presentation was great and did trigger a very interesting discussion about Voodoo.. I learnt that Voodoo is a traditional religion which used to be widespread in WestAfrica. Nowadays, while the majority of the population had converted into Christianity, some still believe in Voodoo, and at the same time in Christianity. The annual Voodoo festival which takes place on the 10th of January is celebrated by everyone, beleiver or not, as part of the forefathers tradition. We were also shown a video of a creature carrying a huge cone and swirling quickly. It is said to be a tortoise or a chicken, meaning normally incompitent to lift such weight and swirl at such a speed. All the presenters reassured us that they had attended such spectacles and that noone was hidden underneath that cone. The Voodoo spirit (Zangbeto) is believed to be responsible of that dance. What's more the python is worshiped as sacred and it is a tremendous crime to kill one. When someone meets a python on his way should change route and not walk past the sacred animal. Another abnormal activity of some people, that I had no prior knowledge of, is vanishing! They are thought to disappear from a place and appear in another. It vividly reminded me of my childhood dream: Apparition influenced by the magic Harry Potter world! The presentation ended by a very useful information for men that consider to visit Benin. Eric said in an exaggerating tone that if a man is hitting on someone's girlfriend runs a serious life risk. Of course another Benin girl laughed and urged us to not think in any case that a traveler in Benin is at any risk. Personally, I was convinced and I dare to say that Benin would be one of my next African destinations..