by Marcus Kahn, Greenheart Travel Homestay Abroad Participant

I saw some magnificent colleges, and the Radcliffe Camera which simply blew my mind. At about 10:00 I stopped in at a cafe and read a little while sipping on piping, hot coffee. I’ve just crossed that bold tick in the timeline of one’s life where bitter coffee becomes a warm friend on a cold morning. Anyways, at the cafe I met a nice New Yorker. At one point I asked “Do you go to the college?” She helpfully responded in the classic New York manner... Read more...

 by Kimberly Berls

I was sitting with this group of old men at a host family in the Republic of Georgia yesterday and one of the men said “I can’t believe we have an American in our house right now. If you would have told me 30 years ago that we would have Americans and English and Germans coming to Georgia, I would not believe it. Read more...

Georgian hospitality is definitely something else. My guide David from the Ministry, who works specifically with the Teach in Georgia program, repeatedly refuses any food or drink, and then the host families trick him by saying “just juice.” (He refuses because we have so many families to check on and he doesn’t have time to feast at every house… then it turns into somewhat of a relay race… the men usher us into the dining room, attempting to make us sit down to drink “just juice” and as soon as we’re seated, sometimes with a bit of physical force, the relay baton is passed to the women who scurry around furiously...Read more...

 by Kimberly Berls

Last night I asked the hotel clerk to wake me up at 7:30 a.m. I wasn’t sure if he understood since as soon as I said “Wake-up call” and he asked “What room?” and immediately started dialing. I did a little gesture like “sleeping,” with the telephone ringing and he got it. So this morning I get a knock at 7:30 a.m. and when I opened the door he goes “I wake you up! 7:30!” with this huge smile on his face. I laughed and was like “Yes, perfect, thanks!” He had such a sense of accomplishment on his face. Ah, Georgia. Read more...

 by Kimberly Berls

There are churches EVERYWHERE. From my hotel balcony i can see at least ten, old, medieval-looking churches. This morning I sat there drinking coffee and watched a choir sing in front of one church. I’m assuming it’s the polyphonic choir music I read about that is supposedly a big Georgian thing. Read more...

by Morgann Lyles, Greenheart Travel Volunteer in Benin

In Cotonou, we got out and restored feeling to our limbs before changing to another share taxi. We ate some rice out of a plastic bag with our hands as a snack in the taxi. This turned into a disaster for me because I was seated next to the window, so the rice kept blowing out of my hands onto the other passengers. It was pretty embarrassing. Read more...

by Morgann Lyles, Greenheart Travel Volunteer Abroad Participant in Benin

Wow! Sunday, I traveled 40 minutes on a motorcycle taxi through little villages not large enough to be identified on a map of Benin to arrive in Covè. Eline told me that the town was commemorating the 30-year anniversary of a local woman’s death. Thus, I expected some bells and whistles. But I got drums, and trumpets, and dancing too! Read more...

by Morgann Lyles, Greenheart Travel Volunteer Participant in Benin

Eline and her host brother came to Abomey around noon on Saturday, which gave me just enough time to find a COLD bottle of water and do my laundry that morning. I gave her a tour of the hospital grounds, and we even found the morgue to satisfy her host brother’s curiosity. We didn’t go in though; the outside of the building was scary enough. Read more...

 by Morgann Lyles, Greenheart Travel Volunteer Participant in Benin

Monday was the most medically significant day so far. I conducted consultations with Dr. Glitho at the hospital. At least 20 people filed in and poured out their hearts to him in search of relief. It is not normal for someone to go to the doctor annually here, so most folks just show up when the going gets tough. Since I was sitting behind the desk with the doctor wearing blue scrubs like other hospital personnel, the patients often relayed their concerns to me as well as to the doctor. Read more...

 by Morgann Lyles, Greenheart Travel Volunteer Abroad Participant in Benin

Eventually, once the roads had dried out some, my host uncle drove me to the History Museum of Abomey, which was listed as a “must-see” in my guidebook. I ended up getting a personal tour since no one was there. The coolest part was when we had to remove our shoes to enter the tomb of a former king. The tomb is a clay hut with a thatched roof in which a bed, jars of water, and pots of food rest. Read more...

 by Morgann Lyles, Greenheart Travel Volunteer Participant in Benin

First, let me reassure you that my bag arrived (finally!) on Wednesday night. Thank God! I really didn’t want to have to borrow all of my clothes from my host sister in Cotonou. I woke up very early with the intention of taking a coach-style bus for the 2-hour ride from Cotonou to Bohicon. Too bad it was full. So my host mom bargained with the driver of a smaller van-like bus to take me to Bohicon, even though they did not originally intend to go there. Read more...

Yesterday was spent on the back of “zemis” or motorcycle taxis. My host mom is a natural at riding them but I was hanging on to the bar above the license plate for dear life. Imagine go-karts or bumper cars … but on a real road with real cars and motorcycles mixed together darting in and out of traffic with horns blaring. Read more...