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The Summary:
Stuart finally has blue lips. He is the only one of the Kansas family that has been in the West African coastal waters for two hours or more. Three of the remaining four stayed for an hour or so. The fifth waded in until a man cleaned out his sinuses without forewarning. Ew; she went back to her book.

Bonne Fete

Erika Kraus
2007-01-23 13:22:42

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The Summary:
Stuart finally has blue lips. He is the only one of the Kansas family that has been in the West African coastal waters for two hours or more. Three of the remaining four stayed for an hour or so. The fifth waded in until a man cleaned out his sinuses without forewarning. Ew; she went back to her book.

Four more Kansans in Africa- the first time leaving the North American continent- to visit another Kansan who has left the States three times: for one night in Fernie, British Columbia, then 12 days in Thailand, and now a couple of years in West Africa. Ask the six who have now been to visit her; they’ll tell you she’s a great tour guide, and to bring lots of cash.

But Athiémé, Benin, is a great place. The resident Kansan-African made some three or four meals for the Family in a total of 12 days. Most often the meal offered by an Athiémé native was filling enough for the following two meals. Luckily everyone in the Family liked la pate, akassa, and sodabe; Mom even developed a taste for the “hard” Beninese water. And for the most part everyone
Mom was thinking before she fell asleep, "This chair is pretty comfy!"

stayed healthy. Aside from food, the Family was always in the company of Athiéméians- neighborhood kids, and often their elders as well, to play UNO, Phase 10, Skip-Bo, or 21; also to teach the Family English or share a few German verbs, or to practice dance moves or see who could jump the highest. The Family was always entertained. Entertained and treated as royalty.

Pancakes for breakfast the first morning in Athiémé. Stuart said they were the best he has ever eaten. Fried plantains dipped in cinnamon-sugar sufficed as snacks throughout the day. Friends began to find their way to the Kansans to welcome them, eventually extending an invitation to the local bar before dinner and the midnight mass, the first mass in Africa for the Family. At the mass, Mom wanted to join the dance; ...