library at the peace corps outpost in parakou, Benin.

March 2013

(Heartbreakingly, *all* of my photos were color damaged by incorrect processing at the film studio. This is what gives so many of them a very filtered ‘Instagram’ look. https://twitter.com/cba/status/315198965354205185)

In June 2012 two events set the stage for this little trip. The first event was my friend Marji leaving on a two year Peace Corps mission to the West African country of Benin. The second was me starting my first salaried job, or more to the point, my first job with vacation time. From there it was just a matter of when.

I visited to support Marji and to get great photos; but also to ground myself in the reality of this continent that has previously been nothing more than an abstract symbol of poverty. ‘Finish your food there are starving kids in Africa’.

School children in Cotonou, the largest city in Benin. Not surprisingly, children were overwhelmingly more eager to have their photo taken than adults.