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	<title>Benin and Beyond</title>
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	<description>And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don&#039;t believe in magic will never find it. — Roald Dahl</description>
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		<title>Benin and Beyond</title>
		<link>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com</link>
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		<title>Happy International Women&#8217;s Day!</title>
		<link>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2013/03/10/happy-international-womens-day/</link>
		<comments>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2013/03/10/happy-international-womens-day/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 10 Mar 2013 10:19:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>michellleb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/?p=305</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Happy belated Women’s Day (internationally celebrated March 8)! In honor of the celebration, below is a description of one our gender and development summer camps from Maeghan, one of my fellow volunteers and the coordinator of this year’s program. I promise I’m working on another entry with an update on my life, but for now, [&#8230;]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=beninandbeyond.wordpress.com&#038;blog=24445079&#038;post=305&#038;subd=beninandbeyond&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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			<media:title type="html">michellleb</media:title>
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		<title>Happy Valentine’s Day</title>
		<link>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2013/02/17/happy-valentines-day/</link>
		<comments>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2013/02/17/happy-valentines-day/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 17 Feb 2013 15:43:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>michellleb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/?p=303</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Any female Benin Peace Corps volunteer will tell you that dealing with the men of his country is one of the most frustrating things about being here. As always, though, humor remains one of the greatest coping mechanisms. So, in honor of Valentine’s Day and without further ado, here’s a collection of some of my [&#8230;]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=beninandbeyond.wordpress.com&#038;blog=24445079&#038;post=303&#038;subd=beninandbeyond&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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			<media:title type="html">michellleb</media:title>
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		<title>Odds and Ends</title>
		<link>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2013/02/10/odds-and-ends/</link>
		<comments>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2013/02/10/odds-and-ends/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 10 Feb 2013 14:57:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>michellleb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/?p=299</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I restarted my girls’ club last week, expanding to include the 4eme girls from last year as well as a new batch of 5eme students (which roughly translates to 8th and 7th grades respectively – in the French system, schooling counts down until you reach your premier and then terminal (i.e. BAC) year). After last [&#8230;]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=beninandbeyond.wordpress.com&#038;blog=24445079&#038;post=299&#038;subd=beninandbeyond&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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			<media:title type="html">michellleb</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">Girls Club</media:title>
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		<title>Storytime</title>
		<link>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/storytime/</link>
		<comments>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/storytime/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jan 2013 19:19:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>michellleb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/?p=295</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My electricity was out the majority of last week in a village wide power cut that left me with a dead phone and both laptop batteries (including my backup) almost depleted. My escapist tendency to watch TV shows in the evening as a means to ignore the dark and the encroaching humidity may have quickened [&#8230;]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=beninandbeyond.wordpress.com&#038;blog=24445079&#038;post=295&#038;subd=beninandbeyond&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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			<media:title type="html">michellleb</media:title>
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		<title>Black and White</title>
		<link>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/black-and-white/</link>
		<comments>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/black-and-white/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Jan 2013 19:19:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>michellleb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/?p=292</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;I think your identity should come from something you take pride in. It shouldn’t be something that just sets you apart from other people, it should be one of those things that people generally understand is a good thing, something we all share, rather than what separates us. I mean, the things that make up [&#8230;]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=beninandbeyond.wordpress.com&#038;blog=24445079&#038;post=292&#038;subd=beninandbeyond&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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			<media:title type="html">michellleb</media:title>
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		<media:content url="http://beninandbeyond.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/p9070051.jpg?w=300" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA</media:title>
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		<title>Alice Goes to the Dentist, Bikes, and Celebrates Voodoo</title>
		<link>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/alice-goes-to-the-dentist-bikes-and-celebrates-voodoo/</link>
		<comments>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/alice-goes-to-the-dentist-bikes-and-celebrates-voodoo/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 13 Jan 2013 16:34:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>michellleb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/?p=288</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There’s something ignoble about suffering a sinus infection in Africa. Regardless, I picked one up last weekend that lingered throughout the week, tingeing everything with a very down the rabbit hole type feeling. And I guess when it comes down to it, some of our Peace Corps exploits would fit right in with a children’s [&#8230;]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=beninandbeyond.wordpress.com&#038;blog=24445079&#038;post=288&#038;subd=beninandbeyond&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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			<media:title type="html">michellleb</media:title>
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		<title>Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!</title>
		<link>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/merry-christmas-and-a-happy-new-year/</link>
		<comments>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/merry-christmas-and-a-happy-new-year/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 05 Jan 2013 18:29:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>michellleb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/?p=283</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I’m getting slightly tired of playing catch up…..so forgive the bulleted Christmas list as a means of launching more quickly into the New Year. • In the weeks leading up to Christmas, I did my best to get in the holiday mood ( a somewhat difficult task given the heat and lack of immediate family…..Benin [&#8230;]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=beninandbeyond.wordpress.com&#038;blog=24445079&#038;post=283&#038;subd=beninandbeyond&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">michellleb</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">New Years wih Celine</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">Toute la Famille</media:title>
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		<title>Thanksgiving</title>
		<link>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/thanksgiving/</link>
		<comments>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/thanksgiving/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 30 Dec 2012 16:28:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>michellleb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/?p=279</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Part 1: The American Version I spent Thanksgiving itself down in Cotonou, celebrating with other volunteers. We spent Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning in a waltz of cooking, an amusing choreography and synchronization that fell a smidgen short of chaotic as at least ten volunteers tried to match one (bread box sized, single object at [&#8230;]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=beninandbeyond.wordpress.com&#038;blog=24445079&#038;post=279&#038;subd=beninandbeyond&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">michellleb</media:title>
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		<media:content url="http://beninandbeyond.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/pa050002.jpg?w=225" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA</media:title>
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		<title>The Weekend the Water Broke</title>
		<link>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2012/12/28/the-weekend-the-water-broke/</link>
		<comments>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2012/12/28/the-weekend-the-water-broke/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 Dec 2012 19:22:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>michellleb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/?p=271</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I cannot say that my friendships here are the same as my friendships back in the states or even those with my fellow volunteers. There always remain certain cultural barriers, language issues, general miscommunications, or gaps in education level and life expectations that prevent us from understanding each other or talking about certain things. For [&#8230;]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=beninandbeyond.wordpress.com&#038;blog=24445079&#038;post=271&#038;subd=beninandbeyond&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">michellleb</media:title>
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		<media:content url="http://beninandbeyond.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/p9240001.jpg?w=300" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA</media:title>
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		<title></title>
		<link>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2012/12/28/275/</link>
		<comments>http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/2012/12/28/275/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 Dec 2012 19:19:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>michellleb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://beninandbeyond.wordpress.com/?p=275</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I’ve been remiss lately in keeping up with this endeavor. Blame internet or the October / November heat wave or my adjustment to Beninese life (I think fewer things take me by surprise or register as noteworthy) or plain laziness. Excuses all, and I’ve decided that my New Year’s resolution will focus on restarting this [&#8230;]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=beninandbeyond.wordpress.com&#038;blog=24445079&#038;post=275&#038;subd=beninandbeyond&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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