Zemidjans and Accompanying Helmets

The bulk of intracity transport here is done by moped, or Zemidjans as they're known locally. Drivers are easily identifiable by the matching shirts (colors vary my town -- Cotonou is blue, Parakou is yellow and green, etc...).

Most of the time you see commuters simply commuting to where they're going, but it is not unusual to see whole families on board -- Dad Driving, Mom on back and three kids in between. But it doesn't stop there. Its also fairly common to see someone transport some recent purchase, be it a large bag of rice, boxes and -- as we saw once in Cotonou -- a toilet propped up between the driver and passenger.

Recognizing the essential role Zemis play in Beninese life, the Peace Corps issues each volunteer a helmet with the strict proviso that anyone caught not wearing one will be immediately sent home no questions asked. And given that we're all college graduates, every person here has spent way too much time and money filling their heads to see them emptied on the ground.

So we got our helmets last week, lovely silver ones with a host of little air vents and other gadgets. Well, needless to say leaving Steve alone with his silver helmet, access to paint and too much time on his hands could only result in one thing...

And to make things better, he will be giving himself a Buckeye for each month of service, hopefully topping out with 27 when he returns home.

Jaren of course was right along side, however the lack of gold paint makes a replica of the Husky football helmet a bit tough. That said, she did prep her helmet with a lovely coat of purple and there is already a gold "W" sticker en route from the state of Washington as we speak.