Seminar Preparations Begin

Flexibility is the name of the game in preparing for small business seminars in developing countries.  Dr. Boko informed Neela and I that there will likely be two government officials giving opening remarks at our seminar.  Dr. Boko, with the help of his assistant Sylviane, sent letters to the appropriate officials requesting their presence and participation in our seminar.  In Benin, it is important to notify any government officials that work with the small business sector if you plan to interact with the small business community.  So almost immediately upon our arrival here, we quickly began adjusting our schedule.  It's funny, but changing plans makes me feel comfortable in this setting.  If everything went to plan, I would be worried.

 Today we went shopping.  Dr. Boko's sister, Bernadette, and Sylviane helped us pick out (and negotiate prices) for the Beninese outfits we will be wearing during the seminar.  Burnadette just happens to be a talented seamstress that has offered to use her skills to make beautiful African dresses for the women of our group and stylish African shirts for the men (picures yet to come).  I actually ended up buying material for three dress shirts during our trip.  The fabric is beautiful, the craftsmanship is outstanding, and the prices are low. 

We are excited to see Ajay when he arrives tomorrow.  The importance of having the support of such a great leader cannot be understated.

 The rest of our group (James Russell, Serena Rwejena, Sherry Moss, Zach Forward) will arrive on Sunday.

 As promised, above I have attached some pictures from the trip.  Starting with the before and after pictures of Dr. Boko's snake experience seems like an appropriate start.  He looked calm and collected for the first picture.  But once the snake was taken away, his true feelings came out.