One Month

Ironic how I made several posts in the month leading up to the grand departure, yet one of the most blog-worthy months of the experience will be represented by only this post here. But remember (mom), no news is good news! I’d like to give some snippets from along the way, but I warn you this is a long one…

Getting here – I made it!

Departing Atlanta for Philly was one of the most rushed and stressful and absolutely worst mornings possible to start off the whole experience. Though we left in time, nothing went right. Somehow I made my flight by cutting lines (I have never been that person. Ugh), running through the terminal, and taking advantage of how girls can get away with things when they cry…

During staging in Philadelphia, I met the other 60-some volunteers and signed a whole ton of papers. My fellow stagiaires (the French word for “trainees”) are from all over the US and of many different backgrounds. One woman is embarking on her second round of Peace Corps service since she previously served in Jamaica, 20-odd years ago! Most volunteers are young / recent graduates like me, and there are 4 sectors of work in Benin: Environmental Action (chyeah!), Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Rural Community Health, and Community Economic Development.

The morning after Stage, we took a bus to NYC. We spent a lot of time in lines and in airports over the next two days, traveling from NY to Brussels, and finally to Cotonou. That was a good time to get to know each other and get used to feeling dirty.

Cotonou and Porto Novo

We arrived late and exhausted to St. Jean-Eudes, a school / hotel / church in Benin’s largest city, Cotonou. We ate a late dinner (with our first dose of anti-malarial prophylaxis for dessert!), and went to bed under our mosquito nets. Oddly enough, I spent my first night in Africa freezing…

The next two days were a series of meetings, presentations, and vaccinations at the Peace Corps office. On the third day, we strapped our luggage to the tops of vans and headed to Porto-Novo, the capital city, to meet our host families.

Before meeting our families, each stagiaire received a photo of them. Though I had already been through five days of minimal sleep, multiple time changes, relentless heat, pouring rain, a new diet, AND my first zemidjan*, the host family gathering was my first “oh shit, here we go” moment. I received a photo of a very scary looking couple, Claudia and Justin Lodakpa, and the same woman greeted me at the PC gathering and took me home to my new neighborhood for the next 10 weeks.

*The zemidjan (the word means “Get me there fast” in Fon, the local language) is the most common mode of transportation around Benin. In Cotonou, we learned how to wave down a zemi, bargain the price, and hop on! No worries, I’ve got a PC issued motorcycle helmet and a really good grip… I also have a bicycle that I prefer to take everywhere instead – free, eco-friendly, and I’m not putting my life in someone else’s hands. Check out this Beninese music video about Zemis. Classic.

My Host Family

I have a Mama, a Papa, and several siblings. While my host parents have 4 children of their own: Innocent (boy, age 11), Jean-Paul (boy, age 8), Houefa (girl, age 4), and Grâce (girl, age 1), there are also cousins who spend a lot of time here and extended family members who live in the compound as well. Greetings in Benin are incredibly important, so each morning when I wake up or each time I arrive home, I have to be sure to greet the family and ask how everyone is doing. The house is large and my family has electricity and running water. There is a bathroom inside with a seat-less toilet that sometimes flushes, and a bucket for me to bathe from.

While my host family is a good way to experience culture and lessen my burden since I have training and language classes all week, I already look forward to being on my own – it’s difficult to feel and behave like a guest for 10 weeks!

Learning the Language

I have language classes 4 days a week from 8 AM to 5PM. The first few days were exhausting but I was able to build the endurance to speak (or at least listen) to French all day. Now I have no problems jumping right into French. My Language and Cultural Facilitator is very encouraging and supportive, and I get along very well with my classmate.

The accents here are very strong which also took some getting used to. My family mostly speaks Fon together so at home, Inno is especially helpful to me since he speaks clearly and slowly in French – he tends to be my go to guy for questions or practice (also, he is learning English, so we trade!). My Papa is well educated and works in Cotonou where he speaks French all day, so he is always easy for me to understand, too.

During class, we spend part of the day in the community, just talking to people around town (carpenters, tailors, vendors, technicians… whoever we can find to chat, really) to practice French and learn a little bit about life in Benin.

When I’m not in language class, there are other scheduled seminars on health / safety / culture / bike maintenance etc. My favorites so far have been an African Dance lesson and a Fashion Show where I got to model some Beninese couture! I’m real big on participation here.

Sunday is my free day, which I usually spend speaking English with other PCTs at a buvette, jogging, and doing laundry in my bucket.

Other Observations

I am very happy here so far. I am in good health and I feel safe and comfortable with my surroundings. I am now used to seeing chickens and goats run around all over the city, and when I bike by children on the road, I am no longer shocked each time I hear the Yovo song: “Yovo, Yovo, Bonsoir! Ça va bien? Merci!” (Translation: White foreigner, white foreigner, hello! How’s it going? Thank you!). Overall, I am amazed at how quickly the body (and the mind) can adjust to a new diet, a new climate, a new environment, fewer luxuries, etc.

There are of course many times when I’ve felt powerless because of language and cultural barriers, but that knowledge comes little by little, and every day is full of triumphs and failures. One difficult aspect for me to adapt to in this city is the immense amount of pollution – smoggy, barely breathable air, and a complete lack of a trash removal system (though some people can pay to have theirs dumped in the ocean, if that counts). At the same time, I suppose that is motivation for me to stay, learn, and see what I can do to address those problems here and in general, which is part of why I am here in the first place! I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go, but I always seem to find the strength or support I need, so I’m excited for whatever comes next.

Thanks and congrats if you made it through this blog post J