Monday, July 28, 2008

I'm alive!

Bonsoir tout le monde! Greetings from Porto Novo, capital of Benin!

I’m sorry it’s been so long since I last wrote – we haven’t had very much internet access since we arrived in country, and I have a lot of trouble typing on the French keyboards in the internet cafés, so I’m writing this post on my home computer and will try to find my way to a café soon to put it online. I’ll write more frequently from now on, I promise!

It’s hard to believe that I arrived in Benin just over three weeks ago – the past several weeks have been such a whirlwind that it feels as though we’ve been here for months. The Peace Corps keeps us very busy with training during the day (we have class from about 8-12:30 and 3-6 Monday through Saturday…which might not sound like much, but it’s pretty draining!), and we spend the rest of our time with our host families learning about life in Benin and practicing our French (or in my case, speaking a lot of franglais and serving as a source of great amusement for my host sisters).

My host family is awesome. I have a maman, a papa, and five sisters: Anick (28), Nadia (25), Mureille (23), Geofride (20), and Dona (14). Anick’s daughter, Kadol (3), and Mureille’s son, Femi (1 ½), live here as well. My maman runs a petit magasin from the front of the house and sells a little bit of everything – tomatoes, laundry soap, flip flops, charcoal, etc. My papa is a retired gendarme who now has a shop in town where he sells construction supplies. Anick and Mureille work at NGOs, Nadia is working towards her Maitrise (roughly the equivalent of a Master’s) in international community development, Geofride is studying English at University, and Dona is in 3eme at Lycee. Anick, Nadia, and Mureille take me out with them to boites and buvettes on the weekends (the first Friday I was in Porto Novo we got stuck at a boite until 4 a.m. because there was a voodoo ceremony going on outside…but that’s another story); Geofride and I work on French/English together; and Dona teaches me how to do things around the house (or rather, she puts up with my total incompetence in all things practical). Femi is adorable, and Kadol is my best French teacher (mostly because she repeats things until I figure out what she’s saying and do whatever she wants haha). Maman doesn’t understand half the things I say in broken French and thinks I’m very silly, but she goes along with it. Papa is slightly elusive, but he does take me with him to faire du sport (which for him means to go for long marches across town) some evenings, which I really appreciate since it’s hard to work out during the day and it’s too dangerous for me to go out alone at night.

I’m really lucky to have such a large family, especially one with so many girls around my age. Occasionally, it’s overwhelming – par example, when I’m trying to study French and Femi and Kadol burst into my room screaming – but mostly it’s comforting and makes me feel like I’m at home. Nevertheless, I’m definitely looking forward to being at post and having a little bit more "me" time.

Speaking of post, I got my post assignment on Friday and I couldn’t be more pleased! Beginning in September, I’ll be teaching English in Penessoulou, a village in the Donga region in mid/north-west Benin on the border with Togo. The nearest "big" towns are Bassila (which just got a new cyber café!) and Djougou, and the closest Peace Corps workstation is in Natitingou. I’ll be the first and only volunteer in my village, but there are a few other volunteers posted in the surrounding area so I shouldn’t be too lonely. From what I’ve heard, my house is pretty grand by Peace Corps standards – I have a bathroom with a toilet and a shower, a kitchen with a sink, a porch, AND a guestroom – what luxury! (I’d better have lots of visitors!) I’ve also heard that the director/principal of my school is really nice (I get to meet him tomorrow) and that the people in the region are very welcoming. I really don’t think I could have asked for anything more!

In addition to receiving excellent post news, Friday was a fantastic day all around because I celebrated my first birthday in Africa! (Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes!!) I had no less than THREE cakes (vanilla in the morning and two mango in the evening…mmm), was sung to on multiple occasions, received a package of Hobnobs and other goodies from Lauren in Scotland, got lots of phone calls from the States, and feted the occasion first with PCVs and then with my host sisters at a local buvette. I had been a little nervous beforehand that having a birthday here so soon after I’d arrived would make me feel homesick, but it actually ended up being one of my best days here so far.

Alright, I do actually have to stop writing because we have a big day tomorrow (meeting the directors), but hopefully this gives you a little idea of how I’m doing. I’ll write more about life in Benin soon! Until then, I love and miss you all and hope to hear from you soon if I haven’t done so already!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

On my way!

I'm off to Benin tomorrow! After what seemed like weeks of good-byes and two days of training in Philadelphia, we're finally ready to go. I'm nervous, but I can't wait to get on the plane! It's going to be an incredible, if challenging, experience, and I'm eager to get started.

I'm not really a blog person (I don't usually read them and I'm not really sure what to write in one), but I think that this could be a good way to let friends and family know what I'm up to in Benin, so I'll give it a shot. I'm off to sleep now, but I'll write more once I arrive in Africa!!