This Just In.

It's been 4 weeks. Things are better!
I’ve started to teach classes regularly now, which really means that most of if not all of my students are showing up. Teaching makes me feel really productive because I’m actually doing something with my time.
So far, it seems the students are well behaved and interested in learning. Usually, I try to include a song at the end of my lesson and the students go crazy over that. The school system here is very teacher-centered. There is student participation but most of the student’s time is spent in silence, copying information from the board. When I want to involve them in the learning process it’s a real struggle; they look at me very confused-as if I’ve gone from trying to teach them English to trying to teach them some ancient dialect of Chinese. But, I can tell they like being involved, writing on the board, clapping all the time, and singing.
At some point there will be an addition to my house! I am going to get a puppy to hang out with. When I get him, I’ll post pictures and maybe he’ll become a guest blogger :)
I have plans up until June of next year. They’re all fun things like vacations with other volunteers and visits from friends and family; it’s great to have some things to look forward to and they will chop up my time here helping it to fly by.
I got a rash! The best way I can describe it is by comparing it to ring-worm except it didn’t have a circular shape, it went every which way and was all over my body. I visited the Peace Corps Bureau in Cotonou, which was very nice because I got to take warm showers and eat good food and be around other volunteers. A dermatologist told me that it was reaction to a chemical released by some bug. Very mysterious I know. Today I’m headed back to my post to insecticide my house and see what happens! I’ll update on this if something else happens.
That’s really about it. I miss everyone, hope all is well, see you around the bend and all that jazz.
Peace

Post

Post

I’ve been at post for 6 days now (including today) and it’s been quite the experience. When I first got here, I seriously considered E.T. ing (early terminating my service) right away. I’m here alone, not doing anything—literally—but sitting on my porch for hours a day; my house isn’t a home yet; I don’t have friends immediately available; and I can’t even eat good food. These are the things that were running through my mind for 3 days straight from the time I got up until I went to bed.

For those parents (who aren’t mine) who read this blog, please don’t be in despair. This is just my experience and no one else’s. I can say that this part of the journey (I think) for all of us is very lonely.

In the last 6 days I have realized how much of a social creature I truly am. In the states, I always “wanted my space,” not necessarily from my friends but in general. Foolish, foolish, foolish. People who say they need their own space from time to time say that because they don’t know true isolation. That is, isolation that isn’t self-prescribed but imposed. In other news…

I was struggling—and am to some extent—but then a series of events happened that made me feel like this still is the right path for me. Sometimes it just seems that the universe smiles on you and gives you everything that you need, strung together like—I don’t know—beautiful pearls. Things that give your heart courage and make you laugh aloud at nothing and cause you to smile without realizing it. And these things are always very simple; rain after 3 god-awfully hot days, a photographic moment and the like.

My time in Africa will be a maturation period for me. I’ve learned in 6 days that I need to be around people I know to feel secure which, when I’m being honest, is the real reason behind my struggle with being here.

I don’t want this blog entry to turn into a journal entry. Let me just say that Africa is absolutely stunning, my post is beautiful, it’s a bit lonely so write your children or friends or whoever my fellow PCV’s are to you and of course WRITE ME! Even if I don’t know you, and believe me when I say that the mundane things to you are comforting to us because we want to be back there with you!

In fact: Jamie’s Mom, David’s Mom, Jennifer, Some of Jamie’s friends. You all should write letters right now. Your children/friends miss you J Of course, they didn't tell me any of this themselves.

Birthday in Benin

First birthday in Benin, check. The Beninese certainly do find a way to influence all aspects of your life--even your birthday.

There's a really nice restaurant (remember my standards have changed. I lived in Africa) called Java Promo. Getting there was a blast. Erin and I rode together, and were taken to the wrong place and charged too much. Once we got there, I had 8 shots of a Beninese-made liquor called Sodabe. Very good. Enough said.

Here in Benin, often times, the trip is more interesting than anything you experience at your destination.

Today, TEFL went to visit a village built completely on stilts in the middle of a huge lake. Very nice because it was my first real photo excursion here in Benin.

On the way there, smashed in a Peace Corps vehicle (as always), I was sprawled across a seat sitting in front of 3 current volunteers. I forgot to keep my balance after the van stopped and found my face in the breasts of said volunteer. Yikes.

Ganvie was really beautiful (see photos).

Because it's a village built on stilts, people travel around the village on little wooden boats.

At one point, there was a boy bugging us for money and gifts. The guy steering the boat decided to take the boy's only oar. This boy is only 1o years old by the way. He immediately broke into tears. Other people started yelling at our boat steerers started yelling at ours.

Imagine this: a traffic jam of boats, all the boatsmen yelling at our boatsmen. We're sitting in dirty water--the boat is rocking. Tres scary.

My birthday is fine so far.

Also, warning NOTICE THE ADDRESS CHANGE. ALL PACKAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO THE NEW ADDRESS :)

Qu'est-ce que ce passe?

This blog is just an update of events in the past 2 weeks since I haven't written anything.
Honestly, there hasn't been beaucoup des choses going on.
In Africa, people wear a fabric called tissue. It's essentially a tightly-woven cotton fabric of toutes les qualitiés. Some is horrid, some beautiful. It all comes with some kind of pattern or motif. The tissue is taken to a teilleur who can make just about any article of clothing you can draw. What's really great is that Western ideas of what it is to dress like a man haven't influenced Beninese culture.
No joking, men wear tissue that is bright pink with purple lace and red hearts.
All this to say: most of the tissue is not of my taste. However, last weekend je suis allé au marche avec Jamie, Erin and David and I found 3 patterns that are pretty decent. I took them to the teilleur along with my Express, vintage-fit dress shirt, and am having 3 shirts made. Pictures to follow.
Also, Erin and I are positive that we'll get to enjoy Ginger Snaps sometime in the future ;)
My Malaria medication gives me acid reflux to the max and the doctor suggested I take other medication to allow my Malaria medication to work better. I said no. I will be changing Malaria medication in the near future.
There's beaucoup des photos but Erin and I are figuring out the logistics of transfer.
Soul food was made at the last cooking session. I.....was very happy ;)
I've had some grumpy days--Rob, Erin knows your pain :)
Now that the Teaching English as a Foreign Language stagiers are in Model School we have to be at school by 7:30 and stay until about 17:30. Teaching is great! I'm still stubborn and stay up until atleast 22:30
And perhaps the most important thing, in the last 2 weeks I have realized, resented, and accepted the fact that I am in Africa for 2 years.

Excursions

Donc, Wednesday past, the T.E.F.L. volunteers left Porto Novo to go and visit the sites where they'll spend the next two years teaching.
Toucountouna is absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, beautiful. It's a small village of about 4000 people, nestled among an Appalachian-esque chain of mountains. What's more, the village itself sits on the peak of a mountain in said mountain chain. If I look in any direction, I can see clear across other mountain chains for at least 100 miles--even on rainy days.
At night, the stars can be seen right down to the horizon. The sky in general is so clear, appears so close that one gets the urge to reach up and grab a star. Even better, I can see not just one but several planets on any given night.
The homes of the villages are exactly like you're thinking. They're colored a deep tan brown with straw or tin roofs. The major highway of Benin runs right through my village, and the offshoot roads are made from a kind of stone gravel including brown and red stones. The village and the homes look exactly like the places on the pamphlets trying to entice people to visit strange and exotic lands. In fact, there's a national park about 17 miles away from my town, complete with elephants, lions, gazelle, antelope, and of course crocs, a waterfall 13 miles from my town and a huge lake about 3 miles away.
My home is on a dusty road. 3 rooms, and an external area for doucheeing and bathrooming. It's a cement structure--I will not be huddled in some small dank dark pit pooping :)
Admittedly, I had a very low point during my site visit because it finally dawned on me that I am in Africa and will be here for 2 years and the people I love are back in the States--talk about breakdown. Thank you Rob :)

Lavering mes vetements

After 6 days of school per week, I like to do nothing on Sunday. Hanging out with Erin, Jennifer or Jamie is honestly the most I feel like doing.
It doesn't feel better to talk in English--there's no great relief. I'm honestly just too lazy to want to speak in French on my day of rest.
The point is: God rested on Sunday (or whatever God's 7th day was) and so do I.
Except yesterday.
My host family is nice. Papa and mama--and yes, I must call them that--are very patient avec moi. In such a fashion, my Mama matter-of-factly told me earlier in the week that I was washing my clothes Sunday. And, wash my clothes on Sunday is what I did.
Washing my clothes, by hand, has englightened me in two very important ways.
To begin with; I know why I was born in the 21st century. If I had been born in a time where I had to wash my clothes by hand for my entire life--I would honestly walk around naked.
It took me 4 hours to wash 3 pair of pants, 1 pair of shorts, 3 t shirts, and 10 pair of socks. I have already decided I am only washing my clothes every 2 weeks because I am too lazy to wash them more often.
Secondly, I have a whole new appreciation for the saying "walk a mile in their shoes." . I walked a mile in a washing machine's shoes. I walked that mile for 4 hours. I can say without reservation that I have a new-found love and respect for words like "Spin cycle," "Rinse cycle," "Soak" and the word "repeat" will always have a traumatizingly special meaning to me. When I return to the states, the first thing I'm going to do, save hugging Robert, is hug the washing machine. Hug it and thank it and call the company that produced it and thank them. After that, I'm going to call the local paper and ask them to write a story about the genius of washing machines because I will always tear up with joy as I put my clothes into that wonderful machine and let it do it's magic.
But for now, I'll use my knuckles.

Question: How is it possible for one to be surrounded by 10 very animated people and feel completely alone and isolated?

Answer: They're all speaking french, or a local language and you KNOW they're talking about you.

We arrived at our host families' houses Wednesday night. All of us, who had spent the last 6 days and nights together, scattered about the bustling city of Porto Novo. No cell phones to call and say "this sucks" or AIM/ICHAT to IM and say "save me." For that matter; we didn't even know where any other volunteer was living. I got to my host family's house and realized that my experience would be akin to something like a duckling learning how to swim: not quite drowning, not exactly swimming but doing something in between the two; mouth filled with water, can't exactly catch my breath, all the while wishing to be back on land. C'etait trés, trés emotionale!

"Assiette-toi," my host-mama commanded (equates to plate yourself) and for 2 hours I was asked all sorts of questions in frightening speed by 5 adults. Really, the only word I uttered was "quoi?"

Of course, there is progression.

á la prochaine!

NOTICE THE CARE PACKAGE SECTION TO THE RIGHT!