Off to Post!

I leave for post today! I swore in on Friday at the Presidential Palace or the Congressional Palace or something. It was a huge event since it is the 40^th Anniversary of Peace Corps Benin. I had a great time and it was awesome getting to hang out with all of the other volunteers before we all depart for post. I think everyone ended up passing their language exam and was able to swear in, which is fantastic! 55 people swore in and we started with 64, so yeah I don’t know if that’s good or not. It seems like a high number of people left to me, but I have never done this before so what do I know. My family also came to the ceremony and I sang on stage too. It was also nice to see the language facilitators and take pictures with them before leaving.

I have been buying some necessities this past weekend for post with some friends and my sister. She has been so helpful with the price haggling at market. It is difficult to me because I don’t have any experience, but we ended up getting some great deals. It is also difficult because they always give me a higher price since I am a foreigner. I also carried about a 6 foot mat on a motorcycle all the way home, it was hilarious. People always stare at me, but they were really staring at me when I was carrying things on the moto like a Beninese person!

We had a going away/goodbye party on Saturday, which was fun. The rest of the night I hung out with my family. Sunday I packed and cleaned all morning, ran a few last minute errands, and then my family, a friend and I went to a ceremony. My mom got us matching tissue for the party, it was so sweet. She also got me another outfit, some adorable plates for my house, a really nice washing basin, and two buckets as well. It was so thoughtful of them to get my gifts before I left for village. They really enjoyed the gifts I gave them and the cake I made last weekend too. It is nice to know that they will be there for me if I need to get away, advice, or someone to talk to for the next two years. I can’t say how lucky I was to have them host me for my time in Porto Novo during training.

I am excited and anxious to leave today. I don’t have any furniture so unpacking will be really easy! I did get some movies from a friend and some books too to relieve any bouts of boredom, but I think my homologue wants me to work this week. The blogs will be less frequent so don’t get too worried about me! I will probably go to Cotonou about once a month because we aren’t supposed to leave our posts much for the first three months. Hope all is well back home!

Bon courage!