First month!

So things are going well at post. It’s weird not having everyone else around like before, but I am getting used to it. I do have a post mate so that’s made things easier, at least sometimes I am able to speak English. The family who lives in my concession is really great and they have been cooking dinner for me quite a bit. I have been giving them rice, pineapples and other stuff as a thank you. It is different living in village, but I like it. My house is nice and cozy. I have a bed, desk, and table so far, it is bizarre having your furniture made specifically for you, but awesome! The market is every 4 days, I even found a woman that paints my toenails for me for 50 francs, which is equivalent to about 15 cents in US money. Pretty sweet huh?! It is difficult to get vegetables, but a lot of fruits are in season now for example—bananas, oranges, papaya, and pineapple. I am enjoying my village and am learning quite a bit of the local language too.

I have been working Monday thru Friday at the clinic. It’s about a 20 minute ride each way on my bike. The road is pretty good and it goes by a lot of farms which is beautiful to look at everyday. One of the stilt villages is nearby and I can see it on the ride to work every morning. Maybe next week I will go for a ride with my post mate and check out the villages up close. Everyone that works at the clinic has been great so far. My first week I was presented with my office, it was a production. My homologue was there as well as the president of the ONG, treasurer, secretary, and a few others. My office is nice and it’s sort of crazy and hard to believe, but I have a computer in there. Now all I have to do is try to get the internet somehow…haha! Maybe I can work with one of the business/ICT volunteers to get that hooked up, yeah right! So the computer, my boss and the others asked me to work with it as a secondary project, but I’m not sure exactly what she wants me to do with it. I also saw my first baby being born, wow, what an experience! And now I have seen a lot, still amazing every time. My boss told me she is going to give me a book to read about being a sage femme and then when I am finished I am going to do the deliveries myself. I just laughed at her.

I am trying to take it easy right now, get to know the area. I went to the Catholic Church last Sunday, it was nice, and it’s a great way for my village to get to know me. I also have gone to the nuns’ house. They are sweet and my post mate is close with them. The boy that lives in my concession is a sweetheart and helps me with my laundry and brings me my water and stuff. He’s great and we pretty much do everything together when I am not at work. I am happy to be in a concession and not a private house because it makes me feel a lot safer. I am in Cotonou right now hanging out with another volunteer and some friends for the day. I had to go to the bank and do some other errands, like buy a fan. For some reason my bedroom is super hot! I have also had more time to read and listen to the radio. I get the BBC so I have an idea of what is going on in the world, usually listen to it in the morning and night, but the night is better because it’s more often in English. I don’t mind listening to the news in French it just takes a lot less brain power when it’s in English, haha! Lots of stuff is going on between the hurricanes, the election, and the economy. I hope everyone is doing ok! Talk to you soon and all my love!