Obama Won!

What a fantastic week! A bunch of other volunteers as well as some of the people that work in the office and I watched the election results until 7AM. During Obama's speech there was a lot of clapping and tears of happiness. I am still in awe of the results and I am so proud of my home state-- my absentee ballot probably counted! The entire country of Benin and continent of Africa is celebrating with the US right now. It is amazing and exciting how much support Obama has throughout the world. Have a nice weekend everyone!

Is there really a rat in my room?!

I completed my community study that is due at the IST in December. It was this assignment to help us get to know our communities. We had to ask people a variety of questions about things like culture, work, education, and income. There were over 100 questions so it took quite a bit of time. It was a little more cumbersome for me because I live and work in two different villages so I had to get information for both. I made a powerpoint too which is pretty sweet! There are some cool features in the office ‘07 software that I hadn’t played with yet. Yes I had quite a bit of time on my hands as you can imagine, so I went a little overboard with it, but whatever. The IST is in Parakou from I think the 8^th or 9^th of December to about the 19^th. I am excited about it because all of the Health and Environment volunteers will be together. Those two groups were together for our training in Porto Novo so many of my good friends are either Health or Environment volunteers. I can’t wait to see everyone and hear how people are doing. The only downside is how far away Parakou is…it is in the Northern part of Benin so for me it will be a really long trip. I will take a big bus though, not a bush taxi. I can barely stand being in a bush taxi for the short journey to Cotonou, I am such a baby…haha! Anyway it will be nice to see a different part of Benin.

Village is great and so is work. I finally splurged on a fan, it was necessary. It’s in the 90s everyday, at least, and after I get off my bike I think I continue to sweat for almost an hour. My director and I had a nice talk last week about our goals; mine and hers. Thursday mornings we do immunizations and baby weighing. And at the beginning of next year I am going to begin doing 15 minute formations too. I already have 21 different health topics written up in French—again—lots of time when you stay home sick, haha! Then we are going to start working on a calendar to do larger formations in the surrounding villages, there are 11 total and that’s not including the ones on the water. The president of my clinic and a couple of the girls I work with live there so they really want me to go there too. Also I am going to keep researching and probably write a grant to start a Moringa project. Moringa is a plant that grows very easily here—for all of you wondering how I am going to grow something, lol!…it has great nutritional properties and is good for recuperation too. My director and I want to get that going and sell it as powder in the pharmacy. We also spoke about doing some cooking demonstrations. I’m sure I am leaving some things out, but that’s a lot. Oh I also want to talk to the director of the CEG (middle/high school equivalent) about teaching a computer class once a week. They have computers, but are not using them…just one of my ideas for a secondary project.

Things at my house and with my concession are going well. I have been running a bit and been back and forth sick, but nothing too serious. I made my neighbors banana bread and cornbread, good stuff! I have made the banana bread a bunch of times now, it’s delicious. There are more kids here now for school, 5 young ones—4-15 in age. They keep me company so I don’t have to buy a dog or cat, haha. Oh and they help me with pretty much everything, in exchange they get to play with my ipod and stuff. We play around all the time and help each other with the many languages we are all trying to learn; they are so much fun! They are also really good at killing all the animals I find in my house too, like spiders, lizards, the other night a rat, yes a rat! I freaked out, the whole family came out because I yelled so loud, then I ran out of the house and across the yard while they caught it and killed it. And I have been getting teased ever since…haha!

I am in Cotonou right now for a meeting to review my training group. I was chosen to represent health because I am so close to the bureau. I don’t mind I am happy to be here on Election Day…constant access to the internet! I bet it’s crazy in the US right now. Plus I received my first packages and some mail!!! Thanks mom! Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween—I bought myself a bit of candy and explained the holiday, I’m not sure they got it, but oh well it’s the effort that counts anyway. I hope all is well and GO OBAMA!

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!

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!