The End of the First Three Months

“Instead of grasping and controlling, you are learning to release and receive” –Jesus Calling

“There are fulcrum moments in your life when you can feel your world pivot in a new direction. Everything that mattered doesn’t. There is no adjustment period between the old and new.” –How Did You Get this Number?

I’m finally nearing the end of my first three months at post, or what we call our “integration period.”  It’s gone by quickly but I’ve learned a lot about my community, about Beninese culture, and possible projects I can work on throughout my two years here in Aplahoue. 

Where to start? My home, of course.  My humble two-room abode is coming along nicely. Besides the furniture I inherited from a previous volunteer, I now have a wooden “closet” with shelves and a bar to hang clothes, two screen doors with curtains, new covers on my couch cushions, and some hooks to hang purses, towels, etc.  I think it looks pretty nice for having been there for less than three months.  I’ve gotten accustomed to bucket-style showers (the cold water feels so good when it’s hot!), and doing dishes in basins.  I’ve also been getting a little more adventurous with baking.  Using my handy Peace Corps Dutch oven, I can bake cookies, breads, cakes, you name it! In a large pot, you place the baking dish on top of a few small empty cans turned upside down and it works like an oven.  It’s been fun to share banana bread, pineapple upside down cake, and peanut butter cookies with my neighbors and work partners.  The Beninese people usually comment on how sweet our desserts are, but the banana bread was by far the favorite!     

After much experimentation I’m getting pretty good at cooking for one and with the food available here.  At first I made an attempt to cook Beninese food such as a leafy green sauce with fried fish.  The first time my neighbor helped me out a bit and then gave me some pâte to eat it with.  When I tried to make it on my own, it didn’t turn out as well, but receiving leftovers is what neighbors are for, right? I figure I will leave the Beninese cooking to the Beninese. I’ll stick with making my own food with Beninese ingredients.  This, on the other hand has been successful.  All of the volunteers were given a cookbook with recipes that we can make somewhat easily here. I’ve been going through it and trying many of them out with great success. I can make okra four different ways now!  One thing I was very surprised to see here is something we would call tofu in the states. They sell the “fromage de soja” here at the markets on the side of the road freshly prepared with a hot pepper sauce.  I buy it un-fried and add it to rice dishes, cooked vegetables, or pasta.  Who would have guessed I could eat tofu in Africa?

My next-door neighbors continue to be a great source of companionship and help.  On October 7^th, the maman gave birth to her fourth daughter. She has been fun to hold and watch get bigger every week. I can ask them whatever questions I have and they are always there to answer questions.  Two of their daughters invite themselves over frequently and watch what I’m doing.  If you want to get someone’s attention at the front door in Benin, instead of knocking you say “ko ko ko.” The response is “nay nay nay.”  Now imagine a two-year old wearing nothing but a string of beads around her waist (sometimes she decides to put on clothes) coming to your door saying “ko ko ko.”  Usually they stay for about five minutes and the little one points to my things and asks “qu’est-ce que c’est” (what is it?) Needless to say I am lucky to have neighbors that speak French and not just a local language.     

I have visited Cotonou (the biggest city in Benin) three times now. As my workstation location, I try to cram in as many things as possible while I’m there.  These include but are not limited to: eating American-style food, speaking English and hanging out with other volunteers, using the internet and computers, running errands to supermarkets and outdoor markets to stock up on items I can’t get at my post, perusing the work station library, checking my mail (if anything was sent to Cotonou), taking care of any business with the Peace Corps staff, and relishing the air-conditioning, running water, and kitchen amenities.  Also, since I was having problems with my computer, I was able to bring it to a computer store to have them diagnose it.  They were unable to fix it, which means it needs to be sent to the US. Since there are some volunteers going home for Christmas, one of them was nice enough to take it with her. If everything goes smoothly, I’ll have it back and fixed in January! Yesterday we had a meeting at the work station regarding the girls and boys camps volunteers organize every summer. 

Thanksgiving Feast

I’ve been able to see other volunteers multiple times during my integration period besides at the work station.  In October we had a taco night at a volunteer’s house. We made tortillas, salsa, guacamole, beans, and even had shredded cheddar cheese.  There were about 10 volunteers that night that all came from the same region.  For me, I took a thirty-minute zem ride (moto bike) to get there. There is another health volunteer that lives down the highway about fifteen minutes away from me. I’ve been able to see her pretty often either at the marché or at one of our houses.  At one point, I visited a volunteer’s post along with four other volunteers about two hours away.  We had a meeting about an English competition that our region does every year with a local English professor.  Most recently, a group of volunteers met up at a volunteer’s house for Thanksgiving dinner.  I traveled with the volunteer closest to me. We had to take two taxis plus a zem ride to get there, which took most of the day. But it was so worth it! We had a great feast with mashed potatoes, green beans, biscuits, corn pudding, macaroni and cheese, chicken, and three kinds of pie.  As part of the third goal of Peace Corps we shared our American culture with the neighbors, who were very thankful and said everything was delicious! 

One of the small projects I have been working on since October is a complete scholarship for one female student at my local secondary school.   In order to win, the girl needed to have good grades, a determination to finish school, and a true need to help paying for school fees and school supplies.  After forming a committee to review the girls’ applications, we narrowed it down to three.  To make sure the applications were truthful, I visited the girls’ homes with a member of the committee.  A week later I had an interview with each of the girls with the help of the vice principal. After all of the work was done, the winner was clear.  Then the principal announced the winner at the weekly flag ceremony.  Now I am supposed to mentor the winner, making sure she continues to do well in school and complete a community project with her before the end of the school year.  It feels good to have done something with actual results in my first three months!

In November I finally found a language tutor.  We have been meeting twice a week and work mostly on my local language, Adja.  I can also ask him any questions I have for French. He is an English professor at one of the secondary schools.  He has worked with volunteers in the past and seems to be helping so far.  If you are itching to learn something in Adja here you go: See you tomorrow (Eyi so), Thank you (akpe keke), Good work (Mio ku do do).

One thing that keeps on surprising me is the connections, resources, and willingness people here have. Once I speak up and ask someone to help me with something, most of the time they can help me and they get right on it.  For example, since I hadn’t gotten my package from home yet with kitchen supplies I was in need of a nonstick frying pan.  One day I asked my neighbor where I could get one, and voila! She used to sell kitchen supplies and had one sitting in her house! It was a bit used-looking but it was very inexpensive and works fine.  Another time I asked my supervisor about fitness and working out.  To my surprise he told me that there is a gym in the same town as the marché I go to.  A gym! I had to go check this out.  It’s definitely Africa-style but it’s still a gym and you can get a good work out.  All of the machines can run without electricity and include bikes, one elliptical, weights, exercise ball, basketball court, and weight training machines.  It was a great find, but we’ll see how often I actually use it. It’s a little pricey for my budget but it’s nice to have available.  I keep being reminded that it really pays off to talk with people and try to connect with them on personal level.  You mention something and people are willing to help you no questions askedJ. I think this will be a great way to get projects going as well. 



The Social Promotion Center (my host organization)



I feel like I have connected well to the staff at the social promotion center.  Although I don’t do much work at the actual center they are great resources.  We laugh, chat, talk about work, and they are always willing to talk.  I’m just going to need some time to get used to how they do things here in a work setting. It’s very different from the US! With my supervisor, I have worked with two groups of women who are in charge of doing baby-weighings and presentations about health in their villages. We make sure that they are completing their work and solve any of the problems that come up. With the social assistant I did a presentation on contraception with some of the students at the secondary school. We have also started to work with the girls that live at a Catholic boarding house on themes such as responsibility, getting along with peers, and abstinence. 

Recently, I have also started to work with the local health center. Their big vaccination day is Monday and a lot of women come with their infants.  I help with the paperwork, finding their cards, and checking off the vaccines.  The center is understaffed and they aren’t able to weigh babies very often. I’m hoping I can change that! They also make rounds to the villages in the area each month.  I accompany them to these visits as well.  The health center will also be a great place for me to give presentations on topics such as preventing malaria and family planning. 

Next week is our first in-service training. It marks the end of our first three months- our first milestone as volunteers! It’s a week-long training divided into sectors. We will share what we’ve learned about our posts, learn how to start projects, and also learn more technical information about nutrition.  I have a lot of project ideas that I can’t wait to get started on in 2012.  I feel lucky to be where I am and I hope I can take advantage of everything I have learned about my community to use as I begin to develop projects. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

End of Stage, Start of Post!

September 5th

Hello again! It’s been a while but I’m going to try and recount what I’ve been up to since my post visit.  First off, my birthday was on September 2^nd. I was fortunate to get mail the day before with a birthday card and a letter.  That day during training we visited a nearby health center to watch how they did vaccinations and baby weighing.  Every health center does it differently but this one was pretty organized. All of the mothers gathered under a gazebo to wait. Eventually the aide-soin (kind of like an LVN) started weighing babies with a different apparatus than I talked about last time.  Afterwards, he gave each one an oral polio vaccine, and then one by one gave four shots on the arm and leg. If you can imagine, the babies were not happy about this, especially getting one after the other.   

On the way back to the training site, we convinced them to let us get pastries at a patisserie.  Not much to write home about but mine was pretty tasty.  I got a birthday card signed by many of the trainees and was sung to multiple times in French and English. I think I was lucky to have my birthday during stage (training) when we were all together to celebrate.  For lunch, some of us went to a nearby restaurant for igname pilée avec sauce d’arachide et wagashi.  First they boil yams, and then they pound them in a mortar and slowly add water. The closest thing I can think to describe the consistency is mashed potatoes, but a bit stickier. The peanut sauce is spicy with tomatoes, onions, and hot peppers. Then you can serve it with fish, meat, or the local cheese, wagashi.  They sell it fresh, but it is usually served fried. The whole ensemble is one of my favorite meals in Benin so far. That evening was our usual Friday evening gathering with soft drinks and snacks at a buvette (bar). There were two training sites, so it was one of the only times when all of the trainees were together.  It was a good day for a birthday I think!

That Sunday there were two other birthdays.  We celebrated by going to one of their houses and having lunch.  It was a nice place to have a lot of people over on a second-story balcony.  One of the trainees made chocolate cake with frosting that was delicious! I rode by bike there with four other trainees, which took over thirty minutes.  That was the longest ride I took in Porto Novo, but we definitely worked for our lunch! The day before we had a cooking session for a chance to exchange American and Beninese cuisine. We made pizza (with tortilla-like crust) and banana bread, and the Beninese made igname pilée that I explained earlier. It was so nice to make something from America!      

The last few weeks of training consisted of a lot more technical training than language.  We practiced giving presentations in the model school (where the English-teaching volunteers prep for post).  I gave a presentation with two other health trainees on the three food groups (energy, construction, and protection).  Other sessions included hand-washing and moringa.  Our last practice presentation was done in a village, this time with just one partner.  Our topic was diarrhea (funny I know, but very necessary here).  It went pretty well, but there’s a lot of room for improvement!  I think my confidence has gone up each time I do a presentation, but it’s difficult when your audience doesn’t speak French (let alone English). Working with a translator beforehand is very important as is not relying on notes.  

Toward the end of stage we were all feeling ready to move on and get to post. Training is great, and living with a host family can be a great learning experience, but I think we felt like we learned everything that we needed to.  One thing I am not going to miss is having my host family open the door on me while I’m in the bathroom or taking a shower! On the other hand, I was so used to my daily routine of going to school every day, seeing the other trainees, having sessions together, eating lunch, finding Fanmilk, and getting helpful tips from the trainers.  There is so much I will miss about stage but so much I have to look forward to at post!

In Porto Novo, no matter where you are there are some distinctive sounds you can hear throughout the day. The oddest one is women selling baguettes.  They walk around with a basket on their heads (which is not the weird part), and every few seconds yell “pain chaud!” but in the most ridiculous voice you can imagine.  It’s a phrase you never forget. Other common noises are roosters crowing, the sound of moto bikes passing by, and the call to prayer.  

Making the peanut sauce for igname pilée

September 10^th

Today was like a dream, really.  It was the first time in Benin that I almost felt like I was not in Benin. First, after finishing a bike test we just hung out together at the school until it was time to leave (= spending a lot of time with just Americans).  Then I got to ride in the air-conditioned van to Bob’s house in Cotonou (the Country Director).  Cotonou is the largest, most developed city in Benin and is also where the Peace Corps office is. We got to see parts of Cotonou that look nothing like the rest of Benin. It was like I left Benin for almost 8 hours but it felt longer.  There were lots of organizations and government buildings, stores and restaurants that looked half way decent, paved roads and not many people on the streets.  Bob’s house is among the government/ NGOs buildings. He has two Labrador retrievers, which we trainees couldn’t get enough of.  The house looked and smelled like America.  The decorations even reminded me of home (the country-themed clock, pottery, and furniture.) The best part was the American food. They made tacos with black beans, guacamole, shredded cheddar cheese, salsa, lettuce, and sour cream.  There was also a wild rice salad with pecans, and a chocolate cake with a mousse-like frosting.  For appetizers we had pita, hummus, baba ganoush and cucumbers.  To drink they made iced tea, lemon water, citronelle, and provided soft drinks.  I had to recount all of the food we had because it was such a special treat for us and everything was absolutely delicious! It was so nice to sit in their house to enjoy the air conditioning, speak in English, sit on an American couch, pet dogs, and eat familiar food.  We also got to watch the “Stand by Me” documentary, which takes place in a number of countries.  This only added to the confusion and made me ask the question, "am I really still in Benin?" 

Afterwards, we got to take a quick tour of Erevan- the coolest store in Benin.  It’s a lot like European supermarkets.  It’s huge, clean, and has everything one could want (or at least I thought so at the time).  They even have a bookstore, a home decor store, and a Mango clothing store. Obviously, on a PC budget we can’t buy a lot there.  I think it would be an amazing idea to get money to spend there for birthdays/Christmas! After our swear-in ceremony some of us went back to stock up on items you can’t get anywhere else in the country. Overall it was a great day, although strange! That week also concluded our last final week of technical and language training.  

September 16^th: About to leave Porto Novo!

After our last official training session, we went to the bank to take out our settling-in allowances. Then everyone dispersed and started spending their money! With the help of my friend’s host mom, I and two other trainees hit the grande marché and stocked up on kitchen items, locks for our front doors, and other household items.  It is always a smart idea to have a Beninese accompany you to bargain and speak in local language if necessary.

On the 15^th, all of us trainees were taken to Cotonou for the swear-in ceremony (to finally become volunteers!) It was held in this huge, fancy complex where I think the congress might meet.  We were in a very nice auditorium. Two members of our host families were allowed to attend.  Other guests were ministry officials, Peace Corps staff, current volunteers, and the second person under the ambassador. It was videotaped, meaning at some point that evening we were on TV.  Each sector was wearing a different clothing pattern (tissue) that we each had made by tailors and everyone looked great! It was also a chance for us girls to do our hair and put on some makeup. 

Of course, the ceremony started over an hour late. In small groups, trainees gave short speeches in each of the languages that volunteers will be learning (about eight).  It is pretty entertaining to watch Americans trying to speak in native African languages. Also, at the end of the ceremony, some of us sang the “Peace Corps Benin Swear-in song.”  It was fun but also a little embarrassing (think: summer camp). Afterwards it was picture time, which during the host families ate all of the snacks and drinks (don’t worry- we fought over the ones they brought out later.) 

In the afternoon, we took care of business at the Peace Corps office, did some shopping, and had lunch.  The mail hadn’t come yet, but I got to scavenge through the ‘dead yovo” pile of free stuff that volunteers leave for the taking.  I also started collecting a library to bring with me to post. I am really looking forward to reading during my down time. It’s important to having something on hand to read here while you are inevitably waiting for something or someone!

On the evening of the ceremony, we all celebrated becoming volunteers by having a dance party on the second story of one of the nicer hotels in Porto Novo. All 54 trainees that arrived with me in July are still here, which is something to celebrate! It was a lot of fun hanging out with everyone one last time and listening to American music. The next morning a group of us went out to eat for breakfast, and the rest of the day was spent doing last minute shopping and saying our goodbyes.  

New Rural Community Health Volunteers!

September 17th: Moving day

At around 7AM a taxi came to my house and to another volunteer’s house to take us to post. We shared a taxi because our posts are only about 15 minutes away from each other.  Loading up all of our things was actually a pretty harmless process. I wasn’t sure what to expect because of the amount we each had to transport. There were two mountain bikes, two single mattresses, 4 gas containers, 2 metal chests, suitcases, and lots of boxes and bags.  It didn’t faze the chauffeur at all.  In Benin, you can take just about anything you need to on a taxi including live animals, bushels of fruit or charcoal, furniture, large water containers- you name it. 

Besides a little traffic, the journey west went smoothly.  The real fun began once I got to my house.  When I arrived, they were painting the front room and the hallway.  This was a surprise to me and my homologue (work partner) because I assumed I would have to do the painting myself.  That being said, I had to wait two days before completely moving in.  They had to finish painting and put up the ceiling in the bedroom, which was no big deal, really. I hung out at my neighbor’s house during the day and in the evening stayed with my homologue’s family. On the third day I moved the furniture I inherited from another volunteer and got to work at unpacking. 

In my concession there are a total of 7 apartments (I’m not sure what the official word to describe them is.) My next door neighbors have been really helpful and speak French well.  The husband works at the brigarde de recherche and they have three daughters. My landlord has also been helpful from the start, answering my requests right away. In my latrine, there lives a hen and a bunch of eggs that she is sitting on. I suppose that means there will be chicks in there pretty soon!

I’ve been to the big marché (market) in the next town a few times now to get food and things for my house.  I recruited by neighbors to come along as well as my homologue so far, but I think I can confidently go by myself soon.  The marché is every fifth day, but it’s pretty easy to find things every day.  I’ve been able to find just about everything I am looking for so far.  I’ve been cooking breakfast for myself every day, and I’ve made a few lunches and dinners too.  It’s going to take a while for me to get used to cooking here and keeping food without a refrigerator. 

I’ve been exploring little by little in my town and I hope to get really familiar with the area during these next few months. My host structure, the social promotion center, has welcomed me and I’ve sat in on two of their weekly meetings now.  I’m hoping to start getting a better understanding of what they do there and how I can be a part of it.  It’s a long process, but I’ll get there!

It’s my first banking day today, which means I get to travel about an hour by taxi to a larger town.  I’m meeting other volunteers there and we’re getting lunch afterwards (my favorite, igname pilée with peanut sauce!). 

Don’t hesitate to email me or send letters! I will eventually write you back!

More of Stage and Post Visit

Sundays:

            Sunday is our only day off during training. It’s a day to relax and catch up on the things that didn’t get done during the week, much like in the United States.  I’m enjoying my Sundays more and more here. It’s quiet (usually), stores are closed (meaning less to do and more time to relax = very nice). I can exercise, do laundry, sleep in, go to the cyber café (one of the places that is open), write in my journal, and read.

Another good thing about Sundays takes place at my host family.  They clean the entire house; the bathroom, floors, all of the clothes, outside surfaces, everything! 

Ramadan:

            From August 1^st to August 30^th is Ramadan, the Islamic period of fasting and prayer.  Since my host family is Muslim this means getting up around 4AM, praying, and eating breakfast. Afterwards they usually go back to sleep for a couple more hours. Then they fast all day until 7PM.  Since prayers are more important during this time, people in the neighborhood prayer together.  For the evening prayers, there are usually a group of people praying either outside of my house or in the garage on mats.  It is led by an Imam I think and lasts about thirty minutes.  I’ve joined them a few times, but it’s hard to follow when you don’t understand Arabic! They let me borrow a shawl to wear and showed me how to wash myself before prayer.  I think the general order of the service begins with a round of prayers repeated multiple times and then a reciting from a section of the Koran . Then the prayers are repeated again and another section is spoken. These are just my observations and educated guesses! The fête for Ramadan (celebration) is on August 30th, so everyone is busy getting everything ready. No matter what fête you are celebrating here, everyone that comes wears the same tissue (material), which means the tailors are very busy.  

August 23^rd, 2011

Some exciting events have taken place over the last few days. We had our third language interview to assess our progress, and I moved up another level. The days leading up to the interview included a lot of studying and tutoring to prepare. I also began learning my local language-Adja. It was a nice break from French and fun to learn words in a language I have never heard before. During our technical training, we learned how to make “bouille enrichie” or enriched porridge. Bouille is a common meal or snack here that you can find on every street. It is usually made with corn flour and water, served hot with sugar and maybe a fried beignet or too. It can also be made with ground millet.  Since women already know how to make it, it is a fun and easy activity to do with a group. The goal is to show women how to make it a balanced meal by adding other foods to the porridge such as soy flour, a mixture of grains (sorghum, millet, corn),  fruit (bananas, mangoes), and more protein (peanut butter, dried fish powder, moringa powder, milk). Enriching the porridge is especially important for infants in the weaning process or for those children who aren’t breastfeeding anymore.  

            We also got to practice baby weighing in a village outside of Porto Novo.  It usually takes place at a health center once a month, maybe on the same day as vaccinations.  Mothers bring their infants, ages birth to about 24 months old along with their health records.  We held the session outside under a tree. We tied a scale to a swing type apparatus which was hung from a tree branch.  As it was our first time doing it, we practiced weighing in pairs. One person called the names and held the baby while the other recorded the weight and charted it. The chart makes it very easy to identify babies in the normal or malnourished weight-for-age range.  All of the babies were adorable and only one decide to pee in the seat J. The mothers were helpful in undressing the babies and keeping them calm.  

Baby Weighing

            In other news, we got to go on our first field trip outside of Porto Novo.  We visited Ouidah, on the coast of Benin.  It’s a popular spot to visit because of the slave trade history and voodoo culture. We saw the Portuguese fort (one of five different countries forts) and learned about the slave trade.  They also explained how West African religion and customs were spread to places such as Haiti, Brazil, and Cuba.  Later, we visited a sacred forest (voodoo) and a python temple.  Pythons are considered sacred here, so there is a temple where they live and are taken care of. The story goes that a woman once picked up a python and it didn’t bite her. When the enemies saw her holding a snake they thought she had special powers and they ran away.  Visitors are allowed to hold the snakes and take pictures with them. Although I am not a snake person whatsoever, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to take a picture with a python! None of them were very big and they really were beautiful. After lunch we saw places with memorials that were significant during the slave trade.  For example, we saw the place where slaves were held while they were waiting for the ships to arrive, and mass graves.  Supposedly Ouidah was the biggest port in West Africa and slaves had to walk there from all over the region. There is a large archway in front of the ocean symbolizing the port of no return. The beach was beautiful and the temperature of the water was perfect! It was a nice day away from the city and the beach reminded me of home.  

The Port of No Return, Ouidah

August 22-27 Counterpart Workshop and Post Visit!

On August 5^th, all of the trainees received their post announcements. This was a very exciting event and they made it special by calling the names of volunteers in each region to come forward.  Even though we don’t know that much about the country yet, we had all some preferences as to which part of the country we wanted to live in.  I was placed in the south-west part of Benin, right next to Togo.  After the announcements, we couldn’t wait to go and visit, but of course we had to continue on with training and wait a few more weeks.  When the time finally came, we had a two-day workshop with our homologues (work partners or counterparts). After everyone met theirs and got to know each other a little there were various sessions. Some topics included the role of volunteers and of homologues, what the Peace Corps is all about, cultural differences between the United States and Benin, and what we have learned in training so far. The goal was to make sure the work partners understood what the volunteer can do for them and how to they can work together.  We also planned our three-day visits to our posts together.

My host structure is a Centre Promotion Sociale (CPS) or Social Promotion Center. They are located in every town, just like the health centers. They work with people dealing with domestic violence, neglect, physical handicaps, malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, orphans and widows, and a host of other reasons. My homologue works there as an assistant jurist. He assists people dealing with domestic violence or neglect.  He talks with the family to try to solve the problem and explains what the law states. If they do not comply, he can send them to court.  Other activities that the center does are information sessions for the public on topics such as disease prevention, breastfeeding, weaning, nutrition, hygiene and HIV/AIDS. 

         After the counterpart conference was over, we all departed for our posts with our counterparts.  We shared a taxi with other volunteers and counterparts going to the same part of the country.  There are seven of us volunteers in the same region (Mono-Couffo departments).  It will be nice to have other people close by to go and visit.  The highway we take is the same one that one takes to go to Cotonou and Ouidah.  We arrived in the town where my homologue lives in the afternoon of that day.  He lives right across the street from the taxi-gare (station) and right in amongst the international market that takes place there every five days.  My house is located in the village only 2.5 km away.  I got to stay in an apartment in his concession by myself. It was unfurnished but it had 3 rooms, a space to shower out back and electricity.  Additionally, he has the cutest family! His wife is very kind and welcoming and his two daughters (ages 6 and 2) are very sweet. Whenever I needed to take a shower, my homologue would bring me a bucket with water.  It was nice to shower outside, especially after a hot day and with a breeze.  For breakfast every morning, we ate at a road-side place that serves hot tea, coffee, and hot chocolate, with baguettes and omelets.

            One the day I arrived, I was able to relax a little in the afternoon before starting to get a tour of the area. Then we visited the CPS (Centre Promotion Sociale) where I will be spending a lot of time! Right now, they are in the midst of moving offices to a brand new, much bigger building that is right around the corner.  I got to meet my supervisor (the head of the center) and another staff member (there are five total).  The new office is right across the street from where my supervisor lives, which is in the center of town.  There are many official buildings in this area including the mayor’s office, post office, and the brigade, all surrounding a park. 

            The next day we visited the mayor (he was too busy to talk to us that day but we said hi), the brigade territorial, the police and the compagnie gendarmerie.  At each place, my homologue would introduce me and explain why I was there.  Everyone was professional and made me feel welcome.  The commandant of the brigade even invited us over to his house for lunch. Later that day, we saw my future house.  It is right off of the paved road that goes toward the town where my homologue lives.  It’s in a walled-concession amongst a line of connected apartments. They each have a small porch in front, two rooms, and a space in the back for cooking and showering.  Right across from those is another row of apartments which includes the house where the landlord lives.  Out of a row of three or four latrines, I picked the one that I will be using and putting a lock on to make sure I’m the only one to use it.  Everyone that lives there gets water from a spigot inside the concession. I will have to pay the landlord for electricity and water use.  There is a mango tree in the center and a papaya tree on the side.  Also, there are three gendarmes (policemen) living there too, so I should be safe!  There was a Peace Corps volunteer that lived in the same town as my homologue who left earlier this year. They left a few pieces of furniture for me to use such as a bed, couch, table, and chairs. 

            The next day I saw the marché (market) where one can find just about anything one would need.  The area is very agricultural, so a lot is grown there.  In addition, people come there from other regions and countries such as Nigeria and Togo.  Next we visited another brigade (brigade de recherches). We returned to the CPS for a good part of the day because my homologue had to see two different families.  In the afternoon I got to see one of the health centers in a village.  It’s supposedly a very nice one and many people prefer to go there for treatment.  They have a lab, consultation room, ultrasound, pharmacy, and maternity hospital.  They also have a nice gazebo-type structure that can be used for information sessions. Afterwards, we drove to a nearby village just to get a quick look because I will be working with many of the surrounding villages.  Each village has a women’s group that the CPS works with. 

            The last day I was there, I met the Chef d’Arrondissement, which is also very close to the CPS.  The chef was very nice and said he looked forward to working with me.  Then I got to see the supermarché in town.  Supermarchés are a lot like supermarkets except that they are very small and they carry more European-style foods and products.  It has a lot of different foods, some of which you can’t find in the marché, so it will be nice to have when I’m craving something like yogurt or corn flakes! 

            The area is gorgeous with trees, fields, and greenery as far as one can see. Along the road you can see lots of papaya, orange, and eucalyptus trees as well as corn and manioc growing.  The people are very friendly and everything is pretty close by.  The town next to mine is pretty well built up, but it doesn’t have a city feel.  My homologue was very accommodating and patient with my French.  Before he was the assistant jurist, he worked at a secondary school teaching French for ten years.  I think this will work in my favor!  I think we are going to work well together.  

My Commune!

           There are about three weeks left of stage (training) left until we get to move officially to our posts. Until that time, we will continue learning French and/or our local languages as well as technical information (like my sector, health).  I am excited to finish training and start my two years at post!