I left for Benin via Philadelphia on June 29th. I finally arrived on July 2nd. As you can imagine this was a long journey and I am still adjusting to the time difference. We are all staying at the same compound for the first week and will be splitting up into host families soon. There are 54 of us trainees. We all met up in Philadelphia for “staging” which included getting a yellow fever vaccine, meeting each other, and getting familiar with the Peace Corps and various policies (again). It was nice to be back in good old PA! During our travel here, I kept reminding myself “Je vais au Benin” (I am going to Benin). It was hard to believe it was actually happening, plus I was so tired and therefore probably a little delirious.
We’ve mostly been busying ourselves with paperwork, lectures, interviews and demonstrations each day. We have so much to learn! We’ve picked out our mountain bikes and practiced riding the moto bikes as well.
It’s rainy season here right now, which means it’s humid, pretty warm, and rains every so often. They are slowly getting us accustomed to the food here, so we’ve been eating European-style food mostly. Baguettes at every meal, pasta, salad Niçoise, oranges, apples, bananas, and various cooked vegetables (plus beef, fish, and hot dogs for the meat eaters.) Everyone we’ve met so far has been welcoming, patient with us, and glad to see us.
I've really appreciated your prayers and kind words these past few months while I've been preparing. It is so nice to know people are rooting for me! From now on it will be intensive French training just about every day. Wish me luck!
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