“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 7th, 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
