July 23rd, 3:50pm CST, 9:50pm Beninese temps, Porto Novo
Today was an interesting day. My host sister, Amelie, helped me call over a zemidjian, but it was not an 'official' one. The ones who are registered and have training wear blue shirts with identifying numbers on them and baseball caps. This guy had the cap but not the blue shirt, but Amelie flagged him down and negotiated a price before I could say anything...and I wasn't even sure at the time how to say that i needed the official ones. So I said, hey, whatevs, and je prends cette zemi comme personne avant moi. And of course everything was tres bien.
Apres l'ecole, I had to get a zemi back to the house, which was an interesting problem since I had really had no idea where to go. One of my (apparently two) host mamans explained where the maison was, but hell, I couldnt' explain it to a zemi. So luckily there was a current PCV hanging out a Songhai and she helped explain that my house was proche l'ecole Davie at the end of the road. The zemi said okay and I hopped on with my sweet ass helmet (ma cas). It was pretty embarrassing, though, because he kept asking me, "vous connaissez?" ("you recognize anything?") and I kept saying "non" (nope!). Finally he rounded a corner and I saw the gigantic pink mosque that is a block from the house (and the muezzin call goes every few hours...I haven't figured out the schedule, but I will not soon forget the dulcet sounds in the wee hours of the morning!). I told him to stop and then thanked him profusely while he laughed and I paid him the deux cent francs.
That whole laughing at me thing seems to happen a lot here and I'm sort of enjoying it in a strange way. I mean, some of this shit is pretty damn funny. For example, this evening there was a fucking huge spider in my room. And naturally, I have this aversion for killing spiders. It's not a "I love nature and don't want to harm God's creatures" aversion, but more of a "I don't want it to scurry away and hide or jump on me or touch me with it's freaky legs" aversion. So I contemplated this spider as he chillaxed on my hundred dollar Chacos. We were at an impasse for probably a good fifteen minutes. I considered going to find Amelie...then decided I needed to man up because there wasn't always going to be a nice African waiting for me to utilize her spider killing services. I prepared myself to kill it and then realized that it was sitting on my shoes that I would have otherwise used to smush it. I decided then that perhaps my petite problem might be funny and I could use it as a bonding experience since I have yet to bond over my impeccable francais. I grabbed my handy dandy french dictionary while keeping that deceptively still spider in my sights and then made my way through the giant maison to trouve Amelie. Well, Amelie just happened to be on her way out and I told her there was a huge araignee dans ma chambre and that I had fear of it. She seriously started cracking up when she saw it. Her laughter brought Ricardo running and that attracted the attention of Estelle and Genevieve and at least two or three other neighborhood kids who were all in the livingroom watching the french dubbed version of an Argentinian Days of our Lives...and they all laughed and jumped up and down and teased me mercilessly saying it was "tres petite" and Amelie smushed it with her hand and brandished it in front of me just as Maman entered my little room with a low chuckle...and what the hell else was i supposed to do but just laugh with them? I am still grinning like a dork now that they are all gone. But, shit, it was pretty big.
I'm telling you, life is pretty freaking hilarious.
E
Sunday, July 25, 9:02am Beninese time/3:02am CST, Porto Novo
I am officially ill for the first time in Africa. Yay! I think it is less an actual infection and more just getting used to the food, but I stayed home today while the fam went to church because something I ate yesterday did not agree with me and I feel pretty crappy.
I filtered and boiled my first batch of water on my own; I definitely had to pick out a floating ant this morning when I poured it into my water bottle...so...yum! I have 5 liters stored now which should last me a few days and I’ve filtered like 6 more liters that can be boiled and stored in a couple other water bottles. I wasn’t brave enough to drink it plain, so I added a pomegranite lemonade packet to it and it is bon!
In the spirit of doing new things, I fait les lessives hier...(did the laundry yesterday) which was pretty ridiculous. I asked Maman Ramone (the younger, 2nd wife who usually cooks and does most of the work from what I can tell) if she could show me how to do it and she said something really fast and gestured to the patio and after about 5 minutes of me trying to repeat back her words and her getting frustrated that I did not comprends, I finally burst out in English, “I’ll bring out my clothes and you’ll show me how?!” And she smiled and said “yes.” AHHHHHHHHhh, so annoying! So I brought out my laundry and she told Amelie to take me to buy a bar of laundry soap and then we spent like an hour doing half of my laundry. I soaped up a shirt and then scrubbed it hard and then she’d take it and do it, too and then rinse it and go hang it. She had this very interesting complex system, too, of buckets and water and savon (soap). I realized that as the rinse bucket would get more sudsy and the first couple wash buckets got more dirty, the rinse bucket would become an additional wash bucket and another bucket with fresh water would be added on to become the rinse bucket. After doing like 10 items, we had basically used 5 buckets. It was pretty cool actually and much more efficient than I would have been able to figure out on my own. But dang, my arms got tired! I told Maman that and she and Amelie cracked up. They let me do it by myself for a bit (because Maman said I had to learn because I’d be alone at post), but I don’t think neither she nor Amelie could handle how slow I was, haha. So Amelie helped me finish while Maman went to preparer mon diner. I think she said something about how I was going to help her do it next Sunday (but not today because she was going to Cotonou).
I visited Craig and Heather yesterday at their sweet digs. They are staying with an older couple with an adult son who lives there, but their other kids live in Paris. They are very successful and have a lot of money and servants (called domestiques) to cook and clean. It’s very different then my experience; they have the entire downstairs to themselves! I hung out there for a while and chatted about wedding planning and stage and found out from Heather that instead of the $200 per month that goes toward our readjustment allowance, we actually get $275 because Obama increased our budget. So instead of $6000 at the end of service, volunteers get closer to $7400! Sweetness. Craig and Heather are considering perhaps doing a third year, too, which pays a bit more...so when they COSd (Close of Service), they’d have total upwards of like 20 grand. WHOA, haha. See, Colt totally should have come!
So far, the bug situation is thus: GIANT spider, freaky huge moth thing on my door last night, cockroaches in the bathroom at night and one died there and I don’t want to touch it, millions of ants that I sprayed with bug spray and they freaked out...and I don’t think I mentioned it earlier, but THERE WAS A SCORPION! In the livingroom a couple days ago, I saw it and knew immediately what it was, but asked Amelie, pointing, “qu’est-ce que c’est?” and she saw it and jumped up and stomped on it with HER BARE FOOT! It was like a clearish, light brown color and about two inches long and they move soooo weirdly, like their whole body turns in a perfect circle. I asked Amelie afterward if there were a lot of scorpions here and she said, “NON. C’etait une seul” (“that was the ONLY one”). So apparently that was the only scorpion in Benin, so I should be good. Ha ha. But damn, she’s such a bad ass, n’est pas?
I talked to mom, zach, and lucas last night! Yay! The boys didn’t have much to say, but I told them a bit about where I’m living. Mom says they need more perspective to really get it, so she ordered Blood Diamond from Blockbuster. It’s not that VIOLENT here, so dont’ get the wrong idea! Everyone is super nice and in general, Beninese culture is very welcoming and open to yovos. That said, I did get a sexual invitation from a stranger the other day, haha. There’s a gesture that rude Beninese men will do to women when they’re shaking hands if they are beeing skeezy creepers; it’s like rubbing one finger against the woman’s palm during the hand shake. Anyway, there was some teenage boy outside the school who smiled and said good morning and offered his palm and I was with a bunch of other yovos and Peace Corps people, so there was nothing sketch about it, so I took it and he totes whipped out the dirty finger move. It’s really impolite and they know it is, so I just exclaimed “non!” and yanked my hand away before continuing on my way, which is what we’re supposed to do. So, yay! I get to check that one off the list. Another volunteer said it took her a year to get it, so I must just be very advanced haha.
I suppose there is some bad news to report. One of the trainees in the health sector has decided to early terminate (ET). Word on the street is that he really missed his boyfriend and being away from him made him realize how much he needed to be with him and that the work he would be doing here was not important enough to him to stay. So, that kind of shakes the resolve, you know? I heard that someone has a bingo card of all the trainees who are expected to ET and that I’m on the list...but I am pretty sure that all the people with serious relationships are on it. I mean, look. I know I can make it through swear-in in September and for a while at post for sure. But honestly, once I’m in my village and I see what I’ll be doing for the next two years, I will have to re-evaluate. Not just because of my relationship, but because I want to make sure that the work I’ll be doing is significant and helpful and that I can be accepted into the community. They actually recommend that you take time at the one year mark to make sure that you can be successful where you are for another year. So in March I’ll decide if I’ll stay the entire time or if I’ll come back in the summer. There’s really no way to know for sure until I’ve been at post for several months.
On a happier note, it’s really freaky and cool to meet the people whose blogs I’ve been reading for a year. I sort of feel like they are celebrities or something. I wonder if anyone will feel that way about my little old blog someday?
I’ve been reading “Where there is no Doctor” and it’s pretty interesting. My goal is still to assist with a birth and actually catch a baby being born. We’ll see, I have a long time to go before I’m at that point. I’m just making it day to day...and I am so happy that I can just relax today and not worry about getting to school on time. I think it’s worth it even if I have to run to the bathroom every hour.
Well, i think I’ll be able to post this on Tuesday at Songhai. A bientot,
Elaina
July 26th, 1:32pm CST/19:32 temps de Beninois, Porto Novo
Well. The stomach problems persisted until today. I almost wasn’t sure I could make it to school...but fortunately I’ve had no issues since this morning. That’s one thing about Peace Corps Benin I’ve noticed—everyone pretty casually discusses their poop situation. It’s pretty hilarious now that I think about it. I’ve tried to be relatively vague on here, but digestion is definitely a hot topic of discussion among the volunteers and trainees!
Today for lunch I mange’d an avocado sandwich (ok, so I’m leaving the word “mange’d” just to indicate the weird level of ‘franglais’ that I’ve been thinking in. Manger is the word “to eat” and I actually forgot the word ‘avocado’ just now and could only remember the french word ‘avocat’. It’s a weird state of being, actually. Hmm.) Anyway, it was tres bien with lettuce and onions and vinaigrette on a demi-pain (half of a huge baguette). It sat ok in my stomach and then I pris (see I did it again! Pris is the past participle of prendre. Prendre means “to take” or “to get”), I got some “fanmilk” which is the closest thing to ice-cream here. I got the yogurt version because with my tummy trouble I thought adding a bunch of lactose would be a bad idea (and yogurt has the enzymes to break down lactose and has not ever been a problem for me). It was soooo good, but definitely tasted very yogurty. But it’s better for my stomach than the regular one. But anyway, these fanmilk guys go around with their super cold trunk on a bike and honk this very distinctive horn. It’s a lot like the ice cream truck guy in the US. It’s super cheap and they always have petite monnaie (change for big bills, which is a bitch to find here).
Today we were at Songhai and for the first time I chose to hang out with some other stagaiers instead of stay there and get on the internet. I know I am going tomorrow, so it’s okay, but I feel a little bad because I told Colt I’d be on so we could skype chat or something and save him some money since it’s so expensive to call. But I gave him a ring and told him I wasn’t going and he was totes still sleeping, so I don’t think he minded waiting until tomorrow. I went to the marche (“mar-SHAY”...I can’t figure out accents with this computer grrrr) with Heather and Craig (the Wiricks from now on when I’m talking about both of them haha). It was just a short walk from Songhai and it was a freaking crazy place! Many many people selling lots and lots of stuff! There is a lot of cheap plastic stuff in the stalls and they will try to overcharge the yovos like mad. Heather wanted a powercord, but we couldn’t find any which is a lot different than the marche in Cotonou where there seemed to be power cords in every stall! I am on the lookout for a nice coin purse to keep my money, but I haven’t found anything besides cheap plastic ones. I want something that will last...so I’d be willing to pay like a mille franc for one. Which..is like $2, but it feels more like $10 to me at this point! I’m doing really well with understanding the money, a lot better than some of the other volunteers it seems. It’s very intuitive for me and I don’t have to think of it in US dollars at all at this point. I know what a decent price for most stuff is, but I’m definitely still learning. Heather tried to haggle down the price of clothespins, but was unsuccessful and it’s hard for us to know if that’s because we’re yovos or because the seemingly high price is just actually a reasonable price.
Related to les prix, I had my first major transaction today. I called over and got my first zemi on my own! I asked how much it would be and that my maison was a cote d’ecole Davie (next to the school Davie—“Dah-vee-ay”) and he said yes and that it would be 2 hundred franc. So, me, surprised that he gave the legitimate price right off the bat, said “ok” and hopped on. Well....we drove about 5 minutes and he stops and says “voila...xavier.” And I’m like “Non non non, DAVIE, pas XAVIER” and he’s like “OOOOHHH, DAAAVIE, ok” and we keep going, but I’m thinking “he’s going to charge me a lot more, but deux cents francs is the correct price”. I know what I’ve been taught, too, so when we finally stop and he asks for 500F I know he is trying to swindle me. So I said “You said ‘2 hundred’ so I am going to give you 2 hundred.” And he’s all pissed and tries to get more out of me and I say, “I KNOW the price, I live in Porto Novo. I will give you 2 hundred.” And he acts all grumpy while I get my money out and I throw in a 50F piece with it and he smiles and thanks me and I thank him back. So I paid a little bit more, but to be fair, he WAS confused about what I had said...but that generosity was definitely not going to get me to pay over twice as much as I KNOW the route really is. But yeah, that whole thing made me feel super bad ass. I totes did it all by myself. Woo hoo!
I recounted the story to my host family when I came inside, but before I could finish, the war hit! Ricardo, my host brother of 12 ans, and my host sis, Genevieve, 13 ans, totally started physically beating the shit out of each other in the other room. Another one of my host sisters, an older one who I don’t think always lives there, but sometimes does, jumped up to separate them and Amelie came over and chatted casually with me about the zemi thing! We left the room and I said I was going to take a shower, so I went outside to the well (la puis I think is the word) to get my water. While I was outside, Ricardo came out and said “bonsoir Elaina” all sweet, and walked by me to the back of the yard. I smiled and kept drawing out the water and when he came back by to go back inside he smiled back as he sauntered by, carrying this huge metal two by four. A minute or so later I finished up and followed, and came in to find the older sister, Genevieve, and Rico all entangled up with the two by four and some wooden implement of Gene’s, the older sister’s pagne (wrap around skirt) was totally falling off of her as they battled down the hall. Amelie came up to me and was cracking up. She said “ils se battent!” which means, interestingly “they are battling!” and I just nodded. After a bit, they calmed down and separated and I asked her if it was normal and she sort of laughed and said “that’s Ricardo!” She also told me that he had disrespected his sister and she got mad...but I didn’t really understand exactly what had gone down. But it was pretty wild. I called Rico over and asked him if he was not happy. He said he was “fache” which means “angry” and I said that sisters can be difficult. He agreed and I told him I understood because I had 5 brothers back home. He just sighed and when I asked if he would be okay he just nodded and said “ouais” (like saying “yeah” instead of “yes”). It was pretty trippy. Hitting in this culture is pretty commonplace, especially in the home, but I’m glad the big sister tried to stop it at least. Even if it’s normal for parents to beat their kids (frappe les enfants), it’s not good for brother and sister to wail on each other. Anyway, it was pretty wild. I can hear them all talking very animatedly now and Papa is home and he does not sound too happy about it lol.
Well, that’s it for now. I’ll definitely be online tomorrow evening when we finish up at Songhai. I think i’ll be on for probably an hour at least, so i can update the blog and do the facebook thing. Maybe I’ll even have time to check my email! It hasn’t been working lately because I need to change it to HTML or something...hopefully I’ll get that taken care of tomorrow, but if you’ve sent me emails and I haven’t responded, that’s why! Facebook message me for now and I’ll let you know when gmail is working for me!
Oh and I decorated ma cas (my moto helmet) and everyone thinks it looks banging. I will get a photo of it before it fades. My photo situation is pretty lame right now...I’ve taken...zero photos of Africa haha. I’m just so overwhelmed so much of the time and it’s impolite here to take photos without getting peoples permission first, so that’s kind of limiting...also it takes like an hour to upload 5 pictures, so I’m not sure it’s going to work anyway. I think I might ask people to send me memory cards and I’ll just take the pictures and then send the memory cards back and Colt can put them up for me or something. We’ll see what works best. Also, I can’t find the flash drive that I stole from my puppy...which really just seems like karma to me.
I LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL. CALL ME SOMETIME OR SEND ME A LETTER!
A tout a l’heure,
E
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Porto Novo
July 20th, 10:25pm Beninese time/4:25pm CST, Contonou
So first thing's first: I bought a phone! And 3000cfa worth of minutes! And then used up 2000cfa talking to mom less than an hour ago! I also called Colt's fam, looking for a number to get in touch with him...but, rather unsurprisingly, they didn't know either. Bad puppy! Dad was also unavailable. Geez, people.
I'm sitting here now in the hotel room in Cotonou, listening to many of the other stagaiers (pronounced in a french-y sort of way like "staahh-gee-airs" meaning "trainees") outside on the patio drinking and enjoying our last night all together. Tomorrow we're off to meet our new host families in Porto Novo where we'll be until September 17th. They are supposed to provide us food and shelter and help us figure out how to do laundry and get to our classes as well as communicate with us in french and help us learn about Beninois culture. The kids of the family are supposed to actually walk us to school on the first day! We got photos of our families and there are 11 people in mine and it looks like 5 of them are teenage girls! Maybe they like Twilight lol. There is a papa with two wives and two smaller kids like age 10 or 11 with another older woman who might be a grandma or aunt. I seriously can't wait to meet them and get to work remembering their names.
Training will be at a primary school in Porto Novo, walking or biking distance from our family's house. The Rural Communicty Health (RCH) and the Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) people are all together on one side of the city at one school and the Environmental Action (EA) and the Small Business Development (SED) people are on the other. My married couple friends, Krista and Andrew, are in different schools (Krista is RCH and Andrew is EA), but will live somewhere in the middle of Porto Novo with their host family and will spend most of the day apart. I like them because they are both awesome. Today, the guard of the hotel (who is hilarious, btw and speaks about as much English as I do French) confused me with Krista and asked me if Andrew was sleeping in our room. After a couple really confused moments I just burst into laugher and re-introduced myself. He thought that was pretty funny when I explained and later when Andrew came down, we all joked that he had two blonde wives. Ah, good stuff.
I am really excited to meet my family and nervous about my ability to communicate effectively en francais with them. There are a lot of simple things I really just don't remember how to say and my vocabulary is ridiculously bad. For the most part I remember a lot of verbs and basic conjugation, but that was always my strong suit. Ask me how to say "window" or "monkey" in french and I will be lost.
During my long and very expensive (haha, mom, I love you) conversation with my mom, I mentioned that I had like a million mosquito bites and she expressed surprise since I had written earlier here that I had yet to see a mosquito. Well, just to clarify, I still haven't SEEN one, but I have seriously 23 bites on my lower limbs (none above the ankle yet though...). The little suckers are tiny and for some weird reason I really haven't actually caught one in the act yet, even though it feels like I am getting attacked pretty hardcore right now. I don't know how they get under the mosquito net at night! Ah!
I started my mefloquine today (that's the one that is supposed to give us crazy dreams) to prevent malaria. Not to alarm anyone, but apparently I missed one of my doxycycline doses this week. I have one extra pill in my case that I shouldn't. Oh well. I told the doctor during my medical interview this morning and she said that since I am doubling up today with the doxy and the mefloquine that I should be protected. Malaria is a truly interesting disease. One that I do not want, but sort of do in a strange masochistic way. But don't worry, that one doxy miss was a one time deal; I'll be taking the mef once a week on schedule like a good girl. The most common malaria strain here also happens to be the most deadly and I'd rather not risk it, call me crazy.
Things I want to buy in Porto Novo: multiple traditional skirts and full African outfits, a big purse/bag for all my shit bc I don't like carrying around my backpack all the time, a wallet/change purse for my money and la petite monaie (coin change...basically anything less than 1000 francs is a coin), and my kickass, awesome, will-be-planning-it-every-time-I-see-a-place-to-buy-tissue wedding dress. I'm SURE I will think of other things to purchase with my HUGE Peace Corps salary*. I love SHOPPING!
I shorted out my surge protector by trying to plug it into the universal adaptor I brought that I had plugged into the wall here. There was a big spark and then smoke started coming out of it. I'm sort of confused because it says that it works for up to 330 V and the voltage here is 220 V...compared to the United States of 120V....so whatever. I can just buy a universal power strip for like 300 francs. I don't understand this technology stuff. But fuck, I love my netbook. It is really portable and light, small and convenient. Almost as cool as me.
I am going for another run tomorrow morning with K and A and a couple other people. It is really funny to see the look of surprise on people's faces when they see all the yovos running in unison down the street at 6:30 in the morning. I'm sure running in PN or village will be much more fun because it's even more unusual there. Score!
AH. Traditional Beninese food was today. The food we've been having is a sort of Americanized toned down version with couscous or rice or pasta with some sort of tomato and onion based sauce with a meat or cheese side and white, french baguette bread. That is not necessarily the stuff that the Beninois eat. What they have is pate with sauce. It's pronounced "pot" and it is made from some grain that I can't remember that they boil until it's sticky and solid. They use that to pick up the sauce with the right hand (the left hand is taboo in Beninois society). The sauces I've had are the tomato which I like, the vegetable legume one which is delicious, and the okra one...which is like snot in color and consistancy and disgusting. The pate has no flavor itself and can come in either blanc or noir or rouge, but I've only tried the first two and only liked the white one. They also have a kimchi like fermented pate blanc and that was pretty gross, too. The cheese is okay if it is fresh (I can't remember what it's called), but if it's a few hours old it is waaay too sour and I can't really choke it down. The salads I've had here are awesome; just lettuce, tomato, and onion with egg halves and some sort of really light mayonnaise sauce. It's tasty! And they also had some fried potatoes today that were delicious and the best fucking croissants I've ever had are served during our coffee and tea breaks here at the hotel but I'm not sure if they're a staple item. They don't really do dessert here, which is a bummer, but I had an oreo today from another volunteer who brought them with him. Tres delicieux. I'm really curious about what my host family will be cooking for me tomorrow night. They know I'm a vegetarian and apparently it's not a big deal to let them know what I like and dislike. Well, I think I can say that in French. Je l'aime or je ne l'aime pas.
I can't remember if I mentioned it, but the ipod is in working order, thanks to monsieur Colt S. Sellens. Merci, mon amour. <3 Speaking of all that, there is one other engaged person here, a guy named Scott, who has only been dating his lady since March! So...whoa. I know a few people are in long term, committed relationships, too, but besides the married folk, I am pretty sure mine takes the cake. When people find out they immediately express their support if I decide to ET (early terminate). Those comments would annoy me if they weren't so close to the truth of how I've been feeling sometimes!
But come on! I bought a cell phone! Tres cool, non? I just WISH WISH WISH my babyluv had a way for me to get in touch with him...Since it will probably be several days before I even get a chance to post this. Ahhh, nothing is reliable here or easy to plan around.
But hell, TIA, man, TIA.
Elaina
PS. TIA means "this is Africa" for all of you who have not seen Blood Diamond or anything else related to foreigners in Africa...
PPS. It is actually like that here. You should watch M. DiCaprio in that if you want to see where I am. That's in Liberia which is a bit northeast of here, but it's basically a good depiction of West Africa.
PPPS. I have not yet lost the African gamble. Google it. That's all I have to say about that.
PPPPS. If you want my phone number in l'Afrique just message me on facebook or email me. Don't post on my wall something you really want me to read and respond to, bc I'll only have time to do that in extreme situations of free internet time. So let me know and I'll get you the digits or you can get them easily enough from ma mere if you can get in touch with her sooner than I'll be able to check online again! I love and miss you all and thanks for reading =D
E
*I don't have a huge salary. I was being sarcastic. I make 94,000cfa a month which is a bit less than $200...which will still be one of the highest paid in my village, but is definitely not enough for Cotonou or Porto Novo shopping sprees. Oh well.
July 22nd, 22:34pm Benin time, 4:34pm CST, Porto Novo, Benin
This is the second night I’ve stayed at my host family, the Hounzounkou family. They are all really nice and want to help me with my french, which is painfully bad when put into a situation where the only thing I can speak is the language. There is a mama, a papa, a big brother, a younger brother, a big sister, and a younger sister who all live in the same house with me, but there is another mama and at least one or two other youngish girls who all live in the same family compound in a different area I think. My host maman who I see the most is really nice and speaks English, but she said she wasn’t going to let me use it at all and I heard her telling the kids to go talk to me in french, haha. The older sister, Amelie, is also nice, but very direct. She doesn’t smile unless you are having a conversation with her. She is 17. Ricardo is 12 and he is my favorite so far. Genevieve is 13 and she is also really nice. The papa said in English last night when he came home from work “you will pass a good time with us!” so that made me laugh. I only talked to him for a little bit because I am really tired pretty early and I don’t think he always stays in this maison. I think it’s a little like Big Love, lol.
Tonight after dinner (a huge salad with beets and lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, and eggs on top of spaghetti with a mustard viniagrette sauce. Actually not too bad, but definitely weird lol. But there were pineapple pieces on the side that were the best freaking pineapple I’d ever had like ever. Like actually it might have been the best fruit I’ve ever had. And since I really like fruit, that means it was like one of the best tasting pieces of food of my life. SO GOOD.)....so after dinner, both mamans and Ricardo, Amelie, Genevieve, and another sister who maybe doesn’t live here, but maybe does, but I think she might be the daughter of the other maman, Estelle, hung out in the huge livingroom with a chandelier and watched an Argentinian soap opera that is dubbed in French. I sort of tried to study my french, but mostly listened and tried to catch stuff.
Basically if someone speaks slowly and directly to me, I can understand like half of what they are saying. The rest of the time I am primarily lost.
Amelie walked me to the school where I have my lessons this morning. I studied French all day pretty much and got some rice and beans with tomato and onion sauce for lunch from an apparently reputable vendor. It was fine, but I really need to lay off the carbs. Whew.
Tomorrow I have school at the big compound place called Songhai that is really nice. It is far away from my house and I am like 90% sure I have to take a zemi to get there which will be...interesting. But I have my helmet! J’ai un cas!
Ok, I am exhausted and SO HOT. There is no air in my bedroom. I REALLY need a fan. Or I am going to die. NEED AIR!
I am attempting to boil and filter my water tomorrow. So far, I’ve lasted on three huge water bottles from the hotel, but that is running out and it is time to get down to business.
Oh, I guess I should say that I have electricity, but no running water. There is a well where I get my shower and toliet water from and I bring it inside and then use the plumbing like normal, but pour the water in. Sort of like dad’s house when the water would get shut off lol. I took a bucket bath today and actually found it surprisingly pleasant; I was very conscious of each drop of water that I was using and really felt intellectually stimulated by the process. We’ll see if it gets old.
Oh! Also, the YOVO YOVO song business has started. I LOVE it and think it’s adorable, but other people really hate it and get annoyed. It’s just little kids, but whenever they see us, they start chanting in a sing song voice, “yovo, yovo, bonsoir. Ca va bien, merci.” And it was totally stuck in my head all day. It’s pretty cute. They get these huge smiles on their faces and start clapping and jumping up and down and grab their friends, calling out the words. They just seem so happy to see us! I don’t think my own mother is ever that happy to see me! Haha
Ok, I like it here, c’est tout! Je suis fatiguee!
Elaina Hope
Friday, porto Novo, 7:16CST, 1:16 Benin
I MISS COLT and this internet SUCKS. waaaaaaa
C'est tout =(
E
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
zemidjian training
We did zemi training today, which are the motorcycle taxis. We are required to ride them with a helmet and not allowed to drive them. If we are caught doing either we are administratively separated. Zemis, or zems, are the primary way of transportation around the country.
We practiced today and it was amazing! It was so cool! We ride around on the back, holding onto the moto but we're not supposed to touch them, especially as a woman because it can seem like a come on if we're too touchy. We have to greet them in French, tell them where we're going, ask them the price and then haggle for a better one. They try to overcharge the yovos, but we have to explain that we're not tourists and that we know the price. My french is just...adequate at this point; I was placed in novice high and have to get to intermediate high by the end of training.
We got white moto helmets and I can't wait to decorate mine with my rainbow markers.
I'm on the lookout for tissue for my wedding dress and I would really like a cool, subtle African design on the bottom...preferably something rainbow. I saw exactly the length that I want (ankle length) and the flowy design of it on another volunteer, so I'm pretty much set.
Anyway, I am starving and can't think anymore haha.
I'm excited and really nervous to meet my host family tomorrow. I hope they are nice! Porto Novo is about an hour ride from here, so next time I get on here I'll tell you all about them! Yippie!
Au revior pour maintenant.
I also hear that pingo.com or keepcalling.com might be cheaper options than skype for getting in touch with me, so check that out!
God, I want a latte.
E
Monday, July 19, 2010
Send me mail!
These tips are from one of the married couples' blog (not the ones that look like me and colt), Craig and Heather's Excellent Beninois Adventure:
"If you do write us letters, be sure to number them on the envelope because they may hold our mail until we get more so they can give it to us at once or they may come out of order. Also, from what we have read, we will probably not have access to internet for an extended period of time after we arrive, like 1-2 months! So don't worry if you don't hear from us online. Snail mail may be the only way you'll hear from us during our first couple months so get the ball rolling and start writing us so we have letters to respond to. :)
As of now, no packages are necessary at this point because we don't know what we will have access to and what is available over there yet, but if you want to send your dear friends/family a care package in the future, here are some tips for any future packages:
Never write the real contents of a package. Write general items such as "food," "clothes" and "magazines"- not the specific items or brand names. Don't give them any reason to want anything that is inside.
Never write the real value of items on the customs form. Always put $10 or less otherwise, we have to pay taxes on packages. If they think there are valuable items in a package, they will open the package and then charge us more money or they may take
the contents for themselves.As of now, no packages are necessary at this point because we don't know what we will have access to and what is available over there yet, but if you want to send your dear friends/family a care package in the future, here are some tips for any future packages:
Never write the real contents of a package. Write general items such as "food," "clothes" and "magazines"- not the specific items or brand names. Don't give them any reason to want anything that is inside.
Never write the real value of items on the customs form. Always put $10 or less otherwise, we have to pay taxes on packages. If they think there are valuable items in a package, they will open the package and then charge us more money or they may take
Write "Dieu Te Regarde" on the package in large letters. This translates as, "God is watching you" and if they are religious, there is less of a chance it will get opened and looted through. It also helps to write everything (even addresses) in big RED letters because that is generally associated with government or top secret things that they don't want to mess with.
You will want to include an itemized list of the contents in the package so if there is something missing, we will know it. If they don't know English, then they won't know what the note says, and even if they do, they will know that someone paid attention to what was sent so if everything doesn't make it, there is more of a chance of someone following up. Lastly, use the US Postal Service- not a FedEx or UPS."
Well, y'all. I definitely want packages at some point, but right now, I'd really just like letters and photos. Or magazines so I can make sweet decorations for my house later. But for the next two months or so, I'll be with the host family, so I won't really get to do a lot of my own decorating or anything.
So, let's talk communication. I have quite a bit of time in the PC office before I head back to the hotel for dinner. Basically, phones here work through a couple different companies, the main and most reliable and used one is MTM. Phones are cheap and there are a lot of crappy knock offs, but real brands, primarily Nokia, are the way to go. Most volunteers have a small $50 black phone from Nokia that texts and calls. You buy credit from these dudes on the street and then enter the code into the phone to put it on. 500cfa is about $1 and will get you about 5 minutes of conversation, which seems not bad, but it's ridiculously expensive. That's for you to call someone. If someone calls you, than it's free for you to talk. So, if I call the states, I have to pay that ridiculous amount, but if someone from the states calls me than I can talk for free. So all y'all rich folk in the states will need to be calling me. Mostly, what I think will happen is I'll call really quickly and hang out and than you can call me back.
Now, it costs for you, too. But it's waay cheaper. You're best option is to use skype and go through your iphone. Just download the program, you are smart and can figure it out. You can also use skype on your computer. You need a microphone and speakers...clearly. I think you can also buy international calling cards and use them as well, but I don't really know the process for that, but I'm sure you can figure it out as well. Or you can just forgo regular phone conversations and be content with like a 5 minute one every now and again from me. Or wait for internet...facebook messages are good. Wall posts are not so good bc I really won't be able to respond to them if I'm limited in my time online. Email is always an option as well since that's usually the first thing I'll check with facebook.
I gave my preferences today for where I'd like to be at post and I said I want: Cell phone service, electricity, and a post close to Cotonou. I said I was ambivalent about post mates and running water. So we'll see. My optimal experience would be to live like an hour or less away so that I can come to Cotonou as often as possible. But we'll see where they put me. I hope my directness at saying "please put me near Cotonou with electricity and phone service" was perhaps a bit more direct than other volunteers and that means they'll give me what I want.
Well, that's about that. I think, interestingly, I've exhausted my internet capacity for now. I wish mom or zach or lucas or oliver or jeni or skyler or josh was on facebook so we could chat! I'll be online most of tomorrow, too, so I should be able to do that then...if anyone actually reads this!
Miss you all,
Elaina
GANHI
We went to the Cotonou marketplace a bit after I updated my blog and I totally have fallen in love with Africa. The market, called Ganhi, was amazing. I saw the sweetest jewelry and shoes and bags and tissue (the long colored fabric here). There was this silver necklace with a tiny shape of Africa that I almost got, but didn't think I should spend 13000 cfa on it right now. Maybe next time.
Colt says i can wait for the ipod to die and then recharge it. so that's the plan. I like getting on facebook and updating my status and then seeing like 40 notifications in two days. it's pretty sweet lol.
I honestly dont' have much else to update about. it's time for lunch now and i'm talking to colt on skype! best thing EVERRRRRRRRRRRr
Oh, and i'm totally getting my wedding dress made here because it is mad cheap and i can get the hippy flowy style i am going for. Woot!
E
Staging Update!
'Allo tout de monde! I apologize in advance for the length of this one! It includes both Saturday and Sunday and a bit on Monday!
Saturday: July 17th
I am right now charging my netbook by using an African converter attached to my computer's adaptor in my tiny hotel room in Cotonou. By the way, my computer's name is Madnessinlove which makes me happy everytime I log on.
So I'd like to finish updating about my experiences so far since I was cut off at the bureau yesterday.
Cotonou is awesome. It honestly looks like every African city that I've ever seen on cinema. The roads are sandy and broken, the traffic is crazy, there are low brick buildings surrounded by all sorts of tropical looking plants and trees. There's an element of poverty, although I get the feeling that this city is one of the wealthier areas of the country. Apparently we're near a quasi-swanky locale where all the expats live in the nicest Beninois maisons around.
Before getting to use the internet at the Bureau and talking to Colt (hereby also referred to as either my babyluv, tiger, puppy, Coltibear, or Cranbull...don't ask), I had my FRENCH TEST. That sounds much more intense than it actually was. I went into a tiny little library and chatted with a guy named Habilub. He's one of the language coordinators and he asked me a bunch of questions that I stumbled around with my awful francais. Mostly we talked about my fiance (just because "fiance" is one of the few french words I can remember and I was super glad to be engaged in that moment because I definitely don't remember how to say "boyfriend") and he also asked about my future plans which was fun to talk about. Then I got to ask him about his family; he has two super young daughters that he just lit up about when he answered my question. It was sweet. I sort of wish I didn't do so well because it will be easier to move up a level if I'm placed a little lower than my actual ability than it will be if I am placed right at or slightly above my level. I am predicting either novice high or intermediate low as my initial placement. I will definitely have to reach intermediate high, though before swear in. If we originally place at or below novice mid than we would only have to get to intermediate mid to swear in. So, zut! We'll see.
On my way to purchase credits to use on a current volunteer's cell phone, we decided to stop by Western Union to exchange some dollars. We went with another volunteer who has been in country for a year and she helped us navigate the system. While I was getting the money exchanged, the woman doing the transaction asked (in French) for 50 cfa, which I didn't have and K, the PCV, told her we didn't have it. The woman grumbled about and I asked K what was up. K than explained in English that she probably wanted to keep the extra money for herself and that you have to be super aggressive and just play the game and eventually they'll get frustrated and just make the exchange. That seemed to be the truth because I got my $170 turned into 85,000 cfa a few minutes later ($1= 500cfa). I was totally shocked to hear K talking about this woman right next to her and I realized that she was assuming that the woman did not speak English. So I asked if anyone speaks English and K just laughed and said that sometimes men on the streets know enough to say "I love you, marry me, take me back to America!" It's interesting because I've never been in a situation where people around me don't understand what I am saying; it happens the other way around a lot, though! Especially lately, when so many people are practicing their French around me!
So I was officially called a "yovo," meaning "foreigner" or "white person". And I was called it by another yovo! On the way to Western Union, the few of us pased by a group of white, European tourists who pointed and said "yovo yovo" as we crossed paths. I am sort of excited to hear the song sang by the kids (and, apparently older men to taunt us young women). K sang it as we walked back to the Bureau and it's more of a taunt or chant than a song. I can't remember it very well, but it's something like "yovo yovo, ca va bien merci, donnez moi un cadeau."
In other news, I am soooo happy that I brought my own pillow. The one they gave us at the hotel is lumpy and hard. It seems like a small thing, but trust me. It is nice to be able to almost smell my bed with my babyluv and the fluffy. I'm also glad I brought my own sheets, but I probably won't use them until i get to my homestay family's house in a few days. The hotel ones suck, but i can handle it for a bit.
Our schedule is looking pretty booked solid all the way until...about September. Haha. Until Wednesday afternoon we're here in Cotonou (that's 3 more nights as today is Sunday) doing logistical stuff, learning about the zemijians (the motorbikes that we'll use basically as taxis when in the cities), taking malaria pills (we don't start the mefloquine stuff that gives crazy dreams until homestay), learning about girardhia (it is also sexually transmitted, who knew?), and getting a slow introduction to Beninois food and culture while getting to know each other better. Wenesday we head out to Porto Novo where we will meet our host families and spend the night with them.
I hadn't actually eaten any hardcore Benin food until dinner last night because the two previous meals they'd offered it I had either been asleep or locked in my room. Yeeah, I'll explain. Friday night I fell asleep after we arrived and I cried into my pillow for 20 minutes, breakfast is just tea and croissants (omigosh, though, they're the best croissants I've like EVER had, all soft and crumbly and buttery I've eaten like 7 of them haha), and then for lunch they had traditional food, but yesterday I managed to get locked in our room which locks the inside when you lock the outside and my roommate had left and taken the key and no one heard me call for her to come back haha. So I just wrote in my coltjournal (they're like journal entries, but addressed to colt as a letter and I'll give him the book as a gift when i get back) and hung out in the room until she came back after lunch to let me out. I also had a snack around tea time, but it was just like a buttery, cheesy croissant thing. I have not been very hungry, though. Traveling takes a lot out of me and I'm definitely jet lagged.
But I had lunch today! Yay! It was...interesting.Couscous with sauce and meat on the side with bread. I skipped the meat and had this interesting fried cheese stuff. It’s pretty gross, but I might be able to get used to it if I really need protein. The couscous was good. Dinner was macaroni and a tomato and onion sauce stuff with meat and you guessed it, bread. I think I'll need some getting used to it, but I can live with it. And when we filled out homestay forms, there was an option to check vegetarian, so I think I might get accomodated with my host family. I am super nervous to meet them. I hope they are a good blend of caring and independent. I definitely need my own space, but I want to be able to get support when I need it. I should be able to update soon after I find out about my host family on Wednesday, but I'm not totally sure about access in Porto Novo.
Cotonou, though, is bad ass. The Bureau is so cool. K, the PVC from yesterday, is currently in the process of moving to Cotonou to act as a PCVL (Peace Corps Volunteer Leader). PCVL's run the 4 PC workstations around the country and act as support for PVCs. It sounds pretty sweet, especially considering the regular internet access and cool administrative duties. It's a long way in the future for me at this point in my PC life, but that sounds wicked to me.
Another thing that seems awesome is serving as a married couple. There are two in country now and two more that just arrived in my stage. They are all so freaking adorable it makes me soooo angry and at the same time I am drawn to them for some reason. I made friends with a couple from Minnesota who actually sort of look like colt and me. It's a little weird actually. It's nice because you've got a built in buddy, a support system in place, someone to bunk with and share the experiences with. It really makes me jealous and I spent about an hour yesterday plotting a way to get Colt to come with me somehow. But alas, it isn't possible. The only way it would happen would be if we go later and I quit now. I'm not a big quitter and things have just started. If I'm miserable for 8 months straight, though...after training and after checking out post for 6 months...and I still am having a really hard time, well, then maybe I'd quit. I just wouldn't leave now unless I was sure I didn't want it, and there's no way to know that until i get to my post site.
So I am having fun now and just going with the flow, day to day. I'm worried the pace of life might be too slow for me. I don't like hanging around with nothing specific to do. i guess I could read or work on my novel. Hmmm, a nap sound pretty nice. Haha, maybe a slow pace will work afterall, lol.
Anyway, I suppose that's all for now. Not much different today than yesterday. Shots and talks! =D Oh, and i have yet to see a mosquito, although everyone is hyper aware of malaria and there is standing water all over the place. I'm sure I will soon enough, especially since one volunteer the first night whispered ominously, "you WILL get malaria." Greeaaat.
With love,
Elaina
Sunday: July 18th
Bonjour! We got our French assignments and I am in the intermediate group as expected. There are 6 groups in my sector (health), and I am in the third one. So I’m definitely not the worst, but I’m certainly not the best speaker. I need to improve a lot and I am not really looking forward to that. Ugh.
I am definitely making friends. I really like the married couple that looks like me and colt.
I was not as sad today as I have been; Africa is like mad cool and takes away some of the missing my family and babyluv feelings. I have been writing a lot in my coltjournal and sharing my feelings with other people to help get out the sad! Haha, it seems to work. We played frisbee a bit today.
Today we talked about Katie, the volunteer who was killed last year. The official people couldn’t really give us any information, but the current volunteers gave us the low down on the events around her death. Since I am responsible for what I put on this blog, I don’t want to talk about an ongoing investigation to the world, but feel free to ask me about it if we’re talking and I’ll relay the info. It was interesting to say the least and I am definitely safe here, so no worries! It was an isolated and very specific instance.
We went a walking today around Cotonou and saw some sights. Bought ice cream (who knew??) and talked a lot in French with the language instructors. I am really trying to not hate this language, but I really just wish I could speak it well enough to get by. Ahhhhh, I hate learning languages! But it’s definitely necessary. Gaahhh.
No cell phone yet, but I borrowed someone’s phone again to talk to Colt for like 8 minutes today. I want to call other people, but it’s so expensive that I really have to wait until I have my own phone and credit to use which HOPEFULLY will be tomorrow. There are a few sympathetic volunteers who said they would try to help us out. I’m seriously going crazy without access to regular conversation with him. Honestly, if they try to put me somewhere without phone service I will probably either refuse to accept that post or quit early once I try it out. I have got to be able to discuter avec mon fiance!
I decided not to drink here. Everyone kind of goes nuts with the alcohol and I am just not sure if I’m using it in the right ways...I don’t want to self medicate, you know? So, no alcohol until I feel secure and happy with everything. Maybe that won’t happen at all, so for now I remain a teetotaler.
Tomorrow should be fun. I hope. We have specific project discussions with the people in our sector (there’s SED/IT, RCH, EA, and TEFL) and that is all morning. After lunch we are heading to the Bureau for APCD interviews where we will give our preferences for posts (I WANT PHONE SERVICE AND ELECTRICITY! AND EASY ACCESS TO INTERNET!) and we will also learn about the zemis. I’ll get my helmets and get fitted for my bike, as well. When we aren’t doing those things, we’ll have a lot of down time, enough so that I can upload this blog entry and get on facebook and stuff. I really want to be able to facebook chat or skype chat with colt or even actually video skype with him, but I hear the connection doesn’t really work very well for that, so hopefully i will get some message to him and my fabulous family. I tried emailing mom and dad; haven’t had time to check for a response.
I guess I should sleep now. I am going for a run tomorrow morning with the married couple and another older volunteer. Whoo! Tomorrow when i put this online, I’ll try to give a quick update as well. I miss you all and hope you’re having fun! Please email me and tell me what you’re up to! elainahope@gmail.com!
I’M IN AFRICA HOLY COW,
Elaina
PS. MY IPOD IS FROZEN. How do I fix it???? It is so sad because I really really really want to listen to music that reminds me of KANSAS and LOVE. PLEASE HELP. FACEBOOK ME or SOMETHING.
Saturday: July 17th
I am right now charging my netbook by using an African converter attached to my computer's adaptor in my tiny hotel room in Cotonou. By the way, my computer's name is Madnessinlove which makes me happy everytime I log on.
So I'd like to finish updating about my experiences so far since I was cut off at the bureau yesterday.
Cotonou is awesome. It honestly looks like every African city that I've ever seen on cinema. The roads are sandy and broken, the traffic is crazy, there are low brick buildings surrounded by all sorts of tropical looking plants and trees. There's an element of poverty, although I get the feeling that this city is one of the wealthier areas of the country. Apparently we're near a quasi-swanky locale where all the expats live in the nicest Beninois maisons around.
Before getting to use the internet at the Bureau and talking to Colt (hereby also referred to as either my babyluv, tiger, puppy, Coltibear, or Cranbull...don't ask), I had my FRENCH TEST. That sounds much more intense than it actually was. I went into a tiny little library and chatted with a guy named Habilub. He's one of the language coordinators and he asked me a bunch of questions that I stumbled around with my awful francais. Mostly we talked about my fiance (just because "fiance" is one of the few french words I can remember and I was super glad to be engaged in that moment because I definitely don't remember how to say "boyfriend") and he also asked about my future plans which was fun to talk about. Then I got to ask him about his family; he has two super young daughters that he just lit up about when he answered my question. It was sweet. I sort of wish I didn't do so well because it will be easier to move up a level if I'm placed a little lower than my actual ability than it will be if I am placed right at or slightly above my level. I am predicting either novice high or intermediate low as my initial placement. I will definitely have to reach intermediate high, though before swear in. If we originally place at or below novice mid than we would only have to get to intermediate mid to swear in. So, zut! We'll see.
On my way to purchase credits to use on a current volunteer's cell phone, we decided to stop by Western Union to exchange some dollars. We went with another volunteer who has been in country for a year and she helped us navigate the system. While I was getting the money exchanged, the woman doing the transaction asked (in French) for 50 cfa, which I didn't have and K, the PCV, told her we didn't have it. The woman grumbled about and I asked K what was up. K than explained in English that she probably wanted to keep the extra money for herself and that you have to be super aggressive and just play the game and eventually they'll get frustrated and just make the exchange. That seemed to be the truth because I got my $170 turned into 85,000 cfa a few minutes later ($1= 500cfa). I was totally shocked to hear K talking about this woman right next to her and I realized that she was assuming that the woman did not speak English. So I asked if anyone speaks English and K just laughed and said that sometimes men on the streets know enough to say "I love you, marry me, take me back to America!" It's interesting because I've never been in a situation where people around me don't understand what I am saying; it happens the other way around a lot, though! Especially lately, when so many people are practicing their French around me!
So I was officially called a "yovo," meaning "foreigner" or "white person". And I was called it by another yovo! On the way to Western Union, the few of us pased by a group of white, European tourists who pointed and said "yovo yovo" as we crossed paths. I am sort of excited to hear the song sang by the kids (and, apparently older men to taunt us young women). K sang it as we walked back to the Bureau and it's more of a taunt or chant than a song. I can't remember it very well, but it's something like "yovo yovo, ca va bien merci, donnez moi un cadeau."
In other news, I am soooo happy that I brought my own pillow. The one they gave us at the hotel is lumpy and hard. It seems like a small thing, but trust me. It is nice to be able to almost smell my bed with my babyluv and the fluffy. I'm also glad I brought my own sheets, but I probably won't use them until i get to my homestay family's house in a few days. The hotel ones suck, but i can handle it for a bit.
Our schedule is looking pretty booked solid all the way until...about September. Haha. Until Wednesday afternoon we're here in Cotonou (that's 3 more nights as today is Sunday) doing logistical stuff, learning about the zemijians (the motorbikes that we'll use basically as taxis when in the cities), taking malaria pills (we don't start the mefloquine stuff that gives crazy dreams until homestay), learning about girardhia (it is also sexually transmitted, who knew?), and getting a slow introduction to Beninois food and culture while getting to know each other better. Wenesday we head out to Porto Novo where we will meet our host families and spend the night with them.
I hadn't actually eaten any hardcore Benin food until dinner last night because the two previous meals they'd offered it I had either been asleep or locked in my room. Yeeah, I'll explain. Friday night I fell asleep after we arrived and I cried into my pillow for 20 minutes, breakfast is just tea and croissants (omigosh, though, they're the best croissants I've like EVER had, all soft and crumbly and buttery I've eaten like 7 of them haha), and then for lunch they had traditional food, but yesterday I managed to get locked in our room which locks the inside when you lock the outside and my roommate had left and taken the key and no one heard me call for her to come back haha. So I just wrote in my coltjournal (they're like journal entries, but addressed to colt as a letter and I'll give him the book as a gift when i get back) and hung out in the room until she came back after lunch to let me out. I also had a snack around tea time, but it was just like a buttery, cheesy croissant thing. I have not been very hungry, though. Traveling takes a lot out of me and I'm definitely jet lagged.
But I had lunch today! Yay! It was...interesting.Couscous with sauce and meat on the side with bread. I skipped the meat and had this interesting fried cheese stuff. It’s pretty gross, but I might be able to get used to it if I really need protein. The couscous was good. Dinner was macaroni and a tomato and onion sauce stuff with meat and you guessed it, bread. I think I'll need some getting used to it, but I can live with it. And when we filled out homestay forms, there was an option to check vegetarian, so I think I might get accomodated with my host family. I am super nervous to meet them. I hope they are a good blend of caring and independent. I definitely need my own space, but I want to be able to get support when I need it. I should be able to update soon after I find out about my host family on Wednesday, but I'm not totally sure about access in Porto Novo.
Cotonou, though, is bad ass. The Bureau is so cool. K, the PVC from yesterday, is currently in the process of moving to Cotonou to act as a PCVL (Peace Corps Volunteer Leader). PCVL's run the 4 PC workstations around the country and act as support for PVCs. It sounds pretty sweet, especially considering the regular internet access and cool administrative duties. It's a long way in the future for me at this point in my PC life, but that sounds wicked to me.
Another thing that seems awesome is serving as a married couple. There are two in country now and two more that just arrived in my stage. They are all so freaking adorable it makes me soooo angry and at the same time I am drawn to them for some reason. I made friends with a couple from Minnesota who actually sort of look like colt and me. It's a little weird actually. It's nice because you've got a built in buddy, a support system in place, someone to bunk with and share the experiences with. It really makes me jealous and I spent about an hour yesterday plotting a way to get Colt to come with me somehow. But alas, it isn't possible. The only way it would happen would be if we go later and I quit now. I'm not a big quitter and things have just started. If I'm miserable for 8 months straight, though...after training and after checking out post for 6 months...and I still am having a really hard time, well, then maybe I'd quit. I just wouldn't leave now unless I was sure I didn't want it, and there's no way to know that until i get to my post site.
So I am having fun now and just going with the flow, day to day. I'm worried the pace of life might be too slow for me. I don't like hanging around with nothing specific to do. i guess I could read or work on my novel. Hmmm, a nap sound pretty nice. Haha, maybe a slow pace will work afterall, lol.
Anyway, I suppose that's all for now. Not much different today than yesterday. Shots and talks! =D Oh, and i have yet to see a mosquito, although everyone is hyper aware of malaria and there is standing water all over the place. I'm sure I will soon enough, especially since one volunteer the first night whispered ominously, "you WILL get malaria." Greeaaat.
With love,
Elaina
Sunday: July 18th
Bonjour! We got our French assignments and I am in the intermediate group as expected. There are 6 groups in my sector (health), and I am in the third one. So I’m definitely not the worst, but I’m certainly not the best speaker. I need to improve a lot and I am not really looking forward to that. Ugh.
I am definitely making friends. I really like the married couple that looks like me and colt.
I was not as sad today as I have been; Africa is like mad cool and takes away some of the missing my family and babyluv feelings. I have been writing a lot in my coltjournal and sharing my feelings with other people to help get out the sad! Haha, it seems to work. We played frisbee a bit today.
Today we talked about Katie, the volunteer who was killed last year. The official people couldn’t really give us any information, but the current volunteers gave us the low down on the events around her death. Since I am responsible for what I put on this blog, I don’t want to talk about an ongoing investigation to the world, but feel free to ask me about it if we’re talking and I’ll relay the info. It was interesting to say the least and I am definitely safe here, so no worries! It was an isolated and very specific instance.
We went a walking today around Cotonou and saw some sights. Bought ice cream (who knew??) and talked a lot in French with the language instructors. I am really trying to not hate this language, but I really just wish I could speak it well enough to get by. Ahhhhh, I hate learning languages! But it’s definitely necessary. Gaahhh.
No cell phone yet, but I borrowed someone’s phone again to talk to Colt for like 8 minutes today. I want to call other people, but it’s so expensive that I really have to wait until I have my own phone and credit to use which HOPEFULLY will be tomorrow. There are a few sympathetic volunteers who said they would try to help us out. I’m seriously going crazy without access to regular conversation with him. Honestly, if they try to put me somewhere without phone service I will probably either refuse to accept that post or quit early once I try it out. I have got to be able to discuter avec mon fiance!
I decided not to drink here. Everyone kind of goes nuts with the alcohol and I am just not sure if I’m using it in the right ways...I don’t want to self medicate, you know? So, no alcohol until I feel secure and happy with everything. Maybe that won’t happen at all, so for now I remain a teetotaler.
Tomorrow should be fun. I hope. We have specific project discussions with the people in our sector (there’s SED/IT, RCH, EA, and TEFL) and that is all morning. After lunch we are heading to the Bureau for APCD interviews where we will give our preferences for posts (I WANT PHONE SERVICE AND ELECTRICITY! AND EASY ACCESS TO INTERNET!) and we will also learn about the zemis. I’ll get my helmets and get fitted for my bike, as well. When we aren’t doing those things, we’ll have a lot of down time, enough so that I can upload this blog entry and get on facebook and stuff. I really want to be able to facebook chat or skype chat with colt or even actually video skype with him, but I hear the connection doesn’t really work very well for that, so hopefully i will get some message to him and my fabulous family. I tried emailing mom and dad; haven’t had time to check for a response.
I guess I should sleep now. I am going for a run tomorrow morning with the married couple and another older volunteer. Whoo! Tomorrow when i put this online, I’ll try to give a quick update as well. I miss you all and hope you’re having fun! Please email me and tell me what you’re up to! elainahope@gmail.com!
I’M IN AFRICA HOLY COW,
Elaina
PS. MY IPOD IS FROZEN. How do I fix it???? It is so sad because I really really really want to listen to music that reminds me of KANSAS and LOVE. PLEASE HELP. FACEBOOK ME or SOMETHING.
Monday
Hey y'all! I'm in the PC Bureau right now updating. The internet makes me nervous so I want to post this huge entry before I update again. If I have time I will do another post, but we're doing trainings and interviews and stuff so I'm not sure. At any rate, I am thinking I won't get a phone today...maybe tomorrow, but my fit throwing isn't really working, so honestly it might not be until Porto Novo. Ugh.
If I don't get to get on here again, I meet my host family on Wednesday night, woo! I'm excited to meet them and hope they have cute kids.
Au revior,
E
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Travels to....AFRICA
11:10pm EST, JFK airport, USA
I’m typing this in the JFK airport, but I don’t actually have internet access…this is my first attempt at a word document to flash drive transfer blog post! I hear a very nasty rumor that internet cards don’t work with Windows 7 starter…which, incidentally, is the operating system of my beautiful new netbook. Sooooo, I could end up with no computer access at post. BUT, I am pretty sure I’ll be able to get online relatively regularly while in the capital, during training until September. It’s after that that is unknown. And if I can’t do the online thang while at post, I’ll be typing on my netbook’s word processor and taking my flash drive with me to the headquarters once or twice a week if possible. If I’m close by. I reeeally hope I am c lose to the main cities.
We’ve just been hanging out here for the last like 6 hours and I am starting to get hungry again haha. That sub sandwhich was goooood. Me and a couple dudes from the group went out on a pretty suhweet Philly tour and saw the liberty bell, Independence Hall, and all sorts of crazy Philadelphian nonsense. In the process I procured a tasty sub and worked my way through it during the next several hours. It was awesome. But, I don’t think it will be my last meal, since we still have an hour before boarding and I am feasting my eyes on a delicieux croissant. MMMMMMM, oui oui! Au revior for now, mes chers!
2:00am EST, Somewhere over the Atlantic, Int’l waters
EXHAUSTED. I can’t sleep though…and I’m not actually sure what time it is.
7:00pm Cotonou, Benin
Ooook, so I sort of stopped chronicaling my travels, but I am now actually in AFRICA!
4:07pm Benin/10:07am CST, Peace Corps Headquarters, Cotonou, Benin
So here I am! Alive and well. I just updated facebook and sent emails to mom, dad, and colt...and the best thing ever: CALLED COLT! We talked for about 7 minutes after I woke him up and it was soooooooooo goooooooooooood. I bought credit for a different volunteer's phone and she let me use hers. I felt so happy to hear from him and he was so adorable. OH man, this long distance thing sucks!
But Africa is cool. Well, actually it's pretty hot outside right now, but not ridiculous. And there's been a nice breeze actually around the hotel we're staying at. I have a mosquito net, and a flushable toilet and shower head with cold water, but it's fine because it's better than hot.
But I think we're actually getting ready to leave now...and I need to let colt know my schedule on facebook...so I should get a moving!
I'll definitely have more later!
E
PS. We saw tiny frogs the size of like a big ant! It was freakish! And lizards are everywhere! And I have so much else to write about!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
it's just a little vacation
We have about an hour until check out from the hotel and then there's a few hours of "free time" to explore Philadelphia/find a starbucks before we have to hop on a bus and drive the New York airport where we will hang out until 11:30pm tonight when we climb aboard the aeroplane that will deliver us to the mother land by way of Paris.
Until then, I am chillaxing for a bit. I need to send a couple things back home (birth certificate, etc) and find a Subway because I have decided my last meal is going to be a foot long veggie sub sandwich with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumbers, banana peppers, green bell peppers, olives, mayonnaise, and mustard on wheat! Mmmmmmmmmmm.
I woke up early, called C, wished I could conjure coffee, showered, and repacked before heading off to the federal building down the street for shots, and not the fun ones. It actually wasn't bad; we went through security, saw some cool FBI dudes with guns, and got one yellow fever shot. It ain't no thang.
Missing you know who like mad, texted with brother Zach for a bit and realized he'll be a teenager the next time I see him, cried a bit in the shower, but all in all, I'm feeling better than yesterday. I was hungry and tired (well, i'm still hungry I guess) and for some reason the immensity of this whole thing seemed a bit more...well, immense than it really is. But in reality, it's not too bad and it's going to be a great adventure. Colt says to take it one day at a time and I think I just might be able to do that. Talking about him a bit has made me feel a lot better, too. I chatted with my roommate about being engaged and what he's doing for school and strangely enough, missing him doesn't feel so sad in this moment. So yay for that!
Ok, I think I'm off to discover a starbucks. Mmmmm, coffee. Gonna miss that almost as much as DIET COKE.
Elaina
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
crying in philly
Everyone is awesome; so much cooler and awesome than me!
I'm just the sad girl with the diamond ring.
But tomorrow will be better.
Elaina
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
only one w-word until the a-word
That's what Colt is saying. Every time he brings up our impending uber-separation I either burst into tears or declare loudly that I don't want to talk about it. He pointed out this morning that we should probably talk about it sometime other than in the airport next Wednesday. Well, perhaps.
Packing update: I officially own or have access to everything that I will be taking with me to Africaland. It is all pretty much gathered in my old room at my mom's house, scattered among the 10 totes of other stuff I own that I will be leaving with her. I have 1 big duffel bag and a smaller one with a pretty nice black canvas backpack to carry everything in. I've also used up almost all of my mom's ziplock bags by storing all my toiletries in them. I searched high and low for solar powered rechargeable batteries, but could not find them. And then I realized that I'm not really bringing anything that requires battery power. Sometimes, the blondness is tres apparent.
As I type this, I am slowly working on uploading all of my summer photos to facebook. Thesd pics include trips to Kansas City, Chicago, Oklahoma, and Texas. Most of them are definitely from my Chicago vacation/med school visit (like half from the gay pride parade!) and looking through them makes me increasingly sure that I am going to apply to Northwestern and the University of Chicago. Both campuses were awesome and I definitely fell in love with the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Molly's Cupcakes FTW! Anyway, it will be fun to visit the city again next fall when I come back to interview (assuming I even make it to the interview stage of the application process!).
The summer has been primarily lazy as far as french preparation goes. I've been incredibly lax with my studies post graduation. I guess at some point I just realized that I was going to be in a pretty low level group to start off with and it wasn't going to be particularly beneficial for me to study all summer to get up one level, after which it will be more difficult to improve. So I've been slowly moving through Harry Potter et l'ecole de sorciers, but I don't think I'm much past chapter 2 at this point. I think I can handle being one of the poorest french speakers of the group. C'est la vie.
I'm getting ready to go on a Pirates of the Caribbean binge as part of my American pop culture overload of summer 2010. Other binges have included mashed potatoes, corresponding tattoos, vegan hotdogs, little league baseball games, sunburns, and spending too much money on mediocre Italian cuisine. My facebook album, Quest: Party in the USA, is an attempt to keep track of these last few weeks of America. The fourth was fun and included a very American doubles game of ultra-competitive table tennis and semi-naked trampoline fireworks viewing. I created this delicious cookie cake that was decorated with an anatomically correct flag made of mixed berry. Yum!
Ah, Colt. Preparing for our goodbye is not something I am even remotely ready for. He is taking me to the airport and I haven't decided if I'll be so shell shocked from the immensity of the separation or if I'll flood the place with my tears. I know that I am going to be a big ball of stress about the whole thing soon. I made him promise to show some emotion sometime this week and not just always be the strong one. He has off from work all but two of the next 7 days, so hopefully we'll get in all the cuddling of two years into this week. Ugh, just thinking about him all lonely makes me sad. Next!
I'm having a lovely going away/graduation party on Friday. I am making a drink concoction called summer beer that I discovered at a friend's 21st birthday party earlier in the summer. It's light beer with vodka and lemonade. I'm pretty stoked about it. I'm also going to make funfetti cupcakes which will be good practice for our wedding reception since we'll be doing the cupcakes ourselves.
On that wonderful note, this summer I also have planned a lot of the wedding details since I won't really be around to do it in the next two years. It seems maybe a bit over the top, but I literally have a schedule of the ceremony and we've picked out the locations for it and the reception. We have a budget and have selected colors and songs and pretty much everything except reserving locations and vendors...because it's like waaay ridiculously too early for that haha. I tried on dresses, too and found styles that I think will match the look I'm going for. My plan is to actually buy the dress and make a lot of the set in stone plans when I am back in the states next fall for med school interviews. It's fun to actually think about this stuff finally!
One other thing I've slacked off with this summer is running. I think I probably went running a grand total of 10 times or something embarrassing like that. I really miss it and so does my body. I've basically gained back all my marathon training weight which is wicked lame! I'm bringing my Asics with me to Benin, so as soon as I can, I am going to find a running routine. I think I forget sometimes how much a quick jog can clear my head and calm me down. In fact, that sounds pretty good right now; maybe I'll get in a couple runs before next Wednesday.
Well, I doubt I'll be posting until Philadelphia staging. My flight is 7am on the 14th and orientation activities start at noon at the hotel in Philly. We'll all meet up and learn about safety and culture shock for two days and then late at night on the 15th we head out for Benin by way of Paris.
I think there's definitely some part of me that doesn't actually believe that it's happening. I mean, I applied over a year ago on a renewed whim and here I am just days away from leaving. It's pretty trippy and I'm sure it's just going to get increasingly mind blowing.
Keep it classy,
E
Packing update: I officially own or have access to everything that I will be taking with me to Africaland. It is all pretty much gathered in my old room at my mom's house, scattered among the 10 totes of other stuff I own that I will be leaving with her. I have 1 big duffel bag and a smaller one with a pretty nice black canvas backpack to carry everything in. I've also used up almost all of my mom's ziplock bags by storing all my toiletries in them. I searched high and low for solar powered rechargeable batteries, but could not find them. And then I realized that I'm not really bringing anything that requires battery power. Sometimes, the blondness is tres apparent.
As I type this, I am slowly working on uploading all of my summer photos to facebook. Thesd pics include trips to Kansas City, Chicago, Oklahoma, and Texas. Most of them are definitely from my Chicago vacation/med school visit (like half from the gay pride parade!) and looking through them makes me increasingly sure that I am going to apply to Northwestern and the University of Chicago. Both campuses were awesome and I definitely fell in love with the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Molly's Cupcakes FTW! Anyway, it will be fun to visit the city again next fall when I come back to interview (assuming I even make it to the interview stage of the application process!).
The summer has been primarily lazy as far as french preparation goes. I've been incredibly lax with my studies post graduation. I guess at some point I just realized that I was going to be in a pretty low level group to start off with and it wasn't going to be particularly beneficial for me to study all summer to get up one level, after which it will be more difficult to improve. So I've been slowly moving through Harry Potter et l'ecole de sorciers, but I don't think I'm much past chapter 2 at this point. I think I can handle being one of the poorest french speakers of the group. C'est la vie.
I'm getting ready to go on a Pirates of the Caribbean binge as part of my American pop culture overload of summer 2010. Other binges have included mashed potatoes, corresponding tattoos, vegan hotdogs, little league baseball games, sunburns, and spending too much money on mediocre Italian cuisine. My facebook album, Quest: Party in the USA, is an attempt to keep track of these last few weeks of America. The fourth was fun and included a very American doubles game of ultra-competitive table tennis and semi-naked trampoline fireworks viewing. I created this delicious cookie cake that was decorated with an anatomically correct flag made of mixed berry. Yum!
Ah, Colt. Preparing for our goodbye is not something I am even remotely ready for. He is taking me to the airport and I haven't decided if I'll be so shell shocked from the immensity of the separation or if I'll flood the place with my tears. I know that I am going to be a big ball of stress about the whole thing soon. I made him promise to show some emotion sometime this week and not just always be the strong one. He has off from work all but two of the next 7 days, so hopefully we'll get in all the cuddling of two years into this week. Ugh, just thinking about him all lonely makes me sad. Next!
I'm having a lovely going away/graduation party on Friday. I am making a drink concoction called summer beer that I discovered at a friend's 21st birthday party earlier in the summer. It's light beer with vodka and lemonade. I'm pretty stoked about it. I'm also going to make funfetti cupcakes which will be good practice for our wedding reception since we'll be doing the cupcakes ourselves.
On that wonderful note, this summer I also have planned a lot of the wedding details since I won't really be around to do it in the next two years. It seems maybe a bit over the top, but I literally have a schedule of the ceremony and we've picked out the locations for it and the reception. We have a budget and have selected colors and songs and pretty much everything except reserving locations and vendors...because it's like waaay ridiculously too early for that haha. I tried on dresses, too and found styles that I think will match the look I'm going for. My plan is to actually buy the dress and make a lot of the set in stone plans when I am back in the states next fall for med school interviews. It's fun to actually think about this stuff finally!
One other thing I've slacked off with this summer is running. I think I probably went running a grand total of 10 times or something embarrassing like that. I really miss it and so does my body. I've basically gained back all my marathon training weight which is wicked lame! I'm bringing my Asics with me to Benin, so as soon as I can, I am going to find a running routine. I think I forget sometimes how much a quick jog can clear my head and calm me down. In fact, that sounds pretty good right now; maybe I'll get in a couple runs before next Wednesday.
Well, I doubt I'll be posting until Philadelphia staging. My flight is 7am on the 14th and orientation activities start at noon at the hotel in Philly. We'll all meet up and learn about safety and culture shock for two days and then late at night on the 15th we head out for Benin by way of Paris.
I think there's definitely some part of me that doesn't actually believe that it's happening. I mean, I applied over a year ago on a renewed whim and here I am just days away from leaving. It's pretty trippy and I'm sure it's just going to get increasingly mind blowing.
Keep it classy,
E
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Corps de la Paix Americain
01 B.P. 971
Cotonou, Benin
Afrique de l’Ouest (West Africa)