Training

Bonsoir,

             Happy 4th of July! I write to you from an overcast Porto Novo. Class was let out early today, so I now have a chance to check in.

             I am living in Porto Novo, the capital of Benin. I live in the Tchanvie district, near the Church of St. Paul and Peter. We are in the deuxieme d’arrondissment (second district). My host mama is actually the chef (mayor) of the second district. I live in with the Houenou family. There is Mama Gisele, Papa Mike, Aunt Victoire, and my brother Romeo. Mama Gisele is the chief; Papa is a civil engineer; Aunt a retired French teacher, and Romeo is studying to become a certified electrician. (If my English sounds a bit primitive, it is because I have been working mainly in beginners’ French.)
            My house is about 3 km away from Songhai, where myself and the other Peace Corps Trainees are studying French, Beninese culture, and English education. (Side note: Songhaï is a really interesting structured community. It is founded on a integrative model of an urban village, incorporating renewable energy, raising animals and agriculture, communication, education, and entrepreneurship. Us at Peace Corps are simply visitors, utilizing the space. I will devote a later post to talking more about Songhaï.

            I will try to sketch out one of my baseline days to give you a sense of the kind of life I live during training. At a later date, I will describe the certain cultural events, objects, and customs that may appear in this introduction. I am in many ways overwhelmed by the Beninese life and need some time to observe it if I want to describe it to you with any verity.

            I wake up at about 600 hrs. (Actually, I wake up at about 400 because of the call to prayer during Ramadan.) I meditate for about 15 minutes. I take my bucket shower and brush my teeth. I like to use the brossé-vegetable in the mornings (made from quinine wood) and American style in the evening. My house does not have running water (even a district mayor needs a well in this town!) so I carry all of the water I use up to my room on the second floor. The bucket bath is what you expect if I gave you a barrel of water, a bowl, and a bar of soap. I gasp every time I pour the first bucket over my head. I dress and gather my things for the day. My mama normally prepares some scrambled eggs with tomatoes, onions, and pimentos with a baguette.

            For the first week, I took a zemidjan (or kekemoto) to Songhaï. Motorcycles are the transportation of choice of the Beninoise, roughly outnumbering cars 50 to 1. A regular ride costs 200 cfa.  (Under 50 cents) (Though, one of the interesting things about Benin is one has to barter often. The zem will usually introduce a the price at 350-400 because I am a Yovo (white person), and I will respond that is to high and suggest 150 or 200. We meet in the middle. Never more that 300.)

            At Songhai, we have 8 hours of class throughout the week. Most of the 2 hour blocks are French. But often it is mixed with cultural work, safety, and TEFL. (Why are you speaking French in an African country? Good question. Quick history: the French colonized West Africa in the 1800’s {correct me if I am wrong}. The French took control of the government. Now, after decolonization, it is still the official language of Benin and others West African nations.

            For lunch, I like to go to a bonne mama. They are women who sell prepared food on the side of the road. I like to get beans and rice with red sauce and a piece of fish or a hardboiled egg, 300-400 cfa. On my way back, I can get a whole pineapple for 100 cfa, sliced and ready to eat in a moment. The pineapples here are incredible.

            After another 4 hours of class, I head home. We received bikes on Monday, and that has been my transportation of choice. I arrive home around 1800 heurs (Benin likes the 24-hr clock) and I have a couple hours before dinner at my disposable. I draw water from the well, I boil water to drink, write, talk with the children in the street, watch mama make dinner (I am not allowed to help quite yet). Diner is usually a meat with a starch and a vegetable sauce: akasa with fish, pâte with chicken, beans and rice topped with gari, fried bananas.

            I tell my family goodnight and head to my room to bathe again, meditate, finish any homework. I crawl underneath my mosquito net and fall asleep to the sound of the buchette playing fête music, or the church broadcasting its sermon over the loudspeakers, with the goats in the neighbors’ courtyard crying, the mills motor which hopefully turns of at 2000 hr, and the crickets. I do not need earplugs or a sheet because I am always so exhausted and excited.

            As I was sitting earlier this week, I felt like I fully arrived and a wave of giddiness swept over me. I noticed an emerging love for this country and people and food and smell and life. My French needs some work, but I feel so incredibly lucky to live in Benin for the next 26 months.

A bientôt,

Chazaq