At 2am last night, a huge crowd marched by chanting and beating pans and things. I froze for a minute to figure out if I was going to die, determined that I wasn’t (at least not because of them), and then figured out that it was a Voodun-related ceremony of sorts. In Voodun/Voodoo, they believe that you have to keep evil spirits away during the night by scaring them off with loud noises, so they sometimes have people walk the streets beating pots.
I wanted to get up and watch, but then I remembered that in some places, if a woman sees a spirit or certain ceremonies (called an “oro”), she can be in a lot of trouble. So I stayed in my bed, waited for silence, and listened to the chants.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Model School, etc.
We started model school Friday, so we’ll finally get to start teaching soon. Peace Corps brings in Beninese kids around the age we’ll be teaching, and each stagier (trainee) gets to practice teaching with them. Four people went today, each for an hour, with mixed results: some weren’t confident enough to get the students’ attention or weren’t quite sure how to get the concepts across, and others did really well.
I’m really nervous about the whole thing, mostly because I’ve never taught a class like this before. The classes in real Beninese schools range from 40-70 students, with limited supplies (you’re lucky if you have butcher paper) and a wide range of abilities and ages. In my classes, I’ll have kids ranging from 14 to their mid 20s, some of whom can’t read, some of whom don’t speak even French, and most of whom can’t understand my American accent.
My friend Andrew is doing Teach for America, and when I visited Houston in July, he showed us his teaching voice: he had to be confident and in control, intelligent, and authoritative without being harsh. My voice will be different. I’ll have to be able to control my classes, but my main focus is the accent – I have to pronounce everything clearly and slowly, and I’ll actually have to put on kind of a Beninese-English accent so that they can understand me. It’s kind of hilarious, actually… we sound ridiculous when we talk like we’re supposed to.
So that’s basically it – I’ll start teaching when we get back from model school, and I’m terrified and excited and ready all at once. This is no testing-the-water type experience. In the Peace Corps, we jump right in.
Heather, one of the other TEFLers, totally rocking her lesson.
I’m really nervous about the whole thing, mostly because I’ve never taught a class like this before. The classes in real Beninese schools range from 40-70 students, with limited supplies (you’re lucky if you have butcher paper) and a wide range of abilities and ages. In my classes, I’ll have kids ranging from 14 to their mid 20s, some of whom can’t read, some of whom don’t speak even French, and most of whom can’t understand my American accent.
My friend Andrew is doing Teach for America, and when I visited Houston in July, he showed us his teaching voice: he had to be confident and in control, intelligent, and authoritative without being harsh. My voice will be different. I’ll have to be able to control my classes, but my main focus is the accent – I have to pronounce everything clearly and slowly, and I’ll actually have to put on kind of a Beninese-English accent so that they can understand me. It’s kind of hilarious, actually… we sound ridiculous when we talk like we’re supposed to.
So that’s basically it – I’ll start teaching when we get back from model school, and I’m terrified and excited and ready all at once. This is no testing-the-water type experience. In the Peace Corps, we jump right in.
Heather, one of the other TEFLers, totally rocking her lesson.
Post Assignments!
My post for the next two (!) years of my life will be (drumroll please…) Daagbe!
Daagbe is a small town (I think – I don’t know a whole lot about it) just outside of Porto Novo, maybe 45 minutes from here. We’re in the Oueme Plateau region, and I’m going to learn to speak Goun (“goon”) as my local language… hah.
I’ll have electricity, and there’s running water in my village – not sure if it’s in my house or if I have to walk to it – and I’m the first volunteer to ever live there. I’m pretty nervous and not excited about that part… I was really hoping to have furniture and cooking supplies already there.
The Peace Corps gives me a small amount of money to get set up, so I’ll have to use that to buy furniture and plates and things. I’ll also have to set up the idea of a PCVolunteer for the people there – they’ll expect me to have lots of money, probably, and I’ll have to set some important boundaries (like “I’m not going to marry you just because you tell me I’m pretty” and “It is inappropriate to walk into my house unannounced”).
That said, there are definite positives to opening a post: no one will expect me to be like the last person who was there, and I have the chance to be that village’s first long-term experience with American culture. Plus, I can start whatever projects I want without having to carry out another person’s project when they leave.
So overall, I’m not quite sure how I feel about my post. My closest friends at stage are spread out across the country, and that’s both exciting (visiting = me seeing the entirety of Benin) and a little sad (I won’t get to see them all that often). I think most people here are a little meh about their posts, though, just because there’s no way to really understand what it’s like until you’re actually there living it.
Which brings me to next week: post visits for TEFLers! While the business, health, IT and environment people have to wait 4 more weeks until they visit their posts, the teachers all get to spend 5 days in our posts with a host family. We’ll meet the important people in our village (our boss, the mayor, the chief of the town, etc.), start meeting the locals, and get a feeling for our houses and schools. I’m taking my camera, so in a week or so, you’ll be able to see it, too... yay!
Daagbe is a small town (I think – I don’t know a whole lot about it) just outside of Porto Novo, maybe 45 minutes from here. We’re in the Oueme Plateau region, and I’m going to learn to speak Goun (“goon”) as my local language… hah.
I’ll have electricity, and there’s running water in my village – not sure if it’s in my house or if I have to walk to it – and I’m the first volunteer to ever live there. I’m pretty nervous and not excited about that part… I was really hoping to have furniture and cooking supplies already there.
The Peace Corps gives me a small amount of money to get set up, so I’ll have to use that to buy furniture and plates and things. I’ll also have to set up the idea of a PCVolunteer for the people there – they’ll expect me to have lots of money, probably, and I’ll have to set some important boundaries (like “I’m not going to marry you just because you tell me I’m pretty” and “It is inappropriate to walk into my house unannounced”).
That said, there are definite positives to opening a post: no one will expect me to be like the last person who was there, and I have the chance to be that village’s first long-term experience with American culture. Plus, I can start whatever projects I want without having to carry out another person’s project when they leave.
So overall, I’m not quite sure how I feel about my post. My closest friends at stage are spread out across the country, and that’s both exciting (visiting = me seeing the entirety of Benin) and a little sad (I won’t get to see them all that often). I think most people here are a little meh about their posts, though, just because there’s no way to really understand what it’s like until you’re actually there living it.
Which brings me to next week: post visits for TEFLers! While the business, health, IT and environment people have to wait 4 more weeks until they visit their posts, the teachers all get to spend 5 days in our posts with a host family. We’ll meet the important people in our village (our boss, the mayor, the chief of the town, etc.), start meeting the locals, and get a feeling for our houses and schools. I’m taking my camera, so in a week or so, you’ll be able to see it, too... yay!
Some Basic Facts About Benin
Population: 8.5 million
Predominant religions: Islam, Christianity, Voodun (Voodoo), other religions
$1 USD = about 520 CFA (Beninese francs)
30.9% of people live on less than $1/day
73% live on less than $2/day
Adult literacy rate: 40.5%
Female literacy rate: 27.9%
Ranked 161/182 countries for level of development
Predominant religions: Islam, Christianity, Voodun (Voodoo), other religions
$1 USD = about 520 CFA (Beninese francs)
30.9% of people live on less than $1/day
73% live on less than $2/day
Adult literacy rate: 40.5%
Female literacy rate: 27.9%
Ranked 161/182 countries for level of development
Charsh
On Wednesday night, I found out that my grandmother died – she beat breast cancer twice, but it came back again and was impossible to stop. She was 92, lived a pretty amazing life, and had all of her children in the room with her when she died... that’s comforting to know.
I’m okay (I got most of the crying out of my system that night), and I’m definitely staying here, but it’s really sad to think that she won’t be there to listen to my stories when I get back… She loved traveling and was just about fearless, and I think she’s probably here with in spirit, loving every adventure I live here in Benin.
I’m okay (I got most of the crying out of my system that night), and I’m definitely staying here, but it’s really sad to think that she won’t be there to listen to my stories when I get back… She loved traveling and was just about fearless, and I think she’s probably here with in spirit, loving every adventure I live here in Benin.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Photos? Maybe?
The view from my hotel in Cotonou on the first night I got here
Sweet lizards around here... this kind has an orange head and a red tail. Am having to small-ify my pics to get them to load, so sorry for the quality.
A zemidjan - the mototaxis we take to get everywhere. PC volunteers are the only people in the entire city who wear helmets, so we stand out even more than usual.
A selection of the different types of pate (the white lumps)... this is waaay more colorful and exciting than my meals usually are.
One of the spiders I've asked to please not visit me anymore...
My bedroom -- it's huge and gorgeous by Beninese standards
The view from one of my windows...this is early morning, so it's still dark-ish.
Oranges. They're green here.
Week Two Updates: Tissu!
Most important part of last week: I got tissu! Tissu is the fabric that everyone wears – you buy it by the meter by arguing the price in the market (I’m terrible at that part), then have it sewn in whatever shape you want. It’s really cheap by American standards (I bought about $20 worth, and that’ll get me 3 outfits), and the tailors are cheap, too.
I’m SO excited to have legit African clothing. Thrilled, actually – expect a fashion show when you see me next. I found a gorgeous blue/purple print that will be made into a modelle (top/long skirt combo, very traditional Beninese clothing), a turquoise-and-white print that’ll be a shorter dress, and a red/yellow/white print that’ll be a pagne. Pagnes are basically 2 meters of cloth with strings, and you use them as a skirt, a headdress, a baby carrier… anything, really. I’m going to work on the headdress first.
Other updates:
- Am getting so tired of drinking plain water. PC wants us to drink 3L a day, and I’m trying to budget my drink packets… ugh. Hydration is the priority, though, so I’ll keep on sipping.
- Miss caffeine. And non-fish protein. Am best friends with chickpeas, though, so that part’s getting better.
- Took my Alicia Keys braids out, and lost a lot of hair in the process (thanks to the crimps, also looked like Hermione Granger before she got hot). My scalp misses the breeze, but my hair’s thrilled to be free.
- Can’t seem to upload photos. No matter how long I wait, they refuse to load… So until I find broadband, you’re going to have to deal with a text-only approach to blogging.
- Plan to get a cat at post. Am allergic to cats, but whatever. I want company.
- Charsh, my favorite grandmother (and to me one of the most important human beings on the planet), isn't doing very well... I think she's in the hospital right now. Could everyone pray for her, send her good vibes, or at least think really hard about good things happening for her?
- Went to Moubarack’s birthday party, and it was less exciting than expected. They did play a steady stream of Sean Paul, though, so at least I could sing along to the music: “Tell the manatees they’ve gotta take it slow…” (YouTube search: Sean Paul misheard lyrics)
- If you send me emails, I might only send a short reponse because these cybercafe French keyboards suuuuck. I'll try to prep some longer emails at home to send next time... /:
- Have gotten some letters already! Thank you so much – letters are tres exciting to get, and they pick me up when I’m getting frustrated with French. Also a big thanks for the comments and the emails -- I have the best friends/family/support network in the entire world. : )
Poop.
This is your official warning that, in the future, this blog will contain stories about poop. I’m holding out for a while, but since bowel movements are one of the favorite conversation topics in the Peace Corps (and since there’s usually a lot of poop-related drama), I’m going to have to include a story or two eventually. No worries, some of them are hilarious, and I promise to be a lady again when I get back to the USA.
As an intro – we’ll work in baby steps here – I’ll introduce the African Gamble, which is an important part of life for a PCV in Benin (they say that every volunteer loses the gamble at some point).
The African Gamble occurs when a person (usually in the middle of something important or official) thinks they have gas. Said person tries to let the gas out silently and surreptitiously… only to discover that what they just released was a lot more liquid then air. Awkward for you, and absolutely hilarious to everyone hearing the story.
As an intro – we’ll work in baby steps here – I’ll introduce the African Gamble, which is an important part of life for a PCV in Benin (they say that every volunteer loses the gamble at some point).
The African Gamble occurs when a person (usually in the middle of something important or official) thinks they have gas. Said person tries to let the gas out silently and surreptitiously… only to discover that what they just released was a lot more liquid then air. Awkward for you, and absolutely hilarious to everyone hearing the story.
This Friday: Post Assignments!
Most important thing to look forward to this week: post assignments! On Friday, they’re going to finally tell us where we’re living for the next two years, and we’re all tres excited. Also, franglais-ing is the in thing around here, so you’re going to have to put up with the rudimentary French I mix into these blogs.
Anyway, so posts! They’ll tell us what the village is, what our teaching situation is like, and what we can expect from the community – how conservative it is, what the predominant religions are, and, most importantly, what local language we get to learn. I am so, so excited to learn the local language… I’m excited to be two languages richer when I get back, but French isn’t nearly as cool as Bariba or Fon will be.
A little about how they assign posts: we did an interview when we first got to Benin about what we hoped to do at post and what our preferences were. Nothing’s guaranteed, but they let you voice your hopes, at least. I said I’d be fine with anything they give me, but if I got to choose, I’d take a village over a city, electricity but not running water, and another volunteer within 25 km.
The only thing I’m really concerned about is the other volunteer close to me thing... I need a conversation in English every once in a while. I’ll let you know what I get, but fingers crossed for something cool!
Anyway, so posts! They’ll tell us what the village is, what our teaching situation is like, and what we can expect from the community – how conservative it is, what the predominant religions are, and, most importantly, what local language we get to learn. I am so, so excited to learn the local language… I’m excited to be two languages richer when I get back, but French isn’t nearly as cool as Bariba or Fon will be.
A little about how they assign posts: we did an interview when we first got to Benin about what we hoped to do at post and what our preferences were. Nothing’s guaranteed, but they let you voice your hopes, at least. I said I’d be fine with anything they give me, but if I got to choose, I’d take a village over a city, electricity but not running water, and another volunteer within 25 km.
The only thing I’m really concerned about is the other volunteer close to me thing... I need a conversation in English every once in a while. I’ll let you know what I get, but fingers crossed for something cool!
A Military Approach to a Peace Corps Problem
After a couple of battles with various arachnids (the most dramatic being with the giant spider previously mentioned) and a potential mouse or bat problem, I have adopted a DADT policy with the creatures living in my room. I will not look for them, and they will not show up in my room when I am about to go to sleep. I have communicated this policy via telepathy and reiki vibes, and am expecting compliance immediately. Will keep you updated.
Update: I woke up this morning to a large dead spider on the floor of my bathroom... I thought it was alive, but then I realized that something had eaten all of its guts and it was just the outside (exoskeleton! score one for 2nd grade science). I am taking this as a peace offering from the bats (probably) that live with me at night. I'm starting to really like the bats. I'm naming the loud one Charlie.
Update: I woke up this morning to a large dead spider on the floor of my bathroom... I thought it was alive, but then I realized that something had eaten all of its guts and it was just the outside (exoskeleton! score one for 2nd grade science). I am taking this as a peace offering from the bats (probably) that live with me at night. I'm starting to really like the bats. I'm naming the loud one Charlie.
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