I made it! After a really, really long flight we finally got to Benin late at night on the 16th. It was hot and humid (even though it’s the cooler rainy season), and it smelled like sweat, strange foods, gasoline, and rain all at once… I was thrilled.
We drove in a giant Land Rover thing to the hotel, where we were greeted by a big group of screaming, cheering Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs), all of whom had traveled in from their posts to see us in. Amazing, and made us feel welcome.
Our hotel is fairly nice by Beninese standards (I think), and my roommate Sam – also from Ohio! – and I each have a single bed covered with a mosquito net. The mosquito net makes me feel like a princess. There’s a desk fan attached to the ceiling for air, a toilet that flushes but has no seat, and a cold-water-only shower that has no curtain or door. And I’m loving it, riding the highs before culture shock slaps me down, and I’m planning on staying happy as long as possible.
Most of our days so far are fairly full. We eat breakfast at 7:30am, start training sessions at 8, lunch at 12:30, more training, then we end for the day around 4 or 5. After that, we just hang out until on the patio watching the lizards run around until dinner at 7:30, then hang out with the PCVs and each other until bed time. Training hasn’t gotten tough yet, and right now, I’m living the life.
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