Wednesday, 10 October 2018
I am writing this from my indoor plumbing, air conditioned room at the PC Medical Office in Cotonou where I have spent the past few days recovering from some inconvenient health problems I recently developed (an unfortunate combination from something I probably ate, dehydration, and sun poisoning). But I am finally recovering here, and alas have the time, energy, and wifi to write this post.
I want to start by saying that time is moving in a strange fashion here. I never know what date it is, and I only barely keep up with the days of the week well enough to know if I should be in village or at training camp. I know it’s still the rainy season because it rains almost every day, but when someone mentioned that we’re nearing two weeks into October now, I was blown away.
Someone tactfully summed it up in saying that the days are long but the weeks are short, and I am quickly finding that statement rings incredibly true.
We are well into our fourth week of being in Benin, which means this is Week 3 of our training. On Tuesday, we had our site placement interviews and next week our sites for the next two years will be announced (very exciting!). Then in two weeks, we have a two week visit to our sites before coming back to finish the last five weeks of training. How is this happening so quickly already?!
Many friends have asked what, exactly, I have been doing during training, and I must admit that’s a bit tricky to answer. Each day is different—a constant rotation of different aspects of training as I bounce back and forth between my village in Fongba and training camp in Lokossa, Monday-Saturday. In general, we are in village with our families until Tuesday of each week when we go to training camp for 1 or 2 nights.
A typical day here does not truly exist, but nonetheless I will try to describe the general outline of day in village and of a day at training camp.
A Typical Day in Village:
Wake up at 5am to the sound of roosters cawing and Maman yelling for Bella. Don’t actually get up until 7am. Eat the usual breakfast: half a baguette, an orange or papaya, and some tea. It can all be found waiting for me on the coffee table (how & when it gets there, I still have yet to figure out).
Ride my bike to the house where my LCF group is meeting that day. My village is so small that there isn’t a place for us to meet for class each day, so instead we rotate visiting each other’s houses (except mine because my house is so far away from everyone else).
Have 4 hours of French language training in the morning, followed by a 1.5 hr lunch break. Again, since our village is small, there is no market to get lunch in so a lady brings us lunch each day for 500 CFA.
In the afternoon, do more language training or perhaps a practical exercise or technical training. Last week, we spent the afternoon installing tippy taps at each other’s houses (see pictures).
Once class ends, I hop on my bike to make the uphill bike ride home. My family (and people I should know but don’t) can usually be found sitting on the front porch waiting for me to return.
Thoroughly greet every person in my house (greetings are VERY important in Benin) then watch Maman prepare dinner. Try to help. Get shut down each time. Eat dinner by myself and before everyone else at the coffee table in the living room. Sometimes they will turn the TV on for me, which is either an African soap opera, African music videos, or the local news.
Then, depending on my mood, hang out with the kids or do some of my own work. If I’m with the kids it’s either: doing yoga on the front porch with Grace; lying in a circle on the floor with Bona and Luc to help them with their homework; learning how to do a new chore from Bella. Otherwise, sit on the porch with Maman or watch TV with Papa.
Do chosen activity until it gets dark. Then fetch water from the well in front of my house and take a bucket bath in the stall out back. Take extra long if the stars are good that night (they usually are). Do every hygienic thing you need to do during that bucket bath, including wash face, brush teeth, wash underwear.
Once finished, inform every family member, especially Maman, that you are going to bed (otherwise they will loudly ask for where you are). Go to bedroom, read, study, text other volunteers about their day. Tuck in mosquito net. Fall asleep. Repeat.
A Typical Day in Training Camp:
Wake up at 5am to the sound of roosters cawing and Maman yelling for Bella. Don’t actually get up until 6am and have the usual breakfast. Remind Maman of when you will return or she will call you a million times (actually she will do this any way).
Pack overnight bag, grab moto helmet, and hop on the back of Papa’s motorcycle so he can drop you off at the bus stop for training camp.
Arrive in Lokossa. Get in line to check into rooms then claim your bunkbed. Greet every staff member you pass on your way. Enjoy flushing toilets. Usually there is 20 minutes before lessons start, so you quickly try to connect to wifi before everyone else does, or you’re out of luck for that week.
Do some type of technical, cultural, language, medical, administrative, security lesson. Last week, it ranged from learning about differences in communication styles, to how to change a flat bike tire, to how to properly great a king at your site, to how to install a garden bed. So truly, it could be anything.
Have snack half way through, usually consisting of nuts, little cookie biscuits, and some type of fruit (pineapple, watermelon, or oranges). Get 1.5 hr break, where we all usually hit up Bean Maman or Avocado Maman for lunch. Stroll around Lokossa, buy phone credit or some cool tish (“le tissue” = funky patterned fabric that you buy to get tailored into clothing). Maman will call you multiple times during this time, ask what you ate for lunch, then hang up. Conversation lasts 17 seconds because credit is expensive.
Walk back to training camp. Get some type of vaccination probably. Do more lessons of some sort. This week, it ranged from talking about diversity, to learning about voodoo, to discussing how to integrate and learn about needs at site. Have another snack half way through. Optimistically, try to finish lessons at 5:30, but realistically, go over a little bit.
Once class ends for the day, hang out with everyone until dinner at 7. Use free time to shop in market, play some type of sport, sleep, practice French. Continue greeting any and every staff member.
Eat dinner, then hang out some more. If you were lucky enough to get on wifi, then facetime friends & family. If not, then hang out until the bugs force you seek shelter. Go to room, enjoy having a running shower. Put on bug spray, climb into bed, tuck in mosquito net. Pass out.
In the morning, (try to) wake up early to go running. Eat breakfast (probably avocado on a baguette). Then do more lessons and repeat the day until you go back to village. Before leaving for village, return room key, fill up water bottle from filter, try to take a toilet paper roll from bathroom. Forget to repack something. Board bus and leave training camp until next week.
We constructed several tippy taps in our village! A tippy tap is a hand washing station, where you tap on a stick (out of frame in this photo) with your foot so the strings tips the jug of water over and voila--running water!
This is a "coup-coup". We use them to construct the tippy taps.
My beautiful village of Fongba
