Internet-less thursday

** I wrote this post on Thursday, july 5th**

Hi everyone,

Well, it’s Thursday, and this post, has not hit the internet. It’s a little disappointing because I was hoping/expecting to use the cyber café today.  Unfortunately it just didn’t work out. I’m now planning to get an internet key. Even if the connection is slow, it seems worth it to me.

Today all the Peace Corps Trainees met at Songhaii (pronounced Song- Hi) for class. I like it when we all get to meet up together. This was our first time meeting at Songhaii though. Apparently we will be spending a lot of time there. Not only does it have some good large class rooms, it is also an amazing demonstration farm (you can look it up on the internet if you want to).

To get there, Heidi and I resolved to take the motorcycle taxi, called the Zemijohn or Zemidjan. We will want to ride our bikes places soon, and still aren’t exactly sure of the way. We thought taking Zemis would help. Plus all our friends are doing it! I have to say, they are pretty fun to ride. You really feel like you are taking in and emersed in a Beninese city. That could be because you are immersed in the dust of a Beninese city, but never mind that.

Classes were good and at lunch break we had a really nice catered lunch. I was excited because I could very specifically pick out the things and portions I wanted to eat. I picked a a scoop of rice with lettuce, beans, avocado and a side of fried plantains. I was excited about the meal but I still only ate about half of it. Still, I tried to be good to myself, I am adjusting to a lot right now, and I’m trying to encourage myself to just eat as much as I want, and feel good about that. I did feel pretty good after the meal.

In the afternoon we had a traditional Beninese Dance class. It was really fun. There was a Beninese band/jamming group, and about four dancers with them. Our fascilitators also bravely jumped out there to show their regional dances in turn. When it was our turn to try it, I was pretty willing. I don’t think I made a complete fool of myself, or have traditional Beninese dance down, but I was glad to get to try it out. In my short life I’ve decided there is no point in worrying about looking like an idiot when dancing. A good jam session was had. Also, for those who are familiar with popular contemporary dance: I’m pretty sure that ‘crunk’ is a very direct descendant of Beninese dance. So that was a fun old world/new world mix.

Before and after the day of class I tried to use the cyber café. It didn’t open until late, and then negotiating a price and getting a password was difficult. The computers were slow and in ‘Azerty’ and French… you get the idea. Posting didn’t happen. I wasn’t surprised by any of these individual circumstances, but I did feel pretty fed up, because I do really want to share these posts with the world! Oh well, I’ll keep working on it.

Dinner tonight was pate blanc with grilled chicken. The chicken was very delicious. After dinner I had a mango and that was great too. Past peace corps volunteers have spoken pretty highly of mangoes, and I am happy to say I can understand why.

Another anecdote just occurred to me. I don’t have a lot of time, but I will try to share it now.

When we were at the ecole normale superior on Thursday, one of the Beninese students approached me and a friend during break. He explained that he is studying to be an English teacher. Even though we are supposed to practice our French, I couldn’t help speaking English with this guy. You could tell he is passionate about his studies. He said that he has been studying English for four years and right now is working through the works of Toni Morrison. He explained that they also have an English Club at the school which he is a part of. When we told him his English was good he laughed bashfully and said, “Why are you saying this to me! I have only studied it for four years!” He said it is his dream to set foot on America and finish his studies there. I should also tell you that he had a pretty striking aprearance. He is a young man with very dark skin, and was a matching shirt and pants in a crazy lime green print (I can understand why it looks really sharp, but when I first saw this type of outfit I thought it looked like pajamas). He also had three long scars on each of his cheeks, a very common traditional regional in Benin. I couldn’t help but wonder if people in the United States would be nice to him. So, if you see a young man with very dark skin, and intimidating scars on his cheeks, wearing bright pajamas, be nice to him, he might be living out his dream. :)

Alright, I’ll get off my soap box. Thanks for reading!

With love,

Lauren