Hello Everyone,
I hope you are doing well. Today we got to meet with the
director of Songhai, the center where we usually meet for class. If you are
curious, I highly recommend checking out the Songhai website. http://www.songhai.org/en/ It was such a
pleasure to get to listen to the Director, Father Godfrey (Godfried?) talk for
an hour. He is one of those people that is just intelligent and wise and
charismatic. He spoke very passionately about fighting poverty buy teaching
people how to meet present needs. He said that he enjoys working with the Peace
Corps because we are a trusted and listening presence in the communities of
Benin and we have big hearts. That was a big compliment coming from such a wise
and capable person. He talked about the need to act with the head, the hand and
the heart jointly, and talked about how Songhai is a center for all three.
In the afternoon we had health classes and a diversity
awareness session.
Since my life is settling into a little bit of a pattern for
the moment, I will try to give you a picture of ‘a day in the life’: Between 6
and 6:30 my iphone (turned ipod touch) alarm goes off. I get ready for the day
in my room and bathroom and pack up my bag. I go out to the dining room and
greet my little siblings and host parents along the way. My host parents and I
usually go through a list of greeting ‘Hello? How are you? And your household?
Did you sleep well?’ once we have established that everyone successfully slept
well I sit down to breakfast. I eat alone, I think the rest of the family has a
bowl of rice around 10, but I’m not sure. My mama or sisters have already set
out a thermose of hot water as well as the can of Nescafe, sugar, and powdered
milk. There is also a loaf of sliced bread, a small jar of peanut butter that I
bought, some mayo (just in case, I guess) and some fruit (usually bananas or
apples or oranges). Sometimes there is a hard boiled egg, though I have been
less and less inclined to go for that. We all have our weird preferences I
guess.
At first it seemed weird to me that the food was set out,
but other trainees have said that they eat all of their meals at their host
home alone with everything set out for them. In Beninese culture it is common
for the kids to eat separately from the parents, and sometimes for the adult
women to eat separately from the men. I couldn’t help thinking of stories from
when my Dad was growing up and all the kids ate together, trading each other
for the things they liked.
After breakfast I say goodbye to y host mama and anyone else
I cross paths with on my way out. Then I either meet Heidi to bike, or (as is a
little more common) I walk out onto the bigger road connected to ours and hail
a Zemidjan. I am getting pretty good at haggling down the price. That or I’m
just getting stingy! Haha.
I usually get to school about 15 minutes before classes
start. I find that it is a good practice, because it’s good to have some buffer
time in case you can’t hail a Zem, or have bike troubles, or any other issues.
Also, it is really nice to have a little time to chat and compare host stories
with the other trainees.
For lunch we usually find some rice and beans across the
street or at Songhai. Many people like to get an avocado sandwich during the
10:00-10:30 break. You can also buy a somewhat expensive, but delicious yogurt
cup from Songhai. At lunch rice and beans are sometimes complimented by a hard
boiled egg or chicken, fish, or fried bananas. There is some variety to be had
there.
After class I bike or catch a Zem home around 5pm. I try to
chat with my mama a little right when I get in the door, and then I usually
rest in my room for an hour. Sometimes my host mama has a snack like fried
bananas, fried yams, or grilled corn. After resting for a while I usually sit
in the living room and review my notes and watch TV with my host siblings, or I
stand in the kitchen while my host mama prepares dinner. For a while I really
hoped to help prepare a lot of the food. However, now I’m kind of content to
sit back. I don’t really want to elbow my way into becoming a part of the food
prep routine only to leave again in another month and some change. So I chat
with my mama, and ask her about what she is making if it’s something new.
Dinner is usually around 9. I’m usually served first, but I
eat with the kids. It’s not unusual for my host mama and papa to sit down and
eat as well after the kids have started. Papa often doesn’t come home until 9,
so he never eats earlier than then. After dinner I sometimes boil some water
for my filter. I usually sit and watch TV with the family until about 10. Then
I say good night to the family and go to my room. I get ready for bed, write a
post and read a bit before turning off the light.
That’s life at the moment! On Sunday it switches up a bit. I
will be journeying north for my two week hosted visit in my new post. I will be
staying with the director of one of the primary schools and his wife and two
kids. After two weeks there I will return to Porto Novo to start Technical Training
and if all goes well, on September 14th I will be sworn into the
Peace Corps!
Thanks for reading. I am thinking of you all very often.
Much love,
Lauren
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