Happy New Year from Africa!!!!

I was going to start out by answering some questions I have been getting about Africa, the Peace Corps, and what I am doing here. I hope you find it interesting!!!

1. What is the weather like?

   In two words, it sucks. Although right now is close to the best it gets. The only thing constant is the extremely high humidity. West Africa has four seasons, although they are not the same as our four seasons. There is the long and short dry season as well as a long and short rainy season. Right now we are in the long dry season which goes from November until March. Although it stays cool in December and January due to the harmattans. The harmattans are winds that blow off the Sahara desert and basically blow sand south until the ocean. It has an effect of being like fog and really cools off what would be very hot months. The long rainy season goes from March until July, followed by a short dry season until October. Then the short wet season goes until November.

   The difference between the seasons is rather dramatic. For two months it rained really hard every day for about half an hour. And then it just stopped and it hasn't rained again for months.

2. Do you have running water? What do you most people do for water?

   Personally, I do not have running water. I get my water from a cistern. A cistern is basically a large cemented hole in the ground that looks a lot like a well. A cistern collects water when it rains by having gutters on the roof which deposit into it. Most locals drink water directly from the cistern but their digestive systems are much stronger than ours. Most Peace Corps volunteers filter and boil all water before drinking it so as not to get sick. That is, those of us who have a cistern. About half the volunteers have running water.

   Showering is pretty cool and I'm really starting to enjoy it. You get a bucket of water from the cistern, heat it up on the stove if you want it hot, take it to your showering area, take a smaller bucket, and then dump water over your head. Most villagers just shower anywhere on the street. I'm a little more modest and shower in back of my house.

3. What do most people do for a living (and for fun)?

   Most of the villagers are farmers. The reason the area is so poor is because the land isn't great for farming and there isn't much else to do. In Cotonou (the major city), there are more opportunities. Many women work at the market selling what the men have farmed.

   For fun, it depends. There is a huge difference between men and women in this respect. The women really have no time. They are in charge of running the household, cooking, selling at the market, taking care of the children, etc. The men work to support their oftentimes numerous families (polygamy is widely practiced). Afterwards they often can be found at the bar. For many of us, there has been nothing more difficult than seeing the way that women are treated here.

4. What is the number one thing you miss about the states?

   Anonymity. Everywhere I go, people notice and comment. I can't walk down the street without every person stopping what they are doing and making some kind of comment or asking for money. It's rather frustrating and it's interesting to look at the cultural reasons behind it (which are much too complex for me to tackle right now).

   Every white person in Benin knows really well the yovo song. Yovo is the fon word for white. Everywhere a white person goes, people yell out yovo. Children have a song "Yovo,yovo, bonsoir, ca va bien merci" which is always sang when they see a white person. At first, I thought it was cute. Now, like all other Peace Corps volunteers, I can't stand it. Children also run after us when we're on our bikes and try and grab on, which would obviously make us fall. In the touristy areas the kids don't sing the yovo song but rather say "yovo...il faut me donner 100 francs" which is "whitey...you must give me a hundred francs."

   Peace Corps volunteers reactions often depend upon their mood. If I'm in a good mood, I'll wave and keep going on my bike, really fast so they can't pull me over and I play stupid when they ask for money. When I'm in a bad mood, I'll close my door, get a good book, and spend the whole day reading. Most of the time I just completely ignore anyone who calls me yovo and respond to anyone who calls me Monsieur or Tony.

   So I think the best advice I got was to have a good sense of humour. There are times when children will drive you crazy and there is nothing you can do about it except smile, make a joke, and go on with your work.

5. What do you like the best about being in Benin?

   I enjoy the challenge of learning a new language that is so extremely different than anything I know. I enjoy the time for reflection. I'm learning a lot about myself and now that the training is over I have a lot of time to myself. I really enjoy the quite moments. I think my favorite time of the day is when I go jogging in the morning. I get up at about seven in the morning almost every day and go jogging. It's beautiful to watch the sun rise over the corn fields and be so alone on a dirt path in the middle of West Africa. It is extremely beautiful.

   I also really enjoy living in a village. My village has about 60 people and I enjoy playing with the children. If there is nothing else that I'm going to bring to Benin, I'm going to teach every child in my village American football!! I like going and talking to the village chief in the evening. I like the cross-cultural exchange. I enjoy being able to live at a level that I had never imagined before.

6. What is the food like?

   The staple food for Benin is pate blanche with spicy tomato sauce. Pate blanche is basically corn millet which is make into a sticky paste. Not the most appetizing stuff in the world but not bad either. I eat a lot of rice with tomato sauce and bush rat for meat. I know bush rat sounds pretty disgusting, but I really like it. They also eat a lot of eggs and oranges.