27.11.2006

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. I was contemplating killing a chicken and having neighbors over for a big feast. Somehow that went by the wayside. :-) Ohhhh, it will happen sooner or later though!

I have been doing a little coaching with a basketball team (high school boys mostly) at the school. My first practice I got in there and was playing, refereeing; and coaching all at once. Not only that but half the school of 2000 students congregated around our little sand court to watch the white girl mix it up with the boys. Yes, exciting but also a bit overwhelming! It’s been going good so far but there is a lot of work to be done. The first few times were a wake up call to 1) get in shape and 2) improve on my French further. I get my point across but it’s not always pretty! Luckily, they are a great group of kids who are patient with me and really want to learn the sport. Another interesting challenge changing the manner of the game is the court is all sand. We play barefoot and its about impossible to dribble. I am exploring ways to get it paved, but might hold off a bit if I can get the school to do it in the near future anyway.

I am spoiled as I got used to having electricity almost every night and the past few weeks they have been cutting power pretty frequently (every other evening). It’s not so bad but does make sleeping difficult without the fan running. My neighbor usually sleeps outside as it’s much cooler than in the house. If it weren’t for the bugs I would probably do the same thing! Overall, I’m dealing with the heat - I found it necessary to go out with an umbrella when the sun is intense, I take lots of cold showers, and yes, I invested in a nice fan for the house. But I do often feel lethargic and not sure yet still if it’s the heat and humidity or just the change in lifestyle and having hardly any structure in my daily work.

So I have three people seriously considering visiting me over here which would be amazing. Don’t miss the chance of a lifetime: SARA'S EXCELLENT AFRICAN ADVENTURE! But sign up now, as space is limited!

Enjoy your day. Ciao. Sara.

My mailing address

Sara B
Corps de la Paix des Etats Unis d'Amérique
01 BP 971 Recette Principale
Cotonou, République du Bénin
Afrique de l'Ouest (W. Africa)

If you wish to send me something for Christmas please also consider donating to the kids i will soon be working with or to my future projects – so you can hold off on those care packages and after you have financially survived the holidays; I will have some project by then where you could help me fundraise. THANKS!!!

Parakou, Benin

So I just had a conference in Parakou, which is 8 hours north. For my sector it was just an early service check-in. T’was two days of travel, two days of local language training, and two days of workshops ranging from simple grant writing to sexual harassment in the workplace. It was kind of redundant at times from what we did in training. Yet of course it was well run and good to see everyone again.

Now it is season of Harmattan for the north: winds off the Sahara all the way down to the coast- although not felt much down here. Definitely felt it in Parakou; its HOT, sunny and dusty; then the nights are actually a bit chilly. Saw a couple of winter coats on locals. Moi, I was loving it every evening. Oh, and had AC in the rooms; first time in country. Why can’t I have that in Avrankou? ;-)

Anybody out there ever try bushrat? One would say it’s fairly big here; I was that close to buying some on the road on way back. I will regret not buying it the next time craving a steak at post!

So I am coming off this conference with so much newfound motivation. I had ideas before and was doing great with everything and the language; but now I have even more ideas and more possible ways to accomplish stuff. I am gaining the tools and information to hopefully get stuff off the ground-- from activities and classes with the artisans and women’s groups to other areas such as HIVAIDS; nutrition; coaching and youth development; language and simple technology; community discussion.

Admin is still saying to get in good at post and become as integrated as possible and estab strong relationships because without that it’s a lot harder to get things going in the community. Therefore it could still be months before real work and teaching in French and esp winning grants for bigger projects. But everything is coming together and I plan to spend the next month starting to coach; continuing with French and Goun, and really laying out the two year plan. There is so much to do here and I have so many ideas that aren’t possible to do in just two years. Everything takes SO long to get done over here (I’m talking everything work related and daily living in itself). You have to think strongly on the impact of your service. If you go all out with a massive project and something falls through; ce nest pas bon. Peace Corps isn’t about changing the world - small successful projects and touching peoples lives are my goals. Just being here and being an ambassador and showing people we care does more than we know. Officially, (a little late here on my site) the Peace Corps goals are:

1) Technical assistance training – actual work
Culture sharing:
2) USA
3) Benin

Peace Corps is a great thing. Maybe its because I’m listening to Enya on my friends computer (strangely, its only that or country music ;-)), so Im a bit sentimental, but I’m gonna keep with this. Now some of you have or are thinking about joining - I would highly encourage this. Like PC”s slogan- The toughest job you’ll ever love. Very true, and to branch off that - a lot of the tough part is the fact that loved ones back home cant really even imagine what its like. I just wish I could share this with you somehow better. To be living in Africa, wearing the native clothes, speaking a few words of the local language not just français- its just amazing. I think French tourists even think we are a little crazy!

All in all, my time here so far has been the most interesting, exciting and challenging time in my life-- exactly what I expected, wanted, and on some levels, needed!

Lots of love and Happy Thanksgiving!
Sara

More and more random observations

Do I do everything backwards?!
The Beninese surely must think so:

I’m gaining weight here when many people lose.

I have hardly ever been sick which definitely isn’t the norm.

Instead of taking repos, "national all-ages naptime" everyday from 12-3 pm like the rest of the country and probably many volunteers, I go to bed a little earlier and sleep later, 7 am- if I make it through with the roosters out front. I can’t remember if I ever mentioned that the country basically shuts down these hours to go home to sleep and cook lunch. Nice huh. So the work day is usually 9-Noon and 3-7 pm for those people with structured jobs and for schools as well.

Eating is what really gets people. Hardly anyone eats breakfast before 10 or 11 am. And most eat a thick, mostly carb, dinner at 9 or 10 pm right before bed. So when I eat at 5 or 6 pm people still getting to know me think it’s my lunch.

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My first church experience in Benin was of course interesting but also pretty chill compared to other African services. But yeah, still totally different. I went with a few friends who are Jehovah's Witnesses. There are only about 15 members, and is held outside under a thatched roof. It is mostly in gun (goun) language, but some is in french. My kind friends kept pushing their bibles at me, while I pretended to be interested in the readings. Two hours of this and I was ready to go. Those who know me can imagine how restless I was. But it’s a tradeoff --it is more interesting obviously (general observations), but then you cannot understand much of what they are saying so it gets pretty boring. Even the french is spoken with such passion and complexity, and is just simply too rapid for me to keep up usually.

My market experiences have been positive so far. I have spoken on Cotonou- and Porto Novo is pretty much same thing. The other markets in smaller towns and villages rotate btw different towns in the area. So Avrankou’s market is every 5 days and pretty small. Probably the size of only two square city blocks. You can get most necessities there-- lots of fresh produce and fish and yes roasted goat meat, basic kitchen supplies and other staples, and some clothing items. I always take a friend with me until I get the prices memorized; as nice and fun as those marché mamas are, they still want the YOVO money. Thats me- yovo.

Weather - it is gradually heating up over here and is humid everyday, donc, I am constantly sweating and trying to avoid the sun if it’s out. A friend in Russia just informed me of the snow she is experiencing and I have to say I’m a bit jealous! I’m quite sure though that eventually I’ll get used to it. Oh, and someone asked if I’m getting a tan- yes, and as only sandals are worn, I have quite the nasty tan line on my feet!

I get bombarded by visitors since the volunteer I replaced knew everyone in community and therefore everyone knows where the house is. I get anywhere from 5-10 different visitors a day. I have to sometimes just give up trying to get anything done. But it's also, of course, a nice feeling knowing that so many people want to make sure I'm doing OK and occassionally help me prepare a traditional Beninese meal.

Wishing everyone a great day!
Love, Sara

The view out my front door during the almost daily downpour

Beninese TV antenna (ou bien, actually, bambou)

Here I am making mental notes attempting to assist my neighbor in putting hers up

True or false?
A: 50% true