Much Ado About Cotonou

Bonjour de Afrique! We landed safely late Friday night, and we had a fantastic welcome from our present PCVs. After a day of training in Philadelphia and almost 24 hours of flying (waiting, flying, waiting), I have arrived in my home for the next two years. I and 55 of my fellow stagiers (trainees) are living in a compound outside of center city, and we are learning little by little what we should come to expect out of the next two years.

Classes thus far have consisted of safety training, wellness exercises, French training, technical training, and small orientations, but most of them have included an ice breaker or two. My fellow volunteers seem to be selfless and respectable people, so I'm quite sure that having them will make the next two years that much easier. In two days we will be heading to our homestays in Porto Novo, where we will live until September 25 (when we will be sworn in, inshallah). Thus, class meetings will be smaller and focused more on my individual sector (TEFL, or Teaching English as a Foreign Language), so I'm quite sure that the "grind" has not yet begun.

You'd be surprised how much you can do here! We will have cell phones, internet access (if we want to pay $200.00 for a special satellite card), and possibly electricity and running water, so the living may not be as tough as some may think. Then again, there are posts that have none of the above, so I'll be sure to keep my hopes securely grounded. Malaria? Haven't even been bitten by a mosquito. Diarrhea? Not even close. Homesickness? Un petit peu. But c'est la vie.

All in all, I can't really say what the next two months will bring, much less the next two years. Just rest assured, things are quite exciting. I do believe Benin will be one of the best decisions of my life. Thank you everyone for all of your support. You've always got a place to stay next time you're in Africa!

This pic is of a few of my new friends here. We keep it light.

Cookies Are a Sometimes Food

Thanks to Rob, Stef, and Adam for sending this Edible Arrangement to the fam! The Cookie Monster, as you can see, will be a wonderful addition, and I'm sure it will go perfectly with the decor my parents are working toward.

Une Fête Surprise

Thank you to everyone who came out to my family's camp (cottage) on Cross Lake this weekend. I was, needless to say, surprised by the turnout. My parents apparently decided over a month ago to throw a surprise party to celebrate my approaching departure. Educators, neighbors, and friends who've inspired me throughout all periods of my life showed up to say "Bon chance," eat some good barbeque, and finally see the place to which my parents disappear every summer. This year my parents actually put our Time Warner media package on hold at our place in Oswego, and the automated message answers incoming calls with this message: The person you are trying to reach does not wish to receive any calls. Thus, we are further off the grid at my childhood home than I will be when I get to Benin next week.

A special thanks to Laura, Rob, Stefan, and Adam for making it up to my place on Friday night. I never envisioned any of you in Cato, NY, but I think the result was exactly as anyone could have imagined. We kayaked to a small island, failed the Jiffy Pop test on a big bonfire, and played Croquet like our lives depended on it. Rob is also the first person I've ever seen tumble out of a Kayak in the middle of the lake (twice!). All in all, it was exactly how I hoped to spend my last stateside weekend.

Right now I am wondering how I will physically fit all of my supplies for the next two years into a suitcase and a backpack. My bewilderment at seeing all of said supplies laid out on my bed is what compelled me to procrastinate by writing this blog entry. I think I've compiled a sufficient amount of the necessary items, but I'm starting to realize how much I take for granted. Case in point: am I really going to surrender my ability to choose between several different Sox hats on any given day? Such seemingly trivial dilemmas will probably seem, well, trivial, by next week, but I can only imagine that they will have some effect in the aggregate.

Once again, a sincere thanks to everyone. Its great to know I have all of your support. One added bonus: the party was a great opportunity to get word out of my blog. I'll sure miss this place!