Back to work

We've been back in Lokossa for week or so, and have started our model school - basically a free school for stuents so we can practice teaching before we go to post. And I have to say, I am actually liking teaching so far, which is a relief, since if I didn't, I'd be in for a very long couple of years... The classes here are nothing like in the states, though, for example, I have about 50 kids in my class, and somehow it actually works. I'm not saying that kids here are that different from in the US, but put 50 American kids in one class - say about 6th grade, and keep them there for 3 hours teaching one subject, and you would have anarchy. I think. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I just don't see it happening Well, I've got to go, since I have class in a few minutes, but as I'm sure you can tell, my picture didn't load again, so you'll just have to wait to read some more bad English (or just reread some of my entries where I was particularly sloppy with my grammar). - As you can see, I got a few more pictures up, so no more problem....

This, by the way, is from our trip to Ouidah, the home of an infamous slave fort and a center for Voodoo> This is me in the python temple.... I was a wee bit terrified, but I have survived.




Ciao

Post Visit...

I am sitting in the PCV work station (a cool place to sleep, hang out, get fast internet, complete with a guard, fan ice and frozen pizza - not to mention dvds and player.... - and you can do work here- basically I am sitting in mini USA and am loving it)in Parakou right now, waiting with a couple of other stagaires to grab a bus back down to Lokossa. I have to say, I am glad I got to stop here after my post visit for a little break from the whole travel travel thing. It is nice to have seen it for future reference. Oh yeah, the post visit. to start off with, there really is no experience quite like a "bush taxi." You are crammed in a car with at least 8 other people and maybe a goat or duck or something, 18 fulani women,chickens, etc. and travel for hours with no bathroom break (I deffinitely think a kid peed on me to day)And lunch is served now so I may just call it quits for the time being.) But, I'll leave this post with a picture of the back of a CD I saw at my host families. note the english.

3 weeks down, 2 years 5 weeks to go

A couple of nights ago,I was greeted with a scene that, had it happened in the US, would have left me more than a little panicked. I had gotten up in the middle of the night to go to the latrine (which is outside, of course), and when I gt ouside, litterally the enitre ground was covered with cockaroches. There were hundreds of them, just covering the ground and all over the inside of the latrine as well. Considering that until that moment I had only seen one or 2 at a time here, I was rather taken aback, but somehow it wasn't quite as shocking as I would have expected. I asked my host-sister about it the next day and she said they had put poison out, so they were all dead by morning, but they were cretainly very much alive when I went out... Other than that, things qre going well here. I went to the marché with one of my other host-sisters on saturday, and bought a pagne and another good bit of fabric, which I al getting madeinto a shirt and a couple of skirts (all for about 10 US dollars. Class is long, but I'm sure it will all be proven useful whe I get to post... speaking of which, I'll find out where I'll be posted for the next 2 years sometime this week, so wish me luck...

a bunch of TEFL stagaires at a buvette

à Lokossa

ok, so my group, TEFL, is in Lokossa now, which is a lorge town of about 40,000 people near the southern border of Togo - I think we're only 7 miles away. I've been living with my host family, who are all really nice. We have basically been kept really busy here, and will be for the next 9 weeks or so of stage. Not much else to report, except I handwashed my cothes for the first time, which was really tiring, but worth it. My host family was excited it was the first time I hqd done this, so they offered to take a picture for me...but as it doesn't seem to be working with this internet connection, I guess you'll just have to wait. I hope you're not too dissappointed. It was a pretty awesome picture...

Je m’appelle Yovo

We’ve been in Cotonou for two days day now, and there is certainly one new word we all have down now – “yovo,” or foreigner. Whether we are taking our busses to another location, or walking down the street normally, everyone, men, women, children call out to us Yovo! I think the youngest one we got was maybe just 2 years old… It is not always a negative thing either. I mean, that little boy was incredibly adorable. He just kept waving to us and yelling yovo over and over again.

We’ve been meeting a lot of current volunteers, all of whom so far seem to really love their posts, and really love what they do. Granted they probably wouldn’t have volunteered to meet us new trainees or (“stagaires”) here in Cotonou if they were miserable in the Peace Corps, but still their enthusiasm for what they do really does make me feel much more confident in my decision. They all say their location is the best, whether they are in the north or south, urban or rural, which makes me less nervous about where I get placed. It seems work out for most, which is all I need to know. All the volunteers and other trainees I have met have been really cool and nice, and I think this will be a great 2 years… easy to say when you’re being pampered and living in a sort of hotel. Ciao!

Last night in the US...

Tonight I went out to dinner with some fellow trainees - I may or may not start calling them PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees) soon. One of the first things you learn about the Peace Corps during training, by the way, is that they LOVE to abbreviate everything! And for some reason, everything practically starts off with PC. You'd think they would be able to drop the PC since everything has it...but no. (after another long day of vaccinations and staging stuff - which basically consists of sitting in a conference room going over logistics and the like) We went out to a wonderful dinner at a Cuban restaurant, complete with ceviche, which was served on a plate with dry ice, and squash ravioli, and white pear sangria. Basically I was in heaven. Umm, so its late and we will be traveling for about 14.5 hours tomorrow, with about 9 hours in the airport (we totally win, though because the group from Mali that staying in our hotel has a 14 hour layover in Paris, where we have only 5. Anyways, good night!

Staging

Well, I'm in Philadelphia for my staging, and so far I like the people I have met here. And, I now know where I'll be in Benin, if any of you were curious - I'll be in Lokossa, which, since no one knew where Benin was to begin with, will probably mean absolutely nothing.... but, it has an internet cafe, so yey! I will likely be able to stay in touch with people for at least a bit longer. I will however, mention a few concerns that have arisen since the beginning of staging:
1. Benin has scorpions
2. I have never wanted to ride on a motorcycle, and now it looks like I will be doing so quite frequently, and on scary roads with scary drivers...
3. In an effort to reassure us, our staging director told us that if we were really careful, we could avoid being sick for a long time... when asked what a long time was, she said about month...