Today is Eric's and my last day as Peace Corps volunteers. In fact, all our paperwork has been signed so technically we aren't actually PCVs any longer, but are "returned" PCVs (despite not actually returning until August 19!). Tomorrow we'll embark on the next phase our adventure- going to Natitingou, in NW Benin, before heading to Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal. Unfortunately we had to skip Niger on our trip due to a travel advisory telling Americans not to go there.
So, soon we'll be looking back on this phase of our lives as a part of our past. It's a good feeling- we are both ready to move on. I'm not sure if this is our last post since we may or may not have internet access on our travels. But we will be back on August 19, a day we are both greatly looking forward to.
Thanks for keeping up with our blog for two years, and see you in America!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Last week in Benin...
As of yesterday morning, Eric and I have officially left Klouekanme for good. For the next week we'll be residing in the Cotonou bureau, doing paperwork and medical exams so we can leave. And then we're off to Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, and the the USA!
So, this is the culmination of a hectic final week at post. We've been packing and seeing that we have a lot more to bring home with us than we thought, even after our visitors have brought things home for us. And we've been seeing friends and saying goodbye, knowing that for many of them it may be the last time we will see them. People were really sad to see us go, which is understandable. I know I hate being the one left behind when someone you care about is moving on to another chapter of their life. A lot of people say things like "oh so you want to leave Benin on Sunday" as if we actually want to leave them as opposed to our service ending. And we get lots of "you're going to forget us in the US, aren't you?" which is really sad. How could I forget people and places I spent two years of my life?
We had a going away party with our neighbors, which was interesting. I say that because not alll of the neighbors were there, including the guy who is kind of the head of the concession and who we deal with for most of our problems. Spending quality time with someone doesn't seem to be how they preface a departure. But we were very surprised when the neighbors had us unwrap a present they bought us, which turned out to be two clocks that I guess they thought we could take home to the US: 
A nice thought, and we were touched, but I think those will be staying in Benin.
A nice thought, and we were touched, but I think those will be staying in Benin. An interesting note: today I am eating frozen pizza for dinner, cooked in a real oven at the PC office. This pizza was bought at the new "hypermarche" which, no kidding, is basically a Target in Benin with endless rows of shampoo and cookies and a cheese counter and towels and lamps and everything. I couldn't believe that when I entered that building I was still in Benin. I was really happy to see though that most of the shoppers were Beninese, and not expats. Maybe Benin does really have an emerging middle class!
Anyway, I might write more later when my feelings are more precise in my mind. The new trainees are here, having arrived on Friday, and they are so enthusiastic and ready to start their service. It brings me back to when we arrived and felt the same way. Out with the old generation, in with the new I guess. Honestly I'm just glad to be going home, seeing friends and family, eating good food and feeling free to do what I want to do and having the opportunity to do it!
I'll end with some more photos from our last days in Klouekanme. See you in a few weeks!
Ready to leave, saying last goodbyes to neighbor kids and Eric's counterpart Katte:
Eric arm wrestling our very smart neighbor Romain:
Last dinner in Klouekanme, a fried egg, cilantro, soy sauce and paprika sandwich (eric's specialty)
tropical fruits at our fruit lady's place
Mini carrots and eggplant from my garden used for our last lunch at post, fried rice:
Anyway, I might write more later when my feelings are more precise in my mind. The new trainees are here, having arrived on Friday, and they are so enthusiastic and ready to start their service. It brings me back to when we arrived and felt the same way. Out with the old generation, in with the new I guess. Honestly I'm just glad to be going home, seeing friends and family, eating good food and feeling free to do what I want to do and having the opportunity to do it!
I'll end with some more photos from our last days in Klouekanme. See you in a few weeks!
Ready to leave, saying last goodbyes to neighbor kids and Eric's counterpart Katte:
Eric arm wrestling our very smart neighbor Romain:
Last dinner in Klouekanme, a fried egg, cilantro, soy sauce and paprika sandwich (eric's specialty)
tropical fruits at our fruit lady's place
Mini carrots and eggplant from my garden used for our last lunch at post, fried rice:
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Happy July 4th
I can't believe I'm writing this: Eric and I have less than a month left of our service in Benin! And I know that's going to go by very fast. In fact, we have even less than a month left in Klouekanme, since the last week here we have to spend in Cotonou doing paperwork and medical exams. It's only recently that our departure has begun to feel really tangible to me. It's strange to think that in a matter of months we'll be settled (more or less) into a completely new stage in our life, having left this one behind. Put another way, that someday we will actually be looking back on this experience instead of living it. Because those first Peace Corps experiences- orientation in Philadelphia, arriving in Benin, meeting volunteers about to end their service and thinking to ourselves how far off that was for us- are still so vivid. And so many of our experiences here seem so recent. You come to realize that two years is really not that long in the course of life!
So now we really are winding down our projects. All I have remaining now is Amour et Vie (HIV/AIDS etc. project), and finishing my Girls' Library grant project. On Amour et Vie: yesterday I got to be on TV, on the main network station, talking about the project! We were interviewed about our involvement and I and two other volunteers got to speak. Eric and I watched the program at the neighbor's house. It was pretty cool, although I realized that my French accent is REALLY American and I was embarrassed. Not so embarrassing I can't laugh about it though.
Just last week I was in Porto Novo for the “Girls Leading our World” summer camp, which I did last year. This time I brought seven girls- logistically difficult since I had to arrange hard-to-find 9-seater taxis and chaperone those girls in Porto Novo and Cotonou. But it was worth it. The lessons this year were much like last year's- sexual harassment in schools, women's and childrens' rights, gender roles in Beninese society, HIV/AIDS and sexual health/puberty and reproduction, plus visits to the National Assembly (Beninese parliament with 9 female deputies out of 83!) and other outings. I wasn't there for many of the sessions last year and it was eye opening to watch the lessons pertaining to women's roles in society and difficulties they face. It was heartbreaking to hear so many girls and also the presenters (almost all women!) talk about the experiences they had or friends' had with sexual harassment in schools, forced marriages, parents refusing to send girls to school, and myriad other problems girls face in Benin. And yet it was encouraging how resoundingly the girls responded when asked questions like “will you accept sexual harassment from teachers and male students?” “Will you succumb to pressure to have sex and get pregnant before finishing high school?” “Will you pursue a career and achieve great success in life?” There were times when I could almost see the wheels turning in their heads, like when I said that Eric did his own laundry, helped with cooking and dishes, would help take care of our kids when we had them, at first they seemed unsure if they thought this was alright but quickly realized that this represented the male-female equality they said they stood for. I really wish I could see ten years into the future to see where these girls were at; if they stayed true to their desires to be successful, powerful women, or if they succumbed to the endless difficulties girls face here. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to expose girls to these ideas though and I think the camp will have an important effect on those girls' communities.
So things are really winding down for us. I'm having a party to celebrate the girls' library grant project, for which I've purchased almost all of the books. I'm also going to have a small party for my Amour et Vie team. And Eric is still working on his Aja grammar, teaching computer lessons at the mayor's office, and seeing his teacher friends. I'm not really sure we're going to say goodbye to our friends- it's strange to think about the fact that when we say bye to some of our friends, it might be forever. It does make us sad. It's hard to feel like this now, but I think once the shock/happiness of being back home in the US wears off a bit, we will start missing friends and things about our lives in Benin. Maybe “missing” is the wrong word- call it fond remembrance with a little nostalgia.
So now we really are winding down our projects. All I have remaining now is Amour et Vie (HIV/AIDS etc. project), and finishing my Girls' Library grant project. On Amour et Vie: yesterday I got to be on TV, on the main network station, talking about the project! We were interviewed about our involvement and I and two other volunteers got to speak. Eric and I watched the program at the neighbor's house. It was pretty cool, although I realized that my French accent is REALLY American and I was embarrassed. Not so embarrassing I can't laugh about it though.
Just last week I was in Porto Novo for the “Girls Leading our World” summer camp, which I did last year. This time I brought seven girls- logistically difficult since I had to arrange hard-to-find 9-seater taxis and chaperone those girls in Porto Novo and Cotonou. But it was worth it. The lessons this year were much like last year's- sexual harassment in schools, women's and childrens' rights, gender roles in Beninese society, HIV/AIDS and sexual health/puberty and reproduction, plus visits to the National Assembly (Beninese parliament with 9 female deputies out of 83!) and other outings. I wasn't there for many of the sessions last year and it was eye opening to watch the lessons pertaining to women's roles in society and difficulties they face. It was heartbreaking to hear so many girls and also the presenters (almost all women!) talk about the experiences they had or friends' had with sexual harassment in schools, forced marriages, parents refusing to send girls to school, and myriad other problems girls face in Benin. And yet it was encouraging how resoundingly the girls responded when asked questions like “will you accept sexual harassment from teachers and male students?” “Will you succumb to pressure to have sex and get pregnant before finishing high school?” “Will you pursue a career and achieve great success in life?” There were times when I could almost see the wheels turning in their heads, like when I said that Eric did his own laundry, helped with cooking and dishes, would help take care of our kids when we had them, at first they seemed unsure if they thought this was alright but quickly realized that this represented the male-female equality they said they stood for. I really wish I could see ten years into the future to see where these girls were at; if they stayed true to their desires to be successful, powerful women, or if they succumbed to the endless difficulties girls face here. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to expose girls to these ideas though and I think the camp will have an important effect on those girls' communities.
So things are really winding down for us. I'm having a party to celebrate the girls' library grant project, for which I've purchased almost all of the books. I'm also going to have a small party for my Amour et Vie team. And Eric is still working on his Aja grammar, teaching computer lessons at the mayor's office, and seeing his teacher friends. I'm not really sure we're going to say goodbye to our friends- it's strange to think about the fact that when we say bye to some of our friends, it might be forever. It does make us sad. It's hard to feel like this now, but I think once the shock/happiness of being back home in the US wears off a bit, we will start missing friends and things about our lives in Benin. Maybe “missing” is the wrong word- call it fond remembrance with a little nostalgia.
But speaking of home/America: yesterday I went to a 4th of July party at the ambassador's house, which I had no idea was going on and justh happened to be down here. It was populated almost entirely by people from the Mercy Ships NGO who comes on a boat to do certain medical procedures for free to those who can't normally afford it. There was so much American food- baked beans, sweet corn, bbq things, potato salad... you could immediately spot a PC volunteer in the crowd because we were literally overloading our Red white and blue themed plates and stuffing our faces, then running to the table to get more before it ran out (actually there was no danger of that). This is what we've become!
I'll end with some of the photos we've been taking recently. There's not much time to take pictures. I think we will need to rig up a device to take pictures discreetly in the market because I don't have the guts to go around Klouekanme with a camera visible in my hand!
I'll end with some of the photos we've been taking recently. There's not much time to take pictures. I think we will need to rig up a device to take pictures discreetly in the market because I don't have the guts to go around Klouekanme with a camera visible in my hand!
A canteloupe growing in my garden
One of my heavier laundry days (all done by hand, of course!)
Sorting books at the girls library (more photos of that later)
Girls at Camp GLOW doing morning calisthenics
Homemade macaroons, entirely from scratch!
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