1 Month at Post

  We got here on the 20th of September and have almost been at post a month now.  We have gotten a lot done in this month.  We have started two gardens, gotten our house set up, met some amazing people who we hope to work with, and are 1/3 the way through our report that is due at the end of our 3-month integration period.  We both have been going into work and while Craig is mainly focusing on doing research on the park and jotting down ideas and notes to help him further the success of the park, my main focus has been on making contacts and meeting potential and future work partners.  My CPS works with many ONGs that help the community in some way, and I have been working on meeting them.  This week, we met a man who works for UNICEF as well as a man who runs an orphanage.  We also went to the health center in town to talk with the doctors/nurses that we met when we were on post visit and the head doctor made an appointment with us for next week to discuss possible collaborations that we can do.  I know that they do vaccinations once a week, which would be a good time to talk to any mothers with malnourished children, for example.  We are excited about that meeting.  Since Craig’s work is a little slow, he’s planning on picking up some secondary work in the health field doing something together with me. 

   Katie’s (our post mate) homologue is farming Moringa, which is a plant that is nutrient/vitamin rich in every nutrient/vitamin imaginable and he has been trying to sell them at a very low price (the mentality is that if people pay for it, they’re more likely to use it) and he needs help with the marketing of it, which is right up my health alley and my marketing alley.  So I am definitely going to help him out with that.  They also garden every Saturday and once that gets going, we’re going to collaborate on a project that fights malnourishment.  Malaria is the biggest problem here, but since we are leaving the rainy season, it won’t be such an issue until the rain picks up again next April/May, so I want to focus on malnourishment, which is always a problem. 

    This week, we’ve stepped up our training for the marathon.  We run 20-something minutes out, then 20-something minutes back with a little break half way through.  It’s a really pretty run and very good training.  We’re going to bring our camera next time we run out there.  I really wish we had some way of knowing how far we were actually running though. It’s a good stress reliever and I am still amazed that after (probably) 5 miles or so that we ran today, my hip still doesn’t hurt!  And it use to hurt after 2 ½ or 3 miles every single time.  Incredible!

    Last week, we went to visit some volunteers who were at a training here in Bohicon and on our way back, we got caught in a flash flood on our bikes!  It was incredible!  There were literally rivers of red mud water flowing past us on both sides of the road and if it were cold, I am convinced that it would have been hailing.  It was raining really hard and by the time we got back home, I opened the gate to our concession, and water started gushing out like we were in the Beninese version of Titanic.  It actually whipped off my sandal!  It was quite an adventure! 

    Another fun little adventure that we had was when we woke up and went outside to the kitchen and found a little lizard friend right there in the doorway.  It ran away from us under our sink and by the time we finished breakfast, it was gone.  The next day, we got home from going to work and there was another lizard sitting on our toilet seat.  I have no idea how he got inside, but when I put my gardening gloves on to pick him up and put him outside, he got really scared and ran away and I ended up having to chase the poor little guy all over the bedroom.  Needless to say, he was traumatized. 

    We planted a bunch of seeds at our house a little over 3 weeks ago and they are growing nicely!  We also planted a larger-scale garden at Craig’s work that has also started growing very nicely.  It’s very exciting!  I cannot wait to have basil and cilantro!  Among the many other things we planted.  This week, we also got hair cuts in some form or another.  Craig went to a barber shop and had them shave his head.  It took a while to explain what he wanted because the kid that was cutting his hair wanted to just use scissors, and once he got him to use the clippers, he was going the wrong way with them.  It was pretty hilarious to watch.  I gave myself a little trim, but only with the bangs.  There really isn’t any place for women to get their hair cut, especially white women who have different hair.  The only places that I have heard of are the ones in hotels in Cotonou that charge a hefty price (for Benin at least) so I trimmed my bangs myself and I will find the most skilled volunteer to trim the rest at some point.  I am definitely not as good as my dear friend and hair stylist, Stephanie, but since we live in Benin, I don’t’ have to be. 

      Right around the corner from our house, we have a “mama” that has a stand right outside of her house where she sells stuff.  She is super duper helpful for us and just all around amazing!  We are coming to cherish our mama.  She is always super friendly to us and never jacks up the price.  The price that I use to have to haggle hard to get in the marche, she just gives to me without any haggling, which is like a breath of fresh air in a city full of smog. She also has two dogs that are always at her side along with her kids and grandkids.  One of her grandkids just may be the cutest kid I have ever seen in my life.  She is super polite and has that cute little 3 year-old voice.  In our first week here, we asked her where we could find honey and she got on the phone and called her friend at the marche to have her bring some back to her house after she left, and a little boy delivered our honey that night at about 8pm.  I don’t even know how he knew where we live, but I’m sure it wasn’t hard.  This week, we asked her where we could find the much-covetted peanut butter that volunteers long for and she got on the phone and worked her magic again.  It took her 2 days this time, but when we went to get our eggs and onions today to make dinner, she had a jar of very good quality peanut butter waiting for us, along with a bag of pineapples that we also asked about.  It’s much nicer for us this way because not only do we get to skip a trip into town for these things, but when she gets them for us, she knows the right price and gets it every time and doesn’t jack it up for us. 

    We are going to take a night away from our post for Halloween because up in Parakou, we have a meeting to attend, followed by a Halloween party, which we are excited about.  We decided to go as John McCain and Sarah Palin.  It’s going to be a little challenging getting Craig’s hair white, but we’ll figure something out I’m sure.  I hope it’s as funny as we want it to be, and beside that, it’s the only thing that we may be able to pull off without getting costumes made.  We’re really looking forward to that, especially since we haven’t been to Parakou yet, so we get to see something new, as well as see some of our friends that we haven’t seen in a month and a half.  It should be fun!  We’ll post pictures when we have them.  Those are all the updates for now. Enjoy the pictures!  A Bientot!

Working on our garden right outside our front door

Nigerian bread that is sweet and tastes like shortcake

Craig getting his first Beninese haircut

Our big garden at Craig's work