6 Months In Country!

Yesterday, January 17^th, marked six months since we started training and began our lives in Benin as Peace Corps Volunteers.  It seems like much longer ago.  It feels like we’ve been here a year already but at the same time, we can’t believe how fast time has gone by.  Craig and I were talking about the very beginning of our journey last night.  We were talking about how sad it was to get on the plane to leave San Diego and how I could barely control my blubbering when we were at the airport in New York, waiting to board our flight to Benin.  It hit me then how insane I was to be moving across the world from everything and everyone that I knew and loved for over two years of my life.  We packed up all of our belongings, found homes for our animals, quit our decent-paying jobs (mine, I actually really liked), did a farewell tour with family and friends, and then we found ourselves at the JFK airport, saying our last goodbyes to family and friends on our T-Mobile contracted phones, wondering what we were really getting ourselves into. 

We’re very happy that we took that leap into the unknown, especially since it’s not scary anymore.  The unknown has become known.  We are well-integrated into our community, are starting up projects left and right, have gotten used to West-African French, are learning local language, and actually know how to live here.  We know how to get from point A to point B, know how and where to pay our electric bill or water bill, we know how to haggle prices even better than how Tijuana taught us, and we know exactly how to handle our unimaginably hectic taxi gare in Bohicon.  The bus gare is still a mystery sometimes, but we’ll get the hang of it before we leave, I’m sure.  Overall, we are really happy here.  Joyfully happy.  The kind of happy that puts a smile on your face about something insignificant and you can’t wipe it away.  It’s a great feeling. 

Moving to Benin, a little-known place, and joining the Peace Corps to embark on the unknown adventure has both been the scariest thing and the most exciting thing that either of us have ever done in our lives.  We have had some lows, but we have had a lot of highs.  Without the support of all of you back home with all of your loving care packages, letters, emails, and words of encouragement, those lows probably would have taken a much harder toll on us.  We count our blessings that we have such an amazing support network of family and friends back home, patiently waiting for our return after our adventure is over.  Here’s to the next six months!