Happy Days

Over the last 100 days I have been doing the "100 days" happiness projects with one of my friends back in the USA -- it has been a really great experience. That being said, with my current health issues, there were quite a few days during the 100 that were very much a struggle (and thus resulted in a picture of a water heater.. or better yet a piece of fruit as my happy moment for the day). While my experience was personal between me and my dearest. I wanted to share the project itself and as an idea with my readers because I found it very eye opening, and it was an absolutely amazing experience.

Check out the idea at 100 Happy Days, and in the mean time here are some of the happy moments from my personal 100 day project <3 :

I think that once I am home it might be fun to do a similar personal project - highlighting the things I find shocking or surprising about the US!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!! 

Z

Eating in Cotonou

So I am finally heading back to post.. after spending 10 nights in Cotonou with a cough. (Just a cough no worries). After so many days in the medical-unit - you start to feel a little stir crazy, if you are lucky enough you have great friends who will deliver you food, cook with you, and or accompany you out to dinner. Since Cotonou is the city, and it is where the ex-pats live - you end up spending a lot of money. I COULD NOT eat like this every day on a Peace Corps budget... we do get a per-diem when we are sick and stuck in the city. So, I will be reimbursed, but generally speaking one of these meals costs about the same as 3-5 days of food at post - and I am really glad we get "paid" next week - because I am out of money.

That being said, I spent most of my week doing pretty close to nothing and boring work on the computer. I don't have much news to bring, instead we will talk about food.

Here are some things that I ate this week Cotonou. 

Yes you can get all of these things in Benin and much more -- 

if you have the Money and you are in Cotonou. 

***

Karim 24

One of the local Cotonou schwarma places (all of the cities in Benin have schwarma - due to the high population of Lebanese ex-pats). Volunteers like to debate where you can find the best schwarma. Most places have a vegetarian version, meat version, and chicken version. Vegetarian generally means they put french fries in your sandwich instead of meat. OK, why not. I personally am a fan of Karim 24 because if I ask nicely they will make me a schwarma without the non-vegan mayonnaise sauce AND I can also have hummus added which is a huge perk. They also have a hummus plate with veggies and bread that you can order. Not to mention they are centrally located and fast, so even though they don't deliver to the bureau, you can usually find a volunteer who will be passing Karim and will be willing to stop for you. 

Asian Food

This week I had Thai food, Chinese Food, AND Japanese food. Woah! There is a Japanese restaurant called Daruma (very expensive but also very delicious) where I was able to mange a "tofu steak with mushroom sauce" that was absolutely delicious, and sample some avocado rolls from my friends sushi platter (apparently I have friends who don't like avocados). -- I had Vegetarian Pad Thai at the Thai restaurant around the corner, Bangkok Terrasse, which is one of my favorite Cotonou meals. -- Via volunteer delivery I had eggplant beignets and a tofu and mixed vegetable dish from our favorite Chinese restaurant Hai King. -- Normally when in Cotonou I eat almost entirely Indian food (and had none this week) -- so that was an interesting change! Thanks to others being adventurous I had a really fun week of food. 

Pizza (sometimes delivery)

Pizza is self explanatory. So far I have had great success getting two restaurants to make a cheese-free veggie pie for me. Bon Appetit (pictured) and also New Livingstones. Both of these restaurants are volunteer favorites -- Bon Appetit delivers to the bureau, and we make it worth their while for sure. New Livingstones is the closest thing you will find in this country to an American sports bar - and they have a really great happy hour. 

Chicken Land (usually delivery)

Yea I know everyone is probably thinking, "Really Zoe? A place called Chicken Land?" -- But Chicken Land is a really friendly little restaurant down the street from our office - they will deliver to us and even have been known to take special requests for sodas (that they will search for us) and things like "please bring extra ketchup." They have a reasonable priced salad and fries (the only things they serve are fries salad and grilled chicken) -- and they are incredibly friendly to Peace Corps volunteers. The other day I was there having salad and had asked them to slice up a mango for me (that I had bought on the way) and they even offered to put it in my salad!!! They are really great. 

Cooking at the Bureau

The most cost effective way of eating is Cotonou is to cook your own food. Unfortunately when you are sick, you don't always have the energy for that. So, while usually I do most of my cooking when I am down here, this week I actually cooked very few meals - most of which were just plain pasta (or pasta with a tomato cream sauce made using soy milk someone picked up for me). We did have one really exciting night of making a veggie pot pie -- and of course in the bureau I am generally known for my chocolate cake and the occasional cookie pie. So it wouldn't be a week in the bureau without a little bit of chocolate cake. Of course, I was sick, so single serving vegan chocolate peanut chew cake in the microwave is just what had to happen.

btw 3 MORE MONTHS!!

Z 

Shared Spaces

This weekend, after a few days of VAC and various other meetings the Cotonou Workstation Committee hosted a “Deep Clean” – basically the place needed to be cleaned – and it isn't really any one's job to do it – so as you can imagine in a room used by about 100 volunteers annually (if not more) the place was a little grimy.

The workstations consists of the kitchen, the library/dining room, two large sleeping spaces with bunks, a small study room (read: closet), an upstairs lounge and workspace, and the bathroom/shower area. It took 12 of us many hours to clean, and the place is probably the cleanest it has been since the office moved to the current building. Sorry to any PCVs from the past, but some of the things that we came across (ie lost and found from before 2012) would lead all of us to believe that this is probably the case.

While we all love our workspace in Cotonou, the problem with shared spaces is this: When no one is “truly” responsible, and no one is there all the time, everyone assumes someone else is going to clean up... and no one ever knows how long that pile of books/clothes/oranges has really been sitting there. We have the workstation committee (me and 3 other volunteers) who are in charge of making sure that we stay stocked, that the cable bill is paid, and that broken items get reported to be fixed – but the closest of us live an hour away and we are usually each there only once or twice a month. While we are “in charge” we are meant to be more as a contact point for administration, and a number for volunteers to call with questions, or to inform us if they go out to restock (toilet paper for example) so that we can reimburse them. Basically we work as the duct tape that keeps the place together, and the keys that keep the workstations money locked up. (Volunteers have to pay to sleep in the space, basically a small amount to cover things like toilet paper, shampoo, and coffee). I don't even know how many times I have gone into Cotonou only to realize we are out of very basic items, only left to wonder how long it has been that way. When no one is present and in charge, it is really hard to keep order. That being said, for all the complaints that we could come up with, I think we keep the place running very smoothly. AND I was really impressed by the group of volunteers who came down to help us with the clean up after the regional camp meeting.

I hope admin won't be too shocked by the giant pile of trash that we put out when they get to the office tomorrow. I was really upset with myself that I didn't remember to take a picture of the trash pile, and didn't think to take before and after shots of some of the rooms. BUT here are some pictures of our wonderful workstation, taken after and during the clean up. For those of you who have been wondering what it looks like.

Z

August 1

Today was Independence day -- we spent the day at this really awesome beach called El Dorado. 

It was a little rainy but wonderful none the less. 

Hope you enjoy the pictures of the scenery!

Bonne Fête 

Z

Boy In Benin

These past two months have been crazy for me... and after a whole week back at post (working very hard I might add).. I went to Cotonou to pick Erik up in the airport!!

At this point I don't know how much time he has had to process Benin – He has seen the craziness of Cotonou and met a few of my neighbors. I still thought it might be fun to give you some of his first impressions :)

***

This is a country of energy. My introduction to Benin was my first night in Cotonou. As my plane was descending into Cotonou, I saw a city spread out as far as I could see. There were no tall buildings, just a massive horizontal expanse blanketing the earth along the shores. The heat and humidity were stifling. Cotonou airport was abuzz. We were shuttled from the tarmac to the baggage claim and madness ensued. Everyone was fighting for their bags and eagerly offering to help with mine (for a price of course).The security guards were yelling at me to open my bags, but I could not understand their language. They finally got so frustrated they just told me to go through. I was relieved to see Zoe in the crowd, and this was closely followed by my first Zem (moto-taxi) interaction.

Negotiating a taxi ride is an exercise in haggling, with the drivers and Zoe yelling out conflicting franc amounts and calling each other crazy. I've come to learn that this is entirely normal, and she is very good at it! The drivers themselves are impressive, as well. I've seen them carrying 100lbs of luggage and a passenger; they carry livestock, building materials, basically anything you want, and they are EVERYWHERE. I've never seen so many motorcycles in my life. After a quick stop at the hotel, we took a short walk to meet her friend Amber for some felafel at a local restaurant, then returned to our room for some long awaited rest.

The next day, we got up early and I saw much more of the city. The tropical trees and interesting architecture make for a beautiful locale. People line the streets offering various goods multiple times, regardless of your reply. It is a very loud place, and drivers of all kinds LOVE to use their horns. We went food shopping at a Lebanese grocery store, had lunch at a veggie shwarma place (Karim 24), I took a nice long nap on the beach near Erevan (a giant Target like expat store), and toured the artisans market. There we found several huts in a park selling hand made souvenirs: masks, drums, sculptures, etc. In the evening we had a lovely dinner at Tandoori Nights, a local Indian restaurant (a treat from my Aunt Cindy), and wine with a fruit salad for dessert at a restaurant called New Livingstones just a block away. We both went to bed exhausted. The heat definitely takes its toll on my sensitive western body. Zoe has gotten used to it and is less affected.

The next morning I awoke very sick. I'll spare you the gory details, but my digestive system is having a lot of trouble adjusting. I've spent the entire second day in mild agony, finding it difficult to eat, drink, move, and think. This made for a less than bearable taxi ride to her village, about an hour outside of Cotonou, near the city of Porto Novo. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but I am happy now that I'm here and can see how my other half lives. The village is a maze of dirt roads lined by vegetation, goats, and curious children. The people here are clearly not accustomed to seeing white people. We march through a chorus of chants, “Yovo, Yovo, Yovo!” (It basically means whitey). At first I found this amusing, but it does make me a bit uneasy knowing just how much we stand out, that everyone sees us, that everyone is watching us.

Zoe's home is quite nice, relative to most. She lives in a concrete house behind the walls of a small compound, home to about 4 other families. Everyone is happy to see me and eager to speak. I wish we could understand each other. My conversations with the locals have consisted of “Hello. I don't speak French. Thank you, goodbye.” I'm getting frustrated because I'm used to being social and friendly and I can't do that here. We traversed her local market and Zoe introduced me to several of her friends, and I met the older women from whom she buys her food. They all seemed very nice and happy to meet me. Even though our cultures are drastically different, I get the sense that there are indeed people here who really care about Zoe and would like to make her fe

el comfortable and welcome. This is very encouraging.

Anyway, I'm still feeling a little sick but I'm starting to recover. I just hope this clears up by tomorrow so we can get out and explore! To everyone at home, I love and miss you all and I look forward to sharing my stories and pictures with you in a few weeks! Au revoir!

***

Hope you enjoyed that – I sure enjoyed a break from writing this week and I'm enjoying having Erik here to spend time with me :-D 

Love

Z

Transportation In The City

When I talk to the volunteers throughout Benin I always hear lots of crazy travel stories. Waiting hours for a taxi to leave. A Bull (very much alive) riding on the back of a moto. Locals riding on the top of the taxi. 11 People in a small car... it goes on and on.

Down here in the city taxi's are much more tame? Instead of live animals on the back of a motorcycle I am more likely to see a refrigerator or a couch. I never have to wait more than 10 minutes for my taxi to leave for Cotonou (the perk of traveling between the country's capital and it's biggest city). AND I rarely if ever see live animals or people on top of any sort of vehicle. In the city I seem to get more reliable and maybe even safer transportation than those who live out in the bush. (Safer – but not by any sort of American standard). That being said travel is still an experience no matter the style.

Types of Transportation In Benin

Zemidjan

The most common form of public transportation. The name of this motorcycle taxi translates in Fon to “take me there fast!” Ze mi translates to “take me” in all of the local Fon based languages. You can tell a Zem by the uniform.. but be aware that this uniform differs based on the city you are in. In Porto Novo the Zem driver wheres blue... in Cotonou yellow.. in other cities you will find another color (or color combination). The uniforms are always identified by their number on the back, signifying they are in fact a part of the Zem union and are authorized to get you there fast. Make sure you discuss the price with the Zem before you go.. there are no fixed prices. Just the normal agreed upon price that people pay based on the gas price and some form of general consensus. Porto → Cotonou 2000cfa

Opportunistic Taxi

This person is not really a taxi.. they might be just a person with a car going to Cotonou for a day, or they might be a household Chauffeur. Either way this person is driving to Cotonou, and they find it worth their while to pay the small fee to park their car in the taxi station and fill up with passengers for the trip. You can tell these cars because they are relatively new and clean, they don't squish you in like sardines, and they don't get stopped at the pre-appointed gendarme bribe locations. Hey if you are driving there anyway.. why not make some money out of it? Porto → Cotonou 800cfa

Vrai 6 Place

In the US this would be a 5 passenger car... and we include the driver. In Benin this is a 6 passenger car... and the driver doesn't count. Four in the back and two at the driver side passenger. These Taxi's are the most expensive type of taxi because of their small size. I don't really understand the logic here since they are also the most uncomfortable. This car is usually falling apart.. has produce and other goods magically strapped to the roof.. is somehow not weighed down to the point of scraping the street AND will get stopped at every gendarme checkpoint.. also the car might break down once or twice. *Children are not part of this head count.. they do not pay fare and you can have any number of children sitting in laps in this car. Porto → Cotonou 800cfa

9 Person Peugeot

In my opinion this is the most common type of taxi. It is kind of like a station wagon but kind of not. This vehicle has an extra seat (a real seat not made up by the driver) in the back. In Benin this seat can fit 3. Tuning your 6 Place taxi into a 9 Place experience. As with the 6 place.. this car is falling apart.. usually looks as though it is about to tip over based on the top load... and gets stopped at every bribe point. Same also goes for the likely hood of car troubles and the number of children who might also be sharing the ride with you. The 9 place taxi is slightly cheaper than the 6 place. Porto → Cotonou 600cfa

TroTro

My favorite form of city to city transportation the trotro is a van with bench style seating installed. Allowing it to hold around 20 people give or take. This is the cheapest form of transportation. It is also the most comfortable because you can slide your helmet or bag under the seat, and because the bench is flat and lacks squishy cushions you don't feel nearly as crammed in. The passengers are “generally” friendlier AND I can usually pick up a trotro in the market in my village which means I don't have to pay the 200cfa to get to the taxi “station.” Unlike with a taxi however, you do have to pay a little extra if you wish to strap bags to the top of the van. The tro for some reason.. does not get stopped at all of the gendarme check points. Porto → Cotonou 500cfa

THE BUS

There are different bus lines and there are different prices. The bus is not for travel to and from Cotonou. The bus is for traveling further distances (in my case anywhere north). Generally it is worth it to pay slightly more for the air conditioned buses that have assigned seats. The cheaper non-air conditioned buses can (and very well might) over book the seats... and have traveling salesmen trying to sell their cure all soaps walking up and down the bus for the entire ride. These buses are your typical tour buses like you see in the States.

I am sure there are other forms of travel in the north or in small villages that I have yet to be made aware of due to the fact that I live so close to a city and have reliable transportation available to me. I did one day see a city bus go by (only once) it was empty and I never saw it again.

No matter how you travel.. there is never a lack in interesting sights or sounds.. and occasionally the conversation isn't all that bad. Sometimes there are fights.. sometimes it is peaceful... mostly it is crowded. I have even started to keep a notebook of interesting things that I see when traveling in Benin – but I will save that for another day.

Z

Somewhere Over the River

I just got back home from spending my “Workstation Days” in Cotonou!! Which is like being in America... only it would be nothing like America to anyone who is currently in America. To us however, it is just like being in America. I took my first hot shower since I left the states in June!

There are 4 workstations throughout Benin: Cotonou, Natitingou, Kandi and Parakou. Your workstation is based on your location in the country and it is where you pick up your mail, relax, use fast internet, watch TV and spend some time with other volunteers, and sleep in an air conditioned room (at least in Cotonou). My workstation is the Cotonou workstation, because that is the one closest to me. Which is really nice because the Cotonou workstation is also the Benin Peace Corps Headquarters. This means that when I go to relax.. I can also visit the doctor, stop in and talk with my program manager (or any other administrator that I like), and all paperwork and important things are processed in Cotonou. Every month each volunteer gets 3 free nights to spend at the workstation (2 right now because I am still in the adjustment period).. and the best part is that they are not counted towards our vacation days :)

Cotonou is the big economic city.. it is also the home to most of the Embassies and has a lot of expats. So while I can get almost anything I could possibly need in the Capital City of Porto Novo, where I live, Cotonou has everything else. If you can't find it in Cotonou... you won't find it in Benin. In line with my weird habit of getting really excited and buying strange things whenever I walk into a “western style” grocery store in this country.. I came back to post today with rose water, canned baba ghanoush, cappuccino flavored cookies, hot sauce, and guava jam. I also bought some more practical things that I actually needed... but that isn't interesting.

Volunteers also get the opportunity to eat non-Beninese food when in Cotonou!! I even had falafel one night!! It was so good!!! There is a french bakery that has chocolate soy-milk... and they also have kiwi juice?? and I had my favorite avocado sandwiches. Not this weekend.. but in the past I have eaten vegetarian bean burritos in Cotonou! Next time I go I am excited to try the Indian Restaurant that volunteers seem to like.

I discovered that Customer Service does exist in Benin (but probably only when the business is not owned by a Beninese person). Another volunteer and I stepped into a Pizza place in Cotonou “1 2 3 Pizza”.. we sat down ordered a bottle of ice cold water... and waited for about 10 minutes when the owner came out and told us that they couldn't cook us anything because the oven was broken. He gave us each a free salad... (with croutons!).. and he didn't charge us for the water! Now, I have no idea how the food there normally is.. but I would definitely go back and try! I would also recommend this place to anyone else visiting Cotonou, because they were just so nice and friendly!! Nice and friendly is not normal business etiquette in Benin.

Normally customer service in Benin is “I don't really have any interest in serving you... you are interrupting my nap.. and if you don't have exact change I won't sell you anything (Even if I have the change!).” Small money is very important here, having a 5000 cfa note is not worth as much as having 5000 cfa in change. The bank loves to give us the worthless 10,000 cfa note. The smaller your change is broken down the more it is worth in the market.

Aside from the wonderful grocery stores and restaurants that Cotonou has to offer.. Cotonou also has the beach! BEACH!!! and a private pool where volunteers are allowed to go swimming on Saturday afternoons!! So basically.. after weeks at post.. without any other Americans to hang out with.. eating rice, beans, and bananas every day. Cotonou is paradise.

I had a glorious weekend.

Z 

Finally Unpacked!!

Well.. this week was pretty crazy!

After the swear in ceremony last Friday we had some time to check out Cotonou and go to Erevan (which is a giant target like store where you can buy most anything American.. if you have the money.. except for apparently hot sauce) it smelled like America.. and I might have cried a little upon walking though the automatic door. Then we went back home to pack our bags and to move out of Porto Novo. A year later I arrived here.. just in time to write this post!!

Saturday morning I loaded all of my things into a peace corps vehicle.. and then my bags were taken away from me a put into the top secret peace corps storage area. I held onto my newly acquired Erevan pillow... my little red airplane blanket (that I currently consider the best purchase I have ever made in my life)... 1 “clean” shirt.. and all of the things I didn't want to hand over to the peace corps for fear of never seeing my luggage again (my photo book and electronics). I was going to Kloukanme (with another volunteer who couldn't move in yet) to visit a volunteer and to experience the work that environmental volunteers do (things are starting to feel redundant here)... and I would be back in Porto Novo to get my stuff and move in to my new home on Tuesday!! (We had a lot of fun in Kloukanme... the volunteer who hosted us was amazing.. and we learned how to bake cakes using the pot that PC gave us for boiling our water!!)

Come Thursday morning.. I still hadn't moved into my house (or changed my clothes). Because of a taxi strike... I didn't leave Kloukanme until Wednesday and then stayed in Cotonou until Thursday morning. When I got here to Misserete I unloaded all of my things.. only to find out my house had not been paid for and if the money wasn't given to them that day that I would be loading my stuff back into a taxi and searching for a new house. AT THIS POINT IT IS NECESSARY TO THANK MY AMAZING PROGRAM MANAGER FOR FINDING THE MONEY AND HAVING SOMEONE DRIVE OVER WITH IT FROM COTONOU ASAP THAT AFTERNOON. I was able to take a nap in my house.. but I waited to start unpacking until the papers were signed.. because you never know. Luckily the money showed up and I was able to settle in.

It is a really huge relief to finally be able to unpack all of my things and set up my house... I was given a lot of furniture and kitchen supplies by the volunteer who I am replacing and another volunteer who lived near by.. for which I am very grateful!! However my lovely predecessor left the commune today.. and it really is a shock to finally be on my own.. away from all of the people I trained with... and not having someone to ask questions to all the time.. I still don't have this culture completely figured out... and I have a lot of trouble communicating (even when my french is correct). I also know that this is a really bizarre thing to complain about but my absolutely gorgeous house is way too big for me.. and it is making me feel extra lonely.. and its a little hard to feel integrated when you feel so fancy.

I spent my weekend walking around my neighborhood (I only got really lost once!)... setting up my house... transporting furniture.. and going to the Marche... on Sunday I made a trip to visit my host family in Porto Novo and to go the the grocery store since it is near their house anyway. It is nice to have something familiar so close by... its strange to think that not even three months ago that their house was so alien to me.

Tomorrow is a meeting at the CeRPA office.. and then I am going to sit down and plan out a schedule at least for the next few weeks. I have so much to do!! The trick is figuring out who is supposed to be taking me where and working with me on what :-/ at least for the start I need someone to go to the groupments with me especially since I am going to need a translator for a lot of the work (preferably one who can understand my horrible french).

Z

Its Official!

Today was Swear-In for Peace Corps Benin.

Tomorrow everyone is moving to post!! However, I will not be moving to post until some time next week -- My house is not yet ready for me, SO instead I am going to spend a few days with the volunteers in the Mono-Couffo region seeing what EA work is done there. It really makes very little sense (since I will be traveling about 4 hours in the wrong direction -- a few hours past my workstation where i could also easily stay) but hey! it's the program they made for me.. and it will be nice to see another part of the country.

love from your [favorite] PCV
Z

The Atlantic, My Love

When 4 Days Can Feel Like a Month

Hi Everyone!!

So Since the 24^th and staging and Philadelphia my life has been a whirlwind of change and information overload... and I don't think that is going to stop for awhile. 

Staging in Philadelphia was very overwhelming LOTS of new faces.. Information... and the weirdest part was for me, that I hadn't really even left home yet. Even just walking to dinner with some of my fellow stagees I ran into Erik. Which made me very happy.. but also a little sad. 

On Monday morning we left the hotel early in the morning the PC stage facilitators loaded us onto our buses for JFK and thus commenced the many hours of travel. Our flight from NYC left a whole hour late (after we had already boarded).. the flight out of Brussels was right on time, but I did not like the Brussels airport at all. We arrived here in Benin in the evening on the 26^th collected all of our bags (with I believe 67 of us.. there are a lot of bags) and then loaded up on to buses to head to St. Jean-Eudes where we stayed until today. I wasn't able to get to my camera at the time... but I really wish I had been able to take a picture of what I mean by “loaded up on the buses.” Very crammed. 

Once at St. Jean-Eudes we ate dinner and found our rooms and went to sleep. The 27^th was full of information sessions literally all day long. Really just lots of information, on everything. Thursday was interviews, we were at the PC Headquarters in Cotonou and met with our doctor, our sector manager, had a language level interview, a bike session, and had time to connect to the work station WIFI to check emails and send some messages home :)

Last night was our last night at SJE which means starting tonight we are living on our own (with our new host family) away from all of the other volunteers/ our support network from the last few days. We meet our host families later this afternoon... I am not at all prepared for this. My family has 3 people in it Mama, Papa and a Sister who looks to be in her teens. Wish me luck!!

Z