Peace Corps Language Archive: An RPCV Project

I recently received an e-mail from Ray Blakney, an RPCV who served in Mexico, and is a co-founder of live lingua. He asked if i wouldn't mind helping by sharing his project. As a third goal activity, he is currently working to compile an online archive of language training material for Peace Corps Volunteers (and language lovers) around the world. This is a free resource, and I am more than happy to help out by telling you about it!

The website description of his project is as follows:

"The U.S. Peace Corps has been sending volunteers from the United States to countries all over the world for over 50 years. In fact, Live Lingua was founded by one of these volunteers. During his training he was amazed at how quickly and effectively the language learning material worked. Live Lingua has contacted the Peace Corps offices in Washington D.C. to obtain permission to be a repository of these courses, but we do not own any rights to them. If anybody wants to use this material for commercial purposes they will need to contact the Peace Corps offices to get permission. We are offering this material free of charge with no cost or commercials. If you have information that would lead you to believe that some of this material is not public domain, or if you have some PC training material that we have missed please contact support@livelingua.com. Enjoy the free language learning." 

The Peace Corps resources can be found at:
http://www.livelingua.com/peace-corps-language-courses.php

While the Peace Corps archive is 100% free, their website also offers actual language lessons through skype in more common languages -- these are not free but still might be interesting to anyone reading who is looking to learn a new language.

I will be posting a link on the side of the blog, so that those interested can find it later as well.

Z

The Third Goal

During my visit home, I spent a day at a local high school talking to students (mostly French Language and Social Studies) about living in Benin, Beninese Culture and Peace Corps. I meant to post about this before (but my vacation home was just so jam packed full of craziness that I didn't get even one chance to update you.) Talking to students at home was incredible and I think that everyone visiting home during their service should take a day to set up a program with a local high school.

I really enjoyed the presentations that I gave, mostly because the students asked AWESOME questions. I unfortunately can't remember most of them now – but they ranged from “Describe your typical day?” to “How do you wash your clothes?” to "What do you eat?" and of course “How do you join Peace Corps?” Of course since most of the classes were French classes, there were also a lot of questions about language! It is always interesting to explain the ways that Beninese French differs from Parisian French, and to talk about how many different languages are found throughout Benin. The teacher who helped by setting up the program for me to come in (a teacher of mine from High School!) took some awesome pictures from the day -- I don't want to post pictures of the students (obviously) but here is a great one of me helping a teacher model traditional clothing.

I would love a chance to give more presentations like this when I get back to the states!

***

Here in Benin my week was spent mostly meeting with people so that we can get back to work (which sometimes involves having a meeting to discuss when you are going to have a meeting to discuss the possibilities of getting back to work). I went to the market and restocked on things like laundry soap and toilet paper – and of course fabric. Basically just trying to get back to normal, and trying to stay out of the heat. (and cleaning up after yet another flood!) Hopefully in the next few weeks I will be able to tell you about some cool projects!!!

Z

Boy In Benin Part 3

Erik left to go back to the States on Friday.. I have been insanely lonely since then. It will be good to get back to work tomorrow and back to normal. 

Anyway he agreed to write a post wrapping up his thoughts on his visit here in Benin.

***

For 24 hours I have been back in the United States. I am clean, comfortable and well-fed. Now that I've gotten those first steps out of the way, I have had a chance to look back and review the past few weeks spent in Benin. I greatly enjoyed my visit, spending time with Zoe, and seeing another part of the world.

I could tell you about all the cool things we did, but I decided that instead of recapping the events of my journey, it would be more meaningful to share a few of my personal reflections. In all my travels, Benin has proven to be one of the most thought-provoking places I have ever been. Their way of life - their culture, their world-view - is in many ways drastically different than our own. Ultimately, as human beings, we all have the same basic wants and needs: food, shelter, and a good life for our family. However, there is great variety in the means by which we achieve these basic goals. I am grateful to have been able to visit Benin and for the opportunity to reflect on their way of life.

In general, I found the people of Benin to be very warm and friendly, welcoming us to their home, excited to share their beautiful country with us. During my time in Zoe's village, I found the community quite charming. Everyone says, "hello, how are you? Welcome." People spend most of the day sitting outside enjoying each others company. Even in the market, women will sit side by side selling the same thing as friends, not competitors. Although they have very little relative to Americans, what these people lack in possessions and technology they make up for with a connectedness that does not exist in most "American villages." It's like a giant family - everyone is looking out for each other. I would often walk alone through the village just to feel like a part of it.

I enjoyed the village life a lot, and it was cool walking amongst goats, sheep, cows and chickens everywhere we went, but the main thing I disliked about the village was EVERYONE'S incessant need to point out that I am white. Almost everyone we passed would call out to us "Yovo Yovo!" At first I kind of liked it. It was like being a celebrity; but by the end of the trip I became frustrated and really just wanted to pull some people out of their ignorance and explain that we are the same and what they're doing is rude. I tried to remind myself that I am to them what a purple person would be to me. I chalked their heckling up to curiosity more than anything else.

The food was also very different, but I liked most of what I tried. The religions were very different as well, Voodoo in particular, and it was sometimes difficult to take certain beliefs seriously (specifically those regarding sorcery), but I suppose fervently believing in something completely irrational is part of all religions, ours included. Benin would be a great place to conduct an ethnography, particularly one linguistic in nature. There are so many interesting languages spoken, and it would be neat to look further into how the local dialects reflect the peoples' perspective and outlook. Even though I could understand next-to-nothing, I enjoyed listening nonetheless.

One interesting thing that struck me is that the Beninese are insanely comfortable being uncomfortable. They seem to love prolonged stares and awkward silences. In the "Tro" taxis (cargo vans gutted and fitted with benches to fit 30 people), you are tightly sandwiched between 5 other people, your feet almost instantly lose circulation, everyone is sweating on each other, 10 people are screaming on their phones or to each other, and I was the only person on the bus that seemed to mind at all. As a side note, I must say, those taxis have to be the world's most uncomfortable mode of transportation, but I doubt that anyone in the country is aware. 

[Note from Zoe: I made a point to ensure Erik had only the most comfortable taxi rides possible – It can get way worse than that]

In a nut-shell, Benin is a country rich with natural beauty, pleasant people, and interesting culture. I am definitely not going to take as much for granted now that I'm back, and I am truly grateful for all that I have - hot showers, food variety, air conditioning, education, healthcare, etc. Still, I find myself wondering just how good some of our amenities are for the soul. Although the more impoverished citizens of Benin will pester tourists for money and food, they still seem happy with their lot. Without the common stresses of first-world life (9-5's, car payments, schedule juggling), people can focus more on those basic wants and needs mentioned earlier. They can wake up with the sun, cook a fresh, plastic-free non-processed meal, and work on the farm or at the loom, using their hands to create their livelihood. They're not connected to the ramblings of their peers on social media, or the depressing stories in the news. They work a little, the eat a little, they relax a little, and they are content. This lifestyle may seem almost lazy to a college-educated American worker, but lazy would not be the right word for it; I think 'easy' would be a better word for it. And while (when applied to work) that word carries negative connotations in our culture, there, taking it easy on the job is viewed in a positive light - and they be the right ones after all.

We desperately seek to impose our western sentiment that "development" ought to be the chief goal of any given society, and that societies should strive for progress through hard work and innovation, but the more I see of the rest of the world, the less convinced I find myself of the merits of this philosophy. The people in Benin are happy, they're healthy, and they appreciate the time they get to spend with one another. Likewise, I appreciate the time I spent with them. Being in Benin has reinforced within me some deep realizations that can only be achieved by traveling around the world, and I would enjoy spending more time there some day if the opportunity arises. A la prochiane! - Erik

***

Oh.. I also wanted to mention. Erik seems to have made more friends here in two weeks than I have made in the past 10 months (no surprise there we all know he is the social half of this whole). All day today – while I just felt like sitting around in my pajamas.. eating chocolate.. watching Remember the Titans.. and being left alone. People kept showing up at my house asking to see Erik. Not to mention the number of people who called to make sure he made it home safe. He is pretty awesome like that.. <3

Lots of Love and Happy Mothers Day!

Z

Some Things Grow On Trees

Moringa.

Known to some as “The Miracle Tree”

Known to skeptics as “too good to be true” -- Time will be the judge. 

Moringa is a tree that grows easily in the tropics.. and surprisingly.. in all parts of the world where malnutrition is a real issue. AND the reason this tree is known as the miracle tree is that has the potential ability to combat and eventually rid the world of malnutrition. Native to the Himilayas.. Moringa Oleifera can now be found growing throughout most of the developing world. Trees for Life, a non-profit that works with Moringa has a map on their website (here) showing how closely the places where Moringa grows and the countries that are malnourished coincide.

The leaves, seeds, seed oil, and roots can all be eaten and all have high nutritional value. While the leaves can be eaten raw or lightly cooked, most often I see leaves sold in a powdered form here in Benin. Moringa is known to be rich in A, B, and C Vitamins, Calcium, Protein, and Potassium as well as providing other vitamins and minerals (depending on what part of the plant you are eating). 

image from treesforlife.org

Aside from just being a food source, the cultivation of Moringa can aid the economy, the trees are grow very fast, they have been noted to (however it is not yet proven) enrich the soil, and also show potential in water purification as well. They are not the greatest shade trees.. but they are great for making living fences (especially for protecting gardens from roaming goats and cows).

Most of the locals that I am currently working with are aware of, and have access to Moringa already. However, within the next few months I am looking forward to receiving training on both the cultivating of Moringa, and on how to teach the nutritional benefits more effectively (especially in a country where most leafy greens get cooked until there is no nutritional benefit at all). I am also looking forward to learning more about building living fences (I think that would be really great for a school garden where the Moringa leaves could then be used by the women who make lunch!).

***

Completely Unrelated to Moringa :

While we are on the subject of things that grow in Africa.. there is this fruit. This strange orange fruit with big black seeds. That my close-mate and I have dubbed sticky fruit. I would love to tell you what it is called. BUT quite frankly I don't know.

A few weeks ago my close-mate showed up one afternoon on her way home from the market. With these weird fruits that we had been seeing everywhere and decided it was time for us to try them. (I had already tried them once and found them somewhat frightening but figured I would give it a second go) Anyway this fruit basically tastes like a warhead... if there was an apricot flavored warhead. By the way.. I mean the warheads from when I was a kid.. not the tamed downed ones that you buy in the candy stores these days. THE REALLY SOUR ONES. When you are finished eating said fruit, your lips feel like you just had a bubble gum mishap (there really is no other way to describe it). We joked over the way they made our mouth feel.. and compared our facial expressions to the babies eating lemons video that was big on youtube a few years back.

Yesterday, I was visiting the host fam, and my mama gave me one of these fruits to eat. Apparently if you know how to pick out a ripe one they are actually a little bit sweet. She showed me the proper way to eat them.. but she only knew what they were called in local language not in french. I now know however that the best part of the fruit is stuck to the seed (something we had previously been discarding). After eating the fruit she made a point to tell me that the final step in properly eating this weird African fruit -- is washing your lips.. since it makes your lips feel funny. Glad to know that wasn't just an American thing.

Later my close-mate informed me that the local language name for this fruit translates to “Hurt-Baby” – so basically we were spot on with our description -- and I have decided the local villagers would probably get a kick out of watching babies eat lemons.

Love and Sticky Lips

Z

Before I Moved To Benin

When I was preparing myself for this amazing adventure... I (like most other volunteers I would imagine) spent a lot of time being overwhelmed and stressed out. I made a few mistakes (for example I probably should have stopped working a few weeks sooner) which caused me to rush through a lot of my goodbyes.. it was a huge whirl wind. While obviously spending time with loved ones before you leave (especially those that you will not see again for 2 years) is what everyone should be doing.. and of course packing is important too.. I would advise making sure that you have enough time to really enjoy those last couple weeks. I know for me I spent way to much time wrapping up projects I had been working on for months.. and stressing over everything (imagine that). Packing is important.. but honestly anything you REALLY need to survive you can find in your country of service.. people do live there.. if they didn't you wouldn't be going.. anything special that you pack is really just a perk. I know that when I was packing I filled a good portion of my luggage with snacks from home (at the advice of a few different former volunteers) it felt like a silly waste of space.. but I assure you it wasn't.

That being said.. if I had the ability to do the last few weeks over again.. I would try not to stress so much.. maybe by 2014 I will have learned that one. I am starting to think however that my general stress level is deeply engrained and probably not going anywhere anytime soon.. I was stressed out as a baby and I will probably continue to be so for the rest of my life. I accept that.

So everyone is probably thinking right now.. ok Zoe.. as of this week you have officially been in Benin for 3 full months... why are you talking about this now?

Well.. my dear friend. Now that I am living in this little house of mine.. For the first time since I got here.. now that everything is unpacked and put in its place.. I have an opinion on what I should have been preparing for.. and what was superfluous. Here are some thoughts:

Things That I'm Glad I Did Before I Left

Spending Time With People: I spent a lot of time getting to see people.. even people who I hadn't seen in awhile. It is crazy really when someone knows that they won't be ABLE to see you they get the urge that they HAVE to see you... and it was really nice to get to talk with friends who I had been missing to no fault of either of us. However, this wasn't something I had anticipated and I think that some people who I did see all the time normally might have felt a bit neglected. I am sorry for this... This is probably the main reason why I feel that I might not have given myself enough open time before leaving.. the hustle and bustle of preparing for service is a crazy thing. I remember one day during the weeks before I left... some friends wanted to see Erik and I... people who I like a lot but who we rarely saw.. right before we were about to go out I got very upset.. I didn't want to go.. I was tired of talking about the Peace Corps with everyone and their mother.. I just wanted a NORMAL day with our NORMAL friends. Leave yourself some days where things can feel normal. [In case I offended anyone with this.. I'm very sorry.. if you are close enough with me to feel offended than i'm pretty positive I'm not talking about you. AND I love everyone very much it was just an overwhelming time in my life]

Getting Away: I know this probably sounds contrary to what I just said.. but another thing that we did before I left.. was Erik and I went on a small vacation. I know, far from a normal everyday thing. But it gave us a few days.. away from everything and we got to do things we like to do; go canoeing, see sites, go for nature walks etc. It was really nice. It was really good for me.. but I imagine even better for him.. to get me away from the constant packing and errand running. We weren't home.. so I couldn't worry about it. It would have to wait.

Let Them Throw You A Party: I struggled with this one. I wanted a going away party – who wouldn't. At the same time.. having a party thrown in my honor makes me really uncomfortable.. and I definitely vacillated about the importance of it. It seemed really silly BUT It was wonderful.. I am really glad that we did it.. and I am so grateful to all of my family and friends for making it such an amazing day. I think we timed it perfectly too. Not so last minute that I couldn't enjoy myself.. but close enough to my departure that people realized that I wasn't going to be having anymore free time before I left. I also got to see a lot of people who I may not have gotten a chance to see other wise. (Thank You Again Joanne and Richie for hosting this for me.. and Everyone Else who helped out that day – miss you all!)

Things That Were Important – But Mismanaged

Bike Classes: Yes.. I know I am not great on a bicycle.. and this was very important for my confidence. However, I don't like riding bikes.. I never have.. I still don't. If the bike classes were to really be worthwhile then I should have allotted more time to riding bikes before I came here. I realize now that the issue was never that I couldn't ride a bike.. that part wasn't hard to get past. The issue is I don't want to ride a bike. As of now I walk everywhere.. and I look very silly doing it.. eventually when I know the neighborhood better I'll ride my bike.. I just really hate it.

LeatherMan: If you are going into the peace corps.. get a multi-tool leatherman type of thing. Really really really important. Also Important however is maybe knowing what tools you have before you leave the country.. and practicing using it for everyday things like cutting fruit for instance. It is important to become familiar with it. For example during training one of my friends had broken her glasses (not very bad just needed a glasses screwdriver).. after a few days she sent them to medical to have them fixed (which meant they would be gone for about a week).. the next day I realized I HAD THE TOOL SHE NEEDED IN MY BAG ALL ALONG!!

Running Errands: I am normally one of the most organized people when it comes to running errands. I know what I need, where to find it, and I go out and get it, I map out my destinations and set a schedule so that the errands can be over and done with. (So organized some people actually mistake it as enjoyment.. but no I like errands just as much as the next guy I promise). During the few weeks before I left.. I was having a lot of trouble making a comprehensive list. Mostly due to the fact that I really didn't know what I needed. There were many suggested packing lists available to me but what did I NEED? What was important to ME? Also.. I wanted people to run errands with me (which is definitely less efficient).. which I'm sure wasn't enjoyable to them.. but I was trying to multitask. I'm not sure if it is even possible when preparing for the Peace Corps... but I wish I had been able to set it all aside.. and sit down make a list go get what I needed and then been done with it (like normal Zoe mode).. I think a lot of potential down time was wasted running out to stores or waiting for someone to go with me so I could spend time with them.. or sometimes even going to the same store more than once eek!

Things I Didn't Do

Practical Cooking: Everyone who knows me.. knows that I love to be in the Kitchen - cooking... baking.. dancing.. thinking.. who knows. Before I left I went on a spree. I decided that I wanted to cook things I wouldn't be able to cook here.. I was pulling out all the stops. All the recipes I had been saving to try for special occasions. If I wasn't going to be in a proper kitchen for two years I wanted to get it all in while I could. IN REALITY I should have been practicing minimalist cooking.. using ingredients that I could find easily in Benin (to the best of my knowledge at the time)... so that I would be prepared to make a variety of dishes when I got here. I am slowly building up my repertoire of non-fancy peace corps style dining. But it is VERY BORING. I should have spent the time to compile easy and a varied recipes for here before I left.. I will have the rest of my life to cook fancy. (and for some reason every time I think of a recipe from home that i could probably make here I find out it needs celery!! i never realized i cooked with so much celery! i love celery.) :-/

Pretend To Be a Boyscout: I should have spent time practicing some basic knots.. I did bring a book on Knots but I didn't practice any. As of right now my clothes line is rigged up with mini-bungycords (which were a great idea to pack) but it doesn't look very pretty. I should have practiced setting up a propane stove.. because even though they gave us a brief demonstration.. it wasn't quite as easy as I had imagined. What do you do with your trash when there is no trash system.. not everything is burnable? I should have practiced my tree-ids.. not really important for anything but my own peace of mind: its something I am good at at home.. why not here as well? I should have practiced using machetes to open coconuts and dig in the yard. Maybe I should have done some pushups.

If anyone who doesn't know me (and is preparing for service in Benin (invitations start going out in a couple months!!) or another PC country) is reading this I just want to add some other thoughts.. I spent a lot of time stressing about language before arriving.. I wish I could speak better French.. but they get you through it. YOU DO A LOT OF LANGUAGE TRAINING.. practice your language.. but don't let it eat up your life before you go to stage. Bring a hoodie.. even if you are going someplace warm.. you will want it eventually. Ask people at home to write you letters.. or maybe even send yourself a care package before you leave (a lot of people did this).. it is hard to explain how excited everyone is during training on days when mail shows up.. it is like Christmas (or your comparative holiday) just to have something from home to hold... Even if you think you don't need letters from home.. once you are here and everyone else is getting them.. you will want them.. make sure your friends have your new address (I am very glad that I did!). Du Courage!

Z

A fɔn ganji ya!

This week I tested out of French and into Goun... Which is the local language of my village, and is also the language that my current host family speaks.

Most of the week this week was preparing for the post visit (that starts tomorrow), So I only had one lesson. Most of it was things that I already was taught by my host family (ie salutations)... but I still can't pronounce any of it. The interesting part of the whole language learning process here, is that they are teaching us Goun in French, which is really bizarre, since I barely speak french functionally. I guess its their way of continuing to work on our french.

Anyway:

Un nɔn yin Zoe.

Un tron Amelica.

Un yin Amelicanu.

Un nɔn nɔn Hɔgbonu din.

Un nɔn nɔn New Jersey dayi.

Djelo?

In the mean time...

Z

A New Dress

Today I got a new dress... We had our first language placement interviews today (since we started out language classes) and my host Mama had a new dress made for me to wear. And.. like all of the clothes here... It is pretty awesome.

Photo Courtesy of Sarah A. 

The couturier came over on Wednesday to take my measurements... which was really exciting because I have been wanting to go get clothes made, and I was starting to think it wouldn't happen until I got to post (since I NEVER go anywhere here). I wasn't expecting to have something made for me and it was a very very nice gift.

On Thursday, my class went to the Grande Marche and picked out fabric so the four of us could get class outfits made. (I know that sounds super geeky but one of the other classes did it and it was really adorable). We picked out a green and blue tissue and we are having outfits made to wear on Friday when we get our Post Assignments. (I went from zero.. to TWO new outfits like magic)...

The tissue here (that is what the fabric is called) is absolutely fabulous.

Otherwise nothing exciting to tell this week. Like I said we had our LPIs today... so it was a lot of studying and being exhausted and being very very sick of speaking french all the time. Very excited to get my post assignment on the 27^th and I can't wait to let everyone know about where I will be living for the next two years!!!

Love

Z

Later Notes: I tested Intermediate-Low for my first Language interview (not sure how I feel about that)... but considering I was not able to explain that I needed my new outfit for the 27^th (I thought I made that clear) I guess that's a fair language assessment. Then again everyone here speaks a different language than their neighbor, so you never know who is going to understand french.

The First Week

Still Surviving in Benin. 

This week has had a lot of Ups and Downs. Mostly downs to be completely honest, but I think that is almost expected for a PCT's fist week of intense language training and host family immersion. 

I know everyone's biggest question is how is my host family? So I will start there. Luckily my host family, while obviously a  big adjustment, is not one of the downs. They are tres gentil. I have my own little apartment area in the back of the house, with a bedroom, a small bathroom, a little living room, and a small kitchen where I can boil my drinking water. There are a lot of communication difficulties, which I was really overwhelmed by earlier in the week (I think Mama was too).. but we are working through it. We get along well, it is usually just me and Mama around, and while we can't really speak very easily to each other we have enjoyed our attempts... and have done a lot of looking at photo albums.

My big story this week however is not my host family, it is my bicycle. Mon Velo.

I have a funny story to share, at least funny to anyone who knows me.. and how timid I am with a bike. There is this major road that runs through Porto Novo where I am currently living. On Tuesday we were given our bikes... and expected to ride them home.. through a city I don't know... down a road that I never imagined biking on in my worst nightmares... in the heat.. with impending downpours. I can do this right?

So I call papa... and he comes with the Moto... (The plan being for those who don't know the way home yet to follow someone home). Now I am doing pretty good over all considering there are giant ditches.. I am barely breathing.. sweating up a storm.. can't figure out how to switch gears on this bike (that I have never ridden before), and on the verge of tears because I am absolutely terrified. In fact at this point I have made it more than half way home with out dieing. Only stopping to walk the bike once for a little bit (because I thought I was going to pass out from fright). I get back on the bike.. excited because I am almost home.. and next thing a I know I have to swerve out of the way of a Zemi. I lose control of the bike and fall off. YES I FELL OFF THE BIKE ON DAY 1. 

So I know how to fall of a bike, I landed on my feet, didn't get hurt, am bareing the fact that there are many people laughing and yelling YOVO the local word for “look its a white person” and trying to decide my next move.. When all I see is Rachel running towards me. Why on earth is Rachel running towards me?? Oh. The Peace Corps bus full of health trainees going back to Dangbo saw me fall and pulled over to come save me. So now my slight misfortune has become a spectacle. Lots of Yovos... and me sobbing out of fright and embarresment and just everything from the week coming out all at once.. and Papa looking absolutely ?terrified?. They collective decision was to load my bike onto the roof of the bus, and have Papa take me home on the Moto, the bus followed us back to drop off my bike... and everyone got off the bus to give me hugs one by one and wish me a happy belated birthday (another spectacle... although much appreciated). And now... I am not allowed to ride my bicycle (says Papa). So glad I took those classes. 

While at the time I was absolutely horrified and embarresed I am actually really glad this happened. After about three straight days of wanting to give up and come home (between home sickness and actual sickness and just feeling lost) I realized that the worst that has really happened thus far... is I fell off my bike. And really, that isn't that bad. I also realized how supportive everyone is in my training class, and within just a few moments, I went from feeling like I had nobody to feeling (as Mama put it later that evening) that I have “many many brothers and sisters.” 

If I had written this post before the bike incident.. my outlook would have been very bleak.. but I am optimistic now. I have a lot to learn, and while I am not the best with my French or my bike riding and yes I am also afraid of the Motos... I have come to realize I also have a lot of positives... experience in my field, the desire to learn, and the endurance to go through with what is probably going to be the most difficult (and rewarding) two years of my life. 

As we say here at Peace Corps Training..

Du Courage! 

Z