Peace Corps Boot Camp, officially called Pre-Service Training (PST), began Wednesday, the day after our evening arrival in Benin. We were instructed to report for our first day of training at 7 am, even though our desperately jet-lagged bodies were still reeling from radically short nights of sleep (I, like many, had slept less than three hours Tuesday night due to jet lag, an alarm that sounded for 45 minutes starting at 3:30 am, five minutes of pot clanging around 4:45, and roosters and honking horns from 5:00 onwards). Our first day of training continued until after 6 pm. The schedule was packed with sessions on health, safety, IT, diversity, and more.
By far the most useful part of the first day was a girls-only session run by current Peace Corps Volunteers. The session covered practical issues such as how to pee, how to reject marriage proposals, and how to straddle a zemidjan (motorcycle) in a skirt.
Day 2 of training was scheduled to start even earlier than day 1: we had to report for duty at 6 am. My body, however, rebelled, and I didn't wake up until 7 am, despite setting an alarm and asking someone to knock on my door just in case. I even slept through the noise of the pounding rain and generator. However, fate was shining upon me because the bus was an hour late due to the monsoon rains and conditions. We were bussed from our dormitories to the Peace Corps Office, where we picked out our bicycles and learned to ride a zemidjan (as a passenger) on roads where the water was 3" deep the whole way across.
As I understand it, day 3 may be my last day of training in Cotonou, Benin's largest city. Tomorrow evening we will go home for the first time with our new host families. With the other health trainees, I will continue my training in Dangbo, a city outside Porto-Novo, Benin's capital. The non-health trainees will train in Porto-Novo itself. In any case, both Dango and Porto-Novo are close to Cotonou, and all three are on or near Benin's coastline.
Sorry for no photos, but this internet connection is far too slow for that...
By far the most useful part of the first day was a girls-only session run by current Peace Corps Volunteers. The session covered practical issues such as how to pee, how to reject marriage proposals, and how to straddle a zemidjan (motorcycle) in a skirt.
Day 2 of training was scheduled to start even earlier than day 1: we had to report for duty at 6 am. My body, however, rebelled, and I didn't wake up until 7 am, despite setting an alarm and asking someone to knock on my door just in case. I even slept through the noise of the pounding rain and generator. However, fate was shining upon me because the bus was an hour late due to the monsoon rains and conditions. We were bussed from our dormitories to the Peace Corps Office, where we picked out our bicycles and learned to ride a zemidjan (as a passenger) on roads where the water was 3" deep the whole way across.
As I understand it, day 3 may be my last day of training in Cotonou, Benin's largest city. Tomorrow evening we will go home for the first time with our new host families. With the other health trainees, I will continue my training in Dangbo, a city outside Porto-Novo, Benin's capital. The non-health trainees will train in Porto-Novo itself. In any case, both Dango and Porto-Novo are close to Cotonou, and all three are on or near Benin's coastline.
Sorry for no photos, but this internet connection is far too slow for that...
This sounds like such an awesome adventure already, Alex! Hopefully for our sake you are able to have fairly decent access to the internet for your whole 27 months, though we probably won't be that lucky :)
ReplyDeleteI hesitated to even send out the link initially for that very reason. Now I think I have an internet access solution for the next two months. The big question will be what my internet situation is when I move to my permanent post in September.
ReplyDeleteYovo yovo bonsoir! Ca va bien? Merci! I've been reading your blog and I see that you are doing a wonderful job describing the rural life in Benin and all the different food over there. I have a hard time describing them myself to my american friends because there are no such things in America. So good job on that! Also I salute your open mind for trying new things, eating things that probably look gross to other people but are absolutely delicious. I am beninese and I am currently in the US for school. Greetings from Nebraska!
ReplyDeleteI kinda wish you had posted pictures of Cotonou though....to show the urban Benin, because a lot of people think we live in huts and all of that....:p
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like the blog. I do have to admit that I didn't eat the beef skin (I'm a vegetarian), but I've eaten all the rest that I posted pictures of. I also have taken pictures of American food to show my Beninese friends. For instance, they've never heard of pizza or burgers; I think you only find that in big cities in Benin.
ReplyDeleteHave a great time in the US!