Today's advice from our Language and Culture Coordinator: "If somebody or something wants to make you unhappy, refuse."
We are moving in with our host families tonight for the first time. I am still waiting to receive the photo of the families. Many of the other trainees have up to 10 (perhaps more) people in their family.
We were given a few Do's and Don'ts for living with our host families. If offered water, dump a little on the floor for the ancestors. Don't whistle at night because it will call snakes and that is how evil spirits communicate. Don't smell your food before you eat it because that suggests you think it may be spoiled.
There were surely be lots of opportunities for faux pas with the family, but hopefully they are patient and have a good sense of humor...
We are moving in with our host families tonight for the first time. I am still waiting to receive the photo of the families. Many of the other trainees have up to 10 (perhaps more) people in their family.
We were given a few Do's and Don'ts for living with our host families. If offered water, dump a little on the floor for the ancestors. Don't whistle at night because it will call snakes and that is how evil spirits communicate. Don't smell your food before you eat it because that suggests you think it may be spoiled.
There were surely be lots of opportunities for faux pas with the family, but hopefully they are patient and have a good sense of humor...
For those of us back in the States, what time is it in Benin versus Chicago?
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of time, do "Beninians" (Is that the proper term?) run their lives by the clock?
And one last question for those reading your blog, what is the correct pronunciation of "Benin?"
Sorry, one more question. For your readers who would like to publish a comment and do not know what to do when they are asked to select a profile, would you publish easy steps for setting up a profile?
It's a 6 hour time difference from Chicago right now. Benin doesn't observe daylight savings, so that will change in the fall when you switch your clocks and we don't.
ReplyDeleteThe Beninese don't run their lives by the clock, but the Peace Corps does (except when it's time for a training session to end, in which case they have no problem ignoring the clock and running over). The only strict time I see observed here is that people start sweeping at 5 am. But I think that has more to do with when the roosters crow, not the clock.
As for the correct pronunciation of Benin, we are all still wondering that ourselves. Each time I settle on one pronunciation, I realize that so many people pronounce it a different way. I could tell you the French pronunciation, however, which is just like it looks like it should be pronounced in French.
And as for the profile, I am not really sure what that refers to, but it may just be a question of signing in with your Google account. Can anyone else answer that question?