10 Things I Learned this Week, Edition 3

Posted by Gaurav On Thursday, June 16, 2011 1 comments
So, I am aware that this edition is late, and that I haven’t posted on my blog in over a week. Let me assure you that this is not because I have given up on the blog. I`ve been shown so much support that every day that passed without me posting, I felt extremely guilty. Although I`ve just been busy in general, I also have been preparing a long post about dealing with failure. Hopefully I will get my act together and have it up tomorrow. But for now, here are the 10 things I learned this week:
A vendor at the market in Porto Novo.


      1.       TV here is really diverse. On the same channel, I`m watching a kung-fu movie from the 70s before I leave for the day, and watching CBC and Nollywood (Nigerian) movies by the time I’m home.

      2.       Papaya has the consistency of avocado.


      3.       Aristotle will stop at nothing to injure himself. Last week he swallowed a 10 FCFA coin. I saw the x-rays, and its hanging around in his stomach – the poor kid might need surgery.

      4.       Friends are actually really easy to make here, and if you hang around somewhere long enough people will ask for your number to hang out sometime later.

      5.       So that’s what salt water tastes like... and feels like in your cuts.

      6.       Don’t play in the sand if you’re wearing double layered track pants with a hole in one layer (L)

      7.       It’s possible to have more coconut milk than you can handle, with this realization coming halfway through only my second coconut.

      8.       The legal age for driving a moto is how long it takes you to grow tall enough for your feet to reach the pedals. Yannick is 12 and he drives like a veteran.

      9.       I’m lucky I didn’t do my schooling in Benin, because the biology exams here are all long answer. I don’t envision myself writing any “Long Answer Strategies” posts anytime soon.

     10.   The orphanage I’m working with is actually very well off in comparison to many orphanages in this country. Some of the kids even have family that takes them in when they are done the school year. Of course, the issue now is that the orphanage needs constant funding to remain at this level, and that’s why I’m helping look for funding to start a sustainable project at the orphanage.


Ok! That’s all for this week. I see that I kind of went on a bit of a rant on the last point there but oh well. Check back soon because I’m going to start making up for my week of missed posts!
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1 comments to 10 Things I Learned this Week, Edition 3

  1. says:
    June 20, 2011 at 12:50 PM

    Raj Just be careful going into salt water with an open cut, it takes a long time to heal. Sometimes, as I have experienced, it may leave a scar.
    Again, I really like these "Lessons Learnt" entries, they are fun and interesting to read.
    Great photo!

    Raj

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