NO PREREQS

Today seems like it’s going to be a lazy Saturday, with me just spending the majority of my time hanging around with Alberique and Yannick watching TV movies and maybe playing a little soccer later. I thought I’d use the time to provide a little update on my day to day life here because I haven’t been posting much recently. 

I’ve kinda settled into a rhythm and I think after more than a month in Benin it’s safe to say that I have gotten used to my new setting and lifestyle. Of course there’s the odd thing here and there that catches you off guard, but that is what my 10 things I learned this week posts are for! I think my host family has gotten used to me to – it’s a lot less formal and I finally get to carry my own dishes back to the kitchen when I’m done eating without one of the kids being scolded because they didn’t do it for me.

Work is going ok. For the past couple weeks I’ve taken a step back from working on the website and applying for grants, instead working more with the children because their exams were taking place over this period. With the end of the last exams this week, I have gotten back to working on the website a bit, and looking at some more grants. I hope the site will be ready by the end of next week, but there’s still quite some work to put in. It’s kind of a bummer that I don’t really get around much, and most of my work is either in the orphanage or in front of my computer, but that’s the nature of work I guess. Going to the orphanage is pretty fun because the kids have started to open up to me a bit, and I’ve even made some friends on the route from the orphanage to the main road where I usually catch a moto from. 

I got a haircut this week! I avoided paying the “white people” price (5x the price of a regular haircut) because someone working at the place told me beforehand that I had to pay the regular price, and I stuck by that quote when the haircutter wanted me to pay up. I want to do a post on my concept of money here, because it’s funny how it changes when you come to a country with such depreciated currency (I think the exchange rate is currently somewhere around 459 FCFA to 1 US dollar).

One thing you really notice here is how much more important arts and entertainment is than you would expect it to be in one of the 30 poorest countries in the world. Personally, I had the perception that people would be more concerned with saving money or making money than they are, but most people I’ve met would rather spend the excess of their hard earned money either going out, buying credit for their cellphones, or purchasing expensive electronics – just like how we would back home.  But I guess humans are humans, and everyone needs time to relax and make the most of enjoying their lives. Besides, the people here are probably used to the rhythm of life here and so they might not a need for change as pressing as someone from a developed country might. 

Just one month here has made me used to this lifestyle, including the regular power outages and internet connection problems. It doesn’t even bother me anymore, and I kinda appreciate the chaos... it is difficult to explain. I even feel like I might experience a bit of a shock adjusting to life when I get back home. If one month can do that for me, imagine how I would feel if I grew up here? 

This is an interesting thought – some of the aspects of these people’s lives that many of us in the developed world are so appalled by may just be appalling because we aren’t used to them, not necessarily because they are negative. Many of the things we see as necessary might just be considered luxuries to the people here, or vice versa. The ability of the human body and psyche to adapt to its surroundings is truly amazing. Another lesson learned in Benin...

Please share your thoughts in the comments, and as always let me know if there’s anything specific you’re interested in hearing about!