Alex in Benin

I apologize for not writing anything in a long time but much has happened in the past two months.

About a month ago my friend Aaron (another PCV in the TEFL program) and I paid a short trip to Niger which borders Benin on the North-East (separated by the Niger River). We spent six days goofing around the south-east of Niger; would have been great to travel to the desert to the north but unfortunately political unrest means it's not safe for foreigners. Friends I have around Gogounou and truckers who give me rides up and down the "paved" main road all reccomended staying clear of the northern section of the nation. Sadly, from what I understand the most magnificent views and unique experiences can be found in those areas. Oh well. Had a great time in Niamey (the capital) and surrounding area. Aaron and I actually showed up the day before a new PCV group was being sworn-in and ended up meeting dozens of the PCV population there. Quite wild how different Peace Corps services are, even in nations that are right next to each other. Their housing standards are lower than Peace Corps Benin and they learn local languages as opposed to French.

In Cotonou right now because we had a Life Skills Training seminar (AIDS/HIV training with a local comunity member of our choice.) Taking the new busline "Stella Intercity" up to Gogounou tomorrow. It's all together about a 13 hour ride on this line but fortunately it has airconditioning and I will be guarenteed my own seat as opposed to 'sharing' one in a taxi. The school year officially started last Monday but the first week is for students to essentially clean up the school grounds. I heard through the grapevine that my school has yet to create a schedule of classes so I don't believe I'll miss any courses.

Right after coming back from Niger I asked the guys in the Moov store (cell phone service provider) if internet over cellphones had yet to come to the Alibori and thus Gogounou. They said yes so when I was in Cotonou a few weeks ago I dropped 70,000 FCFA and picked myself up a new Nokia that, so far, has worked wonderfully. Great part is that the service is currently free because it is in a testing phase. It's off more often than not and is quite slow when it is on but I can usually check my e-mail at least once every day or two from the confort of my own home in Gogounou. It makes me laugh to think about how I have no running water, five hours of electricity, a pit latrine, and internet on my cellphone: something I never had back there.

Had my midservice examination and they found some giardia and a staph infection. Fortunately the giardia is long gone from the medicine but sadly the staph has been slightly more persistent. Just received some more anti-biotics for the latter though so it will pass soon enough.

I'm going to miss the air-conditioning we had during the seminar.
-Alex

I unfortunately have not updated this very often so I apologize to the handful of people that browse over here every so often. But I do have some time now so here we go.

Heading down to Cotonou tomorrow on a new bus line that runs from Malonville (the furthest north-east in Benin, on the border of Niger). Actually took this bus line from Cotonou to Parakou (center of the country) once and it was fantastic. Up until this point modes of transportation in and out of my section of Benin (the Alibori) has been less than comfortable. The one busline that did opperate, Confort Lines, has an excessively old line of busses that simply do not have what it takes anymore and, as my mother knows, break down. Going to be a long day of traveling tomorrow but I'll be rolling in style at least (not having some marche mama sit on me.)

Carly will be returning from her visit to the States the 3rd and I plan on picking her and her family up at the airport with a hotel shuttle, hopefully making things easier. The 4th will be a VAC (Volunteer Action Committee) at the Peace Corps Bureau and the 5th will be the new group of volunteers officially swearing into service. Actually hoping that I can bum a ride with one of the new guys back up north because it is quite a distance and is not cheap on our budgets.

On the 8th I should be crossing the Niger river into Niger itself for a brief vacation. Unfortunately the majority of Niger is off limits due to civil unrest between the Taureg(sp?) people and the government of Benin. I actually asked some of my friends around town and a few truckers/Nigerian car smugglers what they thought about the safety and I was readvised not to go too far north in Niger because I'd be kidnapped and/or worse. The capital Niamey and south of that point are perfectly safe as I am informed and there are Peace Corps Volunteers operating in those areas at the moment so no worries. I don't plan on taking any risks also.

Lots of familiar faces te next few days.
-Alex

Spending some time in Parakou at the moment. Running out of money on hand so I'll be heading to the bank tomorrow morning. My mother and Patrick visited me a few weeks ago which was great. I hope they enjoyed it for the most part even though the lifestyle here is slightly less comfortable than what they are used to. Will be heading down to Cotonou in a few weeks to do a peer support network session with the new group of volunteers that just arrived this month. They have one more month of training before they swear in as volunteers on Sept. 5th. Quite a good feeling seeing them and knowing that I have been here for my first year. A sense of accomplishment I guess; knowing that I have been here and am still here is satisfying.

The vacation from teaching has been great. Having the opportunity to travel and relax on my schedule has been a nice change of pace. Hoping to visit Niger the 2nd week in September with my fellow volunteer Aaron if everything goes as planned.

My department is receiving at least three male volunteers in this new group so I will no longer be the only male PCV in the Alibori. A little more testosterone will do the Kandi workstation some good.

Rainy season is awesome (besides the plethora of mosquitoes and the little problem of malaria).
-Alex

Alex sent me a few more pictures from a hunt for hippos, an AIDS awareness bike ride, and from his trip to Ghana with Carly.  There's about 17 new pictures in the album.  Enjoy!

WEBSITE:

www.alexinbenin.shutterfly.com

password:  peacecorp


~Chelsea

So here we are in Tamale in the northern region of Ghana. We will be heading over to Mole National Park in a few hours. Hopefully we get to see some reasonable things even though the rainy season has started (dry season requires the animals to be near specific watering holes). So far this trip has been fantastic. Seeing a different nation in West Africa has greatly improved my understanding of development and diversity in this region. Pulling into Accra, the capital of Ghana, on the first day we arrived was breathtaking. The difference is quite amazing in the level of development between here and Cotonou (the economic capital of Benin). I have also started to see how the colonial influence in these countries (the British and the French) have drastically varied their outcomes.

Heading back to Benin in a few days and will be starting the Alibori Malaria Bike Tour the day after I arrive in Gogounou (hopefully). I believe about fifteen volunteers, the majority from the Alibori department (home sweet home), will be riding from village to village with local language interpreters(sp?) to inform the populace of Malaria(la paludisme). What is it, How do you get it, How do you protect yourself and your family, etc.

Great times ahead.
-Alex@Tamale, Ghana

Been awhile since I've posted but things are still rolling along as usual.

Quite hot this week, about 100 degrees inside the house and 130ish out in the sun. I think this might be the hottest week or two of the year. Rainy season (and the mangoes) should be arriving at the end of April/early May. I shall feast on mangoes until I can't stand the sight of them. Produce is hard to find and doesn't last long around these parts. The heat has been so rough that it appears my laptop screen has died. A week ago the internal clock kept reseting which was just the start of the problems. As of two days ago my screen will turn on for about 2-4 seconds and then cut out each time it's turned on. She was an old one but I'll miss her. C'est le chaleur. But now I actually have very few distractions to keep me away from studying for the GREs which I plan on taking about two months from now in Accra. My mother and step-father are currently planning on visiting me at the end of June or early July. Hopefully I can convince them to bring along a new pc for me.

This week is the 3rd set of exams at the CEG in Gogounou. The last ones supposively start on the 13th of May so we'll have about 3 more weeks of teaching and then the school year is finished. Lots of things are happening this summer. I believe there is a faculty meeting at my school on June 6th so I'll remain around town until then. After that my current plans are Ghana from the 10th-20th, take the GREs my 1st full day there and then vacation it up in the most developed country in W. Africa. As mentioned above, my mother and step-father are planning a visit here after that; I hope they are in the process of receiving their shots as they will need a good amount in order to remain healthy here. After that I believe I will be working in an English summer school for a week in Ketou in the south of Benin. It's managed by a 2nd year volunteer who apparently had a successful run of it last year. I nearly forgot that this years group of volunteers will be landing in Cotonou on July 4th. I would like to be there to see them in but who knows if other events will allow that to happen.

Just received two packages yesterday which was a nice surprise. One of the envelopes was unfortunately open and taped shut; it appears that goods were stolen out of them. I believe it may have been just powdered mashed potatoes, but those are a nice fix of cuisine Americana out here. Oh well. The other package was fortunately loaded with a wide variety of untampered goods.

Received a letter from my friend in Peace Corps Micronesia. Went to college with him and we applied around the same time. I sent him some Beninese cotton in my letter and he returned some Micronesian sand. Not sure if I mentioned that in a previous post but I still find it wild. Oh and he only has about 10-15 kids per class (also an English teacher) in comparison to our 60+. Each PC experience is vastly different, that's for sure.

Things are moving fast.
Best wishes from the Alibori, the "hottest" place in Benin.
-Alex@Gogounou

In service training started a few days ago. Finally figured out the internet slightly and am surfing at mil/4 hours which isn't bad at all. Unfortunately some of my fellow TEFLers can't seem to get their wireless to work so my computer may be a hub for them tonight. Have been eating great the past few days at no cost to myself which is great. The ride from Parakou to Cotonou was a little rough, but hey, air conditioned rooms were worth it.

Heading back up north next Saturday.

Etrade has been a major pain. Logged on from Parakou and Cotonou and apparently the internet services the Peace Corps uses route somewhere from the US and the other from S. Africa. So Etrade cut off access to my securities accounts so I can't view my funds. I informed them of my phone number here (as my mother did as well) and they refused to call me. I ended up calling them today just to make sure my funds are secure (which they are). I was on hold and wasted 8mil of credit just to learn nothing was really wrong. They still refused to contact me in anyway which is unfortunate. Oh well at least some scammer didn't grab my dough somehow. Probably won't have visual access to them until I'm finished here.

All of us are having a great time. Really nice to see everyone. Hard to believe it's been nearly 4 months since the last time our group was together.

Should find out this Friday if I have been picked to work training next year. I'll no longer be a new guy at that point.

Best regards as always,
-Alex@Gogounou

Hope everything is well at your end. Things are rolling along here as great as ever. Teachers have yet to stop striking so all the students at my school have yet to have a full week of school since Dec. I have been informed that the school year ends at the end of May too. Now that I have a tentative schedule I can start planning for my visit to Accra to take the GRE (I'm told it's possible). Also heard you can get mexican food and beer on tap there so that made the deal.

Arm is doing better, called a PC doc a week or so ago and he sent up some paperwork for me to fill out. Hurts a bit when I rotate my forearm but besides that it's fully functional. In case my arm falls off when I'm 30 I'll at least have documentation as to when it all started.

Heading down to Porto Novo, the 'official' captial of Benin, after next week for our IST (In-Service Training). Will be seeing all my fellow PSL20 TEFLers there which will be nice. Porto Novo is also the old colonial French capital so there should be some interesting colonial structures etc there.

Working with a friend of mine in Gogounou who runs a little cafe. He makes fantastic omlette sandwiches in case you're ever in the area. He wants to start a cyber-cafe right in downtown Gogounou behind his stand; would be fantastic if we can get it running. Started him off on a financing notebook as he never kept track of his finances before that. Hopefully after a month we can get a good idea of his income at least from the cafe. He also goes to Parakou every week so if I need anything he hooks a brother up. Filled up a propane tank for me not too long ago which was a major boon.

Got a ceiling in my house just in time for hot season. I can tell the difference already!

Keeping cool in Gogounou.
-Alex