A day in the life

Typically our blog posts will be thematic rather than chronological. However, I decided to post the first couple of entries in my journal because they give a pretty good feel of some of the differences we experience - expected and unexpected. I hope this post gives you a glimpse into our lives as we get settled.

 

2 August 2013 – Fernand

·         Day 1 to brave an unknown city full of strangers without being able to share the same language. 

·         We live in a four bedroom, four bathroom, several other room, and distiller in the kitchen, house. We looked out the window of our bedroom in the morning and the neighboring lot is bare dirt inhabited by a scene from a national geographic show about rural Africa. Mom cooking over a fire, chickens scratching for food, tin roofing material put together to form a shelter, more tin for a latrine. We appear to be in a land of sharp contrast.

Is this a Bird of Paradise? They grow like weeds here.

·         Met a guide (Vitali) who said he could get us to school. He had no idea where he was going, but eventually got there after experiencing our first zemidjan (motorcycle taxi). We were sure we would never take one. First preconception shattered.

·         We have to slow down. Most of the people stroll slowly to where they are going. Of course we figured it out after walking our normal pace for a few minutes and sweating. Walk slowly and keep your cool – maybe that’s a good philosophy.

·         When we got to school we met several local staff members who were ecstatic to see us.

Eric – office manager

Lambert – guard (school is guarded 24/7/365)

Rene' – gardener

Fernand – janitor

PS. Several of these people earn an annual salary, full-time, of less than $3000. Amazingly, with an average per capita income of less than $300/yr, this salary puts them comfortably into the middle class – if there is one.

Fernand became our guide and mentor.

·         30 yrs old with a wife and two kids that he is proud of.

·         He walked approximately 5 miles showing us the right way to get to school – about 15 blocks. He showed us how and where to shop. We have an idea of what is better to buy on the street (phones, fruit, pots) or in the store (perishables) and what sort of prices are right (the currency of Benin is the Central African Franc – CFA with a value of approx $1 = 500 CFA).

·         Karin has become a quick pupil of French – always asking Fernand to teach her. Our goal is to speak passable French with the locals and we have asked the school staff to teach us. The local Fon dialect may be next J.

·         He took us to a local restaurant for lunch. Foofoo (a word from my childhood – don’t know if it’s the right one) made with maize (think sticky mashed potatoes) with peanut sauce and goat meat. Yum. Karin had the vegetable sauce; which she was enjoying until finding a crab and some other meat that she could not identify. We have leftovers in the fridge.

·         Apparently he is also our housekeeper and gardener. When we got home from marketing, he pruned, cleaned, and scrubbed the front porch and yard. He even washed the trees.

Looking forward to day 2: going in to school for a while, then hit the markets on our own. We will try to bargain well.

3 August 2013: Lizards galore

·         At 9 am, Karin and I decided to walk to school and check it out for a while on our own. We remembered the route from yesterday with no problems. Maybe it was because it was not too hot yet, but there were hundreds of lizards that scampered out of our way while we walked the half mile. They were mostly brown geckos of various sizes from three to six inches. Then there were the colorful ones that could get up to eight inches. 

Look what followed me home. Can I keep it?

·         The infrastructure here is not good. The roads in our neighborhood make outer east Portland side streets look like heaven. Amazingly, there is a steady stream of cars and zemidjan all day. The word is that they do fill the holes on a regular basis, but the abundant rain undoes their work very quickly. 

Trust me. I called the city about the pothole.

·         On our walk to school, noticed that garbage and other refuse was stacked up on the sides of the streets. Another infrastructure issue. We did find out that “Napoleon” takes care of our garbage. Three days a week, we put our garbage can outside of our locked gate when we leave. He gives it to the “garbage collectors” and gives our can back when he sees us come back home. I am not clear yet where the garbage goes. From what I understand they sort it thoroughly and reuse most of it. The rest…?

Crows are important recyclers everywhere.

·         The school is interesting. It is in a villa across the street from UNESCO and the Ghanaian Embassy. I counted five teaching spaces (classrooms). However, we are finalizing the lease of the building next door which will greatly expand our space. 

·         We were able to get on line today for the first time while at school. That means we could let our family and friends know that we arrived safely. We will get internet at the house next week. Then we will be able to communicate regularly. It will be expensive – 50,000 CFA ($100/mo).

·         Fernand went to the market with us again today. Karin is picking it up fast. She got some supplies as well as the makings of dinner and some local beer – Beaufort (think Bud). When at the market we have to be careful not to spend too much money. It would draw too much attention to ourselves. Even though we have a list of things we need to outfit our kitchen, we will accumulate them over time. Yesterday we negotiated a set of three aluminum pots for $12,000 CFA ($24).

It's not a good summer Ale, but what are you gonna do? Go local.

PS: we found out that our neighbors are Nigerian Muslims and this is Ramadan. Have not met them yet.