Reflections on a Month of Training
I have spent one month in Benin. It sounds trite, but it seems like ages since I left the United States. Many days have ticked by in biking to cross-culture classes, practicing French and Fon grammar, gardening in the hot sun, and goofing around with my toddler host siblings on the front steps of our house. Joys and monotonies sprinkle each day, but I have overall enjoyed and benefitted from my time in Pre-Service Training (PST). I will say that it has been a rather easy cultural transition, which I attribute to a semester in Senegal in both urban and rural areas there. So, word of advice to my younger peers interested in the Peace Corps: Study away serves as a great opportunity to test your meddle and interest in two years of service. Okay, I’ll end my stump speech there before I jump to too many conclusions.
My favorite aspect about PST so far has been the host family experience, though teaching local primary school students about building hand washing stations or workshopping a community map are close seconds. While I don’t converse with most of my family because of their limited French, I’m picking up phrases in Fon and having enjoyable and meaningful conversations with my parents who do speak French. Last week for example, my host dad and I discussed polygamy. He mentioned the economic motivation for having the large family (and multiplicity of adults) to work on the farm or in other income-generating activities. While this rationale still rests in often rigid gender norms and power imbalances, it was a point on which we could clearly communicate cultural differences. That is, I then went on to explain how economic activity and gender roles differ substantially in America, so it’s no surprise -at least from an economic standpoint, let alone a sociological one- that the two nations have different cultural norms. I found this a good example of cultural relativism and trying to relate cultural activity based on context and assumption instead of passing immediate judgment. More lightheartedly, I had a 20-minute joke argument with my host mom on why she can’t accompany me to site. From joking about my dad’s terrible (or nonexistent) cooking skills to how her two-year-old can’t fit in my backpack, it was a fun exchange that showed me how well I have come to operate socially in certain Beninese contexts.
I have news! Last week, the Director of Peace Corps Benin and a few embassy officials came to our training center to announce the site locations for our two years of service. With the first part of training under our belts, the next step is to travel to these sites for a two-week survey of our host organizations and communities. Some trainees require a day’s worth of buses and taxi-motos to reach their sites. On the contrary, I won’t have to travel far from the training center, seeing as my village site is… [**drum roll**] in a southern region on the banks of Lake Ahémé. In the organization application, my future supervisor noted the potential for projects on fish farming, gardening, moringa tree planting, marketing and accounting, and village savings and loans. The prospect and variety of these projects have me thrilled, as does the potential of living on a lake for two years. You can take the boy out of Minnesota, but you can’t take Minnesota out of the boy! I’m anxious for first impressions and getting to know my host organization counterpart, supervisor, language tutor, and other community members. All that happens this upcoming week, so stay tuned for another update!
My favorite aspect about PST so far has been the host family experience, though teaching local primary school students about building hand washing stations or workshopping a community map are close seconds. While I don’t converse with most of my family because of their limited French, I’m picking up phrases in Fon and having enjoyable and meaningful conversations with my parents who do speak French. Last week for example, my host dad and I discussed polygamy. He mentioned the economic motivation for having the large family (and multiplicity of adults) to work on the farm or in other income-generating activities. While this rationale still rests in often rigid gender norms and power imbalances, it was a point on which we could clearly communicate cultural differences. That is, I then went on to explain how economic activity and gender roles differ substantially in America, so it’s no surprise -at least from an economic standpoint, let alone a sociological one- that the two nations have different cultural norms. I found this a good example of cultural relativism and trying to relate cultural activity based on context and assumption instead of passing immediate judgment. More lightheartedly, I had a 20-minute joke argument with my host mom on why she can’t accompany me to site. From joking about my dad’s terrible (or nonexistent) cooking skills to how her two-year-old can’t fit in my backpack, it was a fun exchange that showed me how well I have come to operate socially in certain Beninese contexts.
Community members participated in a mapping exercise of their village.
The maps aim to identify and discuss the resources, advantages, and needs of
the community. Men make one map, and women make another to see
if there are any differences between them.
I have news! Last week, the Director of Peace Corps Benin and a few embassy officials came to our training center to announce the site locations for our two years of service. With the first part of training under our belts, the next step is to travel to these sites for a two-week survey of our host organizations and communities. Some trainees require a day’s worth of buses and taxi-motos to reach their sites. On the contrary, I won’t have to travel far from the training center, seeing as my village site is… [**drum roll**] in a southern region on the banks of Lake Ahémé. In the organization application, my future supervisor noted the potential for projects on fish farming, gardening, moringa tree planting, marketing and accounting, and village savings and loans. The prospect and variety of these projects have me thrilled, as does the potential of living on a lake for two years. You can take the boy out of Minnesota, but you can’t take Minnesota out of the boy! I’m anxious for first impressions and getting to know my host organization counterpart, supervisor, language tutor, and other community members. All that happens this upcoming week, so stay tuned for another update!
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