Reprise July

The second year of Peace Corps service brings with it an odd mix of old and new. Routines are pretty set. New projects arise and with them a more level-headed approach to community work. We take on more leadership roles. In my experience, it’s a lot of the same, just better because we’re acclimated, comfortable, and more empowered. My month of July has seen many moments played on repeat from last year from a Fourth of July party to youth camp, and I’ve enjoyed the chance to improve and soak it all up anew. The same applies to a visit from a dear college friend where I shared common Beninese sites and sights, in so doing shedding light on my experiences for myself. Taken together, that’s why I call this month 'Reprise July.’

First, just like last year I hosted a Fourth of July party at my site. We had the same girls and boys inter-village soccer tournament followed by a ceremony, hot dogs, and a film screening. This year we had two nicer trophies for the winners as well as two medals for the losing teams. We also avoided mustard on the hot dogs based on last year's lukewarm reactions. The evening went well with much fanfare and fun, though one girls team had to forfeit for lack of players and an hour delay sped up the closing ceremony. In the end, people seemed to have a good time, and that’s what matters most.

The following week I attended Camp Unité Ouidah for Girls. Last year I served as a co-coordinator and accountant. This year I was the camp director, so I’ve been planning this project since Thanksgiving with contracts, grant proposals, budgets, and a slew of other administrative tasks. We held an educational and logistics counselor workshop with volunteers and counterparts in June and plunged into camp week on July 7.

Forty-one participants from six different villages from across southern Benin played games, sang songs, and learned a myriad of empowering messages on leadership, public speaking, personal time and money management, study habits, nutrition, sexual health, menstrual health, malaria, HIV/AIDS, self-confidence, career planning, the importance of education, art, music, history, and culture. We took field trips into the historic town of Ouidah to the Vodoun Python Temple, the contemporary art museum, and the historic Slave Route. At the end of the week, participants had developed lasting friendships and plans to teach their peers the same camp lessons come fall semester.

Camp week was swiftly followed by a week with Gabe Barrett, a dear friend from Macalester and a PCV in Morocco. I met him in Cotonou before heading up to the rocky bluffs of Dassa for hiking. We then visited the Abomey royal palace and UNESCO World Heritage Site before traveling to Lac Ahémé and my site. We spent a morning in Ouidah as well between visits to friends and neighbors at my site. We finished the trip with a day in Cotonou and a quick visit to Ganvié, “the Venice of Africa.” Ganvié is 300 years old and began as an island fishing village hidden from the conquests of the powerful Dahomey Kingdom. It quickly grew to a sizeable town built almost entirely on stilts in the waters of Lac Nokoué. Each family has three canoes to get around, one for each parent and a third for the kids.

Gabe’s trip was a chance to share what I’ve learned and loved about Benin, and he enjoyed the sites and meetings along the way. Besides Ganvié, I had already done everything else on his tour. Throw that on top of two projects repeated from last year, and it served as a refreshing new experience on top of three weeks of difficult but familiar territory. Those three weeks and their successes showed me how much I’ve grown and learned as a Volunteer and temporary resident of Benin. They were a chance to build, enhance, observe, and reflect. Like a musical reprise, the melody proved just as sweet in new keys and tempos, the band just as eager to play, and me with the baton always ready with the rhythm.