I have now been at post for a little over a month, and what a month it has been. Most mornings I wake up (from the sound of the lady sweeping next door) at 6 am and think, what will should I do today? Play the 20th game of solitaire, practice juggling, clean my house... again. Then I roll out of bed, sometimes go for a run, and eat breakfast and study french... lots of french. Maybe someday I will get it down. The other morning I woke up freezing, looked at the thermometer and it was 74 degrees! I'm turning African!

In a country where there seems to be no concept of time or right angles, the oranges are in fact green and even the goats stare at you, I have started to establish my first home. On any given day I can walk down the street and get a lunch of beans and rice for 150cfa. That's the equivalent of about 3 cents at home. ( I think I did the math right) It would be served to me by a teenage girl with a bright smile on her fave. It is not uncommon to see kids, especially girls selling food on the corner or working in the market. Now that the initial shock of the walking through the markets is over, I'm starting to notice other things besides the bright colors and hustle and bussel. For example, the young lady who may sell your tomatoes is actually a young mom with a baby nursing and another child at her feet. Or that the toddler in the next booth over is staring at you with wide-eyed and trembling because you may be the first "yovo" he has ever seen.

As for work, they tell us our first three months here should be to practice a language (french or local) and observe the town, culture, and your work place. I will eventually be working for an NGO called ODEC. It is primarily a micro-finacning institution, but they do some health care as well. Once my french gets up to par I will be going into villages and teaching about basic hygiene and water sanitation, malaria prevention, malnutrition and the such. As November rolls around, I plan to start up an English club at the High school.

There is a quote by C.S. Lewis that was given to me before I left that I keep coming back to. It says " One who has journeyed into a strange land can not remain unchanged." Some days I fight that reality, I don't want to change. But then I realize it isn't Benin that is the strange land but rather it's the future, so why fight it. We all have a future, it's part of the adventure of life. Change happens to use all. Kind of exciting isn't it?

Before I ramble anymore, I'll get to the part that you all have been asking me for....

PICTURES!!! Sorry it has taken so long. Internet where I can upload photos is hard to come by. I've picked out a few of my favorites. Enjoy!

My host family! Isaac, Terese, Rose, Sophie, and Dorcas.

Rose, it was the only way I could get her to smile for the camera.

This is the way the women care EVERYTHING and they usually have a baby on there back. I'll have to work on it.

We do get rain here, well at least right now. It's the rainy season. When it rains, it pours... and the temp. drops!

A girls dance group on the Aug. 1st independence day celebration. (Noli, you would have loved watching the local dance!!)

A stage field trip to the special forest. Lots of fetishes, and statues and interesting cultural observations. See what you think about this one.

On the beach at Oudiah. This photo was taken near the point of no return where many people were sold into slavery.

Another stage field trip to Grand Popo. Yes we did actually do a lot of hard work during stage, it wasn't all fun in the sun. The beach at Grand Popo is beautiful, but the ocean is too strong to swim in. So you just watch the waves.

Sorry this picture is turned funny.

My very first meal at post. Mac and cheese from Aunt Brenda! Yum!!!!

My house! I have a front room, "kitchen," bedroom, WC, and shower..... and lots of windows!!!

Hiking with Debra and Hollie. Debra is super awesome post mate. She lives about 10 k away and works for an environmental NGO. This may look like the biggest corn you have ever seen but it is actually Millet.

Another turned picture. Sorry, I'll get better at this. This is the view from the top of the mountain. Pretty neat, huh?!

This is Africa...

If you have made it to the bottom of the page, thanks for sticking with me. If you have any questions, please ask! I would love to try to answer them. Even if you don't have any questions, send me an email some time, keep me updated.