The big day is finally approaching - I leave tomorrow for Philadelphia, where I will meet up with the other folks in my cohort. On Thursday, we get on a plane for Benin! (well, technically to Paris, but then to Benin).
I've been trying to sort out how I'm feeling about leaving, and the truth is, I don't know yet. I have a feeling I won't know until I get to Benin, and maybe not a for a few months after that. I'm incredibly excited, but in the way you get excited before Christmas when you have absolutely no idea what you could possibly be getting as presents. It's hard to focus my excitement, since I really don't know exactly what I will be doing. I'm also very caught up in the minutiae of packing and leaving - how many pairs of underwear do I have? am I going to get a freaking shortwave radio? how do I drop 5 pounds from my suitcase without sacrificing an "essential" item? So I haven't thought much about actually being there.
Which is not to say I don't have plans for Benin. I am going to keep up this blog. I am going to write letters (proper, pen-and-paper letters. You will get one too if you write to me). I am going to try my hand at gardening. I am going to teach myself to crochet. In terms of being in my community, I am going to learn how to cook Beninese dishes. I am going to attend a voodoo ceremony (Benin is the home of the voodoo religion). I am going to ride my bike lots of places. I am going to get over my fear of motorcycles and get around on them. I am going to make a fool of myself trying to speak French and whatever local language they speak. I am going to try to dance (omg...me dancing? hilarious). I am going to work on my meeting new people skills. I am going to find out about Beninese NGOs. I feel a bit Stuart Smalley about the whole thing, but I think it's important to have some goals, and these seem like pretty manageable & concrete things to work on.
Oh, I realize that you might not even know what I'm going to be doing. As it turns out, I don't really either. I am a "small enterprise development" volunteer, which apparently means I could be working with local artisans, local entrepreneurs, an NGO, local government....the list goes on. I'm guessing that I will be in a town or semi-urban area and working with an NGO. Potentially I'll get to do some technology stuff (and use TTGO?!) as well. I would LOVE to work with an NGO that had some gender empowerment aspect to their work. It would be so cool to learn about what Beninese feminism looks like and how it plays out in organizational work. But
In a few days I will have much more interesting things to say and report. 'Til then, stay cool and wish me luck!
