Don't let the bed bug/mosquitoes/gnats bite...

Woops, too late...Yep, I’ve been getting eaten alive by something! I usually wake up in the middle of the night scratching frantically at my calves. Luckily, I found some “maximum strength” anti-itch gel in my Peace Corps med-kit that allowed me to sleep all night last night! YAY! Unfortunately, my “Mama” said that there are bugs in the salon (living room) that bite me while I eat. I can’t really help but laugh just a little at the situation cause it seems like everyone, even the bugs, know that there is fresh (white) meat in town ready to be picked on. Other than that things here are pretty good. Difficult, but good. It’s amazing how many highs and lows a person can have all in one day and I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing these almost everyday for the last 3 weeks. But, as I’d say here, “Ca va.” It’s a catch-all phrase for “it’s good.”

Anywho, Sunday was a very cool day. It was Benin’s 50^th Independence Day! There were parties all over Porto-Novo this weekend; including a large Voodoo festival in the soccer field next to my house and I got to watch a bit of it from my rooftop. My friend Veronica and I attempted to go to the main parade that was happening on the only paved road in Porto-Novo. We got there late but were able to see all the military guys before they left. Man, do they have some interesting armed forces. Hopefully my pictures will be up soon cause it is difficult to explain how bizarre some of the uniforms were. The jandarme, who are a sector of the military, the actual military, and even the firefighters wear camouflage and different colored hats. The navy wore white and the most interesting sectors, the BAC and CRS wear all black. The BAC can be compared to snipers and the CRS are straight-up Ninjas! They wore black facemasks like they were going to rob a bank and had ropes around their necks for repelling down buildings and such. They actually scared me when they walked past. Anywho, it was an awesome cultural exchange.

When I got home, I sat outside the front of the house with my host family and we just hung out. My French is getting better by the day and I can actually have decent conversations with my family! My brother Thierry brought out a checkers board and we played a game outside (while people were passing by and their jaws dropping to see a “blanche”). It was nice because you don’t really have to speak in checkers, and I can’t usually understand Thierry anyway even when he speaks French so it was a great activity for us. Even though there seems to be a language barrier, my host family and I get along great. They are all really funny and I can usually guess what they’re joking and laughing about, especially because they try to include me by explaining stuff in French when they’ve been speaking Fon. I really enjoy my time with them. They also give me lots of freedom and if I say I need to “study” they’ll leave me alone.

This is a big week because….I FIND OUT MY POST ON FRIDAY!! It seems so soon but I’m so happy that I can start planning and buying things before heading off to the village! I’ll keep you guys updated on where I’ll be as soon as I can!

Hope all is well in the good ol’ USA!