Country Info
- Porto-Novo
- Capital
- CFA Franc BCEAO (XOF)
- Currency
- 6,590,782
- Population
- BJ
- Country Code
Benin Slideshow
Benin
Travel Blogs from Benin
Waiting...
... her....turns out, I was just wandering around with her. She had no idea where Aug lived. That is a common occurrence here in Benin, people don't like to admit that they don't know...or they just want to try to help the "Yovo" (foreigner). Finally, a ...
post visit
This past week, for three nights, I went on my post visit. This was just a visit to where I will be living for the next two years to see the village and meet the people I will be working with. To start out the voyage from Copargo, I had a mini-bus ride ...
The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day
... very bad day"), but I thought I would share with you the events that have occurred today because they could only happen in Benin and they could only happen to me. First, I need to explain this Beninese French concept of "doucement." Literally it ...
Cooking chez-moi
TDA preperation, Peer Support Network informative session, TDA Session (the actual teaching), & then Cooking Class at my house with ALL of the Stagieres....Everyone came to my house to begin the preparaton of tomorrow's meal. They (NOT me) killed 7 ...
My Class Teaches Me
My Accounting class in Sehoue wanted to teach me how to make pate/pot after class one day. So, this is me making pot with jus (tomatoes, onion, piment and oil) sauce and mutton (precooked by ...
Drumming, Road Accident,THAI FOOD!
... that Africa may be better without police, since the majority of people are quite honest. This happened several times in Burkina and Benin. Trip had some nice scenery - it was good to see lots of green again after the SuperSahelian landscape! Got to ...
oooh, fanmilk
... some insight and hear the "truth" about the Peace Corps. Everything seems very promising and all the volunteers absolutely love it here in Benin. Afterword, we went to the office and had a little tour of Cotonou. A driver took us on a car tour of the ...
Togothon day 3, part II
... ewe what we wanted and he walked us there---after about 100 yards we were stopped by water. water! apparently we couldn't touch Benin. we felt like idiots--we completely failed to notice the river on the map. but there it was staring us in the ...
Voodoo Holiday and Muslim Praying in Kolokondé
... sacrifice to the fetish. I can't remember how much we've already written about this topic, so I'll start from the beginning. Benin is known for the birth of voodoo. The people here were the first to practice voodoo. It was the slaves that brought ...
Voodoo demonstration
Cross Culture class was actually interesting today. We had a guest speaker, a Medicine Man. He did a demonstration using a chicken; I think it's some sort of Voodoo thing. Someone had to tell the chicken a secret message. It was supposed to take ...
I finally whipped out my camera!
... right on. Soon I'll have a wardrobe full of African clothes! But mostly this entry is here because I finally went on a trip and remembered my camera, so I thought I'd give you all a glimpse of Benin, and my dad a look at what zemidjan look like. ...
The next 2 years of my life...
... 's a city about an hour and a half from Cotonou. It's located on the "goudrone", the main highway that goes north and south in Benin. Since it's on the main highway, it has access to a lot of goods for it's marche...Nice. I'll be in Houegbo with a ...
Easter Weekend
After the All-Vol Conference the US Ambassador Wayne Neille (spelling??) invited usu to his home for a cookout and ...
Time spent in Materi
... their smaller villages outside of Materi and teach everyone. Hopefully these small village efforts will keep the disease from spreading through Benin as it has in many other African countries. So the talk of the town is this formation, and the ...
The road back home
Slept in until 9am, then went to the nearby omelet stand for breakfast. I had an omelet sandwich with Milo (hot chocolate). I don't usually like hot chocolate, but it's growing on me... It also seems weird to be drinking hot chocolate during "summer" ...
Genevieve
A friend/neighbor named Genevieve. She is a primary school teacher at a private school. She hired a photographer to take our photo for a souvenir... Of course, the family all had to have their photo with me ...
Coffee Break
In Africa, "pause café" means much, much more than "coffee break". It means taking time from the pursuit of money or the focus on daily perceived needs and stepping away from the boss of time, gathering around food and drink, greeting with a hand shake ...
Is training over yet???
... village north of Comé and everyone was very friendly and smiled and salutated us as we rode by. Today's a big day for the Benin Soccer team because they are playing in the African Cup. If they win today the continue but if they loose they're out so ...
Fashion Show
We had a "Fashion Show" today for our cultural training. I volunteered (can you believe that??) to be one of the models. There are 4 different types of "typical" African dress for females: boom-bas, bou-bous, jupes, and pangnes. I don't know which is ...
August 15th Party
Every year in Hoegbo there is a festival on August 15th with dancing, food and booths. At the end, two neighborhoods (Yenawa and Houegbo Gare) with Houegbo played soccer against each other. My neighborhood (Yenawa) won. (Ye na wa is Fon for ...
A day in Azove
In the morning, I had to meet the other trainees at a building referred to as Ecobank. Our typical schedule for the next three months is to meet there from 8-12:30, have lunch from 12:30-3, and go back to the Ecobank from 3-5:30ish. After that, we ...
SALAD!! =)
My new Fon vocabulary: "Kwah-bo" = Welcome "Oooo" = The response to Kwah-bo "Aw wa new" = Thank you "A-O" = No "AAAAnnnnn" = Yes "Why do new" = Come eat "En go ho" = I'm full Spero (my brother) and Emily (my cousin) left today for 2 weeks. ...
Laundry day
I learned how to do my laundry by hand today. The family though this was the funniest thing, watching someone do their laundry for the first time by hand... I didn't see it as that funny, but whatever. It's quite the process. First, you put your ...
Just some photos, really.
I'm sitting at the computer, missing election-night TV and trying not to gloat at everyone (only ALP voter about, you see), so I decided to upload some photos to distract myself. Although they're no different to the one's on my facebook, so if you've ...
choses-la
In an awe-inspiring discussion of health and nutrition and the market and all things Benin, one of our Beninese facilitators said, "You are here to fix choses-la." Choses-la means, literally, things there. But, in Beninese French it is a discreet ...
Thanksgiving
... I should. If it upsets anyone I am sorry but life is very different here. So here is my new post. So here in benin, there exists the police and the gendarmerie, which is basically a whole bunch of military guys toting around m-16s, looking scary and ...
I'm here!!!
Greetings all, I have finally made it to Parakou. After two full days of flying and two days at the guest house in Cotonou I am here in Parakou in a big oasis of Aussieness. I have already eaten a whole lot of food of a ladies head and bought ...
Down on the Farm
Today I have more photos for the RPCV who donated money to Joseph. This time I photographed corn and cassava (manioc) fields. You also can see the people who cultivate the ...