1. I've probably made my fear of snakes well known. Come on, they don't have legs and they're long and move weird and they're scary!!! This feeling is completely rational. The scarier part is that I know that Africa has snakes, unlike New Zealand which my sister told me when I was little has no indigenous reptile species. But alas New Zealand is slightly too developed for Peace Corps to send people there. Honestly, I am pretty scared of snakes in Benin and even more scared that some little kid will find out how much they freak me out and put one in my room or something. Other wildlife (mammals) I'm super excited about. But legless creatures I could do without.
2. Vegetables. Ok so hear me out, when I interviewed the interviewer asked me how I would feel about eating a different diet or having only limited foods available to me as a volunteer. I think I said something like I would be fine with that and that eating new kinds of food would be part of the adventure. I didn't lie, but I was worried about what that actually meant. I didn't know if that meant I'd be eating rice and tomatoes for every meal or if I'd be eating meat from animals I'd rather pet or what. Fast forward to what I know now, and Beninese food sounds awesome. The family Sandy and I have been tutoring lived in Benin for 15 years and they had a lot to say about how many fruits and vegetables are available and how good the food is. So...now I'm pumped! There's even a Beninese beer.
3. Loneliness. Buzz kill, sorry. It's a little daunting though when they tell you not to worry, there will be another volunteer within 50 km of where you're posted. But but...50 km?! That's kind of the point though, and I do want the challenge, but that doesn't mean it doesn't scare me. It's liberating to leave all of your ties behind, but with that comes the task of making new ones. I don't HAVE to be lonely though, right? It's not that I'll be isolated from people in general, just that I'll probably be isolated from English speaking Americans. So why can't I make French (or otherwise) speaking African friends? Scarier, sure, but the opportunity for new relationships will be laid out right in front of me. Proactivity!
Packing/unpacking/repacking is going well, almost all of the stuff that will stay at my parents' house is now in the attic or a closet or a pile for Goodwill. I'm going to attempt to do a trial run of packing to see how I'm doing space-wise. I found out that my guitar case counts as one of my two allowed checked bags, but I'm hoping that's not an issue. I don't think the weight limit (80 lbs) will be tough considering I do have to carry everything I bring, and...80 pounds is a lot. I feel like I've bought SO much stuff recently and I don't really like that feeling. This experience is a step away from materialism and here I am buying things, but they say it's stuff I need? Hope I'm/they're right. The days are going FAST.
No comments:
Post a Comment