Dear Readers,
On Thursday, I had a nice and productive day. When the days are full of things to do time passes faster and the pangs of loneliness and boredom don't sting so much. At the orphanage I was helping the kids learn some basic English greetings like 'Good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good night' and when I came back at 4 o'clock they all greeted me with "Good Afternoon!" They are so sweet and welcoming. Just being around them makes me so happy. On Friday I went to Cotonou (about an hour drive from Ouidah), which is the big city in the South of Benin. To be quite honest it is really a disgusting city. It is flooding with people, the streets are dirty and the poverty level is even more pronounced. I accompanied Brownie on her every two week grocery trip. She goes to Cotonou to buy her groceries because there is a much larger variety of food and super markets. There are Indian, Lebanese, and local supermarkets and we went to about five in total. I was able to buy some groceries such as yoghurt, soya milk, muesli, and instant soup. These are just in case I am unable to buy dinner or lunch in Ouidah, which has happened before.
Yesterday I went to the orphanage to speak to the director so that we could devise a schedule for next week. There was a strike for the teachers because they were unhappy with there pay and therefore classes were cut down from five times a week to twice a week. However, one of the labour unions has resumed teaching and so my schedule at the orphanage is a little bit different. I will go to the orphanage on Mondays through Fridays at 7 am and attend class with them until 12. I will then go home for lunch and return to the orphanage at 2 until 5:30 where I will accompany them to there evening classes and spend time with them beforehand. In total I will be spending 8 hours a day with the children, which I am happy about because that is my purpose of being here, that is why I decided to volunteer in the first place.
Anyway that is all for now. Till next time!
Bisous
On Thursday, I had a nice and productive day. When the days are full of things to do time passes faster and the pangs of loneliness and boredom don't sting so much. At the orphanage I was helping the kids learn some basic English greetings like 'Good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good night' and when I came back at 4 o'clock they all greeted me with "Good Afternoon!" They are so sweet and welcoming. Just being around them makes me so happy. On Friday I went to Cotonou (about an hour drive from Ouidah), which is the big city in the South of Benin. To be quite honest it is really a disgusting city. It is flooding with people, the streets are dirty and the poverty level is even more pronounced. I accompanied Brownie on her every two week grocery trip. She goes to Cotonou to buy her groceries because there is a much larger variety of food and super markets. There are Indian, Lebanese, and local supermarkets and we went to about five in total. I was able to buy some groceries such as yoghurt, soya milk, muesli, and instant soup. These are just in case I am unable to buy dinner or lunch in Ouidah, which has happened before.
Yesterday I went to the orphanage to speak to the director so that we could devise a schedule for next week. There was a strike for the teachers because they were unhappy with there pay and therefore classes were cut down from five times a week to twice a week. However, one of the labour unions has resumed teaching and so my schedule at the orphanage is a little bit different. I will go to the orphanage on Mondays through Fridays at 7 am and attend class with them until 12. I will then go home for lunch and return to the orphanage at 2 until 5:30 where I will accompany them to there evening classes and spend time with them beforehand. In total I will be spending 8 hours a day with the children, which I am happy about because that is my purpose of being here, that is why I decided to volunteer in the first place.
Anyway that is all for now. Till next time!
Bisous
The Prof and Matt on the balcony
Emma son! hhaha
chili peppers ;)
OMG that's a lot of chilies! haha Is the food a bit spicy there?
ReplyDeleteYES! They love spice! and I'm happy because I love spice too! :)
ReplyDelete