Yovo yovo, bonne soir, ça va bien, merci!!

Finally, I am a celebrity!! Not as fun as it sounds, but nonetheless amusing. The title of the post is what every child under the age of 6 sings to you as you walk or ride by. It almost feels like I'm in the Tour de France the way people yell when you bike by, minus the France part and add the Africa part with sand roads and moutnain bike. To translate the cheer, its a little Fon and a lot of French: Whitey whitey, good evening, how are you, thanks! Just about as clear as every other peice of language is here for us right now, my host family for examlpe speaks a melange of yoruba, goon, fon, and french. Its like I am 2 years old again, especially with the lack of a solid stool in the past 5 days. So voila, there's my celeb story, ain't everyone jelaous?

Also, the title of the blog, Dedeme Benin. Dede, is Fon for Doucement, which is French and said here often as part of the local culture/slang. It translates in english to take it easy, relax, be careful, watch out, mainly mix of all of those, which I found fitting, since I plan to be as careful as can be here, and also because its a mindset one must have here in order to make it. You could say doucement if you saw someone fall off their bike, or if you saw someone sprinting to the bathroom while clenching their buttocks. Either way we find it quite endearing here.

So Benin, whew, impossible to put you here, its quite a place. Every day I bike by dozens of goats, cows, etc... and have casually killed 8 cockroaches in my confines for 'stepping up in my spot'. They don't even put up a fight, it lost its fun quickly, and now its just my attmpt to stop the most evolved species on the planet. Messed up that they're it, huh? I have the most adorable 6 year old nephew who we have titled, Mon ombre, meaning my shadow. My father here is a retired teacher, born the same year as my real father, and has 7 children, so a lack of company at the house is never an issue. They have also begun calling me le roi americain, not sure why, but if I can keep getting all my meals made and cleaned for me while they call me king, i'll gladly take the absence of a normal intestinal tract.

Alright, time is very short here, as we get accostomed to the life and as Peace Corps keeps us occupied at almost all times. I hope to post again soon with more info. Today I got to weigh my first babies, and gave a presentation in French on nutrition in the village. And no babies peed on me, boom!