Going back up

So I got the green light to head back up to post, which is exciting. I will be coming back down at the end of the month to participate in the national VAC. I log a LOT of hours on those buses. Speaking of which, I heard of another Intercity bus catching fire and burning up near where my accident happened...looking forward to that cursed S-curve. Helped interview the next generation of PCVLs yesterday so I know who is replacing me, the other UF grad here in Benin (congrats to Jeff).

Flights

So apparently there is a large volcano in Iceland or somewhere that is closing out all the airports in Europe. We PCVs in Benin would normally pay no attention to this except that Paris is our one gateway out of here, back to America. There are a lot of people in the Office right now (I am still here and will prob be here for a couple days) that are coming to/from America for differing reasons. My wrist was examined and the docs put me on a large dosage of anti-inflammatory drugs. They said nothing was structurally wrong but they sent the CT scan to Washington to have it double checked. I asked for a copy (I have a copy of my MRI done to my knee) but the doc got very defensive and would not let me have one. I think he believed I was asking because I wanted a second opinion and did not trust his assessment. In reality I just thought it would be cool to have a copy of the scan. As I stated earlier, I have been in Cotonou all month...I need to get back and do work (the workstation seems to be falling apart, according to the phone calls I have been receiving). A number of other PCVs were sent to S. Africa for medical reasons. Their descriptions make it sound like a nice place.

Still in the south

I am still in Cotonou until the docs can give me the results of the CT scan. We are just waiting on the local hospital to send the results over to PC and then another doc will look me over. I finished the Personal Narratives for the State Dept and I should find out by June if they want me to come for the 2nd round of interviews.

check-up

The workstation (and the surrounding town) has been without power and electricity for over 2 weeks now (H2O has also been off/on)...this is why I am late on my update. I passed the FSOT. Now I will fill out some personal narratives and if all goes well I will be invited to Washington D.C. in October to finish the application process. Project Play really went well. 5 teams showed up and 8 coaches from all over the department. The skill level of the kids was surprisingly high. This weekend I am near the internet most of the time so I'll be responding to emails. It is still dusty and cooler in the Alibori...the dust made me a bit sick. I also helped paint a health center mural about a balanced diet.

Crazy Chaleur Weather

A couple days ago the weather here in the Alibori really started acting strange. Temps reached upper the 90's...which is normal, the temps should have kept rising until we reached mid 100's. Then the wind picked up for two days and kicked up a lot of dust. Finally two days ago it actually RAINED for about 4-5 mins. Yesterday and today we had about 150m of visability...the dust was so thick in the air that you could taste it breathing. I caught one of the large lizards running aroung the workstation only to find out they have unproportionaly large teeth for such a small animal. He caught me in the thumb and left two long teeth marks.

Computer online

I finally got the workstation computer operational again! It was been a couple weeks since we have had reliable internet up here in the north. The summer heat (chaleur) is coming and now the mercury never dips below 90 degrees. Even the water coming for the faucet is hot! It will keep climbing into the 100's until April/May. I plan to make strategic vacations to the south over the next couple months to minimize my exposure and heat rash. Currently chugging along on assisting Project Play to put on a soccer formation for C.E.G. students in a couple weeks (projectplayafrica.org). I received permission to us the stadium, got funding for a nearby team to travel for the match, and also helped organize a girl’s team to join in the activities. The end of service is fast approaching. Applications for upp0er level positions for PCVs have gone out and everyone is planning their next steps. The FSOT was interesting. My essay question asked for what I believed should be the U.S. policy position on illegal immigrants...I was luckier than those who got the question about the special appropriations committee! I am still harried right now by many admin issues but I will try and get a couple Mali photos up by the end of the week. Health update: My left hand is still bothering me. The docs decided to get me a CT scan but all doctors in Benin are on strike (and have been for 3 months)...we don't know when I will finally get the CT scan...maybe next week. This just means more trips to Cotonou, which I have been anxious to avoid. I have noticed that I have a higher sensitivity to the insane driving we all encounter here as PCVs.

FSOT and b-day wishes

Happy late-birthday to everyone who had February birthdays and my mother (her birthday was yesterday). I took the Foreign Service Officer Test a couple days ago and feel that I did pretty well on it. After returning to post I found out the the power regulator and fridge and computer and security lights were blown from a power surge...that is why I have been out of contact for a while. I will try and get photos of the Mali trip up as soon as a new computer gets up to the workstation.