Le Bon Temps

Temps means both time and weather. Its meaning must be derived from its usage. I am using it as part of a larger phrase common in Benin. Après la pluie viennent le bon temps. "After the rain comes the good weather" is the most literal translation. "With the rains come the good temperatures" is closer to the actual meaning. In case you haven't figured out what I'm getting at yet let me tell you. It's raining again. It hasn't rained here in Ketou since November.

There are two rainy seasons in Benin. I arrived in Ketou during the short season, from mid-September to mid-November. The long season is just beginning. It runs from March through July. (The timing of seasons varies a bit from north to south. I am referring to the Ketou area only.) Supposedly it is a little cooler during the rainy seasons (le bon temps). It didn't seem to be anything I would call cool in October but maybe I wasn't acclimated to the hot climate at that point yet (for those readers who don't know I am a New Englander that very much prefers the mountains in fall to the beach in summer). In just the first few days of the rainy season I have noticed some changes. It is often very windy just before it rains. This obviously has at least a temporary cooling effect for a while (as well as providing a warning of the impending wetness). There are also some prolonged breezes after dark that makes sleeping a little less uncomfortable. Also, during the day it is not as hot as normal as long as there are clouds. As soon as the clouds disappear however it gets very hot again very quickly. At least there is some respite from the heat at times.

There are other good, and unfortunately bad, things about the rainy season too. With the rains there isn't nearly as much dust. This makes taxi rides cleaner and means that I don't have to sweep every other day. Rain means mud. The ground here drains fairly well but in places there are puddles and mud pits that persist for a while. One of these large puddles is just outside my concession, a nuisance only. One of the mud pits however occupies the spot on the street in the marché in front of my benier vendor and the only vendor I have found that speaks English. Since I go to both of these people every marché day (every four days) the mud pit there is very annoying.

Another good thing about the rainy season is that water is free. Whenever it rains I take the covers off of several plastic buckets to collect rainwater. I usually pay a child to keep these buckets filled with water but during the rainy season this cost is not necessary. (PC volunteers are paid less than $5 per day and must budget accordingly.) This, of course, is bad for the childs budget but I still give him candy every few days so he doesn't seem to mind so much. It is less work for him and the money went to his mother anyway.

Construction standards here are less stringent (nonexistent?) than those in the states. My apartment is not exactly hermetically sealed. Even with screens on the windows and doors closed I get the occasional large wasp (or hornet, what do I know?) visiting me as well as other, less scary, insects. I also have a few leaks. Fortunately just small ones around doors when it is very windy and raining. Generally a minor inconvenience.

The worst thing about the rainy season will, I suspect, be more frequent outages of electricity. It has gone out a couple of times already but only for short times. With no electricity though there are no TV’s, fewer radios and no loud music from the buvettes (every little bit helps). There is also, however, no internet with no electricity. Sometimes there is no internet with electricity. A coupe of days ago lightning knocked out the land line telephone system eliminating any possibility of contact with the rest of the world. It took three trips to the cyber to get this update posted for example.

The last thing about the rainy season is all good. There is no need for the Fulani to come into town. I like the Fulani. They are hard-working, respectful and simple living. They herd cows though. Again, I have nothing against cows (they're delicious) or herders. Just cow droppings. During the dry seasons the Fulani come into town to water their cattle. They pay a woman with a robinet (water faucet) to keep a bunch of large buckets filled with water for their use every couple of days. This robinet happens to be around the corner from my house and on my route to the CLCAM, marché and almost every other place I go to. Besides the noise there are the droppings that nobody cleans up, they are just trampled into the ground by the next herd. With the rainy season there are watering holes available outside of town that the Fulani can use for free. This is cheaper, obviously, and easier for them and cleaner, and a little bit quieter (again, every little bit helps) for everybody else.

So, overall I guess, the rainy season should bring a slight improvement to the quality of life here. At least for me, provided I don't get too wet. It should help the farmers also of course so maybe there’ll be a little more variety of foods available. We'll see, and I'll let you know.