Oh, they're poor

Living in a foreign country can be very tiring. Besides the facts of not knowing anybody or where to find anything, figuring out how to get around and (for some of us) having trouble learning the language, there is a different culture to learn, and adapt to. Here in Benin that means constantly being concerned about your appearance, having to greet virtually everyone you see and generally being assumed to be the richest person in the area (definitely not the case on a Peace Corps stipend). Being so physically different means that we can never be inconspicuous and cannot really ever fully relax, except when home alone. Because of this we volunteers take advantage of most excuses to get together with others. We will visit each other for no real reason other than company, or we sometimes make up the flimsiest excuses for small parties. There are often reasons to get together as well; joint projects, meetings to plan events for various programs and Peace Corps mandated gatherings. There has just been a string of occurences to keep me in the company of various numbers of volunteers, and away from Ketou, for two weeks.

First, there was the All-Voll conference. As the name suggests this is a gathering of all volunteers in the country. It is ostensibly for Peace Corps to pass on information about various subjects (health, safety & security, etc) in an efficient manner. Of course, most of us use it for socializing and getting together with others we haven't seen for a while because they are posted some distance away (Benin isn't very large but some villages are fairly remote and transportation is not very easy anywhere). The conference went very well, and on schedule mostly, with lots of good food. There were also plenty of parties, some lasting longer than they should have, but there were no real problems.

Immediately after All-Vol SED had its IST conference. IST is In Service Training. This is intended as a way to allow a transfer of ideas, and problems encountered, between volunteers of the same group. SED was the last group to convene because of rescheduling due to the recent presidential elections here. Again, the conference went well, accompanied by more evening (and later) parties.

The last event was a traditional dance and music competition arranged by a volunteer posted not far from, and on the way back to, Kétou. No parties, and I and others arrived a little late, but it was still a lot of fun. When we arrived outside the venue some children appeared to carry our bags for us (another good use for children not exploited often enough at home). Since I knew I would be traveling for two weeks my bag (backpack) was too heavy for the children so I walked in with it on my back. During my travels with this bag I had received some unusual looks, and comments about its size and weight from taxi drivers. As I walked into the large crowd in the theatre for the competition people stared, at myself or the backpack, and several people couldn't keep themselves from touching it. It was then that I realized that, along with my shoulder bag and the cement bag in my hand, I was probably carrying more than most of these people owned.

Of course, living in one of the ten poorest countries in the world (at least that's what Peace Corps tells us) one can't help but notice many of the differences from the US; dirt roads, paved roads in very bad condition, lack of running water (lack of clean water for that matter), unreliable electricity, basic health services at best. I, like all volunteers here, am reasonably fortunate. Besides being American (and being able to return at any time) my stipend puts me solidly in the middle class here (admittedly not with the same opportunities that brings in the US), I also receive a travel allowance and a vacation allowance. The vacation allowance isn't much (less than a dollar a day but everything helps) and the travel allowance does go almost entirely for traveling (although it doesn't pay for as much travel as we would like). We also received a settling-in allowance. This was (as the name implies) to allow us to buy whatever we might need for our houses. I bought everything from an outgoing volunteer and had enough left to buy more. I have eight chairs, five tables, a stool, a double bed and an armoire as well as dishes, cutlery and plasticware. This is all in addition to what the Peace Corps gave us (and expects back at the end of our service), a bicycle, a mattress, a stove with two gas bottles, a lantern and footlocker as well as screen material for our doors and windows (to keep out mosquitos). Even with all that I still have one room in my house (apartment really and I only have three rooms) which is virtually empty.

Seeing and visiting people I have noticed two things. (Actually, of course, I've noticed a lot, but only two are important here.) Houses are generally sparsely furnished and people usually wear the same clothes for several consecutive days. I thought there were some cultural meanings to these practices and that I would learn them in time. My experience, and observations, traveling with my backpack has forced me to see the real reason however. Poverty. Imagine that, the lack of money actually affects peoples clothing and furniture choices and options.

There is not much furniture in peoples homes not because they are adhering to minimalist design principles but because they cannot afford to buy furniture. People wear the same clothes for several days running not because they want to show off their clothing styles and taste but because they only have two or three sets of clothes to wear. Without washing machines or dryers, and with high humidity, and now rain, the laundry cycle is often two days or more here.

I suppose it's a good thing that I have learned someting new about a foreign country. However, for all of you who thought they were reading the writings (ramblings) of a person of at least reasonable intelligence, consider this; it took me nearly a year (I have been here since July) to realize that people don't own a lot of furniture or clothes because they have little money.

Perhaps I can begin to see things a little more clearly here now. Maybe I am finally beginning to lose the filter I've acquired from living in the US. One of the reasons I joined the Peace Corps (instead of another short-term volunteer option) was to have a long-term exposure to another culture. I didn't know all that that would entail but I''m learning as I go along. Who knows what I'll be able to learn next, maybe even French.