Time for our second round of Camp GLOW! Sunday morning I left Dogbo with my 5 best and brightest girl students and we crossed the south of Benin to arrive in Porto Novo for our one week of Camp GLOW (Girls Leading our World). So far, so great! The ambassador came to our opening ceremony on Monday morning and all the speakers so far have been really interesting. Yesterday and today are packed full with field trips to the National Assembly, a sustainable agriculture center, and an internet cafe to learn about computers. In between the learning, we've got arts and crafts and of course the girls can never get enough of singing, dancing, playing, and just laughing and smiling. My five girls have been great so far and I'm really proud of all of them. Everyone is pretty much in agreement that my littelest one, Edwige, is the cutest one of them all, and she's such a little firecracker! Students like that are reasons I hate to think of leaving Benin.
Ugh...I wanted to post pictures, but this computer wont let me!! boooo
Anyway, while camp is going great I just got some potentially bad news that I might not be replaced in Dogbo. This is devastating for a number of reasons. The biggest reason is that I've already told my school administration and all of my colleagues that I am being replaced, as well as neighbors and friends. Everyone was looking forward to having a new volunteer, and I know especially my colleagues will be very disappointed. I think the school administration and definitely my counterpart, Mr. Michael, will probably feel ashamed as if they did something wrong, which they absolutely did not.
The second reason it's horrible is because it means I have to empty my house, which is filled with lots of furniture and other things. Not only will it be time consuming, but the idea of giving things away is more exhausting than words can describe. I honestly don't think anyone who hasn't been here can understand me when I say giving things away is a horrible experience here and in general PCVs hate the thought of doing it, especially on such a large scale. The greediness and sense of entitlement with which people often approach a white person giving gifts is disheartening and angering. I'm already sad that my last few weeks will likely be tainted by such circumstances.
This news has come as a complete shock to me and I feel a little insulted that my boss told me I would be replaced and never actually informed me when she changed her mind. Luckily I heard it through the rumor mill, but even when I directly inquired I got a vague response. Of course there is still a chance they'll decide to use Dogbo, but based on their indecisiveness, I'm inclined to think no. For now, I'll just have to wait and see.
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2 comments:
Yay Camp GLOW!!!
Hard to believe that it is already "that" time of year again but I am glad that you are finishing up your time there with such a fulfilling and positive experience. A very nice capstone to be sure.
Very sad about Dogbo. Are there just fewer volunteers overall or are they just shifting out of Dogbo?? I hope that they change their mind again and put somebody there. I mean it's OBVIOUS that they won't be able to find somebody as AMAZING as you are but that is NO reason to not replace you.......
Stay healthy and strong, Mark Loehrke (Carly's dad)
I'm glad they decided to replace you after all since they aren't replacing me, and i think there's a lot of potential in dogbo.
Sorry my left over furniture didn't get you any quick cash!! :) ANywho. it was good to talk to you today and you sounded a lot better. I love you! You'll be home soon and long phone dates will most certainly ensue!!!
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