Ah, Cotonou

Another day here in the humid African air of Cotonou. It seems as if I'll never lose my awe of this place. Yesterday I had my first zemijohn ride through downtown Cotonou (don't worry safety police, it was only a training run so we would know how to do it on our own). For those of you who aren't experts on West African modes of transportation, a zemijohn is essentially a motorcycle taxi and is the most common way to get around the bustling city of Cotonou.
What was interesting about this ride was that it was through the more well-off section of Cotonou. I actually saw my first traffic light and all the roads were paved, zut allors! It never amazes me how shocked people are to see a white person in their neighborhood. They will literally stop in their tracks and stare and the kids will jump and shout "Yovo, yovo" with a huge grin on their faces, it's pretty entertaining and I get a jolly good kick out of it.
After the zemijohn ride we did a tour of the market district. While at first I found it extremely intimidating (I can understand hardly anything!), I settled down and really enjoyed taking in all the sights. It should be an interesting experience when I attempt to haggle for my first couple bananas or yams.
My interview with the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foriegn Language) leader was today and it was just great. Maria, a local Beninois, is her name and her energy is so infecting. I can tell that she has so much to share with all of us and I can't wait to get started. In an interesting side note, she says I remind her of her son, so it seems I have a West African dopelganger!
Homestay begins tomorrow so, needless to say, we are all quivering balls of emotion. I can't wait to meet my new family as I'm sure it will be quite the experience. Rest assured that I'll do right by you all and share many stories from home with them, especially embarrassing ones, those are always the best.