welcome to benin

hi! so I'm bad at updating, but here are some photos describing life here in Benin a bit. I'm currrently at post in Azove, busy working with two ngo's (Plan Benin and OSV Jordan) on United Nations Population Fund projects. so basically exactly what I want to do with my life. 

the only frustrations thus far in Benin are the pace of work and frequent power/water outages, but all doable and pas grave. so in summary, all is well.

'no woman should die giving birth"

first female chef d'arrondissement of Se and my host mom. she was the sassiest/the best

all of the sectors buy matching tissu (fabric) for swear-in. meet rural community health's choice. I was pleased. 

official swear-in photo at the U.S. Embassy in Benin

the official start of work - hiv testing  

getting on that plane.

my mantra these past couple of weeks has been 'get on the plane.' this has also been compounded by tons of support from friends and family, and knowing that this is the right decision for me right now.

so I'm about to do that, thinking how crazy it will be to be physically present in one spot for two years and grateful for the opportunity to use my newly minted MPH. 

So au revoir!

this girl can.

love this. love missy elliot. love your body. 

snip snip

so I walked in a salon on Friday for a trim, and walked out 15 inches shorter with a ponytail in the mail to locks of love (because, while they charge for the wigs, they do not specify a type of cancer to buy.)

because my life is just one long string well-thought-out, but impulsive decisions.

how freeing.

honoring life.

so Monday was the 12th anniversary of my dad's death. I, of course, forgot until my mom texted me a very sweet 'thinking of you' text. always a strange feeling. do I, then, feel guilty for forgetting? as I feel guilty for still not knowing where I stand with my briefing?

so then I bought a cupcake because he liked sweets, and I read my favorite article (http://www.autostraddle.com/before-you-know-it-somethings-over-241440/). and I had a nice talk with some good people.

...and continued to think of how do we make spaces for people to talk about grief? and to talk about the shame that comes from having alcoholic parents? and what if they died in a drunk driving accident?

the main thought of the day (and basically everyday) was how do I balance being an emerging public health clinician while still being the daughter of an alcoholic who died in a drunk driving accident? while still recognizing how hard he tried to get better and honoring his life? 

current thoughts.

• we needed real face masks before working with that paint thinner today. like the ones that block toxic substances. 
• I want to learn so much more about the refugee situation in israel. and be more active in it.
• I'm worried about my ability to have a real impact in public health in a sustainable and beneficial way
• Eritrean women seem to have no quarrels about breastfeeding. and that's beautiful.
• so many cats in florentin. somanycats. supposedly to control the mice/rodents, which is a lovely idea. ...but the cats pee everywhere as well. mixed feeling on this. 
• sparkling water in the grapefruit flavor is my new vice
• I miss trees, phone calls, and real (non-instant) coffee
• cooking with a convection oven is an artform, and I am not an artist. 
• waking up to sirens is making me slightly jumpy. especially when sirens were happening in my dream, and it turns out they are real.
• good things to come.

dwelling.

I really lucked out in my apartment here in Tel Aviv (thanks to ali, ruthie, and daniel!). it's in a hip little neighborhood called Florentin, where nose rings and dreads are abundant. so clearly I love it. the usual tenant is a fashion designer so the space is beautiful and filled with great little things.