Exit Strategy: Don't Exit. . .

Exit Strategy: Don’t Exit. . .

Despite my education, I’m not a very spiritual or religious person. I do like the idea, though, that “Where God closes a door, somewhere God opens a window.” Whether it’s God or fate or karma, I’m glad that this adage is often a truth.

My heart was broken when I didn’t get into the France English teaching program. That door was shut. The more I think about the job situation, the more discouraged I become. I want to go back to school, but I can’t do that immediately because I missed application deadlines. I would essentially go back to the states, find a job for a few months and then go back to school. It didn’t seem worth it.

When I came down to Cotonou last month for the close of service conference, I had in my mind that I would investigate doing Peace Corps Response. This is a program for returned PCVs that have special skills. They serve shorter terms, usually less than a year. I thought that I could help with a teacher training program in another country or teach English somewhere else. At our first session at the conference the programming manager let slip that there would be a Peace Corps Response position in Benin this year. For what? The Ouidah International Center of Music and Art. What do they need? A music teacher.

Window opened. Go figure.

What now? Ten more months in Benin. Crazy. I was so ready to move on, and then this came along. A completely different opportunity. Music education doesn’t even exist here, and I will be the founding teacher at a music school for primary school kids. The challenges will be many, but I’m really excited about it.

The community along with a donor from the States has built a school on the grounds of a primary school. They have requested an art teacher and a music teacher. If all my clearances go well, I should go back to the states on the 27th of August, and come back at the end of September to spend 10 months here. This way I can go directly back to grad school with no inconvenient in between time.

Ouidah will be a very different place to live. It’s known as one of the oldest slave trading ports on the Slave Coast. It has a museum and one of the first monuments to slaves, “The Door of No Return.” These things combined with it being the center of voodoo make it one of the most popular tourist attractions in Benin. It’s a different language and a different culture. I’ll be leaving “Bature!” for “Yovo yovo bon soir!” If I have the time, I’d really like to learn the local language, Fon. My living situation should be a little bit classier (fingers crossed). Since I’ll be in the 10th largest city in Benin I might even have modern facilities.

Anyway, I’m really excited about this. I’ll share more as I learn more about the project!