Welcome to Benin

Mi Kwabo! For the next 27 months I will be stationed in Benin, West Africa serving as a Community Natural Resource Advisor in the United States Peace Corps. Benin (pronounced buh-nin OR buh-neen) is a country the size of Pennsylvania located in the "arm pit" of Africa. The country is bordered by Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria. Take a look!


























About 50 different native languages are spoken in Benin! If you ask me, communicating with your neighbor sounds like a hassle. Fortunately, the French colonized present day Benin on June 22nd, 1894 uniting the country through the French language. Problem solved! When people aren't speaking French, some more commonly spoken native languages include Fon, Yoruba, Bariba, and Dendi. "Mi Kwabo" means "Welcome" in Fon.

For the next 3 months I will be training outside of Cotonou, Benin. While Cotonou is not the capital of Benin, it is however the largest city in Benin as well as the seat of government. Porto-Novo is the official capital of Benin and is Portuguese for "new port." Good to know.

I will keep you updated as adventures progress.