Life in these United States

It has been easy to pick up where I left off in the US.  I am really happy about how welcoming my friends and family have been about my return.  It is almost enough to make me glad to be alive!

One of the largest cultural differences between the US and Benin that I am still readjusting to is the frenetic pace of....everything in the United States.  We are a culture driven by the clock.  We are always striving to be places on time, and we always need to find something new and productive to do if we aren't busy.  This mindset allows our society to be wealthy in terms of production and consumption, but at what cost?  Relaxation is an endangered practice.

----

Onto a new topic; today's big thing is video game music.

As many of you know, I have always enjoyed a good video game; one of my favorite things to do is explore new worlds.  Naturally, the music of a game plays a critical role in determining how much the player can become immersed in the artificial environment.  Just like in a good movie, one should expect game music to enhance the feel of the external world and, ideally, project onto the audience the emotions of the story and the atmosphere of the environment.

For those of you who play games, there is a website every fan of video game music should be aware of:  http://ocremix.org/.  The overclocked remix community has been dedicated to remaking music from popular games for over 10 years now.  Their work is peer-reviewed to ensure quality, and the remixes span dozens of genres and involve hundreds of games.  Best of all, the work that is produced in free to the public!  If there is any game you love, be sure to check out the remix torrents at http://ocremix.org/torrents/  The links that start with "Overclocked Remix OCR0001" and "Overclocked Remix OCR1001" are the two archives of the collective work of the OC Remix community.  Enjoy the free music, and be sure to give credit to the community and support the artists if you appreciate the tunes!

Game over, man.

For those of you not in the know, I recently made an extremely difficult decision brought about my many days of mental struggle.  I am ending my service in the Peace Corps.  There were many factors coming into play, but at the forefront were concerns for both my physical and mental health.  I will leave it at that, and you can ask me in person for more detail if you are interested.

What is the future of the blog, then?  As far as I can tell, my life will not be interesting enough to make regular and poignant posts.  Then again, maintaining the blog might give me a chance to improve my writing - something I have frequently considered doing.

Only the future can say for certain.  Will my blog be the phoenix of intrigue, taking a load of buckshot to the face in July only to rise magnificently during the autumnal equinox?  Or will my blog be the smelly street pigeon, lingering slightly too long in your presence and occasionally delivering unpleasant reminders of its existence on your car?

At the very least, maintaining the blog will give me free reign to practice my metaphors.  My first goal is to produce more quality metaphors than "Nothing but the Rain."  Start with simple goals is the motto.

I apologize for the sudden notice regarding my termination, but I think in the end it is the decision that is best for my future.  I leave you all with the immortal words of Bill Paxton and the title of this post.

Game over, man.  Game over...

See you all stateside.  Moosebird out.

Greetings from Cotonou

There is a line for the computer so I must make this quick:

It is impossible to describe Benin thus far since I have been enclosed in the 'learning compound' the last few days.  I start my homestay with a Beninese family in 2 days, and I anticipate the real cultural exchange will start then.  Pictures have been hard to come by, but I assure you that there will be posts within the next few weeks with more info and perhaps some delicous cultural tidbits.

Highlight of yesterday - ice cream!  That's right, Cotonou (a.k.a. the industrial juggernaut) is the pround owner of at least one ice creamery.  My next goal is to find an American Chinese restaurant, but I am not raising my hopes.

Cultural observation of the day - the Beninese love to greet people!  In America I walk by EVERYONE without even looking up, but here bonjours and bonsoirs and ca vas are thrown about like nobodies business.

Moosebird out.

Disconnecting in 3...2...1.......

Tomorrow the phone and computer are going offline.  Don't be surprised if I do not respond to calls; I will also be slow to respond to letters and e-mails for a while.  My goal is to update the blog at least once a month - it may be more or less depending on which area of Benin I end up working in.

The last minute packing is underway and tomorrow should prove both hectic and satisfying as I prepare for my early morning flight on Wednesday.  The tentative schedule is to spend 2 days in Philadelphia and then depart for Cotonou via Paris.  After two months of training and living with a host family in Cotonou, I will hopefully fulfill my French requirements and start my service project.

In case anyone is interested in communicating the old-fashioned way, I will be taking a pad and pen with me as well as envelopes.  I am not sure what postage is required to mail Benin, but I will post the mailing info on this blog when I find out more details.

Fare thee well, good Nebraskans and fellow Americans.  I hope to be a better person when next we meet.

- Matt

Shorn!

No one said that the Peace Corps was going to be easy - the first casualty of my service is the loss of my rain-catching-device that I kept on my head.

I lost a good 3 + inches of hair, which I believe accounts for about 75% of my physical strength.  I'd better start working out again!



Just for fun (and since I am experimenting with uploading pictures), here is a picture of a jungle creature I found in my house today:

I hope to get one more update out before I depart on the 14th.  Until then, moosebird away!

Packing Issues

For anyone who hasn't recently packed two years of their life into 80 pounds, let me assure you that such a task is somewhat daunting.  Some things I am still investigating:

- A water-shedding backpack
- A laptop (as in, should I bother taking one)
- Dress shoes (can you believe I am worrying about dress shoes?)
- A good wide brimmed hat
- A swiss army knife
- A high quality kitchen knife
- One miniature disco ball
- A machete (they say it is the only way to kill some of the insects)

Some of those items may not be on my list, but I will let you decide which ones are real and which ones I can only dream about taking.

First Post (It began in Africa)

My posts will likely become longer and more artistic as I learn more about the tools I have to work with.  For now, I am going to begin at the beginning.  It seems like a good place to start.

For anyone who didn't know already, I have been accepted into the Peace Corps.  I will be traveling to Benin, Africa.  I leave July 13th and will be gone 27 months.

My goal is to use this blog as a tool to keep people informed about my experiences as well as answer any questions my friends/family/acquaintances have about my travels.  With any luck, people will get some benefit out of my posts.  Of course, a blog is a two-way street, so be sure and leave plenty of comments!  I will do my best to answer any questions and keep my readers engaged and informed -let me know if my writing becomes stagnant and dull, since a blog isn't much good without interested readers.

À la prochaine!

- Matt