I wasn't looking forward to coming back to Benin after Kaya was born. I had a lot of concerns about how everything would work in my new world of mothering in a foreign culture- nanny, malaria, and unsolicited advice from others.
Three weeks in, many of my fears are relieved. Brigitte, our nanny during the day, is great with Kaya! It's fun to watch her play and nice to be able to hand Kaya off in the morning and not worry about her while I'm at work. The mosquitoes are much less of a worry. We've got mosquito nets, mosquito stroller covers and mosquito spray. Remaining quite vigilant!
Thankfully, I haven't gotten much unsolicited advice, and I let go any that I do get. However, since being back, I don't get just a "Bonjour" as a greeting from people I pass in the street or from my colleagues at work. I get the greeting and "et le bébé?". And, how's the baby? "She's well", I always reply. Sometimes they don't even say hello, they just ask, "et le bébé?" !
The weird part is that walking around our neighborhood, a few of the guards and even one of my colleagues have said that Kaya is "their girl" and someday they'll marry her! I'm sure this, in their minds, is supposed to be some kind of compliment. I try not to get creeped out and just reply that they'll have to get in line because three other guys already want to marry her.
Hopefully, things won't get weirder around here!
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