Fond of the Fon





In Benin there are multiple local languages. Among them, Fon is the most commonly used. Especially in Cotonou. My colleagues at work speak something like Fonçais…Fon and Français.

It sounds really musical. ‘A fon fandia’ for good morning. ‘Kunao’ for thank you. ‘Orabo’ means bye. And seems impossible to learn. There is one word that I now very well though…Yoboba. White girl. I am the Yoboba of the office. There are some other Yobos, but not many (6 out of 60?). This is being a great multicultural experience. Today I went to a Chinese restaurant with my Beninese colleagues to sing karaoke (pictures with Nadine, Estelle and Olga). I am eating willy and tibi with a sort of Tabasco sauce for breakfast, one is like sweet potatoe the other a very fibrous, hard to chew potatoe with absolutely no taste. Both fried. Healthy breakfast, right? The worst was when I found myself singing religious songs in the office with my colleague Nadine. Benineses are very religious, they have it all, animistic, catholic church, protestants, you name it. “Il faut prier” (It is necessary to pray) is the common remedy to any problem.

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