Benin has been full of new experiences. One of these new experiences is the language barrier. One of the main languages in Benin is French and I came with only a few terms such as ‘oui’ and ‘merci’. Thus, on the the flight from Paris to Cotonou, I understood little of what other passengers were saying. A few times I heard what I thought was yolo, which in American slang means “you only live once.” I thought this was funny and wondered what it could possibly mean in French. I didn’t think about it get again until yesterday evening when our group walked over to the local market. We heard that same term coming from all directions! Our guide stopped and told us that they were actually saying “Yovo” and that it is the term for white people. It is not meant to be derogatory but an embracement of us being here. There are so few Caucasians in the country that we were stared at as we walked by. Yovo was a an excited greeting by many children waving and cat calls by some adults. I have never been in a culture where I have been singled out in a crowd. It was overwhelming but exciting at the same time. The culture here is so different and it has been a wonderful experience to learn and understand it. I am picking up more French terms as we go so it will be easier to communicate with the locals. Yolo!