I would bring a solar charger if I could. You may want to to charge your laptop, depending upon it's capacity, it may be useful for a lamp at night or other things you are not thinking of. You can always sell it to a PCV who doesn't have electricity if you don't need it.

Also, speaking of solar things, everyone said "don't bring a solar shower", so I didn't. I had my parents bring one to me when they visited and it was fantastic. It's not expensive and very light and let me tell you, it's just brilliant to be able to take a warm shower late in the evening. It's definitely NOT a necessity, but it sure was a nice thing to have.

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You can develop pictures in Benin - any city will have lots of photo developing places to go to - but the quality of the developing wasn't very good. The film I mailed to my parents turned out better than the ones I developed myself, but then you run the risk of the film getting lost in the mail. I never lost anything in the mail to or from Benin but I hear it does happen.

I think a digital camera is a good idea. It would be fun to be able to email pictures to your friends - there were lots of internet cafes popping up when I left in 1997 - there are probably tons of them now. Laptop isn't a bad idea either. You might have electricity - a lot of villages do have electricity, at least for a few hours a day, and of course all the cities do. You'll need an adapter to plug your computer in. I don't know if I would waste money on a solar charger until you know if you'll need it. During stage there's a good chance you'll have access
to electricity at least some of the time (every time you go to Cotonou, for example), and then you might get a post with electricity. Even if you don't have a post with electricity, you could just bring an extra battery, and then recharge your batteries every so often when you go to a city. I lived 60 km from a city with electricity and went there at least once or twice a month on average, sometimes more. Another option is buying a car battery when you get there – my landlady ran her TV off of a car battery, and took it to the city every so often to recharge it. Or there might be some Europeans in your village that you could befriend to get access to their generator once in a while. There was a priest in my village that had electricity that I could have befriended if I wanted to. And the local credit union had electricity (they even got a computer while I was there), and so did the agricultural extension office, and others along those lines. Going around begging for electricity might be a good way to make some good contacts - the exchange of favors is a key way to build up a good network. Being independent is less of an advantage there than it is here. If you end up deciding you need a solar thing you can always get someone to send you one. I'm assuming solar chargers are expensive - maybe they're not and it would be no hassle to bring it, in which case ignore the above. There is certainly plenty of sun in Benin.

With the digital camera and the computer, be extraparanoid about theft. Most people wouldn't steal them of course but it's hard to know who the exceptions are until it's too late.

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Hi everybody!
I'm preparing to leave in Benin (only two months
until I leave!!!)and I was wondering what the best way to develop photographs is. I also have a digital camera and I was thinking about bringing a laptop to keep my photos stored and organized -- I know I won't have electricity and I was considering buying a solar charger. Is that a stupid idea? Any suggestions will be much appreciated!