15 December 2010

So I just had this moment. I was eating a can of lima beans by candlelight and realized Christmas is in ten days. I thought, so this is what it's like to be in the Peace Corps. Living by candlelight, taking cold "showers" (aka bucket baths) as fast as possible, and attempting to update my blog before my computer battery dies. This time last year, I was probably walking around some bookstore bundled up, latte in hand, perusing the selection of books and complaining about something mundane like the weather. How different life is here (ok, I still complain about the weather).

Nothing really changes here for Christmas. The weather gets cold at night, but there's no build up, no decorations, no christmas music, no christmas shopping. Definitely no christmas shopping. Not in a place where $1 is worth fighting over.

My Christmas build up has been the following: I sewed my New Year's dress. It was definitely more glamorous in my head. I talked with the chief about Pagala's biggest needs. Latrines apparently. I taught Silent Night to the English Club before bringing them a bunch of old magazines that they treated as sacredly as one might treat, say, the dead sea scrolls for example. I cleaned my house and bragged that it was bug-free. The next day, I discovered a giant spider near the ceiling in the kitchen. Oh well. Tried to go Christmas caroling with the English club, but the Togolese people didin't know what was going on and got scared so we stopped.

Mom, don't cry! I'm fine. I miss you; I miss all of you. This is just a commentary on the very obvious differences in holidays here and there. I'll be around lots of other volunteers on actual Christmas and we'll make it seem like home. In fact, we're even doing a white elephant exchange and I found some pretty awesome things in the marche (ie. mini water guns and tacky Christmas lights). I also got a package from America full of fabulous Christmas decorations (thanks Aunt Mello)!! As I'm putting together little presents for people and making Christmas cards, it's starting to feel more and more like Christmas. I'm even stuffing a stocking and going to put an orange in the bottom - family tradition! Merry Christmas to all of you back in the USA!

3 December 2010

All of the Small Enterprise Development (SED) volunteers have been in training this week in my village. Everyone brought their homologues, so almost all of the training sessions were in French. The first couple of days were pretty tough to get through.
Next week the CHAPers (health volunteers) will be here for the week training. I feel like I have been going, going, going, and have hardly had a moment to breath! For those of you who know me well, you're probably thinking that I'm finally in my element. True! Although, Peace Corps has done something to me, something very strange. I actually enjoy free time and alone time. Crazy, huh? So in a way, I'm just hoping for things to sloooow down soon, as I'm sure they will after the New Year.

I have a new clustermate named Becky and she's really awesome!! She's from San Francisco but spent the last year in NYC being some rich lady's personal assistant. She came to Pagala last weekend for our marche and we decided that in order to get through 2 long years in Togo, we needed lots of things to look forward to. We decided to plan a pool day once per month during hot season; there's a pool only 1.5 hrs away from her village in Sotoboua. We're also editing "Where There is No Whopper," the Peace Corps Togo cookbook all the volunteers receive during training. All the page numbers are off in the index and table of contents, and it's honestly just poorly organized. We have lots of ideas and definitely plan on helping each other stick it out through the tough and lonely times in village.

Think that's all for now. One example of how things work in West Africa: we've been trying to make hotel reservations for New Years because we're afraid of getting to Ghana and everywhere being booked! None of us could get through, but finally a girl's mom got through from the US and none of the hotels will take reservations pre-Dec. 20th. Does this make any sense to you?

While on the topic of things that don't make sense here, I'd like to give you a very brief lesson in Togolese french:
Togolese: Comment ca va?
Me: Ca va bien
Togolese: Et ta sante?
Me: Ca va bien
Togolese: Merci
Quick translation: How's it going? It's going well. And your health? It's going well. Thank you.
Togolese: Vous allez sortir on peu?
Me: Oui, je vais au marche.
Togolese: Il faut aller et revenir.
Me: Merci
Quick transalation: You're going to go out a little bit? Yes, I'm going to the marche. You must go and come back. Thank you.

26 November 2010

Happy Thanksgiving! 44 volunteers came together for Thanksgiving in a village called Agengre. They were like 10 turkeys, cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy, stuffed tomatoes, apple pies, pumpkin pies, brownies, and more! Plus, local drinks: sodabi, tchouk, local beer, and water sachets. It was delicious, and we all ate so much we felt sick until it turned into a dance party. This morning, we woek up and ate all the leftovers – yum!
It’s been a really fun couple of weeks! For my birthday, I had a little party/going away party for another volunteer. We made greek food, homemade pitas, hummus, cucumber sauce, and even canned chicken! Whoa. Then on my actual birthday, I just spent it with another volunteer and we had velveeta cheese day. The silly things that make my days in Togo. A couple days later, I went down to Lome to see the new volunteers swear in. The hotel I stayed in was SO nice, running water with HOT SHOWERS! No air conditioner, but I was not complaining. The swear-in ceremony was at the ambassador’s house which is absolutely lovely. I ate hamburgers, eggrolls, and more American food. I just realized this entire blogpost is about food.
After Lome, I spent some time in another volunteer’s village. There was a big vaccination campaign going on so we spent two days filling out forms and giving kids vaccinations. It was so much fun and I want to start doing that in my village. All vaccinations in Togo are free, I think they’re provided by Unicef.
Next week is PDM/IST (Product Design Management/In Service Training) in Pagala. Our homologues come with us which means it will all be in French. Ugh. The week after that, the health volunteers will be in Pagala for their PDM/IST, so I’ll get to hang out with them too! For Christmas, we plan on heading up to the Northern part of Togo to stay in hotels in a city called Kara. Then for New Years, a few of us plan on ringing in the New Year in Accra, Ghana. Busy few months, but not with work. After the holidays, I definitely plan to buckle down to get some work done.

11 November 2010

It's only 4 days from my birthday and it is hotter than ever! The past two nights, the heat's been so bad I couldn't sleep. I'm in the process of organizing a soccer tournament for World Aids Day here in Pagala which is actually why I'm on the internet right now. I have to send a request to a big company called PSI for tshirts, condoms, banners, etc. World Aids Day is Dec. 1, but our tournament will be the following Saturday, the 4th. Then my cluster is planning to so Christmas caroling on the 5th. Lots to look forward to!

For Thankgiving, many of us are getting together to go another volunteer's house. We'll be having all the traditional foods - even going to kill a turkey! This will be my first Thankgiving away from my family.

Remember the van on Little Miss Sunshine? Broken horn, had to get a running start, etc.? That's what all the taxis are like here. It's pretty funny. Sometimes the doors won't slide closed, sometimes they break down, sometimes they have to roll backwards to start. Oh Togo. I heard that Togo is listed as one of the Peace Corps "hardship" countries, meaning it's one of the hardest countries for volunteers to live in. Lucky me! I also recently read that "they" say that joining the Peace Corps is twice as stressful as the death of a spouse. I don't know if I believe that, but it certainly isn't easy! I went all the way up to Sotoboua (1.5 hrs each way) to use the internet 2 days ago and it wasn't even working. I was so bummed because I wasted so much money to get there (3600 CFA, or $7).

My homologue, Djobo, came over the other day for lunch. We made fried plantains with spaghetti and tomato sauce. It was delicious! He's a great cook, which is rare in Togo where women do ALL the cooking, cleaning, etc. This past weekend, we did a three-day formation called Mens as Partners (Hommes Comme Partenaires) and Djobo was one of the teachers. He's so progressive. The day after the formation, the Chef du Canton (chief of several surrounding villages) came to the hospital to get an HIV test! He said he was really inspired by everything we talked about at the formation. While Djobo and I were cooking (ok, he cooked, I watched) we kept saying "hommes comme partenaires!" We had a great time eating and discussing our ideas for work in the upcoming months.

Living in Togo isn't so easy, but I want to tell you want Togo isn't. Maybe blast some misconceptions you may have. The people aren't starving and walking around with big bellies and covered in flies. Although a lot of times kids do walk around totally naked or wearing only a shirt. For the most part, people have enough food to eat and almost of the kids attend school (it costs money to go to school in togo). People don't drink their water from muddy puddles. PLAN, a big NGO, has put pumps in all over Togo, and several in Pagala alone. People get their water in big metal cuvettes and transport it on their heads to their houses. It's not clean by any stretch of the imagination (I have to filter and bleach it), but it's certainly clean enough for them. People are into being on time. Almost everyone has a cell phone now, so they always have the time. That's not to say I've had several meetings start exactly on time, but I've had very few that started more than an hour late.

So, this is my life. Want to give a shout-out to all the awesome people who've called, sent letters, sent packages, sent birthday presents, etc. You are all so amazing and make life here in West Africa just a little bit easier. I miss you!

1 Nov 2010

I'm terrible about updating my blog. Since I don't have electricity, I don't use my computer very often. People keep saying electricity's coming to my village, but I doubt it will be anytime soon.
Sometimes I feel like I like inside of a moving photograph. I saw pictures of Africa for so long before finally coming here, and I'm always amazed that I'm actually living in the world from which those pictures came. For example, the other day I was riding my bike to the post office and I saw an old woman. She was bent over from old age and her brightly colored clothes gently swayed in the breeze while she hobbled along with her walking stick. She had the face of a woman who had lived a hard life but overcome so much. It was almost breath- taking how beautiful she was. I have moments like that so often where I just think, "This is my life. I'm really in the Peace Corps."
So things have gotten much better for me here. I'm getting used to the lonliness and the lack of amenties. I've started a garden in my compound (everything always dies except 3 tomato plants, but I'm going to keep trying), starting to paint, learning to sew, got a kitten named John Galt, and a puppy named Jacques. Work wise, I've done a few formations with various groups on hand washing, feasibility studies, time management, and income generating activities. I have lots of ideas and my French, although still terrible, is good enough for me to be able to start on things. I'm really hoping to be able to work with entreprenuers, apprentices, and microfinance organizations over the next two years.
This past week, all of the volunteers were in Pagala because we have the Peace Corps training center here. We had a week of training and really good food (by Togo standards). It was so much fun to see everyone and we had a big Halloween party the finaly night. I was a witch, but some of the other costumes were more creative and funny! We had a box of wine, a cop who's lost everything, and a fanmilk (that's like the closest thing we have to ice cream in Togo). The Togolese people probably thought we'd gone mad.
This weekend, I'm helping run a formation for MAP (Men As Partners) where 30 men are going to come from surrounding villages to learn about gender equality, domestic abuse, sexual health, etc. The weekend after that is my birthday so people from my cluster are going to come celebrate with me in Pagala and I'm going to attempt Greek food! Then I'm going down to Lome, Togo's capital, to see new volunteers be sworn-in. I won't be the newest anymore! That's pretty exciting.
I'm getting to know my village and the people in it more and more. My homologue, Djobo, is so amazing and works so hard. There are so many people in my village that are loving and welcoming. I can find almost everything I need in my village so I don't have a reason to leave very often, which is why I'm almost never on the internet. The only real reason I have to leave is to go to the bank once a month. Pagala is such a beautiful village, surrounded my mountains and so green. Papayas, oranges, grapefruits, limes, bananas, mangoes, avocadoes, and more grow freely. One of these days, you'll see pictures. I'm so inspired by the people here. There are so many students and adults who love their villages and love Africa and really believe we can make a difference in the lives of Africans. For example, I work with the English club at the high school where they open and close their meetings with a hymn called "We Will Overcome." It made me emotional the first time I heard them sing it. I also work with a club called Peer Educators who exist soley to teach the community about better health practices and basic issues such as child trafficing, income generating activities, and teenage pregnancy. They are so passionate about what they do and I can see them all going on to be very successful.
Two years still seems like a really long time to be here, but taking it one day at a time and one week at a time seems to be working pretty well. I made it through my first 3 months at post, making a total of 5 months in Togo! Only 21 months to go...
I'll try to update more often. Thanks to everyone who's called me and written emails, letters, and facebook messages. I love knowing you're thinking about me and I miss you all so much!

16 Sept 2010

Hard to believe I’ve been here for over 3 months now. Sometimes, I feel like it flies, and sometimes I feel like each day is never going to end. So, a lot of you are probably wondering what exactly I do day to day. Right now, not a whole lot. In training, we learned about working with microfinance institutions, NGOs, individual entrepreneurs, and women’s groups. If you’ve ever read one post on this blog, you know how much I hate French and the language is definitely holding me back from working right now. I go to several meetings a week, but have no idea what’s going on usually. They’re mostly in local languages anyway. In order to keep from going crazy (or maybe I’ve already passed that point), I decided to take up sewing. Every morning, I go to a seamstress near my house and she teaches me sewing techniques by hand and on the foot-pedaled sewing machine. Yesterday, I spent 4 hours making one shirt for a girl’s school uniform and today I spent 3 hours working on a technique called something-that-I-forgot and sewed like half of one sleeve. I’m so slow. Everyday, Togolese people just like to come watch me and it makes me a little nervous.
Somedays I go to the market to buy food or candles. Somedays, to the post office. I have French class two days per week, and there is a guy who owns a bar who always wants me to come say hello and have a conversation even though I have no idea what he’s saying. Sometimes, I read or bake in my make-shift dutch oven. Basically, I’m saying I definitely haven’t started working yet. Oh well, they tell us we don’t have to work for the first 3 months anyway.
There is a girl from NC who’s going home next week so we threw her a little party at my house! I made Mexican – even homemade tortillas and tortilla chips. I never EVER would have used the word “resourceful” to describe myself until I came here to Togo. I even reuse empty cans (I’m making hanging candle holders for the porch).
At the end of Ramadan, all the Muslims in Togo had a big party. I joined my counterpart, Djobo, with his family to eat lots of foufou with peanut sauce and chicken (wow!). We watched really weird Togolese music videos that had a guy dancing with one leg. Then I danced with kids and let girls draw henna on my feet. It smeared though, so for days my feet just looked dirty. After that, I went to my French tutor’s house to party with his family and eat more spaghetti with beets and goat. I thought I was going to be sick by the end of the day!
Life’s pretty boring here in Togo, but, every now and then, really interesting. I’m homesick all the time. I miss you all more than you know! And I really miss air conditioner. It is so HOT today and every day. If you read this, call me! I’d love to hear from you. My number’s on facebook.
Everyday when I walk through village the kids chant “Chriiiiista, Chriiiiista, bye-bye-yo!” So, bye-bye-yo for now.

31 August 2010

Been a while since I posted on this blog. Things have been very up and down for me. Sometimes, I love being here and sometimes I absolutely hate it. Interesting stories for you regardless:

Every morning, starting at 6:30am, kids start knocking on my door. It is so annoying and sometimes I just don’t want to get out of bed, but they will stand there and knock for an hour if I don’t. I roll out of bed and open my compound gate to a child babbling in French about getting water for me. It’s WAY too early for French.

The other day, a kid knocked on my door and showed me some watermelon asking if I wanted to buy it. Of course! I let it sit on my bench for a day and when a Togolese girl came over, I asked if she wanted to eat it together. I cut into it with my broken knives and lo and behold, the inside was yellow! I had no idea what to do with it because it clearly wasn’t a watermelon. Luckily, those resourceful Togolese people know what’s up so my friend sprung into action, cutting off the peel and slicing into pieces to cook while explaining to me that it was actually a papaya. We boiled it with some water and salt and it tasted a lot like butternut squash. YUM.

When one of the girls was getting water for me, I decided I really wanted to integrate into the community. I let her take the big cuvette and I took the smaller one and we trekked a good ½ km to the water pump. She filed mine up halfway, and, feeling ambitious, I told her to fill ‘er up! I stumbled under the weight all the way home, pouring sweat and spilling water all over myself. Pretty sure I have permanent neck damage, but that may just be from my terrible pillows.

I’m going to start learning to make my own clothes! I really love getting stuff made here and have a lot of free time on my hands, so I’m going to be kind of an apprentice to a seamstress near my house. Should be pretty interesting.

As far as work, I’ve basically told everyone now that I want to wait until my French improves before I start trying to teach them anything. Everyone is really understanding and the “club de meres” or Mother’s Club (something to do with the red cross) brought me about 100 bananas and oranges as a cadeau (gift). I spent a day giving them away because I’m only one person and everything would have gone bad!

I was in the marche in Sokode, my regional capital, buying a pineapple when this old guy tapped me on the shoulder and started talking in local language. I turned back around to continue my pineapple buying and the next thing I know, the guy slapped my shoulder as hard as he could and then ran away!! It hurt so bad and scared me and I immediately starting crying. Needless to say, this drew a huge crowd in the marche of women (who had picked up their baseball bats and were yelling they were going to beat him) and children. Luckily, I was with Lyle, who speaks French much better than me, and he explained that I was going to be ok and did not need to go to the hospital.

I’m so sorry for the rare posts, but it’s really difficult to get to the internet here. Really, everything you take for granted is more difficult here – running water, electricity, dishwashers, washing machines, owning a car, calling friends, checking facebook, googling things, going out to eat, grabbing a cup of coffee, etc. Like I mentioned, things are up and down here. I’ve contemplated coming home day after day, but know I can come home anytime so I’m getting through one day at a time.

I’m a real Peace Corps Volunteer! 7 Aug 2010

Well, I took my oath and yesterday, I arrived at my post to begin my two years of service. The swear-in ceremony was great! It was held at our country director’s house which is a big, beautiful house in Lome. Our host families all came, and we all gave speeches in our local language. My family had a dress made for the me to wear at the ceremony. I guess they coordinated with another family near me because my friend, Elise, and I had exactly the same dress! Twins.

I’m living in temporary housing right now because the volunteer in Pagala isn’t leaving until the 16^th. It kind of sucks, but I am excited to move into my house and make it my own! My first day at post was spent as follows:

6: Wake up

6:30: Get out of bed

6:45: Make a list of things to do for the day

7:00: A little girl came to my house to get me water and do my laundry

7:30: Breakfast (a piece of bread with nutella and 2 bananas)

8:00: Called my homologue to tell him I’m in Pagala and in desperate need of a French tutor! He came over around the same time my laundry was finished, so he helped me hang my laundry and said he’d help me find tutor.

9:00 Chill/Sudoku

10:00 Went for a walk

11:00 Met a girl on my walk and she brought me over the meet her family and drink tchouk, a local drink.

12:00 Ate lunch (tomato sandwich) and put pictures on my computer. Maybe one of these days, I can post them online.

1:20 NOW. I need to go to the market, but am waiting on some other volunteers to get here. So I’m probably going to study French on my porch. They say the first 3 months at post are the hardest. I hope so. I’m bored!

July 31 2010

Remember in Matilda when Bruce Bogtrotter had to eat that huge chocolate cake in front of the whole school? That is how I feel every single day when my family puts food in front of me, except no one erupts into cheers when I’m finished. My mom is a great cook, but good lord, the portions rival that of the Cheesecake Factory and I’m pretty sure I’ve gained 10 lbs.

We are nearing the end of stage and next week, on August 5^th, we officially swear-in. So, I officially begin my two years of service that day. I can’t believe I’ve already been in Togo for almost two months.

Togo Transportation 14 July 2010

Well, I made it through my post visit and didn’t starve to death – mostly thanks to the fact that there was camp going on in Pagala. I’m not gonna lie, I bummed a few meals off of Peace Corps and they were amazing. Better than my meals I made for myself since I was in temporary housing and had no kitchen. One night I ate some bread with nutella and sprinkled peanuts on top.

I’m back with my host family now and it is great to be back! I get three meals a day and have a real bed, not a mattress on a concrete floor. The transportation in Togo is rather interesting. Since the police don’t really enforce the laws (it’s commonly known that they take bribes), taxi drivers just pile as many people as they can into taxis. I was in a 15 passenger van and at one point counted 29 people in it! Plus lots of clucking because there were chickens tied up under the seats. My row alone had a man and wife, two of their kids, Ben (another PCV), me, and another lady. It was a tough ride, but apparently I should get used to it. Our other option for transportation is motos. Most countries don’t allow their PCVs to take motos, but I’m really glad Togo does. They even give us these sweet, spaceship-like helmets!

My house in Pagala is a quaint little house with a bedroom, living room, and kitchen. I live in my own compound that is surrounded by giant concrete walls with glass at the top. The village is in a valley, which causes the heat to linger in the hot season making it difficult to sleep (I’m told). But it makes the scenery absolutely beautiful as the village is surrounded by mountains. If you did google Pagala, you probably noticed that there are two. My village is Pagala-Gare (meaning station in French) because it was once a center for the railroad that ran through Togo. Like most enterprises in Togo, it was not maintained and did not last. The tracks all over the country are overgrown with brush and abandoned. The once-bustling railway station in Pagala is a big, old ghost house now.

Pagala is like a giant center for transplants – kind of like Charlotte, Chicago, or NYC. People from all over Togo live in Pagala, making it really diverse – for example, I attended four meetings on Thursday in in three different languages – French, kotokoli, and losso. Cabiet and Ewe are also commonly spoken in Pagala. Since I can’t learn all these languages, much of my work will be done through a translator. My homologue speaks five languages so he is a really great resource for me!

Post Visit July 7 2010

Updates from previous posts: cooked spaghetti for my family and it turned out delicious! I don’t remember if I mentioned that people eat with their hands here, but they do. NOT with the left hand; it’s really culturally unacceptable to do anything with your left hand here, including touching food and handing people money. Anyway, the kids were so funny with the dinner. They ate it Togolese-style! So they mixed together the spaghetti with tomato sauce, green beans, and garlic mashed potatoes into one big ball and ate it with their hands. I took pictures, so will try to post them at some point.

So I’m at my post right now and laying down in my temporary room because the current PCV is still here and living in her/my house. I have been sick on and off the past couple of days and it’s really tough to stay positive mentally when you are physically ailing. I haven’t been able to eat much and can’t really keep anything in my stomach that I do eat. It sucks so bad because I have lots of things to do and lots of people to meet in my new village, but just don’t feel good enough to be out and about.

Pagala is pretty big and post visit has been good so far. The first night was really hard because it was my first night alone in Togo and I had to kill two big spiders in my room. It was also my first night without electricity so that wasn’t so easy either! The next day I woke up feeling a little better about life and had a nice morning to myself. In the afternoon, I was to a VSL (village savings & loans) meeting with Emily, the current PCV in Pagala. It was really interesting and exciting. That night other PCVs from my “cluster” came to Pagala. A cluster is the group of people in or around an area in Togo, kind of like the ‘greater Pagala region.’ We all ate street food and watched the final World Cup match in this movie-theatre like room where someone had a generator to show the game. It was 100 CFA to watch, which is $.20 in American $. Life is cheap in Africa … yesterday I bought 3 bananas for 50CFA, or $.10. I think the street food is what made me sick even though it was just rice and beans.

The next day I met the chef de canton (chef of the canton, which is like a cluster of villages). He was super nice, but it was a little awkward since my French is so pathetic. Then my homologue (counterpart), Djobo, and I walk around the village and met lots of people. We visited the ICAT, an agricultural organization, and the high school. When I got back, I was really exhausted physically and mentally even though it was only 9:30AM! I slept for a few hours before finally feeling well enough to get up and meet Emily out at this bar called Plasir’s. We discussed all of the projects she has done here, and she has done so much!! From VSLs, to youth, to health classes, to starting a library. We met a few more people and saw the post office, hospital, and library. I started feeling really sick again so came back to my room to rest. Had my first breakdown in Togo. My emotions have been fluctuating a lot in correlation to my sickness. I was just feeling so awful and have had to use my mosquito-infested latrine every time I get sick. Being sick in Togo is the worst because it is so hot and there is literally no relief from the heat.

As of now, I am feeling much better. Emily is leaving for the rest of the week so I’ll be on my own for the next few days. Luckily, Emily has done a great job introducing me to people so I feel like I will be ok. I made myself a little menu for the week and a little schedule so I hope this is the last I will see of my sickness so I can actually get some stuff done. Friday, I’m heading to Atakpame for “post visit party” and Sunday will be going back to Tsevie for 3 weeks to finish up training. Miss you guys still!

June 30 2010

30 June 2010
Two stagiares (trainees) have already left for the US. They were two really amazing volunteers, and I hope they both return. The first was “med-evac”ed due to a broken leg while playing soccer a couple of days ago, and the second left just today because his father passed away.
I remember looking at someone’s blog and seeing a picture of their training class (aka their “stage”) and the caption was “half of these people are already gone.” I remember thinking that Peace Corps must be really tough, but I am quickly learning that there are about 2.5 million reason people leave, and, most of time, it is out of their control.
My French is progressing. SLOWLY. I am able to have very basic conversations about my day even though my grammar needs lots of work. I can buy things at the marché (market) and possibly give directions. MELLO and fam, thank you so much for the French dictionary! I use it every single day and like it better than the one Peace Corps gave us for training.
I GOT MY SITE! I will be spending two years in a village called Pagala. I’ll be working with village savings and loans groups (VSLs) and youth – the two main things I wanted to do. Pagala is the site for in-service training (IST) and the site for the two main camps Peace Corps runs for youth each year. So I will constantly be around other PCVs. I get to visit my site in 2 weeks. I’ve talked to a couple of girls near me and they seem great. They are throwing me a party for post visit! One of them text me today (yes, we all text each other here!) and I am getting her cat for my house when she leaves! Sorry Koukla. I’m excited to have a little companion, but equally (or maybe more) excited that it will take care of creepy-crawly things in my house.
Our stage is planning on having a 4th of July celebration this weekend! We’re going to make lots of American food (ie. Guacamole and hot dogs), watch movies, drink beer, and maybe even set some stuff on fire. We are sleeping outside at our tech house and probably going to just use mosquito coils instead of trying to hang mosquito nets everywhere.
One of my friends mentioned to my host family that I like to cook, and they have been dying to try an American meal! We are pretty limited on ingredients here, but based on what we have here, I put together the following menu: bruschetta, spaghetti with homemade sauce, green beans, and mashed potatoes. There is so much fresh fruit so many, many potential desserts. There is always fresh mango, pineapple, banana, coconut, etc. It will be interesting to try cooking for the first time over these charcoal stoves with only 2 pots going at any given time. I’ll be sure to let you all know how it turns out.
I miss all of you back home!! So sorry for the infrequent updates. The last two times I went to the internet café, the network was down. It’s really annoying because it’s about a 30 minute walk from my house in the hot, hot heat! Call my cell anytime. I keep it off during class, so a good time to call is 12-2pm or after 5pm Togo time (so 8-10am or after 1pm east coast time). Mom has the number and will be happy to pass it along. I think if you call my cell from skype, it is only $.32/minute or something. Anyway, I’m thinking about you all and hope to hear from you soon!

The latest 6/30/2010

Two stagiares (trainees) have already left for the US. They were two really amazing volunteers, and I hope they both return. The first was “med-evac”ed due to a broken leg while playing soccer a couple of days ago, and the second left just today because his father passed away.

I remember looking at someone’s blog and seeing a picture of their training class (aka their “stage”) and the caption was “half of these people are already gone.” I remember thinking that Peace Corps must be really tough, but I am quickly learning that there are about 2.5 million reason people leave, and, most of time, it is out of their control.

My French is progressing. SLOWLY. I am able to have very basic conversations about my day even though my grammar needs lots of work. I can buy things at the marché (market) and possibly give directions. MELLO and fam, thank you so much for the French dictionary! I use it every single day and like it better than the one Peace Corps gave us for training.

I GOT MY SITE! I will be spending two years in a village called Pagala. I’ll be working with village savings and loans groups (VSLs) and youth – the two main things I wanted to do. Pagala is the site for in-service training (IST) and the site for the two main camps Peace Corps runs for youth each year. So I will constantly be around other PCVs. I get to visit my site in 2 weeks. I’ve talked to a couple of girls near me and they seem great. They are throwing me a party for post visit! One of them text me today (yes, we all text each other here!) and I am getting her cat for my house when she leaves! Sorry Koukla. I’m excited to have a little companion, but equally (or maybe more) excited that it will take care of creepy-crawly things in my house.

Our stage is planning on having a 4^th of July celebration this weekend! We’re going to make lots of American food (ie. Guacamole and hot dogs), watch movies, drink beer, and maybe even set some stuff on fire. We are sleeping outside at our tech house and probably going to just use mosquito coils instead of trying to hang mosquito nets everywhere.

One of my friends mentioned to my host family that I like to cook, and they have been dying to try an American meal! We are pretty limited on ingredients here, but based on what we have here, I put together the following menu: bruschetta, spaghetti with homemade sauce, green beans, and mashed potatoes. There is so much fresh fruit so many, many potential desserts. There is always fresh mango, pineapple, banana, coconut, etc. It will be interesting to try cooking for the first time over these charcoal stoves with only 2 pots going at any given time. I’ll be sure to let you all know how it turns out.

I miss all of you back home!! So sorry for the infrequent updates. The last two times I went to the internet café, the network was down. It’s really annoying because it’s about a 30 minute walk from my house in the hot, hot heat! Call my cell anytime. I keep it off during class, so a good time to call is 12-2pm or after 5pm Togo time (so 8-10am or after 1pm east coast time). Mom has the number and will be happy to pass it along. I think if you call my cell from skype, it is only $.32/minute or something. Anyway, I’m thinking about you all and hope to hear from you soon!

Things You Should Know About Togo 6/23/10

Typical Day:

Wake up at 6am. Ok, ok 6:20. Get a bucket bath and eat breakfast. My friend, Elise, comes by at 7:10 and we walk to class. We have class from 7:30-12:30 and then walk home for lunch. It is traditional in Togo for the whole family to come home for lunch. Our classes are usually language, bike, or a “tech” session where we learn about enterprise development in Togo. From 2:30-4:30 more class (usually language). After that, we are free. Some days we go to the local bar for a cold beer (YES COLD!), some days we play Frisbee or soccer, and on Mondays and Fridays we can go to the market. The world cup is on, as you know, and watching it here in Africa is really exciting. People are so into it. When an African teams scores, you hear people cheering all over the city! My family has satellite TV so we have an incredibly clear picture of the games. When I get home around 6, I eat my dinner, take a bath, do lots of French homework, and go to bed! Pretty standard.

The Sights: the vegetation is lush; there are coconut trees, avocado trees, mango trees, etc. The ground is a red clay-like sand that makes my feet perpetually dirty. On my way to class, I walk down dusty roads (unless it rains; then the roads are muddy and flooded) with houses on either side with people selling bread or fish or just hanging out. It’s true – the women carry lots of stuff on their heads. I want to learn to do it as soon as possible. Our training house (the “tech house” or “salle tech”) is a compound fenced in with a giant stone wall and there is a guard there 24 hrs a day. Sometimes in class I get distracted by the colorful lizards running around because our classes are all outdoors in circular huts with straw roofs. There is a flush toilet in our tech house! I use it every chance I get. I have to be careful to watch for motos on my way to class. That seems to be the main mode of transportation here. No worries – if you are in their way, they will scare you to death by blowing their horn at you. People pee everywhere. I pretty much see people peeing in their front yards everyday on my way to class. I think it’s funny!

The Sounds: People here sweep all the time. With the constant rain plus the constant heat drying everything out, there is dirt everywhere! It’s so weird because people sweep the dirt in front of their houses. It actually does make it look better because they sweep the trash away. There is the constant swish-swish of brooms. When I wake up, I usually hear gospel music and roosters. The roosters start at about 4am, but I am great at sleeping through that (and my alarm, whoops!). My family has a dog, and sometimes other dogs will howl in the distance and our dog answers VERY loudly. I hear goats bleating and kids crying all the time. It’s hard to tell the difference between the two! Of course I hear yovo like 2.5 million times per day. Fan milk guys are a welcome sound. They ride around on bikes and honk a horn. They sell fan milk, a frozen treat that is like soft serve ice cream. It’s amazing on a hot day! The mills are peppered throughout Tsevie and the sound of grinding corn into corn flour can be heard outside of them. The corn flour is used for several traditional Togolese dishes like pâte (basically water and flour with a sauce). The tok-tok of wood hitting wood as people pound yams for fufu is also a common sound.

The Smells: Well, the deodorant isn’t great, and it’s like 90 degrees here everyday, so use your imagination. I also smell animals often, like chickens and goats, not freshly washed inside-dogs. La marché (the market) smells horrible. People sell fish on every corner and it may be the most disgusting thing I have ever seen/smelled. They are black from being smoked (to preserve them without refrigeration), but are always covered in flies and half rotted. They smell so gross. I can’t even walk though the food section of the market because the smell makes me nauseous. The beef is just as gross. I’m considering becoming a vegetarian once I’m at my post. There are good smells too! I come home to my family cooking lunch and it smells fantastic. Many women sell pastries and the smell of fried dough lingers in the air.

The Tastes: My diet is basically all starch. For breakfast, I usually have either porridge (like grits with sugar), tapioca, or bread with nutella or cheese. I also have a cup of hot tea when I actually wake up on time. For lunch, I could have rice with beans and a red sauce; spaghetti with tomatoes, onion, and a boiled egg; “salad” which is carrots, beets, yams, a boiled egg, a cut-up hot dog, all mixed with mayonnaise; or a traditional meal. For dinner same thing or avocados, fried plantains, “colico” – a local dish of fried yams (like French fries), or white beans with red sauce (a personal favorite). My only saving grace is that I get fresh fruit with every meal – fresh mango, pineapple, or bananas. Yum! They asked me last night to cook an American meal for them. If you have suggestions, let me know! I’m limited in ingredients, but was thinking of eggplant parmesan or French toast. All of the vegetables are mini here! Probably lack of water and genetic engineering.

The Touch: Holy cow, it is so hot. I am almost always hot except when I pour cold water over myself in the shower.

Je suis fatiguee - 6/16/10

… means I am tired. I usually go to bed around 8 or 9 here after my final bucket bath of the day. It is HOT and I think the heat zaps all of my energy. I take 2-3 showers each day – and by shower I mean bucket bath because we don’t have running water. I live with a family named the Gakpetos who literally wait on me hand and foot. They won’t let me lift a finger to help! Three meals each day. I think they have two people who live here and help who aren’t actually part of the family. My host father works in microfinance and speaks a little English which is really awesome sometimes. Learning French is hard! Petit a petit is what they keep saying to me, and it’s true.

The Gakpeto’s house is very beautiful and I love living here even though we mostly sit around in awkward silence since I can’t communicate yet. My father speaks great French and the mother also speaks French. French is everyone’s second language in Togo but the one most commonly spoken – esp. in big cities. There are over 40 local languages in Togo!! The big one spoken in the South is called ewe (pronounce ev-vay). I know akpe means thank you. The kids at my house speak mostly ewe although the oldest is learning French in school now.

On my walk to and from training each day I hear the “yovo song.” It goes:

Yovo, yovo

Bonsoir

Yovo, yovo

Ca va tres bien, MERCI!

Yovo means white person, but really they call everyone who works with Peace Corps “yovo,” even the Togolese teachers. Sometimes it’s funny and cute, sometimes it’s really annoying, sometimes it makes me laugh, and sometimes it makes me sad.

So far:

The good: Togolese nights are beautiful. Quiet, serene, like a warm summer evening. The people are incredible – so hospitable and gracious. Very clean – they, like me, shower all throughout the day! You kind of have to with this heat and no air conditioner. Boy do I miss AC. Bucket baths are awesome for cooling you down in the middle of the day. Last good thing, the other volunteers are so much fun to be around!

The bad: There is trash everywhere on the streets + hot weather + constant rain + dirt road = smelly, muddy mess. Ok, so I love bucket baths, but not a fan of latrines. I avoid mine at all costs. For those of you not familiar – a latrine is a hole where you go to the bathroom. And yes, there are bugs in it.

No big bug run-ins yet (knock on wood) except a giant cricket that got in my room and flew right at my face. You all know I freaked out and screamed before hiding under my mosquito net, petrified that it would find a way in. I think I killed it. …I hope.

Home stay Orientation

Today - more shots! My arm is still sore from yesterday, but today I got Hep B & typhoid. We learned all about malaria, how to treat, diagnose, but most importantly prevent it.

We also had a home-stay orientation where we learn how to use latrines & kerosine lamps, do laundry, and have meals with our family. Something interesting - when you drink their traditional gin (sodabi?) you have to drink and then pour some on the ground for the ancestors before you finish.

Last night, the current volunteer took us out to the bar and treated us to two drinks each. They drew a giant blue circle on our hands and each time we got a drink, the bartenders put a line through so it ended up being a big blue circle with an X through it - more on that in a minute. The beers are huge - like almost 3/4 liter! I've never heard of any of the brands, but they were pretty standard tasting. It's the rainy season here in Togo so while we were at the bar, we encountered a sudden downpour. I could tell because water was coming through the roof like a waterfall in one spot. We waited for it to end and puddle jumped home. Fast forward to this morning and we can revisit the blue circle ... that is now all over my face!!! I guess I slept with my face on the back of my hand and woke up looking like I had a huge bruise on the side of my face! I tried my best to wash it off but have had a huge blue circle on the side of my face that wouldn't come off. all day people have enjoyed pointing it out and getting a good laugh.

Tonight, we had dinner at Carolina Cardona, our country director's, house here in Lome. We met our language trainers and a few people from the US embassy. Carolina is a resident of North Carolina and her son is just graduating from UNCW - small world!! Her home here in Togo is so beautiful. The are lots of palm trees and it is enclosed in a huge stone gate. Security is everywhere that we PCVs are. They guard all of our hostels (which have running cold water and electricity! mine even has VERY SLOW WiFi). Cold showers aren't so bad because it is HOT here. Hot and muggy.

Naturally, I've already decided to start Monday night dinners as soon as we get to post. That won't be for a while though - I'm getting ahead of myself. The people here are really great and I think I have a few friends! They are all in the CHAP program and I'm in SED so that's a little sad.

In other news, my conditioner burst in one of my bags and I spent a lot of time cleaning that out yesterday. I am laying on my bed under my mosquito net as I write this. I like sleeping under a mosquito net because I feel like I'm less likely to wake up with a huge bug on my face. So far, there have only been 2 run-ins with critters - a mouse at the airport and one bug in our room that my roommate, Nikki from CA, killed immediately.

I miss you all dearly! I am getting a cell phone. Don't know all the details yet, but it is very expensive to call the US or for you in the US to call me. HOWEVER, you can call my call via skype and it is only $.30/min. Apparently our time for the next few months will be basically booked up so I don't know how much time I will have to communicate, but will, of course, try to keep you posted.

Much love everyone!

Bonjour Togo

We traveled for so many hours and I am finally in Togo! We flew to Paris and I got to go see the city on our layover. Only a few of us ventured out because many were afraid of missing our plane to Togo, but we got 2 good hours in Paris - saw Notre Dame, the museum of modern art, and the Louvre. Could even see the Eiffel Tower in the distance!

Life in Togo is pretty much how I expected it to be. We have been getting shots like crazy - not the alcoholic kind. Yellow fever, tetanus, meningitis, and malaria pills every day! Two more shots tomorrow, and two more the next day. We have training each day and everyone is very nice.

Need to run to dinner at our hostel. We are meeting up with current volunteers for drinks after dinner. Write more as soon as I can!

To Togo I Go

I'm packing up my hotel room in Arlington, VA in preparation to spend the next 27 months in Togo. Yesterday, I flew from Wilmington, NC to NYC to Washington DC to meet my fellow volunteers and have an orientation. There are 28 of us - some Small Enterprise Development (SED) and some CHAP (it's a health volunteer but I already forgot exactly what it stands for). We are going to the clinic here in DC to get some vaccinations and then we are off to Paris. We have 8 hours in Paris and most of the people here are very experienced travelers so they want to venture into the city. I hope we can! From Paris, it's off to Lome, the capital of Togo where we will meet current PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) and the country staff. From there we will split into SED and CHAP to begin 11 weeks of training.

I'm a little nervous because everyone here speaks some French. I'm the only one who has NO experience whatsoever. I guess I will learn to get really great at non-verbal communication!

I'm going to be late for breakfast! Write more when I can.

Au Revoir,

Christa

Making a List. Checking it Twice!

After 3 going away parties, 2 days of packing, and 1 extra day in Charlotte, I’m finally back in Wilmington to spend time with the family before I leave. Thank goodness for my mom. If she wasn’t here to help me pack, I’d be up all night on June 2 trying to cram everything I could think of into a suitcase. She is making me work on this early.

All morning, I’ve been working on my packing list. The Peace Corps give us a suggested list that’s like 5 pages long. Obviously you can’t take eveything they suggest. Mostly, I’ve been using other current & returned volunteers’ lists. That has been really helpful. So far, my packing list is pretty extensive. I think it’s all essentials, but when it comes time to cram everything into 2 suitcases, totalling no more than 80 lbs, I’ll be forced to figure out what’s really essential and what’s really not.

Everyone has been so incredible in helping me get ready to leave. Your gifts are great, and I feel very loved! I haven’t read ‘the book’ yet, but I can’t wait to see what each of you had to say for my send off.

Friday was a tough day mentally for me. Friday marked one week from the day I would finally be arriving in Togo to spend my 27 months. All day, I was just scared – questioning if I’ve made the right decision, wondering if I will be able to make it through my whole term, doubting my ability to adapt to the culture and language. I have had days like that every now and then since I found out I was accepted into Peace Corps. Most of my days are days of excitement and anticipation, but these bads days creep in and I get nervous all over again.

I officially fly out of Wilmington, NC at 6:23am on June 3, 2010. I’m flying to JFK, and then arriving in DC to meet up with my fellow volunteers. We will spend the night there and depart for Paris on June 4, 2010. Six hours in Paris and we are off to Lome, the capital of Togo. We will stay a couple of nights in Lome before moving north to another city (I forget the name right now) to move in with a host family and begin 11 weeks of intensive culture and language training. I will post my packing list later!

Invitation

I had my final phone interview March 26, 2010 with my placement officer. The interview was great and at the end of it she told me to expect an invitation in the mail in the next 2-3 days with all of the details of my assignment. I knew only that is was a French-speaking country in Africa and it was a business development program leaving June 3. I was ecstatic! All of the waiting finally came down to this. Now I just wanted to know my country.

Saturday/Sunday - I knew I wouldn't get the invitation, but crossed my fingers anyway.
Monday - Today's the day (maybe....). No invitation.
Tuesday - Clearly it has to come today. It's been 3 whole days!
Wednesday - At this point, I don't know.
Wednesday - 3PM - I'm at work and get a phone call from Gracie "I am holding your invitation in my hands right now. It's really thick!"
Wednesday - 4PM It's TOGO!!!

Now for all of the preparation...