Togo Togo!!

Togo Togo! Thats what we say as "cheers" whenever we are sharing a warm beer (because there are no cold beers in town).

So, I am in Togo now! I have been here for awhile, but internet is hard to come by. Hence, the infrequency of these blog updates. Right now I am in a small town without electricity or potable water. I live with a wonderful host family, made up of a host mom, many brothers and a few sisters…and some babies, who are all super cute. Actually, Rolande, the youngest, just started to walk for the first time about a week ago! She walks sideways, like a crab..haha. Alex, who’s about three, is a little trouble maker, and has recently discovered that I can pick him up spin him around. I think I got him in trouble with his mom the other day because he was so dizzy from spinning, that he fell in the sand and got everything dirty. I’m closest with my brother Eugene, and when I’m not at class or playing with my the toddlers of the fam, I’m usually hanging out with Eugene playing cards or talking (aka: trying to speak French). EWWW…. I just looked beside me and there is one of those super big cockroaches! p.s. im in bed now, but luckily the cockroach is outside my mosquito net. AND, speaking of bugs, there is was a super huge spider in my room last night. I happened to notice it when I turned on my headlamp. And, I tried to kill it, but it jumped (yes…jumped) away and into this crevice in the wall really high where I couldn’t reach or see….so there is a giant spider in my room somewhere…. I just make sure my mosquito net is tucked in allll the time. I don’t mind the bugs…. I just don’t like the thought of them crawling on me while im sleeping. I'm still a little paranoid right now because we just had a 3 hour lecture about all the different "stings and bites" we may possibly/probably encounter here, in Togo. This included the fly that can grow inside your skin and eventually burst through and fly away. That's the one I want least. Although, actually, as long as it doesn't do any real damage to you (which apparently it doesn't), and as long as you can get over the gross-factor (which I think I can), it would be ok. So, I wont freak out if I get it, but my goal is to prevent it (aka be wary of damp clothes....hhahaah thats a joke.. everything is damp here). So, if I get it I'll let you know!

Ok, sorry for the tangent about bugs. I think in this blog post I’ll talk about (1) lifestyle changes that I’ve noticed, (2) my post!!! (3) people I’ve met and (4) recent things...some sad news and some happy news and (4) how much I miss all of you.

So, regarding living. Well, it is very hot here. The heat and humidity is just something I get used to. It is like DC in the summer all the time (without AC). I am constantly sweating when I move and when there is no wind, but that is something I’ve gotten used to already. However, because of this, I had heat rash for a steady 3 weeks my torso and I get some type or fungal growth where my elbow bends (which a good chunk of athletes foot medicine seems to take care of). Also, because there's no electricity or plumbing, we get water from a well, I use a latrine, take cold bucket showers (which feel AMAZING after running in the morning), sterilize all water, use a kerosene lamp….. its basically like car-camping. On a normal day, I wake up, go to the latrine (after making sure there are no giant cockroaches close enough to touch my butt), go running with one or two other peace corps (PC) ppl, take a bucket shower, eat breakfast (coffee and bread…or if my host mom is in a great mood homemade banana donuts!!!!...and my host mom just got hot chocolate mix from ghana!!!) and then go to class (French, nutrition, safety, culture, peace corps policy, hiv/aids, reproductive health, malaria,……). The "going" to class is an experience in and of itself; I say bye to everyone at home, the toddlers high-five me, then say bonjour to everyone i meet on the way to class (like 30ish ppl). I come home for lunch, (rice and beans or tomato spicy sauce or fried plantains or fufu or pate rouge or fish; I’ve been taking pics of the different foods, and whenever I can I will post them to facebook or here) and then go back to class, then come home for dinner and hang out with my family, usually playing cards. I am in bed by 9 (though I read or journal or do homework for awhile afterwards) and wake up at 5 (its impossible to sleep in till 6….). Also, whenever I go anywhere, I say Bonjour to EVERYONE. Haha.. if you don’t they think something is wrong. So, I pretend that I am belle from beauty and the beast and say Bonjour Bonjour Bonjour Bonjour Bonjour (like in the first song in the movie….). Some other random life things: there are bugs everywhere, there are animals everywhere, when it rains it pours all of a sudden, a lizard fell on my friend (really funny), the town is always alive; its never quiet, i went to the "dancing church" (they sing...so amazingly...and dance! all the women dance in front of everyone and then the men, and then the little kids!), the stars are super bright, funerals last allllll night (the whole town can hear the singing of a funeral allllll night), I saw (and pet) a hedgehog!, you know who's winning the soccer match by the noise that comes from the far far bar, my friend had a green mamba in his bedroom during first week (thats actually an uncommon thing here, so no worries...apparently all the neighbors ran over and machete'd it and continued to hit the snake body with a rock-thing for awhile after it was dead.), everyone laughs (i think a lot of times at me and my cultural faux pas..haha).

So, my post!!!!!!! OK, first I will explain a little about the timeline for Peace Corps. First, 29 of us-encompassing the business (SED) and health (CHAP) volunteers, went to Togo. We stayed for about a week in Lome, the capital, where we had shots, basic health info, and super basic language. Then, all the CHAP ppl went to a small village to live with host families and the SED ppl went to a big town to live with host families. In these towns, we attend classes and get trained-culturally and technically, for nine weeks. Then, we each move to a separate village or city where we will spend the next two years working. Every village/city has different needs and has requested a PCV for certain reasons. So, your “post” placement depends on interviews and your background: technical, language, religion, health……lots of things. But, they basically try to match the village/ville’s needs with your abilities. So, for awhile we were held in suspense, waiting to find out our posts. And we did! And mine is a city in the Kara region, which I’m super excited about. Since it’s a city, it’s a site for AIDS/HIV goings-on and since its in the north, they have crazy dry seasons, so that food is an issue…. So basically, it can potentially combine both HIV/AIDS and nutrition work, which is exactly what I wanted. Also a plus, is that I get to work with a hospital and a doctor! (both of which are pretty rare in togo), There is an up-and-coming AIDS/HIV group, a couple schools, a midwife who is the head midwife for the whole region (so….projects with reproductive health) and I think also has a moringa plantation-thing… and just a ton of other things. Oh, and a Red Cross that has requested some PCV help. It sounds like a dream come true. I can have so much to do! Also, I am close to a good number of other PCVs, including both Travis and Lizzie, both of whom i spent the last month with. Also, apparently there is a GEE (girls education and empowerment) PCV right in Kante too…and some NRM (natural resource management) PCVS nearby too, which means: (1) instant friends and (2) collaborating on projects! So, that’s my post! I am super excited, if you couldn’t tell already. In about a week, I'll be doing "post visit" (a week living at post), so I'm super excited about that.

Anyway, next on the list: people! So, like I mentioned above, there were 29 of us who came to Togo together. Since then, we’ve split into SED (business) and CHAP (health…community health and hiv aids prevention). So, there are 16 CHAP-ers, 8 girls, 8 boys (a first, usually CHAP-ers are women), and we’ve been spending the greater portion of every waking hour together since we’ve been here, which is pretty cool, because it feels like I’ve known them for years. We all have gone through good days and bad ones…. Actually, for most of us, its like good hours and bad hours. Peace Corps really is like an emotional roller coaster, and I knew I was getting on that ride, but still, some hours are harder than others. Most of the hard parts just stem from language frustrations and sometimes feeling unsure/unstable in this different culture. Its so important, at least for me, to maintain a broad perspective and just laugh at myself a lot. Anyway, the other volunteers are a super support network. We are all from such different backgrounds too…from all over the US and with travels all over the world. It will be a little sad when we go to post, because some volunteers will be like a 10hour bush taxi drive away from me. Oh well. Such is life. A couple volunteers were interested in doing the Ghana marathon with me next year! I’m super excited. I didn’t realize that running was “ok” here, and was all set to give it up, but now that I know its do-able, I’m going to start training for the Ghana marathon! (p.s. about Ghana. Apparaently, Ghana is the land of plenty… and I believe it! They have sushi and shopping malls and movie theaters and milkshakes…and they speak English..its just like America! Some PCVs went on vaca there and when they crossed back into togo, the border ppl were so confused as to why they chose to live in togo,, instead of Ghana. Look…even my auto spell check recognizes that Ghana deserves a capital letter, but has forgotten togo. Poor togo. I still love you! Togo!!! There’s your capital letter!)

So, regarding recent news: I mentioned there was both good news :) and bad news :(. We'll do good news first. My french has been coming along marvelously, which I am super excited about. Although, there is still so much work to be done. Some days feel like I'm swimming upstream in terms of french, but, today I had a bit of a pat on the back. I had to give a presentation-all in french- about my background, my post, what the PC is, what type of work I am hoping to do...that kind of stuff. And it went really well! I was super nervous, but the trainers were so proud of us. Afterwards, we went to celebrate at the "far far bar" (the bar that's farther away that the bar that's far away) and on the way we saw a hedgehog, which just made my good day even better. And, I started to learn another language called Lamba....which is a super cool language...im really excited about it. Its a little difficult because there are new characters and sounds that I've never used before...but it sounds so fascinating. I wish i was fluent. Alafia! So yea, that's the good news. Now the bad news. (wow....so weird, right when I typed that, the sound of rain on my roof just increased exponentially; at least I wont hear any potential sounds that potential cockroaches are making in my room). So, Lisa broke her leg...really badly. Less than a week ago, we were playing soccer, and she got hit and fell and was in a ton of pain. Luckily, the van was nearby and she went to the city (where they have ice) and was able to RICE (rest,ice,compression,elevation-thats for you caity!...although she didnt do the C bc it hurt her too much), until she could get to Lome. She's back in the US now and we miss her a lot! Hopefully she will come back in 4-6 months when she is all better! Then, just yesterday Martin left. His father..in the US..passed away suddenly. A group of us were sitting together, talking, when we heard the news. We were all shocked...and sad. All of us are away from home now, and that is probably our greatest fear.... And knowing that it happened to one of us, just shook us all. We miss Martin, and hope he can come back soon. Our group is close, and we're here to support him. A lot of people tried to call home afterwards. We all missed our fathers.. and families.. suddenly.

And, now for the final thing! I miss you all! So much! I swear, I dream of home ..Cashtown home and Rockville home.. and you guys almost every night. Although some of my dreams are SUPER weird…the malaria medicine that I’m taking has weird dream side effects. It’s funny talking to the other PCVs about dreams. One girl had a dream that we had been here for 4 years and hadn’t eaten chocolate for 4 years, and Andy exposed the fact that I was really made out of chocolate, so everyone was fighting over who got to eat my pinky first. Hahah… that’s a mefloquine dream for you. And a few nights ago, I somehow got completely flipped and disorientated in my bed and when I went to get out in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, stepped out of bed (after pulling the mosquito net out), and hit a wall... i was so confused.. i had gotten out on the wrong side of my bed. But really, I hope you all are enjoying the summer. I hope you are hiking and camping and cookout-ing, and beach-ing. I would love to hear from you all. Letters are really slow. The ones ive received were postmarked 3 weeks before I received it. I’ve written some too and unfortunately, there is no post office in my town, so I wait until the weekends to mail them (although I couldn’t mail any last weekend, because I went on Sunday and forgot they close on Sunday). But, communication, in all forms, should improve once I am at post, which will be August5 - or 6 i think? Well, I’m going to save this on my USB, and hopefully be able to get to an internet café and connect and upload this blog post this weekend. Internet is such an ordeal…it took me 40-ish minutes to figure out how to read and send gmail last time. LOVE YOU ALL!!!!! and I MISS YOU ALL SOOO MUCH!!!!!!!


p.s. happy fourth of july!