June started off with a bang that never seemed to diminish. Mosquito nets, Carla's departure, the concert, a conference, training, and camp somehow all fit into the month of June.
ASEDA - PEACE PAL MOSQUITO NET DISTRIBUTION
Akanto with his NGO ASEDA sought out a partnership with Peace Pals, a group in the US, to bring and distribute mosquito nets to a couple villages near Kante. So, for about a week, community health workers were given the task of going house to house and determining how many mosquito nets each household had, if they were in good condition, and seeing if the residents knew how to use them. We saw many mosquito nets that were covered in holes and rips, and some that had been intentionally ripped and re-sewn to use as tablecloths or other decorations. Each family who needed mosquito nets then came to the school where we distributed new nets and gave demonstrations on how to use them correctly.
AED BENEFIT CONCERT
There was an outdoor concert organized to benefit AED. It had been planned to involve singing and dancing, speeches, and skits. The night of the concert, everyone packed into the enclosed outdoor area, and then, it began to rain. People pushed their way into the small adjacent room for shelter from the rain and everyone started to sing and dance. It was packed and hot, but so much fun. When the rain stopped, we returned outside to continue with the program, but soon the rain started again. For three hours, we went inside, then outside, then inside again, trying to continue with the concert, but also escape the rain.
GOODBYE CARLA
Carla, my sitemate, left Kante and returned to the US. It will be strange without her here. Usually when I make something tasty or just need a beer or a place to chill out, I always met up with her. So, now I am the only American in my town, which is good and bad. I will miss having another American to talk with and share things with. But, I will probably integrate even more into the community.
ONE YEAR ALREADY?
I have been in Togo for one year. It honestly does not feel like one whole year. The new people have arrived and it is strange to view myself as the experienced volunteer, the older one who can guide the new people.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE CONFERENCE
There is a new method of analyzing behavior change, which incorporates determining what the needs of a community are, which behaviors are associated with those needs, which group of people does the behavior, why they do it or don't do it, and creating methods to change the behavior. Anyway, I learned about this with some other volunteers and my friend/homologue Florence during a conference that encompassed a week. It was the most intense conference I had been to yet here. My brain was exhausted. It was very theoretical - and in French - and the combination of theory and high level French was exhausting. But, it was incredibly interesting and peace corps is going to start incorporating these methods into training here in Togo.
CAMP ESPOIR- TOT
Every "summer" (there isn't really a season called summer here), kids who have HIV/AIDS or have been affected (e.g. orphaned) by someone who has HIV/AIDS are given the opportunity to participate in a week of American-style camp. They play games, learn about health, business, and gender equality, share stories, and - of course the best part - make and eat caramel popcorn. Camp starts off with a week of training for the camp counselors, teachers, med staff, and jeune leaders. So, in mid June, I got together with volunteers and Togolese from all over the country. It was a super intense but incredibly fun week. I had not yet experienced a conference where volunteers and trainers meshed so well (usually, when volunteers get together, we have the bad habit of sticking together (and unconsciously ignoring our Togolese counterparts) because we are able to speak English and catch up and talk about random things). But, this training was completely different; we planned everything together, had discussions, and shared games and songs. By the end of each day, I was so tired of French that I couldn't speak correctly. In the evenings, there were movies available to watch. One night, I watched Jurassic Park, in French. It was so hilarious watching it alongside the Togolese counterparts. Whenever a dinosaur popped out of the background, she would say "bonne arrivee" (good arrival/welcome) and whenever a dinosaur was about to eat someone, she would say "bonne appetite!". She basically added this hilarious commentary to the whole movie, and I don't think I ever laughed so much while watching Jurassic Park. Towards the end of the week, I organized a soccer match between everyone from the north and everyone from the south. I had to convince a few people to play, but soon we had enough for a team. The day of the match, however, arrived with bulked up dark clouds and soon rain began to fall. People still showed up, though, and even when it the nice rain turned to a downpour, almost everyone kept on playing. I was slipping in sliding in the mud, almost everyone got scratched up in some way, and one guy cut his eyebrow and needed stitches (without anesthetic). As the game tied up, the Togolese got really serious about winning- and I don't think they were too fond of the laughing that all the Americans were doing. Also, a rainbow appeared in the sky, and many times, I was caught off guard by my opponent because I had been staring at the rainbow. (It was the first rainbow I've seen in Togo). The game was still tied when we left for dinner (I scored!).
CAMP ESPOIR
Months before camp, I was excited and ready to get involved in Camp Espoir. As preparations began and volunteers started signing up for specific activities, I joined in and signed up to be camp counselor for the youngest boys. Great, I thought, I will get to play soccer and be outdoors all the time. But, as the start of Camp Espoir approached, these thoughts changed to thoughts of: What did I get myself into. I began contemplating the fact that I grew up surrounded with sisters and female cousins, and had no interaction with boys. How will I deal with a bunch of little boys running around? What will I do if they are like the kid who, in a fit of rage, threw watermelon at my cat? Needless to say, nervousness was starting to build up. But, when I arrived and began collecting my boys and talking with them, I began to realize it might not be so bad. There were six boys in my cabin. One kid, Michel, began crying right away because he was homesick, but once he calmed, he proved to be the cutest kid of all. He was much smaller than all the other kids, and when we played soccer, he would mindlessly sprint after the ball, regardless of which team was in possession. Then, he would look at me, waiting for me to say good job. Adams, another boy, was a great artist. I had brought coloring books and would pull them out whenever we had a few minutes to spare, and they would color. Adams, however, began copying the coloring book drawings into his notebook. He could draw Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse better than I ever could! Everyday was a marathon. Masoumi smiled all the time and was happy with anything. Ericsone was the bossy kid, who seemed to think he knew everything, and Eric was sort of the peace maker of whatever conflict there was. Fazazi did not speak French well and barely ever talked or participated. Watching the kids, preparing educational presentations (hygiene, nutrition, sexual health), and taking care of whatever administrative things needed taking care of meant that from 5am to 10pm, I was up and about, busy doing something. My favorite time of the whole camp were free times, where everyone in the cabin would do something together, whether it was coloring, play soccer, ping pong, or Frisbee. One free time in particular, all my boys ran out towards the soccer field only to find it occupied by the older boys. That didn't intimidate them, though. They decided that my boys, the Jungle, could play against the older boys, the Mountains. All the little jungle boys took there place on the field and faced the significantly older and taller mountain boys and the game began. My boys were so into it- running and yelling. Bossy Ericsone was shouting instructions to everyone, and little Michel was just sprinting after the ball the whole time. Whenever the ball flew out of bounds and far away down the hill, Michel would be the only one sprinting after it, so excited to have possession of the ball for once. Mealtimes were also fun and interesting. The boys were not used to using forks and spoons and would have the most difficult time eating macaroni and salad. As the week continued, however, some tension began to grow. Fazazi, who did not speak French well began to get violent. He seemed to be easily provoked and would punch kids in response instead of speaking. Thankfully, my jeune leader Boug, who was also with the cabin, dealt with any problems. At the end of the week, we had a dance party. It was so much fun; every group- the teenagers dressed up nicely to the little kids who were just having fun, all the jeune leaders and volunteers all spent the hour dancing. Before I knew it, the week ended and everyone was going home.
I ATE ANTS
During camps and trainings, schedules are always packed, leaving little room for training for a marathon. But a couple of us decided to try to stick with the training schedule and got up at 4:50 one morning to run 10 miles before the training session began. The run was great, but when we returned, we realized the training session had been rescheduled to start earlier. So, we quickly ate some of the breakfast, showered and changed. I was still hungry and, as I left the room to go to the training center, grabbed a croissant I had in my bag and began eating. It tasted a little strange, but I didn't let that phase me. After I had eaten about half of it, I looked down at the croissant and saw that it was covered in ants! I had been eating ants! I had been in such a rush that I hadn't even noticed!
HOSPITALS
My friend Florence is in the hospital in Kara and has been there for over a week. Hospitals here are not like they are in the US. When you become a patient in the hospital, you are given a bed in a room full of beds, and that it is. You must provide your own sheets for the bed, and find your own food during your stay and do your own laundry. So, usually when someone becomes a patient in the hospital, their family and friends care for them. When walking through a hospital, and glancing into rooms, you will see the beds, and then beside each bed and lining the walls, will be the family and friends of the person along with their clothes and food supplies, all brought from the home or bought near the hospital. It is not a very comforting place at all, so I stopped to visit Florence when I was in Kara. I hope she gets better soon and can leave the hospital.
WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH MY LIFE
Lately, I have been thinking much about what I am going to do with my life. I know that I am living my life now, obviously, and am working here in Togo, but it will end soon- in a year. And, I need to decide what to do afterwards. Initially, I had planned to go directly to grad school afterwards to obtain my Ph.D. doing research in nutrition and immunology. But, lately I have been having doubts and second thoughts. I have been hearing that Ph.D. "isn't what it used to be" regarding the value that it holds, and that it is becoming more difficult to find mentors and labs that can support you, as well as a satisfying job afterwards. So, I've been considering going to school for M.D. or the combination M.D./PhD. degree. With that, you can do research still, but there is more job security I believe. So, right now, I am in the throws of this decision making process. I have been studying everyday for either the GRE or MCAT or both, depending on the day, and I've been looking at application processes to mentally prepare for whichever path I choose. But in the end, I just need to choose.
