Field Trip

So I finally found internet that lets me get on my blog!!! Amazing! Well, I'm still in Togo and things are going well. Time is passing faster than I though it would, but I am ready to be finished with training. It is a bit draining to sit in classes all day and some of our lectures are brutally boring. We did have a break in the routine finally this past week and we got to see a bit more of the country. We left Nyogbo on Thursday morning and drove to Sokode for lunch and a tour of the Red Cross, then we drove on to Bassar. Bassar is in the Kara region which will be my region for the next two years. We spent the night in Bassar and the next morning we went to one of the volunteers houses and he and three other volunteers from the region cooked us "American" breakfast. We had hashbrowns and "sausage" which was more or less Spam (but still absolutely delicious) and we also had crépes with nutella (SOOO yummy!). We were like kids in a candy store, it was the best food we have had since we got here. My friend Nori put it best when describing our diet in Togo, she said, "most of what I eat is either starch or fried...but most of the time its fried starch." It will be so nice to get to post and be able to cook for ourselves. We were given a cook book put together by former PCVs called "Where There is No Whopper" it has pretty much everything in it, and since we usually have 3 hours of time in the middle of the day for lunch, I really have no excuse as to why I cant become a master chef while in Togo (as well as mastering jujitsu and training to be a stunt double)!

Anyway...back to the field trip. After our delicious breakfast we went to the Association of People Living with AIDS where Amy, a current PCV works. We heard a lot of heart-wrenching stories, but in general it was wonderful to see how strong these people were and how the organization had really given them a sense of hope and solidarity. The kids who came sang us songs and we arranged to set up a soccer game later in the afternoon. Then we went back to the hotel for lunch.

Sometimes it feels as though our hands are being held through this experience. Our days seem so planned out and it is hard to feel like you have any independence. So when we found out we had the rest of the afternoon off during our field trip - needless to say we were pretty excited. Most of us took naps, I am currently reading The Neverending Story so I did a bit of reading and listened to music. At 3 o'clock we met up with the kids for a soccer game. My thought about soccer in Togo is that it is genetically built into every child here that he or she is a master of "football." Now I would like to tell you that we held our own, that we gave them a run for their money, that we didn't embarrass ourselves completely, but then I would be lying. We played hard, we played with a lot of heart, we gave it all we had, we got our asses kicked. Oh yeah...did I mention we were playing middle schoolers who were quite obviously taking it easy on us? We sure had fun though, and now soccer is another thing on my list of things to master before leaving this country.

That night we hung out and talked, played cards and drank beer. In the morning we drove to Kara, my future regional capital and also only 4k from my new post in Lama-Kpedah. Kara is beautiful!!! It is a big city for Togo and it is also where the President lives, which I think contributes a lot to how clean and well-maintained the area seems to be. Each regional capital has a Maison de Passage for PCVs. It is basically like a private hostel where PCVs can stay if they are traveling the country, or where they can go just to get away from post for a bit. The Maison in Kara is a bit of a frat house, since a lot of people living up there are guys, so Aimee (my friend who is also moving to the Kara region) and I have declared cleaning it up our first at-post mission. Its really not too bad, it just needs a little work, and it is in its own compound with round-the-clock guards. It also has a great library and a Maison dog who is really cute! Since my village is only 4k away I tried to convince them to drive me there to see it, unfortunately we didn't have time and the driver didn't really know where my house was. But I will only have to wait a week to see it, because this Saturday we all leave for our one-week post visit. I can't wait to see where I am going to be spending the next 2 years. I was OK with not visiting as soon as I found out we were having pizza for lunch!!! PIZZA?!?!!? You have never seen a group of 15 women put away that much food...I promise! Full to the brim and euphorically happy, we headed back to Nyogbo.

Well my internet time is about to run out. Love you all and miss you. Thanks for all your messages and emails and letters and packages. Keep 'em coming!

Love from Togo
-L-