Birthday and more

Well, believe it or not, I made it to 23! This was my first birthday outside of the United States, one of very few birthdays outside Ohio, and I believe the only birthday I have celebrated without my family. On the 23rd we swore in and became official Peace Corps Volunteer; we recited the same oath the President takes when swearing into office. Swear in was held in Lome at the country director, Brownie Lee's house. The American Ambassador to Togo was also present. It was all very formal and official and all of the volunteers were dressed in traditional Togolese fashion, it was really quite beautiful. That night we went out dancing to celebrate and at midnight Aimee and Nori (my two closest friends in Togo) got the DJ to wish me a happy birthday. The next morning we slept in, did some shopping, slept a bit more, and got ready to go out to dinner at a nice Chinese restaurant. Because Lome used to be quite a tourist destination, there are many things you can find here that you can find very few other places in-country (including Chinese food). The atmosphere was very nice, the food was delicious, and all thirteen of the CHAP girls were there. We had a nice long dinner and as we were finishing up they turned off the lights in the restaurant; being a server myself I got a bit indignant, "are they trying to tell us we have to leave?? Its not even that late! There are still other people in here! That's a little ridiculous." In the midst of my ranting I looked up to see that a cake (or the closest you get to it in Togo), baked by Natasha and Danielle, was being carried over to the table ablaze with 23 candles. Now those of you who know me are aware that I am not easily surprised, but this caught me completely off-guard and was so sweet I started to cry. Everybody sang happy birthday as I tearfully blew out the candles.

When I was getting ready to come to Togo there were many things I was anxious about. My main worry was that I wouldn't find really good friends (especially since my friends at home are so wonderful and therefore I have high expectations). However, I couldn't have asked for a better group. I really feel a bond with all the women of CHAP and will be very sad to be separated from them tomorrow. Having a training group made up entirely of women was a bit unsettling at first, but as the weeks went by I found that I could count on each and every one of them for absolutely anything. Having a birthday away from friends and family is hard, but my girls made it great and it is definitely one for the books.

Now it is probably going to be a while before I will be able to post more pictures on my blog. The computers at the PC bureau are ridiculously fast (in Togo time) and therefore I am able to do this, but it is still a process. So here are some pics just to give you an idea of where I am and what I am doing and to remind you what I look like in case you have forgotten.

Pictures from our climb up Mount Agou and the view from the top

My host sister, Essie, who does not enjoy having her picture taken, and my little nephew Rodrigue who absolutely loves it.

My unfinished house (well hopefully its finished by now since I'm supposed to move in tomorrow) and the beautiful surrounding area.

You know those African bugs they talk about on the Discovery Channel? Yeah...they're not kidding.

The view from my back door as Rodrigue prepares to take a bath.

The three mukateers, Aimee, Nori and me (left), and the beautiful ladies of CHAP

(from left; Nori, me, Ashley, Aimee, Kate, Linda, Becca,

Alicia, Tig, Danielle, Natasha, Helen, and Steph)

My host sister and host mother came down to Lome for swear in (left). Nori, Aimee, and me with our French teacher Francine.

After all the hard work it took to get here, we enjoyed our well-deserved day at the beach.

I love this pic!

This is the sign we saw in the airport minutes before we took off on our Togo adventure. On the days when I feel as if time is creeping by and am asking myself if I can make it, it helps to remember that time always passes faster than we expect.

I miss you all terribly and think about you often, but I am also loving it here and doing my best to savor every minute. Tomorrow I will leave Lome to begin my life at post. I am sure I will be fumbling my way through the first few months and will have amusing tales to tell so stay tuned.

Until next time!

Post Visit

Hello again all and greetings from Togo. It has been some time since my last entry due to the fight I have been having with local internet. But never fear, I have emerged victorios - those juijitsu lessons must be paying off. Speaking of Juijitsu, I must begin this entry with a dedication and a fond farewell to our good friend Shannon the Cannon. Our close companion and butt-kicking colleague has decided that Peace Corps is not her true calling and has returned to the land of air conditioning and kraft macaroni and cheese to pursue her true love (juijitsu of course). While we are all sad to see her go and will of course miss her dearly, we are happy to see her happy and wish her only the best. If you are reading this Shannon, be sure to keep in touch. You will be missed, but our lives are now linked and we will see each other again.

So I am sure you are all curious to hear about my visit to post and if you're not, too bad I'm gonna tell you anyway. The ride up to Kara took about seven hours, we started outwith eleven people (five voluneers, all of our togolese counterparts and the driver) crammed into a mini-bus with our stuff (bikes, stoves, gas tanks, luggage, bathing buckests etc.) piled on top. It was the type of tight squeeze you become accustomed to in Togolese travel, in fact comparatively, it was rather roomy. We dropped off one passenger along the route before I was deposed at the Maison de Passage in Kara. The Maisons are designed specifically for Peace Corps volunteers as a place to stay if you are passing through, as well a a means to get away within region to work or relax. Since my house was not yet ready I would be staying at the Maison for the week. It is really quite a nice house, however, due to the fact that the majority of the Peace Corps volunteers in the Kara region in recent years have been men, it has taken on a bit of a "fratuesque" and is clearly in need of a bit of tidying. The drains in the bathroom dont so much drain as not, and there seems to be a slight philm covering many various serfaces, but since I have been used to living in a small room with no electricity or running water, this place looked like a five star hotel...whats a few cockroaches here and there when you can take an almost-hot shower?!

Kara itself is very nice and I was able to do a bit more exploring this time than when we were up there for our field trip. One such exploration led me down a little dirt road at the end of which was an internet cafe and a...what!?...Patisserie. Now I saw the sign, and I read the sign, and I speak french so I knew when the sign meant...but I didnt believe it. Pastries? In Togo? Dont hold your breath. I walked slowly toward the entrance, closed my eyes and stepped through the doorway. There are no words to describe my awe; I thought I had crossed into a foreign land, as if when I stepped through the door I had crossed out of Togo and into a little Parisian boutique. I couldnt believe it when I saw actual croissants and pain au chocolat (for those of you who have not had the pleasure, this is a butter, flakey, croissant-like pastery with a small bit of delicious chocolate in the middle, also a main factor in my signifigant weight gain while living in France). The internet cafe next door was the fastest I have used in Togo...I was in heaven.
We arrived in Kara Saturday afternoon and I had that evening and all of Sunday to myself. Monday morning my Togolese counterpart, Komla, who works at the disposaire (I guess the American equivalent would be a clinic) in my village, came to fetch me on his bike from the Maison. The ride out to my village is entirely uphill, however, since I clearly have legs of steal this prooved absolutely no problem for me whatsoever. Lama-Kpedah is only 5k outside of the city of Kara, but it is an entirely different world. There is no electricity, no running water, people for the most part and very poor. The houses are scattered throughout large fields at the base of a beautiful range of mountains. The area of Lama is made up of 8 small villages that share one school and one diposaire, both with very few resources at their disposal. The woman who runs the disposaire is extremely nice and I think I will be working a lot with her in the future; most of what she handles is family planning, pregnancies and births. If there are serious illnesses it is usually arranged for people to travel to the larger hospital in Kara. I had seen a disposaire befor my visit, so the lack of resources was not a shock and I was pleased to see that it was very clean and well maintained and there are good people working there.

For the next few days I biked into Lama twice a day (like I said...legs of steal), and spent my time there traveling around meeting various important people including 5 of the eight cheifs (the other 3 live in the mountains). Meeting cheifs is always and interesting experience, they generally speak in the local language and offered me Tchouk which is the local brew, it sort of tastes like warm apple juice, and since that was my favorite beverage as a child I like it and find it mildly comforting. It is, however, quite strong and I was careful not to have too much since I was traveling by bike and am mildly uncoordinated as it is. I also met the head of a local women's group who is very interested in having me join in their meetings which I am exited about. I was able to visit my house, but at the time I saw it it was far from ready so there was very little to see. I think it will be nice when it is finished; it is very small and makes up one side of a square of houses occupied by other families. It is back in the woods so it is very quiet and fairly isolated. I think it might be a bit intimidating at first, but that is to be expected; I only hope to be sharing my house with the bare minimum of other creatures and creepy-crawleys.

On friday night the volunteers in the Kara region through us a party...the food was the best I have had in country and it made me realize what a difference cooking for myself will make; that is after I teach myself to cook. On Saturday we shared all shared a taxi back to Agou.

We are now nearing the end of training and I think we are all ready to be finished. While we have learned a lot of useful information and have truly bonded as a group, it is time to move on and start the "doing" part of this experiance. Once I am in Kara my internet access should be fairly regular and therefore I should be able to post often. Thank you all for your question and comments, they always brighten my day. I love you all and miss you dearly.

A Bientot!