Post Assignment Announcement!
Sodoké. Central region. Population: 100,000 (supposedly the second largest city after Lome). About six hours north of Lome via bush taxi. Can someone Google Sokodé for me and send me a copy?
In the marché, I will have access to meat from the northern region and access to lots of fruits of vegetables from the south. The marché is 4km from my home. A good 30 – 40 minute walk, one way, in the hot scorching sun.
I think I will be working with weavers and artisans, the local high schools (lots of them), and women’s groups. We have a one-week post visit the week of July 11 so I’ll know more after then.
I will have running water (still have to boil and filter) and electricity. No idea about the toilet situation yet. No idea what my home will be like.
My closest neighbor will be my pal Ryan, a CHAP volunteer (health) who is also in my stage (training group) and who will be in Sokodé with me. A GEE volunteer (girl’s education) currently lives in Sokodé. VERY unusual for PC to place three volunteers in the same city. We are very, very lucky.
Another SED in my stage is my pal is Taylor, who will live a 30 minute moto ride away from me. There is another current PCV SED guy who is another 30 minute moto ride. We’ve got an awesome cluster of volunteers. I couldn’t be happier. I am really, really happy.
French
We had our 2nd French exam today and I was tested by two of my favorite formateurs (trainers), Kossi and Rolande. Kossi has a gentle and kind soul and has a beautiful smile. Rolande is an absolutely beautiful person, inside and out. She gives awesome hugs. I started my exam by presenting each of them some candy and saying in French, “I’m giving you a bribe. Bye now!” They thought it was funny, but apparently bribes don’t work for French exams.
I am nowhere near where I’d like to be conversationally, but I’m trying and studying very hard.
Adjustment to Togo life
Hmmm. Slowly.
Have NOT adjusted to the heat, the humidity, or the sun. The rain is all-together another beast. When it rains, it pours. And you can’t hear yourself think because of the tin roofs. It’s LOUD. And then, there’s the thunder and lightening that is NOTHING I have every experienced in my life. That too, is LOUD and scary. Freaky scary thunder and singing “My Favorite Things” does NOT make you feel better. I tried and it didn’t work. Not even the whiskers on kittens made me feel better.
Have adjusted to seeing mammals pee and poop on the street. Many greet me with a “Bonjour” as things are tucked in and pants are zipped. It’s not a big deal, really. The animals don’t seem to mind me at all either.
Here in Tsévié, I have already made quite the impression as I greet everyone as I walk to and fro. I am recognized by many and it's a real treat to be greeted all the time by a joyous group of people. I introduced myself using my local name, “Essie” and they absolutely love it that I am friendly with them. I do too.
Greetings are HUGE here and you basically greet everyone with a hello, how are you, did you sleep well, etc. In Sokodé, the greeting ritual will be even longer and more in-depth. And yes, I am learning Kotokoli, the local language in Sokodé, whilst still learning French. Yep. You read that right. And Kotokoli is NOTHING like you’ve every heard before. I am making sounds I didn’t think were possible. It is so much fun.
I love, love, love my host family. The house is always full of laughter and I like to partake in the fun, of course. They speak mostly ewe, but will speak to me in French. As in Hawaii, where everyone is your uncle or auntie, here in Togo, everyone is your brother or sister. So, I have a slew of brothers and sisters, all either young adults to well, older adults (I requested a home with no infants). My mother and father are fantastic as are my siblings. They have hosted four other volunteers prior to me and everyone in the PCV world knows that my host family is superb. I truly lucked out.
I am fed three times a day, I get hot water in the evening for my bucket bath, I get hugs from everyone all the time, we laugh, I get to be silly, and well, it’s simply wonderful. I get the impression my family is highly regarded in the village and everyone seems to know who they are.
I am my own doctor
There are 200 doctors in Togo; 100 of them reside in Lomé. We’ve been told to take good care of ourselves (yes, we are our own doctor and I will be doing some self-care that is just plain nastiness). There are a lot of ways I can die here in Togo and none of them are pleasant. Because it’s so dusty and dirty, even the tiniest cut or scratch can get to be a problem. No worries; I will take good care of myself!
We are permitted to call the PCMO (PC nurse – there are two of them and they are fantastic) if we have a temperature > 102, we’ve been bitten by a dog, we are bleeding profusely, or we have diarrhea 10x in one day. We can still call otherwise, but 99% of those times, we’ll have to fend for ourselves.
Time
No other way to describe this: the hours and minutes tick tick tick slowly. S.L.O.W.L.Y. The first two weeks felt like two months. Now, after one month, we ask ourselves, “Where did the time go?” No, it doesn’t feel like it’s gone so fast, as many of you have said to me. The hours and minutes take forever to pass. ONLY, at the conclusion of a month, can I say, “That went fast.” But I feel like that ONLY for a moment. TIME PASSES SLOWLY. Comprendez-vous?
Communication
Please write letters. Please. Send me pages from an old magazine. I have very limited access to the internet. If I am lucky, within a 30 minute timeframe, I can make three posts on Facebook. I can read two emails, maybe. So, put an enticing subject heading or I won’t even bother opening your email. And please do NOT forward email of erroneous stuff or FYI or isn’t that funny stuff. I won’t read it. I don’t have the money or the time.
I love packages of food. No need to send material things as for the most part, I can buy everything here. Well, almost. I much prefer food. While I love Togolaise cuisine (for another blog post), there’s nothing like U.S. food to bring a smile to my face and
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