July 2 - Post Assignment!

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 2^nd 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 

June 2011 - Not in Redondo Beach...

I know I’m not in Redondo Beach anymore because…

I am sweating and feeling  sticky, 24/7

I always feel dirty

I am surrounded by individuals who I think are the most amazing people I’ve ever met in my life

My host family treats me like a queen.  Three meals a day, hot water for my bucket baths, a private room, and a semi-private bathroom (I share it with my parents).  I have lots of brothers and sisters (lost count).  Everyone is my brother or sister.

I walk miles every day, in the hot, scorching, blazing sun.  I am getting very tan and I’m not happy about that.  I use my umbrella to shade myself, but it doesn’t do much.  I still cook.  Sunlight here is very, very hot.

I say good morning (bonjour) and good evening (bonsoir) to everyone I see when I walk (and that’s a lot of people).  It’s what we Yovo (white people) do to become integrated with the community.  It’s basically letting people know that hey, we speak the language and we’re friendly!

There are dogs, goats, and chickens everywhere.  The baby goats are the cutest.  The dogs are mean.

Fried banana fritters are my new best friend

Mosquito bites cover my legs, arms, and places I didn’t know they could get to

I am hand-washing my clothes and really, all I’m doing is taking the dirt from one piece and transferring it to another

I don’t have access to Ruffles Sour Cream and Onion potato chips (or the internet)

Giant dinosaurs (ok, giant lizards) make me jump when they scamper towards me.  They are BIG.

I have access to limitless hugs every day

I learn a gazillion new things every day

All I want is for something to be cold.  Anything.  Something.  Like water.  Ice cold water to drink would be nice.

I’m starting to think in French

There are no stores.  Just people selling random things in random places.

There is an open market.  This is a super big place that has lots and lots of stalls with people selling random things in random places.  Try to find what you need while the sun is cooking you.

Bargaining is an art form and when you barely speak the language, it makes for a fun time

There are no street signs.  There is the main street (two lanes that link the major cities in the country from north to south) that is full of potholes so it’s really one main road.  All the rest are dirt roads.  All of them.  Dirt, sand, trash, animal waste (watch where you step!), rocks of all sizes, and they’re never flat.  And when it rains, you don’t want to be caught having to walk through the instant rivers of sludge.  I have and it’s not fun.  I fell in it too.  Yep.

No signs for the roads. None.  Zip.  Nada.  Zilch.  Try to find your way home in the pitch dark of night.  Yep.  Try to find the landmarks in complete and utter darkness. 

Here’s my way home from school when it’s day time: Go out the gate.  Veer left.  Go past the big tree and the water well.  Make a right at the first dirt road.  Walk until you pass the graveyard on your left.  Hang a left onto the “main” dirt / rock road.  Walk until you get to the pretty house with the Jesus window. Keep going.  Try to find the dirt path on the right.  Do not go past the “Ashley Hotel”.  Then veer right but not too far right ‘cause you want to veer left at the fork in the road.  Your house has the green door. 

Now do that at night time.  It is pitch dark because there are no lights except the light from your flashlight.  Yep.  I have. 

I amaze myself on a daily basis

People pee anywhere and everywhere and we happily greet one another on the dirt roads

There is nowhere to throw your trash except on the ground, anywhere.  There are no trash collectors in Togo.

Fan milk.  Delightful frozen treats that make me smile.  Men ride on their bicycles with a little box on their handle bars that are filled with a variety of fan milk.  Chocolate, vanilla, yogurt, coconut (kind of), ice-y treats.  When they honk their clown horns (yes, the sound reminds me of scary clowns), which is all-the-time, we run out to buy our treat.  Happiness.

Diarrhea for 24 hours.  Twice in three weeks.  Not too bad!

Everything is difficult and challenging, but I can’t imagine being anywhere ‘cept here.  Ok, maybe Kauai.