October update

These past few weeks have been good.  I spent a few days in Pagala with another SED volunteer who has been here a year.  It was great getting to see her work as she is a very dedicated, motivated, and creative volunteer.  Some of her work include: creating a 6-week business seminar for local carpenters, masons, tailors and seamstresses.  She’s going to have local professionals (Aposto is one of the trainers) teach one topic each week (accounting, marketing, SWOT analysis, etc.) and anyone can attend.  She came up with this and will carry it out in Pagala on her own. I really respect and admire her ingenuity and drive. Also she has a Peer Educators club at the middle and high schools—teaching life skills once a week, a mothers club- organized by the Red Cross but who she works with on health projects throughout the village (latrine installation, village clean up days, starting a health club for young girls, etc), and she and her counterpart have formed many tontines which are small credit unions for groups of women to save and take loans. She is very busy and was quite inspired.

I went down to Anie, my friend Connor’s town as it was only a half hour drive south to visit for the weekend. Connor is an amazing cook and he made us Coco Vin with garlic butter mashed potatoes and Nutella and banana pizza for desert. OH MY GOODNESS.  Quite amazing from the cabbage and eggs  and PB&J’s I’ve been making for myself!  The next morning he made stuffed French toast with banana syrup…again, wow. We took a last-minute trip about 3 hours west where there was a PCV birthday party going on and it was so good to see some of my friends from training. Just a quick (sort of) trip there on Saturday and back on Sunday but worth it.

Last week and this week have been busy – and thus the time has passed pretty quick! With the PC Trade Show coming up in November, Aposto is very busy making t-shirts, computer bags and other things to sell.  While I don’t see myself regularly working with the wax and dying the fabric, it has been nice to be able to help and keep busy.  Makes me feel a part of something.  I also began my French lessons last week. My tutor is an English teacher at the school and is very kind and patient.  I go over to his family’s house a few nights a week and my lessons consist of talking with his 7 kids with them asking me questions about the U.S., me responding in somewhat broken French, and my tutor providing the translation and help along the way. I really appreciate just being able to practice speaking (although I’ve been doing more and more of this spending a lot of time at Aposto and Nima’s house).   I had a perfect ‘Peace Corps moment’ the other night as the kids and I sat on their porch talking for 2 hours all about the U.S. I was able to dispel rumors and confirm some of their thoughts about the States. They asked things like how long does it take to get back to the U.S.? How many people fit in an airplane?  What do they do with the corn that the farmers grow -- make pate? Fufu? They were shocked when I told them if they gave me a bowl of corn right now, I wouldn’t be able to make a meal out of it (not sweet corn folks).  This is CRAZY to them as every girl my age –and younger- knows how to pound the corn into meal and make pate (their staple meal).   I was able to explain what PC is and why I’m living in LT.  We talked about heavier things too; I explained how even though we have machines to do a lot of our work (especially around the house) the people still work a lot (they thought that Americans have lots of free time since they’re not spending a lot of time on the dishes, laundry, fanning charcoal stoves).  I explained how some would argue in the States that development- the machines- have made life more difficult: the more machines the less jobs for people and the more time for people to spend at their office and not with their family.  They were shocked when I said some people only have a half hour for lunch, as they have a 3 HOUR break each day! We talked about poverty – trying to convince them that there are homeless and hungry kids and families in the States.   “But we are an impoverished country too,” they exclaimed. “How can there be poverty when you have so much in the States?” Now, this is hard to explain thoroughly in English, let alone in French, but I gave it my best shot.  I explained how there are different kinds of poverty: you don’t see many homeless people in Togo as everyone takes care of each other, almost everyone as a house, even if it’s made of mud with a thatched roof – but still everyone has somewhere to sleep each night.   We talked about how it was easy for me to come and live in Togo but it would be very difficult for them to move to U.S. 

This was a really amazing conversation.  The kids were so interested and it was neat to be able to explain things to them – trying to point out that life isn’t perfect or easy in the States either.  A couple of times I sat back and said to myself, ‘Wow, I’m in Africa and THIS is Peace Corps.’

Even with the really great moments there have been some sad days to (too be expected I guess).  Hearing from home is so nice. Hearing my family and friend’s voices and being updated on their lives is very exciting. But it’s also very challenging sometimes too. Last week I had the opportunity to talk with some of my best friends – including my sister.  But after about the 4^th conversation I lost it and had a small pity party for myself. Calling Vanessa and venting about being here and not there to be with the people I love, miss, and want to be able to comfort, celebrate and just be with.   One must be in the right mindset to hear from home; even checking email and Facebook.  I must constantly remind myself that I’m on an adventure and that I won’t be here forever and will soon return to be with my family and friends.

After church Sunday I went over and helped Aposto and Nima shuck their corn. I’ve learned everyone – everyone! – has a farm here. Even if it’s just a few rows of corn, everyone grows something.  And they grow it to survive.  Dad asked me on the phone if they’ll feed it to their animals or sell it – and when I asked Aposto he laughed and said ‘of course not! We will eat it for the rest of the year!’   This led to another great conversation about what Americans –or some Iowans at least- do with their crops.

I also had the chance to lead a couple of activities with some women’s groups.  Last Monday morning I went with my host mother to her group to present the Seasonal Calendar which we had been trained on in June.  Along with Felicite, a women who works for the NGO in LT, we spent an hour talking and literally making a calendar of the year to highlight when the women spend money (school fees, religious holidays, buying things for the farm) and the times of the year when they don’t have as many expenses.  We pointed out times of year when there are more marriages, the prevalence of illness, and even the time of year when there is a food shortage (hot season). The whole point was for them to be able to literally see when they spend money, where their money most likely goes, and the times of year when they could save money to lessen the burdens of the harder times of the year. If they know that malaria is more prevalent in the rainy season, then they can put aside some money for medicine or save to buy mosquito nets before the rains come.  It went over really well and my host mother was beaming the whole time. I then had the chance to lead this activity again with Aposto’s help with another group of women from the Christian side of town (my mom and our neighborhood is Muslim).  Aposto is a great instructor and he translated my broken French (Fran-glais as we call it) into their local language.  Again, it went really well and the president asked me to come back and teach them more things! YES!

Lots of things coming up in the next few weeks: another week of technical training all next week with my friends in Pagala.  I don’t miss training, but I sure do miss being with my friends every day.   Then in the final two weeks before the Trade Show there is a big Muslim holiday, a PCV going away party and my one of my NGO co-worker’s is getting married.  Then I will head to Lome for the Trade Show –proudly representing Aposto‘s business alongside him (he calls me his ‘big manager’) for a few days.  There will be lots of PCVs down there for the Swearing-In of the next group of Volunteers who have been in training these past few months.  Then a PCV is hosting a ‘real’ Thanksgiving not too far from me and PCV’s from all over the country will come.  In December I’m planning a trip to Badou to visit Vanessa and I’m hoping my training group will all spend Christmas on the beach in Agbodrafo where my friend Lucian lives.  Exciting times!