Bonne Arrivée

A wonderful man has left this earth. I know this because of the extravagance of the party his death warranted. A tent was constructed to cover the street in front of my host family’s house for half a block and the entire street was shut off. Hundreds of chairs were set up to cover ground. The set up occurred during the day. The funeral, in fact, did not commence until after dark. I arose to the sound of loud gospel music, Cowbell, children wailing, adults crying and preaching on a highly advanced PA system at around 12:30 a.m. The festivities occurred until 5:00 am, or dawn. This was repeated for two nights in a row, and I had the “privilege” of listening to the entire production loud and clear from my bed. The Togolese people that I’ve talked to about funerals say that when a child dies, the funeral is very somber but when an old person dies it is a celebration of the person’s life and can be quite jovial. I tried to keep my annoyance of the « bruit » to myself as host Maman told me she knew the gentleman who passed very well.

A beautiful child has entered this earth. My host Maman went to the capitol to have her third child, a perfect little boy. She had some complications with the pregnancy, and had to have a cesarean section. I was worried about her because I know c-sections are risky anywhere and my host dad told me she could have died. I was interested to see the hospital she stayed at for about a week with her baby and her mother. It was a small clinic responsible only for delivering babies and there were nurses and doctors constantly circulating checking on the patients. It seemed to be first-rate care here in Togo and I don’t think all Togolese women have the resources to receive this kind of care. Maman finally came home with the baby and we’ve had a constant parade of visitors to « saluer » the family and greet the baby. Grandmaman also has come to stay at the house and despite her age has taken on many tasks to care for the baby, including washing him, which makes him squeal at the top of his tiny lungs. Maman’s identical twin sister also came to stay with us for a while, and she went to get her hair done exactly like Maman making it very difficult to tell them apart!

I know I will miss my host family when I move to my post. I am currently on a one-week post visit in the ville I will be living in for my service, and I miss them already! I can’t disclose the exact location online but those of you itching to know can just asking me. I’m in the Centrale region in a larger town. I have a ridiculously luxurious house, but it hasn’t been lived in for a while by people but only by plenty of arachnid friends. My plan to transform my little piece of Togolese soil into a petite palace is definitely HGTV worthy. I live by myself in the compound so basically anything goes so I will be building a garden, buying a chicken for fresh eggs getting a kittenand eventually be inheriting a guard dog. Everything is built to order here in Togo, so I’ll be designing and commissioning my own furniture and curtains as well as painting all the walls. I will have a comfortable guest room so now those of you reading this blog can come experience Togolese life first-hand!

My goal this week is to meet the people I will be collaborating with as the authorities and neighbors. I will initially be working with an NGO, which provides opportunities for students to attend camps to utilize their creativity including drama, music and radio broadcasting. I will be working with the radio, as the NGO has a public radio station on which I can do « sensibilisations » on issues surrounding girl’s empowerment. Besides the initial definite project, I will be working with the other 5+ NGOs in the town that work with youth development and specifically girl’s empowerment as well as collaborating with the Health volunteer in my town and the Natural Resource Management volunteer only 7k away. Before coming to Togo, I was concerned about not having enough work to do but now I am sure I have a plethora of opportunities and will be working against the clock. I feel very lucky for my post because I’m in the middle of the action here in Togo and I can get coffee and bread!

Under the Mango Tree

Yesterday was a disappointing day for Togo. Togo lost to Cameroon 3-0 in the qualifying match for the World Cup in South Africa. I watched part of the game at a small buvette near the grande stade in Tsevie where many young boys play aspiring to someday go to the World Cup. It reminded me of being in the heart of Paris in 2006 during the World Cup when France lost to Italy. What a blow to a national ego.

Many of my best times in Togo have been spent under the encompassing Mango tree that shades my host family’s compound. I talk with my host mom as she prepares my meals, and secretly pray for the mangos to ripen before I leave Tsevie. I sometimes get the privilege of fanning the coal stove as my mom tells me snippets about her life, about her sisters or the baby that she’s having at the end of the month. She is still working hard even 8 ½ months into the pregnancy; birth is a more natural part of life here and not a reason to pause. I am so excited for the baby to be born; my host mom tells me I will have a new brother soon.

I have become more aware of my mission here in Togo and more convinced of the necessity and feasibility of the work I will be doing. I will receive my assignment next week I am very excited to see where in Togo I will be placed. The situation for many girls in Togo is very difficult as there are many pressures keeping them from continuing their studies and the drop out rate is extraordinarily high. Yet there are many people in Togo who understand the necessity of improving education for girls in Togo and support the mission of the Girl’s Education and Empowerment Program for the Peace Corps. My job is to work for the basic human rights of Togolese girls and women. The best part of my job is that I can institute this mission the way I see fit and best interests me. For example, I can choose to focus part of my work on environmental education through creating a community garden to help girls generate income, promoting use of plants with high nutritional value and creating science clubs for girls.

I am a few weeks in to training and life seems a bit routine now. I’ll give a glimpse into a typical day though note that no day is typical. For someone like me who fears monotony this schedule is ideal.

4:00 am Jolted awake by the surprisingly loud sweeping of the compound and the street in front of the house by “domestiques” (girls that work at our house) Revel in the fact that I still have 2 more hours to sleep.
6:00 am Wake up and fill my bucket up for a cold bucket shower. Savor the feeling because this is the last time in the day I will be cold. Eat breakfast (bread with jam/cheese, omelets, beignets or oatmeal and instant coffee)
7:15 am Ride my mountain bike through the bumpy sandy roads to the Salle-Tech where my classes are held. Greeted by many strangers on the street with “Bonjour”.
8:00-10:00 Language Learning. Class size – 2. Practice speaking in practical situations such as what to when you need to throw up in the nine seat bush taxi because you’re sandwiched between 15 people a chicken and a goat.
10:00-12:00 Technical Training. Learning how to present life skills lessons such as “Can Boys And Girls Be Friends”. Plenty of clapping (called bonks) and icebreaker games.
12:00-2:30pm Midi Repos. Ride my bike home for lunch, which usually consists of a salad with spaghetti, french fries called calicos, Fufu, fried bananas or hotdogs or any combination. (note: I’m a pseudo-veg here in Togo and only eat hotdogs to avoid getting fur and eyeballs on my plate)
2:30-5:00 Field Trip. Have taken trips to local schools and schools an hour away in a smaller town to observe a PCV in action.
5:00-5:30 Tutoring. More French.
5:30-6:00 Hang out at the Tchouk house or buvette for a bit. Hurry home before dark at 6.
6:00-7:00 Hang out with host fam. This consists of the kids playing hand games and hugging and kissing me saying, “Tu est tres tres jolie!!!” Eat dinner.
8:00 French homework. Bucket shower in the dark admiring the stars. Get ready for bed and fall asleep at 8:30.

Yovo, Yovo, Bonsoir Ca Va Bien Merci

My blog title is the song I constantly have stuck in my head because there is a chorus that greets me with that song as I ride down the street.

I just moved into my host family’s home in a large town near Lome. My family has two little kids. They are so cute and I taught them to “high-five” so now every time they see me they say “Meghan! Highfive!.” My family’s compound is very fancy; with electricity, a tv, a gazebo called a “peyote” and a beautifully landscaped lawn. While electricity is available, everything besides sleeping and tv watching is done outdoors including cooking on a coal stove, taking bucket showers in an outside enclosure, using the latrine, brushing teeth, doing laundry in a bucket and eating meals. Families in Togo do not eat together, usually the women, men and children eat separately, and I eat alone! My host family has a couple of girls who work on the compound to help with the kids and the chores and to help make juice to sell. They won’t let me lift a finger.
Training has been going well, this week has been focused on itineraries and schedules as well as how to maintain our new mountain bikes we were given to ride during our time in Togo. I have French class everyday, but there’s only two of us in my class so I feel like my skills will improve rapidly. Already, I only speak French to my host family. They also speak Ewe, which is a native language widespread in Togo and Ghana. Their kids speak mostly Ewe because they haven’t learned much French in school yet.

I attended church with my new friend, who is around 26 and also lived in Belgium for awhile and loves to ski like me. She is tres chic and a great person to talk to because she somewhat understands Western culture and where I’m coming from. She took me to the Penecostal church where she sings in the choir, and the choir director asked me to come on stage to sing! Politely turned down that offer, since I don’t exactly know many Christian songs en francais. That lasted for one hour. She then took me to the other Penecostal church where my host family attends, and we prayed and danced and singed for 3 hours! It shows how much patience the Togolese have, as I don’t know many churchgoers in the US that would tolerate anything over an hour! We had to give an offering three times in a congo line to the front of the church and many people at the service were speaking in tounges. But last night, I woke up at one in the morning to praying, singing and chanting outside my bedroom door which really scared me at first but then just made it difficult to sleep. Apparently my host family decided to have a church service at the house at one AM, for reasons I couldn’t discern.

Among the highlights of the week was our Ultimate Frisbee game at the Stade here in town. I brought Valerie, who works for my host mom and many of the other PCVs brought members of their host family. It was an awesome game, even though Togolese don’t play Ultimate Frisbee, they caught on fast! We had good-sized teams and the game was awesome. I took one for the team when one of the 180-pound PCVs and me went for the Frisbee at one time and he fell on top of me. I now have a gnarley bruise.

I experienced Tchouk (sp?) for the first time yesterday. It’s a Togolese home brewed beer. It’s only 50 CFA or 10 cents for a beer. It tastes kind of like Kombucha and still has a bunch of yeast residue, but not too bad and a great way to meet people.

first impressions

I stepped off the plane in Lome, Togo after traveling for around twenty-four hours. As I approached the airport door, a Togolaise Peace Corps staffperson with kind eyes led me by hand into a cramped but cool room where fellow volunteers were gathering.  The airport was bustling with activity at 7 pm and several travelers inquired, "Vous êtes Corps de la Paix?" and welcomed us. My autonomy seemed to be instantly revoked as my baggage and passport were taken by staff who herded me into a Landrover and drove me to my destination.  

My first few nights in Lome were spent at a Guest House with unexpected luxuries such as a cold trinkle of water also known as a shower, and a toilet in my room.  I woke up in a fit of laughter because the chorus of roosters that roam the street had incredibly jolting "cockadoodle-doos"at 5:45 am, only minutes before my alarm was set to ring.  Walking the sandy streets of Lome, I am met by small children exclaiming, "Yovo!" which means, "White Person!", and many greetings by knowing strangers.  The beach is only several blocks from the guest house, and I have been lulled to sleep by the waves.  There is a bar on the beach and it has become rapidly apparent that the drinking culture in Togo rivals that of Belgium.  The beach is beautiful and inviting but unfit for swimming.  The waves are taunting me to be conquered by a surfboard, a request that will likely never be met.

Togo has thus far has surpassed many of my expectations and come far from meeting others.  I am so grateful for the cool breeze, the delicious food, the optomistic staff and fellow volunteers, forgiving smiles of Togolaise as I confidently chime spout my far from perfect French, the flora and fauna that have no order, the absence of gettingtoknowyou games and the anticipation of living life without the consumption of many of the world's precious resources.  However, I thought that development in the capitol would surpass my expectations but it is clear already that Togo is grossly underdeveloped.

Training so far has been very technical, dealing with malaria, taking a sponge shower, choosing a bike and taking an oral French exam.  I'll be moving into a host family's home tonight, jumping into a life I can't even start to imagine.  I will be eating three meals a day with the family and sleeping in their house. Training is in Tsivie, about 30 K from Lome.  I am not nervous but only determined to make a positive impression on my family.  I can't begin to comprehend the enormity of the challenge that I've seemed to wander into, but I have stayed calm and confident by focusing on one day at a time.  Like never before, my past experiences of backpacking and traveling ensemble et seul have alleviated many potential shocks of this experience and allowed me to only focus on the most extreme adaptions that must be made. 

Send some fan mail this way...I may not have internet for a long time after this post! 

Avec l'amour, Meghan

Goodbye Concrete Jungle, Hello Tropical Jungle

I'm packing like a mad woman to leave for Philadelphia tomorrow morning.  I can bring two bags of 50 lbs.  The hardest part of packing has been finding clothes that are "appropriate" for Togo.  Togolese business casual means covering knees and shoulders, so no showing off my knees!  My favorite items that I've packed include:

• New Chaco sandals, half off for Peace Corps volunteers
• Toilet Paper from REI to ease into Togo bathroom habits
• Bug Hut tent to keep the skeeters away
• Sketch book and art supplies to document Africa
• Toys to give to the kids in Togo
• Yoga book so I can teach a yoga class in my village
• Monday New York Times crossword puzzles
• Hackey sack
• Harmonica

My mom made me pose in all of my new Togo outfits for pictures.

                                 My life in 100 lbs.

Here's a letter from the Peace Corps to families and friends to keep in touch!  It's only 96 cents to send me a letter : )

Dear Families,

 

Greetings from the Togo Desk in Washington, D.C.  It is with great pleasure that we welcome your family member to the Togo training program.  Over the years we have received many questions from Volunteers and family members alike regarding travel plans, sending money, relaying messages and mail, etc.  As we are unable to involve ourselves in the personal arrangements of Volunteers, we would like to offer you advice and assistance in advance by providing specific examples of situations and how we suggest they be handled.

 

1.  Irregular Communication.  (Please see #3 for the mailing address to Peace Corps' office in Lomé the capital of Togo).  The mail service in Togo is not as efficient as the U.S. Postal Service.  Thus, it is important to be patient.  It can take from three to four weeks for mail coming from Togo to arrive in the United States via the Togolese mail system.  From a Volunteer’s post, mail might take up to one to two months to reach the United States depending upon how far the Volunteer is from the capital city, Lomé.  Sometimes mail is hand carried to the States by a traveler and mailed through the U.S. postal system.  This leg of the trip can take another several weeks as it is also dependent on the frequency of travelers to the U.S.

 

We suggest that in your first letters, you ask your Volunteer family member to give an estimate of how long it takes for him or her to receive your letters and then try to establish a predictable pattern of how often you will write to each other.  Also try numbering your letters so that the Volunteer knows if he or she missed one.  Postcards should be sent in envelopes--otherwise they may be found on the wall of the local post office.

 

Peace Corps Togo has established “The Lomé Limo” which runs up and down the country monthly, delivers mail, medical supplies, and sometimes volunteers or staff to central sites along the national road.

 

Volunteers often enjoy telling their “war” stories when they write home.  Letters might describe recent illnesses, lack of good food, isolation, etc.  While the subject matter is often good reading material, it is often misinterpreted on the home front.  Please do not assume that if your family member gets sick that he or she has not been attended to.  The city of Lomé has medical and dental facilities, and there is a Peace Corps Medical Officer there as well.  Most Volunteers can reach Lomé in less than one day’s time.  Many Volunteers also have access to a telephone so that they can call our Medical Office.  In the event of a serious illness the Volunteer is sent to Lomé and is cared for by our Medical Unit.  If the Volunteer requires medical care that is not available in Togo, he/she will be medically evacuated to South Africa or to the United States.  Fortunately, such circumstances are very rare.

 

If for some reason your communication pattern is broken and you do not hear from your family member for at least one month, you should contact the Office of Special Services (OSS) at Peace Corps in Washington at 1-800-424-8580, extension 1470 (or direct: 202-692-1470).  The OSS Emergency number above is a duty phone that is responded to 24 hours a day.  The OSS will then call the Peace Corps Director in Lomé, and ask her to check up on the Volunteer.  Also, in the case of an emergency at home (death in the family, sudden illness, etc.), please do not hesitate to call OSS immediately, so that the Volunteer can be informed by a member of Peace Corps/Togo staff.

 

2.  Telephone Calls.  The telephone system in Lomé, Togo has fairly reliable service to the United States.  In the interior of the country, where most of our Volunteers are located, the system is less reliable.  Most Volunteers have access to a telephone in or nearby their site. 

 

When dialing direct to Togo from the U.S., dial 011 (the international access code) + 228 (the country code) + the number.  Volunteers generally set up phone calls with people in the U.S. in advance, and have the distant party call them, which is much less expensive than calling the U.S. from Togo.  Many volunteers decide to purchase cellphones once they arrive in Togo, but they may not always have regular reception at their site.

 

The Togo Desk in Washington, D.C. usually calls the Peace Corps office in Lomé at least once a week.  However, these calls are reserved for business only and we cannot relay personal messages over the phone.  If you have an urgent message, however, and have exhausted your other means (regarding travel plans, etc.), you can call the Desk, and the message will be relayed. 

 

3.  Sending Packages.  Parents and Volunteers like to send and receive care packages through the mail.  Unfortunately, sending packages can be a frustrating experience for all involved due the high incidence of theft and heavy customs taxes.  You may want to send inexpensive items through the mail, but there is no guarantee that these items will arrive.  We do not recommend, however, that costly items be sent through the mail. Even though many Volunteers sometimes choose to get local post office boxes, you may always use the following address to send letters and/or packages to your family member:           

 

                                                John Doe, PCV

                                                Corps de la Paix

                                                B.P. 3194

                                                Lomé, Togo

West Africa

 

It is recommended that packages be sent in padded envelopes if possible, as boxes tend to be taxed more frequently.  Packages can be sent via surface mail (2-3 weeks arrival time) or by ship (4-6 months).  The difference in cost can be a factor in deciding which method to utilize.  For lightweight but important items (e.g. airline tickets), DHL (an express mail service) does operate in Lomé, but costs are very expensive.  If you choose to send items through DHL, you must address the package to the Country Director, s/c Corps de la Paix, 48 Rue de Rossignols, Quartier Kodjoviakopé, Lomé, Togo.  The telephone number for the Peace Corps office in Togo is (228) 221-0614, should DHL need this information.  If you send the item to the Country Director, no liability can be assumed.  For more information about DHL, please call their toll free number, 1-800-CALL-DHL, or visit their web site at www.dhl.com.   Please be aware that there is a customs fee for all DHL packages sent to Volunteers.  For each DHL package, the Volunteer will be taxed 10,000 CFA (roughly US$20). 

 

Sending airplane tickets and/or cash is not recommended.  Certain airlines will allow you to buy a prepaid ticket in the States; they will telex their Lomé office to have the ticket ready.  Unfortunately, this system is not always reliable.  Many airlines (e.g., KLM, Air France, Ghana Airways, Air Togo) fly into Lomé or Accra, but each has its own policy on pre-paid tickets.  Please call the airline of your choice for more information.  You could also send tickets via DHL as mentioned previously.  However, Peace Corps will assume no liability in the event of a lost/stolen airline ticket.

 

Trying to send cash or airline tickets is very risky and is discouraged.  If your Volunteer family member requests money from you, it is his/her responsibility to arrange receipt of it.  Some Volunteers use Western Union, which has an office in Lomé.  Volunteers will also be aware of people visiting the States and can request that they call his/her family when they arrive in the States should airline tickets need to be sent back to Togo. 

 

4. E-mail.  There is fairly reliable e-mail service in Togo with cyber cafes in most large towns.  Connections can be very slow and time consuming as well as costly.  E-mail, however, may become the preferred method of communication between you and your family member in Togo.  Not all Volunteers have access to e-mail on a daily basis but they should be able to read and send messages at least once a month.  As with other means of communication, do not be alarmed if you do not receive daily or weekly messages.  Unless in Lomé at the office, Volunteers have to pay for internet time at cyber cafes and this can be a slow or expensive process depending on the connection at the café.

 

We hope this information is helpful to you during the time your family member is serving as

a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo. We understand how frustrating it is to communicate with your family member overseas and we appreciate your using this information as a guideline.  Please feel free to contact us at the Togo Desk in Washington, DC, if you have further questions.  Our phone number is (800) 424-8580, ext. 2326/2325, or locally at (202) 692-2326/2325.

 

 

Sincerely,

Jennifer Brown, Country Desk Officer

Evan Baker, Country Desk Officer

 

Peace Corps Application Process

I am leaving for Peace Corps Togo on September 16th after waiting to leave for over 17 months!  In the past 17 months, I've earned a college degree, scaled the Grand Tetons, scaled the steps of Congress, danced to bluegrass in Wyoming, danced among the Obamas and Bidens at the inaugural ball, loved, and lost, been homeless by choice and sedentary by force, and have been truly blessed.  Thank you to all of my friends and family who have supported me through this process and kept me on track when I was tempted to run away from my goals!

Peace Corps Application Process, Meghan Style

March 2008: Nominated by Denver Peace Corps Office for an Environmental Education program in Middle East/North Africa (assumed Morocco) in March 2009

June 2008: Dental Exam, Medical Exam, Immunizations, Blood Tests, Eye Exam

September 2008: Had to redo blood test

November 2008: More in depth medical exams, Told that I had been switched from Middle East/North Africa to Sub Saharan Africa 

December 2008: Re-interviewed over the phone for the Peace Corps, told that I would no longer be leaving in March 2008

February 2009: Written about in an AP article about rising number of Peace Corps Applications 

March 2009: Accepted an invitation to serve as an Environmental Education Volunteer in Mauritania, Africa on June 16, 2009

June 9, 2009: Received call from Peace Corps telling me that they were not able to secure visas for Peace Corps volunteers and they were not sure if or when we'd be leaving

July 2009: Mauritania program cancelled, invited to Togo as a Girl's Empowerment and Education volunteer in September 2009 

August 2009: Another Dental Exam

September 2009: Leaving for Philly on September 16 and then Lome, Togo via Paris on September 18!