April Showers

I celebrated the wedding of a colleague last weekend. It was my first Togolese wedding and I found it to be a love filled ceremony. It was held at the Evangelical Presbyterian church at the same time as the weekly Sunday church service. The church doors were adorned with arches of red tropical flowers, a reminder that a rainforest once prospered here. The bride and groom were dressed in fancy complets, or two-piece outfits made with pagne (African printed fabric). After hours of singing, praying and dancing, the couple said their vows and kissed and everyone cheered and threw confetti at them.

Then the gift giving began. There’s a shop in town that wraps presents so all of the couple’s closest friends in the congregation brought colorful metallic shiny wrapped presents with bows. To receive the gifts, the couple stands at the front of the church and the gift givers are called to the front by the day of the week they were born. I was born on a Sunday, so I went with the Sunday group. I brought dishtowels wrapped in purple paper and danced to the front like my present was glow sticks and I was at a rave. The congregation wouldn’t accept anything less. When I arrived at the front, I handed over the present and hugged the bride and groom, which was a bit awkward because they both tilted their heads the same direction as I and in front of the whole congregation, nonetheless (apparently I never learned the proper way to hug in Togo).

After the service was the reception and the bridal party and friends posed for professional pictures. A band of teenagers on guitars and drums played while the congregation was separated by age and sex for refreshments. I went with the women to eat rice with pieces of meat and drink tchouk, the traditional beer. The service was lovely, and I am very happy for the new couple.

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of Togo’s independence. I attended a defile (parade) to celebrate the occasion. The National Road that runs from the head to toe of Togo was blocked off so that civil society of Sotouboua could be showcased. I was amazed by the breadth of clubs and associations that were represented and marched down the street in matching pagne. In addition to the students of every school there were unions of flip flop vendors, motorcycle drivers doing wheelies, karate club breaking boards, cheerleaders with Togolese flags, women’s soccer teams, just to name a few. Viva La Independence!

I have started working at a center for apprentices who are economically disadvantaged, orphans or victims of child trafficking. Americans, through the Embassy’s Self Help Fund, which gives motivated Togolese money to do projects, funded the center. The kids live at the center and they learn a trade for a discounted fee. I started working with the female couturieres (seamstresses) to teach life skills and women’s issues. I enjoy working with the girls because they are very respectful and eager to learn but it is challenging because many did not finish primary school. Everything I say has to be translated into local language and I’m afraid my intermediate French being translated by intermediate French speakers into Kabiye (extremely different from a romance language) might be hindering my message. Nevertheless, my “Self Confidence” lesson seemed to sink in when I asked the girls to make self-affirmations and everyone said things like, “I am an intelligent girl” or “I am a pretty girl.” I am also in the process of helping the kids and their patrons (teachers of the trade) to start a garden because the center is near a river and with an endless supply of water there is no excuse not to have a garden. The kids are responsible for providing and cooking their own food, so with some extra vegetables to boost their diet, both their health and economic situation will improve.

April is the beginning of rainy season so Sotouboua has become green and lush and people are spending days and nights at the “champ” (the farming fields). I have yet to go to the champ but one of these days I will grab a hoe and get to work. But for now, I have my herb garden to tend to and protect from my hole-digging puppy, Tchouk!

How to Ride a Bush Taxi in Togo

I was riding home in a “bush taxi” yesterday from a Peace Corps meeting in a town about 100k from me, squished in the shotgun seat with another person with rather large hips. Consequently, I was jammed against the clutch so that every time the driver wanted to shift gears he had to press the clutch into my leg. It was quite painful, and today I have a large purple bruise on my thigh. To make matters worse, the driver was reaching over another full-grown man who was sitting IN THE DRIVERS SEAT WITH HIM in order to shift gears. It got me thinking about how many things in Togo have become commonplace now that I’ve been in this country for almost seven months, things that would be incomprehensible to me back in the states.

1. Transportation
The above story is not an exaggeration, but the norm for travel in this country. “Bush taxis” are small cars or 15 passenger busses that must be older than I am. They are not “full” until there are multiple people sitting on each other’s laps, chickens squawking about and a roof stacked so high with baggage it rivals the Beverley Hillbillies. Travel takes about twice as long as it should as a result of stopping about every 10k to load and unload passengers, or sometimes just for the driver to chat with his friends. One time my bush taxi stopped in a town for an hour because the previous day the driver had hit a child on the road there and he was negotiating paying for the child’s broken bones.

2. Time
It is completely acceptable to arrive up to an hour late for a scheduled appointment, or in some cases, not to arrive at all.

3. Requests
If you see anyone who possesses anything you want, you may ask for it. This includes dogs, women, shoes (even if the person wearing the shoes is smaller and a different sex than you) and hair. I’ve had people ask for me to cut off my hair and give it to them. Most appropriate responses are to either hand over the object/person or simply say “prochainement” (next time). This works both ways, I have a PC friend who buys vintage Chicago sports jerseys off of Togolese people’s backs.

4. Night Time Parties
Many parties and events are scheduled for the entire night and there are no “Disturbing the Peace” violations in Togo.

5. Farm Animals
Free-range advocates would love this place – pigs, goats, chickens,
duck and sheep roam freely. This is hazardous to bike riders because the animals are always on the path and often in front of tires. Somehow people know who's animals are whose and stealing animals can be deadly (I’m not kidding).

6. Animism
People say Togo is 50% Muslim, 50% Christian and 100% Animist. While most of my friends here are more enthusiastic about sharing their Christianity with me than Animist beliefs, it still is not unusual to hear about it now and then. A young man across the street from me died, and when I asked his neighbors about the cause of death, they said he was a sorcerer and his sorcerer friends put a spell on him to kill him.

In other news, March was quite an eventful month starting off with the presidential elections on March 4. In light of violence surrounding past elections in Togo, we were told to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Leading up to the elections, campaigning in my town brought many events and anticipation. One of these events was a visit from President Faure, who was campaigning for re-election, which prompted teachers to cancel class, everyone to sport their favorite Faure paraphernalia and organize groups to sing, dance and play instruments to greet him. It appeared as though roughly half the town, or 10,000 people, attended the event. In the end, the elections were overall extremely peaceful.

Towards the end of March was “Semaine Culturel” (cultural week), when there are no classes for a week - only games, picnics, music and dances. I expected this to be focused on more traditional culture and was surprised to see the influence of modern hip-hop culture on the event – the high school-ers were booty dancing to modern African rap and hip-hop blaring from large speakers. After Semaine Culturel, the students had a week of vacation for Paque (Easter). There weren’t many apparent celebrations for Paque; however, many people of all ages get baptized during the holiday. Now, work is picking up again but I’m taking off for my first vacation during Peace Corps to Ghana (The Land of Plenty)! À Bientôt!