Goodbyes in Togo are always complimented by fêtes. My last month in Togo was full of bittersweet moments with friends, colleagues and respected elders to celebrate the end of my service in Togo, say last words of wisdom and face the reality that Togo is really far away from home. Here are just a few of the many ceremonies and celebrations:
The last session with my seamstress apprentices that I'd worked with for the last two years. I taught them how to make popcorn and we ate and laughed. The hardest part was at the end when the director the center told me that I needed to lecture them about prostitution because he had driven by the center at night and seen the girls on the road. 
The chief of Sotouboua thanked me for my service to his town. He bought a bucket full of tchouk (local beer) for us to drink together. He then performed a ceremony where he poured water on the ground to symbolically open up the path for me as I went on to my future endeavors. 
A friend that I worked with at the mayor's office, Naka (middle), invited me to dinner of fufu (pounded yams) which she prepared with her mom and grandma. 
The last night with my host family my host sisters showed me how to prepare pâte (corn mush) with fish and okra sauce for the last time. The littlest daughter dressed me up in chic African clothes like I was a mannequin and took pictures of me.
In Jonathan's village, his fish-farming group caught a bunch of tilapia that Jonathan helped them raise so that we could taste the delicacy one last time in a surprise party the morning of his depart. The party was orchestrated by Ahonsu (left), Jonathan's counterpart who is the sweetest and most dedicated man I met in Togo.
