The long awaited blog from Togo

I must apologize for not having written onto my blog already since leaving the United States. At this point, I've been in Togo for roughly one month and everything is going great! The people have been very friendly, Peace Corps Togo staff have been very helpful, and we are learning A LOT.

I'm currently living with a host family in a small village of about 100 people called Agou Tomegbe, which is one of many villages that comprise Agou. The area is about 90 minutes from the capital of Lomé.

My host family consists of Eugene (56/m), Abravi (21/f), Dovene (12/f), Apo (15/m), Cherite (6/f), Andre (45/m), among others in the compound. These are the people that I interact with the most. We have a very large compound for the average Togolese family with three main buildings of about 3 rooms each, a kitchen area, a well, and walls separating us from the dirt road running through town. In total, it seems that 3-4 families (in the American sense) are living here together. Another trainee, also named David, lives just nearby. Having the same names has caused a lot of humor and confusion for the Togolese.

Everyday, I wake up at about 5:30 or when the roosters make life in the morning too miserable to sleep. Then, I use a two foot long broom made from palm leaves to sweet the dirt from my floor and the steps leading into my part of the house. By this time it is about 6:00 and Abravi usually brings me some type of oatmeal, bread, fruit, or tea combination. It's pretty good and I always enjoy a peaceful breakfast in my sitting area. She prepares all my food for me and it is overall pretty darn good – a lot better than expected. It rotates around different recipes with yams, cassava, rice, beans, tomatoes, chicken, fish, and fruit (mangoes, bananas, pineapples, avocados, guava, apples, oranges). This assortment may be somewhat unique to this area of Togo due to the amount of rains and access to fruits here.

Time for my shower :) My shower is actually outdoors and I use a bucket of water and a cup to get myself wet, lather, and rinse. It is one of my favorite parts of the day because the air is quite cool in the morning and I have a great view of Mt. Agou while I'm showering. Sometimes I even use water heated up on the stove!

My water comes from one of many sources: (1) rain collected into buckets from gutters, (2) the well in the compound by means of a rope and bucket, (3) the town pump, or (4) from the “Marigot” or the local stream. To have safe drinking water, I run it through my handy Peace Corps filter and bleach it afterwards. Some prefer to boil water first, but I think it isn't necessary and a waste of time and effort.

Once I'm ready for training, I hop on my Peace Corps issued TREK mountain bike. This thing is awesome! Fellow volunteers and I have done most of our exploring via bike and it's a great way to get daily exercise. At the training center, we have sessions on French, local languages, technical or business training, safety and security information, and health sessions. We also have excursions to local businesses and other towns. Another trainee and I have already begun shadowing a local carpenter to see how is business operates. We've also visited a palm oil factory, a microfinance organization, and had a visit from a local savings group.

In our free time, we hang out together as trainees, but most of our time is spent at home with our families. Its fun seeing their reaction to a male helping in the kitchen or pounding fou-fou (a local dish). The kids are especially great as they follow us around, show us games, play cards, and help us practice French.

Depending on my internet access, I hope to add specific stories and more information soon. Please keep sending letters with news and photos from home. Its great to hear what's happening!