12:50 A.M. I’m awoken by a scratching coming from behind my dresser. On previous occasions, I had successfully made it through the night by listening to my CD player with headphone. If you can’t hear them, then they might not be there. At least that was the philosophy that I adhered to until my batteries all died and I was without any good method to block the noise. Using the headphones without music helped a little, but the mice (which actually turned out to be one mouse) can actually make a lot of racket. I’ve had enough; he is going to die.
My time in Kabou was nearly up to four months and I hadn’t had a single problem with mice or anything for that matter messing with my stuff, but apparently it only takes leaving town for a longer period of time and not closing all trash and food containers completely.
I spent the second week of December in Lomé to celebrate the “swearing-in” ceremony for the new Girls’ Education and Natural Resource volunteers, followed by a quick stint in Accra that made me bug-eyed for 48 hours. All in all, the trip amounted to about 8 days away from Kabou in which I had accidentally left my trash can slightly opened, releasing the odor of instant mashed potatoes packages and tomato sauce residue on the little baggies left-over after buying street food.
The first night back in my own bed was supposed to be one of immense relaxation following nights in hotels and on Peter’s couch in Kara, but in reality it would be haunted by the fear of a mouse crawling on top of my body. Maybe I shouldn’t have really cared, but it’s the uncertainty of the mouse’s actions that makes it hard to sleep. Throwing him off my bed sheet and hitting him off my forehead could be described as just two unlucky incidents throughout the night.
The next night, I decided to shut the door to my bedroom and contain the area containing the pests. It seemed like a good idea at the time because all evidence remaining was in my kitchen and spare room: half eaten tablets of Pepto-Bismol, Jolly Ranchers strewn across the floor, and feces in my magazine basket. Tonight, I would have wonderful Melphlaquin enhanced dreams uninterrupted by the shenanigans of a mouse. Little did I know, he was now trapped in my bedroom with me.
At 12:50 A.M., it became obvious we were in the same room and it definitely was not big enough for the two of us. This would need to be resolved right away. I decided to climb out from under my mosquito net, a.k.a. mouse net, put on my closed-toe shoes, and find a suitable weapon to bring tranquility back to my bedroom. The great battle, man versus beast, would last for roughly 30 minutes during which I chased the damn mouse all around my room.
The first weapon of choice was the Kabou site notebook, a quality hard-cover three-ringed binder loaded with quarterly reports of the two former inhabitants of this mouse infested home. It would have worked great if I had only managed to strike the little guy with my throws, but he was just too fast. Furthermore, he likely knew my room better than I did. I only slept there, yet he busied himself throughout the day and night as he pleased, munching on my earwax and simultaneously destroying the padding of my “earbud” headphones. The notebook failed miserably save the high level of noise I had created in the early morning.
I decided it would be easiest to trap the mouse under my hamper basket and then decide on an execution method when it came to that point. This method was destined to fail from the beginning because my basket was handmade from palm leaves, leaving plenty of escape routes even when turned upside-down.
At this point, I was at a loss for how to kill the little devil. He would even find the courage to stop on top of my clothes or on my shelf to look right in my eyes. He knew he would be dead soon. Shutting my bedroom door before crawling in bed gave me the advantage I needed to win this battle. We continued the duel onto my bed, under my bed, behind my guitar case, and among all my training materials until he stopped to hide between my official Peace Corps issue medical kit and the wall. When I slammed the plastic med kit against the wall, he managed to utter two quick squeaks before I squeezed all the air out of his lungs. My work was finished. I was victorious. Before crawling triumphantly back into bed, I took a quick photo to crown my achievement.

Update: Two Months in Kabou

Sorry for the long, long delay. I've spent a lot of time in Kabou and have now recently had internet again for the first time in three weeks.

Things are going well and work is starting to pick up as I'm becoming more integrated and meeting more members of the community. At the micro-finance bank, we have submitted a report to the main office calling for recommendations to improve the security and marketing of the office. Also, we've started evaluating expenses and income by filling out monthly reports. Within the next few weeks, we hope to start meetings with local groups. Otherwise, I'm looking to work with the local radio station and schools.

I know that you all want to read for in-depth stories about my life here, but my time on the internet is a little pressed. I've been keeping a written journal and I'll try to get some more cultural things on the blog.

In other news, the elections are over as well as rainy season... New volunteers in Education and Natural Resources have also arrived, but they won't finish training until December.

one month at post

I have just completed my first month at post and things are moving along. I've spent most of my time at my counterpart's micro-finance office. We've implemented a monthly report system and we're working on an analysis report to send to the bank's main office for recommended improvements.  Within the next month, we hope to have started trainings with local professional organizations to talk about a bank's services, the benefits of savings, and basic money management skills. Some group leaders have shown a lot of interest...

 

Other than that, I've been trying to meet people around the village, study the local language, while also reading a lot of books. Apparently I've read 12 in Togo so far!

 

Thanks to Ashley and Steph who sent some awesome packages!  CD's, Twix bars, magazines, etc.. (Letters and emails are great, too)

First week at post

Just a quick update:

 

I'm in Kara for a couple days to access the internet and visit my counterpart organization's main office. Things are going well in Kabou and I've been meeting with a variety of local officials and leaders.

 

During the week, I observed a few meetings by my site-mate's Gender Equity Committee, which was holding talks with local professional groups about the importance of equality and what it really means. My work may begin with business skills seminars with the clients of my counterpart's microfinance bank.

 

Other than that, I'm trying to make my house a home. I've already dropped a nearly 100 bucks on new furniture and I just ordered a coffee table and a cabinet to hold my food. The local carpenters do a pretty good job and its great quality for the money...

Photos Online

I have just uploaded a lot of photos from training at picasaweb.google.com/david.ganske 

I'm an official Volunteer!

Well its official, I am swearing-in this week in Lomé to start my two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo.

 

We are all in the capital this week for the "swear-in" festivities. Today, we did some paperwork, but tomorrow will be the official ceremony and some of our host families will be attending. My host mother and her son will be coming from Agou to see the event!

 

The Peace Corps gave us quite a bit of money to get our houses furnished and get started at posts as volunteers. The next few days will be nice as we relax, party, and enjoy the rest of our time together as a training group.

My first online photo!

Here is my first photo from Togo. This was taken in late June during our climb up Mt. Agou.

I will add more photos this week.

Tomegbe to Akoumawou

Walking a quick one kilometer from my host family's compound to the Peace Corps training center and back might not initially seem like an eventful process, but each trip is encapsulated by the endless salutations and greetings among everyone on the street. Its no wonder that locals will be so late to meetings and events because they stop to discuss the latest status of each person's home, family, children, work, and journey.

 

In local custom, everyone greets each other at all times of the day and of course multiple times even for the same person. It is expected to say something to every passerby. One is immediately intrigued by the Togolese friendliness and hospitality as some will offer food as well.

 

Just this morning, I walked by a girl who was standing on her front doorstep, yet off the road. I didn't acknowledge her due to her distance from the road and the fact that she was already in another conversation. Assuming that she did not expect a greeting due to her position off the path, I neglected to give her a " bonjour" or "ndi" in local Ewe. After I passed, she yelled, "David! Il faut saluer!" or "You have to greet!" I guess there is no excuse for missing someone…

 

On the way toward the training center in Akoumawou, I am expected to greet each person going the opposite direction with "wezolo" or "welcome" in Ewe. Keep in mind that Tomegbe and Akoumawou are two entirely separate villages about 1 km apart. To top that, I even pass through another third village during that 15 minute walk. On the way back home, I'm expected to say " abakabalo" or "come back quickly" to those leaving the village. Each way in and out of Tomegbe, I'm greeted accordingly as well by the other villagers.

 

In addition to the greetings for the comings and goings, the kids and adults quiz my slowly developing Ewe skills. Although my vocabulary is limited to about 8 – 10 different phrases, they don't get tired of hearing me respond over and over again. The same people will quiz me at least four times in one day. Sometimes I get tired of answering the same questions roughly 20 – 25 times (estimate) during each 15 minute walk, but it also perks me up and satisfies me to know that the community is enjoying my presence. At the very least, they are benefiting from the amusement of my struggles attempting Ewe…

 

So, I conducted a survey of exactly how many salutations occur on a single journey.  The result was that I lost count at roughly 50-60 greetings! If someone is riding a bike or driving a car, they really miss the friendliness of the neighbors. I guess more reason to go on foot…

 

The greetings really have made me feel accepted into the community. As cheers of "yovo" or "white person" get replaced by "fofo" or "brother", it really means a lot deep-down.

A Successful Post Visit

Sorry for the long delay since the last blog entry, but there hasn't been good internet access. If you haven't heard from me, I'm doing well!

 

This past week, I've been checking out where I'll be living for the next two years. Kabou is a nice little town with a weekly market and paved road access to Kara and to Ghana. The villagers are very friendly like most Togolese and seem very happy to have a business volunteer in the town. Another volunteer, Katie, showed me around a little bit and even made calzones for lunch!

 

The people in Kabou are mostly of the Bassar ethnic group, but there are many others in the village. Because of its location on a connector road to Ghana and Benin, there are many others including Nigerians. The majority of the population are Muslim with several mosques, while there are also Catholic, Baptist, Assembly of God, and animist religions.

 

My counterpart organization, ACM Microfinance, is very motivated and can't wait for my return. They are a new branch that offers savings and loans services and tontine collection to its customers.

 

To open an account, a customer must have 5000 CFA or $10, which is quite a lot. Most of the town can't afford an account. Of the 5000 CFA, 1000 pays for the account notebooks, 1000 goes as a non-refundable fee to the bank, and 3000 is the minimum balance. The accounts earn interest of 2-4% annually and they can borrow up to triple their savings at a rate around 17%. The structure works well for many of the people in Kabou, but after a week it already seems like the better off people are the ones using the service.

 

My work will start by implementing a training aspect to their business. They banking side of their service is already in place, but they want to offer money management and business skills education to their branch in Kabou. We have discussed offering weekly seminars for banking customers and monthly sensibilizations for the entire community.

 

Aside from work at ACM, the provisieur of the lycee and the director of the CEG (junior high) have expressed interest in working with me. The school year will begin mid-September and hopefully I can get started sometime around then with some sort of club or teaching.

 

The first few months I'll be trying to get to know as many people as possible and assess what I can and should do as a volunteer. There are several groups already in place that I hope to visit such as the Taxi-Moto Syndicate, trade associations for carpenters, tailers, etc., and also women's and girls' groups.

 

Overall post visit was exciting and I'm looking forward to returning and seeing my new furniture. I ordered a bed for 18000 CFA ($36) and a table 17000 CFA ($34). They will be handmade by local carpenters and ready when I return at the end of August.

 

Tonight we are in Kara to celebrate the arrival of new volunteers (my group) to the region. I've already received a great welcome from others in the Bassar cluster around Kabou who made me a Lemon Marangue Pie.. thank you Netta and Amy!

 

Tomorrow we'll head back to Agou and our host families to finish the last month of training. I better remember the bread for my host family :)

 

(It's custom to bring a loaf of bread when returning from a trip outside of town.)

 

By the way, I love phone calls! I don't have the best coverage in Agou, but when I'm back in Kabou I'll have full coverage...

Post Destination: Kabou

Once training is over, I'll be spending my two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in a small town called Kabou, located in the Kara region. I'm not sure exactly how long it will take me to get there from Agou, but it might be about 8-9 hours by bush taxi traveling north.

Kabou is located within the Bassar prefecture where they speak the indigenous language of Bassar. I've already started learning basic salutations from one of our language instructors from the area.

My work as a PCV will be very flexible, but I will be focused in microfinance and youth development. My counterparts are located at a freshly started microfinance institution and one is a professor at the local lycée.

We'll be making post visits the week of July 21 and I'll get a better feel of the area. I can't wait to see my new home!