Parents in Togo

Last night Ann and I saw off our collective parents (my parents and in-laws), who spent two weeks with us in Togo, eating fufu, pate, and every animal meat possible, as well as drinking tchouk and sodabe. My Dad killed a goat on New Year's Day with my father-in-law overseeing the process. We walked around the village, ate at friends' houses, went to market, rode motorcycles, drank cold cokes in the shade, took bushtaxis, went to the beach... So much stuff in such a short time that it is hard to keep straight. They all were good sports about all the hardships and close quarters in village, as well as the endless amounts of fufu! We're looking forward to seeing the array of photos they took.

Ann and I are resting for the day in Lome, before heading back to village tomorrow to rescue our dog and catch up with our friends in village at market on Sunday. Many thanks to Cecily and John, Jean, and Brian and Miriah for the amazing care packages!

15 Months Down...

Well we're back in Lome helping the newest set of Volunteers for Peace Corps Togo get situated and make essential purchases before they head off to their respective villages. On Thursday evening they will be "swearing in" at the U.S. Ambassador's residence in Lome, followed by speeches in local language as well as the requisite cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Ann and I even got new outfits for the occasion (pics to follow).

Work at site is moving along with maps of Togo, Africa, and the World being painted at the C.E.G. (middle school) with the help of the science club there and several teachers. The girls garden is blooming with onions, okra, tomatoes, cabbage, watermelon, hot peppers, and several local leafy plants used for sauce ingredients. Ann is working her tail off on a peer educator training for middle school students and humoring me as I struggle to get my cereal bank (for corn) up and running.

But most exciting is that L'Harmattan with all of its dust, wind, and cool nights has arrived to dry out the mold in the latrine, rush people to finish up their harvests and start drinking beer (its celebratory funeral season...its complicated) and relax from field work for a few weeks. The change in the weather means that my parents and Ann's parents will be arriving for their much anticipated visit to Togo in twenty odd days... That speaks for itself.

Congrats go out to my brother Jon on his new job. Thanks once again to those who sent care packages, we cannot thank you enough for the thought, money, and energy you put into each package! Well off to the beach for a cold one and then its off to village once more to rescue our dog and get back into the madness of multiple projects.

A Night Out...

Ann and I have come to Kara to meet up with other PCVs and to welcome the new volunteers to our region with good street food and cold drinks. So poor Asher is up at Pierre and Rachel's house running around like crazy with their puppy, sneaking bites of the kids' food and overall suffering while we are in Kara for the night. We will be heading back to village tomorrow for market day. My community garden project now has 20 participating households, 8 girls are hard at work in my girls' scholastic garden, and Ann and I have just undertaken a World Map project with the middle school (look for pics soon).

We are off to Lomé in a few weeks to finish up training with the new volunteers, see them swear in as PCVs and get reservations in line for the big parents' visit at the end of December. I hope to post a bunch of pictures, etc. then.

Thanks to everyone for their love, letters, packages, prayers, and phone calls. I hope someone saved me a Reese Peanut Butter Cup from Halloween!

One Year in Togo

On September 19, our training group (those who are still here), passed the milestone of one year in Togo. It is a bit surreal to reflect upon the fact that by the end of my time in Togo I will have spent half of the last decade living and working for Peace Corps in sub-Saharan francophone west Africa. Ann, Asher and I are doing well, with Ann and I gearing up for what looks like a busy fall of projects and trainings before our parents (yes hers and mine at the same time!) come visit us in late December.

Training and Garden Projects

Ann and I are in Lome after spending week with the new Peace Corps Trainees for Natural Resource Management and Girls Education and Empowerment.  There are over 30 of them, and they were a lot of fun to work with.  We assisted the Peace Corps Technical Trainers in formal classes (I helped teach classes on Gardening, Urban Gardening, Agroforestry, Composting, and Tree Nursery Management).  We also offered volunteer insight on a variety of other session (health, cross culture), but most importantly we just spent time with them, shared our experiences, answered a billion questions about Togo/Peace Corps, and we in turn got a recharge of enthusiasm for Peace Corps service from the trainees.

In a related note, my girls garden is just getting off the ground with help of two of our friends; John who teaches English at the C.E.G. and Kolou, who works at CAP-EJR.  The cabbage, tomato, and onion seed has been purchased, as well as a the metal fencing.  Hopefully this week I will be able to purchase the hot pepper seed and put up the fence in the garden.  My grain bank project is also moving along, the storage palettes in the CAP-EJR warehouse should have been built this week while I was at training.  Last but not least, my community gardening project now has 5 participants, with other individuals promising to sign up for seed and micro credit accounts in the next couple of weeks.  Keeping fingers crossed and will keep you posted.

Thanks Shane and Debbie!

Our friends Shane and Debbie, who are due to get married this month (good luck!!!!), were so kind as to send us a care package that happened to contain some backpacking instant meals that made for a nice hot meal on a rainy evening a few weeks back. I can still taste the veggie lasagna.

Life is hard if...

... you are our dog Asher and you have just spent hours roaming the fields of Pessare searching for glorious smells to roll in, only to return home to people that claim to "love" you and are forced into the latrine to be scrubbed, shampooed, rinsed, and toweled off before you get to eat your afternoon meal.
Since Ann and I have been away from village helping the new group of Peace Corps trainees get settled in their training villages, Asher has been left with friends in village and I am sure he has been rolling in everything and will need yet another bath upon our return this week.