A day in the life

Happy holidays from Dapaong. I hope you are all doing well and are enjoying the season. My first full week at post was rather eventful compared to most other PCVs. Last Tuesday I got a call from the U.S Embassy and I was told that the Ambassador would be coming to small village near Dapaong for a ribbon cutting ceremony for a well that the United States, (thanks for paying your taxes everyone) had donated. The two other Dapaong volunteers and I had already been invited to the ribbon cutting, but now we were also invited to have dinner with the Ambassador and her husband. The three of us called Moussa to take us to the near-by village. Moussa is a driver in Dapaong who many volunteers use when they need to travel or have something moved from one place to another. He drives a beat up, multi-colored, station wagon with no A/C, seatbelts, or carpeting and it has several cracks in the windshield, but because of our skin color, when we first arrived to the village everyone thought that one of us was the Ambassador. It didn’t take us long to clear up that we were PCVs and not part of the Ambassador’s convoy. We were still given a nice place to sit right next to all of the village chiefs from the area and we patiently waited with everyone else for the Ambassador to arrive. While we waited we watched traditional Moba dances, (Moba is the predominate ethnic group in Dapaong and the surrounding villages) and talked with the members of the community who could speak French. After being there for about 20 minutes we saw brand new white Land Cruiser pull up and the Ambassador and her husband emerged from the car. The ceremony then kicked off with the sacrifice of a chicken in front of the Ambassador and then we all sat down and there were several speeches in both French and Moba. The village chiefs spoke as well as the chief of Dapaong. Christophe, who is the head of a woman’s rights NGO, thanked the United States for its contribution as well as all of the PCVs he has worked with in the past. The Ambassador briefly spoke and then she cut the ribbon. There was a news team there and chances are I was on Togolese television…again. (The swear-in ceremony was broadcasted on national television). After all the pageantry we were given a small meal and the three of us spoke with the Ambassador about dinner plans. We decided to go back to Dapaong and meet up again for dinner later that night.
We went to the Campamont Hotel for dinner which is where most of the tourists, aid-workers, and diplomats stay when they are traveling through Savannahs. It’s a nice place, but very expensive for a PCV. A steak will run you about $6.50. However with the ambassador picking up the tab the three of us were quick to order all three courses. The food was great and the dinner topics ranged from retirement plans for the Ambassador and her family to scuba diving. After the meal was over we were dropped off at our respective houses in the same brand new land cruiser that the Ambassador took to the ceremony earlier in the day.
I understand that having dinner with the Ambassador will most likely not be a regular occurrence but it was kind of neat to do something like that during my first week as a PCV. The next day other volunteers in Savannahs found out about our extravagant dinner and were extremely jealous, but they were also pretty impressed. It won’t be the last time that I eat at the Campamont but it will probably be the last time the bill is picked up by the head of the United States mission in Togo.

I’m offically a PCV

Well I’m officially a volunteer now. Sorry for not posting for over a month, but the last few weeks were pretty stressful. I had a great post visit to Dapong at the beginning of November so I was really looking forward moving in to my new home for the next two years. I live in a small compound with a few other apartments. I have two bedrooms and a large living room. I don’t really have a kitchen but Im setting up a cooking space in the living room. It was about a 12 hour drive from Lome to Dapong but right now it just feels good to be “home.” Im still setting up, its starting to look pretty good. I need to buy, like cooking utensils, and a desk but for the most part I have all that I will need for the first few weeks.
The last few weeks of training were pretty stressful. It was nice to see everyone in my stage after post visit, we were all ready to move on and become volunteers. In the middle of November we took a 4 day field trip around the country and saw volunteers in action and we learned about different projects we could start at our post. Some of the things we saw were a village savings and loan group, a science club, and a women’s rights organization. It was a nice break from the usual training schedule and we got to see many parts of the country. After the end of training we went to Lome for a very hectic four days. We had to sign several forms, get our swine flu shot, (yes, its made its way to Africa) go to the bank, buy things for post, and get sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers. It was a very hectic time for all of Peace Corps Togo because many of the volunteers who came here in September of 2007 were in the process of leaving the country. It was sad to see them leave after barly getting to know them but they left us with great advice for service and I know they are excited to get back home to their family and friends. People are always coming and going in Peace Corps but the next stage is not until June 2010 we will all have a least a few months having the same people around. I really like the other volunteers in my region and I think we are going to be a good group.
I got to Dapong late on Saturday night and I spent the night at the Peace Corps transit house and I moved in all my stuff to my house on Sunday morning, and yesterday I went and observed some English classes at one of the middle schools in town and I had dinner with two other volunteers who are married and have been here for just over three months and we discussed possible project ideas. Setting up my house has been a work in progress and I hope to put up pictures when I’m done. I hope everyone is doing well and thank you so much to those of you who have sent letters and emails. They are really great and always put a smile on my face and I will do better about responding to them. I promise.
Du Courage

Training cont.........

Well I have gotten a few requests to update so here goes. I’m still in training and everything has been going well for the most part. We are going to visit our future posts on Saturday and everyone is very excited to see where they will be living for the next two years. We are midway through training and I think most of the group is starting to get impatient. I will be going to Dapong which is the regional capital in the Savahans region which wayyyyy up north by the Burkina border. I also found out that I will have some really cool region mates when I get there. Before coming to Togo I was doubtful that I would have running water or electricity but as it turns out I will have both at my post. Dapong has a population of about 40,000 (I think), which is defiantly one of bigger posts in Togo and Peace Corps World Wide. I don’t have much more info on where I will be living because the site description was pretty vague compared to some of the others. I know once of the kids from the Natural Resource Management group is going to a village of 300. I think he and I are at the extremes of the spectrum. On a down note, the day we got our post descriptions I had to go to the Peace Corps med unit in Lome because I wasn’t feeling well. I really didn’t want to go, but it was kind of nice to sleep in an air conditioned room and have a hot shower after taking bucket baths for a month. It was almost like being back in the States. I talked to a current volunteer who said his time in the med unit wonderful even though he was vomiting constantly from Malaria. While I was in the Med Unit I was able to hang out with Brian who was staying in the Med Unit waiting for a flight back to the states. He was a volunteer in Madagascar and was evacuated in March after 8 months of service. He was my roommate our first four days in Lome and was a great person to talk to about being a volunteer. He decided that Peace Corps Togo was not for him, and he has a pretty big cross country road trip in front of him. Good luck man. After spending two days in the med unit I was able to go back to training. Since then I have been feeling much better but I haven’t had much of an appetite since. I have lost twenty pounds or so since arriving in country. I also have got a wicked cut on my foot a few days ago, and it’s been a challenge to keep it clean but so far it hasn’t gotten infected. I also got my first two shirts made in since being in Togo. They are both pretty colourful and only cost me 12 dollars to make both of them. Thanks for all the care packages I got lots of pictures and Halloween candy today and everyone else is pretty jealous of all the love I have been getting. Well I hope things back home are going well, I’m a bit jealous of your cold weather because I found out that the hot season in my region is from February to early May and it can get up to 115 in the day!

Bless the rains

Well I have been in Togo for almost three weeks and training is going well so far. We have been bonding well as a group and I have been getting along well with everyone. I was very excited to leave Lome for the training village, and It has been much better here. When we first arrived to the training center out host families were already waiting for us. There was music, dancing and food. It was obvious from the beginning that I can’t dance and have no rhythm. I’m pretty sure I was a pretty good source of amusement for the other trainees as well as our host families. I found my host mother right away. It was a little awkward at first, but she is a nice woman and great cook. I meet my host father the next morning because he was away on business. I think I lucked out with my host family because they do not push food on me and they respect my privacy. They are very nice and I have been eating some wonderful food. (To mom and dad, yes I have been getting enough protein). I eat with my family for every meal and they are always helping me with my French. Michael Jackson is loved here and some times during dinner they will play a DVD of all his music videos, and other times we will watch Lion King II in French….great film.
The training days are long, but we get a lot out of them. I usually wake up around 6:15 to get ready and eat breakfast, and then I get on my bike and head to the tech house. Along the way I hear little children singing the Yovo song. Yovo means white person here in Togo, and it’s probably the first word that the Children learn, and they are always excited to sing the song. We stick out here and we hear the song all the time, mostly from the 3 to 6 year old children. I get to the tech house around 7:30 and we start training. We either have sessions on the realities of girl’s education in Togo, or French lessons. We also have health sessions about staying healthy in Togo and how to repair our bikes. I have been fine so far but a few people have gotten sick but nothing major, except one girl who was medically separated after being in country for only a week. I felt terrible for here because she really wanted to stay here and it was sad to see her leave.
At noon we head back home to eat lunch and take a break, and we return to the tech house at 2:30 for more sessions and then we head home at 5:00. Sometimes we go out for a drink. We don’t get much money as trainees but luckily the local beer is cheap and not too bad. I usually get home around 6 and dinner is at 7. After dinner I usually go to my room where I will watch part of a movie or read a book on the terrace in front of the house. We have been advised not to go out late after dark until we are more familiar with the area. There is not much to do here at night anyways and I think we are all pretty tiered at the end of the day anyways. We have played ultimate Frisbee on Saturday afternoons and have a free day on Sundays. Yesturday some of us watched Arrested Development on someone’s laptop. I’m excited!
Well I hope this answers some questions about my life in Togo so far. I miss and love you all and I hope that you are all ready for the cold weather. Its pretty hot here, but nice in the shade and I really miss air conditioning. It has also rained pretty hard for about twenty minutes the past two days as well.

T.I.A (This is Africa....)

Well I’m here in Africa. There is only one paved road in the Capital of Togo which is Lome, The first few days have been interesting. I have had to get four shots since being here and Im on Malaria meds which are supposed to give you some pretty wild and vivid dreams but I have not had any yet. Im going to move into my training village today for the next nine weeks. Im really looking forward to that because it will give me a good idea of what life in Logo will be like when I swear in as a volunteer. We had dinner at the Country Directors house and the U.S Ambassador was there and she was very gracious for the work that volunteers do here and she wishes that the Embassy could do more.
I arrived here with 33 people ranging in ages of 22 to 28. I know it is not very diverse even by Peace Corps standards because they are pushing for more and older people to serve. We are from all over the country though and there are a couple people here with Chicago ties and one kid even has the same Chicago stars as me. They seem really great and when we were in Philly a few of us even got into a bear fight ( I guess that will be the first inside joke between us…he he he)
Since being here we have been called Yovo countless times which mean white person here. Its not that derogatory and its mostly little kids who say that. Some of the current volunteers don’t like it and others don’t mind. It doesn’t bother me…..yet. My training village will have internet but the speed will make dial up look like DSL . I hope to stay in contact but if you don’t hear from me for a while its not because I don’t miss you its just that I have VERY limited recourses.

A little update....

Well I leave in just under a month....fingers crossed. I have confirmed my flight to Philadelphia for stage (a two day orientation about Peace Corps Togo), and I leave Chicago at 6:40am on September 17th. So say your final goodbyes before then!!!!!. My stage class and I leave for Togo at 6:40 pm on September 18th with a couple hour layover in Paris. My group will be much smaller compared to the one that I would have left with for Mauritania. I am leaving with 15 other volunteers in my sector and there are only 2 other male volunteers. What is my sector you might ask? Instead of being an English Teacher I will be working in the Girls Education and Empowerment section as a Girls Education Extension Agent. What dose that mean really, here is what I was given in my assignment.

YOUR PRIMARY DUTIES
The goals of the Girls' Education and Development project are:
1. Girls (students or apprentices) together with boys (students or apprentices) will increase their knowledge and will develop personal skills that contribute to their successful completion of school or professional training and will be empowered to participate in their communities.
2. Formal and non-formal educators will create positive environments for the promotion of girls' education in collaboration with boys.
3. Organizations will contribute to the development of their communities through the promotion of education and empowerment of girls in collaboration with boys and the development of financial and human resources.
4. The communities and community based organizations will be actively engaged in the campaign to increase the enrollmemt and retention rates of girls in schools and apprenticeship centers. Comuunities will use local and external resources to support gender equity in families, community organizations, schools and cooperative groups.


And here are some of the tasks that I am supposed to accomplish...

By the end of the first year, you should be collaborating with your counterpart(s) in implementing at least two of the following activities:
Village Savings & Loan programs, to help families improve their incomes so that they could better support the education of their children, especially their girls;
Training of families on gender issues to encourage them to provide the same opportunities for both boys and girls regarding their education;
Tutoring and other activities such as training in study skills aimed at improving the performance of girls in the classroom;
A teacher/apprentice supervisor training on gender equity and life skills;
Organization and co-facilitation of at least one club;
School vacation enterprise program to help girls to meet their financial needs during the school year.

Just thought I would let everyone know what I will be doing in Togo.

To go to TOGO

Im going to Togo. I leave for stage on September 16th. Looks like I will be here for my Birthday!

No More RIM for me

Peace Corps in DC called me today and I was informed that the program in the country is suspended. I believe the current volunteers are allowed to stay, however the Peace Corps believes that it is unlikely that my stage class will not be able to get our visas anywhere in the near future. They didn't mention anything about the American aid worker who was shot and killed in a kidnapping attempt in the capital of Mauritania. As of right now I am in the process of being reassigned to another country. This is the second time this has happened to me because as many of you know I was originally supposed to go to Madagascar but the program was suspended there as well because a coup. I don't want to speculate when or where I will be going, so I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the ride. As well as the music scene in Chicago.

Summer in Chicago

Instead of boarding a plane for Philly on Monday I am going to be in Chicago. That's right the Peace Corps office in D.C called me on Monday while I was at my parents lake house and told me that the current Mauritanian government would not be giving me, or anyone else that I was suppose to go with, a visa on time. We are going to get visas, we just are not exactly sure when. "All my bags are packed and I'm ready to go" was my attitude on Monday morning. I had moved a majority of stuff out of my apartment, and I was mentally prepared, or as close as I was going to get, for the challenges that Peace Corps RIM had in store for me. But right now I might be able to leave in mid-August. Why you ask?

Because General Aziz, who took power last August, decided he does not want any more foreigners in the country. The director of Peace Corps as well as the U.S Ambassador to Mauritania have tried to convince him to give us visas in a timely fashion, but no dice. General Aziz promised that there would be a free election on June 6th, however the international community convinced him to push the elections to July 18th in order to make the elections more fair. There is also a run-off election in early August, and after all this is settled Peace Corps hopes that my stage class and I will be able to enter the country. Until then I'm going to be in Chicago. I had no plans past Sunday night but right now I'm getting excited to spend another summer in this wonderful city. So far my plans include going to the many street festivals that Chicago has to offer, as well as a few more hockey tournaments with the rest of the student center staff. Even though I quit my job at the end of last month, I'm sure I will be able to play.

I guess I had to start this sometime

You should check out my blog. Those are six words that I hoped that I would never have to say or write. But here we are. I'm not against people who have blogs, but I feel that the only people who have them are either depressed emo kids from the suburbs,who bitch about confromity, or anarchists from Eastern Europe, who haven't gotten the revolution off the ground yet. Trust me I have tried to think of other ways to keep in contact, but smoke signals and telepathy are just not realistic.....yet. So here I am shouting from the mountain tops letting you all know: you should check out my blog.


Why did I start this blog you ask? For those of you who don't know,there aren't many at this point, on June 17, 2009 I will be heading to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, also known as the RIM, to serve in the Peace Corps. I will be an English teacher at either a middle school or high school. Before I head to Mauritania however I have a two day orientation in Philly. This is also referred to as stage. At stage I will get a brief overview of Peace Corps RIM. I'm also really excited to meet some of the other volunteers, because we are going to be in Mauritania together for the next 27 months. On a side note I have found some other future volunteers on facebook and we already have plans for to get Cheese Steaks while in Philly. Then on the 17th, after we get our shots of course, we will head to J.F.K and hope on a plane to Dakar, Senegal, and then from there we will take a long ass bus ride to Rosso, Mauritania where will have several weeks of training. On August 20, we will be sworn in as volunteers, and after that it is two years of service.

Giddy up.