I just had my swear in this pass week, so now I am officially a Peace Corps Volunteer here in Togo. A small but amazing country in West Africa. I have been here for 9 weeks already, and I had my training in a very small village in the southern part of Togo called Gbatope (ba-toe-pay). It was a crazy adventure living without running water or electricity but I loved every part of it. Most of my time was spent just trying to learn how to live in a completely different culture. I literally had to learn how to wash my clothes by hand, which is really hard by the way! Also, you wont find a microwave in village, so cooking food is a whole new project by itself. I’ve been learning French the whole time too, and I think I’m getting pretty good at it. Togo has plenty of local languages as well. In Gbatope and most other places in the southern part of Togo, people speak Ewe. I’ve picked up a few salutations in Ewe, and people here get really excited when they hear a foreigner speaking their language. When I wasn’t training, I spent a lot of time with the people in the village. I would play soccer, cards, or this local game that involves marbles. It is hard to explain the marble game, but I can tell you it is really fun when you have a big group playing. I also brought with me a pair of drum sticks and a practice drum pad. I spent many nights learning the traditional drum beats here in Togo, and I also taught a bunch of western style drum rudiments to people here. I really liked my time in Gbatope and all the people there too. Here in Togo, the Peace Corps works within four different areas: Small Business Development(SED), Natural Resource Management(NRM), Girls Education and Empowerment(GEE), and Community Health and AIDS Prevention(CHAP). I work in CHAP! I will mainly be working on projects that will involve educating the people on the causes of certain diseases and how to life a healthier life. I also have the freedom to create any type of project I want to, so I don’t have to solely focus on health if I don’t want to. In one week I’ll be going to the place I’ve been posted. It’s a relatively small town called Sotouboua (so-too-bwa). It is pretty much in the center of the country. It’s going to be quite the change for me though, because I will actually have electricity! I won’t be using a lantern anymore, even though I’m so use to it I kind of like it. There’s be plenty of work there, and right now I know I’ll be collaborating with the town hospital, some of the local schools, and even a radio station! I’ll be sure to let you know how all of it is when I get there!
