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            4 Auôt 2012

I’m not sure how to best encapsulate my experience in Togo thusfar, so I think keeping it short and simple is probably best. I’m living with a host family in Gbatope and they are fantastic! I have two young sisters, Lizzy, who will be 2 in October, and Esta, who will be 4 in November. My host “mom”, Akoffa, is 26 and incredibly welcoming and joyous! Since she’s really not old enough to be my mom, I call her Dadavi Akoffa. Dadavi means sister in Eve, the dominant language in the Maritime region, and is a common salutation for women, whether you know them or not.

            Akoffa is a coiffure (hairstylist), so we have lots of women coming through the house everyday to get their hair done all fancy like. Her husband, Koffi, is 32 and a mason. He’s very kind and he seems to support his family very well, both fiscally and emotionally. I’ve heard some horror stories about the way Togolese men view and treat women, but none of those characteristics have shown through in Koffi. He is more than willing to help out in the home and show love for his daughters and because of this I have a good deal of respect for him.

            Our house is located within the “palais du chief” (The Canton chief’s palace), so it’s been a bit of a joke that I’m a princess. I have a bedroom and a sitting room to myself, although I don’t spend much time in them aside from sleeping and a little studying. It’s much more comfortable and engaging to pass time in the common space with my family and their friends.

            Mt French skills are coming along nicely. I placed in at intermediate-low, only one step away from the required int-mid level, which shockingly made me the most advance French speaker in the EAFS sector (but a lot of people speak Spanish, so they’re picking up French quickly). We’ll have our mid-PST (pre-service training) language test in a little over a week, after which I will likely move on to learning Kabiye, one of the languages spoken in Sola. Kabiye is the language of the President of Togo and is thus one of the more important political languages in the country. It is also the second or third most commonly spoken language in Togo, after Eve and possibly Kotokoli.

            I’ve been learning a little Eve since I’m currently living in a place where that’s the most commonly spoken language, but I’ve really only got a couple simple salutations down. Eve is a tonal language and thus difficult for me, but people seem to appreciate that I’m at least trying a little. Hopefully I’ll be able to learn Kabiye well. There’s no doubt that local language skills will help me greatly with forging relationships and transferring knowledge in Sola.

            Hmmm… what else to share? One thing I am really digging about Eve culture is how much people joke with one another! This is definitely not a place where sarcasm doesn’t translate and I LOVE that! When people ask me to bring them things, I can retaliate with a request for their shirt or just say “demain” (tomorrow) over and over and they burst out in laughter. When I get requests for marriage, I just ask the person to buy me a plane. It seems that most situations here can be diffused with humor and that works well for me :D

            We’ve also been learning some great dances and I think I’ve got the chicken dance pretty much down at this point. I wonder what kind of looks I’ll get when I come back to the states and bust these moves out there? To all those awaiting my return: if you didn’t think I was weird before, just wait until you see me in two years! I hope you’re ready!

            Oh and FOOD! I eat a lot of rice and beans, which is great because I love rice and beans! The sauces here also have a lot of piment (hot peppers) in them, which adds to my daily sweating regime. I’ve been eating a good amount of fresh fish, eggs, the occasional chicken (I killed one myself a couple weeks ago! Something to check off my bucketlist), and a couple nights ago I even had shrimp! I’ve learned to eat all parts of any protein source, including chewing on fish bones to get at the marrow, and while this kinda freaked my out the first time I saw my host mom do it, I soon discovered that marrow is delicious and that its important not to waste any source of protein here. There’s also a lot of fruit around, including pineapples, coconuts and papaya. Sadly, mango season ended just before we got here, so I’ll have to wait until December, which I think is when the avocados come, too! My mouth is already watering in anticipation…

            One lesson I’ve learned: check for ants before sitting down. Those bitches bite hard!