I've Moved!

Hi all...if you've found this blog, come and check out my new one. Yep, I'm back in the States and still blogging. So come see what I'm up to!

Appalachian Appetites
www.appalachianappetites.com

Gone...

But not goodbye forever.

As many of you have learned during the last week, Nathan and I have returned to the United States. While this may come as a sudden surprise for many of you, it was a decision that we gave much prayer and thought. We had a wonderful time in Togo - as I know you have discovered by following my blog - but the time to leave had come. Living in Togo was a struggle and a blessing at the same time. We left sad to leave all of our friends and our home. But we are ready for our next adventure in the United States. Here are a few pictures from our last weeks. We are so glad our parents were able to come and share our Togo experience. We have memories that will most definitely last a lifetime. So I'm signing off for now...Thanks as always for your love and support!

Second to last night in village...The students gave us a going away dinner and dance. As you can, the girls were very sad :-(

Yvetter, our host mother in the compound

Exploring Lome with our parents

New Years Day in village...we had a party!

Nathan and I dancing with villagers. They insisted on lifting us above their heads. Scary but wonderful!

Parents Visit

Hi All! Nathan and I are currently in Lome. We just saw our parents off at the airport last night and they should all currently be en route. We had a wonderful time with them and think they had just as good a time with us! They were here for almost two weeks and were able to experience both Lome and the village. Similar to our other visitors, they really enjoyed being in Pessare. They ate local food everyday (fufu, fried yams, corn porridge, rice, goat, guinea fowl, chicken, and beer) and met many of our friends. The villagers were so happy to welcome them and even came by our house on New Years Day to dance for our parents. Plus our parents wore local clothing and enjoyed snapping lots of pictures of themselves. They rode motorcycles and went to the market. We took lots of long walks and even made blueberry muffins in my dutch oven (I think that was their favorite meal!). Because our parents were taking some many pictures (each couple took at least 350!) I neglected to take a lot. Here is the one picture I did take...just for proof that our parents were indeed in Togo! But I will make sure to get pictures of them in Togo up later. They promised to send me some ;-) Otherwise, all is well here. We are enjoying our time on the internet. We are heading back to village tomorrow and are excited to see Asher! He will be pleased that the "grandparents" are gone! Take care everyone!

Final Post Today

Hope you enjoy all the pictures I've uploaded! Just scroll below to see the latest posts ;-)

Today is Christmas and I'm celebrating by spending time on the internet and sitting in AC. Could be seen as anti-climatic but I'm successfully going with the flow today and enjoyed my fermented corn paste with tomato sauce this morning. Nathan and I are going to a Muslim Lebanese restaurant for lunch. I'm hoping for falafal! And did I mention it is already 100 degrees?! I guess that's Christmas in Togo! Yay for the folks arriving tomorrow!

So this posting is about a walk I took last week. Yes, a walk. Every Tuesday, Nathan and I bike or take a motorcycle to Siou, a town 8k from Pessare. There is a market every Tuesday and we have Togolese friends there. We go, charge our phones (yes, there is electricity there!), and have cold Cokes. Well, last week, I decided to walk. Women from Pessare walk there and back every week to sell and buy goods. No one has a bike and a moto is $1.50 each way...I only make $8/day. Now, I know you are thinking...well, you are in Peace Corps and you are supposed to be doing what the locals do. But it is much harder than you think! Why walk in the hot sun when you can be there in 10 minutes on a moto?! Because they walk. So given my previous experience with Crop Walk (thanks Mom and Dad for making me do it every year!), I decided when in Rome, do as the Romans. (Again, harder than you think. Did I mention the corn paste I ate this morning?! You know that doesn't sound good. But I'm doing it!) So, I asked a friend, Alia, if I could walk with her. And she was more than pleased to have the company! I made a list of everything I needed the night before...hat, sunscreen, water bottle, eye drops (dusty season), ibuprofen, camera. I was pretty confident I could do it. I was just worried about the heat. (Markets here are in the afternoon...do not ask me why...I have no idea. Seems like a bad idea to me. Maybe because they have so many chores in the morning?) But Alia agreed to start walking at 9am...a bit early for her, but she knew I was concerned about the heat. It came easily be 100 degrees at 9am. So I got to our meeting tree at 9am and she was nowhere to be found. I decided to walk to her house and once there learned she had walked to my house. Around 10am, we finally met at the tree and started walking. I convinced myself to be calm, not worry about the heat, and start walking. It's not like I couldn't have called Nathan at any point and had a moto sent. But ultimately there was no need. I had a GREAT time! We talked, visited with children and other women walking (men don't usually go to market), and she stopped often for me to drink water. I offered them some of my water but they all refused. Maybe they are just built to stand the heat?! Anyway, an hour and a half later, we made it! And I was just sweaty and thirsty...not sick or hurt. Success, huh?! I am really glad I did it. Makes me appreciate all the hard work Togolese women do for their families. I am truly humbled. Ultimately, I walked to better understand their daily work...And I am thankful to have had the opportunity. I think there are more Crop Walks in my future!
(The crowd in front of me...I had to stop to get the picture, so I got a bit behind)

Alia! And yes, I wore a skirt and flip flops like her.

Some kids walking...And no, I didn't carry anything on my head!

Running Partner

Ok, so I haven't been so good about running here. You'd think with all the time I have, it would be easy. But something about the immense heat keeps me in the shade ;-) However, Nathan runs everyday. And last week he found a new running buddy. Nathan runs fast and he tried to lose this guy just to see how hard this guy could go (not my approach to running...I'm not much for sports competition), but he kept up! Which is amazing given his shoes...Take a close look. One flip flop and one sneaker...on the WRONG feet. And this guy RUNS! Crazy huh?!! Nathan had a blast and they have future running dates! PS He's holding a soccer ball that was a recent gift from a friend! Thanks Yquem!

Garden Progress

The garden outside our house is going well. We've eaten all the radishes and I've used dill, parsely, and basil in several dishes. Now for the tomatoes ;-)

World Map

The grid.

Asher posing with the almost finished map.

A view from a distance...It is next to a Sinkaring statue, a festival that was held in Pessare in 2004. Here's what I found online....."Sinkaring (initiation and harvest ceremony of the Kabyés in the Binah region). Sinkaring would come from a couple of verbs "Sankuu" which means to wash hands, to purify and "Karuu" which means being ready to face the tests of life. Sinkaring which has its origin in LAMA-Tessi (a village close to Pessare). This is a test by which one subjects the Kabyé young person of Binah to endurance and with the force so he can defend his community. This is a test for the young people to allow their integration in the class of the adults. It is also a harvest festival because after the songs and the dances, tasting comes from the beans and the local drink, fruits of new harvests. It is rotary in canton and is celebrated each year 1st Saturday of December."

We are currently working on painting a world map at the middle school. The school has one map - a paper poster of Togo. There is no map of the world or even of Africa. Last year in English class I asked someone to point out Togo on an Africa map that I drew. The kid had no idea...and it wasn't just because of my bad drawing ;-) Thus I knew we had to rectify this someway and Peace Corps has a history of painting world maps. You can see some on the main highway throughout Togo. With some financial gifts from family and friends, we constructed the cement wall and purchased paint. Nathan and I painted it white and the 10th grade students along with the Math teaher drew a grid. Now they are busy painting it. By the time we return to village, it should be done! I think it looks quite great! And now when Togo plays soccer in another country the students will actually know where the country is! P.S. On the back of the wall will be a map of Africa...stay tuned!

Peer Educators

I recently finished a peer educator training at the middle school for 40 students. They came to four sessions and at the end received a certificate. Here they are!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays everyone! Nathan and I are in Lome awaiting our parents arrival on the 26th. Needless to say, we are very excited! A perfect Christmas present ;-) Hope everyone has a wonderful day...Much love! Ann

Cheerleaders

And here are the girls cheering on the players! Not your usual American chants, huh?

Soccer Game

Here is a recent middle school soccer game in Pessare. Check out the ball...It's from my sister!

Latest Food Finds

These guinea fowl eggs were a gift from a friend. They are a bit smaller than a chicken's egg and I have found the yolks to be a brighter yellow. I love when we have eggs...So many more cooking options. I made fried rice the other night with scrambled eggs...yummy. This is fresh ginger from a neighbor's garden. I think the picture makes the garlic look like extra fingers on my hand ;-)

And of course hot peppers! I love the colors here!

PTA Meeting

They were actually really excited to get their picture taken!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi Everyone!
We're back in Kara for the day…enjoying a hot Thanksgiving by the pool
;-) We came in this morning and are spending time on the internet
before heading to the pool and the restaurant for a cheeseburger.
Some of our friends are coming in this morning as well so we are
excited to spend the day with them.

We have been very busy in village with gardening and teaching. As for
the garden, we've had some problems with pests but Nathan is working
hard on natural pesticides (hot peppers and tobacco) and we hope to
have radishes in the next couple of weeks. Plus my cabbages are doing
well and they should be ready when our parents arrive in late
December.

I have been busy teaching at the middle school as the English teacher
has been away for a week and a half at a training. It is exhausting
to teach four classes a day! I tried to incorporate lots of creative
activities and the students seemed to enjoy the change in pace. Plus,
I led a couple of PTA meetings at the village schools concerning why
it is important to send girls to school. At the last meeting, I had
75 parents come! A record…plus I think they really enjoyed it. There
was lots of discussion about why girls have more domestic chores than
boys and thus less time to study. We made a list of all the daily
chores and the girls totaled 9 to the boys 4. The parents decided
they are too old to change their ways but they would try and more
equally distribute the chores between their children. The chief asked
if he could come by the house and have Nathan teach him how to do
laundry! I laughed so hard…but invited him over! We'll see ;-)

We are headed to Tsevie next week for the last week of training with
the trainees. They swear-in next Thursday. And I have a new dress!
I hope to post again to the blog as well as add video and pictures.
So check back in then! Hope all is well with everyone! XO

An example list of chores (I'm sure there are others!):
Girls:
Pull water from the well (2x/day)
Cook (3x/day)
Sweep (2x/day)
Wash dishes (3x/day)
Wash clothes (3x/week)
Buy goods at market (1x/week)
Sell goods at market (1x/week)
Harvest crops (daily if needed during the school year)
Take care of the younger children (daily)

Boys:
Sell animals at market (1x/week)
Take animals to pasture (1x/day)
Feed chickens (2x/day)
Plant crops (during the summer…not the school year)

Perspectives

(that's me standing along with the other editors Chrissy and Jess who are sitting down)

Hi All,


I'm still in Lome and decided to check in with you all! All is going well here. I am exhausted and again, I can't say this enough, who knew it would be so hard to format a newsletter?! I need a good nights sleep! Here's the intro letter to our newsletter...


Hello everybody!
Welcome to our first issue of Perspectives. First of all, thanks to all who submitted an article. We have a lot of great things for you to read and enjoy. We would like to continue to improve Perspectives and better define its purpose. In addition to sharing gender-related projects, we hope to create a forum for dialogue about our experiences. We also want to provide a creative outlet. Be looking for the specific focus of our next issue through EMS (our mail system). However, in this issue you will find the following viewpoints:
· Work (projects volunteers are working on, such as a computer camp in this issue)
· Committee (update from the gender and development committee)
· Food (recipes! 3 Indian ones this time)
· Staff (an interview with a staff member...the Security Officer in this issue)
· Celestial (star charts!)
· Emotional and Creative (everything from poems to reflections to drawings)
We hope you enjoy. We welcome feedback and of course future submissions!

As you can see, we are having lots of fun with the articles. Tomorrow it's off to the printer (ie the copy machine in the PC office where double-sided copies must be fed manually...yuck). Hope all the volunteers enjoy reading it. And hope you have a good night...Sleep well! I'm off to bed!

Back in Lome...

Hi All!
I hope this post finds everyone well! I am in Lome for the week working on a GEE newsletter. I arrived yesterday and will be here until Saturday. I'm enjoying the AC though the work is much harder than I thought...who knew Publisher could be so difficult?! But we are pushing on and hope to be done by Friday! Keep your fingers crossed!

On Saturday, I'll meet Nathan in Kara where we'll spend the night. All of the new volunteers who are posted in the Kara region will be there for the evening. We plan on eating lots of guinea fowl, fried yams, and local salad. And maybe a beer ;-) It should be a fun evening!

I am busy at post conducting PTA meetings (APE - Association de Parents des Eleves) in order to better inform them about the GEE program. The teacher who went with me to the science training this summer is helping me lead them and translate everything into Kabiye. So far the parents have been very interested and receptive. I probably should have done this when I first arrived at post, but, hey, better late than never, right? Plus I have a woman make local beer for everyone afterwards...you've gotta get parents to the meeting somehow! hehe Think they could try this at your local school? Better attendance?!

I am also doing a Peer Educator Training. I have forty girls and boys at the middle school who are doing the training. I am the trainer, along with the four students who went to Camp UNITE this summer. We have four afternoon sessions, in which the students will learn about HIV/AIDS, self confidence, good communication, and gender equity. We're going to sing and play games as well. Plus they will all receive school supplies upon completion. We are one week in and will have another session this next Wednesday. So far I think they are enjoying it!

And of course, as you can see from the pictures, below I am staying busy cooking and gardening. Be sure to check out all the pics! I'm sorry I can't write more...Publisher is calling! Until the next time, take care. Miss and love!

More Cooking...

I'm still experimenting...Here's the latest creations!

Chocolate fudge for our friend Winah's 2nd birthday!

Spaghetti with garlic bread and homemade ricotta cheese.

A closeup of my cheese...yep, that's right...HOMEMADE!

Blueberry muffins! Thanks Aunt MC for the dried blueberries ;-)

Girls Garden

Nathan has started a girls garden to help girls raise money for their school fees. They are planting cabbage, onions, tomatoes, and hot peppers. Here are a few pics of the work in progress...

All the girls by the well!

Nathan watering my cabbage - yep, I have a small section in the garden.

Nathan helping his friend Jermaine put up posts around the garden.

Home Garden

As I have mentioned in other posts, Nathan and I now have an "urban" garden outside our house. Here is Nathan...

Along with our planted tomatoes, radishes, and moringa trees!

Puppies!

Our next door neighbor's dog, J'adore, had four puppies two months ago. They recently came over for a bath and a bowl of milk ;-)