One year down and 15 months to go...
Well I have officially made it to my one year point!!!!!!!!!!! Saturday marked one year since I arrived on Togo soil. This year has really gone by in a blur. So many things have gone on this year, most of them marked by some sort of illness. Less than 15 months left to go!
I am down in the capital as of right now. Yet again another sickness. This time it was only an allergic reaction and some bad headaches. But I am now on some good meds and the headaches will hopefully be resolved after some dentist visit back in the states.
So two weeks ago I went to this Togolese national party called Igname Fete. This is a party to celebrate this years yam harvest. This year it took place in a village called Guerin Kouka. It is a small town in the Kara region, about 40km from the Ghanaian border. There were so many people there. I would say around 10,000 people. Tons!! Many more than I think the town was about to accommodate. All of the bars would packed every night, running out of cold drinks. But I had an interesting weekend.
About 20 other volunteers met up there. Nine of us from Kara all shared a car in. The road to get there is really bad. Really bumpy, many wash outs from the rain and poor car quality as well. It was a very pleasant trip… But we finally got there Friday night. I stayed with my friend Meghan who is posted there. Her house is very out of the way, very private. It was nice to see other volunteers living situations. She by far, has the nicest latrine I have seen of any volunteer I have visited. I am very jealous of it actually.
Anyways, Saturday was the actual fete. The president was supposed to arrive mid morning. So we waited around for the morning. It started down pouring around nine so we had to wait that out until we could walk to where the dance was taking place. We got the dance when it was almost finished. We thought that they might have waited a little bit of time for people to show up after the rain stopped, but no. They started right away and many people missed the dance. However, we being white decided that we were not going to wait behind the huge crowd of people standing in the way of seeing. So we pushed our way though the crowds, being led by one of the volunteers from the region leading, and made our way to the front. We were not at risk of being whipped like all of the Togolese who were pushing their way forward. No one would think of doing that to us. We just walked right across the field and stood in open area next to the president’s tent. We could see him sitting there will all of us entourage. The dancing was still going on. They were performing the traditional dance for the Guerin Kouka area, so I was told. There were about 100 med dressed in their traditional costumes and women in pretty payne outfits. All of the drummers were standing in the middle near the yam shrine. It was really cool. Then there was this weird elephant thing that walked across. It was just a person in an elephant outfit with stilts as his front legs. It did not really understand what that was about. Shortly there after, the president left with all of his people. He flew off in his personal helicopter. Always in his over-the-top style.
I ended up heading back to Kara that night. I was pretty much done with all the crowds of people around. It needed the calm of Kara. But all in all, it was fun. I got to see a new area of Togo.
Over the weekend, I also found out some interesting news. Because of the upcoming legislative elections in October, the government decided to move back the start of the school year for a month. School was supposed to start September 17 but now it is not starting until October 17. I was a little pissed about that. I was so looking forward to having a schedule and having everyone I work with on a schedule. It makes work in village so much easier when I know they are going to be free to do work. I was going to start a Girls club at the CEG and continue with the Peer Educator group I worked with last year. But I guess that will all just have to wait until after the elections.
Speaking of the elections, it has brought in so many foreign NGOs and groups into Togo. Every time in Kara, I always see tons of white people around. It is normal to see some French and Germans around every so often but now there are tons. There are UN cars and European Community cars driving all over. Someone even heard Yellowcard playing in a bar here. No one in Togo knows who Yellowcard is so it most certainly was coming from one of the visitors. They are all here to make sure that these elections go smoothly. We are all hoping that they do. If this goes smoothly, it is likely that the European Union will start giving more aid for development in Togo. It is much needed and people here really want this election to go with as few problems as possible. However, just as a precaution, all Peace Corps Volunteers in Togo have to go on standfast for two weeks. This means we have to stay in villages, remain in a low profile and do not talk about the elections. I am planning on just staying at home a lot and sending people in to town if I need food or anything. But it will also give me lots of time to catch up on my reading.
Other than that, not much is going on. I just finished my proposal for the health Clinic today so I will be handing that into to my boss next week after I get it signed when I get back to village. I will post information about the project and the website to go to donate money. Every penny helps, so please donate!!! I am going on my first vacation the first week of November to Ghana. I cannot wait to relax and hanging out on the beach and so some sightseeing. The new training group arrived last Saturday. I met them for a little bit on Tuesday night. They are a cool group. I really like them. One of the guys’ families has a house in Lake Placid and went to NSA, which is crazy.
Well I think that all for now. I hope everyone at home is doing well and are healthy. Please write or email me!!! Miss hearing from everyone from home.
Talk to you soon
Love always, Alia
I am down in the capital as of right now. Yet again another sickness. This time it was only an allergic reaction and some bad headaches. But I am now on some good meds and the headaches will hopefully be resolved after some dentist visit back in the states.
So two weeks ago I went to this Togolese national party called Igname Fete. This is a party to celebrate this years yam harvest. This year it took place in a village called Guerin Kouka. It is a small town in the Kara region, about 40km from the Ghanaian border. There were so many people there. I would say around 10,000 people. Tons!! Many more than I think the town was about to accommodate. All of the bars would packed every night, running out of cold drinks. But I had an interesting weekend.
About 20 other volunteers met up there. Nine of us from Kara all shared a car in. The road to get there is really bad. Really bumpy, many wash outs from the rain and poor car quality as well. It was a very pleasant trip… But we finally got there Friday night. I stayed with my friend Meghan who is posted there. Her house is very out of the way, very private. It was nice to see other volunteers living situations. She by far, has the nicest latrine I have seen of any volunteer I have visited. I am very jealous of it actually.
Anyways, Saturday was the actual fete. The president was supposed to arrive mid morning. So we waited around for the morning. It started down pouring around nine so we had to wait that out until we could walk to where the dance was taking place. We got the dance when it was almost finished. We thought that they might have waited a little bit of time for people to show up after the rain stopped, but no. They started right away and many people missed the dance. However, we being white decided that we were not going to wait behind the huge crowd of people standing in the way of seeing. So we pushed our way though the crowds, being led by one of the volunteers from the region leading, and made our way to the front. We were not at risk of being whipped like all of the Togolese who were pushing their way forward. No one would think of doing that to us. We just walked right across the field and stood in open area next to the president’s tent. We could see him sitting there will all of us entourage. The dancing was still going on. They were performing the traditional dance for the Guerin Kouka area, so I was told. There were about 100 med dressed in their traditional costumes and women in pretty payne outfits. All of the drummers were standing in the middle near the yam shrine. It was really cool. Then there was this weird elephant thing that walked across. It was just a person in an elephant outfit with stilts as his front legs. It did not really understand what that was about. Shortly there after, the president left with all of his people. He flew off in his personal helicopter. Always in his over-the-top style.
I ended up heading back to Kara that night. I was pretty much done with all the crowds of people around. It needed the calm of Kara. But all in all, it was fun. I got to see a new area of Togo.
Over the weekend, I also found out some interesting news. Because of the upcoming legislative elections in October, the government decided to move back the start of the school year for a month. School was supposed to start September 17 but now it is not starting until October 17. I was a little pissed about that. I was so looking forward to having a schedule and having everyone I work with on a schedule. It makes work in village so much easier when I know they are going to be free to do work. I was going to start a Girls club at the CEG and continue with the Peer Educator group I worked with last year. But I guess that will all just have to wait until after the elections.
Speaking of the elections, it has brought in so many foreign NGOs and groups into Togo. Every time in Kara, I always see tons of white people around. It is normal to see some French and Germans around every so often but now there are tons. There are UN cars and European Community cars driving all over. Someone even heard Yellowcard playing in a bar here. No one in Togo knows who Yellowcard is so it most certainly was coming from one of the visitors. They are all here to make sure that these elections go smoothly. We are all hoping that they do. If this goes smoothly, it is likely that the European Union will start giving more aid for development in Togo. It is much needed and people here really want this election to go with as few problems as possible. However, just as a precaution, all Peace Corps Volunteers in Togo have to go on standfast for two weeks. This means we have to stay in villages, remain in a low profile and do not talk about the elections. I am planning on just staying at home a lot and sending people in to town if I need food or anything. But it will also give me lots of time to catch up on my reading.
Other than that, not much is going on. I just finished my proposal for the health Clinic today so I will be handing that into to my boss next week after I get it signed when I get back to village. I will post information about the project and the website to go to donate money. Every penny helps, so please donate!!! I am going on my first vacation the first week of November to Ghana. I cannot wait to relax and hanging out on the beach and so some sightseeing. The new training group arrived last Saturday. I met them for a little bit on Tuesday night. They are a cool group. I really like them. One of the guys’ families has a house in Lake Placid and went to NSA, which is crazy.
Well I think that all for now. I hope everyone at home is doing well and are healthy. Please write or email me!!! Miss hearing from everyone from home.
Talk to you soon
Love always, Alia
posted by Alia at 7:32 AM
1 Comments:
Hey Alia,
This is Meghan's mom, Nancy. I will be leaving for Guerin Kouka in two days. HOpefully I will get a chance to meet you. It was fun to read your blog, even 10 months after you wrote it. Take care, Nancy
Post a Comment
<< Home