In Lome with faster than shit internet

What up you crazy ass mf's? I'm in Lome on my last day before I go on to my post. I have bought so much stuff the last couple of days so that I can somewhat comfortably move into my house. Who knew that I would need to bring a spatula, cumin or baking soda to Togo? Peace Corps knew and didn't tell me until now. They did, however, recommend a garlic press, which I thought was ridiculous, but that's neither here nor there. So I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, but honestly not that much was happening. My last 3 weeks at the training site were spent watching movies with the other trainees, eating a lot in order to fatten up before post, reading during any technical training because listening would have sent my mind into a deadly spin towards dead inside town, and thinking about supplies I will need for the next 2 years or maybe just week. I bought an egg carrying case today (plastic container-like suitcase) at the Grande Marche in order to protect my precious eggs from breaking during the bumpy ride on the back of a moto. There are no eggs in my village (tomatoes and onions apparently in plenitude). I also bought a very large pot in order to "bake". We had a party last week for our "formateurs" (a.k.a. teachers, it's teacha in ewe which cracks me up) and made a pineapple upside down cake that was so good tastin'. We made it by using a dutch oven and I can't wait to bake more. What is a dutch oven? I had no idea until now...It's made by placing a baking pan inside your very large pot on some small metal empty cans, like tomato paste cans, (we also put some stones in there in order to increase the temp inside) and "baking" it over your gas stove. It only took about 45 minutes to bake. I also bought some Mueslix at the "yovo" store (means white person in Ewe, did I already mention this?) and oh a spatula!
This week in Lome has been a bit disconcerting because the resources that are available here are so dramatically different from the resources that are available in our villages. Being at the "yovo" stores where all the other yovos shop at (embassy workers with their gargantuous villas next door to possibly the poorest peoples shacks) made me feel privileged and wealthy in comparison. I was stressed over which cereal I should buy (it was between Corn Flakes and Mueslix, see above for results) and yet I'm not quite sure the wells where I will be getting my water in village will provide any water during the dry season. My skin color is seen as a status symbol and I can walk into the fanciest hotels here to pee just because I'm white. I don't know if I can truly integrate into the culture because what I can buy with my volunteer salary is so much more than what a family will live on for the year. So it's no wonder that the little kids on the street will ask us to give them bon-bons or money. We have it, we can afford it and it's not much for us to give it up. I'm on a tangent. My thoughts are all over the place and I wish I were sick so I could stay an extra week in Lome at the Med Unit with air-conditioning, very tasty cooked meals and a comfortable bed. I am constantly thinking about why I am here. I chose this. I chose this? I had a fantasy about what it would be like here and it's all happened, but it's definetely not as romanticos as the fantasy. On the other hand, I enjoyed being at the Marche today where I talked the price down on a plastic sack (from 2000 CFA to 1100!) and met a very nice Ghanian lady who gave me a fair price on my pot. It's surreal here at times and then also really boring. There aren't any movies, TV or cook-outs to distract me. I'm rambling. I'm reading The Village of Waiting right now and so far I can relate to his experiences in the book. Highly I recommend. Two of my teachers are from the village George Packer was posted in. I apologize for the excessive "quotes" usage. Forgive. So here are explanations for the pictures...
1. me and Innocente at swearing-in wearing matching pagnes (and her new hairstyle, do what?), her tailor made this outfit for me and i had no idea what it would be like, interessantes, eh?
2. me, natasha and alicia at swearing-in (my bitches)
3. me and alicia putting our "complets" on
4. me and ashley (she is wearing a bou-bou which is a moomoo and i have no idea how to spell either)
5. me and alicia at 5.30 am pre-run (we wore these awesome outfits to be funny and we were told we would never be hit by a moto wearing these...p.s. i need longer running shorts biggie b/c these are alicia's and they are a bit short for togo)
6. me in the marche (market) at agou gare which is near the training site
7. my host mother showing me how to do laundry
8. in the garden at the crack ass of dawn
9. in agou nyogbo with some random kids, mt. agou is in the background
10. me teaching a cat castration in french to the other trainees for language practice, notice the drawings
11. catching up on some news with another trainee, becka
12. i like baby goats and i cannot lie...
I hope you are all well...I will hopefully have more exciting news once I settle into my post!
Love, tig

August 25, 2007 - Photos

New photos from Tig!
My host mother, Innocenze, and me in our mother-daughter dresses for my swearing-in ceremony!

I'll add to my blog soon....

4 August 2007 Saturday morning

4 August 2007 Saturday morning

Greetings everyone. It’s been a while since my last post and it’s been a car-a-zee couple of weeks. I’ve been back 1 week since my post visit. It didn’t go so well. The volunteer I’m replacing talked to me for a couple of hours when I first got there and the minute she left I broke with a fever and was in bed for 36 hours. Not a good start. There isn’t any food (except for maybe some tomatoes and onions, I need protein and fruit people) that I saw in the village (and the village is so small), except for a market on Tuesdays that is 11 km away. I have motorcycle privileges once I get to post, but did not have them that week. I live off of a dirt road that is about 4 km from a main road where I can catch a bush taxi to food and such. E-mail is horrible today and I am about to scream. Staying positive, staying positive. I think my computer is possessed. We were joking last night that technology will change so much in the next 2 years that when we come back we’ll see flying cars! and talking computers! and robots! Is this true yet?

One of the other trainees’ mother sent them the “Shut up and Sing!” Dixie Chicks DVD and we watched it last night. It was really good. I am buying soybeans today because I am going to teach my host mother how to make soymilk and tofu tomorrow. I’ve only made it once, so it should be interesting. We are going to Lome on August 2^nd for swear-in (swear in= finally becoming a volunteer) and then off to our posts. My host mother is having an outfit made for me for the event, which should be very interesting indeed. The e-mail is so frustrating today that I think I am just going to call it quits.

I love receiving all of your letters so much! I am going to buy a cell phone today! The only problem is that phone calls to the states cost $2/minute. Someone told me that you can buy a long distance phone card online (gonoble.co or callnoble.com, may take some searching) and get the calls down as low as 10 cents/minute. Anyhoo, just a thought. I think e-mail is about to bust a nut, so I’m going to send this off before I bust a nut. I hope all of you are doing well and I miss the living scheitte out of all of you! A tout a l’heure!