7 July 2007 Saturday, Kpalime again
I found out my post on Thursday! It’s in Agou Avedse! I’ll be working with an NGO named CADO. It’s actually really close to the training site village. I just met and am sitting next to the volunteer I will be replacing in 6 weeks. Yowzer. So, this week has been a pretty big week. Besides discovering where I will be for the next 24 months, we did our first “causerie” on Friday. I was really nervous because we had to discuss a health issue such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, nutrition, hygiene, etc in front of a large group in FRENCH. We didn’t really discuss any specific topic. We just told the parents that we are starting a health club for the kids and will discuss any topic they want us to discuss. They chose HIV, hygiene (washing hands, washing vegetables properly and covering food to avoid flies, etc), how to wash clothes? and sports. Tomorrow, we meet with the kids for the first time so we can figure out what our health club will be all about. We are going on a field trip on Thursday the 12th up to the northern region of Kara to see a traditional healer, a dispensaire (clinic) and other volunteers in that region. Okay, but more about my post. Here is what I know:
It’s in a small village of about 3000. The volunteer says the village is very welcoming and also very used to “yovo’s” which is, in my opinion, a derogatory term for white people.
There are a lot of Belgians because the NGO is organized by Belgians, hence why the village is used to "yovo's".
It sounds like I will be translating for them a lot (French and Ewe apparently). Ewe is the local language spoken here and I only know 4 words so far.
There is a baker in my training site, which is close to my post site, who is interested in working with a volunteer because she wants to enrich some of her cookies or bread for healthier treats. I am super excited about this because I was hoping I would be able to do some baking up in here. And her goods are good.
There is an orphanage and a dispensary that I will be working with. I am super pumped about the orphanage.
My house is apparently nice and there is a bucket flush toilet inside the house! This means no latrine (no 50 foot hole with critters crawling up my...).
When I find out more, I will post more. But, in the meantime, Mission Learn French and Ewe has begun. I hope everyone is doing well. Oh, could anyone do some research on Heaven’s Gate, the religion, because my host mother told me her brother is a preacher for them and I was curious to know if this was the same group as the Heaven’s Gate in the states where everyone committed suicide and wanted to climb aboard a comet. Just e-mail me. Oh by the way, I don’t check myspace at all, so please do not post anything on there. It takes too long for me to log in. I may not be able to post next week because of the field trip we will be on, so tootles until the next post. Hugs and kisses to all you sons of bitches!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
30 June 2007 Saturday in Kpalime
30 June 2007 Saturday in Kpalime
So I just went to another internet cafι that took 20 minutes just to enter into my e-mail account. I got so frustrated waiting that I decided to try another internet cafι. This one seems to be a bit faster. I keep meaning to pre-write my blogs, but somehow the days are going by faster and I’m staying busy learning French and all the technical information we need to do our projects for our posts. I had French class yesterday for 4 hours and then I spoke with my family for another 2. We sit in lectures pretty much every day. I think next week we might have more activities outside of the classroom. I’m tired, hot, stinky and not very pretty right now. I had a good time last night, though. Some volunteers came into our town and hung out at the local bar, where I also happen to live, and we sang Cher, N’Sync, Mariah Carey (I had a duet) and Paula Abdul all night long until my host mother told me she needed to go to bed because she was still feeling sick. She says she has had a fever and has had what sounds like some muscle aches. We automatically think she has malaria, but it could be something else. However, no one here seems to take much precaution to prevent malaria (like mosquito nets, DEET or screens). It also seems that most people have had malaria at least once. We found out where our 14 posts will be, but no decisions have been made yet where we will be posted. Most of the posts sound pretty remote. It’s pretty exciting. I had my first dress made yesterday. I think they wanted me to have bigger hips than I do, so I had to have her fix it twice to finally fit my apparent small booty (all these years I thought it was quite large…basis of comparison, eh?). Anyhoo, I am homesick, but I know that it will pass (until I get it again next week), and I also know that this experience is something I have dreamed about for many years. Yesterday, in French class, we were asked if we were afraid of spiders, insects and frogs. I replied in French that I had no fear of spiders (d’araignee) or insects (d’insecte) or frogs (I couldn’t think of the word for frog in French, so I said froglement, which is not the word for frog in French or any other language). I laughed so hard, I peed just a little. Everyone in my group has a really great sense of humor and we have all bonded very fast. It feels so good to be able to vent my daily frustrations with people that are going through it at the same time. It makes me a little scared, though, for when I am at post and very isolated. Oh well, I just recently found out I have balls of steel, so I’m sure I’ll be fine, right? Kisses and hugs to all my bitches! More posts coming up!
So I just went to another internet cafι that took 20 minutes just to enter into my e-mail account. I got so frustrated waiting that I decided to try another internet cafι. This one seems to be a bit faster. I keep meaning to pre-write my blogs, but somehow the days are going by faster and I’m staying busy learning French and all the technical information we need to do our projects for our posts. I had French class yesterday for 4 hours and then I spoke with my family for another 2. We sit in lectures pretty much every day. I think next week we might have more activities outside of the classroom. I’m tired, hot, stinky and not very pretty right now. I had a good time last night, though. Some volunteers came into our town and hung out at the local bar, where I also happen to live, and we sang Cher, N’Sync, Mariah Carey (I had a duet) and Paula Abdul all night long until my host mother told me she needed to go to bed because she was still feeling sick. She says she has had a fever and has had what sounds like some muscle aches. We automatically think she has malaria, but it could be something else. However, no one here seems to take much precaution to prevent malaria (like mosquito nets, DEET or screens). It also seems that most people have had malaria at least once. We found out where our 14 posts will be, but no decisions have been made yet where we will be posted. Most of the posts sound pretty remote. It’s pretty exciting. I had my first dress made yesterday. I think they wanted me to have bigger hips than I do, so I had to have her fix it twice to finally fit my apparent small booty (all these years I thought it was quite large…basis of comparison, eh?). Anyhoo, I am homesick, but I know that it will pass (until I get it again next week), and I also know that this experience is something I have dreamed about for many years. Yesterday, in French class, we were asked if we were afraid of spiders, insects and frogs. I replied in French that I had no fear of spiders (d’araignee) or insects (d’insecte) or frogs (I couldn’t think of the word for frog in French, so I said froglement, which is not the word for frog in French or any other language). I laughed so hard, I peed just a little. Everyone in my group has a really great sense of humor and we have all bonded very fast. It feels so good to be able to vent my daily frustrations with people that are going through it at the same time. It makes me a little scared, though, for when I am at post and very isolated. Oh well, I just recently found out I have balls of steel, so I’m sure I’ll be fine, right? Kisses and hugs to all my bitches! More posts coming up!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
June 16, 2007 Kpalima, Togo
16 Juin 2007 Saturday! At Internet Cafι in Kpalime.
I’ve been in Agou Nyogbo for the last 3 days since Wednesday. We are in our program and language training there for the next 3 months. I haven’t had diarrhea yet, but it seems as though everyone else has. I think that’s the only way to get over pooping in your latrine. I have yet to use it besides for urinations. I was pretty proud of myself for urinating in it at night! What is a latrine you ask? It is a large, deep pit dug into the ground with a cement “toilet” to sit on and do “your biz”. There are critters that like to hang around that area, but so far I have only seen the occasional cockroach. I am still terrified of it, but I have tried very hard to get used to it. At our training facility down the road from my host family there is a flush toilet and I have literally been using the shit out of it. Enough about the poop situation.
Food has been pretty good! My host mother has been cooking vegetarian food for me. She even uses tofu! The fruit here is so delicious and I think I have the whole breakfast thing down. Communication has been difficult and I basically sit down with my dictionary in order to have a conversation. They are all super sweet. The internet here is very slow so I am typing this on Word first. I am overall doing really well, but today I feel a little weak. Maybe dehydration. My host family doesn’t think I eat enough. They have been teaching me Ewe. I can say “Good day” and “Good night” and “Thank you very much” and “Goodbye” and “flip-flop” so far. Here it is in respective order…n’do, n’dee, agbe ka ka ka, mya ga dogo and po po po. They think it’s pretty funny when I say anything, especially in Ewe.
We lost our first trainee yesterday. There are a total of 14 people in my CHAP group (Community Health and AIDS Prevention). We are all girls. We had movie night last night (Friday night!) and watched Mean Girls. The neighborhood kids joined us and laughed occasionally if there was something visually funny. Enough babble. I do laundry tomorrow. We went to an open market yesterday and I bought laundry soap and a pagne (cloth for making my first Togolese outfit). I am doing well and am really excited about being here. I hope everyone is awesome and please please write me! Here’s the address once again…
PCT Antigone Pantanizopoulos
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 3194
Lome, Togo
West Africa
Au revoir! Mya ga dogo!
Monday, June 4, 2007
One year later, one year later...
I watched a really funny movie with Alexia and Katie called Obsessed starring Shannen Doherty and some guy with a very wrinkly face that I think was on some prime time soap like "Knots Landing". There was scary music at the end of the movie being played when she gets out of the mental ward for burning down his houseboat (she was obsessed and that made her insane) one year later. So, we started singing the eery tune with the lyrics, "one year later, one year later...". We laughed and laughed. Packing up my old stuff and have yet to pack my little backpack to Togo.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
T-minus 3 days
I'm not really sure where to begin. This picture to the left was taken at a butterfly exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History. So pretty. I leave for D.C. in 3 days (Wednesday!) and then leave finally for Togo on Friday. I'm trying to get all my "stuff" together and throwing out and giving away most of my stuff. Alexia loves her new jacket and shoes and what-not that I at once loved. I have very little to say at this point because the adventure is all about to begin in a week. I'm going to miss everyone and I am fighting not tearing up when I hug someone good-bye. I have been thinking about doing this since I was 16 and it's finally here. I found an old Chemistry lab worksheet from when I was a Nursing major (that's right, this was all after a Studio Art, German and eventually Zoology major) that I got a 9/100 on. My lab "instructor" (I put this word in quotes for a reason) wrote on my sheet, "you can't even subtract correctly" and also "this is really sloppy" and "why are your values different from your lab partner" and "absurd" and "did you even read the lab instructions" and "i can't find even one thing you did correctly except using the unknown I assigned you". I like to keep that lab sheet around to remind myself of how far I have gone and will continue to go. So cheers Mr. Gaines (his name is still on the lab sheet...for memories), here's to you being a scheissee instructor and encouraging me in your very odd way to pursue the unknown that was assigned to me.
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