Good Vibrations.

And so it goes, day twenty-something in Togo. I'm already loosing
track. Things have just been going so well, I'm happy to report, and I
have quite thoroughly enjoyed my time here in AFRICA!! Sometimes, as
I'm sure you all wonder, I forget that I'm actually here and it isn't
until I find myself staring at some giant tree or an amazing sunset
that I remember, "F**k, I'm in Africa." Yeah, I would say that happens
probably once a week, but it's getting better.

I'm currently in week 4 of 9 of my home stay/training. This is the
time in which we are trained on not only how to do our jobs but also
how to communicate. As a culmination of 3 weeks of intensive language
instruction, we gave our first presentations today, in French, in
front of all of our trainers and other supervisors. I was a bit
nervous, never having done a presentation in French let alone in
another country, but I am thrilled at how well it went. I made a point
to mention during my presentation that I have only been studying
French since January, because I am very proud of my progress up to
this point. Other than languages, we have also had some fantastic
sessions about different topics such as weighing babies and
facilitating discussion workshops on a wide range of topics, including
but not limited to: "How to put on a condom," "Working with people
living with AIDS," and my personal favorite "Enriched Porridge, a How
to Guide." Mind you, this is all in French, but as I said before, it's
progressing!! So far everything has felt relatively familiar to me;
it's almost like an extended RA training, which is something that I
grew to really enjoy as many of you might already know. As for the
last 5 weeks of training, one will be spent visiting our posts for the
next two years and the rest will be spent largely in the same manner
as described previously. I'm VERY excited.

Speaking of my post, I should probably mention that I've been given a
FANTASTIC post in the central region of Togo in a large city called
Sokode. My work will be primarily with different NGOs like the World
Health Organization and the Red Cross. It is honestly a better
assignment than I could have ever dreamed for, and also (because I'm
sure you all are dying to know) I will probably have electricity AND –
wait for it – running water. I know, crazy talk. It's like I'm not
even in Africa, but I can assure you, I am. So far no scary encounters
with spiders or other creepy crawlies, however, ask anyone in my stage
and I'm sure they'd be the first to tell you that I have no problem
touching bugs…(I'm always somehow being caught chasing butterflies and
other winged-beasts.)

Another thing that I want to mention before I finish up this blog post
is how much I've been able to read!! In these past few weeks I've read
close to 5 books!! AND, one of my best friends is going to send me an
eReader filled with more intellectual goodies I'm sure!! I'm so
incredibly happy – I had forgotten how much I enjoyed reading for
pleasure. For a running list of books I've read, please click on the
tab on the left labeled "Reading List."

All in all, I'm immensely happy to be here – more than I ever really
imagined honestly. I miss everyone SOOOO much, you have no idea. I
also never imagined how GREAT it would be to talk to a friend on the
phone. It's fantastic, so please please please figure out how to call
me and do it – I'd love to catch up. Even better, write a letter (hey
that rhymes!). It costs about a dollar to send and I promise I will
write back...eventually. As far as things I "need," I can honestly say
that I have everything I need and then some.
(Except maybe some oreos, those would be nice…)

Love love love.

P.S. – In case you were wondering, I don't have access to regular
internet just yet, my apologies. One of our wonderful trainers is
allowing us to use her internet key. I might look into investing in
one as soon as I look into investing in a computer. Baby steps y'all.
As for now, it's safe to assume that I won't have internet access
again until August at the earliest.