I'm not sure when the exact moment was that I realized this, but after almost 6 months during which I felt I had little to do, I suddenly have a schedule booked until November. I mean, I know how it happened, obviously, but it's nice to feel like I'm finally getting into some meaningful programs/activities. Don't get me wrong, I did quite a bit during my first 4 months at post. Cultural integration is hard and especially when you're trying to speak in two new languages. However, I finally feel comfortable here in Togo and I rarely, if ever, have the "holy crap I'm in Africa" moments. (Well sometimes, but it's not a daily thing like it used to be.) Most of all, I have some fantastic work partners that I feel truly lucky to have met. I have met numerous volunteers who have described a lack of truly motivated and capable work partners at their sites and though it took a lot of effort to cultivate these relationships myself, I feel ready to work with my counterparts on a multitude of projects. Other things I'm thankful for/felt like I've accomplished are the relationships I've built with other volunteers. There are some truly awesome people that have chosen to serve in Togo and I love every opportunity I have to get to know them better. Overall, things are going well in Togo and while it hasn't been easy, it has been entirely worth it.
Since my last update, I've continued developing different project ideas with my counterparts, supervisors, and other volunteers. My first large-scale project that I'm really excited about is a gender equity workshop called "Men as Partners" or "Hommes Commes Partenaires" in French. It's a program targeted towards men in societies where they are the dominant/influential group in the decision making process of the family. It also has a large component focused on helping men arrive at their own conclusions on why/how gender inequalities exist. I will be conducting it with approximately 40 men from different neighborhoods around my city as well as 8 Togolese counterparts that will be training on how to run the workshops effectively. Essentially helping people build their own capacities by providing the guidance and information in the hopes that they utilize to a greater extent than if they were simply told what it was. Another exciting venture is a bi-monthly radio show that my two other site mates and I compose and perform at a local station about different topics such as health and gender equality. We've only done one so far on malaria, which went way better than I ever expected! Having never been on the radio before coming to Togo, I was kind of nervous about the whole "live broadcast" aspect of it all. Though the best part was when I was able to play any music I wanted during the intermissions of our hour long show, so of course I chose to play Lady Gaga and other celebrated female artists. I mean, it ties back to gender equality and all, right? Right?! Anyway, another large project that I'm involved with is Camp Espoir, which is an AIDS/HIV American-style sleep away camp for Togolese youth that will take place in August. It's an exciting opportunity to be playing such a large role as the programming coordinator, but I'm excited to adapt the camp to this year's new theme: The Olympics! Kids from all over the country get to come to a really sweet training center in the central region for a week of classic camp activities. For many of them, it's their first opportunity to meet other positive kids and hopefully to forget about their status for a little bit and just be like every other kid. I'm really hopeful that I'll have so great experiences to share after camp is over. However, before that comes, there is quite a bit of work to do in terms of planning and coordinating. It's all so exciting though! Yay summer camp!
In other news on the social scene, I just hosted the country's Valentine's Day party in my city for 30 or so volunteers. The romantic evening was set against the backdrop of a lovely bar located at a gas station in the middle of town (if you're scratching your head at that one trust me, it's as counter-intuitive as it seems…) and dinner was provided by none other than the "Street Food Queen." (We affectionately refer to this woman who always has the best street food as "the queen" because she is always so well dressed and is graceful under pressure. I've seen her prepare like 3 plates at once and the food is always delicious. AND I've never gotten sick from eating there, PLUS!) The night included plenty of merriment, dancing, and baked goods, courtesy of me and my pal Kate L. who came the day before to help out/hang out. Having volunteers over is always fun and as many of my friends could probably already guess, there was a mandatory Disney classic sing-a-long as well as a Bad Romance choreography session. All in all, the party went extremely well and I'm already thinking of what my next "event" will be.
In May, after a lot of my projects and other work commitments will be completed, I am going on a vacation with my mom and brother to Germany to visit my aunt and uncle and my cousins! I'm super pumped about it because as much as I love Togo, I really think I need a vacation. I also really miss my family and so it will be a nice two week break before my one-year mark rolls around (I know, to think it's almost been a year…it's crazy for me as well.) I've been to Germany a few times before, but I think aside from everything else like seeing my family and visiting in a country with reliable transportation, the thing I'm most excited for is ice cream. I know that's kind of silly, but hey, we all have our vices. Specifically mint chocolate chip ice-cream; Hägen-Daz is a German company, right? Okay, now I'm just rambling/drooling…
Even though it's been 8 months since I left the states I still think about my friends and family almost every day and even though I don't get the opportunity to communicate with them as much as I might like (such as my self-admitted disinterest to writing blogs) I still think about them often and want to know what is going on in their lives as well. Sometimes, it's extremely hard to relate to the lives of the Togolese (try as I might) in terms of the daily social activities, long term goals and basic cultural attributes, so it's nice to escape, if only even momentarily, into the life of someone that I know and can relate too. I guess what I'm saying is that I would much rather receive a letter describing a little bit about your life than a package with snacks (as much as I love snacks, my lack of self-control doesn't bode well for my waist-line.) Also, I find it much easier to respond to question than I do to writing open-ended about my Peace Corps experience. So get to writing folks! (e-mails are great, and you'll probably get a quicker response too!)
As always, love love.
