i am going to actually start the formal part of my work in the next couple weeks and next time i get to the internet i will a better job at explaining what my actual project is about. girls education and empowerment is as broad as it sounds and theres a lot of directions i can go. i'll keep you posted on what that direction ends up being.
there are a few things i wouldnt mind getting in the mail if you decide you want to send something to me all the way over here in togo :) these include: crayons/colored pencils/any kind of art supplies, small children's books or coloring books, crystal light packets, gum, gummy bears, news magazines, and pictures!
i've been reading a book titled the poisonwood bible which has been incredible . if you're looking for a good read you should pick this one up.
i can't thank you all enough for all your thoughts and prayers. please keep them coming. i love and miss you all dearly. i hope everyone had a very merry christmas and have a wonderful new year!!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
in the spotlight
if you're a foreigner in togo you automatically get the spotlight on you where ever you are. i had gotten used to getting stared at or talked to on the street in bigger cities, but its been a little challenging to get used to being in the spotlight all the time in village. it feels like i am either under surveillance or a form of entertainment for people. it doesnt bother me all the time, i try to put myself in their shoes and understand where theyre coming from, but there are some days when it really wears me out. being around other volunteers, their support, and sharing the experience with them is probably what's keeping me sane. at the end of the day, though, i really do love my village. theyre transitioning to my presence as much as i'm transitioning to living with them.
pagne: the multiuse cloth
pagne is a cloth material you can buy to get things made, normally some kind of clothes. some people are addicted to buying pagne while others would much rather spend their money on other things. i tend to fall in the former group, although i'm more of a wannabe addict since i dont actually buy a whole lot. we had a pagne exchange for christmas which was a lot of fun. afterwards we were sitting around and my friend kassie was looking at her (really pretty) pagne that she ended up with and was wondering outloud what she could do with it. a skirt? a table cloth? curtains? a shirt? a blanket? a purse? so many possibilities. pagne is wonderful.
chores chores chores
my neighbor's name is tanti. she's been a great help as i try to transition into this lifestyle. she's been helping me with chores such as cooking, cleaning, and getting water/other things-- meaning she's cook almost all my meals, sweeps for me everyday, helps me with the dishes and laundry, carries about ten times the amount of water i carry from the river to my house, and is more than willing to run any errand i may have. its been nice to have this help and its weird to have to insist on doing things myself. i want to be able to carry more than the amount 5 year olds carry on their heads and i want to be able to do my own dishes and laundry. i dont mind her cooking for me though. she makes much better meals than i would be able to. i should make more of an attempt to learn how to make things so i can bring this fine african cuisine chez moi when i go back to the states.
who needs a babysitter?
half of m°poti's population is children under the age of 15. i believe this is the case in most parts of africa. and about half of the children in m°poti like to come and hang out on my porch. i really dont mind the, being around actually, most of the time i enjoy their presence. its when theres more than ten of them at a time or when they stay the entire day or when they fight with eachother or when they start to ask for things that i am forced to put my foot down (at least i try) and tell them they have to leave. its hard to do this because i don't like being mean and because the majority of them dont speak much, if any, french.
with so many kids around, ive made some interesting observations:
§ kids as young as 3 or 4 will be expected to help around with chores such as fetching water, carrying things from the fields, taking care of younger siblings, running errands, among other things. a lot of times i'll have these petits offer to help me do things around the house.
§ kids move around a lot and most dont end up living with both biological parents. a lot dont live with even one. there are many reasons for this, including ° limited resources, so sometimes parents cant afford to keep their children (which gives rise to child traficking) and they have to find someone else for them to stay with or the parents (normally the father) live where they can find work, ° death of parents, ° poligamy, ° other reasons i am not aware of because i dont understand half of what's going on around me.
§ kids can sleep through anything. children younger than about 4 hang out on the backs of women or young girls throughout the day. naturally, they'll fall asleep every once in a while and sleep through dancing and singing, water falling on them from basins women will be carrying on their heads, all the movement of working in the fields... not to mention all the noises from animals and people day and night. i wish i could do the same.
with so many kids around, ive made some interesting observations:
§ kids as young as 3 or 4 will be expected to help around with chores such as fetching water, carrying things from the fields, taking care of younger siblings, running errands, among other things. a lot of times i'll have these petits offer to help me do things around the house.
§ kids move around a lot and most dont end up living with both biological parents. a lot dont live with even one. there are many reasons for this, including ° limited resources, so sometimes parents cant afford to keep their children (which gives rise to child traficking) and they have to find someone else for them to stay with or the parents (normally the father) live where they can find work, ° death of parents, ° poligamy, ° other reasons i am not aware of because i dont understand half of what's going on around me.
§ kids can sleep through anything. children younger than about 4 hang out on the backs of women or young girls throughout the day. naturally, they'll fall asleep every once in a while and sleep through dancing and singing, water falling on them from basins women will be carrying on their heads, all the movement of working in the fields... not to mention all the noises from animals and people day and night. i wish i could do the same.
oh life in togo
i have a list of things i want to share but nothing prewritten so i'm going to do a series of posts on random things and hopefully get to update again sometime in january. here we go.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
it's been a while
i've been meaning to update this things for a while and haven't for one reason or another... but now i'd going to let you all know that:
... my week at post last month went fabulously for the most part. i'm going to have to get used to not having electricity. getting water from the river wont be so bad but not having electricity kinda stinks.
m'potians are very nice people and i really liked all my neighbors. i taught then how to play spoons and we had a party playing it together.
i actually got cold in the mornings cause i live on a plateau and it gets cooler than ridiculously hot when the sun is down. that's wonderful.
... i'm officially a peace corps volunteer as of last thursday. hurray!
... it doesn't feel like it's almost Christmas and that makes me sad. too much sun and too little Christmas music. Not that that's what Christmas is all about but it helps the mood. happy holidays everyone!
... i need to do a better update but that'll come in another couple weeks.
... my week at post last month went fabulously for the most part. i'm going to have to get used to not having electricity. getting water from the river wont be so bad but not having electricity kinda stinks.
m'potians are very nice people and i really liked all my neighbors. i taught then how to play spoons and we had a party playing it together.
i actually got cold in the mornings cause i live on a plateau and it gets cooler than ridiculously hot when the sun is down. that's wonderful.
... i'm officially a peace corps volunteer as of last thursday. hurray!
... it doesn't feel like it's almost Christmas and that makes me sad. too much sun and too little Christmas music. Not that that's what Christmas is all about but it helps the mood. happy holidays everyone!
... i need to do a better update but that'll come in another couple weeks.
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