My Journey in Africa

Reflections and Updates Jan 2005

2005-02-05T13:11:00.000-08:00

Whats going on everybody? I cant believe it, but here I am saying TIME FLIES once again! WOW! Its hard to believe that another month has come and gone... One month down, only... hmm... how many more to go? I can’t think about it in those terms, I have to keep myself on the day by day plan otherwise I start feeling much too overwhelmed (and heartsick), and then my thoughts inevitably will lead me down these cold, lonely paths, where I find myself wondering what I would be doing if I was at home, thinking of all the things Im missing out on (like Mardi Gras right now!), questioning my decision to come here in the first place, and generally, torturing myself with all kinds of thoughts belonging to the hypothetical ‘what if’ category. Remembering to stay in the moment is one of the survival strategies that I’ve adopted since I’ve been here, it’s something that I think really helps the time tick and pass on by, not to mention, it allows me to really embrace and fully appreciate the precious moments that I have here.
I have many thoughts and reflections that Id like to share with you, so bear with me, and maybe even read this bit by bit, because it may turn out to be a fairly lengthy email... This is also my second attempt at writing this email, so in case you were wondering, that’s why I’ve been MIA for the month of January! I encountered a terrible tragedy with the computer the first time I tried, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed as I type this, and hopefully this will make its way to you with no problems this time!
Reflections on Christmas in Togo (better late than never, n’est-ce pas?)
Almost the entire month of December, I kept wondering what would Christmas be like in Africa. I mean, how is Christmas really celebrated in West Africa? With Christianity being so widespread here (missionaries are everywhere), I knew they celebrated the birth of Jesus somehow, but surely, there would be no Santa Claus, no reindeer and elves, no snow, or even a cool breeze... and I knew I definitely wouldn’t find anyplace to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special or anyplace that reminded me of City Park’s annual Christmas in the Oaks. If there was one thing I was certain of, I knew it would definitely be much different from any other Christmas holiday season I’ve ever experienced, and I also knew it would be a tad bit difficult since it was the first Christmas I had ever spent without family. The feelings of homesickness were blossoming all throughout the month of December, but they really kicked in and intensified as Christmas day grew closer and closer. In order to alleviate some of the nostalgia, I left my village the day after I arrived back from the med unit, and met up with other PCVs in a town about 2 hours away. On Christmas Eve, we traveled to Lome, and spent the day on one of the private beaches there, just enjoying the natural beauty that surrounded us, the laughter of kids playing soccer in the sand, and the soothing sound of waves crashing against the shore. In spite of the anti homesick movement we thought we had initiated, somehow we all still found ourselves mostly looking out across the ocean thinking of and talking about family and friends that were thousands of miles away on the other side of the Atlantic. It really wasn’t doing much to help my case homesickness, but amazingly, I did get a couple special phonecalls at the very same time that I was starting to feel ‘a moment’ set in, and even if it can’t be captured and held onto forever, the sound of a loving and supportive voice on the other end of the phone has never meant more to me; it was exactly what I needed, and it came exactly when I needed it!
In Lome, we actually saw posters of Santa Claus plastered in the windows of boutiques and restaurants, and even little Christmas trees were suddenly being found in major businesses and other establishments. Papa Noel had found his way to Togo after all! Lome, however, is quite a contrast to the rest of Togo, and while images of Santa and his sleigh made it to the front of store windows there, reality is most kids here live in tiny villages hidden deep in the bush, have never been to Lome, and have no concept of Santa Claus at all. While in Lome, I realized that I do miss home, and I do miss my family and friends, but I honestly do not miss the mayhem and madness that surrounds the holiday season and supercedes the true meaning of Christmas. It was actually refreshing, and almost liberating to celebrate Christmas without all the stress about buying the ‘necessary’ last minute gifts for people you feel obligated to give something to, without having to deal with impatient people in ridiculously long shopping lines, or angry people fighting over parking spaces at the mall. The words of someone here echo in my mind as I type this. A Togolese man told me that “En Afrique, la famille, c’est l’argent” (In Africa, the family is money). I was observing a funeral parade going through the streets of my village when he spoke these words to me, and apart from me being an American, it was obvious at the time why he was telling me such a thing. Since I’ve heard that statement, I’ve been reflecting on the truth it holds, searching through my mind, trying to find one single instance that I could use to discredit it, but honestly, since I’ve been here in Togo, I cant think of one thing about the lifestyle of people here that would contradict this statement… its impossible! Family is everything here, family is absolutely all they have. Petty arguments about simple things are rare, and when they do occur, they never last for lengthy periods of time, are always resolved, and then quickly forgotten.
(sorry for the tangent, lets get back to the details about my Christmas...)
On the night of Christmas Eve, after the beach, we traveled to a village named Vogan, and met up with more volunteers there. It was about 8 or 9 of us total. Christmas day was relaxing, most of us were visibly homesick waiting around, cell phone in hand, listening carefully and wishing it would ring. We cooked, talked, took pictures, played cards, exchanged Kris Kringles, and drank sangria all day long. As always we made the best out of the situation, and actually had a wonderful day. For the Togolese people here, apart from the fact that they went to church, it was as if Christmas was just another regular day. There were no large family gatherings, none of the typical singing and dancing that happens whenever there’s the slightest reason to celebrate, and of course the kids here weren’t waiting up all night trying to quietly slip out of bed, peek around corners, hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus and all the new goodies he brought. It was just another day in the life here.
It was a little strange for me, but in Togo, New Years is more cause of celebration than Christmas. Everything throughout the villages was shut down, the music of the tom-toms filled the atmosphere, and people were dancing and singing in the streets all day long. I was with another new volunteer in a village about 20km from mine for New Years because her homologue had arranged for a huge ceremony to take place in our honor to bring us blessings in the new year. This volunteer and I both have given up all meat since being here, and after much debate, we were successfully able to convince her homologue’s family not to slaughter a goat for us for the event! Thank goodness! The ceremony was amazing, even without the sacrificial offering, and we danced, danced, danced till the sun went down!
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One morning, right after the first of January, I woke up to a strange, and now foreign sensation sweeping over my body. There was actually a cold breeze flowing through my windows! I was perplexed for a moment, and my mind was scrambling to remember where I was. This feeling was something I knew I recognized, but from where? A past life? Could maybe this be deja vu? I’ve become so accustomed to burning up (almost downright sizzling) all day long so it really seems like the days of me rubbing my hands briskly over my arms trying to prevent goosebumps, being wrapped in warm, goosedown jackets, and cursing Jack Frost are flashbacks from another lifetime! Was I still in Africa? This familiar sensation had awaken me from a deep sleep, and caused such bewilderment that I couldn’t gain my bearings! I got up, walked around, realized I was definitely still in my house in Africa, and then went outside to see if this was for real... I was thinking maybe somebody had just placed an industrial size freezer fan outside of my front window! But nope, my neighbors walked up to me all bundled up, read the puzzled look on my face, and announced, ‘C’est la harmattan! Il fait froid!’ Harmattan was here! It was actually cool, not cold, but cool, in the mornings and at night, with a refreshing breeze throughout the day, and the noonday sun didn’t seem as brutal. The people here were bundled in layers of pagnes (colorful, lively patterned cloths of material), and they pulled out heavy duty winter gear that I don’t even wear in the States! It was about 65-70° in the mornings, perfect weather, but as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, and the harmattan made its departure as suddenly and unexpectedly as it arrived. Yes, although it’s always hot here, there are three actual seasons that rotate throughout the year: rainy season, dry season, and harmattan. Harmattan is the period when northerly winds come alive cooling the temperature, and also bringing with it tremendous amounts of dust from the Sahara. I enjoyed the temperature change, but the dust was everywhere, and it was truly disgusting. It seemed like a cloud of fog had fallen over Togo, only it wasn’t fog, it was dust particles sullying the horizon (and aggravating my allergies). Just about a week ago the cloud was lifted, the cool breeze vanished, and the heat and humidity were once again back in full force. Cooler weather was just a tease, and now it feels as if, and really actually is, HOTTER than ever before. It was rainy season when I arrived in September, harmattan came in the beginning January, lasted almost a month, and now it’s dry season- AKA the hottest part of the year. As the months go by, I’ve been told it only grows increasingly hotter and hotter, until rainy season brings relief sometime in May. I have never experienced this kind of heat before! It’s somewhat similar to New Orleans because it’s both hot and humid here also, but the heat and humidity seem to be at least ten times stronger and more intense than anything I’ve ever known before. Honestly, I’m wondering how I’m gonna make it! At least at home there’s A/C, but here I can’t even find a nice shady spot to catch a breeze and let the natural A/C (wind) blow through my hair! I’m sincerely dreading the months of March and April, when the heat is supposedly at its fiercest. So pray for me! Pray for me because I think the heat and humidity are trying to suffocate me, and also because all the most frightening and gross things seem to happen to me and only me! None of the other new volunteers have had encounters with snakes, or been attacked by stinging venomous scorpions, AND none have experienced my latest feat either! Yes- there’s something else to add to the list now, but relax, this is more in the completely gross, absolutely revolting, and despicably disgusting category than the last report, which really was a pretty serious attack. This time I discovered that I had a noisy little uninvited house guest making itself quite comfortable in my place of serenity! My house was invaded by a mouse! This little critter ate holes through my screen door and was trying to make a permanent home for himself in one of the corners of my living room area! The nerve of him, right? He came scurrying across the floor one night when I was about to eat dinner, and I know you can already imagine my reaction! I immediately screamed and jumped up, ran to my bedroom, closed the door, locked myself inside, and hid under the protection of my mosquito net for the rest of the night! I stayed up all night listening to the noise he was making in the next room and thinking about what he was getting into (and WHY ME!), but I couldn’t bring myself to open the door and scare the mouse away! The next morning after I thought I had prepped myself for the inevitable, it still took me about 30 minutes to open the door and peek out just a little! And it took me another 10 minutes to take 5 steps in the room and jump on the highest piece of furniture there so I could take a look around, access the damage, and see if he was still there! I didn’t find the mouse, but I did find that my last bag of M&Ms had been broken into and festered upon by this evil and unwanted little intruder! Imagine that! Nothing else seemed to have been touched, just my last bag of peanut M&Ms! Seriously, WHY ME? And why my last bag of M&Ms?!!! I almost feel like I’m being tested, because I did say that I could deal with anything here except the huge, multicolored, flying African cockroaches that I’ve heard about, read about, and even seen pictures of! Somebody must’ve been listening or overheard me saying that because so far I’ve had to deal with every other thing imaginable, but I’ve have no encounters with African cockroaches! I was so afraid of this little mouse though, that I was spending the night with other volunteers every night until my homologue told me that he was able to handle the situation and things were now okay! ( I know it’s silly, but you know me!)
Anyway, now that the mouse situation is over with, I’m settled back in village, and my days have seemed to take on a normal, though still unpredictable, course of action. I’ve found myself falling into a groove, and already, there are certain things that I've grown to love and look forward to. Wednesdays have become my favorite day of the week because on Wednesday, my village hosts its lively and festive marche, and Bethany (another PCV only 10km away), my homologue, and I seemed to have adopted a custom of going to the marche together where we all sit under a ‘paillotte’, test the various foods from the ‘marche mamas’, sip calabash after calabash of local moonshine called ‘tchouk’ (pronounced chook), and absorb the sights, sounds, and wonder of the African marche for hours. In a weird kind of way it reminds me of the days not so long ago when I could be spotted at a local happy hour spot with friends munching on chips and salsa and sipping on margaritas! (such heartwarming memories!!!)
Other things I’ve come to enjoy are the daily afternoon visits I’m guaranteed to receive by kids from the CEG. We sit and talk, and normally, I’m bombarded with questions about life in the US. This past week has been especially interesting because the kids have decided it’s their goal to teach me one of the most difficult traditional African (Ewe) dances that I cant even begin to describe, much less perform correctly! My attempts at performing the maneuvers have filled my compound with many extremely loud outbursts of laughter this entire week! It’s been lots of fun and I love the kids! Even if they are laughing at me because I’m making a serious fool of myself!
In the more somber moments though, I catch myself wondering what my life would be like if I had to trade places with them. I honestly just cannot imagine it, and no matter what I do or how well integrated I become into my community, I will never really know what it’s like to walk a mile in a Togolese person’s shoes. For instance, the girls in the household are up before anyone else. They have to run back and forth to the water well, that could be several km away from their homes, carrying basins of water on their heads so that everyone can have water for the day, then they sweep the yard, start a cooking fire, feed the yard animals, and then get dressed and ready for school. At school, it’s common that teenage girls have to deal with sexual harassment from their teachers, usually grown men with wives and families, who intimidate these girls by telling them that in order to pass the course they first need to perform some type of sexual act for them. Then when they get home, they help prepare dinner, finish doing daily chores, attempt to study by the hot, dim light of a kerosene lamp, and then finally go to bed. That’s a very simplified version, but still, I can’t even imagine it for two seconds.
The realities of life for young girls here is a large contributing factor to the reason why the ratio of boys and girls in school are so disproportionate, especially after primary school. There’s also not much the young women here can do to prevent harassment, and many are forced to leave school simply to avoid it. For other girls, it’s mandatory for them to stay home to help run the household, take care of younger siblings, or work in the fields and contribute to the family income. (These are just a few reasons why my particular program, Girls Education and Empowerment, was initiated. Hopefully we’re able to raise awareness, and address as well as alleviate some of these issues. I’ll talk more about actual work that I’m doing in upcoming stories!)
I often wonder if this were my life, would I still be smiling? Would I still be hopeful for the future? Would my spirit not be broken? Would I still have faith in a just and loving God? It would certainly be difficult. There’s nothing that amazes me more than the strength, the generosity, the faith, and the happiness that flows from the souls of the Togolese men, women, and kids. In spite of everything, they still have the ability to smile, to be hopeful, to have dreams and goals in life, and they actually look forward to another day! They live each day, each moment knowing that they are loved by each other and by God (or their other deity), and that makes everything worth enduring. That’s truly the one thing that makes life worth living for them. Here, family, friends, and community are paramount. I feel so fortunate to simply be in the company of the Togolese people, but I’m doing so much more than enjoying their mere presence, I’m learning, growing, and sharing with such a heart strong, determined, courageous community of people. They have become my inspiration! Everytime I hear the giggles of the kids in my village as they’re running up to greet me, I know that there’s no job in the states, no school education, or amount of money in my bank account that would be worth me sacrificing this experience for. Looking back, I smile as I realize that though many people questioned my decision to join Peace Corps, it’s suddenly crystal clear to me that this is exactly where I need to be- filling my heart with the pure, sweet, innocent sounds of children’s laughter, and blossoming among those who are certainly already butterflies.
Till next time, Take care and I MISS YOU!!!
Note to Friends and Family...
There’s more that I want to write about here, but this is taking me such a long time to type, and I just don’t think I can sit here any longer! I’m jotting things that aren’t included down, and hopefully I’ll be able to mention them next time! Also, if you have any specific questions you want answered or things that you would like me to write about, please let me know and I’ll try to include that too! I really do miss you all! I hope everyone is enjoying life and love in 2005 so far!
PS- Please keep writing me! Your letters are my newfound love! My address is:
Erica A Rachal
Corps de la Paix
BP 3194
Lome, Togo
West Africa

Joyeux Noel...from West Africa!

2004-12-22T13:11:00.000-08:00

Okay mes amis...
So I've been trying to find the time to sit down and write another story for about 2 weeks now and even though you'd think that now that Im in Togo, I'd have lots of free time on my hands, that just hasnt been the case for me, especially not this last month... BUT despite all thats going on, Im making the time to do this for you now... and I really have no excuses because for once, I have nothing to do, nowhere to go, and I have all the time in the world. At the moment, Im sitting here in this big, plush, extra comfortable bed right now, soaking up the cool breezes of the air conditioner, waiting for my breakfast to be delivered to me, and Im trying not to get too spoiled or too comfortable with my surroundings because I know these amenities will only be around for another day or so- and then reality will strike again. Yes, the only reason Im living luxuriously right now is becasue Im sitting in the sick room, in the medical unit, feeling much better, but wishing I could stay longer just so I can be reminded of what it means to be pampered by modernization- things like air condition, flushing toilets, warm showers, microwaves, computers with AOL IM, TVs and DVDs, refrigerators... not to mention the fact that there's peanut butter, cereal, cheese, cookies, tuna, chocolate, and ice cream here... WOW!!! Plus I have everything at my disposal whenever I want or need it... yes, these things are a HUGE deal in my world these days, and yes, Im seriously contemplating faking another illness just to be able to hold onto and enjoy the good life a little bit longer!
So, I know by now, youre all wondering how in the world did I end up in the sick room at the med unit? What happened? Qu'est-c'est passé? Right?
Well, dont worry, Im fine now, and we'll come to that in a second, but right now I wanted to backtrack to December 9 and bring you up to speed from there.
Thursday, December, 9, 2004... One of the most important days in my life so far- A day that for me symbolizes that dreams really do come true if you work hard and believe in yourself... December 9th was the day that I officially "swore in" as a Peace Corps volunteer! (WOOO HOOO!!!!) The memories of that day, and the 2 1/2 months leading up to it will certainly remain with me forever. Training was one of the hardest things Ive ever willingly put myself through... days are long and drawn out, and youre constantly bombarded with information, handouts, manuals, and charts, but the information presented is not difficult to grasp, its just that there's SO MUCH going on inside of you every single day during training. Youre becoming adjusted to life on another continent, (seemingly another planet compared to the lives we left behind), your body is in a constant state of shock- partly because of the stress and pressure that comes naturally when adapting to a new lifestyle, but also because the food is guaranteed to rip your stomach apart the at least the entire 4-6 weeks youre here, and because youre being injected with so many vaccinations day in and day out that you think your immune system is going to crash and burn at any given moment... And please, let's not forget that if you dont master the art of boiling and filtering water, youll get to know parasitic infections, like giarrdia and ameobas personally. My body has endured a lot of torture these past months, but so has my mental state as well. Youre paranoid about everything from insects, to water, to being exposed to HIV, being pickpocketed in the marché, or being ripped off in bush taxis (please ask me about the bush taxis later, thats an entirely different category of danger and paranoia and fear altogether!) Ive even come to expect hallucinations from time to time due to the malaria prophylaxis that we're required to take every week for the next two years. As if all that wasnt enough, every single day youre homesick and wondering whats going on in the lives of those you love and left behind; people are looking at you crazy because your broken French makes no sense to them, (especially not when you throw in the twang of a New Orleans accent to further complicate matters); youve got hundreds of kids following you screaming "YOVO YOVO YOVO!!!!" whenever you walk by; theres nothing you can do to prevent being hot and sticky, and sweaty and dusty all the time; youre learning how to deal with a whole new type of harassment and attention, and you find yourself concocting wierd stories of a make believe husband you left behind in the states (hoping that it helps deter men from proposing marriage every single day)... All that plus being face to face with poverty and despair...
That pretty much sum up the Peace Corps training experience, or the effects of it on your mind and body anyway, in a nutshell. Some days you feel so fragile and others you’re feeling unstoppable. Everyday is a roller coaster ride in and of itself, filled with EXTREME highs and lows. At one of my lowest points, I somehow managed to coin the phrase “I’M HAVING A MOMENT”, and now it’s quickly becoming the most popular line being heard in Togo!!! The people in training with you become your new family, and I’ve grown attached to many people here, but unfortunately, not everyone has decided to stay. Two people have already left to go back home, and the rumor is that the first three months in village is usually when a large portion of people “ET” (Peace Coprs jargon meaning Early Terminate, leaving before your 2 year commitment is complete). The road up until now has been very unstable and extremely rocky, but all in all, I know that being here is an accomplishment, and I know that I’m one of only a chosen few. I’ve been given an amazing opportunity to discover the world as well as many things about myself; and while I will be forced to face many fears, Ive learned that I do possess the strength to conquer and overcome them. I am being forced to grow and blossom, and I know that I will undoubtedbly leave here a changed person.
So on December 9th, as I was standing underneath the shaded trees at the Ambassador’s house, all of these thoughts were floating through my mind, along with the undeniable feelings of pride and achievement for having made it this far despite all the obstacles Ive encountered along the way. The feelings just could not be kept inside, and when the Ambassador asked us to raise our right hands to take our oath, the tears instantaneously started flowing. I proudly took my oath, said a silent prayer of thansgiving, and then promised myself that I would always do my best, try my hardest, stay positive, and see this through till the end... The actual “swear in” ceremony lasted about an hour. Every volunteer did a short speech in the local language of their village, and the Ambassador also congratulated us and offered advice on how to handle the challenges that are sure to lie ahead. After the ceremony, there was a reception for us, and later that night, all the newest PCVs went out clubbing in Lomé!!! I had SOOO much fun, it honestly felt like I was back at home “Doin it BIG” with my girl Shant or Reg and his boys, but of course, they were nowhere to be found, except for in my thoughts. It was still a great night, symbolic of new beginings and new experiences, so celebrating my new PCV status with new friends and my new PC Togo family was perfect just the way it was.
We spent a few days in Lomé after the ceremony to have time to do some shopping and explore the capital city, and I knew I had adjusted to life here in Togo when I caught myself thinking of Lomé as if it was New York City or London... That’s just crazy... and it’s such a sharp contrast from my thoughts on Lomé when I first stepped off that plane in September. Lomé really seems like heaven to me now though, there’s great restaurants, fabulous private beaches, a movie theater, traffic lights, ATMs, amazing bakeries, spas and salons, supermarkets, and even a knock off McDonald’s called Al Donald’s!!! WOW!!!! Lomé is quite a different world coming from Adéta (the village where our training was held), and compared to Datcha, Lomé really is heaven! I love my village, but I'm also glad that I'm only a few hours away from the capital in case I ever feel the need to escape, and it's always good to know that I can find some comfort in the aisles of Super Ramco (the grocery store) if I'm ever having an insatiable craving for ice cream!
On Sunday, it was time to say our goodbyes, and we all departed, some going back to Adéta for additional language training, and others going straight to their villages. When the opportunity to spend an extra week just focusing on language training was presented, I was all about it immediately, so I, along with 2 others, went back to Adéta for 6 days of intense, but tremendously beneficial French language training. (This now brings you up to speed, and we and we can start getting into how I happened to arrive here at the Med Unit.)
We packed up and left Adéta for our villages on Saturday, December 18, feeling extremely conident out our French skills and anxious to get settled into our new homes and communities. We were all assured that our homologues knew that we were arriving in village on this day, and for me, this was extremely important because I had given my homologue after I left from post visit several weeks earlier so he could set up my furniture for me before my arrival. Of course, as always with Peace Corps, nothing ever goes according to plan, and when we arrived in my village, at my house, my homologue was nowhere to be found. Believe me when I say it was total CHAOS AND CONFUSION. Despite the fact that I had noplace to put my things, they began taking my belongings off of the top of the bush taxi and piling them in the yard. Kids from everywhere suddenly seemed to flood the compound as soon as they say the van pull up; one of my homologue's friends also shows up, and proceeds to tell me that my homologue is in Kpalimé, which is about 2 hours away- and to top all off, I had arranged for one of the Peace Corps administrators, Blandine, to come meet me in my village to pick up my passport and take it back to the office in Lomé with her. (I had forgotten the passport in one of my suitcases that I left behind after post visit, and she was doing me a huge favor by coming to pick it up from me, but of course, it was locked inside the house.) So now, my stuff is sitting outside in the dirt, kids are everywhere, my homologue is 2 hours away, I'm hot, tired, and growing irritated, people are shouting words back and forth about me which I don't understand, and Blandine is looking at me like I'm insane because of everything that's going on... Needless to say, it was already turning out to be a not so good day! Long story, semi-short: Blandine picked the lock to open my front gate, we moved my things inside my actual yard, instead of just having it sit inside the middle of the compound for everyone to look at and poke through, and since I was locked out of my place, looking silly, feeling like I would have a moment at any given minute, I asked Blandine if she would just drop me off in the nearest actual town, Atakpamé, so I could at least check my email while I was waiting for my homologue to arrive with my keys. I checked my email, indulged in my latest addiction, lait caille (similar to yogurt), and actually ran into a few other volunteers in the marché. It turned out to be a pretty decent afternoon, and it was just what I needed to regain my calm after my incident earlier that day. So, now, it's about 5:30 PM, the sun was going down and it was growing dark outside quickly. I found a taxi to take me back to my village, and this is when the action begins...
I got dropped off at the road leading to my homologue's house, and I had only taken a few steps when out of the clear blue, a piercingly, sharp pain shot through and gripped the heel of my left foot. For about the first 2 seconds, I stood there thinking I must've stepped on a very sharp piece of glass, but that thought quickly escaped my mind as my foot began to tingle and then completely lose sensation. I felt the pain becoming more intense and spreading, and within a matter of seconds, my foot was paralyzed and the feeling was travelling quickly throughout my entire leg. I never saw anything, but I didn't really have time to look. I somehow managed to hobble back to my homologue's house still not knowing exactly what happened, but certain now that whatever occured was serious and that I needed immediate medical attention. My homologue apparently was back in town, but not at home, so someone searched for him while I sat and waited, and completely broke down. I WAS A MESS!!! I tried be calm and wait patiently, but with every second that passed I felt increasingly worse. I started on a frantic search for a telephone cabine to call the PC Med Unit, but none of the phones were working in village and cell phone reception was also down. My homologue managed to work his way through the crowds of kids and appeared during the midst of my second break down after another unsuccessful attempt to reach the med unit. By this time, I could feel my heartbeat racing, and my fingertips were tingling and my lips were going numb! Terrible thoughts were racing through my mind as my homologue helped me out of the cabine and tells me that we're going to the missionary run hospital in my village. He puts me on the back of his moto (what they call motorcycle here), and we speed off to seek help. Fortunately, there was a working telephone line at the hospital, and I was finally able to reach the Peace Corps Medical Unit, and properly explain what happened to someone in ENGLISH. They determine I was either stung by a scorpion or bitten by a snake, and that I needed to be given anti venom serum ASAP. Im told repeadedly by the PC Med Office to make sure the needles are brand new, and to watch them open all the packages, so of course all I could think about after that was dirty needles, blood, and HIV. (AHHH!) I was taken to a room with three tiny beds, connected to an IV, and given the anit venom serum along with about 10 other medications for everything from allergies to inflammation and pain. After about 30 minutes the pain gradually began to subside, and I was actually able to pull myself together enough to joke with my homologue about the situation! According to him, he swears that both snakes and scoprions are so rare and uncommon in my village, but somehow, someway, I've managed to come in contact with both a snake (during post visit) and a scorpion now. What a welcome to village, huh? I ended up having to spend the night in the hospital, with my homologue by my side, repeating the words "Du Courage" all night! The next morning, I was feeling much better, but still had to come down to Lomé to make sure all was well. So, that's the story of my first actual day in village and how I ended up in the med unit! I should be able to leave out of here anytime now... Im still amazed by it all!!!
Ive been typing for a while, and I must let someone else use the computer now, but I will write another email message about my Christmas, 25th birthday, and New Year's here in Togo very soon...
I wish I had more time because I still have so much more to say, but just know that Im thinking about you all, and Im missing you very much right now! Merry Christmas!!!!
Peace and Love- Infinitely-
EricaPS- Sorry for the spelling and grammatical errors that are sure to exist in this email!!!

Papparazzi en Afrique?

2004-11-18T13:04:00.000-08:00

Bonjour Tout le Monde!!!

Before I get into my storytelling mode, let me first say a few
things…
#1- An EXTRA special SUPER SIZED THANK YOU to everybody who has been
writing me and sending me packages, pictures, and such positive and
inspirational letters… You can’t even imagine how much mail
brightens my life these days!!! THANK YOU!!!
#2- To those who have been emailing me and haven’t yet received a
response, I APOLOGIZE… Please understand that I do receive your
messages and I love to hear from you, but my time is always limited when
I use the internet because the computers here are so slow and it’s
expensive… It’s just a very frustrating ordeal most times because
often I wait in line to use the internet, only to have the computer
crash or the electricity cut out as soon as it’s finally my turn to
sit down… Trust me, it’s not a pleasant experience especially when
you’re halfway across the globe, you’re homesick, and email is the
only thing that provides some type of link with you and the world so far
away that you used to belong to… Please keep emailing me, I will
reply… eventually… or I will at least write you a letter in
response!
#3- To those who have been emailing me at my hotmail account… I no
longer check this email because it’s become too inundated with junk
mail, so please reply only to this yahoo email account from now on…
it’s the only one that I have now.
I think that wraps up the housekeeping business for now, so here we go
with the stories….
As I was saying, I cant remember how long it’s been since my last
group email, but so much has happened in the past couple weeks!!! Some
of you already know that this whole Peace Corps experience has been a
complete emotional roller coaster ride for me, the highs and the lows
have been coming and going in waves, but for the most part, this past
week has been ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS for me!!! Im feeling so much more
energized, and refreshed, and motivated now… Here’s what
happened…
The week of November 6-November 14 all the new volunteers in training
went to visit our villages where we’ll actually be living and working
for the next couple of years. We have all been assigned a
homologue/counterpart by Peace Corps. This person is basically a
Togolese professional living in our village who will work with us on
developing projects and locating resources, and simply establishing
ourselves in village. Our homologues came down to the training site to
meet us on Friday, and on Saturday morning we left together to go back
to the village. I can’t say anything else without first saying that my
homologue, Emmanuel, is AMAZING!!! WOW!!! I can’t even describe his
excitement and enthusiasm about having a Peace Corps volunteer in his
village!!!
My village, Datcha, is only about a 2 hour ride from the training site,
and I was the first one out of the group of people in my van to get
dropped off. Even though I was incredibly tired because I had been up
all night packing, I was forced to stay awake for the entire ride
because the scenery along the way was spectacular. My village is located
in the plateau region of Togo, which is known to be the most beautiful
region in the country. There are mountains, waterfalls, butterflies,
lush flora and fauna, just simply natural beauty everywhere you look.
The exciting part came when we finally arrived at what will soon be my
own HOUSE here in Togo… MY MAISON!!! I had no idea what to expect, but
I knew that this was IT- this was the beginning of the beginning of a
new life for me. At that moment, I realized that as soon as the van
pulls off with the other volunteers I’m gonna be on my own in Togo,
with only myself and own inner strength to rely on… scary thought when
all the new volunteers have been depending on each other for support for
the past two months. I found myself wanting to latch on to the other
volunteers there and force them to stay with me! There is always a
feeling of being overwhelmed simply because I’m still trying to learn
the language, but now I was facing that fear, along with anxiety, and
nervousness, and excitement, and doubt, and any other thing you can
think of that fits, BUT all in all, I was pleasantly surprised at
everything! We pulled up to find at least 10 women in the yard preparing
a HUGE feast for me for lunch. They, along with the millions of kids
that seemed to be in the yard, all welcomed me and the other volunteers
that were next to be dropped off, and we went on to unload my baggage
and explore my maison together. I have a small, but cozy 3 room
compound, with a huge, empty yard (that Peace Corps is going to pay for
me to build a patio on!!!) and outdoor latrine. One of the highlights of
my trip was discovering that my latrine is actually brand new and it’s
more of a modern style than what I’ve been using here at my host
family’s house!!! It basically looks like a regular toilet, the only
difference is I don’t have running water, so I have to throw a bucket
of water down the commode after using it, and the water pressure pushes
everything down. It’s clean, and smells fresh, and I was so excited
about it!!! All the other volunteers there were already envious of my
huge yard, and then they discovered the bucket flush toilet!!! (It’s
crazy how little things like having a bucket flush latrine is cause for
celebration now!) The real celebration didn’t come until later that
afternoon though… My homologue is the director of the CEG in my
village (CEG is the equivalent to junior high/high school, and director
is principal). This is the only CEG is my village, so his role in the
community is dynamic, and everyone knows, loves, and respects my him!
Saturday afternoon, he ‘pulled a few strings’ and arranged a HUGE
welcoming reception for me… HUGE… Even before we pulled up to the
school I could hear the music and the crowds of people. I arrived with
two other Peace Corps volunteers who’ve been working in a larger
village outside of mine for the past year. My eyes must’ve stretched
wider than they ever have before because I was completely overwhelmed
and amazed at the gathering there waiting to welcome and greet me. There
were easily at least 500-600 people there, and they all started singing
as soon as we stepped out of the car. My homologue arranged to have both
of the chiefs of the village there, all the pastors of all the churches,
all the different women’s groups and organizations, all the choirs
from all the churches, and various other people who live in the village.
Every group got up and gave me a welcome speech, always followed by a
song and dance. Of course after all that I had to stand up and introduce
myself and thank the village, and when I finished I said merci beaucoup
and then "Agbe ca-ca-ca" which in Ewe (the local language) means
thank you very much, and they LOVED it! Cheers and applause roared, and
then they started music and dancing, and immediately pulled me into the
middle of the dancing circle and taught me- or attempted to teach me-
all the popular Togolese/African dances. I had never felt so much
positive energy in one place, at one time before!!! It was great! And
the good times kept rolling throughout the entire week!!! Everyone in
the village knows my name now, and it’s so funny to hear my name being
shouted by a million kids when I’m riding my bike down the road in
Africa! I’m definitely feeling like the village celebrity, all
that’s missing is the glamorous life!!!
On Sunday, unfortunately my excitement about my latrine abruptly ended
because, you know what they say, when it seems too good to be true, it
probably is, and, yeah, just as I was beginning to think my latrine fear
would soon be over, something did happen to snap me back to reality… I
was about to leave to head into the nearest town, so I decided to use
the bathroom first, and when I was about halfway to the latrine I
realized the door was slightly ajar and it looked like there was
something shiny on the floor. I took a few more steps and then I stopped
dead in my tracks because for a moment I was paralyzed with fear and I
couldn’t believe what I was seeing. There was a huge long, slinky
snake crawling on the floor around the latrine! AHHH!!! I had never been
this up close and personal to a wild snake before and for a minute I
couldn’t even move… It started to approach me and that’s when I
realized that I had to keep it together and remain calm… There are 12
types of poisonous snakes in Togo, and I know I’m not trying to
discover which ones they are the hard way, so I walked away slowly, and
as soon as I was out of its sight I ran out of my little enclosed
compound to the front where another family lives, and I yelled
"SERPENT"!!! Immediately, they all came running in with sticks, huge
stones, and machetes, and in less than a minute they totally destroyed
the snake (such an awful sight, but what else was I gonna do?). Then of
course they picked it up like it was nothing and flung it over the wall
outside of my compound, and started laughing hysterically- as people
here always do when you let them know that you’re scared of these
crazy tropical insects and bugs and whatever else is lurking in the bush
out here! Hopefully I won’t have another incident like that again, but
my homologue promised me that he’s going to chop down the bush
surrounding my compound and make the environment as unsuitable as
possible for snakes before I return. J
I’m starting to understand why most Peace Corps volunteers say its
harder to adjust back to life in the states than it is to adjust to your
new life overseas. Part of it definitely is because you’re a superstar
in village and people adore everything about you no matter what you
do!!!
We swear in as official Peace Corps volunteers on December 9, 2004, and
I’m already counting down the days!!!
I’ll write more soon… I hope everyone is having a great holiday week
and Happy Thanksgiving to all!!! They don’t celebrate Thanksgiving
here but we’re organizing a party at the training center Thanksgiving
day since we can’t be home… It should be good times!!!

Peace and Love

TIME FLIES

2004-10-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

WOW!!! I'm scared I might sound old saying this, but TIME FLIES!!! I've officially been here for a month now, and it's still so hard for me to believe!!! The past month has been filled with so many emotions and new experiences! I've been presented with so many new challenges... there are new obstacles to overcome every single day, but somehow, someway, Im still making it... And it even seems that in spite of the heat, and the mosquitos, and the latrines, and the fact that I'm living in a world without Daiquiris and ice cream, I'm really starting to enjoy myself here these days!!! Last week, after interviewing and much anticipation, we all found out where we'll be living once training is over. My village is DATCHA, it's a small village of about 4500 people. It's a new post, meaning that I'm going to be the first volunteer to have ever worked with this community, so all the programs will have to be thought of, created, and implemented by me and my local counterpart. I'll be living in a compound with another host family, but I'll have my own "house" that they will not have access to, it has 3 rooms: a bedroom, kitchen, and living room. I'll have electricity but no running water. There's supposed to be a well in my compound though, so it shouldn't be too different than what I'm experiencing now. It was actually my first request, so I'm happy about that and I'm getting excited about meeting people and making myself known in the community. I'll be going to visit my post in 3 weeks, so I'm sure I'll have much more to say about my new village then. The closest volunteers to me are at least 10km away, which is within biking distance for me these days, and they've already contacted me to let me know they are anxiously awaiting my arrival and how great my village is! They really seem like a great group of people!
This week, I realized that being a Peace Corps volunteer is definitely going to be a lot hard work, and I had no idea how stressful and demanding the job really is until just a few days ago. On Wednesday afternoon we went to visit a local school to talk to this committee of concerned parents and students (similar to the PTA at home). We, the new Peace Corps trainees, were told that we were having this session with these parents in order to ask them questions and gain insight regarding the organization and structure of a committee like this, since we're going to have to form these committees once we arrive at our respective posts in December. Well, everyone was shocked at the reception we received... There was music, dancing, all kinds of fruits, and the whole community seemed to be there... It seemed a little odd since this was only supposed to be a session with the volunteers and about 4 parents on the committee, but we were all having a great time so nobody really thought too much about it. When the music stopped, and we got into our discussion though, we realized what was really going on. The people on this committee began telling us about the history of the school itself and why the school is so important to them. We learned that it is a community run school, meaning that it gets no support from the Togolese government; it was organized by the community alone and most of the teachers if they are paid at all, earn their salary from the donations of other parents in the village. Needless to say, neither the school nor the parents have any money. Last year they were having classes in mud huts but when rainy season came, the mud huts all collapsed and washed away. When that happened, some Catholic missionaries allowed them to use one of their buildings to hold classes temporarily, but the missionaries have recently written them a letter telling them that they will need to find another venue for their school within the next two months. Apparently, this community somehow got the impression that we, as Peace Corps volunteers, were there to somehow magically eradicate all their problems. The whole experience was bewildering because nobody was prepared to walk in on a situation like this, and there was no way we could respond to the issues that this community is facing. There were many things we all learned from the experience, and it has definitely opened my eyes to some of the difficulties I will undoubtedly encounter here. The people here are so used to American and European organizations coming in and handing money out, it seems they almost expect it whenever they see a 'yovo' (their local word for foreigner) working in their community. Other volunteers have warned us that this is a problem we will encounter on a regular, ongoing basis, and that we can expect it to make life very stressful. Peace Corps' philosophy is to assist the communities not by giving donations and writing checks, but by empowering them through increased access to information and the skills necessary in order for the people themselves to create their own on-going, sustainable income generating activities long after a Peace Corps volunteer has worked there. I'm just realizing how much truth the Peace Corps slogan "The toughest job you'll ever love" really holds...
I will certainly learn so much more from my community than I will ever be able to leave behind, but hopefully I'll be able to have a positive lasting impact in the life of just while I'm here...
I'll write more soon!!!
Once again, I miss you all!!!
Peace and Love,
Erica

Making the Adjustment: Petit a Petit

2004-10-07T06:10:00.001-07:00

Hello friends and family!!! Its taken me a while to send another email out because the internet cafe in this town always seems to be closed or when its open, the server just suddenly goes down, so checking my email has been very frustrating these days. The lack of communication is kiling me slowly but surely!!! Anyway, lots of things have been going on...Last Wednesday we moved from Lomé to Adéta, where we met our host families and officially started our training program. My family is great! I have a mother, Maman Jeanne, a father Pere Honkpo, 2 sisters, Gentille 18 and Cheritta 23, and 3 brothers, Koffi Dodgi 21, Komi Jean 12, and Ametepé 8. On the day that I met them, I was completely overwhelmed by their hospitality immediately. I dont think Ive ever seen people more excited to see me or more welcoming of me EVER! The mother is a schoolteacher and the father also teaches, but he works at a school in another village and is only home on the weekends. He just recently got promoted to the position of headmaster, which means hes the director of the math department at the school. All of the kids are very smart, theyre all in school, even the girls, which is somewhat rare out here. Communicaton between us can be tricky now because right now my French is basic but luckily Koffi Dodgi speaks a little English, so we find a way to get the point across. They have a yard full of animals, its a bit overboard, even for out here... theyve got a cat, 4 dogs, chickens, roosters, ducks, goats, and a turkey!!! And they used to have pigs too!!! Sleeping at night is definitely a challenge, and even with earplugs in, the roosters and goats wake me up every morning at 4:30 on the dot. My diet was a bit of a problem for my host family up until yesterday. Im not eating any of the meat at all out here just because the markets here arent among the most sanitary places in the world, and I really am trying to take all precautions to prevent getting sick. Yesterday the directors of the program had to come to my host mom's house to actually show her what kinds of foods she should cook for me, and how to properly clean and treat my water and vegetables when she cooks with them. I had been getting sick because she wasnt cleaning the vegetables properly and she was just using the untreated water from the well to cook with... YUMMY, right? Now all that has been resolved though and so Im hoping things will be better in that department from now on. We do have electricity right now, but theres no running water, so everytime I need water, yes I have to throw a bucket down the well and pull it up! I can deal with the lack of running water and the cold water bucket baths now, but something I know Im never gonna get accustomed to using is the latrine. Its gotta be the nastiest thing Ive ever seen, and just the smell alone is enough to have me on the next plane back to the states. The latrine is their version of a toilet, but its pretty much nothing more than a fancy hole in the ground that you have to squat over everytime you have to use the bathroom... theres no flushing and all toilet paper must be put in a basket on the side. Very unsanitary! But hygiene here isnt of much importance to very many people it seems. Theres no sink to brush your teeth, you just spit right there on the ground, if you actually do brush; I dont think anybody in my host family does because when they were showing me around on the first night, they didnt know what I was talking about when I was asking about where ! I was supposed to brush my teeth. I said it in French so they shouldve understood; but they didnt get the hand motions either, so Im not so sure what they do yet. I do have to sleep under a mosquito net, and theres no way Id ever sleep anywhere here without one. Its the best thing to have out here because it keeps all the bugs out of the bed, not just mosquitos. My family is Baptist, and they are very religious. I went to church with them on Sunday that was interesting, but not that much different from what you would see at a Baptist church in the states. The musical instruments and the choir were the main differences. Im gonna try to go to some traditional African ceremonies while Im out here too, just to witness it and experience it for myself. Yesterday we went to visit an elementary school out here, and that was definitely an eye opening experience. Theres about 90 kids in each classroom, with one teacher to maintain order. Everything is so strict, it almost reminds me of military type discipline, but the kids are very well behaved and focused in class. The teachers will use corporal punishment out here if not. There's definitley a huge majority of boys in the classrooms, especially when you get to the higher levels. Girls are the ones that end up having to help out with the housework or they get married early; its just not a priority for a girl to actually go far in school here. (Thats part of the reason my program was created) I'll write more soon, I should get off the computer because theres a line of people waiting to use the internet, and I know what that wait is like. I hope everyone is great, and I hope to hear fro! m you soon! Write me! If you send packages, keep them small because Im hearing its expensive. They also say that getting the insurance isnt worth the money.
My address is:
Erica Rachal
Corps de la Paix
BP 3194
Lomé, Togo
West Africa
Take Care!!! I miss you all!!!

GREETINGS FROM TOGO!

2002-09-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

Friends and family!!! Guess who's in Africa!!! Im so exited to be here!!! It is definitely going to be the experience of a lifetime, and it was definitely worth the wait!!! This is the first opportunity ive had to check my email since I arrived and even this was a challenge but nevertheless, here I am writing you all!!! Everything about life here is so different!!! People are poor, but their lives are so simple and so carefree, and in spite of everything, people are so happy! Something about being here has already touched me in a profound way, and i know this feeling will definitely continue to grow. Right now we're staying in the capital city of Lomé, but on Wed we will be moving to another town called Adeta which I hear is very beautiful. Its known for its wide variety of butterflies and is home to amazing waterfalls! There we'll meet our host families, and we'll be staying with t! hem for the rest of the training pe! riod, until December. They basically help ease the transition for us between life in the states and life here in Togo. For the time, we're lucky because we have running water and electricity, but that may not always be the case after training. And there's no hot water anywhere, so its cold water bucket baths for me for the rest of the time Im here! Can you imagine that! Although the locals may not always use it, there is toilet tissue available, so that was a huge sigh of relief! Mosquitos here are no joke and we're constantly being pumped with malaria drugs and other shots daily, but theyre basically telling us to brace ourselves cuz at some point youre bound to get sick with something wierd over the months. The food is actually very very yummy, but its a lot of carbohydrates and spicy spicy sauces. Theres so much to write about and not enough time! These computers, once you actuaully find an internet cafe and wait in li! ne to get on, are very slow and the keyboards are completely different here, so its taking me a while to type this. I hope you all have my address, and I hope you all write because even though this is exciting, I do miss you all and im already feeling homesick! I should be able to check my email at least once a week, so please continute to email me as well! I will probably start writing short stories about my experinces over here which I will send out through email, just to keep everyone posted on whats going on here with me! Please forward this to anyone whose address is not on this list, I may not have everybodys email address on there! I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU ALL!!!
peace and love, erica