Swear-in and my first week in Badou

14aout 2011

Swear-in passed without a breath or thought to spare. We left our host families and Tsevie on Wednesday, August 3. That morning, Lucian, Taylor, and I found ourselves trapped on my porch as we watched the rain pour down around us. It hadn’t rained over the past two weeks - the driest time we’ve spent in the Meritime Region. And suddenly, through strokes of luck (?) and Tsevie love, the rains came. I was standing on my porch with my two large packs, water filter, bike and motto helmets, backpack, and bucket feeling very silly. Taylor and Lucian arrived completely soaked through and equally as overburdened.   Our house manager (the man we turn to for most of our Togolese advice), Cyrille, kindly sent a car to retrieve the stranded stagaires. The road to our homes turns into small ponds and streams when it rains so the likelihood of arriving at the Tech House well manicured for the PC Bureau in Lomé were dim if not for Simplice and his Land Rover. Henok and Ruth had yet torealize I was leaving the house. The family has had other volunteers so the experience wasn’t new, but they looked mildly confused and asked when I was coming back from Lomé. Ruth attached herself to one of Taylor’s legs as we began packing up. Hurriedly, we said our goodbyes and made a rapid dash towards the door. There was melancholy, nostalgia, relief, and anticipation as we drove away that morning. The rain was a very fitting farewell to our Tsevie stay.

We were administratively sworn-in (i.e. our John Hancocks placed on the all-too official fed docs) on Wednesday. We shared in the energy of declaring ourselves servants to the US Constitution. It was pretty cool and probably the most significant thing I’ve done in my life thus far. Our minds were momentarily swept away with the arrival of mail. I got a wonderful letter and package from the all too sweet Liz Hernandez (thank you!). The rest of the day would be dedicated to the bank and supermarkets in an effort to buy ourselves some peace of mind for the months to follow. The supermarket made me very antsy and here’s why. Although many of you might call me melodramatic, the thought of not having access to the staples of my diet in village was nibbling away at my, otherwise, practical judgment. I would put things into my cart and then five minutes later return them. I kept making decisions based on my American sensibilities, e.g. a set of frying pans, rather than just the one or two that I would actually use; to get two or three jars of peanut butter, honey, and coffee?; three different types of pasta; sauces etc etc. I spent over half the time just walking up and down the aisles hoping that a rational, all-knowing light from above (current PCVs??) would shine on those items that I actually needed and wouldn’t find at post. And so it went. In what turned out to be over 4 hours, we visited two supermarkets, swarming around the modicums of comfort we craved for our village lives.

A bit on Lomé: although, the city is a world of lux compared to our “quaint” towns, it is a far cry from a Paris, New York, or even a Santo Domingo.  As we drove down the avenue along the beach, we saw the vestiges of what was once a city indulged by its colonial patrons. The old German castles stand abandoned, by now completely overrun by moss and other natural trespassers. But as compared to my experience in Niamey, Niger, where I rarely glimpsed a world of privilege, in Lomé we saw billboards advertising high-end pagna (pagna couture - it’s the new Coco Chanel), car dealerships (and no, not parks of broken down bush taxis), and “yovo” stores - one, heralded by gasps from our car, that was selling washing machines! In Lomé, we pampered ourselves. The night before swear-in, a few of us went out for pizza - it was MAGICAL! I got myself a Sicilian - thin crust, lots of cheese, anchioves, olives, and mushrooms. We all parteger-ed slices - letting our taste buds explode with glee! We then parteger-edthree deserts (enough gluttony to last us for three or four months). These included: a chocolate mousse, apple pie with ice-cream (!!!!) and a nutella banana baked pizza item. We walked out of the restaurant with that serene, content feeling a good meal renders its beneficiary.

The swear-in ceremony was beautiful. We all got dressed up in our best pagna - many of us sporting outfits given by our host families. We were addressed by the PC Country Director, the Togolese Minister of Finance and the American Ambassador - all with words of advice and assurance in the Peace Corps hope.  One of the trainees, Cameron, also prepared a speech in French. It had a good amount of humor and candor, which placed knowing and empathetic smiles on our faces.  We had a little shindig that night - yay for dancing!! And then we were off the next morning after the chaos of packing 10 cars with luggage, mattresses, and all things necessary for 23 people.

The ride to Badou can give your lower back some serious pains! But the destination is worth it. The town is situated amongst the hills of the Plateau Region. It’s beautiful to stand at any particular spot on the road and look up onto green mountain sides. There are two semi-paved roads (they might as well not be) that run perpendicular in the town. My house is located on a hillside, giving me a beautiful outlook from my porch. It looks down onto a small quartier. I like to leave the door open around sundown to allow the orange and pick hues to streak into my living room. Above, the vultures encircle the palm and Baobab trees. As I’ve told a few of you, I have more space than I know what to do with or need - three bedrooms, a large living/dining space, kitchen and bathroom. The space adds to the emptiness of the house. The only pieces of furniture currently residing in it are a dining table, two chairs, and most recently, a bed. For the majority of the week, my mattress lay on the floor. I’d tie my mosquito net to the windowsill and drape it across to a chair. Needless to say, a bed was a nice addition. I’m looking forward to home décor - giving the place a bit of life and making it my home. While I will eventually have running water, I’ve been living off of two cisterns this past week, something that has made me a little angsty. My thought is that the expectation of running water has made it more annoying to live without it.On a cheerier note, through good fortune, I have a site mate Kat, who has been so sweet and helpful. We’ve prepared a few meals together - including apple pie in a Dutch oven!

I’m going to work closely with a local microfinance, MUREC. My counterpart, Monsieur Aku, has been a great help this past week - answering my 101 questions, having his girls bring water to my house, and just being a really amiable guy.These last few days I got the chance to meet with him a few times and discuss work prospects. Right now, I’m hoping to start off with simple training sessions (i.e. formations) on bookkeeping, financial literacy, and best practices in using credit - financial sensibilisation.

Depending on the time of day, I feel very anxious to get work started, especially around 8h in the morning. In Togo, my body has taken to shooting up around 6h. So, this past week, I’d get out of bed, stretch, make breakfast, and then sit out with a book.The hairdressers next door would wave me down. I’d go over to saluer, though few speak any French (plan: work on my Mina). They have intentions to braid my hair despite my current buzz cut!

When 8h rolled around, my restlessness set in. I’d stroll down to the market, observing, lingering, and buying bread. I spent a lot of time preparing food or getting ready to prepare food. After these twitchy morning hours, in the early afternoon, I’d begin to enjoy the time to myself. It’s been good - a lot of reading, writing, and thinking.I had a moment the other day when I stood at my doorway and glazed over for a minute. It was one of those flashes when where you are and what you’re doing suddenly dawns on you - almost as though you’ve been estranged from it up to then. So yes, I’ll be living in Badou, Togo for two years as a PCV! Right now I’m in Atakpamé, getting money and furniture and also, as you have most graciously partaken in, updating my blog!