Our host home. Isn't it wonderful?
Tristan, Fidel (Host mom), Luther, Manuela, Victoire. Yup, that's a satellite in the background.
Blandine (Our training director) and moi at the swear-in ceremony.
Friday, August 31, 2007
The path to the training center.
Our host home. Isn't it wonderful?
Tristan, Fidel (Host mom), Luther, Manuela, Victoire. Yup, that's a satellite in the background.
Blandine (Our training director) and moi at the swear-in ceremony.
Our host home. Isn't it wonderful?
Tristan, Fidel (Host mom), Luther, Manuela, Victoire. Yup, that's a satellite in the background.
Blandine (Our training director) and moi at the swear-in ceremony.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Pictures!!!
Tristan and me in Lome
L - The road to Nyogbo from Kpalime
B - Soy milk in the making
Hope everyone is doing well.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
We are Volunteers!!!
As of Thursday, August 23rd Tristan and moi are now Peace Corps Volunteers. Things aren't too different yet, but I'm sure that will change soon.
Ah French!
I had the privilege of staying an extra week in Lome for intensive language training. Tristan is already at post and I'll join him next Monday. They all wondered how he was going to eat. "With a fork and spoon I presume." :)
Thou shall not steal
We had our first encounter with a pick-pocket in Lome (this city is notorious for that). Tristan, a fellow volunteer and I were walking to the grocery store past the market. [The market, or "marche" in french, is congested almost everyday. It's ideal to shop at the "marche" because all items can be bargained for. I hate the practice but if I want to save enough money for future travels I must perfect it.] At any rate, our friend took the lead and a young man stood a bit too close to her. At first I thought he was moving to prevent being hit by a car. Then I noticed him reaching for her pockets. She turned around and yelled. I, of course, yelled as well. Tristan grabbed the man, through him to the ground, and pinned him until the authorities came. Okay, so the latter didn't happen but that would have been interesting to see. Actually, Tristan just pushed the man away and continued walking with our friend. The man lashed out at Tristan in French so I stood back because I didn't know whether his anger would go on further. Everyone else around us also got involved, but they just yelled in Ewe (the local language). I stared at the man in disdain and was about to reply to his dumb comments, but a passerby gently said "Let it go, it's over." So, I kept walking. I knew that he would get his share of harrassment because stealing isn't acceptable here either. In fact, if I were to have called him a thief the people would take care of the situation themselves. But, their form of punishment is harsh so it's best to avoid the situation altogether.
Life in the big city can be dangerous. But being in Lome does have it's perks - great food, fast-speed internet, the beach.
Ah French!
I had the privilege of staying an extra week in Lome for intensive language training. Tristan is already at post and I'll join him next Monday. They all wondered how he was going to eat. "With a fork and spoon I presume." :)
Thou shall not steal
We had our first encounter with a pick-pocket in Lome (this city is notorious for that). Tristan, a fellow volunteer and I were walking to the grocery store past the market. [The market, or "marche" in french, is congested almost everyday. It's ideal to shop at the "marche" because all items can be bargained for. I hate the practice but if I want to save enough money for future travels I must perfect it.] At any rate, our friend took the lead and a young man stood a bit too close to her. At first I thought he was moving to prevent being hit by a car. Then I noticed him reaching for her pockets. She turned around and yelled. I, of course, yelled as well. Tristan grabbed the man, through him to the ground, and pinned him until the authorities came. Okay, so the latter didn't happen but that would have been interesting to see. Actually, Tristan just pushed the man away and continued walking with our friend. The man lashed out at Tristan in French so I stood back because I didn't know whether his anger would go on further. Everyone else around us also got involved, but they just yelled in Ewe (the local language). I stared at the man in disdain and was about to reply to his dumb comments, but a passerby gently said "Let it go, it's over." So, I kept walking. I knew that he would get his share of harrassment because stealing isn't acceptable here either. In fact, if I were to have called him a thief the people would take care of the situation themselves. But, their form of punishment is harsh so it's best to avoid the situation altogether.
Life in the big city can be dangerous. But being in Lome does have it's perks - great food, fast-speed internet, the beach.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
We're almost done
with training. Our french is going okay, I suppose. I understand everyone but I can't make sentences using the past and future tense, so I may need to stay in Lome (the capital) a week after swear-in to have one-to-one, all-day sessions with my personal formateur. What I meant in understanding everyone, I don't mean the French. They speak wayyyy to fast for me, but the Togolese speak 100 times slower. This mas it easier for me to buy the essentials (bread, juice, candy, avocados, toilet paper) when I'm in town. The struggle I have with french is that the last consonant is never pronounced (so it seems). However, if I'm trying to get my point across fast, I say the word in Spanish with a slight accent (I know, I already have one) and it seems to work pretty good.
I hope everyone is doing well. We have CNN at my host family's house and we're trying to keep up with the latest news back home. Most websites take a year to load with all the flashy ads, so we can't rely on this method for most of our news.
Some have asked about care package suggestions. Where can I begin? Actually, starting is not the problem, ending is. :)
I'm afraid of checking the site for my address, so I'll just list it again along with our number.
Nadia McInnis, PCT
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 3194
Lome, Togo
West Africa
011-228-024-7274
I miss you guys!!!!!!
Oh, requests. . .
propel instant drink (the bleach taste gets old fast)
spices (yes, I'm cooking now) like cinnamon, taco seasonings, chicken seasonings
hard candy
Tuna
burts bees bug bite relief
beef jerky
blank cds
movies
dried fruit
anything else you'd like to send (make sure it doesn't weight too much)
I hope everyone is doing well. We have CNN at my host family's house and we're trying to keep up with the latest news back home. Most websites take a year to load with all the flashy ads, so we can't rely on this method for most of our news.
Some have asked about care package suggestions. Where can I begin? Actually, starting is not the problem, ending is. :)
I'm afraid of checking the site for my address, so I'll just list it again along with our number.
Nadia McInnis, PCT
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 3194
Lome, Togo
West Africa
011-228-024-7274
I miss you guys!!!!!!
Oh, requests. . .
propel instant drink (the bleach taste gets old fast)
spices (yes, I'm cooking now) like cinnamon, taco seasonings, chicken seasonings
hard candy
Tuna
burts bees bug bite relief
beef jerky
blank cds
movies
dried fruit
anything else you'd like to send (make sure it doesn't weight too much)
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