11thNovember, 2012
I know it’s only been a week since my last post, but it’s been a crazy one!
Last Weekend
Class Friday and then dapaong…
Got a care package from Uncle Ron! He sent a nice card, pj’s and some spices, thanks Uncle Ron!
Had a meeting Friday and Saturday in Dapaong for Club Espoire!
The Saturday meeting lasted 3 hours, the theme was Planet Earth with a turnout of about 47 kiddos!
After Marché shopping, and dinner at bar Kado (they are awesome Pate!), we all decided to go to this club (only club in Dapaong)… And apparently it was a “show/open mic night”… The guys were supposed to be singing but it was mostly just some Togolese men lip-syncing and wiggling on stage… hilarious!
Sunday I did my internet thing, then went back to Tami, via moto; then ate lunch, and jumped on my bike to get to a women’s groupement meeting in Naki-Ouest, by request of my friend, Emmanuel. The meeting was in Moba and was roughly translated throughout by Emannuel. I liked the singing! And afterwards, Emannuel treated me to rice and chicken, along with some local teen that are involved in the community.
Monday
MauvaisEspirits:
I went to the CEG early, because my class wasn’t until 10am. The hour before my class, there was a girl wailing in the 4ieme classroom. Her mother was called and she was brought out to the courtyard, where she proceeded to shake, drop to the ground, scream and cry. It was diagnosed that she was possessed by “mauvaisespirits,” and my homologue strapped her on his moto, with a male student behind her and brought her home, wailing and shaking. Right before my class started, I noticed several new girls in the courtyard with similar symptoms, and thought these girls were just copy-cats looking for attention and that their charade would be squashed immediately. So I carried on to my class. About mid-way through, the attention of the students was being drawn moreso out the doors than at my lesson, so I closed them. The students complained of “chaleur” or heat, so I said I would only open them, if they would pay attention. Needless to say, I was able to finish the day’s plan. When I exited my classroom, I noticed that I was the only teacher left standing. Everyone else had gone home or was surrounding the wailing girls in a circle, watching the pastor work some spiritual magic/prayers upon them. So, I watched for a bit and then headed home. I was told that the event ended shortly after my arrival chez moi. I asked people in the village if this was normal, and they responded, “cavaaller au village” (that’s how it goes in village). I called my APCD, Madame Rose later and asked if this was normal; she replied no, but if I didn’t feel my safety was a concern, then there was no problem.
Tuesday
Director Ayeva “shadowed”/graded my class... He makes me nervous =/
Met up in afternoon for evaluation and for him to answer some questions on my Etude Milieu (Site Study Report for the first few months at my post)!
I came home from my meeting with the Director and there was a goat seizing in the front courtyard. Apparently he had eaten a plastic bag and Mama Rachel (who sells prepared food in the market) bought the goat to put in her dish the next day. I watched and helped in the process from it’s lasts breaths to being on my very plate the next day. It was very interesting to me, and the man that cleaned it was super helpful in teaching me parts and processes. He got paid not in money, but received a meal the next including the meat that he had worked with the night prior.
Wednesday
Ran 3 miles!
Spent 2.5 hours at the Jardind’enfants… Mainly teaching them to call my Larba (my local name) and not “Batouli” (white person), and that high-fives are great but slapping my butt is not!
“Epuise Eau” charade… A girl was helping me put water in my bidon behind my back (they know that I try doing it myself, so she was going behing my back fillig it, when my head was in the well, trying to help me go faster). We had all the kids cracking up (mainly because it took me 2 times for me to notice)! Then I returned for 2ndbidon and dropped the yellow “water fetcher” in the well again!
Gender committee 2nd meeting: chose 3 clubs: English, Scientifille, and Theatre. Each will meet one wednesday afternoon a month, and will be led by one Togolese teacher and myself.
Thursday
Visit at the CEG from the Gendarmes and their “Chef” or chief. He pretty much showed up late, then talked a whole bunch about what the kids should and should not be doing (like, playing sports and not stealing etc). He also touched on the subject of keeping prayers at home, in reference to the incident on Monday.
Devoirs= catch the cheaters! Devoirs is a testing day, as mentioned previously, that tests the students knowledge every week in a different subject. Well this week, I helped in my 6iemeA class, because of the number, it's exhausting for the professors to watch them all and make sure their eyes stay on their own papers.
That evening, I received a small bite on my foot that itched kind of like a mosquito bite but also hurt...
Friday
After class, got moto to Dapaong.
Lunch with Sam and Matt (always a treat because we rarely get to see our Mango cluster mates)!She made us Salmon salad brushetta and salad =D so healthy and delicious!
Teacher Training in Dapaong(me= savior?)… apparently I am the new 1st Reporter for the English Teachers group? I was pretty much targeted the whole meeting because I was the only white person, but let me tell you: Girl stood her ground! One of the other English teachers called me the meeting “savior”. Someone gave me a ride to the PCV maison and I let him borrow some books from our "library" for a paper he's writing on African Political leaders.
Care package from GMA came with food goodies (mac n cheese, vanilla extract…) and new Keens (?!) ! It was also equipped with 2 bday cards… Gotta love gma ;)
Dinner at Campement (because we were feeling fancy).. hamburgers, fries, and chocolate mousse!!
By the end of the night, that “bite” from the night before had a white pussey center and was swelling around the origination sight...
Saturday
Spent the morning in the WinPang Clinique… the swelling of my foot spread from toes to ankle and the white pussy center of the bite sight was now red/black.
Lunch with the gang.
Grocery shopped and got gifts for the bday girls with some friends. Just gimping around... I couldn't wear a shoe by this point, so the Dr had cleaned and wrapped my foot in a compression wrap. I tied a bandana around it and just hobbled about (getting many people saying, "du courage," and "bon garisment"- have courage and good healing).
Then got back to maison and was sick to my stomach (it could have been the meal I just had or the medicine, not sure).
Another friend was also sick (she was also at clinic with me and turns out she has ameobas and bacterial infection), so while the others went out for pizza (that we put an order in for Monday) and celebrated with the birthday girls, we stayed back and watched Lion King (epic every time, I tell ya)
foot:
leg:
scorpian:
Random:
My host family got 2 new kittens this past week: one on Sunday, the other on Thursday! When Francoise came home with the first, I asked him the kittens name and he replied, “doux-doux” (pronounced doo-doo, and I believe it’s supposed to mean soft-soft). Then when he showed me the new one on Thursday, he told me that its name was also “doux-doux”. When I asked why, he said, so that if one runs away or is stolen, then we will always have a “doux-doux.”
*** Hope all is well in the States and at everyone's post, here in Togo!!***
And hope all is going well for those who were affected by the hurricane!
oh, and Obama continues!
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