Another update, but this time Im writing as an official
PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER!!!
On Thursday, December 4th, I was sworn-in as a Girls Education and Empowerment Peace Corps Volunteer. Congratulations to each of the other 24 volunteers from both Girls Education and Natural Resource Management that were sworn-in with me. We did it.
From now on, my address will be the same, however now please write: "Kara Harvey, PCV"
Now its onto the hard part....
For the next 3 months, I will be just chillin in Atakpamé. Peace Corps advises us not to start any projects for the first three months, as we need this time to get to know our post and for everyone to get to know us. While I welcome this "break" (pre-service training was long and draining) I think it will also be a struggle. Its important to realize that EVERYTHING here is work. Speaking French is work, learning the culture is work, taking bucket showers is work, adapting to my surroundings is work, becoming accoustomed to the food is work... So while I may not be teaching classes, starting clubs, or planning events, Im still hard at work. Peace Corps lists three main goals for our service, two of which are "cultural exchange"--that is both explaining American culture to Togolese and Togolese culture to Americans. So, blogging is work!! haha Also, since we are not supposed to start projects, that leaves me alone, bored, and in a city that I dont know very well...my sanity is in jeopardy. Thus, Ill be trying to come to the internet as often as possible so I welcome all e-mails, messages, comments, etc. you would like to send my way!! Please tell me stories of your life!! I miss you all!!
A Day in the Life...
A lot of people have been asking me for interesting stories, but when I stop to think about funny stories, I come up with nothing... Things have become so routine here--not routine in that nothing new or bizarre ever happens, but routine in that nothing really shocks me anymore. A large part of my day is spent thinking "What the hell is going on...?!?!" or "I hear that person speaking, but I have NO IDEA what those words mean..." and the rest of the day Im usually giggling about the ridiculousness of the situation, and then I quickly move on. However, Ill try to paint a picture of my life here including some everyday situations I find myself in...
My day usually begins around 5 or 6 a.m. when the chickens start cock-a-doodling and the women beging sweeping the compound--each morning the compound is swept with a small broom-ish thing without a handle, so basically just some bristles tied together at the top. I crawl out from underneath my mosquito net-covered bed, get dressed, pull my hair back into a pony tail, and head to the bathroom to brush my teeth. During PST, I had class every morning at 7:30, so I ate breakfast (bread and instant coffee) and left the house by 7 a.m. On the walk to school, I would greet almost everyone I saw (greetings are very important, people generally ask how you are, how you slept, hows your health, how is your family, and how was your work yesterday), and try not to get hit by the cars and motos speeding past carrying way more than is safe. In Togo, there are "bush-taxis" and "moto-taxis" that you use to go most places. Usually, in a car that normally seats 5 people, they will pack in 7 or 8 (once, I was in a bush-taxi that had 9, thats with 2 people in the drivers seat!!), they also stack as much as possible on top of the car--including live animals (usually chickens or goats--Ive even seen goats strapped to the back of a moto on several occassions), and then they drive EXTREMELY fast (however, Im not quite sure of the speed since Ive never actually been in a taxi that had a working speedometer). Also, travel in Togo is very unreliable. For example, while on my way to post visit, we were heading up country to Atakpamé but since it was rainy season, the road was very muddy and a large truck got stuck in the mud, and flipped over. As another car tried to pass it, it too got stuck in the mud, leaving the road completely blocked. In order to pass (there was no other way to get to the city, there is only 1 road currently that goes up country), we had to wait alongside the road for 2 hours while they carried enough rocks to rebuild the road!!! Then, when they finally got it fixed, the cars were too heavy with us and all the stuff piled on top of them for them to pass, so we had to walk for a ways until we could get back into the cars. Its also not uncommon for the cars to break down or get flat tires. Patience is truly a virtue here.
Oh no, Im running out of time (Im at a cyber café, so I have to pre-pay by the hour...I not sure why they call it a cyber café though...theres no drinks or snacks available....weird). I will have to come back and finish my stories later this week. STAY TUNED!!
1 comments:
i've ALWAYS wondered why they called them cafés... i was dissapointed the first time i got to one and there werent people drinking coffee and eating biscuits and surfing the web.
maybe they call it a café because we "consume" the media brought to us by the internet. or maybe "café" was their best option it definitely sounds better than "internet place" or something.
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