Feet on the Ground in Togo

Bonjour, Togo! After a grueling 24 hours of travel, I have finally touched ground in Togo. My 27-month adventure begins just north of Lomé—the capital of Togo. I am currently living with a host family in a village in the Maritime region where I will stay for three months. (I am not allowed to disclose my exact location or village on my blog for security reasons, but if you are absolutely dying to know where I am, feel free to shoot me an email!) After three months of intense cultural training, health training, and French language training, I will be assigned a village in Togo where I will live for the following 24 months. But which region and village will you be assigned to? It depends. And will you have electricity? It depends. What about internet? It depends. Running water? It depends, but most likely not. Catching a theme here? This is the theme of service in the Peace Corps and life in Togo. It depends—two words that will push the boundaries of my Type A personality, but als...

I applied for the Peace Corps the summer before starting my senior year of college. I was looking for an opportunity to cultivate social change—an opportunity that would allow me to find the time and space to truly immerse myself and engage with others long-term. I want to become a member of a community and culture that I can work with, and not just for, in order to impact the root causes of societal problems. I found the Peace Corps gives me the opportunity to do just that. I want to use this blog as a means to share the experiences that will take place within the next 27 months—growth from me, personally, and development within the communities I work with in Togo, West Africa. I want to share the beauty of the new and the unknown. I want to portray the shared humanity of others and others’ cultures. I am excited for my journey, for the opportunity to navigate difficulty and differences, challenges such as transitioning into the minority and the culture shock that ensues. I am most...