Feet on the Ground in Togo

Remember that incessant ad in movie theatres that reminds theatre-goers to silence their phones because “silence is golden”? Well, that saying feels like my life in Togo right now. I have been here for two months, and even with my improving French and beginner’s level Ewe (the local language), I still find most of my time spent in silence. Right now, I write to you in silence, in my two-room home (with electricity and internet!) in my site for my next two years. I have been assigned to a small village in the Plateaux region of Togo, the second southernmost region. I am here now because, as Peace Corps trainees, we have a two-week site visit before we swear-in as volunteers in August. The silence I am experiencing at my site and I had experienced with my host family is not necessarily due to the language barrier but is rather intentional. The silence I experience is not the lonely kind but a social silence. This silence is something that Peace Corps Togo has pushed us to discover—a ...

The most delicious beignets from the local market The friendly neighborhood sheep loitering around my outdoor French class This Togolese moth is about five inches across A Peace Corps jeep on the way to our host families! Baker's oven with the most amazing smelling bread View of Lomé from the roof of Peace Corps headquarters A sample of the many varieties of pagne offered at the local market. Pagne is the beautiful fabric that is worn in Togo. Just buy the fabric and then bring it a tailor to make a custom-made suit, dress, skirt etc. for about $7 total. Sundays are for laundry. The only washing machines they have here are the people themselves, so we must handwash all laundry, and it’s incredibly difficult Togolese soda that tastes like bubblegum This is my youngest host brother Edoh. Just under two years old, he is a true adventurer. He loves chasing around the chickens. It’s hard to be mad at him when he tries to ...

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...