Untying the Knots

Now is a good time to reflect on my impressions and experiences in Togo as a Peace Corps volunteer.

I must admit that the last four months I was in Africa were some of the most stressful moments of my life, so my return to America was a welcome respite. September brought with it distinct highs and lows, beginning with the excitement and luxury of the Close of Service Conference. However, it was quickly followed by a car accident and the death of my counterpart ("homologue" is the french word). October was riddled with the anxiety of saying goodbye to the village and people I now called "home," in addition to the frantic scramble to compile two years worth of work into legible reports. Perhaps a glutton for punishment, I spent a tumultuous two weeks with my significant other and obsessing about how to spend the six-week, post-service vacation I allotted for myself.

Overland travel throughout Western Africa is not a small, comfortable feat. Six weeks of sitting in hot, dusty, overcrowded buses, dodging the vomit on the floors for ten hours at a time is not for the weak or faint of heart. Then imagine, sleeping on dirt floors, or if we were lucky, in grungy hotels, on sheets that looked like they had never been washed. Our destinations weren't resorts on the beach, but meeting your boyfriend's family which is hard enough when they are from your own culture, let alone a completely different one. African families love to force feed strangers, which instead of becoming a pleasurable experience became one filled with dread. Traveling is inherently stressful, so if we didn't like each other so much, we may have parted ways, especially since I was the sole funding source for the expedition. That is an aspect I do not recommending copying. So, it is not entirely unimaginable that I eagerly welcomed the familiarity of my family's faces and a hot shower upon my return.

To be continued...