Les Affaires Quotidiennes

This blog was written during Stage (Pre-Service Training) sometime in October or November 2007. Much of this is no longer relevant to me now.

I am pleased to report that I have been able to successfully wake up at 6:30 every morning since my arrival to Togo. I have only seriously overslept once. I ride my bike to and from school in the morning, then back for lunch, then back to school and finally home again. Another surprising facet of Togolese life is that they take 3 showers a day as opposed to the once-a-week shower I was expecting. I still shave too, although, I don’t know if that will continue. I pull my own water out of a well in my family’s compound for all my showers and shower out of bucket. I have only taken one hot shower since I have been here, but I love the cold showers, especially my afternoon shower when it’s really hot out. My family actually has a bathroom with a roof and 2 latrines and 1 douche (shower). Apparently, most people have open-air bathrooms. I have been really fortunate with the latrine situation regarding my encounters with the local wildlife. No incidents of cockroaches, mice or rats jumping out of the toilet. One of my fellow stagemates had a rat come running out of the latrine as she was about to squat down. Out of all the things I brought that I absolutely love (and there is a lot) is my Whiz Freedom, or pee funnel. I use it every time I go to the bathroom, even to the latrine at home, the exceptions being the flush toilets at the tech/training house. It just keeps all the fluids from splashing about as I am squatting. I have gotten up in the middle of the night and used the latrine and survived no problem. The key to a tidy latrine is to cover it. I also hand wash all my own laundry every Sunday. It usually takes me about half the day because for each load you wash each piece of clothing twice and rinse once. By the end, my back hurts from bending over and my hands are cut up and pruney, but the Togolese love to see me do chores the way they do them. I also wash my own dishes; the only thing I don’t do yet is cooking my own food and boiling my own water. Speaking of water, we have the choice of boiling and filtering or filtering and bleaching our water. The bleach is diluted but still makes the water taste like a swimming pool, so I prefer boiling and filtering. Much to my disappointment, my UV pen (Steripen) won’t work for some reason. I am super upset over this, as it was a gift and not a cheap one either. On the other hand, I am really glad I brought a lot of toiletries. Everyone said, “Oh, you can buy everything once you get in-country.” But, while that is true, it’s really difficult at first if you 1) have no time due to your rigorous, structured schedule, 2) don’t know the language very well, 3) don’t know where anything is, 4) don’t know the culture or how things operate, 5) no transportation anywhere (at first), and 6) don’t know how to bargain or haggle for prices. So yes, you can buy just about anything you need here, however, it’s a lot easier to do that after you’ve been here a little while. I have successfully managed to find a tailor that’s really nice and does good work. I have already had 1 dress, 1 skirt, 1 complet (ensemble outfit with a top and bottom) made, 3 pants hemmed and I am in the process of having another dress made. In Togo, the fabric used to make clothes is called pagne (pan-ya). There is very little prêt-a-porter here unless you like goodwill clothes, so most of the clothes here are tailor made. I can get an entire outfit made here including the fabric, construction, labor and alterations for about $10 USD. The marche (market) at the training site is every Friday and it is a site to behold. It’s a bit chaotic for the novice with lots of bargaining, people yelling for your attention, my watchful eyes for pickpockets and bandits and the lovely smell of fish baking in the sun. Yum!