Settling In

Tuesday, July 9th

Tomorrow marks exactly one month in Africa.

Although I still have a lot to learn, I feel like I’m finally starting to adjust to my new life here. Though I could do it more eloquently, I’ve chosen to just list out some of the things I’m experiencing here:

Our dog, Milo, is now my best friend. It only took a couple of chicken bones to win his affection.

People have stopped shouting ‘YOVO!’ (foreigner) at me when I walk around the village. I have actually made a few friends that I see and chat with consistently.

I have discovered the abundance of avocados, mangoes, and pineapple here. When I leave my host family to live alone for two years, these will make up the majority of my diet. I’m picking up a few recipes from my host mom, but I’ll be dependent on these quick fixes when I don’t feel like spending an hour with my charcoal stove.

My digestive system is functioning properly once again.

I love when it rains! I have a tin roof over my room and retreating inside of it is the only time the noise here gets drowned out. From 4am until 10pm, there’s shouting, drums, roosters, babies crying, motos honking, and radios and televisions blaring. I have to admit, it’s much less peaceful here than I had imagined. And yes, my house right now has electricity. Although this may sound very exciting, it only adds to the consistent sound. I’m having to adjust the majority of the expectations I had coming here.

I’ve finished one book: Into the Wild. Cliché, I know. My “big” sent it to me in the mail a few days ago and I couldn’t put it down. Now, onto War and Peace. That one should also only take me a couple of days…

I have a mountain bike to ride around on. Along with my previous knowledge of how to change a tire, I can also fix/replace a chain, grease brake and derailleur cables, and change break pads. All of which I learned how to do in French.

I’ve had roaches and spiders on my face. Wasps have been stuck in my hair. And flies orbit my head nonstop.

We visited the Marché last week to practice bargaining in French. I was able to buy a pagne and had it made into a traditional dress. One of many more to come. I also bought a grass mat to use for yoga since I failed to pack one.

Here, it’s custom to say hi to EVERYONE you see on the street. Every single person. If you don’t say “Bonjour”, “Bonsoir”, or “Waezolo”, you are thought to be extremely rude. Even if you see that person four times that day, you better say hi every time. I’m struggling with this. I’m used to keeping to myself with my headphones in as per habit of walking around campus.

In addition to the dance moves I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve discovered some other past times to share with my siblings and the neighborhood kids: juggling, rock-paper-scissors tournaments, and hangman. There’s also my consistent use of pictionary and charades to make up for my lack of language. My brother taught me a hopping game where you try to push the other over and I showed him yoga poses.

Although I’m far from fluent, my French has improved dramatically. We have language classes up to 5 hours a day and one-on-one tutoring twice a week. After mastering a certain level of French, I will be able to move onto Kabie – my local language for my new post.

Right, new post.

I have been assigned my village of service for two years starting in August. I will be in Keremida in the Kara region of Togo. It is just off the border of Benin. My focus will be on family planning and child nutrition. I’ll have a post later on dedicated to the details once I know more.

Along with my location, I’ve learned a bit about my living situation. The Peace Corps has started placing volunteers in compounds for safety reasons. This means I will have my own building, but fenced in with other buildings occupied by other people. From what I’ve been told, I know this includes a vendor and his family and a priest. I will also have electricity here, but no cell service. My village is 30 minutes from Kara, my regional capital, so I can go there whenever I need to restock on stuff and use the internet.

As I’m sure anyone could imagine, there are some days that I’m really excited to be here, and there are others where I miss my family and friends more than anything. The people are what have made it so enjoyable thus far. Spending time and having fun with my family, my teachers, and the neighborhoods kids without great verbal communication gives me confidence that I will continue to feel more at home here as my language skills develop. Also, some of the health sessions we’ve had have really made me look forward to my future work. This past week we gave a practice session to a group of teenage girls about HIV/AIDS prevention and family planning. It was so rewarding to feel you were making an impact and empowering them to take responsibility for their bodies and their health. There are also parts I’m really nervous about. Togo has a patriarchal society and there will be many times my guidance and skills will not be accepted because of that fact. I know that will be one of my greatest challenges.

I’m slowly accepting that my college life in Austin is part of the past now. I think back on all the memories I have and am overcome with immense appreciation, joy, and also sadness. It was an incredible chapter of my life and a very very hard one to close. I will awkwardly take this opportunity to thank anyone reading this that was a part of it. Love you and miss you all.

I look forward to the day that I am that happy here.

This will be my last past for several weeks. In the next one, I’ll be able to tell you more about my post and future work. I get to visit it in two weeks!

Here’s to the next chapter!

Shea