More Goodbyes

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

~ A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

 

On September 14^th it was officially time to leave training and move to our posts. The last week leading up to this felt weird, knowing that we wouldn't be seeing each other until our In Service Training in November. Earlier in the week we had a little party with the host families at our training center. Each program performed a little American skit in French. EGE did field day. We played egg toss, wheelbarrow race, and tug-of-war. The host families loved it! The other programs did skits about Halloween and the Super Bowl, complete with a half-time show, including a Lady Gaga dance performance.

On another night, as part of our last hurrah together, EGE did a “last supper.” We made a delicious dinner, which included black bean burgers, chicken, rice, crepes, and a big batch of sangria. It was a very special meal and I will never forget the fun we had preparing it all. We’ve really become a tight-knit group over the last two months; sitting together and enjoying our small feast felt like eating with family.

Saying our goodbyes on the morning we left was so hard. My host sisters, Adzovi and Yayra, showed up at the tech house wearing the tie-dye t-shirts I gave them as gifts. It was not easy to leave them. They are the younger sisters I never had, and I couldn’t help but get a little emotional when it was time to say goodbye. I hope I will have a chance to visit these sweet girls again in the future. Leaving training was sad, but I think we are all ready for the next step and for our work in Togo to really begin. The next two years are going to go so fast; I can’t believe it’s almost October already. Time seems to be flying by.