Oh What a Beautiful Morning!

"All I know is that every time I go to Africa, I am shaken to my core." 

- Horst Koehler 

Yesterday was a great day! The director of my program, Madame Rose, visited me in Kpalime and I had so much fun. My site mate, Gracie, hit the nail on the head when she said “Madame Rose is like the Togolese Oprah!” It’s so true! It was wonderful to see her, show her my school, and introduce her to my students; they loved her. Talking with Madame Rose about my life in Kpalime, my work at the school, and future projects in the greater community has made me very motivated and excited about the opportunities here.

This morning I took a bike ride up into the mountains with my awesome friend, Gracie! I rolled out of bed at 4:45am so that we could get an early start and see the sunrise. Like usual here, we were not the only ones out on the road at 5:05am. There were several kids running on the same road we were on. They were all dressed in typical soccer uniforms, but they were missing running shoes, which any American would probably consider essential. Instead, they run in flip flops, sandals, loafers, vans, or anything else that works. Yet, they could probably outrun any American kid their age. Amazing.

The ride was not easy, and we had to stop and walk a lot. It was absolutely worth the effort, because the scenery was out of this world! I couldn't believe it, there aren't words to describe it. We passed a beautiful waterfall and took tons of pictures of the incredible views. At some points I felt like I was walking up “the green tunnel” at home. It took my breath away. While we were riding down the mountain back to Kpalime, Gracie said “Hey Em, We’re in Africa!” Yes. We. Are.