Fresh Starts, New Beginnings

"From the end spring new beginnings."
~Pliny the Elder

View from the front door of my new house

Wow, it has been a long time since I’ve posted on here. Sorry, I actually forgot I had a blog for a while there. It’s been a crazy month and now with school starting up again tomorrow, there’s no end soon. After returning from my travels up north, I came back to Kpalime, and about a week and a half later, I moved to a new house. At the old place there were too many security issues, so Peace Corps people in Lome decided it was time to relocate. I tried to ignore the problems for a while, but in the end I think the move was inevitable and I’m very happy with my new place. I’m still surprised how fast everything went. I packed up all my belongings in one day, and just two days later was hauling it all into a truck and unpacking in my new house. Moving was a little stressful, especially keeping it a secret from my neighbor, but now I am here and feeling at peace.

Just a couple days after the move, about 10 volunteers came to visit Kpalime over Spring Break. It was nice to finally have visitors! We went up into the mountains one day and toured a coffee producer's land. It was absolutely beautiful. The drive up, on the back of a moto, was a little scary, due to the conditions of the roads, but the scenery was gorgeous, like something out of a movie. We hit up some of the better restaurants in the area that I have been waiting to visit with  friends. I had a great time showing everyone around, and I can’t wait for more visitors!

Chantal's boys in their matching outfits for Easter

I almost forgot, Happy Easter everyone!! Easter here is quite a celebration. Every holiday includes bold new pagne outfits, new hair weaves, and lots of dancing, drinking, and singing. I never really thought of Easter as a party, but it sure is one here in Togo. This marked my fifth Easter in a row away from home, so when I was asked about what my family does for Easter in the United States, it took me a while to remember. I tried to explain the Easter Bunny a few times, but in the end I think people just thought I was crazy. While at a friend’s house yesterday, another volunteer and I showed the kids how to dye eggs with an egg dyeing kit sent from America. I also showed them how to blow the egg out of its shell, which they thought was pretty funny.

After a whirlwind week and a half, I’m finally settling down in my new place and getting prepared for the last trimester of the school year.... looking forward to summer and all the projects coming along with it.