Nature Calls

“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.”

                                                                         ~Aristotle

On Saturday I went on a little adventure up to Kpime waterfall with some other Peace Corps Volunteers who were in Kpalime. First we took a 20-minute moto ride to the base of a mountain. Then we proceeded on foot all the way up the mountain, and even farther along the top, hiking through the forest to finally reach this beautiful waterfall. The whole trip took about 3.5 hours total, but it was so worth it. It’s the strongest waterfall I have seen in Togo. There was an incredible wind that made the water fly up and around you like a misty rain. It was so peaceful and meditative to be up there completely surrounded by nature and to feel so secluded. 

hiking up the mountain road above the fog

trekking to the waterfall through the jungle

Along the way we met a few men who lived in houses up there, really separated from society and civilization. They were sweet and one even had to help us when we got completely lost. It was an exhausting trip, but so much fun. I love little adventures that make me feel like a tourist at my own site. It's good to be reminded that we don't always have to travel far from home to enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature.

 

some locals doing laundry

English Summer Camp

“The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

~Dr. Seuss

Friday marked the end of our four-day English camp at school. There were 42 middle school students from my school who participated in the camp.  I worked with the other English teacher to organize the camp activities and games. It was great to see my students enjoying the activities and using English outside of the classroom setting. I think some students don’t like learning English because they think it is hard and boring, but when you show them how much fun It can be, that can help to motivate them to keep trying. 

You might be wondering what kind of activities you do at English camp. Here are a few examples:

• Ice Breakers: duck, duck, goose, the hokey pokey, Simon says, etc. 
• Pictionary: split into three teams, take turns sending one person to the board to draw, the person picks a piece of paper out of a hat and has to draw what is written on the paper, the first team to say what it is they are drawing wins one point. Some examples were a dog, boat, school, river, laundry, and sewing. 

•  Blindfolded Scavenger Hunt: Split into two teams. Have previously hidden bits of fabric throughout the school courtyard. The first person gives instructions to their blindfolded teammate on where to go to get the fabric. Once the blindfolded person successfully finds the fabric, they blindfold the next person in line and now it is their turn to give instructions on how to find the piece of fabric. The first team to finish wins and since it is English camp all the instructions have to be said in English. 

• Circle It:  Split the group into two teams. Have many words previously written on the black board. The teams form three lines and each first person in line has a piece of chalk. The instructor says one word that is written on the blackboard. Then the first team to find and circle the word gets one point. If they circle the wrong word they lose one point.

Those are just a few examples of games we played. The students also learned a few new songs during camp. They especially like Bob Marley. We also viewed three movies. The first day we watched Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc, and the students enjoyed it so much that we decided to just continue and watch the whole Indiana Jones series. One thing my students have in common with Indiana Jones is how much they hate snakes!! It was so funny to watch their reaction to the snakes in the film. They really freaked out and a few even ran out of the classroom! Overall, I'd say camp was a success. It felt good to have one last classroom experience with my students. I will miss these kids.

Not Just an Ordinary Day

  "There will come a time when we will sit down
to the banquet of our consequences."
~Robert Louis Stevenson

This week is  our English Camp at school. Things are going very well and I am so proud of my students. Every day in the program there is time to watch a film, which has attracted a lot of students to participate in the camp. Today we were about an hour into Indiana Jones: The Temple of Doom, when the power went out. We had to take a short break, because the projector doesn’t work without power, so I went to the office, where there was a conversation taking place between my school director, the founder, and a teacher. Let’s just say it was not a civil conversation and things were getting pretty heated. Later on after the teacher left, the director and founder explained what was happening, and I have to say I am so impressed and proud of my school and its quick reaction to the situation.

Apparently, during Semaine Culturelle, a week of celebration at school with dance, songs, sketches, and games, one afternoon the Geography teacher took a bunch of students to a bar and partied and drank a lot with them. In Togo there really isn't a drinking age, and even babies sip beer from their parents' cups on occasion. There have been a few times that I've seen my students at a bar drinking, and they are about 13-15 years old. 

When my director found out about this, he went directly to the Inspector of Education’s office in Kpalime and told him what happened. The Inspector ruled that this teacher can no longer teach, so basically, he is fired. My director quickly informed the teacher of this and within a week had already hired another teacher to replace him. Today the teacher who was fired showed up at my school to talk to the director and founder. I’m not sure why he would come back to the school to discuss the matter, since it was already resolved. 

The teachers, director, and I have always known that this specific teacher drinks too much, but taking your students to a bar and getting drunk was the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back.’ I’m so happy with the quick action the school and Inspector took to get this teacher out of our school. Who knows what will happen with him; my director said he will probably have to move to Lome or another town where they don’t know him in order to find a new job.

The Beginning of the End

“Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; 

for not all tears are an evil.”

~ J.R.R. Tolkien

Yesterday I returned from my COS (Close of Service) Conference. To be completely honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to this conference. I’m not good at goodbyes, and knowing that this conference is beginning the process of saying goodbye to the other 30 or so volunteers I have come to know over these two years made me dread its arrival. 

The conference started at our Lome Peace Corps offices, where we had a career panel session with RPCVs (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) working in Togo. We had TB tests. There was an administration session to go over our final volunteer allowances/reimbursements, and our cash in lieu payments, if not taking a Peace Corps flight booking to go directly home from Togo. 

Then the conference moved to a beautiful hotel a little outside of Lome. It was the nicest hotel I’ve stayed at in Togo. We were on the beach with a pool, air conditioning, hot water in every room, and amazing meals with real tableware and cloth napkins! Funny that those things probably don’t seem special at any hotels in America, but after being a PCV in West Africa for two years, they have become luxuries to us. 

The rest of the COS Conference sessions were about preparing us for the future, specifically, our job searches and continuing education. We had sessions on revising our resumes, how to properly explain our accomplishments in resumes and cover letters, how to search for federal government jobs that we can apply for with our noncompetitive eligibility, and interview tips, etc. It was an overwhelming experience for me. We talked about how when you are finished with your Peace Corps service, "the world is your oyster” and there are so many different directions you can take. I’ve always been a very indecisive person. I wish this wasn't the case, because choosing one path is not going to be easy. The great thing about being in my generation, though, is that we tend to not stay on one path for the rest of our lives and believe there is no shame in leaving one path for another. Keeping that in mind will make planning my future much less stressful. 

 

Certificate ceremony with US Ambassador Whitehead,
 and representatives from the Togo Ministries of Health and Agriculture.

I had a wonderful time reconnecting with friends and volunteers whom I haven’t seen in a long time. We have all been so busy and wrapped up in our work, so it was great fun to be together again, and to have the chance to say goodbye to a couple of people who are COSing early. On our last night at the hotel we had a candlelight ceremony that was very emotional. I’m usually pretty reserved and save crying for when I’m alone, but I couldn’t hold back the tears. Thinking about how much we have grown together these past two years and all that we have endured, it was very difficult for for everyone to comprehend that we will soon be saying our final goodbyes.  Hopefully, I will be able to keep it together better when COS week arrives the first week of August. 

I am back in Kpalime now and the countdown has begun. The packing and sorting have already started. My last big activity is my English Camp at school next week. There is only a little less than 8 weeks until I say goodbye to Kpalime and return to Lome for COS week. Then I will leave Lome on August 8th to begin my epic COS vacation trip, before finally heading home. 

We Have a Library!

"Books fall open, you fall in."

~David McCord

A couple of weeks ago our library was finally finished! This last week I completed and turned in my final reports, so my work is officially done for this project. It took much longer than I had anticipated, but it was absolutely worth all the effort. Here is a picture of some of my students reading books during one of their free hours. More books will continue to be added as the years go on, but for now we have made a wonderful start. I am so grateful for the generous support from our donors, who helped to make this library a reality. Thank you all SO MUCH, and please know that you made a powerful difference in the lives of these students.