Moving On

“Why is it you can never hope to describe the emotion Africa creates? 

You are lifted. Out of whatever pit, unbound from whatever tie, 

released from whatever fear. You are lifted and you see it all from above.” 

~Fransesca Marciano

Well the day is finally here. I am officially an RPCV. WOO!! HOO!! This past week has been a little stressful, going through all the administrative check-out procedures. I have to say to people who think that the Peace Corps application process is difficult, just wait until it’s time to COS, then you will experience the REAL arduous process. What made the whole week more fun was going through all that paper work and check-out with the 27  fellow RPCVs who embarked on this crazy experience with me back in July 2012. I’d say the theme to this week was, WE DID IT!!

Most people are leaving today, either out of the Lome airport on evening flights bound for European connecting flights, or leaving to go to Ghana to catch flights home tomorrow out of the Accra airport, which sometimes has cheaper rates than the Lome airport. After dealing with my flights being cancelled twice, I FINALLY got a plan that works and I'm leaving in just a few hours. 

It hasn’t hit me yet that this period of my life living in West Africa is over. I still have a busy month ahead of me before I can process beginning to let those emotions out. I’m sure it will sink in once I get home in September.  As for the immediate future, before heading back to the U.S., I am making my way to East Africa for a month of tent-camping, safari adventure. I decided to give the Africa overlander tour experience another try, this time traveling through Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. With any luck, this will go better than the last trip did! If I have internet access along the way, I’ll try to post some updates. Now I’m off to the airport. Au revoir sweet Togo! I will never forget you.

                                                                                                                                      

Barbeque Bash

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, 

look to tomorrow, rest this afternoon.”

~Charles M. Schulz 

On Sunday our Country Director, Lauren Mamane, threw a BBQ for the 15 Peace Corps Volunteers who were first to finish the 2014 Annual Volunteer Survey. It was such fun, with American music, delicious food (including sushi!), and wonderful company. I was blown away! Lauren’s house is a beautiful oasis from the rest of Lome. With her air conditioning, pool, and lovely yard, I completely forgot where I was for a moment. It was great to relax and chat with friends, Lauren’s family, and a couple of expats living in Lome. There is such camaraderie and understanding within the expat community. I loved listening to their stories and found myself thinking many times “I understand EXACTLY how you feel!” I’m sure I will find this throughout my life whenever I talk to RPCVs or expats.

 

Au Revoir Kpalime

“Every farewell combines loss and new freedom.”

~Mason Cooley

Yesterday morning I left Kpalime for the last time and boy was that an odd feeling. It felt sad to leave this place I have called home for the last two years, but not as sad as most people would expect, because I am really ready to leave. More than anything there is a feeling of accomplishment; I felt like giving myself a high-five because I DID IT! I served for two years in the Peace Corps in Africa. Through all the hard times I never gave up. 

There were lots of trials, like two years drinking bleached water, hand-washing my laundry in a bucket, and burning my trash. I endured daily harassment and shouts of "Yovo" whenever out in public, eventually getting followed by a drunk man during a morning run (which was the end of my running routine! ha) I survived malaria and feeling like I was going to die, losing my toenails, getting hit by a motorcycle in town, and lots and lots of diarrhea. I lived to tell the tale of a rollover car accident and hospitalization in South Africa. Then, of course, there was the constant heat and humidity, the bugs and bats, and times of isolation and loneliness that you can feel when no one living around you speaks your language.

On the flip side, even though I know this probably sounds really self-centered, I feel very proud of what I achieved here with my work, teaching English, creating a library, running clubs and an English camp, and bringing a U.S. Embassy program to my school. I hope that in some small way I helped the Togolese people to understand a little bit more about the United States, and that Americans and anyone else reading this blog learned something positive about life in Togo.

It was hard to say my final goodbyes these last couple of days, but at the same time I feel SO thankful that I had the chance to meet these wonderful people who will stay in my heart forever. They taught me so much about what is truly important in life. I made many friendships here and that doesn’t just end because I am leaving. Thanks to technology, we can stay in touch, and I hope that someday I will be able to come back to Togo and see these friends again.

During my entire service I had a poster hanging in my living room of JFK and one of his famous quotes, saying “Everyone can make a difference and every person should try.” Those words inspired me every day and will continue to do so in the future. I learned a lot over these last two years, but one of the biggest lessons was to keep on trying. Things may not happen perfectly, they hardly ever do, so you just have to keep on trying and never give in to defeat.

I am in Lome now for the next week, finishing up some administrative stuff before I leave Togo. This process is called Close of Service (COS) and for the first time in Peace Corps Togo all the people who came in together are leaving together on the same day. So I will be spending the next week going through this process with my fellow volunteers who came to Togo with me in July 2012. We will have one last, final hurrah before parting and setting off on our next adventures. 

Surprise New Neighbor

 “Even in the familiar there can be surprise and wonder.” 

~Tierney Gearon

Two nights ago the absolute weirdest thing happened in front of my house, and I’m NOT exaggerating. Looking back now and thinking about it from a global perspective, I'm guessing this probably happens to many women in developing countries, but it took me by surprise.

I left my house and rode my bike to buy some phone credit. About ten minutes later, as I am turning the corner and riding down my road back to my house, I start hearing these horrifying screams from a woman. It just sounded really scary. As I approached my house I saw lots of little kids and some women and a couple of men all out in the street right in front of my house. I also see a woman on all fours in the grass right in front of my compound. She is the one who had been screaming. I didn’t really understand at first, because everyone was talking really fast in Ewe. After a few minutes, I realized that the woman just gave birth in the grass in front of my house!

Since the baby was out, but the placenta was still inside, she couldn’t really move or do anything. The women living in our neighborhood all rallied to help her. The mid-wife who lives across the street quickly came to the rescue, cleaning up the baby and everything. Eventually, the new mom went back into her compound, changed her clothes, and she and her baby left for the hospital with her husband, who wasn’t there for the birth, but came after someone called him.

Afterwards, I talked with some of the women on my street about what happened. They said they think she didn’t know her due date and she thought she was having a miscarriage when the baby was coming. One woman pointed out exactly what I was thinking, which was, why didn’t she just hurry back into her home instead of just sitting in the grass, since she was maybe 30 feet away from her compound? I think my favorite reaction was from a man who lives in the same compound as the woman, saying “I didn’t even know she was pregnant!” Others knew she was pregnant, but just didn’t think she was that far along. 

Thankfully, it seems that everything went well and the family now has a beautiful new baby boy. The whole incident was pretty shocking to me, but unfortunately, these kinds of stories are not uncommon in the developing world; at least this one has a happy ending.

Library Celebration!

“I think when you’ve traveled around a lot in Africa

you understand something that many people here don’t recognize:

the extraordinary power that is Africa at village level – at community level.”

~Stephen Lewis

Me with Madame Rose, the Peace Corps Education Program Director

Thursday we finally had the grand inauguration ceremony for our new library. It was great to see so many people show up to celebrate! I was surprised that two other Peace Corps Volunteers attended as well. The ceremony was comprised of a few small speeches given by the school founder, Mr. Dako, myself, the President of our school’s PTA, the Director of the Public Affairs office at the U.S. Embassy, the Director of Peace Corps Togo’s Gender and Education Program, and the Director of the local Education Department office in Kpalime. 

traditional dancing

Of course, like all ceremonies at schools in Togo, there were also presentations by our students. Two songs were performed (lip synced), a couple of traditional dances, and many poems. I was particularly impressed that all the students memorized their poems, even the ones that were in English!

A rap performance, because why not? right?

The biggest surprise for me was when the school's founder announced that the library will be named after me, La Biblioteque Emily Brown. I was not expecting that. It is very comforting to know that even after I leave Togo, students and teachers for years to come will be able to benefit from the work we have done here. It is the lasting mark I am leaving in Kpalime, but it was truly a community effort. I couldn’t have done any of it without the help of all the people who donated to my project, along with the hardworking painters, tile workers, electricians, carpenters, students who helped with the world map, and the constant support of our school director, Mr. Dako. Thank you ALL so much! I especially want to thank my mom, who has been very generous in sending French children’s books to our school. I plan to continue to donate books to the library every year, after my return to America. 

Ribbon cutting by the Embassy Public Affairs Director 
and Kpalime's Education Inspector

Two boxes of books given by the U.S. Embassy!

Sunday Shopping

“The odds of going to the store for a loaf of bread and coming out with 

ONLY a loaf of bread are three billion to one.”   

~Erma Bombeck

Last Sunday I took a little time for my favorite Sunday activity. No, I didn't go to church; I went shopping! I visited my favorite pagne shop downtown for probably, and sadly, the last time. I have come to love this boutique in my market. It is run by a Muslim family, so it's always open on Sundays. The owner is so relaxed and doesn't bother me when I am taking my time trying to make decisions about what to buy. Since I am leaving soon and might not be back here, I made sure to get a few pictures of these lovely people and their shop.

A Small Circle of Friends

“The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship.”  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The other day while I was cleaning I found a friendship bracelet kit that someone sent me a long time ago from the U.S., so I decided to make bracelets for all 14 kids that live in the compounds next door to me. They LOVED them. The following day a few of them came up to me, asking about the light that comes from the bracelets at night. I realized I had forgotten to tell them that they were glow-in-the-dark bracelets. They thought this was pretty cool. I have had so much fun getting to know these kids and seeing them grow these last two years.