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. 

World Cup Fever

“Soccer is a magical game.”

~David Beckham

I can’t believe I have forgotten to blog about watching the World Cup here in Togo, so I am rectifying that mistake right now. About the only sport that all Togolese people seem to be united around is soccer (football). It’s everywhere in Togo, by far the most popular sport. I’m not even sure what other sports people play here besides soccer. 

I have always had mixed feelings about soccer, because I played on a team as a kid that introduced me to the culture of "mean girls...." not much fun, but definitely a valuable character-building experience. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? I finally came to my senses, quit soccer, and devoted all my time to tennis. Since then I have preferred to watch tennis, basketball, and football. 

That being said, since I have been living in Togo, and especially with the World Cup happening right now, I have really enjoyed watching the matches. It has become the highlight of the last couple of weeks here and I can’t wait till Tuesday when the semifinals begin. I started by going into town every night to watch the games at the local bars that had television, but my official Togolese work partner didn’t like this, thinking it was too dangerous. One afternoon he showed up at my house with a TV. Surprise! I was absolutely shocked. He is letting me have it at my house for the duration of the tournament and then he will come and collect it once it’s over. So I have had the pleasure of watching the matches in the comfort of my own home. I can’t describe how weird and unnatural it felt at first to have a TV in my house. 

Sadly, the U.S. isn’t in the tournament anymore, but they still played their hearts out against Belgium. Now I am rooting for the home team, Brazil! Back when I was in the hospital in South Africa there were TVs mounted on the ceilings so patients could watch while they were lying down. There were only two channels, the Cricket Channel and the Premier League Channel. My British roommate and I had no idea how Cricket was played, so we watched the Premier League for four days. If that doesn’t make someone appreciate soccer a little, I don’t know what will. Anyway, I grew to like the Chelsea team and my favorite player was Oscar, the midfielder. He is originally from Brazil and is playing on the Brazil World Cup team. That’s mainly why I am rooting for Brazil. Also, it would be pretty great to have the home team win and take away the glory from the European teams who seem to always dominate in the international competitions. Brazil’s next match is the semifinal on Tuesday against Germany. Go Brazil and Go Oscar!

Tying Up Loose Ends

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things,

because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

~Walt Disney

This week hasn’t been full of momentous moments or beautiful hikes to waterfalls, but I have been doing lots of cleaning, organizing, and getting rid of stuff. I guess this is what all Peace Corps Volunteers have to go through during their last month of service. I have found that I really love reducing the clutter. It makes life more simple and I feel like there is more room to breathe. 

As a rule, I have tried not to accumulate too many possessions here, because it’s just more to clean all the time, but I have to admit that I've collected more than I thought I would in two years. Thankfully, I have gotten a head start and am almost done clearing out my house. Over the last week I have been giving my belongings away to friends, work partners, other volunteers, etc. I’ve also been burning a lot of trash. I think I have mentioned before that this is what we do over here, so armed with my container of propane, I've been burning all kinds of papers and packages, everything I have no use for. 

Since I’m not being replaced by a new volunteer, I also have to find a place for all my furniture. There are Togolese friends who want to buy my things, so I only have a few pieces of furniture still for sale. I’m not selling everything just yet, but I’m lining up my buyers. I want to keep some necessities like my fan and refrigerator for as long as possible, trying to hold off most of the actual sales until my last week in Kpalime.

Things are really winding down here with my work. All that is left is a big inauguration ceremony to officially open up our library on July 17^th. Other than that, I'm trying to just soak up each day here and enjoy every moment, because before I know it I will be on a plane ready to start my next adventure.