Akwuete: "you know why the banana is curved?"
Phil: "no not really"
Akwete: "the banana is curved because it used to be friends with the plantain. Then one day a disagreement arose between them and they couldn't settle it, not even the king. So the plantain took a stick and whacked the banana in the stomach. That's why its curved"
Phil: "oh I see.... but isn't the plantain curved too?"
Akuwete: "Oh yeah! it is... umm, maybe it was the sugar cane... yeah,
I think it was the sugar cane that hit the banana!"
Hello all,
Life has been buzzing along pleasantly here in Togo. I've been settling in, figuring out the town, taxis, and local food. It surprisingly did not take much time before I started feeling comfortable, and I can definitely say with sincerity that... I love it here :) I love waking up every day excited about the work I'm doing. I love that something basic like going to the market to get groceries is usually an adventure, or that walking back to my apartment takes 20 minutes longer than it should because every person on my street wants to ask me about my day, teach me a new word in Ewe, or offer me some random home-made beverage. I love how bats randomly fly into the gym I work out in, or people drive scooters while carrying goats and chickens. I love getting to speak French every day (and Ewe, a new addition to my linguistic repertoire). And oddly I even love being that one random white guy that everyone stares at because really, why the heck is there some white guy walking around a local neighborhood or riding his bike around town or having a drink at a shack miles from any tourist resort? In short: it's going great.
The past month has seen some wonderfully fun little adventures that I've partaken in, and I thought I'd share a few of them. As the chronology of it all isn't important I'll just list them below:
OUTSIDE LOME
I've started to travel around the region a bit, the most significance being a couple weekends ago. We had Friday off for the Muslim holiday Tabaskii (usually referred to as Eid in most places), so I headed off with a Togolese friend, Charles, to the southwestern part of the country. This area also happens to be the Voodoo stronghold of the region. Our travels were complete with the 5 to 6 to 7 people piled into one taxi, as well as the intermittent taxi breakdowns in the middle of the highway. On our way Charles asked me if I wanted to meet "the King of Aneho", to which I responded "oh course!" Apparently every town and village has a king. So in Aneho I met my first king! the best part? He does in fact wear a crown! We were invited to his "palace" (really a large home, but nice by the standards of the town) and met with him in his living room, where he sat in a highly decorated couch with a white robe and silver crown, and posters of himself everywhere. He really was a great guy though, very clever and open-minded. He had established a medical clinic and youth center in the town, so it was clear he was trying to do great things in his area.
Afterwards we went to a small town called Vogan, famous for its huge market. One section said market was filled with Voodoo fetishes, which are basically animal parts (or skulls) that you can buy to use in ceremonies where you can receive blessings or apparently cast spells. Evidently while most people in Togo identify themselves as either Christian or Muslim, Voodoo (in essence "traditional beliefs") is also widely practiced as well. People basically pick and choose whatever parts of the religions they want to practice. A note about religion here: Togolese appear to be incredibly tolerant people religiously. They are fervent believers in their creed, but they also adamantly support their fellow countermen's faith. Everyone in the country celebrates both Christian and Muslim holidays. People are friends with people from both faiths. I was told about one instance
when a church needed more people to attend a service, and folks from the mosque came and sat in. It is incredibly refreshing to see such a wonderful example of religious tolerance and coexistence. It is also great to see people who can follow their beliefs with a strong conviction, yet be perfectly able to respect other people's difference of opinion. I imagine that everything is probably not completely as rosy as I'm painting it, but for now I feel like a lot of places could learn lessons from Togo's example.
NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM
One of my favorite events of the past month was going with a group of Togolese friends to see Togo's national soccer team play against Gabon to qualify for the upcoming African Cup. Soccer is popular throughout the continent, but West Africa in particular is a pretty competitive region. Needless to say people go crazy for it here. Hoards of people crammed the roads as they headed to the stadium, blowing horns and whistles on the way. At the stadium, standing in line basically consisted of a huge crowd forcefully pushing through a narrow space while police officers tried in vain to have any control. The game itself was a rambunctious event, with people sitting nervously in their seats only to jump up and explode in cheers, yelling, and more horn blowing after each goal. One guy behind me had a tendency to pick me up and shake me around each time Togo scored a goal. Togo did win, which prompted nearly the entire stadium rushing the field in raucous celebration. Afterwards people drove all around town still blowing their horns. At a little outdoor bar in town, where my friends and I were celebrating with a the victory drink, people in the bar spontaneously just started blowing their horns and whistles, while other patrons from across the space would answer back with their own calls. It was nuts, it was great, it was Togo at its best.
ELECTIONS
One of the most special moments for me was election night. The embassy hosted an all-night viewing (10 pm to 6 am) and invited everyone from expats to Togolese teachers, students, politicians, businessmen, and others to share in the festivities. Live feeds from CNN and France 24 (a French news station) were shown, and various
activities, like a mock vote, were done. Besides my enjoyment at witnessing the US diplomats pained efforts to maintain their diplomatic personas while fighting sleep deprivation and punch-drunkenness, the real joy was the Togolese themselves. To repeat what I said on my facebook post, If there's ever any proof of the importance of American elections to the rest of the world, I witnessed it watching the hundreds of Togolese who stayed up all night on a weekday to cram the embassy and follow the elections. They watched it like they did a soccer game: tense and quietly, constantly asking nervous questions about what results meant, erupting in applause or moans as certain states went this way or that. They were truly more jazzed about it then many of the Westerners there. It really is true however, that whatever political direction the US may vacillate between, the reality is that the rest of the world knows that our future will effect their future. This should not be lost on us.
THE TOGOLESE
This seems like an appropriate place to mention something about the Togolese themselves. I've found that Togolese are wonderful people who go about their life with fun. There's sort of a curiosity surrounding western foreigners here, probably because Togo doesn't receive nearly as many tourists or aid workers as neighboring Ghana or Benin. So I often get approached by people who generally just want to meet me and find out why I'm here... I've very rarely had people hassle me or be rude. It also feels as if 90% of the people here are extreme extroverts like me and love talking, so its pretty easy to meet people. Its a lot like the first couple weeks of college where you can just go up to anyone, introduce yourself, and start talking. One other thing I love is the playfulness of the people. The work day is almost always full of jokes. In fact, in any conversation people
try and turn it into a joke. I've found that its really helped my temperament whenever I am in stressful or frustrating situations. I've realized that the more I can turn something into a joke, the better things go. This has been incredibly helpful in the few situations where I have had to deal with hassle and whatnot. I'm not really sure when they sleep though, because on weekends they go out until 6 am, but then get up around the same time to go running in the morning. I've been told that some go out all night, then go running, then sleep after. Its impressive
One other peculiarity is the, shall I say, awkward honesty of the Togolese. Case in point: I was getting my haircut, and I asked my hair-cutter what Togolese like to do on weekends. His response: "well you know for me on Sundays I always like to hang out with my mistress". He was speaking in English so I gave him the benefit of
the doubt that he didn't quite understand that word's particular nuance. However he quickly made sure to remove any doubt by adding: "you know I am married, but I also just like to have a mistress to hang out with as well". I have more examples of hearing even more inappropriate things said, but I'm sure you get the idea. At any rate
when you never know what people are going to say, it always makes for entertaining conversation.
I'll wrap things up from here. I did not go into my work so much, but this month has been pretty interesting with stuff so I'll makes sure to elaborate more on what I'm doing here in the next message. However until then you now have a little glimpse into Togolese living and my day-to-day existence here. Anyways stay safe and stay happy wherever you are on the globe, and if you ever get a spare moment, do let me know how you are doing!
Merci, Akpe, and Eizande (not sure how thats spelled but its my best guess)
Phil D
PS and check out my new photos on facebook if you havent already! http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100333214073380.2410239.25902960&type=1&l=1ee3c77d35
