Out of Lomé

So it’s been about 2 weeks now since I left the capital city of Lome and I’ve been living in a smaller village since. It’s a village of about 6,000 people and is only 4 kilometers from a larger town where a sizable market, electricity and internet can be found (hence why I’m able to get this message out). I pretyped the majority of this message so I could be quick in the internet cafe where I am now (it costs 300 CFA for 1 hour and it's better to avoid having to type with a different keyboard).

I only just got my first letters from home 2 days ago. They all came at once but they were welcome reminders of home. Despite my displacement, I am becoming quite comfortable here. From day one I’ve been the recipient of much warm welcome from other volunteers, the community and especially the family I’m living with (which is 9 people). It’s a modest but quaint and pleasant living arrangement. Four rooms, a trellised area out front, a kitchen in an outdoor hut, a latrine and two shower compartments all surrounded by a variety of plant life including maize, pineapples, papaya trees, palm trees and more.

Mention of the fruit reminds of how well I’ve been eating thus far. I have been treated to some excellent food. It’s very much the norm to have fresh fruit with my meal, which beyond what was mentioned above also includes oranges and bananas (which are especially sweet here). I have so many oranges! Instead of pealing the oranges here they cut out the top and squeeze the juice into their mouths. Because I don’t get much else beyond bad tasting water (needless to say i've all but quit coffee drinking for the time being) I’m always looking forward to my next hand squeezed orange juice.

These people are also sauce extraordinaires too. While they subsist off a couple of normally bland stable crops, they are able to turn out some amazing dishes by having a variety of sauces that is usually kicked with a healthy dose of hot pepper. In case you were curious they mainly eat fingerfood dishes called “pat” or “pot” (ground maize), “fufu” (pounded manioc or yam that becomes a kind of sticky mashed potato), couscous, macaroni or rice. Sometimes they will supplement it with chicken, goat, fish or even guinea pig!

There’s been a lot of adjustments so far and there is no doubt that there will be many more to come. Nonetheless, I manage to do just fine and in fact it’s very easy to maintain a good spirit despite inconveniences (such as the norm of wearing pants in humid 80-90 degrees to be polite or the need to purify every drink of water you take). Somehow the spirit of these people make you forget about some of these things that I would instinctively be unsettled by. But in fact, some of the inconveniences are becoming pleasures. I can’t take a faucet shower but every night I do get to take a bucket bath while gazing up at a million sparkling stars. Try and tell me that’s not cool!

Il faut que j'y aille! A la prochaine!