Town at Night

It’s about bed time for me right now as I right, but I want to get an entry ready for when I go to town either tomorrow or the next day. As I contemplate what to write I’m stroking the fine bristles of my very distinguished African moustache. Facial hair is a rare thing to see with the locals here, so I wear mine proudly. I figure why not? The peepers are chirping outside my window just like they do at home and while my computer is on (freshly charged off the generator last night) I’m able to indulge in some French music in the light of my lantern.
Doing things by lantern light has become second nature already. Being as I never really minded power outages, I’m still getting a kick out of using that and a couple handy flashlights for getting about at night. I ran out of oil yesterday but tonight my lantern is full. I just got back not long ago from buying the lamp oil. It cost 475 CFA for a liter and two small boxes of matches. That comes out to about $1 U.S. (depending on the generosity of the exchange rate, if one has larger bills one might get 500 CFA/ U.S. dollar). I bought it from a corner boutique where a mother has her son measure out a liter according to an old glass bottle. He uses a funnel to pour the pre-measured oil into my plastic Voltic bottle (Voltic is one of the reliable bottled water producers in Togo). Here bottles are precious and you have to bring your own bottle to put your oil into. And if you buy a soda you better make good on your promise to return the bottle if you plan on taking it with you. Otherwise, you’re probably not welcome back. They may not have a bottle deposit here but I can tell you already that these people do a much better job of recycling bottles than we do in the states.
The walk back at night time along the main road reminds me of the old trucks that constantly rumble through town. There’s a cement factory further down the road from town. The cement is made and shipped out all over the country of Togo and even into neighboring Ghana and Benin. They’re loaded into what are basically semi’s, except none of them look any newer than 20 years old, each one clearly overused and under maintained.
I am accustomed to them by now, but I still think about the risk they bring to the safety of the people who happen to be along this road. Even at night the trucks come through town at a good clip and it’s a wonder that more accidents don’t happen involving these trucks or even the other bush taxis and motor bikes that cruise through town at all times.
Two weeks ago there was an accident involving one truck maybe 1 kilometer outside of town. The truck had gone off the side of a bridge and crashed into the river bank. As far as anyone could figure there were multiple casualties including a pedestrian, the driver and several of his passengers who no doubt were merely riding in the open back of the truck. But there was no telling what caused the accident. There was only speculation. It could have been that the driver fell asleep (truck drivers here must drive through the night without proper rest) or it could have just as easily been a loss of breaks at the wrong time. Regardless, it took about a week for the truck to finally be removed from the river. These kind of things are always unsettling but I was somewhat surprised by the lack of concern that people had for what had happened. It seems to me that these things are somewhat commonplace and that people are almost just used to it.
But this isn’t to give the impression that all’s gloomy here! Walking through town at night is in fact quite a neat thing. It’s probably the time the street is the busiest thanks to the night vendors who come out to sell the goods that they didn’t have time to sell during the day. Although you can’t always see the vendors themselves, the things they sell are all lit on roadside tables by innumerable oil lamps. You might also happen to hear music playing if one of the town’s two bars is playing music that night with electricity from their generators.
Tonight I my eye was caught by a type of peanut snack that one woman was selling. Peanuts are pretty common here in Togo so apart from being used in sauces they also make homemade candy from them. They remind me of the center of a butterfinger in a way with that hard texture but nutty flavor. Urged by my sweet tooth I bought two, one for myself and one for my brother who had helped me find the oil stand and who was carrying my oil for me. He’s a very helpful kid. Always willing and cheerful. Tomorrow he’ll be making the walk along the same road 6 kilometers and back just to visit his older brother who works in the bigger town with a grinder called a “moulin” (the thing that grinds the maize into a powder). I tell him to be careful and think how horrified my mom would have been by the thought of me walking alone for 6 km along such a road at the age of 15 with no cell phone she could call to check up on me with. But that’s the way here. He’s not doing anything abnormal.