No longer PCT.... I'm a PCV!

So… I am now officially a Peace Corps Volunteer! I have been trained and sworn in. It feels amazing after all that I have gone through to get here, to be here! We had a grand celebration at the US Ambassador's house on Thursday Dec. 6th. It was most definitely a milestone moment in my life to raise my right hand and say the oath. I know that my Grandmother was there with me. It was indescribable!
I have been in Lome for 5 days now, shopping and getting ready to go to Post. I leave in the morning for my village to start getting settled in as a PCV and I am nervous and very excited!

I know that it has been a long time since I last wrote so let me back track a little and tell you about ‘Stage’ (aka training) since I last wrote. I went to my post for a week long visit which was interesting and exciting. My village, Wassarabo, is very small and very poor but the people are extremely welcoming and seem to be very excited to work with a Peace Corps Volunteer, especially the school. I think I agreed to be the new English teacher at the middle school. It’s a big project to take on and I’m not sure if I have the necessary skills. I’ll just have to wait and see how things go. I really like the school setting and I am anxious to start some clubs and girls groups. It is also great because the students are just learning French like me so that will help my language progress. I won’t look too foolish bumbling around in french. We’ll be learning together.

Wassarabo is a great village and my house is nice. I have 3 rooms and I share the building/compound with 3 other families, two of which are male teachers and can also help me with my french. Bonus! The rooms in my house are small but nice. One will be my living/ working/ eating room, one will be my kitchen and the other will be my bedroom. The latrine and ‘shower’ are outside on the side of my house. By shower I mean a concrete square where I use a bucket and a cup to wash. The best part about an outdoor shower is at night when the stars are my ceiling. It’s breathtaking! I have no electricity or running water but the well is close by and the ambiance of candles is nice.
It will be an adjustment to say the least but I am looking forward to the challenge and the work that lies ahead.
The remainder of training has been great as always. Learning lots everyday and spending great time with my host family. I have learned how to make soy/tofu, taught at the local high school for practice, visited a NGO for women’s rights in Lome, and started learning local language. I also successfully completed my language classes and after the final oral exam, I am in the necessary level! I am so thankful for that!
Speaking of being thankful... my first Thanksgiving in Africa was fantastic. We had the day off and I got some time to just relax. The Peace Corps organized for a chef to come up from Lome and cook us a feast. It was so good. I had turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and even canned cranberries sauce. After the dinner we played cards and shared family stories and pictures. It was hard to be away from home of course, but I have a great new family here in Togo.
We were lucky enough to be here in Togo for the 45th Anniversary of Peace Corps Togo. It was a great celebration and there were lots of great people there including the U.S. Ambassador to Togo and the number 2 of all of Peace Corps from Washington DC. It was really heart warming knowing that the Peace Corps has been so welcomed here. Lots of great stories were shared about how volunteers have touched the lives of the Togolese. It was inspiring!
The last week at our training sight was sad. I have fallen in love with my host family and it was really hard to say goodbye. They took such good care of me and I really felt like part of their family. I will go back for many a visits during my stay here in Togo. I will miss their "Bon Arrive" every time I got home and I will miss the little ones running up to give me a big hug everyday. I will miss sitting in the cuisine watching my mother and sister cook, listening to and not understanding a foreign language, just taking it all in. I will never forget those moments!
I also had a second family within the training staff! They are absolutely incredible and I owe the world to them for their patience and persistence teaching my 2 new languages and training me to be a Girls Education and Empowerment PCV. There support and friendship got me through stage and will get me through the next two years. Thank you to you all for everything!
So I am setting off for yet another adventure tomorrow morning. I will be on my own, trained and ready for this new role. I am anxious and nervous and know that the first couple of months will be the most difficult. I will need lots of letters and e-mails from home! But none the less I can't wait to get in there and start working! This will also be my first Christmas away from home. I will be getting together with my fellow PCV's for a few days of Holiday, but it just wont be the same as being at home. I have never had a warm Christmas so it will be new for me. You will all have to sing a Christmas Carol for me and maybe do a snow angel (if there is any snow)!
I will be thinking about each of you this holiday season. Remember what is important in life. You can buy lots of gifts and things, but you can never buy love, friendship and respect. Building relationships is priceless and life changing so this Christmas, embrace your relationships old and new! I know that I am doing that here in Togo and just want to thank you all for our relationship. You all have been important parts in my life, big or small, and I am thankful for each of you!
So for now, that's all I have. I will get in touch the next time I have a chance. Keep me in your thoughts and I promise to do the same.
Peace, Love and Merry Christmas!
And P.S. maybe best of all... I have added pictures to a website. Follow the link on the right hand side of the screen and Enjoy!

Encore!

Hello everyone! Can you believe I have been in Togo for over a month now? I know, me neither. It is really amazing how fast time has gone! First let me apologies for the lack of information. It has been difficult, as I am sure you can imagine, to get to a computer let alone internet in a third world country. But I guess its all part of the experience!

So my first month of Peace Corps Togo has been phenomenal. I surprise myself everyday with my ability to communicate in a new language, try new foods, bike through the mud and of course learn about the work that I will be doing the next two years. One of the highlights has been hiking up Mount Agou. The view west is absolutely gorgeous. I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw Ghana because our training site is really close to the boarder and we were really high. I also have really enjoyed my new form of transportation, my bike. The Togolese children love it and it is so fun to ride by and ring my bell for them. And I can’t complain about the added bonus of a slight breeze on my way to and from school.

A lot has happened the last few weeks. I got my post assignment and I am thrilled. I will be living in a small village called Wassarabo. It is in the Central region and I am only 17 km from the regional capital, which means I am close to the bank, market and maybe the occasional cold drink. It is a new post so I will be the first Girls Ed PCV there. I am really excited to begin working with the villagers and seeing what this Peace Corps thing is all about!

After we all got our post assignments, we got to go on a field trip. It was perfect timing because we got to pass through a lot of the regions and see where we will be living. The trip was only 3 days and the majority of that time was spent in the car but I had a great time. It one thing to sit in a classroom and learn about what we will be doing but it was great to get out there and see the thing PCV’s do and see more of Togo. We got to observe a Life Skills class that a current volunteer was teaching. The students are resilient and so interested in us. It’s flattering and overwhelming at the same time. We also got to visit a NGO for people living with HIV/AIDS. It was so powerful because we were greeted by song and dance and then some of the members shared their life stories. It was moving and I am so thankful to have met them all. The trip was great, not only because of the things we got to do but it was a needed break and I can’t say I didn’t enjoy a real shower!

So now it’s back to work studying French and preparing for work as a PCV. We get to visit our sites in a week. It will be the first time I will be alone and away from English. Yikes. I am really excited to see my village and to meet all my new friends. I will try to write again after my week at site and let you all know how things went.

I hope you all know that I miss you and think about you a lot. I am gradually adapting to this new life in Togo and knowing I have all of your support helps me through. Please keep in touch. I’ll do my best to do the same. And if I haven’t mentioned it before, I love mail! Till next time!
Peace!

So I live in West Africa!

Written Tuesday, October 9th, but internet was down… better late then never!
Bonjour Tous Le Monde! I have been in Africa for 2 and a half weeks now and I love it! I’ll rewind a little for you all and I will try no to ramble!
I flew out of New York City, which was amazing because I had never been on the East coast. Although we didn’t go through Manhattan, I got to see the skyline and the Statue of Liberty. We also drove through Brooklyn and Queens. It was great! The most amazing thing happened on the plane to Paris. I was sitting next to an older woman from the US. We started chatting and she asked why we were all traveling together. “Oh we are going to Togo for the Peace Corps!” And as fate would have it, she was a PC Togo volunteer in the late 60’s! Amazing! I really felt like it was my Grandmother sitting next to me giving me the strength that I have needed and used thus far! She was wonderful and I’m going to try to stay in touch. It was a blessing and a perfect send off!
So we spent a busy 5 days in Lome, the capital city, doing administrative things like getting shots and learning how to treat our water. It was all a bit overwhelming but also really fun and exciting. It is really hot and humid here and I’m always really sweaty but so is everyone else so it’s more socially acceptable. I got to see the ocean and the Togolese beach. Although it was different from any other beach that I have been to, it was beautiful! There are lots of beautiful and kind people all around and the Peace Corps Staff and current volunteers are Amazing! They have been my saving grace on everything Peace Corps Togo!
We left the city on Wednesday the 26th (Happy B-day G) and traveled about an hour and a half to the North to our training village. The countryside is absolutely gorgeous! It is sooo green and so different from my Western stomping grounds. We arrived at our village around noon and were greeted by the most amazing celebration. I was moved to tears! There was traditional African singing, dancing and drumming and the villagers are so excited to have us here! We went to our schoolhouse where we will be training and had lunch and met our host families. I have a great Togolese family. I live with Mama Pauline, her daughter Shantall and her two children Fabrice 5 and Bienvenu 3! Our home is nice. We have electricity and my latrine (toilet) is ‘nice’. I have an outdoor shower as well with the best view of the mountain! Mount Agou, highest mountain in Togo! I really enjoy my bucket showers other than the occasional visiting spider. We live in the most beautiful village. It is right under the mountains and the vegetation is incredible.

French classes are going well. The language barrier is hard but full submersion is the best way to learn. I am really excited about the work that I will be doing. Girls Education and Empowerment is the perfect program for me and although it will be challenging, it will be very rewarding!

The communication thing is a bit harder than I imagined. The best way to stay in contact will have to be snail mail until I become more familiar with everything (Although I do love e-mail as well). It takes about 2 weeks for letters to get to me but it takes a bit longer to get mail from me. I will do my best to write a lot and update this blog when I get the chance. Happy Birthday to all who I have missed, Dad, Tony and Uncle Dave. I hope you all had a great day! I miss you all and hope everything in your lives is going well.

That’s all for now! Love and Peace

My Last Night in the US!

Bonjour! I just wanted to write a little something before I depart for Togo. I have spent the last two and a half days in Philadelphia for what the PC calls staging. It is a great city that has treated us well as we have prepared for our adventure. I arrived on Tuesday evening and right away met some great PC trainees. We couldn't stop chatting, asking questions like what did you pack, how are you feeling and how's your French? It is really reassuring to finally have someone who is experiencing the same things I am. Wednesday we got to do some exploring around the city and I got to see the famous L O V E sculpture as well as the Philly art museum made famous by the Rocky films (picture the stairs and the theme music).
I am officially part of the Peace Corps now! Training has been really great and the group I am going with is awesome. There are 31 people, 10 men and 21 women and there are 2 different programs, Girls Education and Empowerment, and Natural Resource Management. We have learned a lot and gotten to know each other well in short time.
I have enjoyed a great Philly cheese steak, ice cream and good coffee and tonight we had dinner at a great Italian restaurant. I will take my last warm shower and sleep in my last big comfortable bed tonight (or at lease try to sleep).
We leave Philly tomorrow morning and drive to New York. Our flight leaves at 11pm so it will be along day but I am excited to be able to sleep on the plane.
I am doing really well, staying surprisingly strong and really looking forward to what lays ahead. So keep me in your thoughts as I travel and I will write again when I get the first chance.

A Swahili proverb that we have learned in staging:
"We meet to part, and we part to meet."

Miss you all!

Welcome! Bienvenu!

Hello all and welcome to my Blog! As you know, I am setting off for 27 months of adventure as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the small West African county of Togo. I will be working as a Girls Education and Empowerment volunteer. My principal job will be to promote the education of girls so that they can acquire the capacity to participate more effectively in the process of developing themselves and their communities. I couldn't have asked for a better assignment! I am so excited to have the opportunity to work with young girls and women.
My first hurtle will be the language. The official language of Togo is French and there are many indigenous African languages that I will encounter in village life. I look forward to jumping head first back into French and I am hoping that the 18 credits I took in college will help out. I know there will be many funny communications stories to share so stay tuned for those.

Here is a synopsis of the next few weeks:
I leave for Philadelphia tomorrow, the 18th and I am there for three days of orientation. I will get to meet the rest of the training group going to Togo with me. We will be briefed on safety and security and receive our final vaccinations as well as begin taking our antimalaria drugs. Yikes!
We depart for Togo the night of the 21st and arrive the evening of the 22nd in Lome, the capital city. I will get to meet the Peace Corps director, staff and current volunteers upon arrival. I am so anxious to get there and meet everyone and see where I will be living for the next two years.
I will be in an intense 3 month training program in a village near the capital where I will live with a host family and prefect my language, cultural and technical training. Then, if all goes according to plan, I will be sworn in as a volunteer on December 6th and set out to post where I will begin my work.

There will be lots of stories to share along the way and I am so excited!
This site will serve as my main form of communication while I am abroad in addition to e-mail and snail mail. Please feel free to leave a comment on my posts and if you have more to say, just send me an e-mail. I am not sure what my Internet access will be like but updating this site will be a priority so I can have one central location for all my news, information and stories.

Thank you all so very much for all the love and support! It means the world to me. Keep me in your thoughts and don't forget to write!
Au revoir! for now...