C'est si bon

Halloween!

2011-10-29T19:25:00.000Z

new life, and living

2010-08-08T22:42:00.002Z

peter gets into the emotion of the song.

i think i can dance AND sing. delusion is sweet and ignorance is bliss

there you go simon, you look much more awake this time.

and more

2010-07-11T17:31:00.004Z

outside walls of the medina
the spice vendor. i was looking for herbs to do a foot soak in my bidet. what else are you supposed to do with those things? i soak my feet in them.

photo op with ginger. styled by the spice guy.

abdellah and i. he is wiring my lamps. he even took me to the hardware stand and discutered my wires and whatnot.

courtyard where abdellah's shop is located

abdellah's shop

all the shops here are in a hidden courtyard around a fig tree. the men all work on the crafts they sell all day. abdellah became my friend and seriously hooked me up wiring stuff for the lamps i got.

more medina

2010-07-11T17:24:00.003Z

Medina!

2010-07-11T17:03:00.004Z

too many treasures
this is an old moroccan menorah. there used to be a significant jewish minority here for thousands of years. people say they were the best craftsmen. you still see stars of david used as a motif. the little divets are for oil and wicks used for hannukah instead of candles. there are lots and they are BEAUTIFUL

too much to choose from. . .

you just turn and turn in the medina and get lost. the doors are amazing.

antique door and furniture store. keith, you would freak out.

look up, look around, there are treasures and nooks everywhere

the carving is incredible

jammed with goodness. anthropologie heaven.

doors galore.

more pix

2010-07-10T10:31:00.008Z

Momma cat
part of the living room

fountain thing

front foyer

breakfast nook

house of hydrangeas

front garden

front walk

house from street

Pictures!

2010-07-10T10:12:00.006Z

These are all out of order, but should be an enticement to visit! Looking into living room, roses
Living room

Looking upstairs

A spare room

2 more spare rooms

part of my room

one day this will be a waterfall, in sh'allah

oujda, these things are see through, FYI

Oujda, lunch with the Bendaha family -- thank you!

water seller, medina in Oujda

outside of medina in Oujda

Morocco!

2010-06-25T20:08:00.007Z

I don't even know where to begin. I've been thrown right into the mix of things and have been working day and night and weekends. No internet at home yet so I am taking advantage of the hotel I'm in up on the Algerian border.

I am truly at a loss for words for the power of the work that Moroccans all around the country are doing for Moroccan-US relations. I have been to a Ministry of Youth Music camp, seen American High school students learning Arabic, given orientations to Moroccan students going to America, a basketball camp in the far north (Oujda and Nador), the Oujda American Corner, given TV, internet, and radio interviews in French, and oh yeah, learned how a US Embassy works (well, sort of).

I am totally and completely exhausted, yet energized by the power of the programs and the work so many people put into making them happen. The below pictures are from a trip this week.

2 students from Oujda singing "A Coat of Many Colors" - they were amazing

A play about Cinderella in English. This is in Oujda American corner in the conservative north.

Basketball Camp girls in Oujda

Nador girls!

I don't know why this river is this color, but it incredible. I begged the driver (thank you Larbi!) to stop

Walls of the imperial city of Fez. All of these I took from the window of the moving car, no time to stop! :(

Graveyard, somewhere near Fez

Roman ruins dot the countryside everywhere

Who knows, but it's beautiful

Walls around Fez, thousands of swallows fly around and sit in the ventilation holes

The medina in Fez

Entrance to Fez medina, the biggest in the Muslim world

A museum in Fez, they just had the Sacred Music Festival the night before

This is the most beautiful country in the world

Bye Bye Betsy

2010-06-07T14:21:00.001Z

I loved you from the moment I saw you, a true coup de foudre. Hopefully you will come back to me whole.At home where you belongAck! KidnappedI now have an empty driveway :(

Goodbye

2010-06-02T00:55:00.004Z

I feel like I've committed the ultimate adultery by living in DC these last 6 months. Baltimore is hometown and somehow I had always cultivated this adversarial thing against DC. But, really it IS apples and oranges. This is a false city, a false construct. Visitors, dignitaries, fancy buildings will never/never compete with the spirit, soul, blood, sweat, and tears that comprise Baltimore City.

I love you, Greatest City in America. I will miss you.

Penecostals and the damage they do in the developing world

2010-05-30T23:47:00.004Z

I am so angry right now I could spit. Since Penecostal missionaries have brought their faith to West Africa they have done in inordinate amount of damage that anyone who calls themselves a Christian must decry.

Penecostal beliefs in Satan and possessions have blended with traditional African beliefs of witchcraft and sorcery to create a violent and volatile mix where children are tortured and accused of being witches and killed or ostrasized.

Deteriorating environmental conditions as a result of the oil industry in the Akwa Ibom state in southeastern Nigeria have caused residents of this impoverished area to cast blame on innocent children for unexplained deaths, poor fishing returns, lack of money, and simply unrealized dreams. Children are held by churches, beaten, starved, and often murdered because they are believed to be the root of all of the problems.

There are two groups working on this issue, CRARN (Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network) and Stepping Stones Nigeria. If you consider yourself a Christian, instead of giving money for more missionaries to go overseas or to build a church that no one needs, why don't you contribute some money to undo some of the damage that other Christians have wreaked upon this world. Now that I would like to see.

Also, if you want to learn about this for yourself, watch the HBO documentary called Saving Africa's Witch Children.

The Judge! I love Baltimore!

2010-05-15T13:30:00.003Z

So earlier this week I decided to use the "search and record" function on my DVR to look for shows about Baltimore, my home town. I found an episode of American Gangster featuring Melvin Williams of Baltimore, also known as the man who brought heroin to the city.

Imagine my surprise when about 11 minutes in, The Judge (he shows up at 1:24 on the karaoke video), as in the Judge who has been oddly singing karaoke around the city for years, was interviewed several times throughout the episode. Squealing with delight I called the one person I knew would recognize him from the karaoke singing days of yore at the now-defunct Kelly's (crabs and karaoke, really what more could you ask for?).

So, if you're interested in the backstory behind the creation of The Wire (based on Melvin's criminal exploits) (another footnote, Melvin played the Deacon of the church in The Wire - he was great) or The Judge (yes, all caps are needed), watch these videos.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am debating posting a video of me singing "Rhinestone Cowboy" at Kelly's last year. I may be worse than The Judge.
Thoughts?
Nevermind, I'll do it and if there is political fallout, so be it.

Fulani pix

2010-04-29T15:36:00.003Z

Here are some pictures of Fulani I took with my Dad near the lake/dam in Notse.

IRIN Africa | GHANA: Police crackdown on migrant Fulani herdsmen | West Africa | Burkina Faso Ghana Mali Togo | Environment Food Security Governance Human Rights Migration | News Item

2010-04-29T15:33:00.000Z

IRIN Africa GHANA: Police crackdown on migrant Fulani herdsmen West Africa Burkina Faso Ghana Mali Togo Environment Food Security Governance Human Rights Migration News Item

I find the conflict between nomadic and settled people fascinating and not discussed often enough. Nomads, often seen as outsiders by settled communities, are often blamed for various crimes, usually robbery, rape, and killing/sacrificing and/or abducting children. It is easier to blame someone outside of one's settled community than it is to look inside the community for the perpetrators. The result is two-fold, one the outsiders are consistently vilified and two, the persons truly responsible for committing the crimes are never held accountable.
This phenomenon happens around the world, think of the Roma in Europe and also resettled communities around the United States.
I remember being in Florida staying with parents of a friend when a number of robberies occurred in a small town where everyone knew everyone else. Roma in the United States often spend winters in Florida during the circus off-season. Before even looking at the facts everyone immediately blamed the "Gypsies" and pretty much drove them out of town.
Of course, either the Fulani did it or a bunch of Losso in a spirit plane. Sheesh. No need to look any further.
I'm not saying these groups are completely innocent either, but sometimes these accusations become self-fulfilling prophecies, "well if I keep getting blamed for it, I might as well do it."
The orphaned children in Johannesburg are the same way. No one helps them because they are believed to be "tsotsis" so they start robbing because there's no other way to get food and people already think they're tsotsis.
Human nature will never cease to fascinate me. . .

Doves

2010-04-19T12:48:00.004Z

The haunting song of the mourning dove (zenaida macroura) has been my favorite birdsong my whole life and a constant companion. They live in my courtyard here in downtown DC; they've always been up on the Bush River -- they're everywhere.

They're lovely and their song is sad and meloncholy -- hence the name.

When I moved to Togo the West Africa bird guide was my constant companion. Imagine my surprise when I heard a song one day that was almost my mourning dove song - minus the meloncholy. I look it up -- the African Laughing Dove (streptopelia senegalensis).

I like to think, despite the harshness of life there, people did laugh more and it is only natural that the doves did too.

What sound will the doves make in Morocco? A national dish is pigeon pie, so perhaps none at all:) Are they bi-polar?

I need to get a North Africa bird book, stat!

Romaine Brooks - new art love

2010-03-03T18:37:00.005Z

Walking around DC with RY on Sunday we stumbled into the American Craft Museum.

Amazing quirky selection of folk art, portraiture, sculpture, and the like. I fell in love with an artist I had never heard of: Romaine Brooks.

Flag Day pic

2010-03-03T18:30:00.002Z

Just got the official picture. I am pretty happy about Morocco!

Keeping an eye on Thursday

2010-03-03T00:59:00.003Z

Courage to Togo. I am there with you in spirit.

Elections on Thursday

A lean and hungry look

2010-02-25T12:28:00.003Z

So I know getting a dog is not a good idea for me, but. . . that was before I saw Caesar.

If anyone knows me from the Baxter era (may he rest in peace), I am a sucker for dogs with...problems. I think Caesar here is missing an eye and my heart goes out to him.

Visit to the shelter?

Here is an old pic of Bax. He was blind and I loved him fiercely.

Car Shopping!

2010-02-15T15:07:00.007Z

So, if it ain't this:

It's going to have to be this:

This:

Or this:

Though I've always wanted of of these (in orange):

Question is, do I wait 'til I get to Morocco or try and find one now?

I have a Wii Problem

2010-02-11T13:38:00.005Z

So for those of you living in a hole, here in Washington we have over 3 feet of snow. The government has been shut down since Monday. Today is Thursday.

What better time to play Wii with your friends you ask? No better time, I answer. Until you vigorously bowl and throw the controller at the TV, smashing it. Said TV is brand new, the most I think I've paid for anything save my car back in the day. And my house, but you get the point.

Kind friend offers to get the TV for me, and though armed with my credit card and a note, Best Buy will not give him the TV. Le sigh. More snow yesterday. I tried to get out and get to Best Buy. Nothing doing. Sat waiting for the Metro for a half hour. Went home, blinded by snow. Ventured back out, found a cabbie charging exorbitant fees. He got me to Best Buy (for $50, mind you). Closed! I called them, they said they were open, but no dice.

So, day 4 snowed in and I am reading a travel guide to the USSR. Le sigh. I want to go to work.

Morocco!

2010-01-30T17:53:00.002Z

I am going to Morocco! I start with the US Embassy, Rabat as the Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer and the Political Officer in June.

So very very happy!

H & H Thievery Corporation Show

2010-01-24T19:54:00.007Z

Thievery Corporation show, 9:30 Club

H & H colorful feets
H & H pre-game at El Tamarindo

Getting ready

Settled in

2010-01-18T15:28:00.002Z

Life in DC is great so far (with the exception of lack of dive bars in neighborhood - more research required on that front).
Training has been intense and interesting and inspiring. It is amazing to be surrounded by people that could thoroughly school me in Trivial Pursuit. Someone needed and got a big dose of humble pie.
I have solved the grocery dilemma by taking frequent trips with a backpack. The cart will be used as a planter when spring arrives.
Today I hope to explore the city while it is sunny and un-frigid. . .

i am a country mouse

2009-12-17T19:09:00.004Z

after today's uproarious display of bumpkin-ness, i think i have finally solved my personal dilemma of whether i am a city mouse or a country mouse.

after 2 days in dc, i have finally realized that baltimore is a lot of wonderful things, but it is not a city.

i just walked 3 miles to get groceries with one of those city-people grocery carts. these carts are not all made alike. do not buy the first one you see from a cheap chinese import store. i fell on my laden cart in the middle of the street at least 3 times, spilling all of my groceries. this never would have happened in baltimore because i had a car and the grocery stores had parking lots. cities do not have grocery stores with parking lots. cities barely even have grocery stores period.

this is a great time for such as important revelation given that i am about to embark on a career that will have me living in every capitol city in the world. crap. i am a country mouse with no hope of living in the country for the forseeable future. awesome.

and don't buy the above grocery cart. it sucks (that or i don't know how to drive it. probably the latter.)

why?

2009-11-19T23:33:00.001Z

i don't blog anymore because they won't let me cut and paste. you see, i have no original thought. i have about 15 started posts that got nowhere because of this problem.
if someone can help me the situation will change.
i have much to say.
thank you and good night.
hy

Future Diplomat Life

2009-10-04T01:24:00.001Z

I was already quietly concerned about this:
http://diplodocus.wordpress.com/2006/08/12/the-solitary-service/
A sacrifice I guess. . .

The New Ideal Morning

2009-08-30T14:25:00.010Z

Someone please explain how people can live in an area where there is no scrapple.

The New Ideal, my fave

Half chipped beef, half sausage gravy, side of scrapple

Temping

2009-08-18T22:21:00.002Z

So, what do y'all think about temping?

Food Dreams: Where Are They Now? (vh1 style)

2009-08-15T02:22:00.007Z

"I can't do footnotes or copy and paste on here. That is annoying". That would have simply been a footnote.

But food notes, that's what we're looking for. So, let's go back to the latest food dream, so see if I visited or my deflated budget and low motivation hadn't quite gotten me to my food fantasies yet.

Edo Sushi: haven't made it back there. Haven't been downtown too much. Visited the old office. Said "hi", but then no one ever called for happy hour so, never made it to the downtown spots. Jeez, I mean, I worked there for 10 years. "Welcome Home!". Or not.

Pazo: Oh yesireebob. Yum. Have eaten some tonno and lots of other goodies. Who can stay away? Honestly though, all the elderflower is a bit much. Make me a good old school dirty martini and walk away. Thank you. Ugh. Fancy drinkdom. Yuck.

Charleston: No. Come on, I just left the Peace Corps. Jeez. Are YOU going to take me there?

Miss Shirley's: No. Looks busy though.

Parents' back yard: Yes. Crabs, cheese, wine, delicious things.

The rest: No, not yet. Hope to make it to a BBQ before summer is over on the sidewalks of Bond Street.

One-Eyed Mike's: They are a special category. I have eaten there 5 times since I've been home. Dude - that is more than the

New Ideal -- that is saying something! I walk in there - it can be 8am - and they're like "soft shells?" and I say "yes" and there you go. Coffee, ice water with lemon, soft shells, 2 sides. Easy.

One-Eyed Mike's is consistently delicious. Honest, fun, straightforward always great food. Plus, it is on Bond St.

More later on food.

I miss Louise; also I, Miss Louise

2009-08-04T16:32:00.003Z

Daniel and I - I am sharing Pop Rocks with him.

I miss Louise. For those who don't know, I am Louise whenever I am in a non-anglophone part of the world. It is my middle name and Heather is just impossible to say unless you are from Great Britain, the US, or Australia & New Zealand. They can't even say it in Ghana.

I have been toldthat I am a different person when I am Louise -- nicer, chiller, friendlier. Maybe it is just the speaking French part that makes me happy, I don't know.

Nonetheless, I have been getting emails from my companions in Notse. Daniel and Desire were like my sons/little brothers/students. They were at my house every day, we played, we worked, we read, we drew, we studied, we explored.

Here is the email I just received from Desire, he is about 13:

"Bonjour Louise ;comment ca va. C'est vrai que tu nous a quitte mais tu resteras sans mon coeur pour toujours.Depuis ton depart je suis reste en tristesse. Lorsque je me rapelle de nos petit jeux dans ta maison; les larmes viennent dans mes yeux.Ma mere te salut.S'il te plait envoie moi sa photo par ordinateur pour voir ton visage car tu me manque beaucoup.

JE T'AIME LOUISE. De la part de Desire."

Translation:

"Hello Louise, how are you? It is true that you have left us but you will remain in my heart forever. Since your departure I remain in sadness. When I remember our little games at your house tears come into my eyes. My mother sends her greetings. Please send me a photo via computer so that I can see your face because I miss you so much.

I love you Louise.

On behalf of Desire."

Isn't that so sweet. I miss my boys.

Food Dreams

2009-05-25T10:01:00.002Z

Since I am counting down to coming home, here are the foods/restaurants I am dreaming about. All my foodie friends, please tell me if any of these have gone downhill and of any new places I haven't been yet. . .
Edo Sushi (Harbor) - lunch combos
Pazo - tonno crudo and foccaccio
Charleston - she-crab soup, foie gras, oysters, shrimp grits
Miss Shirleys - anything with fried oysters and softshells, grits, sweet potato fries
Parents' back yard - crabs, corn on the cob, tomatoes
Holy Frijoles? - chimichanga, chips and salsa
Broadway Market - fried chicken livers & gizzards with hot sauce, soft-shell sandwich
Lexington Market - oysters, clams
Anything Heidi cooks. . .
Grill out on the corner of Bond & Lancaster
Anything from One-Eyed Mike's
Suggestions?

Banks of the Chesapeake

2009-05-22T09:45:00.003Z

I have always loved a song called "Banks of the Pontchartrain" by Nancy Griffith. One lonely night over a year ago I was laying in my bed in Notse, no electricity, listening to it on my ipod and the lyrics magically changed themselves into something much more personal. With permission, here is my adaptation of the song. It makes me weepy every time I hear it.

I'm goin' back where my garden blooms all year
Where the wintertime speaks softly in the fallin' rain

I'm goin' back to my friends and family there
and we will dance along the banks of the Chesapeake

Oh, I've grown dark beneath the skys of Africa
Where the voices ring like bells in French and Minah
And the heat melts the body all year long

I am alone at night and dream of my own Chesapeake

Chorus:
Take me to the airport...
I am late to catch my eastbound plane
Oh, I'm gonna call my sister Heidi
she will be waiting by the gate when I fly in
I'm gonna fly across the ocean
just to stand beside my Chesapeake again

These old rails shake like thunder through the night
Soon I'll have my family's arms to comfort me
Oh, I can see my sister Heidi by their side
her hair will flow in waves like on the Chesapeake

Take me to the airport...
I am late to catch my eastbound plane
Oh, I'm gonna call my sister Heidi
she will be waiting by the gate when I fly in
I'm gonna fly across the ocean
just to stand beside my Chesapeake again

I'm goin' back where my garden blooms all year
Where the wintertime speaks softly in the fallin' rain
I'm goin' back to my green eyed lover there
and we will dance along the banks of the Chesapeake
yes, we will dance along the banks of the Chesapeake
we will dance along the banks of the Chesapeake
and here comes the plane

I can't wait to be home for fall and winter. I miss you.

And more stuff of late

2009-04-14T12:53:00.002Z

Gee, so much is going on, too much to say, too public to say it all. I passed the Foreign Service Orals, moved to another part of Lome, the fancy part actually, where things like this happen in the wee hours of Easter barbeques. We didn't even hear the shots.

Togo leader's brother in shootout
A security raid on a house belonging to the brother of the Togolese president left at least two people dead and three others wounded, reports say.
A BBC reporter in Togo says security forces exchanged fire on Sunday night with troops loyal to the president's brother, Kpatcha Gnassingbe.
Following the shootout in a Lome suburb officials accused President Faure Gnassingbe's brother of coup plotting.
He denied the charges and said he was the victim of an assassination attempt.
Prosecutors said five senior military officers had been arrested.
Former Defence Minister Kpatcha Gnassingbe is now under house arrest.
He told the BBC that armed men in military uniform had turned up at his home spraying bullets at his bedroom and the bedrooms of his children during the gun battle, which lasted at least three hours.
President Gnassingbe, who was elected in 2005 during a vote which observers said was flawed, cancelled a foreign trip on Sunday after the shootout.
He became president after the death of his father, Togo's veteran leader Gnassingbe Eyadema in 2005.
(from BBC)
The weirder thing is no one here is talking about it. Like, at all. Ho-hum, just another day.

Oops, one more thing

2009-03-04T12:06:00.002Z

Did you know that there is a Hari Krishna temple down the road from my house? (Of course you don't, you don't live here, duh) I have never actually gotten the nerve to go and talk to them to simply ask "how in the heck did you people get here??". Then again, I have never heard the chanting or seen the yellow robes, so maybe it is a cover for something. Hmmmmm. . . .
Poll:
Should I go and see what is up? At least take some pictures with some Togolese Hari Krishnas? Let me know if anyone would find that remotely fascinating.

Countdown. . .

2009-03-04T12:02:00.002Z

Quick post:
I leave for America in 8 days to take the Foreign Service Oral Exam, so consult the ancestors, burn some incense, or pray to your gods to send good fortune my way.
I am nervous as heck!
Peace out.
PS - KB keeps promising me that he will upload all of the pictures from South Africa and various other escapes of late. Hopefully I can post some soon.

PETA in Togo

2009-01-31T11:23:00.006Z

Jim & friends,

I am so glad you brought up PETA because it remnds me of a story here that I otherwise might not have remembered to tell. In the village/town in which I used to live, Notse, I worked with a nice and sensitive man named Sylvan for an AIDS-awareness and cultural preservation youth group as well as his orphan-support NGO.

Sylvan had a regular job at the prefect's (local mayor, sort of) office and also had a peanut field which he cultivated himself and got single mothers to help harvest and they could keep half of what they harvested. He is a good and thoughtful man, anxious to help those less fortunate than he. He is also much more broad-minded than most Togolese I have had the pleasure to meet.

One day I invited Sylvan over for lunch -- a stew with rice, ginger, cabbage, carrots, and. . . chicken. Sylvan informed me that he was a vegetarian. I started laughing. First of all, I was blown away that he would even know that people in world WERE vegetarians, and secondly (and most importantly), this in a country where most people don't ever even SEE meat, and not for religious or moral reasons, but because they simply can not afford it. The diet consists of completely empty carbs in the form of a manioc-type tuber and cooked down okra and lots and lots of spicy peppers.

I asked Sylvan why in the world he would even dream of becoming a vegetarian. Well, somehow, somewhere he had watched a PETA DVD explaining the horrific process of animal farming and butchering -- in the western world. Here (and probably in a majority of the rest of the world), ALL chickens, goats, sheep, and cows are "free-range". Even in the capitol. Goats and chickens and sheep wander the streets. Somehow they know to which compund to return at night and all people know which animal belongs to whom. When it comes time for an animal to be killed, it is done with ceremony and a blood offering is given to the ancestors in the ground. I have killed chickens and pintades myself -- it is the only way to get fresh meat.

Even the smallest child knows the animal that dinner came from (not that a child would ever get meat anyway, or women either, for that matter) and that child probably also gutted, plucked, etc. happily fighting over the feet or some other delicacy.

I explained to Sylvan that in the West people buy their meat in plastic packages in the grocery store. No one has any contact or hand in the raising of that animal, and certainly not in the killing of it. It is not respected as a life-form, it is simply a commodity you pick up at the store when you stop in to grab your Lucky Charms.

Sylvan was not a wealthy or frivolous man. Honestly, though a full-grown man and strong, he needed the protein. Yeah, he ate his peanuts, but people here that aren't eating meat aren't exactly up to date on getting the right proportion of legumes and rice or whatever to make up the missing protein. I convinced him to drop the silly vegetarianism idea and if he was really concerned about his soul regarding animal treatment he should get people to stop throwing stones at dogs and start a rabies vaccination and spay and neuter campaign.

In summation, animal welfare concern with regard to killing for consumption and sacrifice is just plain silly here. When an animal is sacrificed, it is quickly killed with an expert slash across the throat and it's departing spirit is asked to send a message to the ancestors. It is thanked for it's assistance and for the sustenance it will soon provide. A sacrificed animal is eaten, whether by the preist conducting the sacrifice or by the person requesting the sacrifice.

I know in the United States and other little pockets of the western world where there are still vestiges of voodoo, organizations like PETA cry foul about animal cruelty, but in all honesty, to sacrifice an animal and then eat it is much less cruel than buying a chicken breast in the store.

All that being said, I am a carnivore. I eat foie gras and veal and lamb and sweetbreads and every other politically incorrect meat that has the poor judgement to wander my way.

I hope this message didn't come off as being aggressive, but I thought the Sylvan/PETA story was germane. I thought it truly was one of the most hilarious things I had ever heard here. And as for how that video even GOT here. . .

This was taken 4th of July 2007, a month after arriving in country. We made fried chicken for our celebration.

Killing the chicken for the 4th of July

"Free-range" sheep in NotseGratuitous picture of doing the hokey-pokey with kids in Badou

To Voodoo or not to Voodoo. . .

2009-01-28T09:43:00.002Z

So I have been considering going to a feticheur and paying for a voodoo ceremony and a chicken to sacrifice, etc. etc. to give me a better chance to pass the Orals and beyond. I figure you only live in Togo once (OK, maybe not. I feel like I have been reincarnated here like 8 times already) and it will make a good story later on in life. I love learning about voodoo, so I figure I ought to put my money where my mouth is, you know?
The only concern is: once you do a ceremony and make a sacrifice, are you further beholden to the voodoo gods and therefore vulnerable in the future or can you go on your merry way?
Thoughts?

The Ocean Bards

2009-01-08T13:01:00.002Z

I got an update from Dr. Hahn, my former English professor at Towson. I helped him on a book (click the link to go to the publisher's page) when I went back to school and it is published! I'm in the acknowledgments and if anyone ever has any questions on British Naval poetry in the Napoleonic era then I am your girl:)

New York Times Article

2009-01-07T15:12:00.001Z

Will post later about the rest of South Africa and life in general, but found a new article on the Foreign Service. I hope this bodes well for my Orals in March. . .

December 21, 2008
Hiring Window Is Open at the Foreign Service
By EILENE ZIMMERMAN
A RARE bright spot has appeared in a job landscape dominated by layoffs: the Foreign Service.
For the last several years, hiring in the United States Foreign Service was minimal because of a lack of Congressional funding. In addition, war has created an urgent need for diplomatic personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as officers have moved to these countries their previous jobs have remained unfilled.
So, in the last several months — with a new president on the horizon and new funding from Congress — both the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development, or Usaid, are ramping back up.
A supplemental war funding bill, which became law in June, has provided money for Foreign Service hiring. And President-elect Barack Obama “has talked explicitly about the need to increase the Foreign Service and we hope he will make that a priority,” said John Naland, president of the American Foreign Service Association, the professional association and labor union representing career diplomats.
The State Department has asked for funding for 1,500 new positions for the current fiscal year. Of these, roughly 800 are Foreign Service and 700 civil service, said Luis Arreaga, director of recruitment, examination and employment at the department. Many of those positions are being filled because of attrition but about 160 are new. "We consider that a down payment,” said Mr. Arreaga.
Felix Salazar, hired as a junior officer by the State Department in September, said that during the interview process he felt “a sense of urgency, that they were actively hiring and really valued my experience.” Mr. Salazar, who spent three years in the Peace Corps, leaves in February for his first posting, in South Africa.
Not everyone is cut out for Foreign Service work, which can be stressful and highly demanding. About two-thirds of a diplomat’s career is spent overseas; officers usually move every two to four years and can be exposed to dangers like disease and war. The State Department offers a suitability quiz for prospective applicants on its Web site.
Yet career diplomats like Ronald E. Neumann, a former ambassador to Afghanistan who now heads the American Academy of Diplomacy, called it the best job in the world. “I enjoy what I’m doing now but it’s nothing like working on foreign policy,” he said. “In my 37 years of service I may have gone home tired or frustrated with how a decision came out, but I never went home and asked myself if what I was working on was worthwhile.”
Applying for a job with the State Department involves written and oral examinations. Those who pass the oral exam become conditional officers and receive a ranking score based on oral-exam performance and language skills. The higher the rank, the sooner they will be assigned.
Of the 12,000 to 15,000 people who register annually for the written exam, about 450 officers are hired, said Frank J. Coulter, management officer with the Foreign Service and a member of the State Department’s board of examiners.
The first time he took the written exam, Mr. Salazar failed, after running out of time during the essay portion. He was so determined to pass that he spent the next year writing an essay in 30 minutes every day. “When I took it the second time and got my results, it actually sent chills down my spine,” he said.
New Foreign Service officers at the State Department choose one of five career tracks: consular affairs, economic affairs, management affairs, political affairs or public diplomacy. No matter the track, all entry-level officers spend their first several years working in a consulate, interviewing applicants for United States visas and working with American citizens who need their help.
The State Department also hires Foreign Service specialists, who provide technical, security and administrative support overseas or in Washington. Specialists must pass an oral assessment but not a written exam, and start in a specialty like medicine, information technology or law enforcement, Mr. Coulter said. All newly hired officers and specialists are trained at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington.
Each of the first two postings overseas last two years; after that, it is generally a three-year posting in each country. One-year hardship postings — in a region too dangerous to allow an officer’s spouse and children to accompany him or her — are required at least twice in the course of a career. After two assignments, Foreign Service personnel can bid on postings — requesting particular countries or Washington — but everyone is expected to serve in a variety of assignments, Mr. Arreaga said.
Usaid’s entry-level Foreign Service officers must have a master’s degree in an appropriate technical area, like economics, agriculture, public health or education. The average Usaid entry-level officer has four years of relevant experience; many come from the Peace Corps, but others have worked for nongovernmental organizations, in private industry or the military.
Thousands apply to Usaid each year and about 1 in 20 will be called for an interview, said Susan Riley, Usaid’s chief of Foreign Service personnel.
Foreign Service officers with Usaid work on a range of projects, like assisting farmers in developing countries or working in programs to reduce the prevalence of diseases like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
Last year, the agency kicked off its Development Leadership Initiative, a recruitment effort to hire more than 1,000 Foreign Service officers in the next two years. “This is the most that we’ve planned to hire above attrition in 15 years,” Ms. Riley said.
THE base salary for entry-level Foreign Service officers ranges from about $40,000 to $72,000 annually, but compensation can increase depending on the danger level of the posting and on a region’s cost of living.
For Foreign Service specialists, the salary range is anywhere from about $26,500 to more than $100,000; for civil service employees at Usaid, the salary ranges from $16,500 to over $100,000. Overseas benefits include housing and private school for dependent children.
Many of those choosing Foreign Service work do so out of a dedication to public service and see it as not just a career, but also a way of life.
Salman Khalil, hired in May, took a 50 percent cut in take-home pay to join the Foreign Service after a decade in the I.T. industry. Any day now he will leave for his first assignment, in India. “In my I.T. profession I was helping big companies make more money and it wasn’t satisfying for me,” he said. “What I wanted to do was serve in a capacity where I could directly help people.”
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: December 28, 2008 An article last Sunday about renewed hiring in the Foreign Service referred incompletely to one of five career tracks that new Foreign Service officers at the State Department can choose. It is public diplomacy — which involves working with the media and foreign audiences to promote understanding — not diplomacy.

More SA

2008-12-25T09:09:00.002Z

After 5 days in Jo'burg, we are getting ready to head to Cape Town. Jo'burg is an interesting place -- the entire downtown is, for intents and purposes, completely depopulated. All major businesses, hotels, and homes have been abandoned. As in the Ritz just shuttered and chained their doors and simply left. It is quite weird. We kept asking people where was a cool neighborhood to walk around and hang out and they just kept looking at us like we were speaking a foriegn language. The population lives in high security suburbs, completely segregated. There is really no where to walk around and you don't see many people on the street. We stayed about a block away from a cool block that was walkable with great bars and restaurants. We later learned that was practically the only place in the suburbs like it. . . We were watching TV one evening and stumbled upon a show about the block we were staying on -- in Afrikaans. Kind of like Melrose Place in Jo'burg.
Yesterday we went on an amazing safari and saw a huge selection of birds and mammals. Cheetah, giraffe, lions, hippos, sacred ibis, bee-eaters, swallows, marabou stork, african fish eagle, snake eating eagle, zebras, warthog family, blue wildebeest, impalas, waterbuck, kudu, etc. It was lovely.
Getting on the train today for a peaceful 2 day journey across the country to end at the sea-side.
New Year's will be on the beach in Ghana with hopes that we will be able to cross the border back into Togo. Ghana is having a run-off presidential election on the 28th and likes to close the borders. Oopsie!
Happy holidays and much love to all. We are happy to be here, but sad to be away from our families.

South Africa!

2008-12-21T07:49:00.002Z

Safely in SA after what might possibly have been the most painful flight of my life. Do NOT crank up the air conditioning on a plane full of tired people who have been living on the equator for two years. Got to Joburg - we are staying in a cute B&B in an adorable neighborhood called Melville. Kind of like Fells Point, actually. Going to the MALL today! Apartheid museum is closed. . . A weird casino tonight (modeled after a Tuscan village -- should be interesting). We are going to do a safari on my birthday then board a fancy old-fashioned train on Christmas to go to Cape Town. The train traverses most of the country so apparently we can see ostriches and springbok, etc. from the window while eating ostrich steak and drinking good South African wine. I am soooo excited. The climate is lovely, cool in the mornings, hot in the afternoon, cool again in the evenings - NO humidity!
Hopefully I can get a hold of Kevin's camera and post some pictures soon.
Until then, cheers, happy holidays & I love and miss you!

IHT article

2008-12-09T13:11:00.000Z

U.S. Foreign Service revamps its test for job applicants
By Tamar Lewin
Sunday, December 17, 2006
NEW YORK: The path to the U.S. Foreign Service has always been straight and narrow: The first step is the written test, perhaps the nation's leading smarty-pants exam. Since 1932, hundreds of thousands of applicants have grappled with a half-day of questions on geography, English usage, history, math, economics, culture and more.
"It's like being on a golf course," said Justin Norton, a 26-year-old who flunked the test this year and last, but wants to take it again.
"You've got all the sand traps, the water hazards. I remember I didn't understand the question about economies of scale. I remember something about Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance.
"And sometimes even when I knew it, like a question about George Kennan and containment policy, I got it wrong anyway."
It is not an easy exam to study for. The State Department suggests reading a good daily newspaper for a year. There are prep books, and at places with lots of applicants, like the Fletcher School at Tufts University, maybe even a study group. But mostly, people prepare on their own, looking through a world atlas, the Constitution or the word problems they did on the SAT.
Still, the exam gets rid of most applicants. More than three-quarters of the 17,000 to 20,000 who take the exam each year flunk.
The test is more about breadth than depth. So for a question about Etruscan vases, the applicant might need to know that the Etruscans preceded the Romans in Italy, but nothing more.
Those who pass the exam go on to an oral interview, where they are hammered with questions and situations by several Foreign Service officers, and the best performer gets the job.
But now, the State Department wants to try a new approach, a bit less quantifiable. At the suggestion of McKinsey & Co., the management consultants, it plans to revamp the process to evaluate what it calls "the Total Candidate," The Washington Post disclosed last week. The written exam will stay largely the same, although streamlined and given by computer, instead of bubble sheet and bluebook. Online, the exam will be given more often, to speed the recruitment process, one of the State Department's main goals.
As applicants register for the exam, they will submit an online "structured r�sum�" describing their work experience, foreign residence, leadership experience and language abilities, among other things. Then, on the basis of the test results and r�sum�, a screening committee will decide who goes on to the oral assessment.
Some Foreign Service officers, past and present, have applauded the new approach.
"Testing people on their general knowledge, their ability to parse questions, is a poor standard for bringing people into the Foreign Service," said Mark Van Fleet, who was posted in Thailand for five years.
"You get people who are well educated, and understand the relationship of inflation and interest rates. But the test doesn't measure more important things, like good judgment," Van Fleet said.
But the change raises concerns. Some worry that adding more nonquantitative factors could open the door to political considerations, or applicants with family connections. (Note to State Department: To understand the possible complications, talk to the admissions officers at Harvard or Princeton.)
Anthony Holmes, president of the American Foreign Service Association, said he was not worried, because the factors to be considered are things like foreign experience and language ability.
"Whether you gave to a political party is not in the paradigm," Holmes said.
Others, though, are troubled by the proposed revamping, given that the Foreign Service is already so prestigious and so competitive.
"Since it's working really quite well, why make such a major change?" said Robert Gelbard, a former ambassador to Indonesia. "I have great confidence in Condoleezza Rice, but what about the law of unintended consequences? Who knows whether, some years down the road, political factors could creep in?"
And will the Foreign Service be dumbed down, given that adding factors will mean that some candidates could qualify with lower scores?
Not to worry, said Marianne Myles, director of the State Department's office of recruitment, examination and employment. There will still be a failing score, and the passing score won't drop all that much.
"The population that applies is so large - and so many of them are so qualified and smart and capable and have so many skills and abilities - that we can't take them all," she said. "Rather than sorting by one criterion, we're going to use more factors. But the very small percentage we take will still be the smartest, most qualified people representing America."
Notes:

Copyright © 2008 The International Herald Tribune www.iht.com

Foreign Service Oral Assessment

2008-12-09T11:36:00.000Z

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am on to the next step in becoming a Foreign Service Officer (aka diplomat, or just plain dip).
I submitted a lenghty application (worse than Peace Corps' actually) in June I think, took the written Foreign Service Officer Assessment in July and found out I passed in September.
Since then the Qualification Evaluation Panel has been reviewing the application ( they don't look at it unless you pass the written) and checking references, etc. It is possible to pass the written and still not get invited to the Oral (common, actually).
Well, I got my invitation to take Oral exam today! I have to be in DC sometime between January 29-April 7. I schedule my test date on December 15th so I will let you know more then.
I am very excited and very proud of myself for having come this far (what? you've got be your own biggest fan:)
As for other news, am very happy and very busy in Lome working at the International School and living life. Still going to South Africa for Christmas.
Much love to all; I miss you.
Heather

Safety First

2008-11-21T12:37:00.000Z

I'll have to get a picture of me in it, but I wanted to send a big sloppy thank you to Mama and Heidi for sending my the motorcyce helmet.
Now I won't die, just get a little maimed!
Thank you!

Life as I know it

2008-11-06T15:17:00.000Z

A lot has happened since last post: got a job at the American School in Lome. I fill in for a few 10th grade English lit classes now and take over the class in January. I also am assiting the administration. Lots to do. . . Full time life in Lome is different now that I am not a Peace Corps volunteer. It feels a little like getting out of jail or something. I take a mororcycle taxi to and from work every day, work 9 to 5 essentially, go to the grocery store, cook, etc. etc. Some things are still the same Togo though: greeting everyone endlessly in the mornings and evenings, stepping on lizards, battling every insect imaginable, and well, it is still hotter than blazes.
All that said, I am very very happy. Kevin and I have a wonderful home, we have people over for dinner and drinks, play Scrabble, and basically just hang out. Life is good.
I didn't make it to the all-night embassy party the other night because I was ill, but KB called every 2 hours to give election updates. All in all -- Togo and I are beyond pleased with the results - Go Obama!

Bye Bye Peace Corps

2008-10-17T13:48:00.000Z

For those that don't already know, I am terminating my service with Peace Corps and staying in Togo. I am super happy and relieved about my decision -- it was a long time coming. I didn't want to quit, especially after I worked so hard to get here.
I love Togo and am going to continue to work here and live in the capitol -- Lome. I got a job at the American school. My issues with my site and with Peace Corps administration were preventing me from really working and life is hard enough without effective work to do. Now I feel like I can be free to work hard, volunteer (I am looking into volunteering for Terre des Hommes, an organization that works with traffiked children), and generally be happy without bureaucracy (besides the Africa naturally-occurring kind).
My phone number is the same and my mailing address is now:
Heather Yorkston
c/o Kevin Brown
Embassy of the United States, Togo
BP 852
Lome, Togo
Am running around like crazy right now to get bank accounts closed, paperwork completed, medical care, visas transferred, etc. etc.
Du courage to me!
I love Togo and never had any intention of abandoning the country I have come to love so much. The hard part will be leaving for good in August.
Much love to all,
hy

heidi vs. broc

2008-10-09T12:13:00.001Z

in the intervening time between last post and internet difficulties (5 minutes at most), a giant nut fell from the tree above me and hit me on the head. that will leave a mark. only in togo.

as promised, heidi and broccoli wrestling:

pix from america

2008-10-09T11:58:00.000Z

here are some belated pix from my last days in the land of the free:

Last view of the greatest city in America. Amtrak station

Lipika, Heidi (greatest sister and friend in the world), me, and Erica and the Indigo Girls concert

Broccoli and I bonding

Unfortunately, internet is crapping out now because I have some awesome pix of Heidi vs. Broccoli wrestling match

updates

2008-10-09T11:50:00.000Z

Howdy!
Quick censored update from Lome: I am OK, fou (crazy person) attacked me in Notse and I am no longer allowed back there. Oh yeah, and I have like bacterial dysentary. I think I am single-handedly keeping the people that make Cipro in business. At least I am shedding the weight I gained in America. Peace Corps Africa: the toughest diet you'll ever love.
In Lome for now while I figure out what happens next. Regardless, I am staying in Togo (and I am getting my coffin sent to Lome too -- yippee!). There's a lot of work to be done here!
I love and miss you all.
hy

Back in Togo

2008-09-23T14:24:00.000Z

I am back in Togo and happier than ever! It was beyond sad to leave home and my family and all of the people that I didn't get to see, but I am returning to Africa with a renewed sense of purpose and dedication.
I missed the Togolese people so much it hurt. I missed speaking French and Ewe, even the heat and bugs are great right now. I will probably be singing a different tune once I try and get back to Notse and traverse broken bridges only to get there and discover that there is no cooking gas and I have to try and cook over charcoal. Taking 3 hours to boil water, then filter, then drink is no fun. I won't even get into trying to cook on that thing.
Regardless, this week is getting Kevin settled into his new home in Lome (holy cow, it is awesome - I will send pictures) and checking on what will hopefully be a great job with PSI (I think www.psi.org - check them out) and Peace Corps that will move me to Lome. Keep our fingers crossed.
The new NRM (Natural Resources Management) and GEE (Girls' Education and Empowerment) stage was on our flight from Paris to here, so we got to see all of the overwhelmed new faces and buy them beer:)
KB and I are overjoyed that we both brought board games back to Togo with us -- we figured out how to play the modern version of Risk last night (our friend Jake is ruler of the world, even though Kevin and I formed an alliance after we realized that as we kept fighting each other, Jake was taking over the world. Important lesson anyone?).
I truly can not express how happy I am to be back here. I really do belong. The hardest part is work and lack of structure, but I am committed to make something happen before I leave. I love this place.
Went to the Grand Marche yesterday to try and get some essentials for the house (KB can't deal with the nuttiness there, so it is up to me) (seriously, google a picture of the Grand Marche of Lome and maybe you will get an idea. Sounds and smells not included). By the end I had a giant backpack full and trying to balance a big basket on my head. Being a foreigner and carrying my business on my head like a Togolese is not a common sight. I had my own town criers ahead and behind me yelling to all of the vendors to check me out (as if they weren't already) and "hey, she speaks Ewe too". It helps with the prices though. I don't get the full yovo surcharge.
Today we have a crew at the beach bar (today is a national holiday celebrating something to do with repelling a coup attempt in the 80s led by 70 people. All I know is the banks, embassies, and Peace Corps offices are closed) so we will hang there with friends and dogs and wait for more goods that we need for the house to pass by on peoples' heads and we will buy them. Easy peasy.
Jet lag only hit me yesterday and it has been brutal leading to late nights and late mornings. Ca va aller.
I miss you, love you, etc. etc.
Peace out.

How to access Megan's site

2008-09-08T22:54:00.000Z

Just click the hyperlink of the previous blog title to access her site or click here

Megan's Togo Batik

2008-09-08T22:50:00.000Z

I just got an email from my darling friend Megan in Togo and she has set up a website showing some of the wares she is marketing for a batik bag maker in Kpalime, Togo. Perhaps eventually there will be a way to order online and I can help ship or bring them home. Email access is tough in Togo, but try and email her if you are interested. I have one of the bags and I love it!

Niece & Nephew

2008-09-03T12:55:00.000Z

Pix of Tula Mae & I

Fletcher & Aunt Heather

Dashiell left for his first day of 1st grade today, so he wasn't there for photo time.

Drive Through America

2008-09-03T12:33:00.000Z

I drove back from Kentucky by myself, stopping in Ohio to visit my dear friend Sarah Louise and her dad (my adopted grandpa), Dr. Bug at Embe Horse Farm and Happy Valley invention land.

After that, I spent the night at my parents' cabin between Gettysburg and Chambersburg, chillin in the woods. America is the most beautiful country on earth.

Mammoth Cave Pix

2008-09-03T12:29:00.000Z

Just a few pix from Mammoth Cave Kentucky - it is the longest cave system in the world, but since it is dark in there, well, there aren't a lot of pictures:)

Champagne of Beers

2008-08-19T12:30:00.000Z

Today - time for a haircut! The last several have been done with a Swiss Army Knife, so I think whoever the lucky stylist is may be in for a surprise.

Last night, not a glass of wine, but the champagne of beers (sorry Dad, raided the fridge and that was what was there) and movie! For the American readers, this may not sound very exciting, but trust me, these are special times.

This morning there were two crabs in the trap. Lunch coming right up!

Back in Business

2008-08-18T23:44:00.000Z

Yeeehaaawww!! Made it to Harford County, got my old number hooked up (410.948.0464), ate mozzarella sticks & jalapeno poppers & went to Blockbuster. Gonna hang on the river, maybe have a glass of wine, and watch the herons, eagles, gulls, and hawks wheel around the sky. The roses and all of the flowers are blooming all over the yard, the weather is perfect and the air is fresh and American. I am one happy Marylander right now. I think I will find some good Maryland corn and crabs on the side of the road tomorrow and steam them for lunch. All by myself.
Yum.
PS - I just found out I passed the Foreign Service Written Exam today. Now I wait until December to see if I am invited to take the Oral Exam. Kind of exciting all around. Some days it is simply good to be an American in America. Today is one of them.

More France!

2008-08-16T09:36:00.000Z

Yesterday we rented a convertible clown car and drove over 300k to a village outside of Poitiers to visit a friend of Kevin's family. Most of the trip was on the A10 (holy expensive tolls!) passing all of the tantalizing signs for the sights of the Loire Valley before entering into Poitou-Charentes. Sister/Mother Mary-Jean is a nun who lives in France and was visiting her sister and family on their estate. The family was lovely and welcoming and the house was absolutely beautiful. Kevin was able to bring messages of love from his Mom to Sister Mary-Jean and taped a video message. I know this means a lot to them and I was lucky to be a part of it.

We were also able to stop at Villandry, my favorite gardens

Kevin & I in the clown car outside Sister Mary-Jean's family home

Sister Mary-Jean's family's home

There were fields of sunflowers everywhere -- miles upon miles

French countryside

Paris

2008-08-14T09:21:00.000Z

Paris is amazing (well, duh!). And FREEZING! I have had to buy two pairs of tights, a sweater, and a coat.

Kevin has been updating his blog with pictures and stuff. He is more diligent than I. Check here: http://www.projectkb.blogspot.com/

Went to Laon yesterday, a town about 2 hours north of Paris. It was lovely:

On the train Laon view

Laon view In the cemetary

Cracking up and falling to the ground Kevin and the cathedral

Back down the hill and celebrating Back in Paris, tired & celebrating with grodey shot

Sad Goodbyes

2008-08-06T12:49:00.000Z

I had to say goodbye to one of my closest friends in country a few weeks ago, and now I have to say goodbye to another today. Four of us came in together and have been close friends since almost the beginning. A tribute to the now disbanded Pi-Pis. I will love always love you (at least more than Celine Dion). OK, that wasn't fair: more than Togo. Ok, ok: more than mozzarella sticks.

Young & naive:

Teaching Togolese children how to smear fireflies on your your skin and other PETA-riffic activities

Aren't we bien-integre?

With one in Oregon, one in Florida, me in Maryland, and the other remainer in Chicago, it will be a long time until we are together again. Ladies, you mean more to me than you will ever know.

Floods, Crises, etc. in Togo

2008-08-05T19:35:00.001Z

See article below. I happen to live on the Route Nationale, the only highway in Togo. The one cut off from the capitol. The 100 km detour the giants semis are taking, yeah well, there is a tiny dirt track that cuts through my town and goes 51 km to the secondary highway that one can then take to the capitol. Imagine, semis laden Africa-style with literally all of the goods coming to and from not just Togo, but all of Burkina Faso as well add mud, lots of mud. They get a few km and tip over, it takes hours to get them out and there are hulks just sitting at the side of the path (for that truly is what is, usually used only by bicycles and motorcycles and people walking). The villages along this little-used track are freaking blown away. They have never seen so much activity. It took several interesting hours to travel 51km and all of my freshly-scrubbed ready for France luggage, etc. is COVERED in dirt. One good thing is the corn has been harvested and dried in whole area so the increase in traffic allows these people to sell their corn much more quickly and at better prices. A bowl of corn has gone from around less than $1 to over $3 because farmers can't get their product to market.
Not sure if it is good or bad that I am leaving right now, but I do know I don't want to make that trip again any time soon.
Oh, and the government said the bridges won't be fixed until around December/January. Gravy.

France assists Togo after floods kill 9, cut roads
Sat 2 Aug 2008, 13:41 GMT

By John Zodzi
LOME (Reuters) - French soldiers have been dispatched to Togo to help the tiny West African nation tackle floods that have killed nine people this week, destroyed bridges and raised some food prices due to disrupted transport.
No estimate has been given yet on the financial scale of the damage but one immediate impact was an increase in the cost of maize -- already high from the global food and fuel crisis -- as some agricultural areas are cut off from consumers.
"We have today nine victims and nine bridges down," Celestin Ekpaou Talaki, Togo's minister for public works, transport and town planning, told state television late on Friday.
The French soldiers from a peacekeeping mission in nearby Ivory Coast will repair a bridge north of the capital which has been destroyed, shutting down country's main highway, an official in the prime minister's office said.
The floods were caused by unexpected heavy rains in Togo's south, which have swollen the Hao and Zio rivers north of Lome.
On top of the roads, several sections of railway have been cut off.
Donors have held crisis meetings with the government and Togo's development minister said a way must be found to help the "thousands of people who are stuck in their homes".
Assistance from France comes after Togo's army began helping deliver food and non-food items to those in need.
Neighbouring Ghana has also offered military assistance.
Until the French engineers can help re-open the main artery to the north, transporters serving Sahel countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali will have to make a 100 km detour.
Escalating global food and fuel costs are hitting Africa's poor particularly hard as these goods make up a greater proportion of incomes than in other parts of the world.
A Reuters witness in Lome said the impact of the floods could already be seen in the markets, where the price of a cup of maize had nearly doubled, rising to 1,400 CFA francs from 850 CFA francs just three days earlier.

France & USA - Oh my!

2008-07-01T12:41:00.000Z

Plans are underway for the grand trip to USA & France! I will be in Paris from August 9-17, DC 8/18-22, Kentucky/Ohio 8/23-28, AND Maryland 8/29 to 9/14 then back to Togo on the 20th. Please email me if you want to get together and hopefully I will have a cell number to give you for the States.

More Pictures!

2008-06-17T09:31:00.000Z

More Pictures!

2008-05-18T10:19:00.003Z

Termites: Free

Roasting of termites: a little charcoal and patience

Pleasure of exacting revenge on nasty flying creatures that invade your bedroom by the thousands

Termites collected from the yard and salted and roasted.

Some pix finally!

2008-05-02T18:16:00.009Z

I like baby goats - even in the rain!

Skin care is very important -- even in Togo. Trust me -- this climate is ruinous on a girl's complexion.

Ummm, my friend Jason brought over Budweiser in a can to a cookout we had last night. SERIOUSLY?! Budweiser in can?! Do you know how long it had been since I had seen that nectar of the American gods? Look at my face. No idea how he got it here. Doggon embassy and their goodies.

This is at Kevin's apt. Baltimorons, please note "Bertha's" sticker and Maryland flag on the fridge. Once a Baltimoron, always a Baltimoron. Even in Togo.

Meg & I at Mandingue, jazz club in Lome. Some residents call it the center of the universe. I have video of the band jamming the other night & Kevin on the drums, but given how long it takes to load a picture, well. That will have to wait.

The Rain Comes

2008-04-17T11:17:00.001Z

Oh glorious Togo rain! All of a sudden, the house completely darkens at 11 in the morning. I look outside and the air is full of violent dust and the palm trees are going crazy. Neighbors scurry everywhere to get their clothes off of the line and babies are crying. The temperature drops 20 degrees and rain falls. Thank god, the rainy season is here!

Go Togo!

2008-03-19T19:24:00.002Z

Please read the following article written by the President of Togo and published this week in the Washington Times. Wow! PS - Togo, not necessarily the fondest of their former colonizers. . .

Ending African 'history'

By Faure GnassingbeMarch 16, 2008

French President Nicholas Sarkozy addressed "Africa's Young" in a speech at the University of Cheik Anta Diop in Dakar, Senegal, on July 26, 2007. Africans widely and roundly criticized the speech, little noted by the U.S. media, as racist and condescending. Mr. Sarkozy offered up the "accepted" litany of difficulties confronting his "wounded continent" of Africa " wars, genocides, dictators and corruption. He asserted that it was not the slave trade and/or European colonialism that gave rise to these problems, but rather, he opined, "that the African has not fully entered into history," preferring to hold on to some "mythical past" rather than launch "himself towards the future."
It would appear Mr. Sarkozy chooses to end African "history," not like Francis Fukuyama in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall, but rather at African independence. He seems to argue that Africans missed this early universalization of Western liberal democracy and opted to pursue instead a return to a "golden age "of Africa that "never existed." Africans, he implies, chose Hobbes' "First Man" (solitary, poor, nasty, and brutish) over Fukuyama's "Last Man" (free, universal, just, and reasoning).
Mr. Sarkozy is curiously silent on the effects of post-independence African interaction over 50 years with the international system, including the former colonial powers. It is more in that interaction, I would argue, that we discover the genesis of the problems that Africa faces today. We, African leaders, must make an honest appraisal of this recent past, acknowledge its darkness and accept and/or assign responsibility for decisions made and/or avoided. Only then can we shine a harsh, but cleansing light on the continent's current state of affairs, permitting us to undertake necessary corrective action.
We must recognize that African states emerged from the colonial era with nascent political, economic and social institutions, an immediate and direct consequence of the colonial experience. The Cold War sent those institutions into stasis until 1989. The leaders of neither "West" nor "East" concerned themselves with the authoritarianism, corruption, stagnation or abuse that arose across Africa. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, however, Africans were asked to demonstrate immediately democracy, free markets and tolerant, open civil societies. African states were expected to emerge like Athena from the forehead of Zeus, full-grown and clad in armor " an improbable, if not impossible prospect.
Moreover, many of the challenges of the post-Cold War era African leaders are asked to address were not foreseen in the immediate post-colonial period. You need only consider the many and varied consequences of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, climate change and the globalization of trade and finance. Africa's national institutions were not, and are still not, as yet sufficiently broad, deep or flexible enough to deal effectively with this range of varied and complex issues in a systematic and timely manner.
But addressing these concerns is not simply a question of capacity building. While it is true that African leaders can affect change through coherent national institutions that bridge the gap between the state and society, providing necessary services to the people, this assumes the leader has this as an objective. All too often, African leaders, faced with the choice of building an integrated national political process and permitting it to mature or retaining personal control, have chosen control, submerging collective goals for the sake of personal advantage and interest.
Weak institutions are not in a position to constrain such a leader's ambitions and are more susceptible to facile manipulation. Many African leaders have been all too ready to resort to "neo-patrimonialism," using the institutions of the state to deliver personal favors. Rather than imbuing society with idealism and a sense of possibility and responsibility, some African leaders fostered self-serving sycophancy focused on posturing, personalities and egos without regard or concern for the nation. It is all too easy to understand why many African leaders have not seen Cincinnatus as a role model, but rather sought to cling to the perquisites and trappings of power.
Africa's greatest problem is failed leadership, in a moral not technical sense. No matter how many finely crafted International Monetary Fund/International Bank for Reconstruction and Development adjustment programs are put in place or how much development assistance donors pledge or how often "free and fair" elections are held, if this continent's leaders are not prepared to serve the needs of its people, Africa will remain Mr. Sarkozy's "wounded continent," unable to affect an exodus from its plagues.

Papa came to Togo -- and you can too!

2008-02-08T07:47:00.000Z

Quick post while on acceptable internet connection (thank you embassy) -- Papa came to Togo on a last minute trip and stayed for a month! And he is alive! And he had fun! See, not so hard?

On another note -- I have no idea where the last 20 some-odd letters I have written have ended up. It makes me a bit sad because life here is at the point where things aren't so foreign and so neat stuff doesn't stand out anymore.

All I can do is try and be better about posting on here myself and forgo the letters home.

I love Togo, I am here to stay (for the next 2 years anyway).

Amerika!

2007-12-26T11:29:00.000Z

Ok, I am home in the US and will therefore be hunting down the last several letters I sent home to post on here and pictures too. Yeah internet! It is quite odd to be here. I am happy to see my friends and family but already miss the sounds of fufu being prepared, the Fanmilk honk, people balaying, etc. etc. I won't go so far as to say I miss the yovo song. Well, maybe a little.

Merry Christmas! Will get my usual cell number turned on today. Give me a call and buy me dinner!

Kisses,

Amoebas

2007-10-22T11:42:00.001Z

OK computer just ate everything I typed. Short version: got amoebas, got really sick, hve good days and bad days wondering if I should stay. Someone please proofread previous entries and correct grammar and spelling. It is killing me. Am coming home for Christmas. Please send cumin, bay leaves, mint and cilantro seeds.
Sorry, computers here make and already grumpy person grumpier.
love,
heather

August 13, 2007

2007-10-18T20:07:00.000Z

So typical day at the saltmines. Got up, didn't bathe, found a 1940's turban of Mama's the kids were playing with in the dirt, crafted a fabulous outfit to match (Chanel red lipstick included) went to school (interspersed with general greeting and village excitement about my fabulous attire with the turban) learned stuff, missed 2nd class with an incredibly gratifying phone call from Mom & Dad, left school to be greeted by a full speed ahead run from the boys from my neighborhood screaming my name (I live 15mins from the school, they've never gone there and waited for me before), hung out with my boy posse for the rest of the walk home, stopped in a coutourjer (seamstress) shop to say hi and they started asking advice on the business, had a meeting with them on how to calculate REVENUE-EXPENSES=PROFIT, hard to teach an illiterate audience, but it worked. Came home finally, Mama freaked out because I wore her filthy hat with a Versace stomp (they call it "Miss Togo" as in "Louise, Louise nous voulous "Miss Togo") sat down to eat after some general revelry with the 20 kids that followed me home only to hear wailing from the 9 year old cousin who lves here half the time. "What's wrong" I ask. "She drank sodabi" was the reply. At which point I FREAK OUT. Sodabi is moonshine that could double as industrial cleaner/biodiesel fuel of the future. "Who in the hell gave her sodabi? Do you know how bad that is for children???" Everyone in the courtyard is cracking up. She found the sodabi and drank it on her own and now she is butt wasted. Honestly at this stage, around and still wailing because she got yelled at for drinking in the first place. I told her to try to make herself barf and lay down. Stay tuned for the next episode. Did I mention that I freaking love it here? I was made for this stuff.

Some day later-

So after, like, intense impatience for this artificial school-world known as "Stage" to be over, my girlfriends and I aside- we are the only girls/people out of 20 of us to
a. drink beer
b. talk about sex
c. be fun

Tonight we tried to name ourselves-since we are four, we decided on "(No) Sex in Togo" Apparently, I am a mixture of 1/2 Charlotte, 1/2 Samantha- totally accurate though I would have appreciated some Carrie fashion sense and some Miranda "know-it-all, get shit done" kind of tude, but hey, I can't be all 4 characters now can I? Carolyn is awesome and sort of from DC(Love OLD BAY) doesn't shave, is totally loud, and fun, and brash, and a professional cheerleader- hello- see a fit?? Kate is from Oregon, hippy ass lit professor mom, Middlebury College, urban planning degree from UT and dry as hell and honest and wonderful. We three are bitches. And then there is Megan- sweet sweet Megan- bad ass vintage trash digging awesome eye for color clothes wearing former high-end bedding designer from Chicago. Yes Gibran- we will all party together in Chi-town. Those are my girls. My friends, my sanity. God how I love you. P.S. If I do say so, and you know I will, we are all pretty. We are like the "Mean Girls" of Peace Corps. Dude, that's like a novel title right there. Love it. Or Heathers for those of you of my generation.

Later same night- to all future generations of Peace Corps Volunteers, NEVER, EVER underestimate the power of the hokey pokey. Seriously, If you are ever in a tight situation, teach a crowd of people that and you are golden for life.

Personal shout out continued.

6. Tasha- Thank you so much for your card and letter. I am so happy things are going well in your new job. It is true, everything happens for a reason. I am also happy to hear the car is doing well. I loved that car so much so I am pleased to know it is in good hands. I hope Brooke & Patrick are happy and healthy as well.

7. MDP Peeps- a. Debbie , my mom told me you are putting my letters on my blog THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I want to hear all of the goings on's at MDP. Fill me in!!! I miss the people and am curious to know how my accounts are doing but I am so far removed, it seems like light years ago. Even good old Baltimore political gossip would be great. Is Sheila Dixon still mayor? When is the race? Who is running? Is Keifer in the mix? How is Ed Hale? What is he up to? Do you ever see my dear Julie @ Maryland Art Place? How is Genny? I need Hampden updates!! Any Happy Hours? Pat Dugan? Are you well my dear? Give me office gossip and gripes and stuff. lee still tan and Leigh still Republican?? How are everyone's kids and marriages???

8. Julie Ann, my love. How are you? I miss you. MAP well? Any news there? Gossip? I think about you often and hope you are doing well. I am worried about you. How is Stefan? please tell me what is happening. How is your family? How does it feel to be married?

9. Bond & Lancaster peeps (except for Lipika & Andy) shame on you!! No letters? I need to know what is happening and I need Bill and Alex silly/wise words. Everyone gearing me up for the wedding of Gary & Suzie? Oh shoot- it just happened, well how was it?? Seth & Shannon, Terry's going away, Scott & Courtney, Alan & Jill- I need pictures, and gossip. I watch Jacque & Craig's Fell's Point documentary and cry. I miss you guys and I miss the hood.

10. Gibran- where is your globe trotting ass now? I need your wittiness. What are you thinking about? What is on your mind? How's Life? I need to know.

So totally random letter. Granola bars, conditioner, witch hazel, shelf bra tank tops and cute Forever 21 dresses are always welcome! Oops, beef jerky too- need protein big time! Gossip mags, Baltimore mags too. Much love as always. I am very happy here, but miss you too.

Love always,

Heather

Oh and used DVD's are great as well, chick flicks, documentaries, classics, TV shows- whatever. Anthropologie catalogs and cool ones like that! Fashion mags too please.

August 8th

2007-09-24T21:26:00.000Z

My wonderful friends & family-

1. Please , I beg of you, post a note on the blog and ask for help posting my letters. No one knows if I am alive or dead and the few who truly love my bitchiness are beginning to get concerned. Thank you very much (or as they say here" akpe ka ka")
2. You know, homesickness is a funny funny thing. Mail & packages from home are so bittersweet. You should see us on mail day. We honestly smell each other's letters and shout "America, America-it smells like FREEDOM". It kind of reminds me of what it must be like in jail on mail day. "It smells like the OUTSIDE, like Freedom". Same excitement, same sniffing of efficient looking stationary. Newspaper clippings especially smell like freedom. Funny thing, distance.

3. Rachael, your letter was perfection. And we were talking. It totally heard you. General note again. Stamps are so expensive. Letters get sent to M & D, then hopefully posted. It's the best I can do. I will write more personal stuff to you shortly. In the meantime, stay away from Fair Hill and do not write to me about the HARRY FREAKING POTTER UNLESS YOU ARE GOING TO SEND ME THE BOOK!!!! Are you kidding me!?!?!?!? I love you more than always for real.

4. Lipika, dear sweet friend. Your letter was fantabulous. Please send more Lippy tales and Bond Street gossip. I crave it!! There is a Baltimore girl here that I met briefly. She is headed home for a visit in September. I begged her to go to Bond and Lancaster and hold up a sign and yell "Heather sends love from Togo." Then to go to One- Eyed Mikes. Please buy her drinks. her name is Bonnie. She promised me she would. I will get everyone back on the drinks when I get home, I promise. I miss you all dearly. Send pictures of BBQ's etc. Real ones not email. Obviously that just ain't gonna happen.

5. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Mom & Dad. I love your love. I hope you know how rare it is and treasure it everyday. I miss backing in the glow of it and being your daughter. Noth that I;m not your daughter, but you know, giving you crap, being sassy, playing cards,etc. I know having parents like you is rare too. I am very lucky. I found this pagne to get you matching outfits, it is hilarious, but I need your measurements. For Mom, I need waist, hips, hip to knee. Dad, I need shoulders, chest, um, neck to waist????? In metric please. Just a shirt for Dad and a skirt for Mom. It will be like the square dancing days.

July 15

2007-09-24T21:21:00.001Z

This note will be disjointed because I am trying to write a note with a child on my lap.

Lessons learned today:

Unripe grapefruit bounce wonderfully and make great soccer balls. And after they've been kicked around for an hour, the juice gets ready and you can eat it.
When playing grapefruit soccer, it is even more fun and funny to have Duran Duran and Bob Marley playing in the background
Though grapefruits and frisbees can fall into deep wells, it is almost as much fun to get them out again, especially if the bucket falls in in the process
Request for the letter- please send out a request to everyone we know to send many many band aids (kids ones from Ollies are a great idea and cheap) and some sort of bactine type stuff. The kids don't care when they get hurt, but it kills me.
White people like myself plain ole can't dance "mama" points that out all of the time. "Louise tu ne dances pas bien" At least she's honest

August 1, 2007

2007-09-07T18:47:00.000Z

Dearest peeps-

A quick word- I hope these letters are getting posted on the blog because there are alot of people I miss and want to communicate with and given the cost of stamps (more than a days pay for me) time constraints (non-existent), and technology constraints (also non-existent) there is no way I can do that. I had an intense "I miss Debbie" moment today and I don't want her or anyone to think I don't think about them often.

Another caveat, things have been really great lately and unfortunately I have only now found time to sit and write and I just had a really annoying moment so all of the good wonderfulness is going to be tainted with a "Heather impatience" type ordeal. So I am sitting on some steps in my courtyard, mama is cooking dinner and I am trying to work on my we noun memorization and pronounciation. This 8 or 10 year old girl who is really touchy-feely and usually very sweet is sitting next to me so I ask her to read the Ewe work first (there are pictures also mind you) and I will repeat it after her. I also ask her to correct me. I point to a word with a GIANT picture and the Ewe words typed underneath. She says the word in French. I try and say the word in Ewe, though I ask her again "Jane, you speak Ewe, I don't, I'm trying to learn Ewe, you need to teach me how to pronounce it. I already KNOW the word in French". It continues, but now after I say the word in Ewe with bad pronunciation, she just repeats what I say! Granted, it took me 1/2 and hour to realize that she was just repeating and reinforcing my incorrect pronunciation. Also, please realize that the Ewe alphabet looks quite different. (IN HEATHER"S LETTER SHE WRITES THE ALPHABET OUT BUT BECAUSE OF THE LANGUAGE I AM UNABLE TO COPY) and the word for watch (as in wristwatch) looks like this: Gafodgkui- Dude you try and guess how to spit that out. The word for child:Xedudu. Yeah , OK. Duck is fun: Kpakpaxe. That one is easy actually, but it fun to say. It sounds kind of like a chicken clucking. The fun stuff are Ewe words that come from English (there are Ewe in Ghana too). Oh, but before I get to that, do you want to her how to say "I am a peace Corps Volunteer?" Volunteer is a doozy: "Me nye l)l)nud)w)la le Peace Corps " (THE ")" ARE REALLY BACKWARDS "c"-SORRY)

OK, now for the Ewe words from English matching game.(BECAUSE WE AREN"T ALL CONFUSED ENOUGH ALREADY)
1. d)kita a. bricklayer
2. tela b.tailor
3. dreva c. lawyer
4. bikla d. doctor
5. l)ya e. driver
6. tsitsa f. teacher

Match the professions, Ewe & English. *Hint just do your best to say the Ewe word out loud and you might surprise yourself *Answers are at the bottom.

When you leave people you can also say "Bye Byelo" and the response is "Yo." Hee Hee, fun.

Adding to this intense frustration with my Ewe studying was the radio. The freaking radio. Anyone that knows me even a little knows that I HATE radio commercially type noises and will slam the off button faster that you can pop a groundhog with a rubber mallet on the Ocean City boardwalk. Ohhhhh, the food you can eat on a boardwalk. Ohhhhhhh, you don't know how lucky you are. I digress. Radio. So apparently, any jackass can get on the radio.

A. The music usually sucks. I am talking rap, hip-hop, Kenny G, Backstreet Boys, and the horror, Celine Dion. The manliest of men here, the coolest of the cool will croon, sway, and sing along to that ear filth poison. UGH. VOMIT.
B. The "DJ" talks and has very important things to say. Like over songs, during songs, whenever a thought enters their DJ pea-sized brains, they spit it out. There's more talk than music.
C. The volume. There is no halfway. Shit is loud. All of the time. Yet people respond to it as if it were background music.

Basically to my ears, it is like the worst commercial that you can't turn off. And that folks, is the cool station. That is the one that blares into the courtyard. The other station that I am hearing loud and clear is the one that Mama has on starting at 4am(on the dot, every day) is the Ewee/French- all church, all the time. Prayer, hymns, sermons, praise Jesus. And Mama, God love her, I know I do, has the worst singing voice EVER! And I am connoisseur of bad voices having a pretty freakin terrible one myself. Well, since Mama is a church -going woman, she knows all of the words to all of the hymns and sings along. It starts at 4am with prayers and hymns interspersed. I put in earplugs, but you can still hear. And Mama goes through an hour long service, on her knees in her room, her volume appropriately loud to praise God. Prayers, hymns, and since she is an opinionated woman, she throws in her "Amen", "Hallelujah", and "Hmmmhmmm". And since it wouldn't be right to not sing if you don't know all the words she hums then just as loud, stumbles on the melody, and joins in with real gusto when the chorus comes around. Ahhhh, the radio in Togo. Total ear poison. 2 different stations on normal days and nights. When other family members come, they bust out cassettes. There is one song that I absolutely LOVE! You must must find it on the Internet and listen. He probably even has a freakin Myspace page. His name is Aladzi. He is Togolese and Ewe. His songs are a mix of languages of Togo thrown in. My favorite song has a baby laughing and farting the whole way through until she/he starts crying at the end. Kokou says the song is called "Togolese" but he might not have known and said that to make me go away.

So, thanks to Heidi & Mom & Dad for the care packages and not that I'm soliciting, because after all, I have 2 years to go, but if C-Mart happens to get any cute dresses, shoes, or shelf-bra tank-tops, don't be afraid to send them my way. Also plain cotton low rise bikini underwear are always great. Bee jerky and Slim Jims, and Velvetta are wonderful as well. When I am able to use a computer I am going to try and buy stuff online. Oh! Also all Anthropologie catalogs-doesn't matter how old they are- will always be appreciated. All furniture I have to get and clothes to have to be made to order so I might as well get cool stuff. More letters soon , I promise. Love, kisses, and eat good things for me. Like sushi and Gorgonzola and spinach. And steak. And non-gross fish. And crabs. And oysters. Send rosemary, basil, mint, and soybean(edaman seeds (rachael's job)) Ama says "Dogbe". I say it as part of my salutations, but I don't know what it means and neither does she.

Love, love, love,

Heather

KEY to test:
1. d, 2. b, 3. e,4. a, 5. c, 6. f

(Everything in Capital letters was written by Debbie- sorry I had to add those comments in there.)

July 19

2007-08-07T14:10:00.000Z

So many things crammed into a day. Once again, things want to come out in mixed up jumbo that won't make much sense. Mama is a retired mid-wife. She is also loud, bossy, brash, and all sorts of things that perhaps only someone who has loved Grandma Paulson dearly could also adore Mama. This morning as I came out of my room into the courtyard there were people I had never seen before waiting for Mama to return from mass. Strangers in the courtyard are nothing unusual so I greeted them blearily and perfunctorily and went about my morning business. He was in his 20's or 30's and she was bent over on the stoop, quite quiet and perhaps in pain. After dressing and sitting down to eat breakfast, they were also in the room (the only common room) across from me. Mama had returned and came out of her bedroom with a tiny first aid kit and led them into this other room that I thought was for grain storage, no one ever goes in there.

Mama comes back after a few minutes, chats about random things for a bit. I was trying not to be nosy but couldn't help it any longer "was everything OK?" I asked. She told me they had come from far, she was 5 months pregnant and the baby was "rotten" or "spoiled" (I'm translating from broken French, but that's some word you use for food gone bad). The mother had malaria and something was wrong. There was nothing I could do and I was late for lessons. Mama said she fixed it, the baby's OK now. Class was a nightmare this morning, luckily I talked to you all, so was riding high from all of that and preparations for post visit and the big conference tomorrow where we meet the Togolese counterparts we work with for the next 2 years, so it completely slipped my mind. We had the afternoon free so instead of going home like normal, we went to Kpalime for post-visit shopping, french fry eating and internet time. Coming home I want to show the family the African dress I bought for tomorrow. It's always a game to ask what Mama would have paid for something and then tell her what I paid. There's usually a huge "yovo" markup, but I am a fierce bargainer and a little local language goes a long way. I show my dress, model them for the crowd in the courtyard, you know loud fun brou-ha-ha. I take a bucket bath, come out and Mama is shouting to Ama (10 year old host sister) to bring her bleach and soap. Since Mama yelling to Ama to bring her something is by no means unusual, I stand beside her and make fun of her. Then I realize there is a hurried air that is quite unusual, I ask what's happening. She looks at me and says "the child has left" I'm thinking she's talking about her 40 year old party boy son Jean who just left the courtyard and ask "Who? Jean? He'll be back soon, he's always leaving", "no, no Louise, the baby was rotten, it's gone now." "What? What are you saying?". "It's finished, the mother is resting." Mama is laughing at the obvious shock and horror on my face and my stumbling, stumbling questions. "Louise, what's your problem, it was rotten, now it's gone, everything is fine." I walk around the courtyard in a daze. "But Mama, this is serious, it's sad....." Everyone is staring at me as if I am from another planet. "But Mama, can I do anything?" "Louise, do what? The work is finished. And what do you want to do? What can you do?" All of this is said with total bemusement, laughter, and surprise at my reaction. Everyone else is either laughing at me (not meanly, the " the yovo is so funny and strange" laugh) or going about their business. I am trying to eat and write this at the same time. They are serious about feeding their yovos here.

And all I can think of is hospitals, pre-natal care, malaria medicine, pre-mies that make it and the casualness of death here. They don't have the luxury of mourning every death.

OK, now I think I am going to lose it. No less than 5 minutes after I wrote the above, Kokou (host -brother-30's) stole a cigarette from Mama (jokingly-right in front of her), she also joking, yells "thief, thief" in Ewe, then they tell me that if a thief gets caught they throw a tire around their neck, fill it with gas, and light it on fire. Just thought you'd want to know. I mean , WOW!

No time to close properly. All is great. Off for a week at my new post in Notse. Wish me luck. I love you all and miss America!!

Love,

Heather

July 8th

2007-08-03T14:29:00.000Z

So once again so many things are happening, it is hard to know where to start. Sometimes it is easier to start with the most recent and work backwards until I reach the time frame where I left off in my last letter. That may be optimistic that I will even be able to order things in such a linear fashion, but I will do my best. Then again, if jumbled up, mixed around time sense worked for Sartre and Faulkner, it can work for me.

As I may have mentioned earlier, I walk or ride my bike next to a busy road to go to lessons every day at least 4 times a day. To get to my house, I turn right on a dirt road, past the miller on the left, sound the community water pump, make a right and go into my courtyard.

The miller is the point of this story today. He truly is an extraordinary man. Most of you know how I feel about overly enthusiastic born- again. Christian types, but the miller really was alive with joy. He appreciated every single day fully. When going through our salutations in a mixture of French & Ewe, he never gave the traditional responses, but would say "Today is the most beautiful day, I am alive, you are alive, we are smiling, the children and goats are here. Look around us , today is a joyous day. I am full of the spirit of God, he is with me and I am happy" None of this was by rote and his face would shine with the meaning of his words. He was one of those people you could see from a mile off who was simply good deep inside and it radiated out to everyone around him.. He would sing as he ground the corn people brought him, over the deafening clatter of his mill breathing in the flour in the air.

Since I don't have a host father, as I adopted Dr. Bug as my grandfather, I asked him to be my father here. Thenceforth I addressed him as "mon pere". I would practically bow everyday to him because it just seemed right. He was an integral part of my day and he knew my schedule and would wait at the window for me and would know if I was late.This weekend our town was completely turned upside down with funeral of some important man in town. Tons of people from Lome were here and the streets were lined with new Mercedes and BMWs (can you freakin believe that? In one of the poorest countries in the world. These people may as well have been from Mars). There were also raggedy specially hired buses everywhere and our town was turning into a bush taxi stop as well. The streets were crowded with people wearing their best pagne (crazy colorful local cloth) suits- families would have their outfits cut from the same matching pagne. Now coming from Baltimore, I have seen some crazy African hairstyles with extensions and what not, but the hairstyles of every woman this weekend were extraordinary! Everyone from town was looking spiffy too, but you could tell the Lome-ers from the local from a mile away. The Lome women could wear make-up like we're used to and in a mainly subtle fashion. The local women I see everyday had lipstick on their eyelids and eyeshadow on their lips. The local men are mainly respectful, friendly, and non-threatening, the Lome men hissed and shouted "yovo" (foreigner in Ewe- we get called that at least 20 times a day). That's OK because when you respond back in Ewe and make joke they fall out of their seats on the side of the road in shock and the women literally roar with laughter ( and I like to think respect too), whatever- yovo-1 Lomer-zero.

So when I didn't see the miller working on Friday I assumed that he had to do something with the funeral and a cousin or some such was filling in. We also got our posts assigned that day, so I had a lot going on. Saturday comes and I have class then go to Kpalime to try internet again and buy pagne. I come home late and sleep at school to watch movies.

I woke up this morning immediately realizing I haven't seen mon pere for 2 days and vow to ask someone where he is. Well, he died this morning, to make a very long story short. My family only found out about 1/2 hour before I asked. Of course I burst into tears and ask if I can visit his family, where will the funeral be, etc. etc.

So my family takes me up the road, through some cornfields and winding paths to the miller's house. There are about 20-30 people sitting on stools and benches under the trees and wife sitting on the steps surrounded by women and family. Some people are sobbing and wailing. I'm trying to hold back tears because I'm not sure if it's ok that a yovo who they've only know for a month is crying. My family leads me to her, I give her my condolences, crying, and we hug and cry for a bit. Then they lead me inside to see his corpse laid out and shrouded. He just looks asleep, but I can see a huge lump which must be a hernia of some sort. They said he had it for a long time, but couldn't afford the surgery to fix it. I gave the wife some money to get his body taken back to his native village and we sit back under the trees and cry.

There are so many thins I could say about mon pere, thank god we got our picture taken together just 3 days ago. I really did love him.. This type of thing is what keeps me here when the petty things are tough. If I can help create sustainable businesses that employ people then those people can afford surgery.

There's so much more to share about life here, but this time I will give the miller his due respect and end here.

Thank you and I miss you all.

Love Always,

Heather

Request

2007-08-03T14:18:00.000Z

Sean- If you know of some sort of laptop cover that would have been useful in the dusty season in Afghanistan, please send as I will be working during a similar dusty season with winds off of the Sahara. Also reserch project for Fells Point crew, Dr. Nikolov at Towson Dr. Tainson or Dr. Duncan can you please give him the blog address?), or if Javier knows anyone in Anthropology at Hopkins. I would like to read all available research and fieldwork on the Tamberma and also the Betamarimbe people in North East Togo and the latter in Northwest Benin. They live in the Tata Somba houses. Not only would I like to be well-informed in order to effectively and sensitively do my work, but also in my spare time see if I can add to the body of existing knowledge or a future PhD thesis of some sort. Please communicate through comments sections so there are no duplication of effort. It's OK if the sources are in French, but English is always preferable and I'll take what I can get. Also a small phonetics/linguistic book would help as the language I'll be learning is probably not written and is not used beyond the area. I would really appreciate as much help as possible as technology is beyond my grasp and academic libraries a long plane ride away. I know this is asking a lot. If the professors are helping maybe they could craft an assignment around it? If money is needed for shipping or book purchases, please contact my parents and consolidate effort there as well. I can't thank you enough. Hopefully, this will make my work more effective and also create sensitive tourism and approaches.

Love,

Heather

June 28th letter

2007-08-03T13:48:00.000Z

It's 7:55 pm and I am in bed and was trying to sleep, but the singing evangelical miller who lives behind me is really going at it tonight. I swear to you his voice is just like Harry Belafonte's. It's lovely and the miller is so nice, I feel guilty putting my ear plugs in. Plus it is a bit early I suppose. A minute ago, I swear to you he was singing the Ewe version of the song that is something like "if you want to be happy for the rest of your life make an ugly woman your wife". It is cracking me up because the tune is the same (interspersed with breaks for evangelical shouting/praying/sermonizing- I know this because though I may not speak Ewe yet, beyond the basics, "Amen" and "Hallelujah" are universal) but sung in Ewe about being born again.

There are so many things here that tickle my funny bone and I think will sustain me while I am here. I have two more examples as well: I went to a wake the other night for someone in my family (extended- they live in the village, but not in my courtyard). Wakes are a really big deal here (aside - everyone gets their village name and their name tattooed to their forearm so if they die somewhere else they can be brought home for a proper burial. The girl that died had been in the hospital in Lome, so she was apparently brought back in a refrigerator in a pick up truck. Think about it- how else it going to happen? Thank god they had enough money for that). Anyway, the wake is supposed to be a joyous affair. We walk over at night, around 8. A rarity, it was my first time here out after dark. We come to a huge tree in the village with fluorescent lights hung from the branches, over 100 chairs set out, a big drumming and other percussion circle with singers, dancers, etc. There were a few speeches, but mainly songs sung by a group of special women, with men drumming. Then women from the audience would get up and dance in a circle around the drummers. All under a huge tree. Pretty freakin cool. Then they pass around plates for offering,then hand out candy. Or what I thought was candy until I put it in my mouth. COUGH DROPS.....Freaking cough drops?!?! Ahh, stuff like that takes you from be in sappily blissed out in your National Geographic moment to silently giggling at the incongruity of it all. I love this place.

The other funny thing is - you know the crazy colorful awesome African cloth I said everyone wears? Often it is abstract or pictorial in a way that you would imagine like flowers, or birds, or elephants. Well sometimes they depict other things like: drumsticks (as in chicken), sometimes the whole roast, sometimes TVs, toasters, cell phones. I saw a crisply pressed suit this morning with giant taxi stands on it. I'm talking street lamp, cobblestone, guy leaning against street lamp- all in fluorescent yellow, electric blue, vibrant orange etc. An entire suit! I bought one that looks like the inside of an ornate French cathedral, but I heard a rumor there exists ones with Saddam Hussein. I am SO on the lookout for that. Are you kidding me? A flirty dress copied from an Anthropologie catalog covered with Saddam Hussein with drumstick trim??? Seriously, I even have spies on the look out in Lome for especially weird ones.

So we got descriptions of the 19 posts the SED (small enterprise development) volunteers will be gong to at the end of training. I found one that my heart is set on- it is in the north (think hot, dry, dusty, but with baobab trees). There is a really traditional ethnic group called Tamberma who live in these amazing fortress crazy house/ hut things. UNESCO just dubbed it a world heritage site. It might be the only one in West Africa aside from Timbuktu. Google it for me. It is really remote for a SED post, but that's what I want. They are really independent and don't bother with the "Christian/Muslim during the day and traditional beliefs at night" idea the rest of the country has. They straight up have skulls hanging all over the place. You have to go 24K down an unpaved road to get there. I will work in trying to create tourism, support entrepreneurs, and work with micro- finance institutions. I hope I get it. I am already a "kiss-ass", but I am sucking up big time to be sure. By the time you get this, I'll already know. Got to go, it is late and mail pick-up is tomorrow. Write letters, send stuff don't forget me. Don't forget I love you.

Love Always,

Heather

help

2007-07-20T01:04:00.000Z

Could anyone that is a guru assist me with posting Heather's letters on the blog? Also if you want to read other information plese call me Donna Yorkston, Heather's Mom 410 679 9579 . If you send a box for Heather we may wnat to coordiante items add what you send to the site. Thank you. Heather is well I spoke to her this am. She misses yu'all.

2007-07-12T19:59:00.000Z

This is me my first day in village.

We also killed chickens for the fourth of july. My mom is supposed to uploading my letters on here, but if someone could call and help her out, I would really appreciate it. I am only able to use internet now because we are using Peace Corps computers in Lome. There's a long line, so obviously even pictures are tough to do. Internet as I am sure you have now realized is quite impossible and will continue to be so for the next few months while we are in training. Once we are done and get to post it will be much easier. Life is great here, but tough as well. This is definitely what I am have been meant

to do and am so happy to be here.

The second picture is me with my host family at a fashion we did with american and togolese fashion. I haven't gotten fat, just majorly stuffed my bra to fit the outfit. Last pix is in my courtyard with my family and some neighborhood kids. Look at the double rainbow!

It is hot as goodness here and the humidity is something else. My health has been pretty good so far let hope it holds.

All for now, please bug my mom to post my letters.

Love,

Heather

Grammar

2007-06-10T11:21:00.001Z

I used poor grammar so Heather could correct me! Guess Who

Arrival to Togo

2007-06-10T11:17:00.000Z

Heather arrived safely she said she loves it. Here is my numbers if anyone wants to call and chat 443 562 8501 or 410 679 9579 Love to all Mom

Here with my fellow ideologues

2007-06-07T02:52:00.000Z

Is that a word? Meh, who cares - you get the point. Here I am with people who don't say "you're nuts"; who don't ask "why". It is a beautiful thing. 35 peeps, mainly female, all with a dream or a vision -- and a conscience. It is really great. And strange. And bittersweet. I love my friends and my family, but this is what I am supposed to be doing.
All is right and I am in DC with those with whom I will be spending the next 27 months.
We ate Malaysian and drank Singapore Slings and now it is time for goodnight - to my family, my forever friends, and my new friends.

Going Away Party

2007-06-04T17:03:00.000Z

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone that came to my going away party. You have made my last few days here special. I will miss Maryland and all of my friends and family greatly. And Javier, your pix are great, thank you so much!

Pre-Shipwreck pix recovered!

2007-05-29T17:15:00.001Z

This is early on in the experience, we dragged the boat over a sandbar into the marsh and kept paddling. It was totally an "African Queen" experience minus the hippos. There were bullfrogs, eagles, and herons though.

For the record, I made Carl wear the tie-dyed shirt.

Note the open water, that's where we were when the boat capsized. Granted we capsized after everyone along the shoreline came out to their docks to watch the scene unfold. A bit mortifying for my pride and I given I grew up here. This is all while a large power boat was attempting to drag us into safety. Doesn't really work when the wake sinks the boat. Live and learn and have fun doing it!
Oh, and it was the perfect situation to break in my Chacos and Ex Officio shirt -- they both performed admirably.

Down the homestretch

2007-05-29T16:55:00.000Z

OK, so I have resigned myself to the fact that my luggage is over the allowance. Nothing I can do can get it under the required weight and I refuse to jettison a single pair of shoes. I already got rid of all of the candy bars and beef jerky to make room for more shoes. Ahhh, fun. Part of this entire exercise is to free myself from the bonds of consumerism and more more more, but really, a girl needs to be eased into this sort of thing.
On another note, if I have ever lent anyone on this list any DVDs (specifically looking for "Funny Face", "Harry Potter #4", and "The Gods Must be Crazy") I need them back!!!
So I had an amazing adventure with Lipika and Carl the other evening that resulted in our boat capsizing and sending my cell phone for a swim. We had to drag the boat back through the river and my parent's evil daschund had to sit on my head for the rescue mission cause his little legs don't swim so well. Lightening crashing all around dragging a metal rowboat in the middle of the Bush River. Too bad I can't get some of the pictures off of my now-dead phone, cause damn I bet they're good.
The disjointedness of this and all other previous posts so far has been pretty respresentative of my frame of mind right now, so sorry for the tough reading. I imagine it will get worse and things get more and more bewildering -- so much for this experience making a writer out of me!
Ta ta for now!

2007-05-15T19:54:00.000Z

This map will be helpful when I start talking about place names. Lome is the capitol and we will train for 3 months in Kpalime. There are butterflies, cocoa, coffee, waterfalls, and mountains there. It is supposed to be lovely and cool.

I love you Baltimore

2007-05-10T15:37:00.000Z

Ahhh, I am going to miss Baltimore so very much. I love this city with all of my heart. My decision to join the Peace Corps was not taken lightly, not only because of the challenges I will face, but the challenges my beloved city faces every day -- the problems I will be walking away from.

It is important to me to understand how a majority of the world lives. I do believe that borders are arbitrary and artificial and the problems of the world are therefore mine as well. We as a country and as a city will only get better if the world gets healthier.

I have lately had some daydreams inspired by the "Boys of Baraka". When I worry about leaving the issues of Baltimore, I salve my conscience with the idea that perhaps I will forge contacts and learn new ideas to not only bring back to Baltimore, but perhaps to be able to temporarily transport some of Baltimore's most troubled youth to a school or a program I set up somewhere on the African continent. I know the school didn't last because of bureaucratic issues, but having worked in insurance for 10 years, if there is something I can deal with it is bureaucracy on an African scale.

This is a ramble, I really just wanted to get off of my chest how much I love Baltimore and I want to thank Coralie for having the patience to make all of my "Funny Face" dreams come true. Granted, I should have been wearing a boatneck, nipped waist, full skirted 50's dream dress with a pillbox hat, but this is good enough:

Also, if anyone has any "Believe" stickers, or better yet the French version, "Creer", please please give them to me. I will take pictures of them up in my village and send them to you.

2007-05-06T23:20:00.000Z

Ummm, yeah. This is what it feels like.

Packing

2007-05-06T23:06:00.000Z

OK, just a little something here in case it doesn't like for people to subscribe when there's no real blog.
So, I am packing away. I mean how do you honestly pack for 2 years? I have like 20 pairs of underwear, a french press (I like my coffee and I like it strong), and duct tape. I mean really. I have to dress for potentially pooping my pants and being at the ambassador's house all at the same time. Are you catching my drift?
It takes me ages just to get dressed in the morning and now I have to add no-stick frying pans and handcrank shortwave radios into the mix?
Shannon, I think I may need to bribe you to come up to Harford County and help my ass before I go a little batty.
In the meantime, you can find me in the Dr. Bronner's aisle with armloads of ziploc bags, m'kay?