15 minutes at the (new and if anything worse) internet cafe and i thought idpump outr a quick post before going to my post tomorrow morning at 5:30.

First off a quick story... yesterday i caught word on the street that there was going to be a jazz concert in my little african village at one of the two bars in town. Something about italians building a road through town for a nonprofit and playing jazz on the side. I didnt believe it at first but decided i needed to investigate.

So i told my Togolese mama that i was off to listen to music (which involved me dancing and whistling as she does not actually speak french above salutations and basic instructions) and asked where my host brother was to see if he was going. She said she didnt know which was quite odd as everyone knows where everyone is at all times.

So i left and when i arrived at the bar i saw the generator driven lights flickering and a group of at least 300 people (including my brother missing brother) listening to an actual full piece jazz band.

I found my compatriots in the crowd and leaned over to one to ask for reassurance that this was in fact bizzare.

"dude, you missed the bagpipes at the begining of the show"

I turns out that the Frenchmen (not italians as i akwardly figured out while trying to speak in italian) do work solely in my training village and brought along a band a couple Brits with bagpipes.

The night capped off with me dancing to the drumming and singing which followed the group and finally returning home with my brother only to find my mother waiting outside my house on the road for us. And lest there be any doubt, the look of an angry mother whose son(s) come home too late is universal...

Post Assignments

First off, apologies for the delay in getting this post out to the masses. When I commented lasrt time that I found a functioning internet cafe that was a little misleading...really I found a cafe which has intenet half of the time they're open.

Really, I'm just trying to give everyone a taste of what is to come when I' actually in the bush, at post.

On that note, I'll start by saying that I received my much anticipated post assignment last week. During our training we're given a list of the available villages in which we can spend our two years here, along with descriptions of the availalable work at the site. The descriptions aren't very long at all--basically just the bare bones about the site and possible work options. We're then given a questionaire and told to list basic preferences in regards to the size of the town, distance from the city and so on. To be honest, I didn't have any burning preferences--only suggestions for what type of work I thought I'd be good. Though, I did say I wanted a new post rather then a replacement post (being the first westerner in a village has its charm, plus I really dont want to be compared to anyone who came before me).

Luckily, I got both a new post and a village which seems to be receptive to work areas like reforestation, fish farming and general conservation. All of which I understand and am enthusiastic about. Though I admit that with a degree like fisheries and wildlife science I should know much more about fish farming than I actually do.

I'm fairly certain I can't actually write the name of the village for security reasons, but I'm in the plateau region in the SW of the country. The area is hilly and receives the most rainfall in Togo with some of the coolest temperetaures. Which, as you might expect, I'm thrilled about.

Next Saturday we leave to go and visit the sites for a week. Which should be exciting, terrifiying and completely different then training with a bunch of Americans...

More to come soon (hopefully), take care tout le monde!

C'é Monsieur Yovo Pour Toi!

Touching down on the tarmac, the reality of the situation hit home...orientation in Philly hadn't done it, nor the layover in Paris (including trying to figrue out how to describe a solar charger in French to curious security guards). For the first time really, I came to see what I had gotten myself into--and I froze. Sitting in the middle seat of a giant Airbus, trying to make out what lie outside, I couldn't move...

When I finally got my wits about me and exited the plane down a creeky staircase I emerged at an aiport with just one plane--ours--and proceeded into a shuttle with a Togolese driver sporting a suregeons mask. At that time, the itch in my throat I had picked up at home seemed certain to be swine flu. I was a goner, I knew it.

The shuttle roared to life and drove us approximately 50 yards to the terninal...the absurdity of the 5 second ride calmed my nerves. The rest of my unease soon came to be put to rest as well when I was shuffled into a room inside the terminal by an unknown American. In the sanctuary of that cranped roon, with the 30 or so other trainees I collected myself and prepared for the rest of my long journey.


Two weeks in I can't say that I've been cool and collected the entire time (damn you malaria pill-induced dreams), but I can say that I have not come to regret my decision to come here. Togo is a delightful place, though not one that I feel I can describe readily quite yet.

I live in a small town called Gbatopé, outside of Tsevié where other trainees in Girls empowerment live and where I currently am writing this). Gbatopé is an agricultural based town of about 5,000, with no electricity besides for the generators at two bars that power cold beers and LOUD reggae and American hip-hop (prorities, priorities). My days here commence with the rooster calls outside my window, followed by a full day of French lessons and agroforestry/natural resources classes. We have and experimental garden where we work everyday and look over our own personal beds of vegetables.

My trainers are great, and incredibly intelligent at what they do. The family that I stay with is also wonderful. I have a host brother of 14 and a slew of cousins who live near me. My host father is a farmer and the chief's brother--which is sort of a bid deal. My host mother is delightful and force feeds me three times a day and gives me a 'snack' of three oranges or a bushel of bananas every day.

Those of you who thought I'd be starving here will have to wait until I get to post for that premonition to come true, I'm afraid.

Unfortunately I'm out of time, but now that I know of a internet cafe with actual internet I'll be sure to update sometime soon!

Love you all, Jonathan...