From the beginning (June 2, 2011)

Before heading out to Togo I’ve met up with twenty-two other Peace Corps volunteers in Philadelphia, Pa.  The volunteers will be working in one of two subject areas, CHAP (Community Health and AIDS Prevention) and SED (…I don’t actually know the acronym, but it’s for business development).  These are two out of the four programs that the Peace Corps operates in Togo.  The other two being: GEE (Girls Education and Empowerment) and NRM (Natural Resource Management).

In Philly we met up for last minute preparations; a few vaccinations, more than a few signatures, and a focusing session on what to expect, and what we expect, for our service.  I didn’t know what to expect, with limited information on Togo and only a vague sense of the actual work I’d be doing in this ‘third world country’, all I can do is enjoy my last shower, swim in the soft sheets and let my head sink into the fluffy pillow—for one thing, I know I don’t expect to have a real shower or bed for two years.

The next day after a final bowl of the American classic of Fruit Loops, we are piled onto a bus and sent out ALONE to JFK to catch our flight and begin the well over twenty hour journey to Lomé, Togo.  As an aside, going and communicating to Togo is an expensive affair.  My one way ticket through Paris was well over $2,000 and even the cheapest phone call to Togo is around $0.40 per minute.  This is a stark contrast to other West African countries that border Togo.  Ghana, a country that the capital of Togo (Lomé) literally borders, costs over a thousand dollars less to fly there, phone calls cost 50% less and good old snail mail is cheaper too.  These  things mean limited communication or maybe another piece of the adventure.

A journey over three continents is plenty of time to ponder what I’m thinking traveling a few thousand miles to live in a mud hut, no electricity, no water… that may be part of the allure, just jump right in, but twenty hours can feel like an awfully long time to drop not knowing what you are going to land in. I'm off Togo here I come.