A Raw Food Diet

No, don’t worry, I have not picked up some new age diet. I have simply run out of cooking fuel.  When I was first being settled into my site I chose to buy myself a two burner gas stove and propane tank.  A gas stove is a significant convenience over the alternatives of a charcoal stove or a kerosene one.  Theoretically for me it is even more convenient as I have a gas station in my city that sells the propane tanks I need. 

This would be a simple bike ride down the road, if they ever had gas in stock.  With cooking three meals a day and a bit of baking to boot, last Saturday represents the second time I have used up my gas.  The first time I used up my fuel I was told it would be two weeks before more gas would arrive in Vogan and I quickly caved and had my tank refilled in Lomé.  This time, however, I did not want to go through that same hassle, and besides I was told more gas would arrive this past Wednesday, and then I was told it would arrive today (Friday) and now…maybe Monday? He’ll give me a call.

An unpredictable delivery schedule and my sheer laziness have placed me on a raw food diet, or to not confuse it with the fad diet, a diet consisting of raw foods aka I don’t cook ‘em.  There is street food available in town, but it is a bit of a hike to get to them and frankly I just don’t want to leave my house for every meal.  Before I realized it would be such a long time until I had fuel, I happily lived off my honey milk balls.  Oh yeah, oatmeal, peanut butter, powdered milk, and honey mixed into delicious goodness.  I unfortunately ran out of honey very quickly and while I still do it, plain peanut butter mixed with dry oatmeal is not as good.  As a healthier option though and to use the vegetables I had in my house I moved onto some glorified cole slaw. I have much cabbage, beets and carrots in my house—add a little vinegar and mustard and you have yourself a slaw, vary it a little with some soy sauce and you have a new one. For other meals bananas and avocados do just fine.

Searching for ideas for tasty foods I don’t have to cook, I came across recipes for people following the “raw food diet,” but besides an avocado chocolate pudding (yeah, sounds strange right? But is pretty good) very few of the recipes were useful at all because of all the bizarre ingredients they asked for. Where am I to get ground yellow flax, lucuma, and almond pulp?  I was really a bit disappointed and found no magical use for my peanut butter or cabbage. 

So, I am left with my slaw and my oatmeal.  But I will tough this one out, I am finding myself stubborn and giddy at the prospect of the challenge.  Now I just need to find a way to use those dozen eggs I bought just before running out of cooking power.  Maybe I’ll pick up body building and make myself some crazy raw egg protein energy drinks!  Six days and counting!

The Little Things

Today was a good day.  No, I did not solve some serious health problem or complete a big project, today was a good day because I found olive oil in one of Vogan’s stores.  No more cooking with regular old vegetable oil for me! Oddly enough it was tucked away in the isle with beauty products.  I don’t understand, but I’ll go with it.  In my excitement I purchased a little more at the store than I was planning on when I went in.  I even treated myself to ice cold Fanta from the store’s fridge.

Adding to the excitement of olive oil is the fact that the three year old girl in my compound has officially stopped calling me “yovo.”  Thanks to her grandmother always talking about me as the “yovo,” she picked up the habit, but no more.  It has taken a lot of work, and thankfully much help from my neighbors, but now she happily shouts “Liss!” every time I appear.  She “helps” me push my bike across the compound and runs ahead to open the gate.  As a bike away she continues to shout “Liss” and laugh hysterically when I turn around and wave.  I hear her calling out long after I disappear from sight.  Now, I am not a big ‘kid person,’ but it is nice to hear someone happily calling after me, not screaming “yovo.”

If olive oil was the ice cream and Liss being the whipped cream, the cherry on top was discovering that one of the banks in town accepts my bank card.  My bank card has no Visa attached to it or other company and I had always thought and been told that it wouldn’t work in any ATM besides those belonging to my bank, well…I was wrong!  Being able to use an ATM locally means that I can now save roughly 3,000CFA and four hours of my time every time I need to go to the bank.  Pretty soon I will have absolutely no excuse to leave Vogan.

It’s true that a big event like professional success could make my days seem much better, but in the end it is the little things that make a day seem so much better.  Just the same, the little things can make an empirically good day seem like a terrible one.  So, thank you olive oil, banks, Fanta, and little children for tipping the scales and making this day a good one.

Heat Index Bliss

I think we all expect to learn something about ourselves throughout life and particularly when doing an out of the ordinary and stressful activity like Peace Corps.  The single most important thing I’ve learned about myself is that my happiness and attitude are significantly impacted by the climate I am in.  Some may say I have discovered that I am a whiner, but I had already come to grips with that sometime in high school.

Here I whine about the weather.  I have surely annoyed a friend or two as I vent on my constant uncomfortableness down in the south of Togo.  Without meaning to I have even found myself in arguments with a few passionate Savanners who believe their couple months of heat (sometimes reaching above 120F during the day—yeah I know, it is definitely something to complain about) are really the most extreme and complain worthy.

For those of you not familiar with Togo: Savannes is the most northernly region in Togo and is in the savanna climate zone (very low humidity, less rain, and at times during the year extreme heat).  Maritime (where I live) is the most southernly region and is in the tropical climate zone (high humidity, relatively consistent temperatures throughout the year, and higher rainfall).

In my opinion, being in the south is rough.  While temperatures are more often than not hovering around 85-95°F we have humidity that ranges from 60-70%.  This is all year long.  As the seasons change (Dry to Wet) there are some average changes, but not by much.  Those in Savannes have a little different pattern and have times of the year when their low temperature dips into the 50s and times when the high reaches over 125°F.  One thing is consistent though, low humidity (which, I must concede causes many of its own heath issues like increased lung infections, scratchy throat, and dry skin). 

I am constantly uncomfortable—even at times when I don’t feel hot I am still sweaty and sticky.  I live in front of my fan and almost entirely in the nude if I can manage it.  I frequently have trouble sleeping because I am hot and even the most mundane of tasks like doing the dishes or watching TV leave me dripping in sweat.  I’m honestly not sure if I could survive this region without my fan so, to all my Martitimers without electricity, “Du courage.”

This past weekend I headed north to do some group work in the city of Kara and afterwards a spent a little time with a friend in Sokode on my return trip.  It was over this weekend that I fully understood what I have been missing.  Prior to this weekend I had never been further north than Pagala (which in itself still gave me a taste of the freedom from humidity).  What I found up north was sweet heavenly heat index bliss.  Heat index is the calculation of the perceived temperature by incorporating humidity.

Heat Index Calculation Chart

Kara was hotter than Vogan, but not too hot (I’ve heard there has been an extremely mild hot season so far).  It was hot but I was comfortable.  I know my body perceived the heat as I sweating—thank you plastic chair for letting me know—but I felt dry and comfortable.  I was wearing clothes heavier than I usually wear in Vogan and yet I was happy, eager to walk around and explore and take a poolside nap.  The excitement continued in Sokode when I slept soundly without a fan and walked around at high noon only breaking into a slight sweat.  I envy them and unfortunately couldn’t shut up about it.  I feel as though the Kara and Central regions of Togo find that heat and humidity balance amazingly well.  If I even had a month out of the year in which I could feel that good…

As a right this it is 7:15pm, 31°C (90°F) and 63% humidity; According to Mr. Heat Index that is feeling just about 100°F.  Now during hot season this doesn’t really compare to some for the highs in Savannes, but this is all year round.  On an average day when the temperature reached 95°F it feels like a whopping 120ish°F. Being hot and sweaty really impacts my attitude and work ethic.  So, lesson learned, while I can’t just up and move north right now, I will not be living in a tropical climate my whole life, and one day maybe my dreams will come true and I’ll once again wake up and live my life feeling pleasantly dry and comfortable.