Hi friends, i'm sorry it has been so ridiculously long since i've posted. one of my new years resolutions is to update this blog more frequently so stay tuned for more news on my life in togo.
so much has happened since the last post, since we first arrived in lome in september but i won't try to recount all of the amazing or difficult moments i've had in the past three months.
i am now officially a peace corps volunteer instead of a trainee. a couple of weeks ago i swore in and took my 'oath of service' which sounds like the pledge of allegiance with something about helping people added at the end. i'm currently in kara, the north of togo, where my stage has gathered to celebrate xmas. in a couple of days i'll return to my village in the south. i'm living in Badougbe, a village located on Lake Togo about an hour from Lome. I'll write more on my life there in another post but so far life in village has been coming together slowly but surely and i'm looking forward to starting my work once i'm settled in. however, life as a pcv is a lot different from life as a trainee and it's a transition to get used to being the only yovo in village and to having very unstructured work after two and a half months of 7 hr days in a classroom. but as they say here in afrique "du courage, ca va aller."
i hope you're all healthy and happy and are enjoying time with your families. it doesn't really feel like xmas here because it's 80 something degrees out but we'regoing to feter bien all the same. i miss you all so please stay in contact. you can send mail to me at the lome address and peace corps will ship it to me in village:
Katie Epting, PCV
Corps de la Paix
BP 3194
Lome, Togo
West Africa
I also have a cell phone (and really good reception in village) so email me if you'd like the number. I've posted some pictures under the Photos link on this blog so check that out and hopefully i'll put some more up in the coming weeks.
Happy Holidays to you all!!!!!!
December 24, 2006
September 25, 2006
Je suis arrivée
i'm here!!!! in lome and so far i'm loving it: it feels like i'm at summer camp. the other trainees are awesome the togolese seem very welcoming and it's not as hot as i thought it would be, although we arrived in togo's winter. so far the training has been on health and safety, today we learned how to make slides of our blood to send to lomé from village if we think we have malaria... i had to stab myself three times in the finger and then use sheep's blood to practice the slides because i messed up and ran out of my blood. i managed to stay on my feet but one of the trainees fainted during this experiment. otherwise we've been getting tons of shots. aside from the needles, togo has been treating us well. we've met some of the PCVs and they seem cool and incredibly seasoned in africa living. i'm looking forward to being bien integré like them. we have two days left in lomé and then we head up to our training village and meet our host families. all very exciting. more to come and photos eventually... a la prochaine!
September 21, 2006
je pars en voyage
so staging is nearly over and we leave from philly tomorrow at 7:15pm. then to france and lome via abidjan. !!!!! everyone seems pretty cool so far and we've all bonded so i don't feel like i'm going to togo with strangers. today we watched a couple short videos made by a PCV about life in Togo. right now i'm really just anxious to get there. i feel, more than ever, that this is the right decision for me and i can't wait to be in togo.
next time i post will be from togolese soil. stay tuned.
next time i post will be from togolese soil. stay tuned.
September 18, 2006
EN ROUTE!
In 8 hours I will board an Amtrak train to Philadelphia. Two days later I'll get on a plane and fly to Africa, where I will live for just over two years.
It hasn't quite hit me yet that I'm leaving. I applied to the Peace Corps roughly 9 months ago and since then I knew this day was coming. Now all of a sudden it's here.
I'm completely exhausted, my luggage is way overweight (note to future volunteers: get lasik surgery before you go so you don't have to bring TWO YEARS worth of contact solution, only partially kidding), and I feel like I haven't eaten enough Ben and Jerry's. In some ways I wish I had one or two more days.
However, I'm ready to go. I think I can do this.
Thank you all for a wonderful sending off, I'm glad I have your support. I'll miss you terribly so please stay in touch.
A LA PROCHAINE MES CHERS AMIS
It hasn't quite hit me yet that I'm leaving. I applied to the Peace Corps roughly 9 months ago and since then I knew this day was coming. Now all of a sudden it's here.
I'm completely exhausted, my luggage is way overweight (note to future volunteers: get lasik surgery before you go so you don't have to bring TWO YEARS worth of contact solution, only partially kidding), and I feel like I haven't eaten enough Ben and Jerry's. In some ways I wish I had one or two more days.
However, I'm ready to go. I think I can do this.
Thank you all for a wonderful sending off, I'm glad I have your support. I'll miss you terribly so please stay in touch.
A LA PROCHAINE MES CHERS AMIS
September 17, 2006
A Note on Mail (and an inspirational poem)
Ok, folks, here it is:
Kate Epting, PCT
Corps de la Paix/ Peace Corps
BP 3194
Lome, Togo
West Africa
This will be my address for the first three months I'm in Togo- use it often s'il vous plait. If you've been abroad you probably know that receiving mail (or not receiving mail) can make or break your week. And getting a stack of letters feels better than xmas. I know it's a pain in the butt to go to the post office and snail mail costs something, whereas email is free, but if you choose to write to me you will be thoroughly rewarded for your efforts.
Also, I will probably have access to email once in a while, so you can write to me at my name @ yahoo.com or gmail.com (no spaces or dots in my name...i'm writing my email this way so i don't get spammed).
And a note on email: most likely I will be checking my email on a computer that has DIAL UP. If you remember back to your high school days, dial up is extremely slow. You can start loading a page, go cook dinner, and come back to find the page is.... still loading. So, please do send me emails but please don't send me one-liners or I'll find some voo-doo practicing togolese to cast spells on you. And don't worry that you have nothing to write about, I will be ecstatic to find a list of what you did over the weekend. ANYTHING is better than one sentence. I know I have high standards, but I wouldn't make these requests if I didn't think you could meet them.
Below is a poem I found on a current PCV's blog. It is written by volunteers in Togo and paints a picture of what I'm talking about.
Attention Please: THE CRY OF THE KARA REGION VOLUNTEERS
No more two sentence e-mails please
They take ten minutes to load and six seconds to read
As Bryan says, "If this is only one sentence long ...
... I'm going to kill someone."
Kelly responds, "They're not worth our time..."
So please don't keep mum
"...don't tell me, 'nothing's new,'
Until you've sat in a desolate African village where the only entertainment is the lcoal Fu."
Jason chimes in, "Did you eat a Big Mac?
Did you get a large Dr. Pepper and fries to go with that?"
If you supersized it even better
Is it still cold enough to wear a sweater?
How many Yovos did you see today?
Any bills or taxes to pay?
Did you brush your teeth and forget to floss?
Did your favorite team chalk up another loss?
Seen any new movies? Go on any dates?
Did you get yelled at by your mom/wife/girlfriend because you came home late?
Even if there was just a change in the weather
It's more interesting than "Glad to hear you're okay. Life here's never been better."
So tell us you love us, we're in your thoughts and prayers
And then tell us whether or not you've changed your hair
Or read a good book or tried a new drink
ANYTHING you do is much cooler than you think
As for life here - same old, same old
Political chaos, near civil war
Everyone is fine, the Tchouk's still flowing
Nothing much is new...at least nothing worth knowing
Kate Epting, PCT
Corps de la Paix/ Peace Corps
BP 3194
Lome, Togo
West Africa
This will be my address for the first three months I'm in Togo- use it often s'il vous plait. If you've been abroad you probably know that receiving mail (or not receiving mail) can make or break your week. And getting a stack of letters feels better than xmas. I know it's a pain in the butt to go to the post office and snail mail costs something, whereas email is free, but if you choose to write to me you will be thoroughly rewarded for your efforts.
Also, I will probably have access to email once in a while, so you can write to me at my name @ yahoo.com or gmail.com (no spaces or dots in my name...i'm writing my email this way so i don't get spammed).
And a note on email: most likely I will be checking my email on a computer that has DIAL UP. If you remember back to your high school days, dial up is extremely slow. You can start loading a page, go cook dinner, and come back to find the page is.... still loading. So, please do send me emails but please don't send me one-liners or I'll find some voo-doo practicing togolese to cast spells on you. And don't worry that you have nothing to write about, I will be ecstatic to find a list of what you did over the weekend. ANYTHING is better than one sentence. I know I have high standards, but I wouldn't make these requests if I didn't think you could meet them.
Below is a poem I found on a current PCV's blog. It is written by volunteers in Togo and paints a picture of what I'm talking about.
Attention Please: THE CRY OF THE KARA REGION VOLUNTEERS
No more two sentence e-mails please
They take ten minutes to load and six seconds to read
As Bryan says, "If this is only one sentence long ...
... I'm going to kill someone."
Kelly responds, "They're not worth our time..."
So please don't keep mum
"...don't tell me, 'nothing's new,'
Until you've sat in a desolate African village where the only entertainment is the lcoal Fu."
Jason chimes in, "Did you eat a Big Mac?
Did you get a large Dr. Pepper and fries to go with that?"
If you supersized it even better
Is it still cold enough to wear a sweater?
How many Yovos did you see today?
Any bills or taxes to pay?
Did you brush your teeth and forget to floss?
Did your favorite team chalk up another loss?
Seen any new movies? Go on any dates?
Did you get yelled at by your mom/wife/girlfriend because you came home late?
Even if there was just a change in the weather
It's more interesting than "Glad to hear you're okay. Life here's never been better."
So tell us you love us, we're in your thoughts and prayers
And then tell us whether or not you've changed your hair
Or read a good book or tried a new drink
ANYTHING you do is much cooler than you think
As for life here - same old, same old
Political chaos, near civil war
Everyone is fine, the Tchouk's still flowing
Nothing much is new...at least nothing worth knowing
September 11, 2006
Musings on Death and Danger
Tonight I started sifting through some of the papers Peace Corps sent me several months ago. In addition to finding out that the $24 monthly ‘leave allowance’ (vacation money) I receive is taxable in its entirety (thanks uncle sam) I also learned that I have to designate beneficiaries to receive a $25,000 death “benefit” should I die in Togo. This made me realize that:
I COULD DIE IN TOGO.
Three years ago when I was getting ready to study abroad in Madagascar I had the same realization. In fact I distinctly remember having a breakdown and sobbing to my sister (who didn’t know what to do with me) the night before I was supposed to get on the plane. I couldn’t shake myself of the feeling that I was saying good-bye to everyone for the last time and wouldn’t be returning to the u.s….ever.
While my good-byes this time around haven’t felt final like they did last time I was headed to Africa, today I realized the risk I’m exposing myself to by moving to the developing world. Rationally speaking, I could just as easily die in DC as I could in Togo. People have said to me “Aren’t you scared to go to Africa with all this terrorism?” but quite frankly I think I’m safer in some random, no-name West African country than in the capital of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. I’d bet my taxed $24 leave allowance that the U.S. has more enemies than Togo.
And I could be hit by a car in DC or fall onto the metro tracks and get run over (it’s happened) just as easily (or more easily?) as I could be in a bush taxi accident on a muddy road in Togo.
However, there are obvious risks I will face in Togo that I don’t face in the U.S. For example, malaria is endemic throughout Togo and can be deadly if not treated early. And people tend to drive rather recklessly where there aren’t speeding laws (or they aren’t enforced)…so perhaps the risk of death due to traffic incidents increases in Africa…not sure. And then there’s bird flu, which is already in West Africa. And AIDS. Apparently during staging PC shows all the trainees a video in which Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) share how they became infected with HIV while serving. Yikes.
When I was volunteering at an HIV clinic to gain experience for my PC application, I met an employee who had been working in the HIV field for 20 years when he became infected with the disease. The irony made me sick. I remember thinking “how could you do that- how could you put yourself at risk for such a deadly disease when you’re an expert on the disease, its transmission, and how to prevent it.” Yeah, I completely judged him. But everyone makes mistakes. Everyone is human. Even health workers. I’m going to Togo as a Community Health and AIDS Prevention volunteer, but that’s not to say that my title will protect me from becoming infected with HIV or anything else.
The weird thing is that when I’m abroad I usually get this invincible feeling. Like “I’m in X country….nothing can touch me now!” Somehow being abroad gives me this false sense of security and immortality. [Note to parents: stop reading now].
In Vietnam I rented a moped on a whim, having never driven one before, and (with my friend Caitlin holding onto my waist for dear life) drove through crazy Vietnamese traffic to a beach. I would NEVER do that in the U.S. Just recently in Guatemala I climbed down a sketchy rope ladder (an ex-Israeli soldier inspected it and wasn’t too confident in the knots) to an underground cave. If I had slipped on the way down I probably would’ve drowned in the waterfall that was crashing down right next to me. I certainly wouldn’t do that at Great Falls in Maryland.
However, luckily Peace Corps is super anal and has many rules and regulations to prevent me from taking stupid, unnecessary risks and to keep me safe should things go awry. For example, if I’m caught riding my bike without a helmet or not taking my malaria prophylaxis I’ll be in BIG ASS trouble. And if the shit hits the fan during the election that’s rumored to be held in October 2007, Peace Corps has an Emergency Action Plan to get me to safety. So, thanks to PC policies, I’m sure I won’t be able to exercise my invincibility muscles in Togo.
In the end, you only live once so I’d prefer to look back on my life when I’m 90 and remember all of the amazing places I visited and people I met instead of how I looked both ways before crossing the street in a safe, gated community in the U.S. Hopefully my paranoia will soon subside and once I get to Togo the PC police will nip my stupid international antics in the bud.
I COULD DIE IN TOGO.
Three years ago when I was getting ready to study abroad in Madagascar I had the same realization. In fact I distinctly remember having a breakdown and sobbing to my sister (who didn’t know what to do with me) the night before I was supposed to get on the plane. I couldn’t shake myself of the feeling that I was saying good-bye to everyone for the last time and wouldn’t be returning to the u.s….ever.
While my good-byes this time around haven’t felt final like they did last time I was headed to Africa, today I realized the risk I’m exposing myself to by moving to the developing world. Rationally speaking, I could just as easily die in DC as I could in Togo. People have said to me “Aren’t you scared to go to Africa with all this terrorism?” but quite frankly I think I’m safer in some random, no-name West African country than in the capital of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. I’d bet my taxed $24 leave allowance that the U.S. has more enemies than Togo.
And I could be hit by a car in DC or fall onto the metro tracks and get run over (it’s happened) just as easily (or more easily?) as I could be in a bush taxi accident on a muddy road in Togo.
However, there are obvious risks I will face in Togo that I don’t face in the U.S. For example, malaria is endemic throughout Togo and can be deadly if not treated early. And people tend to drive rather recklessly where there aren’t speeding laws (or they aren’t enforced)…so perhaps the risk of death due to traffic incidents increases in Africa…not sure. And then there’s bird flu, which is already in West Africa. And AIDS. Apparently during staging PC shows all the trainees a video in which Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) share how they became infected with HIV while serving. Yikes.
When I was volunteering at an HIV clinic to gain experience for my PC application, I met an employee who had been working in the HIV field for 20 years when he became infected with the disease. The irony made me sick. I remember thinking “how could you do that- how could you put yourself at risk for such a deadly disease when you’re an expert on the disease, its transmission, and how to prevent it.” Yeah, I completely judged him. But everyone makes mistakes. Everyone is human. Even health workers. I’m going to Togo as a Community Health and AIDS Prevention volunteer, but that’s not to say that my title will protect me from becoming infected with HIV or anything else.
The weird thing is that when I’m abroad I usually get this invincible feeling. Like “I’m in X country….nothing can touch me now!” Somehow being abroad gives me this false sense of security and immortality. [Note to parents: stop reading now].
In Vietnam I rented a moped on a whim, having never driven one before, and (with my friend Caitlin holding onto my waist for dear life) drove through crazy Vietnamese traffic to a beach. I would NEVER do that in the U.S. Just recently in Guatemala I climbed down a sketchy rope ladder (an ex-Israeli soldier inspected it and wasn’t too confident in the knots) to an underground cave. If I had slipped on the way down I probably would’ve drowned in the waterfall that was crashing down right next to me. I certainly wouldn’t do that at Great Falls in Maryland.
However, luckily Peace Corps is super anal and has many rules and regulations to prevent me from taking stupid, unnecessary risks and to keep me safe should things go awry. For example, if I’m caught riding my bike without a helmet or not taking my malaria prophylaxis I’ll be in BIG ASS trouble. And if the shit hits the fan during the election that’s rumored to be held in October 2007, Peace Corps has an Emergency Action Plan to get me to safety. So, thanks to PC policies, I’m sure I won’t be able to exercise my invincibility muscles in Togo.
In the end, you only live once so I’d prefer to look back on my life when I’m 90 and remember all of the amazing places I visited and people I met instead of how I looked both ways before crossing the street in a safe, gated community in the U.S. Hopefully my paranoia will soon subside and once I get to Togo the PC police will nip my stupid international antics in the bud.
September 08, 2006
Sun = GOD
HOW COOL IS THIS?!?!
Thanks to the sun's ability to charge my ipod, manu chao, celia cruz, and justin timberlake can accompany me to my village in Togo. i will also be able to charge AA/AAA batteries so i can listen to my new shortwave radio, play music on my travel speakers, and power my camera and cell phone. these electronics, i'm sure, will help to keep me sane over the course of two years. hey, you can take a girl out of the developed world but you can't take the developed world out of a girl....or something like that.
i am indebted to Arianne, a volunteer in Senegal who posted a kickass packing list on her blog. if you're going to peace corps i highly suggest you consult it, it'll save you a lot of time.
Thanks to the sun's ability to charge my ipod, manu chao, celia cruz, and justin timberlake can accompany me to my village in Togo. i will also be able to charge AA/AAA batteries so i can listen to my new shortwave radio, play music on my travel speakers, and power my camera and cell phone. these electronics, i'm sure, will help to keep me sane over the course of two years. hey, you can take a girl out of the developed world but you can't take the developed world out of a girl....or something like that.
i am indebted to Arianne, a volunteer in Senegal who posted a kickass packing list on her blog. if you're going to peace corps i highly suggest you consult it, it'll save you a lot of time.
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