When packing the 6 suitcases of our earthly belongings in preparation for the move to Togo, there were a few things we really thought we would miss. But, thanks to technology, great supermarkets and some pleasant surprises, here are a few things we actually don't have to live without.
Family & Friends - Going a long time without seeing friends and family is tough, but having Skype sure makes a whole lot easier! The other night we had the chance to talk to both our sets of parents and even the grandparents all within 1 hour, even though they live in different provinces and were on the other side of the world.
Current North American TV programs. We are able to stay up to date by accessing streaming TV thanks to websites like sidereel and watchseries. Due to the slow internet connection shows take a few hours to load but we can usually watch them the day after they have aired back home. Some of our favorites right now include Canada's Worst Driver 7, Glee, NCIS La and The Mentalist.
Oma or mom's homemade canned peaches. Here peaches in a can taste gross. They are almost salty tasting. At omas house or moms house canned peaches are available even throughout the winter months and they taste great with ice cream. The other day we went to the import grocery store and found this peach compote in a can. Not having high hopes we bought one can of it and one week later, it was empty! It tastes almost like home and goes great on toast in yogurt and in smoothies. We'll have to try some of the other fruit compotes from this company.
Cheese. Since Togo is a former French colony there are many French foods one can find at the import grocery stores called Ramco and Champion. Smoked Gouda, cheddar, mozzarella, Swiss, parmesan, it's all here.
Nutella. D loves this stuff and I have weakness for it as well especially on freshly ripened finger bananas from the market.
Fresh bread. White bread, whole wheat bread, baguettes, flat bread, rye bread it all exists here. There are bakeries that sell this stuff as well as bicycle riding vendors who will drive by your house every morning with fresh bread in the boxes on the back of their bike.
Root beer. Its one of our favorite types of pop. While there are rumours of its existence at the US Embassy, we found it locally! The other day we were in Ramco and noticed this can of pop which claimed to be Sarsi flavour. It was imported from Malaysia and Sarsi turns out to be Short for sarsaparilla -- root beer! We are not ashamed to admit that we are hoarding quite a bit of the stuff.
Swimming. The strong current in the ocean makes swimming impossible or very, very dangerous at the beach. But there are plenty of places with swimming pools overlooking the ocean. You have to pay about $2-$5 but it is worth it. At the club the school owns D and I get to swim for free and, yes, it's lovely.
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