The Vehicle Hunt - Part 2

Sold. The vehicle we had wavered back and forth about and finally decided to buy had sold just when we made up our mind. Ripped from our grasp.

We were disappointed but figured that there must be a reason this vehicle was taken from us -- perhaps there was a better one just around the corner.

So we kept looking for this better car.

We looked at a late 90's Rav4, which looked nice, but upon closer inspection we became convinced that this was not the car for us.

Keep in mind that in Africa, cars are not considered in need of repair until they will no longer move. So strange banging and clattering noise emanating from the engine compartment are of no concern whatsoever. In fact, the seller may dutifully inform you that the angry sounds show that the car is really, really powerful.

Labour is cheap, and paint is nearly as cheap. So often times you will find freshly repainted cars for sale. This Rav4 had been painted, of all colours, black. We asked the man why on earth he would paint a car in Africa black. He muttered something sheepishly and declined to comment, but the consensus we have reached is that black equals luxury, even if you will roast alive under the scorching blaze of the sun.

While a fresh coat of paint is nice to look at, we found you're probably better off getting a vehicle that has not been repainted, as paint is also seen as a way to hide any critical blemishes. Like rust. Most cars we looked at suffered from serious rust issues, but rather than dealing with the rust and plastering the problem spots, the rust had simply been painted over.

As mentioned before, details are not the forte of the locals. We were informed that this Rav4 was 4x4. It wasn't even all wheel drive. A quick look at the dash or under the rear wheels could have shown that. Either the seller thought that we would be blissfully unaware or was somehow ignorant of the matter himself. Sort of a scary thought.

So we declined the Rav4, lurching us back into the realm of no vehicle and no leads.

We racked our brains all weekend and after a good dose of kicking ourselves for not buying the Land Cruiser when we first had the chance, we decided to go back to the Port first thing Monday morning.

To our surprise, we did indeed find several candidates, including Land Cruisers, right off the bat. But just as with our previous Port experiences, what you see on the outside doesn't always reflect under the hood. One of the Land Cruisers, an 86 LJ70, had a decent engine, but lacked a single VIN number. All VIN plates and numbers were removed and scratched off. Hmm. But the price was right. Too right...

A second Land Cruiser also had the right price and looked great from far away. But the magic of paint only works from distances over 10 feet. Upon closer inspection it became very evident that there was lots and lots and lots of rust that had been simply painted over. The interior was also infested with black mould. No idea how that happens.



Looks good? Step a little closer and you'll see loads of rust and an interior covered in black mould. Yeech.

The prices we were being quoted were considerably less than in previous weeks -- and I'm sure it was because Natalie was along -- but with all the work that would still be required to make these vehicles safe, the cost was rapidly increasing well above the cost of the now-sold '87 Land Cruiser.

I'll admit it, old Land Cruisers are not the most attractive of vehicles. They're boxy, uncomplicated, and don't have power steering or air conditioning. So naturally, Natalie started paying more attention to the other prime candidate for us: a Rav4. Far more curvy, a lot newer and quite a bit more comfortable.

But one mishap with a Rav4 in one of the Port lots made Natalie, who was completely hooked on the idea of a Rav4, refuse to buy one.

One of the dealers was proudly showing Natalie the comfortable drivers seat as I listened to the engine. Unsatisfied, I told Natalie, who was sitting behind the wheel to turn the car off, which she did. After she got out, the dealer put the car into first gear, since the e-brake did not appear to be functional. We continued to look at the car for a few moments, just to be polite.

The dealer, who was now sitting in the passenger seat, reached over to remove the key, which became stuck. Instead of cautiously wiggling it, he recklessly flicked the key back and forth -- into the on position, causing the car -- which was still in first with the faulty e-brake on, to leap forward. Several workers jumped to safety, narrowly avoiding crushed limbs, but the car proceeded to plow into another parked car. The polished plastic bumper splintered and cracked, the hood bent out of shape and the red-faced dealer frantically explained that the damage was no problem and was easy to fix and the car was still a good deal for us.



Natalie turned to me with a solemn look on her face and said, "we are never going to get a Rav4. If a 5km per hour collision does this to the front end, imagine a highway collision."

I agreed wholeheartedly, making sure to mention that Land Cruisers have a real steel bumper.

Even though the Land Cruisers we saw were real pieces of work, we called Robert and asked him to look over them with us, and he agreed to do so on Tuesday.

Frustrated, but optimistic that one of the lemons we saw may turn out to be OK after all, we fell asleep knowing that Tuesday would be another day with many more cars to look at.

I awoke to my phone ringing. It was Robert.

"Hello," I mumbled, expecting him to say he could not make it to the Port after all.

"Remember that Land Cruiser I showed you? The one I said was very good, but you did not like because it was too old and too expensive? The one that you then decided you would like, but it had just sold?"

"Yes Robert," I said. What I meant was, 'really, you don't have to rub it in. We get it. We missed a great opportunity.'

"The man who bought the car could not find all of his money. The car is unsold."

Merry Christmas!

Well, Christmas is nearly over.

But to be honest, there were only a few glimpses of Christmas for us. Everybody here in Togo gets all decked out for Christmas with laser beam artificial Christmas trees, way too many strings of lights, inflatable life-sized santa's sold by street vendors and BoneyM's 'Mary's Boy Child' playing on repeat day and night.



The Column du Paix, all lit up for Christmas. And we wondered why there was no power to our street lights...

Despite the festive atmosphere, there's no smell of the Christmas tree, none of Oma's amazing pastries, no turkey, no way to sit on the couch and just hang out with family..

Thankfully, there is Skype, so we've been able to stay in touch, but of course, it's still not quite the same.. So until we can spend a Christmas with you all again... know that we miss being near to you all. You mean the world to us. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and know that we wish we could celebrate with you!

Just so you know we're not entirely wallowing in despair: we are super grateful for some dear friends we've made and were able to spend Christmas with. Furthermore, to our surprise, there were some great Christmas concerts and even a German Christmas eve service! And the wonderful parcels from family and friends that arrived just in time for Christmas were also wonderful.

The Vehicle Hunt - Part 1

You may remember we were dissuaded from buying a motorcycle after a series of not-so-nice motorcycle related events.

So, the hunt for four wheels began.

First off, it is important to note that here in Togo there are no online classifieds -- or reliable old-fashioned classifieds either, for that matter.

And as we soon found out, used car lots are not the place to buy a car.

One afternoon, Natalie, another teacher at the school who speaks French and I trekked out to a conglomeration of vehicles parked outside the vehicle registration office. Dealers will buy cars from the port, register them and sell them right outside the office.



We made several observations rather quickly.

Firstly, cars here are EXPENSIVE. North American or European blue book values mean nothing. Don't blink twice if asked to pay 10,000 USD for a rusted, battered mid-90's Toyota 4runner. Car values are determined by the availability of parts and how easy they are to repair. For example, Toyota is more expensive than Ford, Mercedes or BMW because parts are readily available and mechanics know how to fix Toyotas.

Secondly, dealers don't only avoid telling you faults; they will bold-faced lie when you show them a problem. The smoke pouring from the engine compartment moments after you fire up the vehicle? It is only because they changed the oil just before you came, and happened to spill some. There is oil/other engine fluids seeping and bubbling from engine block orifices? No problem, the vehicle will be just fine. That is normal. Stupid American knows nothing about cars. Trust us, this car is very strong and will last forever. But for you, special price. Only 3,800,000 CFA (approx. $7,500 USD.)

Needless to say, we enjoyed the experience of looking at the car conglomeration, but vowed not to buy one there.

Which left two options. The Port and Robert.

Now, The Port of Lomé is full of vehicles of all shapes and sizes. Numerous dealers (most who happen to be Lebanese) have massive storage lots crammed full of Mercedes', Reneaults, Peugeots, Fords, and most any other brand imaginable. These cars, I am told, are often the 'rejects' from North America and Europe that have failed emissions testing or were police seizures. I've even seen a few with VIN plates removed and any identifying numbers scratched off.

And should you find a vehicle you like, the price you will be quoted will likely be quite lucrative. But there is a catch. Cars in the port lots have not had their import tax/port fee paid. And at 52%, the tax makes the price of a car quickly skyrocket.

Furthermore, the mechanics at the port are even more crafty than those selling cars outside the registration office. We've been told that several people have had experiences where they will pour some sort of syrup in the engine to mask any rattling sounds. Of course, it will hold together for the test drive around the small lot, but once you pay up and take it out of the lot and drive a little faster -- the engine seizes. And there is no Better Business Bureau. Your loss.

The last option we had available to us is a mechanic named Robert. Over time, many of the teachers at the school have asked him to help them find a car, and he has developed a reputation for being able to find the car you want at quite a good price. As a bonus, he guarantees the vehicles for 6 months and takes care off all the government paperwork to boot.

So we consulted Robert and asked him to find us our vehicle: a two-door 4x4, preferably Toyota. Preferably mid-90's.

A few days later, with our lack of French and his limited English, he informed us that he had found us what we were looking for. He described it as being very much like another teachers' vehicle -- which was a 94 Land Cruiser Prado.

It was at this point we learned another quirk of local culture: prices are not discussed on the phone, at all. But we were told it was within our requested price range.

So the next afternoon, we agreed to meet at 3:00 at the school. At 4:45, he showed up with the vehicle. It was definitely not a 1994 model. This is another cultural quirk. Car models and manufacture years mean nothing. If it looks sort of like something else, it is.

In fact, this one was a 1987 Land Cruiser LJ70. Despite the age, the kilometres were low, and the engine was in remarkable condition. But Natalie had informed me that in no way was she interested in a vintage vehicle. Besides, the asking price was at the top of our range -- and this was a really, really, old car.



Disappointed, we looked a few other cars in and around town, but nothing but a bunch of lemons showed up. We reassured ourselves that surely, by Christmas we will find something.

Robert informed us that he had bargained the price of the vehicle down nearly a million CFA. It was lucrative, but still felt a little too much for our naive taste.

I went back to the Port with Robert to look at some of the other Land Cruisers we had seen, but all had either serious mechanical issues or were even more expensive than the Land Cruiser LJ70 he had shown us. We began to rethink our decision. Maybe the oldie-but-a goodie was the way to go.

Besides, Christmas was just over a week away. And we had another complication to consider: the potential devaluation of the currency, rumoured to take place on January 1. If we were holding on to millions of CFA, we could stand to lose a lot of money. Furthermore, the cost of cars would skyrocket.

And after discussing it with many of our friends one evening, we decided that though the price was still a little uncomfortable, it was in our best interest to buy something now. And a vehicle that was easy to fix, with very few electronics (the radio is the most complicated thing in it) and a great track record was the way to go.

So we called Robert and informed him that we would like to purchase the 1987 Land Cruiser after all.

"Oh, Mr. Daniel. The Land Cruiser was sold in the last hour."

Unique

There are certain things we experience on a daily basis that are very much uniquely Togolese and definitely 'African.'

Supermarkets playing hits from the last decade with polished flooring and polite cueing at the deli counter are a far cry from the public 'marche's' here. You need vegetables or a bolt of fabric? Go to a market. You need electrical sockets or overpriced tourist trinkets? Go to a market. Used underwear or wheel barrows? Go to a market. Films still in theatre but somehow being sold on DVD? Go to a market. Live sea crabs next to a place selling used luggage? Go to a market. And you can do it all while being crushed alive by 2,000 strangers and just as many insane moto drivers eager to take out your knees. And whatever you do, don't step in puddles -- remember, there are no public washrooms.

African time. A concert is slated to start at 7:00pm? It probably won't get underway until 8:00 at the earliest. Church is supposed to end by noon? Maybe you'll get home by 3:00pm because the service doesn't end until 2:30pm.

Storms sneak up on you. What you thought was on the horizon will be on top of you in 2 minutes flat. And then it will rain sideways for good measure.

Night guards that sleep all night instead of guarding. Here the houses are assigned one night guard each. Many of these night guards are university students who are working to pay their way through school. Because of that if you drive around at night you will see many of them sleeping. Not napping but full out horizontally sleeping in front of your house.

Huge lines of ants in your kitchen or bathroom or living room or in the electrical sockets of your house. Just to comfort you, you may find out that they also live in the walls of your house.

Little children. Everywhere, all the time. Here they shout out 'yovo, yovo bonsoir' when they see you. Or they run away screaming because they have been told (usually by a parent in a moment of admonishment) that the Yovo will kidnap them.

Siesta time. Usually reserved for 1-3 in the afternoon when it is the most hot out, but given the chance, anyone will sleep anywhere. Even if they are the gas station attendant, selling veggies or are supposed to be building a road. Just chill and take a nap.

Substitutions for real things

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.

In Canada

When we lived in Canada, there were a few things that we really did take for granted...

Kraft creamy peanut butter. We brought along one jar but we have already used a third of it. I know this type of peanut butter is all fake and mostly made of sugars and additives but it is my favorite type of peanut butter. Here one can get all natural peanut butter but I don't really like nuts and natural peanut butter is really really nutty and crunchy. With time perhaps I will adjust.

The first dusting of snow. I don't like cold and I really don't like winter but there is something magical with the first sprinkle of snow on the ground. Looking out in the winter to see the hills covered in white. Here the closest we get to having something resemble that first snowfall happens when we do not dust the house for 3 days.

Fast internet. Here Internet is slow. Painfully slow. pages with flash or many pictures take a long long time to load. There is slow internet or even slower internet here. We are grateful to have internet but should we ever have faster internet again, I hope I never complain about having Internet that takes less then five minutes to load Facebook.

Road rules. Some people may think traffic rules are in place only to irritate drivers. I would invite those people to come to Togo to see what happens when there are no real rules on the road. Turning signals are optional and can mean a variety of different things such as 'it is safe to pass, or don't pass me.' Usually you can stay safe if you remember the crucial rule: 'he who drives the largest vehicle will always win.' That and not all taxis are safe and their drivers aren't always sober. Even in the middle of the afternoon.

Two detentions for the price of one

Homework detention is something that I don't have to deal with too frequently because I give very little homework to students. In fact, my middle school students have only had to do one small homework assignment and one project for music this entire term. So what happens if students do not hand in their homework? Well...they get a homework detention.

Homework detentions happen at lunch to give the student extra time to work on the homework that was due. So I usually assume if students haven't handed their homework it can only mean they want to spend their lunch hour with me. A few weeks ago one student didn't want to spend lunch with me, so he told me he was Muslim student and had to go to the school mosque for Friday prayers. Since this must have been a recent conversion (he had never said anything about it previously and his friends seemed as surprised at this announcement as I was) I decided to wait outside the school gate on the street near a few parked cars to keep an eye on the mosque. When students came out of the mosque and he didn't show up, I knew we had a problem and I began trying to figure out what my next step of action would be. When one of his friends yelled from across the school yard 'why are you hiding behind that car?' and the offending student took off running down the street, I knew this was a huge problem. Unfortunately for him (very fortunate for me as this happened within 2 seconds of the student sprinting full speed) his 6 ft something tall and football built form tutor (form tutors are similar to homeroom teachers here) was walking up that very street. The football built form tutor yelled out the offenders name so loudly that even the birds stopped singing out of fear. After a harsh talking to from the tutor, the student followed me to detention with his head hung low in despair. Not only did he get detention with me for the remainder of lunch, he also had to serve another one after school with his form tutor because of his actions.

TP

Part of N's agreement with her school is that they provide housing. Very, very, nice, impressive housing. But just like all houses, things break or need repairing. The school takes care of all the maintenance at all 25+ of their houses and we must fill out 'work order request forms' whenever something needs repairing. And then wait.

Ever since we moved to this house, there has been a long list of things that need doing due to the previous tenant's lifestyle. Screens for the doors. Doors that actually close. Cupboards. Cupboards that don't fall over as soon as you put something in them.

The list has been getting shorter much quicker than we expected, but one thing that has been neglected is the toilet paper holder. I never knew how much I missed a simple fixture that holds a roll of chaffing, itch-inducing poorly recycled paper (now including bits of plastic for your wiping pleasure!)

After over a month of asking, one of the school's repairmen came over, and five minutes later, we finally had a toilet paper holder!!! No more twisting around, trying to find where it has rolled behind the toilet, only to find that the ants and cockroaches found it first...

Hopefully this month we can resolve the dozen dead power outlets, the bedroom door that won't stay shut, and maybe find a shower hose that doesn't leak all over the bathroom floor (leaving you ironically dry).

Two wheels or four?

As many of you know, we packed along two motorcycle helmets in our luggage. We planned on purchasing a motorcycle to zip around town on. When required, the thought was D could use it when off on assignment as well. Small, cheap, blend in with the crowd, good on gas, easy to fix -- what could be wrong with that?

But our plans have since changed. We are now looking for a car -- here's why:

While vacationing in Benin, we got caught in a sudden torrential downpour. (Trees across the roads-wind pushing the rain sideways-roads turning into rivers-can't see five feet in front of my face rain.) Thankfully we were in a vehicle. Watching motorcyclists scramble like drowning rats for any semblance of shelter planted the first notion that perhaps a motorcycle might limit our travels.

About a week later, we had some shopping to do in downtown Lomé, so we hailed a cab here in 'la Caisse' (literally, 'the cashbox' -- an affectionate nickname for our neighbourhood.) Within two minutes we had veered into oncoming traffic a few times, nearly side-swiped some very expensive SUV's and almost taken off a few motorcyclists' legs.

Turns out our taxi driver was not only drunk out of his gourd, but one of his front wheels was about to fall off. We calmly asked him to pull over at the earliest opportunity. As we tried in vain to hail another cab, two thoughts crept into our minds. Firstly, not all taxi drivers (or their cabs) are reliable. Secondly, I wouldn't want to be a motorcyclist when that cabbie is still on the loose.

Eventually we made it to the Grande Marche, finished our shopping and caught a cab back to 'la Caisse.' The drive was uneventful, until we came up to the entrance to the neighbourhood. A car had struck several motorcyclists -- injured people laying on the ground, motorcycle bits strewn across the roadway, etc.

Before that horrifying scene had a chance to sink in, a clap of thunder and a smattering of rain reminded us to hurry the last block home.

We didn't make it. Just as in Benin, the rain which we thought was at least 15 minutes away was upon us in a flash. Crazy downpour. Again. Now we were the absolutely soaked rats.

As we stood on the flooded street, trying not to think of all the goodies mixed in the rain water swirling at our ankles and over D's nice Josef Siebel sandals, the last nail struck Mr. Motorcycle's coffin.

And now, the search for a car begins...



The street after the five minutes of rain that changed our mind.

Togo Tummy

Well, it has finally arrived.

At first I figured that I had made it unscathed -- that somehow my innards were more fortuitous than the rest.

But thanks to some suspect prawns cleverly disguised in a scrumptious coconut-tomato sauce -- Togo Tummy has arrived.

At first, it was just a rumble in the distance followed by some awkward squirming.

But by this evening, I was sprinting toward any porcelain pot in sight.

And internal events can be influenced by external surroundings...

Whilst making my way toward the neighbourhood supermarche, Ramco, I began to notice the rumbling once again.

'It will be a quick shopping trip, nothing much -- just some deli meat, cheese and some cereal,' I reasoned.

I can control my functions for five minutes, right?

But unfortunately, Ramco has bone-chilling air-conditioning, which, as I found out immediately, speeds up time.

Three minutes later, Natalie was left to do the shopping on her own, whilst I bolted for the door.

Once outside in the sticky heat of the night, things settled down long enough for me to march home.

Also, Pepto Bismol is a great invention.

Half term break - Mini vacation in Benin

Since it was half term break (a week long break similar to spring break except in the fall) Daniel and I decided to head to Benin for a few days.

We left on Sunday for the Grand Popo resort town where we walked along the beach drinking fresh coconut milk.

We would go for the occasional swim in the salt water pool, dry off and eat a delightful seafood meal on the veranda as we watched the sun set ober the beach.

Sound like something off a postcard? It truly was.

And if you are thinking hey that's sounds like my sort of vacation, Grand Popo is only about 2.5-3 hours drive from Lome, so if you are ever in the area we could head there for the weekend. :)

Since I come from a family that has difficulties just relaxing on vacations, we also took a few day trips out to a few different places including the stilt village on the lake called Genvie also known as the African Venice.

Genvie is a 20 minute motor boat ride from the outskirts of Benin's captial city Cotonou. The town of Genvie has a population of 18 000 people and was established because of the slave trade. Since certain slave trading tribes were afraid of the water, hiding in a stilt village became a way to avoid capture.

The trip would have been quite lovely, unfortunately, a man tried to appoint himself as our guide and rudely demanded we pay him an obscene amount of money. This sort of took away from the atmosphere of village life as he was on the boat with us the whole time.

It was still a beautiful scene to watch villagers dart between buildings on their pirogue boats.

The market in Genvie consisted of 20 women sitting in their pirogues selling fruits, vegetables and poultry.

Stilted schools held large audiences of children who would be picked up by boat and ferried to their various forms of houses.

There were three tourist shops in Genvie that we stopped at along with one hotel and two restaurants.

Instead of eating at the restaurants in Genvie we tried fried manioc balls (they look like a plain timbit but are salty and spicy instead of sweet) and finger bananas.

They held us over until a pre dinner snack at one of the most expensive resorts in all of West Africa.

The Casa de Papa in Ouidah is at the end of a road marked only by rows and rows of palm trees along the beach.

At the end of the sand road, you reach the resort, which costs $200 per night, has 3 swimming pools and the most expensive sandwiches we've encountered in West Africa. But they were good.

We headed back to our much cheaper accommodation in Grand Popo (with no TV at all, no swimming pool and more mosquitoes) for the night.

The next day D and I returned to Ouidah to explore the city some more, as it is home to relics of the slave trade and even some cool tourist traps.

We returned to the resort that night and began packing up. We ate one last seafood meal on the beach. After a dip in the pool the next morning as well as the chance to release 5 day old sea turtles back into the ocean, we began the relatively short trip back to Lome.

Overall it was a lovely trip. It was wonderful to get away to do some sightseeing, hang out with new friends and just relax on a beach. We both felt rested and refreshed ready to take on new adventures or return back to old ones. Here are a few pics:

Photos!

It's been two weeks since I arrived in Togo, so I figured it is high time I share some photos on the blog.

It is now half-term break, so Natalie and I will be enjoying a much needed rest one country over in Benin!

When we get back, Natalie will be crazy busy preparing for all the Christmas performances, etc. while I work on a few stories for several clients. More on those at a later date... but rest assured I am very very busy and not at all bored!

For now, enjoy the photos!



We hung out with this young girl outside the local photo lab as we waited for some visa photos. Not a word from her, just a big smile.



The beach. You can't safely swim, but it is nice to sit and watch the waves.



It seems that every street is under construction.. massive detours everywhere!



Deep fried baby barracuda. Tender and tasty, mmmm.



This is our street.



One block away, the street to the president's house. For some reason, his streetlights always work!



The ice-cream man comes around on a bicycle here.. A good way to cool down for 30 cents. Unless it is the ice-cream vendor who comes by our house honking his horn at 7 am ... every morning. Who wants ice-cream that early?



'Hedzranawoe' is the 'dead white man' market where you can get any second hand (and some new) clothes or shoes you could possibly want. Most comes from Europe or N. America, and the nickname 'dead white man' is because the locals don't believe there is anything but death that would separate a white man from their clothes.




Lastly, enjoying Canadian Thanksgiving with friends at our place. Chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy. mmm.

Religious controversy?!

I have students that come from many different backgrounds and religious persuasions (real or perceived).

Today, a student told me that singing Bob Dylan's 'Blowing in the wind' was against their religion.

This sort of comment might not have come as such a surprise except for the fact that they were saying this while listening to American rapper lil Wayne's Ta Carter III album on their iPod.

6 weeks

Well, after 6 long weeks, I arrived in Lome.

The plane touched down on the remarkably smooth tarmac, and the passengers began cheering, clapping and some even burst into song. I suppose a good landing deserves some praise!

After gathering all my carryon, which I believe weighed close to 50 lbs, almost all passengers were ushered onto a bus and driven to the arrivals terminal.

I say almost all passengers, because apparently if you are a dignitary, you can walk off the plane, and hop into your fancy sedan that pulls right onto the tarmac!

The doors to the arrivals 'hall' opens directly into the customs control area, which becomes instant chaos.

One must first find the one poor customs official handing out visa forms, which are exactly the same as the customary customs card filled out on the plane. But you must fill this one out as well.

Then, you must find the 'line' for customs, which does not exist.

So you shove your way to the front of what may or may not be a line and wait for a customs official to gesture in your direction.

If you beat all the others who think the official gestured at them, then you get to hand over your passport, vaccination card, boarding pass and of course -- cash.

Then you try to claim your baggage, where you will be promptly asked to show your boarding pass.

Another security officer will ask you to produce your visa, as you wait for your visa.

Two hours later, as you vie for a position in front of the single miniscule air conditioner (which shows that it has cooled the dark arrivals hall to a chilly 28 degrees), a customs official calls your name.

Then, just when you think you can leave, the security officer who asked you for your visa earlier now needs to verify that your baggage is indeed yours.

You may then proceed to the exit, where your baggage is screened.

Here you will find that you are carrying 'tres cher' of something and I must pay duty. My guess it was the 100 pack of dvd-r's and 25 pack of CD-R's in one of my bags.

Thankfully, the school representative is able to convince them that I will not be selling them illegally.

A 25-pack of DVD's would sell for around $50 US.

After a quick 10 minute drive, I am -- home.

Now just last week, Natalie was asked to move to make room for some incoming staff, so it has been crazy busy for her as well.

So, without further delay, here's a few photos of our new place (and some others..)

One more day...

Tomorrow Daniel arrives in Togo. It will have been 6 weeks (44 days to be exact) since we waved goodbye to one another as I headed through security in the Vancouver airport. Since then, we have talked on Skype every 2 or 3 days depending on if internet was up in running. We have also written emails and the occasional text message, but, it's not quite the same as being in the same place at the same time.

I am so excited he'll be here at this time tomorrow. I am excited because he is my soundboard and I can bounce ideas off him about teaching, about learning and adjusting to life here in Togo. I am excited because this house won't always be empty when I come home now. I am excited because he will see this place through new eyes and not be stuck in the house-work-house-work rut I seem to be in these days. I am excited because he'll be bringing a taste of home with him in the form of maple fudge. I am excited because he will have pictures with him that we can put up on the walls of people back home. I am excited because 44 days is a long time to be away from my best friend.

The past few weeks have reminded me of a quote I heard sometime in a place somewhere that goes "the days are long but the years are short." Some days have felt very long the past 6 weeks. Some days have felt like weeks. And I know just like today, tomorrow will feel like a very long day but it will get here as soon as it can... So until tomorrow I wait and I whisper "only one more day..."

Cute things they say

"Ms.K that flower in your hair is lovely and you are lovely." 5 year old girl in my year 1 class

"Ms.K I still remember what you taught us in class and I taught it to my brother too. If he is too noisy I say 1-2 he goes eyes on you. I say 3-4 he says talk no more." older sister in year 3

"Ms. K my foots just had to dance." 4 year old preschooler describing what happened while he was walking into the music room and I had fiddle music playing in the background.

"I didn't know which song to pick because there were so many good ones, so I brought 5 of them" year 8 student for music analysis project

"Ms.K why do all Canadian women have a different last name than their husbands? That doesn't ever happen in Nigeria!" year 9 student after he found out I was married and my husband had a completely different last name.

Caught you!

Ther are somethings in life we can look back on and laugh though at the time they may not be very funny. Case and point comes from one of my junior high classes this morning. I had given an assignment for students to give me a blurb on who who Bob Dylan was and about the music he wrote. Today many of them handed in the assignment neatly typpictures few pictures. I was excited to see they had taken the project so seriously. then I began reading. I was very impressed with one students writing style in particular as I read the assignment. I hadn't been aware that they were able to write so well. That was until 3 assignments later I found one of the exact same sentences word for word. Then in another assignment. Being the sleuth that I am, I typed the sentence into google and wouldn't you know it the biography I found at biography.com had all the same sentences as this assignment. I then had to check the other handwritten assignments only to realize that students had copied out entire sections from the Wikipedia article on Bob Dylan. So tomorrow we were suppose to sing and get a start on the big assignment that is coming up, but now I have to spend it talking about plagiarism. *sigh* so goes life I suppose.

In other news, I had a student come up to me and ask if he could design a web site for the music department. I was thrilled of course as I haven't gotten around to setting anything up myself yet and there was nothing in place from previous years which had meant I would have had to start from scratch and with evring else going on i wasn sure how I was going to manage adding yet another thing to my plate but now all is taken care of. Since it is a project for school I will get to be his client for the entire year so if any changes need to be made or anything needs to be added, I just have to ask and it will be done :)

Battle with the ants

Ants here get in everything! This morning I woke up to find a hundreds of tiny ants in a huge line crawling out from the close lid garbage can, across the tiled floor, up the wall and out a small hole near the window. The craziest part to this story is that I had just thrown away a cookie wrapper not even 30 minutes beforehand...

I can't leave dishes out on the counter for any length of time as the ants will come marching in to tidy up all my crumbs. I don't want to declare war on these creatures as they outnumber me by at least 1000 but may not be left with any other option... I already store my sugar, cookies and peanut butter in the fridge to keep them out!

A fantastic Friday

Today was a fantastic day. It was a day where I was reminded about how much I love teaching. Since the beginning of my week holds all my prep times Thursdays and Fridays are my longest and busiest days. By the end of the week I am exhausted but not today. Today was a fantastic day. It seems that my connection with the middle school students is really starting to take form. The students are becoming more interested in music which makes my job so much easier. We currently are working through a unit which draws on numerous musicians throughout history including Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Stravinsky, Wagner, Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga to name a few. How will it all come together? We will see. Since there is a serious lack in musical instruments in the music department at this moment in time, we are currently working on analyzing different types of music as well as singing. what will the final product look like? We will have to wait and see.

The day finished with primary movie night where I had the chance to watch the movie Rio with a bunch of primary students. If ever you want to see a kids film make sure you watch it with kids around. Their giggles of delight, gasps of horror and running commentary can really add to the atmosphere of the film. Watching it made me miss someone though... Dearly!

Daniel will be here in exactly 1 week, 6 days, 21 hours and 9 minutes from this point in time. I will say that this six week separation feels more like ten years than a mere 44 days. Absence may make the heart grow fonder but it sucks! I can't wait until my best friend arrives and walks off that plane. Life isn't quite the same without him here. Skype helps a bit but it is not the same.

If there is is time I will update more later this weekend on how things have come together in the music room storage closet, how I spend my weekends and life outside the after community.

First week of school

Job description of this week in my own words:

Teach students music between the ages of 3 to 15. Sometimes this may mean having a class of 4 year olds follwed by the lass of 15 year olds with no time in between to prepare the room. Sign up to run one club a week after school. Teach year one students science, art and geography 3 afternoons a week. Show up for evening homework prep with the boarding students. These students may require help with their homework in any subject including chemistry or physics, so if they ask a question regarding anything maths related, smile and tell them good luck with that. Meet up with the private music teachers to discuss after school lessons. Attend weekly staff meetings two mornings a week. Remember to meet with the entire primary department and then run to the arts faculty meeting to discuss music timetable. Plan with lower primary teachers after school the following day. When timetable begins feeling normal, receive a new timetable which switches all the teen students lesson times so now they come to music first class every morning of the week. Clean out the instrument storage closet mourning the loss of many vandalized instruments. Leave school at 5:30 on Friday to go home and collapse into bed.

It was a very busy first week. Teaching is tiring but overall it is pretty great. I get a constant supply of hugs from the little preschoolers and hellos/ high fives from the elementary students. I had the chance to empathize with a few of the older primary students who were feeling huge waves of homesickness. Thursday evening a bunch of my junior students came by just to say hi because the light was on in the music room after 5:00. Two senior students even came by to practice their guitars while I was cleaning out the storage closet bringing music into my silent music room (my cd player broke on wednesday and I have not yet received a replacement). It's these moments that help me remember why I decided to become a teacher...

The Kittens!

Originally, I was just going to send this to Natalie (yes, this is Daniel posting again... You thought Natalie had lost it already and was talking in third person due to cerebral malaria or something, right?) but since everybody loves kittens, here you go.

These are our old landlord's fairly new kittens, which Natalie hasn't seen since she left. Last she saw them they could barely walk. Now they're prancing about and showing off their cute belly spots. Awwwwwww.

Music room Makeover

Here are pictures of the music room following it's radical transformation. Thirty hours later and 5 huge recycling/garbag bags later this is what was left. There are only 2 shelves buried in one of the closets that I need to sort and organize now, but, in the meantime those can wait for awhile.

Music room makeover before

So here are a few pictures of the music room before I got it ready for day one. To be fair I didn't find it like this. Instead I found it with piles and piles of paperwork stacked almost a meter high on every table and paperwork/instruments crammed into every possible inch of shelving space. I ahd one week to prep it. See the transformation after 30 hours of hard labour.

Internet and interesting computer quirks

Today I am very thankful that the Internet problems were all sorted out yesterday and now we have wireless Internet at the house. After living 2 weeks without it, it feels like quite a luxury to use my IPad to talk to from the comfort of the couch in living room, as oppose to the concrete step outside the ict room at school at 11:00 at night.

My Dell laptop has been acting up these days though. Whenever it is plugged into the wall (via the charger, surge protector, adapter/converter) the touch mouse acts up. It acts as though the left mouse button is stuck so my mouse arrow will click on everything it passes as I drag it along the screen. For the first few days I didn't make the connection that it only happened when it was plugged in so I was ready to throw my Dell in the rubbish bin as it was so frustrating to try and get anything done. But now that I know I just charge it at night and use it with only it's battery during the day when I need it.

Goodbye, old house

Hello, Internet world. This is Daniel here. So far, Natalie has been doing the posting, and so as to not startle and confuse you too much -- I thought it prudent to let you know who was typing. You've been warned -- er, notified.

So yesterday I went back to our 'old home' in Kelowna one last time to hand back the keys to our wonderful landlords. They truly were the best close-proximity neighbours one could ask for. From the baskets of fresh garden produce left on our doorstep, to the hours spent playing with their cat (and now kittens!) it really was a blessing to have lived in such a great place. Not to mention, the view from our front door... and the fact that we were next to rolling cherry and apple orchards as far as the eye could see.

But when I was there yesterday, our old home was just an empty house. I can't wait to head on over to Togo to turn our new house into a home.

The first night

As promised here is an update of what happened after I got off the plane, gathered all my luggage and was dropped off at our new 3 bedroom house. There is a green gate that is covered with a variety of vines that mark the front enterance. When you walk through the front door you enter the living room and dining area of the house. To the left there is a hallway with three bedrooms and the main bathroom. To the right you,ll find the kitchen. Inside the fridge there were pinapples, oranges, tomatoes, lettuce, eggs, milk, bread, drinking water and Gouda cheese!

I spent the first night unpacking until about 10:00 when I tried to sleep. Of course the 7 hour time difference is quite large so I was unsuccessful for most of the night. In our back yard there is a group of animals that like to party until the wee hours of the morning. Some of the animals I hear were fruit bats the others I still have not figured out. Unfortunately that first night I was convinced they were rats. As many of you know I am terrified of rats. This is not helped by all the stories I have heard coming from other parts of Africa where rats snack on human ears, feet and noses. Needless to say the next morning I looked terrible.

On a side note in the villages bush rat is quite a delicacy. Bush rats can grow to be as big as house cats here! I wish I would have gotten a picture of one that aman was trying to sell at th side of the rd but he was looking to sell it not have tourists takes pictures of his prized catch.

More to come...

Update

With Internet down at the house this whole week, I have only able to update and check my email from school. this entry will be short with a long one to appear in the next few days.

I made it to Togo safely with all carryons and luggage pieces. Nothing was lost or misplaced though it was close because a week before I left Canada I forgot a folder of very important documents on a connecting flight from Vancouver to Edmonton. Thankfully the flight attendants were able to track it down and run it to us before we took off. 

Here is a picture of what the front entrance looks like at our new house.

Happy birthday to me

A week after getting to Togo I had the chance to celebrate my birthday here. It didn't really feel like a birthday at first as there were meetings all day long. After leaving meetings at 3:00 I still had to go to the music room to tidy up. By around 6:00 I went home exhausted. I hadn't told anyone it was my birthday so I was quite homesick to be at home celebrating with family and friends. Maybe heading to kelly o!s or doing a free birthday day (this is when d and i circle all the places that offer free birthday meals or birthday drinks or birthday gifts)
Later that evening I headed to the jazz club with all the new teachers. I let one person know that today was the day I was turning 26 and then everyone began wishing and congratulating. Happy Birthday was then sang a number of times even in various musical styles by the jazz band. Overall it was a nice evening. 
I had the experience of eating frog legs and barracuda for dinner with fanta and chocolate mousse for dessert. 
Now I am 26. I still feel like 25 but celebrating a 26th birthday in Africa was not so bad at all. 

Travel status

Currently in London at an internet cafe with other travellers sitting all around me from various parts of the world. I am pretty tired as I am unable to sleep on flights, unless I have a window seat to lay my head against otherwise I am unable to get comfortable. I think I slept 1 hour on the plane in total. Since I have been carrying my 3 suitcases around the airport and up the stairs in the hotel, I am really tired! After I get to the final destination I will have D post a picture with me and all my luggage. It is quite amusing or embarrassing depending on who you talk to. My siblings keep insisting that travelling with a fanny-pack is never cool. So I am not travelling with one fanny pack no instead I have two fanny packs for this journey!

Tomorrows day may start off more hurried and difficult than today did unless I meet some people who are going the same flight path then it may be a bit simpler. The morning begins at 5:00am. I'll arrive in Togo tomorrow at around dinner time...

A goodbye tribute

I wrote this next piece on the way back from my hometown while sitting on the bus in the Okanagan. There are a bunch of goodbyes I have had to say over the past couple days so please bear with me and the drama.

Goodbye house. You have been such a great place to live. We have many memories that we will hold dear to our hearts because of you. Thank you for being spacious and accommodating when we had people over. Thank you you for having all that cupboard space in the kitchen and a bath tub in the bathroom. We were so happy to live above ground and bask in the light from your many windows. You not having air conditioning has actually helped prepare us for Togo's climate. We will miss you.

Goodbye car. You were such a good car! So good in fact, that, it was hard to see you get towed away (even though it was by that good organization that helps people). You were my first car and you were given to me by opa. For seven years you drove me around to all the places I needed to be. We went everywhere together from the pacific ocean to the prairies, the north okanagn to the south, in winter and in summer. You drove others around to the places they needed to go and even experienced a few road trips with good friends. Thank you for all those memories.

Goodbye cabin. Every time we were together I knew that summer had officially began. Leaving you always meant that fall was fast approaching along withball it's changes including school, relocating etc. I have so many memories with you that I treasure. You welcomed so many people onto your dock over the years including dear friends and aging family members. The sleepovers with the cousins in the pink room and on the covered deck were something all of us looked forward too. The stories we will take with us are numerous. Know that we are looking forward ito a time when we can come to you again.

Goodbye Toby the dog. I never got to say a real goodbye to you or hug you one last time. You are the best dog a girl could have asked for even for a girl who is more a cat person than a dog person. Thank you for always being so excited to see me whenever I came home to visit especially after a hard day somewhere else. Please Keep mom & dad company while we are gone. You are a good dog Toby and know I will miss you a great deal.

Goodbye Tommy the cat. Alas you were the landlord's cat but, you became our cat too while we were at the house. You were so friendly & playful. You also did a fantastic job keeping the mice away which we really appreciated. You make a great mommy and know we will miss your two kittens too. They provided endless hours of entertainment these past few weeks.

Goodbye violin (also known as my baby). Dearest violin where will I be without you? We have played so much music together over the years. You were with me through symphonies, orchestras and all around the world You know that I would love to take you with me but I can not. It is safer for you here than it would be there's especially with the climate and humidity differences. You will not be forgotten. I know that my fingers will still know how to play when I get back as I am taking your cousin along. Take care of yourself dear friend.

Goodbye fast Internet connection. One doesn't realize what they have have until it's gone and that is how I feel about you. Over time we have become so comfortable with one another. I rely on you everyday and you almost always come through for me which is why I am having a difficult time imagining life without you. In Africa things just won't be the same without you. I won't be able to load YouTube videos at the same speed as I could before, streaming movies will be out of the question as well. The good news is those very annoying video ads will no longer be able to work where we are going.

Bittersweet

The countdown is drawing to a close fairly quickly here. In exactly 17 days I will be landing in Togo. That being said there are only 15 more days before I leave Canada and only 9 more days until I leave the Okanagan.

How am I feeling about this? Well it really depends on the day.

A majority of this past weekend was spent out at the cabin with family and friends laughing, speaking german, eating junk food by the handfuls, sunathing til we all turn red and swimming in the freezing cold water to cool off. I treasure this time.

I find myself trying to take snapshots with my mind so the memories stay with me for the next two years. Its interesting that I say this now because years ago I would not have really made an effort to remember all these little moments.

Sometimes we don't know how precious life is until we are faced with it not being quite the same way it always has been. What I am trying to say is that as time carries on I appreciate how important family and friends are.

Up until recently you would have never heard me say that I experience homesickness. In fact when I left for Africa the first time I did not feel sad at all. Perhaps that was I knew that 3 months was short term and quite temporary so not too much could change in that amount of time. I would get to see everyone again soon enough. Fast forward to Christmas 2 years ago when I was away from home for the first time during an important family time, I felt so homesick it almost hurt to breath during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

I was close to tears because there is comfort in familiarity and community and I really missed the community that has been apart of my life
since I was small. Now it wasn't that I was in a place with no people, there were people there just not all the people I had grown up with or felt familiar with. Will I expereince the sme feeling in Togo? I would imagine yes whenever there is a wedding/anniversary/birthday/celebration I can't be at.

I will miss those familiar faces and the traditions that come with such events. As time goes on I realize that those events are also changing. When I come back things will not be the same as before I left as change is inevitable. This makes me sad too. Like I said earlier there is comfort in the familiar. As much as I love adventure and I can't wait to get back to African soil where I will have the chance to experience new things and make new friends a part of me can't help but feel sad.

Leaving is really bittersweet...

Exhilified

I have been trying to come up with an exact word that describes how I am feeling about moving around the world to Togo, starting a new job as a teacher in one months time.

Today I found that perfect word when I was at the university talking with someone in the education faculty. I had been saying that I felt a mix of emotions like excitement, fear, happiness and sadness. She asked if perhaps the word I was looking for was Exhilified a combination of exhilarated and terrified all at the same time. Indeed that is the word I have been looking for. Leaving Canada will be bittersweet but I can't help but feel exhilified!

Small Group Thank You

With help from our small group D & I were able to purchase an iPad to help lighten our suitcase load. How is it helping? Well it currently holds 35 books on it. That is at least 20 lbs of extra weight we can cram into our suitcases.

Besides the extra added space in the suitcase, this gadget will also be able to help me in the music classroom by acting as an accompanist while I teach. I can also record students voices on it and play it back to them. As to what else it can do I -- am finding out more everyday.

Mock Pack #1

So the other night D and I did a mock pack trying to see how much we could fit into my 2 suitcases. We have 5 rubbermaid bins full of stuff we are trying to take in only 4-5 suitcases. The bins are divided up into different categories:

• Music teaching resources/materials which includes a few music instruments as well
• Kindergarten resources/materials mainly kids books, stickers, art supplies and a book on art projects
• Clothing all durable 100% cotton (or as close to that as possible) & good quality shoes
• Comfort stuff which includes food items like Sheriff lemon meringue pie filling or our favourite Shampoo from Lush
• Tech & Camera equipment
• Miscellaneous items including small dolls for little girls, motorcycle helmuts, thank you cards and Canadian flags

We only packed 2 suitcases one was already 16 lbs overweight while the other was 6 underweight. Due to the airlines I am flying I am only allowed 2 suitcases. I am trying my best not to be overweight on any of them as I will be charged an arm and leg for doing that. So how are we going to fit everything? I have no idea. We already had to sort out things that we don't really desperately need from things we can't live without. Do I really need Kraft peanut butter? I guess not but I still would like some.

Another Blog

Came across another teaching/Africa blog worth mentioning. The writer has since moved on to other places but I find myself relating to what is being said even though I have never been to Malawi. Here is my most favourite thought which comes from one of her last blog posts entitled Home. The last post has been written 5 months after her return back to the States after being in Malawi for a year.

Now that the dust has settled, my year in Malawi feels dislocated in my memory. It is as if my brain compartmentalized itself into American life and Malawian life... With the benefit of hindsight, I now recognize that when I left Malawi I also left behind a part of myself, a part that I hope to, with time and due diligence, incorporate back into my life.

http://jessemcv.blogspot.com/

Pack lists

I am a list person! I make lists while I am waiting at appointments or in restaurants. I use scrap pieces of paper, notebooks or posterboard if the lists require more room. Right now on our fridge there is a large posterboard to help us figure out what we still need to do before moving day in 40 days.

The pink poster holding 6 sheets of legal size paper is appropriately titled "To Go to Togo" it takes up the entire front part of our fridge. Since D and I are both visual learners, it helps us see just how much we still have to do before we leave. Some days I get to check off one or two items on this gigantic list. Other days I only add things. Whenever I add more than two things I get frustrated because the list seems to be growing as oppose to shrinking. It is during those times that I need to remember a wise piece of wisdom someone once told me:

make a list full of things you have already done so as not to get overwhelmed with all the stuff that still needs to be done.

I agree wholeheartedly with this statement which is why you will see certain things penciled in and checked off after they have already happened (such as graduation or go to the mall to check prices or plan goodbye parties).

So how do we know what we need to do and how can we make sure we don't forget anything? I came across this website here www.helpiammoving.com

It breaks down tasks about 12 weeks before an international departure down to moving day. It has been really helpful in giving us an outline of what needs to happen when. Since Daniel is staying here an extra month to wrap up the business he can also take care of any miscellaneous items that come up. We vacate our place at the end of August so there will not be too much for him to have to take care of.

Resources

One of the most valuable resources in my quest for a job was a website called International School Review. It costs $30 a year but the information on there was/is very helpful. With the help of ISR I was able to narrow down some of my options after interviews when the job offers came in.

I was given the chance to talk with one of the founders of the website in person over coffee. The person's stories and experiences were memorable. The advice I was given was fantastic. Some of it as basic as "Buy good quality 100% cotton clothing for the hot and humid climate or you'll regret it. Make sure it's good quality so if it is handled by roughly by someone washing your clothes it won't end up in shreds after being worn 3x" and "Pack picture books. Regardless what the language capabilities are of your students everyone will be able to understand with the pictures" or "Does the school have an evacuation policy in place? Make sure you ask before you go." The person also looked over the sample contract the school sent me. With their help additions that may need to be added to the contract and what questions I may want to ask the director before I accepted the job.