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.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
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:
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:
Saturday, October 15, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, October 7, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
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..)
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..)
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