Another update on my trip...

Day 7 - In the morning we tried to stay cool as the power has been off
and on again. In the afternoon we went to my parents Market woman's
saving and loans meeting (Kamoura). It was great to see them putting
money into their bank and seeing them interact. They also speak in the
native tongue so it was fun to hear that. In the beginning it sounded
like they relied a lot on my parents and now they run the meetings
almost by themselves! Its great to see them taking action for their
own good. From there we went to the Peace Corps house and meet more
volunteers and cooled off. Some other volunteers had just been to the
market so it was fun to see what they were buying for gifts and food.
We then went to Georgie's ( the Godfather of Atakpame) for a Coke/
beer. My parents seem like they have been able to make a great
impression on people and I believe they are really respected here.
George also set us up with a taxi to use the next day to take us to
the falls.

Day 8 - Before coming to Togo, I tried to find "tourist" things to do
and see. One of the few I found was a waterfall in Badou. The website
described it as a shampoo commercial with cascading falls and
butterflies everywhere! I was sold on the butterfly part so we decided
to hike and see the falls. I didn't know that would mean a 3 hour
cramped taxi ride on a pot hole road with 7 of us in a 5 person car
and a hike that was up steep stairs for an hour each way. I never
thought the trail could get more steep until I turned another corner.
Even at the end the when the rest of us got sodas to relax our driver
had a beer before heading back to town! A Togo beer is about 2+ beers
in the states so needless to say we were all a bit worried. In the end
the waterfalls were amazing and we got back safe and sound in 2 hours
(not like the 3 it took to get there). All in all it was a good time
and we are thankful we went.



For the next 2 days, I'm sorry for the short notes but we have been
out of power for the past 13 hours so we are short on batteries...

Day 9 - I built website for an NGO, Mom and I gave each other
pedicures and we headed to the group house to meet more volunteers.

Day 10 - Today we went to Akpene grandmothers house and was greeted
with all ages of kids wanting pictures taken. From there we again went
to the Peace corps house hoping the power would be on and we could
cool off under a fan. On the way back to my parents I helped pound
fufu, learned how to make Beignets (banana fritter), got a Bubu from
Mama downstairs, packed my parents things for me to take back, looked
at other volunteer pictures from the falls and created 2 more websites
for the AIDS offices here. I am about to teach mom how to make jewelry
with a head lamp on, praying the power will come back on so we can
sleep better and cooler.

Tomorrow we head to Accra as I leave early Tuesday morning and over
all this has been a fantastic trip!! Power is running low, got to
go... love Claire