Really long days....

I just got off the phone with the travel agency and I leave September 17 for Philadelphia! My flight leaves from XNA at 5:38 a.m. so that I can make the 1:30 registration time. Staging (kind of like an orientation) takes place September 17-18. I will have several longggggg days ahead of me:

September 17:

1:30 p.m. Orientation

3-7 p.m. Peace Corps Welcome/Start of Training program

September 18:

7:15 a.m. Leave for Clinic (lots and lots of shots!)

11:00 a.m. Check out of hotel

Lunch

1:00 p.m. Leave for Philadelphia Airport

6:40 p.m. Depart for Togo

We fly through Paris to Lome, Togo:

6:40 pm Depart Philadelphia

8:25 a.m. Arrive in Paris

1:50 p.m. Depart Paris

6:05 p.m. Arrive in Lome

That's my schedule so far!

Oh, and here's one interesting fact about the Kabre of northern Togo: They consider children androgynous until they go through a series of rituals that make them male/female.

To Togo I go!

So I came home today from tutoring and blueberry picking to discover the Peace Corps had sent me my new invitation sooner than expected...and it's to Togo!

Togo is a small West African country of around 6 million people located in West Africa between Ghana and Benin. It is also bordered by Burkina Faso. There are at least 60 languages spoken (wow!). The main languages are French (official), Ewe (mainly in the south and Ghana/Benin), and Kabaye (the north and the president's language). The major religions are Christianity, Islam, and Animism. The people are very welcoming and operate on a kind of extended family network (very tight-knit). The climate varies between semi-arid in the north to humid in the south. (I guess living in Arkansas/Louisiana has prepared me for the humidity, right?) The majority of Togolese work in agriculture, growing corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava, yams, etc. Other products include cotton, coffee (!!), and cocoa.

As a volunteer, I will be with the Girls' Education and Empowerment program, serving as a Girls' Education Extension Agent. This basically means I will be working in the community to promote female education, both technical and personal, as well as promoting gender equality in the community. I will work on creating community outreach programs and extra-curricular activities literacy clubs, HIV/AIDS awareness programs, and income-generating projects. I'm really excited (and nervous) about this assignment because I was planning on doing something with girls' education as my secondary project anyways.

I will probably be placed in a village, living in a 2-3 room house within a Togolese family compound. I probably won't have running water, electricity, etc., but hey, that's what I bought those head lamps for, right? I will get an all-terrain bicycle and helmet for travel. Clothing is a little more relaxed than Mauritania (no ankle length skirts and I can wear pants!), but still has to be professional. Food: typically corn or millet pate (paste) with a hot, spicy sauce. Rice and beans is also a typical meal (especially for breakfast). I'm planning on planting a garden to supplement my diet.

I will be leaving September 16th. Pre-Service Training (in Togo) lasts from September 18th to December 3rd. My dates of service are: December 3, 2009 - December 5, 2011!