Saturday at the Market

6 plates = 800 CFA
24 rolls of pink two-ply toilet paper = 3600 CFA
4 dishwasing sponges = 900 CFA
1 block of dark chocolate infused with coffee beans = 1200 CFA
4 advacados = 350 CFA
1 sweat soaked shirt after spending 5 hours in 100+ degree heat shopping = PRICELESS

Note: About 430 CFA equals 1.00 USD...YOU DO THE MATH

The Birthday Fund

As you all well know...my 28th birthday is fastly approaching and I am super excited. Every year my sisters (Courtney, Priya, and Adora) and I celebrate each others birthday by either purchasing or assisting in the purchase of a gift that we would normally never purchase for ourselves...i pods, Tiffany's jewelry, Ugh boots, and cell phones just to name a few... But this year year we have a taken a new step in the Birthday tradition. This year I have asked my sister not for a tangible gift, but rather CASH MONEY... This money will go towards funding the education of local children in Lome, Togo. Parents have to pay a yearly fee to send their students to public school, which are commonly overcrowded, under funded, under trained, under staffed and so on. The fees range from 10.000 CFA to about 25.000 CFA a year, which converts to about $20.00 USD to $50.00 USD per year. While this may seem like an insignificant amount of money, ponder this thought... most people here live on less than $1.00 USD a day. School is a luxuary not a neccessity! So the BIRTHDAY FUND has been created...This fund will provide school fees for as many students as possible here in Lome and in local villages. The fund will send students to school for the remainder of this year and next year. After pooling the birthday money together we have about $350, which will allow us to fund about 20 children or so( I know it is not much, but we have to start somewhere). We are always looking for more money, so if you would like to contribute to the BIRTHDAY FUND...let me know and I will tell you where to send the funds. I will keep you updated on the progress of the BIRTHDAY FUND. Thanks for your support.

Obama Just May Rule the World

Moment of Reflection... I went over to my friend, Juliette's, Aunt's house on Sunday. Juliette is Ghanain and her Aunt is from Togo. I spent about 4 hours there talking and learning!!! One of most interesting things I learned is the love for Barack Obama across the world. These women spoke of Barack Obama with such enthusiam, passion, and hope that I forgot they would not be voting in the election today. Despite this fact they have taken a vested interest in the outcome of this election...as they told me...Africa loves Obama!!!! I was told that Kenya (the country in Africa, not the girl next door:-) had a mock election today and Obama won by a land slide. America is on the world stage today and I hope we have a performance that will change the state of the country as well as the world!!!

Note: It is about 10:40 PM and Juliette just called me screaming with excitement. As I was riding to my friend's house tonight I saw four seperate TV stands (4 TVs per stand) on the streets with people gathered around waiting for the news. THE WORLD IS WATCHING!!!!

Going to the Bank--Only in Togo!!

Yesterday was the day I decided to conquer the bank on my own. I was armed with a French to English dictionary and my account information, and not to mention my very LIMITED French vocabulary. I had two reasons for going to the bank; #1. Deposit my pay check and #2. Transfer funds from my Togo account to my Bank of America account in the US. The first goal was acheived with minimul effort and a whole lot of pointing and gesturing. In order to achieve the second goal, however, I had to go to the main bank on the other side of town and meet with the ONLY lady who could help me. So today I go and meet with the lady who can transfer the money for me and it went well, despite the language barrier. Once again, a lot of pointing and gesturing. So far this sounds like just your average Togo bank visit...do not make that assumption so quickly. While I was sitting in the office with the ONLY lady in the entire bank who can help me, in walks a woman with a huge bag... To my surprise her bag was full of bootleg designer purses that she was attempting to sell to the bank lady (whose name I will not use for confidentiality reasons:-). These two women proceed to have a 10 minute exchange about the purses and their costs. Well...being the retail expert that I am I had to had my input, in French of course. So here I am at the main branch of a Togo bank, in the office of the woman in charge of international transfers and I am haggling the price down for this purse:-) Only in Togo.

2 Doctors in 2 Months

So here it is almost the end of my second month in Togo, an I was off again to see the doctor. The first time I saw the doctor he made a house call to the school... it turns out I had malaria. Before I continue, let me clarify soemthing for those of you who know me very well...YES !!I was taking my malaria medication, but I got sick anyway. It turns out that malaria is treatable and the drugs are very inexpensive (keep in mind that the average monthly take home for a teaching assitant is less than $200 US dollars). Where it may be afforable for me...it is not necessarily affordable for the average Togolese. Malaria only becomes life threatening when left untreated.

So today I was off to see a doctor in a clinic around the corner for doctor visit number 2. During the visit the doctor did what doctor's usually do: temperature, ENT check, and blood pressure...the normal routine...except she speaks French and I speak English. What a visit!!! Between our limited vocabularies I was able to understand what medications she prescribed and the dosages. So now I am on some medication and feeling much better.

Let's get down to the real question: How much did this cost, since I do not have health insurance... the fisrt visit (house call...yes there are doctors that still make those) cost me 13000 francs, which is about $28 US (this included a blood test for malaria). The second trip cost me 5000 francs, which is about $11 US. Crazy huh???? US health care is through the roof and you get the same treatment and medications (I m referring to primary healthcare). Last but not least, the prescriptions today cost about $15 US dollars. Total I spent $26 dollars to have this sinus infection diagnosed and medicated...I love Africa!!! I can afford Africa!!!

My Babies and Me

So these are my babies. Please do not tell them I refer to them as babies...they would be so offended. Being a baby is so not COOL!!! Right now I have nine students, that range from the ages 2-4. These children are from all parts of the world: Togo, Nigeria, India, and America. The interseting thing about them is they see no racial or cultural differences between them. The differences they see are height, weight, hand size, etc. When do we condition kids to recognize cultural and racial differences??? I have a little red head girl from America, who has come to Africa and obtained two husbands (aren't kids funny...they immulate whatever they see at home) one husband is Indian and the other is Togolese. If only we could be children and see deeper than race, religion, and culture...maybe LOVE WOULD CONQUER ALL. And this is why I love children.

Outside My Bedroom Window

When you look out your bedroom window what do you see???
I see:
A boy retrieving water from a well
A mother bathing her daughter in a metal bowl
A woman chasing chickens to preapre for dinner
A clothes line covered in freshly washed clothes

What do you hear outside your bedroom window???
I hear:
A father speaking with his son
An Alicia Keyes song blaring on the radio
A group of kids laughing and playing
A rooster that crows from 4:30 AM to 8:00 AM (Mother natures most reliable alarm clock)

Things We Take For Granted

Imagine this...You just get out of bed and you have 45 minutes until you have to be at work. You stagger to the shower with your eyes half shut and get into the shower. Mid way through the shower just when you are good and lathered...the water stops flowing through the spout. You start turning knobs, but nothing seems to work. What do you do next???? This is my life in Togo. It is very common for the running water not to run at any point during the day or night. It is also common for the electricity to stop electrifing (I know this is not a word, but it works here). You are sitting at the table enjoying a nice meal and the next thing you know... pitch black.

Rolling blackouts and limited water are very common here. I realized how much I took running water and electricty for granted (as long as a paid my bills). Very few things in life are guaranteed; water and electricty are not on that list (at least here in Africa).

Public Transportation... or NOT!

Well, my time here in Lome has surpassed a month and guess what... I am still here and loving it. But in true Shelley style I have had a few close calls. My biggest issue has been with the public transportation system here, or shall I say lack there of. There are 4 modes of transportation here in Togo: by foot, by personal vehicle, by taxi, or by moto-taxi (motorcycle). This my seem very normal to the average person, but Lome has forever changed me. I have no desire to EVER own or drive a personal vehicle here (and I consider myself a pretty good driver) because traffic signals and signs are of mere inconvience here. The way in which people drive here is so amazing it is a wonder there are not more accidents. I would say traffic laws are obeyed about 50 percent of the time. The only reason they are obeyed the other 50 percent is because the police are in the area. But do not be alarmed... if you get pulled over by the police very rarely will you receive a traffic violation because in true Togo style you can buy your way out of it for a whopping 500 CFA, which is a mere 1.20 or so :-) Only in Africa... I love it. My personal perference for public transportation is the moto-taxi!!! The cost for transportation is very inexpensive. For example to catch a taxi to the US Embassy from where I live is about 2000 CFA (about 4.50) and to catch a moto-taxi it is about 500 CFA (about 1.20). These prices inclde the general price inflation for Americans with little to no French vocabulary.

The Beaches

The beaches here are absolutely beautiful. It is very hard to describe with words other than breathtaking. However, there is a big difference between the public and private beaches. This is a picture is of Coco Beach, a private beach, near sunset. The public beaches are not as clean as the private beaches. Every Sunday the public beaches are filled with people and music from around noon until well past dark (by the way it gets dark at 6:30PM). The private beaches tend to have alot of litter, homeless people, and vrime (theft). It is a rule of thumb not to travel to the public beaches at night. I live about 10 minutes from the beach. I can see and hear it from the roof of my school.

Shelly at the Market

Grande Marche' (Big Market)

There is only one word to describe it...AMAZING!!! There is about a two mile radius with nothing but small shacks, stands, and people walking around selling items. The people are selling everything from fresh produce to undershirts to hair weave. It reminds me of a outdoors Farmer's Market on steroids. SOOOO many vendors and even more product.

Lome, Togo has the best selection of fresh produce I have ever seen (and those who know me know that food is my hobby). There is a endless supply of fresh pineapples, plantains, bananas, papayas, mangos, oranges, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, apples, and any other fruit or vegetable you could imagine. As I said AMAZING!!! You can purchase two grocery bags of oranges for about $3.00. It is crazy how it is "organic" in the US and "normal" and AFFORDABLE in here in Togo.

The tropical flowers are to die for and just like the fruit AFFORDABLE. Now I just need a vase, so that I can adorn my room with such beauty.

There are two rules when at the market.
1. Only look at items if you want to purchase them. NO browsing here. People get very aggressive with trying to make a sale and it is hard to get them to back off. Your best bet os to know what you want in advance!!!

2. Never take the first price the vendor gives. Always take the price they give at cut it half. There always seems to be an extensive, aggressive conversation at this part of the sell. This can be very intimidating, so I just steer clear and give them the first price. Just call me a peace maker (or weak).

Ar-cen-ciel International School

The school has three campuses: Maternelle (3-5 year olds), Primarie (1st - 5th grades), and Secondarie (6th-12th grades). The residential section is housed at the Primarie school. It is set up like a collage dorm: two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living area, and a kitchen. My roommate is another American teacher from Arkansas. We spend a lot of time together planning and learning the culture and city.

Every morning I walk to the maternelle school (about 7-10 minutes). I really enjoy this time in the morning because it gives me the chance to reflect on my day to come. I work from about 7:30 AM -11:30 AM teaching seven 3-4 year old students. Three of my students speak English and the rest speak French. It is a busy day because we have Circle Time, Language, Math, Center Time, Snacks, Play Time, Story Time, and Crafts (all of this has to be completed in 4 hours!!). Most days I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off, but it is so much fun. They love to sing and dance:-)

At noon, I walk back home and there is a hot meal waiting for me (made by one of the women here). It is usually a salad, stewed chicken or beef, and pasta/ rice/potatoes, and bread. After lunch I nap for 2 hours or so. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursday I head back to work at three. For two hours I teach English to 3-5 year olds. It is pretty fun. This part of the day flies by. At around 5:00PM I am walking back home. I am not ready to venture off into the city without someone who speaks fluent French and some English, so mostly I just hang around the school in the evenings.

At around 6:30 PM it gets dark and dinner is served. I will not be loosing any weight (the food is great and I do not have to cook or clean). This is the best. Mosylt in the evenings I read or talk to Clara...byt the way I have read 4 books in two weeks:-) I am starting number five tonight.

My First Two Weeks

I miss you America!!!! I am sorry I have not graced this blog with my experiences in almost two weeks. This has been a jam packed 2 weeks (it feels like two months). I have seen so much in such a little time. I am sorry about the pics. It has been a pain to get a strong enough internet signal to get them uploaded. I will keep trying.

I love Africa!!! It is amazing!!! There lives a constant sense of hope and life, despite the disparity and poverty that lurks throughout the streets. I am constantly reminded that most of my life I have focused on my WANTS in life, not realizing that to live only my NEEDS are to be met. The people here live on a NEEDS basis and it tends to simplify life in a manner that was surprising to me.

Where Do I Begin???

Where do I begin??? So much has happened since my arrival in Africa yesterday. There is so much I want to share.

The Journey from Accra, Ghana to Lome, Togo

Well, my plane landed in Accra, Ghana at 8:00Am Sunday morning (11 hour plane ride). after retrieving my bags from baggage claim I waited in the airport for a couple of hours for someone from the school to pick me up. I could not fathom why it took him so long to come and get me, Lome is ONLY two hours away (or so I thought). Since he was late, he sent two friends who live in Ghana to greet me and wait with me until he arrived. These men were very nice and hospitable. They offered me purified water in a 4 by 4 plastic bag (less pollution).

Let me get to the actual journey... We took a taxi to the bus station (not your average American bus station), which in a outdoor market place with any people. The bus was actually a mini van, which would take us to the Ghana/ Togo border. There were 11 people and my luggage cramped in this van for about 2 hours or so. At times we were on dirt roads, which had huge rocks and pot holes. I slept for a portion of the drive and attempted to have a conversation with the man from the school, who only spoke French. Needless to say, we had to use a translation dictionary, but it worked out well.

After we got to the order, I had to fill out a lot of paper work to leave Ghana. This took about 20 minutes. Once I got the okay to leave Ghana, I had to then go to the Togo border check and obtain a Visa, which cost about 45 US dollars. this was very interesting because I had my bags inspected and I had to go through Customs. The people were generally nice:-) They seemed to argue a lot, but I soon found out what they were really doing...

After crossing the Togo border after another 20 minutes, we caught a taxi to the school (where I am living). While waiting for the taxi to drive to the school, I encountered a huge argument amongst some cab drivers. They were out of their cars and yelling and waving their hands at each other...I later realized this started as a negotiation for money and patrons, which is a BIG deal here, and turned in to much more. When all was said and done, the trip from Accra, Ghana to Lome, Togo took about 4 1/2 hours. Now I know why he was late:-)

So I am here and all is well. Some of the people here speak French, but mostly the local dialect. some of the French I learned in high school is coming back, but I have a long way to go.

The School

The school has three campuses and was founded 25 years ago on the patio of the owners house. I got to share a wonderful meal with them last night. They are a wonderful Iranian family with a great desire to share knowledge with the local people of Togo.

I will post pictures soon!!!